The Recital

After a 5-minute case of the butterflies, Samantha was ready for her performance. She was dressed at 4:30 and ready to go on. She looked so beautiful. Alyssa got "fancy" too.

In hindsight I would have left Samantha's hair dirty because she had curly flyaways galore and we had to use A LOT of hairspray. Let it be known that I hate hairspray. The only reason I had any to begin with is because it helps to get ink stains out of clothes.

Anyway, Samantha performed her Tinkerbell Dance. Please excuse the graininess of the video. It's the best I've got. When all the girls are lined up, Samantha is the tall girl in the back row on the right. She is the tallest one in her ballet class, too.

Here comes the bad news . . . the videos are too big to upload. (Grandma and Papa, they'll be in the mail this weekend.)

Her last performance was part of Coppelia. Again she is in the back line on the right side. She's wearing her yellow box.

Every night since the recital Samantha dances to the Tinkerbell song. Sometimes we even get into costume.

I guess I'll have to let her audition for the Nutcracker. She's got "performance" in her blood. Don't know where that came from . . . maybe Papa. I guess it skips a generation.

Dress rehearsal

Samantha had her first full dress rehearsal last night at the Gavilan College theatre. It was organized chaos. We looked like we were going on a trip--bag of makeup, bag of quiet activities for Samantha, a jack-in-the-box costume, a Tinkerbell costume, mommy's bag of snacks for the three hour practice.

Since Samantha is in Ballet I she is only performing once--thank goodness. The classes higher than Ballet I have two performances. So last night we watched the 1 o'clock show run through their routines and then the 6 o'clock show (Samantha) got to run theirs. The 1 o'clock was confusing, but by the time they got to our time slot the girls were perfect.

At tonight's recital the class dances will happen first. Samantha's class is dancing to a Tinkerbell song. Their costumes are themed like Tinkerbell.

The second act will be the ballet Coppelia. For this performance Samantha is a jack-in-the-box in toymaker Coppelia's shop.

(Note: her collar is not yet complete. She'll have a finished collar for tonight's performance.)

I'll post video of tonight's recital sometime this weekend. Let's break a leg, Samantha!

June, schmoon, I'd rather it was July

We went to the movies as a family on Saturday (a first for Al and Alyssa) and then to mass on Sunday. Alyssa was all over the place in church and dunked her whole hand in the holy water, which I've heard is a cesspool.

So why do we do it? Well, three of us (Al, me, and Samantha) don't have hand and mouth disease. Alyssa is still 3.

This morning I wake to crying and a tummy ache. After nap today we've progressed to a sore throat and a fever. This feels like deja vu. Oh, wait. It is!

Last June, Alyssa got strep and she was so sick. She was so skinny from a week of vomiting and fever. And the antibiotic made it worse. We had a rapid strep today and it came back negative, but we'll find out the results in two days. Until then, we've got to keep her comfortable and hope the vomiting makes only rare appearances. I hate strep.

If this happens again next year I'm going to want to boycott June.

I'm a sucker

When we were "shopping" around for an activity for Samantha I never dreamed I'd be living an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras. I think I'll need some therapy after next week's ballet recital. And if she likes it--I don't see how she wouldn't since she loves the draw of the lights and the stage--then I'm doomed. Doomed, I tell ya.

We have a Tinkerbell costume for one part of the recital and then a homemade jack-in-the-box for the Coppelia part. We received our music yesterday and so we've been playing a song from TinkerBell and the Lost Treasure on repeat while Samantha practices in her costume. The hour-long repeated song isn't even the worst part--I got teary eyed when she put on the costume and she started practicing.

She's happy. I swear to you the girl was glowing. She looked so content and proud. I have no doubt that she will want to continue ballet and she will want to do the ($$) recital part again. I'm just having a hard time with the makeup part. The makeup thing gets a little too close to the Toddlers and Tiara part. But I know she'll feel exactly like a princess when I put it on.

I was never a glitz and glam girl. I was the neighborhood tomboy. This is a little out of my realm, but I'm trying to embrace it (lightly).

Drumroll . . . The Master Bath

Our Master Bath is done. And it only took three months!!

Now, I didn't take before pictures because I didn't even think about it. We all know what a lovely tract house bathroom looks like: particle board cabinets, fake marble top, and a large standard mirror.

Eighteen months ago, on a whim, we bought a beautiful, free-standing vanity with porcelain sinks and a real marble top for nearly a quarter of the Pottery Barn price. And it looks the same as Pottery Barn's vanity, but it is about 6 inches shorter, which is perfect because the PB one was too large anyhow. The vanity has been in our bedroom, covered in an old sheet, for all those months collecting folded laundry.

We were undecided about the wall and the mirror until Al and my dad pulled it down. The knuckleheads at the glass company who installed it had glued it to the wall. Al and Dad managed to get it off without cutting themselves, but we were left with a pock-marked wall nearly torn down the the rock. My mom suggested bead board to cover the wall and thus we were saved from trying to figure out how to salvage the wall. So we extended the bead board to line up with the tub surround. It was perfect.

A few coats of paint, some beautiful mirrors, and a difficult installation (pipes were a challenge) of the vanity and we have the most beautiful bathroom! It feels like a spa and we love it.

No major projects on the horizon, but I am painting the built-in cabinets in the hallway. These are half veneer and half oak, so if the paint adheres and it looks okay, I might try the kitchen cabinets. But I'm getting away from myself. I've got to work on Samantha's desk before school starts again in August.  . . . . One thing at a time.

Easter dresses, etc.

Finally, a day off to do what I want . . . painting and cleaning and organizing. I know, not relaxing for most, but it's my day off. Actually, I have a very real need every few months to clean the mental clutter. I get in these moods where I am not happy and cannot function normally unless I clean up the house or reorganize. Chalk it up to Feng Shui's principles of cleaning the mind--the idea is that you move 27 things around and it helps clear your mind. I have done that my whole life in order to find my peace, but there is really an actual ancient Chinese art to it. Try it some time if you need to clear the mind. It works every time.

~ * ~

Things have been hectic around here. May is always a busy month with Mother's Day, our anniversary (7 years), Samantha's birthday, and the culmination of school. This year it started in April with Easter and a trip to Grandma's and Big Papa's house for Easter Break. My mom and I drove down to AZ with the girls and had a wonderful time. Samantha cried when it was time to come home and again when she woke up in her bed the next day. She can't wait to go back. This is the first time Alyssa will remember going and she can't wait to go back either. I love that my girls love to be with their great-grandparents!!

When we got back from AZ and school started again, Samantha started ballet. She's going to be in the recital in June, so there are extra practices this month. She's been quite sore, but absolutely loves it. My mom and I are working on her Jack-in-the-Box costume and once we have pictures we'll post.

With Samantha becoming more serious about reading Al and I decided that Samantha needed a desk. So we've been looking around. I can't believe that for a new (non-particleboard desk) we'd have to pay about $600. So we decided to shop around garage sales, etc. But other day I got on Craigslist--mind you, I've never bought or looked for anything on Craigslist before--and I found the cutest little girl's desk with bookcase and chair for $50. We picked it up on Monday. It needs to be refinished and I can't wait to do that, but I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do it.

Samantha loves to sit there each day and do her homework, draw, and read her books.

~*~

I've been sewing a lot too. I enjoy going sewing with my mom two nights a week. I made Alyssa's Easter dress and my Mom made Samantha's. The girls were so excited about their dresses . . . they looked so cute. I bought the green eyelet remnant and wanted a pinafore for Alyssa's dress so I found a pattern that centered around that. Samantha asked for purple polka dots and we decided on an apron to soften it and match Alyssa's. Samantha can take the apron on or off.



~*~



Al and I are almost done with our bathroom. Hopefully next post will show our final results. It's so pretty.

My Ballerina

We've been "shopping around" for some extracurricular activity for Samantha. She's talked about dance because her friends are there but loves to jump and is equally enticed by gymnastics. So I took the gymnastics plunge first thinking that she would be too uncoordinated for ballet. Does that sound mean?

Samantha is a very vivacious child, but has never been particularly coordinated. She walks around with a book attached to her nose these days and is just learning to catch a ball. I have to admit it the sports thing I just don't quite understand. I may be accident prone, but I was fearless and always doing cartwheels and jumping rope at her age.

So she tried out gymnastics this week and I was in hysterics. I was glad my mom didn't come because we would have had to excuse ourselves from the grounds for incessant giggling. Samantha is sooo uncoordinated. But she tried and was happy about it, which is what really matters. The next day, however, she was sporting a sore ankle. Hmm. I don't think so.

Today we tried out ballet--both girls got to try a class. Alyssa lasted about 15 minutes until they closed the door and she didn't see me, then she cried the rest of the routine. They finally just gave up and handed her to me. Maybe after preschool we'll try again. And so we stood and watched Samantha and I was amazed.
She is a natural. She pointed her toes like was supposed to, ran like she was supposed to, and while her plié needs some work, she surprised even me. So she's found her niche and I'm finally satisfied. While she may never throw a softball or dribble correctly, she's found what she's good at and I couldn't be prouder.   :)