Thursday, March 21, 2013

On being with the band...

On being with the band...

Last night was the first band concert ever for my Chimp. He chose to play the trombone for unknown reasons and this was the first concert. He was hysterically crying before we left the house because he did not want to wear a shirt with buttons, or pants with a zipper. I could also tell he was nervous about the performance and it was causing a major meltdown.

When he was younger, he would cry any time he was on stage or in front of people. He would never sing, perform or participate in anything. He had run off stage on occasion as well. This was a big night.

We arrived at the high school and the kids were all warming up. He did not want to set up his instrument to practice and he refused to take off his Minecraft Creeper Hoodie. We told him to take it off before he went on stage. We then had to leave him with his bandmates and the band teacher to take our seats. The band teacher told us that after the entire concert was over, we were to meet her by their auditorium seats, sign them out and then go collected their instrument cases from the cafeteria.

We did not realize it was going to be multiple schools and grades performing the same night. When it was our son's turn, we could see him walking up on stage, in the hoodie. The hoodie was lime green and impossible to miss, it def was not what I wanted him to wear on stage, but it gave our boy a sense of comfort and safety~I could also see that it calmed him in a way that we could not. He was in the back row, and there were three elementary schools performing for the first time together. A ton of kids, and we had no idea that is the way they would be performing. We could not really see him because he was in the back, but he stayed up there for the performance. We watched him exit the stage and then go back to his seating area.

The concert was long. Every grade would get on stage, perform, exit, more walk on, prep, etc. We were not expecting this. We just thought it would be our school and would be an hour at most.

Towards the last performances I could see him getting up from the auditorium seats again and he was pacing in the aisles. I could see he was visibly upset and anxious. I went down to where he was and the band teacher approached me and asked me if I was his Mother. I said  "Yes." She said that Griffin was clearly getting overwhelmed with the loudness, sounds and stimulation and it was totally okay if he left. I told him he should go back to his seat and the band teacher said, "It really is okay. I totally understand." She was an Angel and she will never know how much that meant to me and my son. Just the fact that she recognized how much he was struggling was amazing to me. I will never forget the kindness she showed.

I led him out of the auditorium and the second we left the doors he started crying. He was sobbing that he was sorry he ruined the concert. My heart was breaking. I told him he was awesome. I told him that we heard his trombone out of all of them on stage and he was an excellent musician and how proud we were that he got on that huge high school stage. A major accomplishment.

And...as I left the auditorium, I could feel everyone looking..and wondering why this kid was leaving. If you saw that child that left before the concert was over, I hope you can understand that you never know what another family is facing. You never know the circumstances and struggles of any child by just looking at them.

And, yes, he was wearing a lime green hoodie and I have never been prouder of him in my life.



Saturday, March 16, 2013

On Lucky Leprechauns...


If you follow my Facebook page, you know I had the honor + joy of spending some time with my son's classroom on Thursday. I went in to do a St. Patrick's day craft with them and to simply enjoy these beautiful children an ordinary Thursday afternoon. It was special. Beyond.

These were my thoughts posted on Facebook:

      "On Leprechauns...Project Lucky Leprechaun was a smashing success! The kids had so much fun and so did the adults. My son's class is tiny-6 children with differing abilities. They work twice as hard for skills that many of us take for granted. Each of these beautiful children have their own challenges and even way more awesomeness. It was an honor to be able to sit down with them-avoiding ELA for an afternoon-and do something for fun, engaging and out of the ordinary. I precut every piece for them to make assembling less of a struggle and I had to go over each step several times. There was a lot of glue wiping and do-overs, but the results were perfect. There were four adults in the classroom being present and enjoying this special afternoon. We talked about the St. Patrick's Day parade, corned beef and cabbage, glitter, bus routes, and swimming pools. We debated whether or not Leprechauns really need beards:)
If you get the chance to enter your child's classroom-take it. Always. These are the moments that create lasting memories for kids, parents and teachers. This is what life and kidhood is all about. Leprechauns and kid conversation on an ordinary Thursday afternoon~ lucky, indeed. ♥"


What I did not expect, and what has me bawling now, is the sweetness I just found in my son's backpack: 6 of the most charming thank you notes I have ever read. My heart is happy and etched with an experience and afternoon I will never forget. A thank you note from the kids was totally unnecessary, but for some reason I am cherishing them. I also know how much work it must have been for the kids to write them and how they were practicing a social skill. That touches my heart even more.



Kidhood is so short and beautiful. Be present. 

Wishing you the love + luck of the Irish. Always.






Tuesday, March 12, 2013

SHA-ZAM! Glitter Bombing on a Terrific Tuesday


Welcome to the Glittahood. So happy you are here:)


Today, I am keeping the conga line going with a shiny new experiment in kindness on my blog~a flash mob of fabulous~
Glitter Bombing.

The deets: I am accepting nominations for awesome, tiny + new businesses that we are going to flash mob with love + support from around the virtual partyhood. All you need to do to be a part and help spread the kindness is~like their Facebook page and/or any other of their pages and if you have a minute, just leave the person a word or two of encouragement and support. That is it. The nominees will have no idea at all about what is happening. The element of surprise is making me giddy:)

If you would like to nominate someone deserving to be Glitter Bombed, please secret message me. Glitter Bombing will happen at random times to add to the drama + excitement::)

Thank you for always supporting me + my ridiculous ideas. I am not a perfect person, but I always try to be helpful + kind. It is not always appreciated and often forgotten, but that will never dissuade me from trying to spread goodness in this world. Those times that I can touch someone and spread a tiny bit of happiness make it all worthwhile. And fun. Giddy. Throwing Glitter on someone's page is a chance to do something extraordinary for a stranger and, in turn, will do something extraordinary for you.


Totally unsuspecting Lova to be Glitter Bombed:

Michelle {Sugar Rush Stuff}

Nominated by her clearly awesome + ridiculously kind sister~Autumn {Autumn Lynn's Chocolate Sins}


Thursday, March 7, 2013

Evolution. Pawprint Printables. With Swagger.


Evolution. Revolution.

Introducing my semi-handmade line of printables~Purple Pug Pawprints. Elevated printables. With swagger.

My printable files are specifically designed to be effortlessly embellished by you. You can add trim, fringe, ribbon, fabric, glitter-anything you can dream up can be added to personalize + fabulize your party in original and spectacular fashion. With creativity and some junk you have around the house, you can elevate a utilitarian printable to a level of wicked awesomeness.

Evolved. Embellished. Extraordinary. Printables for those with serious style. And swag.

xo