Epic Fail or Epic Success?

As usual, we missed about half of the girlz swimming lessons this past session. The beginnning of the session overlapped with the end of Upward Cheer, so one miss was due to a basketball game. Two misses were for dance competitions and another was because of the Easter Egg Hunt at church.

Luckily, the girlz had the same instructor this time around and she was sick one of the weeks we couldn't go. Both girlz got a make-up class last Thursday night and their last class was Saturday morning. I was hoping Cassidy would be moved up to the next level because the girlz would then be back to having class on the same day at the same time. It's been at least a year (probably longer) since their classes have overlapped, and Lieutenant Sexy and I would really love to get back to that.

A few weeks back, Cassidy wanted to play in the pool while waiting for her class to start. But in order for her to swim by herself, she had to pass the swim test. The swim test requires the child to crawl stroke the entire length of the pool using proper breathing techniques, and then tread water for one minute. She took the test last summer during camp and just barely failed. She passed with flying colors this time, so I knew she was ready to move up to the next class level... but we needed to make sure she got to her last two classes so she could collect her progress report to prove she was ready.

The effort was worth it - Cassidy passed and has moved up from Minnow to Fish. Campbell moved up too, from Eel to Ray/Starfish. Success!!

While I'm extremely proud of Campbell, moving up right now was not at all what I expected. Cassidy spent YEARS in the Pike class (the lowest level for 3-5 year-olds). She had just moved up to Eel when she aged into the 6-12 year-old series of classes. At 4 years old, Campbell has gone further in the 3-5 year-old series than Cassidy. I was pretty sure she would eventually move out of Eel, but I thought it would be a little closer to her 6th birthday!

So our swimming schedules are now completely hosed. Not only do the girlz not have simultaneous or even consecutive classes, they don't even have classes on the same day.  FAIL.

I'm conflicted - deeply proud of the girlz and the work they have put into learning how to swim, and yet bitterly disappointed at the extra work this will cause. We'll make it happen because we both feel very strongly that the girlz need to be confident swimmers... but still.

Sigh.

Dinner: REJECTED

Campbell has been an extremely picky eater from day 1. She's completely uninterested in eating anything that's not on her approved list of food - which is mostly comprised of chicken nuggets, candy, ice cream, and yogurt. We spoke to her peditrician about her excessive pickiness during last year's 4 year-old check-up, but we didn't get the magic solution we were hoping for. Dr. Pediatrician said headstrong children are typically the picky eaters, because that's one of the only facets of their life they can control. So the only thing we can do is buckle up for the ride and do our best to work around it.

We try to focus on the healthier foods she likes. It works sometimes, but not as much as we'd like.

I found this picture I had taken with my phone while we were on the island and it made me laugh - it's SO typical! We had gone out for dinner and ordered Campbell the one thing on the menu she *might* eat - chicken strips and french fries. Initially, she was unimpressed that the chicken wasn't shaped exactly like she wanted (think McDonald's). But when she realized the chef had placed a lettuce leaf on the plate as a garnishment, it was a done deal.

Dinner: REJECTED

"There's grass on my plate! I don't like grass! Why did they put GRASS on my PLATE?!?"

Yes, this is her standard reaction to anything that even remotely appears to be a fruit or vegetable.

Something tells me this child is going to take us for a wild ride!

What a Difference 3.5 Years Makes!

The girlz were drawing on the front porch while we waited for the bus earlier this week. Campbell wrote her name, and then Cassidy wrote her name beneath Campbell's.

Check out the handwriting. What a difference 3.5 years makes!!

Did You Know....

Although I'm not going to spend a day counting questions, I'm quite certain this fact must be accurate. Campbell is at a frustrating age right now -- not quite 5. Not a baby, but not yet a big girl. Barely a Preschooler, but definitely not a Kindergartner.

She wants so badly to be on the dance team next year, but her behavior may very well hold her back. She still wants to be carried everywhere, maintains a consistent schedule of temper tantrums, and gets restless waiting for Cassidy in the studio lobby. It's all age-appropriate behavior, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with it. But if you take a dance teacher's point of view, would you really want to have to deal with that nonsense in the midst of backstage chaos and stress?

I wouldn't, and that's the piece I find so frustrating. She desperately wants to be treated like a big girl, but can't (or sometimes won't) rise to the occasion and prove she can handle it.

So we'll see what happens on Dance Team Tryout Day. I'll be fine with the outcome either way, but Campbell has her heart set on dancing with the big girls next year. I had to remind her last night that the people who will be making the dance team decision are the same ones who watch her act like a fool in the lobby every week.

I'm hoping that little reminder will inspire her to step up her game. Cross your fingers!!

Dance Competition #2

Dance Competition #2 for this year was a huge success! This time around, two of Cassidy's routines were some of the first scheduled to be on stage. I've decided that I like being one of the first up because it gives you time to learn your way around the building before it gets crowded.

The downside was that the venue was a solid 45 minutes away from our house. In order to be sure we got there with plenty of time to get Cassidy dressed and stretched, I got up at 4:30AM and woke Cassidy up at 5AM. We did hair and make-up before we left the house so we could spend lots of time stretching once we got to the venue.

It was rough, but totally worth it. Cassidy and her friends did OUTSTANDING - especially the trio. Even two days later, I don't think she fully realizes how well the trio actually did. All three of her routines scored Platinum, which is the highlest tier for this competition. But it gets better than that... here are the results:

Trio: Platinum adjudication, 1st place in category, 1st place overall, Judge's Award (3 routines singled out for awards out of 43 routines!!!)

Mini Group Routine: Platinum adjudication, 1st place in category, 2nd place overall

Production: Platinum adjudication, 1st place in category, 2nd place overall, Judge's Award (6 routines awarded out of 63)

Our studio also received the Backstage Award for displaying the most spirit and overall good sportsmanship backstage during the competition. To me, that's what this is all about... which makes that award even better than any Platinum or special Judge's Award we could have received.

Cassidy is more focused on the Judge's Award the Production received, but she's overlooking the fact that the Trio and Production are polar opposites.  The Production is a full-team (50-some dancers) eight-minute routine packed full of flashy awesomeness and over-the-top creativity. Production routines should catch the Judge's eye and win the bigger awards - that's what Productions are supposed to do.

It's much harder in the Solo, Duet, and Trio portion of the competition to earn a Judge's Award, and yet they did. How awesome is that?!? What a HUGE honor!

The Mini Trio!

Cassidy and the newest addition to her trophy collection!

Dance Competition #3 is right around the corner. No rest for the weary!

Show And Tell Day

Ever since we got home from Spring Break, Campbell has been anxious to bring our hermit crabs to school for Show And Tell. Crabs and kids on school buses are not a good mix, so I volunteered to drive the crabs to school for Show And Tell time. I'd originally planned to bring them last week, but had a meeting that conflicted. Campbell was very understanding and patiently waited until this week. It actually worked out better because Lieutenant Sexy was able to come!

I was a bit concerned that Batman Girl wasn't going to cooperate. Hello Kitty is very outgoing and will quickly come out of her shell when placed in water. On the other hand, Batman Girl likes to play dead and sometimes refuses to come out of her shell (no matter how hard I try). She also likes to hide in the Batcave or way up under the cage lid.

To be honest, Batman Girl is ornery.

Thankfully, both crabs came out and played for a long time. The kids were delighted and Mrs. M said it was the best Show And Tell they've had this year!

Ready to show her friends our new pets

They loved learning about the crabs, watching them swim, and touching their shells!

It was a smashing success!

Birds Be Gone!

Our house attracts birds.

They enjoy perching on top of our roof and loitering on our front porch rail. They make nests in our bushes and trees. In past years, they've broken through the wire mesh covering the attic vents and have thrown several out-of-control bird parties in our attic. More than once, we've had to pay pest experts to bust up their attic party and replace the wire mesh.

They built a nest in our rain gutter last year. It clogged the gutter and we had to pay someone to clear it.

I'm getting tired of paying people to fix their destruction, so this year I decided to get tough.

I bought two Hawk Decoys - one for the front yard and one for the back yard.

He looks fierce, doesn't he? They look real enough to trick Lieutenant Sexy, which is good enough for me.

The girlz love them, and promptly gave them names - Hawker and Hawkee. Both birds get kisses before the girlz leave for school.

I'm hopeful my hawk decoys will be the key to getting through one summer without having to fix something our bird friends have destroyed.

I'll let you know how this works out!

The Sleeping Beauty Ballet

About a month before Christmas, I purchased tickets for Cassidy and I to see the Russian National Ballet perform The Sleeping Beauty Ballet. A few days later, I purchased tickets to another show at a different venue for Campbell and I. I thought it would be nice to spend one-on-one time with each girl, but I kept the tickets a secret until about a week ago.

Cassidy was SO EXCITED about our afternoon together. It was her first time watching a professional ballet company, and she was completely enthralled.

When we walked into the lobby, we saw one of the dancers standing at a table signing program books. We got one, and she was so proud that a real ballerina had signed her book. Cassidy's day had already been made and the show hadn't even started yet!

I thought I'd done well by picking a box seat - we'd be out of the way with direct access to the potties. I picked Box 1 on the third level thinking it would be the best, but it was not a great choice.  Our view was obstructed by the speakers and it was pretty loud. Luckily the box next to us was still empty about 30 minutes into the show, so we moved back and had a much better view of the stage and a more reasonable sound level.

Cassidy danced on that same Marley floor last month, and thought it was outstanding that these spectacular dancers were dancing on the same stage.

We hung around after the show and Cassidy was able to get another autograph and pictures with the two dancers that signed her book!

Saying she was "enchanted" doesn't even come close. Not by a long shot!

We had a great afternoon together. Even better, I was able to pick up some t-shirts from my student group while we were there. A fantastic afternoon with Cassidy and some new duds? It doesn't get much better!

Tot Lok FAIL

Campbell watched me open the cabinets in our Sunday School classroom several months ago. I never need to go in the cabinets, but was looking for something random that morning and was checking the cabinets before making my way to the supply closet down the hall. She watched me use the Tot Lok a grand total of one time.

Guess what she did as I was preparing the room for Sunday School yesterday morning?

Yep - she pulled the Tot Lok off the door jam and opened those cabinets in record time... probably faster than I could get them open!

Tot Lok FAIL.

Cuteness Before School

The Lower School was having a special program at school today, so Cassidy wore a dress. Campbell has worn a dress every day this school year, but chose shorts today.

They looked so sweet, I had to take a picture. I love my sweet girlz!!

A Fabulous Idea (I Think)

Cassidy is competing three routines this year, which puts us squarely in the awkward in-between stage of travel gear. It became painfully obvious at last month's competition that she has too much stuff to carry in her team duffel like we did last year. But she doesn't have enough stuff to justify a Dream Duffel.

Dream Duffels are fantastic and several of the older girls have one... but the downside is that you pay for the awesomeness - they're pricey. We'd want to get a larger bag to avoid outgrowing it in three or four years. But right now, Cassidy just doesn't have enough stuff to justify the expense or storage space a large Dream Duffel would require.

We obviously needed something, so I put my thinking cap on and scoured the interwebz until I found the Qube Cart - a large rolling crate with a long handle (to hang costumes on) and a dark pink top that turns the crate into a seat. Best of all, it fully collapses for easy storage!

The next competition is about 10 days away, which will be the first opportunity to test the Qube Cart and see if my idea works as well in action as it does in my head.

And because I need to add flair to everything (character flaw, y'all), I decided to decorate the top this morning as a surprise for Cassidy.

My name is Head Nerd, and I'm a Dance Mom.

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring finally showed her true colors on the final day of our frosty Spring Break. Hello, beautiful!

Yes, Campbell rocks her pink cowboy boots with sundresses. She's awesome like that.

Spring Break 2013

Trying to pack everything we needed for a week away in the midst of everything going on last week was an impossible task, and I failed miserably. We forgot more items than usual, but luckily it was nothing that couldn't be shared between sisters or purchased on the island.

We had a week full of awesomeness, but it's good to be home!

We played on the beach...

We enjoyed watching the beautiful sunsets we typically miss in the daily rush...

We caught up with our friends at the pottery shop and made some new creations...

We visited our favorite spots...

We posed for pictures in strategic places...

We played on the spiral staircase at the beach house...

We reminded the girlz where their roots grow...

We ate fruit sorbet and ice cream...

And came home with two new family members!

I'm pleased to introduce Hello Kitty (in the Hello Kitty shell) and Batman Girl (in the Batman shell), our new Hermit Crab pets!

We had a terrific week - a much-needed break from the constant running around. Granted, a vacation with young kids is NOT a vacation. And I had to log in and work three of the five weekdays, which was a bummer. However, it was sweet relief to not have anywhere to be for an entire week!

Back to the real world!