Rollerskating Party

And for those of you wondering how the rollerskating party went...

I think there were only about 3-4 children who could skate well. The rest clutched the walls and floundered wildly along. Marika didn't cling to the wall, but skated very slowly and gingerly along the inner section. Mika kept trying and trying, but she couldn't find her balance. The poor thing... I couldn't tell you how many times she fell on her butt! She even cried a few times, out of sheer frustration. Still, this morning, the girls both said they wanted to go back and try again.

It was a really nice skating surface, though. While the kids ate their pizza, Daddy Dude and I skated around by ourselves - fast! That was fun! It's funny, though, how rollerskating has become something of a lost art. When I was growing up, EVERYBODY knew how to rollerskate. What happened?

BTW - my rollerblades felt GREAT and the brakes were secure. =) I might have to start zipping around the neighborhood again!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

The girls were super excited about today, even though they should have enjoyed maximum hub-bub at their class parties. We had a small packet of presents to give the girls and we girls got some things for Daddy Dude (nothing says "I Love you" on Valentine's Day like NERF - can you tell he had a deprived childhood? Poor thing...!)

Daddy Dude had these beautiful flowers delivered yesterday, but Mika was very concerned that I didn't get any presents today. That was very sweet of her... =)

A big first! Mika went to her first dance on Friday night - and look, there's her date! A fine fellow, we're all fond of him. Yup, that's Daddy Dude (no worries, folks!). The PTA had a fundraising "Father Daughter" dance and the two of them skedaddled off. Mika had a great time - when she came home, she shot through the door and proclaimed, "THAT WAS THE BEST TIME EVER!!!"

On an amusing note, Mika got to be the photographer for awhile... here is Daddy Dude engaged in a group Macarena lesson... =)

On a crafty note, I got the Silhouette starter rhinestone kit for my birthday and finally got around to using it. These are some shirts I made for the girls... what's nice about making the templates is that you can use them over and over again. =)

And here is MY shirt! Daddy Dude likes it a lot - on me, that is. I offered to make him one, but he respectfully declined... =)

Weekend Update (Halloween!)

Last Friday, we attended a surprise 50th birthday bash for our next-door neighbor. Since it was a "surprise", we waited almost an hour before the guests of honor appeared. That was, however, enough time for Marika to get bored and start coughing (just to get attention - but it freaked out everybody around us, even though we tried to reassure them that she wasn't sick, just bored). She got grouchier and grouchier when we told her to stop (and this is a child who had M&Ms, peanuts, and chips to eat on the table!).

So here is our beloved child: note the lip jutting out, the angry eyes, the crossed arms... and if I'd caught it right, you'd see her little foot stamping up and down. She finally blew a gasket and had to be carried out... and taken for a long drive...

But when she returned, she had the best time. Apparently, our girls are dancing fools! They learned how to do the "YMCA" dance and the "Chicken Dance" (although, not too well - they should practice before the next dance!). It was such a hoot to watch them boogeying on the dance floor - they were so happy!

Halloween came at last on Saturday - woohoo! We started off shortly after 6 pm, but apparently, were the first at several houses. We actually didn't go to many houses... maybe 13-14 houses or so? Why so few, you ask? The girls had already gotten some treats at school and LAST YEAR - they complained that their jack-o-lanterns were too heavy, that they were tired, and had to go potty. So... we corrected that situation this year. =) They had a good time passing out treats (back at our house). The only embarrassing/bad part of the evening was having Mika check out the treat as soon as she turned her back on the giver - but BEFORE the door was closed - to comment on the treat. Thankfully, she didn't say anything BAD but... that was lucky!

Ah, daylight savings! It's going to take some time to get used to darkness by 5 pm (see the new moon?) and to running in the sunlight again - ha! Now I just feel like I'm really behind schedule when I run in the morning (but at least I don't feel like I have to clutch my pepper spray so much).

Supplies: patterned paper (Sandylion, Colorbok), cardstock (Bazzill Basics, the Paper Company), flowers (Heidi Swapp, Bazzill,. American Crafts), brads (Bazzill), glitter (Stickles), rub-ons (Making Memories), diecut title (Quickutz), diecut frame (Sizzix)

And here's my Tuesday layout (based on a Becky Higgins' sketch)...

Even Ladybugs Get Tired...

On some days, it's a lot of work to be four years old. In the morning, she ran three laps at Joggers' Club before it was time for preschool.

Once she arrived at school, she decided to wear her costume after all. This was a particularly good decision (in my opinion) because it was actually quite chilly today. It was a little tough, but she squeezed into her seat and went to work.

The last hour of class today was their Harvest Festival celebration. We room moms (there are 3 of us) planned for a two-part celebration - snacks and crafts. Instead of the usual "decorate your own cupcake", Sammi's mom thought it would be a great idea for the kids to make their own "dirt and worms". As an additional touch, I bought some "Mentone Rocks" from the local farmer's store up the street. They look pretty realistic (it's the blue rock above the red spoon) and taste pretty good, too!

Marika was the slowest kid to decorate her goody bag, because she likes to pile it on. She took so long that I finally had to tell her she could finish it at home. She scored big time with the goodies, though - the goody bags were so heavy that I heard one kid complain, "My bag is TOO HEAVY!" Fellow scrapbookers will recognize Quickutz diecuts and appreciate how much TV I must have watched while I rolled out the diecuts on my Cuttlebug... (the parents were more impressed than the children, though, I'm afraid).

Marika was still full of energy when it was time to go pick up Mika. She made Daddy Dude side-skip back and forth while they waited for the bell to ring... but after her afternoon snack, she collapsed on the sofa for a few hours. It was a hard day for her!

Supplies: patterned paper (Hot Off the Press), shaker embellishment* (Deluxe Designs), orange metal frame (Making Memories), diecuts (Quickutz), glitter (Stickles)

*a very bulky embellishment that resulted in a bumpy scan

I didn't have any alone time today, but this is my layout from Tuesday's session. Marika is a girl who just loves shiny shoes - the more bling, the better! She even runs in these at Joggers' Club! Once she sees "The Wizard of Oz", I'm sure she'll want a pair of ruby slippers, too...

Busy, busy!

Mika had another softball game on Wednesday - and a group of fans came to cheer her on!

It's been a bit gusty over here, so the girls have been making their own paper kits to try and fly in the wind. The girls actually have about 10 kites in the garage, but they are all tangled up in a heap. Why, you ask? They took out more than one at a time - as each got tangled, they got out another and another... and now there's whole mess of tangled kites! S. wants to just throw away the whole pile but I said I would untangle it all... one day when I have time...

On Friday, the girls went to play at the park with the boys... so nice that the weather is getting warmer!

And on Saturday, we went to a Child ID program, where the girls could get an identification card with their finger print on it. It was a great program, where the girls got to meet some firemen (and get a tour of the fire truck), see a police dog in action, and see some police motorcycles up close (did you know they are BMWs?). They also got a balloon and a goodie bag, so you know THEY were really happy...

But the fun wasn't over yet! Then we all went to their good friend M.'s house for his 6th birthday party. Not only did they have a trampoline and a bouncy house, but they had this incredible water slide! The water was freezing, but the kids could not get enough of the water play!