Excited For Upcoming Trip

Yesterday, when I was changing the sheets on all the beds I discovered a marker in my 9 year old's bed. I had no idea why this was in her bed. Then I removed the pillow and discovered a piece of paper marking off how many days left until we leave for Disney World. We are members of the Disney Vacation Club and we are going for the girls spring vacation week.

They are pretty lucky kids. We take them almost every year, but they are always excited. This year my 9 year old told me she is finally going to try one of the roller coasters. She has been very afraid of them. We are going to tackle Thunder Mountain and move on from there. I'm excited as well because that means I get to go on. I always stay behind with her because I'm the mom.

I just found it so adorable that she had a count down. When she came home and found I had changed the bed she told me she was putting her count down back. I told her okay and gave her a big hug. I'm glad she's excited and I am too. I need a vacation.

Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Fun For All

I never got around to taking my girls to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel when it was in the theaters. It's just hard to see every movie that comes out and not to mention it's very expensive. It seriously costs us about $50.00 to see a movie at a matinee and get popcorn. It's just ridiculous.

Anyway we rented the movie as soon as it came out today from Netflix. I have to say it's absolutely adorable and both my girls, 13 and 9 are totally enthralled. The music is really fun and they just love the Chipetts.

I'm disappointed now that I didn't buy the movie because it is just so cute. I know they're going to want to watch this over and over again. I can see why it won the award for best movie at the Kids Choice Awards on Nickelodeon. This would definitely be a favorite for both boys and girls. Really nothing, but a good time. So if you have kids and haven't seen it trust me you'll want to check it out.

The Return of 10 Things I Hate About You

Tonight after a very long hiatus 10 Things I Hate About You is returning. My daughter is so excited. This is one of her favorite shows and I have to admit that I enjoy it as well. She set her cell phone calendar to remind her that it's on. Personally I think she just likes to play with her phone. It's rather cute how everyday she gives me an update as to how many days until it's return.

It's a cute show about two sisters. One wants to be popular and the other doesn't. Silliness always ensues when they try to reach their goals. When the show ended the older sister Kat took off on a motorcycle with cool guy Patrick after protesting uniforms in school. These two have been fighting their feelings for a while.

In the previews for the episode they showed Kat and Patrick kissing. My daughter squeed so loud she scared my dog. How adorable is that?

Now if you've never checked out the show before you have a chance to catch up. They are reairing all the episodes starting at 3 today followed by the new episode. If you have the time give it a whirl. It's really a lot of fun.

Grease is The Word

Oh, how I love this movie. Grease is just one of those feel good movies that makes me smile. I know all the songs by heart and I'm happy to say my daughters do as well. It's just a fun movie. Olivia Newton John and John Travolta will forever be Danny and Sandy. I still have my original record album of Grease. It's in pretty ruff shape from all the play, but I can't bare to part with it. Too many memories.

Grease was on the other day and all I could do was plop myself down and watch it. Oh and wouldn't you know Grease 2 came on right after it. I know it's not as good, but I just can't help loving it as well. It's just so cheesy good. I just love those Summer Nights

So tell me what you think do you love both movies or just the one or maybe you just can't stand them? Oh and can you do the hand jive? My girls can.

No One Wants To Be Left Out

Yesterday my 9 year old came home a little sad. Now she is a very happy easy going kid. Nothing usually gets her down, but I guess being left out is going to happen to everyone. She told me that at recess a group of her friends were playing a game and she asked if she could play too. A few of her good friends said of course she could, but 2 other girls said she couldn't there was no room for her to play. The other girls argued, but apparently these 2 rule the school yard. My daughter was crushed and walked away. She didn't know what else to do.

My heart totally broke when I heard this. How can kids be so mean? Luckily she was able to find a few other girls to play with and ended up having a good recess, but it definitely stung being told she could play.

It really makes me so made. I've always taught my daughter never to leave anyone out so she doesn't understand why they didn't want her to play. I had to tell her that some kids are just mean and those two girls are not her friends. She did the right thing in finding someone else to play with. I've been where she is and I wasn't as strong as that. I would have sit down and cried.

It really is sad how these things start so early. Girls can be so mean. Lesson learned and heart broken.

Close But Not in Time

My 9 year old has her music class in school every Thursday. They are learning to play the recorder and we all had to purchase one for their use. They need to bring it to class every Thursday. Well this has only been going on for a couple of weeks. I always try to have everything ready for the next day the night before. Well I got a little off track because they didn't have any homework from the testing. I completely forgot about the recorder and so did my daughter.

Well I went for a walk with a friend after the kids went to school so I didn't notice till I came back. The recorder was sitting on her windowsill. I couldn't believe it. I looked at the clock and thought she had it in the afternoon so I could get it to her on time. Wrong. I raced it down to her only to be told by the secretary that they had music first thing in the morning because of the standardize testing. Ah, I couldn't believe I went all the way there and I was too late. I saw my daughter through her classroom window and I showed her the recorder. She just shook her head and mouthed "We already had it."

When I picked her up I asked her if I got and A for effort and she said, "No." Oh well sometimes I'm unappreciated. I can take it. If I got it there in time I would be a hero, but yesterday I guess I was a zero. That's how I felt anyway.

Art Class Volunteer

Every Wednesday I volunteer in my 9 year olds art class at school. Usually I would share the time with other mothers, but for some reason I'm the only one who volunteered this year. I think it's because most moms work on Sunday. Well this year I'm not working so I'm able to do this with my daughter and I love it. I love seeing all the wonderful things the kids create.

Now this week they got to work with clay. What a mess. The project was to create a Celtic medallion. They designed it the week before and this week they were to recreate it with clay. The kids were really into this project. I don't blame them. I was itching to get to work myself. It's so much fun to work with clay. It really gets the stress out. They don't always need my help, but this week my name was being called in all directions for an hour. The teacher and I were very busy helping them work the clay the way they wanted. When they were done they were given these plastic jewels to glue on them which made it look really cool. Next week they'll color them gold. I thought this was a very cool project.

My daughter was really into it and surprisingly she never asked for my help. She did it all herself. I always itch to help her though I'm usually able to hold myself back. It's just the way a mom works they see their child working on something and they want to help make it better. I'm no different, but there are so many kids who want help it would be wrong to just stay their with my child the whole class. I've seen other mothers do that and I've vowed not to be one of them.

It's fun to watch the kids create, but others just get into so much mischief. There's one little boy who drives my daughter crazy and it's not really my place to discipline the kids I'm only there to assist the teacher. He was really tormenting her this week and I was about to let the teacher know when I saw that she was all over it. She moved his chair well away from my daughter and smiled at me. She knew exactly what was going on. I was thrilled to see this. The boy was being fresh. I'm glad the teachers are aware. Makes me feel good about this teacher and the school for that matter.

Well I look forward to the kids painting the medallion next week. Then they'll get to take them home and hang up their wonderful creations. I'm so excited.

Standardize Testing Week Hard on Everyone

There are both good and bad aspects of standardize testing week. My girls were informed a few weeks ago that this would be the week for testing. We get the usual notice about not doing anything different with their schedule and that they would receive no homework and no regular tests would be given.

Well on top of that my 13 year old got a speech on how important these tests are and that the schools they apply to for high school will receive the scores. My daughter went into full blown panic. She really doesn't want something like these tests to get in the way of her getting into the high school she wants. Now I have to say she has no need to worry. She gets excellent grades and she does the drama club and volunteers when the need arises. Telling her this did not calm her down on Sunday night when she couldn't fall asleep for hours after she went to bed. It drives me crazy, but she is who she is. My other daughter is only in third grade and she seemed fine on Sunday.

Now when they came home after taking the tests Monday they were both a little cranky. It's hard to sit and just take test all day. They used to let them have a lollipop or chew on some gum to help them concentrate during the tests, but they decided to only allow that if they got special permission. I got that permission so they can be more relaxed during the test. It just seems silly, but they have new rules about food in school. They really have to take the fun out of everything my daughter says. She may be right.

I felt bad for my youngest because she had division on one of her tests and she hasn't learned that yet. She was a little upset, but I told her no one else knew it either so not to worry. She felt better and moved on.

The only bright side that I can truly see about this week is that there is no homework and no regular test. Thank goodness. They put too much stress on kids at least without the extra work they're able to come home and relax and run around outside without additional worries.

I'll be glad when their schedules go back to normal in the classroom. I think this week really throws them off.

Bandslam Just Okay

Bandslam came out on DVD last week and we rented it from Netflix. The kids finally got around to watching it last night. Well I should say my 13 year old watched it because my 9 year old lost interest quickly and went to play in her room. The movie just wasn't interesting to her even though it stars Vanessa Hudgens. My daughter still loves all the High School Musicals, but this movie not so much.

The movie is about a boy named Will who I guess is considered a nerd in his old school and to make matters worse his father got into a drunk driving accident when he was younger and killed another kid so he is ruthlessly bullied about this. Like it's the kids fault. Moving along they move and he is befriended by the ex-head cheerleader played by Aly from Aly & AJ and Sa5m who is played by Vanessa Hudgens. She kind of keeps to herself. There is this contest called bandslam in which bands compete for a recording contract. Will becomes the manager of the band and he feels like he fits in until it comes out what happened back home. Anyway it is a good story about friendship and fitting in, but the story drags and can be sad and depressing. One of the girls father also dies. My 13 year old said it was okay she probably wouldn't watch it again. That's not a good sign for a movie. My daughter loves to rewatch movies. Bottom line I rented it and I'm gad I didn't buy it.

The best part of the movie was the music. Vanessa has a beautiful voice. I enjoyed the end when the bands competed though I found myself not that interested in the rest of the movie. I don't feel this movie is for the High School Musical crowd. It is definitely for older tweens and teens so keep that in mind if your child wants to watch. Basically I'm just not impressed with this movie.

Wild Child Just Another Fun Teen Movie

I stumbled upon this movie Wild Child while looking for things to rent on Netflix. It seemed like another typical coming of age story and it didn't disappoint. The movie is about a 16 year old Malibu girl named Poppy who is basically a spoiled brat. She's one of those obnoxious teens you hope your child never turns into. Her father decides to send her to an all girls British boarding school. It seems like the worst thing in the world to poppy then she discovers what real friends are about and who she really is. She also falls in love. What would a coming of age story be without a little romance?

The movie stars Emma Roberts as Poppy, the late and sadly missed Natasha Richardson as Mrs. Kingsly(the headmistress) and Alex Pettyfer. He's worth watching the movie according to my daughter. I would have to agree. The cast is wonderful and the movie is fun. Now it's rated PG-13 and that is very appropriate. There is some language that I don't care for my 9 year old to repeat so she hasn't seen it. My 13 year old really enjoyed it and I would recommend it to anyone around her age. It's not an award winning movie, but it is definitely entertaining. I enjoyed it.

Don't Judge a Book by It's Cover

This saying holds new meaning to me after the book I just read. I have really started looking into the young adult section of the book store because I find the fantasy stories to be very entertaining. I really enjoyed the Twilight series so since then I've decided there may be even more that I would enjoy out there. So when I look on Amazon.com I look in the recommendation section and see what there is.

Now because I liked Twilight they have been recommending the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. The first book being City of Bones . Now the cover for the book does not appeal to me in the least. I'm a mom so I don't want to be purchasing a book that has a half naked guy on the cover with tattoos on him. So I've pushed it to the side. I honestly didn't see myself going up to the register with this book in my hand. I have a thing about book covers. Now to an adolescent girl I could see why this cover would draw you to the book, but I'm not an adolescent.

Well a few months ago my step dad gave me an Amazon Kindle that he won in a raffle. He thought I would really like it so he gave it to me because I love books so much. I'm always reading something. Well I love my Amazon Kindle for one thing I can download a book and no one knows what I'm reading. Also the books are a lot cheaper. So here I was wondering about City of Bones so I purchased it on my Kindle. Well I loved it. It was a great read. I didn't want to put it down.

It tells the story of Clary a girl who lives a rather normal life until she observes something by chance. She she's shadowhunters getting rid of a demon. Shadowhunters are demon hunters. Now I've always been a fan of Buffy type stories so this caught me right up. It turns out Clare is a Shadowhunter and she soon finds her world turned upside down by the discovery. There is adventure, romance and suspense exactly what I look for in a book. I highly recommend it.

My only problem is I wouldn't have bought the book because I didn't care for the cover. Let me just say I won't be fooled again. If a book is really being recommended and I don't care for the cover the heck with it. I'm not going to miss out on a good read just because of the cover. Now a suggestion I have to the publisher of these books is they may want to consider that older readers are now starting to pick up young adult books. They could either release two different covers or have a more neutral cover. Needless to say I've gotten over it myself, but how many others wouldn't pick up this book because of it's cover?

Girl Scout Cookie Booth Sale

What a great day! My daughter's Girl Scout troop sold cookies this morning in front of a local business. They had so much fun. It was a little early for us on a Saturday morning. We got there at 9 and we had a late night at the lip synch last night. My daughter did awesome by the way. I am a very proud mom.

Anyway the girls held up signs and yelled cookie sales. They shouted to anyone who walked by and many people were out and about this morning. It is a gorgeous day here in Massachusetts. The sun is shinning and it's about 70 degrees. It's a fabulous day. The girls loved watching all the people walking their dogs and many stopped and bought cookies. The booth was across from a fire station so the fireman all came over to buy cookies. They were so nice.

The girls did a great job selling and handling the money. There 9 so they're just learning multiplication. Everyone was very patient and helpful to the girls. Of course the moms were right there, but we wanted them to do it. One lady wanted my daughter to count the money back to her. My daughter did her best, but she got nervous. Another mom helped her and the lady told her she did a good job. She really put her on the spot. My daughter was not upset by it. I was afraid she was going to burst into tears. A few months ago she would have. Well I guess she's finally growing up. Now I'm going to enjoy the rest of this gorgeous day. My daughter has already headed outside to play. I probably won't be able to get her in until dinner time. I just love this time of year.

Lip Synch Night

Tonight at my daughters school they have Lip Synch night. My 9 year old is performing with 2 of her friends. They are doing Naturally by Selena Gomez. They are so excited. We've gotten the girls together for the past three weekends and they came up with the whole routine themselves.

They have performed it for me and the other moms many times and they even did it for their dance teacher so she could give them some advice. I am very proud of her for working so hard on this with her friends. They all added their own little touches to it and it is a very fun routine. Of course the most important part is that they have fun.

Now tonight they get to do it for their whole school. The girls are so excited. We even got them these sparkely black t-shirts. It will be adorable. It's also fun for them to watch the other acts. My older daughter is going as well and is looking forward to it. All the kids go and there's pizza. It's just a really fun event that the school has every year. The kids just love it and I like it too. I love watching my kids have fun with their friends. Really that's what it should be all about.

Rediscovering Roswell

My daughter loves to dive into my DVD collection. The other day she did and discovered season 1 of Roswell. She brought it to me immediately and asked if it was something she could watch. I thought about it for a minute. It has been awhile since I even watched the show, but I remember enjoying it very much. I was shocked to find that it originally aired back in 1999. She had no idea what it was.

I told her she could watch and she is loving it and I have to say I'm enjoying it as well. Her sister has no interest, but that's probably just because her sister is enjoying it so much.

Roswell is the story of 3 teens in Roswell, New Mexico who discover that they are aliens from the famous Roswell crash. They have amazing powers. It's about them dealing with regular teen drama and keeping their secret from anyone who may want to harm them.

It really was a great show and I was very disappointed when it was canceled. It's nice to rewatch it now though I only have the first season on DVD. My daughter is in love with the show and wants to know why I hadn't let her watch it before and I told her I had forgotten about it. It really is fun to rediscover shows that I loved and share them with my daughter. She is a real scifi kind of girl just like her mom.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I don't know what it is about St. Patrick's Day, but everyone always seems to be in a good mood. The kids all wear green to school. Well except my oldest. She had to wear her uniform, but she did her part by wearing a green ribbon in her hair. My youngest is all about wearing green. Green is her favorite color and she was thrilled when the note came home that she could wear green to school.

Seriously though it's just such a happy holiday. I remember when I was in college they had green beer at all the parties and bars. I never really liked beer, but it was green and it was St. Patrick's Day. You had to have it.

Now today I was heading to pick up the girls when I saw this guy dressed up as a leprechaun waving people in to the bar. Yeah, it's a little early for that, but hey it's St. Patrick's Day. I couldn't help, but smile and wave. It was so cute.

I hope everyone can enjoy the day a little even if you're not Irish. You don't have to be Irish to enjoy the day.

Our TV Died

This is just a very bad start to the day. I got up at my usual time, put the dog out and flicked the TV on to check the news. It's been raining for days and the girls had no school yesterday due to flooding so I needed to see what was going on. The sound was working no problem, but when I turned to see the picture there was nothing and the little lights on the TV were blinking. It's done this before and my husband was able to fix it by replacing the bulb. I figured it was the same thing a nuisance for sure, but nothing major right? Wrong. I unplugged the TV and put it back on. The picture showed up for a moment and then it fizzled out. My husband sad it was bad. New TV bad. Now there's nothing wrong with a new TV if you have the extra money for one, but we don't right now. This is such a pain.

My girls got up and immediately they think it's the end of the world. The first words out of their cute little mouths were "Why isn't the TV on?" not "Good morning" or anything like that. These kids have their priorities and the TV is definitely up there. Now it's not working and things are going to get ugly. They always watch TV while they eat their breakfast. They were so not happy. I put the radio on, but it just wasn't the same. The little one bounced back and moved on, but the 13 year old was grumpy all morning. This isn't that unusual, but this time there seemed to be a reason for it.

Oh well things could be worse. It's just a TV right? Maybe I can get them to read more? Yeah, right.

Parenthood a Must See for Parents

I am all over this new show Parenthood that is airing on NBC on Tuesday nights. It stars Lauren Graham of Gilmore Girls fame and Craig T. Nelson who used to be on Coach. It's a phenomenal cast.

The story is about a group of adult brothers and sisters and their families. Their parents are also important to the story. The show is based on the movie Parenthood that stared Steve Martin. It's not exactly the same, but you can definitely see the similarities.

This show seems to give you different aspects of parenthood. One of the sisters is a working mom and she spends a lot of time working so her daughter is more attached to daddy because he's there more. The other sister is moving back home with her two teenage kids to start over. The kids are not happy. The brothers are dealing with their own issues. One of them is happily settled with his family, but discovers his son has Aspergers and his daughter has been smoking pot. Things are just not as wonderful as you think. The screw up brother has just learned he has a 5 year old son. I tell you the story is just wonderful. One minute I'm laughing and the next I'm crying. It's an emotional roller coaster. We have set this show for a weekly record on our DVR and I am really looking forward to watching this weeks episode.

I Don't Want to Spring Ahead

I think my title says it all. I don't want to give up my hour of sleep. I woke up this morning and truly felt cheated. Where did my hour go anyway? It just evaporates into the cosmos. I'm not happy about this. My oldest isn't happy either. She made plans to go to a friend's house and work on their science fair project and she woke up feeling completely rushed. She needed that hour. Sure you think an hour is nothing, but you can get a lot done in an hour and I want it back.

My youngest, the cup is half full child, sees the good side of daylight savings. It will be lighter longer and she will have more time to play outside when her homework is complete. I understand and I do like that aspect of it. I just want my hour. I know it will come back around in the fall, but it doesn't do me any good today.

This also messes up my household for weeks. The kids have a real hard time adjusting to the new time. They're never going to go to sleep tonight for that matter I'll probably have a hard time as well. This all means I won't be able to get them up in the morning. Oh it's going to be an ugly week. The only good thing I can think of at the moment is it's almost baseball season. As I write this post my husband has just put on a Red Sox spring training game. Now I have something to smile about. I love baseball.

Fushigi Yugi

My girls have been digging into my anime collection. As I've stated before I am a huge fan of anime and manga. However, I haven't seen as much as I used to. I just don't have the time or the money for it. One of my favorite animes is Fushigi Yugi. It's an older anime that I just fell in love with. It's about a girl from Japan who gets drawn into an ancient Chinese book. Inside the book she becomes the Priestess of Suzaku. The Priestess has 7 warriors who protect her. She must find them all. She falls in love with one of them as well. There are of course bad guys they must fight along the way. It is a very touching and dramatic anime. It also can be very funny as most animes are.

My girls have been addicted to watching it over the past couple of weeks. It is a very long anime so it's going to take them a while to get through. There are a few episodes that I didn't allow my youngest to watch as they were a little too much for her. My 13 year old is loving it. I'm thrilled that they are enjoying something that I love so much. It can be such a fun and entertaining hobby.

Why Are the Shorts for Tweens and Teens so Short?

Seriously, I am so aggravated about this. We are going to Disney World during the girls April Vacation so I needed to get them some shorts. Well actually just my 13 year old as my 9 year old has hand me downs, thank God. Well I started looking at the mall and all the short are ridiculously short. I would say they're shorter than Daisy Dukes which I didn't think was even possible.

I just don't understand what these stores and designers are thinking. I don't want my adolescent girls walking around with their butts hanging out. It is so inappropriate. It makes me crazy. It's not even like my girls want them. They know their too short. They're not comfortable wearing them.

I want the girls to fashionable, but this is unacceptable. I am going to have to check out some other places. I know that Bermuda shorts are around as well, but they're too long. The girls may have to deal with what I can find. If anyone knows where I can find a decent length jean short please let me know.

Another Easter Basket Filler

Easter is coming very quickly so now comes the time to fill the baskets. My girls have always like little things so this is an easy task. There are these Japanese erasers by Iwako. They come in lots of cute animal shapes. Apparently there another one of those fads. I think that makes 3 that are big in my daughters class right now. It would be nice if they could space these things out a little, but again they aren't very expensive. They cost about $1.00 per eraser and you can get them in sets as well.

They have these really cute hamsters, penguins and hamsters to name a few. I think these are the ones my girls will like best. They also have them in the shape of food though I think my girls will like the little animals the best. They will fit perfectly in those plastic Easter eggs. I can hide them all over the house. That really makes things fun.

These little guys will make school work more fun as well. I wish they had all these things when I was young. Oh well not much I can do about that. Though I can see why they're so popular. They're so darn cute.

Saddened by the Death of Corey Haim

I hadn't really paid to much attention to any of the entertainment news until just a moment ago. I couldn't believe it when I read that Corey Haim died of an accidental drug overdose. He was only 38. I am so sad. Having grown up in the 80s I remember seeing many of his movies. He will always hold a special place in my heart.

The Lost Boys remains one of my favorite movies to date. A real vampire movie. I haven't let my daughter watch it yet because it's rated R though I know she'll love it. Corey is just so good in it. I'm going to have to rent it now. I haven't seen it in a few years.

Lucas is another of his great movies. It's just one of those typical 80s movies that moves you. He's plays a typical nerd who falls for a new girl who ends up becoming a cheerleader so he tries out for the football team. Meanwhile she's too busy falling in love with Charlie Sheen. Oh the memories.

It's just so disheartening when something like this happens. He will always be remembered by the wonderful roles he played. He will be missed.

Smencil's Another New Fad

Well another fad has appeared in my daughter's third grade class. There seems to be several cool things going on right now, but the one that has caught my daughter's attention is Smencils. Smencils are pencils made from recycled newspapers. After the recycled newspapers are made into pencils they are soaked in different scents such as watermelon, cinnamon, bubblegum and cotton candy. They have a very strong smell to them hence where they get their name,Smencils.

My daughter told me about them and I had no clue what they were, but she asked me if the next time we went to the store she could buy one. I said she could since she still had some birthday money left. Well I kept forgetting about them, but she didn't she continually asked me to bring her till finally we went. The store where they sold them had them on sale individually. They were I as I recall $1.50 for one pencil. It seemed a little expensive for a pencil, but I guess it could have been a lot worse. My daughter very happily picked out 2 pencils and was thrilled. She just loved that they smelled so good. It's much more fun to do school work when you have a scented pencil. That's what she tells me anyway.

She came home today and told me that her teacher has put them into the prize box. The prize box is something that they get do pick out of if they win the weekly class raffle. My daughter is still waiting to win. The funny thing is that even her teacher is onto what's cool.

I'm thinking the Smencil's are great Easter basket stuffer. I know the ones she has won't last forever so it may be wise if she got a few more. They also have colored pencil Smencils. I'll have to inform the Easter Bunny. It's a good thing I know him personally.

Animal Cell Model Project

My 13 year old loves science she honestly can't get enough. She has a really tough teacher this year for science. She works really hard, but she never really knows what the teacher is looking for. She's kind of a conundrum. Her teacher is very strict on parents not helping the kids with any school work. I have no problem with this as my daughter is really fine on her own, but it's hard not to help out when I see her struggling.

Now this weekend she was asked to make a model of a cell. They could make any cell they wanted too. My daughter chose an animal cell. The teacher told them to use a paper plate and that just drawing it wouldn't be enough to get a good grade. She wanted creativity. My daughter was very worried about this she wanted to do a great job and impress her teacher. She worked extremely hard on it using clay, paper, pipe cleaners and those styrofoam peanuts. I think she did a great job. It took her such a long time and she really thought about it. She asked for our advice and we gave it, but she did the work. I hope she's rewarded for it. She knows some kids will come in with elaborate models that clearly weren't their own work. It happens all the time. I told her to be proud of what she did and not worry about anyone else. I know the teacher will see the effort she put into it. So fingers crossed her teacher is in a good mood or my evening will be ugly. Did I mention I hate homework on the weekend? I really do. Give them a break already.

A Trip to the Clinique Counter

When my daughter turned 13 I promised her as part of her birthday present I would take her to the Clinique counter at Macy's to have them help her pick out the right colors for her face. Yes, I know she's young, but so many girls her age are wearing make-up I would just prefer that if she's going to wear it she wears it correctly. Many of the girls at her school wear this heavy black eyeliner. I hate it. They look ridiculous. These girls are naturally pretty and don't need make-up anyway. Of course they like a little color and who doesn't like to wear lip gloss, but really there is no need for them to look like raccoons.

My daughter was fairly nervous when we got to the counter. The women were very friendly and luckily the counter wasn't crowded. I started the talking because my daughter suddenly lost her voice. I explained we wanted very natural looking make-up just to highlight her features.

They knew exactly what I was getting at and to be honest that's why I love Clinique. The colors are so natural. I don't want my daughter looking older than she is, but I understand her desire to start to grow up. I'm not going to tell her she can't wear make-up. That never works. Some of her friends sneak it as soon as they get out of the house and they make themselves look like they're 30 not 13. There is just no need of that.

The woman helped her with some blush, eyeliner and eyeshadow. She made my daughter so happy when she told her she would probably never need mascara. Her eyelashes are already so thick. My daughter hates mascara. She wears it for dance recitals and complains the whole time. The other stuff she couldn't wait to get her hands on. The woman guided her to colors that would look good on her and gave advice. Ultimately my daughter left with a huge grin on her face swinging her new bag of cosmetics.

It's win, win all the way around she's happy about being aloud to wear a little make-up occasionally and I'm happy that the make-up she'll be wearing will have her look her age. Thanks Clinique for the great experience.

New Alice In Wonderland

Today my 13 year old was invited to go see the new Alice In Wonderland for a birthday party. I have to be honest and say that I am not a fan of Tim Burton movies. I've just never cared for them. I find them kind of visually creepy. If we didn't have this party I probably would have avoided taking the kids. Although I am a fan of Johnny Depp.

The girls were all excited to see it as they are doing a school play based on Alice In Wonderland this year. Now this is not a remake of Alice it is a continuation. Alice is older and falls down the rabbit hole. She runs into all the old gang and basically helps them against the Red Queen. I found the movie to be all over the place. Some of it was confusing. I know the Hatter is suppose to be mad, but after awhile it was annoying. As a whole his performance was good. I had no problems with Alice. I thought the actress did a nice job. The effects were a little much and I didn't even see it in 3D. The birthday girl got sick at the last 3D movie she saw so her mother passed on that. There were a few funny parts that kept the movie going. Also if you have small children there are a few scary parts. The Jabberwocky had a very scary look to him.

So overall I would say the movie was okay. I didn't love or hate it. My daughter agreed with me she thought it was okay. Her friends for the most part seemed to really like it. I'd have to say this is not a movie I would watch again. So if you were really looking forward to seeing it give it a try you may really like it. I just didn't have much of an opinion either way. This was an average movie.

I Can't Do Anything Right!

Every morning I do my 13 year old's hair. She has beautiful long brown hair. Everyday it's the same. She wants it in a pony tail. Well today I said how about wearing it down for a change. She seemed willing to do it and picked out a pretty barrette. When I was finished I thought she looked so pretty and grown up.

However, she went to the mirror and said she thought she looked horrible. I told her that wasn't the case, but if she wanted me to put it in a pony tail I had plenty of time to do that. She sat there and was on the verge of tears for about 15 minutes telling me she just didn't know what to do.

Now it was time to go. My husband was down the stairs and it was getting late. They had to leave to go to school. Now she decided to burst into tears. I couldn't believe it. My husband had no time for it and I felt horrible. I told her I would do a pony tail really quick. She couldn't even look at me. She grabbed her coat and got in the car. I feel horrible. Seriously how dare I try to make her look nice for school. I should have just done the pony tail. Now I have to worry about her all day. Honestly, she looked beautiful. I just hope someone tells her she looks nice. It will take some of the edge off. Bottom line. I can't do anything right.

"Mom, I Forgot My Homework."

My husband was working from home today so that means I needed to take the girls to school. There was no problem there. We were all ready on time and headed out. We pulled into the parking lot at school and my daughter informed me that she had forgotten something she needed to do an in school project with. It was really important and four other girls were counting on her to bring it in. Then the tears start to come. She's afraid she's going to get in trouble from the teacher.

Now I am obviously at the command of my children. I have nothing else to do today, right? I told her I would rush home and grab the item and bring it right back. She couldn't remember when she had that class and there was some concern it would be right away so I needed to hurry. That's right I had to transform into super mom.

This whole thing really bugged me because my daughter came home from school yesterday and said she had no homework. She finished it all in school. She then preceded to sit on her butt all afternoon and watch TV. Now you would think she could have thought to put this item in her school bag so there was no need to stress mom out in the morning, but no that didn't happen. We had to have a morning panic and cause me to get all aggravated.

Now I have to send a thank you to my mom who saved my sanity. She happened to be on the way to my house to show me something and said she would be happy to drop my daughters homework off for her at the school since it was on her way back home. I really appreciated this. I had woken up on the wrong side of the bed and she saved me from staying there.

OF course the funniest thing of all according to my daughter was that she didn't end up needing said item today. Well doesn't that just say it all. I really think I should have just stayed in bed.

A Remake of the Karate Kid. Please Say It Isn't So.

On Sunday I was looking for something to watch on the treadmill when I came upon a marathon of The Karate Kid . Now this was a movie I loved when I was younger. It originally came out in my yearly teen years. Oh the memories of Ralf Macchio. Not to mention who didn't love Mr. Miyagi played by Par Morita. "Wax on. Wax off." I think that has to be the most famous line from the movie.

I truly enjoyed watching it again. It was great. I love watching Daniel stick up for himself against the bullies with the use of karate which was taught to him to use only in defense. Truly one of the great movies of the 80's. So when I saw a commercial for a remake of the movie I was not pleased. They are going to have a young kid move to China and get picked on and taught karate by Jackie Chan. Now to this I have to say. Why can't they just leave it alone? I don't want a remake. The original is a classic and kids today can watch it and still get the meaning of it. My daughter caught some of it and she sat herself right down and really enjoyed it.

I just find it so frustrating. Is there no originality left out there? I would much rather see an original movie as opposed to a remake. I almost never like remakes. Seriously what are they going to remake next Gone With the Wind or The Wizard of Oz. They better not even think about it.

Alice on DVD and Blu-ray Today

Today is the day my 13 year old has been waiting for since she first saw the Alice miniseries on the SyFy Channel way back in October. I realize that wasn't really along time ago, but to a 13 year old it's a lifetime. Alice is finally being released on DVD and Blu-ray.

I saw that it was on sale at Target from the flyer in the Sunday paper and so did she. She asked me to please pick it up on Tuesday. This is no problem because I do my grocery shopping on Tuesdays and there's a Target right there. I popped in and picked up the Blu-ray. I have to admit that I'm happy to get my hands on it as well. I really enjoyed it as well. It will also be nice to get the recording off the DVR. My daughter wouldn't let us delete it because whenever she couldn't find something to watch she would watch that. She knows all the lines by heart.

The only disappointing thing I have to report about it is that there doesn't appear to be any deleted scenes or behind the scenes footage. I know my daughter will not be happy about that. I'm all about deleted scenes myself. I always want to see everything that gets filmed. Usually it adds to the story in some way. Well maybe they'll release a special addition DVD if these sell well. One can only hope.

New Harumika Mannequin Set

You all know what a big fan I am of Harumika. It's still one of my 9 year old's favorite activities. Well now they have a new set that comes with a mannequin instead of the dress form.

My daughter was so excited and was hoping to get one for her birthday. Well we just saw her aunt last weekend and she brought her a Harumika mannequin set. She couldn't wait to rip that baby open. She got the one with the blond wig. Now when she makes her designs she can really see what it would look like on a model. She loves it and as I'm typing this she's making a new outfit. The only problem I see with it is the wig keeps falling off, but I'm fairly certain that because she ripped the package open the elastic that attaches the hair came loose. So my guess is I can fix it and if we opened the package more carefully we wouldn't have an issue. She doesn't care anyway. She just keeps on designing.

She keeps saying she's going to be a fashion designer and with the stuff she's been coming up with using Harumika I believe it.