Recital Day 2010

Today is my grandmother's 89th birthday (Happy Birthday shoutout to her!) and Emily's 10th recital day!!

As always, it was a (long but) beautiful show!

Their costumes were a bit different this year, but on stage they shimmered and flowed like the wind through flowers. Quite a nice effect!

Enjoy some dress rehearsal and recital photos:

Nutcracker "Sweet" Sunday

Some photos from the shows this weekend.

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Moving and Musing Towards Our B'day

Monday, Monday. Can't trust that day...

So true sometimes. Except this week it's the FIRST Monday in October! Yay!!

October!!!

That's our -- a.k.a. Emily and me -- "Birthday Month," for all of those new to the blog...or old and forgetful. *wink-grin*

The photo is one from Emily's 2nd birthday and my...hmm, not sure which number...29 and holding maybe? I put it on my desk pc as the background. Isn't Emily's expression adorable? That was the year we began singing to each other, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to uuuuh-usssss! Happy birthday to you!"

So busy day...busy-ish week...and all that after a bit of a busy weekend.

Edward's team lost again on Saturday. 3-2. BUT....BUT!!!! Our little soccer "star" got a GOAL! He kicked it in the goal but thought he missed so he turned to get back in position, and the fans went WILD!! Well, mostly his family, but we did get kind of loud...and the baby cried. Oops. It was actually a really fun game to watch since all the kids on both teams did a really good job. Needless to say, we had lots of ice cream after that game.

Emily just confirmed that she gets to dance as a soldier in the Nutcracker again this year. There was some doubt as to whether or not she'd even get to be in it this year since she's not in the Company yet...and she's too tall to be an angel. But her teacher told her that they'd definitely need her as a soldier again this year. We were pleased. Emily told us she likes doing the Nutcracker more than even doing her recital. Plus, it's become somewhat of a tradition in our family. We look forward to it, too.

My dad will celebrate his 70th birthday this coming Friday. Pretty special...like him!

Just over 3 months -- count 'em -- THREE months until Season 8 of 24 starts. We're a little bummed that Emily has dance class on Mondays from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. I suggested that Stuart could take her out 10 minutes early each week so that we can enjoy 24 together at 9 p.m. But I guess we'll tape it and watch it at 10 instead. Sigh. Still, it's exciting that it'll be back!! Yay! We had a "TMHB" (Teachers' Mental Health Break) last Friday and enjoyed two excellent movies: Amazing Grace and 17 Again. Both were very enjoyable, and I highly recommend them to you if you haven't had the pleasure of viewing them yet. The first, especially, was powerful and thought-provoking...and very moving.

Stuart and I have our "Monday Movie Night" again tonight. We're watching Management. It looks funny, and I'll let you know what we think of it next Monday. We're also renting Monsters vs. Aliens. We saw it in the theatre...but it'll be fun to see it again with the kids.

Tomorrow night, we have our October "Halloween" 4-H meeting. The kids are dressing up their rabbits and guinea pigs, and they'll have candy and snacks and a toilet paper game. It should be lots of fun.

I'm sure there's lots more that I wanted to write about in today's blog post...but my mind is going blank as it's already going to sleep. So I'll end here and bid you a fond farewell until next week.

Muggier Monday Musings

Happy Monday! The second one in June!

Well, I guess it's officially getting closer to actual Summertime.

We were spoiled by a few days of cooler more Spring-like weather....and now it's getting humid. Ugh. I guess that's all part of living in Pennsylvania.

Thank You, God, for AC!!

Emily had a fantastic recital yesterday. The dancers did a wonderful job and all their hardwork really paid off. She just finished her 9th year of dancing!! Wow! I can't believe it has been that long already. Apart from a weeklong "pointe club" next week, she has off from dance for the summer. Yay! We're getting closer to finishing school for the year. Just a "few" more sciences.....

Edward is still finishing up his Spring soccer season. He has a few more practices and games, I think. He's officially finished with all of his lessons for the year. We finally managed to do the rest of his music lessons, and, oh, what a relief that was! Hooray!

Ethan is nearly-mobile now. He can scoot around a bit and get to things that used to be out-of-reach. And he loves to pull himself up and stand. Ut-oh. Life is changing dramatically for all of us. He's certainly growing and changing quickly. He'll be 9 months old next Sunday. Yikes, huh? But it's fun as well!

Stuart and I started a "Monday (and Tuesday) Movie" night to take the place of our 24 show that is over for the season. So far we've watched New in Town and Taken. Tonight will be He's Just Not That into You and Defiance. We're hoping to start The Closer Season 4 soon, too. It's fun to have some good stuff to watch...especially when our favorite-most shows finish out their seasons. That, from two people who don't watch much anyway. *grin*

On that note, I will bid you adieu and hope that you have an enjoyable Monday!

Sweet Sunday

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Kickin' New Month Monday Musings

Edward and his soccer buddy wait on the sidelines
Happy Monday! Happy June! Happy brand new month and week!

It's still amazing to think time is flying by so quickly. We're nearly halfway through 2009 already.

Wow!!

We had some awesome late Spring/early Summer weather this weekend. Blue skies, warm sun, and cool breezes. Perfect!

Friday was the end-of-school picnic. The weather cooperated enough that it didn't rain during the picnic time. The kids enjoyed saying goodbye to their teachers and classmates and playing at the park. Stuart took a vacation day so he could join us. Yay!



He shoots....he scores!! Twice! Wooo-hooo! We were excited to see Edward focusing much better in yesterday's game. The same cannot be said about all of his teammates. But I had to keep reminding myself that the spring teams are made up of kids in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. So focus is not a strong point for some yet.

Yesterday also marked the end of teaching Sunday School for Stuart and me. A bittersweet moment, I think. Stuart was beginning to get a little tired from in all...after 4 years. Go figure. *wink-grin* But that didn't stop him from misting up as he prayed with the kids for the last time at the end of class.

Today marks the end of Emily's Ballet 3A Monday classes, and Wednesday will be the last of that day's classes. The recital is next Sunday afternoon! She got her costume last month, and Stuart and I were very pleased. It's very ballerina-ish. The girls felt it looked "too young," but we assured Emily that it looked much more professional than some she's had in previous years. I'm sure they'll all look beautiful on Sunday.

Ethan -- our behemoth baby -- is trying to crawl in earnest now. He's managed to figure out the stance and even has the strength to nearly push himself up. He's still not sure of the motion, though he's realized if he wriggles and/or "swims" he can move towards whatever it is that he wants. He was after a ball last night and kept getting just within reach...only to knock it out of reach again. He's very interested in standing and bouncing still so we think that crawling might be a short-lived stage followed fairly quickly by "cruising." We shall see.

Off to start the laundry... Have a happy Monday!

Wordless Wednesday

Dancer's Dreams

Here are some photos of Emily before and after her recital:


Dress Rehearsal


The class (minus two)


Before the recital



With her roses


Tired, but happy, dancer

Musing Along on Monday

Happy Monday! The first Monday in June! (Whew! Is it June already?? Time doth dash along.)

Emily had her dance recital yesterday, and a beautiful (if not a tad bit long) performance it was. We realized she finished her 8th year of dancing this year -- although, as I said to one mom, she's been dancing since birth, I think...one of the big reasons we got her involved in dancing to begin with. She'll have a week of "point club" next week -- 2 1/2 hours each night -- and then no more dance until September.

Edward finishes up his Spring soccer season this coming Sunday. He has one more practice and one more game. I think he's excited to be finished, though he seems keen to keep practicing in the yard. We're not sure if he enjoyed the kids on his team this season. There are always one or two bullies that make it hard on the others. Still, he gets to start fresh in the autumn.

Both kids began their Summer Bridge books today. Edward was so eager that he came down around 7:30 a.m., hugging it, and had his one-page completed by 8 a.m. We had a little "moving up" ceremony for them on Friday evening, complete with certificate/giftcard/Summer Bridge book presentation by "Principal Foote" and "Pomp and Circumstance" playing in the background. Silly, but fun, for all of us.

We've set some "summer goals" for ourselves. The kids want to learn to ride their bikes, play hopscotch, and jump rope. (They've tried their "hand" (and feet) at each of these activities, but I think they're eager to master them this summer.) Emily wants to learn to do a split for dance class, and Edward is keen to learn to dribble a soccerball better. And I have three books to read out loud to them. We also hope to begin a new chore game that I read about in a family magazine. You write down chores on popsicle sticks and put them along with several blank sticks into a cup. Then each person takes one and that's the chore that he/she does for the day. Sometimes you might get lucky and get a blank -- so you get a day off. It sounds good to the kids in theory. I'll let you know how it goes in reality. *wink*

Only 7 1/2 months until the start of my favorite-most show. The 2-hour prequel is slated to show the weekend before Thanksgiving, so not quite as long to wait for that. I saw another little tidbit regarding the Mirrors movie and cannot wait for it to come out in August...though I might find it hard to look into mirrors afterwards.

* * *

5 THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT
• bowers of honeysuckle
• an enchanting landscape
• small limestone cottages
• the first roller coaster ride of the summer
• fish and chips

* * *

We've had a ton of honeysuckle springing out all over the area this year.

Everytime I see it, I have the memory of a warmer early-summer day, back when I returned home from college. I was driving to work each morning, through woods filled with its sweet aroma. Most of the places we lived when I was smaller had some growing somewhere close by.

Emily always speaks eagerly about the sweet taste of honeysuckle, having sampled some one time when she was much, much younger.

Edward was curious what it tasted like, and she began to describe it as if when you pull out the little bit with the nectar on it you get a cup's worth of sweetness...when in reality you get a teeny-tiny taste.

Still, who am I to challenge such imagination?

I'm sure it felt that way when I was younger, too.

One day she might be listening to her kids telling each other about the sweet goodness of honeysuckle, and she'll know what I know.

Until then, let her enjoy her own memories.

*wink*

Amazing Monday Musings

No, that blog post title has no correlation to me or my actually doing my Monday Musings post...but the fact that it snowed overnight. I opened the window blind beside my bed this morning and said, "Wow!!"

It's certainly not much, and it won't last as "there's a warm wind coming." *wink* Still, the kids are psyched.

Happy Monday to you -- the Monday before Thanksgiving. (Can you believe it's nearly the holidays??) That's also amazing to me.

I'm typing my musings this morning on a older, used laptop (Stuart's dubbed the "Jacktop" for my Jack story. *grin*) I bought with birthday money. It's quite exciting as I hope to use this laptop to help me get back into writing professionally.

So let's see...new week, new happenings.

We're finishing a week's worth of lessons today and tomorrow so that the kids can have school vacation from Wednesday through Friday. They're excited and motivated...so here's hoping.

No new shows since the writers' strike is still going on....*grrrrr!* There is a glimmer of hope since the two sides have agreed to sit down and talk again (finally) on Nov. 26th. So the 24 countdown is still on hold but may begin again?? Okay. Okay. Let me keep my rosy glasses on for a bit longer...

We've been enjoying a new show called Life. It has a very interesting storyline and a good cast of characters/actors. Until all our favorites start up again, we've been enjoying the DVD sets we have for How I Met Your Mother and The Closer.

We head to my aunt's as always for an enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday. She lives outside of Honey Brook, a small town about 40 minutes from us. Hopefully, the weather will be conducive to taking a walk afterwards...the yummy dinner always makes the whole family sleepy afterwards.

Last Friday night was our monthly TMHB (teacher's mental health break), the movie night so dubbed by my "bff" homeschooling friend and me last year. It's the night we get together once a month to share our favorite movies and eat snacks and "yack." This month, I brought The Right Temptation and she had Crash. Let's just say 4 hours later we couldn't believe both movies were over. They were so intense and involving that we didn't realize how quickly they passed until the credits rolled. My rating on both movies? Definitely recommended.

I spent Saturday at the Schuylkill Mall in Frackville for my annual Christmas shopping trip with a dear friend and former colleague from Highlights magazine. We figured out that this was our 13th year of meeting there. It's really a "Podunk" sort of mall...in the sense that there's not much there. But we don't really meet to shop. It's more of a "eat, chat, shop a bit, chat some more, eat lunch, chat even more, shop some more, etc." sort of time together. One year we said we'll have spend the night before at the Holiday Inn Express down the hill from the mall. Then we can catch a movie and shop, eat, chat, etc. *smile*

Speaking of the mall, it's located about an hour north of me, and the drive there this year especially was breath-taking. We've been experiencing a very late Autumn, and as I drove through the mountains I saw trees with leaves of yellow and orange and then deep red...truly amazing! I wanted to take some photos with my cellphone, but then I realized the little camera was helpless to capture the beauty of that moment. So I had to settled on mental photos...

Sunday night was the Ladies' Night for the small group Bible study we belong to at church. We met at a local eatery called Stoppers and enjoyed some good food and fellowship. It was encouraging, as "kid-free" times always are. We were missing two ladies, but I'm sure they'll be able to join us next month.

Emily had her last Friday night practice for the Nutcracker. We start the longer Sunday afternoon practices next Sunday...and then in a couple of weeks it's the tech rehearsal, dress rehearsal, and SHOWTIME. It's always such a fun experience for her. We're thrilled that she has the opportunity. I'm going today to get our tickets...hopefully they won't be too high in "the nose-bleed section."

Heard in the car this afternoon... Edward: What if we had square butt cheeks... Emily: Then we'd have square toilets...

And on that note...

* * *

5 THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT

• a cup of Darjeeling with a lemon slice

• a burst of elation

• stepping out of a limo

• a gentle answer to a difficult question

• broken-in ski boots

* * *

I love tea.

So whenever we go back to England, I'm thrilled to get lots of cuppas during my visit.

On one of our journeys back, we got a ride in a limo...a long, white, stretch variety. It drove up to our apartment in the middle of the city, causing a bit of excitement for our neighbors.

(We had a very simple wedding. We didn't use limos (not that we would have wanted to), and I had a fairly sheltered existence so I didn't have one for the prom either (not that I would have wanted one). So I am not well-versed in the art of gracefully "stepping out of a limo" like you see on TV during the awards ceremonies.)

We were accompanying Stuart on a business trip. Emily was just over two years old and very newly potty-trained....

While we were riding in said-car, enjoying the roominess and luxury and free sodas, Emily announced very sweetly that she needed a potty.

Now, like every newly-potty-trained soul, when she announced that she needed a potty that meant she needed a potty NOW.

Hmmm...we didn't know what to do.

Then we noticed that the limo driver -- who was apparently a newly-trained, new-brain-transfer recipient -- went the wrong direction on the Pennsylvania Turnpike so that we were heading towards the Pocono Mountains instead of the Philadelphia Airport.

Being worried about missing our flight entered our brains but in front of that worry was the urgency of Emily's needing a potty. Did I mention the free sodas?

Necessity is indeed the mother of invention...

The free soda came with free glasses (to use only, of course); glasses wide enough to hold under a poor, trembling 2-year-old who was desperate for a loo.

The cup proved instead to be the perfect item to create "pee lock," thus we were saved from having to leave behind an unexplained glass of "yellow soda," in a variety not previously offered in this limo...

And the "stepping out of the limo" at the airport?

Well, it was hardly graceful -- more of leap at the curb in front of Departures -- as we rushed to get our newly-potty-trained little one to a real bathroom before the lock released.

Shall We Dance

Here's Emily's 2007 Ballet Recital as promised on Monday. The girls looked so lovely and did a great job!