Archive for the 'Milestones' Category

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Weird animal head hat or not, the First Ballet Recital was a success!

Published on Friday, October 16, 2009 in Ballet, Claire, Milestones, Photos and Random Thoughts. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

Claire had her first Ballet Recital last night!

Over all, it went well. It went exactly as I anticipated a Ballet Recital of this magnitude to go. This wasn’t a professional dance studio, and our main goal was to have fun while learning the basics. She had such a great time that I’ve already signed her up for the next session, too.

The only issue she had with the class was that it was full of 3-yr olds…by design. There was no way around that. Claire wanted to focus and literally learned all the steps in one class. She actually took this seriously, which isn’t what most 3-yr olds do. She was surrounded by little girls who would rather run around and act all crazy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

To be honest, if I could justify the expense, I really think Claire would benefit from a true dance studio.  (Edited to add:  We DID enroll her in a true dance studio!)

Just in case you think she’s uptight and stuffy…that’s not the case!  Here is the face she said she was going to use on stage:

The First Ballet Recital Face

She didn't, but I kinda wished she would have!

Anyway…the Ballet Recital was a hit! But, in the essence of full disclosure, the casual side of my personality had to work double-time to compensate for the perfectionist side.  I think I kept the twitching to a minimum.

I know the girls in her class are only 3-yrs old, and you’re going to get what you get.

  • But if you’ve been practicing the routine by giving them verbal cues, and the music is too loud for them to hear you, what do you think is going to happen?
  • And, if you also practice the routine by giving also them visual cues, but you’re standing where they can’t really see you, what do you think is going to happen?
  • And, if you have them perform in a place that looks totally different than where they’ve practiced for eight weeks, and you don’t even give them a chance to practice one time there, what do you think is going to happen?
  • And, if you’ve specifically given Momma instructions on how to do her little ballerina’s hair just so, and then Momma spends the better portion of the hour before her little ballerina goes on stage telling her not to touch her hair, and then you try to force a weird looking animal head hat on said ballerina’s head, what do you think is going to happen? (Please note: Momma was not told there was going to be a weird looking animal head hat involved!  In fact, the teacher had said she probably wouldn’t use props because they’re too distracting!)

I’ll give you three guesses as to the only ballerina who absolutely refused to wear the weird hat…and the first two guesses don’t count.

Go, Claire!

Oh, wait. I’m supposed to be upset by that? I’m not!

She told me later that she told them, “That hat will mess up my hair, and that is unacceptable.” (Yes, that’s a direct quote.)  I thought it was hilarious and exactly what they deserved. Errr, I mean, she’s three!  Whatterya gonna do?  ;)   Either way, I’m not going to complain about it, because I don’t have time to be on that committee, too. ;)

But, I digress.

In the end, the casual part won, and we’re counting the Ballet Recital as a complete success. We can’t wait for the next one!

The preschooler is starting to know too much.

Published on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 in Claire, Conversations, Milestones and Random Thoughts. 4 Comments Tags: .

Daddy, Momma and Claire are at a local big-box store buying the newest car seat (booster) for Claire.  While there, we notice that they have children’s clothing on sale.  The sale applies to two items purchased.  After this latest growth spurt, and turn in the weather, Claire is due for some new clothes.

Claire is immediately drawn to a shirt, so we put it in the cart.  While trying to find our second item of clothing to apply for the sale, we’re flipping through the accompanying pants.  Claire finds one she loves.  Oddly enough, it doesn’t really match the shirt.  (Why are they even on this rack?  Who knows…)

Far be it from me to run a fashion show every day, but still…we wanted to steer her toward the matching pants.

“Oh, Claire.  I don’t see your size,” Daddy says with a quick wink to me.  “You need a 3T, and I just don’t see that on the rack.  Here!  Let’s see if they have your size in this other style,” he says, pointing her in the direction of the other matching pants.

“I don’t like those, Daddy,” Claire says as she’s looking through the ones she does like.  She’s flipping through them like a pro.  Click, click, click.  “But, look!  Look, Daddy!  They do have my size!” she screeches.

She runs over to us with a pair of pants in her hands.

“See!  They’re a THREE TEE!  See?  That’s a THREE.  That’s a TEE.  THREE TEE.”

Yes, she’s found a 3T on the rack.  All by herself.  So, into the cart it went.

Our forms of trickery will need to evolve or fall by the wayside.  The preschooler is starting to know too much.

It’s like an insane scavenger hunt

Published on Thursday, August 27, 2009 in Milestones, Random Thoughts and Venting. 6 Comments Tags: .

I have a confession to make. I love office supplies. I love school supplies. I may or may not admit out loud that I love looking through supply books, catalogs, and magazines. There is just something about them.

As soon as August got here, I started seeing people shopping for school supplies, and I wondered if Claire would be included in that game. Then, I started reading about people trying to find simple items that were out-of-stock, and I thought, “How hard can it be to find such a simple item?”

We finally got the information from Claire’s Preschool a couple weeks ago (yes, just a couple weeks before her class was to start!), and there was a school supply list!

I’ve been waiting for this day.

The instructions said we could bring the items to the Open House that was to be held in less than a week, or we had the entire month of September to get the items to the school.

Now, part of me questioned why we have to bring a whole bunch of supplies for Claire. I mean, we’re paying for her to go to this school. Shouldn’t some of that be in the budget? But, I digress…budgets are what they are, and it wasn’t that big of deal.

Plus, I get a chance to shop for supplies. :)

Originally, I was going to bring Claire with me to do the shopping, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it could turn into another circle of Dante’s Inferno. She wasn’t going to be able to keep the items on the list or in the cart. All of these items go into the Community School Supply Closet for the rooms. Gone are the days when you can pick out your own Trapper-Keeper and Unicorn Folders. (What? Those things totally rock.)

So, I decided to go by myself, which was a treat in and of itself. I chose to go on a day when Daddy and Claire were going to be playing while I went to an appointment. Alone in Target AND I get to shop for office supplies? Pinch me. I must be dreaming.

Sadly, it turned into a nightmare.

It started out innocently enough. Glue sticks… Check. One box of 8 Classic Color Crayola Washable Markers… Check. One package of napkins… Check.

One small bottle of Elmer’s Glue…

What do you mean, you’re out of Elmer’s Glue?! Who runs out of Elmer’s Glue?  Even the “store brand” was gone.

There wasn’t any back in the Back-To-School Free-for-all Zone.
So, I went all the way to the other end of the store, and there wasn’t any in the Office Section either.

So, I found a red-shirted khaki-panted person. They checking their little handheld devices. There were none.

While I had that person’s attention, I asked about the paper cups. No, not any kind of paper cups. They had to be at least 90-count 5oz. paper cups.

Not a single one of those in the entire store.

Sweet. I was running out of time. What was supposed to have taken 15 minutes was bordering on 45, and this was getting to be ridiculous, even for someone who totally digs shopping for office supplies.

I called it a day, with those two items still unchecked. Do you know how painful it is to leave items unchecked?

I wanted this done! I wanted to turn all of this in at the Open House and not worry about it! This was supposed to be easy!

That weekend, with Claire in tow, because I had no other choice, we went to four different stores. We finally found the glue at a grocery store (obviously, why not?), but even the grocery stores in our area were out of the 90-count 5oz. paper cups.

Who knew this would be what finally put me over the edge?

When I was checking in yet another Target store (they were completely sold out), they got an alert saying that the original store I’d been to finally got a shipment in. We went up there that day and purchased an elusive box.

Success!

My Insane Scavenger Hunt for School Supplies was over!

Oh wait…not quite. Next item on the list to find? My sanity.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Published on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 in Milestones, Photos and School. 5 Comments Tags: , , , .

Today is Claire’s first day of “real” preschool. Last year, she went one day a week for an hour-and-a-half. It was a great experience for her, and turned out to be the transition that Momma needed. (Claire did fine…it was me who had to hold back the tears.) This year, she’ll go in the mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I’m almost not sure what to do with two hours to myself…twice a week!  Technically it’s FIVE HOURS OF FREEDOM a week, but I’m counting it as four, due to drop off and pick up times, etc.  (Although, 2 + 2 can equal 5, for larger values of 2…)  ;)

You know that school supplies commercial where you hear “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” playing in the background, and the dad is dancing behind the cart?

Yeah, it’s kinda like that.

Only instead of plodding along behind me, Claire is just as excited to go!

Last night, we had the Open House to meet her new teachers and see her classroom, and as soon as we got there, Claire wanted me to sign her in and then leave. “Go home, Momma. Go do paperwork. Please leave me alone!”

Hmpf.

This wasn’t that kind of thing…we weren’t supposed to leave them there, much to her dismay.

So, today is an exciting day. This is the earliest we’ve had to be out of the house for something like this…and last night was our first real school night. We have to get up early! (Well, early for us…) I don’t remember the last time I had to get up early for school, but I think it was sometime in the late 1900s.

Despite the change in our schedule, today went smoothly, and I am happy to report that today’s drop off was a complete success! There were no tears! And, Claire did great too. ;)

Tricycle Shadow Portrait

Published on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 in Milestones, Month-at-a-glance, Photos and Shadow Portraits. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Yesterday evening, the three of us set out to walk around the lake. This time, we let Claire take her new tricycle, and she did great! Previous to this, she’s been trying to run over people perfect her skills in the house.

Well, it’s officially an outside-only trike now!

She pedaled that thing all the way around the lake (it’s over a mile!)…and up our hill!! I was going to make her get off and walk while we carried it up, but she told me in no uncertain terms that she could do it herself, and then she did!! I was completely amazed.

And, yes, she is 43-months old in that picture. Not that anyone is still counting in months anymore. ;)

Band-Aid® Couture

Published on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 in Featured Elsewhere, Mile High Mamas and Milestones. Closed Tags: , , .

I have a writing piece up and running at Mile High Mamas, the parenting blog of The Denver Post today!

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of a big event around here. The above photo has something to do with it, as does my latest writing piece at Mile High Mamas today.

I wonder what it could be?

Go check it out! The comments are closed here, but I’d love to hear what you have to say over there!

Three…and a half!

Published on Monday, June 1, 2009 in Claire, Milestones, Month-at-a-glance and Photos. 3 Comments Tags: , .

She finally let me take a photo, but her name written in the magnetic letters on our fridge had to be involved. Fair enough. :)

On May 30th, Claire turned three-and-a-half! When I told her I wanted to take a picture of her, she vehemently declined. She didn’t want a picture taken, because she was still three. Her age wasn’t any different. She insisted that I was wrong.

“You ARE three-and-a-half!” I said.

“NO I’m NOT!” she yelled.

“Oh, really? Then how old are you?” I asked.

“I’m not telling…” she said in the most sing-songy voice imaginable.

Thus proving, she is indeed three…and a half!

;)

I went a little crazy

Published on Thursday, April 30, 2009 in Milestones, Month-at-a-glance, Photos and Random Thoughts. 11 Comments Tags: , , .

No, we’re never gonna survive
Unless we get a little crazy.
-Seal, “Crazy”

This is the song that was in my head today when I woke up. Why? Because last night, I went a little crazy. Well, technically, it was this morning, but who’s counting?

Anyway, I had to do it, or I wasn’t going to survive.

What did I do?

I decided to sort through and organize Claire’s treasures. I know to the normal, sane people in the crowd, this sounds silly. Why would I be doing this at 1am? Why not do this in the daylight? Because I wasn’t going to be able to sleep knowing that I have a huge Getting Ready For Our Trip To Do List to continue attacking with disorganization mocking me from the sidelines. Because Claire would have had a nervous breakdown if she saw how many of her treasures I was throwing away. And, the only time to do this was under the protective cover of darkness.

Her treasures.
Her priceless artifacts.

What kind of treasures would a monster such as myself destroy? You know, treasures like the cardboard punch outs from a certain company’s Kids’ Meals. Happy? Yes, I was, thanks. I was nice and only threw away the ones she hadn’t seen in a while and the ones that were ripped.

And, broken toys are a favorite item. It’s broken. It needs to go away. If it can’t be fixed, it’s time to say goodbye.

Or, better yet, all the catalogs Claire commandeers the minute they arrive. I didn’t throw them all away, but the ones that were literally worn to shreds? The tattered ones that are barely recognizable? Gone.

It took about 15 minutes to sort my office, and the energy that flowed into the rest of the house was amazing. I went to bed, and as soon as I got under the covers, I realized that I hadn’t actually looked in her castle in a while. You see, Claire has this castle that one of her aunts gave to her last year. It’s a tent-like contraption out in our living room and Claire uses it as a hideout.

It is also, for lack of a better word, a disaster. How can she even fit in here?

I grabbed my flashlight and went to work, hoping the neighbors wouldn’t call the cops because they saw suspicious activity and flashlight shadows as I rummaged through our living room.

Twenty minutes later, all the Barbie Shoes were in a safe place. All her precious jewels, the clip-on earrings, bracelets and necklaces were back in her jewelry box. All the bits of ripped paper was put in a pile with the other things that have seen better days. I stuffed the trash into my trashcan, hoping that I’d be able to permanently destroy the evidence without her being the wiser.

I paused for a moment outside her room. It took every ounce of energy in my being to not tiptoe in and continue my mad task. Had she awoken, my cover would have been blown. So, I went to bed.

This morning, I told Claire that we were going to sort her room. She actually likes helping me “clean” and “sort,” but she has yet to allow any type of “throwing away” without a full-blown fit. It’s a battle I’ll fight one day, but not now. So, I had to be sneaky in my attack.

I sat on the floor in my robe, and I started in on each section, one at a time. To an outsider, the room looked clean. There was floor-space! Everything was in a bin! But, I knew that those bins were far from organized. It was that unseen mess that had threatened to eat me alive.

Often times a command of “Clean your room!” is so overwhelming that people, little kids in particular, have no idea where to start. They freeze up and that’s just a recipe for failure. Luckily, I’ve always been good at seeing past the rubble to the different categories. Again, in less than 20-minutes, we were done. All of the block-sorting-toys were reunited with their parts. All the books were in the book bin. All the stuffed animals were safe and sorted. All the kitchen toys were sorted and put with the kitchen set in my office. I was sneaky with the things I threw away, and I was able to cart the whole lot out to the curb this morning for Trash Day. Perfect timing!

You might be wondering if Claire has missed any of her treasures yet.  No, she has not.  After the culling, she’s able to focus on the ones she really likes.  And, it’s not like we have a shortage of toys around here.

Here she is setting up a picnic on her bed.

Here she is setting up a picnic on her bed.

(Yes, she’s 41-months today!  Again, not that I’m counting.)  ;)

So, I got a little less sleep last night, but it was worth it. Now, I can attack my own To Do List with a new-found energy.

I went a little crazy, but now I’ll survive.

Is 40 a lot or a little?

Published on Monday, March 30, 2009 in Claire, Milestones, Month-at-a-glance and Photos. 5 Comments Tags: , , .

Wow…month 40. Whenever we count out ages by months, it seems so surreal, doesn’t it? Forty. Is that a lot? Is that a little? The answer to that question changes on a moment by moment basis sometimes. ;)

When I told Claire that I needed to take her picture today, because she was 40-months old, she said, “No, I’m not! I’m three!”

When will I stop doing the monthly photos? I don’t know. I haven’t decided. If you know me, you know how hard it is to get me to stop doing something I’m already doing, especially if it fits so nicely into a patterned schedule.

So…it’s the 30th, so I took a photo. And, since I took a photo, I may as well share. :)

Check out Claire at 40-months!

Check out Claire at 40-months!

And, for some fun comparisons, check out this link for the other month-at-a-glance photos!

And then I jumped.

Published on Thursday, March 12, 2009 in Anniversaries, It's a paycheck, Milestones and Parenting 101. 2 Comments Tags: , .

A year ago today I stood at the edge and looked over the side.  I’d been to a similar cliffside many times in the past, and I’d jumped with no problems.

I’d always landed with perfect form.  Every move calculated, the result expected and achieved.

But this time was different.  I wasn’t going to be leaping toward something tangible.

The excitement of the unknown not only threatened to eat me alive, it made me feel more alive than I ever had.

The urge to jump was overwhelming.

So, what was holding me back?

I’d done all my research, the Pros to Jumping weighing so much more than the Cons that it nearly pulled me over the edge.

I didn’t want to be pushed.
I wanted to jump.
There’s a difference.

It took all my strength to stand there, the different choices blowing about me like the winds coming up from the canyon floor.

The sun was shining warm on my back.
The breeze was blowing softly on my face.
My heart lit up with a smile, and my head started to breathe.

And then I jumped.