Dancing Princess

Tuesday was Gigi's last dance class for this session, so Ms. Beth staged a sort of recital, which was really just the exact same stuff they do in every class, but this time with puffy skirts and crowns. The girls were in heaven, showing off for all the parents. She was such a wonderful teacher to these little girls who were sometimes so shy. I don't know a whole lot about dance, but Gigi's really happy doing these little classes and seems like a natural, so we'll continue on, at least until she grows out of those shoes! It has been especially fun for me to watch her develop interest in her own thing, instead of just following her brother around. Ox heartily disliked playing spectator, though. He told me he couldn't watch because it was too girlie for him.

Doorway Puppet Theatre/Store Front

This was totally easy. Took me an evening and I'm happy with the results, as are the kids. They've made it a store front, and the white paper taped to it is their little sign. It has been fun to watch them. I found some great ball fringe for the top detail and I find myself wondering why we don't use ball fringe on everything. It's so funky and cool.

A Project of My Own

Did anyone ever watch The Gilmore Girls? Ah . . . I loved that show. Except the last season. Anyway, remember Paris, and how she had a craft table set up in her college apartment because crafting was prescribed by her therapist after her nervous breakdown? I think I'm turning into Paris. Not really the character I would like most to identify with, but I cannot argue with the evidence.

Yesterday was the first day after a long Thanksgiving break and with all the running around and disheveled house, demanding children, etc., I thought my hair was going to melt. Dirk swears that the kids can sense when I'm stressed and dial up the drama in response. In any case, I was ready to start selling children on craigslist. Then Dirk brings up Family Night, and could I please think up something fun. What?! How about me, locked in our bathroom in the tub with music and candles and the rest of you cleaning up the house? That sounded like fun. When he saw how stressed I was, he suggested we go out for ice cream, but drop me someplace on the way and pick me up after. So, I went to JoAnn and Michael's (conveniently right next door to each other) in Poway while Dirk and children went to Costco for ice cream.

I saw this project somewhere a long time ago:



We have a closet under the stairs where it would go perfectly as a puppet theatre or a store front. The kids are always pretending to sell each other toys out of that closet, so I think they will love it.

Just buying the supplies and choosing the fabrics made me feel happy and in love with my family again. I cannot explain it, since I've never really been crafty. I couldn't really justify the cost during this Christmas season of many other expenditures, but it's cheaper than therapy. Or alcoholism. I'll post pictures when I finish!

Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles

Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a good, extremely long, book. Holy Cow. But, it was a great look at history and enlightening as far as royalty of the Queen Elizabeth I era goes. Being a Queen was not really that great, it turns out. Especially if your more powerful cousin decides to exile you and then ultimately behead you. So: fun, but a little too thorough for continuity's sake.


View all my reviews.

Some Thanksgiving Projects

My favorite kind of projects . . . messy and hosted by Dad.

First 10K

I. Totally. Rocked.

I ran faster and longer than I ever have before! What a curious thrill, since running hasn't ever been "fun" for me before. I dragged the whole family out of bed to come and cheer me on and I totally did it!! There is a lot of moral support running with a bunch of people, even if you don't know them. I had a terrible side cramp after only a couple of minutes that worried me, but then it went away; nerves, I guess. And, against all odds, it rained on us. Hard. In fact, in the interest of modesty, I probably should have brought a backup for the white race t-shirt. I was so chilled and shivering when I got home, so Gigi and I took a long bath. What a great day. I don't have any pictures of the event, since we forgot the camera, but this is almost how I looked.

Run, run as fast as you can . . .

Today is the big race! The 10K I've been training for. I'm excited and so are the kids. We were grocery shopping for Thanksgiving a few days ago and I was also buying snacks for today so they wouldn't be starving. Ox asked me, "Are you going to get a trophy if you win?" I told him there were lots of really fast people racing, and I probably wouldn't win, but that I was excited to just run. As he was going to sleep that night he said, "I don't think they're gonna give you a trophy because if they did, all the other moms would get their feelings hurt because they didn't get one."