Ya' Just Gotta Love It!

Kat started a new chapter in math today and was learning about lines of latitude and longitude. She really doesn't like anything "abstract" and began to tune out immediately. She quickly got frustrated, and asked me "When am I going to use this anyway?" (Yes, that age old question.) Eventually, I got her to listen to me and she finally "got it".

Just a few minutes ago, she opened her World Studies book to the new chapter. She is reading about the explorers. Guess what the first thing she read was???

"A piece of land ninety-five hundred miles long, up to thirty-three hundred miles wide, spanning latitudes from 72 degrees north to 56 degrees south was not what Columbus expected to find when he sailed west from Europe in 1492."


Ahhhh.... I just love it when that happens! Hehehehe!!!!!

Where Have I Been?

Well I've been right here, of course. Not "here" at the computer obviously, since I haven't updated in over a week. Actually, not here at my house much either. To be honest, I've been quite scattered recently. And, to warn you, it's only going to get worse in the coming weeks.

To borrow an idea from a fellow blogger...here's my itinerary for the next several weeks:

Friday night-Mother Daughter thing at church with Banana.

Saturday night-Dinner with the 11th graders

Sunday-Church...'nuff said.

Monday-Friday next week-usual stuff, ballet, piano, ballet, school, church stuff, work stuff, church stuff, ballet...

Friday night-Kearsdad's work's family night at the MBraves game!!!! YEA!!!

Saturday morning-Graduate recognition brunch

Sunday morning-Graduate recognition

Monday-Friday of the next week-same as above...until May 17. Then school is OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!

May 9-Dress Rehearsal #1
May 10-Recital #1

May 18-Horse Show

May 21-Dress Rehearsal #2
May 22- Recital #2

May 27-Dress Rehearsal #3
May 28-Recital #3

June week 1-Banana goes to camp
June week 2-Banana has Summer Dance Intensive
June week 3-Banana has Summer Dance Intensive AND Kat and I have Mission Trip

and so on, and so on...

Arabesque, Changement, Echappe, and a bunch of other words.

Yesterday was observation day at Banana's dance school. Twice a year, parents get to go in and watch our child's class/classes. Banana's Monday is classes. Plural. 3 plus hours*. There is a Jazz class with a really great, really funny teacher. She uses silly phrases and is very energetic, and I know Banana likes her a lot. In jazz class, they do stretches for about 30 minutes and then dance for about 30 minutes. The stretches, like the ones in ballet class, made me hurt. I wasn't actually stretching, mind you. Just the thought of the stretches made me hurt. I don't think people are really supposed to bend like that.

After jazz was ballet class. Ballet class lasts around 17 1/2 hours. I was in labor with Banana for less time than that class took. Kearsdad said he thinks we should employ Ballet-Class-Watching as a new form of terrorist interrogation. He says he is sure it would work even better than waterboarding. I honestly found it somewhat interesting and entertaining. It was nice to see how Banana is progressing. But it was incredibly long. I was ready for a nap by the time it was done.

The most interesting thing about ballet class was the language spoken in there. Kearsdad leaned over to me one time and whispered, "I have no idea what she (meaning Ballet Teacher) has said the entire time we've been in here." I'll admit, I was pretty lost myself. After all these years of ballet, I've become pretty well-versed in ballet language. Apparently, though, Banana has progressed well beyond my understanding. Kearsdad and I continue to be amazed that Banana can remember and perform a long string of foreign words given as direction, but can't remember to make her bed and brush her teeth in the morning. I comfort myself with the thought that we have spent many dollars and many hours on ballet, so I guess I'm glad she understands the language. Maybe if I learn to say "hang up your clothes" in French it will help.

*Banana's dance classes on Mondays consist of one hour of Jazz, one and a half hours of Ballet, and forty-five minutes of Pre-Pointe. Pre-Pointe is where the girls spend forty-five minutes counting to four while stretching and pointing their feet in various positions. Let it be known that Kearsdad and I did not stay to observe pre-pointe. I would have had to have Kearsdad committed for psychiatric treatment if we had done so.


This is Banana stretching in Jazz class. I don't think my body ever folded up like that.



Here she is in Ballet class performing one of those long strings of directions.

Kat and Hickory-It's That Time Again

Horse show season started this weekend in Meridian. Kat participated in the Queen City Classic. This was her first "big" show, aka "sanctioned show". It was sanctioned by the American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR). By participating in this or other sanctioned show, Kat would be theoretically eligible to show at Nationals in Tulsa, OK. Don't see us going there just yet, but it's cool all the same. Luckily for us, this was a very small show, probably because it was a new show. Not many people were there, so the pressure wasn't too high. It was a good way for all the girls to experience showing in a "big" setting. Nevertheless, it was very different from what we are used to with our "local" shows we did last year. Much more professional, and even with only a few people, more high pressured. Kat did well. she held up under pressure, especially with a new event. Driving was a big part of this show, and it was Kat's first time to drive in this setting. She has driven a lot out at the farm, and at the church for Fall Festival, but not for judges. We learned some valuable lessons, and she's looking forward to doing it again.

One of the really neat things about this show was that the girls got to watch Mrs. Beth and Joanna show. Watching the "pro's" at work was a real treat, and a great learning experience.

Jumping was fun. There were two jumping classes. Here Kat is participating in a "timed jump off."

Kat and her best horsey friend Hickory.

Driving up to the judges.

Kat and her "header", aka Dad.

Dressed up for driving class. Driving is a "formal" event.

Catching Up...Again

I have fallen behind in updating my study of the verses in James I have posted on that side column. I hope someone besides me is enjoying the updates. I know God has taught me so much as I have picked these verses apart word by word. When I am done, I may do a post with the whole thing in one place.

Also...just so you know...God is SO good. No elaboration. I just needed to share that. It's a good day!

More Fun Pictures

As you can see...I decided to leave that other post up. Y'all convinced me...I'll just post a bunch of other stuff and push that picture down the page...


So, as most of you know, we had a garage sale this weekend. All in all it was successful. While I would have loved to have gotten rid of ALL of the stuff out there, I am very glad to have gotten rid of most of it. The big dresser is gone, the bookshelf is gone, the big toys are gone. The old rickety entertainment center is still there. Kearsdad says he is going to burn it. Scary. Sounds like a project for him and his boys.

In the process of getting everything out of the attic, Kearsdad called my attention to the fact that I had two formal dresses in up there. I was unaware that they were there. I never go into the attic. See, going in the attic involves climbing that rickety ladder. I don't do heights well. Stairs, ladders, balconies....none of them are good. So I stand at the bottom of the ladder and pass things to Kearsdad or take things from him. But he made me climb up the ladder...a very slow and frightening process, in order to look in the attic. He kept asking me about things, and I didn't know what he was talking about because his descriptive phrases are quite limited. So he made me come look.

Anyway...there were these two dresses. One was a formal from high school that was re-made/re-used as my sorority initiation dress. The other is my bridesmaid's dress from my brother's wedding 14 years ago. We brought them down. The girls had a fit...they had to have those dresses. They spent the rest of the night parading around the house in them. What was really wild is that they FIT! Really! I mean, they were a little big on top, but with a couple of safety pins, and a tank top under one, they FIT!! I can't believe I was that small...or that they are that big...I'm not sure which it is. But I decided that if they can fit into them, then it is reasonable that I can't, and somehow that made me feel good. Like, maybe I haven't gotten that fat after all. If that doesn't make sense to you, don't tell me, because I like the way it sounds and that is what I am going to tell myself.

So...here they are in the dresses...



*I just realize that I used the word "rickety" twice in one post. I am not sure what that means...

As Junebug Was Saying...10 Years Ago

This picture is of MaMa and KaKa, as Junebug referred to them in her version of my post on her blog yesterday. This photo is for adult blogging eyes only, and is not to be mentioned to the subjects of the photo, as 12 year olds do not appreciate such things. I will only leave this post up for about 24 hours, but I couldn't resist sharing this memory. It is actually slightly older than 10 years, but you get the idea...

Get to Know You

I've been tagged by Andrea to play a “Who Are You?” Meme.- The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.- Each player answers the questions about themselves.- At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people, posts their names, and then leaves a comment on their blogs, letting them know they've been tagged.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
1. I was a new stay-at-home-mom to Kat 2 1/2 and Banana 16 months. I had been home since September and was loving every minute of it.
2. I was making frequent visits to the pediatricians office, and we had just learned that Banana's immune system was okay, except for one component. Her IgE (the marker for allergies) was 607. Normal is below 12. Sometime in April, she made her return to church, after being stuck at home (with me or Kearsdad) since Christmas.
3. Preparing to make one of our last trips to Orlando to visit my parents. They would move to Jacksonville that year.
4. Thoroughly enjoying our involvement in our "young married" Sunday School class with Randy and Faye Cress.
5. I had two toddlers (see #1)-That's all I can remember.

5 Things On My To-Do List Today:
1. School
2. Update the verses in James on this blog.
3. Go to Academy Sports to look for Kat's "Horse Show pants".
4. Go to FAITH tonight.
5. Make the girls go through the cabinet under the tv in the playroom and get stuff out for the garage sale.

5 Things I Would Do If I Were a Billionaire:
1. Tithe! (yes, I was listening to Pastor)
2. Pay off everything.
3 Give a whole bunch of money to the church to start (finish?) Phase 2.
4. Take my in-laws on another vacation-this time in a NEW vehicle.
5. Buy a second house in Colorado Springs.

5 Bad Habits:
1. Going to bed way too late.
2. Spending too much time on this computer.
3. Letting my house get too cluttered.
4. Not managing my time as well as I should.
5. Procrastinating phone calls. (I hate to talk on the phone).

5 Places I Have Lived:
1. Montgomery, Alabama
2. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
3. Columbus, Georgia
4. Macon, Georgia
5. Here

5 Jobs I Have Had
1. Clerk at Warren's (Children's Store in Columbus Ga...no longer in existence)
2. Activities Therapist at Doctor's Hospital Psych Ward
3. Mental Health Clinician for Region 8.
4. Intake Counselor at St. Dominic, North Campus.
5. Ministry Assistant to the world's best Student Pastor.

5 Tags:
1. Junebug
2. SUG
3. Manders
4. Heather
5. Debbie