Extra! Extra! at Gymboree, the Farmers' Market, and of Summer Days

We took advantage of two Bonus classes at Gymboree today.We started with Level 5 Play and Learn.(I prefer Level 6, but this fit our schedule and a Level 6 didn’t this week.)The theme was ‘caterpillars and butterflies.’After looking at pictures of them, the kids crawled all over a ‘tree’ structure and ate its ‘leaves.’They also made a cocoon (crawled inside the fabric tunnel) before emerging as a butterfly with brightly colored scarf-wings.  

Emerging from the tunnel cocoon.

Another butterfly hatching from the cocoon.

Then the toddler butterflies ‘flew’ off of a foam block and landed on a squishy mattress.

Flapping her pink butterfly wings - and wearing the perfect shirt for it!

They also got to find finger-puppet butterflies that were hiding all over the main room. It was a lot of fun and we even got to play with our friend Andrew and his mom, Stacy, who used to be in our Family Music class. Even though I got her to join Mothers & More, it’s still fun to run into her at Gymboree.

When Level 5 was over, we got to hang out for an extra few minutes before the next got started.  I saw Meghan, a harpist friend from U of I, and her 18 month old!  It turns out that she recently moved to Lombard, the town where Shawn’s second birthday party was, and now she’s enrolled this Gymboree.  Small world!

When her class was ready to begin, I ushered Shawn and Abby outside to the car for snack time.  I contemplated finding a park during our Gymboree break, but they had actually worked up a sweat from running and playing so hard in class and the transition time!  Besides, I was a little nervous about how easy it would be to tear them away from a new park, to bring them to music class.  So, we relaxed in the car with the doors and windows open, listening to music, snacking, and coloring some wipe-off boards.

Ms. Wendy led the music class today.  (I think she’ll be doing it on a semi-permanent basis now).  It was a country and folk song theme, but I've forgotten them already, so I'll have to get the names of all the songs next week.  Ms. Wendy read She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain by Philemon Sturges and Ashley Wolff.  At one point, Abby did a ‘fall of faith’ (that’s the best way I can describe her act of plopping into my lap without looking, much like those trust-building exercises).  Normally, she falls into my lap backwards, so we’re both facing the same way, but today, she came at me face first.  Actually, teeth first.  She bumped her front teeth right on the bridge of my nose.  At first, I was worried that she hurt herself too, but she didn’t seem to notice that anything was any different from her past ‘catch me – ready or not!’ moments.  Meanwhile, I’ve got a bright red mark in the middle of my face now!  Note to self – catch sooner!  The final song of the day was a song about falling leaves that I found online and shared with Wendy:

Guess What's Falling From the Trees?
(To the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")

Guess what’s falling from the trees?

Slowly, slowly come the leaves!

Red and orange and green and brown,

Twirling, swirling to the ground!

Guess what’s falling from the trees?

Slowly, slowly come the leaves!

©Ashley K. Alaimo

It was a good day to go to the Schaumburg Farmers’ Market.  I found the parmesan bread that Raj liked so much and when I bought it, the vendor gave me three free muffins.  I stopped by an apple vendor to buy a gallon of apple cider and we each sampled free apple cider donuts, we said hi to the Olive Man and he gave Shawn a free pack of black olives, even though I offered to pay for them!  AND, when we got our habitual crepe (strawberry and Nutella this time), Shawn and I were filmed for a promotional video!  (They were interested in Abby, too, but I didn’t want to give permission for something like that without talking to Shelley first.)  I had no idea what to say, but I stumbled through some blabber, hoping they’ll be able to use a second or two of it to help promote their business.  On the way home, Abby informed me, "I'm sticky.  I need a bath at my house," and I promised to let her parents know!

Weather Underground claimed that today reached 84°F and, after sitting outside for our break between Gymboree classes and perusing the Schaumburg Farmers’ Market, I believe it!  However, it’s hard to believe that we had a 30° swing in temperatures today!  Mother Nature just can’t make up her mind about what season we’re having!

When Raj came home, he and Shawn put up Halloween decorations in the front yard and in living room.  I took the opportunity to Skype with Oma, Jennifer, Jonathan, and Elise.  (I'll fully admit to a twinge of jealousy that they all get to see each other this weekend without the aid of video-conferencing, but I guess I should be happy that we at least have that!)

Gymnastics + Potty Training + Construction Excitement + Pavlov Response + Full Tummies + Good Books = Good Sleep (for some)

Again, last night Shawn looked up at me after laying in bed for a few minutes and told me that I could go to sleep in my own room. I’m liking this!

When Abby arrived, Shelley warned that she was a bit cranky this morning. Hopefully, gymnastics will help work out (or simply distract her from) whatever is bothering her today. Though Shelley was running a little late to work, she ran back home to retrieve Pink Baby Doll so we wouldn’t have a naptime crisis later. (Thank you!)

Before I woke up Shawn, I made a new Potty Paper to start today. It’s Spiderman themed. I’ve had Shawn help design the last few sheets, but I thought he’d get a kick out of this surprise. It’ll be in the main floor bathroom waiting for him. Meanwhile, he only has a few more stickers to go on the Potty Paper in his bathroom upstairs, though we don’t use that one as often! (Still haven’t read my library book about potty training…)

We didn’t see Abby’s Auntie Jamie at gymnastics today, but the kids did great. After our usual warm ups and various styles of jumps down the trampoline, Coach Beth led us through an obstacle course. It had a few minor changes from our usual track, but both Abby and Shawn flew through it. (I was out of breath just trying to keep with them from the side!) The only thing that really threw them off was that the foam log that Coach Beth normally uses to help them do back flips, was now a ‘shaky log’ that they had to scramble over while she rocked it back and forth. More than once, Abby and Shawn turned around and started to lay down on it in preparation for a back flip – they certainly are creatures of habit! Another part of the obstacle course included a balance beam. It was wide, but about three feet off the ground and resting on other obstacle equipment on either end. When he’d step onto the beam, Shawn would test his courage and balance by holding my fingers at first, but then letting go to walk quickly across – with a grin from ear to ear. Abby would follow right behind, but wasn’t so anxious to go it alone just yet. After we made our obligatory stop at the foam pit, we swung from rings (at the request of Mr. Shawn, himself). Class finished with parachute games and then stamps and ‘mail.’ I’m not sure what the fascination is, but Shawn was very curious if Coach Beth would have any mail for him today and Abby made certain to keep hers in sight until we got back home, where there were other things to do. (It turned out the mail wasn’t that exciting – just information about referral rewards and enrolling in the next season of classes, which didn’t really apply to us since we have the unique privilege of being connected to Abby’s Auntie Jamie!)

Back at home, Abby and Shawn’s pants and diapers came off, underwear went on, and our focus returned to potty training. Abby had a few accidents, but is much more willing to sit on the toilet whether she has to go or not. Shawn, surprisingly, didn’t have any accidents this morning or afternoon! (Though, he had two this evening.) He really likes the new Spiderman Potty Paper. (Phew!) It’s very helpful to have Abby sit on her potty chair while Shawn sits on his toilet seat at the same time. I don’t know if it’s peer pressure, power of suggestion, or what, but he’s much more likely to cooperate when she sits in front of him and they go through the process together. Whatever works is fine with me! (…Too bad they can’t go together all the time!)

After lunch, Abby and Shawn played in the living room while I cleaned up the kitchen.  I’ve set an alarm on my cell phone to ring when it’s time to start thinking about naptime (or head home from whatever adventure we may be on).  They recognize the ring tone and know exactly what it means.  (Even though, we have had a little fun with it before actually heading upstairs.)

Pavlov would be proud!

Grandma Fanny brought over chocolate wafer sandwiches this afternoon when she arrived for her English lesson. Meanwhile, Shawn and Abby were both still napping! Abby woke up a few minutes into our lesson, but Shawn didn’t wake up until afterwards. At least, that’s what I think happened. I went to check on Abby at 4:45 pm and she was laying quietly in the pack-n-play, but awake. So she could’ve been laying there for a while, but I really have no way of knowing. After Grandma Fanny left, I went upstairs to check on Shawn and he was in the computer room! When did this happen?? Surprise! So, again, I really have no idea when he actually woke up – I didn’t even hear him open his door! Sneaky, sleepy kids!

Once everyone was up, the kids wanted to investigate a very noisy and very large truck that was parked in our neighbor’s driveway. It turns out that a roofing company was delivering materials to our building for work that will be started on Saturday. (Hopefully, not during naptime… but what are the chances?!) By the time the kids got their shoes on, a worker met me at our front door and asked if I could move my car so they could reposition their truck on our other neighbor’s driveway. (This massive truck had braces on either side that stuck out a few feet. So, although it would be parked in our neighbor’s driveway, these braces would cross over onto my parking spot.) This really sparked an interest for two toddlers! After I moved my car to the parking island, I brought them outside to watch the workers (and their truck) in action. Using a machine that I can only describe as a crane with a forklift attachment (Shawn called it a grapple truck, but I don’t think that’s accurate either), they hoisted pallets of shingles onto various sections of our roof. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to impress these two! (Every once in a while, their interest would shift to the crunchy leaves on the ground, but they'd go back to the truck after a few seconds!)

Abby stayed until 6:15 pm because Shelley had a meeting with Australian clients this evening. I told her that if she had to do any face-to-face meetings, I’d be willing to go through the tremendous hassles of packing and accompanying her, just so that Abby wouldn’t have to miss her mom during the very important business trip. Shelley said she’d be sure to let me know…

When Shelley came over, we talked a little about the joys of potty training and reassured each other that it will happen, eventually. We also talked about discipline and how Abby has been hitting, pushing, bossy, and sassy lately. Shelley confirmed that she wants to “nip this in the bud,” so after a warning, Abby gets a time out. For repeat offenses, privileges get removed. Some days aren’t an issue at all, but it’s good to know that Shelley and I are on the same page.

For dinner, I made a dish that included chunks of chicken and veggies with a cream of mushroom sauce all over a croissant. Though I didn’t stick to the original recipe, naturally, I got the idea from a great cookbook called Desperation Dinners! Home-Cooked Meals for Frantic Families in 20 Minutes Flat by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross. (I highly recommend it.) Though I’ve had the book for a few years, I still haven’t tried many recipes - I usually revisit specific ones. Those I have tried were very easy and delicious. Tonight, I ventured to a new dish and everyone loved it. Raj said it reminded him of chicken and dumplings, but “There’s a lot of veggies in this!” We giggled while watching Shawn wrinkle up his brow and nose trying to dive into his jumbo-croissant (from Costco), which I served on the side for him. I was grateful to use up a handful of leftovers and not feel like we were eating… leftovers!

As we were winding down just before bedtime, I set Shawn up with Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, which he got from Aunt Holly, and a jazzy recording of the book on CD that we got from the library. While Shawn listened and tried to follow along (from a distance, I’d cue him when to turn the pages), I put away some laundry and straightened up a few stray toys and things. After two readings, I tucked him in and read Itsy Bitsy Spider flap book by Margaret Spengler. Shawn wasn’t quite as prepared for me to leave tonight as he was the last two nights, but he eventually snuggled down and agreed that it was time for me to go. Unfortunately, he called me back in for “a little bit of drink,” and had a hard time getting re-settled, but once he did, he was done for the night.

...now... if only I could sleep…

An Adventure to Sonny Acre Farm

Spanish class focused on body parts.  Our friend, Gavin, wasn’t in class again, but a little girl, named Mia, joined us for the first time.  (I’m not sure if she’s in our class now or if it was just a one time deal.)  Shawn loves the opening song, Buenos Dias, Amigos!  Though he only chimes in to reply, “Muy Bien!” he does it with gusto!  Abby sang along with the ending song Hasta Luego, Amigos! including hand motions, of course!  Our project was simply a coloring sheet, but we had more fun singing and dancing to Mi cuerpo hace música / My Body Makes Music:

Mi cuerpo hace música (track 10, Around the World with Language Stars) Mi cuerpo, mi cuerpo hace música. (2x) ¡Mis manos hacen clap, clap, clap! (2x) ¡Mis pies hacen tomp, tomp, tomp! (2x) ¡Mi boca hace la, la, la! (2x) ¡Mi cuerpo hace cha, cha, cha! (2x)

My Body Makes Music (track 10, Around the World with Language Stars) My body, my body makes music. (2x) My hands go clap, clap, clap! (2x) My feet go stomp, stomp, stomp! (2x) My mouth goes la, la, la! (2x) My body goes cha, cha, cha! (2x)

After class, we headed for an adventure in West Chicago at Sonny Acres Farm with Mothers & More for a Mom and Tot Outing.  The newsletter said:

Let's enjoy the day at the pumpkin farm. At Sonny Acres you'll find everything relating to Halloween, fall and harvest time - including huge mounds of pumpkins! They also have hay rides, haunted barn, amusement rides, pony rides, and a Kiddie Koral where little ones can run and play.

What a day for an outing!  It was 80°F without a cloud in sight!  (This is October, right?  In Chicago?  Really?)  We met the other moms and kids in the Kiddie Koral.  It was a fenced in area with lots of things to explore: tunnels, a tractor, slides, fun Halloween props…

When we left the Koral, Shawn and Abby were drawn to some rabbits, chickens, goats, sheep, ducks, and llama (or is that an alpaca??  I really don’t know.)

Suddenly, they realized there was a mini-train ride right behind them and the animals were no longer exciting enough!  I restocked my supply of tickets and they eagerly hopped aboard.  …Until it started moving, then Abby didn’t think it was such a great idea anymore.  She finished her ride, but was sure to be the first to get off.  On the other hand, Shawn loved every moment of the ride and would have stayed on all afternoon if he could have!

After revisiting the animals, we went on a 15-20 minute wagon ride pulled by a tractor through a ‘haunted’ forest.  Though it was set up to be scary for nighttime visitors, in broad daylight, without spooky sounds, lights, or animatronics, it was perfectly suitable for little ones.  They even had child-friendly characters hidden among the ghosts, goblins, and skeletons, like a cardboard cut-out of Big Bird perched in a tree!

 We finished our outing wandering through rows and mounds of pumpkins.

It was a great way to spend the day!  When we got home, Shelley was home early from work.  So, Shawn and I said goodbye to Abby and headed off to a well deserved naptime.

All day long, Shawn was having a pants problem kind of day.  Not just pants, but a pull-ups problem too!  Every few minutes I’d notice that he was imitating a plumber!  Oy!  A very (overly) concerned (read: nosey) mom from our group actually asked me if I’d stopped dressing Shawn in diapers when she saw his pants slipping down.  I tried to explain that we’re potty training and done with diapers, but that he wears pull-up type diapers when he sleeps and when we leave the house.  When he’s running around as much as he was this afternoon, his little wiggly waist just doesn’t have enough girth to keep the darn things up very long.  And, when we’re at home, it’s even more of a struggle with underwear… but there’s rarely an audience there, so it’s not a big deal.  And, really, is a little toddler butt that big of a deal anyway?  Who doesn’t like toddler butt??!?!

Speaking of potty training, Shawn filled out another Potty Paper with stickers this afternoon.  He pulled an ice cream truck out of the toy surprise bag.  It’s fun to watch him pick his surprise toy because he knows he’s not supposed to look inside and can only put a hand in.  (I’ll try to remember to catch it on video next time.)  Since he’s not familiar with what an ice cream truck is, I tried explaining it to him, but realized it’s something that’s better seen in person to really understand.  Oh, well.  It’s a new truck to add to his fleet.

Note:  Steve Jobs, of Apple Computers, succumbed to pancreatic cancer today.  It’s interesting to hear, read, and see people’s reactions to the passing of such an influential man.

Good Night to the Autumn Leaves That Fall from the Trees

We had a great start to the day!

At Gymboree, Ms. LouAnn started art class by giving the kids orange paint for free painting.  After a few minutes, she added a squirt of blue to their pallets.  Almost as soon as the first drop of blue landed on Shawn’s paper-plate pallet, he announced, “Chicago Bears!”  Ms. LouAnn was beside herself (especially since they were off-shades of blue and orange, but he still made the connection).  Dadda will be so proud!

The rest of the class time focused on a fall theme. The kids colored the outer rings of paper plates with red, yellow, orange, and green creamy crayons. Then they glued on various shapes, sizes, and colors of leaves that Ms. LouAnn had collected.

During the break, she read Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert while the students had Winnie the Pook cookies and water.  For the final project, they glued a brown rectangle to a large piece of paper.  Then, Ms. LouAnn passed out sea sponges and we practiced dabbing them on the paper before she gave anyone paint.  One color at a time, the kids received red, orange, and then yellow paint to sponge onto their trees.  Finally, Ms. LouAnn showed them how to tear apart leftover leaves into little pieces and stick them onto their painted trees.  (I thought they looked great without the added leaves, but that’s okay.)

For the last activity, Ms. LouAnn revealed a tub full of balls and shapes that they pretended were leaves.  The kids had fun throwing and retrieving the ‘leaves’ from the tub over and over again.

Throughout the day, at random moments (like riding in the car), Abby would break into song.  Not just any song though, she’d sing, “No more pee-pee in my underwear!” (A little ditty that I made up in an effort to encourage… well, I guess it’s pretty obvious…

This evening I had a doctor’s appointment to follow up from my visit on August 24.  The lump in my left breast is still there, but I feel like it has changed a little – softer maybe?  They did a pregnancy test, since hormones can do all kinds of crazy things - negative.  They sent me to get blood work to see if my thyroid is to blame.  I also have to set up an appointment for a mammogram and an ultrasound to make sure what we think is a ‘collapsed cyst’ really is just that.  I’m not looking forward to my first mammogram, but I am looking forward to finding out the results!

Meanwhile, Raj and Shawn opted to play outside in the gorgeous weather rather than go to Open Gym at Gymboree.  Abby joined them with her mom and grandfather for fun time with chalk and ‘baseball.’  A great evening to be outside!

When it was time to tuck Shawn into bed, I had him read Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown to me.  It was interesting to listen to his rendition.  (I’ll definitely have to record him ‘reading’ sometime.)  Afterwards, I read it to him and he helped me fill in missing words.  When he noticed that the “old lady who whispered, ‘Hush’” was no longer in the room with the little rabbit, he asked where she went.  I explained that she went to sleep in her own room.  A little while later, we pulled up his covers, gave each other goodnight kisses, said our, “I love you – always and forever!” lines.  With the lights turned off, I sat on the ottoman next to his bed while he settled in for the night.  About five minutes later, he looked up at me and revealed, “You can go to sleep in your bed now, Momma.  It’s okay.”  Really??  Seriously??  And before he had a chance to change his mind, I kissed him one more time and left.  Good night to the little boy who grows up so fast!

Tag der Deutschen Einheit

An email to Oma, Opa, and Jennifer:

Haben Sie eine wunderbare Tag der Deutschen Einheit!
Liebe,
~ Shannon

Have a wonderful Day of German Unity!

Love,

Shannon

I've got a great excuse to have German food tonight!  I’m trying a new slow-cooker recipe and  for dessert I have brown bag apple pie, ahem, Apfelkuchen, from the Long Grove Apple Festival we went to yesterday.  Can't wait!

Slow Cooker Smoked Pork and Sauerkraut Dinner

Ingredients:

• Use 1 1/2 lb. peameal bacon roast or a smoked pork loin roast.
• Use 4 potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold because they are firmer and don't fall apart as easily.
• Use one 28 oz. can Sauerkraut, drained.
• Liquid - 1 cup of either apple juice, orange juice, or water.

Instructions:

• Put Peameal Bacon Roast and Sauerkraut in slow cooker (crock pot).
• Add peeled potato quarters to the slow cooker, making sure the potatoes are pushed well to the bottom. Potatoes need to be in liquid to cook properly. Even though there is not enough liquid in the cooker to start, there will be once it cooks for a few hours.
• Pour in about 1 cup of apple juice, orange juice, or water.
• Cook, covered on low to medium, for about 6 hours. Check your slow cooker instructions for approx. times.
• Remove potatoes, meat, and sauerkraut. Keep warm.
• Put cooking liquid into saucepan, bring to boil, and thicken with 1 - 2 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in some cold water. Use as sauce for the meal.

Serves 4.


Abby came over shortly after 7:30 am this morning, while Shawn slept in until a little after 10:00 am!  That gave Abby plenty of uninterrupted time to play with a box of books and Shawn’s new magnetic Thomas the Train book all to herself.

Gymboree’s free Bonus Class schedule changed this month, so we were left without a class today.  I had plans to take the kids to a much needed excursion to Costco, but instead, we spent the day playing at home.  Ahhh… the simple pleasures of a pile of boxes.  (I keep meaning to put these out to recycle, but I just don’t have the heart to take them away!  Maybe tonight will be the night.)  Here, they show off their favorite game – riding a Choo Choo Train!

Sometimes staying home is just as much fun, if not more, than running out to planned activities.

After a stretch of great days, potty training seems to have taken a setback today.  I feel like both Abby and Shawn are peeing every 10 minutes or so – whether they’re on the toilet or not!  Lots of clean ups today.  (sigh)  On the other hand, Abby got enough stickers on her Potty Paper to finish her sheet and take it home!

Luckily, I got a break when both went down for naps easily.  Abby woke up minutes before Bill arrived and Shawn woke as she was leaving.  It was an early wake up for Shawn, but he also went to sleep faster than he has lately.  I was a little nervous that Shawn’s sleeping in this morning was going to mess up the rest of the day, but (phew!) not the case.  He must have just needed a few more hours of shut-eye.

Grandma Fanny came over for her English lesson.  We reviewed short a and short e sounds and introduced the short i sound.  I've given her small picture cards of words that contain those short vowel sounds rather than written words and she LOVED sorting them. It helped build her vocabulary, her spelling (I had her write the words on the back), and it gave her something to practice at home between our sessions.  She has a hard time differentiating them and an even harder time getter her mouth to cooperate when trying to enunciate, but she’s such a hard worker and incredibly motivated.  What a difference it is to work with her and struggling middle schoolers!

After emailing with Jennifer, Oma, and Opa, I added soft pretzels to the German meal.  I cheated and bought some frozen from the grocery store.  Not the best, but they fit the bill. Shawn loved his!  After all the food from dinner, we didn’t have any room for the Apfelkuchen for dessert!  It’ll have to wait for another day.

Long Grove Apple Festival

Happy 142^nd Birthday to Mahatma Gandhi

Shawn and I slept in while Raj went off to tailgate for the Bears’ game.  Though I was half-awake long before, I really woke to the sounds of Shawn playing in the corner I set up for him in the computer room.  (There’s a small table, crayons, and drawers with paper, coloring books, etc.)  It’s rare for him to get out of bed on his own, not to mention wander into another room without calling for attention.  I took advantage of his independence and listened to his quiet playtime from a distance.  Eventually, he ran into greet me and we snuggled and played under the covers until the lure of eating breakfast was too strong.

This morning Shawn proclaimed, “Momma, I was a baby.  I’m bigger and bigger.  I’m a boy.  And, I’m starting to get a man.”  You are absolutely correct, just not too fast, pleeeeeease!

I had planned to spend the day at the Apple Festival in Long Grove.  But, it took a lot longer than I expected to convert the van from a harp-hauler to a child-hauler.  The fact that our neighbor’s daughter, Yazi, came over didn’t exactly speed things up.  She and Shawn decided to pull toys out of the garage, which would have been a great way to occupy Shawn while I got the van setup, but it didn’t work out that way.  I ended up chatting with her mom for a while… we investigated a praying mantis on their back window… Yazi and Shawn ended up playing in the van (though I did get her to 'play' with the hand-vacuum and suck up Shawn and Abby's stray snacks!)… and by the time I had everything ready to go, I looked up to see Raj home from the Bears’ game and we hadn’t left the house yet!  So much for spending the whole day at the festival!

Luckily, I convinced Raj to go to Long Grove with us.  We only got to spend about two hours there, but it was worth it.  Shawn got to ride a pony and a tot-sized train.  We bought a mini-caramel apple pie, full-size apple pie, a caramel apple dipped in cinnamon sugar and white chocolate, and chocolate mummy on a stick (which we ate right away - YUM)!

I took pictures of Shawn playing while we were there, but ironically...

 

...where are the apples?? (I swear it really was an APPLE fest!)

We stopped at Barnaby’s Family Inn for dinner on the way home, since the food vendors at the fest were shutting down.  It wasn’t at all what we expected, though it was certainly family friendly.  I wasn’t impressed with the food at all, but it was priced about right.  There were patrons of all ages and the parking lot was full.  (Shawn was mesmerized by a table of squealing tweens next to us.)  It was a popular place to come, but I don’t think we’ll be revisiting any time soon!

Just before bedtime, Shawn told Raj, “I have to go pee-pee!” and pulled down his pants.  Raj was busy brushing his teeth, so after he quickly escorted him into the bathroom, I helped him get onto the toilet.  And, he peed!!!  He hadn’t announced it after-the-fact, like he has in the past, he announced it BEFORE he went and was able to get to the toilet in time to actually go!  YIPPEEE!!

My Tike the Pike and a 'Season'al Wedding

Ms. Becca challenged Shawn to new swimming skills today.  While Ms. Brittany was with the other students, she coached us on blowing bubbles in the water and bobbing under water, neither of which Shawn had ever done before.  I’ve tried to get him to blow bubbles before, but he would just end up inhaling the water and choking instead. But, not today!  After practicing how to blow above the water, then on the surface, he managed to blow a few bubbles with his mouth partially under the water!!  Wa-Hoo!!!  Then, Ms. Becca positioned Shawn and me next to each other holding on to the side of the pool.  She had me show him how to go under the water and come back up, a bob.  Then Shawn did it, too!  He didn’t quite get his whole head under water, but she explained that at this level, going under up to their eyes is all that is necessary.  Fantastic!  (It’s amazing what Shawn is willing to do for Ms. Becca!)

With the successful demonstration of blowing bubbles and bobbing, Shawn got a progress report that indicated he is ready for the next level of swimming classes, Pike (withOUT parent) – under one condition, Ms. Becca has to get her director’s approval because Shawn  is not old enough.  Pike is designed for students who are ages 3-5.  After looking at the program descriptions online, I noticed that Shawn’s current level, Pike with Parent, is technically a transition class for 3 year olds who are “new to swim lessons or group participation and still need a parent to accompany them in the water.  The instructor will try to work one-on-one with each child to get them accustomed to the lesson environment.”  If he’s already technically in a level for 3 year olds, I’m hoping it won’t be too difficult to convince the director to let him move up.  The next level, Pike (without parent), is to “learn the basic paddle stroke on their front, back, and sides, kicking skills, and become comfortable with having their face in the water while blowing bubbles and swimming.”  It seems like such a huge difference from basically playing with water toys, singing songs in the pool, and a dabble of other swimming skills tossed in (depending on the teacher)!  At this point, my biggest concern is how Shawn would respond to a new teacher without me in the pool with him.  If he gets to work with Ms. Becca, I think he’d transition pretty smoothly; however, there’s no guarantee who his teacher would be and he just hasn’t responded to some of the teachers he’s already had.  When he didn’t respond to one, it wasn’t a huge deal because he’d just work with me most of the time anyway; but, at the next level of classes, I wouldn’t be in the pool with him to help.  On the other hand, he’s got to learn how to work with all kinds of people eventually, so we may as well start!

If the director won’t approve the next level, I wonder if Ms. Becca could give private lessons… either way, I’ll keep my fingers crossed…

This evening I played the harp for a black-tie-optional wedding at the Four Seasons in Chicago.  The bride is friends with the mother of a Phi Sig with whom I went to college.  (They’ve helped to pass my name around to brides-to-be a number of times.  In fact, the only times I’ve actually seen Jackie since we graduated from U of I have been at various weddings!)  I played the prelude, processional, candle lighting, recessional, cocktail hour, and during dinner at the reception.  Aside from my sore, pink fingertips and aching hands afterwards, it felt really good to ‘gig’ again.  I’ve had a few small jobs, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve had something like this.  (Not that I enjoyed navigating the maddening streets – and pedestrians - of downtown Chicago, though.)

Though I met with the bride and groom a few weeks ago to discuss the music for the ceremony, things didn’t go quite the way we had planned.  First of all, it took a LOT longer to find my way to the loading dock and security office in order to unload and use the freight elevator than I had anticipated.  Once I got to the loading dock, there was no one around to point me in the direction of where the freight elevator was!  (It’s a very unsettling feeling to be roaming the underground labyrinth of a city hotel alone!)  Once I found it, it was fairly easy to find my way to the ceremony room, but still no one was around.  No wedding coordinator or workers...  No members of the wedding party...  No officiate… Again, it was a bit eerie!  Then, I had to go back down to the loading dock to move my car.  I drove around the block (which is more complicated than it should be because of all the one-way streets) to the valets for parking.  (It’s a good thing I didn’t intend to self-park or I may have been late to the wedding!)  I had just enough time to quickly tune and warm up, during which the photographer arrived, but I still hadn’t seen anyone else! In all of my other weddings, there’s someone to touch base with or someone coordinating the event.  The bride told me that there would be someone like that today too, but they must’ve been coordinating other people because I didn’t catch a glimpse until the wedding was about to begin.

Anyway, after all of that rushing around to get there, the wedding coordinator didn’t open the doors to the ceremony room for the guests to come in.  Just a few minutes before the ceremony was to begin, a guest opened the door himself and asked if they could come in.  So, I had a few extra moments to get settled and catch my breath and I was able to save a handful of pieces to play later in the evening, since I didn’t have to play for very long prelude.  The bride requested that I play Gram’s Lullaby by Nancy Gustavson as the final piece of the prelude, as the signal that the attendants should get ready to walk down to the next song, Processional by Linda Wood.  When I got the signal from the wedding coordinator, for lack of a better title,  to begin, I played Gram’s Lullaby… and the officiate, groom, and attendants walked in!  They didn’t walk in at the beginning of the piece either - they walked in ¾ of the way through!  So, there wasn’t enough music to get them all down the aisle and it wasn’t at a point where a repeat would flow nicely, so I jumped to Processional (as the intended piece) just long enough to get the last one up to the altar.  That wasn’t exactly the way we had discussed the procession to go!  Fortunately, the rest of the ceremony went much more smoothly.

At the cocktail hour, I realized I should’ve set up in the opposite corner from where I was because there was barely enough light for me to read my music.  Luckily, the atrium was loud enough that I don’t think people really noticed my musical blindness!  During the reception, the DJ played background music and I was able to take a break while guests were getting seated and toasts were made.  The bride and groom arranged to have dinner available for me, so I ate quickly in another room while I had the chance.

When I was done playing for the evening and I was packing up my things in the atrium outside the reception hall, an old bartender handed me a glass of wine and said that my work was done.  At first I resisted, but I wasn’t exactly in a rush to go back to the loading docks, so I sat and relaxed for a few minutes.  I needed that!  I took my things to the freight elevator and talked to a very friendly security officer about leaving my harp and things in his sight.  Then, I went to the front lobby to retrieve my car from the valet.  I asked if they would deliver it to the loading dock, but because of security purposes, that couldn’t be done.  However, a valet, who had just gotten off duty, helped me find an easier (and much less scary) way to bring the freight elevator to the street level and then helped me load everything in front of the hotel, which I thought was ‘strictly forbidden’ according to the information I had received from the hotel before the wedding, but who was I to complain?!  (Just before put the harp in my van, a taxi pulled up beside me and a whole party of women poured out to come in to the hotel.  As they walked/staggered past the open trunk, they giggled and pointed at the mattress.  I cordially justified that it’s for the harp, which was just inches away, and they half-apologized.)  I thanked the generous valet profusely for all of his help… if only he had been around a few hours earlier when I had first arrived! And then, I headed home.

Shawn was still awake when I got home.  He was very excited to tell me he watched the Disney/Pixar Cars movie and ate popcorn with Daddy.  Even though it was very late, it took quite a while to let go of all the stimulation of his evening and finally fall asleep.  Eventually, I crawled into my own bed and drifted off with Gram’s Lullaby playing in my head.