Author: Elsa

After yoga class we walked over to some nearby apple trees chock-full
of cute little apples. We picked a bagful of apples from several
trees. I'm not sure what to make with them but they look rather nice
simply as decoration in a bowl. On the trees the small apples looked
more like little red potatoes than fruit.

For Monti it is either tongue out or fingers in the mouth. Look at the
arch in her back.

For homework this weekend Monti had to write down some notes about
what happened during her weekend. There was no mention of the audition
she spent Saturday and Sunday at. Her favorite event was the pool
party at her friend Knicole's house. They were the last kids at the
party so they scored lots of balloons and plastic leis. It was a great
day for the pool. Too bad there were not more of these days in the
summer.

It took me only a few days home alone with the kids before I found
myself hanging out with the moms drinking Mimosas at 10 am. It was so
"Desperate Housewives" except there was no poker. Next time I will
have to bring the cards and chips. I left at 12:30 but I found out
later that everyone else stayed until around 3:00 when the kids were
coming home. I guess I can only handle so much chit chat before I get
antsy.

I drank coffee with some other Issaquah Valley Elementary(IVE) moms
while waiting for Monti. Last year in the IVE Variety Show a couple
girls sang "Tomorrow" as an act. All acts were required to be no more
than 90 seconds but when Martin Charmin heard in practice the chopped
up version of his song he told one of the moms in jest to inform the
school they couldn't use his song unless it was the full version.

Monti was nervous before her first audition. We went down to the
Seattle Center for an open call for the play Annie Warbucks, the
continuing story of Annie the Musical. We had no idea what to expect
but she wanted to give it a try. The night before I had to get a
headshot and resume together for her. I created her headshot from a
picture I had in iphoto. Monti swears I took it with my iphone. I
hated showing up without a great photo but I figured it was better
than not going at all.

I was able to hold back the tears as Dahlia and Monti's bus pulled
away because I was distracted by the lingering ache in my side I still
had from the night before. I had been up all night with a pain in my
side. At 2 AM I had convinced myself that I was having an appendicitis
and I started planning how the next few days would be handled. I
couldn't believe my luck. The day I had been waiting for ,when both
girls would be going to school, would have to spend it in the hospital
being cut open. My mind was so busy worrying about who would watch the
kids and what type of swimsuit I would need in Vegas to cover my scar
that I was unable to sleep. Oh the mind thinks crazy thoughts in the
middle of the night especially when you are a little nervous about
your baby going to school fro the first time. Not sure why I had the
pain but my appendix is just fine.

We found out at the audition that Martin Charnin was directing the
play and in charge of the auditions. This is the guy that had the
concept for the original Annie, directed it and wrote the lyrics for
it. I have to admit I was a little star struck. The musical Annie was
the soundtrack of my childhood. To make things even stranger I
discovered that Martin Charnin lives right in Issaquah. He is
neighbors with some of Monti's school mates.

When the girls got into the room for the auditions Martin could see
they were just full of nerves. He told everyone to put down their
stuff and just shake out the nerves. Then he asked parents to leave
for a couple hours while they worked with the group. I left and went
to get some coffee with the other moms. Monti was excited when she
came out because she was asked to come back tomorrow.