The Long Awaited Preschool Winter Musical

Before I get to this next post, let's channel some Taylor Swift and sing a litttle, Back to December....,

Okay, now think back to how festive you felt this (past) holiday season, Christmas Trees a glowing, cookies a' bakin, presents a' wrappin, holiday songs a playin....

There. Do you feel festive again? Good. Because I thought it was time to share some laughs from the Bunchkins' first official Preschool Holiday Musical Performance. (A title I'm using loosely you'll soon see.)

First of all, I should know from having taught kindergarten for so long that when it comes to performances and such, it really makes no difference what happens in the actual show. (Because no show EVER goes off seamlessly). Doesn't matter if they sing, if they practice their stretches or if they stand there and cry. None of it matters because to the parents and families who attend, there is great pride in the fact that those little people up there on that stage belong to you. And they're charming in their own rights.

Before we move on to pictures, I'd like to point out the work it took to even get to this point. There was practicing songs at school, there was practicing songs at home, there was mom just singing the songs endlessly with hopes that the littles were 'soaking it up' without even realizing it. (Because I'm certain it's totally NOT normal for one person to sing "Feliz Navidad" 26 times in a row for any other reason than this...) There was bribery--also known as 'singing for snacks' (thank you, Grammy), there was chasing kids around Target picking out and buying outfits (Thank you, Nana & Auntie Kristen). And there was some serious finger-crossing, and breath-holding happening.

The night of the show brought half the town with it....(But I figure if you divide the number of guests by 3 Bunchkins...then we should work out to a normal child/guest attendance ratio....)  :)

Anyhoo, luckily my in-laws got there first (and they came the farthest! Go figure!) And they were able to save 12 seats... For the three of them, me and Brian, Mom and Al, Dad and Genise, Mary, Auntie Valerie and Uncle Jim.

Though we had great seats right in the front rows, we later learned that this may have contributed to the demise of the program...

Come along..let's take a little picture walk.

Before the show. 
Aren't they delightful? 

Pointing to his future record manager. 
"You. I'm gonna make you a big star tonight."

Look out Frankie Sinatra...here comes the next 'Old Blue Eyes.' 

Now THIS girl was ready. She knew her words, she knew her actions and 
she KNEW she was looking her best. 

Auntie Kristen, Nana and Papa

Al, Grammy and Hunter

Squinty Eyes (me) and Brinley

My little niece sat up on stage, pre-show, and waved to all her fans. "Thank you for coming everybody. Thank you very much. I love you all."

This is our section of the audience.

Finally the show is about to begin. And end. All at once.  :) Kidding....seriously though, as the kids came down the aisle, Colton, who was likely already nervous, saw us, Ponka and Aunt Mary first,  and then he didn't want to leave us. He did. But he didn't want to.  

The kids filed up on stage, led by their teachers like a herd of adorable baby cows. Oh my goodness. 3 year olds are just cute. There's no other way around it.  So there they were-Hunter and Ethan, waiting for Colton to come up and take his spot.

You can't see him because he's hiding behind this teacher hysterically proclaiming through sobs and tears, "I'm soaking brave. I'm soaking brave!" 

See? Doesn't he LOOK soaking brave?? 

My mom even brought graham crackers to use as bribery for instances JUST like the one we were facing. It didn't work exactly like we had hoped but it did quiet the sobs a touch.

Seriously. Aren't 3 year olds the cutest?

Hunter, the red nosed reindeer

Colton, the sad, sad reindeer. 

Ethan, the stubborn reindeer... :)

So luckily, we snapped these photos of them right off the bat because it was short lived. We literally got one song out of all three of them before Colton really decided he was done and was much more comfortable sitting on my lap. 

This photo may be my favorite....it pretty much sums up their performance attitudes. 

(And in case you were wondering, those really ARE the words Ethan was shouting.) 

Don't believe me? Watch the next video. 

THIS video encapsulates Hunter's dedication to everything she does. She's just singing. Ignoring her goofball brothers, just singing. Though my favorite part is how engrossed she is trying to make her 'Reindeer Hands" for the first 30 seconds of the song. (Just stand by for the NEXT video. )

There are SO many things I love about this next video....

First off, at :05 seconds in, we hear Colton LEAVE the stage exclaiming "I'm soaking brave.."

At :24 and :34 Ethan is squatting down shaking his head 'no' (which was his response to the 12 of us encouraging him to stand up and sing.)  

At :42 he hustles back on stage as the song ends, because he KNOWS he's misbehaving. 

At 1:05 he's upside down, throwing gang signs, perhaps?

And at 1:09, he's doing stretches. My favorite part, by the way. 

So was the performance everything I hoped it would be? 

Oh yeah. And a crap ton more. 

I know how hard it is to teach kindergartners to sing in an organized manner so these preschool teachers totally have my respect and admiration. I couldn't have loved the show or my crazy trio any more. It was so....them.  

"I'm perfect and I know it." 

And then the show and all the tears ended and like a light switch, my chipper littles were back. We got to walk around their classrooms and eat cookies and visit and it was just so fun to watch. 

Ponka and Hunter

Grammy, Hunter and Colton

Auntie Kristen and Hunter

Nana, Colton, Auntie K, Hunter, Papa and Ethan

Kisses from Nana! 

Me and 2 of my little reindeer. 

A fleeting moment where I thought I'd captured all three...

Oh Colton...you still are our little squishy boy. 

It's like I'm the meanest mom in the WHOLE WORLD. What do you MEAN you want a picture? 

Papa, Nana, Brian and Genise

Kristen, Mary, My Dad, Papa and Nana

My sister in law and my dad

Uncle Jim and Al

Auntie Valerie and Hunter

Hunter, Auntie Valerie, and Aunt Mary

Love these photos on their classroom door. That's Hunter and one of her BFFs wearing chef hats? 

Classic. Ethan, asleep in the cozy corner at school. 

Playing at the sand table. 

And this one I cherish...it's of ME! The day I got to volunteer!

front: Uncle Jim, back: Papa, Nana & Colton, Brian, Genise and Dad

And THEN the kids got to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus. 

It just doesn't get any better than this. 

My littleish family

Genise, Me and Brian

Brinley and Valerie

And there you have it. Sorry for the wait. Thank you Sonshine Preschool for making my kids' first Holiday Performance so memorable. Sorry about the goofballs....

Falling Overboard.

I really thought I'd better just try a blog again. 

You know, to make sure I still remembered how.  :) 

The worst part of my blogging negligence is that I KNOW some of the funniest stuff awaits you....The kids' preschool Holiday Musical  Performance? It could win awards. For something, surely. We got one kid singing perfectly, actions and all, another kid performing marathon stretches ON STAGE and the other kid crying hysterically because he's well, done with all that singing nonsense. 

And then we had at least 3 Christmases!! What is wrong with me? Why have I been withholding all this goodness? I HAVE no good reason. But rest assured, I stand here with my right hand raised, repeating after myself, 

"I, Ami Bunch, promise to get off my duff, and remember that these stories will not write themselves."

So there. We haven't fallen overboard. We have full intentions of returning to our regularly scheduled daily lives. We've just been...busy. 

Bathing. As you can see.  :)

Have a great Monday!

"A new job?" he asks.....

I'm still slowly working my way into my bajillion holiday blogs but I thought this one would be a fun one to tide you over....

About a week and a half before Christmas, we had Christmas at my dad and Genise's house. Brian dropped us off at the front door and then drove around to park the 'Burb.' A few minutes later, he returned, with a most inquisitive look on his face. 

Brian: "Um, honey? Have you looked at your license plate lately?"

Ami: "Uh, I was at Target yesterday and I noticed it then. Why?"

Brian: "Was everything normal? Or is there something you'd like to tell me? Did you start a new job?"

Ami: "WHAT ARE YOU GETTING AT??" 

Brian: "Well your license plate currently says 'STRIPMOM', thanks so some punk who took a marker and added an 'S.'

Ami: "Ooooh! Can we PLEASE take a picture before we get rid of it?? (Spoken like a true blogger, eh?) 

And so, we did.  :) 

Should I be proud or insulted? 

I'm going with proud.  

Worry not, friends. The 'S' came off.  :)

Goodbye, 2012.

Well, never mind that I ordered these cards the last week of OCTOBER, because they are STILL sitting on my desk, pleading, begging, to adorn all of YOUR refrigerators and walls. But, life happened. 

I MAY still send them out, (because at least I smartly included the phrase 'New Year' on them....) but, I may not. So Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Merry Everything to you. If you sent us a card, I genuinely appreciate it and have enjoyed looking at your beautiful families this season. 

So, It's almost 2013.

Yikes. It's always at this point, mere hours before the clock strikes midnight, that I go into overdrive. Did I do everything I meant to do in 2012? (Excluding of course, the timely sending of Christmas Cards). Did I say everything I needed to say? Did I make the best of it? Is there anything left I'd like to do? (Interestingly, this question left me vacuuming UNDER all the furniture and vacuuming out ALL the couch cushions. Who wants to start a new year with yucky stuff in the couches, right?)

And well, the answer is the same as it is every year. It is what it is. I like to think that ever since becoming a mom after a really long, hard fought battle, that I make the best of ALL of my days. Some days are harder than others, and somedays I can surely be a bit@#, but most days, I'm just happy to be alive, happy to have my loved ones with me.

I spent a lot of time this year reading about and mourning young children's deaths. 2 in particular-Children I've never met but somehow feel almost as if they are mine. Ronan Thompson and Ty Campbell, 2 amazing little boys who lost their young lives way too soon. It's heartbreaking, devastating and it makes you realize that the petty stuff you wish you'd accomplished like sending cards out on time or keeping your house cleaner, doesn't mean crap in the grand scheme of things. People often ask me how I can stand to read about these little boys. My answer is how can I not? These stories have changed me. Truly. I urge to you read. And then do something. 

That, and the continued mourning and celebrating the life and loss of our friend Kim Conca, while watching her family grow into people she'd be so proud of. That's what matters. All the other stuff is just, well....stuff.

So here's hoping that you enter 2013 with no regrets. That you continue to be thankful for every breath you take and each sunrise with which you are greeted. Happy New Year to each of you. I'm grateful to have you all in my life. Cheers!

Have pop creams. Will sing.

Oh my goodness...I can hardly stand to wait any longer to see how this production at school turns out. Since the video I posted a few days ago, we've made a pretty decent amount of progress in trying to learn their songs and actually SING them. I swear my mom and her bribery, while seemingly harsh is really quite an effective tactic :) 

Today they sang for Cream Puffs. (Which, since we're talking about it, is something I'd pretty much dance around in a chicken suit for. So frankly, I like where their heads are at.) 

Ethan kept asking for more "Pop Creams."  (hee hee...) 

Anyhoo, such different styles of singing, I honestly couldn't pick a favorite. I'm sure they will stand as still and motionless as statues on THE night, but that's okay. (UNLESS, I can get Grammy to sit in the front row with a tub of cream puffs....) Oh, sorry. I digress. 

Anyhoo, please, check out the latest rendition of "Jingle Bells". (With Gigi looking on..)

COLTON

ETHAN

HUNTER

The VonTrips

Oh Sonshine Preschool...you and your upcoming Holiday Performance are giving me great giggles.

We are currently practicing 4 songs at home and with varying degrees of enthusiasm and cooperation. I do not know any of the 'actions' that are supposed to accompany their singing, so I've been mildly adding my own for the sake of entertainment, all the while purposely NOT doing the actions so much that they actuall remember them. Heaven knows I don't need to have the only 3 kids in the show doing their own thing!! (Oh right...that IS what happened at their last little show.)

Most of the songs the kids know are because they listen to them in grammy's car and sing them with her. No joke. They know songs I don't even know. 

So she's also been helping them learn their songs when she watches them during the day. 

Today, she was making them sing for snacks! (BRILLIANT, I tell you! ) Colton, who is always the LAST to sing for me, was graciously singing "Jingle Bells" whilst Grammy dangled a graham cracker in front of his nose!! So stinking cute he is when he sings! 

Ethan is the most stubborn at this point. Which stands to reason. He stood as still as a statue the last time his class sung a few songs. (Still hilarious, mind you.) 

Hunter, on the complete other hand, has been belting out, "I wanna wish you a merry Christmas!" (She's got her emphasis on the wrong syllable most of the time, but it's still adorable.) But not funnier than listening to her rendition of "Feliz Navi-dog. La la, la la...Feliz Navi-dog. La la, la la. "

OMG, it's all I can do to keep a straight face. 

Now, just to make your holidays a little more chipper, or at least give you a reason to smile, I give to you, a sneak peek of what's to come in another week and a half...The Bunch Trio singing Jingle Bells! A perfect snapshot of everyone's usual degrees of cooperation. Please excuse the gratuitous partial nudity. We were in various stages of bedtime preparations.

And now, a step (or two) down from the VonTraps, I give you, the VonTrips!  (Get it, "Trips?")

Ethan on the left, Hunter center stage, and Colton on the right.

Faces and Disguises

Apparently, Hunter was very into drawing faces at school on Friday. She came home with 5 different plate faces. 

As I looked at each face, I paused on one in particular. I couldn't shake that it somehow reminded of something...(profound, aren't I?)  

It took me a full day and then something flashed through my mind. Alas! It came to me...

Does anyone else see the resemblance? 

Just thought it was funny...If not for the nose, I'd say she was spot on!  :) 

And then there are my circus acts. 2 of them, to be specific. 

 

They got these as party favors at our friend Trynnity's birthday party today and well, they've been quite the hit around here.  

I sure do love these goofballs! 

And I just thought these were cute photos of Colton and Autumn the other day. He so loves her...

Wishing you all a wonderful start to your week. 

Be kind today...do something nice for someone.  

The B.T.C.

I know it's December, but I couldn't leave you all! It's only been a few hours since November left us and I already missed my blog friends and family.

So, until I lose steam, I'll just continue.  :)

Besides, I've been meaning to share some pretty frightening news about something Hunter's recently gotten involved with. It was something I had NO idea 3 year olds could even begin to know anything about. But, she does and she has.

She's become involved in a gang.

It appears to be a very localized gang. (So local in fact, that for the most part, their turf seems to be confined to the walls of our home, with occasional jaunts to other parts of town.)

It's membership is growing at a pretty alarming rate. What began as just 2 members has grown to 6 in just less than 3 years. Luckily, from what I can tell, they appear to be a non-violent gang and have even dubbed Hunter as their leader. (And she's pretty sweet most of the time.)

This gang I speak of is called 'The B.T.C.'

Parental Enforcement Members know that's code for 'The Bed Time Crew. 

That's Jessie. 

Woobie (one of two founding members of the BTC)

"Baby"

"Piggy"

And the newest member, "Bunny." 

They look pretty rough and tumble don't they? 

Particularly their leader, on the left. Those eyes say, "Don't mess with us. We like our naps and we ALWAYS go together." 

Okay, truthfully, the BTC was born not long ago. Hunter has always been extremely loyal to her best toys. She and Woobie were together from the very start. I've written about woobie before so if you follow us regularly, you know that where Hunter goes, Woobie goes. She's less attached now during "lighty hours" as she would say, but naps and bedtimes are must-have woobie times. 

Then somewhere around her first birthday, she got a baby. And baby was initiated into the crew. So all sleeping times required a "Hunter, do you have baby and woobie?" 

Theeeenn, came Jessie, thanks to my good friend Jen Lofgren and the generosity of her kids who decided to give us a bajillion Toy Story toys. From the moment they arrived in our home, Jessie was a full fledged member of the bed time crew. 

Then piggy moved up in the ranks, as she had been a toy for some time, but only recently had her status upped to "the Night Time Clique".

And our last member is Bunny, a new addition to our home and to the Crew. 

So as you might imagine, it became cumbersome and tongue twisting to say, "Hunter! Time for bed! Make sure you get woobie and baby and Jessie and Piggy and Bunny!"  So, I started calling them 'The Bed Time Crew" instead. 

And somehow, not long after that,  I found myself shortening it even further to what we now lovingly refer to as 'THE B.T.C." 

It's kind of funny when I say it, but I find it hysterical when Hunter asks me where her BTC is.   :) 

So there you have it. 

Gang activity is rampant in the toddler sector. 

Her brothers, on the other hand, have much less loyalty to their bed time companions. There was a long time when Colton HAD to have his die cast Lightning McQueen car in hand at bed time, but that ended a while back. Now, both he and Ethan seem to choose a different item each night. And the items are RANDOM.  

Below, a sampling of 'some' of their companions. 

A wooden whistle (not a good night time toy, for obvious reasons.)

Francesco

An Easter light-up-spinning-toy thingy.

A Kids Black and Decker measuring tape.

More cars.

And my favorite is the Homedics Back Massager which lights up in neon green. (They think it's Rocket from Little Einsteins.) Again, not a good night time toy. 

Happy December everyone!