Week of Insanity

The busiest week of the year started with high expectations, piano, haircuts, and a ban concert for Phillip and Everett. Our week was so tightly scheduled that any deviations were not allowed. So Mother Nature threw in her deviation! SNOW DAY!!!! While admiring Christmas lights it rained, overnight it froze…and then snowed a couple of inches. Nampa School District thought it prudent to start with a closure, instead of a 2 hour delay. I can imagine how difficult it was to make the call for a closure, but passing judgement, I would’ve started with a delay. Amelia was absolutely ecstatic at 5:50 am to get back in her bed. The rest of the kids were quite confused to wake up after sleeping in, rejoicing with the fun change. I still taught piano for the long day from 9 am until 5pm. I quite enjoyed the help for my Preschool Music class! It was hard on the little girls for me to be busy and not able to play and amuse the kids. The birds were having a lovely party in the ornamental pear tree eating all the red berries. I decided it was a good chance to have a no device day for Phillip’s *benefit*, so lots of books and playing in the snow followed…plus complaining about how mean I am! I’ll take it. The snow situation was not an issue, we continued with the rest of the day as normal. The boy’s band concert was cancelled and rescheduled for Wednesday night at 7 pm, MCO’s grand dress rehearsal night. My stress level zoomed past the atmosphere. I was able to take Amelia to piano lessons with Becky. I was excited to sit in lessons and observe Becky. I left feeling more incompetent about music theory, they were talking about things that made no sense like deciphering different key signature changes. I really want to take a basic theory class, or make time to read the music theory book I thrifted a while back. I was able to take Josie to violin on Monday instead of Wednesday due to scheduling conflicts.  

Phillip’s Social Studies teacher called me last Thursday after school. I am terrible about checking the older children’s school grades and status, it never happens. Phillip was earning an F in Social Studies. He had about a week before Christmas vacation to pull up his grade by completing an entire quarter’s worth of work AND turning in his project by Wednesday. Saturday afternoon Phillip and I sat in the office working for 6 hours on his assignments. He was learning about the Middle Ages and the Feudal system. I loved the refresher. Basically, we completed the assignments barfing out the same information 15 times onto different worksheets stored in OneNote. His teacher was so desperate for something from Phillip that she took the entire quarter and made a fill-in-the-blank story to just help him bring his grade up to a D. Nope, not in my house…we worked hard to finished it ALL, every single missing assignment. Phillip was unhappy because he only wanted to do the fill-in-the-blank and call it good. His punishment for not communicating his frustration with this class back in October was to complete it all. Monday Phillip spent all day (mostly wasting time) to get his model of the Feudal system built and completed. He made a design using stacked boxes taped together showing the different social levels on paper. I have an hour break from piano at noon, he had absolutely nothing done except a stack of mutilated boxes he spent the morning stabbing with a box cutter. Justin and I about lost our freaking minds. The other kids could not use devices because that would only work to further distract Phillip. I helped him find new boxes (thank you Amazon) and tape/glue the stack of boxes. He used Legos to decorate the model. After much gnashing of teeth he finished around 8:30 pm. He was distracted by the idea of getting color copied backdrops to glue behind the figures. What a struggle bus…he loves school but seriously…his strength does not lie in academics. I am completely ok with that, I am not ok that he was not communicating with us even when asked about his school status after school.  

Tuesday was our only breath before the crush. Phillip and Evelyn had counseling in the morning. Evelyn’s snow boot liner had worn through and was rubbing her heels raw, we picked up a pair while Phillip was in his session with Nina. I spent a couple of hours editing newborn session photos, desperately trying to catch up, made some good progress by finishing one and starting the last session. Once I finish the other newborn session edits, I only have Jeremy’s family and my own family photos to work on. Phillip turned in his Feudal System project Tuesday morning since I was taking him to school. Phew, finished tying up that mess!

Dress rehearsal night! I stressed for two days thinking of ways to make the band concert and the rehearsal work. It involved some complicated theatrics and lots of driving from multiple people. Justin had to resign from helping due to a work party suddenly happening on Wednesday. I emailed Mr Burton and informed him my boys wouldn’t be coming to the band concert. He requested we split up the time but I couldn’t make it work without help and jumping through multiple hoops. I needed to be at the rehearsal for the Young Singers. Done, the decision was made and stress level plummeted. I am sure we were not the only family with scheduling conflicts over last minute changes to band concerts. Brett Stewart bought his lovely flair and energy to rehearsal along with Mendenhall. We missed having Joni Jensen with her magical hair performing along with the orchestra, you have to see it to understand. The curtain call for my group was at 5:45, which Brett told us was an hour early. Soooooo…my group of parent volunteers got to entertain the kids for an hour before we went to rehearse. I had the parents and kids practice their stage entrances and using the lead ropes. It was so fun to watch the entire show coming together, it’s magic. Sara took Josie and Evelyn home after they finished. I reordered part of the YSC lines because Ephraim would not hold hands with Sissell, put the lead lines and box back to rights, then left to shop for sammich supplies and concert day treats until the older kids were finished. 

CONCERT DAY!!!! We enjoyed sleeping in a bit. I left to take Josie to see Dr Aldous about her ears at 9 am.  Dr Aldous confirmed she has a deep ear infection, not acute, and probably a sinus infection. Josie complained about her ears for a couple nights and even ran a fever on Monday. She loves warm olive oil in her ears, it must feel soothing. There’s a shortage of antibiotics so off we go to wait until more arrives. I came home to join the chaos of hair curling, dinners packed, lunch made, clothes ironed, and baths finished. Curling that much hair takes an hour, Amelia has so much hair to curl. I successfully ironed Everett’s new vest without melting the polyester. Hooray. I really wanted a nice photo of the kids all dressed up so that happened right before we rushed off to get the kids checked in for the 12:30 curtain call. Sara went early to volunteer at noon, we brought Ambree with us. Josie and I went back home to rest, clean up the mess, and catch up for our 3:00 curtain call. I borrowed Sara’s wagon, filled that sucker with games, books, art supplies, wipes, hair supplies, extra tights, snacks, water, pillow, blankets, and bandaids. I was not coming unprepared this concert. Jennifer Spackman laughed with delight when she saw Josie and I coming with our wagon of stuff. Over the next hour I got yelled at 6-7 times for not having the kids in proper order, which the kids actually were. Right before we went on Brett told us to switch the order so the taller kids met in the middle instead of the smallest kids meeting in the center. We made the switcheroo, got yelled at after the kids were on stage because four kids came late and were rushed on stage out of order making the back row longer than the front. The concert director demanded that we reorder the lines (for the 10th time). It’s just part of performing, be flexible and roll with the criticism. Done! David Day had us all laughing with his dancing on stage for “Jesus!” We left the stage 30 minutes before the first concert for our holding room. My volunteers and I quickly lined up the kids by height, divided the lines, and recolored and numbered the kids. There were lots of tears from the younger kids not wanting a new color. Gummy bears smoothed those tears away. I was able to watch the first concert performance from the side wings for a couple of numbers. The littles did amazing! Ephraim held hands, David stayed on the stage, Sissell did not try to blow out the decorative candles, and Atzimba did not cry. From the side I watched Evelyn perform/dance the Jesus song. She was singing with her heart and soul...took an illegal personal video! The concert volunteers got the kiddos back to the holding room for a long 2 hour break from 6-8 pm. The kids ate their dinners then ran amok. One main attraction was the water fountain, the taller fountain shot water over the lower one and onto the carpet. I stationed a parent next to the fountain. We had a fun coloring corner set up for any interested kid. Justin helped Amelia get to her Columbia choir at 6:45 pm, I grabbed her black concert dress from the van and got it in Justin's car. He watched her perform the first couple of songs then left around 7:40 to make the MCO concert at 8 pm. He made it to his seat before I did. Sister Whiting (one of Mia's YW leaders) stayed for the Columbia concert to get Mia back to the Brandt Center, she had to stay until 8:05. She missed the first three songs but made it just in time for the Women's Chorus entrance during the 3rd song. Everett was my favorite. He was singing with more than his heart, his head was swaying and bobbing with the music. I heard several other people admiring his enthusiastic performance. We saw Phillip a couple times, just the side of his head because he was stuffed in the back next to the organ. The audience was invited to join in for the Jesus song, SOOOO we joined in with all the actions and lyrics. It was so fun to get the audience feeling the joyous spirit. Our seats were next to the Youngs and Jensens (both have kids learning piano through me), we enjoyed watching our cute kids perform. I loved the last song, When You Wish Upon a Star. Professor Stewart arranged for the youth choruses to sneak in during the song, right when the music swelled the kids turned on finger lights so the auditorium felt like a twinkling night sky. Amelia later told us the first concert was a mess, the conductor missed bringing in the youth 4-5 times. Amelia was quite grumpy about it. We flew through this semester with flying colors. I can't wait for the crazy to start again in January. April's Easter concert will not be as insane because the scheduled dates are isolated from school events. We finally fell into bed around 11 pm with swollen tankles and sore feet.  

The kids enjoyed sleeping in 2 hours until 8 am, we got up and rushed them off to school for the last day before Christmas break parties and activities. The littles were thrilled to get up and NOT change into school clothes because it was PJ day! I died at home a few times napping here and there for 20 minutes at a time. In between dying I worked on editing more photos. Amelia earned the "workhorse" award at school because she actually does her schoolwork. Instead of living life through her phone she participates in class and gets her work done before the class time is over. Crazy idea?!  

Justin and the boys got ready for the ward party around 5 pm. Justin dutifully made some green beans, kicked up a notch with bacon and garlic. I sent my tub of scarves and lengths of fabric for the Primary kids to use for Nativity costumes. The girls got gussied up in cute dresses, makeup, nice hair, etc for a surprise girl's night. We went to Noodles and Co for a "fancy" dinner. Josie quite enjoyed her spaghetti, she decided the red sauce was no longer a threat to her health a few months ago. Then off to our surprise event at the Nampa Civic Center...the Nutcracker! The dance company sold tiny nutcrackers as a souvenir, I splurged on three for the girlies. We were very excited to see a live ballet of the show. Once the show started we quickly realized that the stage was way too low and the seats almost level with the row in front, in short words: we could not see the stage. Course a really tall dude sat right in front of me with his tall friend in the next seat. The little girls crowded on my lap to catch a glimpse here and there of the stage. No wonder our tickets were the best deal in town...sigh. The experience was still fun and exciting. When we go again I will look for a theater with better viewing options. I paid for the "nice seats" three rows from the stage, only the front row could see without hindrance. After the show we braved the frigid temperatures for ice cream at Stella's then a walk to see the city Christmas tree. Lots of silliness ensued! 

Saturday was another busy, busy day starting with my piano students recital. I reserved the Caldwell library conference room because it has a grand piano. I was NOT aware that the doors opened at 10, we arrived at 9:30 hoping to set up before everyone arrived. I was caught off guard right off the bat because the librarian called me Shelby and handed me a form requesting I pay $25 for the cleaning fee. Shelby is the lady we bought our home from, she also has a piano studio. I was afraid there was a mix up or she was coming right at 11 am, neither scenario occurred. Each of my 26 students played their best, two students could not make the recital. I had two other students on hold for a couple of months, they chose not to attend the recital as well. I sat beside the students as they played because most performed with teacher accompaniment. Most of my students are at the primer level, 19 new students! I keep track of the student's playing time each week and hold friendly competitions for the most dedicated. The winners earned a kazoo (primers), Harmonica (level 1), or a Jew Harp (2-3). I neglected to ask Justin to record our kids performing, so that recital went down unrecorded. Right after we got home it was time to get Evelyn and Josie ready for their dance recitals. Dance hair is no joke with a pound of hair gel and a headache from the hair tightly brushed back. Josie was crying for the duration of hair torture, Evelyn did not cry but kept knocking my hand away so it took three times longer. The other kids were tasked with working on their chores, Justin went to bed so nothing happened. I took a few cute dance photos then took the girls back over to the Brandt center for their 3 pm curtain call. I found our seats and enjoyed a moment to rest for 30 minutes. The older kids missed a temple trip for the dance recital, that was a mistake. The dance recital felt like a train wreck. The young dancers were all over the place and basically did the same booty shake moves, no creativity or discipline. Backstage the girls were cussing, taking tik tok vids, making kissy lips at each other, horseplaying, and being rude. Josie and Evelyn danced their parts like most little girls! Just darling. The Acro 1 class went first, so Evelyn and Josie danced in that. We all laughed watching Josie attempt a cartwheel. Evelyn had a costume change then did her hip hop routine. Hip hop was her favorite class this semester. I was more concerned with the older classes and the competitive teams. The girls danced really well but the costumes, music, and moves were overly provocative. My heart sank a bit as I mentally compared the MCO concert and the dance recital, same location widely disparate take away. Looking over to see Phillip's jaw slack and Everett oogling the girls made up my mind. The littles enjoyed their cute flowers and hot chocolate bombs. We walked away, I removed the girls from the dance company a couple days later. I really want to find a clogging or ballroom dancing class. Patty Hill, in my ward, taught dance for 30 years and has many local contacts referred me to Idaho Rhythm Company. I really miss our dear Ms Margaret (owner of Dance Steps) from Sidney, NE. She sent us a card this year, made me miss her even more. 

At home there was no time for the weary, I still had to plan for an hour of Singing Time for the next day. Ruth asked me to organize a singing Nativity story to last most of the hour. We also had to learn the second verse of Mary's Lullaby. Sara hosted their annual Christmas Caroling event after dinner. Justin, the boys, and Evelyn stayed home because they were feeling grumpy or getting sick. Everett came down with a fever so was out of action for a good week. Evelyn had a meltdown when it was time to clean up after the recital. Justin advised me to stay home and go read in bed. Did I listen? No. I wanted to sing Christmas songs and skip around the neighborhood shaking jingle bells. I was selfish. I chose to spread cheer, one family even started crying when we sang Silent Night, made me tear up a bit. Josie did not get bathed until 9:30, Evelyn was overly tired and cranky. She had a full on meltdown right before bed. She pulled me aside to say she was lying about taking her medication for the past three weeks. Both Nina and I were watching her assuming she was taking her medication. Dang it! I am very glad she told me, but she was mad when her choice was the swallow or chew her medication. Evelyn wanted some autonomy after swallowing her pill for the first time, I gladly gave it to her relying on her telling me the truth when asked about her nightly medicine consumption. She now has to swallow or chew her medicine in front of me for the foreseeable future. Justin was upset at me for not putting Evelyn and myself to bed earlier (like that is ONLY my job?). I knew he would not be able to put Evelyn to bed in her mental situation and that Amelia would need to be picked up, sleep seemed like a million miles away. Justin went to bed, I got to snuggle the Porcupine and Koala to sleep. Amelia went to the Stake dance and needed a ride home at 11 pm, she enjoyed going with Jocelyn. Those two are quite silly. 

The Primary singing time activity was really fun. The kids sang 4-5 songs about the birth of Christ. I brought my Fisher Price Nativity set to use as story props. The kids added Mary/Joseph, Angels, Shepherds, and Wisemen to the stable. We sang a song related to each theme and had special visitors dressed up share their testimony about their mission on that special night. Right after church was an extra long choir rehearsal to finalize the songs and practice with the narrator for the Christmas day sacrament program. After choir...my goal was to do absolutely nothing for at least 24 hours.