Musical Performances & Flying Objects

Last night was DS' last musical performance of his elementary school career. The fifth-graders did a lot of musical numbers from the '20s all the way through Elvis. They played selections on the recorders they have been learning to play all year. I was highly impressed with how well they did! Of course, it seems that something unexpected has to happen during these performances. No, it wasn't when the gymnasts were doing their tumbling act.....they all survived without incident. No, no one choked on the strings holding the recorders around their necks. Instead, it was taken from the stage out into the audience (and no, the audience didn't cause the incident, they received it!).

During one of the numbers, a few kids came up to the front of the stage to mention times when they listened to music (while exercising, while at the beach, while doing homework, etc.). Well, one girl came up and said, "While bowling." And these children had props in their hands. So, yes, she had a bowling ball in her hand....which she swung like she was actually bowling. Only she wasn't supposed to let go.....but she did!! Yes, that bowling ball went flying out into the front row of the audience! Stunned looks from the kids on stage, gasps and squeals from the audience (especially the front row!)! Followed by relieved laughter as the bowling ball bounces as it was made of hard rubber & was hollow (it was one they used during gym class, so it was made to be light and rather harmless). The girl leaped off of the stage, chased the bowling ball until she caught up with it, ran back, and climbed back up on the stage. All of this happened very quickly. There was a short pause in the music, and then it started up again.....once all of the kids on stage had stopped laughing.

So, once again an excursion to my children's school has provided us with unexpected amusement. You just never know what's going to happen next over there!

Case Solved!

DD has been missing her glasses since Thursday. The kids had a 1/2 day on Thursday (as well as Friday) for parent-teacher conferences. I know that she got off of the bus before lunch with her glasses on her face. By the time I realized she was no longer wearing her glasses it was a little after 4:00pm, while at her piano lesson. I figured she had just taken them off sometime before we left for her lesson (she only needs them for reading and other such close-up work) and forgot to put them back on before we left. We have spent the past 3 1/2 days looking all over the house (even in strange places like under the couch, in her dresser drawers, in the fridge, etc.) for DD's glasses with no luck in finding them. So this morning I even had her look in her desk at school, thinking there was a distinct possibility I had misremembered seeing her with them when she got off of the bus on Thursday. No luck....they weren't at school either. So today I was at a loss of where else to possibly look and almost resigned to ordering her a new pair (which would, of course, had to have been paid for out-of-pocket since the vision insurance won't pay for 2 pairs in under a year) when a funny thing happened. I posted a status update this morning on my Facebook page that I was frustrated about DD's glasses having gone missing. This afternoon I checked my Facebook page to see that DD's piano teacher had commented on my status update that she had found a pair of glasses at her house. So after school today we headed over to the piano teacher's house.......YES!! They were DD's glasses!! I was so relieved! Evidently DD had worn them to her lesson but taken them off and set them aside while waiting for her turn at the piano, then forgot to pick them back up. So DD has her glasses back. Case solved!

Proud Moments

Today was the end-of-the-9-weeks award ceremony at my children's school for the 3rd 9-weeks grading period. Spring was definitely in the air as all of the school children were more restless than usual. They did, however, cooperate for the most part and remain quiet when necessary, thus proving what an overall well-behaved bunch they are. I am proud of DS and DD! They both made the A/B Honor Roll again this 9 weeks! Great job DS & DD! Mom is proud of you!

Remembering....

I need to remember something tonight......DD lost her first tooth!! So I need to remember to play the Tooth Fairy. She was quite nervous about this occurrence (it had been very loose for several days but she wouldn't let me near it), but excited at the same time. This afternoon DD & I went to one of the local high schools to see their performance of "Once Upon A Mattress" which is a version of The Princess and the Pea. DD absolutely loved the musical (she loves going to the local high schools' theatrical productions), but about half-way through the first half of the performance she became panicked as her loose tooth wiggled enough to cause the gum to start bleeding. She was adamant that I not pull it there (she wanted DH to watch when she had the first one taken out) but was not happy at all about the bleeding. I quickly gave her a tissue to help staunch the little bit of bleeding so we could make it through the rest of the performance. As soon as we got home, she grabbed DH's hand, I reached in, and out the tooth quickly came. She looked up at me and said, "Did it come out already?" in quite a bit of astonishment. She was sure it would hurt, despite her older brother's reassurances that it would not (and despite having watched me pull out one of his just a couple of weeks ago without him even flinching). After getting over the shock, she ran to look in the mirror to see what she now looked like. Her comment? "Mom, I think that after a while people's smiles start to look a little boring, so losing teeth is one way to make them interesting again." Said, of course, with a big, gap-toothed grin.

Time Marches On

It's hard to believe but today DS turned 11 years old! Where have those years gone?? It seems like just the other day that he was born, learned to walk (at the ripe old age of 8 1/2 months!), learned to talk, went off to his first day of school..... So many firsts have come and gone. And yet I keep reminding myself that there are so many firsts yet to come. As DS himself keeps reminding me, only 5 short years until he gets his first driver's license, 7 short years until he is first considered an adult..... I am sure somewhere in there will be first dates, first love, and somewhere in the more distant future his first child will bring another set of firsts.

Happy Birthday, DS!!

No Relaxing Allowed

Just when you think there might be a moment to sit and relax.....life informs you differently. At least at my house that's how it works. Tonight I was in the middle of cleaning up after supper while DH was out running a few miles. DD was supposed to be practicing the piano. DS was driving one of his remote-controlled vehicles around. As I was finishing loading the dishwasher I was just coming to the realization that I was no longer hearing the piano. It was just as I was turning to see why that I hear the loud thud followed immediately by the piercing scream along with DS calling out, "I'm sorry! Are you OK?!" I look over to see DD on the hardwood floor next to the couch (OK, she is a good 7 feet away from the piano she was supposed to be practicing!). As she was crying to hard to tell me what happened as I held her, I asked DS what occurred. DD had climbed up on the back of the couch (it's a reclining couch so it's a rather tall back) and DS had accidentally knocked her off when he bumped into her while driving his RC vehicle. DD proceeded to fall onto the hardwood floor, landing on her right elbow and right knee.

After getting her calmed down and examining her elbow, she was still complaining of it hurting. So to be on the safe side (seeing as how 3 years ago she broke the other elbow in a similar fall) I decided to take her off to Urgent Care for X-rays. DH was not back yet, but I knew he would be soon, so I left DS home to let DH back in the house (DH did not take any house keys with him when he went out for his run because the rest of us were home at the time). At the clinic X-rays were taken and the clinic doctor determined that DD just bruised the bone in the elbow (although the films will be sent to the radiologist tomorrow for further examination to be sure), so for now she just needs ice & pain medication.

Upon arriving home, no one else was home.......we arrived well after DH had to leave for a meeting of the fathers of DS' Boy Scout troupe. Since he had no idea when we would get home, DH had to take DS with him. Ah, the joys of parenthood.......nope, life is definitely never dull around here!