For a girl who loves music, dancing, friends, and dress-ups what could possibly be better than a Tiny Tutus class at the local rec center? It was with my own sense of delight and anticipation that I eagerly signed her up and awaited this new happy experience for Ellie.
She did not disappoint. From the moment I told her about her new class she eagerly looked forward to it. She pulled out all of her leotards and tutus to put together outfits, "practiced" her dancing all hours of the day, and in general was giddy with excitement for her grand debut into the world of ballet.
With five kids in the house I pride myself in efficiency. I'm always looking for shortcuts to make my life easier...this Tiny Tutus class was no different. I run kids around enough that I really don't like making extra trips out of the house on my "days off" (you know--when I do laundry and clean the house all day), so I was smart and scheduled her class to be 20 minutes after preschool ended. It was perfect. I'd pick her up from preschool on Tuesdays and drive her straight to the rec center.
Imagine my surprise when during her first class I watch as she lagged a step or two behind the other girls, kept sucking her thumb, and seemed kind of spacey. It wasn't at all what I expected from my bubbly, energetic little girl. It was plain to see that she was exhausted.
I hadn't taken into account that preschool and dance class all in a row would be way too much for my little Ellie who still needs naps 3-4 times a week. [Bad Mom Award #1]
Despite this realization the first day of class, I decided to keep taking her thinking that dance class while exhausted was still better than no dance class at all. [Bad Mom Award #2]
Then today happened.
It was a particularly frazzling day as I was running a little late and still had to drop off another child at their home before dance class. We arrived a good 15 minutes late and Ellie totally looked the part of the frazzled, overworked child with her hair all disheveled and a leotard that was too big, since she'd insisted on wearing Emma's that day.
Ten minutes later the teacher brought her out to me and told me she was too sick to be in class today. I was more than a little surprised since she'd not had ANY symptoms 10 minutes earlier. It turns out that she'd had a "sneezing fit" during the class and that she was not welcome to stay in class. Never mind that she hasn't had a runny nose, cough, or any other symptoms, this sneezing was disruptive and unacceptable.
Here's where I silently thanked Glen for his over-active sneezing genes that he seems to have passed to Ellie and I indignantly picked up my little girl and did what I should've done 6 weeks ago....I marched to the front desk and demanded a refund for the rest of her classes and went home and put my tired little ballerina down for a nap!
the kids were more than happy to run freely in the gym while I copied and folded the programs...
but it might have been a little too much action
so late at night
since they're completely wired and still awake at 10:15pm.
Now that Cami's actually gone on shopping trips with her friends, it's not quite as hard to find someone to be identical twins with.
The poor little princess was just too tired to cope with her play date ending. She fell sound asleep just a couple minutes later, only to be woke up by her siblings returning from school. Poor youngest children never get enough sleep.
Frances Langston Goold
Their only break from dress-ups and dolls was a trip outside to the trampoline where they enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon. 
"But Mom. Sparkles make me happy." 
Using the excuse of Becca having a baby any day, we celebrated at Nielsen's Frozen Custard tonight. The custard was delicious and hanging out with the girls was a much needed distraction! 
We refinanced the house today, which means we're sticking around town a while longer! 
Cami's damaged taste buds have since recovered nicely and the younger kids have started requesting Spencer to make their tortillas/quesadillas from scratch now too.
Come hang out at our house on a Sunday afternoon and you're sure to discover one of our favorite Sunday traditions...long walks. Sometimes we go to cool trails, but more often than not we just traipse around our neighborhood. We love the fresh air and exercise part of it, but the best part for me is the uninterrupted conversations we get to have. No computer, no phone, no tv, no chores...just us and the kids.
Here they are ogling over the guinea pigs! 
Then it was off to lunch at Subway where there was a lot of giggling and silliness and a whole lot of Cheetos and chocolate milk being consumed!
Never heard of it before until Adam spent quite some time this afternoon creating his own Bakugan. 
See the resemblance? 
Yay. I love trendy phases.
Chicken Poblano Chowder.
I hadn't taken into account that preschool and dance class all in a row would be way too much for my little Ellie who still needs naps 3-4 times a week. [Bad Mom Award #1]
My job was to help with a 100's day snack mix. Groups of kids came through and counted out 10 pieces of 10 different snacks to create a fun snack mix with exactly 100 items. 
Emma was quite the super model today. She was always by my side chattering away about school, friends, life, etc. and whenever I found a cool place to take a picture she was the first to volunteer! 
The kids were enraptured with this hollow tree. It was big enough to go inside and stand up. We could have just hung some pictures up on the wall, installed a door, and it would have been a home fit for Winnie the Pooh himself! 
Ellie was tired and cold the whole time and did not want to leave her cozy cove of blankets in the stroller. Most of the time she whined when we took her out, but not this time. She got to do a little rock climbing and she was really excited about it. Granted her joy last 5.2 seconds, but I was happy to capture this sweet smile in Daddy's arms!
Who would have guessed? Cami and Mikhaela were so enthralled with this corn snake, that we had to drag them away unwillingly from the poor park ranger who tried her best to keep up with the dozens of questions they kept throwing at her!
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
"Thank you Miss Lara, for not giving my Mom something to blackmail me with when I'm 16."
