Blog

  • Back to Blogger

    After a week of trying to get WordPress working for me I am back to
    Blogger. Primarily I email pictures and text to my blog and WordPress
    had many issues with that aspect. So for now Blogger is the tool for
    me. Now I can just focus on my posts once again.

  • Washington apples

    Washington apples

    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.

  • Jazz/Tap dance

    Jazz/Tap dance

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

  • Monti’s singing range

    When filling out the call-back form for Monti they wanted to know her
    vocal range. I had no clue how to answer. I talked to her singing
    teacher, Nedra, about it this week and she was not sure what they
    wanted for little kids but she told me she would get me the list of
    notes Monti can hit. In her head voice she can hit the range of notes
    from E³ – C⁶ and in her belting voice she can hit E³ – F⁵.
    Actually Nedra said for plays like "Annie" Monti will need to be able
    to hit that high F in a belting voice but currently she has a hard
    time with it. She assured me that since Monti can hit the high C note
    in her singing voice she should be able to get to the high F belting.
    This will be their project to work on in the next couple weeks.

  • Pool Party

    Pool Party

    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.

  • Drinking at 10 am

    Drinking at 10 am

    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.

  • Waiting for Monti

    Waiting for Monti

    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’s first audition

    Monti’s first audition

    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.

  • holding back the tears

    holding back the tears

    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.

  • At the audition

    At the audition

    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.