The Recital

OK, it was SOOOOO cute!!!  The video quality is not very good.  I want one of those new video cameras that Luke showed me now!  And, partly due to operator error, the video misses Maris striking a pose when she first came out on stage.  So, here is a picture. 

No one told her to put her hand on her hip like that.  Party in the USA was playing when they walked out and she thought she was HOT stuff.  All of the little girls did great and they couldn't wait to get on the HUGE stage.  Without further delay, here it is.......

Wednesday

Last Wednesday, it was a typical rushed day.  I needed to run to the store after school and after a pre-planned playdate.  But, I was tired and didn't feel good. So, John said he would bring home pepperoni rolls.  So, I had some time to just hang out with the girls.  Macie wanted to do her homework outside.  When we were out there, this little butterfly kept coming around, fluttering right by us, landing on us even.  It was so fun to watch it and try to get it to land on us.  Macie had just checked out this book from the library about a girl who plays with a butterfly and then can't find it the next day.  Maris just happened to take it outside that day. Here is a picture of it on the book!

It was fun and relaxing watching that little guy!  I did not take this moment for granted at all! 

Our Fall

I have been too involved in other things to keep up with this blog. But, I have decided that my life is so interesting, that I must share! Hee hee. It has been a crazy October. I love the fall, but it gets so busy.  Shara came down and we went to the fair and After Dark in the Park.  Our family also went camping at Mineral Wells State Park and rode our bikes all around Clark Gardens. It was fun, girls did great sleeping in the tent.

We saw this little guy on our bike ride....

They loved hiking too and climbing on rocks.  Although, Macie and I decided to take a hike by ourselves that turned out longer and scary than I had anticipated.  WE SAW A SNAKE!  Ugh.  But, we made it.  And, a spider attacked me at Clark Gardens and in an attmept to shoosh it from me, I think I broke my hand.  Seriously, I couldn't use or let it hang down for the rest of the day.  And, it STILL hurts three weeks later.  Dork!

My spooky food for fall:
Sheperds Pie

Maris's opinion of spooky sheperd pie

(wow she looks terrible here.  She really is cuter!)

And, this is the pumpkin cake.  Hee hee.

 
During John's 3rd consecutive weekend of camping, I had a mini craftie night with Priscilla.  We made this lovey wreath. 

It is made of burlap.  We also then took a little square of burlap, embroidered our initial in it, glued it to a page from an old law book and framed it.  That was just so we could say we did two crafts.  But, it did turn out cute.

While I am talking homemade stuff, here are my curtains and window mistreatments.  I think I don't like it.  But, I guess it will stay a while.  Shara helped me with the blind mistreatments while she was here.  I have a little more to do, and of course they need the wrinkles removed.  You can also see in this picture, that I painted my estate sale table and chairs red.  I like it.  (And, you can see, just as I did, thru the camera, that Maris is picking 2 of my 5 lemons before they are ready!!)

Last but not least, we went to 6 Flags tonite.  It was crowded but girls had fun.  We were just yards away from the WORLD SERIES!  We could see the homerun fireworks from the cowboy boot ride!  Go Rangers!  Oh, and there were people in the 6 Flags parking lot (really close to stadium) with their big screen tvs, hanging out watching the game.  I don't get that at all.  Wouldn't you rather be at home?  But, whatever I guess.

Tomorrow is Halloween, so maybe I will be moved to post their lovely costumes.  Oh, Maris has a recital.  I will just have to post. It will be too wonderful not to.

Shaving Cream

It has been a million years since I posted. Too busy with other stuff, but tonite I am moved to post. Ha! I read about this messy craft in the FW Star Telegram. You put shaving cream in a cookie sheet and smooth it out with a squeegee. (at least the new squeegee I bought for girl's bath came in handy..ha). Then, you put several dots of food coloring on the shaving cream and swirl it around with a stick. Lay a sheet of cardstock on top of the cream and press lightly (or not if you are Maris). Take up the paper and use the squeegee to scrape the shaving cream off. It made a cool print. The newspaper suggested doing this outside. As soon as the paper was out of the tray, the girls could not wait to get their hands in it. The pictures tell the rest of the story. I just hosed them off and then it was bath time. Very fun. Would do it again.

today

In some ways, I hesitate to write this post. My blog is kinda like a journal I guess. Part journal, part sharing with y'all what is going on in our lives. Anyway, here we go....

Today, I went to a funeral of a 62 year old woman who had been suffering with Alzheimer's disease for 10 years. Her daughters are my age, her grandkids, my kid's ages. I hardly ever cry anymore. In fact, I think it has only been once in the last 2 years. So, I was shocked that this service moved me so much. When I pulled into the church parking lot and saw the hearse and limousines, I felt myself tearing up. I had barely sat down in the pew when tears were pouring out of my eyes. Thank goodness Alisa had klenex! I sure hadn't thought of bringing them. I was moved by so much. First, the outpouring of support in that auditorium. People who had taken off work, taken their kids out of school, made time out of their day to come and pay tribute to this woman and to support and show love for her daughters, husband and parents. I felt so blessed to be part of that community. I then thought of how it must feel to bury your spouse, your mom. The pain must be horrible.

Over the past couple of years, several people from our church have been providing weekly meals for the woman and her husband. He kept her home with him the whole time. For the past year or so, he has had to feed her, do everything for her. In the last months, she wasn't even able to eat solid food. Every time I took them a meal, incredible emotion filled my heart. He was always so pleasant and positive, appreciative, loving. He loved her so much. I would think of all their dreams turned upside down. How life was not supposed to be like this. They weren't supposed to spend retirement this way.

Hearing her family and those closest to her, describe her and her life, make me want to be a better person. I want to be a better mom, daughter, and wife, and Christian. I guess that is why I wanted to write this post. I wanted to put it in writing to remind myself, but also to share with you. I really didn't know her. But, her life and the love that her family has shown, inspires me.

We sang this song at her funeral and I just love this song.

Macie's Ears

She got them pierced!! We were on our way to buy shoes for her on Saturday and she asked if we could go to Claires. I said "I don't know, I don't think we need anything from there." Then, she said she wanted to get her ears pierced. I jumped on the chance, because I really thought she wouldn't get them done until she was much older. I had mentioned it a couple of times and she was very opposed to the idea. We seriously had not talked about it in a year, so I think it was a ploy to get me to go to Claires. It worked! And she left with 3 sets of other earrings too! The ladies were very nice. Two ladies did both her ears at the same time so it was all over in a quick little click. No tears. Right after it happened, I almost cried. Ha! This is a big deal! She is growing up! She'll have them forever.... Anyway, whatever.

This is an example of how she looked for 2 wks.

An update on the tutu obsession... Maris ended up wearing the thing for 2 weeks straight. Then, magically, one weekend, she decided it was OK to go without it. She still loves it and finds it and wears it quite often, but she is OK without it too. She is so picky about clothes though. It is annoying. Today, she was actually wearing a cute shorts outfit. UNTIL... Macie, who is home sick (fever and vomiting, yea!) came strutting out in HER pink tutu. So, now Maris is sound asleep in a sweet little tutu.

Oh, and Macie had her debut performance in the kindergarten circus as the silly dog. It was great! I can't figure out how to get the movie on the computer though. She did so well, I want to show you how great she was. Maybe I can figure it out. If not, be sure when you visit, I will be pulling out the DVD!

Obsession

I have always heard of toddlers who had a favorite shirt or some article of clothing they loved. Maris has an obsession. She had a short, but crazy obsession with plastic princess shoes for a while. Aunt Sandy got her a whole set of them for her birthday and she was hooked! She was wearing them EVERYWHERE, running in them, SLEEPING with them tight in her grasp, throwing a fit when forced to put on regular shoes. It was kind of funny at first, but it got out of control! Now, we have moved on to tutu and "na na" shoes. She has been wearing the same tutu and shoes (w/o socks) for 3 days straight, only taking them off to take a bath and then immediately finding them and putting them back on. The other night after her bath, she was delighting in watching her naked shadow dance. Then, all of a sudden she said, "Oh, my na na shoes!" and ran to get them on. Her na na shoes are ballet-looking pink shoes from Payless. She calls them na na because that is what she sings when she dances in them.... "Na, Na, naaa naa...." I will admit, I have not pushed the issue terribly yet. But, her feet STINK! Really bad. So, I'm going to have to do something. Plus, she has several cute dresses and outfits that just don't work with a tutu. Most of the time she is happy just wearing the tutu over whatever else she is wearing. Before this particular tutu, she was wearing tutu-like skirts from her wardrobe that satisfied her. I even convinced her one day that a normal looking skort was a tutu. No such luck the last 3 days. John has put her to bed the last two nights because I was gone. One morning she woke up holding the shoes. I ask him about it and he said she threw a fit when he took them off and he finally just gave them to her in the bed. This morning when she woke up, she was wearing them. So, I don't know if he gave up and let her sleep in them or if she put them on before I got in there. And, the thing is, she gets so much attention when we go somewhere. Everyone comments on the shoes AND the tutu. They tell her she looks like a princess or ballerina, which of course she LOVES. Which reminds me, yesterday I was getting her out of the car and I said, "come on out stinky feet" and she said, "I not Stinky Feet, I baby". Ha!!!

She is a hoot I tell ya! When I picked her up from school the last two times, they said she spent a lot of time doing her ballet moves in front of the mirror. She is funny! Anyway, I figure it won't last too long and it is pretty much harmless......

This is a picture taken with John's phone of Maris clutching to her princess shoes for dear life while reading her bedtime story. Notice she is also wearing the current obsession, the tutu. I don't have a picture of her new na na shoes and tutu combo yet.

Another picture of the princess shoes. Just a typical day at play......