Sunday, May 27, 2012

My Daisy Bell

In September 2011, Jenna started taking a ballet/tap/tumbling class at a great ballet studio here in town. At first she really enjoyed it, she liked going and I loved watching her grow and build relationships with other sweet little girls her age. She was great at picking up the moves and every week watching her through the window was a joy! As time went on she started not being so fond of it, by the time this spring hit she was done. She didn't want to go, would cry when I'd take her to class and I started re-thinking her weekly class.

But growing up I remember being able to quit sports if I wanted to and I am determined to make my kids finish what they start so they know what achieving success in any endeavor feels like. At this point we had already paid for her recital costume and she had put in months of practice to be ready for a recital just 2 months away. I came really close to letting her quit, but couldn't bear the thought of it....

Recital practices came...

In March, Ms. Donna (Jenna's teacher) arranged for Jenna's class to go perform at her church for a senior citizen group after a Wednesday practice. She said it would help to get out the recital jitters and boy was she right! Jenna cried though the whole show!! (I'll post a video soon) I felt horrible, really for the other kids because she was so distracting. I also didn't want to be that Mom forcing my 3 yr old to do something she hated either. But I could tell that her cry wasn't because she was scared of the people, no, it was totally to get Mom to rescue her.

It took some intense conversation (bribing), but I convinced Jenna that finishing her next 5 practices and doing her recital without crying would absolutely be in her best interest!

And I am such a PROUD Momma of a super sweet tap dancer who did amazing in her recital!

I couldn't be more proud!

JD took Jenna out shopping the day before her recital and got her the toy of her choice... The deal was that when she completed her rehearsal and show without crying that she would get to open her special toy and get ice cream!! Good deal, huh?

She was the cutest little tap dancer and totally aced her recital...

She's the cute one on the right with the big white bow!

The next day was recital. It was held at the Performing Arts auditorium at Red Oak High School. It was HUGE! And I had no idea how packed the place would be, people everywhere!

Jenna danced to a song called "Daisy Bell," absolutely precious!!!

Here are a few remaining pictures...

I will post the video of her dance when we get it in...

I am so glad Jenna did this. She was so excited that she did such a good job and wants to do it again next year! I love what a sense of accomplishment and success will do for a child, even a 3 year old!

Project Simplify

One of my biggest and most time consuming goals I put in place for 2012 was what I call, "Project Simplify." Basically, it's just removing the clutter and the hindrances clutter creates. Over the almost 7 years we've been married, we have accumulated stuff from just being together, from our kids and all the stuff/toys they have, from my Mom when she passed, from JD's Mom and from my Grandmothers/Grandfather's that have all passed as well.

Growing up my Mom never allowed us to have clutter, she was a stickler in cleanliness and order. My sister picked this up well and has never kept clutter and has absolutely NO clutter in her house. However, I completely take after my Dad in so many areas, I tend to keep things I think I'll use but in reality never do. So this project for me is a very large task! We started with a garage storage unit we've had at the apartment complex we lived at when we first got married for the last 6 years. It was full... packed with stuff! We rented a u-haul and filled it with stuff that was to sell or the few items we needed and the rest got thrown away!


We had a very successful 3-day garage sale getting rid of all of our big items and almost all of the small ones too. The rest will be donated on Tuesday.


Next up was to organize the girls rooms. We will soon be moving the girls into one room, so this came at a great time! I organized 5 boxes of toys, each day the girls will use a different box of their toys. It will create an excitement and they will actually play with all the toys they have! The only toys I didn't box up was their dress up box, play kitchen accessories, books and doll strollers with a few dolls.


I am very excited about getting my room and laundry room done this week, and to finish out the garage.


Then the real challenge... maintaining a clutter free existence! I can do it!