A Dancing We Will Go..

The girls had a busy day of DANCING!  Mom lost count how many times she ran the stadium stairs in between dances to help with costume changes.  The girls had a great time and their groups either placed 1st or 2nd in each category.  Warning...picture overload.

Erin and Brenna in their group costumes.  Brenna's won overall best costume in the competition.

Brenna is sitting in the lift on the left side

Erin is the last on the right.

Before their "Football" show.  The entire company danced in this one with young girls as cheerleaders, middle school age as referee, and high school dancers were the football players.  It was a great performance!

Brenna was asked to perform with the boys class.  She had so much fun with the boys.  Uh oh...

Brenna is second to the right.

Ending pose- Brenna and her partner on the right.  The crowd loved this group.

Piano Recital

It's that time again.  This year Matthew played In Dreams from Lord of the Rings and Erin played Boogie Woogie Goose.  They did a great job.  This was Matthew's last piano recital.  He has decided to stop lessons.  I am sad because I know he could go far if he would commit to it.  He is thinking about guitar lessons.  That makes me happy, because at least he is still interested in pursuing some type of music.  This was Erin's first recital.  She did great.  I see talent.  I hope she continues to enjoy piano for a long time to come.

Immediate Impact x2

I am whispering...4 awesome days in a row people.  I think that maybe those peppers will end up rotting in my fridge and I will get to throw them away before a second use is needed.  I know it won't last, but the past 4 days have been a little slice of heaven in this house. 

On another note... I helped out in Sunbeams at church today (3-4 yrs) and one little girl looked at me very carefully and then in a full voice said....YOU ARE OLD!  YOU ARE A GRANDMA.  I said yes, I am old, no, I am not a grandma.  Then she ignored me for awhile.  Then she turned to me again and said YOU ARE REALLY OLD!   That's it... Botox here I come.  Sunbeams keepin it real.

Cruel or Effective Parenting

When my kids were little, saying shut up or calling names were not allowed.  As my kids have gotten older I find that these things are now creeping into our daily lives.  Not only do the kids use these words between each other, they have been turned my direction.  Still NOT okay.  I have tried taking away things, grounding, and assigning despised tasks.  It doesn't seem to be making much impact.  The talk back is getting much worse.  I get that as kids get older they feel the need to express themselves this way.  I want my kids to have good communication.  Thats just it...good communication.  Not bad mouthing whenever they feel the urge.  So, after a discussion with my mom she reminded me of a time when hot peppers were an effective way of getting her kids to keep their mouths in check.  I was older and didn't have the opportunity to partake in such methods.  But I have to admit, it sounded pretty good.  I weighed my options.  Decided I probably could sway a judge if ever hauled to court for cruel and unusual punishment.  Went to the store and purchased peppers.  Some mildly hot ones and some really hot ones.  This week I tried it and guess what?  It worked pretty well.  After a warning that was ignored, I cut off part of a mild hot pepper and made the child chew for a few seconds and then gave the option to swallow or spit.  I heard about 10 minutes of loud crying/yelling complaint.  I'm a horrible mother who tortures her children. Then silence. Other children observing from their rooms...they now know I am serious.  So, cruel or effective parenting?  Go ahead, I can take it.  I really want to know if I have crossed the line.