Winter Grey.

Another wonderful life was lost in my tiny town in the forest today. A wonderful woman I had the pleasure of knowing for many years. She was a teacher with my mother, my sister's teacher and just a really good person.  She was from the old school of teaching: tough love with her way. She was honest, tough and worked her kids hard but I promise every student that came in to her class knew they were important and loved. The best kind of teacher, honestly. Got mix the tough with the love.

She passed away today, much too early.

This winter I lost another one of my favorite teachers. This tiny, powerful woman inspired me to become the best version of myself in high school when that's just about the hardest thing anyone can do. She forced me to refuse to conform to what other's considered to be norm, made embrace my theatrical side, believed in me and was my personal cheerleader. You know the saying "though she be tiny, she is fierce?" That was Mrs. L in a nutshell. She was one of those people that I got comfort from just knowing we were on the same planet. Thankfully, I took the opportunity to make sure she knew how much she meant to me a few months before she passed away.

I'm sitting here with tears rolling down my cheeks.

This winter has been so bleak in my tiny hamlet, deep in the Pennsylvania wilderness. The sky has been grey with clouds and honestly, I feel like we've all been grey in our demeanors as well. When there is less than 5,000 people, death, hardship and sadness affect everyone. We've lost 2 young men, both I knew and both on the brink of a good life, 2 fantastic educators both far too soon and watched so many hardworking men and women get laid off, lose their jobs and have to start over again. This doesn't take in to account all the people who passed on that I didn't know personally. Cancer diagnosises, even in babies, houses burned down, businesses bankrupt...it's just been an awful winter.

We are ready for spring.

I am craving blue skies and green grass. A sweet breeze in my hair, blowing away this long, hard winter and ushering in promises of renewal, rebirth and change. Spring is hope. Spring is God's promises fulfilled. We need that in this town. We need that breath of fresh air. Please, Jesus. Bring the spring.

Ballet Up to the Barre!

Hi there, Dance Mom Maniacs. Time again for another installment of Ballet Up to the Barre.

I haven't recapped the last 2 weeks because I was on my way to Florida one week and then coming home from Florida the second. Frankly, I didn't want to let thoughts of that Abby Lee crazy enter my happy state of mind in DISNEY WORLD. ;)

 

 

So let's see...

 

This week's episode started off with no one being at the top of the pyramid...Where is the magical, mysitcal Sophia?? Hmmm? Back to real life in LA? Not pretending to be Abby's student?

 

Gimme a break. Sophia, you are awesome. You are BETTER than being a pawn in Abby's game. You live in LA. You have opportunities. Girls in Pittsburgh do not have the same opportunities and need Abby's particular brand of crazy and exposure from the show. You don't.

 

So my girl Brooke didn't "qualify" for the pyramid this week.

Abby, shove the pyramid up your nose. I'm over it. It appears my favorite dance mom, KELLY, is over it as well. Who cares?! It hasn't served any purpose all season.

 

 

This week's dances are revealed:

Group Dance: Pink Lemonade

Solos: Nia, Kendall, Chloe

 

 

 

Now Abby is just being plain mean to Maddie. I completely understand and agree that kids need to earn a solo. I'm having this problem at my own studio right now. But Maddie has earned it. GIVE THE KID A SOLO, ABBY. Get a clue. Now it's just hurtful.

 

Nia's solo costume was stunning. She looks amazing in those purple/pink tones. Her dance was beautiful as well but a little predictable. I feel like Nia is capable of more unique dancing, like 20's Scat last season. She needs something deeper. She always does better when the dance has a theme!

 

Kendall's dance was cute. I thought the costume was very pedestrian after all the hoopla it caused! I say, as a dance teacher, if a parent wants to take the repsonsibility of hiring a seamstress and paying for a custom costume, HAVE IT. I have bigger fish to fry. We can chat about color or style, but other than that...have fun. Maybe Abby would understand that better if she had anything in her life to do except focus on dance...

That being said, Kendall is a great little dancer! I really can't say a bad thing about her. I'd like to help her with her step out back handspring but I'm a tumbling tyrant...;)

Jill, call me. My number is on Brooke's twitter. (AHEM BROOKE!) Drive 3 hours due north, straight through the forest. Ask Kelly. ;)

 

Chloe's solo was a rag doll theme. I really didn't get it. She danced it beautifully after all she has to put up with. I will say...Abby harps on Chlo for not having that left split and how it affects a bunch of other stuff. This is totally true. There are better way to go about encouraging her to work on it (like don't be a giant jack@**) but the point is true. It does pull her alignment negatively. I'm having the same problem with one of my best dancers right now...but we spent 20 minutes stretching speficially for that split last night and came up with a plan. She didn't cry or feel defeated...

Just saying.

 

Pink Lemonade was SUPER CUTE. I loved it. Loved the costume, the hair tumbling out of the hats (even though I despise hair down during dances), the choreography...excellent work Gianna! (Or Jenine or James...) So classy and good Broadway style dancing. Loved it. It deserved a win...

 

Especially considering the competition.

 

CATHY and her merry band of boys.

 

FIRST OF ALL.

And you know I hated this.

 

Zak from Abby's Ultimate? Gimme a break. He's a very good dancer but again, this it totally contrived. It's dumb the producers didn't even address it or add it in to the storyline. There are plenty of amazing boys all over this part of PA and Ohio that could have joined the team. STOP WITH THE CROSS OVERS. No one likes it.

 

I thought the boys were individually amazing. But their dance was disjointed. Abby was right, there wasn't a lot of unison that was WOW worthy. The separate pieces were great but the puzzle as a whole was lackluster.

 

Sidebar...

Would Kendall and Chloe even be in the same age group? Isn't Kendall 9 and Chloe 12? I'm going to check this out on Onstage's website...it would really shock me if they were against each other for overalls. But as a dance teacher, I notice this kind of stuff all the time and always fact check...basically I'm a giant nerd. ;)

 

I thought it was weird that Chloe and Christy stormed out. Yes. Chloe dropped her hat. Did Christy expect Abby to not say anything? Come on. I know it isn't a big deal, really, but after being around Abby for so many years...Chloe should have apologized as soon as Abby came in and then moved on. Beat her to the punch.

 

Hinds sight is 20-20, I guess! Christy, I'd have stormed out months ago, so hey...good for you!

 

Next week looks like 6 times the amount of crazy...

 

#teampaige <3 p="">

 

 



Ballet Up to the Barre 3

 

Here goes week 3...

 

 

 

Oh Abby. Abby Abby Abby.

 

I'm curious about a lot from this episode but the number 1 question in my mind is who is telling Abby that this much crazy sells? A little crazy is good TV. A little extra crazy getes the buzz going and attracts viewers. This particular  brand of crazy turns people off.

 

There's been an evolution in Abby's nutiness since season 1. In season 1, she was tough. Insulting, but not horrific. She was not nice to the kids but it wasn't anything anyone hasn't seen before. We all know a coach or teacher who talks down to kids, insults them and just isn't a nice person.

That was the beauty of season 1. The GIRLS and the MOMS were spotlighted in good ways, we saw their normal lives and the dances were great!

 

Season 2, Abby got crazier and crazier as it went on but still, not unbearable. I'm sure she was amping it up because she's loving the idea of being the meanest, most notorious, infamous dance teacher ever. Great, Ab. If that's what you want your claim to fame to be, hey more power to you.

 

SEASON THREE however, is Abby's giant ego trip. She disgusts me.I fast forwarded parts last night when she was laying in to Chloe. I just couldn't deal with it.

 

Abby. Reality check. Dance Moms is as big as it is becuase of the girls. They are the rare combination of innocence, talent, maturity yet immaturity in a good way, good chemistry and the "it factor." The  moms bring enough drama. Stop creating siutations to make it so "extreme" all the time.

 

 

Oops. Soap box again this week.

 

Geez. I had really planned to do recaps of this season but I get SO ANGRY watching that I miss a lot of the things I would typically talk about...

 

 

Let's talk about the pyramid.

 

I don't hate the straight line with one girl on top. I think it's fine, actually. Everyone is even with one girl being featured. What's wrong with that? Abby acted like it was horrid, but I think it's better than the pyramid. It's a lot less divisive and puts almost everyone on equal ground. That just seems fair.

 

I also didn't have a problem with Sophia being on the top. She was the only one there last week so sure, naturally she should be up there in this situation. I still don't like it that she is there, even though she's amazing. It's comes off way too concocted. Yuck.

 

 

Solos...Sophia and Chloe's solos are featured.

 

Sidebar...I firmly believe (because a little Dance Mom bird told me...) that many of the girls do solos more often than shown on the show. These are safety net solos in case the main storylines they are going for don't pan out.

 

 

Sophia's solo was beautiful...and filled with turns. 1000000 turns. That girl turns like a top but. There has to be more to dance than turns. It can't all just be turn turn turn turn leap run run run kick turn turn. Let's see her tell a story the way Chloe or Maddie does.

 

 

Chloe's solo was beautiful! I think they editted it in a way that showed off the worst of her bobbles. Every dancer bobbles here or there but this was definitely done to show each of Chlo's little mistakes. Ho hum.

 

Chloe, you are gorgeous. What that judge said about you is SO TRUE. You are a humble, genuine dancer. Don't you ever  lose that quality or I will drive down to Pgh and pluck you straight out of the ALDC and bring you back to Studio K. ;) Your heart shows when you dance and honey, that's so much more important than any trophy or plaque.

 

It literally broke my heart when Chloe wa thankful that she got third instead of second. She didn't want Abby in her face about being the first loser. Oh Chloe. You are not a loser.

 

Also...did Sophia bring her own costumes or are they doubling the budget for her's? Because they are stunning but NOT typical DM solo costumes...they are way too ornate. Yet another manufactured situation...ugh.

 

The group dance was...interesting.

 

The red carpet idea was so cute but it's straight up unfair to the girls to never practice with the prop. Get a clue, producers. These are KIDS with careers ahead of them. Stop making them look bad!

 

It was interesting how it was editted to make it seem like Kelly wanted Mackenzie out of the group. According to twitter, Kelly told Abby to take Brooke out and Melissa told Abby to take Mackenzie out...

 

Fascinating stuff, isn't it?

 

Moral of this week's episode?

Don't believe everything you see, for it was probably editted that way.

 

 

P.S. Christi...you are a wonderful mom. You are doing what you think is best. Chloe clearly knows how loved she is. The show gives her exposure. Your meet and greets teach her poise, people skills, graciousness and public speaking. Keep doing what you are doing. xoxo



Things I Think My Toddler Is Thinking

Yesterday, a hilarious blog post came up on my FB newsfeed: 46 Reasons My 3 Year Old Might Be Freaking Out by Jason Good. (see it here!) I almost peed my pants laughing...it was spot on about Trace. He freaks over nothing...Jason Good has some really great and funny posts on his blog. I wasted a good 45 minutes reading more this morning. He puts in to words exactly how I feel about my toddler. In addition to 46 Reasons, I also recommend 3 Minutes in my Toddler's Head. Moms and Dads, prepare for a laugh. :)

Inspire by Jason Good's take on his toddlers actions, I thought today I'd put down in a post some things I think must go through my children's mind:

Rory slipped on the ice this morning. Her solution to the small scrape?
"I need to call Daddy. He needs to put cream on it and rub it and wrap it in my blankey. You can't do it Mommy, only Daddy."
I translate this to: If I ask for Daddy, Mommy will call him and he will bring me some sort of candy or treat after work and then he'll baby my hand and give me a thousand kisses and 110 bandaids, even one for my baby doll and he'll let me snuggle on the couch and watch tv all night. Mommy will tell me to stop crying...DADDDDDDDDY!"

Trace, while waiting for Rory to come out of preschool today, was sobbing hysterically for no reason, on top volume, for 15 minutes:
If I cry long enough, she'll get out the M&Ms, I know it...keep it up...deep breath...waaaaaaaah...stop for 2 seconds, let her think your done...here goes...waaaaaaah! Come on Mom...get out those M&Ms wait what? You don't have any candy? Screw you woman. WAAAAAAHHHH! At least give me your phone, I can do serious damage on that sucker.

Trace, while sobbing in the midde of the night for no reason (do you sense a theme here?)...
I hear: MOM. MOM. MOM. MOM.
What he's really saying:
 I know you hear me, Woman. Get your butt out of bed and check on me...I could be bleeding out my eyeballs and you would never know. I could be battling the closet monster. I could just be a little chilly or my blankets are wrong or I left my Jake doll in the living room or my light up pillow stopped working or my CD isn't playing or my hair is itchy or I'm faking sick to get M&Ms for taking Tylenol or I just miss your face (that's not it, by the way) or I want to see how loud I have to scream to wake up Rory or I want to play Russian Roulette with whether or not you will be cranky or normal when you come in...oh crap. You sent Dad.

Rory doesn't nap anymore but she does go in her room for quiet time every day. During quiet time, she gets EVERY toy she owns out and throws it all over her room. (In all honesty, she does get a lot of toys out and make a huge mess but it's an honest mess. She really is playing, not just being messy :))
La La LA LA LA LAAA LAAAA LAAAAA LAAAAAAAAA I love to sing I love music I love flowers I love sugar is that a butterfly no a seagull no an elephant an elephant lives in the zoo zoos have animals I should get out all my stuffed animals (pick pick pick) Got a bunch (throw in the air) That was awesome. Let's try it with Barbies...now tea cups...oh dear that one broke...LA LA LA LAAAAAAAAAAAA I love my grandma la la la la Grandma gives me Jell-o ho hum he hum let's smash something...

Ever wonder what goes through your kid's mind? Let me know!

Ballet Up to the Barre 2

 

Time for some serious crazy...oh Abby...

 

 

Does anyone else watch Buheads? (Mondays, ABCFamily It's fantastic. It's written by Amy Sherman-Paladino, aka the creator of Gilmore Girls! It's basically GG 2.0, even a lot of the same actors. Good stuff.) Well this week, Fanny referenced Abby like this:

 

"If they (the parents) don't like it, they can take their daughter to the enormous woman with the ridiculous pyramid who's students have knock knees and post traumatic stress."

 

Best one line summary of Abby EVER! ;)

 

This week's episode was...not my favorite.

 

I don't subscribe to the idea that reality tv is  "real," of course. If you do, well I've got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you. I understand that situations are manufactured by producers. The reactions of the moms are real, but certainly the storylines are guided and nudged by the producers.

 

This whole Abby replaces the entire team thing? Gimme a break.

 

Some reasons I didn't like this episode:

 

1. There's no way in heck that Sophia Lucia could just drop everything that kid has going on and fly to Pittsburgh. She's super busy and constantly working. Her arrival and departure date from the ALDC had to be set up in advance. Give me a break. I love Sophia, I think she's amazing. I have watched her since that first time she was on Ellen, doing pirouettes. That kind of kid doesn't just show up at the ALDC. Her agent set it up.

Which is fine. I love to watch her dance, so I liked it a lot but...stop trying to make it seem like Abby just called an old pal. There had to be a better way to incorporate that storyline.

 

2. I didn't like Yvette on Abby's Ultimate Dance Comp and I don't like her cameo on ALDC. Is this a theme this season? Running in to Abby's Ultimate kids all over the place? Because I'm pretty sure a little Twitter bird told me Zach from Abby's Ultimate works with Candy Apples for a while and runs in to ALDC at competition...

I hope the producers realize people are gullible but they aren't totally stupid...people will get bored with over-reaching story lines. Don't jump the shark, Lifetime.

 

3. It really really annoyed me that these new dancers were okay coming in on a Wednesday and competiting on Saturday and letting Abby take all the credit. First of all, for Sophia Lucia to call herself an ALDC dancer is assinine. That child is impecably trained and that didn't come from 2 days with Abby. Give me a break. If I was her teachers in LA, I'd b a little miffed...give credit where credit is due. Say she is performing with or a special guest of...This probably only annoyed me because as a dance teacher, I've had this happen. It's obnoxious. Teaching dance is crazy hard and well ugh. I'll get off this soapbox before I begin preaching.

 

4. The new moms...hmmm...manufactured crazy. Sorry, they are way too nice to try and be cray-cray like my fave Kelly. ;)

 

I'm not going to review the solos or group. I didn't really care. Of course, Sophia's solo was perfection. The group was blah. Yvette's group was cute but...whatever. Ugh.

 

To sum it up? I'm  disappointed in this episode. I thought the original girls were cute in their performance. It was nice to see them happy while dancing for once.

Lifetime, pull it back. Get back to closer to what the original season was: more dancing and "natural" situations. That's what people like.

 

Almost there...

Source: hypable.com via Tessa on Pinterest

(via pinterest. source sited on graphic)

It's a crazy busy Monday here. Physical therapy, grocery shopping, work, first day of my cleaning challenge...pushing through because it means I'm one day closer to some relaxation and warm temps!
Wooo!

Oh hey...it's your birthday!

It's my birthday! Woohoo! I'm officially 28. I don't get too hung up on age, it doesn't really phase me. I'm happy to be older. 20-26 was straight up INSANE. I started a business, met Dave, got engaged, bought a house, got married, had 2 kids...yikes. Being older is very appealing. It means I'm getting the hang of this crazy life, inevitably. :)


So...in honor of my birthday, I thought I'd let you know a little bit more about me! I'm sponsoring Neely this month (shout out! www.acompletewasteofmakeup.com) She's my fave, for real. She was the first blog friend turned real life friend! I'm so glad I blog. I actually have girlfriends now...you know who you are. ;) AAAAND one who lives in Pittsburgh  (Heeey Cari!) and we're going to meet up soon. (meet you at the outlets?!  :))

Whoa baby. I'm typing this while drinking a Hurricane. Excuse the rambles. :)

So who is this Miss Kate?

Well let me show you...

This is me! My name is Kate.

 

 

I'm married to DAVE! Aka Gravey. He's my best friend. I love his green eyes, crazy curly hair and the way he makes our kids laugh. He's the best.
 

 

 

I am Mama to two kiddos...

 

 

Rory is 3.5

 

 

Trace is 2

 

They are 17 months apart. And no, I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing it like that...unless you want to lose your mind for a year straight.

 

 

 

I live here...in the forest! We have about 3 feet of snow now, though.


I'm a dance teacher. I teach kids to do crazy things like...

 

and

 

 

 

 

 

I'm a huge fan of a lot of things...but mainly Gilmore Girls (my daughter is named Rory...), DANCE MOMS and Disney.

 

 

Oh yeah, that's me and Brooke Hyland. She, Paige and Kelly spent the day at my studio. :)

 

 

 

That's me in a nutshell...I also have depression and anxiety. I'm an open book about it, so if you have any issues or questions...ask me! I'll help you find the best help for you!

 

Want to connect?

 

Find me here!

 

Twitter: @567k8

 

Pinterest: pinterest.com/567kate

 

Instagram: 567kate