Goings On

I know it's been a little while, so it's time to get caught up. I've got my list ready and the tunes playing. I think today will be a daybook style day.

• From the schoolroom...we are doing a study on Native American Indians. We looked at the Iroquois and next week we start the Seminoles. We are working our way west. We are sort of following the progression west as we look at different cultures. That plays in perfectly with a field trip we have planned for next month. I know I've loosened the reins on the schoolwork since this was nowhere in our plans. That feels pretty good. We stopped at a really good spot to go back and check out the people that were here before the settlers. We didn't realize until we started that the Iroquois are like the Seminole in that they are a group of tribes, not just one tribe. Pretty cool stuff. And once again, you know my request list at the library is full. Still looking for a movie to watch that has Seminoles in it but is kid friendly. Suggestions? Anyone?
• Outside my window...is kind of gray. I'm hoping it'll clear up. I don't do gray days well. The weather has been spectacular and that's why we live where we do. It's been high 70s or low 80s. I will do that every day. There should be some sun as the day goes on.
• From the kitchen...there has not been much going on. Our oven is on the fritz. That means I can only cook stovetop. That will be remedied shortly. When we get our taxes back, I get a new one. I'm getting a convection oven. So excited about that!! Hubby and I took a date morning and went to look at appliances. I am not a bells and whistle kind of gal. That's just more that will eventually break down. I did tell hubby we were going to drop serious coin on an oven, though. He is ok because he knows great food will come from it. We also picked up some grass fed ground beef we had ordered back in November. It was ok. I've had better. So the search goes on for affordable, tasty beef. That's why we only ordered a little.
• We are reading...The Bronze Bow is our after dinner book. We have really enjoyed it, but the chapters are rather lengthy. I read about 15-20 pages a night. Sometimes that finishes a chapter, but sometimes not. Slow and steady wins the race. We just finished The Penderwicks as a book on CD. I have been trying to get the big girl to read it, and she has all but refused. Even she liked it. I ordered the next book already and hopefully it will be here soon. So funny. I like the books on CD because I have a captive audience. They can't go anywhere. There are so many great books out there and that's just another way to get the kids interested and engaged. I can only read out loud so much and that takes a burden off of me. It's a way to expose my kids to great books that they probably wouldn't read any other way. The boy and I are a chapter and a half from finishing our book that we read when the girls are at piano. It's called Dragon's Egg and it has been right up our alley. It has adventure and suspense and great characters. The boy and I have agreed that we will take turns picking the books. He picked this one, so I get to pick the next one. I might see if there's a book the girls want to read and we can read that while the boy is in guitar lessons. There's an idea. I just got done reading The Hunger Games for book club. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be. And it was pretty good. It's not my norm, but that's a good thing, too. That's why I'm in book club. 
• I am listening to...Britt Nicole's Set the World on Fire. Great song. I requested a Johnny Cash CD from the library for the boy. He is learning the opening lick to Folsom Prison Blues. I also requested the CD from The Wreckers. It's Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp. I really like Leave the Pieces, so they must have a couple of other songs I'll like. And I requested a Group 1Crew CD. See why my request list is always full? I highly suggest you look to your local library for movies, books, and music. You would be amazed at what they have. And the more you use the library, the longer they will keep it open, the more money they will add to the budget, and the more money stays in your budget. If I had to pay for all the books, CDs, and movies we borrow, I'd be broker than broke. 
• From the tower...I'm hoping soon to change this to "from the garden". The square foots have been marked off and are waiting for the beds. So looking forward to that. We are checking out the planting schedule and deciding what to plant where. Tall stuff in the north side, lower stuff to the west. Cool. We did add some seedlings to the tower. I know we planted broccoli and snap peas, but other than that I can't remember. We have given up squash for now in the tower, but next go round, hopefully it'll make the cut. Or in the garden, one or the other. We've had good luck with crooked neck, but not the best. We already have sweet potatoes planted, but hubby thinks he may have done it wrong. Somedays...that man worries me. Gosh I love him, though. Our brussel sprouts are looking lovely. We have them all over. I even used some of the leaves when I made veggie stock last week. I am so excited for that harvest. Hubby brought home a gallon baggie of them from his parents' house. He stopped to visit and his dad gave them to him. My FIL doesn't like them. Hubby said we'd eat the stuffing out of them. His dad looked like he didn't believe him, but it's true. Anything I cook is amazing. Duh. 

I guess that's it for now. That is as caught up as I'm going to get. I'll blog about our airport field trip soon. Oh, to have a plane.

Have a great day.

•      

Just Some Pics

I was scrolling through my phone looking at some of the pics. I needed to get them off my phone and onto a blog. So this is what you get:

The kids got haircuts. Thank goodness for that. I had been trying since Thanksgiving and we finally got it done in January. The big girl debated about getting bangs. She finally went with a yes. I think they look really good. Makes her look grown up. The effect in person is much more pronounced. My park mamas said she isn't allowed to have bangs ever again. I agree.

The boy, on the other hand wanted a mohawk. You should know I am not one of those moms that is super conservative when it comes to hair. OK, I'm not super conservative about a lot of things. I told him I didn't care, but the weather was about to be cold and he probably didn't want a mostly bald head for that. He agreed and we compromised. So this summer, the boy may actually sport a mohawk. We'll see.

This is part of Caution, our youth praise band. OMG, they are so good! I'm not just saying that because I'm their mama. All of these kids have such a passion for God. They are super talented and it shows. And look, there's the big girl!

This was a Christmas puzzle I got off the clearance rack. Gosh, I love an after holiday sale. This one was fun, too. The house almost got us, but we won. Looks pretty good.

Why on earth would I include this blurry pic? Because this is my boy, HL, being baptised. He texted me that afternoon to tell me he was being baptised at the church that meets at our church. That small church has embraced our kids and made them welcome. They meet on our campus and the kids really enjoy it. When HL called, I knew we had to be there. So very proud of his decision to reaffirm his faith and choose to recommit himself to Jesus. I could cry all over again. Love that boy!! He is not a boy anymore, but a young man. There I go again, sniff.

This was a fortune I got. All I have to say is, well, duh.

 The kids did a tea party at book club. Frommer's is running a contest and the librarian tied the England guide with the Harry Potter series and a tea party was born. We missed the meeting before, when they made the sign. I forgot to put it on our calendar. But we made the tea party! The tea was also Harry Potter tea. There were four flavors and they were all named after the houses at Hogwarts. Too cool.

Some days, I could smack him. Hubby had a day off, so he came to the park with us. He fished most of the time, but he needed an activity break. On the ripstick he went. Whatever. So jealous, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

We usually go to the same pumpkin patch every year. We found this one a couple of years ago and just love it. They have cool pumpkins. You have to love the butt pumpkins. I mean, really. They look like butts. And this year, the brain pumpkins were way too cool. They look like they have a dreaded skin disease and you shouldn't touch them. But you can't help but touch them. And take pictures for the blog.

My poor sleepy boy! I just had to. You would think he would use his neck pillow. Yeah, no.

Not sure why this pic isn't with the other one, but this is HL when he came up from being dunked. Oh, there I go...

The kids and I went to a local park at Christmas to look at the lights. We had some time between dance classes. We normally go after we open presents with the rest of the family on Christmas Eve. Since we weren't doin that this year, I made some time to take them. We like running around under the lights. The tree lights are synchronized with music. They have bleachers set up for you to sit and watch, so we did.

This is the group of kids that met for the tea party. Not sure why the big girl is standing so far away or why she looks so miserable, but I have an idea. It got better and she even laughed.

That's it for now. I do have an update blog working and I need to post the pics of our airport field trip with the baby's girls club. That was cool. We even got to see the tower. What a view!!

Have a great day.

Brought to You By the Letter "A"

I always loved Sesame Street. It was kind of a bummer when my kids didn't really take to it. Then Elmo showed up. Man, am I ever glad my kids didn't take to Sesame Street. That puppet annoys me. It's the voice. But this isn't about that. This is about dinner last night.

It's no secret that hubby and I are trying to eat better. Yes, we eat organic, and blah, blah, blah, but we still have a long way to go to get where we really want to be. Anytime we try to incorporate something new and different into our diet, it gets kind of scary. Specially if it's something we don't know much about. We are exchanging our grains and pastas. We are looking into alternatives for some staples. Enter quinoa.

Quinoa (keen wa) is very flexible and can be used in place of rice and some noodles. Would I make lasagna with it? No. It's not that flexible. One of our favorite things to eat is Japanese sticky rice. Yeah, that is not the healthiest rice ever. But man is it good still warm with soy sauce. See, it doesn't get much better. We're changing that, too. One step at a time. My problem with quinoa is a texture issue. It's small, not quite like couscous but different than rice. It can get kind of mushy. Yeah, I m not a fan of mush. When it cooks, the smell reminds me of when hubby boils peanuts. I like the taste, but the issues are still issues. What to do, what to do? Hide it. Not hide it exactly, but cook it where texture isn't an issue, and hopefully the smell.

Most of my friends either are or are becoming more attuned to their health. One friend, in particular, has really made great strides. At the park one day, K had a quinoa cook book. I need to check it out from the library and see if I can come up with something. I have searched the internet and come up with some ideas. I tweaked an idea of hers to fit our family and an idea was born. K hides it with ground beef. Well, I can do that. And now that I've taken you on that journey, let's take a detour.

We don't have satellite anymore. No more Food Network or Cooking Channel for me. That doesn't mean I haven't seen some great cooking on TV. And lately, the one thing that seems to be cooking is polenta. I've made polenta before and it was good. I made it the mushy way. It's really just cooked cornmeal dressed up fancy. I wanted to try it the crispy way. After you cook it, you chill it until it's firm. Then you cut it into shapes and either bake it or fry it. Since my oven is on the fritz, I crisped it in butter and some olive oil.

Apparently while I was cooking I was a bit distracted. I inadvertently started making a double batch, but I didn't season it like a double batch. And I probably could have cooked it longer the first time. I didn't, and it was a little plain, but it was still good. The big girl helped. I do not have four hands, but I sure needed them. Polenta can be a little time and stirring intensive. My polenta recipe came from Food.com, which is one of my favorite recipe sites. I also found a sweet potato polenta that I am going to try.

I am also admitting that I freaked a little in the grocery store when I was buying cornmeal. I stood there on the baking aisle, looking at a bag of cornmeal, and I needed a moment. I started thinking about corn and how most of it is now a GMO product and I couldn't do it. I couldn't buy the regular cornmeal. I had to go over to the organic section and buy organic cornmeal. It was pricey and a big splurge, but I just couldn't buy the other with a clear conscience. I am such a freak.

Here's what I did with the quinoa. It was really good and even the baby ate it. She even ate the spinach. I never thought I'd see the day.

Quinoa and Beef

1-2 lbs of ground beef
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 small onion, cut up
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 portabello, diced
2 cups raw baby spinach
basil, oregano, and parsley to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef with onion, garlic, and spices until cooked through. Drain off grease. Add beef back to pan. Add tomatoes and mushrooms. Stir to combine. Add cooked quinoa and 1/3 can of water. Stir to incorporate quinoa and water. Reseason. Let simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach and cover. Lower heat to medium to medium low. Let sit until spinach starts to wilt, about 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir. Serve over crispy polenta. 

This would be good with any ground meat, like chicken or turkey. It would probably be good with ground pork, but we have stopped eating pork. The quinoa clings to the ground beef and, texture wise, doesn't stand out too much. When I cooked my quinoa, I used veggie stock. It flavors the quinoa and cut down on the overwhelming nutty smell. That made it much better. Some of you may be freaking out that I used canned tomatoes. I used organic tomatoes from a company that has uses BPA free lining in their cans. It's ok. I know Big Sis is going to be mad I didn't add amounts to the spices, but I don't measure. I get a couple of good, healthy pinches and sprinkle that over the meat as I cook. I use a couple, stir it in, let it cook. Add some more when it's time to stir the meat. I season every time I move the food in the pan. I think this would also be good if you want to give it a southwest flavor with cumin and cayenne. It would also be good with maybe a curry flavor if you use chicken or turkey. If you don't have spinach, use kale or chard or cabbage or bok choy or whatever leafy green you have. If you have fresh tomatoes, use those. You could chop a medium size tomato or use grape or cherry tomatoes. This is so versatile, you could mix and match everything.   

I have to say that this is probably one of the best things I've made lately. It was so pretty over the polenta. I would have taken a picture, but it was after 7 and my family wasn't waiting. I'm lucky we got through the prayer before they started eating. I would have had seconds, but I quit eating those, too. Next time I might get a bigger first serving. Now, there's a good idea.

Have a great day.

Organized Chaos

Yup, that's my mind. Well, maybe not the organized part. But it sounds good, doesn't it? Several of my blogger friends used to belong to a blog that used a "daybook" style of writing. It gave you categories and you blog about those. I like it, so that's what you get today. That means an excuse for bullet points. Party on:

• I am listening to...Matisyahu's "One Day". My iPod is cranked and ready for this blog. The shuffle feature is a wonderful thing.
• Outside my window...it is a bright, sunny morning, but chilly as all get out. It won't break 60 today. I live in a tropical region so that's cold for us. By Tuesday it should be warmer, thank goodness!
• I am wearing...kitty pajamas and my robe. And I'm still chilly. I'm also wearing my new slippers. I needed new slippers. My old ones were literally falling apart. I got two new pair! There was a sale and I had a coupon. Love that!
• Around the house...there are piles everywhere. As long as Hoarders doesn't show up, I'm ok. I plan to work on that today. My bedroom is as bad as the kids', if not worse. I don't sleep well in a messy room, so hopefully cleaning up will help my insomnia. Please?!?
• From the schoolroom...we are plugging away. We changed the big girl's algebra. Again. She felt like she needed to "reinforce her foundation". Ok, smarty girl. We are back to a full schedule, including extras. The boy started back his guitar lessons, the girls started piano, and we are all back to dance. I am having an awful time getting science plugged into our schedule, so I'm skipping it this year. The kids are more interested in continuing our art study. It's easier to put that into the schedule so I did. Loving it! We are also back to our history. We are expanding westward. Lewis and Clark just discovered the Pacific Ocean.
• From the tower...I picked two strawberries this morning. I may eat them before the kids get up. They'll never know. Except the big girl who can read this on Facebook, but she's not here this morning, so I call hers! There are 6 heads of broccoli in various states of maturity. Very excited about that. We have spring crops that are seedlings and ready to go into the tower. We are going to try to wait until Monday since we have a couple of nights of low temps to get through. We did buy an aquarium heater to keep the water warm and we'll wrap the plants tonight, just in case.
• I am reading...and reading and reading. Right now, I am reading Explosive Eighteen. I just finished Water for Elephants. Great book! I am not seeing the movie. Robert Pattinson just doesn't do it for me as the lead. I was reading Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank... by Celia Rivenbark. It is laugh out loud funny! I only get the Janet Evanovich book for a week, so I need to read it and get it back. I also started The Hunger Games for book club, but I gotta finish my book. Our after dinner book is The Bronze Bow. The whole family is liking it. 
• I am researching...coconut manna. I found it while I was researching prices for coconut oil. The name kind of intrigued me. I also found this article. Scroll down and read the comments, too. Very interesting. Then of course, the question comes up, how do I use it? Well, there's this, too. There are other brands, as mentioned in the article above, but these links were the first ones I found. I'm going to look at my vegetarian recipe sites and see if they have anything. I'm debating about it. It almost seems like a splurge, but then you look at the health benefits and what it can do for you and maybe not. More research ahead of me before I make a decision. 
• I am thankful...for my youth kids and our bible study. It has been eye opening. I am so proud of these young people that want so badly to learn as much as they can about Jesus and follow Him. I am proud of the young men and women they are and are becoming. We had a great discussion last time about vesting and investing in youth. All I have to say is that our church needs to wake up. You are missing a vital opportunity to watch amazing people grow closer to God, and you are missing the opportunity to be part of it.  

That's all I have for now. I think that's probably enough, don't you?

Have a great day.

Lots to Say, Lots to Do, Lots of Pics

We've had a nice break for the holidays. We got to spend some lazy days together. I swear the kids slept past 10 almost every day.The only time they didn't was when we had somewhere to go. Yeah, that didn't happen very often. Hubby and I had some last minute running to do. We turned it into date night and just took our time. It was lovely. We even found a nice sushi restaurant. Bonus!

 This was my dinner. I like crunch. If I'm going to have a snack, I like a little crispness. I either get a tempura roll or a spider roll. I got the spider roll, which is at the top left. So, so good. I like the little bit of soft shell crab that sticks out. Yummo!!

 This was hubby's dinner. You can always tell his plate because it has tuna on it. I'm not big on tuna, but this was good enough for me to take two bites! I can't remember what the roll is in the middle of his plate, but it got shared. I think we fought over the last piece.

There was nothing left but wasabi and ginger. I like that they don't use the pink ginger. Ginger isn't supposed to be pink. I could steal their dishes, though. You should have seen the boat the couple at the next table had. It took up the whole table. We almost invited ourselves to sit with them.

We had to rearrange the living room again this year to get the tree up. That meant moving couches and the TV and the entertainment center. We ended up putting the tree behind our sofa, but kind of in front of the front door. I didn't like it, but our other option was to unload the book shelf, move it, then load it back, Thank you, but no. Hubby had to stop by his parents' house to pick up gifts from them so we could get them under the tree. So after rearranging, last minute running and wrapping, and gift pick up, this is what it looked like.

I sure like to see the tree with lots of presents. And there was really good stuff there, too. There was some not so good stuff, but I am trying to focus on the positive.

I couldn't get the front of the tree because it was that close to the sofa. Trying to get between the two was quite the feat in trying to not knock down the tree. We definitely need to figure something different out for next year.

Last Easter, we had the opportunity to go see The Rock and the Rabbi. It was amazing. This Christmas season, we were able to go see their newest production, The Child. It was wonderful, too. It had a smaller cast, but the music just moves you.



 Just like the last show, the cast was out in the lobby doing a meet and greet with everyone. I like that you don't have to have a back stage pass. The boy took over the autograph getting. How can you refuse that sweet face? Well, it's easy for me, but I'm his mama. We bought the CD again. Our favorite song is "Taxes". It's just fun to hear. The only autograph we didn't get was a young man that played keyboards and sang. he wasn't out with the rest of the cast.

But he was coming around the corner as we were leaving. Very nice, humble young man. He seemed confused as to why we would want his autograph and picture. Because he was awesome. The sweet young lady next to him is MC. This was the cast member she really wanted to talk to. I do what I can for my kids, including being an eagle eye. And listening to the boy when he says, "Look, there he is!" So it really wasn't me, but I'll take the credit any way I can get it. The girl next to MC is KT. That's what we call her anyway. And Baby J. And, of course, my eagle-eyed boy.

The weather got pretty cold. When the weather gets cold, I like to make soup. The big girl had been after me to make Italian wedding soup. So I finally did.

I usually combine two different recipes, but this time I stuck mainly to one. And I had everything I needed, including the Italian sausage, and that is rare for me. I used chard for the green because that was what I had. It was delicious and the big girl was happy. And so was everyone else.

New Year's Eve is a quiet night at home for us. I make a bunch of appetizers and finger foods and we eat all night long. Well, until midnight anyway. Usually we have soda and lemonade, but we are working at cutting the soda from our diet. I made fruit punch instead. We drank so much punch, we floated into the new year.

This is only part of the table. I wasn't done cooking yet, but if I didn't get a picture, you wouldn't have seen most of it. Bunch of vultures. Then when I was done with the rest of it, it kind of disappeared before I had the chance to get the camera. I tried, but I was too busy stuffing my face to think about it. Then it was too late. You should come over one New Year's. We throw a heck of a party!

I think that's about it for the end of the year wrap up. We may travel next Christmas. Maybe somewhere tropical and warm. Like Tahiti or Fiji. Wanna go? Start saving your pennies.

Have a great day.

The Highlights and Lowlights, or, 2011 in Review

You know we're getting closer to the end of the year when all the review shows come out. The Biggest, Brightest, or Not So Much of whatever year is about to close. I usually find them sort of annoying, but this is my list, so how annoying can it be? I'm not seperating them by category. This is just the list, good, bad, or otherwise.

• We started the year with great expectations and an impending move to Texas. So much excitement! You have never seen someone pack a box quicker than me. I had boxes stacked on boxes stacked on boxes. We cleaned out and purged and gave away and threw out. We had to clean out the shed to have room for the boxes. We said good bye to friends and family. We cried and laughed and touted the benefits of technology and the various ways of keeping in touch. The day before hubby and I were going to leave to find a home in our new state, hubby got a  phone call. The job was on hold. Good thing we didn't leave. That was the week of the horrible ice and snow and we would have been stuck for at least that week, if not longer. The job remained on hold for another four months. Hubby finally called and asked for his name to be removed from the job. The hold had taken it's toll on our family and we were miserable. Two months later the boss called and said the job was finally released. Would hubby be interested? No, but thank you. The unpacking was just as miserable. All the hopes and dreams gone like dust and memories.
• We stayed in Florida! Our friends are our family here. There were many tears shed when we announced our move. There were gatherings where goodbyes were said and then we stayed. At one point, I heard there were rumblings we had made it up, that we were never really moving. Then you don't know us, do you? It was comforting to be welcomed back into the fold of loving friends. Thank you for that!
• The kids and I went to Texas and were able to spend many weeks with family and friends. I wanted the kids to be able to go to Mermie's and spend some time. I wanted them to spend time with their Auntie and their cousins. We don't get to see them often and I NEEDED them to have that connection. I needed to have that connection. It was glorious!!! I got to see family and friends. I got to help, and in some cases hinder. We absolutely loved it. The only downside: hubby had to stay home and work. We missed him something fierce! It was so good to see him at the airport. And he brought me a Cinnabon. Because he rocks that way. And he loves me. Crazy man.
• We bought a hydroponic tower. Hubby has been into hydroponics for years, but never really did anything about it. This was like a starter kit for him. It has been trial and error, but we love it! He even has a few design modifications he wants to try when he builds another one. We see it as a step to self-sufficiency. We're already planning spring crops. Strawberries will be part of that. And bok choy. And spinach. And zucchini, and, and, and...
• Hubby got a solar kit for Christmas. It is quite the little project. Our dream is to one day be off the grid. If we could afford the house to be solar, it would have been done years ago. I like that we can start small and work out the kinks. I like that we can make this a reality one day. I like the learning curve.
• There has been a rift in the family. Hubby and I have distanced ourselves from his brother and his brother's wife. I have excused myself from all family gatherings, including holidays. I have tried three times to mend the rift, with no help from the other side and even some meddling from a parental unit. Instead, I get called all kinds of names (joy sucker being my favorite) and have become the one that caused the rift. Bite me. I have always thought that if you are big enough to say the words, you need to be big enough to say them straight to someone's face. Just trying to take some responsibility, but that didn't happen either. I hate this phrase now: it is what it is. No, it is what you make it. I can make this whatever I want. I choose to make it gloriously freeing!
• For the first time in years, I can actually say that I enjoyed the holidays. It was stressful and touch and go there for a little bit, but once it was settled, it was settled. We had great holidays with our pod and lots of offers from friends to share in their joy. We declined, needing to make our own joy. And we did! It was one of the best holiday seasons we have ever had.  
• Music has filled our home!! We bought a piano from an auction house/thrift store in a neighboring town. When I say we bought it super cheap, I mean we bought it SUPER CHEAP. Her name is Mabel and she is beautiful. She was horribly out of tune and had sticking keys, but no longer. The sound of my girls playing just brightens my day. The baby was given a guitar early in the year, or at the end of last year. When the choice came to play piano or guitar, she chose piano. The boy, on the other hand, chose guitar. We were lucky and blessed enough to find a wonderful teacher for the boy. The boy is loving it. Since my dad plays, it had always been my hope that one or all of my kids would play. And that goes in the plus column.
• School has been fun for us. There are the required books, but we started an art study towards the holidays. We needed to unwind and do something fun. We are going to continue that. The kids have really enjoyed it and so have I. I've enjoyed it so much, I may go get myself a sketch book. The kids all have one, and I'm a little jealous. I may sit down and lesson plan today. After the laundry and dishes. Hmmmmm...
• We found two new libraries in our county system that have become favorites. One is very small and is about 10 minutes from the house. It is very comfy and homey and the people there are nice. They even removed a nasty note that one of the librarians at our other library had attached to each of our accounts. The second library is quite big and is on a junior college campus. The kids section is bigger than most and the kids beg to go there. The big girl likes the "youth" section. I still need to watch what she picks up. Some of those books should be in the adult section. I randomly picked one off the shelf and flipped through it. Yeah, not what I want any teenager reading, specially mine. The kids like the library so much and the selection of books, I have to limit how many books they can check out. It has reignited the love of reading in my kids. Yea!!
• We are dancing again this year! We had stopped for awhile, one of the reasons being the move. Amazing what doing what you love can do for your spirit. The baby girl has turned out to be quite the tapper. I am just overjoyed that she chose to tap. Makes me miss my tap shoes. She taps everywhere we go: standing in line, shopping, waiting for an appointment, wherever. The boy is back to jazz. I think that is where his dance heart lies. He is such a great dancer. He is again the only boy in his class, and he is alright with that. But you should see his grand jete. Great height and extension.He may take some ballet over the summer. We'll see. The big girl has moved from the hip hop class she has been in for the last 3 or 4 years. She likes her new class, and in my humble opinion, is the best one in the class. Who would have thought that my sweet, quiet girl could be so funky? Um, me, for one. And even Mama is taking hip hop. It's something I've wanted to do for many years, but the scheduling never quite worked for me. This year, it works. I miss tap, but I fill that with hip hop. I just love dancing and am very happy about the chance to get to shake my groove thing. 
• And finally, I have become the mother of a teenager. Holy smokes, how did that happen? You should see her. She is beautiful. And very well protected from stinky boys. And hubby has guns. And he knows how to use them. And if you come near her, he'll use them. All of them. But that isn't where this is going. She is amazing and I love her and I am blessed to be her mama.

That's our year in review. Not much, but tons all at the same time. The new year will bring new challenges, but also new blessings and new beginnings. May yours be bright and joy filled and fruitful and prosperous and blessed. Ours will be!

Have a great day. 

Parading Through the Streets

We did it again this year. We were in the local Christmas parade. The kids loved it. I had a great time. Even hubby enjoyed himself. The rehearsal schedule threw me for a loop, but that's ok. This year the boy got to dance as well as the big girl. The baby is champing at the bit for next year. She'll be old enough to dance, too. Here's some pics for you. I don't like the shiny eyes, but I can't help that. I took these with my phone. You get what you get. I did manage to crop them without losing them, so I'll take it.

 I sure wish everyone would have smiled. It could have been our Christmas card picture. If I did Christmas cards. But I don't. I still wish...

 The boy and the baby with two of their dancing buds. They have danced together for about three years now.

 That really isn't a smirk on the big girl's face. You would know it. She has "the look". It can knock you down from 10 paces. This is her "I'm going to humor my picture crazy mom" smile.

 The big girl with her friend, K. K didn't dance, but she marched and held the sign. She said she's dancing next year.

 LOVE this pic. We kind of look like we're plotting something. Yes, you should be scared...

 This is the group of dancers. See how nicely they lined up and smiled. The baby's group, well, not so much. That was like herding cats. That was the 7 and under crowd. It was the under that was the issue.

 The baby on the float with her dance buddy, I. Love the earmuffs. Felt and cotton balls decorated with glitter. My friend N made them. She said there was glitter in her house for weeks. I can believe it!

 Ms. Val. She owns the dance studio and teaches tap and the under crowd, as mentioned above. There is no one better with the kids. If it wasn't for her, we probably wouldn't be dancing. Amazing woman and loves what she does. Cannot ask for more.

 Love the blue lights. It made the float look icy. Yeah, like that happens around here. But it looked good.

 The theme this year was "Winter Wonderland". I thought they did a great job. It made me want hot cocoa.

 See this boy? I absolutely love him. I have very few pics of him just smiling. This is one of my favs.

 The kids were practicing before the parade. I tried to get video, but it didn't turn out very well. You can see the big girl just at the right edge of the pic.

 Liked it so much, I added it twice. Oops, my bad.

That is me with hubby. Or hubby with me. Or the two of us together. He walked with us. Aren't we cute?

A good time was had by all. So good in fact, I was thinking about asking Ms. Val if I could dance next year. We'll see. The kids always have a great time. It's time they shared the joy.

Have a great day.