My one and only daughter had her first ever dance recital this week. That was an amazing event for us! It was just a short, low-key production with a Christmas theme, but it made my heart explode nonetheless.
There was no photography or videography allowed at the actual show, so I took pictures of Nora before we left the house and then again when we got home. My sister and niece brought Nora flowers, which was fantastic.
Nora's favorite thing about the evening was that she got to wear makeup. I put a tiny bit of pink eye shadow on her and let her wear my pink lipgloss. She was marvelous. The day leading up to the recital was pretty much the longest day of Nora's life, and she kept telling me that she just couldn't wait any longer.
In addition to Nora's recital being one of the cutest things I've ever seen, it was also our last kid performance of the season. Now we can move on to family gatherings and friends' parties.
* * *
I've been listening to a lot of Christmas music, as you know, and I have a few questions:
- What exactly is Frosty teaching our kids about respecting the authority of police officers? ("He led them down the streets of town right to the traffic cop. And they only paused a moment when they heard him holler 'Stop!'")
- Who tells scary ghost stories at Christmas? ("There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long long ago.")
- What on earth is a bobtail made to 40-40 speed (or 40 acid speed, as I recently heard on a different version)? ("Just get a bobtail made to 40-40 speed. Hitch him to an open sleigh and crack you're in the lead.")
Yesterday morning during my kid-free time, I decided to treat myself to a warm delicious mocha from McDonald's. I was in such a good mood that I wanted to pay for the car behind me. I cheerily asked the McDonald's employee at the window what the total was for the car behind me. It was a whole whopping $1.10. So my good deed turned out to be a teeny tiny gesture. Oh well.
I drove away happily knowing that I at least tried to do something nice. I took a tentative sip of my mocha, smiled warmly, and then took another drink that completely scalded my entire tongue. Happens every time.
* * *
On Monday during school, Nolan discovered that he could connect paperclips together to make a long chain. He used his newly discovered technique to make a necklace for a classmate. That night he wanted to show me what he could do, so I offered him my bin of colorful paperclips that I've been working on using since college.
He made a necklace for his teacher out of pink and blue paperclips because those are her two favorite colors. He also made a bracelet for one of his friends.
Then next day when he came out of school, he was clutching a handful of yellow Post-It notes. Each one was an order from a classmate for what type of jewelry they wanted and which colors they preferred. Nolan skipped his after-school snack and got right to work filling his new jewelry orders.
Griffin got in on the jewelry-making as well. He made a necklace for his teacher as well as a couple necklaces and bracelets for some classmates. Each boy was thoughtful about what colors each recipient would like best. They put each finished piece in a clear zip-top bag and labeled it with the recipient's name. The whole thing was so stinking cute. I even got a necklace, ring, and two bracelets.
They used up all of our paperclips and still brought home more orders. So yesterday during my errand time, I went to Staples and bought more colorful paperclips. I surprised them when they came home from school, and it may as well have been a Christmas present. Now they are determined to completely accessorize all their classmates by the end of the week.
* * *
I finished the teacher gifts for the boys as well as for Nora's Wednesday morning TLC teacher gifts. They're nothing spectacular this year. In fact, I feel like none of my Christmas gifts are spectacular this year.
I made two big batches of a caramel-coated snack mix that includes Crispix cereal, pretzel sticks, pecans, and popcorn. I bought cute tins from Walmart and filled them with the snack mix. I also made the Mentos snowmen that I've made in years past (you can use an old idea for new teachers, right?).
The gifts themselves may not be anything new or amazing, but I did spend time writing a personal card to each teacher to tell them how much they all mean to our family.
* * *
I also went to the library yesterday during my adult time. I've been wanting to read a book for pleasure lately, and I thought it would be best to enter the silent library without children.
I love the library. All those books. The solitude. The idea that I'm completely surrounded by thoughts and words of brilliant minds.
I'm also intimidated by the library. I don't know how it works. I spotted an area of computers. Surely that's where I would need to go to search for a book. But the computers were numbered, which suggested that maybe you have to sign up to use a specific computer? Most of the people on the computers were using them to browse the internet, not to look up books. How do I look up a book? I also didn't know what book I wanted.
A couple weeks ago, Jared made me watch the moving The Hunger Games. I didn't sleep for two days after that. The whole premise of the movie creeped me out to my very core.
However...I found out that the movie is based on a book. And not just one book. There are three books in the series. So, maybe I could put my mind to rest if I read the other two books and completed the full story.
So I decided to look for the next book in the series. But I still didn't know how to search for a book on the computers or how I was supposed to get permission to use a computer. So I sat on a comfy chair, pulled out my phone, and Googled the author of The Hunger Games.
Collins, Suzanne. I located the Fiction section in the library and found the "C" section in alphabetical order (C for Collins). But the books weren't there. Then I had an idea. I vaguely remembered that the books were intended for tweens. Which might be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard since they're about people purposely killing each other for sport. But that's a different rant.
So I located the Young Adult section of the library. A...B...C! Collins! I found it! I snagged the last copy of Catching Fire, the second book in the series. Maybe I should be embarrassed that the only book I've read for pleasure in many, many months is from the Young Adult Section. I don't care. I sent Jared a text and picture to prove that I made it out of the library with a book.
I managed to read 234 pages of the book yesterday. And yes, I still helped the boys with homework, made dinner for my family, and completed most of my regular chores.
I suppose that's enough of my ramblings for now. I hope you're all having a great week!
Jessica
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