Back to the Grind

Okay I've been a bad blogger, but I promise to try to be better. I have plenty of material. That's not the problem, the problem is I'm just running around crazy and my girls have sooo much homework. This is the third week of full school for them and I swear they each have at least one test everyday. They feel stressed and so do I. My 9 year old forgot some of her multiplication facts over the summer so I am trying to get her to review everyday, but she has so much other work to do she fights me. It's aggravating, but hey she's a tween. It's only going to get worse.

My 13 year old is quite the joiner this year. She volunteered to go in early every morning and help with the arrival of the nursery school kids. She tells me they cry and scream and try to escape. Some of them have elaborate plans. I find this all very amusing. She's gotten very attached to them in a short time and enjoys doing this. She has also joined the Theater Club, Social Studies Club and Science club. It's a busy schedule, but she seems to be doing okay so far. She's also in the process of applying to private high school's in the area. This is very stressful, but the public school in the city we live in is not an option. She currently goes to a small Catholic school and is hoping to continue to go to a small Catholic High School. She studies very hard and I hope she gets into the one she wants to attend. Tonight we will attend a high school fair so she can ask some more questions. We'll be visiting all the school she likes. It's going to be a busy fall.

Well I hope to post more about my crazy life. The girls really do keep me hopping.

Charlie St. Cloud

I know I haven't posted in awhile. No excuse I guess I was a little burnt out. Well moving on.

I took my 13 year old to see Charlie St. Cloud and truth be told I wanted to see this movie more than she did. There was something about the trailer that called out to me. Sounds silly I know, but I really couldn't get this movie out of my head. So we went to the early show at the theater near us. My parents also came. I thought my mother would like it. Well all I can say is what a great movie. It really got to me. I cried and so did my mother.

If you're not aware of this movie I really don't want to spoil it for you, but the story is about two brothers and learning to let go and move on even though it's hard. It was wonderfully presented. The acting was wonderful. Zac Efron has really grown up since High School Musical. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him. The scenery of the movie was also fabulous. The story is based on a book though I didn't read it first I am very interested in checking it out now.

If you haven't checked this movie out yet I urge you to go. If really was wonderful and it's hard to say that about movies lately.

Went To See Eclipse!

I took my 13 year old and her friend to see Eclipse. I honestly was looking forward to it. I enjoyed the books. The movies so far have been good of course the book is always better in any book to movie adaption. I have to say Eclipse was the best of the movies so far. It had more romance and action than the other 2 and it also showed more of the Cullens especially Jasper and Rosalie. I found Jasper's role in the movie to be awesome I wish there was even more. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but they show flashbacks of Jasper as well as Rosalie and they were fabulous.

My daughter, her friend and I are now officially Team Jasper. Forget about Edward and Jacob. Jasper is just adorable especially with Alice. My daughter has also had it with Bella. She doesn't understand why everyone is so into her. My daughter thinks she's boring. She still loves Edward, but Jasper has won her over. We can only hope that Stephanie Myers writes more especially about Jasper and Alice. I think that would be a much more interesting story.

I really enjoyed the movie though my daughter was a little annoyed with the Bella, Edward and Jacob love triangle. She thought it was stupid. I do have to say I wish it ended here because I have no idea how they're going to bring Breaking Dawn to the screen and honestly I'm not sure I want to see it. It was definitely my least favorite book of the series. I thought it had way too much Jacob and at that point in the story I thought we were done with him, but no he's just like an itch you can't scratch. I guess I'll find out though because I have to see how it all ends in the movies that is.

Forth of July Story

I hope everyone had a great forth of July. We had a great day. We went to the Red Sox game. It was a challenge driving into Boston as many of the roads were closed. My husband did it with little help from the navigation device. If the stupid thing said it was recalculating one more time I was going to loose it.

We made it in and ate at Boston Beer Works. We had to wait like 45 minutes, but we ate quick and headed into the part. It was pretty awesome. They drop the big flag over the Green Monster and there was a fly over. The kids loved it. I had them dressed in their Red Sox shirts and some festive ribbons in their hair. They were so happy to be there the only problem was it was really hot. When we got to our seats we were happy to find that we were in the shade at least for a little while. That sun line kept creeping its way toward us. It finally hit us half way through the game. We were prepared with our hats and sunblock so no big deal. We got the girls and ourselves drinks and the little one got a frozen lemonade. Oh and we had some popcorn.

We sang all Sweet Caroline and Take Me Out to the Ballgame. The girls loved it. Then a really entertaining thing happened. It was right before the 9th inning and they were playing Mylie Cyrus's song Party in the USA. Well my little one was getting a little board so I started singing and dancing with her in our seats. Someone spotted us and we ended up on the big screen. My daughter was so excited and I was a little embarrassed. It was the best part of her day. All in all it was a great day the only bad part was the Sox lost. It was disappointing, but we were happy to be there. We got some ice cream on the way home and then collapsed when we got there. It was a long, fun day that the girls and I will always remember.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief on DVD

This week is a week my girls have been looking forward to since they first saw Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief in the theaters. This is the week it came out on video. They loved the movie and to be honest so did I. After my 9 year old saw it she wanted to read the book right away. I think any movie that encourages reading is a good thing. I have been meaning to read the books as well.

Anyway the movie came out on DVD and Blu-ray this week. I picked it up on Blu-ray on Tuesday. My daughter went to watch it with her cousin on Tuesday and they had a great time. Now since we got the movie they have both watched it about 4 times. They love it. When I finally had time to watch it last night they sat down with me and watched it again. Truly a great movie that I hope will be the first of many Percy Jackson movies. It is just such a fun movie that if you didn't get a chance to see in the theaters I highly recommend you give it a try now. You won't be disappointed.

Unnatural History

My girls particularly my 9 year old is in love with this new show, Unnatural History. If you don't regularly watch The Cartoon Network then you probably wouldn't know what this show is and let me tell you it is very entertaining. In fact it's a show that my whole family has sat down and watched together the past 2 weeks and we are looking forward to this weeks episode or adventure.

The show centers around a teen boy named Henry who has grown up all around the world and learning exceptional skills along the way. His parents think it's time for him to go home. They send him to live with his uncle and his cousin Jasper. He will attend a school that is part of a museum. There he works in a room where there are all kinds of historical artifacts that need to be logged and he finds all kinds of things. Adventures are abound and what I really love is they mix in real historical information in the show. So while watching the show my kids are being entertained by the action and there is quite a bit and they also learn about some interesting things from history. I love history as does my husband and my oldest daughter now my youngest is getting interested. I say bravo to The Cartoon Network for airing a show like this. My girls don't usually watch The Cartoon Network. Well except for Total Drama Island/Action/World Tour, but now they will be tuning in every Sunday night at 8:00pm. If you haven't checked the show out you should it really is a fun show.

We Got a New Kitten Today!

Sorry I haven't been posting as much. It's just crazy with summer here and the kids home everyday not to mention fighting my daughter for use of the computer.

Today was a funny kind of day. My mother took my older daughter out with her to the store just to get her off the couch. She's been in a little rut since getting out of school. Anyway my mom asked her if there was anything she'd like and my daughter replied that she wanted a kitten or a dog since the dog we have is basically my dog. She follows me everywhere and sleeps with me. My daughter tries every night to get her to sleep with her and the dog jumps off her bed and barks at the door. Well my mother said she'd have to ask me first. She called and I had been cleaning the basement today and found evidence of mice so a cat sounded pretty good to me. I called my husband and he had no issues with it so my mom took her to the MSPCA. She had no problem finding an adorable little kitten to adopt. My mom called and said I needed to come down so they could see the owner of the home. I did and now we have an adorable little kitten named Soxs. Named after my Red Sox. I always wanted a cat named Soxs. There were conditions with the adoption of the cat. first off my daughter is in charge of the kitty litter. Second she has to promise not to sit on the couch all day. It drives me crazy.

We are very happy with our new edition, but I'm a little concerned about the dog. My dog thinks she rules the house and well she does. They told us to keep them separated for at least a week because Soxs was just neutered. We don;'t want any fighting. Then we have to gradually introduce them. Fingers crossed this goes well.

Happy Father's Day

I wish every dad out there a very Happy Father's day. My Step Dad is at the beach today and I hope he has a very relaxing day just chilling out. He needs to relax. I find there is no better place to do this than at the beach.

Now my husband wants to go out for brunch so that's what we are going to do. He has his heart set on French Toast with strawberries and whip cream. Then he wants to go check out the Ipads. It's all about him today. Anyway we are off. Have a great day!

Boston Red Sox Silly Bandz

I just came back with my daughter from a birthday/pool party. She had the best time and had brand new silly bandz all over her wrist. I just put her in the shower and I was checking out the silly bandz and low and behold they are Boston Red Sox Silly Bandz and all I have to say is how cool is that. I love them. I need a package of my own to show the love to my favorite team which has climbed it's way out of the basement.

My daughter didn't realized they were Red Sox symbols until I told her and now she is so excited. We are going to a game on the Fourth of July and I know she will be sporting these bandz proudly and maybe I will be as well. Why not? I'm a hip mom. I know what's cool

Last Day Of School Silliness

Today was the last day of school for my girls. Now it's on to summer vacation. My 13 year old who I need to drag out of bed every morning was up way before me. She said she woke up at 6:45. This child never wakes up early. I asked what was wrong and her reply was she was just so excited. Today was the last day of school so she was officially an eighth grader. I just started laughing. It figures she would wake up on time on the last day of school.

They always have a mass on the last day of school and then we get to pick them up from their classrooms. When I arrived to get my 9 year old she had to hug all her friends like she would never see them again. Meanwhile we have a play date tomorrow with 2 of them. Seriously funny. The same goes for the older one. I got to her class and all the kids were hugging each other and some of them were crying. I personally never cried on the last day of school ever. I was always happy to be done for the summer. I think they are as well they're just at that over dramatic age. They cry over everything.

I headed home with my girls and 2 more 13 year olds. Yes I am crazy. Another one came a little while after. I got them some pizza and they watched a couple movies and just got really silly. They were making up silly dances and just screaming at the top of their lungs for no reason and texting their friends who couldn't come. They all had a really great time and when their parents came they all hugged each other goodbye even though they are all getting together tomorrow night. I'm telling you girls are just so silly.

Getting Excited For Eighth Grade

My 13 year old is dancing on air right now. She has finished her finals and is basically just wrapping up school. All her books have been returned and she has emptied her locker. They technically have two days left of school, but it's over let;s face it. The eighth graders graduated last week so since then my daughter thinks she's an eighth grader. This is such an exciting thing for her. The eighth graders do so many great things to celebrate. In fact she will need 4 to 5 nice dresses for all the different events she'll attend. It's enough to make me crazy. She can't wait to go dress shopping.

My mom thought she'd poke around the sale racks yesterday to see what she could find. We figured if we bought her a couple of her dresses this year and made sure they had a little room to grow it we be a great savings. Oh and not to mention the fact that the chances of someone having the same dress would be slim. We do like to be original.

Well my mom hit gold. She called me from the store and had found a beautiful black dress with spaghetti straps. She snatched it up at a fabulous price. When she was about to leave she noticed another cute dress. It was strapless, but very appropriate. My daughter will have to wear a shawl with both dresses. My mom snatched that one up to and she couldn't believe the deal she got.

My mom was so excited with her finds she drove over to my house. My daughter was so excited. She tried on both dresses. One would have to be taken in and the other had a little give so we should be good to go. She loved them both. When her father got home that night she tried them on for him and then twirled around saying I'm an eighth grader. It was so cute. Though it makes me a little sad. My little girl she growing up. Someone want to tell me how this happened and is there anyway to slow it down. I don't think I'm ready for this.

Beastly a Wonderful Fairy Tale

I have always been a sucker for any variation of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. I just can't get enough. I have no idea why. I went to see the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast at the theater 3 times while I was in college. I was completely enthralled with it. I guess there's something about falling in love with someone for who they really are inside with no regards to their appearance.

Well I stumbled upon a updated version of this wonderful tale in the book Beastly by Alex Finn. I was completely enraptured. A spoiled self-centered high school kid plays a trick on the wrong classmate and gets turned into a beast. Then he has to find someone to love him. It's a wonderful rendition and it is also going to be made into a movie starring Alex Pettyfer, Neil Patrick Harris and Vanessa Hudgens. I've seen a trailer and it looks wonderful. Though Vanessa Hudgens looks nothing like Lindy. It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to make her have red hair or to find a red head to play the character. Well I can over look it.

My daughter is interested in reading the book as well and as I've said numerous times if my daughter is interested in a book it's a good thing. A very good thing. This story is just so magical. I really enjoyed it. I look forward to the movie next March.

The A-Team A Really Fun Time

This past weekend I went to see the A-Team with my husband, 13 year old daughter and my step dad. I always loved the A-Team growing up. Who didn't love Mr. T? Honestly I didn't know what to expect with this movie, but I have to say it was hysterical. I laughed through most of it. The casting was perfect. The banter between all the characters was fabulous. I couldn't stop smiling from the memories of the old 80's TV show that I watched and loved. I would totally recommend this if you're looking for a comedy/action movie. It was very entertaining. Even my daughter who we just introduced to the old show loved it. She particularly loved Face played by Bradly Cooper. I have to concur there. He was great. I always had a fond spot for that character who was played by Dirk Benedict. Dirk Benedict also played Starbuck from the original Battlestar Galactica. He was one of my favorites when I was young. I loved the original Battlestar. I never got into the new one as they replaced my favorite character with a woman. I just couldn't let that go. I did give that show a chance, but it was just too dark for me.

Well I got off track there. Sorry about that. Anyway if you're a fan of the old A-Team give this one a chance. You won't be sorry. In fact I think you'll appreciate how great a job they did. Another movie I'll be picking up on DVD. It just made me laugh.

Just Another Fabulous Morning

Everything started as usual. I had to wake both the kids up. They only have a week left of school, but I'm pretty sure they already checked out. Today they both were able to not wear their uniforms and that always makes things so much fun.

My oldest just got a new shirt from Abercrombie and for whatever reason the shirts seem to be shorter from them now. She wanted to wear it and it was fine as long as she didn't lean over or reach up. I wasn't really thrilled with it, but she liked it and said she would keep pulling it down all day. This seemed like a pain to me, but it would be her embarrassment not mine when she flashed everyone her underwear. I was going to let it go.

Now when it was time to get in the car and go to school she went back to her room and when she emerged after I yelled several times up the stairs for her to move her butt she had a different shirt on. Her comment was "Are you happy." I told her it was fine that I thought she liked the other one. She said she did, but knew I didn't like it. She went off making me feel awful. I seriously don't need this yet I get it all the time. Thirteen year olds are so moody and impossible. It's honestly a daily struggle for me not to send her to her room until she graduates high school. Well here's hoping she comes home in a better mood.

The Glee Finale Rocked!

My daughter has been busy studying all week for finales, but a break was definitely in order to watch the season finale of Glee. Honestly I was just as excited. The club finally made it to Regionals were they have just learned that the evil Sue Sylvester is going to be one of the judges. They almost give up, but then they get inspired and they decide to do a medley of Journey songs including the first song they sang together, Don't stop Believing, and my personal favorite Faithfully. They totally rocked it. I loved them both. They also threw in Anyway you want it. It was fabulous. Of course the evil Vocal Adrenaline sang Bohemian Rhapsody. That is another of my favorite songs and I did like it, but honestly I enjoyed the Journey medley much more.

I won't tell you who won, but I will tell you the judges were Olivia Newton John, Josh Groban and as I've already said Sue Sylvester. It was funny how out of character they all seemed.

Now also in the episode there were some great moments between Finn and Rachel and there was the birth of Quinn and Puck's baby. I'll also say that I thought the editing of the episode was amazing. They should seriously win an award for it.

I am so sad the season is over. It will be hard to wait until September for new episodes. I'm just glad it got renewed. If you haven't checked out the show Give it a try this summer. They will be rerunning all the episodes. It's a great time to get on board with the show and become a Gleek like the rest of us.

Finals Week

My oldest daughter is in middle school now and her school gives finals at the end of the year. Personally I think it's a lot of stress and pressure at the end of the year that these kids don't need. Most of the schools in the area don't give them, but of course my daughter's school does.

What does this mean? Well basically it means we're going to have a stressed out lunatic on our hands for the week who would sooner yell at her sister and her oh so patient mother than to study for her exams. She's mentally done at this point. Summer has started in her eyes so it's a little bit of a fight to make sure she's ready for the tests. She has one everyday this week except for Friday and has the last one Monday. I just have to try to keep her focused until then. She's worked so hard all year I would hate for her to not do well this last semester simply because she's tired of school. That's just not acceptable. Well wish me luck it's going to be a fun week.

Backstage at the Dance Recital

Yesterday, I volunteered to watch some of the younger dancers for my daughters dance school. My daughter had her recital the day before. There were about 5 groups of dancers in this room. They ranged in age from 3 to 9. I was in charge of some 4 and 5 year olds.

First off most of the kids were adorable and well behaved. I brought a blanket for them to sit on, Barbies, My Little Pony and some color wonder coloring books. Crayons are not allowed. Most of the kids played and there were no issues. Of course with anything there has to be a few that act up. I had to speak to one of my 4 year olds because she was squeezing the life out of another girl. I asked her to stop and she said she wasn't doing anything. She was still squeezing the child as she said this. I moved the other child away from her, but continually this child kept trying to bother this other girl. I felt so bad for the sweet little one who just wanted to do her dance and go home. One of the older girls had a tie from a costume and thought it would be fun to wrap it around the younger ones. Seriously have no idea what that child was thinking. These kids were mostly good little troopers. Many of them were stuck back stage for a good 3 hours. They go out to dance, but that only last a couple minutes.

Personally I think all the parents of the little ones should come and get them at intermission and go home. These kids are just too little to be stuck back stage not allowed to eat anything and only having water to drink. In the end they were all hungry and tired and wanted to go home. The only thing they waited around for was to walk out for the finale and take a bow. I know parents want their kids to experience the whole thing, but give me a break. We had to hunt down one mother because the 3 year old kept crying. She would calm down and then cry again. It was so sad and completely unnecessary. Her mom came scooped her up and you could tell she felt bad. She took her right home. It was just a long day and she had enough and let me tell you I had enough by the end as well. I did many potty runs. I fixed headbands nonstop and retied tap shoes all day. When I got home I cracked open a bottle of wine and enjoyed a nice glass. It was good to be home.

My advice for moms who have recitals. Know your child. If you have one 5 and under check on them at intermission. Ask them if they want to stay. If they do great, but if not go home. Oh and send them with something to do and a sweater. The air conditioning was cranked and they were freezing in their costumes. Many of the older girls came over and let them borrow their stuff. I'm not sure I'll volunteer in that room next year, but you never know. I like to help and since I've already done it. I know what to do. I just have to have the wine chilling at home.

Recital Weekend

This is the weekend that I look forward to every year. I love watching my girls perform after they have practiced so hard all year. However it makes the week and weekend very stressful and busy. They each had a dress rehearsal earlier in the week. Of course they were on different days. That's just the way things work out.

Now my oldest daughter only takes ballet this ear and honestly she doesn't love dance. It's been a struggle to get her to class each week. She was really nervous today and that caused everything to be stressful this afternoon. She just wanted it to be over.

Her sister on the other hand was bouncing around the house. She loves dance and she had 3 routines to perform today. She totally cooperated with me.

I always have butterflies in my stomach because I want them to be happy and to do well. Well they rocked it. I was very impressed with both of them. Everything went great and they were both happy. Now my oldest has informed me she is not doing dance next year and that's okay with me. She can find something else to do. She finished out this year and I'm proud of her for that. She was actually in a class that was a higher level than she's at, but she did her best and I as I said I'm very proud of her. My little one smiled through everything and I can see her doing this for a long time.

When we came out of the recital there were ominous clouds so we ran to our car and made it just in time. The sky opened up and the winds came. It was quite scary. We pulled over and let it pass. When it lightened up we headed for home and had to dodge downed trees and other things to get home. When we got home I had to eat a sub my awesome husband got me and head for the next recital. My girls weren't in in, but I volunteered to sit with some younger dancers backstage. Well when I got back I was told there was no power and they were waiting to find out when it would come back on. Well 15 minutes after that they had to postpone the show till tomorrow. Bottom line my whole weekend is taken up by these recitals, but since it's for my kids and the dance studio that has been so great to my girls I don't mind. I'm just going to be really tired.

Prince of Persia:The Sands of Time Fine for Tweens

Saturday my family and I went to see Prince of Persia:The Sands of Time. First off I'm going to say that I loved it. It is a great summer movie. There is action, adventure and romance. All the things I love in a movie. This is definitely a great movie to see with the kids. There is a lot of fighting so that could be why there is a pg-13 rating. I'm sure that's why many didn't take their kids, but I saw no issue at all. My girls are 9 and 13 and there was nothing in the movie I had a problem with minus snakes being in it. I don't like snakes. They totally creep me out. They did attack our hero, but he killed them and all was well. It's action and adventure. It's kind of Pirates of the Caribbean in the dessert.

My oldest daughter and I loved the Prince. Jake Gellenhaal as Prince Dastan is most definitely easy on the eyes. He alone is worth seeing this movie. The action has a sort of video game quality that makes it fun. The special effects with the dagger are very cool. I only wish they would have used it more than they had. The romance is spot on. You really fall for the the idea of Prince Dastan and Princess Tamina. You really want to follow along with them on their exciting adventure.

All in all it was fun. If you're contemplating going to see this movie my advice is to run do not walk. You won't be sorry. I would go again and I am definitely going to be purchasing the DVD when it comes out and I really don't purchase many anymore. I only buy the ones I love and I loved this movie. I truly hope they will make a sequel. I want the adventure to continue. I need more Prince Dastan and so does my daughter. She left with a huge smile on her face and so did I.

Such a Busy Time of Year.

Memorial day weekend was just so busy I never had time to post. This week continues to be crazy as well. On the weekend we had a dance recital to attend for my nieces and all though one got sick right before the show. The poor thing, my other niece totally rocked it. We also went to the movies and out to dinner on Saturday. Sunday we went to the beach and on Sunday well I had to do the food shopping and my daughter needed my computer all day to work on a a study guide for her literature final. It was just busy.

Now Tuesday was a insane. My 9 year old had a special field trip that I attended. I had a group of 3 girls in my group and they swam, played mini-golf and played on a fun playground. They had a great time, but it was hot and they got tired. Right after the field trip I had to bring her to her dance dress rehearsal. I was a volunteer at this as well. My daughter has 3 costumes and the hair is different depending on the costume. I helped all the kids change and did many buns. I'm getting rather good at doing a ballet bun. The kids again were great, but it was a long day. We didn't finish till around 7:30PM. When I got home I gave her a shower and put her to bed. Luckily she had no homework. When she went to bed I sat on the couch and couldn't move.

Today My 13 year old had her field trip at the same place. The older ones are easier, but they can get goofy or should I say silly. They had a great time too, but I'm tired and now my 13 year old needs to study for 2 finals she has tomorrow. I'm telling you this craziness never ends. You can stick a fork in me because I am so done.

May Procession

Today my girls school had their annual May Procession. This is such a wonderful and beautiful ceremony. They have the second grades dress in their first communion dresses and the eighth graders dress to the nines and lead the service. An eighth grader is chosen as the May Queen and places a crown made of flowers on a statue of Mary. She has to wear a white dress, but the other eighth graders wear very fancy dresses. My oldest has informed me she does not want to be the May Queen because she wants to wear a beautiful teal dress.

It's always a special day and the second graders were so cute. They brought flowers for Mary. I love seeing them all dressed up. When the May Procession arrives it reminds me how close it is till the end of the year. The girls have less than 2 weeks left of school. Time really does fly and next year my daughter will be an eighth grader and will leave the school she's been in since nursery school. Time really does fly.

Tye-Die Day

My 9 year old will go on a really fun field trip next year to a local place that has a pool and mini-golf course. I'm one of the chaperons as I like to be there when a pool is involved. Grades 1-4 go one day and grades 5-7 go the next. I'm insane because I'm signed up to go both days. I'll be ready to be committed by the end of Wednesday.

Each grade wears a different colored shirt so it's easy to keep track of them and there are different stations that they do throughout the day so we always know where everyone should be. Since my daughter is in the third grade she gets to wear a tie-died shirt that they make. This is a tradition that really gets the kids excited about next week.

I also volunteered to help with the tie-dying. Yes, I'm crazy, but I think we already covered that. The kids were so excited and they all picked the style that they wanted and we helped them put the elastics on the shirts and then we headed outside for the messy part. There were 3 colors to use: indigo, teal and purple. These colors work great together and the kids were happy with them. They took turns and we helped them dip the t-shirts in the tubs of dye. We had gloves to keep our hands from getting stained. Of course there is a very rambunctious (that's the nicest word I can use) child in my daughters class that decided to lift his soaking wet dye-died shirt over my head. Yea, oh happy day I now had blue dye on my forehead. Lucky me. Best part he didn't even say he was sorry. Oh well at least I wore old clothes. Seriously for the rest of the afternoon everyone kept asking me how I got the dye on my forehead. I just smiled and told them. The sad thing was no one was surprised who did it.

When the shirts were done we hung them on the playground fence and the kids admired their work and the teachers took many pictures. They are so excited to wear them next week. I am too because I made one too so I could match. Oh it will be a fun time.

Update on Caroline

Thank you all so much for the prayers for little Caroline. Her family truly appreciated it. It has been a very hard few days for them and I'm sorry I was unable to post yesterday with an update.

The first night was truly difficult. The surgery went very well and they were able to get half the tumor. Everything seemed to be okay, but Caroline was unresponsive and they gave her a CT scan and again everything looked okay. Thank God in the morning she opened her eyes a little and squeezed her mothers hand. The doctors have told them that this can sometimes happen with children. Her mom told us she continues to be sleepy, but is more responsive. They have a long hard recovery ahead and I just hope and pray that she gets better quickly. This child is an angel and doesn't deserve any of this. Thanks again for all your prayers and wishes.

Prayers For Caroline

Today my 9 year old daughter's friend and classmate is having brain surgery. They are trying to remove a tumor that they were told is inoperable. It is very close to the optic nerve. They have already exhausted all other options and Caroline's eyesight is getting worse. The tumor is growing.

This child is a beautiful little girl who wouldn't hurt a fly. She is a talented little artist and the nicest girl you would ever meet. Her mom is fabulous and dad was just given a 2 week fur-low from serving in Iraq so he could be here for the surgery. Thank goodness. Caroline is so happy to have her dad home.

My daughter is very worried for her friend and so am I. She is so little and fragile. So today all my thoughts and prayers are with Caroline and her family for a speedy and easy recover. I hope you will join me in praying for this little munchkin.

My 9 Year Old Loved Shrek the Final Chapter

My daughter was invited to a birthday party at the local movie theater to see Shrek. I was just as happy as she was about this because it meant that I didn't have to sit through another Shrek movie. I'll be honest, I've had enough of Shrek. The first one was great the second one okay, but really I think that was fine. Anyway, my daughter has been dying to see this so this party saved me. I would have taken her otherwise.

The party was at a place called Chunkeys that allows you to eat food at a table while you watch the movie. It's a popular place for these parties and the girl the party was for is a good friend of my daughters. She had the best time. She thought the movie was really funny. She especially loved the ending. I really think she loved being with her friends while she watched. That always makes things more fun. She gives two thumbs up to Shrek the Final Chapter.

Early Signs of Bullying

I guess it doesn't matter how old your child is they're going to have to deal with bullying. My youngest is only 9 and yesterday at school I think she was bullied. She was a little upset when I came to pick her up then one of her friends came over looking for a play date. My daughter jumped at the chance so her friend came home with us. On the ride home she told me that at lunch 2 girls dared her not to talk and if she did they said they would pull her hair. I was so angry. Who do these kids think they are? I told my daughter and her friend to stay away from these girls and that was not a nice thing to do. I told them they needed to tell a teacher if something like this happens again.

I asked my daughter if she wanted me to talk to her teacher she said no. She could stick up for herself. I told her that I needed to speak to her teacher because it just wasn't right. I don't want those girls to start picking on someone else. What makes kids act this way? It makes me crazy. Luckily my daughter has many good friends who would never treat her like that.

Checking Out High Schools

My daughter is going to be in 8th grade next year and that means we're going to need to start looking at private high schools in the area. She currently attends a Catholic school because we live in a city that does not have a great school system. When we moved here we made the decision to send our kids to private school. Yes, it's a lot more money, but they're our kids and they're worth it.

Yesterday I drove my daughter and some of her friends to my old high school. They offered all the 7th grade girls a special shadow day to come check out the school. It felt very strange driving up to my old school with my daughter. I felt so old and not entirely sure I want her to go there. I didn't really like high school all that much. I do want her to see everything out there so she can make her best decision though and I didn't think she would like it that much. It's all an all girls school and she's told me she wanted to attend a coed high school.

What do I know though? The girls all came out so happy and excited. They loved the school. Everyone was so nice and the girls were nice. They let them do experiments in the Chem lab and they got to work on a program in the computer lab. Oh and they have a school store and every Tuesday is Dunkin Donuts day. Oh they won them all over. I was so surprised she liked it so much. Anyway it's the first of many schools she has to check out. I have a feeling she's going to feel that way about all of them. Oh I have the biggest headache just thinking about high school. Both the choice and the fact that she'll soon be going. Oh what a nightmare.

Rediscovering Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Well the day finally came when I told my 13 year old that yes she could watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My daughter is a scifi freek and has been eyeballing this show for a while, but I didn't think she was ready. Now that she is so into vampire movies and shows I thought she could handle it. OF course she's not allowed to watch it with her sister in the room. She's not ready to watch it yet. My youngest is afraid of vampires especially the ones on Buffy because well they actually look like vampires unlike the ones you see in Twilight.

My 13 year old is completely hooked and every chance she gets she's loading up an episode through Netflix. She's driving us all crazy. Granted I think it's my own fault. Buffy first aired on TV in 1997. This is the same year she was born. I remember nursing her while I watched the show. She fell asleep to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The good thing is it's a good show and I really don't mind watching it again, but it did last 7 seasons. That's a lot of episodes and then of course she's just discovered that her favorite character, Angel had his own series that lasted 5 seasons. I think it's going to be a very vampire enriched summer.

Sinus Infection

My 13 year old has allergies and for some reason I don't know why, but it's a horrible year for anyone who suffers from allergies. I know I've had a tuff time as well, but I keep on chugging. Mom's don't get sick or rather they don't have time to be sick.

Anyway enough was enough this morning. She's been coughing and blowing her nose constantly so it was to the doctors with her this morning. Sure enough the doctor said she had a sinus infection. That means antibiotics for her and hopefully she'll be feeling better soon. Now she's not contagious so the doctor said she could go to school. She really didn't want me to take her, but not because she was sick. It was more because she didn't want to attend the Chastity class they were having in school.

She pouted the whole way to school and made me feel like a horrible mom. I might have let her stay home if she didn't have a big test this afternoon. It's such a pain for her to make them up. It's just easier for her to go in and take it. When we got to the school she got all nervous about walking into the cafeteria where all her classmates were having the chastity class. They told me I could walk her down so I did. Her homeroom teacher was in the back of the room so we went right to her. Meanwhile my daughters awesome best friend is waving at her because she saved her a seat. Her teacher told her to go sit with her buddy. She seemed to relax and I headed out after briefly telling her teacher where she was. She told me her poor daughter has a sinus infection as well only she let it go too long and she is very sick with a fever of 103. I'm glad I took mine to the doctor this morning. I only hope she's still not mad at me for making her go to school. Oh well I'm always in the dog house for something.

Birthday Party at American Girl

Today my daughter's friend had her birthday party at American Girl. We were to meet at their school and be picked up by a limo. The American Girl store is about 45 minutes away so the mother thought this was the best solution. My daughter was so excited to be picked up by a limo. I was asked by the mom to ride in one of the limos as she had to get 2 to fit everyone. She wanted to just get one big one, but it is a very busy time of year for limos.

I didn't mind going because I was planning to follow the limo anyway so I could help my daughter with the shopping. The girls were so cute in the limo. Many of them had never driven in one before and they were so excited. They wanted to play with all the buttons and check everything out. They all wanted to have a drink of the water that was in the cooler. It was really fun to watch. In fact that could have been the end of the party and they would have been fine with that.

We arrived a little later than planned at American Girl place because he other limo needed to make a bathroom stop. Anyway when we arrived we went up to the Bistro and it's all just so cute. They had a table waiting for the birthday party and each girl got a special seat for the dolls to sit in. They loved it. They had a good menu and all the girls seemed to like the food. We did the cake and then it was on to the shopping. They have the cutest things. My daughter was in heaven. She had been to the store before and she had one of her dolls with her, Lani. I had a group of girls I was in charge of and I helped them find what they wanted and then I helped my daughter who had been saving her money. She kind of knew what she wanted. She wanted Lani's nightgown and one other outfit. She ended up with a really cute bathing suit. All the girls were really great with finding what they wanted and I would have to say very well behaved. The listened well which is always good when you take them to a place like that.

On the way home the girls switched around the limo they drove in so everyone could have a turn with the birthday girl. My daughter went in the other limo and got to sit next to the birthday girl who is one of her best friends. Anyway the new group in the limo was a little crazier. It was funny to see all the different personalities. Anyway, I'm home now and I'm exhausted, but my daughter couldn't stop talking about the great time she had. It really is good to be a kid.

Birthday Party at

Long Week

What a long week and it's really not even over yet. My 13 year old is at her last dance of the year and I have to go pick her up at 10. I also have to hope she gets asked to dance. She said she didn't care today, but I know she has a crush on one boy and is really hoping he asks her. Fingers crossed on that one.

Anyway I have just been running around all week and all I really want is to crawl into my bed and sleep in tomorrow morning. This time of year there just seems to be so many things going on. We have a birthday party and a First Communion this weekend. My girls also have a ton of homework. Why is it teachers pile it on this time of year? The kids are so done. They don't want to be doing all this stuff. They want to be out enjoying the good weather. I know I'm sick of proof reading and double checking things. Well I guess a couple more weeks and it's over till September. Thank goodness. Okay well I'm off to get my teen. Hope she had a great time.

Chastity Class for My Middle Schooler

Last night I attended an informational meeting for a course my daughter will have next week in school. She's in seventh grade and attends a Catholic school so every year at this time they teach a Chastity course to the seventh graders. She is so mad. She doesn't want to go. She's afraid that the boys will make snide comments. I wasn't sure about it either than I went to the meeting.

I'm glad they had an informational meeting though it was sad to see that there were only a handful of parents there. Granted I'm sure some of them couldn't make it, but I think most couldn't be bothered and to be fair I didn't want to go either. Well I was glad I did so I know what's going to happen. They are going to basically have the kids split up into groups. Same sex only groups I might add so they'll all be comfortable. This made me feel better as this is my daughters biggest concern. They really aren't going to be talking about sex either. They are going to be mentioning it, but basically teaching them to have respect for their bodies and for others. They will teach about the importance of love and what sex is really all about. They will mention some of the other issues such as pornography and sexting. I think it's important for the kids to learn what the real meaning of sex is and that it's really making love and should be a special act between two people in love and married.

I don't know how much she'll get out of it. The woman who is running it really seemed to know what she was talking about and can get on the kids level with them.

Iron Man 2 Worth the Trip

First off let me just say. I love comic books. I'm one of those strange girls who has actually been in a comic book shop. Heck before I had kids and had extra money I used to have them hold comic books for me. I like them. What can I say. Some of them have really great stories and the pictures are great. I had to give up that hobby though because it gets expensive. I still pick one up here and there.

Now the point of this is I knew what Iron Man was before I heard about the movie and I wasn't interested. He was not one of my favorite comic characters by any means. I was more of an X-men and Star Wars girl. My husband convinced me to see it and I agreed insistent I would not like the movie. Well I was wrong and I'm happy to admit it. Robert Downey Jr. was fabulous. I loved his portrayal of Tony Stark and I loved Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. They had great chemistry. Iron Man remains one of my favorite movies. I never mind watching it, but would the sequel deliver.

Yes, it so delivers. All I wanted on mothers day was to see this movie and I left with a big smile on my face wanting to see it again. Both of my girls came with me and they both loved it. There was a lot going on in the movie, but it all fit together nicely. Tony was his usual self though he had an added issue to deal with that causes friction with Pepper. Pepper is fighting her feelings for Tony through the whole movie though he makes it easy for her to not like him. The villain was big and scary with electric whips. He was slicing race cars in half. It was very cool to see Warmachine introduced. Very cool character. Didn't care much for the Black Widow character. She seemed unnecessary to me. Though I guess she was there to set up for the Avengers movie. There was no chemistry between her and Tony though. My only complaint would be that I wish there was more between Tony and Pepper. My 13 year old agrees with this. My 9 year old just thinks Iron Man is cool. He flies and gets the bad guys. I thought this movie was fine for both my girls to see. There is of course violence as there is with any comic book movie so you should be aware of that.

To sum it up I found it extremely enjoyable and can't wait for Iron Man 3. I hope they get to work on it soon. I need more Robert Downey Jr.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all moms past, present and future. I hope everyone has an amazing day. Being a mom is the hardest job in the world. Many times unfortunately many moms including myself feel under appreciated. Today I felt very appreciated.

First off I started the day extremely early taking my own awesome mom to the airport for her much needed vacation to Florida. I hope she has a great time because as far as I'm concerned she is the best mom in the world. She has always put her children before herself and I have learned that from her. I would do anything for my girls as I know my mom would do anything for me. So it was my pleasure to get up at 4:15 to take her to the airport. It's the least I can do for all she does for me.

When I got back home I went back to bed. When I got up we went to see Iron Man 2. This was a must for me on Mother's Day. I love Robert Downey Jr. I will give a full review tomorrow. I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then we went to one of my favorite restaurants for linner as it was 2:30. That was fabulous and I just finished watching the Celtics win a playoff game. Now if only the Red Sox could win tonight I would have a perfect Mother's Day. I hope all the moms out there have as great a day as I'm having.

Tis the Season for Rashes

Everyone loves to see the end of winter and the beginning of the warmer season of spring and summer. Well with the change of the seasons come bugs, poison ivy and other irritants that just drive a mother crazy.

My 9 year old told me on Sunday that she was itchy. She appeared to have bug bits or something on her knees and ankles. Well I thought a bath would make her feel better so that's what I did. When she got up out of the bath she was covered in hives. I couldn't believe it. I ran to the store to get some benadryl. An hour after giving her the benadryl they were gone and never came back. I have no idea what it was or what caused it. It was one of those mysteries. Just something else to worry about.

My friends daughter got a mosquito bite and it got all inflamed and infected and she had to go on antibiotics. My friend was very distraught. She can't keep her daughter inside all the time, but this seems to happen every time she gets a mosquito bite.

Now yesterday my 9 year old came home with a red rash on her arms and legs. It was pretty red and she told me she got sent to the nurse and she told her it was heat rash. I wasn't so sure, but it wasn't itchy or bothering her so I let it go. Well she still had it this morning and I took a good look at it. The rash had a very lacy look to it and it was now on her cheeks. I had an aha moment. It had to be fifths disease. I wasn't positive so I did call my pediatrician and I was told to come on over. I told her I thought it was fifths disease and she agreed. Luckily it is basically just a mild virus. She is not contagious. She may develop a slight fever and the rash will last for a few days, but other than that it's nothing major. I'm glad it wasn't anything serious, but I can't help thinking that the warm months always bring on these types of issues. Oh well I love summer. Get me to the beach already. Oh yeah then I have to worry about sunburns.

Sea Change, Great Summer Beach Read

Summer is almost here so that means vacation and relaxation at the beach. I personally always like to have a book with me to read. I tend to like really light books at the beach because I don't want to get stressed out. I just want to unwind and go someplace else. For this reason I have really enjoyed discovering the wonderful world of Young Adult fiction. There are just so many choices. Some good and some bad as is the case with any type genre. So I'm going to try to post at least one book a week that I think you could pick up and get lost in while on vacation.

First up a real summer love story. Sea Change written by Aimee Friedman. The title and cover hooked me on this book because one I love anything to do with the ocean and two it seems to deal with mermaids. I have loved mermaids for as long as I can remember. Who wouldn't want to spend their life in the ocean just floating along.

Okay so this story is about 16 year old Miranda. Miranda is spending the summer on Selkie Island with her mother after her grandmother has died. The Island is the summer home of many rich families that her mother used to be close to. She is befriended by a group of girls who are totally boy crazy. She also meets up with a boy who works at the science center on the island named Leo. She's really drawn to him and to the mysteries of the island. She begins to wonder what's really up with the island and is it really so far fetched that mermaids could exist. Not to mention is Leo a merman? Miranda is a wonderful character that you see grow throughout the story. She really discovers who she is and feels more confident in herself. I truly enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who's looking for a little escape reading.

Dance Class Pictures

Okay so the past couple of nights I've had to take my girls to get their pictures done for dance class. This means they have to get dressed in their costumes and put on makeup and get the hair just right. This is really a pain in the butt. My oldest fights me tooth and nail. She's so not doing dance next year. She just doesn't love it enough and I'm certainly not going to make her go. It's not worth it for my sanity. She'll have to find something else. I insist on some type of activity. There's no way she's sitting on the couch all day watching TV.

Anyway, my oldest was fist up and she has the most beautiful ballet costume. It reminds me of Romeo and Juliet and she likes it which is a miracle. Her hair has to be in a bun no problem their I looked up how to do a ballet bun on Youtube. I honestly love Youtube. Then it was on to the makeup. Now you would think she would love to be told she needs to wear tons of makeup at the age of 13. Well if she doesn't get to pick it herself she's not happy. Not to mention they wanted her to wear fake eyelashes. Why they want her to do this I have no idea? You can't tell from the audience and really they're still just kids it seems ridiculous. She also told me there was no way she was wearing them she would quit first. That was just fabulous. So I get her to the dance studio minus the eyelashes I have in my pocket. I figure I can get one of the other girls or moms to help me out. Well my daughter lucked out because I bought the wrong ones and her teacher told me not to worry about it. My daughter didn't care either way because she was not wearing them and that was that. Needless to say it was a very stressful night. They were running about 1 1/2 behind schedule because one of the photographers was new and slow. It was so aggravating, but there was nothing we could do, but wait. We were lucky my daughter only takes ballet. One of her friends ended up being there much later because she had more routines.

Then it was onto my other daughter who takes tap, jazz and ballet. She's 9 and she loves dance. She would take it everyday if she could. She was no problem getting ready. She complained about nothing loved doing all of it. When we got to the studio for her there weren't as many kids as the night before. They were running ahead of schedule and it was great. The difference being they asked for a different photographer. Apparently it got really bad the night before and they didn't get finished with the older girls until well after 11:00pm which is ridiculous. My daughter has 3 different costumes so we had to do a couple of changes. A friend gave me a little trick last year she told me to layer the tights so all she has to do is take off the top layer to get to the next costumes tights. This was such a time saver I can't even tell you. Each costume has it's own rules and accessories. I have written instructions that I have to constantly look at to make sure everything is just right. As soon as one picture is done we do a quick change for the next and then do it one more time. The only problem we ran into was we changed to quickly and one girl who only takes jazz wasn't in the shot so we had to change back. This was no problem because we were running so far ahead of schedule. It was such an unbelievable difference from the night before I was out of there in less than an hour.

Now I only have to go through this 2 more times, dress rehearsal and the show. I love watching them perform, but it's exhausting to get them ready. It will nice when we have the summer break.

Glee Was Awesome

Once again I'm talking about my daughter's favorite show. Glee was great last night. They had some fabulous songs and some very silly moments as usual. I tell you I hate it when the episode is over and I have to wait a whole week for a new episode. It's had to be me.

The episode dealt with a list that was posted about the Glee club and who had the worst reputation. When the list is published there is going to be big trouble the principal wants to know who did it. This leads Will to ask the kids to find a song for the Glee club that has a bad reputation and give it a new one. He kicks things off with a fun rendition of Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. Oh the memories on that one. Good times.

Some of the kids who were left off the list want to get on. They think the best way to do this is to break out in dance and song in the library. This group includes Kurt, Mercedes, Arty, and Tina. Britney is there too, but because she doesn't understand why she isn't higher on the list. They sing Hammer Time wearing MC Hammer pants and all. Honestly, I couldn't stop laughing. The pants just killed me.

Oh Emma also gets a backbone and yells at Will for his behavior. You go Emma. Sue Sylvester is as funny as always when the Glee kids find a video of her dancing to Olivia Newton Johns Physical and put it on YouTube. This causes major embarrassment for her until Olivia calls her and they do a new Physical video together. Seriously this woman is just hysterical.

Also of note is Rachel doing a video for the song Run Joey Run from the 70s. This causes a huge problem for her as she is doing it to give herself a bad reputation in hopes of making her popular. She asks Puck, Finn and Jessie to be in it, but none of them know she asked the others. When they see it they're all mad and Jessie breaks up with her. I think Finn was the most upset though.

Finally, Rachel sings Total Eclipse of the Heart which is one of my all time favorite songs. She totally rocked it with Puck, Finn and Jessie joining in. I loved it. Can't wait till next week. I hear Finn is going to be singing Jessie's Girl. Another of my favorites. Seriously is it Tuesday Yet.

My Daughter is in LALA Land

Tomorrow she has her pictures for her dance class. This in itself is no big deal. I'm used to this once a year. She puts her costume on and her makeup and we go get her pictures done. It's no big deal. Well I should say it's no big deal as long as the costume is ready.

I was talking about what time we had to go tomorrow and she tells me that her costume needs to be fixed. It's too big. Now let me just state for the record I asked her last week after she had her costume day in class if everything was all set and she said it was. Now she tells me it needs to be fixed. I am not a great sewer. I can sew on buttons and simple things, but I can't handle alterations on a costume. Usually I call in my mom on this, but it's too late. She needs to wear it tomorrow. Needless to say my daughter is in LALA Land because if she was here she would have told me after her class and I would have asked my mom to fix it. So lucky me I have to spend my night doing this. I just hope I don't screw up royally. Fingers crossed people, fingers crossed.

Very Proud Mom

Last night I went to go see my daughter in her school play. My daughter is in 7th grade now, but I think I should note that up until this year she has been in speech therapy. She was diagnosed with apraxia when she was 3 years old. It's basically a speech delay. She had a lot of difficulty saying certain sounds so she has had speech therapy 1 to 2 times a week she's she's been 3. She was always very cooperative and tried her best. She really didn't want to go to speech therapy in fact the last few years she started to get embarrassed that she still had to go. She didn't want her friends to know. I felt bad, but I also knew she still needed it. Finally this year her therapist asked her what she wanted and my daughter said she wanted to be done. After talking with my daughter and the therapist I agreed. She really had come as far as she was going to with the speech therapy. She was thrilled. I was a little unsure. She had been doing it for such a long time and sometimes I still have to have her repeat something. Never the less she graduated herself from speech therapy.

Now she did her school play last year and I was proud of her. She only had 2 lines and she did fine. Now this year she had many lines and sang quite a few songs that she sang as well. She felt very confident and with good reason. I went to see her in the play and I couldn't believe this was the same little girl who had such a hard time with speech when she was little. I was amazed and so proud. She really is growing up. I can't wait to buy it on DVD so I can watch it again.

She is so sad that the play is over and there is no more drama club till next year. I can understand why because her face was lit up by the biggest smile all through the play. You could tell she was having a good time. Now she will be an eighth grader next year and they get to pick the play. Her and her friends are already talking about it so I hope they pick something great. It really is great that her school has a drama club and she is able to experience this. I really am just so happy for her.

Big Night Tonight

Tonight is opening night for my daughter's school play. The play is Alice in Wonderland. She is playing the Black Knight and she is very excited about it. They have had practice every day this week after school and it's been crazy.

They had up to this point only had play practice once a week and I would always bake her and her friends cookies or brownies. They loved it. It's hard to go right to work after school. They really started to look forward to it and they were so cute that I didn't mind doing it. Well this week I had to bake 4 times. It was really a little too much, but I figured I'm able to do this for my daughter so why not. The only problem was that some kids that are not her friends got a little crazy and started to grab at the food and made my daughter a little nuts. She was happy to share with anyone who asked, but I guess they got kind of rude about it and my daughter got in trouble. I felt so bad here I was trying to do something nice for her and some other kids had to go an ruin it. Well live and learn I guess. It's irritating that my daughter was the one in trouble instead of the obnoxious kids that were causing the trouble.

Anyway I hope she does a great job and has a great time doing it. I'll be going to tommorrow nights show because that's when my parents can go. There are 3 total performances. The final one will end with a party for the cast. It's going to be a very busy weekend. The poor thing has been loaded up with homework this weekend as well. So unfair, but not everyone is in the play. She's going to be tired, but I think it's such a great experience for her. I'm so proud.

Great Message in Glee Last Night!

Well Tuesday night is Glee night and that means me and my 13 year old chill on the couch and watch. We look forward to it all week and when it finally comes on there is no distractions. No texting and no calls aloud till after. She is very serious about it.

Last nights episode had a very important message. It focused on Mercedes and Kurt more than any of the other Glee kids. Mercedes is now on the Cheerios and evil Sue Sylverster wants her to loose weight ASAP or she is off the team. This causes Mercedes to go to extremes and eventually faints from lack of food. She is then befriended by Quinn who is very kind and gets her to see that starving yourself to make someone else happy or to be a part of a group is wrong. You need to love yourself for who you are. Mercedes appears at the pep rally even though she is off the team and speaks to the crowd asking anyone who feels the way she does to come down and join her. She sings Beautiful which was just that beautiful. You need to be happy with who you are. Though it's important to be healthy. You should never go to extremes to get there.

As for Kurt we see him trying to get his father and Finn's mother together so he can be with Finn. This obviously blows up in his face when his father starts to bond with Finn. Poor Kurt feels totally left out. I felt bad for him. Though I think he needs to get a clue that Finn doesn't fly that way.

Anyway great episode and I look forward to next week.

Another Mountain Over Come

By Mountain I mean Thunder Mountain found in Magic Kingdom. My 9 year old is not a ride girl. She would much rather just walk around and look at everything. Rides don't interest her so that means mommy hangs out with her and waits while my husband and 13 year old ride the rides. I don't mind though as I'm not a huge ride girl myself. I have no interest in the roller coasters that flip you upside down and I hate the big dips. My stomach always ends up somewhere else.

This trip my daughter had gotten herself all psyched up to go on the Thunder Mountain. She promised she would do this ride. She was ready. As roller coasters go this is pretty mild. It just goes around the mountain granted a little fast, but there are no scary dips or crazy twists. I was confident she would be fine and like the ride.

Well she was loosing her nerve as we waited to get on. We had fastpasses so the wait wasn't long, but she kept saying she wasn't sure anymore and didn't think she would like it. I was considering pulling her out of line when I just said the heck with it. She would be fine.

She was fine and I found the ride to be very fun. I hadn't been on in awhile. She however declared that she didn't like it. It was much to fast. She seemed fine on the ride itself. I think she was just being contrary. Never the less she tried another new thing and I was proud of her and told her so. You never really know if you'll like something until you try it. I don't want her to be afraid to try. Later I asked her again about the ride and she said she would probably go on again. It wasn't scary. Kids are so funny.

My Daughter and the Super Scary Water Slide.

While at Disney World we stayed at the Boardwalk Hotel. I love this place I honestly can not express how much I love it. It's in a great location with regards to the parks. It is very close to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. This is a big plus to me as those are my favorite two parks.

The Hotel also has a fabulous pool. This pool has a water slide that they make look like a roller coaster that would be found on the old boardwalks. The reality is it's a fun slide, but not all that huge. It is a lot of fun though. My 9 year old is scared of anything she hasn't tried before. When she saw the slide the first thing she said was that looks like fun. Then we walked over to it and she got a good look and watched the people come down and she said she wasn't doing it too scary. She wanted to go to one of the other pool at the hotel that didn't have a slide. Well we didn't do it that day and we complied with her wishes mostly because it was close to dinner. However, the next day her father and sister gave the slide a whirl and they loved it. She watched them come down a few times and then finally decided to give it a try. She was nervous, but her dad went up with her. She came down with the biggest smile on her face. She loved it. She climbed out of the pool and went back up again and again until we basically had to pry her off it. I loved watching her have so much fun. Her father and I were like we told you and we really want her to remember how much she liked it. It's so hard to get her to try new things. We want her to be less afraid of trying anything new especially new food as she is also a very picky eater. By the way we did get her to try 3 new kinds of food on the trip as well. Big strides were made. Big strides.

Now that we're home she told me how much she misses the slide. She wants to stay at the same hotel next time we go and I hope we'll be able to.

Our Time in Hollywood Studios

We decided to go to Hollywood Studios on Monday. Now I still call it MGM. The name change just totally confuses me. Anyway it was still a bit questionable with the rain so we packed up the ponchos and away we went. Since we were staying in the Boardwalk hotel there is only about a 15 minute walk to the park. We arrived a little after 9 and it was a mad dash to Toy Story Mania. The Disney employees actually block one of the ways to the ride because stairs are involved. It is literally a stampede to get to this ride. My husband even made cow noises. He's a very funny guy. Well we made it to the ride and it actually appeared to be shorter to wait in the line to go on the ride rather than grab a fast pass for later so that's what we did. It was awesome. We all love this ride. You basically sit in this little car and wear 3D glasses and play a sort of midway games. You aim and shoot at targets. Sooo much fun we love it. After the ride we grabbed a fast pass for later. We ended up doing the ride 3 times that day.

Next we headed under the hat to await the High School Musical show. This is always a big hit. My husband and I even sing along. They really do a great job with this. My youngest loved it and we were in the front row. After the show we headed to one of my personal favorites, Star Tours. I am a true Star Wars geek and honestly can not get enough.

Finally we headed to the American Idol Experience. This was awesome. The girls were amazed. The stage looks exactly the same as it does on TV. They really get you all excited and the host and judges are great. The girl we voted for won that round so the girls were so excited. We decided to return for the finale show at the end of the day.

We headed to The Stunt Show which is always awesome and then had dinner at the Scifi Dinner. This is one of our favorite places to eat at Hollywood Studios. If you are ever looking for a place to eat there give this a try. It's set up like a drive in. You eat in old fashioned cars and some of the waiters are on roller skates. Also the food is yummy.

Our final activity of the day was the finale show for American Idol. It was awesome there were some really amazing people. Of course only one could win the day and get the golden ticket to go to the head of the line at a real American Idol audition. There was a 14 year old boy and he was amazing. We all voted for him and he won. He sang I Can Go the Distance from Hercules. He was also adorable and my daughters were a little smitten. The sad thing is he's to young for the real American Idol, but I have a feeling Disney may snatch him up. He could be the next big tween thing.

When the show was over we headed for the door only to hear it was pouring out. Of course it was. I pulled out the ponchos and off we went back to the hotel. Luckily it wasn't that bad and seemed to lighten up as we went. It was another great day. More to come tomorrow.

Great Vacation!

We had a blast. Sorry I haven't Blogged. Just way too much fun going on. I have to say this is the best time I have had in Disney World. I have no idea why. Though if I had to guess I would say that it's because we have been there so many times and at this point we just do what we want. We go into a park and we don't even need a map. It's great. We just zoom around the other people who are lost and confused. We always offer to help. Disney can be very overwhelming if you've never been there.

Let me try to catch you up on what we did. On Sunday we headed to Magic Kingdom. It was a little rainy so Thunder Mountain was closed and Splash Mountain didn't seem all that appealing. That was disappointing to my oldest, but she got to ride Space Mountain 3 times. We also went to the Laugh In with the characters from Monsters Inc. This is always very funny. We rode the race cars which is not my favorite and I'm pretty sure my daughter was trying to kill me. Oh well we survived. My youngest finally went on the Goofy Roller coaster. This is a big step for her. The Goofy Roller coaster is an easy ride. She liked it so that was good.

Then the downpour came. We were so not prepared. We ran for It's a Small World hoping it would be over when we came out. No that was not the case. We headed for the Carousel. Then it was obvious it was not going to stop. Someone in heaven was clearly dropping buckets of water on us. I spotted the nearest store and we made a run for it. Disney knows marketing. They were selling piles and piles of rain ponchos. We bought 4 and we were back at it.

Truth be told we would have headed back to the hotel, but we had dinner reservations at Tony's. Tony's is suppose to be the restaurant that Lady and the Tramp ate at. It's one of our favorite places. After taking a vote we decided to stay. My youngest still loves the Disney Fairies so I took her to wait to meet them. It was a 70 minute wait, but we all agreed we might as well wait it out because of the rain and it was still a little while till dinner. She loved it. She met Tink, Iredessa and Terence. I think she loved Terence the most because he danced with her and sprinkled pixie dust in her hair. It was adorable and she was glowing. If you have little girls who love the Disney Fairies and you visit Disney World don't miss meeting the them. One of my daughters favorite things. They really make it special. Yes, you have to wait and longer than you want I'm sure, but I honestly think it's a special moment. My daughter can't stop talking about them. There really is nothing like visiting Pixie Hollow.

Well then it was off to Dinner. It was wonderful and well worth sticking out the rain. Tony's rocks as my daughter says. Though when we finally did return to the hotel we were all dieing for a hot bath or shower. When we were all warm it was time to dry the sneakers. We used a hair dryer and stuck paper towels in overnight. Yuck. All in all it was a wonderful day in the Magic Kingdom.

Tomorrow I'll talk about our time in Hollywood Studios. We are home now and pretty exhausted. It's good we have the weekend to unwind and recover.

First Few Days in Disney

Haven't been posting sorry, but it's only because we are having such a great time. We arrived in Orlando around 12:30 am on Friday. We were totally exhausted and crashed in our hotel. We are staying at the Boardwalk and it's fabulous.

The first day we slept in and then hung around EPCOT just walking around. Though we did do the Kim Possible attraction and saved the world. The girls both loved that. I do have to admit I heard the communicator beeps in my sleep. We had a nice dinner at the Rose and Crown and listened to the British Invasion. I love the Beatles. We also had an afternoon swim. It was a great day.

Today we headed into Animal Kingdom. We made a B line right to the Safari and saw lots of animals including a baby giraffe, very cute. We sat in front of some college kids unfortunately and my girls heard some colorful language. Not much I could do about that. My girls no better than to repeat it at least. We saw the Lion King show which I love and so do the girls. We all sing along. My youngest really wanted to see the tigers so we headed on down the trail where they were and she saw lots of tigers. They were pretty impressive. Basically it was a great day in the park. We headed back to our hotel after eating dinner and had another swim. It felt so refreshing. Now we are exhausted and just chilling out on the couch. I love Disney World.

It's My Birthday!

Yeah, it's my birthday, but it doesn't hold the excitement it did when I was younger. I still smile when I get up, but now I'm just getting older and that's a drag. Not to mention that my birthday falls on tax day and the day the Titanic sunk. My daughter loves reminding me of this as she is obsessed with the Titanic. Though I have nothing to complain about today. I'm spending the day getting ready to head to Disney World with the family for the girls April vacation. They have been several times before as we are Vacation Club members, but that doesn't stop them from being super excited. I can't blame them. I'm excited too. Disney World is the most magical place on Earth. I love it there.

My oldest one even woke up before be today and that never happens. She had to go into school early today to take a test that she'll miss tomorrow because we leave for the airport right after school today. She didn't even care. There was no grumbling. She was bouncing around and humming. Yes, I kid you not she was humming. It was all very amusing. I didn't even have to yell to have her hurry up. Again this has never happened. I want this day marked down in history because I'm pretty sure it will never happen again.

Anyway we are heading out and I will try to blog everyday with photos if possible. Though I will not be doing my entrecard drops as I really won't have the extra time. I'll be back at it after vacation. Hope everyone has a great week.

Glee Returns Tonight!

I think the title says it all. Glee is finally back. Oh how my daughter and I have missed this show. We can't get enough. This show is her favorite show period. There hasn't been a new episode since November and it has been a painful wait. Though we did have the DVD to hold us over.

Tonight we look forward to great songs, silly moments and just plain fun. Not to mention what will happen next. Will Mr. Schuester divorce his wife? What will Sue Sylvester do to the Glee club now? What about Quinn and her baby? Oh and what about Finn and Rachel? Tune in and find out. My favorite part of the show is always the music. There is just such a talented cast on this show. I want my Glee!

Wackie Cake

One of my daughter's friends is allergic to eggs and all milk products so when we were at a birthday party this week I felt so bad that she couldn't have one of the yummy cup cakes that was there. It dawned on me that my mom has always made this cake from scratch called a wackie cake. I have no idea where the recipe came from, but she has been making it forever. This cake has no eggs or milk products in it so it's perfect for a child who suffers from this type of allergy.

I thought I would share it since it is such a delicious cake and can be enjoyed by anyone. My mom usually puts a butter cream frosting on it. I mentioned this to the mom and she said she would simply add some powdered sugar or sprinkles. I hope her daughter likes it.

Wackie Cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups water

Blend ingredients then cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until done. Don not grease pan line pan with aluminum foil.

Enjoy!

Ice Skating Party

I thought it was going to be ugly. My daughter has never been on ice skates and has never wanted to go on them. Then the invitation came in the mail for a birthday party. I didn't know what to do so I left it up to my daughter. She went back and forth with it, but the bottom line is the girl is a good friend of hers and she should go whether she skates or not. She agreed.

I thought everything was fine and then she came down stairs this morning with tears in her eyes declaring she was not going to skate. I was frustrated because I knew that if she just tried she would like it. Well I was taking her no matter what as we had said we were going and I refuse to hurt any one's feelings.

We got to the rink and a girl asked for her skate size and she said she wasn't skating. The mom was great and said don't worry no pressure. Well some of her friends told her it was fun and to give it a try. She agreed. They have plastic crates stacked on top of each other to make it easier for newer skaters. I got her one and she skated around that rink with the biggest smile on her face she had a great time. I'm convinced my children just like to drive me crazy. Well I'm just glad she had a good experience and will skate again. It's a lot of fun especially when you have friends who do it. I told her on the way home see what happens when you give something new a try. You may discover you like it. I just hope she remembers what a great time she had when the next new thing pops up.

Aggravating Morning

Thirteen year olds can be a royal pain in the butt. This morning my husband and I got up early because my oldest needed to go in and finish a math test she didn't finish the day before. This happens occasionally and we never have any problem with getting her in early.

The problem I have with this morning is right before my daughter was about to head out the door. She asked me a math question about percents. I had no idea what she was talking about. Math is not my thing. I told her to ask her father when he came down. Then I started asking her why she was asking the question now when she had all night to ask. Not to mention this was a test she started taking yesterday. I started to get really aggravated. Last night she was busy watching TV. She should have asked her question then instead of making us crazy at the last minute. My husband wasn't thrilled either. His comment was I'm pretty sure I was here all last night. My thought was she's going to flunk the test and there was no need. She's very good at math, but lately she's been getting a little lax with stuff. I don't know if it's spring fever or just the beginnings of the teenage years.

Well I'll never know I guess, but she better get a B or better on this test or she's going to loose that ipod touch she loves so much for a little while. I've got to get her back on track. I've never had to do anything like that before. She's always been so good about doing her work. This just took me by complete surprise. Of course when I dropped my 9 year old at school I saw her and she smiled and I asked how it went and she said fine. My husband was able to help her in the car. Seriously the child is driving me crazy. Thank God it's Friday.

Ladybug Infestation

You may think the word infestation is a little much, but I tell you I have ladybugs all over my house. They have woken from their hibernation and they are everywhere. I knew there were a few here and there, but I just had no idea they would try to over take us.

I walked into my downstairs bathroom yesterday and I was dive bombed by 3. It was crazy. I would never kill a ladybug because I hear it's bad luck, but I think it may be time to round them up and get them back outside. This morning my daughter came down and said she wasn't brushing her teeth. There were 2 ladybugs hanging out on her toothbrush. She loves ladybugs, but that was going too far. They crossed a line when they threatened her oral hygiene. I promised to boil the toothbrush and get the little guys out of the bathroom. It's not like I have anything else to do today right?

Really Long Day

It has been one of those days that I'm so glad is ending. My husband had to go to work early so I took the kids to school. This in it self is no big deal. I never mind taking the girls to school. Then I attended the funeral of my daughter's friend's mom. This was extremely upsetting and sad. Most of the kids in her grade attended. My daughter was very happy to see me arrive and so were her friends. I sat with them. They all got very upset when they saw their friend so sad. My daughter's friend is Korean so the mass was said in Korean. This was a surprise for me though I should have realized. The kids were warned ahead of time and I have to say I was very impressed with this group of kids. None of them miss behaved and they all were very focused on everything even though they had no idea what was being said. I was also very impressed with the teachers. They understood how upsetting this whole experience can be and they were right on top of everything. One girl got very upset behind me and the teacher responded to comfort her very quickly. I'm glad my girls go to such a loving school.

When the mass was over I rushed home to grab some lunch and then returned to the school for art class with my younger daughter. Of course I was already emotionally drained by this point, but I kept chugging because that's what moms do. Anyway the my name was being called in all directions and I did my best to help all who asked.

When class was over I went to the bank then returned to the class to pick the girls up and take the youngest and one of her friends to dance class. It has been a very busy and emotionally draining day. I'm very glad it's over and I hope tomorrow is easier.