Dancing Queen

Tessa's dance recital was Saturday night. The boys weren't thrilled to go sit in an auditorium for 2 hours and watch 38 dance routines, only two of which featured their sister. They complained more than I thought they would beforehand, actually, and it really bugged me. I pointed out that over the years Tessa has spent more hours than I can count at basketball, soccer, baseball and cub scout activities and she rarely complains. Oh, she'll complain about having to sit out in the rain during a soccer game, but I'm right there with her on that one so I can't blame her. And I believe she got a little antsy last fall at Henry's 4th grade class poetry reading. Again, I kind of can't blame her; watching 31 4th-graders read two original poems each wasn't the most exciting hour-plus I've ever spent either. My point was, however, that she has gone to plenty of their activities so once a year they can suck it up and watch her dance, darn it!

Her class did two dances. The jazz/ballet number was to True Love's Kiss, from the movie Enchanted. It was really cute and they did a good job. During their tap number they got a little confused. It was to a song called April Showers and they had umbrellas that they had to put down and move around and pick up again. Apparently it was a little too much for them because they got confused and just ended up grabbing random umbrellas to finish the number. Again, however, cute. As soon as I get the DVD I'll try and post the videos. Until then, the only picture I got of her that day is below:

She looks flushed because the finale involved all the classes on stage at the same time, doing sign language and dancing to a song that was pretty long. With all the bodies on stage and the lights, she was really hot.

After the recital the boys were good and told her that they liked her dances and had a good time. I didn't sit by them (I had to sit by Tessa in the back with her class so Jay, the boys, Nana, Great Nana, Laura and cousin Boston sat closer to the front) so I'm not sure how sincere they were but they were nice and sweet to her so that's all I care about.

She's already talking about taking dance next year, which is just fine with me. It's fun for her and gives her a fun activity outside of school to enjoy. Henry and William are already gearing up for next year's dance review, I can tell.

Pinkalicious

Tessa, like many 5 year old girls, loves pink. So when she requested a pink bike for her birthday, I took it in stride. Jay commented that it was "awfully pink" but she loves it so what can you do. When she's in full pink mode, however, it's truly spectacular:




The day I took this picture she was riding around the cul-de-sac when our neighbor came home. Tessa was trying to ride her bike while looking backwards, which is a recipe for trouble, so I tried to explain to her why she had to look where she was going when riding her bike. Her response - "I was worried that she wouldn't see me on my bike." Not to worry, I told her. I'm fairly sure that astronauts on the International Space Station could see her in all her pinktastic glory.

I personally think that the bejeweled sunglasses are the best part!

The Taste of Crow

I'm eating crow this week and I have to say it doesn't taste as bad as I thought it would.

Let me explain. I've never been a technophile. I like technology, don't get me wrong, but I don't salivate at the latest and greatest innovations. I still have the same iPod Shuffle that I bought a few years ago. It works fine for what I use it for (to pass the time on the treadmill). I have no desire for a newer/bigger/more expensive MP-3 player. Our computer is older than Tessa. My cell phone is probably the most basic model you could ever own at this point, but it's fine. It makes calls and texts - what else do I need?

Jay, on the other hand, likes his technology. Every so often he gets new stuff via work and he's typically exposed to the latest and greatest. He got a new phone a while back and it reminded me of that commercial where the woman asked her husband if he needed to be alone with his new phone - he spent the entire weekend fooling around with it. I teased him about loving a phone (or an iPad or iPad or whatever). And now we come to the "Rhonda is eating crow" part.

Because I now have a Kindle. The perfect techological innovation for a reader. I've been snobbish about them in the past. I like reading "real books". And I still do. But can I just say how nice my Kindle is? I quickly downloaded a bunch of books - lots of them were free, although I have to say that I'll have to watch how much I spend on this thing because it's waaaayyyy too easy to click "BUY". And although I only read one book at a time (just my preference) I love having a stack, or in this case a list, of books ready to go as soon as I finish what I'm currently reading.

Plus there are games. I've become addicted to this game where you have to find all the words possible with a group of letters - I can't remember the name of it. But last night when Jay went to bed he said, "Don't stay up to late playing with your Kindle". "OK", I said as I kissed him goodnight. Then I triumphantly found the longest word that I needed to fine (GADGETS) and unlocked the next level. Let's just say I was up for a while longer.

So I love my Kindle - a great surprise for Mother's Day for me. I also loved the homemade cards that my kids gave me, the bouquet of flowers from William made of pipe cleaners and cupcake liners, and the "#1 MOM" shirt from Henry (that I have threatened to wear to all his baseball games). It was a good day.

Now I just have to learn to continue to be a good mom while I balance time with my Kindle. Because believe me, it's more fun to read or play games on it than it is to play checkers with Tessa.

Sakes Alive, Tessa is Five!

How did this happen? Almost exactly 5 years ago today - she was born just before 3 pm - she was born. We were so happy to have her join our family. She wasn't exactly easy as a newborn, but we've had harder (I'm looking at you, Henry). She was just beautiful and had a headful of hair:



Now she is sassy, sweet and opinionated. She is pretty easy to please, actually, and although a big part of me is looking forward to having her in kindergarten next year - I will have almost 4 hours a day to do....whatever I want - part of me will miss the time we spend together. Oh, and she still has a lot of hair:




She's had a nice birthday. Actually, she's had a nice string of days devoted to her birthday. On Monday we opened her presents and had her cake because today Henry has a soccer game out in Timbuktu, I mean Newton. She was thrilled with her Tangled-themed cake and her gifts. She got a new big-girl bike; it's pink and has tassles on the handlebars and she adores it. Did I mention it's pink? She got a few other things as well, including some books, a new pair of sunglasses, a Rapunzel Barbie and a unicorn pillow pet.

Today she took treats to dance class and the other girls sang Happy Birthday to her as she passed out brownies. Jay and I took her to lunch at A&W (my least favorite place to eat, yet the first choice among my children of places to eat out). Tomorrow she gets to be the Special Friend at preschool and take birthday treats to share. By the time Wednesday evening comes, she will have had a few days of celebration dedicated to her. Hopefully those memories will ease the pain of her Thursday doctor's appointment, at which she is scheduled to get her kindergarten booster shots. That'll be fun.

Happy Birthday, Tessa. We love you!

Seasonal Confusion

This spring has just been stupid. We haven't been warm at all and it's been incredibly wet, so much so that for the first time in 6 years our sump pump is plugged in 24/7 and goes off with disturbing regularity. It's grey and dingy and if it wasn't above freezing I would mistake it for February. Soccer games are hit and miss - last Saturday William's game was played in what can only be described as a deluge and other games this week have been cancelled because the fields are in terrible condition.

Tessa seems to think it's December, however. She has been wanting to watch Christmas shows (Barbie in The Nutcracker and How the Grinch Stole Christmas were the last two DVD's that she chose from the library) and today she insisted on listening to Christmas music in the car. Luckily I still had the Glee Christmas CD handy so as drove to Sam's Club we sang along to "Jingle Bells" and "Baby It's Cold Outside".

As we got out of the car at the store, Tessa astutely commented that Christmas songs were supposed to talk about Jesus. I pointed out that lots of them did - as a matter of fact we had just been listening to one (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen). She thought for a minute and said that I was right, that the song said that Jesus came to save us from sin and the power of Santa (not Satan, as the song says). Maybe we need to have a few more lessons on Christmas? Not sure Easter was the time I thought I'd be doing that, but whenever the opportunity presents itself, right?

Interview with a 4 Year Old

My friend Lori (hi Lori!) recently posted an interview that she did with her 4 year old daughter, Sophie. It was adorable. So I decided to steal the idea for myself and interview Tessa. Here are the results:

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
No (OK, this answer made me a little sad because I really don't think I say NO that much but maybe I do)

2. What makes Mom happy?
Singing Firework on the treadmill (Not so much - the only thing that makes me happy on the treadmill is watching the minutes tick down so I can get off)

3. What makes Mom sad?
When we don’t do the things that Mom wants us to do (Ding, ding, ding - we have a winner)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
By telling funny stories (I can't imagine where she got this because I don't really tell funny stories but whatever)

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I don’t know because I wasn’t there (True enough)

6. How old is your mom?
I don't know (Good answer - The boys will gleefully tell people that I'm 42)

7. How tall is your mom?
Maybe 50 Feet long (Obviously we need to work on units of measurement; Maybe they'll cover this in kindergarten)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
To make us happy (Another winner)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Fun things like go out for lunch or the grocery store or hang out (Obviously some of those things are more fun that others)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Being lucky (???)

11. What is your mom really good at?
That’s a hard one to know. She is good at making us pasta. (Yes. I make an excellent pasta - penne, angel hair, you name it. It's my special way of boiling water.)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Making biscuits (The only reason she thinks this is because Jay has spent way too much time on Saturday mornings perfecting a buttermilk biscuit recipe. My regular old drop biscuits are perfectly fine)

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Be on the computer and do what she’s supposed to do (OK)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Dumplings and beignets that are from New Orleans (A little esoteric, but pretty close)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
When she plays with us (Well, I'm proud of me when I play umpteen games with Tessa too, since she tends to make up rules as she goes along)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
I think I know….a mom (Probably. Or a superhero.)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Go to lunch, sometimes get haircuts, and we also love each other (Awwwwww)

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Our hair is the same and sometimes we match and we have the same last name (We won't discuss how much it costs for me to have the same color hair as Tessa)

19. How are you and your mom different?
Because we have different colored lips (Again, this costs a bit but not as much as the hair color)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because we are her kids (Obviously, but there are all the times I say and show it)

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
To Chick Fil (Well, not really top 10 but maybe top 20)

Spring? Break

This week is spring break for the kids. The week started out well. The weather was pretty good - not great or as warm as I'd like it but April in Utah is a mixed bag so you take what you can get. The kids played with friends and spent time outside. William had a soccer practice. It was a little cool and a little breezy but doable. On Wednesday my good friend Melissa and I took our kids (5 between us) to Ogden to the Nickel Arcade. You pay an admission but then all the games are a nickel (or two or four, but you get the idea). Tessa and Easton liked the rides best - you know, the kind of rides you can ride at the grocery store? They had a ton of them and most of them were just a nickel. Score! Henry and William played some games and at the end we cashed in our tickets for some incredibly well made merchandise (insert sarcastic face here). It was a lot of fun, however, and I'd post some pictures but neither Melissa or I remembered our camera. Lame, I know. Trust me when I say it was The Best Day Ever. Today it looks like this:

Sigh. We decided to go to a movie. There were a few options to choose from in the theaters. The kids have seen Tangled and I just got it in the mail from Netflix so we'll watch that this weekend at home. We don't have Beiber fever enough in our house to brave the Justin Beiber concert movie (actually, we don't have Beiber fever at all). I refuse to see Yogi Bear - I already saw Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 a few years ago and am still regenerating the brain cells I lost during that 90 minute time period and Yogi Bear seems like it would be worse (if that's possible). So that left Hop, which got a D in Entertainment Weekly magazine, or Gnomeo and Juliet. Since Gnomeo and Juliet is playing at the discount theater, we opted for the 2:10 pm showing today. I don't think I'd recommend it. It was basically the story of Romeo and Juliet, except with garden gnomes, set to the soundtrack of Elton John. The music part confused me. After a while I started thinking, "why are all the songs in this movie by Elton John" and wondering when the song "Benny and the Jets" was going to come on because there was a garden gnome named Benny. So I looked it up when I got home and it was produced by, you guessed it, Elton John.

Anyway, it wasn't even that funny. No laughs, Tessa was in my lap the last 20 minutes and Henry said it was one of the worst movies he'd ever seen. Take that for what it's worth (for the record, Henry loved Alvin and the Chipmunks 2) but if you have any other options, I don't think I'd see this movie. Or rent it. Or Netflix it. Or buy it. But it passed the time on a snowy April day. So that's something.

Only one more day of spring break. The forecast - Rain/Snow Showers. Hop is starting to look pretty good about now.