I Might Have Cried...

Sunday night, we had Issa's first Company Showcase. Showcase is an opportunity for the dancers to perform in costume, on stage, in front of an audience before the first competition. It was also a great practice run for me for hair and make-up.Brad snapped a few pictures of the process:

Knox made sure that bun didn't move. This face:

Well...in a mom of the year moment I got frustrated with one hair that was just refusing to cooperate and plucked it out. Thankfully, Issa was amused.

We also got to use Issa's Company make-up for the first time:

Full disclosure: I held my breath when I applied the foundation. I didn't completely conceal Issa's Angel Kiss, but it did lighten it significantly, and I wasn't sure what her reaction would be. She still loves her Angel Kiss, but I am always afraid the day will come when she won't. Thankfully, she was a little sad it wasn't as dark.

Our girl in her warm-ups ready to go:

The best little brother was anxious to support his sister:

And we girls were off! 

Yes...Issa's bag is nearly as big as she is. The boys joined us later, but we needed to get to the stage early for call time. Issa passed inspection with flying colors.

For the first time ever, I got to sit in the audience and watch Issa dance. Her first number was production, so my first time watching my baby girl from the audience she was on stage with the whole company. I cried. I'm not talking a tear or two, either. I just can't believe how big she has gotten and how far she has progressed from point, point, close in her first recital. Don't get me wrong, we still have some room to grow, but my heart was just so full. I spent most of the evening running back and forth helping her change and then watching her shine.

Jazz:

Tap:

In a shocking turn of events, tap has become her favorite dance, by the way.

Hip hop:

The boys brought her flowers:

And the best little brother, who watched on the edge of his seat, was rewarded with a big lipstick kiss on the forehead:

Daddy brought me roses, which he gave me in the parking lot, and I proceeded to lose it all over again. I couldn't be more proud of our little dancer. It's a wild ride we're on, and I can't wait to see what's next.

Small Town Love

First and foremost: the babysitter interview moved to tomorrow.

So...I have mentioned I love living in a small town, and whenever possible we do business in our small town. When we moved to NC, we were looking for a small bank, and we found one that really worked with us and got us settled as real live grown-ups. They were eventually acquired by a slightly larger, regional bank, but they still have that small town feel. They are still costumer first, and they still work to make sure that we get the best service and services. This all became even more evident yesterday.

My debit card got hacked yesterday--oh, joy. It was a tiny charge, and I caught it while it was still pending. I called my bank, and they said they would totally take care of it but I needed to come in to sign some forms and prove I was me. No problem.

Yesterday afternoon, I walked into the bank, and I was told I would need to wait a few minutes. No problem. I settled in to check some email (thank goodness for smart phones), and in a few minutes an elderly lady walked out of the office I was about to walk into in tears. She sat next to me, and I asked if she was alright. In moments, the bank employee was at her side, also teary. Needless to say, I was so perplexed and by now the woman was holding my hand.

She started to tell me the whole story after saying, "You just have on of those faces that makes me want to tell you everything." (I get that a lot.)

As it turns out, she is a widow, and her pipes broke yesterday. Her son is snowed in where ever he lives, but he had talked her through all that she would need to do, including pulling money out of some accounts at the bank--even though that would cost her some penalties and such.

Not at our bank. They worked with her to get her the money. But that's not all. They helped her call a contractor they use to help with all of the repairs, and conference called her son to make sure he was on board. The relief on her face was so evident, and I was so grateful to get to witness a little more of the good in the world.

And...they already had my paperwork done and my card cancelled.

Little Chefs

Somehow, I committed to making homemade pasta last night. I'm really not even sure how it happened. In the morning, we were talking in vague generalities about how you make pasta and that somehow turned in to we'll do it tonight. The last time we did this, I just remember it being a horrible mess and wanting to curl up on the kitchen floor in the fetal position. As it turns out, the kids are big enough now that it was actually fun and only mildly destroyed my kitchen.

I did the initial combining of flour and eggs because it needs to be done by hand and both children declared there was no way they were doing it. But...they took over the kneading:

The many faces of Evan kneading:

Some pictures just don't need captions, and I think that series speaks for itself. The last one is a little Jack Nicholson in The Shining, but you'll have that.

After all of the kneading, the kids took turns cranking:

And Issa announced she was making the spaghetti sauce all on her own:

She browned the sausage and added everything but the garlic. I was too afraid to turn her loose with that one. It was very tasty!

Please notice the flour on Evan's forehead:

And the spaghetti sauce, well, everywhere:

But we ended up with some delicious pasta!

I dried half of it to boil tonight and have with the leftover sauce.Please say a little prayer for us. We are interviewing a potential new babysitter tonight over dinner. She sounds incredible on paper and over the phone; now we just have to pray she is a fit! As Nana said, "If Viv doesn't eat her, she's a keeper." It's not a bad thought. Those are Viv's kids, and she is a great judge of character.

Keeping It Warm at 7 Degrees

Unless you have been living under a rock, you are well aware that most of the country is in a deep freeze right now. We in the South are just not accustomed to such things. Today, we actually have a two hour delay for school because the temperature is 7 and the windchill is -25. When you compare that to the North, I totally understand it is nothing. But...we have not seen a single digit temperature in over 20 years around here. It's a big deal. It's such a big deal the delay was announced at 11 am yesterday. We don't play with the cold.

That also meant my little people knew there would be no alarms this morning. Daddy comes back today, but last night the three of us decided to embrace the chill and do warm things. We made hot cocoa and warm cookies, and we made Evan this fleece blanket:

Issa tried desperately to teach him to tie knots, but she and I ended up doing all of the tying while he patted our backs and told us we were wonderful. He is in love with his Spiderman blanket:

He is too funny with the peeking.

I tucked them into bed piled under blankets, and I tucked myself in piled under blankets.With the delay, I am working from home today, and I imagine I will spend most of it piled under blankets.

Tonight, though, we make pasta from scratch. Wish me luck...

A Merry Christmas To All...

We're back, which means I'm back! We have had the most wonderful two weeks celebrating with family and then resettling back into our cozy home. This morning, we ventured back into reality with alarms and packing lunches and school and work. Oh my.

The highlights of our festivities....

The Saturday before Christmas, we celebrated Christmas with just our little family. Santa surprised us with an early visit during a practice run. He filled the stockings and left a note reminding us that he knew we would be at Nana and Papa's house Christmas morning. He must have heard that the kids loved Frozen because he brought their favorite characters:

I do need to remember to talk to Santa next year about perhaps not bringing toys that sing or talk the day before an 11 hour car ride.

We also gave the kids our gifts. I think Issa's face sums it up:

We gave them Nabis, which are tablets designed for kids. They had really wanted them, but they had also convinced themselves that there was no way we would get them. It was priceless!

Sunday, we headed North and spent Monday just enjoying being together. I love how our kids settle into Nana and Papa's house so quickly, and I love watching them play with some of my favorite childhood toys.

Christmas Eve, we ventured to Bluffton to see Granddaddy and Grandma Judy. It truly was a trek because a town on the way was flooded, and they didn't really feel the need to post a detour. Brad's Scout senses got us around, and it was totally worth it to spend the time together. Who would have thought a timer could capture such a moment:

Granddaddy's girls:

The way home was a bit more harrowing for our car. The kids road back with the rest of the crew, and Brad and I took a scenic tour of rural Ohio. I might have lost it at one point, and Brad might have made fun of me. But...we made it back in time to help make dinner and get ready to celebrate Christmas Eve.

After a lovely dinner, we popped the kids into a bath and new pajamas before we opened gifts. How is this for Christmas Eve excitement?

Oh, how this sums up my life:

This was apparently the year of "I never thought it would happen," for our kiddos. They had been begging for Stuffies, which Brad and I find ridiculous. Enter Aunt Beth and Uncle Nick:

Evan loves his turtle. He fills it with all his "guys."

Issa loves her pegasus:

She fills it with all her rainbow loom stuff.

And...two more Stuffies arrived at Grandma Pat's. It was just too much.

A rare great picture of Brad and I:

He brought that necklace back from India for me!

After a fabulous evening, the kids got ready for Santa:

Tree cakes for Santa and Mrs. Claus, baby carrots for the reindeer, and yellow sprinkles for Rudolph--we didn't ask for an explanation. Issa also left Rainbow Loom bracelets for Santa and Mrs. Claus.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care:

And sure enough, Saint Nicolas would soon be there:

Evan was no so enthused about the pictures before presents concept. In fact, he was kind of over pictures before the day began. (More on that later.)

Santa brought new bears in the tops of the stockings:

And this picture just melts my heart:

Finally, Evan set to opening his big box:

Santa did, indeed, bring a skateboard with flames, along with a helmet and pads.

Issa was also thrilled to find Saige under the tree:

The stockings held all kinds of treasure:

Including a way cool Spiderman!

Soon, we headed over to Aunt Carol and Uncle Todd's for the family Christmas. We only had three littles this year:

Molly and Colton were with their mom, and the Spurlock crew was home anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby Henry (who has since made his debut as one super adorable baby!). I would say these three kept up the pajama tradition well, though:

Aunt Shannon and her kiddos:

My girl:

And my boy--always in motion:

Aunt Carol and Uncle Todd gave each of the littles a scooter, which meant there was much zooming about the basement for the rest of the morning.

Saige became glued to Issa's side for the rest of Christmas:

The girls:

And a family picture debacle:

Did I mention Evan was over pictures? In a mothering low, I might have mentioned, "You have just made me very sad." Thankfully, I stopped short of, "You have ruined my Christmas." Aunt Shannon did declare I might be a bit overly dramatic about the situation.

Daddy carved the turkey:

And Tyler the Huge got to help this year:

And later that afternoon we managed to con Evan into one good family photo:

Brad insists he looks like he is trying to eat my head, but I think it's a great picture!

The rest of the week in Napoleon was spent just playing. Evan tried to master his skateboard:

If only there were walls on the driveway. Issa dressed Saige and did her hair. Legos were assembled with much help from Tyler and Becca, and we visited Grandma Luzny to play with the puppies.

Nana also had a fun craft for us. After the whole fairy jar disaster, I was nervous, but this one worked beautifully!

We filled cookie sheets with shaving cream and then dropped food coloring in:

It's the longest I've ever seen Evan stick with a craft project:

Once the drops were there, we swirled them through the shaving cream and then laid paper on top:

When you lift the paper, it leaves a beautiful pattern on the paper! It may become our new wrapping paper. Even Becca got in on the crafting:

We then headed slightly south to spend a week with Daddy's side of the family. We had a fabulous time, including going to see Frozen, celebrating Grandma Pat's birthday, cooking a Chinese feast with Papa Don, and teaching Issa how to use her new sewing machine! Unfortunately, I have nary a picture.

We came home on New Year's Day and settled back into our home. We had a fiesta with friends Friday, and Issa had dance practice Saturday. It was a very gentle introduction into reality, and now it's time to jump back in with both feet!