A Night At The Circus

It seems to be an essential part of childhood....going to the circus.  Tonight was Laura's first time going and I think she lucked out with a great experience.  There were trick dogs, cats, birds, lions, and of course elephants.  There were acrobats and gymnasts, along with magicians and clowns.   The whole show was very well done, and she had a wonderful time.  Mommy thought she was going to lose it at one point over the absolute stupidity of the people who showed up 20 minutes late and stood in front of Laura for a good 5 minutes trying to figure out seating arrangements.  But aside from that it was a wonderful night and Laura was grinning ear to ear when we left.  I  believe the words "totally awesome" were uttered as we walked out (or should I say speed-walked out, because I am truly my father's daughter and would do just about anything to escape that awful crowd of people leaving).

I wasn't able to get many good pictures because it was so dark, but I do have a few of Laura before the fun started!

Laura waiting for the show to start. The kids were allowed to go down and check on the ring, which we did. Susie the elephant came out and did a trick or two, and then did some "art" with her foot. It was really cool!

Waiting so patiently in line for her popcorn.

Happy now that she had her snack!

My only photo of the circus in action.

Gone Fishin'

Poor Laura has strep throat for the third time since September!  After a busy weekend with Daddy and Grandma, her fever came back late last night, and she didn't get much sleep, so she stayed home from school today.  She accompanied Mommy to work for a few hours, and then did a little bit of fishing, from the somewhat relative warmth of the garage.  Look, she only needed snow boots, a jacket, and a scarf!  Temperatures in the mid-40's yielded no fish, although she did manage to hook a can of Pepsi, which she generously gave to me. 

In other news, yesterday was the 2nd anniversary of me acquiring my Volkswagen Tiguan, and I wanted to report that at 34,768 miles, she's still doing beautifully.  I love my little VW and I don't know why more people don't have them.  I finally got her a new Jack ball for her antennae (thanks Mom!)  This cute soccer Jack was mailed all the way from California and despite what appears to be a smile, he's not particularly enjoying the cold weather.  Don't worry little guy, soon you'll be sweating to death in the humidity and begging for winter again.

Check out my post from when I first got the Tiguan if you want to see a picture of how bad the old Jack ball looked.

Laura and I had a pretty hectic January, so here's to hoping that February will be a bit more mellow and maybe give us some more time for "fishing".

January Updates

Surprised to see me, aren't you? I know, I know, it's been forever since I've posted. I feel terrible about that, but as is the case for most people, life keeps getting in the way. I can't even begin to talk about everything that's happened since I stopped posting regularly, and I simply can't post all the pictures I've taken since the summer. I'll share a few January pictures, and hope that I'll get back into a more regular posting routine.

Laura enjoying our second snow of the winter...a bit out of the ordinary for our part of NC!

Moxie in the snow...crazy how much she loves it

As for me, I have red hair again.

Laura was recognized by the county school board as a "Shining Star" for having the kids that came to her birthday party bring books instead of presents, and then donating the books to her Kindergarten class. She was called up to the front of the meeting to receive her award...she was a little bit shy but did a great job!Laura and I after she got her award...I think she was done with smiling for pictures by this pointThe shirt I made for Laura for her 100th day of school

The back of the shirt

That's all for now...wish me luck as I attempt to wrestle my life into order and get back to blogging and running, two of my favorite things that have fallen by the wayside the last few months.  Oh, and yes, my background and blog name are totally different now....not sure if either of the changes will be permanent, but we'll see.  The background got lost by mistake (I accidentally deleted it and can't figure out how to get it back) and the old blog name needed revamping, and 3 Square was the best my non-creative brain could come up with.  It kind of applies, yet makes no sense at the same time, which is why I like it so much.  For now.

Kindergartner

I don't have time to write much today, but I wanted to share pictures from Laura's first day of Kindergarten! Laura goes to a year-round school and today was the big day. It truly is hard to believe she's old enough for Kindergarten. Our picture taking was a bit rushed this morning, and the sun was pretty bright, but we got a few relatively normal looking pictures. By this point she was desperate to get rid of me. Her "smile" says it all!

Along the same lines, I heard this song for the first time a few days ago and it really touched me. When I walked away from Laura's class this morning, I choked up a little bit, but I didn't cry. But when this song came on my iPod as I drove away from the school...yep, I totally cried.

Bubble Dress

The bubble dress is completed! As I said in my first post about the dress, I have a really hard time using patterns, and this time was no exception. The directions are well-written and the pictures are great, but that still wasn't enough to help poor clueless me. I was so stuck at the end on how to sew the bodice and skirt together in a manner that looked halfway decent, that I ended up having to trek up to our city's quilt store to get some advice. I happened to arrive right when a clothing construction class was finishing, and the instructor took a few minutes to talk with me. That's how nice they are there; she gave me one-on-one attention and some invaluable advice (for free) and seemed happy to do it!

The funny part was that the moment the instructor and I began looking at the pattern together and discussing it, the light bulb went off and I knew exactly what I was supposed to do. The trip wasn't wasted though-I got some great fabric, and an ego boost from everyone who admired the dress. Even better, the instructor told me she has used Oliver + S patterns in the past, and while they make some adorable clothes, the patterns are sometimes lacking in really detailing all the steps to take. So that made me feel better too.

The dress is a lot shorter on Laura than I expected (it is a size 5) so if I make it again, which hopefully I will, I'm going to try to make it longer. It doesn't "bubble" as much as Laura would like, but most people who have made the dress say the same thing. I might try a little bit less elastic next time to make it poof a bit more. As usual, my pictures stink and really don't do justice to the cute fabric (the blue is a tad darker in real life). I think it looks really cute on Laura!

Laura being forced to try it onStarting to enjoy herself more once I allowed her to curtsyThe buttons which also look cuter in real life

Updates

There's not much new here at our house. Our snow melted almost as quickly as it came, but sadly it didn't take the cold weather with it. Laura and I are desperate for some warmer weather! I'm already planning what clothes I want to make Laura for spring, and I've purchased a few patterns. Unfortunately for me, I'm such a visual person that I have a VERY hard time with patterns-no matter how many diagrams there are, it's still not enough. I bought this pattern from oliver + s (I'll make it without the scalloped sides) and I hope it will be just as cute as the pictures, despite my ineptitude with patterns. Stay tuned to see the finished product soon--I hope! I've also been trying to learn how to use my sewing machine to quilt, with terrible results. It would be so much faster and cheaper if I could figure out how to do it and quilt my own quilts, but I'm quickly accepting that it's just not meant to be.

But enough crafty talk, how about some pictures of Laura? I know that's the main draw here! I have a few from Valentine's Day so you can see just how much she enjoyed the holiday.

Heart shaped toast for breakfast (Mommy's idea)With her new dog that Daddy sent (with a little help from Mommy). She named it Cassie.Heart shaped sandwich for lunch (Laura's idea) We also had to use her heart shaped plate.

Fun In The Snow

It was A LOT of fun.

Lost Teeth And Snow--Oh My!

I'm afraid if you're on my email list (and pretty much every one of my readers is!) all of this will be old news to you. But I'm kind of at a loss for what to blog about, and it's been over a week so I felt like I needed to put something up!

The first thing to report is that Laura lost her first tooth yesterday at school. It had only been loose since Sunday and I really didn't think she would loose it so fast! It happened during playtime in the gym, right before I arrived to pick her up. The teacher said Laura thought she broke off a different tooth and got pretty upset. There was more blood involved than I recall experiencing as a child, and added to Laura's generally dramatic nature, you probably won't be too surprised to hear that when I arrived she was coming out of the bathroom, being attended to by her teacher and the director of the school, both of whom were desperately trying to calm her down.

Once she saw me she became even more upset and it took a while to get her to settle down. I think all the attention wasn't helping either...I can tell when my daughter is actually starting to calm down but is continuing to ham it up for the attention. Sigh. Such is the life of a Mommy to a drama queen. In the end, the suggestion that we email Daddy with her big news was enough to calm her down, and she showed off her new gap to all of her classmates. We took a few pictures at home, something that proved to be much more difficult that I expected.At night Laura wasn't too sure about how she felt about the tooth fairy coming. She had lots of questions-the most important being would the tooth fairy wake her up when she lifted up her pillow. Luckily we had just had a dental appointment the day before and Laura was given a litle plastic tooth, so we used that to house the tooth. Even better news is that after raiding Laura's piggy bank, the tooth fairy was able to deliver the goods in the form of a $2 bill. The tooth fairy also left a teeny tiny little note thanking Laura for her tooth. The tooth fairy thought this was quite a bit of inspired theatrics, and sure enough, Laura loved it.

So not only did Laura wake up to money this morning, but snow too! We have about an inch of snow, but it's very icy and not that great for playing in. Surprisingly it continued to snow for several hours this morning, and the governor of the state has declared a state of emergency-apparently there is about 15 inches in the mountains! We are lucky to not have much snow, but the ice has made the roads pretty yucky, so we are staying home today. Still, I wish I could have seen all the snow plows out on the main roads-definitely not something we ever see here in our part of North Carolina!

Laura attempting a snow angel

Moxie thought licking the snow was the best idea everChecking out what the front yard had to offerMoxie blowing in the windOutside for a second round of fun. It was much colder!

Sew Laura, Sew!

Laura and I celebrated Christmas this year in California, with our families. It was a wonderful trip, one that I should probably write about, but at a later date. Right now I wanted to share pictures of Laura with one of her new toys.
One day, well before her birthday, Laura and I were at Joann's where she spotted a sewing machine "just for little girls!" It was small, partly pink, and extremely cheap looking, and she just had to have it. It cost a mere $24 and I could have bought it for her right then and there, but she told me that she was going to put it on her birthday list. I was all for that plan, thinking that delayed gratification was something good for her to learn about. I went back later, under cover of darkness, and snatched it right up. I hid it in the garage and completely forgot about it. Seriously. In fact I so totally forgot about it that a few weeks after her birthday, when Laura saw a bag in the garage and asked me what was in it, I had to open the bag to find out (and then quickly snap the bag closed while squeaking out "nothing!" to my very curious daughter).

In the end, the sewing machine was under the tree as a gift from Santa. Laura opened it and was thrilled and told me later that it was just what she always wanted. We finally took it out of the box a few days ago, put in the necessary batteries, and fired it up. She has to use her hand to work the pedal since her legs aren't long enough, and it is loud and I'm fairly certain it will break any day now, but she loves it. Loves it. And I love seeing how happy she is, and that she, the wild and crazy child who jumped three feet in the air today over the mention of a juice box, can sit calmly and sew. She has big plans for a blanket for her babies, but right now is content to just sew in a straight line on the fabric that Santa also provided. Her complete and utter satisfaction with her new toy, along with the shock and surprise of getting just what she wanted was pretty much the best part of my Christmas this year. How DID Santa know to get it for her?

This is my favorite picture. Look how serious she is!

New Year Fashionista

You all know that I really don't care how Laura dresses herself, as long as she's seasonally appropriate, but I have to admit that I did a double take this morning when she walked in to show off her outfit. She chose her legwarmers, dress shoes, and running socks, along with a dress, necklace, and headband. Her smile told me that she was just so proud of herself, so I told her that she looked beautiful. After accepting my compliments, she pranced off to check herself out in my full length mirror.

I heard a gasp and a "whoa!" and I cringed, thinking that she was about to come to the realization that she looked ridiculous. Instead, I heard these words: "I really DO look beautiful!!"
The picture doesn't really do the outfit justice, but I'm sure you can tell from her pose just how beautiful and confident she felt.

Bad Hair Day

We have issues with our hair in my family. Whether you're born into the family, marry in, or are adopted (I'm talking to you, Moxie), our hair is crazy. My hair is ridiculously thick and wavy-but not curly, because that would be cute and much easier to go with. I'm one of those people who gets her hair thinned intentionally, and still probably has more hair than most normal people. The Army Man's hair is thick and poufy. Laura's hair isn't thick yet, but it is wavy once it passes her chin, has a cowlick in the front, and it generally looks like I NEVER wash or comb it. Moxie, as I'm sure you can all tell, has her own set of issues. Namely that she has incredible amounts of fur.

May 2009

I know you can all tell that for yourselves based on pictures I've shared in the past. But there are depths to her fur that can't be gleaned from photographs alone. I'm sure you'll take my word for it when I say that girl has serious fur. She hasn't had her fur cut in a while, and her mane is coming back with a vengeance. It really cracks me up, because what other dog do you know that looks like that? She really is in a class by herself. I prefer Moxie with longer fur, but the Army Man doesn't (hence the shaving debacle of the summer). Since he's not here right now, there's nothing he can do about it, and my dog will continue to look like a lion for as long as I desire.

One problem about letting her fur grow that I didn't forsee: her fur starting to mat. Mostly behind her ears, since that has such a high concentration of fur. Even more curious (and cuter) is that her fur back there is wavy. She really is a member of the family! Petting her today revealed a gigantic mat that I couldn't let go unchecked. I decided it was time for me to perform some minor surgery and cut that sucker out. Of course I unwisely decided to do this a) while wearing black pants b) while Moxie was still wound up from playing and c) while Laura was in possession of a squeaky toy. Getting Moxie to lay still was the most challenging thing I've done all week, and I was so worried she was going to squirm right as the scissors were poised above her ear, and next thing I knew I was going to have a one-eared dog. In the end she finally calmed down, the mat was cut out, and Moxie's right ear felt considerably lighter. The thing that cracks me, and the whole reason I had to share this, is that despite the giant amount of fur I cut out:

You still can't tell!! She looks EXACTLY the same.

She really does have a lot of fur. I think January will find Moxie at the groomer getting a shave and a hair cut. I think she looks so goofy with short fur, but the upside is that it's always fun having people stopping to ask me if she's a fox.

Beautiful North Carolina

It's been almost 5 years that I've lived here in North Carolina. Falling in love with North Carolina isn't hard. It's beautiful. The Army Man and I often talk about how much we love it here. It's been a wonderful place to start our lives as a family. It feels like home. That's not to say that we don't miss California. Because of course we do. We miss our families, first and foremost. We want to live close to them and see them on every holiday and birthday. We want Laura to know them better than just through phone calls and the occasional visit. Sometimes I want that life so badly that it brings me to tears.

But one thing I've learned is that the quickest way to an unhappy life is to focus on the negatives. When I start complaining about how much I miss California and our families, it makes it a lot harder to love living in North Carolina. And that's not fair, because it's wonderful here. Nature in North Carolina is fantastic: the seasons change and we even get leaves falling to the ground, along with the occasional snow day. The "liberal Californian" in me can't help but chuckle when the marquee at the Shell station reminds me to pray daily. The Army Man and I have had the opportunity to buy a home, something that probably never would have happened back in the land of half-million dollar starter homes. And like California, we have it all-the beach and mountains. We're close to so many things and since we've lived here we've had the chance to visit Florida, South Carolina, Washington DC, Pennsylvania and New York. We've even talked about retiring in North Carolina. It's been a wonderful 5 years here, and I look forward to at least a few more, if the Army is willing.

The local lake just about two miles from our home.

Halloween 2009

You know what's a really bad idea? Taking your daughter to Joann's to just "look" at Halloween costume patterns. Because you're not leaving without a pattern and a promise, A PROMISE, to make your daughter a Snow White costume. That's what happened to me this summer. I've never made Laura a costume before, but luckily I was smart and started working on it a long time ago, took my time, and made it perfectly.

Okay, so obviously that is a lie. Yes, I bought the pattern and made the promise back in June, but I didn't start working on the costume until the 20th. Of October. It was really, really hard and I don't ever want to do that again. But somehow I managed it. The inside of the costume looks absolutely horrendous, but I really don't care. Laura seemed to really like it, and I thought she looked adorable. She makes a good Snow White. I really wish she could wear it again next year, but I don't think it will fit, and I get the feeling that I'll be making another promise this coming June.

Laura posing with our pumpkinsWith a better smile this timeMoxie didn't want to be left out, so she her picture taken while looking extra cuteWith Daddy at the local "Trunk-Or-Treat"Mommy and Laura getting excited about candy

Reenacting the hot dog photo from last year

We had a great time tonight and are now the proud owners of way too much candy. Also, for those who care, my hair is not black like the picture might have you believe.