Jonah smells like tuna

My #2 has been cracking me up with this all day today.

"Jonah was swallowed by a whale and it smelled like tuna in there. I don't want to be swallowed by a whale because I don't want to smell like tuna."

This statement has been repeated countless times today, so I think she means it. Before he left, Micah reminded her that an good way to avoid smelling like tuna would be to obey God.

Boy, the fun just never ends around here.

My Spirited Child

#2 had her Christmas concert tonight at her preschool. If this doesn't sum her up, I'm not sure what does.

The Nutcracker

This past weekend, I took #1 on a special date to see Ballet Arizona's The Nutcracker.

She loves ballet and has been begging me for as long as I can remember to go see a real one in person. Having performed in 15 or so Nutcrackers myself, I've been more than a little burnt out on it. It's not even my favorite ballet of all time - given the choice between the Nutcracker and any other, I'd probably choose the other. However, my own personal feelings aside, I cannot deny The Nutcracker is an all time children's favorite.

It was a surprise. I had her put on a brand new dress and took her out to lunch downtown. Not surprisingly, the area was swarming with little girls in beautiful dresses with their mothers and grandmothers. It was killing her not to know what was going on. I finally told her while we were walking up to Symphony Hall. Have you ever seen a 5 1/2 year old have a mini stroke? I have.

Overall, I was pleased with the production. The set and costumes were stunning and the choreography and dancers were fantastic. #1 had too many favorite parts to decide, but some stand outs were the battle with the Rat King and his minions (phenomenally done with amazing costumes), Mother Ginger (of course) and anything involving a beautiful tutu.

Of course, there were all sorts of souvenirs available in the lobby. She chose a lovely music playing nutcracker to commemorate the event.

We had a great time. While I try to set aside some one-on-one time for each girl during the day at home, I rarely have the opportunity to devote an entire afternoon toward the pleasure of one. It was definitely wonderful memory for me.

Photography Workshop

Today, I had the privilege of spending the entire day in a photography workshop with Val Westover and Stephanie Adriana. First, I’d like to thank Groupon because I would not have dreamed of paying full price for the workshop. Groupon made it extremely affordable and motivated me to go for it. Second, I have to thank my wonderful husband for taking the day off work to manage our three children while I spent the day engrossed in my own personal hobby. He’s the best!

The first half of the day was spent in a hotel conference room learning all about how to take photograph – mostly technical stuff with a few pointers on composition. The second half of the day was spent on hotel grounds practicing everything we learned. The teachers would give an“assignment” and we’d scatter and practice. They were available for questions and interacting with other students helped as well.

I really tried to spend my time getting the technical stuff down while I had access to the teachers. The artistic part will come with confidence and practice…I hope. Mostly, I'm just incredibly proud that I took all of these photos with manual settings.

I’m thrilled I had the opportunity to do this and am very satisfied the entire workshop.

Just a test…feel free to ignore…

This is totally a test of my new Windows Live Writer application (new computer!) 

Mayflower Lessons

#1 is learning about the pilgrims who came on the Mayflower in school. Each family could only bring what would fit into a trunk, so clothing, books and personal items were limited. Her assignment was to pretend to be a pilgrim and choose three things to bring with her and then write a paragraph about why she chose them. The three things had to fit into a paper grocery bag. She chose:

1) Her favorite baby doll, Julia - not a surprising choice because this doll rarely leaves her arms or vicinity.

2) Julia's blanket - also not surprising as she always makes sure Julia is completely comfortable. Julia and the blanket are rarely separated.

3) Her Taylor Swift CD - one of her very favorite pastimes is singing and dancing with Taylor Swift which would be very important on a long journey across the sea.

What would you choose?

Winning Streak

Our oldest must be eating her Wheaties because she has become a winning machine.

First, she won a costume contest (certificate is not pictured because she already turned it in to redeem her free dress day).

Then, she had her name drawn from the LASER cards at school and won Dunkin' Donuts. LASER is an acronym for our school's learning expectations. The children can earn LASER cards as positive reinforcement for using these skills. Every Friday, cards are randomly drawn for prizes.

She also came home with an honorable mention award for a poster contest for Rosary Sunday. The picture is of Mary at the foot of the Cross.

Lastly, at Micah's Knights of Columbus meeting last week, she won Knight of the month....well, sort of. Last month, Micah organized and orchestrated the annual tootsie roll drive which benefited the Down Syndrome Network. He would have won the award himself, but his fellow knights could not ignore the fact that he couldn't done any of it without his right hand girl. She worked ceaselessly all weekend collecting money, counting money in the parish office, bringing water out to the knights in the field and collecting donations herself. They felt her hard work warranted a family of the month award.

Very accomplished for a 5 year old, I'd say.