Well, that pretty much captures my mood this week. I feel like how one feels after a great vacation or something exciting that you've looked forward to for months or even years and when it's over you kind of get depressed and sad cuz all that anticipation is gone and all you have look back on is the pictures (which believe me...my mom and enjoyed looking through the hundreds of them from this past week :))....it's hard to even put into words really and I'm not sure I can capture all the excitement of the past couple weeks in just one blog post cuz to be honest most of the memories I am just holding near and dear to my heart.
The last few weeks were definitely chaotic, but all in all they were filled with good times...actually great times....and I'd do it all over again in a split second if I could (being the mom of a performer comes with great anticipation :))....all the running around, learning how to french braid and doing it about a dozen times in the last week (yes, I became a pro at something I thought I could never do! Yay for me!)....all the late night practices and the mornings that came too quickly after those late nights, all the anticipation of working backstage and seeing all the backstage action (really...that was an amazing experience) and finally seeing Hailey float across the stage in full costume....well, it's all just too much to put into words. As I sit here today I am simply just humbled and happy....and very thankful. I mean how many little girls get to experience what Hailey did (and hopefully will get to do again)...to be a part of a professional Nutcracker performance. Many girls would give their right eye (or maybe not? :)) for that...to have that opportunity...to live in a city where a production like this takes place. And actually I found out during rehearsals that many of the girls drive at least an hour just to get to IU to do ballet...and to be a part of this production. I guess I kind of took that all for granted since I was brought up dancing in the Nutcracker myself and I just figured that someday my daughter would do the same. I just think of how blessed we are to be here in Bloomy. If we stilled lived in MI we wouldn't have had this opportunity....not that I'm glad we moved.....but I guess I've just been very thoughtful lately on God's plan and how looking back on it....He truly did have a great plan for us to be in this town we love so much and for us to be in a place where our children can have such opportunity. I am grateful for that most of all today. It truly was an a wonderful gift for Hailey to be in this year's Nutcracker and I don't want to cherry coat that at all. I am so pleased at the memories captured during this event...not only for me...but for my mom who also dearly loves ballet and the Nutcracker and for the memory of my Grandma who I'm sure was watching with great pride from the gates of heaven as she saw her great-granddaughter glide across the stage amidst the clouds as the sweetest blue angel there was. I can almost picture her smile at the sight of it all :) My grandma would have been in all her glory watching these performances as I'm sure she was with her front row heavenly seat.
And now I sit here amidst the quiet and the less hectic schedule that now has crept back into our family's life and I find myself sad. Not sad that things have calmed down, but sad that it's over and we have to wait a whole year for the excitement to return. And even if it does return it probably won't be the same as watching Hailey on stage in the Nutcracker for the first time. It was a priceless sight and one that won't be forgotten.
So, all that to say that I'm a bit down in the dumps. I get this way often after big events, but this was a big one that I admit I've anticipated since I found out when Hailey was 4 that she could maybe be in the IU Nutcracker when she turned 7. So, it's been a long time of anticipating. Thank you to all of you who have beared with me as I go on and all about it all. I know most of you are not ballet fans and probably can't relate on that level, but I think we all have things we really enjoy...and I guess that's just what I'm trying to relay here....that it's hard coming down off that mountain of excitement and back onto the level ground of the "real everyday (not-so-exciting) world" :)
So, yes, Nutcracker 2007 was all I expected and more. Last week was filled to the brim with late night/long practices every night. Hailey was completely exhausted by mid-week and we truly had to drag her out of bed a few times in order to get her off to school on time. I think my fav. phrase last week to her was "oh, the sacrifices a performer/ballerina has to make" (i.e...her sacrifice last week was definitely sleep...as was mine....I guess I should have said that phrase to myself "such is the life of a backstage mom" :)). Anyway...so we made it through all the dress rehearsals. I picked exactly the right dates and times to be a backstage mom/volunteer. The first night (Wed.) that I volunteered we got to see the blue angels in full attire and by that I mean they had the big, white feathery wings on as well as the lovely spray-painted blue wigs. It was a definitely a sight to see the costume room come alive with blue! :) Hailey had seen the Cast A angels the night before for the first time in their wigs and wings and her first impression was "those things (wigs) are UGLY and ITCHY!" I had to agree once I saw them. My first impression was that Hailey looked like a "lunch lady gone bad" :) Cuz all the wig looked like was a bunch of blonde curls put in a big hair net and spray-painted blue...and trying to make it more angelic looking they stapled some gaudy white sparkly garland to the wig. So, I had to laugh a little bit when I saw Hailey all dolled up that first night. No wonder the girl did not want to smile for me...she probably knew she looked silly. But, I will say the wings were beautiful. I can see why they cost $100 each. So, it was fun to watch the whole costume process unfold before our eyes. We moms were of course not allowed to touch or help with costumes in any way...but we snapped lots of pics and had tons of fun watching our girls. Truly the best part of being backstage was was actually going up the big elevator with all those 16 angels packed in there like blue sardines and getting off on the first floor and leading them to the big stage (or I guess we technically lead them to the darkness of the backstage/wagon area (yes, I became affluent in backstage wordage :)). We stood there for what seemed like hours watching the land of snow and all the ballerinas dancing with the snow falling on them....everything was so real from there...it was the neatest thing I'd seen in a long time...to be that close to the action. And then the curtain closed....we got to watch "snow cleanup"....got to see the scenery change to the lovely land of sweets....and then the lights were dimmed and the music/orchestra started,....the dry ice smoke was blown across the stage...the curtain rose...the angels turned on their lights and off they went gliding across the stage like they were floating on clouds up in heaven. It was truly the most beautiful sight and I admit I got very teary-eyed when I saw it (and I still do when I think of it...not to mention I was down-right nervous for those lil' angels...my stomach was in knots, especially seeing it live on Sunday night from the backstage wings :)). I got to see it from a few angles, back stage and from the audience a couple times and it was heart-stopping each time. To see my little daughter out there with a big smile on her face looking like the perfect angel. It was priceless and something I will never forget. She was radiant. All of them were. And you know what...those blue costumes and wigs...they looked pretty darn cute amidst the stage lighting and the white smoke. It was beautiful. I wish I had been allowed to take a picture or video of it cuz it would be a great thing to post...but you'll just to have imagine it in your head...it was a lovely sight. And Hailey did splendidly for that 65 seconds of stage time. And then it was off to the big elevator again and back down to the basement to wisk off the angel outfits and get back into non-angelic attire :) It was over so quickly, I felt. It was all a moment I wished could have gone on longer....at least longer than 65 seconds (which I don't think is too much to ask!). So, Hailey is an angel no longer (at least until next year where she could very well be an angel again if she's not too tall). But, it was quite the experience for her and I know she loved the girlyness of being an angel even in that ugly blue wig :)
We all throughly enjoyed all the performances too. My mom became an IU Nutcracker-aholic :) By, that I mean that she saw 3 of the 4 performances! Wow....way to go, Nina! She definitely is a hard-core Nutcracker lady...not to mention she mostly just wanted to see her sweet Hailey in both of her 60 seconds of fame. Hailey, Nina and I also went to the opening night performance on Friday night so Hailey could actually see the "new Nutcracker" (the only way for her to see it was to buy a ticket...go figure :)). Anyway...so we went to opening night. It was a fun "girls night out" and we really enjoyed it. I know I said my first impression was that I wasn't crazy about the new choreography....but I changed my mind a bit after our Sat. evening viewing. We definitely had great seats on Sat. and sitting in the middle of the auditorium gave us a much better perspective of the stage. Things looked kind of warped and off center on Friday night due to our right-sided seating (which wasn't bad by any means...but just not great). So, the performance did look much better from our Saturday night perspective. It really was amazing to see all the changes they made. The choreography is definitely different. And to quote our local newspaper it was "on par with major productions", so I guess it got good reviews. The two Claras did great...they were both 11 year olds (though the one like she was Hailey's age and she was the same height as Hailey and very petite)...but both girls did great and it was exciting to see kids play Clara since we are used to college girls playing the role as in past years.
The whole Nutcracker experience was just so much fun. It was Shelby's first time in the thick of this all and she really enjoyed the Nutcracker Tea on Saturday. We got to go and meet some of the major characters and take pictures with them and get autographs and eat some treats. Shelby was fascinated by the "little Clara" (the one who looks Hailey's age)....and she was very bummed that she didn't get to meet the famous "Mouse King". That is a whole 'nother story in itself....Shelby's fascination with the mouse king...well it was unpresidented....it was actually pretty funny. When my mom got here she gave the girls this really neat Nutcracker book that she had given my grandma years ago. Well, there was real pictures in it of the characters and Shelby became infatuated with the Mouse King right way. He had 7 heads and looked...well, he looked down right scary. And I think Shelby is fascinated by "different things"...so that was a topic of conversation all week...not to mention she watched my old Nutcracker performance and that Mouse King also had 7 heads and she was fascinated by how he got stabbed with the Nutcracker's sword and died with his feet in the air. It was all just too enthralling for our Shelba girl :) She and Nina had many a good conversation over the Mouse King and if he was good or bad. So, you can imagine how she anticipated seeing him on stage only to be disappointed that our IU mouse king did not have 7 heads and was actually pretty "nice" and tame looking :) But, she still gasped when he came on the stage :) It was pretty funny. Shelby seemed to love the performance (and was especially interested in where the music came from... "the hole" as I told her (which was the orchestra pit)...she had to go check it out at intermission with Nina :)) and she did really well sitting there for 2 hours even during the boring long ballerina songs :) We were proud of her and her debut Nutcracker viewing :)
It was just a weekend full of fun....we were so thankful to have Kev's parents here to see the show on Saturday and to have lots of Hailey's friends there too....I think we saw just about all of them too, which was fun for Hailey. And now it's all done...the curtain has closed on the Nutcracker for another year and it's back to the humdrum life we lead :) It was strange to go to regular ballet class last night and know that all the hustle and bustle of rehearsals was over. It was strange to see one of the Claras and all the party girls still practicing their parts in the hall (it was like even they couldn't believe it was over :)). But, it is...and now it's on to the chaos of the holiday season. Somehow that all snuck up on me and now I'm in the midst of getting holiday stuff out and thinking about Christmas shopping...ugh! I almost wish it was last week and we were back in the crazy schedule of practices...that all gave us a good reason to procrastinate on life in general :) But, I need to pinch myself and get back to reality and get moving cuz before I know it Christmas will be here and we'll be leaving for FL and off to Disney (yay...another thing to look forward to!).
But, I must say...in the midst of the biggest highlight of this month (the Nutcracker!) it was just simply perfect to have my mom (good ol' Nina) here to share in all the activities. I have to say that this visit of hers was just perfect for the kids. Maybe it was the weather and the fact that it was dreary and cold outside, but most of our days were simply spent here in our home with my mom playing with the kids. It was just so nice for them (and for her, I think :)). They really got to know their awesome Nina from FL :) Not that they don't know her already, but she gets very little quality time with them and this was just some good down-home quality time. I was happy she could have that with them and vice versa. It was funny cuz by the time she left (yesterday morning) they were hugging her and jumping all over her and kissing her....and if you know Shelba and even Dylan...they rarely do that except to Kev and I :) But, they just loved their "Nina time" and they asked about Pops all the time, wishing he was here too. It was just a good time. I can't even tell you all the things we did....the days were busy...but at the same time there was some good slow time in between. We actually braved the crowds on Black Friday and did a little "secretive" furniture shopping (after we picked up Nina from the airport), we actually got our Christmas tree at the old tree farm 2 days after Turkey Day (Gasp...getting a tree in November is unheard of for our "last minute family" :))...we even put the tree up in November (which felt a little weird to me) and had it all decorated (thanks to Nina!)....not to mention lots of shopping outings and some other fun, little things we did here and there. It was a down-right good ol' time with Nina here and we were so thankful she came. She spoiled us with some good cookin', she was our sole dishwasher for a week and half (our kitchen thanks her and misses her!), not to mention she showered us with gifts and was the best grandma/nanny/babysitter around. We just loved having her and we miss her so much. Shelby asked all day long yesterday...."now why did Nina have to go home???" There was just no answer that was acceptable :)
So, now here we sit....in our quiet house with the down-right cold wind whipping around outside and some flurries showing their faces too, which truly just makes me want to be a "house hermit" and stay indoors and warm...but I need to try to lift my spirits and get a move on this holiday season. I hope you all have been doing well. As soon as I have time I'll post the MANY pictures we took the last week or so...believe me there are A LOT, but due to the good quality of my mom's camera and the space her pictures take up on my blog I might only be able to post a handful of them. But, be rest-assured Nutcracker '07 was a great one and Hailey was a glowing little blue angel who made us proud. Thanks to all of you who thought of her this weekend and who tried to watch the live feed. I heard from another mom that it worked for her and she was able to watch the angels from home...but I was never home to verify that and watch it. But, I replay it all in my mind daily...it was a wonderful way to start this Christmas season!
Well, this is the BIG night...of the BIG debut (12/1)! Here's the big angel after our pizza dinner with her surprise lil' cake :) Isn't this the cutest thing...and it's from Sam's Club...we opted for the white choc. ganashe only cuz we wanted daddy to eat it (and he won't eat. reg. choc...weird, I know :))...it was soooooooo yummy and very sweet!
The beautiful gift from Nina and Poppy Stegs...a Nutcracker ballerina musical "box" with the date engraved on it...very neat.
Kev and the girls with his parents...before the big debut...
Almost ready to go...
A silly Nina/Hailey moment :)
A more serious Nina/Hailey moment :)
A close-up of the ballerina
A lil' pose with the nosegay :) :)
Daddy and Shelba by the big Nutcracker in the auditorium....
And then just like that the performance was over :( Here is our "star" and her pretty pink roses we gave her....and sleepy Shelby in tow :) (it was almost 11pm at night) :)
Well, what good thinking that her roses match her jacket :) Look at this sweet little angel after her big debut...way to go, Hailey!
Two Angels post-debut...this is her friend Lauren...
Nina and Poppy with the star :)
A girl shot :)
And Hailey with her flowers....no ballerina should be without a bouquet or two or three....
