4th of July Plans

I have a nasty summer cold. I soldiered it out Tuesday and Wednesday at work. Today...I couldn't do it. I called in some reinforcements and my kids got to play outside all morning with a dancer and are helping Grandpa Jim spread mulch right now. It's quiet. The only sound is Carrie Bradshaw waxing philosophic on my tv and the pounding of my head. Please excuse my scattered posting and over zealous adjective usage. I cracked open a fresh bottle of C-section strength ibuprofen to take care of my headache and sore throat.

And that got me thinking...about the 4th of July!

We're hosting a little barbecue here this year. It's exciting for me, because we haven't hosted the 4th in a long time. Heck, we haven't hosted anything in a long time. It's crazy how much EXTRA work it takes when you have a newborn, are pregnant and then BAM another newborn. ;)

So now, via Pintrest...I'm compiling some great 4th of July ideas I'm planning to try out. Kid friendly and cheap are my caveats, because well. I've got 2 kids and Dave will be the first to tell you...I'm CHEAP. ;)

Source: cupcakesandcashmere.com via Kate on Pinterest

ADORABLE pretzels! Shout out to Amber for pinning this. I'll tweet you a pic of mine and Rory's finished product. :)

Source: thetomkatstudio.com via Kelci on Pinterest

Red jello, white cool whip and blueberries. Hello easy!

Source: stylemepretty.com via Jessica on Pinterest

How easy and cheap! Red, white and blue streamers with some Christmas lights. Badabing, badaboom. :)

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: totalartsoul.com via Joy on Pinterest

What are you planning this year? What are you cooking? Are you heading out? Hosting? Happy 4th of July! God Bless the USA!

Disney Memories

I'm probably about to get really annoying. You see...I'm planning a trip to Disney for next June for my dancers to perform in Disney AND our recital theme is Disney songs. So...just be prepared. If you aren't a fan...welp. Avoid me for the next 12 months. ;)

I've been planning the recital songs over the last week or so. And wow! It's brought back some great memories.

Remember these?!


Just Around the Riverbend from "Pocahontas"


I Just Can't Wait to Be King from "The Lion King"

For a while, Disney movies weren't as great as they used to be. But, trust me, they are awesome again! Tangled, The Princess and the Frog...fantastic! Even Gnomeo and Juliet is adorable. If you haven't taken the time lately to sit down and watch a good animated movie, you really should. Simple love stories are so refreshing. You know you want to. :)


"Dig a Little Deeper" from The Princess and The Frog

What's your favorite Disney movie? What songs do you think HAVE to be in my recital next year?

Weekend Recap

This weekend FLEW by. It was so fast. A little recap...

Friday was a wonderful day! It was cold and rainy here in the forest. Dave was off work, as he is all Fridays in the summer. He stayed home with Trace while Rory and I went to watch my 10 year old cousin Kaari's dance camp showing. She attended the same dance camp this year (and last year) that I did when I was her age! It's still run by the same wonderful lady. It was a great experience for me and I love that my some of my students enjoy it now.

Rory was fascinated the entire time, sat on my lap and stared at the dancing. She loves to dance. This makes my heart happy!

Kaari was awarded the scholarship for her level! That means she was basically "student of the year" for her camp group. Another one of my students, Marcie, won outstanding ballet student for her level. I'm a very happy teacher. :)

When we got home, we picked up Dave and Trace and we headed to visit Dave's grandparents. Grandpa Fran had a rather serious heart surgery a few weeks back and he is doing fantastic! He told us the worst part is he can't drive or have a beer. :) It was nice to visit with them and boy do the kids love them. Dave's parents stopped up to. Always nice to see Grandpa Mike and "Grandma Mike." Oh Rory...haha

Saturday was pretty low key. We had plans to go to the drive in but it was cold and rainy. AGAIN. So Dave took Rory on a date to see Cars 2 at the regular movie theater. They had McDonalds too. A perfect day for Rory! :) Saturday night, Trace and I went to church then to visit my parents.

Sunday Dave went on the annual Father's Day golf outing with my dad, his dad and my uncle Tom. The four of them pick a different course each year and make a day out of it. They really enjoy it and it's nice for them to spend some "man time" together. I went to my best friend from high school's bridal shower. It was lovely! I'm very excited for her wedding in a couple weeks. After the shower, we took the kids to meet the men for dinner.

It was a lovely weekend...and I didn't take a single picture. YIKES. Now it's Monday, I was up a good chunk of the night with a sick baby. Both kids have colds/allergies and I'm wiped! Oh well. It's 4th of July weekend coming up and Dave's off for SIX DAYS! Lots to look forward to!

What are your 4th of July plans? Anything exciting? Fireworks??

Someone's 8 months old...

Mr. Trace is EIGHT months old! I can't believe it. Where did time go?! I have never been good at those monthly posts so many moms do for their little chickens. I wish I was, but I always forget. Oops. But this month I remembered! :)




Weight: 19 lbs, 7 oz! Big boy. :)
Height: We didn't measure your height at your last appointment, because it was an ear checkup, not a well baby. But you are TALL. I will say that. :)

Sleeping: You my little man sleep like a champ. Even with all your health problems, you started sleeping at 8 hour chunk around 8 weeks and it got longer ever since. Last night, it was 13 hours! Usually it's 11-12 hours, from 7:30 until 7:30 or so. Sometimes you wake up earlier, but I let you play in your crib. You aren't a morning person and you need to "ease into the day."

Feeding: You get 4 7 oz bottles every day, plus baby yogurt, oatmeal cereal and baby food 2-3 times a day. Your bottles are interesting. Breakfast and lunch are all soy, dinner and bed time are half soy, half Nutramigen. We've worked hard to find a good balance to keep you "moving" but your belly full. You are working your way back to all soy and I am so thankful. I would buy your Nutramigen forever if it kept you happy, but man it's expensive. You are worth it, though, little friend.

You have loved ALL your baby food so far. Everything I've given you, you've chowed right down. You've had bananas, apples, pears, blueberries, carrots, green beans, peas, mixed veggies...I'm sure there's others you've had but I don't keep track anymore. You've loved it ALL!! Good boy, keep eating!

You've also tried some puffs lately. You aren't a huge fan and you are so cute trying to get them in your mouth! You do like biter biscuits and sit in your high chair every afternoon when I'm cooking dinner chowing down on one. Yogurt is your newest treat and you think it's the best! You cry when the container is gone. :) Keep it up, little man! Eat, eat, eat!

Milestones: You crawl SO FAST now. You started crawling right around 6.5 months and have never looked back. You also pull yourself up on everything. You think you can walk, but you can't! You take quite a few tumbles every day, but rarely cry. I am thankful for soft carpets all over our house! You can go from sitting to crawling and back to sitting now, which is always nice for your independence. You still enjoy your bouncer but not for as long anymore. You are a mover and a groover, for sure!

You weren't impressed by the dance show at all, you fell asleep both nights! (haha) At the sports store the other night, we took a picture of you with a golf club and you sobbed when we took it away. This is a good sign for your future daddy-son golf outings.

Trace Joseph, you are the sweetest baby ever. You love to cuddle, especially with your Grandma Beth. You wrinkle your nose when you smile. You laugh all the time, especially at your sister. You are into EVERYTHING. Daddy calls you a "dickens" all the time. You love to grunt and growl. You never sit still. You'd stay in the swimming pool all day every day if you could. I am so excited for your future, little man. You are my favorite son. <3

So You Think You Can Dance: #1

Starting this week, I'm going to be recapping and giving my humble opinion on "So You Think You Can Dance?" each week. I planned to start last week, but I had a sick baby and that didn't happen. Turns out it didn't matter, since all 20 were kept around for this week!



General Observations:
1) Cat Deely looks great in yellow! STUNNINg, actually.
2) Debbie Reynolds is adorable. They should do more classic dance legends as guest judges.
3) Mary Murphy clearly knows what she's talking about, but when she screams and yells she makes me want to claw my eyes out. Shudder.


Ryan and Ricky: Mandy Moore "Sexy" Jazz to "Addicted to Love"
Ryan annoys me, I can't figure out why. Also, Keltie Colleen has been dancing in combat boots for YEARS, so you aren't going to make that happen. This dance was kinda boring to me, I thought.

Caitlynn and Mitchell: Stacey Tookey Contemporary to "Turning Tables"
OMG. I LOVE THIS DANCE. The chairs, the emotion, the choreography...this was my favorite of the night. Caitlynn is straight up adorbs!

Missy and Wadi: Jean Mark Generaux ChaCha to "Cannibal"
Usually I love the latin ballroom. I thought this was pretty bad, though. I don't really care for either Missy or Wadi. I won't be sad if they are in the bottom.

Yvetta and Nick: Bollywood to some song I don't know the name of
Confession. I watched about 30 seconds of this and skipped the rest. I didn't think it was very entertaining. I want Nick to stay around because I want to see a tap duet on the show(!!!!) but Yvetta is not my fave.

Miranda and Robert: Tabitha and Napoleon hip hop to "Break Ya Neck"
LOVE LOVE LOVE. I am a huge NappyTabs fan anyways and I loved this. I thought they killed it. Miranda surprised me with how great she was at the fast, quick and poppy hip hop. Plus she's from Pittsburgh...WHAT UP PA!

Clarice and Jess: Stacey Tookey contemporary to "Cathedrals"
It was pretty, kinda slow for my like though. Plus, Jess annoys me to no end. At auditions, they told him they worried he was too arrogant. I think he's trying too hard to come across as funny and nice now. He's an incredible dancer, but he needs to lose the goofy guy persona.

Jordan and Tadd: Jean-Marc Generaux Viennese Waltz to "Fade Into Me"
Umm...Her dress was pretty. She's Dave's favorite. Ehh. I'm not impressed with either of them really at this point. Her solo was AWESOME last week though, so. It's not her fault she had the slowest dance possible this week.

Melanie and Marko: Mandy Moore Jazz to "Sing With a Swing"
Loved this one! Costumes, hats as props, dance style, song choice...loved it all! It's nice to see actual jazz dancing, not fast contemporary passed off as jazz (Cough Travis Wall, I'm talking to YOU! :)) Melanie is my FAVORITE. Marko is in my top for the boys too, but Melanie...just wow.

Sasha and Alexander: Tabatha and Napoleon Hip Hop to "Coming Home"
Hmmm...I'm torn on this one. I loved the song choice and the concept. I didn't think Alex pulled it off well, though. Maybe his outfit? I'm not sure. Dave thinks Mark from Season 4 (?) that did "Bleeding Love" would have done it so much better and I agree. Sasha was awesome, though.

Ashley and Chris: Spencer Liff Broadway to "Please Mr. Jailer"
This one was great! They are a great pair and I loved the whole bars between them concept. Fantastic. Added bonus, Ashley's red dress was smoking!

In conclusion...my top three boys are:
3. Chris
2. Mitchell
1. Marko


My top three girls:
3. Ashley
2. Caitlynn
1. Melanie


Bottom three girls (based on last night only!)
3. Missy
2. Ryan
1. Iveta


Bottom three boys (based on last night only!)
3. Alexander
2. Tadd
1. Jess


Did you watch?? Who were your faves? Who didn't you care for?

Rory's First Dance Class

Today was a big day. Today was Rory's first "dance class."

Let me explain.

I give private lessons through out the summer to kids who request them in certain areas. Today I did two, one in acro and one in tap to a brother and sister. Their younger brother, Eric, will be two next month and his mom wanted him to get a little tap time in as well. Rory joined the "class." I thought it would be less intimidating for both of them to do it together.

Eric was hilarious in his tap shoes, running back and forth. He did about 2 shuffles and that was enough for him. That's what we expected, of course. His mom gets it. :) Rory on the other hand...stood patiently at the wall, did her shuffles, her marches and her toe taps. She was SO SAD when it was time to be done. She wanted to "keep going, Mama! Keep doing my shuffles!"

To say I'm proud is an understatement. My girl wants to tap. And that's a blessing!

A Day in the Life

Before I start, no update on Christina so far today. That's a good thing, no news is good news. We're praying faithfully and I hope you are joining us! See this post for details. Thanks to all my wonderful blog friends for the support. It's comforting beyond belief.
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Moving on to happier things...I'm linking up with Megs again this week for tips and tricks! She did a day in the life of a mom with a 6 week old so I thought I'd play along and clue you into our life with 2 kiddos!



Yesterday, 6-20-11

7:25 am: Trace wakes up and starts talking/crying in his crib. He's very cranky when he wakes up and does much better if I let him calm himself down. Once he gets to just talking, I go in and get him. He's not a morning person, like his daddy. :)

8:00 am: Rory is up, Trace is happy, let's all get out of bed! Round 1 of diaper changes for both chickens. Trace is sick again, so he has diarrhea. Yeeeehaw.

8:30 am: Breakfast time! Rory gets yogurt and peanut butter toast. She usually eats at her Buzz table in the living room and watched an episode of Jungle Junction. Trace gets a bottle, oatmeal cereal and some baby food fruit. He also gets his Zantac at this time. Yesterday I also gave him his ear infection prescription.

8:50 until 10:30 am: Playtime! We play on the floor of the living room, out on the deck sometimes, in the basement, in Rory's room...wherever! I also use this time to throw in laundry and straighten up wherever we are playing. Rory is crazy about her dollhouse right now so we spend lots of time playing with that.
Yesterday, I noticed Trace had major hives all over his back and arms. I called the Pediatrician and it turns out he's allergic to whatever medicine he was taking for his ears. He gets taken off that and put on Infant Benadryl twice a day for a few days to clear up the hives. Poor baby!!

10:30 am: Trace goes in for a short nap. He doesn't always do this, but he did yesterday. 30-45 mins and he's good to go. During this time, I dedicate 100% to Rory. She craves one on one interaction.

11:15 am: Lunch time preparations begin! Diaper changes...the poop factories are working over time and both kids are dirty. Yippee skipee.

11:30 am: Lunch time! Trace gets his benadryl and I give him a large bottle instead of food. I did this hoping to help flush his system faster with more urination. Rory eats some plain pasta with cheese, turkey, carrots and half a banana.

11:50 am: Nap time for T-fizz! He goes right in and falls asleep quickly, because of the Benadryl I think. Usually he fusses for 10 minutes or so before falling asleep.

Noon: Rory goes in for a nap willingly today because she remembers she gets to go to Daddy's office when she wakes up! No crying from her today.

Noon until 2:30: This is when I rush rush rush. I try to get my studio work done, the laundry finished, dinner started, the house straightened...all that house stuff that never seems to get done needs to get done in this time. Yesterday though I had a pounding headache and spent the majority of nap time on the couch. Yuck.

2:30: The kiddos wake up! Trace is covered in poop from head to toe. It's also all over his crib and sheets. Grrrrrreat. Emergency bath time. I toss both kids in the tub and scrub them down. Gross and disgusting, but that's my life! :)

3:00: Snack for Rory, a Gerber Fruit Strip. We call them fruit roll ups and she loves them. Easy way to get in another fruit serving!

3:10: Snack time for Trace. We're working on getting him to stop taking a bottle after his nap. He doesn't need it and he needs to get on a 3 meals a day schedule, instead of 5. We're transitioning to cereal and baby food at this feeding. Some days it goes over great, other days...not so much. Yesterday was one of those "not so much days." But we'll get there!

3:30: Trying to get ready to leave. We're heading to Dave's work to drop off the kids. I'm meeting my best friend, Brittany (aka Trace's godmother) for dinner and some girl time. Both kids are melting down, especially Trace. He's screaming bloody murder while I'm trying to get Rory's shoes on. Luckily, Britt walks in the door at that moment. She scoops up Trace and he stops crying for a while. Thank goodness.

3:50: We're out the door, 5 minutes late. I've packed food for Rory and 2 juice cups, a bottle with powder and hot water in a water bottle, all in a thermal lunch box for Trace. Diapers, wipes, extra clothes and toys for both kids. We get in the car and I realize I'm out of gas. Ugh.

4:40: We finally pull in to Dave's office, after a 40 minute ride during which Trace screamed for 20 minutes. Luckily, Brittany is his godmother so she can't complain. :)

4:45: Dave takes the kids off my hands, feeds Trace in the parking lot of his work then drives them home. I get a report that they were just fine on the drive and Rory claims to have "broken her leg" upon arriving home. haha! She's something else.

5:15: (or so, I wasn't here) Rory eats dinner. Yesterday she had pizza, a fruit cup and some cheese. She eats incredibly balanced, because she LOVES fruit and veggies, especially carrots and green beans. If I sprinkle a little parm cheese on the beans, she'd eat the whole can. I'm so thankful! She also loves cheese, yogurt and super cold milk. It's easy to keep her balanced...at the moment.

5:45-7:15: Playtime with Daddy!! Dave plays with the kids, checks his email, lets them explore. Yesterday he says he spent a ton of time chasing Trace around, keeping him from eating everything and anything he could get his hands on.

7:20: I got home from dinner. Trace was exhausted, ready for more Benadryl and a bottle and bed. Dave got him dressed while I made his bottle and got his medicine. He went to sleep super fast last night. Poor guy is sick.

7:30: Rory got to stay up a little late last night. She ate some goldfish and drank some juice while watching an episode of Dora. She went in to bed shortly after 8.

Both kids slept all night and started our day over again this morning at 6:57. Yawn.