More Than Just a Dance Recital

I'm tired. I'm a little emotional. When I get tired, I tend to cry. And reminisce. And think.

Tonight was Thursday of our annual dance recital week. I sat there in my seat (between running backstage), and was in awe of what a dance recital means...

To me, the dance recital means:

• The littlest girls get a chance to overcome a fear of being up on stage with all the lights on, alone with no adult to run to. Some find this is their place in life, to perform and to be on stage, and some realize being the center of attention is harder than they can handle, but they so often push through and overcome the challenge of doing something new and foreign to them.  
• The little girls find what it means to look up to someone... to have someone they admire and want to grow up to be like.
• As the girls get older they find out to dance through a mistake, how to put a smile on when they are nervous, how to recover from losing a shoe/hairpiece/prop, how to take constructive criticism, and how to shine.
• The oldest girls learn to be good role models for those looking up to them. They squash their own nerves to perform like they've been trained for 10+ years. They are beautiful and wonderful and make us old dancers remember those days and be proud of them.

There was so much promise up on the stage tonight. No matter where these girls end up in life, they will always have the memories of performing and being cheered for. We live in a wonderful world, but sometimes the world can be difficult. I hope that every single dancer on stage tonight knows and remembers that they are loved by the audience, their family and last but not least their dance instructors.

Week of Dates

I must be a pretty popular girl this week because I've actually had a week of dates. Or, for someone who doesn't get out much, actually something going on!

My dad and I went to the movies on Tuesday evening. We ate a HUGE bucket of popcorn, drank way too much soda, and loved the movie. We saw "The Avengers" and it was perfect. It had a great balance of action, aliens, humor, and story line. I loved it. Funny story... my dad and I were sitting in the movie theater for about 15 minutes before the movie started. We got there early for two reasons. 1) I do not like to miss previews, period. 2) We were hungry and wanted some popcorn. In any case, we were waiting for the movie to start and chatting a bit. I took a picture of us with dad's phone so I could show him how to upload it to facebook - don't worry... I did give him the lecture about how his "friends" on facebook don't want to know what he's doing ever waking moment. So, thank you, if you happen to be my dad's friend. Well, dad had asked me several times if we were in the correct movie theater. I said exasperatedly, "Yes," but when no one came in for 15 minutes I had a bad feeling. Yep, we had gone into the theater for the 7:00 showing not the 6:05 showing! So we laughed all the way out and went to the proper theater. Thankfully, we caught on in time to see the previews. :)

My list of "must-see's" from the previews:

• Men In Black 3 - I was skeptical at first but it actually looks pretty good.
• Snow White and the Huntsman
• The Amazing Spiderman
• The Dark Knight Rises
• Frankenweenie - A little out of my usual picks but it actually looks pretty cute!

Ha Ha! The picture we unsuccessfully tried to upload to my dad's facebook.

Friday Night we went to our friend's house for a barbecue. It was a fun night. We hung out with Jeffrey, Joni and their kiddos, Lucas, Maggie and Parker and our family. It's so nice because the kids play pretty good together and we all love to hang out so it makes for a fun evening! I stole a few pictures from Joni's facebook from the night.

The boys playing and Jeremy and Lucas supervising

Dave on the trampoline. Doesn't he look like such a big boy?

Saturday night we hit Manhattan and ate at UMI Steakhouse, the new Japanese steakhouse in Manhattan. It was so good and we had a great time. After dinner we went to Kite's and had a few drinks on the patio. I don't remember Kite's having a patio outside when I was in college but it's so nice! They have t.v.s for sports watching and it's a relaxing atmosphere. We had a blast... and the Summer Beer. Yum!

I realize my "week of dates" is really only three dates. But when you are lucky to get out twice a month, this was an amazingly exciting week! :)

Little Moments

I live for the little moments with my boys...

Today when I was putting Dillon to bed, I was rocking him with his head on my shoulder and patting him on the back. His little arm wrapped around my neck and started patting my back. I guess I didn't realize that I do that every time I rock him. It seriously made my heart melt.

These days

I've been hoping to blog... I have... but LIFE gets in the way.

When I'm driving to/from work, I always have things I want to put down, or blog about, but I never seem to get to it. So for lack of a better post, I'm just filling in on what is going on these days.

Lime-A-Ritas

Seriously... if you have not had these yet, they are a must. It tastes like a Summer Beer. But be careful! They may sneak up on you if you've had more than one! Super Yummy!!!



source

C25K

I've been running. Or more like attempting to run. If you know me very well - watching me run is not pretty. So, I started the Couch to 5K program. I'm only on the end of the second week. I'm really trying to make this a priority and to not put off the days I'm "scheduled" to run. I've been doing this in the evenings after I put Dill to bed and Dave is watching his cartoon and winding down. The program is set up for the work out to be about 30 minutes for each workout, which is great, because I think that's the only amount of time I can commit to working out. A half hour is better than what I was doing before though, which is NOTHING!



Yard Work

Every weekend, my husband cracks the chore whip and makes a list, that I contribute to, of everything that we need to accomplish that weekend. The past few weekends have included working on the flower beds in the back yard. Actually, my mom and I had a little tutorial of "what to do in the garden" which consisted of me watching her and trying to pick up everything I didn't pay attention to when I was growing up. I have some before and after pictures but I'll try to post them when I have some of the front yard also. It's not a drastic transformation but definitely much, much better.



My Guys

It's amazing how much my love grows each day for my boys. David's vocabulary is getting so big, he's constantly cracking me up with all of his comments and gestures. We were on a walk the other day and saw Dave's babysitter. For some reason he thought he needed to introduce us to her (even though we are good friends with her and her family). We he introduced us he did so as "My mommy, my daddy, my Dillon and my Bella." He's also been wearing no shirt to bed at night and asks me, "Mommy, can I wear my tummy tonight!"

Dave wearing his tummy.

Dilly is saying "night, night" now and is toddling around a bit. He'll walk about 8-10 steps without holding our hands but we have to encourage him to do it. He's not quite interested in walking on his own. He is also getting a little personality and giggling at himself and at us. I thought he was going to be my quiet baby but that might not be the case! :)

With Uncle Steven.

And of course, I can't forget my first guy and my awesome hubby. I saw this on pinterest today and WILL be making/buying for our bedroom when I redo it, which is on the list of to-do's for the future.

source - 320 Sycamore blog

I love this quote. And it fits Jeremy and I perfectly. "It Was Always You"

Happy Monday!

The Next Chapter

This weekend had me reflecting on "new chapters" in life.

My niece Abbey turned 15 on Friday. Not only did she turn 15, she also purchased her first car! She was so excited. We didn't get to go to her house this weekend and I'm bummed. I wanted a ride in her new ride. I kept thinking about my first car and how fun that stage in life is. The freedom of getting to drive anywhere is so exciting... I remember volunteering to go to the grocery store to pick up bread, milk, or anything we needed! It helped that my cute boyfriend worked there but getting to drive, BY MYSELF, was the best!

My niece Abbey and nephew Josh. Geez, I think this had to be at least 8 years ago!

This past Thanksgiving... all the grandkids. Dave made all the hats for everyone.

At Easter this year, in all honesty, I think this was the best picture out of all... we can get a little goofy. And I don't even think I had two minutes to chat with my brother and his family. A toddler and a baby will do that to you!

K-State's graduation was Saturday. It has been 5 years since I graduated from Kansas State University. I have a couple of friends that graduated from there this year. Making it through college, graduating and in a decent amount of time, is a huge accomplishment! Graduating from high school shoves you into the real world, especially if you are going straight into the workforce, but graduating from college can be a huge jump into reality. When I was in college, I thought I was a responsible adult, but didn't really realize all that my parents still did for me, so when I graduated I was certainly surprised at what the real world had to offer. Some of my best memories were made at Classy Cats, Chi Omega, Bessie B. West dorm, Aggieville, Hale Library, Kearney Street and even class. Congratulations to all the graduates... may you enjoy stepping into the "real world" and hold your collegiate memories close to your heart.

Graduation day

Every K-State graduate has to have the photo op in front of the Kansas State University sign. This one just happens to be with my best friend, Rachel.

The last chapter that I thought about this weekend was becoming a mother. Out of everything that has changed in my life since I was in high school, this has obviously been the biggest and honestly, the best. Marriage was something new... and difficult! Jeremy and I lived with each other for about a year before we tied the knot, but I was surprised at how different it was to be married than to just be engaged. It's hard work to make sure the other person is content and happy, while also making sure you also are content and happy. As challenging as married life can be, nothing is more difficult, or more rewarding than being a parent. I have several friends that this mother's day was their first and a couple of friends that they are currently pregnant. Nothing has changed me more than being a parent. The constant struggle of finding a balance between keeping your marriage in a good place, being a patient parent, a good daughter, a good employee and even a good friend can be exhausting. But nothing is more rewarding than seeing your baby take a few steps (yes, Dilly is starting to toddle about a bit), or give you a hug and tell you how much they love snuggling with you. And honestly, sometimes just having your two-year-old listen to what you've asked him to do can make your entire day! Being a mother is a wonderful new chapter to turn to and in all actuality, from that time forward, a chapter that will never end or close. 

Baby Dave and his mommy at the hospital. Please excuse my bra strap hanging out and my headband... I remember my hair kept falling in my face. I think I wore that thing for about a month straight!

Baby Dill and his mommy at the hospital

Our crazy boys. Dave is wearing that bucket (and trying to get Dill to wear one too) and telling us he is the "King of Numbers" which is from UmiZoomi, his favorite cartoon.

Dance Party USA

Dave, Dill and I like to have dance parties in our living room, with the satellite radio blaring and the curtains closed. The above is actually a video when Dave and Dill were having a dance party on a Wednesday night without me. I am not home on Wednesday nights because I teach dance to 3-4  year olds and high schoolers on that night! That will soon be over though, as the dance recital is quickly approaching!

Last Sunday night - we were having a dance party and Dave said the following to Dillon...

"Come on small brother... you can do it... stand up like this... and dance with me!"

I'm always impressed with David's acceptance of Dillon sharing the spotlight with him and his love for his "small" brother. I hope they will grow up as best friends and love each other as much as they seem to now. The more Dill grows, the more excited Dave seems to be to have a partner in crime!

What I won't mess up...

Parenting is not easy and I am far from being a perfect parent. I know I can be impatient, grumpy and expect maybe too much from my boys. I worry, less now than I used to, but on a daily basis that I'm too tough on the boys, not tough enough on them, that I'm too impatient, that I let Dave watch too much television, etc., etc., etc. One thing I will not mess up though... my babies know everyday how much I love them. I do not worry that they won't know they are loved... they hear me say it over and over and are showered with kisses and hugs everyday.

I mean... how could you not worry about making the best atmosphere for these precious little boys to grow up!!!