july 2012 ~ week 30 {swimming, molars, olympics}

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...

all that, a lil' grass cuttin', and design star watchin', too.

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. ;)

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 funny group, anyway.

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* 

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.

books, ice cream, puzzle.  fun and educational.  check.

this scene only lasted a minute, but found it too priceless to not capture.  modern communication.

a fun swim play-date with sweet friends.

and their newest addition.  completely. adorable.  yes?

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. ;)

saying goodbye to another week... and the end of watching the little house on the prairie series with the girls.    

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."

thank heaven for lil' girls :: dance recital 2012

dress rehearsals and tutus.

girlie blankets, hair products, shoes, foot paws, and la-te-da bags all over the floor in our huge-girls-only cloud of hairspray dressing room.

ten year old dancing with the teens.  we're easing into the upper levels.  bitter-sweet.

false eyelashes and cute hairpieces.

holding onto schedules, lens caps, and your girlie... while trying to capture the quick memory before going on stage.

giggling with friends backstage.

quietly cheering side-stage.

sisters.

costumes in their favorite colors.

veeeery speedy costume changes for this girlie.

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.

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. 

it all ended with flowers.  
thank you, daddy!

girls are fun.
and a lot of work.
amen. 

april~week 15/366 {eggs-school-cuts-dance}

after discovering what goodies the easter baskets held, 
we spent a lovely easter sunday. at home. relaxing, yes?
thankfully, hubs takes over dying eggs.
we hid coin-filled eggs indoors.




some of them were easier to find than others.
{see that sweet portrait of gracie at 4 months old? *sigh*}



bucket-heads were trending this easter.
at least in our house. 



letters of affirmation found in 10 yo's room.
warmed our hearts.

a homeschool picnic with theater friends 
that left poor nator seeing spots.
she fell and whacked her back.
so thankful for our chiropractor!

unexpected birthday gifts mailed 
from a sweet aunt, uncle and cousins.

gracie giving her history narration under covers. *giggle*

watching youtube tutorials, involving scissors.
watching the gas station being built behind our home...
fill the ground with gasoline.  *sob*



following through on the tutorial, i cut nator's hair.
no, i am not a professional.  

we have really been enjoying a relaxed history discussion time... colors have been used more.  hahhhh...




we met sweet friends for a picnic.
adult conversation is always welcome. ;)



nator, a supportive sister, tries to inform us of the woes of enduring yet another dance competition over mexican food.  believe me, we all feel the same way... well, except for gracie. ;)

still.  the show must go on...

it requires starbucks.
cake pops, hot tea, banana nut bread, and dark chocolate to get us through.
backstage, gracie pulls out a game of pictionary man.

between performances, we dodge 'things' left behind on the floor, due to the pet expo next door.  we rock at multi-tasking.

when all is said and done, we are completely depleted of all energy.  forming complete sentences might become a challenge.  so... we go home, hands full of costumes and take-out. 

life is better when you are wearing stretchy pants anyway.



bragging parent alert {unlike all of my other posts *ehem*}: 
so many solos, yet gracie was one in a handful of kids who received an invitation to NYC.  so proud of this girlie.  it's just too bad plane tickets didn't come with the invitation. ;)



honestly, this competition was a little easier.  everything was on the same day and the room was quite large.  we weren't running into each other in the dressing room.  so important when so many divas are under one roof.  keepin' it honest, you know. ;)



dance competition.  we'll see you again next year!

psh!  who am i kidding?  gracie is already thinking up ideas for next year's performance. ;) 

i'm thinking of re-naming this blog.
"chronicles of a tired mama"
catchy, yes?

bedroom makeover: gracie edition

really, you can't appreciate the after till you've experienced the before.

i'm still in awe of the amount of bags {trash and donation} that came out of this 10x10 room.  or maybe it's shock.



my childhood desk, completely cluttered.
a tarjet dresser with very shallow drawers. a waste of $. 
most clothes, stored in plastic drawers in the closet.
stuffed animals, blankets, and lord only knows... 
crammed between the bed and wall.
as high as the bed.

bags, toys, scarves, and did i mention bags?
all piled high next to the bed.
we always shuffled our feet, pushing away the bags, to tuck her in at night.

sometimes, you purposely ignore the mess, for the love of your child.  who wants to give the 'born in a barn' lecture right before your littles drift off to la-la land?  we love our girls.  and they love us. those conversations were usually reserved for daytime.

when the room is this out of control, honestly... they don't even know where to begin.



posters, painted canvas, bulletin board, and random strings of yarn covering the light pink walls.
american girl furniture made from cardboard boxes.
the girls were always equally excited to see brown boxes by the front door.  for different reasons.

it took me nearly three days to move 'stuff' out of both girls' rooms.  good. heavens.  we said good-by to her free pink thriftstore headboard. *sniff*sniff*

room makeovers have been on the agenda for quite some time, so i've picked up things here and there, as they were on sale.

gracie's room now that i found the carpet...

cherry pink paint.  took nearly 3 coats.  we love that olympic is low voc.

the ceiling is painted a light shade of blue.  it's embellished with white clouds, using an old t-shirt, dipped in white paint (adding a little water).

i wrote, "... we'd still choose you." next to her bed, to remind her of something we tell her nearly every night.   

"if we lined up aaaaall the gracie's in the whole wide world, we'd still choose you.  and if we lined up aaaaaall the {insert current age} year olds, we'd still choose you.  you're a beautiful princess, and we love you very much."

the bedding came from tarjet - included hot pink sheets.

a dresser {with 3 deep drawers}, built for us when nator was born, once used as a changing table, now painted white. {it also weighs a ton = quality} drawer pulls spray painted from brass to silver.  the tall side is the perfect size for housing toys.

chandelier {ikea}. zebra shades {hobby lobby}.  shadow box {hobby lobby} housing gracie's pins and ribbons from dance competitions.

a green sheet {walmart}, hung on a tension rod to create a 'tent' under her loft bed.

daddy did an awesome job building the loft bed from scratch, using ideas found here.  really, we needed more floor space.

under the loft bed, a toy chest my step-dad built for us when gracie was born was painted white, padded with a cushion, trimmed in hot pink, now doubles as a seat for her new desk area.  there's room for her bean bag and a shelf to house her american girl dolls.

mirror peace-sign wall decals and frames {hobby lobby}.

on the other side of the room, we have a basket for her stuffed animals, the same polka-dotted curtain that we already had {hallelujah}, an ikea shelf, and drawer container to organize legos. the drawer container in her closet now houses shoes, hats, scarves...

i drew a whimsical eiffel tower, from ceiling to floor. decorating is my favorite part!  dad updated televisions - found on sale.  not a need, but a fun addition to watch dvds - no cable, of course.



organization makes me happy. 
knickknacks have been condensed to one shelf.
zebra bins {tarjet} house smash book supplies, etc.
and there's even room for more books! 



one of the biggest hits, was the green ikea lamp by her bed.  now they can read themselves sleepy - without fumbling with a book light.



zebra prints in $3 wally-world frames.  'peace'/zebra boxes {kirklands} found on clearance.  vinyl chandelier {hobby lobby}. mirror hung on the inside of the closet door.



wow... that was a lot.  still with me??

holding my breath, but now that everything has a place... everything finds it's place again!  

worth every callous on my hands. 

when you're surrounded by beauty, you tend to want to keep it clean... that's the theory we'll be testing. ;)


revealing nator's room soon...

jan~week 5/366 {birthday, movie nights, and a beau}

we had a birthday.  of mega proportions.  my baby is double digits.  how does that happen?  i mean... i felt i was in the young mom category {interpret as... a mom with young kids} so long as i had a baby in single digits. kleenex?

i've just spent the last hour clicking pictures and home movies on an old hard drive. maybe i'll share them with you soon.  provided i can do it without sobbing.  uncontrollably.  kleenex?  please don't remind me that it only gets worse as they get even older. *sob*




for gracie's birthday, she wanted a day with her best friend and her family.  we love this family, so that was easy.  kids play.  adults talk.  it's a gift to everyone, really. ;)

note to self:  marshmallow cream makes a good frosting for cupcakes, but not barbie's dress.  unless you plan to eat it within 53 seconds.  otherwise, gravity takes over.  it's also flammable.  the end. 



did you know jason gray has a speech impediment? 
gracie loves oranges.  {11th birthday possibilities? i'm sure she'd love that.  a parent can dream.}
flowers in winter.  why not?
hubs was between LA and TN this week. maybe it was harder because we saw him in-between... long enough to say goodbye at the airport.
that called for a girls' movie night with my 'little miss sunshines' and my beau.  he looks thrilled, yes?
we watched the shunning. it was a good movie, in that it gave us plenty to discuss, but we were a tad disappointed with the way they left the ending.  really?



homeschool on the go.  gracie catching up on american girl, while nator is in piano lesson.  
one of my favorite memories... singing. squirting whipped cream. eating strawberries.  dancing.  fun in the kitchen.  with my girlies.  *sigh*
when beau suckles in his sleep, his tongue stays out.  it's the funniest sight.  really.
we were thankful to have hubs home on the weekend!  we're thankful for a hubs who isn't afraid to brave the grocery store crowds, day before super-bowl!  go giants!!  woot-woot!!

seriously.  is there anything funnier?

we got word that beau's brother was adopted this weekend from the rescue organization we used for beau.  yeah!!  because if i'm being completely honest... it crossed my mind to go back and get his brother, too.  mostly, because i felt bad leaving his sibling alone.  hubs already had a cute name picked out for him.  so glad he has a forever home now, too.

how was your week?  or week 4?  or maybe you've already blogged about week 5?  it's been a busy day.  mama is tired.  and may or may not look like beau at the moment.  only he looks cuter.  i'm gonna hit 'publish' now and hope this post makes sense.  mkay?  pushing it... now.

jan~week 4/366 {an eclectic hodgepodge}

it's not even the end of january and i've nearly lost my photo challenge {february is already posted if you want to join} momentum already.  this might be why i don't set resolutions for resolutions sake.

lemme just tell ya a little bit of the family team home front news...



enjoying home.  taking a break from theater has allowed some down time.  thankyoujesus.  if we're not counting piano lessons, dance lessons, and trips to the air port {hubs had to catch a plane to memphis, tn}.  i really like the 'home' in homeschool.  but there is value in theater, too.

my new addiction.  carb conscious supreme protein. caramel nut chocolate - resembles a chocolate turtle, without the 500 grams of sugar.  valentine's day gift?  check. ;) 

the peanut butter is pretty good, too.  num-num.  {thank you again, lisa, for this new addiction.} ;)



we've been sharing a certain lil' gracie's 10th birthday fun with friends.  bringing cupcakes to dance class.


mama made a new wreath for the front door, turning down the $99 options pre-made at hobby lobby.  crazy.

more birthday fun.  thanks to hubs, a second batch of balloons. a wind gust stole the first one.  the new my little pony is all the rage now.  marble slab.  doodling birthday t-shirts.  all at birthday girl's request.

see the hubby and beau feet?  then there's jasmine... they were all snoozin'.  do you know how hard it is to stay awake, being serenaded by snoozes and purrs?

we're trying to get back on track by incorporating science into our routine again.  history is next. oi.  i'm having the girls read and fill in workbook work together.  why does mom have to do all the reading, right? ;)

{can you just stay focused, hmama?  one topic per post. 
sorry.  not how my brain works.  ask hubs.}

among other things, gracie likes to hang like a monkey, while waiting on sis during piano lessons.  we throw in a little art, too.  doodling is art, right?



gracie wore a poncho.  mom made zucchini and squash boats.  life on the go in this season of life requires phineas and ferb cups of snack mix.  notice the temperature setting... winter in texas.  dear cold weather, please feel free to visit us any. time.

jazzy wants to play with the cat in the bag.  nator's sign attached to her bedroom door.  maybe a gift to her lil' sis for her birthday?  speaking of which... nator helped set up the gifts outside gracie's bedroom door... after she was tucked in.  nator said, 'now i know how santa feels.'  she was a tad giddy. too cute.



then there's life with the new kitty... beau.  we love this feisty, cuddly ball of fur.  the end.

oh, but wait!  there's more... now that february is here {how did that happen?}, december's video is finished.  who says i'm not on top of things? ;)


{please watch with the knowledge that this was made at 2 am.  mama was deliriously tired, which may account for any mispeltings.  or other things.}