For You, Dad!

A very interesting thing happened to me when I was in Safford this weekend. I was actually lectured by my father (of all people) about my blog. I honestly never thought that he would even look at this page, but he was very upset with my because of my inattention to my blog lately. He checks it every day, and says that he is disappointed every time he sees that I haven't posted. Well, who woulda thunk? I know that I've been slacking off lately, but it's been a rough couple of weeks for me, and I am really having a hard time finding things to write about. I'm busy all the time, but nothing seems interesting enough to be blog-worthy.

So I'm going to try and repent by posting a nice long post tonight, even though it's definitely past my bedtime.

Today was Emma's last ballet class for this session, and boy, is that a relief! We do classes through the city parks and rec department, and we've had good luck so far. But this time we really hit the bottom of the barrel as far as teachers go. I have nothing against older people, but 70-something CRANKY grandmothers should not be allowed to take out their frustrations on 3 and 4 year-old kids. Her name is Ronell, and she is one of the worst teachers I have ever seen, for a multitude of reasons. I will only list a few, because I would hate to be seen as a CRANKY lady myself.

1. In the creative dance portion of class, it is not acceptable to tell the kids that they can not be creative. If they feel like swaying their hips while they march in a single-file line behind you (the teaching method of choice for Ronell), then they are allowed to be free and wiggle away.

2. Grabbing the kids and yanking them around to where you want them to be is NEVER OK. I'm serious, I've almost punched this lady a couple of times in the past couple of months for this.

3. When teaching toddlers, it is really not a good idea to do 1 thing for more than 3-4 minutes. This is especially applicable when all 8 kids are hanging upside-down on the bar as the teacher tells all of the parents how she hurt herself yesterday and will not be dancing with the students today because the pain has travelled from her ankle to her calf to her knee to her hip............. you get the idea.

4. If 8 3 year-olds are wiggling all over the floor and are completely inattentive, maybe the teacher should stop the lecture on French ballet terms and LET THEM WIGGLE (to the music) for a while. We're paying for her to tire them out, not teach them French, right?

Andrew put it best when he said that Emma's dance class today was one of the most brutal hours of his life. I just had to respond, "Well, how'd you like to be one of the kids? They've been doing the exact same things for the last 9 weeks!"

OK, my rant is over. Trust me, I could go on and on, but I will choose to stop lest I start to get out of control. Let's just say that we have enrolled Emma in gymnastics for the next session, and will not approach another ballet class unless we know FOR CERTAIN who the teacher is!

I am actually impressed with how graceful Emma can be when she's dancing. When she gets a little older we'll enroll her in ballet again. I just want to get past the pre-ballet class she's old enough for now because they teach them the same exact things every single session. I figure if I'm paying for it, she ought to actually learn something new every 3 months!

Frank was more than content to play with his cars while watching the girls. No ballet for this kid! (Although his infatuation with Mom's red high-heeled shoes does have his father a tad worried!)

I Just Had To Share This!

I got this in an e-mail this morning and just had to post it. It totally re-affirms why I don't believe in spending tons of money on toys for my kids.

I LOVE IT! This is the cutest thing I've seen in a LONG time!

(For those of you that haven't ever viewed a video on Blogger, you usually have to click on Play twice to get it to go. Enjoy.)

Change is Good

Ok, Ok. I'm sure that some of you are sick of logging onto my blog and finding it different every time. Hopefully this will be the background that I use for a while, because I LOVE it! I've been searching and searching the web for a template that just looks like ME. You know how a shirt or dress just "looks like" someone? Well, that's what I've been looking for, and I think I finally found it. The blue and brown plaid was getting a little painful on the eyes, anyway! So, enjoy!

Thanks, Shawna, for the website. I love how you don't lose all of your sidebar additions when you change! (http://cutestblogontheblock.blogspot.com)

It ain't easy being cheap!

I am a total cheapskate. I readily admit it, and even though some people look down on my money-spending choices, I am proud of them. We may not have everything new, and goodness knows our family owns almost nothing that is actually name-brand. But we have plenty of what we need, and a little more in the bank account after all is said and done.

Here are a few of my favorite finds:

These hats were FREE! I collect Disney Rewards points, and got these for the kids for no charge, not even for shipping. (By the way, the shirt Frank is wearing was less than $1, and Emma's dress was $3. I made it from pre-fab fabric from Wal-Mart and 1 pkg. of rick-rack trim that was on clearance.)

We considered buying a new trampoline for the kids for Christmas. But, we decided not to and found this one for $40 (enclosure and all) on Craigslist. Good thing too, because 3 days after we got it, the wind blew it down the driveway and the trees shredded the enclosure on the way by. It sucks, but for $40, who can complain?

I literally found this Rainforest Jumperoo in the trash while leaving church last week. I took a shortcut to avoid a line at the stop sign, and this was sitting by the dumpster behind Checker Auto. It is 100% fine, and the music and lights still even work. We won't be using it for a long while, but hey, it can sit in storage, right? These things sell for at least $50-60 on Craigslist! This was not my find, but Andrew's father found it on the freeway near Willcox. It fell out of someone's car and was laying in the median. Minimal damage, but it's free! (Eric is a cheapskate at heart, too.) I NEVER pay full price for pictures, and NEVER pay a sitting fee. I got all of Emma's birthday pics this year for $5.21. That's over 40 pics, folks! Did I mention that I love coupons?
Our favorite cushy recliner. This thing has a REFRIGERATOR in the arm! It also has heat and massage. We got it when we first got married for $500, regularly priced at $1300. Someone else didn't like the color after they ordered it. Looks fine to me, and even matches our couch!

Emma's "Santa" gift this year included a makeup mirror with 20-piece accessory kit and a dressing mirror with garment rack, all with lights and sound. It cost a whopping $7.79 with free shipping. Thanks, Amber, for the heads-up on this one!

So, even though my kids don't have Gymboree and Gap labels hanging in their closet and Andrew and I plan our eating out based on the deals of the day, we get by and have a great time bargain-hunting in the process. Do any of you have great cheapskate stories?

Who woulda thunk?

I've posted before and I'm sure I'll post again about my kids' picky eating habits. Actually, it's not so much picky as just a lack of eating habits! Anyway, I was totally floored to find this scene when I turned around from doing the dishes while the kids ate last week.

This is ENCHILADA SAUCE! That's my plate that I had left on the other side of the table. He climbed over the table to get it and sat back down in his chair to enjoy it. What a kid! How could a little boy that doesn't like hot dogs or peanut butter and honey love enchilada sauce? I guess it runs in the family, though. Emma can't stand the all-time kid favorite macaroni and cheese, but adores sauerkraut and hot pepperoni.

Well, I'll take it. I don't care what they eat, just as long as they do eat!

Winter in Arizona, part 2

Just a few days ago I was bragging about the amazing AZ weather. In fact, just 2 days ago it was 80 degrees here in Tucson. So imagine our surprise when we woke up this morning to find it SNOWING!!! Of course, it had rained so much beforehand that it didn't stick too much on the ground, but everything else got a couple of inches at least. Emma LOVES the snow, and this time Frank even got into the act. We managed to piece together a snowman and have a small snowball fight before it started melting off.

It's snowed here at our house a couple of times every year since we moved here, and I think it's great to have the experience but not have to deal with the mess afterwards. Yea, AZ!

Happy Valentine's Day!

OK. I have to admit, I was really ticked off when the stake cancelled the soccer games scheduled on Valentine's Day. I couldn't understand who cared about Valentine's Day enough to actually cancel other plans and just hang out with their spouse. (As you can probably tell, V-Day is not a huge thing at our house, and never has been.)

But, when Andrew decided to take the day off because I had the day off, he suggested going on a family date, and it was amazing! First, we went bowling. It started off a little rocky because the lane kept eating our bowling balls, and Emma couldn't push the ball hard enough to get down the lane. In fact, a couple of times, the ball actually rolled halfway down the lane and then rolled right back to us. But, after the 3rd time of an employee having to walk down and rescue her stuck ball, they gave us a ball ramp and everything went great. I didn't even know such a thing as a ball ramp existed, but it was awesome. Frank was the cutest thing ever! He wouldn't go up to the ramp with us, but if we just balanced the ball on the top and walked away, he would get a running start and hit it as hard as he could. Then he would dance back up the lane singing "Go ball, go ball, go ball!" It was adorable. Emma was a little pro, and just had to do everything herself. Oh, man, she's getting so big!

After bowling we went over to Trail Dust Town to get a steak and watch the cowboy stunt show. I love watching them fall off buildings and stuff, but Emma was terrified of the guns going off, and especially when the actor fell all the way from the top of a 3-story building. On the way home, she told me, "I was really brave during the cowboy show.....what is brave, Mommy?" "It's when you're not scared, honey," said Mommy. "Oh," said Emma "then I wasn't so brave." Somehow I managed to not get any pics of the show, but maybe that's because Frank fell off the bench and rolled underneath the bleachers and I was busy comforting him. Poor guy, he has a huge scrape on the side of his face, but was so enthralled with the show that he hardly even cried (after I fished him out of there!)

Before we left for home, we decided to do something that we've contemplated dozens of times. We always go into this studio, but finally decided to 'bite the bullet' and do it. I think the results are awesome, but now I have to find some sort of cowboy-type frame to put it in. Somehow I don't think it's gonna match the decor in our house!

After we got home, we finally frosted the cupcakes that we had made that morning. I let the kids do their own, and as always, was pleasantly surprised with the results. It's amazing how much they can do when you actually let them.

All in all it was a great day, even if Emma actually asked to not eat her cupcake so that she could go to bed, she was so tired! I really enjoyed the time together as a family, and maybe we'll make this "family date" a thing we do every Valentine's Day. What a fun new tradition, thanks, Dad!