At Long Last......

I finally got around to blogging again.. It's been a while because I tried so hard to post a video (for the first time..)of Jack playing the jazz version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".. a piece his teacher said is one that will "bring him to a new level of expertise" in piano.. He plays it so well, he gives us the goosebumps. I look at his music and wonder how he can possibly READ it, let alone play it and memorize it. It's amazing to me. He's been taking piano lessons now for over 2 years with the best piano teacher in the world. She is very strict, very demanding, but so caring- and so all the boys want to do is please her. I love that... But anyways, I wanted to post a video of Jack playing his piece, but I guess that being the spaz I am, I can't do it. Any tips anyone can give me about how to post videos would be so appreciated!!!! I'll move on now........

We had an AWESOME Thanksgiving week starting out in Disney World in Orlando, and ending up at the Disney Resort on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. We've been there before, but the kids were younger then.. so this year was different. The boys were able to head off on their own- to play pool, ping-pong, or just explore the place. I am not one to let my kids wander off without me, but I felt completely safe here, and the boys had a blast without their annoying, nerdy Mom hovering over them at all times! A good time was had by all!




When we got back, I had to finish up my house decorating- and one thing I had forgotten about was a lighted snowman I bought on sale last year after Christmas. I set it up, put it on our front porch, and went off to decorate something else. When I came back, I saw Elisa all dressed up, DANCING with this snowman who was just her size. She has been watching WAY too much of her Princess Christmas movies!! But she is so cute, it kills me!!!!



Oh.. and one more thing.. Jack and Will can put on a great Freak Show.... I'm scared.


I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

"Something just doesn't feel quite right...."

Every Friday afternoon, Elisa has her ballet class. She has been taking this class for almost 2 years now at the YMCA and she LOVES it. She has always had the same teacher, Miss Lauren, and Elisa cannot wait to get to class after school on Fridays.
However, this past Friday was different. A LOT different. In fact, if I knew just how different it was going to be and how many questions I would have to answer regarding this particular ballet class, I would have probably taken her to Friendly's instead for an ice cream.
We got to the YMCA and quickly changed into her leotard, tights and ballet slippers, and ran into the classroom. But wait! Where was Miss Lauren? She wasn't in the classroom like she usually is, but there was a young man in there doing some paperwork. When he looked up, he smiled and told Elisa that he would be her ballet teacher for the next few weeks as Miss Lauren was "away". I don't think Elisa was even fazed by this until he stood up (very gracefully, I might add) and tiptoed over to a table where he put on HIS ballet slippers that were exactly like Elisa's, and took her over to the bar to stretch. I have no idea what was going through my tiny girl's head as this was happening, but she just shot me a "What?!?" look as she followed him. She seemed to do well during the class, and he was great with her, so it all turned out okay. But I know that as we first realized that he was going to be her NEW ballet teacher, our first thought was "Something just doesn't feel right.."

Here's a clip from SNL (on YouTube with Beyonce and Justin Timberlake dancing to her new song 'Single Ladies') that made me laugh.....you may have to copy and paste it.. sorry! But it's worth it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C8vrcZglpo

I love him to death but he drives me INSANE.

And I'm not even talking about my husband. I am talking about my 9 year old, Will. Don't get me wrong, he's a great kid, very funny and very smart. However, when Will doesn't want to do something (school work or house chores) he puts on a dramatic display that would make Humphrey Bogart jealous. Oh, the dramatics! I am not even kidding a little bit. And it's not even a new trait of his. This is a skill he has honed for, oh, 7 years or so. My sister Lisa experienced it firsthand years ago, when Will was 2, and he was sleeping on the floor with his cousins. He woke up with a bit of a chill, and for the next 3 hours, chanted " I'm cold, I'm freezing, I'm freezing, I'm cold" over and over and freakin OVER again. If you don't believe me, just ask her. She will still say that to him to this day whenever he starts to complain about something.

Last week at Elisa's ballet lessons, Will stated that he was a tad thirsty. When I told him I had no change and a ten dollar bill, making it impossible to use the vending machine, he had a mini-freakout. And by mini, I mean he said "I'm thirsty" about 200 times, and I am not exaggerating at all. He asked me a million times to check the diaper bag for change, he begged me to let him try to get a $1.50 soda using a 10 dollar bill. It went on for the whole class.. 45 minutes. I thought I was going to have a heart attack from the stress of listening to it. It was awful.

But tonight, oh tonight, we had the performance to end all performances from Will. He got into the car at pick-up time with a pained look on his face. My first thought (besides 'Oh, CRAP! Here we go..') was that he either was seriously ill, or he has.. gasp....HOMEWORK TO DO. It was homework that was so paining Will. Turns out he was assigned a 'writing prompt' in preparation for the Florida Writes test that every 4th grader has to take and pass to get into 5th grade. The assignment was to write about a chore you have to do at home, and why it's important. Not too hard right? Wrong. What transpired when we got home was 6 hours (I have the piano teacher to prove this) of crying, acting disoriented and confused, saying he doesn't "get it", and complaining that his "nose hurts so bad" ( I was confused about that one too, don't feel bad..) It was the worst temper fit from him I have ever seen. He pulled out all the stops.. his 'nose hurt', his 'knee seemed swollen', he hated the substitute teacher, his friend Ethan ate something inedible in science class, Ethan got sent to the principal, and the whole class had to walk laps at recess all because of Ethan (once again..I was confused by this one as well..)Six hours. Six HOURS. SIX HOURS. Not even kidding a little bit. In fact, usually when I am blogging about a kid incident, I find myself smiling, and sometimes laughing as I type. Not tonight. He's upstairs brushing his teeth, readying himself for bed at my request.
He did end up completing his prompt, and it came out great, but I think he aged me 15 years tonight.... I love him to death but he can drive me up the wall. Like I always say to him, "It's a good thing you're cute!!!"