As Summer Goes On...

I think it's safe to say that my "vacation hangover" is ...well...over.

Last week was a rough week, coming back to "reality" after a week in the Outer Banks. But I woke up yesterday and thought "OK, let's do this!"

I sort of dragged myself through last week, wishing I was at the beach still. It was so incredible to wake up with the sunrise every morning in the OBX, walking the beach as the sun popped over the horizon.

Waking up at 6 a.m. in Ohio...not as magical.

But this summer is a full season for us. The girls are both taking dance and I'm signing them up for basketball camp, and they're taking golf lessons every Friday. Oh and this is the second week of their two-week summer religion class.

(We've also decided that this is likely the LAST summer we're doing the summer program, but that's another post).

Thankfully the girls are "old enough" to amuse themselves during the day while I'm working. Don't ever let anyone tell you that working from home is "easy." Because it's not. Especially in the summer when the kids are home and want your attention.

So yes, the vacation hangover is over.

But, the next countdown has started - Walt Disney World Resort in 152 days.

Happy Summer!

So This Is What It's Come Down To....

....a blog post a month, eh?

Yeah. Take my blogger card away right now.

OK in my defense it has been a crazy month and the fact that it is May 12 has just raised my stress level a little bit.

This weekend is dance recital weekend, also known as Dance Mom Hell. Sure it's exciting for the kids with the hair and the makeup and the costumes. But for the moms it's excruciatingly painful with the hair and the makeup and the costumes.

Last week was the end of my patience with the kids' dance studio when one of the instructors told the parents (IN FRONT OF THE KIDS) that if they didn't get a "backstage mom" the girls wouldn't be allowed to dance. At all.

So basically it was a flat-out threat that the thousands of dollars paid by parents and grandparents would be a total waste unless someone "stepped up" and volunteered as tribute for the Dance Mom Hunger Games.

The part that pissed me off most? Telling us in front of the girls. Seven and eight-year-old kids who worked so hard all year to learn this dance. Emma told me that night how mad she was when the teacher said they might not dance.

And that is just ONE of the reasons we're leaving that dance studio at the end of this week. Forever.

In other non-dance news...the kids have 16 days of school left (not counting weekends, obviously). And I'm reaching that end-of-the-school-year breaking point where I'm tempted to just throw Pop Tarts and bottled water in their lunch boxes and ignore the homework. (I said I was tempted. I'm not actually doing that.)

I'm one burned out mama. But we still have a 6th grade parent meeting this week (OMG!), Career Day next week (and I'm talking about Disney), Field Day, and the last day of school 5th grade party where I'm probably going to cry my eyes out.

And then?

Then we pack up the car and drive to the OBX and I sit on the beach for a week drinking fruity drinks and watching the waves. That's when I exhale.

Happy almost end of the school year to you!

How I Spent My Sunday Afternoon (Alt. Title: My Life as a Reluctant Dance Mom)

You see that line up there?

Maybe you're thinking it's a line for the hottest concert in town?

Maybe you'd be wrong.

That my friends is the line to buy tickets to the dance recital.

Yep. You heard me.
A line.
To buy tickets.
FOR A DANCE RECITAL.

You also might be thinking "oh lovely blue sky, it must be a nice spring day."

Again you'd be wrong.

The temperature was about 46 with a VERY COLD wind out of the east. So it felt like 41 degrees.

My Sunday afternoon was spent sitting in that line, freezing my butt off wearing my winter coat, gloves, and a fleece blanket.

All so my sister and I could get "really good" seats in the "Golden Circle" for our daughters' dance recital next month.

Call us crazy but we weren't the only ones. We were joined by many other "crazy" moms and some even less sane people who actually CAMPED OUT OVERNIGHT to buy tickets.

I couldn't make this up if I tried.
People camp out for tickets.
To a dance recital.

To say that was crazy would be a huge understatement.

And yes, before anyone starts the whole "but you CHOOSE to sit/stand in that line"...yes, I realize this. But it doesn't mean that I think it is in any way, shape, or form NORMAL. Because it isn't normal. It will never be normal.

There has to be a better way to sell tickets for a dance recital that doesn't include standing in line for hours.

You know there is this nifty thing called The Internet. And you can buy and sell tickets on it. Using a computer or a smart phone. From the comfort (and warmth) of your home. I'm pretty sure that would alleviate all the drama and insanity around recital tickets. 

And yes, I'm sure I could still get "OK" seats if I just waited until the next dance class. But trust me when I say the auditorium where the dance recital takes place is the same theater where they show Broadway-style shows in this city and if you aren't close to the stage you can't see your kid's face. And after a year of lessons and costumes and rehearsals, I'd like to see my kids' faces when they dance.

Which means every year I have to submit myself to the insanity that is the DANCE RECITAL TICKET LINE.

And it will make me stabby every year. Which is why I suck at being a 'dance mom.' As much as I LOVE watching my kids dance .... I am not made out for the whole recital-backstage-dance-mom-ritual. It's just not in my DNA.

But I will keep doing the waiting in line for recital tickets because this is for my kids and they love to dance.

And that's what it's all about.
My kids.

Dance on my friends.
Dance on.