His Very First Rock Concert, Ever!

Yes, that's right - in my quest for the Mommy-of-the-Year award, I took The Boy to see The Doodlebops. This is one group/show that I don't really mind watching, 'cause at least there's a decent song at the end!

I got an e-mail from TicketMaster (once you buy online, you're on the list forever!) outlining the deals for the week just after Christmas. Since The Boy's birthday is in February, I thought it would be a great idea to give him concert tickets for a birthday present. He loved getting the tickets, and really kept the concert in mind - he'd ask - WE DIDN'T MISS THE DODDLEBOPS, DID WE?????? At least once a week! It was a long wait from the middle of February to the middle of April.

But finally, last weekend, we went. The pictures I took were horrible, so the image you see isn't quite an accurate one of what we saw, but we did have great seats - it's the best ones I've ever gotten for a show - row E, slightly off to the right of stage, which, at the Lyric (in Baltimore, MD) apparently means the 7th row from the stage, not the 5th like you'd think. Either way, we were up really nice and close.

Being that close meant that we could actually see the performers' expressions and mannerisms, and I have to hand it to them, those Doodlebops really do seem to like performing for the kiddos. And Moe Doddle really CAN break-dance. He's pretty good, too. He's also a bit of a charmer. When he wasn't "on" he would be sure to come to the front of the stage and wink or give the hi-5 sign to different kids in the audience. Smooth.

Also, since we were so close, The Boy ran up at the end when they all came out to the wings of the stage to get up close with the kids, but he was a bit too late. Normally, he'd have been crushed, and pouted for ages, but he was so thrilled to be at the show, that he snapped right out of it!

All in all, it was a good show, and I'm glad he got the chance to go. Besides a bit of rain that day, and an incident with a puddle on the way back to the car (if you know my son, you know there was no possible way he could walk safely past that puddle - silly me for getting upset!), we had a great time, and he really loved it. It was so cute to hear him back in the car after the show. Apparently, he'd been more excited than I realized, because as he was buckling himself into the car, he said "Well, at your first rock concert ever, you SHOULD be a little nervous, right??"

Awww, how cute!!!!

:O)

Whee!

The stole was a hit. Well, with me at least. It turned out to be a bit too warm to wear it all night long. I had on a 3/4 length sleeve that night, and the auction was in an historic mansion just down the street. It got a bit warm. I wore it to and from the car, and around my shoulders, but not splayed over to show off the pattern. I'd have roasted! Very warm!

Here it is on me as we left the house. I know I look like a goof, but I always laugh when my mother takes the pictures, cause she's even more non-techie than I am! A rarity in today's world!

The auction was a huge success. We were very pleased. The whole bidding of the thing was very dramatic, and like we were in a soap opera. We thought bidding was going to end at $950. We didn't see the woman who has historically gotten the class projects. Since her family moved away from the area AGAIN this year, I assumed we wouldn't see her and the bidding would be between the parents in the class who either wanted it for their child or wanted it for the teacher (who, by the way, was bidding by proxy). Just when the emcee was counting down, saying "$950 going once, $950 going twice, . . ." out of the corner of the room, we heard "$1,000"!!!

And there she was. We couldn't believe it!

The bidding went back and forth and back again between a couple different people, but the Head of School even got in on the act! Finally, a couple THOUSAND dollars later, the bidding ended at $5,200.00!!! We were floored, and the whole room stood up to applaud the craziness, I mean CHARITY of the woman behind it! The poor emcee had to get a glass of water! She was exhausted!

I was quite happy that my mother's efforts had paid off so well for the school that I completely forgot I had bid for the cutest little beaded bag, and forgot to pay for it that night. I have it now, but want to get this posted, so I'll take pics of it later and post again then.

For now, take a look at the Cha-Cha Clapotis my mother has already finished for the assistant in my son's class. I still need to finish up the one for his actual teacher, but I'm more than halfway there so no worries! If I can do a wing in two weeks, I can do half a Clap!


:O)

"Gorgeous"

Tonight I will be hanging out with the beautiful people. Really, they're just the other parents at my son's school. Most have TONS more money than I ever will in my life, and I am intensely intimidated when completely surrounded by them.

To counter this, I plan to wear this:

in hopes that all the glittery beads distract them from the facts that I am not 1) as beautiful (outside) as they are, and 2) I have no money.

Swan Lake is INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS, so my plan should work like a charm. If not, the booty-hugging pants and Cinderella shoes I got to go with the ensemble (it's a "black and white" event -- their annual auction) should suffice.

The item we are most interested to see go is this one:


The fish turned out wonderfully. My idea to have my auntie make The Boy's hand the cutest fish in the sea worked, but then again, they are ALL cute! It's a really cute piece. Such a shame I have no money. I know of two parents that have already said they'd like to have the quilt. One for their own child (pretty big motivator), the other said she wants to get it and give it to the teacher as a keepsake. I can't compete. I plan to check all my accounts to see exactly what kind of funds I may be able to throw around this evening, but I am nowhere near the league of most of these families, even though I currently live wit my mama.

If only teachers got paid what they're worth. . . {{sigh}}

All kidding aside, I am extremely glad that this auction gave me the excuse to finally finish Swan Lake, aka Mystery Stole 3. It is a beautiful pattern, and anyone out there who hesitated when they heard the term "wing" mentioned, go ahead and knit it! Compared to the first half of the pattern (depending on the version and length you are making), the wing had a somewhat predictable pattern that made the knitting - at least for me - much more likeable! I had it down where I could watch TV there at the end. And, it's really gorgeous!

I especially like the yarn I used - Brooks Farm Acero in black! It stained my hands something terribly, but is so completely worth it. I did find that the yarn doesn't give like others may - blocking it was pretty interesting. I didn't get the "points" on the wing where I used pins instead of blocking wires - the yarn just wouldn't give that much. That may be due to the fact that I finished knitting last night at 12:00, therefore the blocking was done by spritz-method, not full soak/wetting. I need to wear it in about an hour and a half, so it couldn't be wet completely. I may block it again after this evening, but it's gorgeous just the way it is, so I may leave well enough alone.

Well, wish me luck - I'm off to get primped for the par-tay. May the force be with me.

:O)

Belated THANK YOU!!!

I forgot to say this in a timely manner, but THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to my Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap (4) partner, Madam Ferula McGonagal! She was a most awesome-est swap partner. She hooked me up with this:

That is the coolest stuff! I loved everything! Particularly the cool bag and the scrumptious (funny story about that later) Hogwarts inspired yarn! It was unlabeled, so I'm assuming she dyed it herself???? I really don't know (still) her true identity, but I would love to know who it is!!!!

Here's a rundown of all the goodies, in case you think you want some for yourself. Or I may be doing this just to make you drool. Either way - here goes: There's the bag itself (I'm calling it my Hermione bag 'cause I'm re-reading book 7 right now, and MAN does that girl know how to pack a bag!), a book (!) of socks that I'm dying to get more into, a Bertie Botts bean-bag kit that I plan to give to The Boy - he'll love it -- a card with my favorite candy bar on the front (aren't they all), a cute lil' Harry statue, the famous Bertie Botts beans themselves, a tin of mints that's actually holding some darling stitch markers M. McGonagal made for me, some yummy-yummy Gryffindor colored yarn, 2 different Knit Picks needles (I plan to try the magic loop with the long ones), lovely handmade soap, and two individual patterns for socks. I really want to try the Bellatrix one of these days and now I have no excuse!

I was overjoyed by my kit, but a bit overwhelmed right now with goings-on.

The Boy FINALLY went back to school today. He was mad at me, though, because I let it slip (like a dummy) that he'd been given permission to come to my classroom if his school was still closed. This is not an ideal situation, and his school was open, so I was saved from having him in my room and having him see my students and how they act. He, however, was pissed. One day I'll learn to keep my big mouth shut!

I also am trying my best to get that danged Swan Lake/Mystery Shawl finished, but, like I told my mother tonight, if I keep messing up and after two hours only have two rows successfully knit, I'm not gonna be able to wear the thing to the event! ARGH! I think I've gotten it straightened out now, but I sure did to a lot of tinkin' tonight, and very little new knittin'!

Last on the list is work - which strangely enough always tries to be first!!! But this should actually be interesting and worth my time. I was added to the class list for another educator's course at the Kennedy Center for tomorrow night. The class/workshop is called "Integrating Movement in Teaching Math and Science" and I'm very psyched for it. I am looking forward to next year when I have walls and can really put the things I am learning in these classes to use. I have put some storytelling/re-enacting bits into my lessons since the last few courses I took on those subjects, but it will be a lot easier next year when I don't have to worry about disturbing my neighbors like I do now with open-area classrooms.

I plan to take metro down tomorrow night, so I hope to get some knitting done on my Earth Mother Clapotis on the way to and from class. Wish me luck!

:O)