Pink Ladies

Grandma just couldn't pass these up (and who could blame her) - adorable Poodle Skirts!! Way to go Grams!

Thank you Jo-Lynn

Thank you Jo-Lynn - I love the new design! Couldn't be happier! Thanks also to Christine (Stie) for the inspiration!!

Note to self

Note to self....

Never set chicken out to begin the defrost process in the evening....and if you do please remember to rescue it when you wake up at 3am

I wish I had a stop watch so I could time all those stupid tasks that I dread and put off, that ultimately clutter up the house and realistically probably take less than 1 minute to finish

Shoes worn at school all day should not be placed in the dance bag and then forgotten about for 2 days

It is not a good idea to keep pulling your daughters tights out of the hamper for each dance class, eventually she is bound to notice that you have not done laundry in a ridiculous amount of time...

When you promise to help at school remember that sometimes you just wont want to and that is OK too (just come up with a good fib to get out of it)

If your home mortgage is with Washington Mutual you still have to pay it even though the company was just seized by the government in the latest move of an absolutely grim outlook for the good ole USA (bummer)

That table that you moved from the playroom to the family room has become a storage pot for junk...time to move it again

Fetch and Oaf need to go...but what on earth will you put in there place? And what will girls fight over to sit on? and will that carpet underneath it ever perk back up?

It is 6:05 and if you don't get in the shower now you will regret it for the rest of the day...

Blog Show and Tell...don't forget to email your friends and start this phenomena - could be fun....

Throw away the sticky note that started this blog...

Attention Nintendo...Wii still don't have any rockstars in our house - though we have the Wii Drums, Wii Guitars, Wii microphone and Wii RockBand game...Too bad can't buy some Wii talent too...

Buy stock in minute maid as long as Hailey is alive they will never feel the pain of an economic downturn

Don't ever get another dog - and why does the one you have insist on dragging dried poop into the house with him?

I love my kindel - just wish I didn't hate amazon so much

I did get a shower...it is now 6:34 - my kids are sleeping and I should wake them but I don't want to

Lauren still wants a fish...

I wish I had kept that receipt from King Soopers Monday so I could just exactly what cost so much money...I mean fresh fruit, cheese, milk, OJ and lunch meat should not add to $75? Should it?

Maybe I will keep next weeks receipt.

And just because whatever Becky asks for Becky gets...here is the socks on the bumper story: So we are driving down the road (in a cone zone) and the guy behind me keeps honking and waving at me...because I have two children in the car I am doing my best to ignore him when suddenly he weaves into the cones and gets so close to me I think he is going to hit me...he is still honking...so I roll down my window (heart in stomach) thinking something must be seriously wrong. He says "you have a pair of socks on your bumper"...OMG...so I laugh it off, pull over at the next opportunity, retrieve my socks (YES MINE...not my childrens) and get back in the car to hear Lauren say "well mom, that was a real BUMPER" (in case you need explanation...it was a play on words...bumper for bummer) I suppose that story was worth a chuckle even several months later....

I can't see Alaska from my house and I still want $700 billion....

In case you joined me late in the day (or several days later...don't miss the post below this one!)

rambling

After waking at 3am to the glow of the TV that didn't quite turn off when someone reached for the remote somewhere between 12 and 3am, and the dull ache (OK pain) in my upper left cheek where I swear my tongue can feel the hole the needle made going in Wednesday morning...I decided to just get up. Yup. Just me and my blanky and my computer (and diet Pepsi of course). So I decide to catch up on unfinished business (yeah right) as I am perusing the web looking for clever ideas to help me with the letter I have to write to entice families in Lauren's class to participate in a non baby shower baby shower for the teacher that is due in 8 weeks...I stumble across a Pennsylvania woman's blog ( I think it is PA?). 45 minutes later and 6 months of her families life flowing through my brain I decide I am not a very good blogger. I laughed, I almost cried, I was WOWED by the photographs and her amazing ability to add (albeit very sarcastically) an upbeat spin on all things "her"...I was feeling pretty down on my ability to keep our readers reading. I mean this woman made getting gum stuck on the bottom of her shoe and not noticing till it stuck to the brake pedal of her car sound like a GOOD DAY. WOW.

So, I marked as her a favorite in my Internet explorer Blog folder, why you might ask, just so I can torture myself some more and keep reading her fantastically funny and insightful posts...Then I decided there was no better thing than to blog about my demise as a blogger....

To help you understand just how demented I can be I considered not sharing a link to her blog here...why would I want any of my 3 readers to find a blog far more interesting than mine to go read? They might never come back...then I remembered/decided...that people probably do like this blog too...sometimes it is funny (the song behind the leaf post was great), sometimes the pictures are great and sometimes people even post a comment or two giving me that boost of confidence as if to say "hey glad you blogged it I enjoyed it too".

So the bottom line is...This blog probably isn't so bad, someone out there might stumble on it at 3am and read for an hour, I am sure I am not the only insane person in this world and If you have $700 billion to lend I am willing to take it.

the other woman's blog....(PS in case you falsely assume she is any older than me she is not...she will be 35 in November...sob sob)
http://stiesthoughts.blogspot.com/

Nutcracker Rehearsals

Nutcracker rehearsals for Lauren are 3 straight hours of dance with a 5 minute break! For the first 2 hours she rehearses the Battle Scene as a Mouse. The last hour she is a Bon Bon (one of Mother Gingers children) her part in this scene is very "technical" and it will take all 24 rehearsals for most of this to really come together! It is fun to watch. Lauren does quite well, if you really pay attention she is on her mark and on time more than the others (go Lauren) it is distracting though because the girl on the end finds it necessary to squish up to Lauren so close that she can't move well - Hailey dances on the bar the whole time thus blocking the camera view...and there is another part of the scene rehearsing in the back ground!!!

So...I recommend watching the video multiple times - once to watch Lauren, once to watch the girl on the end who is driving Lauren crazy and a final time to watch Hailey.

Sorry the video is grainy...I used my blackberry to film it - next time I will bring the FLIP.

Enjoy!! Oh and this is not the whole dance - they have not taught all the choreography yet.

OK, bummer - I am having major trouble with the first video....it is choppy too...SORRY.



I also took some video of just Hailey dancing at the bar...unfortunately I started after she done really practicing her positions etc - her 5th position rivals that of the pros but she was having fun so enjoy this too!

The scoop on poop

HA! Little miss Hailey came home with blue hands and blue teeth from preschool today. The outer effects of too much blue food coloring in the monster cookies they made and consumed. Several hours later...she has a neon green strange consistancy poop...We have been calling her smurf all day now we are secretly calling her Poo Poo Smurf (rather than pa pa smurf) - I assumed the bizarre BM had something to do with the monster cookies and now I have confirmed it via this fabulous site (ha ha) htttp://www.poopreport.com/Intellectual/Content/Dye/dye.html.

Crazy what food dye can do to a person!

Staying busy and slowing down

We are staying busy here with all of lauren's dance and school. but we are also slowing down a bit - Hailey is taking a temporary hiatus from dance and gymnastics due to the tantrums she throws when I drop her off. She seems to miss it (even though it hasn't even been a week yet) but maybe she will learn that it is not ok to scream at the top of her lungs when mommy leaves the room.

School is good...for both. Lauren is doing great, no complaints. Hailey does great at school (after the drop off tantrum) the teachers say she listens well, does what she is supposed and has fun while she is there.

Nothing exciting to report this week - no good pictures either. Sorry! Maybe next post.

Leaf Jumping

Ok, so the girls are anxiously waiting for the big leaf jumping day. Mid October cannot come fast enough for them...each year daddy spends hours blowing leaves into the BIGGEST PILE so they can run and jump and jump and run and jump...they LOVE it! We have done it for years. Hailey was the first to bring it up this year...and has been talking about it for 2 weeks. Well, the leaves are starting to fall, slowly, and she is so anxious....tonight in one of "those moments" daddy said...You guys go pick up all those leaves and make a pile and go jump in it...

Well, they did. They wandered around the yard for 30 minutes picking up any leaf they could find and putting in a pile...

Then they jumped...

NUTCRACKER UPDATE

Lauren is going to do the International Youth Ballet Nutcracker this year.

We were very close to being able to do both of them without too much hassle…but there is one weekend in November that both Ballet’s need her all day both days and well….I don’t have a magic wand…

Lauren made the decision and said the following:

“I am going to do the IYB Nutcracker this year because I will get more experience, next year I want to be in the Colorado Ballet so I will only try out for that and I will hope I get a part.”

LAUREN you are amazing. You made a great decision and we are so proud of you! Best of luck in the performances we know you will be fantastic!!

CONGRATULATIONS LAUREN!!!

Way to go Lauren! Lauren tried out for the Nutcracker Ballet at both of her dance studios and was awarded parts in BOTH! She will playing the part of a mouse and a Bon Bon in the Nutcracker with the International Youth Ballet and she may be playing the part of a Sugarplum Attendant with the Colorado Ballet. I say may because there is a fairly good chance she will not be able to do both Ballets and I believe she will choose the International Youth Ballet over the Colorado Ballet this year! We are so proud of her and she is VERY excited!

We will keep you posted!

School, Dance and more

School has started and seems to be going well. Hailey is still a bit sad when we drop her and off and on during her short day but she is doing well and seems like her new teacher and class mates. When playing around the house she plays "school" a bit...taking attendance etc. It is cute.

From Untitled Album

This photo was taken while getting ready for the first day of school...

Lauren's new teacher is going to be fine/great. Mrs. Finke has taught at Beacon for a couple years and elsewhere for several years before that. She did not have long to learn the 4th grade curriculum but she is a very dedicated and motivated teacher so I have no doubt we are in for a good year.

From Untitled Album

This was Lauren getting ready for the first day of school

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And they both got dressed but neither cooperated that well for the photo!

This past weekend was Nutcracker Auditions at the dance studios. Lauren went ahead and tried out for the Nutcracker at both studios (The International Ballet School and The Academy of Colorado Ballet) as a parent....I was more impressed with the audition at IBS than at ACB - as a student Lauren really wants to be in the Colorado Ballet's performance. They have not announced the parts yet at that studio so I don't know what we will do. She was awarded two parts at IBS (mouse and bon bon) and rehearsals begin on Saturday. We should hear from ACB by Wednesday and will have to decide at that time which show she wants to do because I really don't think we can do both.

Last week both girls tried a gymnastics class...and today we are going back to try again...I am not willing to register them for the classes yet because I can't tell if they really want to do them...Lauren tried a class because Hailey did...Hailey tried a class because she had been asking for months and I finally caved. Lauren enjoyed her class, Hailey left hers early because it was boring (too many kids) so....today's class for Hailey only has 5 or 6 little ones in it and we are going to try again....keep you posted. For Lauren...she is going to have to let go of something if she wants to keep going to gymnastics after today - Tap is probably going to have to go - she can not have "something" every night of the week...it is just too much.

Anything else??? Hmmmm...I don't think so. Oh...we had some Hawks come to visit on the weekend. There were two on the back fence. By the time I got my camera only one was left. Paige sent the photo to a friend that works for the Raptor Education Society and found out they were Juvenile Red Tailed Hawks. They didn't look very juvenile to me...but I certainly know NOTHING about Hawks etc...

From Hawk

From Hawk

overdue post

OK, so it has been about two weeks now since we went to the "Pick Your Own Farm" it was called Berry Patch Farms , about 45 minutes away and truly a great morning! We went with Becky and had a wonderful time. The picking was what they called "hard" but we still got lots of berries! The raspberries were the best, Strawberries were good too. There is nothing better than truly fresh fruit. The girls also picked some cucumbers and got to cut some flowers to bring home. We will definitely go back next summer!











A not so great adventure was had by Lauren a few weeks ago when she purchased a Coggy Doggy. Part of the Gears, Gears, Gears Collection by learning Resources. Now, I will say that the concept behind this coggy doggy is fantastic, problem solving, figuring, building, asking for help only when you are truly stuck...it was great...till it was done. IT DOESN'T WORK! IT falls apart every time you push go. The bark is cute. Todd and I tried re-building, tried using things to hold it together (duct tape for one) the darn thing is a bust. At $50 you expect more. I have been in touch with the store and the manufacturer to no real avail. The manufacturer offered us another gears product (yippee - ha) So the lesson here is don't buy one! It was fun to put together but offered great disappointment once done.





It is back to school for all tomorrow! YAHOO! We are ready and yet we wish we had more time. It should be a good year! I am not looking forward to having to be up, showered and ready to leave by 7:45 each morning again but that is ok! Dance starts in full swing tomorrow too. Lauren has had some ballet this summer but tomorrow kicks it all off! The busy dance schedule starts with something I think I will have to change...Hailey has Tap at the Academy at 3:30 and Lauren has Ballet IBS at 4:00 - Hailey's tap class doesn't end till 4:15 so....potentially I drop Hailey off, buzz Lauren to the other studio, drop her off, buzz back to the Academy get Hailey and cruise back to IBS to get Lauren...HMMMMM...If Hailey was older maybe. I am going to try it once but will likely be changing something!!

Oh, I almost forgot. Hailey has been asking to take gymnastics for a while now and I have been hesitant. She has some natural talent and is fun to watch but I don't want her doing too much or burning out. I did take some time to research some gyms around a couple weeks ago but the "good" ones (IMHO) are too far away. If I start her I will just take her up the road to Champs and hope for the best, if she sticks with it I will drive to a further one. So, Last night she was swinging from the bars out back...Before she grips the bar she stretches her arms up in the air, holds and her hands together (getting a really good stretch) wipes her hands on her shirt and grabs the bar with determination. She was trying to flip under the bar and fell several time in a row and just kept at it, fell on her head twice! UGH! My point. She looked like a veteran gymnast out there stretching first etc. TOO CUTE!

BUSY BUSY BUSY

We have spent this last week before school staying very busy! I wish I had fun exciting thing to blog about but I don't. I still need to post the photos from the berry picking farm and the coggy doggy Lauren built but haven't found the time. We bought our new lunch boxes and backpacks this week and Hailey carries hers with her just about everywhere we go! Lauren found out she has a different teacher than she was expecting on Thursday...so we swallowed that and moved on. She also found out a girl that she thought was not returning to school this year is in fact coming back...neither good nor bad news just news. I am wondering if CBS is going to tell Renny (Big Brother 10) about Gustav and New Orleans being evacuted? Just two more days before we hit the daily grind again...(Wednesday) WOW - Summer went by fast. I am glad the girls got to do a lot of fun things this summer though. I suppose I should stop typing my random thoughts as I really have nothing important to say!