Broadway Beware

Last night (most) of my family performed in Broadway Beware, a fundraiser for our church. It's a night of Broadway show tunes performed by our talented church members and some guests. We sang a 15 minute medley from Les Miserables, complete with costumes and choreography. I think the best part was the practicing we did for the performance- every Sunday for the last month or so we got together at my parent's house and sang, ate, and just hung together. It was like all of our favorite things put together!! Eating, singing and being together.

hello Again!

I haven't posted in, like, forever.... and I don't know if I will very often, but I just felt like it today, mostly because my little girl friends are here (Gabby and Cate) and so we had a tea party

complete with flowercrowns

and itty bitty snacks (nilla wafers with a dap of frosting and a giant raspberry)and it was fun and girly and I wanted to share itThanks!

Hair...and Goodbye

My daughter's musical is this weekend. She is so very excited. I have volunteered to do hair for the show and so for the last 3 nights I have been a braiding fool! (That's the top of my daughter's head all braided up for the rehearsal and that is her again in the bottom picture.) Last night I did 10 heads in about 1.25 hours... every night there seems to be more girls asking. Hopefully for the real show nights I'll have enough time to do everyone who wants their hair done.

So that's what I have been up to this week.... that and kid juggling ad tending to my little guy who coughed so hard he vomited the other night and then kept me up last nigh with even more coughing. Poor kid.

And.... I think I am done here at Rumtum. I have plugged away at this for over a year and really have not a lot to show for it. I have tried really hard to make sure I post at least once a week- sometimes that doesn't happen, but that is life, right? I thought I put out some nice things, some good ideas...but I have no readership except for Amber and Deborah and I am feeling like I am putting "comment guilt" on them. And I really don't want to add to any ones else's sense of responsibility. Maybe I am just being grouchy or over-tired, but I'm annoyed (I can't even GIVE stuff away!) and I think I need a break. I will still check on all my favorite blogs and wish you all the best!! Amber and Deborah thank you both so much for always stopping in over here and leaving me comments. You guys are fantastic! (I will still post over at wildwilliams because that's how I keep my far-away friends and family updated.) Maybe I'll be back... who knows?

Anniversary Give way.... Finally!! (edited)

A month or so ago I realized that my blog was a year old!! I promised to do something about it, and never followed through.... so now, after reading about Amber's giveaway, I am finally coming through. I signed up for this on Amber's blog, so I am copying her instructions.

The first 5 people who respond to this post WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING will get something made by me. This offer does have some restrictions & limitations:
•You will receive this item before the end of the year...or sooner.
•You will have no idea what the item will be, or when you will receive it.
•To participate, you must re-post this meme on your blog and put together something to be sent out as 5 surprises of your own. These surprises can be anything -- it's up to you!

I like how easy going this giveaway seems to be... and it's like the "Pay It Forward" giveaway that I did a while back. What I really like is that I have a while to plan, design and send out the goodies... so if something really awesome somewhere inspires me, YOU may be in luck!!

Ok- must sign off now.... Hudson needs to get to soccer practice, and later I need to get Alex from her play practice (she already had ballet class this morning). Speaking of play practice, a mom just called to get people to sign up to feed the kids next week during "Hell Week"... dress rehearsal every night. I am on for 4 nights of desserts for 35 kids. Yikes!

Tonight, as a treat for the kids (and ME!) I am surprising them by taking them to a hotel that has an indoor pool!! They have no idea... this should be fun! ** Edited to say you can read about our night here.

Raccoon tails just aren't cute

Although I spent Saturday sewing costume pieces in the cold dimly lit basement at my kids' dance school, I don't have much to show for it... because honestly, raccoon tails just aren't very impressive.
But we put in a lot of hours and got a lot done... spider legs, afore-mentioned raccoon tails, cat ears, bat wings, etc. Sounds interesting doesn't it? Every year our dance instructor puts on a fabulous ballet - well, with tap and jazz dances too- that is story driven, meaning that the kids' dances tell a story. Last year it was about a french baker that lost his touch and was whisked off to the land of sweets by some cutie little sailors and the Sugar Fairy, where he was greeted by yummy goodies (wedding cakes, bon bons, cupcakes) and learned how to create wonderful treats. It was a bright and colorful show, and unfortunately my camera was being repaired at the time so I can only share the few pictures my sister took. Here's Alex and Gabby. Gabby was one of the sweet sailors (danced to Good Ship Lollipop) and Alex was one of the kids who made it clear that the baker's goodies were just not so good (danced to I Want Candy). The other dancers in Alex's class wore the same dress and spats just in different colors- blue, neon green, and hot pink. They also wore the dress (but without the spats) for their tap dance, which os Costume Moms made. (I joke that she looks like Super Banana!) For ballet they wore this.

Below is Hudson in his tap dance at the dress rehearsal. For the show he also wore a hat I made and the girls wore headbands with giant suckers attached. After the dress rehearsal I didn't like how his costume looked so I ran out the morning of the first performance and bought some material to make him a pair of white pants, and I taped his tap shoes with neon green duck tape...one of the perks of having the only boy in a class, I can change things up like that and it really doesn't affect anyone but him! I really wish my camera had been working because he looked so cool! They danced their jazz dance to Lollipop by Mika, and their tap was Sugar, Sugar by The Archies.

For ballet he wore a handmade shirt, which he hated so much, the ladies in his class wore this.I guess I did not mean for this blog entry to run on and on about my kids' dance recital, but that's ok I guess. Dance takes up a lot of our time (Alex dances 4 days a week, Hudson 2) and I do the newsletters and help with costumes and scenery, so it makes sense that at some point some talk of dance would filter in over here. As we do more with the costumes and scenery for this year's show I am sure I will post about it. In the meantime, my daughter was cast in her school's musical... hop on over to wildwilliams (my "family" blog) to see more!!

Tag... I'm it! (Picture Tag)

I was tagged by Deborah Sunflower Stories... I am supposed to post the 4th picture in my 4th picture folder, and blog about it. I don't have fancy categories for my pictures, they just get automatically filed by date... so the 4th folder is from our trip to the Rochester Museum and Science Center where we saw the Giant Insects exhibit. The family of one of the little ones that I babysit for gave us a Family Pass to the museum as a Christmas gift. The kids had a great time there...I'll have to take them back soon. There's a GPS exhibit coming up that I'm sure Ethan will love.

And just because I have the folder open I might as well post a few more from it.....
Now... who to tag?? Amber, have you done this yet??

Deborah tagged me because I have been quite lame and haven't posted since Valentine's Day..... well, I haven't really had much to post about. The kids were off from school last week, Justin and I made an 8 foot tall bed for the musical that our daughter is in, my sister is getting a divorce, we stimulated the economy by getting new furniture (and new mattresses for the kids.. their mattresses were like family heirlooms, having been passed down through many generations), I am working on dance costumes for the recital in May and selling old dance costumes on ebay.... hmmm... is that it? Even though there is a lot going on I jsut don't have the time or energy to write. We have our "Costume Weekend" the weekend fort he dance studio where a few moms get together and make costume parts and pieces for the 170 kids that dance. It is always a lot of fun. Maybe I'll take a few pictures of what we are up to and then I'll have something to write about.

Happy Valentine's Day

We seem to be surrounded by pink today, mostly in anticipation of Alex's party tonight.....goodie bags

...collage hearts

...treats from yesterday's parties at school (and leftovers that Alex's didn't give away)

...hanging hearts

...cookies and yummies left over from the school parties yesterday, but I'm sure will be eaten up tonight.

Even More Valentines

Have you ever been over to The Crafty Crow? It's an awesome website filled with great craft ideas for the kiddos. I stop by there at least four times a week. Its wonderful when Cate (the little girl I babysit) wants to try something new and we need inspiration. They are all about Valentines right now at The Crafty Crow. I saw this easy craft and thought it wold be perfect to fill that last half hour before Cate's dad came to pick her up. Ethan was home from school with strep throat (but had been dosed with antibiotics several times before Cate arrived, so don't worry!) so he joined the fun.

Both kids really loved painting with watercolors. I forget that just switching up the supplies can be so exciting for these little people.

They drew what was in their hearts first, then painted them. Cate painted a "crazy man" and her cat Pumpkin. Ethan first made the veins and arteries coming out of the heart (future medical illustrator perhaps?) then drew in his family, including my grandmother and great aunt who both recently passed away and the Ford Escape that Justin rented once for a business trip (??) I know, sort of random. But I love them!

If you have a 9 year old boy you may understand how awkward Valentine's Day can be. Hudson hates the store bought Valentines so we always have to come up with something that is not too mushy or lovey or "girlie" but still captures the essence of Valentine's Day. This year he drew a spaceship and I transferred it into a stamp, the same way I did the stamps for letterboxing earlier this year. Then I printed a simple message on the computer and he stamped away. We added the little heart stamp so it would be more "Valentiney". We folded each card, sealed the bottom and side with tape and he had a little pouch to place his goodies in for his schoolmates. (You can see it at the very top of the picture below.)

The nice thing is that he now had a cool spaceship stamp to use when we go letterboxong, or for whenever!

Sweet and Simple

This year Ethan went simple and to the point with his Valentines. (Last year was pretty simple too.) He stamped out hearts, on blue paper for boys and red for girls, using the same sponge I made the hanging hearts with. I had him write all his classmates names on the outside of each little card. I wrote "Happy Valentine's Day" on the inside and he signed each one. We probably attach some little goody to the back- a candy bar or a sucker or something. Our school has a "no homemade goodies" policy.

Sunday

Sunday I was exhausted. After church I crashed on the couch and snuggled with Ethan. I asked him to go get my camera so I could get a picture of his precariously dangling front tooth. Silliness ensued. I love this picture even though it looks as though I am dying. It could easily be the image that goes with that creepy Christmas song about a boy buying shoes for his dying mother. Like I said, I was exhausted... I am exhausted. There has been so much emotional stuff going on in our family... as soon as you think one thing is resolved or dealt with something else happens.

Anyway, Ethan had a lot of fun playing with the camera. He loves to know how things work, and to mess with buttons and stuff, so this thrilled him to no end. I showed him how to set the automatic timer and he set up this shot.

Then he went about documenting what was happening around the house.. which was actually not much. Just a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Hearts A- Flutter

More decorations for Alex's party.

I just cut a sponge into a heart shape and printed out 72 images onto white and cream construction paper.

When they were dry I cut out the hearts, glued two together wrong sides facing with a piece of white thread sandwiched in between. Then I taped them to the ceiling in the kitchen. There are 36 hearts fluttering from the ceiling.

Alex wasn't home when I hung them, so when she came in I got a great reaction... a huge smile and "Oh, COOL! Thanks Mom."

Finished the Quilt and more....

I finished my quilt on Saturday and celebrated by snuggling up on the couch with a glass of wine and a magazine... after I fought my daughter off of it. Here is a picture of Cate napping under it on my dirty couch. It's the perfect couch size. It ended up a bit wonky (isn't everything I make a little wonky?) but I still love it because I made it just for me! I threw it over my comforter on my bed the other night and realized it it goes perfectly in my bedroom. My walls are green and my comforter is brown. If my room wasn't so dark I would try to get a picture of it in there, but it probably won't be happening. My daughter is having a Valentine party next Saturday, so we are changing out the more colorful lanterns to pink ones. And I finally got around to hanging up my paper heart garland. I made it a couple years ago, but just recently saw some very similar ones at maya*made

(And keeping it real- here is what that picture started out as..... my messy kitchen.)

I had some girlfriends and their kiddos over this morning for coffee and made this delicious orange zest cake that I found over at Angry Chicken. It is sooooo good. Try it. Yum.

I added walnuts and craisins to the recipe. It is seriously yummy, and goes great with coffee.

And, oh my gosh, I just realized that I missed my blog anniversary!! It was on Feb. 1st. Whoops! I'll have to think of something to rectify that.... hmmm. Any ideas?