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!

Thursday confessional

1. I've recently become addicted to Slim Jims. And beef jerkey. And any form of meat that's been dried and flavored and whatnot. I have no idea when this happened, and I find it extremely odd considering I used to eat very little meat period, but lately, I can't.help.myself. Tobasco flavored is my fave and the giant box from Sams would make an awesome Mother's Day gift, just, ya know...FYI.

2. I took some benadryl last week that expired in 2008. I have no idea why we still had a bottle from that many years ago, not to mention the fact that I completely organized all of our medicines into baskets when we built our laundry room last year and had to have picked it up, and looked at it. I threw out all of the old stuff, but somehow this one bottle slipped past inspection. I guess it's not going to kill me though, since I'm still here. So are my allergies.

3. I miss listening to my music in the car. Once you enter mommyland, or such has been the case for me, you tend to let your littles choose what you listen to. As of late, it's meant a whole lotta Mary Poppins and VeggieTales and don't misunderstand- I love Mary Poppins and VeggieTales, but every now and then I'd love to play a little Regina, or Ingrid, or Adele. The only exception has been the Passion cd that my youth minister gave us. I sang a song from the cd, therefore making listening to the song in the car mandatory so that I could learn it, which caused the kids to love it too. Of course, the girls only want to listen to the one song, but I've learned to pick my battles.

4. I hate Facebook timeline.

5. I stopped by Target on the way home Tuesday afternoon for the sole purpose of picking up these:

We needed them.

6. I walked into my school cafeteria on Monday for a glass of ice water and came out with this:

7. Way too many of my confessions are about food. Blargh.

8. Sometimes I dictate shopping lists to Suri in the car. Sometimes I don't check to see if she got it right because looking at your phone isn't the safest thing to do while driving. Sometimes when I'm in Target grabbing things on the list, I get stuck on what "Call Kate Pappas" means. I don't know anyone named Kate Pappas. It took me 30 minutes of grocery shopping to figure out that 'K-cups' sounded like 'call Kate Pappas' to Suri. Awesome.

9. Target has a new line of clothing. The designs are fabulous. The new higher price point is not. Doesn't change the fact that I want all of it.

Well, not those itty-bitty bikinis. They don't look so great when you're also sportin' stretch marks.

10. I've found another new favorite snack. GoodgollymissMolly, it's another confession about food. Spicy wheat thins? I could eat 'em all day. In fact, I was about to finish off a box a few days ago when I dropped it, sending the last remaining crackers to the floor. Well friends, let me tell ya, these are just too good to waste. Yes ma'am. Especially when the floor was semi-clean.

Alright- your turn. Let's hear it....anything you wanna fess up to?

TPS Art show

Happy Wednesday to you friends! Before I get to my post for today, could you say a prayer for my mum? She's actually in surgery as I'm typing this and we'd appreciate any prayers you could send her way. Thanks in advance!

Yesterday was the annual art show that our fabulous Mrs. Maughn puts together to showcase one masterpiece done by each and every last student at our school. If you've read this blog for any length of time, then you know what an amazing feat that is, because my school has oh so many kiddos. Each year, children walk through that door, grab their parent/brother/grandma by the hand, and they run to find their piece of art work on display. This, of course, is usually followed by several phone camera snapshots of said child next to their masterpiece, and it really is the sweetest thing to see them standing there, beaming.

Below are a few of the books/paintings that served as inspiration for some of the kiddos work.

See my kid there?

He's beaming.

And I'm crazy-proud of those fish he's sitting next to.

Crazy-proud of HIM altogether.

And yes, he got a massive haircut this week.

More on that tomorrow...

Back to the show.

He found a fellow classmate while checking out the show, so of course I wanted a pic of the two of them. That sweetie is Sarah Madeline, and when I asked him not to make a 'crazy' face in the picture, this is what he gave me:

It's almost as if he didn't know what to do if he couldn't be silly. Really no shocker there- he comes by it honestly.

exhibit A:

the hubs walks by, sees I'm snapping pics, and sticks his booty out

exhibit B:

Before leaving, we grabbed Mrs. Maughn for a pic with our first grade artist.

Thank you, Mrs. Maughn, for another fabulous art show!

I'll see ya back here tomorrow for a Thursday edition of confessions, and then Friday for a special Mother's Day Flashback Friday.

Adios amigos!

May Day, Tea Party, and Baby Dedication

I heard this statement over the weekend and had to share, because I completely agree...

"May is the new December"

Do you feel that way too? There are so many events and parties and graduations packed into the month of May that it's become just as busy, if not more so, than December. Friday was 'May Day' at school, and at our school, there are activities planned which last almost the entire day. It's non-stop fun, lemme tell ya. Since my classroom is turned into the disco dance room every year, I got to hang with O's class and be a Mom. Their May Day schedule started with the sack races-

and included a magic show,

 tattoo station,

 disco room, complete with fancy-shmancy lights and glow necklaces,
sorry for the blurry pic...

giant blow-up slide,

 train ride,

and a giant caterpillar. The kids also had a karate lesson, ate snow cones, and had playtime on the playground, which made for some very tired kiddos. That night, hubs and I sent our very tired kiddo and our not so tired girlies to my parent's house and we had ourselves a hot date with a couple of friends. I somehow managed to not take a single pic all evening. Not even of my bread pudding, but we had ourselves a grand ole' time.

Saturday morning was our church's annual ladies tea party. Is it wrong to say I look forward to this day almost as much as I look forward to my birthday? I mean, getting dressed up and wearing a hat and decorating a table and being all Southern, well...it's just right up my alley.





 Before I show you pics of the table my friend Melanie and I hosted, let me first tell you that there are rules. Rules about what you must have at your table, as well as rules about what you must not have at your table. You must have water glasses, tea cup & saucer, plates, and silverware for everyone at your table. You must not have plastic or paper of any kind at your table. As in, you need to bring the good stuff. Well, Mel and I? We have 6 kids between the two of us and even though we knew the rules, we thought we'd try to get away with a bit of plastic and paper. We were the Clampett's of the tea party, so to speak, so before I show you our table, here are just a few of the others...

While I was shooting for the 'most elaborate table decor', I must admit that I was a bit jealous of this next table and the fact that it had decor hanging from the ceiling. Yup.

Color me jealous.

 The theme of this table was birds, as evidenced by the hanging bird cage. The cupcakes on the stand were iced like nests with jelly bean 'eggs' on top. Brilliant.

 And now, the Clampett's table, complete with plastics and paper napkins. I used one of the metal towers from THIS shower, stuck flowers in the top and wrapped it in tulle for the center piece. I used the cake stands I picked up at Sams, and some flowers and tissue poms I grabbed out of my dining room.

And those gawgeous, shiny, hot pink plates? Well those came straight from the hob lob y'all.

 Despite a few looks we got from the event coordinators, we's real proud of our plastics and the fact that clean up at table 8 was super-easy.

 The speaker was Debbie Hannah Skinner, and while she traveled all the way from Texas for the event, she was born and raised right here in Tuscaloosa. She has a website you can check out HERE. She painted during part of her presentation, and she spoke about savoring scripture and writing it down and framing it, or just keeping important verses somewhere near you. I need to do more of this.

At one point during her presentation, she asks us to open our mouths and act like baby birds. Just thought I'd share.

Once the speaker was done, it was back to the tables for tea and desserts. Did we have an actual tea pot at table 8? Nope.

We did have a honey bear though. Nanny-nanny-boo-boo.

I did find that when your hat is super long and elaborate, it can cause problems when trying to drink your tea.

 We also realized that plastic is super-light and easier to lick clean than real deal china.

Fast-forward to Sunday morning and baby dedication at church. My sweet lil' nephew, Owen, was among the babes being dedicated along with our friend's, Colby & Kathryn's babe Annie Ruth, and our friends Brittany and John Paul's babe Turner McCartney.



After the service, we ate lunch at church and were able to see the plans for the areas surrounding our church's property. A new parkway is included, along with lots of additions to the fairgrounds that includes new buildings for the Boys and Girls clubs, a new gymnasium, a soccer field, and multiple playgrounds. Exciting stuff. The next step for our church will be to start finalizing the blueprints for our new building and to begin construction before the end of the year. God has been so faithful in providing for our every need over the past year and I can't wait to see what He has planned for us in the future.

Hope you had a lovely weekend as well! Happy Monday!

p.s. If you're counting down the days until summer break, today's number is 13