Meistersinger Harlem Shake

Karrick was thrilled to be part of the Meistersinger Harlen Shake. Yes, that 
                      is him going back and forth in the foreground

snow and just being a little boy

The snow fell hard and it was beautiful! Karrick came home from school with a couple buddies and they had a ball with the brothers

Walking the Red Carpet

Friday night Karrick's school had a "Walk the Red Carpet" party. A DJ, refreshments, raffle, a red carpet and a whole lot of dancing is what the night had in store.

The girls all came dressed as their favorite popstars. It was really cute. Our PTA puts on many events throughout the year...all at no cost , which is great.

Karrick was a dancing fool

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

dress rehearsal

Monday Feb 4th was Die Meistersingers dress rehearsal at noon. We decided to take the train down to avoid the $32 parking fee at the Lyric (after 2pm weekdays and noon on weekends we get it for $8 with the Opera discount)

We met some friends also in the show at the Lombard Metra and went as a group

For the Dress rehearsal I was a spectator along with Tim, my boss and his wife. I have seen most of the 2nd and 3 rd acts because Karrick is in those. I really wanted to see the 1st act. I did great during Acts 1 and 2 (large coffee prior, diet coke during Act 1, another during intermission) The second intermission I was getting really uncomfortable (aches, pains, muscle spasms and stiffness) meds just made me tired so I sprung for a $3, 6 oz coffee and when checking on Karrick in the dressing room I grabbed another diet coke. Act 2 is great as Karrick is in most of it. He has a fight scene during the riot and he is front and center on the stage...so cute!

The 3rd Act, 1st scene I hadn't scene before. Holy Mother Mary of Jesus...I damn near slit my wrists...long and uneventful. Mind you this is a 5 1/2 hr Opera sung in German. The final scene is cool, the Carnval scene. Karrick is in almost all of scene 2 of Act 3.

During the carnival the kids chase 2 men on stilts (they guys are about 12 feet tall) They juggle bowling pins and 1 shoots fire out of his mouth. From day 1 Karrick complained about the fire blowing. He was very uncomfortable with it....the kid does not like fire.

The poor guy lit himself on fire, everyone including the kids that were 5 feet away on stage watched. It was so sad and horrifying. After Wesley (fire victim) fell down they put him out with fire extingushers, I saw Karrick run through the smoke. Thats when mama bear kicked in and I ran backstage. Everyone was alright, kind of in shock. The kids all said their hearts were beating really fast. CFD took Wesley to NW Hospital. A 1/2 break was called...then they redid the scene (w/o the fire) and we we dismissed around 6

It turns out Wesley will hopefully be okay. He is the sweetest kid, loved to sneak up on me when I was back stage. He and the other stilt walker would quietly walk behind me and I would turn to see this scarry 12 foot devil guy. The circus performers spent many hours playing with the kids, letting them run through their legs.

I wish him the best!

Tomorrow night is the 1st of 7 more performances.

Karrick just comes alive when he's there. Never once complained about the long long hrs. I am the boys Chaperone so I get to hang with them and escort them to and from the stage. I really enjoy the mom that chaprones the girls. We have a good time together

I will really be sad when this is over. I have loved every minute of it. I have met many international Opera stars, love listening to all the foreign stories and accents. Everyone has been delightful and fun.

 Love the picture of daddy and his little boy with the big personality

First Reconciliation

Yesterday, Karrick made his First Recomciliation at Sacred Heart Church. He is also preparing for his First Holy Communion.

Congratulations to my little man

Brothers

When you have teenage boys, you have pranks. 

How would you like to climb into bed at the end of the day, look up and see a 5ft image of your brother holding a baseball bat watching over you?

TJ's retaliation? He took Cal's sheets off his bed and hid them and turned his TV around to face the wall.

It's  the simple things they do that crack me up. Can you image getting into bed and find there are no sheets? Then you get into bed and push the remote to turn on the TV just to realize you're starring at the back of the set.

One time I told TJ to wake up Callahan, so he went into Cals room and said 

"time to get up" and flipped Cals entire bed over with Cal in it

This is my life

Catching up on Karrick

Karrick is loving his time with the Opera. Everyone- International Opera stars included are so friendly and down to earth...just amazing. Yesterday was the 1 day in costume and they ran through 2 acts. I was able to sit through the second act with the SupraTitles, which is great as I don't speak German

  tiny Karrick needed some last minute elastic suspenders to hold up his high waisted, corset like pants

The final product to play Nachtigall's son

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"Coloring"

Last Thurday we attended the Premeir of Karrick's film "Coloring".

It was really cute and funny.

It is due to hit the Film festival this spring

We had a family vacation planned to go snowmobling/sking in upper Wisconsin this week. I had to stay back with Karrick due to the Opera. TJ didn't want ot miss school and not a big winter sports person. Tim and Cal went up alone to play with family and friends. His brother rented a 5 bedroom cabin for the month. 

Worked out well because we got to attend Karrick's premeir. There will be more showing's for Tim and Cal to see.

Karrick during the  Q & A session after the movie

Me and only me

So much has been going on the last few weeks...all good stuff. Kids busy with acting careers. I booked my 1st wedding (so many people have asked me, but I declined in the past). I don't take someone's wedding lightly as there are no redos. I have also been bombarded with headshot requests. Shot my 1st one yesterday and they are really good

Will blog about all that later. I have been aggravated by left shoulder pain that has artitis (actually in bootcamp I was throwing the medicine ball over my head to the padded wall where in bounces on ground, you catch and repeat until you hear the 20 sec whistle. I should have been throwing from my chest. Well my arthitic left shoulder popped out of the socket and back in OUCH. I was corrected right after that as my scream alerted the instrucutor (I didn't stop though) ) but this pain was more than just my arthitis and my arm has been numb and tingling. I went to my pain doc for my quarterly follow up (must go to keep meds and eye on my injuries) which was actually my 6mo follow up. They threatened to not refill my pain meds.

I thought my arthitis just got out of control and was hoping for a steroid shot in the shoulder joint and all would be good.

No Such Luck!

My doctor is hilarious and I'm probably one of the only patients under the age of 65. Once you are deemed incurable and only treatable you are pawned off the the pain center for pain management. I won my slot 5 or so years ago. 

Dr K that always greets me with an Irish Brogue (she hasn't an ounce of Irish blood in her)

She says she doesn't think the problem is my shoulder but my neck...I didn't believe her. She proceeds to push on a nerve on my shoulder that goes to my neck. I immediatly fall over on the bed laughing...yes laughing in gut wrenching pain as muscle spasms cripple my neck. Ever had a charlie horse in the side of your neck?..I get them often...they hurt and you can't breathe. 

Then a crippling blinding headache sets in where I can't open my eyes. (that I still have to this moment..it's dulled though)

"What is wrong with you!" I ask her

She reply's with a "Told you it was your neck"

I had severe whiplash 7 years ago and have bulging disks at C 3, C4 and C5. I have severe nerve damage...spent years unable to move my neck. After years of Steroid injections and mulyiple meds I had Radio frequency ablation...3 times to be exact (it's where they cut the branch nerves) 1 st two times they grew back. The last time was 2 years ago I had C2-C6 cut bilaterlly, which ahs been a Godsend. I still have crunching, stiffmness, muscle spasms and reguler pain. It's just a 2 on a great day, 4 on a normal day and 7 on a bad day. Not the 10 that I use to live with.

Plus after you have been in horrible chronic pain for a long period of time, you start sucking it up and living your life again. I had no choice because I have kids that need a functioning mother, I had to buck up and stop letting my pain identfy me.

I digress

So Dr K. sent me for a new MRI and Xray with the words "I'm afraid what it is going to show" and get used to the "S" word...surgery...what kind you ask....discectomy and Cervical Spine fusion. Really?! who says that? but we have that kind of relationship after all these years together.

Turns out the results showed Degenerative joint disorder and 2 new bulging discs at C6 and C7.Makes 5 if you're counting. Nurse called with that special news. I will meet with Doc tomorrow to find out what is next.

I will add this to the lumbar spinal fusion that I had 15 years ago from degerative disc, that is now riddled in arthitis which makes my hips, lower back and right leg in horrible pain, numb and tingling. I have arthitis in my right elbow from Ulnar nerve relocation surgery in 2007- another dandy gift from my accident for which I receive steroid shots in order to have use of it.

If I'm going to be thorough I have to add my Right big toe and right thumb that burns and which I am losing use of.

I write this for myself because no one really wants to hear mine or your aches and pain, because in my age brackett give or take 10 years...everyone has something that is making their life a living Hell. Whether it's 1 bad disk or 5, whether you suck it up and move on or let it define you...it hurts. No one can feel your pain as their pain is all they know. So I am complaining here on my own blog.

I think people aren't really complaining and looking for sympathy as much as they are afraid and really want people to understand what they are going through...it's scary

I am glad I am one of those people that have chosen life over sitting home complaining and I doubt anyone has more going on than me...Im sure someone does somewhere.

Now that I got it out, I can continue taking care of my family, going to work, schlepping my kids...doing my bootcamp..Yep, my bootcamp-to the best of my ability, taking peoples pictures which requires so much squatting that I couldn't do a year ago, but now I can just from being a photographer! I will suffer through 5 1/2 hrs of my darling 8 years Opera...if I have to stand in the back of the theater. I will fight to the finish and my kids will remember, not the mama that used to lay in bed crying (in the beginning I did) but the mama that was there for everything they do!

I

yes, my kid is 'that kid"

Callahan started basketball...yeah, that's him #34 the tall one. See those shoes, bought them last week mens size 13. Three or so months ago I talked about his new mens size 12's...they didn't last long and they look brand new. Cal is pushing 5'11 at age 13..he shot up so fast that he only weighs 130 lbs. He was about 6'2 before his haircut last week. With puberty came these adorable curls

Cal's team was the Home team. Callahan scored the 1st, 2 baskets of the game Yay Callahan!

 Final score 47-13. It was the quietest game I have ever been to...how can you even cheer with that score?

"Sex City"

Callahan and TJ shot an episode of "Sex City" in Logan Square. Karrick also booked the project but had Opera rehearsal at the same time.

Had to capture the sign above as we entered the banquet hall via the alley. Kinda awkward when with my teenage sons .

The boys had fun, they played the children of "Larry" that has 20 plus kids from multiple ex-wives

Sex City is a nine-part Web series that has been in development since October 2011 by Everything Is Terrible!, a found footage collective (http://www.everythingisterrible.com). The series was written by Lehr Beidelschies, one of the group’s founding members, as the first original content to be created and promoted under their growing brand.