Concerts, recitals, and Mom's Day (oh my)

Happy Monday Friends! I hope you had an amazing weekend! Ours was incredibly full and included my first ever 'sit in the audience and watch your child perform on stage while your heart is so full of thankfulness and pride that it almost bursts and you cry'.

Twice.

The first happened on Friday night when the 1st graders who made chorus for the 2012-2013 school year had their first concert. Since our school doesn't have a theatre, they perform on the stage of the high school that they will eventually attend (assuming they continue in the same school zone) which just so happens to be the high school I attended. As most of you know, I went to high school for one reason and one reason only: to be in musicals. Yes, I had other subjects to contend with, but musical theatre has pretty much always been my passion and so, the majority of my time at school was spent right there. On that stage. I added 8 shows to my resume and even directed the Fall and Spring musicals my senior year. I must give a huge shout-out to Mrs. Bonds, our Musical Theatre and choir director, for the countless hours she poured into all of our shows + concerts and who just so happens to be retiring this year. You will be missed!

My sweet boy sang and danced his heart out, and at the end of the concert, once the house lights were up, he spotted me in the audience and beamed. And waved. And I loved it.

I took some video of their last number which was really a 'have-fun-and-dance' kind of finale. This cracks me up because my son, the child of a music teacher, needs a little help in the rhythm department Godblesshim.

**and if any of you tech savvy friends can tell me how to get the google ads OFF of my videos, I'd be forever grateful. I've just spent 20 minutes on it with no luck and I'd really rather not have Bud Light ads on the screen thankyouverymuch**

 

Bright and early Saturday morning, we were in full-on ballet recital mode. E sat in my lap and was a complete pro while I curled her hair and applied her makeup. That's still a bit crazy for me to admit..."Yes, I put makeup on my two year-old. On purpose." Anyway, once she was gussied up, I loaded her in the car and we headed for downtown. To the big theatre. Without the tickets. Thank goodness the hubs was still home with the babe and was able to grab them. Also, thank goodness my seester's beau was able to stop and grab a bouquet of roses for our tiny ballerina since I didn't want to stop and do that while she was WITH me. Moral of this story so far? Hire live-in help.

Moving on.

Our little ballerina was perfection on that stage. She followed each of her instructor's movements with a look of determination that was priceless. Not gonna lie- I cried. So did hubs. Itty-bitty ballerinas are precious anyway, but when one of them is YOURS?

Fuhgetaboutit.

And the stage she was dancing on?

Well it's only the stage where I began performing in musicals at age 7 and would continue to do so for the next 19 years until, at age 26, I directed my first musical there.

And the hubs? Well, he knew how much this theatre means to me and he totally proposed on the marquee.

So yeah, kind of a big deal.

Since picture-taking and video-ing aren't allowed at the actual performance, here are a few shots + video from her rehearsals last week.

Prepare for cuteness.

 Note to self: work with E on staying open to the audience, and never EVER forget to tuck laces into the shoes again. She had a bit of a Tonya Harding moment due to that untied lace in the pic above- thank goodness it was during a rehearsal...

Here's a bit of her dance.

Again, cuteness abounds.

One of my favorite pics from the day is the one below of her in front of the marquee. Love her expression, and the fact that she was holding out her dress, and I loved the 'Bama' in the background...

and I also loved it when little seester climbed up there and held her dress out.

Ahhhh, memories.

Which brings us to yesterday.

I had a lovely Mother's Day, eating lunch with my mum & grandmother after church, and then enjoying an afternoon with my kiddos. I was determined to get a picture with them, but since I forgot to ask anyone before leaving their house, I settled for the next best thing:

an iphone pic in the bathroom mirror.

The three most undeserved gifts I've ever received.

Yes, there are crazy days, but for the most part, I find myself saying,

"Really God? You're trusting me with these 3 precious littles?"

wowza.

My cup runneth over.

Like, over my hand and down my arm and all over the floor...

THAT'S how much my cup runneth over.

I pray that all of you had a full and enjoyable weekend as well, and may your cups also runneth over, and all on the floor, and all over the place.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who care for children, grand-children, furbabies, brothers, sisters, parents, friends....

this day celebrates YOU.

And to my own Mum- I loves ya!

And my MIL- I loves ya too!

Thank you for allowing me to post 25 year-old pics of you on the internets.

I wanted to share what my boy made for me at school because it's made of awesome and would make a great gift for pretty much anyone.

Isn't it fabulous? A wooden frame that can be painted/personalized for someone special. I loves it. It's already found a home on the kitchen counter- Thank you Oliver, and thanks to his teacher, Mrs. Williams, for this precious gift!

***

I couldn't let another important date pass by without mentioning it- yesterday happens to have been the 5-year anniversary of the first official date that hubs and I had. It's a great story if you haven't already heard it - so check it out HERE. The past 5 years have flown. Seriously. Love ya babe.

**apparently, I'm worse at math than I thought. It's been 6 years since our first date. It came to me during Sunday School this morning that I'd counted wrong. Sheesh.**

***
We had an uber-busy weekend that's not even over yet, and I really can't wait to share with you what my kiddos have been up to. I am one VERY proud and blessed Mama. In the past 2 days, I've watched two of my kiddos perform on different stages and, just to reiterate, I. am. proud.

Until tomorrow, friends. In the meantime, I hope you'll get to celebrate with some special Mommas in your life!

Flashback Friday- Mother's Day edition

Happy Friday friends! Today's Flashback Friday is all about my Mum's! God not only blessed me with an awesome mum, but an awesome mum-in-law as well. What's that? You'd like to see some photos of them from way back when? Well I thought you'd never ask!

First, here are a few of my favorite pics of me + mum, starting when I was just a wee babe. Meet Phyllis, circa 1980. She's one of the original Girls With Glasses, FYI.

Yes, we used to dress as Pilgrims just for the heck of it.

circa 1982, the age of the perm.

Please take note of how cute I am.

circa 1983

Perm was chopped off.

Please take note of how cute I am.

Since this post is really about MUM, I'll be skipping photos of my unfortunate pre-teen stage so that my awkwardness doesn't distract you from the subject at hand.

ahem.

Circa 1998

Mum and I are dressed to the nines for Oscar night.

Have I ever mentioned the fab Oscar parties we used to throw?

Another post, another day...

Please take note of how thin I am was.

2007

Wedding Day

Mine, not theirs.

Nothing sarcastic to add here because, quite frankly, we be lookin' good.

And now, since I need to include my mum-in-law in this post as well, here are a couple of gems I dug up from an Alberta Baptist Christmas party, circa 1989.

As an added bonus, both my mum AND mum-in-law are there together.

 I mean, what are the odds?

Don't you love their sweaters?

Pardon me, sweatshirts?

And stone-washed jeans?

And light bulb earrings?

On purpose.

Welcome to one of the original 'tacky Christmas' parties.

Cathie, no need to thank me for including you too.

You're totally welcome.

Love your jeans.

And high-top Reeboks.

And since I'm a good daughter-in-law, I'd like to really pay tribute to my MIL by posting my very favorite pic of her.

Carol, I bet you're regretting your decision to let me organize all of your photos for ya...

Oddly enough, I found an eerily similar pic of my mum.

Love you, mum.

Is it really any wonder that hubs and I turned out like this?

Happy Mother's Day to you, Phyllis and Carol.

We love you LOTS!