Moving

Hi Everyone!
This blog will be moving. I am relocating to my own websit: www.pollyhidalgo.com. Please join me there!

A Trip to the Theatre - Part One

This is probably going to be an ongoing series of posts since I work in theatre and spend a lot of time around them.

This time I took Slim. We went to see the show Ella at the Omaha Community Playhouse. (It is the largest community playhouse in the country and it was founded in 1924 and starred a 20 year old journalism student named Henry Fonda in its first season!)

If you can't tell, OCP holds a special place in my heart. I have had the priviledge of working shows there for the last 5+ years.

Ella was a spectacular show starring Kathy Tyree as Ella Fitzgerald. The show was a combination of biography, one woman show, and a musical review. It was simply spectacular. I can think of no other words to describe it.

I took one picture of the set before the show started and you can see it below. The set was beautifully designed by Jim Othuse and made use of beaded columns that changed color depending on the mood of the song or of the show at that moment. (Jim was also the lighting designer for the show.)

I saw Ella on its last weekend and was thrilled. I wish I had seen it opening weekend so that I could have encouraged more people to go see it.

I wasn't sure that Slim would enjoy the show since he didn't even know who Ella Fitzgerald was. (I grew up listening to her music. Thanks, Grandma!) However, he really had a good time, even tapping his foot along to some of the more upbeat songs and laughing at the jokes.

I think we both had a great time (but do you know how difficult it is to get more than a shrug and a, "Yeah,"?)

A Day in the Life - Late April

5:34 am - Cookie starts getting restless so I'm up. She's decided that a stinky diaper is the best way to start the day so we start off with a diaper change. I put her in a sleeper since today is going to be rainy & chilly.

No point in going back to bed.

My knees are stiff and the first trip down the stairs in the morning is about as painful as my last trip up them after working all day.

6:00am - My first alarm goes off. I call Sand to wake him. Yes, I call his cell phone. My knees can't take another trip down a flight of stairs to his bedroom this early. (Not to mention the trip back up.)

6:04 - I put Cookie in her swing and start for the kitchen.

6:05 - I start to make coffee only to discover that when someone made coffee the day before the grounds overflowed all over the inside of the machine. So I clean the coffee maker then I can make coffee.

6:15 - Banana arrives downstairs. And I go back up to grab a load of laundry, wake the younger three kids, and weigh myself. But we are NOT talking about that...

6:18 - Walk in to laundry room and attempt to flick on the light. Only to discover that the light bulb has burnt out. And then remember that I discovered that yesterday & forgot to do anything about it. I take Turtle & BB's clothes out of the dryer into a basket. Then I put their second load into the dryer so that I can start my load.

6:20 - Banana goes upstairs to weigh herself and whatever else she did, I don't know. I start this post on my phone.

6:25 - Banana makes the kids lunches while I go back upstairs and go for round two of rousting children out of bed.

6:27 - Sand comes upstairs & Jalapeno comes downstairs.

6:30 - The hustle of kids starts. Sand & Jalapeno eat breakfast. Mario comes downstairs and doesn't feel well. He's running a fever, so back to bed.

6:35 - I go to check in on the laundry situation and discover that the light bulb is still burned out. (Where are those light bulb fairies when you need one?!) I swap out the laundry in the semi darkness.

6:45 - Papaya comes downstairs.

6:48 - Cookie starts to fuss. (It's kind of a miracle she lasted this long in the swing, but I think it was the constant hustle and bustle of people keeping her amused.) I nurse her for a couple minutes before she decides that she's not really interested in eating quite yet. So, I hand her off to Banana while I pour myself a bowl of cereal & start making Dad's breakfast.

6:51 - Sand leaves to catch the bus.

6:55 - Pookie comes downstairs, dressed for school!

7:05 - Email from my boss. Demo at 10 am.

7:15 - I take Dad his breakfast and start trying to get ready for work. Cookie starts crying again, so instead, I head back downstairs to try again at nursing her.

7:30 - The daily saga of knotted Pookie hair begins. And comes to an end quickly enough. We have a compromise. She gets the majority of the knots and I get the annoying ones that she can't quite manage.

7:35 - I'm back to trying to get ready to go and Papaya & Pookie head to school.

7:50 - I am dressed and head down the stairs only to remember half way down that my phone clip is still upstairs. So I turn around and go back.

8:00 - I gather my stuff. Grab my lunch box. Grab a couple drinks. Head out the door.

8:03 - Stop for gas & call Jason about the fixture for the demo. He's out of town. Gives me Troy's number. I call & leave Troy a voicemail.

8:10 - There's an accident on the highway and traffic is backed up. And I just missed my last chance to get off the highway before getting stuck. Crap!

8:20 - I get passed the accident which was thankfully a minor one.

8:34 - Still on my way to work, I get a text from Troy. He can meet me in 20 minutes to give me the fixture.

8:38 - I arrive at work & clock in. Grab the keys to a work truck and take off for their warehouse.

8:56 - I arrive at their shop, get the fixture,  & BS with the guys for a couple minutes before I head back to work.

9:18 - I am back at work and I hand off the fixture to Boss.

At this point, I got really busy.

By 10:30 - I realized I hadn't pumped yet. So, when I went back to pull the two last minute rentals that were being picked up today I took a few minutes to do that. I decided I'd start setting an alarm on my phone so that I remember better.

By 11:30 - Both rentals has gone out. And sales orders were being processed.

12:00 - I heated up my leftovers and ate at my desk.

12:30 I pumped again.

I started to update this post on my phone again only to discover that it somehow got deleted & I had to start over again. So, after that I kinda lost track. But I did set my alarms up to go off every 2 hours. I placed special paint orders and pulled orders. I sent out an order by UPS. I talked to my boss about lenses and a customer about Willy Wonka. I placed a few more orders and printed out invoices.

At 5:00 I headed home.

There's other stuff, too. I don't know exactly where they fit in though. I know there was an upset little girl because Mario wasn't going to school. And I know that Papaya talked to her teacher and I got an email back from her teacher.

I know I left Banana with instructions on medicines (cold medicine & children's ibuprofen) for Mario.

I know I kissed everyone good bye. But I couldn't tell you what times.

And as for the after work time period, here's what I know. I nursed Cookie. I made dinner & got everyone fed. Bedtime routines were brief & children went to bed (pretty close to) on time. And chances are, I was in bed by 9:30pm.

Currently

I'm:
Reading... Journal Your Way by Gwen Diehn
Playing... Elder Scrolls Online
Watching... The Big Bang Theory (OMG! You gotta watch the latest episode!)
Trying... Not to fall asleep at my computer
Cooking... Raspberry Popovers
Eating... Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Drinking... Water. Lots of water.
Calling... No one really.
Texting... The kids usually.
Pinning... Lists
Tweeting... https://twitter.com/pollyhidalgo/status/465207584694104064
Crafting... Sugar N Spice Dress (the second one, I made one for the neighbor-across-the-street's daughter.)
Scrapping... The Ladybug Booties I was attempting. They just don't look right.
Doing... Planning for the Summer
Going... Great Plains Theatre Conference (Last Week of May) ok so I'm working it.
Loving... Snuggling a sleeping Cookie
Hating... All the youtube videos that my kids are blasting. (It's just too much cacophony!)
Discovering... That I make way too many lists... But they're awesome!
Enjoying... the prospect of Stage Managing Hands on a Hardbody next Spring
Thinking... That the end of May is going to be nuts.
Feeling... Optimistic
Hoping (for)... A New House Soon!
Listening (to)... Michael Buble
Celebrating... I got my laptop back & my car fixed for free! (Both were under warranty! Buy the warranty!)
Smelling... Popcorn
Thanking... My husband, for keeping me sane
Considering... Taking a nap
Finishing... Contemplating the nap.
Starting... The nap.

Pookie's Ears

I finally acquiesced and allowed Pookie to get her ears pierced this past weekend.

And I came to the conclusion that I had been using excuses to not allow it for quite some time.

When she was a baby, I didn't have it done on the thought of germs and not being able to keep them clean enough and worries of infection. (One that I still happen to think is completely valid, so I don't count this one as an excuse.)

But since she has been begging since she was about four to have her ears pierced, I have been using other excuses.

"You're not old enough." That one worked for a while. Until she began to recognize the process of time passing and wonder, "When will I be old enough?"

When that question popped up, I said, "When you are eight, that's when I got mine pierced."

Then the whining of began about how far away that was. In her little mind, that was a lifetime.

But the reality was, in retrospect, that I didn't want her to get them done. Why? Because it meant that my little baby was growing up. My sweet, innocent, little girl, would, from then on, not be. Now, I know, that this makes no sense whatsoever. I realize that.

But until the moment after the second earring was poked through her little ear, I would have given you the excuse that she wasn't mature enough to handle cleaning her ears three times a day and they would get infected. (Which does still worry me, but that just means we adults clean her ears.)

The moment after her ears were pierced, and she looked at herself in the mirror, with her shining eyes, so full of joy and happiness, my eyes filled with tears that I had to quickly blink away so I didn't break down crying in the middle of the mall. Instead I hugged her tight and I can't deny a few drops found their way down onto that curly hair.

She is no longer a baby. And she hasn't been for a while. But my little Pookie will always be my baby. She is a seven year old with her own personality but just like me in so many ways. And even though she is no longer a baby, I am so incredibly proud of her.

Maybe this will make it easier when it comes time to let Cookie get her ears pierced. But I wouldn't count on it.

I've been gone for a while

And there have been so many things. I've seen a couple shows with a couple of my kids. My mom was in the hospital for 3 days. I made carrot cake cup cakes and I made a baby dress for a neighbor's daughter who is due in June. And the Great Plains Theatre Conference is coming up at the end of May, so that part of life is getting busy. And I'll be stage managing again next year. Not to mention all of the little things that the kids are doing: first jobs, first rollovers (Cookie, not a car lol). Oh, and my lap top died. So, as soon as I can I'll get back to you with a bunch of posts!

Pretending

Do you ever feel like you're just pretending to be an adult?

I've been feeling that way lately. Yes, I have a job, pay bills, take care of my kids.

But at times, deep down, I still feel like I'm the most immature person and question why on earth people trust me with anything much less the lives of precious little children.

I guess it doesn't help that I work in an industry where people pretend all the time, although I am on the other side of the industry. (i.e. I don't act; I work backstage.)

I love video games, and goofing off, and playing on the computer. And I can hardly wait for Elder Scrolls Online to come out next month.

But I guess I do have some rather adult hobbies, too. I love reading (especially mystery novels), crocheting & trying to knit, sewing, cooking (sometimes), writing this blog, writing a novel of my own (or at least researching to write one), genealogy and history in general.

But I still feel like someone, somewhere made a mistake and someone, one day, is going to realize it and take away my "You are an Adult" card.

Anyone else feel this way even once in a blue moon?