We had a lovely, but busy weekend. It started with Rori's bestie's birthday party. They got to paint ceramics, and Rori had a great time! Then on Sunday, we got to go to Disney Princesses on Ice!! Bill and I had been contemplating taking Rori to see it, but it was pretty pricey. Then, about two weeks ago, Bill got a coupon code for seats in the fourth row for $12!! We couldn't pass it up. I immediately ordered 4 tickets, because we figured at that price, Liam should come too. After I ordered them, I thought, I should have gotten a ticket for Rachel as a birthday present. I talked to her Auntie, who works with me, and she offered to get her a ticket if I could still get one. Bill and I figured we would just get one more ticket and if it wasn't with the group, he would sit in it. I called Ticketmaster and they were incredibly helpful and got us the fifth seat in our group. I do have to give the dear hubby a shout out. I would have driven us by myself, but it was in the city and I would have no idea where I was going and everything is under construction, so Bill had to take us. Today was the opening day for the Chicago Bears, and he only grumbled a teensy weensy bit about missing it. I told him he only got a little bit of credit for it because he has set the bar incredibly high as far as husbandly and fatherly duties, that now, this kind of sacrifice is expected :) But really, thank you for taking us, my dear.

The girls were ecstatic! Rachel's dad dropped her off in the morning and she had on the dress that she and Rori both own, which of course, Rori thought of wearing already too! However, Rachel had on a green cardigan and told Rori to wear a green one too. Rori said she didn't have one, so Rachel happily wore one of Rori's white ones so they could match. Very sweet. The girls chattered the whole car ride down. It's amazing how their conversations are actual conversations now. We had The Princess and The Frog playing in the car and I heardt this conversation:
Rachel: "Her parents passed away."
Rori: "away to where?"
Rachel: "I don't know, that's what my mom told me."

Later, during the dancing scene, Rori said, "At my Auntie Marylou's wedding, I danced the night away." It was all very grown up :)

When we got to the theatre, the kids weren't very hungry--they were too excited. We got them popcorn and they sat back and anxiously awaited the show. I have heard mostly negative things about the cheese factor of Disney on Ice, but I thought the show was wonderful. They re-enacted scenes from Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan, Sleeping Beauty, and the Little Mermaid. The second half of the show they dedicated to my favorite, Cinderella. The girls were enamored. And there was enough of the Genie and other boy characters to keep Liam's attention. Bill just sat there and imagined those were his seats at a Blackhawks game, instead of Disney Princesses.

It was one of the best days! The girls were a tad disappointed that Princess Tiana wasn't in the show, but I found out that she is in the next Disney on Ice production, so maybe next year...

Eleven months

I am not even going to say that I am going to be better about blogging. Nobody will believe me anyway :) I've been exhausted since Rori started school and Bill and I are out of our regular routines. I haven't even worked out in a week! Which for me is crazy. That's always my "me" time, but frankly the second month of Insanity has kicked my behind, and I have to say, I think Shaun T has defeated me. But I am promising myself, I am not going to let that be permanent. I will start afresh next week. Putting it in writing should make me do it...

Anyway, my baby boy is going to be a year old in less than a month!! I do not know where the time went, and I am refusing to believe it. I haven't posted pictures of him in a while, and yesterday the weather was so beautiful that the kids got to play outside for hours (which is wonderful at bedtime--they are wiped!). So I decided to snap a couple of pictures. Have you ever seen such a handsome baldy?

First Day of Kindergarten

I am a few days behind, but so what else is new? Rori's first day of Kindergarten came upon me faster than I had ever imagined. I remember sitting on the couch with Bill, after having Rori and talking about her someday going to school, and thinking it was a long way off. Then I blinked my eyes and suddenly she was five and about to embark on her journey to Kindergarten.

Bill took the day off so we could all go together. Rori picked out her dress and her fanciest shoes (Stuart Weitzman's from Aunt Nicki--I don't even have a pair!) for her first day. We live too close for bus service so Monday morning, we packed up all three kids and trekked over to the school. Rori stood in line to go into school and we all stood with her. I was waiting for her to tear up or her lips to tremble, but she never did. She stayed brave and walked into school with her classmates, and never turned around. I wore sunglasses to hide my watery eyes, Bill and Brendan waved bye-bye and Liam sat in the stroller crying that nobody loves him and he wanted new shoes. It was a real Norman Rockwell moment.

I picked up Rori from school and Bill and I took her to lunch to celebrate her first day. Her best friend, Rachel called to see how her first day went and we got to hear details that we had been trying to get out of her. I think I need Rachel to call every day so I can hear how her day went!

 We went to Rain Forest Cafe--her choice and she had pizza and coke. She showed us around the restaurant and was so excited to show us all the cool animals. Grandma Casey had taken her several times, but Bill and I had never gone, so she was so proud to show us around. Then she told us all about the mall (the restaurant is in a mall) and showed us the moving stairs and the elevator with glass walls. I'm a little frightened that she knows more about the mall than I do--as a matter of fact, she's been there more times in the last 3 years than I have!

Anyway, I am so proud of my big girl for being so brave!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my Dad's 60th birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy/Grandpa Hoo Hoo!

Miscommunication

Apparently I am getting deaf in my old age and I can't hear or understand people on the phone anymore. Today, I was at Target buying a booster seat for Rori. I wasn't sure if it would be ok if I bought a backless one since it was for Bill's car and I didn't want to spend the extra money for one with a back. However, if it meant that I was an irresponsible parent by getting the backless one, I would shell out the additional $30. So, I called my friend, April, since she was on my mind because I had been discussing our church outreach with her earlier, and she has 4 kids--one of which is Rori's bestie, or BFF, or bosom friend, or kindred spirit, as it may be. Anyway, April didn't answer the phone, but called me back as I was checking out, so I was a little distracted--at least that's what I blame it on. This is how the conversation went:

Me:  "Is it okay if I get a backless booster?"

April: "Yes, Rachel and Maya have backless ones. It's totally fine. Oh shoot I forgot Rachel's socks! They won't let her go to school without them next Monday!"

Me: "Um. Okay. That stinks. Bye."

Actually, we chatted a bit more, but I thought, "how odd. Rachel's school has some serious restrictions on hygiene. I guess they don't allow sandals or something." Then I thought, well, I'm at Target, I'll call her back and offer to pick up socks and give them to her at church on Wednesday. I wonder if she needs a special kind. So, I called April.

Me: "Since I'm at Target, do you want me to pick up socks for Rachel and give them to you Wednesday?"

April: "Socks? Huh?"

Me: "I thought she needed socks in order to go to school on Monday."

April: "No....she needs shots."

Me: "Oh. That makes more sense."

The end.

Mating of the vegetables

This year my zucchini, while having giant plants, have not produced the size and quantity of vegetables that they did last year. Several of them got to be just larger than baby carrots and then they start to rot. I was getting really frustrated until I googled it. It appears that the problem is that earlier in the summer we set up a bee trap to keep the bees away from the swing set. My garden is near the swing set, so we set the trap on the other side of the yard. I haven't noticed too many bees in the last month or two. Apparently the bees take the pollen from the male zucchini flowers and put them inside the female ones. If this doesn't happen, the zucchini stop growing and are small and rot. So, the sites I looked at suggested that I pick the male flowers and pull the petals off and tickle the inside of the female flower with the stamen. It sounds kind of naughty, but I may try it. If the neighbors hear giggling from me in the backyard, it's probably because I am mating my zucchini.

Ballerinas

Growing up I always wanted to be a ballerina. I absolutely loved everything about ballet. I read books about it, practiced at home, and when I was finally old enough to be on toe, it was like all my dreams had come true. Alas, eventually I stopped taking lessons, but I occasionally still put on my toe shoes and danced around my room--even in college. I even took lessons one summer after Rori was born. Unfortunately all that did was make me realize I was old and out of shape!

I have always hoped that Rori would become interested in ballet. Today she was watching Barbie as the Nutcracker and Waltz of the Flowers came on. I told her that I had danced to that song a long time ago and asked if she wanted to see my ballet shoes. I pulled out my toe shoes and we both tried them on and I think she felt the magic too! We hobbled around in them and then put on my regular ballet slippers and danced around the living room. I was in heaven. She told me she wants to take ballet and it just made my heart melt into goo!