It Takes Me a While...

For a girl who loves music, dancing, friends, and dress-ups what could possibly be better than a Tiny Tutus class at the local rec center? It was with my own sense of delight and anticipation that I eagerly signed her up and awaited this new happy experience for Ellie.

She did not disappoint. From the moment I told her about her new class she eagerly looked forward to it. She pulled out all of her leotards and tutus to put together outfits, "practiced" her dancing all hours of the day, and in general was giddy with excitement for her grand debut into the world of ballet.
With five kids in the house I pride myself in efficiency. I'm always looking for shortcuts to make my life easier...this Tiny Tutus class was no different. I run kids around enough that I really don't like making extra trips out of the house on my "days off" (you know--when I do laundry and clean the house all day), so I was smart and scheduled her class to be 20 minutes after preschool ended. It was perfect. I'd pick her up from preschool on Tuesdays and drive her straight to the rec center.

Imagine my surprise when during her first class I watch as she lagged a step or two behind the other girls, kept sucking her thumb, and seemed kind of spacey. It wasn't at all what I expected from my bubbly, energetic little girl. It was plain to see that she was exhausted.
I hadn't taken into account that preschool and dance class all in a row would be way too much for my little Ellie who still needs naps 3-4 times a week. [Bad Mom Award #1]

Despite this realization the first day of class, I decided to keep taking her thinking that dance class while exhausted was still better than no dance class at all. [Bad Mom Award #2]

Then today happened.

It was a particularly frazzling day as I was running a little late and still had to drop off another child at their home before dance class. We arrived a good 15 minutes late and Ellie totally looked the part of the frazzled, overworked child with her hair all disheveled and a leotard that was too big, since she'd insisted on wearing Emma's that day.

Ten minutes later the teacher brought her out to me and told me she was too sick to be in class today. I was more than a little surprised since she'd not had ANY symptoms 10 minutes earlier. It turns out that she'd had a "sneezing fit" during the class and that she was not welcome to stay in class. Never mind that she hasn't had a runny nose, cough, or any other symptoms, this sneezing was disruptive and unacceptable.

Here's where I silently thanked Glen for his over-active sneezing genes that he seems to have passed to Ellie and I indignantly picked up my little girl and did what I should've done 6 weeks ago....I marched to the front desk and demanded a refund for the rest of her classes and went home and put my tired little ballerina down for a nap!