Dance 2013

I have had the pleasure of watching my eldest niece, Heather, perform in dance recitals for fourteen years. Her senior recital is this year and I can honestly say I have enjoyed every one of them, even with a camcorder in my hand. From the costumes to the music, it's just so much fun to watch! 

So, it was not a question about whether Nancy Carol would do dance or not...she just had to be old enough. So, she dabbled in it when she was three, we took a year off, and she DAZZLED in dance in June 2013! After nine months of instruction, prep, and rehearsing, I am in awe how well she did.  Four dance numbers, one radical costume, and a hairstyle that still makes me smile to this day. I'm so lucky Granny Nanny and Heather made the long trip to commemorate Nancy Carol's first recital.  I hope there will be more recitals in her future as long as she still enjoys dance. I'm also grateful for my niece, Heather, for inviting me to all of her recitals 

Nancy Carol's 5th Birthday

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Art Soccer 2013

Since we had a rather mild Winter, I enrolled Nancy Carol in Spring soccer. Miles did not register because Nancy Carol had him believing it was called "Art Soccer" and you painted, colored, and even used sidewalk chalk if you kicked a ball. Since he does not like anything to do with Art,  he donated all of his "play" clothes to our Fancy Nancy. (She is wearing his sweat pants well, don't you think?)

To say that Nancy Carol was disappointed soccer had nothing to do with Art is a severe understatement. She got scolded several times from me for coming off the field to complain about the lack of Art. Next practice, she refused to run because sweat just might appear.   Third practice, she collected dandelion weeds throughout the field. On bright side, we did make her finish the 6 week course and she loves her gold medal to this day.

Flash forward six months later, there was an academic awards ceremony for the Kindergartens. (Miles and Nancy Carol are not in the same class, but they are dubbed "the old married couple" at recess by the faculty at the elementary school behind our house.)  We were SOOOO proud of her Dynamic Reading Award and Super Speller recognition!  Top that off with her Perfect Attendance, and you have two very glowing parents! But over the Summer, our "son" started liking Art.  He now joins Nancy Carol with Playdough activities, love of markers, crayons, and painting masterpieces. He got the  "Creativity" award from his class
and you cannot imagine the magnitude of disappointment from our daughter. Four weeks later, we are still hearing "But I liked Art before he did.  I paint more than he does. Why don't the teachers like my art work? Who cares about perfect attendance, I'm am artist... not an attendance person. I don't even like reading. "  So, we put her certificates in a frame she painted, and we are still hearing the woes of why nobody likes her Art.  I positioned wire so her "masterpieces" hang from the ceiling of our den, and she still whines about that art award. To sum up, I think we will sign her up for a drama course instead of soccer in the Spring of 2014.

Winterfest 2013

Nothing at all compares to last year when Nancy Carol was a Senorita. However, I was wrong because this year, Nancy Carol flipped up her dress showing her white panties at the end of singing three snowmen dancing songs. When I sent the video to Gramma, she simply said "At least she was wearing underwear!" So, we will bid a farewell to the Winterfest programs at First Baptist Preschool.  No telling what stunts she will pull for a bigger audience in elementary school!

Great Wolf Lodge

In January, there were several delays and lots of warnings for snow, but now it is Spring and there is not a single snow picture of Nancy Carol for the Winter 2013. In fact, her preschool had the kids so excited about one of the potential big snowstorms, that when I picked her up, she had made three snowmen, painted with snow paints, and even ate snow doughnuts as a snack.  So, imagine her disappointment when it didn't snow!  To top it off, her buddy was equally devastated so the crazy Mamas decided to be totally impulsive and take the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC overnight over Martin Luther King Weekend. They had the best time making stuffed animals, playing in the arcade, bowling, swimming in the massive water park  Magic Quest  miniature golf, and  simply being together despite the lack of snow.

Happy Hanukkah!

2012 has brought an incredible friendship into our lives thanks to our neighbor, Jenny and my favorite red-head.....her son Miles. The kids have spent lots of time together.  Both have a love of trains and they are picky eaters, so having supper together is easy as long as the turkey bacon and fruit are supplied.  It's so comforting having a friend to pick up Nancy Carol when I have meetings and Michael is tied up, too.  Likewise, it's nice to be able to help Jenny out when she is in a bind at work. Overall. the kids interact just like a brother and sister one month apart. Good times and bad.....I'm glad these two "only" children have each other.

Each year, Nancy Carol has had a special Hanukkah lesson at preschool due to Jenny providing this educational experience.  So, having more than one dreidel in the house is normal to us. Since they are in separate classes, Nancy Carol opted out of her annual cookie pajama party to be the special visitor with Miles' Aunt Elizabeth's presentation to his class. Aunt Elizabeth told Jenny to tell me that Nancy Carol fussed at all the kids calling it "chocolate coins" and informed them it could only be called "gelt."  To say that she is obsessed with "gelt" is putting it mildly.

My favorite memory this year was Jenny inviting us to attend one of the menorah ceremonies. Jenny's father is saying the prayers in Hebrew and Miles is practicing.  It was an honor sharing in this tradition with Jenny and Miles.

Christmas 2012

A few of our favorite pictures from Christmas Morning 2012. Nancy Carol sang  with the children's choir  on Christmas Eve and did a fantastic job!  It was a very busy (and sickly) holiday season, so the three of us embraced the break from school.  Favorite part of whole break was celebrating the 70th birthday of my dear Mama and our beloved Granny Nanny with family.