New Years Dance

Hindsight, they say, is 20/20. Last night as I watched all the youth from this side of the river shake what their mama gave them, I came to a realization that nothing has changed in 20 years. Young teenage boys are still awkward. Girls still giggle and wear weird clothes. They are classed in the same categories, the nerds, the jocks, the bad girls and boys, the good girls and boys and all the spectrum's in between. I saw "the flirt" who was wearing something that was a little too adult for her. I saw the dancer guy with his white suspenders that all the girls flocked to. I saw the guy that just didn't care what anyone else thought and danced his funny little heart out. But the thing that disheartened me was this young lady that I teach who had not been asked to dance all night. Seriously, wish I had a big stick to beat over these boys heads. This girl is gorgeous, petite, beautiful hair, eyes and and teeth. She is hot by all standards. So men have not changed at all. They still can't get up enough nerve to ask the pretty girl out unless she is completely outgoing and willing to ask the guys to dance....such a crying shame! All of you mothers out there with boys, teach them how to ask a girl to dance. Rarely, will she say no. No excuses! Don't let them sit by the food all night! I can remember with great clarity my experiences at dances. I had fun, I had my heart broke, I got asked to dance, and I got shunned. Oh to be a teenager again...no thank you! But I love them and am so glad that I get to serve them at this time in my life. It was neat to see "my girls" at the dance. We bonded over our mutual distaste for heartbreakers....

New Years Eve...

I gave birth to a beautiful little girl 11 years ago. Kevin ate subway and I stared at this little creature with a bow stuck to her head with KY Jelly. She had a perfect little head and was a little overdue. I had waited years to see this little girl that I knew I would have first. She is responsible, kind, funny, smart, and beautiful. She was the hardest baby I had. Anderson was a close second, but Maddy was the Notoriously bad baby. I'm positive that she threw up on all her grandma's. We are not talking spit up here, but exorcist style up chuck! Sleeping was never a priority to her. She didn't sleep through the night until 14 months. When we discovered at 2 1/2 that she had sleep apnea, we immediately had her tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears. Ever since then, she has changed. Gone are the sleepless nights and meltdowns, but she still is a little spit fire! She has a strong spirit and she is very literal, just like her mom. She can talk back but rarely to me. She still loves her mother. Never one to give away a hug needlessly, but is a certified flirt with the boys. Always at the top of her class, she bores easily. When she was 4, I had her in two different preschools and dance class. That still wasn't enough for her. This year, she is chilling out. All she has on her plate is piano. Taking a break from dance has been good for her. I think she will be ready to go again in the summer. Madeline Leigh Carter-Laing is my beautiful baby girl and I love and adore her for all that she does. I can't wait to see what the next 9 years will bring to her!

Christmas in the Barn

It was cold!! If you could see your own breath, it was too cold to be in the barn, but everyone wanted to persevere. Emily would have rather gone inside, but I was in the minority. There was plenty for the kids to do. Yahtzee was played. Luke 2 was acted out. Everyone got reacquainted and we all talked about the weather. When the huge flakes began falling, we got a little nervous about having to house 20 extra people! But the snow began to melt and we kept warm with propane heaters, a fireplace, and gallons of hot cocoa, coffee and cider. We always have the best White Elephant gift exchange with someone winning $27 with their procured lottery tickets. We had fabulous food and no one got stuck..Thanks JJ!! Christmas was great, but I am looking forward to the new year and no more snow and no more trials! A girl can dream can't she?!

German Food

My very favorite companion on my mission was from Switzerland. She was Swiss German, but still....I loved all the German Tour Groups that I took through the Visitors Center in St. George. They were very polite. I have always wanted to go to Germany and hopefully Patrick will hit it big and we can take a train ride from Italy to Germany...This is my ode to German Food...German Meatballs with Spatzle (little Egg dumplings,aka: Noodles!) Kids love it, Husband loves it. Now if I could just get my husband to like all things Cabbage then we could round out the meal. I am praying that someday he will love curry and then we could have an Indian night. Who doesn't love a good flat bread with lentils and a gorgeous curry?!!! But that is a different post...
The Secret ingredient to the sauce...capers!

Sledding

This little chubby cherub has red hands and cheeks from playing out in the snow for an hour yesterday with Dad.
You have to love Brighten. she still has her pajamas on over snow clothes...she's a little Diva. Patrick had a great time too.
Anderson, who has a very low pain threshold on a normal day, was immune to cold until he started thawing out. He seemed to think it was ok to not wear socks and have on dress shoes...ah, independence leads to learning does it not?!

Drinking Chocolate

If you have the fortune of living in Portland Oregon, there is a nifty little spot, located in the Heathman Hotel, called Cacao. It is divine. They have all sorts of specialty chocolate that you can purchase, but the Drinking Chocolate is what they are known for. Ever since Patrick took my on my Epicurian Tour of Portland, I have been craving this sinful little creation. It is made with high quality of bar chocolate, cream, milk, a sprinkling of sugar, and a pinch of salt. It is thick and rich, like drinking syrup except not so sweet. They serve it in shot glasses. I am a huge chocolate lover and could devour no more than 2 ounces of the stuff. Be sure to try it sometime.

The shoes...

As some of you know, I am trying to get back into a very real part of my life that I let go when I had kids....well as of today, I will have shook my butt at least an hour for 30+days in a row. Now we are not talking a light workout here. I mean sweat poring off of me and my whole body sore and spent. It's definitely been a journey of self discovery and by my 36th birthday, I hope to be in the best shape of my life and be able to teach again...so these are my dancin shoes...These little guys are the best $20 I ever spent. I usually just dance in bare feet. Most modern, lyrical, and jazz dancers do, and these handy food underwear give the ball of your foot some slide. It's saving my feet!!These guys are technically not ballroom shoes, but they are doing their duty until I can fork over the cash for real ones
These are my hip hop shoes that I can do point on too! No really, they are great dance shoes but they mark up the floor, so I don't wear them very often.

I hope to buy many more in the future...as for now these will do while I slowly shrink back into myself...see you on the dance floor sometime soon!