Extra, Extra!

Tuesday, I got an e-mail from a friend about an opportunity for my older two kids to do some work as extras on a movie. The catch? The shoot would be all day, it was 2 1/2 hours away, we'd have to be there at 6:45 AM, and the younger kids couldn't come, so I'd have to have someone watch them for the whole day. So I called my husband, he gave his blessing and worked out the younger kid-child care thing by adjusting his schedule a bit so he could work from home. With that done, I e-mailed my friend back and asked if there were still spots available. We got our confirmation around 4 in the afternoon, and full panic mode set in. Each child needed 4-5 potential outfits in specific colors...and that meant I needed to do laundry...and we'd need snacks...and breakfast for the road...and they needed to bring backpacks as props...and schoolwork/books to read during down time...and find Social Security cards and doctor records for each kid...and...and...the list goes on and on. Not to mention the usual make dinner, tend to the kids, etc. Oh, and I had a dress rehearsal for United in Praise from 7-9PM that I could not miss. So I went through every article of clothing the two older kids had, pulled out what might work, had them TRY IT ON since they grow so much and things don't always fit from one week to the next, and then started a load of laundry to wash what was needed but dirty. I rounded up backpacks, notebooks, and busy work, I went to UIP, and then the store for granola bars, cereal bars, apples, and other snacks. I dried the laundry, and folded it, stacked Scott and Mimi's stuff in two piles on the table, printed off driving directions, and finally headed to bed at 12:30AM. Mimi showed up at my bedside at 3:30AM to wake me up-she clearly wasn't sleeping she was so excited. (She didn't know the call time had been moved to 30 minutes later, so she robbed me of 30 minutes of shut eye!) We got Scott up, which took a while, loaded up the car, and were on the road by 4:30AM.
We arrived in Largo with plenty of time to spare, and took the shuttle to the shoot. It was a busy, LONG day, and the kids loved every minute of it. Mimi wants to go back and do it every day. Scott got a bit of a promotion and got to be a "stand in" for one of the movie's child stars. He did great. Actually, they both did. For me, there was lots of time where I was just sitting around. I was glad I had had the foresight to bring a knitting project to work on. And a book to read. Of course, there were plenty of other moms to chat with too, but that's not my strong suit, so while I did a bit of that, I also relished the opportunity to enjoy the quiet and be busy with my hands. I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say about the movie, and we want to go back for some more work in a few weeks, so I'm going to not say much more right now. The kids did get to see one of the adult stars (not that they knew who she was) and a few of the child stars, and should get to see more of the cast in a few weeks, but really the high light for them was having the potential to be in a movie, no matter how short their screen time might be, if they even make the final cut at all.

Scott with his "stand in" identification.

Mimi and some of the other extras.

Mimi's fancy hair. The hair lady walked up to her and said, "We are going to tame that hair today." And that was after Mimi washed it, conditioned it, we braided it, she slept in braids, and then we brushed it out in the morning and pulled the top section back in a pony tail. All that, and she still felt it needed to be "tamed". Oh well, the finished outcome was cute, the lady was nice, and she was very gentle with her so there were no tears ;-).

At the end of the day, we took the shuttle back to our van only to find the battery was dead. Welcome to my life. The production crew was amazing, and someone was there with jumper cables in mere minutes. We were on our way home by 8PM, and got back at 10:30. It was a very long, exciting day. And I don't regret a second of it, but I did wake with a mammoth migraine today, so the kids had a very light school day today too since I was in bed and unable to supervise their work (which always means their work really doesn't get done). We'll definitely have to plan better for the shoot in a few weeks so there is more sleep for everyone, especially me, the night before!

(Uncle Craig came to visit this afternoon too, so he got to hear all about the shoot, and provided further excuse to abandon the books, LOL.) Tomorrow, we hit the books in the morning again and go to our new science co-op and then play time with friend, so my expectations are pretty low for schoolwork again. Oh well, there's always next week!

Lord, thank you for opportunities that present themselves at unexpected, unplanned for times, and for the flexibility with homeschooling to take advantage of them. Thank you for giving the kids a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for the chance for them to experience "work" and learn the value of a dollar when they are actually earning it. Please help them to see that when they spend their hard earned money, they are really spending moments of their lives; that that game that costs $25 actually costs them 3 hours of work, and help them to use that knowledge to invest and spend wisely now and in the future. Lord help us always to seek your will with how we use our resources (time and money) and to be obedient in saying "no" when "no" is what Your plan is for us even if "yes" seems like more fun.