8 awesome nights!

We had a pretty great Hanukkah at Casa del Toppall.  The kids are aware that while they will have several gifts to open from Jeff & me, they most likely won't get 8 presents from us -one for each night. We value quality and experience-type gifts over quantity.  I do try to keep it pretty equal between Sam and Ian on the nights they are opening our gifts.

The show "Annie" is coming to National Theatre in March. Both kids love the story and the music from the show.  We sing the soundtrack all the time in the car.  If it had been playing on Broadway when we went to NYC in June, this would've been their first Broadway show.  I've told them many times over the years that "Annie" on Broadway was the first show I ever saw and I would love for it to have been theirs too.   Unfortunately it wasn't playing in June and we saw "Matilda" instead, which was excellent and well-received by our group.

With "Annie" coming to our area, Jeff and I decided to get tickets for the whole family to go and make this one of Ian and Sam's bigger presents.

I printed a sheet of paper saying, "You, yes YOU(!) are going to see "Annie" on Saturday, March 19th"  I placed it in a small envelope, then put it in a bigger envelope, and finally wrapped it in a piece of Hanukkah wrapping paper.  I gave identical packages to the kids to open at the same time.  Ian and Sam opened their gift and let out a big squeal of happiness when they realized they were getting to see this show.

Ian:  So we are going up and back in a day?

Me:  Huh?

Ian:  To New York City...are we going up and back in a day?

Me:  Oh, uh-oh.  Um, no.  It's not playing in NYC.  It's playing at The National Theatre.  We are going up and back to D.C. in a day.

Ian:  Oh.

Me:  Yeah, oh.

It never occurred to me that the kids would've interpreted the ticket as a trip to NYC.  Can you say Hanukkah fail?   Although this has given me a great idea for next year's Hanukkah gift and maybe, just maybe it will be a day or weekend trip to NYC to see another show on Broadway.

Once this confusion was cleared up and we told the kids we are going to see the show with family friends, their smile returned and they were excited again.  I have to give a big pat on the back to Jeff and I for not going crazy this Hanukkah.  Every gift had a purpose and was something the kids ended up loving when they opened it.  It's so hard to get the kids gifts when I feel like they already have everything.  Fortunately I had a great memory and recalled various things they said they wanted this past year.

Another Hanukkah is in the books.

A trip through Neverland

After running 10 miles, passing out, throwing-up multiple times, taking a shower and recovering this past Sunday, I had plans to take Ian to a production of Peter Pan in the afternoon. It was being produced by the Mount Vernon Community Children's Theatre. Due to my earlier shakiness in the day, Jeff offered to take Ian, but I know Jeff wanted to watch The Masters on TV. So it was an easy decision to leave Sam with Jeff and allow me to have a special outing with Ian. I don't get the chance much anymore to spend time outside the house with only Ian and I was looking forward to it.

I love going to the theatre. There is something magical about seeing a play or musical live right in front of your eyes. It gets you excited to be a part of the action. I've been waiting for the right opportunity to come along for me to introduce Ian to the theatre. This children's theatre company was perfect. It was 2 hours long and included a 15 minute intermission. Ian was enraptured from the very beginning to the curtain coming down at the end. The entire play was done by kids which made it more relatable for Ian. The musical numbers were lively and the actors made the play interactive by coming off the stage, dancing and running through the aisles.

I loved seeing Ian enjoy this. I hope I can take him to other plays in the future and slowly build up to the Rolls Royce of theatre and get tickets for something on Broadway. I have such fond memories of my mom taking my sister and I to see Cats and A Chorus Line in NYC when we were little. If there is such a thing as a theatre gene, I hope Ian and Sam have inherited it.