Friday night and Saturday morning

After the excitement of The Nutcracker yesterday morning, we had another activity last night.  The nearby state park was having a celebration with Santa, crafts, music, face painting, and refreshments.  It was free!  So we took the girls and Nelson's parents and had a grand old time.  Our tree is now sporting a couple of new ornaments that Sarah and Natalie made last night.  :) 

In addition to the morning ballet and the evening at the park, I had an afternoon activity.  I was feeling pretty tired while at the park, and I drank a Mountain Dew just to try to stay awake until bedtime.  It didn't really work.  We got home just after 8:00, and by 9:00 I was dozing off in my chair.

So Nelson graciously decided to let me sleep in this morning.  Well, he tried to anyway.  But while he was in the bathroom, Natalie sneaked downstairs.

"Mama?  Are you awake?"

"No," I grumbled in response.

"I want you, Mama," she insisted. 

"I'm sleeping," I replied.

"Well...can I have the iPad?" she inquired.

"If I give you the iPad, will you let me sleep?" 

"Yes!" she proclaimed.  "The iPad is your only hope for me to leave you alone!"

Sigh. 

Sarah and Natalie had a birthday party at a local gymnastics place today.  Nelson took them though, so you'll have to hassle him for pictures.  ;) 

The Nutcracker

I took the girls to the Intercity Ballet performance of The Nutcracker today.  We had been planning this for awhile now.  I knew Sarah would love it, but I wasn't sure how Natalie would do.  It's a long time for a three-year-old to have to sit still and be quiet.  Still, she begged to go, so I reserved three seats. 

Both girls loved it.  They loved the pretty dresses, the dancing, and the various special effects (there were quite a few of those, actually).  The "snow" inside the auditorium was especially a big hit.  ;) 

Natalie is now begging to be in the ballet. 

I enjoyed the performance as well, although I admit the excitement and wonder of the girls was my favorite part.  Because this morning performance is designed for school children, the audience was encouraged to clap and laugh and generally express their enjoyment and appreciation.  Sarah and Natalie had no problem with those instructions.  ;)

Interestingly, the Intercity Ballet is something of a cooperative effort of several dance studios in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia and--wait for it--San Diego, California.

Wait, what?

San Diego, California. 

I'm still scratching my head over that one.  I mean, northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia make perfect sense, but San Diego? 

Apparently, Clara herself was on loan from San Diego.  And apparently, dancers from here sometimes go there to perform. 

That's just weird.

But it was a lovely show, and I'm glad we went.

Oops. I posted this then accidentally deleted it. :-p

warning! danger ahead!

Did you hear the one about the lady who requested free samples? 

See, she was a cheapskate by nature.  She routinely bought the least expensive option at the store--store brands, off-brands, what was on sale.  She scoffed at the premium items; they couldn't possibly be that much better. 

But that didn't mean she would turn down a free sample when it was offered.  Free is great, right?

Those companies know what they're doing, I tell you.  Those freebies are S-N-E-A-K-Y. 

It started a couple of years ago, with a sample of Nexxus shampoo.  I had snickered about those salon shampoos for years and about the poor saps who bought them thinking they were soooo much better than normal brands. 

I then had to eat my words and swallow my pride and all those "oops, I blew it" things.  That stuff is wonderful, and it did amazing things for my hair.  I got all sorts of compliments.  It doesn't mean I can suddenly afford to buy Nexxus on a regular basis, but at least now I know that the stuff is good, and worth every penny.  And no, my arrogant words did not taste good at all.

More recently, I got a sample of these fancy dishwasher tablets.  I've always used dollar store dishwasher powder, sometimes with white vinegar in the rinse aid slot.  This tablet was supposedly high-octane cleaner with some sort of rinse substance included. 

Holy cow.  It worked.  It worked really well.  I'm eying the coupon they sent with the sample, wondering if maybe I should snag some of this stuff while I have the chance. 

Today it was laundry detergent.  I usually either make my own or buy something at the dollar store.  I got a sample for this nifty little gel packet thing.  Dingy socks never had it so good. 

Sigh.  Beware the free samples, people.  They're insidious little things. 

basketball, broken vehicles, and the kindness of friends, family, and strangers

That may just be the longest title I've ever used.  :) 

Nelson plays basketball in the church league.  The girls enjoy going to the game (although Natalie is less than thrilled with the buzzer).  Tonight at the game, we met a lovely lady named Ashley.  She was actually there in support of the rival team, which was fun to joke about.  :)  She was so sweet to the girls, and Natalie especially had a fabulous time talking her ear off.  Her husband, one of the other team's players, had somewhat shaggy red hair.  Natalie insisted he looked like Pinkie Pie (from My Little Pony).  He took it well.  ;) 

Nelson's car is dead, but at least it is home now.  A friend of ours arranged to have it towed for us.  That particular friend has been kind and generous many times in the past, so we are very grateful. Family has helped out too, so hopefully the car won't stay dead too long.  Thankfully Nelson can do a lot of work himself as far as cars go.

I couldn't squish it into the title, but here's a funny "Natalieism" for you:  the other day she was doing that whole "Eeny meeny miney mo" chant.  Her version had a slightly different ending though.  "Eeny meeny miney mo.  Catch a tiger by the toe.  If you let him go, catch him again!" 

Her version of "Jingle Bells" is pretty cute too, but I can't remember the exact lyrics she uses right now.  Maybe some other post. 

Have a good night! 

Children Around the World

This is my first year teaching kindergarten for our homeschool co-op.  The previous two years, I taught the four-year-old class.  We did alphabet activities with the four-year-olds.  It was fun, and I was comfortable with the age group.  Still, moving up has worked out quite well.

The kindergarten class is supposed to cover four distinct units throughout the course of the year: Children Around the World, Families and Communities, Animals, and Plants.  As my co-teachers and I looked over this list to divvy up the planning, one thing jumped out at me--those first two units were in entirely the wrong order.

First of all, children need to start with the familiar.  Talk about their own family, community, culture, etc. before you move on to the unfamiliar lifestyles of other children.  It makes no sense to start with the unfamiliar then jump back.

My other motivation though was the realization that if we swapped the order, Children Around the World would coincide with the holiday season.  How much fun would it be to learn about other cultures' holiday traditions?  I could easily envision planning activities for Israel involving Hanukkah or reenacting Las Posadas when studying Mexico. 

The biggest problem is picking which countries on which to focus.  There are so many fascinating things we could do and so many interesting cultures to explore, but we're limited to one class a week for a seven-week period.  It's been so hard to choose!  I will definitely have to do some of the things we couldn't get to with my own children. 

oops

Yeah, I missed yesterday.  :(  Sorry.  But honestly, if I had tried to write something in the throes of the headache I had, it would have all come out gibberish anyway.  You really didn't miss anything. 

Anyway, moving along now.  We did manage to get a couple of productive things done yesterday.  We went to a nearby used bookstore to cash in some books.  We managed to get over $20 in cash and over $25 in store credit.  Yay!  We then headed to my grandmother's house.  We ate supper with her and my parents and brought Sarah home with us. 

Today I have slept a good deal.  I slept late this morning to recuperate from the headache, then napped again this afternoon.  I think I'm almost back to normal. 

Researching the yoga article a couple of days ago gave me an idea.  I'm going to attempt a "30 days of yoga" experiment.  I know the supplements and tea that I'm using are making a big difference in my overall health and functionality.  We'll see if adding daily yoga does anything.  I've always enjoyed yoga anyway, so even if it doesn't make a major impact I won't be too upset.  :)

I need to make a menu plan for the week and maybe a short grocery list.  Have a good evening.