Etiquette at the Ballet

Despite being completely fascinated by the dancers, my child was the wiggly non whispering one in seat 27, row H at The Nutcracker Ballet today.

While I am quite certain she only distracted me, I do feel obliged to point out a few issues I noticed today.

And yes, I witnessed all of these. Sad but true.

1. The ballet is not the movies. Please refrain from eating crunching chips, munching popcorn, and rattling your candy bag during the show.

2. It is not proper to slurp soup from a thermos while watching the Sugar Plum Fairy.

3. If your child cannot make it through the performance without playing Angry Birds on your iPhone, perhaps your child should not be in attendance.

4. Oh, and if your child is a babe or toddler in arms, chances are pretty good that he would be better off left at home.

5. When showing appreciation for a great performance at the ballet, clapping is quite acceptable. Whistling....not so much. Even for Georgia.

If you are going to dress your little darling in their Sunday finest, please teach them to act the same.

Thank you from all future theater and ballet attendees.

Christmas Traditions

Ah, Christmas traditions.

You know what I mean.

We all have them.

Maybe Elf on a Shelf.

Or, Grandma's special potatoes.

Maybe fancy outfits for church.

Perhaps opening one gift Christmas Eve.

Or, the dreaded fruitcake.

Well, I can pretty much guarantee you don't share our tradition.

You see, you know ours has to be quirky in some way or it just wouldn't be us.

Every year while decorating the tree, everyone has certain ornaments that they get to hang up. And that holds true for Alex.

His is this sweet little Santa that when placed "just so" on the tree, it would appear that Old Saint Nick is relieving himself on the branches.

Yep, our tradition is Peeing Santa.

We are so proud.

Someone Stole My Bonus Hour

This weekend was the time to gain an hour and not wake up tired.....like usual.

I was smart, turned my clocks back early, and went to bed by 10:45 (new time).

From that point, the timeline looked somewhat like this.....

12:30 - Anna Grace showed up saying she couldn't sleep. Put her back to bed.

12:35 - Noticed Alex was not in bed but all the lights were out. Turns out he fell asleep on the couch so Katie left him there. Lovely. Put him back in bed.

2:30 - Phone rings. Unknown name and number. I'm awake again.

2:32 - Phone rings again. Awesome.

3:07 - Cell phone chirps alerting me of an email. Yep, I forgot to put it on silent.

3:59 - Another email arrives. I finally figured out how to make the phone silent. (new phone, owned for only a few hours)

5:30 - I am awake.

Turns out Dave's phone unlocked itself and called me twice.....from China. The emails that arrived were from him saying, "I think my phone called you."

Really?

It's going to be a very long day.

Is Daddy Smooth?

Abby brought home this picture she made at Art Club. She was so proud of the dragonfly, butterfly, and bird.

(Use your imagination)

Abby was especially pleased with her choice of smooth rocks to make her ground. Not rough rocks, but smooth.

I guess that makes a difference.

She was so excited to share with daddy......

"Daddy, daddy! Look, I used smooth rocks to make my picture".

Dave, being all so Joe Cool, said, "Smooth like me, right?"

"No daddy. You are not smooth. You are wrinkly."

I burst out laughing.

And I did not apologize.

Too Comfortable at School??

I'm thinking my child has become too comfortable at school.

After all, the teachers are mommy's friends. Many hours are spent roaming the halls, visiting, getting updates from others, and hanging out.

Today I learned something new which told me a certain little girl definitely feels comfortable in her surroundings.

Evidently, her teacher asked her to hush several times. Shocking. Or maybe she was told to put away her mechanical pencil one too many times. I have forgotten now but neither one is surprising.

In any case, after a funny comment from her teacher, the child in question stuck her tongue out at the aforementioned grown up.

Uh oh.

She quickly realized the error in her ways, covered her mouth in shock, and didn't say a word.

A few minutes later, the child got up and gave her teacher a big hug.

This reminded me of an episode just a few short years ago.

The principal was visiting the classroom. My child, yes my child, chose this time to say.....

"Can you please leave? You are too loud and I can't concentrate on my work."

Yep, too comfortable.

And it's only going to get worse.

I'm scared.

The fourth and fifth grade teachers at my school should be too.....