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The Moscow Ballet: Nutcracker!
Several months ago my Aunt Keren hit me up to see if I’d be interested in some tickets to see the Moscow Ballet do the Nutcracker in Palm Springs. Of course I said yes and we anxiously awaited the day when we would actually drive all the way there to see them in the flesh. We had amazing seats and we were so excited. Originally we thought my Grandma would go too because she loves the ballet as much as we do but she wasn’t feeling up to it. So my cousin Kelly went instead. That’s her up there in the top picture with Bug sipping on some pre-ballet beverages.
Our seats were tucked along the side of the stage but they were so close to the stage! We could see the dancer’s feet and hear their nearly soundless bounces when they jumped really really high. It was amazing.
I have to admit I was a little worried it would be too much for Bug. Bug is not a night owl (usually to my delight) and the show started at 8pm on a school night. The Nutcracker is not a short ballet either. It didn’t end until 9:30 and then we had a two hour drive home after that. It was a doozy of a night. But it was so worth it.
I think since Bug has been in ballet since she was four and we’ve watched all sorts of movies about it together, she was pretty into it. It was really special for all of us.
Since the Moscow Ballet is a traveling troupe the stage wasn’t as elaborate as I expected but that was okay because their costumes were. The snowflake dancers were my favorite. They were beautiful. It was like the ultimate little girl dream come true. I loved it.
And then snow fell from the ceiling! It was magical. I think we are going to have to make seeing The Nutcracker a tradition from now on. I can see why so many people do.
Plus, it’s fun to dress up and be fancy for a night. Even if it was a school night. Yes, the next day sucked bananas but it was so worth it.
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Cookin’ up a Cat-Themed Seventh Birthday Party
Every year when I get around to making Christmas cards (and even on those years that I don’t) I start thinking up what kind of crazy birthday party I can throw for Bug. She’s totally spoiled but it is what I do. I like themed parties and I cannot lie.
This year Bug has requested a black cat theme. No surprise there. She’s only worn her homemade black felt cat ears for what? Six months straight now? Her teacher finally asked her to phase them out at school (they were a distraction to the other kids) which is fine but her love of being a black cat has not waned at all.
In fact she would like you all to call her Onyx now, not Bug. I told her good luck. She’s stuck with Bug until the end of time. But from time to time I do humor her and call her Onyx. Maybe on her birthday we’ll sing to Onyx and and ice Onyx on the cake. I can humor her on her birthday.
I’m super excited about the theme. We can make cat toys. We can eat food that look like cat treats. Kibble? Dead mice? The possibilities are endless. We can have cat games. Maybe I’ll pick up some of those little laser beam flashlights. It’s going to be fun.
You know what is not fun though? Trying to figure out a venue because you live in a small apartment with a white rug and you have an aversion to cake being ground into it. I’ve gone round and round with this like a puzzle piece in my brain that just won’t fit. Bug wants to invite her whole class this year and I just don’t know. She has some crazy kids in her class. There is no way I could contain them in my apartment. So I found a nearby park and then I started inquiring about bounce houses. To me bounce houses are the answer to all crazy kid problems of the world. Let them jump it out.
Little did I know this was not meant to be. The city I live in is very beautiful. The way they keep it that beautiful is by micro-managing it with an iron fist and many many many bureaucratic rules. It’s insane. First you have to fill out an application to put up a bounce house at the park 30 days in advance. Then you have to use their approved list vendors to order your bounce house. (I actually have no problem with that. It’s very thoughtful of them to help me narrow down my search.) Then you pay $33 an hour to reserve your space and $30 for an application fee. Then you add your bounce house cost, a generator and you pretty much get out the door spending five hundred bucks. I’m so not kidding. That does not include food or any fancy invitation. It’s like it’s a wedding.
I usually go all out for birthday parties, as you know, but I am NOT going to spend that much. That’s just stupid.
But that leaves me with a passel of crazy kids at the park that I might have to supervise. Can I do that? I want to invite her teacher too but will it be like another day at the playground? Should I buy a whistle? This scares me. I’ve never had a party at a park before. What about all the last minute details? I don’t want to be that crazy person driving back and forth (or yelling at someone else to drive back and forth) between my house and the park because I forgot 47 different things. You know how I am about details. The details have to be just right!
Think. Think. Think. Stupid puzzle piece!
I think my solution will be lots of activities. We’ll wrangle the kids into all kinds of different stations of fun. Relay races, crafts, a piñata in the shape of a giant cat toy, face painting! It’ll be crazy. I better enlist a lot of grown-up friends to help me out on this one. I’m gonna need it.
