The title of this particular post has actually nothing to do with the weather for the month of March but whether our busy mama schedules this month will become busier or calmer before picking up again.   As I sit here typing this I have to wonder what I will be in store for the 31 days for March. 

Do you ever plan for nothing and then the month gets a way from you?

The end of last month we celebrated our second son’s 10th bday.  In my mind, it was the last big event so i visioned the checkered flag that gets waived at the races.  I guess the races came to mind because Nascar was covered quite a bit here with a race on the other side of town.  I had a lot of scheduled events in the short month with a small percentage of unplanned activity.

Anyway, I don’t have many plans for March but I have this feeling its going to be a busy one.  We have homeschooling which is quite enjoyable, parkdays, a St. Patty’s Day party, my nonprofit’s Clothing Swap which is going to be big, Adam’s classes, website building (it’s like scrapbooking, well kind of), taxes, planning for next months nonprofit events and at the end  a trip to the Hollywood Bowl to see Paul McCartney in concert.  Does that sound busy?  I feel like I am missing something in my list. What does yours look like?

Please share your event lists of March, I would like to read them. 

I need to go, the washer is done, the dryer is buzzing. I have something I want to share with all of you but it will have to be later today, so I will talk to you then,

Kristina

When: Saturday, March 20^th from 8am till 3pm

Where: LDS Chapel Parking Lot on Viking Street in Las Vegas

How: This is a FAIR EXCHANGE SWAP and its open to every person in the Las Vegas Valley. It will be much bigger than last time, there are 4 other groups that have asked to join us in making the swap bigger and the media will be covering this swap!

How does it work?  You bring your gently used clothes, shoes, socks, coats, hats, belts, and purses etc… we count them, and you can exchange them for an even number. 

And this time we are also including gently used household items and toys too!!!You can even donate books and used curriculum! 

All remaining items after the swap will be given to charity.

If you would like just to donate or give your items in advance, please email us at lvvhsn@gmail.com , we will be picking up items from March 1^st until March 18^th.

If you would like to volunteer please email us at lvvhsn@gmail.com

Why: LVVHSN is a nondenominational, nonprofit pending group. Our purpose is fun, friendship, and giving back to our community.

GG, Kristina

Are you wondering why my other kids are not involved in any activities?  They are but only Adam (because of his age) is in an actual program, the rest of my children are involved in homeschooling activities, our park days, field trips, Mad Science, parties, and community service fill up our schedule.  We tried classes at our local rec center for our remaining three, but it didn’t really fit. Kyle hears his own drummer’s beat, Blake is a self declared gamer and they really don’t offer a class in games. Sports is so not this kid’s thing. Aiden is 5 and the only classes they offer are preschool and he is now learning at a second grade level. He is alot like Adam except he doesn’t want to entertain, I think he will be more like Hugh Heffner. He loves to sleep in, he loves taking pix, he loves wearing pjs, and he loves to cuddle and read. See the similarities?  

So here is the piece of good news that I mentioned in the last blog. My homeschool group was recently featured in an educational magazine! The magazine is called Education Update and the majority of its readers are actually public school teachers. I use to get this mag when I taught and I really enjoyed it but their most recent issue, I enjoyed it even more.  Anyway, the article is a positive story about homeschooling and I feel it shows a thawing toward homeschoolers from the our educational system.

While the public school system didn’t write the article, I think this definitely shows a bridge toward breaking the us vs them thing that’s been going on for eons of time.  Check out the article:

http://issuu.com/educationupdate/docs/edupdate_janfeb10/27?mode=a_p

Hey I am going to close this blog for now, I will be back on Friday this week. 

Talk to you then, Kristina

Tomorrow my day is quite full, we have Kyle’s speech class in the morning. The class happens to be here which is nice, his speech teacher travels to you not you to her. Then we have a  homeschool park day, we are celebrating Val-inese Day. What’s that? Well it’s a combo of a late Valentine’s with Chinese New Year. Both holidays are very cool to celebrate and technically I could’ve cancelled Valentines because of the rain last week, but I really didn’t want too. That’s the nice thing about homeschoolers, we can change the dates on anything.  Last, Adam (my oldest) has practice at the community play titled “ Damn Yankees. ” We will be going from 7am  to 8pm. Actually my other kids won’t be just my oldest and myself. 

So the last I left off I mentioned that on our trip we heard some other good news, well we did. As we pulled into the parking structure at the hotel, my phone rang.  It was the production company that works out of Las Vegas telling me that they wanted my son, Adam for a part!  Yep, Adam had his first movie role.  It was just a movie short, a movie that is actually lasting half the time of the regular movie but its actually part of a series of shorts that will be made into a feature film. 

When we returned from our trip to L. A., Adam had a table read one day, a dress rehearsal two days later, and then filming at the end of the week.  It was done over three days, and the filming part was just one day.. For all you moms, when you have a minor interested in this field, our job is to sit around and wait. Yep, there has to be a parent  of each minor on set at all times so you kind of get stuck.  The plus side is there is food to eat that you didn’t have to prepare, but you can’t sit and watch a movie or something because you are on a movie set. Nor can you play on your phone or make calls because they don’t want your calls to interrupt the movie.  You can read, it’s quiet.  Those working on the film had their laptops something I didn’t consider but they weren’t watching movies,they were working. I was there with three other moms and I  watched the process of what was made was very interesting. 

When a scene called for multiple people like for a conversation, there really was only one person there so the same scene was done over and over again until all parts were done.

This schedule fit in with Adam’s schedule coincidentally so where we had a lull in the week, we had something to do.  What’s the movie called? I can only tell you so far that it’s called ” First Order of Business”. Sorry I can say no more at this time, but when it comes out.. I will be typing it everywhere..

We received other news too this past week, really cool news for my homeschool group and Adam did happen to be involved in this one too.. but this is for another blog so I am going to sign off.. see you in a couple days.

Kristina

Pretty insane weather we have been having across the states huh?  I love the rain and Las Vegas can really use it.. what is scary is all the insane drivers out there.  They don’t slow down and the weather brings out the kids in them again, the ones that loved to jump in puddles.  Except that these individuals, the ones that loved to jump into puddles go for puddles in their cars and they are just NUTS!  Las Vegas does indeed get rain but generally its in the summer and its monsoon season, and it comes with thunder and lightening.  The other thing about Las Vegas and rain, our rain in the summer only lasts about 15 min then it moves on. 

So anyway, I am sure you returned to the blog to find out more about our trip to Los Angeles and America’s Got Talent. Like I mentioned before, I can’t tell you who we saw but I can talk about our trip. 

So I left off with our first night in downtown Los Angeles and all the parents sitting around at the restaurant table mentioning how are fingers were sore. It was because of Cajon Pass, a not so nice part of the 15 in California that is very steep and can become icy, snowy, and very slippery in bad weather.  In nice weather  its not so bad, its just high up and steep.         

 Our first night that we arrived in Los Angeles, we checked into our hotel and made a trial walk down to the Staples Center where the Audition would be held. It was Susan’s idea, the owner and teacher of the company to see how long it would take us to get there with 22 members and 13 parents.  On our way back, we stopped into an IHOP and ordered dinner. I am pretty sure that the waitress wasn’t overly thrilled seeing 33 people made up mostly of teens walking in the door and taking up 5 tables at dinner at the same time. I remember my days waiting tables and it was a sure thing that you would bust your butt taking care of them and they would leave you like a dollar and a huge huge mess.  Our company left a nice size tip and all the kids knew without us telling them that they should leave something. Heck they weren’t even that messy. So waiters and waitresses out there, there are good teens.

You know dinner was fun, really. It was fun watching the kids bond closer on this trip. You would think that they took trips all the time and ate meals together regularly and it was great meeting and getting to know all the parents too. Many of them only knew me as the mom that took on the website.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and called it an early night at 8pm so we could  get up early and go through one more rehearsal before heading down to the Audition. In the Company, there are 17 girls and 5 boys. Each room had an adult and the rooms held 4 people each.  The way it turned out, my son and I got a room to ourselves because the older boys with the one adult (just turned 22) in the Company had the boys room.  Totally not planned and nor am I  complaining either.   At 6am the next morning, we all met downstairs in the lobby.  Susan found a hallway on the lower level that went to some closed banquet halls and the kids assembled to rehearse one more time. All the parents hit the Starbucks and then joined . By 7, we were walking down with Company in costume  to the audition arriving just before 7:30am.  

So this is where it gets really cool, at least I think so. As we approached the Convention Center, we saw a man with a walkie talkie and tags sticking out of his pocket. Clearly he was someone set out to navigate the crowds that already started forming the night before.  Susan went up to him (footnote: we had a scheduled time), Susan went up to him and said, ” We are Broadway West from Las Vegas and we are here to audition for America’s Got Talent.”   The conversation went on and she told him that we were to meet up with a certain person. One thing led to another and the person came down to greet us and we were escorted in.  It was so quick and we walked like one large, organized, professional unit. It was amazing.

Well once inside and I am going to have to be less detailed here, another person greeted us and wanted to see the forms each member and their parent filled out. Some members had their parents and provided the identification of who they were and who his or her child was. Susan and I were guardians to the remaining members, who did’t have their parents come along. So paperwork  was checked and it pays to be really organized, we were moved to another room where the Company performed and we were done before 9:30am . The kids, they were just great!  They really were.  Did they make it? Don’t know, we won’t hear for awhile, but come back and check in and find out when I do or a little after I do. 

Wow! My blog is long again! Would you like to know what we did the rest of our weekend in Los Angeles? Find out this week when I finish blogging about our trip. If you would like to see pictures, go to www.broadwayweststudio.com and check them out.  Oh, there was something else that we found out that day we arrived, I didn’t mention it because it didn’t quite fit in. I’ll let you know next time when you visit my blog, The Busy Mama.

Kristina

My life as a busy mama went into over drive and the last two weeks just flew right by.. So this is what’s been going on in my life, please remember to share your lives in the comments afterward…

Just after the start of this year, I learned my homeschooling group, LVVHSN was going to be in an educational periodical for teachers and it was a positive story on homeschooling.  Yeah! Then I learned  the acting company my oldest son is part of received an invitation to audition for America’s Got Talent (Yeah!)  and then (and I will get back to AGT) my son went to a movie audition for a movie short and landed a role in the movie!  Yeah! Yeah!  See what I mean, its been crazy.

I can’t tell you much about AGT in what we saw but I can tell you what it took to prepare to go. I also can’t tell you about the movie because it’s in the contract, sorry. When I do know something, I will indeed share.    

Traveling to America’s Got Talent :

The parents were already pumped when we learned about AGT because it was the evening before a Disney agent and her photographer husband came to take pixs of members that needed to update their ZED cards. (Btw, he is REALLY good! ) In just a short two weeks, the parents of the acting company banded together to get things completed so the trip would go smoothly.

I run the website, www.broadwayweststudio.com so I took a larger role than many of the parents but really, we all did it together. The first thing we had to complete was  the 14 page paperwork for each member of the company. 

This day turned out to be a really good day to get the paperwork completed  because it was the day of the photo shoot. As the kids waited for their turn to get their headshots, they filled out their forms with their parents.  Each minor in the company going had to fill out 5 pages, the parent had to read and sign 5 pages, and the owners/teachers had to fill out their 4.  We needed  a notary and we were lucky, we had a parent that was one. Score!  

Next on the list was hotel rooms, I started looking immediately for a nice hotel in downtown Los Angeles for all 22 members , the teachers,and their parents to stay at.  Downtown L.A. wasn’t so bad, we stayed at the L.A. Sheraton at Macy’s Plaza just a mile from the Staples Center. I totally suggest this place.

Getting parents was no problem, I thought it might be traveling with so many teens but all the kids acted so professionally. We only needed 7 parents, we got 14.

So anyway, two weeks later the big day came. After several days of rain, Las Vegas was dry but L. A. was not, we began our journey to L. A.  We encountered no traffic problems or rain for most of the trip. The only scary part was Cajon Pass where it gets icy, slick, and snowy. Keeping this pass in mind, we left at 11 and we did okay. No one got in a wreck, but that small part of the trip made everyone’s knuckles hurt as we learned at dinner that night. 

So we got there safe.. Do you want to hear the rest of our trip? Check in tomorrow, when I detail our adventure and what happened to my dh in my absence. 

The Busy Mama

Kristina

Following so far? next was arranging car pooling and rooms.

I have always liked puzzles and did them when I was a kid. Now with kids of my own, I don’t get the chance to sit down and work on a puzzle all that much and never one so complicated as a 3D puzzle because if I leave it alone, its going to get ruined. I know it.

Well, I have learned about a new kind of puzzle that I have been playing with since well, last January but I didn’t see it as a puzzle until last November when my amazing husband made a comment. 

What am I talking about? This site and some others that I am now working on.  Its not all about coding, but you end up learning some because you need it.  I must admit computers were intimidating when I was in college and I am not that old. I procrastinated taking the class and by the time I was in my career, I couldn’t imagine not having a computer with the internet.

Last year, one of my best friends and I started up a nonprofit and things happened in her life where I had to take the steering wheel on our web site. I spent a lot of time lost and intimidated  working in the admin panel but I knew what I wanted to do and finally toward the end of the summer, I actually started moving forward more than an inch..  

p.s. If you are confused, I am not talking about a car. 

Anyway, I was running mine and feeling confident in what I have learned so I took over my son’s acting teacher’s site. I can tell you it is indeed like a puzzle.  If you like puzzles, you should indeed try running your own site using a wordpress blog.  I now look forward to each advancement and you know what? If I save my work and close the window.. the kids can touch it either..

Well hey, gg, next blog will be on our countdown to Adam’s audition to America’s Got Talent! 

Kristina

www.broadwaywest.com

www.adamsimonkrist.com

www.lvvhsn.org

and www.thebusymama.com

The next few days of this week will be like this and then the weeks after will have things added to them. My homeschool group, Las Vegas Valley Homeschool Group is having a community service project called Adopt a Grandparent that we will be involved in.  What we have done is adopted a retirement home with the intention of making sure every resident there will receive a Valentine’s Day card on Valentine’s Day.  All the cards will be made with love, kindness, and happiness. Would you like to join us? Drop me an email at lvvhsn@gmail.com and I will send you the details on where to send your Vday card before Vday.

Besides our homeschooling and this really fun community service activity, my oldest son will be headed to Hollywood to meet with casting agents in the near future, he is also going to be involved in another community play, Damn Yankees.

Well I need to go, my son is playing Clair de Lune and I would rather not hear the keyboard while he is playing.. Ck him out at www.broadwayweststudio.com or www.adamsimonkrist.com. He is indeed headed for bigger things..

Well gg

See ya next time..

Kristina

I have something really exciting to share with all that visit the site. Two other busy mamas will be joining me to blog here on The Busy Mama.  If you are interested in blogging here as well, please let me know and we can talk about it. 

Well this needs to be short and sweet, I am working on three other sites today and they need to be completed before the afternoon so I can get back to this one later and then have the night free.. See you all tomorrow, Kristina

My last post was 11 days ago, wow, it’s been that long??? Truly, I thought it had been at most a week.  So what’s been up ???  In the last 11 days, I hosted our homeschool Christmas party with 40 plus people over, wrapped up our Angel Tree community service project (www.lvvhsn.org) , merged my two homeschooling sites, sent our remaining presents out, mailed my amazon items out (I sell on there too), mailed the Xmas cards, baked 80 cupcakes for a very nice and still completely with it 80 year old woman, attended the full dress rehearsal of the community play my oldest son was in,took lots of pictures and put them on the website (www.broadwayweststudio.com),  made a costume for friend’s son, cleaned the house from top to bottom, made dinner for my parents when they came up for my son’s play, attended both nights of the play, updated the websites,walked on the treadmill, and  hosted a xmas eve dinner and a xmas day linner. See I am truly not so different than many moms you may know or even yourself.. I just write about it that’s all. 

I don’t know exactly what 2010 has in store for me or for my family but I am sure it will be interesting.  It is my goal to make The Busy Mama site more than just my blog so please keep checking back.  I intend to profile other busy mamas and share tips that I learn in educating our children so they can grow up and be their best as individuals. I am very sure my topics will be of a wide range and if you want to suggest one.. please do. 

Thanks for stopping by.. See you on Tuesday.. Kristina