The Trials of a Busy Mom

Month: February 2015

Friday follies

Friday’s show was QUITE a doozy. Crazy, really.

First of all, just getting to the theater today was hard. John wasn’t feeling well, and I woke up feeling like I might have a UTI. Not sure if things were going to get worse. Couldn’t get an appointment until the afternoon, so I had Ryan take John to school a bit later so he could rest a bit, and I took off to Orem. As I walked in, I saw the BIG wings leaning up against a garbage can. You see, my butterfly wings have been falling apart little by little, and during yesterday’s butterfly/bee/bird number, my wing just fell off. WHAT? I swooped down and picked it up and danced off with it. At least it was toward the end of the song, right?
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So, I gave it to Danielle, our stage manager and asked her what we do about it. She took it over to costuming and said they would take care of it. Well, our costume director has the flu, so Danielle just brought back over the BIG wings for us to use today. We had started with the big wings, but they were afraid they would get beat up from being bumped so they had us use the smaller ones.
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The big wings have to be laced up like a corset, which takes more time than just putting the elastic over your arms, so my fellow butterfly Rachael had to REALLY hustle (she has less time to change) and she decided to leave her tights on under her “Alison” dress. Audry, who is our bird, was worried that we would whack her with those big wings.

BUT, before we even got to the wings, things started to go downhill. Sound problems. Right before the scene change to the Dr’s office, the music stopped. Pinkalicious continued with her lines and we changed our scenery with no music. Everyone kept going, but I was starting to panic. How can I do my song (and DANCING) with no music?! We did our lines, and kind of slowed things down, hoping that the music would start at any moment. It did not. Ugh. So, we got to the part where I am supposed to start singing, and I had to just do it. I did my little song, and then am supposed to start the dancing. REALLY? I have to dance with NO MUSIC? Crap. No choice but to do it. Luckily, this audience is mostly kids on a field trip, so maybe they wouldn’t be TOO overly critical. More lines, and then another song part. As I started to sing, I think I said, “Sing with me, now!” and we all kind of SANG the music with some doo doo doo’s along with the words.

Nightmare.

Right after that, Peter has to sing his “Pink Blues” song. He did that one with no music, too. How long can this torture we call a show with no music go on? Before we launched into our Buzz off song, they got the music working again. Not the whole track, but more like the practice track without the sound effects. Whatever, it’s better than nothing.

We got our BIG wings on in time and there wasn’t THAT much bumping into people.

Afterwards, we were laughing about it and amazed that we pulled things off as well as we did. Although, I wonder how it looked to the audience to have us singing and dancing with no music.

I came home and was just eating lunch when John called from school. Sick. Go pick him up. Then I had to leave to go to my doc’s appointment. Yes, my suspicions were confirmed. I have a Urinary Tract Infection. Thank goodness I caught it in the early stages so I’m not TOTALLY in pain every second; I’ve heard they can be really bad. I’ve never actually had one before, so I’m lucky there, too, I guess.

After eating some soup for dinner, it was time to go back the theater for our evening show. Mondays and Fridays we do night shows, and honestly, it’s hard to get ourselves BACK there to get ready for a show, but once we are there, it’s all fun. I love to chat with the other cast members and joke around while we get ready. There’s only 8 of us, and I really do like everyone in the cast.

Fingers crossed that the track would all work, and we started the show. Hooray! It went well. The track was a bit loud, but who’s complaining?

After the show, I decided to go out to greet people in my butterfly wings instead of the doc outfit. Kids don’t really like the doc, and I thought they would get a kick out of the butterfly wings.


This is my friend from bells, Janeen, with her nieces and nephew. I love saying hi to all the kids after the show. So fun.

So, crazy day, but we made it through!

Our Weekend

Our Weekend was a lot of fix its and fun.
(The Brazilian boys left on Monday, did I mention that. Sad? Not so much. They did say goodbye, but there were no tender goodbyes. WE did the best we could, and we’re not sad that it’s over.)

Friday I did two shows of Pinkalicious. Fun, yet exhausting. We’ve completed one week. Two more weeks (and 14 more shows) to go.
cupcakes

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My friend Rachael Gibson took these great pictures on Friday. I’m SO glad I have a few good ones from the show!

John’s Valentine’s party for his class was also on the schedule.
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I brought ice cream and soda so we could make root beer floats. Some of the kids really pigged out on the soda. Sorry, Moms!

Megan came home because her laptop was hosed. Hoping talented Dad can fix it back up. She also needed a light installed in her Carolla. Turns out two of her tires were pretty bald, too, so she and Ryan went to the used tire place to get two tires.

He’s also working on a new computer for me. The one I’m using is old and slow and has quite a few hang ups. So for a Christmas/birthday/valentine’s present, he’s got me a new something. But I think I have to clean up my office before I can actually start using it (my stipulation, not his).

The Camry needs more work. It didn’t pass the emissions, and we’re hoping that’s from old gasoline. So, Ryan put some additive in there, and then it smoked up like it was on fire. Now we just have to drive it and gt all the old gas out. So, he drove me to Walmart and picked me up. It takes a LONG time to run out half a tank on an old Camry.

John went on an overnight “Klondike” camp. It was quite warm for a winter camp. He came home SO tired and grumpy I haven’t really heard much about it, but he did eventually take a nap, so let’s hope his attitude improves. Naps are required after camps!

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Since it was Valentine’s day, Ryan made breakfast. Yum. I got heart shaped pizzas for lunch, and gave everyone some chocolate treats.
017 Ryan and I went to the temple and did a session. We left right after 5:00, and got out right before 8:00. Lost my points for eating after 8 because we went to Rumbi’s for a late dinner.

Today is Sunday and we all need another sleep in day. Church and then dinner with my parents. And we even get the day off on Monday! Hooray for a needed weekend!

Trapped in this body

I’ve been a person of the overweight persuasion for just about all of my life. I was a chubby kid, then a chunky teenager, and a overweight college student. Having children added more pounds, pushing me from “overweight” to “obese” category on the friendly BMI charts. As I’ve lost and gained weight over the years, I have gotten back to overweight, but never have I been in the “normal” range. I may never get there. And that’s ok.

But that being said, since I’ve spent my life being overweight, there are things I do differently than a normal sized person.
I check to see if I’m the fattest. Yep, I’m checking you out, people. Let’s say we go to a waterpark (oh the horror!). Hundreds of people baring their skin in swimsuits of all sizes. I for one, opt for covering the MOST skin possible, and then wearing a sarong or a skirt or a shirt or any number of things to cover my white fat body until the moment when I actually step INTO the water. But there are a lot of people who are ok with flashing their fat. I’m always amazed to go to a water park and see the choices some larger women make with their swim suits. And there are actually a lot of people there who are fatter than me. It gives me comfort to look around and see that I’m NOT the fattest person there. I think, “well, if they can do it, I can do it,” and then it’s not so bad taking off the cover up and getting into the pool. Disneyland is a GREAT place to see all kinds of very large people. Not that I’m constantly looking at how fat everyone is, I just kind of like to make sure I’m not the fattest. (Fat is not the greatest word. I should try overweight).

That’s why going to a gym is very hard for me. Gyms are very intimidating. You expect to see a bunch of very fit people at the gym, and I don’t really want to be the fattest person there. I did join a gym last year, and it was actually ok. I eventually quit because I couldn’t justify that much money when I only went a couple times a week. Yes, it was SUPER scary to go in there and check it out for the first time, but once I got going, I realized that I am NOT the fattest person there. Most out of shape, maybe. Also, that people don’t really talk to each other at the gym (at least not much). It’s not like on Seinfeld where it’s a pick up place. You go, you put in your headphones, you work out, you leave. I did have a neighbor come up and try to talk to me about how my missionary was doing, and I found it so annoying. I want to be anonymous at the gym, not talk to you about my real life. Can you not see that I’m sweaty and not wearing any makeup? That is a definite sign not to talk to me.

In my head, I’m not nearly as fat. Sometimes I see pictures of me, and I think, “What? Can I REALLY be that fat?” Maybe that’s just an unflattering view, or maybe I really am. I see myself in the mirror and I’m usually looking at my face. Not my butt. But pictures. Ugh. I love/hate pictures.

But I’m working on things. With this healthy challenge, I’ve lost 15 pounds. I had bought two dresses and I like them both. I couldn’t decide which one to send back. I decided to keep them both. They are my reward dresses. I got to wear one yesterday and named it my “I’ve lost 15 pounds dress”. I hope to wear the other one when I’ve lost 25 pounds. Non food rewards.

Even though my body is not the greatest shape and it’s not in the greatest shape, I’m thankful for it. I can do amazing things, and it’s just going to get better. I can dance! I can walk, I can jog, I can ride a bike! I can take care of my family, I can serve others, I can teach, I can make music, I can sing, I can talk, I can hug! So even when I’m not happy with how much body I have, I’m so thankful for the body I have. I’m trying to treat it better, take care of it better, and enjoy it more.

My week

Wow. What a week we’ve had with rehearsals. Tech and dress rehearsals are hard. Figuring out costume changes, and who’s going to help our little Pinkalicious with her many costumes.

Today we did two run throughs, one right after the other.

I also tried different undergarments today. My spanks-ish black thing and a supportive tank top. Ugh. UGH. That’s about all I want to go into that. While it did make it easier to change backstage in the wings, it was SO not comfortable.

cupcakes backstage

Here’s a bunch of us before the start of the show yesterday.

Yesterday I managed to pull off a successful lunch for the teachers. When I went to Chick-fil-a to pick up the food at the agreed upon time, they did not really know about my order. I was there for 20 minutes trying hard not to panic. But they did eventually bring all the stuff, and I got it all into the school (aside from that one unfortunate gallon of lemonaid that JUMPED off the little cart in the parking lot), even though I really should have checked out Natalie or Jenna to help me.

Today, I also got run over by a piece of the set. I was turning it, and a piece opened up and SCRAPED right along the back of my heel/ankle. CRap, that hurts.

In other news, we’re almost done with our 4 weeks with the boys. This week they stayed up at a friend’s house on Wed, and they actually ASKED before hand, instead of waiting until 11:30, so we had no problem with it. Today was their final test, and I don’t know if they will do anything with us this weekend or not. I hope they’ve had a good time here. We haven’t really helped them have a good time, but then again, they haven’t really wanted to have anything to do with us, so we’re not really responsible for that. I understand it’s been a pain for them to travel way out here to Lehi, when a lot of their friends’ host families are closer to the school in Murray. Oh well. Now we know not to sign up for something like this again.

And finally, I just drove Natalie and 4 other debaters out to Herriman High school for a debate thing. I sure hope one of the other moms picks them up.

Gratitude

My family is amazing. Seriously, my sisters both take on SO much, from raising 14 kids to painting for Music and the Spoken Word, I have awesome sisters. My brother is no slouch, either, building and fixing things, taking scouts on outing after outing. Really. We must have been raised that way. We have awesome parents. I remember when my mom was the relief society president of our ward AND my dad was called as the bishop of the ward AT THE SAME TIME. They released my mom quickly. But anyway, I think we have some pretty great examples in our lives.

I was shocked and humbled this morning when I read my sister’s blog. I was looking for her annual Groundhog’s day letter, but instead found a wonderful tribute…to me! She had nominated me for a High 5 award from KSL.

Since her blog might be password protected, I’ll just copy what she said here.

KSL has a contest right now, where you can nominate a person you know to receive $500 and be on TV. I nominated my sister Paige. Here’s what I said:

Paige is my sister, and she is amazing. All her thoughts are towards others, and how she can help them. She houses foreign exchange students every opportunity she has–in fact, two boys from Brazil are currently staying with her family. She has organized a chime choir in her local elementary school, and substitute teaches as well. She volunteers to play English handbells in the Bells on Temple Square. She is also running a volunteer healthy living and weight loss group online. She is always found baking for neighbors, uplifting those having a hard day, making us laugh or cheering us up. She has helped our family several times when times have been hard, by providing Christmas or groceries or cash. Besides serving her community, she is the best mom for her five kids, always sending care packages to her missionary and her college student, and taking her younger kids to fun and educational activities, or teaching them endless crafts and games. She wears herself out in service to others. She is a lover of chocolate and chickens, and I love her so much, and would love to give her a big High 5!

Hope she wins!

I read it and tears sprang to my eyes. Oh, the sweet things she said. I’m honored. And humbled. And grateful. Oh, great, now my mascara’s running again.

Thank you, Amy.

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