NYC Weekend

Finally writing about my first experience at a dance competition with my beautiful & talented eldest daughter. It was quite an experience...a bit overwhelming for this "not so girly" mama. It was held in NYC - one of the most amazing & fun places on the planet. San Fran is still my favorite, but I think NYC is a close 2nd and much closer to home.

Packing was interesting to say the least. We were charged $7 per bag by the hotel in exchange for them holding ALL the bags until classes were over on Sunday so I was determined to get away with as few bags as possible. Being the cheapy I am, I not only had a huge duffel filled with a small cooler and clothes, but another small suitcase with food and my iPod dock. Becca's dance bag was filled with costumes and our "bag o' tricks" for getting ready. Our room ended up being STOCKED with food and drinks thanks to my buddy, Rox, and I. I also had just enough clothing to get me through until Sunday which is good for me since I tend to over pack. Becca is just like me, but thankfully she got away with less clothing since Saturday & Sunday were dance days.

We arrived at the commuter lot right down the street from where we used to live at 7:30am. Buses were due to take off at 8am sharp. My tummy was an absolute mess as it usually is before leaving on a trip. We waited for Rox and Sam to arrive and then got out of the warm car and brought our bags to the bus to be packed underneath. There were 3 buses (one for each company) and we were on the middle bus (2nd Company). I found out quickly that the parents sit up front and the kids sit in the back. I was ok with this, but Bec was a little bit disappointed. She had wanted to sit with me. She still has not really "bonded" with anyone and I know there are some girls who still don't think she "belongs" in their group. She ended up doing just fine.

The trip to NYC was pretty quick and filled with lots of chatter and smiles. Bec's ballet mistress (whose daughter is also on 2nd Company) told me how far Bec has come since August. She said I would be amazed at my girl's progress. High praise, indeed. I'm sure I beamed for the rest of the day. Once we arrived and got settled into our room (and finally had our fridge delivered), we headed out to Times Square which was just blocks from our hotel. We were in and out of different stores just poking around. Around 2pm we decided to stop at Roxy's deli and get a bite to eat. Let's just say I had some major sticker shock when I saw the menu. No problem I thought - I'll just share with Becca....Yes, for $3 extra (sharing fee). So we did share two foot long hot dogs on ONE bun with a side of fries, beans & sauerkraut for a mere $20. My butt hurt after that meal and I was weirdly craving a cigarette. :oP

We headed back towards the hotel after our meal stopping at a few more stores (one being Toys R Us where Bec, Sam and another 2nd co. girl rode the Ferris wheel inside the store.) My favorite place of the day (besides the lovely smelling Hershey store) was Sephora. I could spend hours smelling the different perfumes. I, of course, could care less about the make up which made up the first half of the store. That kept the girls happy though. We did get to see some crack head Elmo's & Cookie Monsters on some of the corners. If you took your picture with them, they shoved a Christmas stocking in your face and asked for donations. Right before we hit the hotel again we stopped into an American Craftsman store. There were some beautifully carved puzzle boxes and the most exquisite sideboard table with a city scene hand carved into the middle of it. The girls asked if they could take a picture of it and while they did, some man bought the table! The table sold for $48000 including tax. We were amazed that someone bought it while we were there!

We chilled for a bit at the hotel and then decided to walk up to Dylan's Candy Bar. I knew that everyone would LOVE it and I was right. We had planned on doing Serendipity too, but when I went online to get the number to call for reservations, they had really lousy reviews and knowing how much money it cost to eat there, I figured it wasn't worth our time. We ended up eating dessert for dinner at Dylan's Cafe at the top of the store. Bec and I had NY Cheesecake sundaes, Sam had the PB sundae and Rox chose a carrot cake cupcake the size of a softball. None of us finished any of them because they were SO rich. We took our time looking around the store and then headed out. I showed them where Serendipity was (thank you to my favorite babysitter Elisabeth for taking me to both places many years ago) and then we checked out some store fronts before hopping on the subway back to the hotel. Bec's first subway ride was uneventful although she was nervous that someone would hold her up at gun point. Once back at the hotel, we pretty much got our pjs on and chilled. I can't tell you how awesome it was to have my iPod dock. Rox had some sleepy music that we stuck on repeat. I slept way better than I would have without it that's for sure.

Saturday started relatively early. I was up by 7 and jumped into the shower. The girls had to head down around 9am to get their $100 hospital bracelets on which would allow them into the master classes the next day. When they came back, we started getting them ready for their first number - jazz - MJ's "Bad". The hair was KILLER for me. Thankfully Rox was there to show me the way to proper hair (no wispy bits!). I swear Bec had about 60 pounds of gel, hair putty, regular hairspray and then the ever faithful Aqua Net on top. I used six million bobby pins, a few up-do pins and some specially curved bobby pins for her bangs. I also learned a new trick to getting her super thick and heavy hair into a manageable bun. Bec applied most of her makeup and then I did her eyeshadow. Once the girls had their hair, make up and costumes on, we headed down to our private conference room. Rox helped stretch all the girls and then 1st Co. went up to get ready to do their jazz number. 2nd Co. practiced their dance a couple of times and we went up to the ballroom to wait once they headed up to backstage.

I will tell you my heart was pounding. We watched 1st Co's jazz number (AWESOME) and then waited for our girls. I was a nervous wreck. I don't think I breathed fully until after they were done. It was amazing and emotional. I didn't cry, but I just couldn't catch my breath and there was a HUGE lump in my throat throughout the whole number. They did SO well and I was so proud to be a Mom to one of the dancers in that group. Once they were off the stage, we headed out of the ballroom and back down to the conference room to get the girls into their hip hop costumes. Many of the girls were complaining about a lump in their throats and/or their throats hurting after being on stage. Becca was crying because she felt like tossing her cookies. Thankfully after some water, gatorade and a few pieces of candy, whatever was there went away, but later I found out that many of the girls in 1st Co. had the same problem. I wondered more than once if the hotel's HVAC maybe needed a good cleaning and after seeing Sam's socks blackened by the carpet on Sunday after dancing, I wonder if the carpets could of used a good cleaning as well.

They readied for hip hop (1st & 2nd combined) and we went up to wait for that. They did AWESOME again. And again I was so proud to be a Dance Express mom. I was also glad that it was all over for me. Sam still had tap to go, but Bec and I were free from competition. YAY! My nerves were shot by then. We went for a late lunch at Ray's pizza (across the side street) and later went to a street vendor for dinner, but other than that, our day was spent in the hotel readying for dance or watching dance. The awards began a bit after 10pm. DE did very well although I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with Bad taking 2nd place especially since that number won the Best Precision award. 1st Co. took first place for their jazz number, 3rd Co. took 1st place for their hip hop & jazz numbers and Senior Tap took 2nd place. We did not get to sleep until well after midnight and classes started at 7:45am sharp the next morning.

Our wake-up call was set for 6am because the girls wanted to go across the street and get Starbucks. Needless to say, I was awake with the phone, but no one else was. By 7am we were ready to hit Starbucks. We sat with the girls until it was time for classes to start and then we went back to the room to pack. The cruel curse decided to hit me a week early - probably because of the cyst that ruptured the weekend before. Good times although I was thankful I had stuff packed "just in case". We ended up hitting a late breakfast over at the Stage Deli with another 2nd Co. mom and then pretty much chilled in the comfy leather seats in the Lower Lobby of the hotel. Rox and the other mom headed to the Yankees store, but I opted to stay where I was. I pretty much took my shoes off, put my feet up on the glass coffee table, played with my iPod and dozed a bit. Once 3:30pm hit, we headed upstairs to wait for the buses. The plan was to get the luggage packed and all the parents on the buses before classes let out at 4:15. That way the girls could throw their dance bags into the bottom of the bus, grab a seat and we'd be off. The ride home seemed SO much slower and we made a pit stop in Darien at a rest stop off the highway. Most of us just wanted to get home. Thankfully the ride from Darien wasn't too long and once we hit the commuter lot about an hour later, my awesome hubby was there with a warm truck and strong arms to grab the luggage.

The best thing about going away for me is not the getting away from the everyday grind, but the coming home with a renewed love for my family. I missed them all SO much and by the response I got when I walked through the door, I think the feeling was mutual. Even my dogs were happy to see me!

The one thing I know is that should Bec make 1st Co. this coming year (she will not be eligible for 2nd) that Chris will be coming to NYC next year even if I have to start saving a couple dollars every week for it. He will HATE the day of dance, but I totally think he needs to see what this competition stuff is like and even though we have some other ones coming up, NONE of them will be in NYC. He is still not sure that he wants to, but I don't think he should have a choice. You can't understand what it is like until you've experienced it and believe me...I totally have.