I learned a few things about myself this week:

1. I CAN teach a tap class!

2. I CAN teach a jazz class!

3. I CAN make it through a one hour ballet/tap class with NO voice, 14 rowdy little preschoolers running in circles, a precocious 5 yr old telling me that I skipped her favorite song, shoe changes (for all 14) , and constant potty breaks!!!

4. Most importantly....I AM more then just a mom. I am a qualified and capable dance teacher and I LOVE it! ;)

Thanksgiving 2007

Has the world stopped spinning? ANDREA did not take ONE single picture during her entire visit home!!!! I am surprised and disappointed in myself! I don't know what was wrong. Well, I take that back....I got a bad cold about halfway through and never felt like myself the rest of the trip! Needless to say, we still had a great time. It was fun to hang out with family, eat lots of good food, watch movies, and football ( how about those dawgs???)!!! We got home Saturday night and here it is Monday again!!!! As I look at my planner, I can't believe how busy my days are about to get. I have agreed to sub for someone this week ( dance classes). I don't know what I was thinking, except that it is important that I do this for future possibilities!!! The girls have several choir performances coming up, Basketball and cheer practice starts TODAY, Meredith is getting spacers Wed and then braces next week, and then I have to find some time to decorate my house in the next few days!!!! Oh and I didn't even mention the Christmas shopping that needs to take place!!!! It will all get done....with God's help!

*** I have said it before and I will say it again. If you haven't seen BBC's 'North and South', then you simply must! We watched it again over the holiday and it is soooooo good. My SIL watched it for the first time and LOVED it. I haven't loaned it to anyone that hasn't thought it was great!!!! So, if you need a good movie to curl up under a blanket and drink hot chocolate while watching it, this is the one!!!!! PS....I think I upset my husband when he caught my mom, SIL, sister, and me watching Richard A. on youtube!!! ;)

Patience...

It's official....I have NONE! This was evidenced last night in the fact that I totally lost my temper with Meredith! I just don't remember 4th grade being this hard when I was young. We didn't have this much homework and this many tests, and if we did have a test, I know my mom did not have to drill me on the information! Of course, this is where having a twin makes it worse because she is never doing the same things and so I have double the tests and double the homework to keep on top of!!! I am going to have to start sending myself to my room or my closet, and doing some deep breathing exercises! This should also help for the times when Noah is jumping off our brick porch outside or SWINGING from my mantle!!!! Ahhh, patience is such a virtue.....if only I had a little! ;)

What a weekend!!!

We were busy from start to finish. I am sure everyone is just dying to hear about it, so here goes. Friday night, we had two couple friends and their kids over for dinner. We have known both of them since before we all had kids. Amazing to think that there are now TEN kids between the six of us!!! We had so much fun laughing and talking, and the kids ran around playing and were making good use of our game room!!! Plus, none of them had been to our new home and they were so complimentary and kind...it made me feel good! ;) Saturday, we had more company over to watch the dawgs BEAT the Tide!!! WOOHOO! My DH was so excited, that I told him he needed to get a State flag and run down the street with it. That would have severely ticked off all of our Ole Miss neighbors, not to mention the 'bama fans that live next door!!! ;) I wouldn't care though...it is about time State fans had something to celebrate!!!!! Saturday night, we went to Greg's 25 yr hs reunion!!! I was not looking forward to it, but I have to say I am pretty pleased that my husband was one of the best looking guys there. HE STILL HAS HIS HAIR TOO!!!!! I pretty much sat in the corner with another wife, and even though I am not a huge drinker, I felt 20 times better after a margarita!!!! HA HA! Yesterday was church and we visited Pinelake again! I absolutely love the church service and I just wish my husband would too. This is one of those areas that I have to yield and just pray for God to work in his heart if that is the place for us. If you know me, then you know that this is not easy for me ( keeping my big mouth shut and just praying). In the afternoon, we walked across the street to my neighbors sons bday party. They are two of triplets and one wanted a rock climbing wall and the other wanted hot wheels in the garage. That is exactly what they had and it was alot of fun!!! Noah pretty much stayed in the garage the entire time....hot wheels are the BEST!!!!! Soooo, we had a great weekend, but I am looking forward to our week off next week. I have a busy time this week with a few school functions for all 3 kids. Crazy, but I wouldn't change a thing!!!! What did everyone else do this weekend ( if I have anyone that finished reading this incredibly long, boring post!!!)?

Soccer Pics ( Go Red!!!)

Fall Soccer is almost over! I am sad! I don't know how this "balletmom" became a "soccermom", but she did. I LOVE watching my girls play. They may never be pro-level or even high-school level players, but I have watched them play now for FIVE years. I realized something today! They are certainly not the fastest runners on the team, but my girls can kick that ball AND they are so much more agressive then they were a year ago. For those reasons, I am a proud momma! We have our final game this week and then the twins will move on to basketball (mere) and Cheerleading (mad). We can't wait for Spring Season Soccer!!!!

Here they are in their typical positions of defenders. They stand in the back ahead of the goalie and "defend" it! They are very good at helping protect a score from the opposing team!




Is that my girl Meredith kicking that ball? Sure is!!!! ;)




Madeline and L wait for the throw-in. L is amazing and she is only 8 years old!!! She scores the majority of our points and can pretty much kick the ball over the opposing goalies head!!! It is incredible!!!




This is the twins and our neighbor AG! We were so excited to finally play AG. Her mom and I have been anxiously awaiting the meetup. Unfortunately for them, our team won by a score of 4-0! AG did play really well though and I told her mom that only for her would I cheer for the opposing team!!! ;)

Halloween 2007 (Lots of Treats!!!)

Despite my moaning and groaning about Halloween, we actually had a really nice one. Our new neighborhood is just awesome. I feel so blessed. One of the ladies put together a party and we all met at her house about 5pm. There was a bounce house for the kids and we all brought food. Everyone left a big bowl of candy on their porch and the kids just ran from house to house. Then we loaded up for a hay ride and went into the front part of the neighborhood for even more candy. I have to say, that this was even better then some of the Fall Festivals I have been to. Other then ONE boy wearing an icky costume, everything else was great. My children had fun and the weather was just perfect. I am officially ready for FALL!!!!

Noah's School Party: Spidey and Me



Noah giving me his best Spiderman impersonation (Ha!)



Meredith (Red Sox Fan) and some of her neighborhood pals:




Group Kid shot before the candy raid began! Can you pick out my kiddos (spiderman, Piratess, and Red Sox Fan)?




Ok, this is me crammed on the hayride. Parker, the little boy just plopped down in my lap. Let me tell you that when the ride was over, I had a tough time getting my legs uncrossed. Greg refused to go on the hayride so he took this LOVELY pic instead. I look like a deer in headlights, and don't you just love Madeline's green mouth?