Weekend re-cap, Dance performance

This was a very ambitious weekend. While I intended/hoped to make it to all SEVEN parties that we were invited to (5 birthdays/2 holiday-open-houses),we split up and I only made it to two (with Rosie) and AJS made it to two (with Dash).

Saturday was Rosie's visitors-welcome ballet class. This was the first time I've been able to see more that a sliver of a leg or arm through the thick curtain at the studio. It was so very, very adorable! Rosie's classmates are between 3 and 5 years old, so I was interested to see how the teacher has been coercing them to participate and learn the dance moves. She's quite creative!

To get them all focused, she started in a circle, with all holding hands and pretended to toss each of them a little cake to "hold" (ingeniously setting their arms in 1st position) so they'd all do plies while facing each other. For stretching, she told them they were all rag dolls with limbs that "came to life" as she called them out, so up goes an arm! Out goes a leg! Oh, no, it's not real anymore. During barre time, Rosie was the only one of the girls who attempted to turn her body to face the mirror while still holding onto the barre; many of the other girls all crowded together instead of giving each other room to move around. They are too cute at this age! No personal space, impulsively hugging each other or holding hands, getting distracted and giggling!

When the class was over, I let my mom take Rosie to her house so she could spend time with her and Auntie M. while I got an hour of shopping done (for birthday gifts for tomorrow's parties! Yikes, cutting it close.). By the time I got back, it was close to 3 and I hadn't had lunch. While I snacked at my dad's computer, I checked the evite on the holiday party for that afternoon to get directions and discovered that I had the time wrong; it started at 3, not 4, and it would take me 45 minutes to get there. Yikes! I was counting on getting home to change and put on makeup, Dash was napping with AJS (after spending the morning with his mom, Gamma-Kiko), so instead of showing up at 5:30 with cranky kids, and maybe getting stuck in bad weather (forecasted, but unmaterialized), I called to send regrets.

While AJS went to a late-morning birthday party on Sunday, I took Rosie to my parents again so I could practice for the dance performance. I invited a classmate over to practice with me and mostly just let her fix my hair into a ballerina bun, because I was completely incapable. We gave our combo a run-through and both did fine. This was completely different for me during the run-through at the studio with just an audience of other dancers! I flubbed up all over. By the time the performances started, I learned that ours was the 7th of 8 dances and Rosie and my mom had arrived. During my dance, I managed to get all of the legwork right, and just messed up the arm moves in a few places. Rosie told me that she watched the whole thing and that she LOVED my dance. I decided to try to remember her version. I was entranced by the choreography the modern dance class performed; maybe I'll try that class next year (their music was an awful classical/techno-type piece that you hear at Olympic figure skating competitions, though; gives me some pause).

She and I sped home for me to change and arrive at 3:30 (read a map on the way; I got the location a few miles off in my head) for her friend's birthday party that ended at 4:30. Again, I hadn't had time for lunch, so scarfed one cold chicken tender and a kid-size bag of fritos. They were passing out cake when we arrived, so it was just the right time for Rosie; she ran, giggled, and shrieked with her friends, all sugared-up. AJS was at another party 40 minutes away (that had started at 3:00), where I'd planned to join him and other friends. However, Dash had other ideas. He had been cranky all day and AJS had just about enough. He left early and I texted my regrets through him.

We all arrived home at pretty much the same time, 5:30-ish. Rosie decided to stay upstairs with a new pencil/art set that I'd just picked up for her at the grocery store (for $1!). Dash was the sweetest little guy when we settled downstairs together on the couch (watching his "favit" xmas special, "little drummer boy")! He sat right in between AJS and I and kept rubbing our knees with his hands while making his happy-squeaky noises. He gave us lots of hugs and told us that he was happy to be home with us.

We didn't do it all, but managed just enough, I think.