Musical Munchkins

As much as we love music, Joe especially, it would be ridiculous to think that our kids would be immune.  From the time they were old enough, he has constantly introduced them both to the world of music.  Out of the blue he would show up with drums, bongos, maracas and even a pint sized guitar for Seager one Christmas.  Every evening after work, he turns on the tunes and he and the boys bond…singing, dancing and just listening to music.  So, now that they are finally old enough to begin a real musical journey, they have taken to it like moths to flame.

Since private lessons are quite pricey, I was able to find a wonderful homeschool group called the Joyful Noise Band.  We attend once per week and they offer everything from a pre-school Noisemakers class and beginner lessons in reading music and playing recorder all the way up to jazz band, marching band and orchestra opportunities. 

Dagon is a little Noisemaker and Seager is learning to read music and play the recorder.  I am happy to report that Seager is doing exceptional in both of his endeavors.  He is also in the kids chorus – more about that later. 

Since they started in September, they have both progressed faster than anticipated.  To showcase their accomplishments, the Fall Recital Program was the big event.  First up was Dagon. 

He and his entire class

took the atrium stage and showcased what they have been learning.  Lots of percussion and showmanship

They then pulled out the heavy equipment, the bells,

and performed their version of Jingle Bells in anticipation of the upcoming Holidays. 

The stage was then transformed into a concert setup and it was time for Seager’s musical debut.  But not before I forced him outside for a little photo shoot.  And who could blame me…he was wearing concert attire!

This was an interesting pose… a little awkward…

After enduring me and my toy, he was ready to get down to business. 

He and his classmates did  a fabulous show! 

Fans from near

far (you didn’t think Mamaw would miss this did you?) and even a Cow showed up to enjoy the performances! 

The next night was the big one!  The children’s chorus production of Stone Soup.  It was a musical and Seager sang several songs with the group and even had some lines in the story. 

They gave us a most enjoyable performance and took their bows. 

Seager stated that he enjoys playing his music, but he is not so sure about his acting debut.  He has the rest of the year and another stage performance to decide if he will be going the Broadway route.  We’ll see after his Spring stage production.

So it’s been a smooth start to our musical endeavors.  The Joyful Noise people are great to work with and they really love the kids.  This story will continue next Spring when we finish the year with more concerts and productions.

BOO x Two

It would seem that 2010 is a great year for all things Spooky (if nothing else).  Why you ask?  Well, because Halloween is on Sunday.  Why you ask, again?  Well, because any devout Southerner knows that you just can’t celebrate the most devilish day of the year on the good Lord’s day.

Of course I think that is complete and utter horse shit hockey, but I’m no ghoul fool…that means we get to trick-or-treat twice…and that means twice the chocolate that Mommy can steal from her little Mummy!  The Zombie…he has no intention of giving up anything that remotely smells like candy and that’s just the way it is. 

Not only did we do it twice, we did it in two different States!  Our good buddy Mr. Ruttka ( you remember him, I’m sure) has the good fortune of celebrating his birthday on All Hallow’s Eve;   and this year was the big 4-0 which means only one thing…road trip to Birmingham!  Alabama, which completely qualifies as a backward Southern state, had the same devilish controversy going on over there.  So, Saturday was to be trick-or-treat and insane Birthday party and Sunday was to be the trip home and trick-or-treat part two at home.  I thought it was a brilliant plan and it just so happens that it was.

Upon our arrival into B’ham on Friday, we were instructed to stop at the Cantina.  Seager showed off his Hispanic Halloween look. 

Saturday was spent making the Ruttka house look spooky, wandering the streets with hundreds of little goblins

and then the fun commenced.  It was, very appropriately, a costume party and most everyone arrived costumed in some way or another.  My goblins were the scariest

and the Ruttka goblins were the cutest…as it should be.

There were lots of shots like this… 

I went to bed fairly early but had a very difficult time getting any sleep.  There was a lot of noise, especially from Little Red Riding Hood and the Big, BAD Wolf (don’t ask.)

Morning arrived soon thereafter and we packed up the walking dead and headed back to our own Southern hell.  We called up Cave Man and verified that his subdivision had chosen to celebrate on the correct night despite the looming devil.  These two…

joined Mikayla and Mya for a beautiful evening wandering the streets in search of blood sugar laced crap.  And then it was over.  Nothing left to do but sort, trade and eat yourself into a chocolate induced coma. (me, not them).  We lived to tell about it and I liked Halloween on Sunday…and Saturday!   Until next year…BOO! 

A Tropical Celebration

Ten Years.  It’s been ten years since that tropical evening of wedding frivolity. (Still talked about as one of the best weddings ever…thank you very much!) 

We’ve lost a lot but gained so much more.  This was the decade that Joe and I morphed from the unencumbered, traveling, entrepreneur newlyweds to the more settled and reserved married with children.  While we only shifted a little on the entrepreneur part, there were two major changes that changed our course a bit…first a Seager and then a Dagon.  For me, years of breastfeeding and diapers, sleepless nights and just plain old exhaustion has settled into a more manageable lifestyle…thank God.  This turn of events has left me with a peace that I can finally leave the boys without worry and guilt.  So, to celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary and the partial return of a long missed me, Joe and I decided it was time to pack our bags, get on a plane without the +2 and go on a long overdue, romantic trip.   Could we really afford it…no.  Did we deserve and need it…most definitely!

With a glowing recommendation to work with, we chose the El Dorado Seaside on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico.  So we shipped the boys to Mamaw and Papoo’s and became a childless couple again.  I will admit it was very weird at first for me.  Joe had been on several trips to Costa Rica without the kids so it wasn’t as shocking for him except for the fact that I was tagging along and he was unable to enjoy his newfound style of traveling…no reservations, no plans…go where the wind blows you.  That may work for a group of guys in Costa Rica but I’m a planner, call me crazy.  Finally, we arrive…here…

The place was absolutely gorgeous and very tropical (heaven in my book)!  After getting a tropical drink,

We quickly checked out the signature amenity of the property…the beach beds!  King size, tiki hut covered beds.  Lots of them…everywhere…on the beach, in the palms, in the bushes, by the pools…if you wanted to hide you were in luck!

Now I know I’ve died and crossed over into my version of heaven!  We had a wonderful dinner and settled in early to recover from our day of traveling.  The next morning, we strolled the beautiful grounds and went in search of some advice on things to do.  Joe wanted to go fishing

and I gladly sent him solo.  I wanted to park my butt in a beach chair, in the partial shade of a palm tree, and do absolutely nothing. 

And I did.  Joe later questioned me about my day and was completely confused by the fact that I sat there all day and didn’t say a word (by choice) to anyone except the lovely senorita who asked me if I wanted another drink.  And NO ONE called me Mommy.  Aahhhh!  Paradise!  Towards the end of the day I ventured to the room to get cleaned up for Joe’s return.  I entered the room to find a little surprise…candles,

a bubble bath

and some smooching swans swimming on the bed!  Joe also enjoyed numerous surprises upon his return!  Later, much later, we headed to dinner.  Joe had presented the chef with his catch of the day and we enjoyed a special dinner served to us by the chef himself.  It was a delicious ending to a great day. 

We decided to pick one excursion to enjoy on this trip and we chose well.  In all of our previous visits to the Mayan Riviera, I have always wanted to visit a cenote and that was our first stop.  Tak Be Ha is one of the connecting underground, fresh water caverns (cenotes) located in the jungles of Akumal.   

We donned wetsuits and snorkels and descended into an unbelievable cavern filled with stalactites and stalagmites, bats and the freshest, clearest water you will ever see. 

I was very nervous at first, about the freezing water number one and number two the general weirdness of snorkeling in a cave lit only by some halogen lights.  BUT, once in (brrrr) I quickly adjusted and was dumb founded at the beauty lurking underneath.

It was like viewing a whole different world.  Just amazing and were so lucky to have experienced it!

We then headed out to snorkel with the turtles, here

at Akumal Bay.  Yeah, that didn’t suck either.  Great excursion from start to finish!

We made the most out of our brief visit to this wonderful resort.  We snorkeled and relaxed,

talked to a lot of young honeymooners from all over the world

and dressed up every night for a gourmet meal at swanky restaurants. 

On our final night, we had drinks with some new found friends, took some pictures and headed out to one of these at the far end of the beach

(please picture one of these at night, nestled amongst the palm trees, under an almost full moon and no one…and I mean no one, around.)  We were far enough away to be alone but still hear the music coming from the outdoor bar.  We spent that last evening in the sky bed, gazing at the moon and enjoying each other, as it should be.  Doesn’t that sound romantic?  Yeah, the real story is at some point we both fell asleep and Joe woke me up snoring so we reluctantly headed to our room and our comfortable, unsandy bed.  Old farts.  It happens.

Morning came and I cried through  breakfast and felt extreme guilt for doing so.  What kind of Mother would do that?  I had not had enough of the service, the relaxation, the romance and the lack of some little person needing me 24 hours a day.  But reality always has a way of bringing me clarity.  So I dried up my tears and we headed back to the airport and back to our boys.  I did, however, make a vow that we wouldn’t wait another 10 years before escaping for a little grown-up getaway.

I couldn’t have been happier with this resort.  Joe was happy, but somewhat bored because it was mostly honeymooners who kept to themselves pretty much.  I think he was quite restless with so much down time and not many folks to talk to.  I’m not sure if he would repeat this resort but me…I’d go again in a nano second!

So Happy Anniversary to us…10 Years… it doesn’t seem possible but apparently it is.  I wonder what the next 10 will be like?

Low Flying Angels

Big Daddy has a healthy obsession with jets and daydreams of traveling on his own one day.  He frequently takes the boys to the local airport to watch the private jets come and go.  So, when we heard that the Blue Angels were coming to town…we made absolute plans to be present for such a special treat.  And what a treat it was…a brilliant blue, cloudless sky was the perfect backdrop for this demonstration of skill and power.  I, of course, brought the toy and a lot of uncertainty about my abilities to capture the feelings we get when watching these guys show us their stuff.  I worried for nothing…I got lots of wonderful shots.  Dagon loves it too, as long as Daddy brings him ear protection! 

We were treated to several different displays before the Angels went up.  The Canadian equivalent of the Angels were stunning in their white and red jets against the blue sky. 

We also enjoyed some high flying hijinks and massive displays of USA military power. 

Then the excitement started to build as you saw an oversized hint of what was coming

and then heard the engines start up and within moments the Angels were flying! 

The training and discipline that these pilots display make me so thankful that they belong to us and so proud to be an American!  As always, I am in awe.