I think I need double knee replacements...

because I almost fell this morning when I got out of bed.

I knew I could be a little sore from the 3 solid hours of dancin last night, but I never thought it would be my knees.

The good thing-

that's the only place on my body with soreness.

I know!

I can't believe it either!

Here's the rundown of last night, and if you're going

"whatchoo talkin bout, Willis?"

I posted about it HERE and HERE.

That will get you up to speed.

When we arrived last night, and by 'we' I mean Alisha, Jameson, and myself (Anna Kathryn joined us later), I quickly realized that I was by FAR the oldest. You know how you immediately start to size up your competition when you're in an audition? Not that I was auditioning for anything, but...you know...it was kinda like that. Anyways...

me being the un-shy person I am went up to 3 girls who were chatting before class and asked how old they were. Their responses were 15,15, and 16.

Awesome.

There were a few others who already had degrees and a few in college, but for the most part the majority seemed to be in the youth theatre program at Red Mountain Theatre Company.

Robin Lewis, aka Mr. Broadway, was extremely down to earth and shared stories throughout the evening as he taught. It was awesomeness. I love a good story about Mel Brooks and Martin Short, and dancing in a fork costume, and a cigarette that catches fire in your pocket onstage.

He put us through some rigorous stretches before we got started, and can I just say the word RIGOROUS again?

Because they were.

Stretches that would have been hard on my pre-baby body, so attempting them in my just-had-my-third-baby-7-months-ago body was craziness. Pure craziness I tell you.

But I did them.

I stretched.

Once we were into learning the routines, I think I kept up pretty good, only stepping offstage during a crazy learn-this-audition-combo-in-2-minutes-flat lesson to take some pics-

Alisha, (dancer extraordinaire) is in the back in the middle, and that's Jameson turned backwards mouthing, "What the...?"

A dance instructor from UA was there observing and snapped these pics for me- THANK YOU STACY!

(that's me with the red rosette in my hair, ala Eliza at Ascot)

with hats and canes, Mr. Broadway is in the front

and after the 3-hour-Fosse-dance-class

from L to R-

Anna Kathryn, Jameson, Me, Mr. Broadway, and Alisha

At one point, he did go around the room asking each of us what our story was, ie- were we in school? auditioning for shows? doing community theatre?

and after hearing so many,

"I'm in the tenth grade" or

"I'm a freshman in college"...

when he got to me, the first thing I said was,

"I'm a mommy"

that was it.

not- "I'm a director", or

"I have a BFA in musical theatre",or

"I teach 9 music classes everyday"...

but

"I'm a mommy"

Just further proof of where my priorities are now.

Of course, I added some of that other stuff too...

And...this car was next to ours in the lot next to the theatre. Wondering how it still had this crazy amount of snow/ice on it on THURSDAY when it hasn't snowed/iced since the wee hours of MONDAY morning.

At home with E before leaving

and since my last post had pics of O and E, I had to include some of my sweet MM today-

could you just eat her up?

(yes. yes you could)

her inner monologue here is "Aarrgghh...I'm a pirate"

and here's E having an intense conversation on a filing cabinet drawer handle turned play phone

Oliver got a haircut while I was a-dancin.

The hubs did a good job

And...

I leave you with this-

these are the ads that showed up on my blog this morning.

A scrapbook ad

A toilet bowl cleaner ad

and another scrapbook ad...

because it's so fitting for our family.

Always gotta have a little toilet/poo reference, ya know?

In my own little corner...

in my own little chair,
I can be whatever I want to be-

-Oscar Hammerstein, II

Can you guess which show I'm currently casting?
Last night was the first round of auditions. So far, so good-

If you're not familiar with Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, you should definitely check it out, especially if you have young children. Or, you know...if you just like theatre in general. Or, if you secretly pretend you ARE Cinderella sometimes...
 The Julie Andrews version is available on Netflix, and I'm failry certain you can purchase Leslie Ann Warren's TV version, as well as Brandy and Whitney Houston gettin their Cinderella/Fairy Godmother groove on. And, of course, there's always sweet Gus Gus in Disney's take on it-

Christmas pancakes, pillows, and Pooh

I need to start by saying the following:

I've been up since 4:12 am.

One of our girls is going through a "I'm not really keen on sleeping in my bed anymore" phase,

and the other is (or has been for a while) in a "I'm going to scream bloody murder if you get more than 10 inches away from me" phase.

I love my girls,

but I also love sleep.

And doing things with 2 hands.

If there are typos, I apologize. I'm a bit brain-dead.

(braindead, brain dead....I don't know...)

I'm blogging before the sun comes up in an attempt to focus on something that will keep me from falling asleep which would allow my 19-month old free roam of the house.

She is currently be-bopping to the Wiggles and Elmo's World and all of the other much too lively/happy characters on PBS Sprout.

Thank you, God, for PBS Sprout.

Now....onto other news.

On Wednesday night, our church held its annual pancakes and pajamas party. O looks forward to this every year, and we even picked up a new pair of spiffy pjs at Target a few days ago just for the occasion. After eating pancakes, the kids all headed upstairs to the children's Sunday School area and watched The Crippled Lamb on the big screen. Such a fun night for them and for us parents since, ya know...we don't have to cook-

 Movie time!

these are out of order. poop.

back in the fellowship hall...

and in the kitchen...

Next up...my pillows.

Just sharing pics today, but I'm planning to post a tutorial soon.

They were so easy-peezy that one probably isn't needed though.

Sorry these pics are so dark...

 I wanted to show you a close-up of the ruffles. I bought it on a roll at the hob lob for a buck fifty.

The white and green fabric I used for the front and back were remnants purchased at the hob lob, and I just used poly-fil to stuff it. I think I spent maybe 4 bucks on the entire thing, and I love that it's not just for Christmas. While there is red and green going on here, it's also just...ya know...pretty.

This one actually began its life as a Southern Living placemat I found at Wal-mart for a dolla and fifty cents. That's it! I ripped out about 2 inches of the seam, stuffed with poly-fil, and BAM.

Done.

Also...not Christmas specific, but just adds a nice little pop of color to my living room.

And lastly-

if you're local, there are TONS of great opportunities this weekend to see some great theatre.

O's class went to see Winnie the Pooh, A Christmas Tail yesterday and it's super cute.

If you have young children, they will love this show.

All of the familiar characters are there, plus tons of other hundred acre wood creatures.

Beautiful costumes, great choreography, lively music, and it's directed by my friend Sara-Margaret Cates.

We were even dressed alike yesterday. Directors are just cool like that...

The ACT is also doing a Christmas dinner theatre that ends tonight. We attended their last dinner theatre and loved it. It was very kid-friendly too- Oliver had a blast.

Visit http://www.theactonline.com/ for more info.

(sorry the pic is so bad- I stole this from your facebook page Joey!!)

And another option is Theatre Tuscaloosa's, It's a Wonderful Life, Radio Play going on down at the Bean-Brown Theatre. Have I mentioned lately how lucky we are to live in a place that offers so much fantastic theatre? That's just not the case everywhere.

Lucky and blessed, I tell you. Lucky and blessed.

Anyway, here are the deets on this show-

Now....go see some theatre with your family!

And wish me luck on staying awake today at school...

oy.