tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58926829384126137522024-03-13T10:29:31.795-05:00Family TeamH-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.comBlogger490125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-11080642504701076362013-12-24T12:19:00.000-06:002013-12-24T12:19:58.062-06:00may your days be {merry} and bright<div style="text-align: left;">
<img alt=" photo DSC_0054copy70_Christmas_zps0b712848.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs002/DSC_0054copy70_Christmas_zps0b712848.jpg" width="600" /></div>
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<img alt=" photo DSC_9659copy705x7_zpse3d98401.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs002/DSC_9659copy705x7_zpse3d98401.jpg" width="456" /> </div>
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<img alt=" photo DSC_9924copy708x10_zps39d4ac9e.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs002/DSC_9924copy708x10_zps39d4ac9e.jpg" width="512" /></div>
<img alt=" photo DSC_0078copy708x10_zps05817f47.jpg" border="0" height="511" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs002/DSC_0078copy708x10_zps05817f47.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<img alt=" photo DSC_9692copy70_zps9de00053.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs002/DSC_9692copy70_zps9de00053.jpg" width="600" /> H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-55901728082645135052013-12-18T07:00:00.000-06:002013-12-18T07:00:06.580-06:00{Wicked} Fun<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">In the midst of running the mom-taxi to theater rehearsals and performances this summer, we squeezed in a little {extra} fun with some of our theater friends, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It was a full day of Shrek rehearsal (I'll get to that soon) and this mama at the optometrist's office (for 3 hours, but who's counting?). Fun, yes? ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We headed on over to the center of the concrete jungle for some <span style="color: #38761d;">{<a href="http://www.wickedthemusical.com/broadway-tickets" target="_blank">Wicked</a>}</span> fun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img alt=" photo DSC_4803copy_zps171573cb.jpg" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4803copy_zps171573cb.jpg" /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Unfortunately, hubs had to fly out and couldn't make the show...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img alt=" photo DSC_4817copy2_zpsb0e00d90.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4817copy2_zpsb0e00d90.jpg" width="600" /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">so, we did the next best thing and invited one of the girls' theater friends to come along with us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img alt=" photo DSC_4811copy_zpsdd85c1bb.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4811copy_zpsdd85c1bb.jpg" width="600" /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Sweet and fun. When theater friends attend a show, they might just put on a Wizard of Oz performance outside the theater for the viewing audience, of which some patrons may actually give applause. Too cute.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><img alt=" photo DSC_4829_zps871b164a.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4829_zps871b164a.jpg" width="600" /></span></div>
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<img alt=" photo DSC_4830_zpsea2ba40a.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4830_zpsea2ba40a.jpg" width="600" /></div>
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<img alt=" photo DSC_4824_zps5a504d40.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4824_zps5a504d40.jpg" width="600" /></div>
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A beautiful night with beautiful girlies.H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-26664924487959735142013-12-17T08:44:00.000-06:002013-12-17T10:10:23.294-06:00we survived summer 2013 {part 1}<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">So, how have you enjoyed my big bloggy comeback? I know. Sad. My girlies have asked me to start blogging again. Several times, actually. I need to. If nothing else, so we can look back and determine what we actually did each month. My memory fails me when it comes to the details, if I don't write. it. down. right. when. it. happens. *sigh*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">In other news, I almost forgot how to navigate through Blogger, in order to write a new post. A sign it's been too long... or I'm getting too old, but that's another post. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Much has happened this past year. Much of it taking my wit and energy (read as: my ability to put 2 cohesive sentences together in order to blog). Motherhood became more on-the-go, yet remained fulfilling. Honestly, there's no way to describe motherhood before it happens to you. Best full-time-tiring job one can ever have. Ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">On to our summer. I feel as though I need a t-shirt that says, "I survived summer 2013." No joke. With a hubby who traveled most of the summer and 2 girls who had me running on different sides of a very large concrete jungle, I nearly became unraveled a couple of times.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Nator auditioned for a professional theater and they saw something in her as the character of Annetta Bell in their Anne of Avonlea main stage production. Here she is all dolled up in her costume. Also, this is what cloud 9 looks like.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img alt=" photo DSC_4564copy_zps47a58e8f.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4564copy_zps47a58e8f.jpg" width="422" /> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Backstage, there was much fun with the cast between scenes. Since there were hardly any costume changes (thankyoujesus), the kids were mostly found making crafts (rainbow loom, anyone?): jumping rope, reading books, working on creative writing, or simply chatting.</span><br />
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<img alt=" photo DSC_5178copy_zpsc0b0b693.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_5178copy_zpsc0b0b693.jpg" width="600" /></div>
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<img alt=" photo DSC_4919_zps1a76e996.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4919_zps1a76e996.jpg" width="423" /><br />
<img alt=" photo DSC_4914_zpsa3e6ef04.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4914_zpsa3e6ef04.jpg" width="600" /><img alt=" photo DSC_5180copy_zps44f7824f.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_5180copy_zps44f7824f.jpg" width="426" /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Several theater friends and family (Granny & Aunt C) came to view the performance... as well as, friends we didn't get pictures with. So blessed.</span><br />
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<img alt=" photo DSC_4933_zps80183b6c.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4933_zps80183b6c.jpg" width="600" /></div>
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<img alt=" photo DSC_4838_zpsdcf51b86.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_4838_zpsdcf51b86.jpg" width="600" /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">The final goodbye at our main-stage was bitter-sweet.</span><br />
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<a href="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_5167copy_zpscff12e66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=" photo DSC_5167copy_zpscff12e66.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_5167copy_zpscff12e66.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">*************************** </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Then it was off to a very popular outdoor stage in our area for mic checks, in preparation for our last performance.</span><br />
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<img alt=" photo DSC_5935_zps9cea4c41.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_5935_zps9cea4c41.jpg" width="600" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Our director was super sweet and we were privileged to be a part of her inaugural main-stage direction. Also, backstage never looks as glamorous as you imagine. ha!</span></div>
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<img alt=" photo DSC_5988_zps457f0c51.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_5988_zps457f0c51.jpg" width="422" /><br />
<img alt=" photo DSC_5999_zpseb0a8211.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_5999_zpseb0a8211.jpg" width="423" /><br />
<img alt=" photo DSC_6029_zpse9df1435.jpg" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/luvmyabs001/DSC_6029_zpse9df1435.jpg" width="600" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Final bows are always a tad emotional. Even after 16-17 performances. Tired from the journey, but sad to see such a positive experience come to an end. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Of course, we are always in the works for what comes next...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: small;">Soon, I'll share the other performance that coincided with this one over the summer. Never a dull moment around here, y'all. ;) </span></div>
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H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-81552000770324717862013-05-20T00:24:00.001-05:002013-05-20T00:24:30.124-05:00{13} looks good on you, {baby} girl!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'll love you forever,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'll like you for always,</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">As long as I'm living,</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">My {baby} you'll be.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">From a child to a young lady.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Just like that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">We are so very proud of you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Immeasurable love </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">to infinity and beyond... </span></div>
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H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-68429986086488889932013-03-17T19:51:00.002-05:002013-03-17T19:51:32.057-05:00the gift of an ordinary moment in my head, i'm quite the domestic goddess around the house, an organized martha stewart, if you will, and a healthy version of paula deen in the kitchen. like i said, in my head. my head doesn't always play out in real life. life is messy. i've mentioned that a time or twenty.<br />
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truthfully, i try. but i tire of spinning so many plates. a few of them, self-inflicted, i'm sure. so much to do, so little of me to go around. that's where i stand in this season of motherhood. chances are, you know where i'm coming from.<br />
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<br />
a friend of mine asked my soon-to-be-thirteen-year-old (excuse me whilst i have an i'm-not-ready-for-my-girls-to-grow-up-tantrum) what we did over spring break. my sweet girl told my friend that we cleaned. and did schoolwork.<br />
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nice.<br />
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<img alt=" photo IMG_5825_zpsfb44c14f.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_5825_zpsfb44c14f.jpg" width="640" /> </div>
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laughing, i walked up and reminded her that we only had theater and schoolwork this past week. evenings were completely free for playtime since all dance classes & piano/voice was cancelled.<br />
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maybe we could take more breaks if we were not involved in theater, dance lessons, competition, piano/voice lessons, music guild, etc. but the girls really don't want to give up any of their passions; therefore, some schoolwork must be seized during hours our public school friends might be on break. <br />
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i'm so glad mama is here to remind them how much fun they get to have each week. ;)<br />
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oh, i kid. when asked, the girls will tell you that they love us.<br />
<i>and</i> we have fun. <br />
<br />
sometimes, when distracted with my many spinning plates, i need a gentle nudge...<br />
to just breath<br />
and take in the moment.<br />
i'm sharing one of those tissue-inducing nudges with you here... <br />
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after wiping my teary eyes, mama closed up shop. reading could wait till the afternoon on this particular day. </div>
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<img alt=" photo IMG_5826_zps9f0d4d82.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_5826_zps9f0d4d82.jpg" width="640" /> </div>
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making a spontaneously-fun moment would come first. they grow up so quickly.</div>
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<img alt=" photo IMG_5822_zps616923ec.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_5822_zps616923ec.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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getting our studies in is certainly important.<br />
absolutely.<br />
but not more important than appreciating life with those we love. <br />
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to prove how dedicated i was, i even left the nikon at home.<br />
this was truly about quality time, not quality of pix.<br />
sometimes, the iphone captures the best moments. <br />
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<img alt=" photo IMG_5824_zps1f04c521.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_5824_zps1f04c521.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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(we called this our <span style="color: #660000;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tree-Trail-Holling-C/dp/039554534X" target="_blank"><i>tree in the trail</i></a></span>. ;)</div>
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may you and your family collect more fun-filled memories, <br />
and guilt-free-parenting-plate-spinning.<br />
because... well... life happens.<br />
yo.</div>
H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-57954624281026411672013-02-11T00:57:00.000-06:002013-02-11T00:58:03.277-06:00simply thankfulmy mantra last year, 2012, was supposed to be <i>simplify</i>... i heard that snicker.<br />
i had good intentions. really. in motherhood, though, i think we can all agree that things get complicated. it's a title that makes us feel as if we're running in circles, all the while hoping we are going somewhere rewarding. which, i'm sure, we are. <br />
<br />
let's be <i>completely</i> honest for a moment. maybe you've pinned 379 projects on your pinterest board during insomnia spells, but by a realistic day's end, you're thinking that the fact that you've kept the children alive, schooled, relatively fed, and somewhat clean is quite the accomplishment, right? <br />
<br />
i'm right there with ya.<br />
<br />
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<img alt=" photo DSC_0862copy_zps7e94c642.jpg" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0862copy_zps7e94c642.jpg" height="380" width="580" /> </div>
<br />
so, where have i been these past months? {has it really been that long? geesh.} well... i've been fully engrossed in the lives of a busy hubby and 2 purdy girlies. come day's end, my body literally hurts and the idea of putting 2 sentences together gives me a headache. not to mention the fact that my kids are getting older and sometimes i think they might not want me talking about them on such a public forum forever, you know.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt=" photo DSC_0773copy_zps111f7a11.jpg" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0773copy_zps111f7a11.jpg" height="380" width="580" /> </div>
<br />
however... guess who's missed the ol' bloggy? yep. the girls. {hi, girls! mama is trying to make a come-back. just don't pay attention to the improper grammar, mkay?}<br />
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<img alt=" photo DSC_0778copy_zps58d4f672.jpg" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0778copy_zps58d4f672.jpg" height="380" width="580" /> </div>
<br />
sometimes, one needs to be reminded as to why one started a blog in the first place... without getting lured into the temptation to compare one's life with others online. <i> or</i> feel obligated to market the blog for money making. *sigh* <br />
<br />
i mean, honestly, how many truly genuine blogs reveal the good, the bad, <i>and</i> the ugly? <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt=" photo DSC_0566copy_zps93971321-1.jpg" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0566copy_zps93971321-1.jpg" height="380" width="580" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">{this pic crac<span style="font-size: x-small;">ked. me. up.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> obviously, hubs<span style="font-size: x-small;">, nor i, <span style="font-size: x-small;">held the remote for this pic. hmmm...</span></span>}</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
i asked my hubs how one would catch up on everything since one's last post?? he said, "you wouldn't. just start from where you are now." such a wise man. nevertheless, he married a picture hoarder. so, i might just try to go back and highlight a few memories.<br />
<br />
however, today, i will simply post a thankful heart.<br />
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<img alt=" photo DSC_0601copy70_zps43bf305b.jpg" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0601copy70_zps43bf305b.jpg" height="640" width="425" /></div>
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life gets messy. crumbs gather under the table, endless mounds of laundry stockpile, uncomfortable conversations sometimes need to be had, the kitchen table gets flooded with junk mail, feathers get ruffled, life disappoints.<br />
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<img alt=" photo DSC_0763copy_zps7c6745f2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0763copy_zps7c6745f2.jpg" height="380" width="580" /> </div>
<br />
but, through it all, we have each other. <br />
that alone brings us joy. <br />
and even makes this mama thankful for the crumbs underneath the table.<br />
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<img alt=" photo DSC_0664copy_zpscd1a35a7.jpg" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0664copy_zpscd1a35a7.jpg" height="380" width="580" /> </div>
<br />
someone i love put them there. <br />
<br />
so, we give these little people neck-pie.<br />
because we love them much more than the crumbs.<br />
then ask them to help clean up the mess. ;)<br />
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</div>
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<img alt=" photo DSC_0869copycopy_zpsfa91fcae.jpg" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0869copycopy_zpsfa91fcae.jpg" height="380" width="580" /></div>
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</div>
truth is, i kinda dig these people.<br />
<br />
truth is, i started this post a month ago. <br />
<br />
truth is, i'm still striving for simple.<br />
maybe the answer to simplifying is to simply find the joys in all of life's busy during the busy. <br />
<br />
truth is, i've had many distractions this evening and now i'm too deliriously tired to proofread. i apologize for any misspeltings.H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-50420108713425873302012-09-30T15:57:00.001-05:002012-09-30T15:59:03.198-05:00did we mention what we did this summer? <div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="DSC_1617" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1617-1.jpg" width="600" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">willy wonka, of course.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">we may have mentioned it a time or 20. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">i'm still in recovery mode.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">recovery includes homeschooling a 5th and 7th grader, finding my way through piles of laundry, a new theater production, preparing for an upcoming piano recital, and a new 3 day a week dance schedule. this mama is tired. but i'm sure you guessed that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">mama has been busy chasing our beautiful lil' lives, which has left little time to document it. i really don't like that... because i tend to forget some of the details. (nope, i'm not losing my memory. or suffering with denial) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">thank heaven for instagram. that's all i'm saying. ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1660.jpg" width="425" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">nearly every day, i shuttled my oompa-loompas to theater.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">they simply couldn't get enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="DSC_1490copy" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1490copy-1.jpg" width="425" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">as a young person, musical theater gives such a wonderful outlet for creative expression. they are assigned their roles, then allowed to fill their character with fun personality. creativity is essential for personal growth. when kiddos learn to trust their creative instincts, they increase in confidence, self-esteem, public speaking, their ability to work well within a group... and even how to deal with disappointment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />this is why i signed up for the insanity; otherwise, mama would love to catch up on some r and r. keepin' it honest. ;)</span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1864_zps212ddb15.jpg" width="600" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">besides, who would want to be responsible for breaking up this friendly group? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1857_70_zpsb5aee9b4.jpg" width="600" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">this is how it looks backstage. cozy, yes? the kids were warming up, saying good-bye to themselves, and putting on their character. too cute. see my sweet lil' oompa? ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1891_zps214b4ae9.jpg" width="600" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">gracie's other character, veruca, is not so sweet, while having a tantrum. bad nut. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="DSC_1658" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1658-1.jpg" width="425" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">nator played the ever-too-nurturing-with-food ms. gloop. she was a fluffy sweetheart, with her lil' german accent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1906_zps4165afff.jpg" width="600" /> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">unless you try to melt her chocolatey augustus.... or</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> mispronounce her name. her name starts with <i>gl</i>, not<i> p</i>. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="DSC_1837" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1837-1.jpg" width="425" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">after our current theater production, we plan to take a break during christmas. you know, so we can make room for <strike>rest</strike> all of our holiday festivities. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="DSC_1788" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1788-1.jpg" width="600" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">after christmas, we plan to meet back up with our homeschool theater group! fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="DSC_1444" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1444-1.jpg" width="600" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">we are just *crossing fingers* that our dance competition schedule agrees with the theater and piano recital schedule.</span></div>
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<img alt="DSC_1522" border="0" height="425" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1522-1.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">my nerdy factory worker and i say good-bye... for now.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it's time to review script and watch the new orleans saints. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sigh. may the force be with them.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">we hope the start of the new school year is treating you well!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">hugs!!</span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-54373052732311483722012-08-31T23:12:00.001-05:002012-08-31T23:12:36.528-05:00once in a blue moon conversations<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in the hustle and bustle of the daily grind, there are many conversations that need documenting... for future reference. this is one. </span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<img alt="DSC_0898copy70" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0898copy70-1.jpg" /></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: <i>oh, we almost forgot to take a peek at the blue moon!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">nator: <i>let me get my shoes!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: <i>graaaaaaacieeeeee! </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">gracie: {just getting settled in her loft bed} <i>yeeeees?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: <i>come here.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">{insert jeopardy music as nator and mom wait for gracie to climb down mt. everest}</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">gracie: {singing -with a cheesy grin- as she comes out of her room} <i>what do you want from me? what do you want from me?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: <i>how appropriate.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">gracie: <i>what did y'all want?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">nator and mama: <i>let's go look at the blue moon.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">gracie: <i>oh.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: <i>i'm sure it's not blue. it's an expression used because we are having a full moon twice this month.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">{walks outside the front door}</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">gracie: <i>it's not blue. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: <i>but it's a full moon. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">nator: <i>it's so pretty. i'm sure neil armstrong is enjoying it from somewhere up there.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: <i>i bet you're right.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">{clearly impressed, gracie walks back indoors, while mom and nator enjoy the glow of the moonlight a little longer}</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">nator: <i>i learned on brainpop that the next one will be in three years.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: <i>and that will put you at how old?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">{mom cringes and might be sporting a frowny face}</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">nator: <i>fifteen.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">{we <strike>console each other</strike> embrace in a big hug, then slowly make our way indoors}</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">nator: <i>but i'll still love you. i might just have a little attitude.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: {laughs <strike>to keep from crying</strike>} <i>let's hope not.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">i mean... attitudes in this sweet girlie only come once in a blue moon. let's not mess with that statistic.</span></div>
H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-59489757401824156122012-08-21T22:43:00.001-05:002012-08-21T22:43:27.891-05:00August 2012 ~ week 33 {behind the scenes and sentiment}<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: left;">
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the blog, according to instagram.</div>
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sometimes, there are simply things you just don't want to forget. so you add them to the blog, too. ;)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></div>
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2521.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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gracie and hubs sporting their support for<br />
the who-dat nation's first {pre-season} game.<br />
they won.<br />
who-dat. <br />
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theater mayhem. <br />
you know.<br />
just another day. <br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2555.jpg" /></div>
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girls night at chili's.<br />
silly photo-bomb girl in the back. <br />
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ready for another willy wonka performance as oompa loopas.<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2580.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
before heading to theater, a 12 yo needs breakfast and...<br />
a lil' fetch with ruff ruffman.<br />
via ipod.<br />
<br />
and to think...<br />
back in my day, we had to walk all the way to the tv to change the channel. that familiar sound of clunk, clunk, clunk, *static*, clunk.... anyone relate? <br />
<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2588.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
before they finish performing one show,<br />
they're working on the next script.<br />
{all on their own, folks.}<br />
<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2607.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
when the girls have an extra practice,<br />
mom and dad might hit up a favorite mexican spot.<br />
<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2649.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
treasures found on our pillows. <br />
by a certain 10 yo.<br />
heart-melting, i tell you. <br />
<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2658.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
eggs and ketchup.<br />
personally, this creates instant nausea.<br />
however, gracie wanted to try it.<br />
i'm kinda glad she didn't fall in love with it.<br />
<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2656.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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things have been unsettling in the family arena.<br />
actually, it's been that way most of my life.<br />
apparently, age does not dictate maturity.<br />
that's about all i can say about that.<br />
other than the fact that other people's immaturity ages me,<br />
at times. <br />
i just deal with it <a href="http://familyteamof4.blogspot.com/2012/04/perspective.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">the best way i know how</span></a>...<br />
for sanity's sake.<br />
*sigh*</div>
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********************************************** </div>
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do you instagram? </div>
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find me there.</div>
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my name is hmama.</div>
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i know.</div>
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you'd never have guessed. ;)</div>
</div>
H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-86184442307308518132012-08-15T14:20:00.001-05:002012-08-15T14:25:15.258-05:00August 2012 ~ week 32 {Willy Wonk-y edition}<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">one would think that by the sheer number of miles we put on our mom-taxi that this mama actually enjoys the hustle and bustle. truth is, this mama likes down-time. quiet. home. time to think. and reflect.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"<i>introverts unite. individually.</i>" hahahaha... love that quote. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">i know that we could slow down a tad, but truth is... how do we choose to eliminate something which enriches the lives of our littles? that must be the key... if it's not building little lives, it doesn't make the cut.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">piano each week? keep.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">theater, even when the schedule calls for multiple practices weekly? are you kidding me? the girls would call cps themselves if we tried to cut this. ;)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">dance a few days a week? you should see the look on gracie's face at the mere thought of cutting this. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the occasional field-trip? okay, so long as it's occasional.</span><br />
<br />
<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="425" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1466copy70.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">there are several other activities which we could get involved in that i know would enrich us in other ways... but we have to prioritize and choose those we are most passionate about.</span><br />
<br />
<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="426" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1473copy70.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">co-ops? not for us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">university art classes? again, no. </span><br />
<br />
<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="425" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1475copy70.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">christian scout groups? this is something we participated in for 2 years, then cut - to make room for other passions.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">outsourcing more subjects in various organizations? no, thank you. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">devoting time to too many busy tasks can make one a bit wonky. </span><br />
<br />
<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="426" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1478copy70.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wonky. although fun at times, it's not my cup of tea. i like hot tea. i digress...</span><br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="425" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1481copy70.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for the past 5 weeks, our girlies woke each morning, without complaint, for theater practices. a few times, gracie even tried to wake me earlier than my alarm clock. ummm, no thank you. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">good thing she's so stinkin' cute. they committed their summer to willy wonka. {interpret as: by the end of the day, mama is usually left feeling like willy wonka, himself, beat mama with a candy cane.}</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">them: <i>YAY!! </i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">me: <i> yeh.</i> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>truthfully</i>, i'm passionate about it because they are. i <i>love</i> watching them perform and grow confidence. it's priceless, really, and gives their father and me swollen heart syndrome.</span><br />
<br />
<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="425" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1482copy70.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">being a great mom, and giving our girls a great-memory-filled-childhood, is my passion.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it gives me strength to deal with another mom that has truly tested my friendship and patience over the past 2 years. that, alone, could fill another blog post. *sigh* people are just weird sometimes.</span><br />
<br />
<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="426" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1486copy70.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">any time i'm tempted to feel weary in well-doing, i look at the faces of our girlies. they truly inspire me. that... and a picturesque sky, of course, but the girls are a tad more entertaining. ;) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><img alt="DSC_1490copy" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1490copy-1.jpg" width="425" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this wonk-y edition is brought to you by hmama, oompa #1, and oompa #3. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we shall share more of our willy wonka performance pictures soon (we still have 8 more performances to go), but for now... i'm soaking up the quietness of these last 3 days in which we have had complete. quietness. in the house. nothing on the schedule. just reading... and a little school organizin' for mama. you know... as i prepare for another year for living life on the edge of wonk-y.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">holla.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">{for those who've asked... i'm not sure when the mom-taxi videos will be up again. my former video camera died, and i haven't fallen in love with anything else since. *sigh* my girls miss them, too.} </span></span></div>
</div>
H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-56634649748870718452012-08-08T00:56:00.001-05:002012-08-08T00:56:46.348-05:00curriculum 2012-13 {7th and 5th}<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
consider this our list of homeschool <i>goals</i> for the year. if we veer off the path a bit, it will be to enjoy a study of something else worthy of our time... even if to play. that's important, too. i should pencil that in more.<br />
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<img alt="DSC_0946copy70" border="0" height="426" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0946copy70-1.jpg" width="640" /> <br />
<br />
i really want the kids to enjoy being kids... for as long as possible,
you know? extra time for simple child's play. american girl dolls are
still cool. yo. especially when you dress 6 of them up as king henry viii's wives.<br />
<br />
these girlies will be rounding that corner of
maturity soon enough. *sigh*<br />
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<img alt="DSC_1247copy" border="0" height="425" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1247copy-1.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
this year, my goal is to simp.li.fy. of course, i may need to remind myself of this. daily. even after all this time, i'm still learning to <i>not</i> get distracted by new, bright, and shiny objects (aka, new curriculum with the shiniest of reviews). </div>
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for the past two years, i've been trying to find a way to incorporate living books with what we're learning. we love <a href="http://www.susanwisebauer.com/books/the-story-of-the-world/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">story of the world</span></a>, but finding the recommended books has become quite the chore. who has time to run between three libraries to find them? not i. so we are finally giving sonlight a go. the organization of it all has me a tad giddy. i've learned this mama really does best with a check-list. aaand, they use story of the world, too. win-win.<br />
<br />
so here is our list, pulled together by shopping our own shelves, and <strike>splurging</strike> investing in new...<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>A-Nator, 7th grade</b></u></span><br />
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<img alt="DSC_1218copy70" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1218copy70-1.jpg" width="425" /></div>
<br />
<b>math</b>: she taught herself using saxon 7/6 last year. you know, we had to give it a go since that's what everyone else <i>seemed</i> to use. she did perfectly fine, and it gave me great comfort to hear her say, "<i>oh, i remember that from teaching textbooks</i>." ;) she really missed teaching textbooks. she's been skimming right along in tt7 over the summer to make sure she didn't miss anything important to this curriculum last year. as soon as she's done, she'll move right into <a href="http://teachingtextbooks.com/v/vspfiles/tt/PreAlgebra.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">pre-algebra</span></a> tt during 7th grade.<br />
<br />
<b>science:</b> <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/HS0A.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">apologia general science</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><b>history, geography, language arts, literature:</b> <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool-curriculum.html?core=F" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">sonlight, core f</span></a>. love having everything intertwined. we're kind of excited about this core. it centers around a group of people often found in the media, yet not covered by most curricula. nator will also be using <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/7L30.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">wordly wise, book 7</span></a>.</span> </span><br />
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<img alt="DSC_1215copy" border="0" height="425" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1215copy-1.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Gracie, 5th grade</span></b></u><br />
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<img alt="DSC_0966copy70" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0966copy70-1.jpg" width="425" /></div>
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<b>math: </b>teaching textbooks.<br />
finishing up grade 5 and moving on to <a href="http://teachingtextbooks.com/v/vspfiles/tt/Math6.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">grade 6</span></a>.</div>
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<b>science:</b> parts of <a href="https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=104" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">apologia zoology 3</span></a>, magic school bus, and misc books.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><b>history, geography, language arts, literature: </b><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool-curriculum.html?core=D" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">sonlight, core d</span></a>. in nator's spare time, we hope to have her join our american history discussions. the girls have been looking forward to studying more <i>american</i> history... you know, since we've been talking about ancients and middle ages for the past two years. although, middle ages has been our favorite, so far. gracie will also use <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/5L10.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">wordly wise, book 5</span></a>. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"><b><img alt="DSC_1027copy70" border="0" height="424" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1027copy70-1.jpg" width="640" /></b></span></span></div>
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<br />
both girlies will use:</div>
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<b>spelling</b></div>
<div style="color: #990000; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://avko.org/sequentialspelling.html" target="_blank">sequential spelling </a><br />
<span style="color: black;">this
has been collecting dust on our bookshelves. it's just a matter of using what we already have, for now.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>grammar</b></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.easygrammar.com/dg6.html" target="_blank">daily grams </a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.easygrammar.com/eg6.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">easy grammar 6</span><b style="color: #990000;"> </b></a></div>
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we did the first half last year (loved it) and simply plan to continue right along with the other half this year.<br />
<br />
<b>art </b><br />
<a href="http://www.sonlight.com/RA50.html" style="color: #990000;" target="_blank">ARTistic pursuits</a><br />
(other resources: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Teach-Art-Children-Grades/dp/1557998116" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">how to teach art to children</span></a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lives-Artists-Masterpieces-Neighbors-Thought/dp/0152001034" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">lives of the artists</span></a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Art-Treasury-Rosie-Dickins/dp/0794514529" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">art treasury</span></a>) </div>
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<b>foreign language </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
i'll
be honest, y'all. i struggle with this one. if i'm looking to
simplify, let's just focus on english, shall we? ;) in all seriousness,
i'm looking at rosetta stone <i>with </i>the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/FRENCH-10-minutes-day-CD-ROM/dp/193187302X/ref=pd_sim_b_4" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">french</span></a> (gracie's choice) and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/SPANISH-10-minutes-day%C2%AE-CD-ROM/dp/1931873119" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">spanish</span></a> (nator's choice) in 10 minutes a day workbooks to supplement. this will be the last thing we add.<br />
<br />
we will also revisit typing (using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mavis-Beacon-Teaches-Typing-Deluxe/dp/B0012VKK8I/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_1_1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">mavis beacon</span></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spongebob-Squarepants-Typing-OLD-VERSION/dp/B0001GU7E2" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">spongebob</span></a> - again, don't judge), <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/handwriting.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">cursive</span></a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2102731366" style="color: #990000;" target="_blank">latin roots</a><a href="http://www.christianbook.com/vocabulary-spiral-study-latin-greek-roots/nancy-hasseler/9780977691609/pd/691608" style="color: #990000;" target="_blank"> using vocabulary vine</a> (not to be confused with the entire language), and maybe a lil' <a href="http://lifeoffredmath.com/lof-fractions.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">life of fred</span></a> (beginning with fractions). all of that, combined with a few shelves of resources from presidents to composers, and i think we are set. </div>
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<img alt="DSC_1083copy70" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1083copy70-1.jpg" width="425" /></div>
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<br />
<b>last, but not least:</b><br />
our girls are passionate about a few things that have me running the
mom-taxi a bit. of course, if it were up to me, i'd have us all reading
in bed together. that just sounds relaxing, yes? but i've come to
realize that homeschool isn't always at <i>home</i>. some seasons less than
others. i'm in that season now. due to what our girls get out of their
passions, i'm okay with that. i think. ;)<br />
<br />
1.) theater. so far, the girls have performed in <i>oliver</i>, <i>the best christmas padgeant</i> <i>ever</i>, <i>the sound of music</i>, and <i>(currently) willy wonka</i>.<br />
2.) teen dance classes. yes, they are graduating on up with the teens. *sigh* nator in tap. gracie in... everything; including competition.</div>
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3.) music. with 2 years under her belt, nator will continue piano, gearing up for her third guild. gracie simply wants to take guitar from her daddy.<br />
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<img alt="DSC_0943copy70" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_0943copy70-1.jpg" width="425" /> </div>
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<br />
here's to another memory making school year!!<br />
<br />
feel free to hop on over to the <a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/nbts-blog-hop-curriculum-week/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">not back to school blog hop, hosted by the ihomeschool network</span></a>!</div>
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<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/category/not-back-to-school-blog-hop/"><img alt="Not Back to School Blog Hop" height="125" src="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/nbts-blog-hop-2012.jpg" width="125" /></a> </div>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-87683925755090350842012-08-05T18:00:00.000-05:002012-08-05T18:00:23.337-05:00july 2012 ~ week 31 {heat, pinkies, family, dates}<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
anyone else ready for some cooler weather? </div>
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yep. </div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
me, too. </div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
heat indexes are no bueno when the rain stops.</div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/2012-08-041.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">our weeks are looking rather redundant, as of late.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">theater (willy wonka), piano, school. repeat. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">multiple times.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">with a bunch of other life stuff mixed in between.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">nator is gearing up to play ms. gloop in willy wonka.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">can't wait to show you her pic in full costume (interpret that as... fat-suit. ;)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">ipad helps gracie during sister's piano lesson.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">shhhh... just don't tell her these apps are educational.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">while eating kids-eat-free-chili's-chicken-burgers, pinkies out... when in doubt, you know. ;)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">when my girls help in concessions at theater, they look so grown up, y'all. *sigh*</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">and my brother was passing through, so it was nice to catch up with him a lil'. pei wei seems to be our tradition. no complaints here. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/2012-08-04.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">sometimes i just <i>have</i> to snap a pic of 'school' in session. gracie working on math looks nothing like my 'school' experience growing up. oh, what i would have given!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/2012-08-042.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">gracie is following in her daddy's footsteps. they have a thing for toothpicks. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">the girls had
extra oompa loompa practice, so hubs and i painted the town red. we
bought drano, protein bars, and a south beach diet book. it's the
little things, right? </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">our cute lil' chef. when she's not veruca... nor an oompa loompa. lil' chef spent saturday evening in mom and dad's bed. a gracie sandwich was in order. must have worked - she's feeling a lil' better today.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">looks like willy wonka will be winding down in rehearsals, as performances begin... and we will be diving into our new school year before the end of the month! woot!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">have a great week! pinkies, temps, toothpicks, and all!</span>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-49040535151217103812012-08-01T05:00:00.000-05:002012-08-07T20:13:39.697-05:00composers and confessions<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">happy birthday, mr. william schuman! wait? you haven't heard of him? i confess. i hadn't learned of him either. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">*hangs head in shame* </span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
in an <a href="http://www.bruceduffie.com/schuman.html"><span style="color: #990000;">interview with bruce duffie</span></a>, mr. schuman said, "<i>One of the things I don't have to do is evaluate my work as a composer. I don't lack for people who do that</i>."</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
*giggle*
can you relate to that? i sure can. although we can be our own worst
critic, there's a bit of pressure from others, too. *sigh*</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
let's not beat ourselves up over what we've missed in our own educational journey. we can learn it together! my new motto. </div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
so, without further ado, i give you <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/arts/music/01schuman.html"><span style="color: #990000;">a shaper of american music and musicians</span></a>, <a href="http://www.williamschuman.org/frames/fr_about.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">mr. william schuman</span></a>...<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/MzBtHOlkWw8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/MzBtHOlkWw8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">you
might take comfort in knowing that, initially, mr. schuman was drawn to
baseball and seen as a class prankster. there is hope for our young
{seemingly-distracted-from-serious-study} students. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
i'm sure he would always be thankful to his mother for encouraging him
to see arturo toscanini conduct the new york philharmonic orchestra.
that was his turning point. between the ages of 16 to 21, he wrote over
100 songs.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">gotta love those mamas! and a father who didn't squelch his passion.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">personally, i love that mr. schuman wasn't one to hoard his gifts, but had a passion to educate, as well. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">my
upbringing was far from classical. my music exposure was limited to 4
years of unsuccessful piano {the only song i remember how to play is
"oh, how i love jesus"}, all-state choir, church choir, fine arts, a
lil' theory in college, and worship team. composers and symphonies?
not so much.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i'm hoping to change that a little for the littles. it's important, y'all.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/2012-07-214.jpg" /> </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">music
study builds self-esteem, teaches patience, exercises thinking skills,
encourages self-discipline, advances social development, and diligence. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">ummm... no pressure. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><a href="http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/?action=view&current=photo11.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/photo11.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we
were lucky enough to take the girls to their first symphony recently.
this is the view from our $1 seats. it twas high up there, y'all. but
oh-so-lovely.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">my
symphony experience would not have been complete had i not heard the
symbols. you know, the guys who sat motionless beside their instruments
for 2 entire songs. the anticipation left me in suspense. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">then i heard it... </span><span class="text" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><a href="http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=57"><span style="color: #990000;">tchaikovsky</span></a> - maybe you'd recognize that name more from composing the <a href="http://www.nutcrackerballet.net/html/nutcracker_music.html"><span style="color: #990000;">nutcracker ballet</span></a>?
that caught gracie's attention. our lil' dancerella, you know. oh, my
lil' dancer might also be interested to know that mr. schuman was <a href="http://www.juilliard.edu/about/history.php"><span style="color: #990000;">president of juilliard from 1945-1962</span></a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="text" style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">where was i? oh, yes...</span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">duuuuun-dun-dun-dun-duuuuuun-dun-dun-dun-duuuuuun...</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">then the *clash* of the symbols, which made us all jump in our seats. be still, my heart. *<i>swoon</i>* </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="IMG_2353-1" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2353-1-1.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">oh,
and if you're in the nosebleed section at the symphony, take note that
there might only be 4 stalls in the women's restroom. but there <i>might</i> just be a comfy sofa for your wait. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">****************************************** </span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">if a symphony is not within a reasonable driving distance, i <i>especially</i> encourage you to take advantage of the wealth of information that can be found online.</span> </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.classicsforkids.com/games/"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">classics for kids</span></a> <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">is a wonderful source for introducing kids to classical music. i've been known to play <a href="http://www.classicsforkids.com/music/index.asp"><span style="color: #990000;">samples of music</span></a> from their site while we paint. sounds relaxing, yes?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><a href="http://www.nyphilkids.org/gallery/main.phtml?"><span style="color: #990000;">new york philharmonic kidzone</span></a>
offers engaging information with online games. kids have an
opportunity to learn about the soloists with the orchestra and the
conductor, including short biographies of how each person got involved
in the the field of music. children can also assemble their own
instrument. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">for older kids, who don't mind less fluff, <a href="http://keepingscore.org/" style="color: #990000;">keepingscore.org</a> has a unique presentation. you are able to actually observe a video of the orchestra perform, as you <a href="http://www.keepingscore.org/sites/default/files/swf/beethoven/beethoven-full"><span style="color: #990000;">watch the musical piece</span></a> being played.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">for
education on the go, there's a plethora of musical apps. if you're
like me, free is the favored budget. what do you think of the <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id441422027"><span style="color: #990000;">mso learn app</span></a>? this should give your student a beginner's knowledge in the collaboration of the beauty of the orchestra. <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wguc-public-radio-app/id365047811?mt=8"><span style="color: #990000;">classics for kids also has an app</span></a> {wguc public radio}.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">****************************************** </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strike><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A Chance to Win! </span></span></span></strike><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">*giveaway now closed*</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">maybe you have a hands-on learner? i'd love to invite you to sign-up for the <a href="http://www.knowledgeboxcentral.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=23"><span style="color: #990000;">knowledge box central newsletter</span></a>, then leave a comment letting me know that you'd like to <a href="http://www.knowledgeboxcentral.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_21&products_id=95"><span style="color: #990000;">win a lapbook on classical composers and instruments</span></a>.</span> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i'm walking my girls through this very same lapbook!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">*now
the business side of this fun* the winner will be chosen august 7th. i
will contact you, so please make sure i have your 411. you'll have 48
hours to reply or another winner will have to be chosen. *sigh*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">****************************************** </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<i>"If the student truly absorbs the concept of free inquiry in the field
of music, unimpeded by blind adherence to doctrine and tradition, he
will bring something of this approach not only to other fields of
knowledge but to the conduct of his daily life." ~William Howard Schuman</i><span class="st">, August 4, 1910 – February 15, 1992</span><i> </i><span class="st"> </span><i> </i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/birthday-lessons-in-august/"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/iHN-250px-button-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">to read about other famous and fascinating birthdays in august, head over to <a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/birthday-lessons-in-august/"><span style="color: #990000;">iHomeschool Network</span></a>.</span></div>
</div>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-47354197633154985742012-07-29T13:01:00.000-05:002012-07-29T13:01:16.225-05:00july 2012 ~ week 30 {swimming, molars, olympics}<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
howdy, y'all! what a week! mama is tuckered. but you already knew that, didn't you? it seems to be a running theme. here are a few highlights from our week...<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2433.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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all that, a lil' grass cuttin', and design star watchin', too.</div>
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how do i not receive a monetary paycheck come week's end? other than the little's smiling faces and a mama's aching joints, you know. ;)</div>
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2413.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">after theater, we kicked off the week with a swimming play-date. the rain kept some away, but the theater kiddos managed to have fun anyway. they're a pretty fun<strike>ny</strike> group, anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span></div>
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2428.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i let gracie ease into the idea of having her molar pulled before scheduling the appointment. crowded mouth + big, beautiful teeth + baby teeth in the way = twisted, permanent teeth. must pull baby molar before any more damage is done. *sigh* </span></div>
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2430.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">saying no to nitrous oxide, mama is not above gifts to help ease the pain and anxiety. and then gracie lost another molar - same week {on her own}, breaking the tooth-fairy bank.</span><br />
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2432.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">books, ice cream, puzzle. fun and educational. check. </span></div>
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</div>
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2453.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">this scene only lasted a minute, but found it too priceless to not capture. modern communication.</span></div>
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="424" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1189_70.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">a fun swim play-date with <a href="http://familyrevised.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">sweet friends</span></a>.</span></div>
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<img alt="DSC_1199_70" border="0" height="640" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1199_70-1.jpg" width="425" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and their newest addition. completely. adorable. yes?</span></div>
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/IMG_2456.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we rounded out the week by watching the much anticipated opening ceremony of the olympics in london. we thought it was pretty spectacular. gracie especially loved the harry potter tribute. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">saying goodbye to another week... and the end of watching the little house on the prairie series with the girls. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">in nator's words, "they just don't make shows like this anymore." so true. i think we're going to try the waltons next. i mean, they need to know what mama is talking about when she says, "good night, john-boy."</span></div>
</div>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-33287142745437034112012-07-22T05:30:00.000-05:002012-07-22T05:30:00.374-05:00july ~ week 28/29 {snuggling, symphony, sonlight}<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hello, y'all.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">things have wavered between busy, discouraging, and oh-so-absolutely-inspirational around here. </span></div>
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<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/2012-07-21.jpg" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the mom-{driving-dad's-car}-taxi-service has been keeping busy between theater, piano... and all those miscellaneous tasks that leave you tired {but then you look around and wonder what was actually done}. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">our current piano teacher and her husband team-teach. she has degrees in vocal, taking the younger piano students, while he has degrees in music that sometimes call upon him to judge throughout the world. nator has been told that she now qualifies taking from her husband, to keep excelling. it's bitter-sweet, really.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">motherhood often has me tiredly whirling about from task to task, but taking in moments... truly taking them in, helps me to reprioritize. that's a sweet way of saying that it holds my sanity together, yes?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">listening to nator play piano, while gracie massaged my hand. she drifted off for a quick power nap. my heart swooned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">jazzy only wishes i would keep her away from the vet. and let her go on more car rides. me, too, jazzy. me, too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mama grabbed a few moments to window shop at hobby lobby, while waiting on mardel book store to open. hobby lobby has pretty crosses, but not as pretty when they're not on sale. i was more excited to purchase vocabulary workbooks on sale anyway. did i just say that? #imahomeschoolmom ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">thrift stores are fun when you send your girls in one changing room with a stack of clothes you've pre-picked... and let them 'have at it.' only the strong survive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">a dentist visit... that may have sent mama in a whirlwind of worry. how are we going to afford needed braces for these two girlies? if i think of future vehicles, collage, etc... you might just find me rocking in a corner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">snuggling with my littles... the best. hahhh... that puts it back into perspective.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">juicing... because my littles were a tad under the weather. the theater kiddos could have <i>not</i> shared their sniffles, you know. thankfully, juicing works wonders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">anyone else start cutting those plastic soda ring thingies after watching happy feet??</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">yummy meals were made. <i>and </i>we survived when we ran out of paper-plates. i think we spent more on water and electricity, running the on-its-last-leg-dishwasher. yep. that's our story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i only bring you the most exciting news around here, you know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we made a rare-treat memory, attending the symphony in the big city. and more every-day memories, tucking in lovable girlies for the night. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><strike>grass</strike> weeds are outta control, y'all. it's been raining. grass threw a par-tay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i know it's hard to see, but on the way home from piano, the girls and i saw <i>the</i> brightest white cloud in the midst of a sea of darkness. we had to pull over so mama could snap a quick pic. i'm sure there's a lesson in that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">thankfully, {deep sigh of relief} some funds came through {white cloud} and we were able to order our sonlight curriculum. our first box day! the girls were SO excited that they couldn't wait for mom to get organized to start. so our first day on the schedule is already done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mama better get organized soon! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">story of my life. </span></div>
<br />H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-70566312231320788942012-07-13T20:17:00.000-05:002012-07-13T21:53:47.881-05:00{american girl}ie goodness<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">girls: <i>"hey, mom, may we have {insert a few girls' names} over soon?"</i> me: <i>"sure."</i> girls: <i>"hey, mom, <a href="http://www.americangirl.com/play/girl-of-the-year/mckenna/#page=home" style="color: #990000;">mckenna</a> is coming out with a movie soon."</i> me: <i>"cool."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><i>uh-oh </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">little did i know, it would soon snowball into a night of 13 {home-educated} squeely, girlie girls. because if you invite so-and-so, then you must invite so-and-so... and if you don't invite so-and-so, then so-and-so will get their feelings hurt. you know how it goes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">so this is how it went down... ummm, a week ago. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">this introverted mama needed some recovery time, you know. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we shopped for decorations. mama needed a wee more tulle. i mean, what's a girlie gathering without tulle? we spent a day cleaning {really... why?} and party day was spent crafting, decorating, and baking {thanks to a certain wonderful daddy who loves his girls; baking is not beyond him}.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we made a banner, letters cut out using me ol' <a href="http://www.cricut.com/">cricket</a>. the girls blew up balloons. let the record reflect that mom did not have to blow up, or tie, one. single. balloon. dad taught them how to tie and they were in business! thankyoujesus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we hot-glued foam stickers {that can later be used in <a href="http://kandcompany.eksuccessbrands.com/dept/SMASH+1.aspx">smash-books</a>} on toothpicks to be inserted in rice-crispy treats {nom-nom}, brownies, and cookies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">nope, i didn't juice veggies for everyone. *gasp* we want them to come back, you know. the treats were gluten-free, but i cannot divulge the sugar content. in caring for 13 excited kiddos, i'm sure working off calories isn't a problem. yeah, i'm stickin' with that story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hubs was a trooper and took care of dinner {$5 cheese pizzas} and secured nervous jasmine... in our room. yeah, she wasn't too happy about that set-up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the key to keeping 13 girls as drama-free as possible is to keep them busy. can i get an amen?! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the girls played <a href="http://www.kidscraps.com/GameCentral/Bingo-americangirldolls/AmericanGirlDollsBingo.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">american girl bingo</span></a> with pre-bagged peanut m&ms. no complaints there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">they had fun playing the "who am i?" game. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">for that, we posted information about each doll {you can copy what we typed by clicking <a href="https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=289A1097B1D94BB7%21109&authkey=%21AEb_CJotqU0EiDQ"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a>} on a tri-fold poster board. as the girls arrived, gracie and nator posted a doll sticker </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">{found at michaels} </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">on their back, matching a sticker on the poster board. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">it was each girls' job to go around to all the other girls and ask them questions that they could only answer yes or no to. the prize? simple joy in the achievement. i'm cool like that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">there was a lil' cha-cha slide and cupid shuffle going on, too. they had a little sugar to burn. maybe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">during the movie, i <strike>burned</strike> popped popcorn. my microwave skills were a bit rusty, but i eventually got the hang of it. remember... i don't really use our microwave. anyhoo... have you ever tried watching a movie with 13 girls? yeah, quiet is not happenin'. overall, they seemed to really enjoy the movie. thumbs up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i keep telling the girls that i'm a cool mom. maybe they'll believe me, one day. you know, i <i>did</i> invite them all to stay the night. half of them actually did. they stayed up half the night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">for breakfast, we fed them gluten-free pancakes with <a href="http://www.natureshollow.com/ecommerce/category/2:3/Sugar-Free-Honey"><span style="color: #990000;">xylitol sweetened honey</span></a>, organic eggs, and organic strawberries. kinda makes up for the dinner menu, yes?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the important thing is that fun was had by all... and the adults, exhausted, slept right through the middle-of-the-night-giggles. zzzzz...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">don't forget to tell your girlie that she can watch mckenna's movie, airing on nbc - saturday, july 14, 2012. 8/7c.</span>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-75547691771701360582012-07-09T06:00:00.000-05:002012-07-09T06:00:14.879-05:00june/july ~ week 26-27 {we really should get out more}<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">welcome to our bloggy... err... i mean, our instagram feed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">at least, that what it seems to be as of late. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">here's the rundown of our last two weeks. two weeks? where does the time go?? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hubs took the girls to work for a bit. i think he bought them frozen yogurt, too. mama would be jealous, but mama enjoyed quiet for a couple of hours. at home. alone. qui-et.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">gracie dressed and organized her american girl dolls for a henry viii and wives family reunion. heads attached. ;) too cute!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">not as cute? mama at the gym. finding a food/exercise routine again is proving to be more than challenging. gone are the days in which the girls' routines rotated around mine... now i'm chasing theirs. and it keeps changing. oi.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">pool play-date with a load of homeschoolers anyone? how about some math? and several hours of it to complete a relaxing day? if that doesn't work, how about an afternoon of running errands through congested traffic due to construction? i have it...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">how about a surprise breakfast, compliments of a certain 10 year old, to celebrate a new holiday made up by said 10 yr old... <i>national homeschool teacher's day</i>? yep. that will do it. hahhh...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">pool. math. errands. pool. math. errands. not necessarily in that order. noticing a theme?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">oh, wait. yummy vanilla from mexico, compliments of friends who happened to be passing that way. nom-nom. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">assisting dad at the theater for work-day. seeing a show. nunsense, to be exact. taking performance pix. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">gracie found a sign for a bald spot in our kitchen. tempting, but we passed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">organizing shelves and school papers from our year. i predict i'll be going through them again for the coming year. homeschool + bookshelves = the project that never ends. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">at least i came across a gym of a paper nator wrote.</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">list of rules:</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 1. i can read wherever whenever i like.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 2. love one another with hugs and kisses.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 3. wear modest clothing.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 4. play piano when i like to.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 5. help the homeless and hungry.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 6. let the cat in my room when it's clean.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 7. love people big and small.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 8. i can hug and kiss gracie (when she's in a good mood).</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> 9. care for all creatures, but vampires.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">10. LOVE ONE ANOTHER X2!</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">time with friends on july 4th. an annual tradition. love. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hub's birthday was celebrated with the news of work needing to be done on our 'good' vehicle, adjustable weights, homemade cards, and for a lil' balance... marble slab. nomnom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">our last event was a much anticipated girlie gathering. more on that soon...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">but not to be outdone by the excitement of a new dictionary. never-ever-ever thought i'd see the day in which gracie would be jumping up and down over a dictionary. harry potter edition, that is. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">so how is your week?</span>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-66302846332825648612012-06-25T16:59:00.003-05:002012-06-25T19:40:11.765-05:00june ~ week 25 {father's day, baseball, dance camp}<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hello there. how are y'all? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">here's a lil' peek into our neck of the woods. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">or the big city. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">thanks to pinterest, we were able to come up with some adorable daddy gifts for father's day. handmade is best, yes? we were particularly fond of the iDad card. too fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">juicing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i'm trying to work up the mental strength to do a short re-boot. my hesitation? i like to chew my food. one day... soon. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">bella. she is a purse hog. she also has a thing for all of my camera bags, as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">speaking of bags... gracie packed her dance camp items in a pillow case cover. crack me up. i let her unpack it... who knows what's in there?! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">from work, hubs was gifted great tickets to a baseball game. great tickets = good restrooms. priorities, you know. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">food and parking were on us. ouch. we had a great time... pretending to 'catch' the ball, 7th inning stretch, pizza faces, loaded baked potatoes, and peanuts! well... mama and gracie prefer peanut m&ms. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the crowd was slim. maybe something to do with the economy and recent major shifts in our players. we kinda miss the old team. need to learn these new names...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">while gracie spent time at dance camp during the day, nator and i hit the used book store. she managed to find 6 books! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i also treated her to a little more marble slab. nom-nom! the least i could do since she was giving up a much anticipated playdate with friends due to sister's camp. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mama cannot be omnipresent, you know.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">this week, our piano teacher announced that nator would be adding a little voice in her lesson and extending her time to an hour. that's what happens when your piano teacher attends your sound of music performance. our sweet teacher has a masters in voice... and wants to make sure nator has the right tools to preserve her sweet lil' vocal chords. love it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hello, gracie feet. let's just make ourselves comfy at the theater, yes? ;) daddy took us on a family date. pei wei and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217209/"><span style="color: #990000;">brave</span></a>. have you seen it? it's a bit intense. had my heart pounding and gracie tearing up at moments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">this week, the portable-dual-screen dvd player was stolen from dk's car overnight. thankful to the keen eye of a concerned citizens reporting a suspicious car in their neighborhood, the police officer that came to our home, the detective, and a scared 12 yr old spilling the beans... it was recovered! well, minus the headphones... but we never expected to see any of it again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mama also hit the gym once. mama is sore. mama is determined to find a gym routine again. these girlies' fluctuating schedules sure make it challenging. the saturday morning secret to going to the gym? sneaking out before hubs has the smell of turkey bacon throughout the house. hot, yummy breakfast = kryptonite. ha! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and the much anticipated dance camp. oh, my girlie. this will be the last year in the younger camp... at 11 yrs old, gracie will be moving up with the teens next year. *sigh*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">fun with friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">speaking of friends, this lovely friend is a very involved, great-grandmother to the young lady in this picture {2 pix above, to the right of my girls}. i can't imagine doing as she and her husband did - taking in their family member - willing to raise her - starting all over - when she was just a baby. my friend is an 80+ yr old, sharp-minded, retired school teacher, who is so sweet to support us in our decision to homeschool.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">for those who've asked, my video camera died. hubs found a reasonable recorder, but i'm still getting used to it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">interpret that as... mama was recording her girls during a <i>sound of music</i> performance... only to discover that she hadn't hit the right button. *sobs* so, she shall have to be content with her few iphone recordings. horrible sound, and all. *sobs* until the official dvd is handed out. *sigh*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and that, my friends, is just a quick-wee-peek into our week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">how did your week treat you? </span>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-39037669529213875152012-06-22T05:45:00.000-05:002012-06-22T05:45:00.909-05:00thank heaven for lil' girls :: dance recital 2012<img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="425" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/DSC_1310.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">dress rehearsals and tutus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">girlie blankets, hair products, shoes, foot paws, and la-te-da bags all over the floor in our huge-girls-only <strike>cloud of hairspray</strike> dressing room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">ten year old dancing with the teens. we're easing into the upper levels. bitter-sweet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">false eyelashes and cute hairpieces. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">holding onto schedules, lens caps, and your girlie... while trying to capture the quick memory before going on stage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">giggling with friends backstage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">quietly cheering side-stage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">sisters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">costumes in their favorite colors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">veeeery speedy costume changes for this girlie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">when one of your girlies is passionate about dance, she signs up for both shows. the other only desires one. interpret that as: 2 dress rehearsals + 2 performances + 1 day + 2 girlies = 26 costume changes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">this is mama after said marathon. mama was tired... and stayed in bed until 2 p.m. the following day. daddy was a trooper during recital, too. he was not feeling well and made trips during the day to bring chairs, food, and tights. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">it all ended with flowers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><i>thank you, daddy!</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">girls are fun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and a lot of work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">amen. </span>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-45850710647728080752012-06-20T23:42:00.000-05:002012-06-20T23:42:45.119-05:00celebrations<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">family helped us <i>celebrate</i> our sound of music actresses with a 'surprise' visit to watch their performance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we <i>celebrated</i> at nator's piano recital - a high score on her music guild results, rewarded with a trophy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and hugs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the girls and i took a moment to capture the space shuttle... floating on water. that's cause for <i>celebration</i>, yes? i mean... how many times in one's life will you see a space shuttle on water? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we won't mention how texas was jilted with a pretend shuttle... or the crazy traffic this attracted. nope. won't mention it at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the girls and i celebrated with a lil' shopping.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">great prices on two cute dresses found at marshalls and ross. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">...in order to <i>celebrate</i> their annual daddy-daughter dance in style!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i have to confess. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">they came back with some pretty jazzy mementos. yes?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="400" src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/luvmyabs/blog%20misc/6e245933.jpg" width="400" /> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we <i>celebrated</i> when the city pool opened. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">water-slides are the bomb dot com. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">what are you <i>celebrating</i>?</span>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-87535316204895093102012-06-17T12:02:00.000-05:002012-06-17T12:03:22.425-05:00Happy Father's Day!<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; text-align: left;">
He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~Clarence Budington Kelland </div>
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When a father, absent during the day, returns home at six, his children receive only his temperament, not his teaching. ~Robert Bly </div>
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Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad. ~Anonymous </div>
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To be in your children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today. ~Barbara Johnson</div>
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Nothing is more precious to a man than his children. If your children are doing well, all your other problems will fit into a thimble. ~Patrick Morley </div>
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{the military dads get me every time... kleenex?} </div>
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A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child.” ~Knights of Pythagoras </div>
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My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me. ~Jim Valvano<strong> </strong>
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“I love my father as the stars - he's a bright shining example and a happy twinkling in my heart.”<br />-Terri Guillemets</div>
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Happy Father's Day!</div>
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Pray you are able to kick your feet up...</div>
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and make grocery shopping memories with the family!</div>
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That's what's happening in our house today.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Keepin' it real.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Love you, Schmoopie!!!</span></i></div>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-79672668409521536972012-06-15T16:26:00.000-05:002012-06-15T16:26:50.992-05:00the project 366 weeks 21-24 i'm so far behind i don't even know where to start nutshell instagram edition<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">that's a mouthful, yes? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">thank you to everyone who sent messages regarding our blog-o-sphere absence. these past weeks have been busier than i'd planned. all of our activities climaxed at the same time... reminding me that my body needs to get back on track in the health department. and stop aging. that would be a bonus, yes? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i'm not sure at which point forgoing blog posts in order to catch my breath between activities happened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">in some ways, it's been a nice break...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">but i wouldn't necessarily call this hiatius a break.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mama has been busy, tired, and stressed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and now possibly in need of a nap... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">maybe even some chocolate. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">or a week on a deserted island with just a few great books.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we've been...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">taking head-shots & cast pix for a crazy group of theater kids. attending birthday parties. thrift-store shopping. sky admiring. shopping for photo props. receiving music guild results. painting props. taking and editing pix.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">cooking breakfast with dad. rounding out our dance classes for the year. dance recital marathon. sound of music marathon dress rehearsals. and performances. the kind of exhaustion that leaves lil' "maria" falling asleep in a good book. starbucks dates. reading more about the homeschool materials i need to order. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">enjoying the fourth of july decor in our back yard. *ehem* family visits. broken ipod glass. spending gifts of cash on important stuffed animals. pets and people under foot. swimming. library summer reading book club. children on clearance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">ummmm... did i mention the sound of music? it kinda took over our lives for a time. it was a lot of work, but the memories will be carried with us for a lifetime. priceless, indeed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i will be following up with more pix to fill in the gaps. brace yourselves. ;) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i'm off to get my girlies ready for their annual daddy/daughter date. big love deposits taking place. so blessed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mama will have 2 hours to herself... in which she plans to do... wait for it... wait for it... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">nothing. </span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hahhhh...</span></i><br />
<br />H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-6496950048193311832012-05-19T16:43:00.003-05:002012-05-19T16:43:46.886-05:00may ~ week 20 {art, piano, turtles, keurig, theater}<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">what's the expression of... <i>we've spent two full days together and i'm not ready to go back to reality, so please don't leave me home alone</i>?</span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">jazzy's face says it all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">while the girls were at theater practice, i seized the opportunity to pick up some mom gifts. apparently, this mama has forgotten how to shop for herself. this mama didn't get a thing. oh well. shopping is overrated anyway, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i took the girls through hobby lobby to find props for their much-over-do-photo-shoot. if $100 were pocket change, i would have grabbed that wagon down there. loved it! we left with a much smaller wagon... and a few other things. ;) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">painting props begs more painting. nator painted a picture, naming it 'world peace' because, in her words... "<i>it's a place of peace. no one can get hurt or hurt other people. people cooperate... just as the world should.</i>" love that kiddo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we dropped daddy off. he and his boss were headed a lil' north. hubs was speaking at a conference. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">nator played her 10 pieces at our local collage campus. just her, a judge, and a piano. nervous mama stood outside the door. we went out to an early dinner. her fortune cookie said <i>relax and enjoy yourself</i>. great advice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">while out of town, hubs went to the texas rangers game, sitting behind phil mickelson. (ummm... yeah, i had to google him. sorry, pro-golfer, phil.) <= i think google should be a verb.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">while at home, mama was doing her sane best to keep the home front moving along. the keurig was not cooperating. see the sweet pic of the keurig ready to go for me early in the week? sweet hubs. by the end of the week, the keurig waved it's white flag, went wonky, and died. just outside of warranty. we called the company. they were of little help. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">at <i>least</i> mama remembered how to boil water for tea. mama needs tea. and quiet. so... this lil' activity to take a vow of silence in our history lesson was quite tempting. gracie just laughed. yeah... it wasn't going to happen. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">if you felt sorry for jazzy... don't. she currently sleeps on 4 thick layers of memory foam taken off the girls' beds after their room makeovers, waiting to be turned into dog beds. do i even need to say how much she loves it? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">theater practices always look like a hot mess 'til just before performances. *crossing fingers* that it will all come together. just a nervous mama talkin'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">my little liesl is excited about the swings on stage. one for each von trapp child. cute. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">maria {sound of music} singing her last note. some of these songs are hard, y'all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">surely, i'm forgetting something from this week, but... this mama is taking pictures for the public school cast tonight. public school cast is usually much more... <i>chaotic</i>? i mean no offense. pray for me. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">all for the love of our kiddos, right?? in a world where every day is "kid's day." ;) <= because on mother's day, gracie wanted to know when kid's day was. ;)</span>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-84563021140511117822012-05-18T20:48:00.000-05:002012-05-18T20:48:56.914-05:00may ~ week 19 {putt-putt, harry potter, mother's day}<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">let's get caught up, shall we?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we ended our little 2 day beach get-a-way by sneaking in a game of putt-putt before heading back home. it's really more about the fun, not the score. who cares if it takes 15 putts to get it in the hole. ;) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">nator says, "<i>the fun is in the challenge</i>."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">she should write fortune cookies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">or be a counselor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i have used this quote on myself and in parenting </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">a few times since then. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">we met our homeschool theater group after practice for a meal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mama grabbed 10 minutes to herself in the car...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">no one - not even the dog - to ask anything of me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">quiet. i like quiet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">library time... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">nator picks more american girl books.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">she has a soft spot for addy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">gracie decided to try harry potter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i have opinions on this, but shall refrain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">it's ignited a love of reading in her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">for that, i'm truly thankful for. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">she's allowed to watch the movie when she finishes a book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">nator watches some of it with her eyes covered. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">{we're watching the second movie tonight.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">just in time to celebrate hubs getting back in town.}</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">these days, our schoolwork consists of history, math, and reading. we'll get back in the swing of things once some of our activities level out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mama needs to plant some flowers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">mama has no motivation because there's no relaxing area to enjoy them. furniture is falling apart, no shelter from the sun, and... did i mention a time or twenty, a newly developed gas station behind our house? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">so, the potted weeds sort of match the ambiance, yes? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i can be hired to work my magic in your yard, too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">only the best for my friends. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">nator had piano preparations for her yearly 'judging' at our local collage campus. she was to memorize 10 pieces. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">not able to move about much myself, mother's day weekend <i>ended up</i> quite uneventful in our home. with our <a href="http://familyteamof4.blogspot.com/2012/05/april-may-week-18-lifes-beach.html" style="color: #990000;">trip to the beach</a> the weekend before, we were due some downtime, i suppose. catching up on the dvr, reading, and sofa time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hubs usually picks out cards from the girls for them to sign. playfully, i asked the girls if they picked them out. nator said, "<i>no, but we put the love in it.</i>" ah... the handwritten part truly goes straight to the heart of a mama. simply, the best.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the girls delivered breakfast, cards, and a flower from my white rose bouquet. nator says, "<i>i can't wait 'til i'm a mother and i get to be treated like a queen</i>." hehe... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">hope you had a wonderful mother's day weekend, filled with sentimental <a href="http://familyteamof4.blogspot.com/2012/05/motherhood-in-between.html"><span style="color: #990000;">in-between</span></a> moments... and now currently easing back into reality.</span>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5892682938412613752.post-67134638244322814332012-05-15T05:30:00.000-05:002012-05-15T05:30:03.279-05:00{un}civilized classmates<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">our furry students are becoming quite accomplished </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">in middle-aged culture, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">the mysteries of converting a percentage to a fraction, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">new vocabulary words, like 'garish', </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">listening to summaries of harry potter, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">american girl mysteries, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">theater script...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and manners. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">does your homeschool have a furry pet?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">if not, this is the part where i try to talk you into it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">i would invite you <i>not</i> to look at the pets,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">but at the kids.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">happy, happy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">ummm... did it work?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">*spoken with big, brown puppy eyes*</span>H-Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13223558705981496824noreply@blogger.com4