Birthdays and Ballet

Last week was our first day back at ballet and tap since late winter- Isabelle was SO excited!!  It was all she talked about for days when I finally told her she'd be going back to class soon.  Here is the sweet ballerina...

This time, now that Isabelle is in the "big girl" class, we Moms were told to wait outside the room in the sitting area instead of lining ourselves up along the side wall to watch out little ballerinas.  I completely understand why- we can also be quite distracting- but it was disappointing not to be able to watch.  (Classes are held in a dilapidated, old building, and there is no viewing area- when the door closes, the door closes.)  Thankfully, when the girls came running out to us to put on their tap shoes, Ms. Carolyn, the instructor, left that big solid door open just a bit, so we all took turns peeking in.  Watching a roomful of little girls hopping and dancing and laughing is just about as good as it gets.

 

I had to share a photo of these crosses (it took a while to decide where to put them- I wanted them to be displayed in a prominent place in our home, and the kitchen certainly meets that requirement!)- Ethan scoured our yard and woods to find the materials to make them for me for my birthday last week.  He explained the significance of the three, telling me of the actual story of Christ's crucifixion with the other men at his side; but then he went on to explain that they represented God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and he hoped I would be reminded of their love for me whenever I look at the crosses.

Wow.  Maybe I stand corrected- that is as good as it gets.  It makes my heart so contented and delighted to see my children's understanding of their Creator deepen and grow.  I'm so thankful.

Have a blessed day everyone!

My Special Day with Caleb

One week ago, Caleb's second grade class took a field trip to the Franklin Zoo in Boston, and I had the privilege of joining in on the fun as a chaperone.  In fact, there were so many chaperones, most of us had just one charge- our own child!  I was really excited to have the whole morning at the zoo with my main squeeze, who kept thanking me over and over again for coming on his field trip with him.  Aw!  He is such a sweet little boy!

The bus ride down wasn't nearly as bad, ie loud, as I'd imagined it would be.  The hour and a half went by pretty quickly.  Of course, in a weak moment I'd relented and let Caleb bring a game boy, so he was silent the entire time, and I got to chat with some adults.  That was a nice change of pace, ha!

We were greeted by Fiona, who was handing out lollipops- what a surprise!!

 

Then it was off to see the animals!!

Oh wait, that's just Caleb the goat, ha!

Now Caleb's a hopping frog!

 Hello there, Mr. Lion- his ROAR was menacing, and it made me very thankful for glass between us!

And then he did this, just flopped himself over and rolled around on his back.

It was hysterical!

I love camels, they're so saucy!

Inside one of the bird sanctuaries

There are lots of nice pathways and trails at the zoo- this was on our way to see the gorillas, and Caleb looked so handsome.  I'm having a really hard time accepting the fact that he's turning eight next month.

Love these beautiful creatures

Love these smart little lemurs too!

Many of the walkways are lined with ornamental grasses to make it feel like you're inside the heart of the jungle- so much fun!

Oops!  I was fooling with my settings and got a great close-up of that grass...

...there, that's the shot I was after!

Karate chopping (bush-wacking) our way through the jungle

It was time to go before we knew it- I'd been having such a good time with Caleb, wandering around and watching the different animals.  I didn't actually take that many pictures- there are LOTS more animals than I've represented here.  I was so thankful for the opportunity to have this special day with my little boy!  Thanks Mimi, for taking care of Isabelle all day!

After much debate, hemming and hawing, and sticker shock I might add, we finally decided on a new carpet for the office re-do/mishap.  We went with Lowe's in-stock carpet because it comes in 15-foot rolls and we have a 13X18 size room- the extra we needed when we planned on purchasing standard 12-foot carpet was really adding to the bottom line, so we were glad to have found the 15-foot stuff.  And the best news?  It could be installed within 72 hours!  They were scheduled to install around 1 pm, so it's a very good thing Mimi and Isabelle happened to be home at, say, 11:45, when they showed up- usually you're left waiting around forever, so this was a surprise!  My Mom said they were very courteous and professional, and they did a great job!  The only thing that bugs the daylights out of me is the gold edge-thing they put down- I loathe it!  It's awful!  I would have preferred silver, and this gold is that tawny, retro, cheapo-looking gold, ugh, but Bill says we aren't doing anything to it so I'd better make my peace with it.  I'm trying.  I know it's such a small thing, but....I'm trying.

Here is how the room looked when I came home from the field trip- Caleb was finishing up at school, and Bill had come early and taken Isabelle to the store, so I had the whole house to myself for 30 or so minutes.  It was such a relief to walk into this room and not be greeted with utter chaos and disaster for the first time in weeks (the disaster is everywhere else, since we had to clear the room out for the carpet installation, ha!)  We have finally moved some pieces back in, but I'm not sharing those pics just yet.

Ah, that's sooooo much better!

Preschool Fashion

I love that my girly girl is such a girly girl!!!

I've gotten into the habit of snapping a picture of Isabelle Kate most Tuesdays and Thursdays before we leave for preschool, and I just love looking back at them all, so I thought I'd share...   :)

Aren't you glad I did?

WOW!

Wow pretty much sums it up...we've been juggling a more-trouble-than-I-thought-it-would-be kind of home office reno (aren't they always that way?); family birthdays (yes, my own was Saturday, and no, I don't really want to talk about it); new volunteer efforts with the children's ministry at church; school field trips; and of course, HALLOWEEN!

I did something I've never done before, too.  I guess I'm not really proud.  I did not make one.single.costume (nothing!) this year.  Gasp.  I know, someone call the Singer police.  To be honest, I was working SO SO SO hard these past two weeks to finish, you know....  I wish I could give myself a big hoorah for a job well done, but the truth is, I did the best I could and I didn't make my self-imposed deadline, and life does go on.  So, mini hoorah.  I hope this doesn't sound arrogant or snotty, but I'm really proud of the work I've done, and I'm enjoying working on the final chapters.

But I'm still human, and I'm still a little disappointed.

So I'll share some pics from this weekend, just in case you've forgotten what we look like.  :)

My birthday photo- I'm 36 now.

Yay.

Like my new hairstyle?- you probably can't even tell, but it's ultra-highlighted and is longer in the front than back.

There have been tears.

Lots of tears.

I'm still working the kinks out. ha, that was a pretty funny pun, and no, I didn't mean to!

My stylist did it straight and it was The Best.

When I try it, my head looks like a giant mushroom.  So I gave curly a try, and it's better.

Gosh, aren't my kids so stinking cute!?!

Bill gave me a lovely party, and we had a great night.

And then it was Halloween night...

Our Caleb Ninja Boy

...and Jonah Ninja Boy

Ethan the traffic light- isn't that so cool?

They're push lights, and he was glowing all night (I didn't get a pic of him in the dark, bummer)

drumroll please....

I can't even tell you how happy it made my geriatric heart to whip out the hair dryer for Isabelle's hair- so much fun!

What is she, you wonder....

Why Belle of course!

Complete with red lipstick, blush, and sparkly eye shadow, which happened to get all over her face anyway- she wasn't complaining!

Best of all, she didn't even get reprimanded for the eye shadow this time- remember this story?

Such a beautiful princess!

Trick or Treating was c-o-l-d!!!

But we had such a wonderful night together!

And Blogger is telling me I'm out of space for pictures again, sigh, so that's it for now.