This morning NHL officially started first grade. He was up at 5:30 thanks to being anxious about the start of school. I tried to explain to him that even when I was a teacher, I got nervous on the first day of school. We talked with him about things and soon it was time to head out the door. Everyone brought NHL to school today. Once we were all dressed and ready we went out the door. Here is NHL all ready for first grade.
Heading toward the car NHL mentioned that he was really scared. JL went to walk and talk with him some as they got into the car.
Once we arrived over by school and parked everyone got out of the car. This is when NHL decided that it would be best to walk super slow. He also requested a trip back to Disney World on the slow trek in. We eventually got him to walk faster along with Daddy and JSL.
When we got into school NHL really held onto my hand. The noise level, all of the excitement, the new place to meet for first graders and all of the kids/parents/teachers was a little overwhelming. I can not say I blame him. I caught myself trying to stop tears a few times.
Soon after this, NHL’s teacher came over to say hello and introduce herself to all of us. I took a minute to let her know that NHL would not be taking the bus that afternoon. At that point the district had never sent us bus information, so I had to make a call. NHL was a little more at ease at this point. When his teacher called all of the children to line up NHL followed along into the line.
We watched and waited as the class slowly walked out and toward their classroom. Poor JSL started to sulk at this point as he saw his big brother leave.
Here is to hoping for a great day and year in the first grade. We all hope that this year and new teacher will be just what everyone, especially NHL, needs.
For our honeymoon, just over eight years ago, JL and I went to Walt Disney World. When we were making our plans, one of the must sees was the fairly new Cirque du Soleil in Downtown Disney. La Nouba tickets were quite difficult to get, but we snagged some great seats. As soon as you walked into the specially designed theater you were transformed into another world. The show was like no other either of us had seen before. The performers were amazing and put on the show with such gusto. We immediately became fans of Cirque from that moment on.
When we went to Las Vegas in December 2002, we met my Aunt L, Uncle J and Cousin M there. We all agreed that we wanted to see "O" at the Belagio. This show is the one that takes place around a specially built theater with a pool in it. Tickets for this show were and still are extremely difficult to get. I managed to get some for one of the nights we were there. It was fantastic and well worth the price of the show. On Christmas Eve, we had no plans and went to the box office at our resort to see if there were any tickets. We literally walked up right after someone canceled on two seats for Mystere. We quickly bought them and saw our third Cirque performance. Mystere did not disappoint and became my favorite of the Vegas trip. I loved the clowns in the show and the humor involved. Of course, the seats were wonderful in the specially built theater.
It has been many years since we have had the chance to see another Cirque du Soleil. Right after JSL was born something came to our area, but was not a real Cirque du Soleil. It was more about the music and dance of the show. We opted not to go and see that. Yesterday, my father called and said he had tickets to see the show here. Surprise! Of course, since my parents were going we had no babysitter.
My wonderful husband agreed to be a sweetheart and watch the boys, so I was able to go and see Alegria this evening.Oh my! From the moment we walked in and saw the stage, I knew it would be wonderful.
There is just something about the costumes, music, lighting, clowns, performers that combine to make a truly unique masterpiece. The director Fanco Dragone and his troop continue to amaze me each and everytime.
My question this week:
Have you ever been to see a Cirque du Soleil show? If you have, what did you see? If you have not would you like to go one day?
Now I will be off to dream of magical places in far off lands and more Cirque du Soleil performances in my future with hubby next time.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.
This weekend we were supposed to go to see Bubbe and Grandpa. Since the weather was going to be bad all weekend, we decided to stay home. Friday Daddy had the day off so we decided to go to Six Flags for the day. It was an unusually chilly day. We actually wore jeans and had sweatshirts in August.
JSL, you started to chant that you wanted to go on the Big Red Cars the minute you heard we were going. Of course, one of our first stops was Wiggles World. You loved driving the Big Red Cars and especially enjoyed spending time at the Wiggles gift store. You were quite upset later in the day when your Diego (Go-Go) sun glasses broke. Thankfully a special gift made you smile and you held onto it while taking a nap.
NHL you were upset that your favorite ride was closed down for the day. Thank goodness you enjoyed all of the other things you were able to go on. You seemed to like the wind in your hair when we went on the Big Red Planes. The cool weather certainly changed what we did at the park, but you enjoyed it.
Just before our silly lunch (funnel cake sundaes), we stopped to watch the Looney Tunes show. At the end you could head up to the stage for photos with some of the characters. Both of you seemed to actually enjoy this when you went up with Daddy.
I hope that we get a few more trips to Six Flags in before the end of the season. Watching both of you laugh, be silly and smile while there is truly priceless.
This week has been pretty busy. Originally, I thought NHL was going to the allergist on Tuesday. Monday they called and told me the visit was Wednesday. I was not happy since I know I put it on my calendar immediately. My main concern was we already had NHL’s 6 year old physical exam at our family doctor Wednesday afternoon. I knew we could swing both of them, but it would be "interesting" to say the least.
Monday I also called the pediatric dentist. I told them that this tooth was not budging and the new one was really coming in behind it. In adddition to this I reminded them that hubby only lost one tooth on his own. Every other tooth was pulled by the dentist, so perhaps NHL was going to have some troubles. They offered me a Tuesday appointment, which I did not take since I thought we were going to the allergist. The only other option was Thursday. I took it with the hopes that we could get his tooth out by that point.
Tuesday night JL and NHL sat down on the couch and really worked on the tooth. Here they are getting ready and going for some wiggles with gauze to assist the grip:
After this, I thought we were really close. Check it out. In this photo you can see the new tooth in back and that tiny speck in front is the front edge of the baby tooth that will not let go.
Shortly after this photo was taken I opted to do a video of this hopeful milestone. While filming, JL felt a pop and suddenly the tooth was bleeding. This really freaked NHL out. No matter what we tried, NHL refused to let us back into his mouth. We called it a night and got both of the boys into bed. JSL was getting quite concerned about his big brother. Check out the serious face.
Wednesday NHL went to the doctor for his physical. When we arrived we found out that they were already giving flu shots. This sent NHL over the edge, but he and I both had them. Everything else went well during his appointment. The doctor’s only concern was that one of his eyes is not moving along with the other. Since NHL has low muscle tone it may be related to this. When we got into the car after everything I called and made an appointment with the specialist for the end of September. Hopefully it is nothing, but we will have to wait and see (no pun intended).
Less than an hour after this we went to the allergists office. JL met us there because I was afraid NHL would put up a huge fight. We talked with the doctor for a while about how things have been great this summer – no medications needed. We talked over a plan of action for back to school and onto the rest of the year. Then it was time for allergy testing. While we waited for JL to show up at the right doctor’s office NHL colored. Then it was time to check things out. He was a pretty good sport and was glad it was done on his back so he could continue to color.
Much to our surprise nothing came up positive on the test. The doctor can not explain why it did a few years ago and nothing now. So we left with our game plan that was used last year. Our goal is to control the items that bother him and prevent an asthmatic reaction that usually comes during the school year.
Last night JL tried to work on NHL’s tooth again. After much crying and wiggling the tooth just did not want to move in the one spot. JL said that it was just the way his teeth used to hold on. NHL was very upset about not getting it out on his own and going to the dentist. We explained that it was not his fault and we are lucky to have the dentist that may be able to help.
On a last ditch effort we had corn on the cob to try to see what it could do. NHL refused to eat it. No worries though, JSL devoured his piece and then here is a video of him with NHL’s cob.
So today we head to the dentist to have her check NHL’s tooth. We shall see how it goes. I will mention to her that the position of the tooth is really altering his speech and that concerns me (our family doctor even noted it until I explained the tooth troubles).
As a former teacher, I still use an Academic calendar. I finally made my September 2009 to September 2010 calendar to fill in important dates. First I put in family/friend birthdays, anniversaries and the like. Next, I put in the secular holidays. After that, it was time to place the Jewish holidays in and incorporate the school district calendar for NHL.
This year the High Holidays are in September and October and aside from Yom Kippur, all fall on the weekend. Although this means we will not be able to go to Six Flags during those weekends, it does mean that hubby will not need to take time off for Rosh Hashana (2 days), Sukkot (2 days), Shmini Atzeret (1 day) and Simchat Torah (1 day). This is huge in my mind. Of course, in noting this I was aware that next year would likely be a lot different.
As I went through December, I saw Chanukah starts in mid-December on the 11th (miss all the big Christmas sales again). Then I noticed that Purim was February 28. Oy! I knew at that moment it was not a good sign. Sure enough the Passover seders are Monday-Tuesday March 29-30. To put that into perspective, Easter is the following Sunday on April 4th. This means that JL will need to take off 5 days from work for Pessach. Fast forward to May and two days mid week for Shavuot.
Then, it was back to the High Holidays of 2010. Everything is during the week, except Yom Kippur which is a Saturday and my sister-in-law’s birthday. Everything is between September 9th and October 1st. I joked with JL that Chanukah would likely be in November given the early holidays. I was not far off. Next year, in 2010, Chanukah begins December 1st and we will light the last candle on my birthday.
So, if you are keeping track with me: That is 13 holidays that my hubby takes off of work because of his beliefs. Another item I realized is that NHL will miss his first day of Hebrew school. We have a family function that weekend. Since the Jewish holidays this year are all Saturday/Sunday combination, it means he will not have his first day until October 18th. Oy!
