Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let Down Thy Golden Hair…

I found this place called “The Pumpkin Theatre” online a few weeks ago. As it turns out, they were showing “Rapunzel” in December. With “Tangled” fresh in our minds from those Disney folks, I thought it would be something fun for Isabelle. It was showing two weeks only. Last weekend, Uncle Don and Aunt Susan came to town but this weekend, we had only Christmas cooking and baking on our agenda. I had planned on doing that today (Saturday) but Ed had a lot of homework for his Grad class, and the Ravens don’t play until 8:20pm tomorrow night so I decided (on a whim) to take Isabelle up to see her first theatre play.

I had called the theatre this past week to find out if they still had tickets available and they did. There was no number to call this morning to check availability so I took a chance and, as it turns out, totally lucked out. The theatre was full! But we were able to buy tickets for $15 a seat at the door.

I was a little worried about whether or not she was “ready” for a theatre experience. Being quiet for an hour or 90 minutes (I wasn’t sure how long the show was going to be) is not Isabelle’s forte. We got there about 30 minutes before the play started. The tickets are “first come first served” as far as seats go. They have a few rows reserved for the members but we got the first row behind those, and we got the aisle. That way, we could make a fast escape if things got dicey.

We got to our seats with 15 minutes to spare. I asked Isabelle if she wanted to go to the lobby to get a special treat like a magic wand, or one of the other plastic goodies they were peddling in the lobby (for very reasonable prices, by the way!). She said she didn’t want anything. She was wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, waiting anxiously for the “real Rapunzel” to arrive.

When the lights dimmed, and the actors took the stage, she was focused and mesmerized. She sat still and kept her trap shut for the full hour that the play lasted. She did want to sit in my lap for about 3 minutes when the evil witch took the stage but she quickly pulled it together and went back to her own seat. At one point in the show, Rapunzel and her Prince Brian went up one aisle and came down ours. Rapunzel and Prince Brian walked right by our seats and I think Isabelle fell eternally in love with the theatre at that precise moment. I had to chuckle when I saw her staring at Rapunzel’s shoes. ‘Atta girl!

After the show, Isabelle did want that magic wand I had hinted at. For $3, it was a cute, fun accessory to take home from the show. They had a full table of goodies that were all under $10. There is no food or beverages so be sure to eat lunch before the 1pm show or plan a snack before the 3pm one.

The Pumpkin Theatre was a fantabulous experience. The show was amazing. The theatre is small, intimate, and wonderful for a first-time experience. If you live in Maryland, have small kids, and want to expose them to the wonderful world of theatre arts, get over to The Pumpkin Theatre at St. Timothy’s School on Greenspring Avenue in Stevenson, Maryland. You won’t be disappointed.

Another year, another surgery

Isabelle had her semi-annual ENT visit today (that's an ear-nose-throat doc). She still has one PE tube hanging in there good as gold. The other one fell out ages ago. She's had a few ear infections over the past year and she's still mouth breathing even on the daily allergy meds and nose spray. And her tonsils are still huge, probably bigger than 6 months ago. They haven't gotten an official "infection" yet but it's just a matter of time and they are so big that they have caused some swallowing issues with food which can be really dangerous.

So the ENT specialist has decided we can't wait any longer. They wanted to wait until she was five but they think it's wise to take care of it now. We're heading to Tampa in February so we're going to be scheduling her surgery in March. She needs one full week of recuperation time (minimum). And then she can return to school as soon as she can come off the pain medication (determined by her). She can't fly for at least one month so we're waiting until after our trip to get this done.

I'm hoping this is the end of her ENT woes and we are done with ear infections, swallowing issues, mouth breating, snoring, and trouble sleeping.

Overheard for Christmas in the WWOI

We just got home from Puerto Rico late Monday night, and have been in a constant state of SCRAMBLE ever since. We had to jump right back into the school and work routines. But we also have to get ready for Christmas! Ack!

We raced out Tuesday night in the pouring rain to buy our tree. We decorated it Wednesday night. Ed is volunteering at the homeless shelter at our church tonight (Thursday) so Isabelle and I are handling the rest of the decorations around the house. Tomorrow night is my night to volunteer so I'm leaving Ed and Iz a "to do" list a mile long.

Uncle Don & Aunt SuSu are visiting from Chicago Saturday through Monday. And we're cramming in a home Ravens game on Sunday. Busy! Last night, Ed was starting the lights on the tree. To get in the Christmasy mood, I need to have the holiday music on, the TV off, and cookies baking in the oven.

So, there I was in the kitchen, whipping up a batch of chocolate chip cookies while Isabelle was directing Ed on the light stringing activities in the living room. Some funny things overheard in the WWOI last night...

"Daddy...Mommy's bells are bigger than my bells...but you don't have any bells at all." (she was referring to the jingle bells on each of the stockings)

"Daddy, why does Elmo only have one ball? Oh no! Elmo's ball fell off! "


"Daddy, why is yours so short? Mine is so much bigger than yours." (what size is YOUR stocking?)

"What's this, Daddy?" (pointing to an ornament)
"It's a gazebo, where I got engaged to Mommy many years ago."
"Why did you get in a CAGE with Mommy?"

"Daddy, we really need to find Jesus." (I think we all do)

Happy Holidays everyone. May all of our Decembers be peaceful and bright.