Four weeks ago I sent a grumbly girl to her introduction to vocal training. She came home the first day complaining about having to take tests, and learn notes, and pitch… blah, blah, blah. By the end of that first week her tune (no pun intended) had changed dramatically. She was actually enjoying it! She worked on her flash cards and put a binder together with all her papers. She actually showed genuine interest in something and I bit my tongue to keep from saying, “I told you so.”

From the time Syd was three she has serenaded whomever would listen with concerts. She would prepare in her room then come downstairs decked out in pink plastic heels, a pink feathery boa, and a pink guitar ready to perform her latest creation. These songs had a tendency to run on and on. She would pause, we would clap (thinking it was over) and then she would start another verse. It was not unusual to hear a ten minute song about a hairbrush. My dad especially got a kick out her songs and would encourage her to keep singing.

Wednesday evening her singing group held a recital showcasing what they had learned this month.  The little blond girl that I watched singing wasn’t nervous at all. In fact, she absolutely glowed as she sang her heart out. She’s no longer that little pixie decked out in pink singing about her hairbrush.  I have never doubted this child craves the limelight and I’m anxious to see what she does with this gift. Hopefully this was just the beginning.   

Sittin' Pretty

Hazel enjoying her morning in the yard.

Everyone has their breaking point and I reached mine Friday night while sitting at Gentry’s softball game. Everything just kind of bubbled up and then spilled over and by the time I was driving home at midnight I had completely melted down.  Being a single mom with a house to maintain is hard enough but when you have your weekends consumed with out of town ball games, it makes it completely  impossible to keep on top of simple things like mowing or weeding the garden.  I felt like I had no choice but to fight the guilt I felt by not being at their games Saturday and Sunday and stay home to conquer a long to-do list. I kept telling myself I’d be a better mommy come Sunday night when they got home if I wasn’t all stressed and crazy.  I have to admit; I feel pretty good today. 

Saturday alone I was able to get my kitchen cabinets finished, we installed a couple new light switches, sanded and painted a night stand, used my new edger on the lawn, sprayed for weeds, and put some large pieces of flat rock around the garden.  The next thing I knew it was 7pm and I looked like I had taken a shower fully dressed. Gross! Daniel decided that we had earned a night out and I sure didn’t argue with him. This weekend held a greater significance in that it was a milestone for us so even though we had worked our asses off all day, we still were going to celebrate. We got dressed up and decided to start with margaritas on the patio at Celito Lindo then walked up and down Mass Street trying to decide where to grab a bite. We stopped at 715 but the menu left a little to be desired since I don’t eat lamb or rabbit so we just had drinks and soaked up the candle lit ambiance of the room. We really wanted to eat at Zen Zero (my new favorite place) but for some reason we couldn’t find it so we popped in for a Minsky’s pizza instead. Later we discovered we had walked by Zen Zero not once, but twice. Wow, those were some goooood margaritas! 

So Sunday with laundry hanging out to dry, the  house vacuumed, and groceries stocked for the week, the only thing left to do was to make homemade ice cream for when the girls got home. (Peanut butter and chocolate rabbit ice cream to be exact). We also made our first batch of gazpacho for the summer with fresh veggies from the farmer’s market.  

The girls came home in good moods which told me they probably needed a break from me as well. It was nice.  No one had anxiety about anything. We were just three girls (and a boy) completely worn out physically enjoying some PB&R ice cream. Aaaaah yeeeeah……

Twenty-Seven Hours Later...

This past weekend we were in Topeka at the Ken Berry Sport Complex for a grand total of 27 hours. Yes, I'm very serious. Syd's team lost their first game Friday night immediately dropping them into the 'loser's bracket' and they spent the next two days fighting their way out. One of our coaches also got thrown out Friday night after an altercation with the home plate umpire in over-time. One of the mother's on our team later promised to beat his arse when he told her to "Go the "F" back to Lawrence where you are used to winning!" Needless to say he messed with the wrong mommy and was issued a restraining order of sorts from our team indefinitely. Talk about drama!

Sunday in 97 degree heat they started playing at 9:30am and played their seventh game around 6pm that night, all back-to-back with 20 minutes at the most in between for light food and potty breaks.

The trophy was taller than a couple of our players!

 Hot, tired, dirty, and a little ragged these little girls never gave up, never showed an ounce of quit and were determined to take home the state championship, and.... they sure did!

Congratulation Phenix girls!

Juggling in June

My week of peace and quiet quickly came to a halt Sunday night and I couldn’t have been happier. The kids had gone to the beach for a week with their dad and uncle to do some snorkeling, beach-combing, and eat some good ol’ Gulf seafood. Sydney warned me before she got home that she had brought back a friend, a good sized hermit crab named Hermie. Hermie is now living large in the old gecko aquarium busily burrowing in the sand or relaxing in his tiki hut but he seldom lounges by his tiny plastic pool.

First thing Monday Gentry started driver’s education at the High School while Sydney headed to the Middle School. I, with her consent (even though she forgot that part) signed her up for a singing program that is essentially voice lessons to prepare the kids for Chorale auditions in August.  She wasn’t overly excited about the first day which consisted of learning scales and practicing pitch along with the fact that 98% of the class was older. Gentry and I renamed her “Negative Nelly” so while talking to Nelly about the class over dinner she soon lightened up and then began drawing goofy vampire pictures of how she looks when she sings. There’s something different about that kid. We had a long conversation about being our own person and not letting our friends influence what activities we do.  

I got onto both girls last night about their negativity. Surely every day in the life of a preteen and a teenager doesn’t suck, or does it?  I don’t remember.  Gen doesn’t like driver’s ed and says she can learn all she needs to know by watching us drive. (And probably learn some new words in the process).  Both programs last the month of June along with multiple nights and weekends of softball, and Dog Day’s started this week as well.  I’m going to try hard to be a good example by being a “Positive Polly” and therefore NOT complaining about the schedule, or the lack of free time on weekends, or even how my muscles hurt so bad I’m not able to bend at the knees.  Nope, all I see are rainbows and unicorns....

Friday night we were invited to visit some friends at their campsite at Pomona Lake. It was cool enough we needed a jacket but the water was calm, we had a roaring fire, and the sunset was gorgeous.

Day Trip

Listing a home for sale is a major undertaking. Maintaining a nearly 4500 sq ft  home that really isn't being lived in requires an even greater effort. Daniel has one party who decided to come look at his house for a third time so we wanted to be sure everything was in tip-top shape in the hopes that they FINALLY shoot him an offer. What we thought would be a couple hours vacuuming and dusting turned into almost four but the house looked awesome when we left.

Since Daniel's father passed he has come to realize that we can't spend all our time working or feeling guilty that we aren't working on something. With this renewed attitude we headed to Weston Missouri to goof off the rest of the day.

Weston is a small town with a ton of history. Most of the shops and homes downtown had 1800's markers on them and the architecture was amazing.

The town was full of B&B's and I was promised that next time we would stay over even though Weston is only an hour from home.

We made a bee-line for Pirtle Winery. There are several wineries in the area but Pirtle was in the heart of town. The main building was a converted church.

Visitors can go inside and taste their wines, buy a bottle (or in our case, two), a cigar if you wish, and then head outside to their covered lush garden to enjoy the peacefulness and grape vines. 

While Daniel was inside buying a cigar, a man standing beside him struck up a conversation. Turns out his name is Dan and he, his girlfriend, and her mother were visiting some of the local wineries that day as well. The two Dan's hit it off and after chatting with the three of them in the garden, they invited us to join them for dinner at the Brewery across the street and then we all went to O'Malley's Pub after that for a drink. Normally I would not be a fan of spending my evening with strangers but they were so incredibly nice it was almost like we had known them for years and were just catching up. All five of us were divorcees with children so we had common stories. The mother was having an exceptionally hard time and I got the impression that she really needed an ear.

The Irish Pub next door was the strangest place I've ever seen. It was a three story building...., all underground. No kidding! You walk in and immediately start walking down. The inside was almost cave-like with cool rock walls and wooden floors. There were two rooms to choose from both offering live Irish music and a plethora of Irish Ales. The lighting was so dark, that this picture was the best I could get of one of the tunnels. We heard stories that this was once used as a hide-out during prohibition. Several workers were killed during the build back in 1842 and people have reported seeing and being touched by apparitions. "Check please!"

We were able to walk around downtown a bit before dinner but by this time all the shops had been closed for quite some time. I wasn't the only one who was disappointed....

We were one hour from home but this little town felt like a different place in time. I wasn't ready to leave and I can't wait to go back! (Perhaps when I don't look so puffy).