Masterpiece Theater (Part 1)

I'm not one of those proud, weepy mothers. I'm not. I'm proud - sure. But weepy? Not really. I didn't cry when she said her first word, took her first step or told me that she loved me for the first time (I know - heart of stone over here). I don't cry at ballet recitals, TKD tests or Christmas play. But last night. . .last night was different.

Last night was Drama Queen's school Easter play (full disclosure - she goes to a private Christian school) and it was amazing. Most of the acting was done by high school and middle school students - but those kids blew me away. The oldest one was 18 and all of them were so amazingly talented - singing, dancing, acting - it was totally crazy. But of course, what I thought was most remarkable? The part Drama Queen did. I can't explain it, its one of those things you'd just have to see. . .and of course we walked out the door without our video camera. So here is a link to another group of I'm sure talented people doing the same thing. . .but when my kid did it - it was even more awesome - not in a small part by the fact that last night it was done by a group of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Really - go watch it. I'll wait. Back? Pick your jaw up off the floor as you imagine 6 year olds doing this. I was floored.

And I might have cried a little bit - I'm some sort of soft rock. I'll go back to my normal state now. . .sorry.

Good Friday

So we decided to take pictures of the girls this afternoon in their Easter Dresses (with dolls dressed to match). It was a beautiful afternoon and the sun and the shadows just showed off how beautiful my daughters are. Below are the results. . .

Happy Good Friday

Easter 2008

I need your Help!

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Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

So Drama Queen has been reading "The Three Little Pigs" to Pee Pot lately. And Pee Pot loves the story. We'll be driving down the road and she'll randomly shout out "Who is watching? The BIG BAD Wolf is watching mommy!" And she's so excited about it - not scared at all - just super stoked about the wolf that likes to eat little pigs. She loves to talk in her "Big Bad Wolf" voice - all deep and throaty and serious. She loves to tell me about how he'll "huff and puff and BLOWWWWWWWW the house down". In short - she thinks its awesome.

Fast Forward to this past Saturday - the girls and I are down in the basement waiting out the numerous storms to rock our area. We have on our shoes (in case of debris), are huddled under a blanket, eating granola bars and reading a story from the Magic Tree House collection. For the circumstances - we are doing good. And all of a sudden Pee Pot says to me "Mommy - I have to wear my shoes so the wolf won't eat my toes" - and I'm thrown for a total loop. Why would she all of a sudden be worried about the wolf? Why now? Why would it eat her toes? Huh?

I flounder in my response - "oh no honey - there is no wolf and it wouldn't eat your toes anyway."

"Because it just likes to eat little pigs?"

"Umm - sure. And we aren't little pigs. We are little girls."

"Then why is the wolf here mommy?"

"AHHH! What wolf?"

"The Wolf is a Tornado that is going to huff and puff and blow our house down."

And everything becomes so clear.

Open Sesame!

Its finally open. The new studio. After months of stress and agony. Weeks of work and frustration with the county and the inspectors and the landlord. Its finally open. My very own little studio. I love having my own spot - no worries about anyone else's schedule, no interruptions from janitors or kids or postmen or anything. Its just like I imagined it too - Khaki walls, green plants, cherry wood floors, white drapes. I love it. However, the horror is not over. Oh no - I've still got to pay for a sign so people know I'm there. I've still got to suffer through a Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting with newspaper people and chamber of commerce officials. But the worst is over. And the worst occurred last Friday. I finally broke down and had pictures taken. Professional pics of me in my studio looking professional. It was horrible. I hate photos of me in them. I hate cameras, flashes, smiling. But I ate my frog again - and had it done. And several of them came out ok. The ones where I looked stoned, or goofy, or even like John McCain, far outnumbered the good ones. But thanks to the magic of my photographer, we got some, where I look ok. Wierd.

There was a little girl

So my daughter Pee Pot (new name still pending) is absolutely adorable. Without question - A.Dorable. She is also extremely sweet and snuggly.

However, on the flip side of that she is a breathing incarnation of Destruction. I literally, cannot leave her alone for a single minute without something being torn, ripped, shredded, stomped, broken, colored on, painted on, climbed on, pulled over, pulled off, spilled, poured, eaten or generally destroyed. Drama Queen never did this. As a result, F and I are routinely shocked at the amount of carnage Pee Pot creates. We are child-proofing our house - AGAIN - due to her ability to open refrigerators and pantry doors and either eat everything in sight or create art work in non-traditional mediums. Maybe in her adult life she will be famous for creating masterpieces. . ."Sun and Snow - original artwork by Pee Pot, medium Egg Yolk and Feta Cheese". But the original test for that masterpiece was my living room.

This weekend we had terrible storms and I was glued to the news for hours trying to determine exactly when we needed to retreat to the safety of our basement (answer: Now!!!) After the majority of those storms had passed, another was said to be on the way and the girls, tired of watching the doppler radar, began to whine. I sent Drama Queen and Pee Pot upstairs to watch a movie while I continued to monitor the storms. In exactly 5 minutes, Drama Queen began to call for me to come upstairs "RIGHT NOW". I rolled my eyes to heaven and turned one ear to her and kept the other ear on the TV. "Why do you need me Drama Queen?" "I just need you. Pee Pot has made a mess" "Of Course she has. Clean it up, please - I'm watching for more storms." "No mommy - You NEED to see this". Up the stairs I go. Pee Pot is standing in the middle of the computer/TV room naked from the waist down. This is not totally astonishing - she often forgets to put her pants back on after going potty. What is astonishing is the color of her toes. They are fuschia. Not just her toe nails, but the entirity of the appendages. Also fushia? The intricate art work on the carpet in that room. And the hard wood in the hallway. "She got into my nail polish" Drama Queen explained simply. I throw Pee Pot in the bath tub, send Drama Queen Downstairs for storm monitoring and run with wild abandon to the computer to use my crazy Google-Fu skills to figure out what to clean this up with. (Shaving Cream) I run into the bathroom to get the shaving cream, and then toward the hall closet for a scrubbing cloth. . . .SPLASH! I step in a giant puddle of pee. And this explains the naked Pee Pot of earlier.

Welcome to my world.