urban babies go to music class

Back when I was a mother of one, with all that time on my hands, I signed Geekygirl and I up for 'music together' class. Just because I work outside the home why should I be denied the pleasures of waving scarves and beating tambourines in a room full of toddlers, I thought? Fortunately a class is offered at 5.00pm for us masochist mums. While it is a bit earnest and hippy dippy (think indian chanting, scottish folk songs and 'frere jacque' rather than 'the wheels on the bus') we have enjoyed it. Geekybaby has been attending class since he was in utero, and now he too has started to bounce along to the songs and eat the instruments, so I have bitten the bullet and paid them both up for another semester. Though I am starting to have second thoughts, because of the gargantuan effort required for the 45 minutes of fun.

Class is held in the rec room of a swanky new condo complex in SOMA, beside the ballpark. It has a Safeway on the ground floor, so us music mummies can park there for free if we make a purchase.

Perhaps because of the rather well heeled catchment area of this class, many of the little musicians are dressed up to the nines for the occasion. There is one little girl in particular who always looks as perfect as a new pin. Her outfits are of the kind that I would only buy for a wedding; delicate dresses with matching sweaters and Carrie Bradshaw-esque oversized flower hair clips. Think Suri Cruise, only cuter. Geekygirl is more of a leggings and funky T shirt kind of a girl (a particular favourite being her 'children under the bed shirt'
a gift from auntie followthatdog).


This would be just fine, except that after a day at daycare, she is usually dressed mainly in paint and glue, and her hair is decorated with mulch. Often she has so ruined the mornings outfit that she is dressed in her spare clothes, horribly shrunken leggings that may have once been pyjama pants, and threadbare, stained T shirts.

Since one of the pleasures of taking my adorable little girl to a public forum like this is to show off both her adorableness and my great taste in toddler wear, I felt humiliated by the sideways glances we recieved. "what a lovely child, but what a shame her mother dresses her like a refugee" I sensed the glamourous parents thinking. So I now try to make an effort to put our cutest feet (and other body parts) forward for class.

Getting to class on time, with both children in a mood to coorperate is a ridulously complicated operation. Here are all the things that must be achieved for a successful music class outing:

1. Remember that it is music class day
2. persuade Geekygirl to wear cutest clean outfit available and not spill breakfast on it.
3. Remember to put double stroller in car
4.Remember to bring diaper bag, and to put diapers in it.
5. Remember to pack spare fashionable outfit in case too much fun was had at daycare and Geekygirl is in hideous spare clothes by days end.
6. Remember to bring snack, and empty sippy cup
7. remember to fill sippy cup from water cooler before leaving office
8. Get out of office by 4.00pm.
9. get both kids out of daycare by 4.30pm (unexpected last minute diaper changes, or a toddler's need for one more go down the slide can seriously impact the timeline)
10. Cross fingers that there is not a home Giants game to snarl traffic, and get to parking garage by 4.55pm
11. Put parking ticket in a spot in cluttered purse where it can easily be found later.
12. Perform emergency parking lot costume change on Geekygirl if required, and if time and toddler temperment allows
13. Arrive at class in time for the 'hello song', and behave well enough to stay until the 'goodbye song'.
14. Dash around cramped urban safeway-trying-to-be-whole-foods with giant double stroller filled with hungry tired children, meeting horrified gazes of young trendy folk, in order to get grocery purchase to validate parking.
15. Remember to give cashier parking ticket to validate
16. Get kids and groceries back in car and out of garage before 90 minute parking time is up.

Maybe I am overachieving by even attempting to get to this music class. I think this might be our last semester!