Saturday, February 26, 2011

Evolution of Dance w/ Glow Stick Men and Handling Stress

My son has never been one to want to get involved in school talents shows.....we can barely get him to participate in the Fall and Spring programs at school.  I think he may sing every fourth word if we are lucky.  So when he came home and told me that he was participating in the 5th Annual PRCA Talent Show this year, I have to admit I was a little taken aback.  I was even more surprised when he told me that the boys would be recreating the Evolution of Dance as glow stick men. Singing in a group may be one thing, but struttin' your stuff with three other boys in front of your school is another matter
altogether.  Especially, since the times I have seen him dance in his ten years I can count on one hand.   I was skeptical but being the supportive mom that I am I told him that I was sure that it was going to be great and I couldn't wait for the talent show to get here.  They practiced a lot and he told me that there were a couple of the segments that were really embarrassing and he didn't really want to do them.  Last night was the big night, and although I wasn't too sure what to expect I was excited because my son was excited. Zachary's group closed the first act and they literally "rocked the house".  The audience was cheering and clapping.  Although I may be a bit biased (ok, maybe a lot) they were fantastic!  Zachary was so excited when they came off the stage.  He ran up to us and said "that was epic wasn't it?".  As a mom beaming with pride, I hugged that boy and agreed "yes son, that was indeed EPIC"!  Just goes to prove that will your children will never cease to amaze you.

If you have ever checked out my "About Me" blurb you will notice near the bottom is says" I have recently discovered that I am a pretty mean party planner".  OK, with that being said, I did manage - with the financial backing of my dear dad, and "a little help from my friends" to pull of one pretty incredible party.  It has not without some consequences however.  I have come to realize that in some cases, I just don't handle stress that well.  Outwardly, there was the appearance of a pretty together person pulling it all together with some minor freak fests along the way.  Inwardly, my body had another plan.  The party got going at around 4 PM on February 12th.  At 6 PM on that same evening I began to lose my voice.  I attributed it to just being tired - I won't mention the fact that with all that great food available I had margaritas (equally as good) for dinner instead.  Well, it has only gone downhill since then.  Yesterday, I started round two of antibiotics and I feel like I have been run over by a steam roller.  I am generally not a "sickly" person.  I may get a little bug here or there, but this is going on two weeks now.  I would like to think that it is all a coincidence and one thing had nothing to do with the other, but being that I am usually a pretty healthy person I don't know what else to think.  I am not giving up though...next time I will just double up on the antioxidants and maybe call in some more reinforcements.  It was THAT much fun!!!

I will close with the invites from the party.  Guess I should have posted them before the favor boxes, but I was having technical difficulties.  Oh, the party favors were blue rimmed Mexican bubble glasses that we had for the margaritas and Sangria - pictures coming soon.  All of the party details were coordinated with the paper that I used for the memory book. I will post about the actual party and memory book once I get the pictures.  I am trying to be patient, but am so anxious to see what the very talented Macy captured.

Front and Back of Invitation

Another View


Sampling of Different Paper Designs

I Stamped the Envelopes with Hummingbirds in Versamark Ink

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

I Didn't Lie....I Just Didn't Tell the Whole Truth

So late this afternoon, I picked my son up from school.  He was in good spirits and seemed overly pumped about watching the final two episodes of 24: Season 8.  It has been our Netflix addiction for months now.  Never mind that I was convinced that Jack Bauer surely had to die at the end, and Zachary was convinced that out of a stroke of luck Jack would live to see another day.

So me being the good mom that I strive to be, I immediately asked Zachary if he had completed his homework.  He replied "yes", which is not at all unusual as he frequently completes his homework in after school care.  We got home, fed the cat, fed ourselves, Zach got his shower and we settled in to watch the exciting culmination of eight seasons of that bada#s Jack Bauer's rouge adventures.  The final season came to close....not to worry - no spoilers here, and the rest of the evening routine kicked into gear.

I packed his lunch, asked for his assignment folder so that I could sign it and told him that I wanted to look over his homework.  There was some 10 year old evasion tactics in full force when I asked for his folder, so I should have know that something wasn't quite right.  Of course, when he FINALLY handed it over, only one side of the homework sheet was complete.  The incomplete side required cutting and gluing and Zachary insisted that his teacher was not requiring that portion to be done because she hadn't provided that "special sheet of extra paper".  Needless to say, I was more than a little perturbed at him.  I immediately told him to hand over the i-Pod Touch and demanded to know why he lied.  He emphatically denied that he had lied and attempted to explain to me again that Mrs. Reynolds didn't give him the material that he needed to complete the assigment.

After much debate, he and I finally came to the agreement that "not telling the whole truth" is just a less harsh explanation of a lie.  He was angry at me and I hate that.  But as I tucked him in tonight, I explained to him that it was because I love him so much that I called him out and was taking his i-Pod Touch away. There has to be consequences for bad behavior.  I told him that if I didn't love him I wouldn't care what he did and I wouldn't feel compelled to teach him right from wrong.  Funny thing is...when I leaned down to kiss him good night and tell him that I love him.....he smiled at me and said "love you too, Mom".   That my friends is truly PRICELESS!  Just goes to prove that although you want to be their friends, they need you to be their parents.

Zach when he still thought that I knew EVERYTHING!

                                      

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Playlists, "Craftastic"and The Giggles

So, I just have to laugh.  I am not what you would call very "blog savvy" at this point.  I am learning, but it is a lot of tiny baby steps.  At one point this evening I had three identical playlists going at once.  Aside from cluttering my page to distraction they were all about two seconds from being in sync.  So needless to say, a small sampling of some of my favorites quickly turned into a headache of epic proportions.  Luckily, I was able to rectify the situation in short order.  My plan is to add to the playlist as the mood strikes me, but it will always open with Beautiful Day.....wouldn't quite be right any other way.  If you want a little more variety you will have to hang around a bit longer.  All of the songs on my playlist are long standing favorites with the exception of Ingrid Michaelson.  She has a very unique sound and I have loved her since the first time I heard her.  Don't be surprised if a couple more from Ingrid show up.   I borrowed her from Kelle Hampton's playlist on Enjoying the Small Things.  Her blog button is to the right....you should visit.  You will not be disappointed.  One other thing that I may borrow from her is "craftastic".  I LOVE it, but please don't confuse with "craptastic".  That is a whole nother beast.  So speaking of craftastic, for about the last six months I have spent planning my mother's surprise 60th birthday party.  Although, I am not prepared to go into all the details tonight (I think I am still recovering)......I think there are several posts worth of sharing in the coming weeks.  Suffice to say, there has been an abundance of craft filled weekends and late nights, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world.  I thought I would share the party favor boxes with you and continue on from there in subsequent  posts.  I cannot take credit for any of the print work.  That was all courtesy of my super talented, dear friend Megan.   


In closing....there were a couple of times today that I had to remind myself that it was in fact a "beautiful day".  Work had me flying in a million directions at once and someone that I trusted with all of my being rocked that trust.  On the flip side, I have a great job and I have some of the most wonderful friends I could ask for.  As I was tucking in my beautiful 10 year old "baby boy", we laughed until we were both crying and he begged me to make it stop because his tummy hurt so bad.  And then this happened:


Proof positive that life is good and I am blessed!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Inaugural Post

First of all, thank you for visiting my blog.  I am so glad that you have found me!   I have been fretting over this post for a few weeks.  To blog or not to blog...that is the question.  Would anyone really care....would I gain something from it?  Well, whether anyone will really care remains to be seen.  Do I think that I am going to gain something from it?  Resoundingly, yes!  I think that this will become my little free version of therapy and if I am lucky one day...people might start to put their two cents in.  The title of my blog comes from my most favorite song ever....Beautiful Day by U2.  No matter what is going on, or what kind of day it has been this song never ceases to put a smile on my face.  I also strive to make the most of every day and remember that it is a "beautiful day".  Let's face it, some days are naturally better than others.  The fact is that each day is a gift and when you look at it that way you can't help but smile.  What kind of posts do you have to look forward to?  Hmmm...wish I could say for sure.  I think it will be whatever is in the forefront on any particular day.....a current scrapbooking project, something great that my son has done, something crazy my cat has done or just something that had an impact on my day...the possibilities are endless.  So, as I close my inaugural post, once again thank you for visiting.  I hope to see you back soon!