When Everything Isn't Beautiful at the Ballet

My husband was out of town all last week. My mom was a huge help and we totally managed. The plan for the weekend was simple, the Ladies would be starting their new ballet class and then we would hang with the Wild Ones on Saturday. Sunday would probably be a lot of TV time until my husband got home, but I was well prepared for that.

We made a decision to sign the Ladies up at the Wild Woman's ballet studio. Even though it is a bit further from our house and we really liked our old ballet place, the new place has multiple studios and the Ladies could both take class at the same time. At our old place the Little Lady was going at 9:30 am and then the Lady was going at 11:30 am. It took up most of our morning and was a lot of back and forth. In all honesty, I am all for simplification at this point in my life, plus the Little Lady was very excited to be in a class with the Wild Woman.

Know who wasn't excited? The Lady.

I understand that change is hard for her, but every time ballet was mentioned during the week it turned into dramatics. She hates ballet, she doesn't want to go, she wanted to sign up for gymnastics, she doesn't like to dance. . . the list went on and on and on.

Friday night I was met with a bit of resistance as soon as I walked in the door from work. She was already whining about going. In an attempt to try to get organized and get everyone out of the house by 8:45 the next morning, I went looking for the ballet stuff. We have leotards and tights a plenty. At this studio there is a "dress code" for each class. The Little Lady would be pretty in pink while the Lady was supposed to wear a blue leotard and pink tights. Luckily we had a blue leotard. My sister was bringing some new ballet slippers that would fit the Lady that we won at the Wild Man's Christmas party at school and we would be set to go.

However, I couldn't find the ballet stuff. It had been in the same place for about six months. Finally, I found it spread on the bottom of the Ladies' closet and in general disarray. I got organized, packed the bag and listened to an increasing level of discord from the Lady that continued until I put her to bed.

I tried to talk it out, see what it was that was bothering her, but I did not give in and promise her anything. I did make mention that if she didn't want to actually participate she could watch, but from inside the studio, not outside where we would be watching the wonderful world of dance on closed captioned TV screens or through a one-way mirror.

She was not convinced. In fact, she took the time to draw me a picture of how she was feeling. I think art therapy is the way to go with this girl. . .



You have to love the X's.


Ever the perfectionist, the Lady made a second draft with the correct spelling of ballet and a much more colorful presentation. I do love the giant frown on her face.


I get the point Lady.



So at 6:45 the next morning the Lady shows up at my bed already complaining about ballet. I let her know that we are going one way or the other because the Little Lady has class as well. For the next hour and a half, we battle. She comes downstairs smirking because she "hid" the ballet slippers. Mind you, these weren't even her slippers they were the Little Lady's and she wasn't so sinister that she didn't immediately tell me that they were in her sock drawer.

The Little Lady was dressed and ready to go in her full-on pink. QT was dressed and ready to go in his Spiderman shirt and the Lady eventually got dressed, but in leggings and a t-shirt. I did manage to get them all in the car and we were the first ones at the studio at 9:15. I was pretty impressed with myself.

Know what else was at the studio? A wide array of ballet leotards, tights and tutus. I was able to bribe convince the Lady that maybe a new light blue leotard would be nice. I was also not 100% sure the blue leotard we had would still fit her. $28 for a leotard I wasn't even sure she would be wearing more than once? Sure. $9 for a pair of pink tights? You betcha.

I was finally able to dress the Lady and get her in the vicinity of the studio. We tried walking in once. We tried walking in twice. Finally, the dance teacher came out and escorted her in. I watched like an anxious dance mom from the window and she finally started to participate.

When her class ended, we bought a new blue tutu. We bought a matching blue hair scrunchy from the dollar bin. She was energized, invigorated and full of love once again for the ballet.

I was also told that I had to order her "Hot Buns," which are a product she saw on TV that helps create the perfect bunhead. Putting in my order now.

So after almost a full week of complaining, I had a girl who wouldn't take off her leotard, who insisted on dancing around my sister's house for the rest of the afternoon, who woke up on Sunday morning and asked to put on her ballet outfit and who is constantly hounding me for the "Hot Buns."

Hot Buns. Not sure if this will actually work in the Lady's hair, but we are apparently going to find out.

After class

Showing off her moves.

Everything is beautiful at the ballet indeed.

And Here's What You May Have Missed. . .With the Beans

My evenings have been hijacked by three kids. My blogging and my TV time has suffered for it. I am still trying to catch up on some shows from last season, including the season finale of Glee that is just hanging out on the DVR.

In the spirit of the Glee intro, that breathy, fast-paced recap that starts the show, here's what you may have missed with the Beans. . .

The Little Lady putting on her own recital in the back of the theater. Yes, she was dancing with her eyes closed.

The Ladies had their dance recital in 100 degree heat in the auditorium of an elementary school, where the Little Lady had a breakdown when she realized that she was going to have to wait in a "holding pen" pre-performance. Luckily, she rallied, performed amazingly, and then put on her own private recital with the Wild Woman in the back of the theater.

A mini Mia Michaels contemporary routine?

QT has moved from the roll and scoot to full-on crawling, but only when he isn't being walked around with someone holding his hands. An intricate dance that includes both back pain and baby breakdowns when you try to release him from your grasp.

We just had to say goodbye to our longtime Tues/Thursday sitter, which has left me once again in a panic over daycare and forced me to once again empty my own dishwasher.

The Lady is finished with camp, bored at home, and looking for trouble.

All of which has made me realize that working in the summer is no fun, especially when you can be at the beach trying to explain to the Little Lady that it might be okay to pee in the Sound, which would avoid me having to drag two kids into a public bathroom and try to remove wet bathing suits. It is, however, not ok to pee in the sand or on your mother's coverup and towel, forcing her to have to wrap herself in said pee-soaked towel as she tries to gather you up for the long, hot, walk through the sand to the car.

And that's what you've missed with the Beans!

"Scared" of Sesame and the Ladies Love to Dance

The Little Lady at her Music and Dance Class. The other kid in the photo was everywhere. Tried to crop him out, but no go.

So, my husband took the Ladies to Sesame Street Live last weekend. We purposly did not tell the Lady where she was going because she has a tendency to talk herself out of new experiences before she even tries them. Apparantly, she was initially excited when she saw the sign and the truck with all the characters on it, but then turned to tears when the actual entering of the building occured. She told the hubby she wanted to go home and that she was "scared of Oscar." She has been using this "scared" excuse for a couple of weeks now. Sometimes she is scared of school, scared of getting dressed and her teacher told me that the other day at school she told her she was "scared" of washing her hands for fear that her princess band-aid would come off.

I am pretty sure "scared" is code for "I want to do whatever I want, without you interfering, so deal with it."

The Little Lady, however, had a great time. She was singing and swaying. That kid can't get enough of Elmo. I was glad that the Wild Ones were there as well with their parents. I know more hands help, especially in an arena filled with kids and muppets.

I was just as happy to take a little nap, have an uninterupted shower and a bit of rest to help me finally get over my cold.

I will say I was a little surprised that the Little Lady wasn't as enthusiastic about her first music/dance class this week. I expected her to be clapping and running about in the midst of everything, but she held back a bit at first. Granted, she will be going with the sitter to this class, so it was probably hard to have me sitting there watching and not really partcipating with her, but I wanted her to get used to going without me.  I am hopeful that she gets into the swing of it. (Note the hair clip in her hair in the photo above. She will only wear it with the sitter, it is crazy!) I will say that by the time the bubbles and the parachute came out, she was a bit more involved.

We will see how the combo class of ballet/tap goes on Friday with the Lady. She already thinks she can tap dance in her sparkle shoes. I am going to have to hide the real ones from her at home. Talk about a lead foot, that girl can pound the floor. The thing I am actually more concerned about is the fact that in this class the dancers have to wear their hair up.

Please for the love of God Lady, don't tell me you are "scared" to wear your hair back.