He’d say, “Don’t turn around and look at me unless you wanna see something really cool!” as though it were a warning, like perhaps his moves were too fresh for my eyes to behold. They were amazing, but never once did I faint from the brilliance of them.

[Read more at Parenting.com]

I’m always looking for great new ways to play the hero to my children, while expending limited money and effort. Sometimes I really have to search for these opportunities and other times they just bonk me over the head.

The past week Laylee’s been really acting up. We’ve made some changes at home, I’ve been sick and she’s been looking for attention in less than helpful ways. Around Thursday we made up and she’s been sweet as pie the last couple of days, no snotty looks, cranky backtalk and picking on her brother for no particular reason. I’ve been trying to think of a way to give her some good positive attention for the attitude transplant.

Enter an email from one of the high school girls I teach at church and a mother-daughter date afternoon was born. Today Layee and I attended the high school drill and dance team competition — princess themed. For the cost of $5, both of us got into the event, Laylee dressed in an elaborate princess-meets-sorcerer-meets-flower-fairy costume. Our friends Eve and Missy joined in the fun.

Keep an eye out for this kind of thing in the local news section of your paper because it was a fun, cheap way to support the community and have an unforgettable time together. Laylee was absolutely smitten with all the dancers whose routines ranged from modern/jazz to drill team to pom to hip hop.

Laylee enjoyed the drill team stuff, crisp as lettuce with fake hair bouncing smartly. I’m sure she wondered why their hands were glued to the smalls of their backs whenever they weren’t dancing but she didn’t ask.

She thought the modern/jazz dancers were beautiful because they did pirouettes and arabesques like ballerinas. But when they finished and were followed up by the pom girls, she decided she liked the pom dancers better. “They were just SO much happier!” It’s true. They were happier. While the lyrical dancers were serious and dramatic, the pom girls had smiles that could not be chiseled off. I think it’s in the international pom code of ethics. If your smile is not atomic, you will be stricken from the team forthwith. I mean, if you’re shaking glittery poms and doing high kicks, your face has to keep up somehow.

At some point in the afternoon Laylee and Missy were eating snacks. Laylee had a giant chocolate muffin the size of her head and Missy was enjoying a dry white bagel. Looking for the perfect opportunity, she waited for Laylee to finish a bite and reopen her mouth before she shoved a giant piece of bagel into Laylee’s pie hole. Laylee sat in stunned silence, white carbohydrates completely plugging her mouth and Missy looked up at her mom proudly. “I always share,” she said. Laylee removed the bagel from her mouth and smiled at me confusedly.

Now the whole afternoon we were waiting for them to call the girls up to be led in a princess parade by one of the drill team girls. It didn’t appear to be happening. Rumor was that the parade would happen at intermission but intermission came and went and there was no parade. “Maybe we should go ask the announcer,” I suggested to Eve. “I don’t want to bug anybody though.”

“It’s okay mom,” Laylee said, grabbing my hand, “I’ll go up there with you.”

So we walked up together and I asked about the event. They didn’t seem sure but said they’d do it soon.

A few minutes later, they announced it was time for the parade and called all princesses to the center of the gymnasium. Laylee and Missy marched up proudly, followed by….. nobody. In the end, one mother carrying a baby princess joined the group and our two little divas, not at all intimidated by the bleachers full of adults and teenagers, twirled and flitted about with princessly grace. Their drill team leaders attempted to lead them across the floor and they followed them… sort of. But they were defninitely not going to give up their spotlight easily.

I love this video passionately and if you’re my mom or someone who knows Laylee, you probably will too. Anyone else can skip it. Just believe me when I say it was the experience of a lifetime for our little highnesses. My favorite part comes at the end when the music has stopped but the girls just stand like deer in headlights staring at the crowd and refusing to move until they are gently escorted back to their seats by their drill team idols. Priceless.

Best line of the day — when Laylee was watching a ballet-ish lyrical number, she leaned over to me and said, “Mom. I picture myself doing that someday.” Good job Laylee. Keep visualizing. I’ll be there to cheer you on. I won’t have poms though. They’re just not part of my past, present, or future skill set. I could wave a hanky or a program or something and if you really want me to, I’ll get my teeth whitened.

***The Winner is Steph from Diapers and Divinity. Yay. I like her and Random.org likes her too apparently.***

Laylee is loving everything ballet. She loves the shoes, the tutus, the music, the finger positions and even the little fakey twittering giggle that apparently ballerinas must make as they flit about.





We had tried putting her in a class when she was 3ish and it was fun but not in the same way as it’s fun right now. Now ballet is life and she wants nothing more than to dance like the big ballerinas when she grows up, preferably next week.

So I was excited when I heard from Stephanie Troeller, one of the mom masterminds behind Prima Princessa, a series of ballet videos for young girls. I love moms who come up with a good idea and follow through with it and I love Laylee and Laylee loves ballet so the triangle of mutual love was complete when Stephanie sent me a copy of her movie in the mail.

The DVD they sent me was Swan Lake. It features a Cliffs Notes version of Swan Lake as performed by the Paris Opera Ballet as narrated by a squeaky-voiced cartoon ballerina fairy. Although the voice is annoying, the scripting is decent and she gives a succinct telling of the story that young audiences can grasp. The dancing is beautiful and the play is broken up into acts. Between each act are teaching segments that show skilled young students from the School of American Ballet followed by preschool girls practicing the various moves as seen in Swan Lake.

There’s a bit of Baby Mozart-esque montage that goes on to reinforce the various movements but for the most part it sticks to dancing, the part we like the best. I was a little worried that Laylee wouldn’t like it because the preschool girls were too young for her. She’s 5. But it turns out she LOVES the preschool dancers because she’s “SO MUCH BETTER THAN THEM.” And sweet and humble too.

In the video she sees where she was, where she hopes to be someday soon and where she will be in her wildest dreams.

It’s fun, she loves it with a passionate love and uses it to guide her drills of various moves she’s learning in class. I actually think it’s played a significant part in her dance improvement.

To top it all off, I have a copy for one of you. If any of you have a little girl in your life who’s just aching to be a ballerina, I guarantee she’ll love this video so even if you don’t win, consider buying it for a Christmas gift.

To enter this giveaway, go to their website at www.primaprincessa.com and watch the DVD clip. Then come back here and tell me what your little ballerina would like most about the video. If there’s a clear winner for the best response of EVER, I’ll give the DVD to that commenter. If I’m torn, I’ll just choose a random winner. Enter by Tuesday night at 9pm PST, when I’ll be announcing another fun giveaway.

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On Tuesday I was heading for serious sickness but I was conflicted because I had serious tickets to see Mamma Mia! with a few of my SeattleMomBlogs peeps and I felt I MUST GO. So I did. I packed my huge mom purse full of tissues and headed out with Eve driving my car because I was unfit for the road.

She is just getting over a nasty little something as well and we were worried about cross contamination so we drove with the windows down most of the way as I sniffled, snorffled, hacked and coughed my way to girls’ night out.

Isabel, lovely as ever, did not seem even a bit bothered when we called to tell her we’d arrived at the theatre early and could she please bring us some cough lozenges when she came. And she brought them and all the people sitting around us rejoiced. I tried really really hard to time my coughing fits and nose-blowing fests for the height of the crescendos during the big show stoppers and I used hand sanitizer liberally. I feel fairly confident I did not infect any of my fellow ABBA lovers and honestly I think everyone was having too good a time to notice my… ahem… special sound effects.

To a lifelong ABBA fan, Mamma Mia! was complete and total fun. It was like a really well choreographed slumber party with several hundred excited friends. The acting and vocals were fabulous and I’ve never seen an audience that pumped up at a Broadway musical performance, laughing and clapping as each new ABBA song was woven into the story. I was amazed how well it flowed and today as I listened to my Gold album, I couldn’t get the images of the play out of my mind. I love the CD more than ever.

Just before bed tonight I took a wee break from being sick and had a full on dance party with the kids like my mom used to do with us when we were little, only back then the ABBA was on vinyl and it was a little less “old school.” If you have a chance, go see the show sometime. It’s only in Seattle through this weekend but I think it’s touring all over and there’s a film version coming out this year starring Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan. Can’t wait!

***Update – Eve has posted some awesome pictures and description of SYTYCD Live over at Seattle Mom Blogs. If you’re like me, the pictures will make you SCREAM!!! But then, you may be normal.***

Dan and I are on a dating spree. We dine. We movie-go. We hold hands. We send the babysitters of our town to college while draining our own children’s inheritances.

It started a couple of weeks ago with an 8-hour datestravaganza to a marriage seminar in Tacoma. The event was a little creepy and commercial but looking on the bright side, Dan says, “At least we have the memory to laugh about.” When the speaker feels the need to provide his own continuous repetitive soundtrack on a grand piano, you know you should have stayed home and rented Home Alone 3 again, instead of driving for an hour to listen to a guy sing-talk about marital bliss.

Alas, we’ll always have that memory emblazoned in our minds.

Then last weekend we snuck in dinner and a movie with Dan’s brother and his wife. Dan in Real Life was a big fat step up from personal soundtrack guy. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who loves Steve Carrell and can see the romance in bad dancing and burnt pancakes. Seriously. It was one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen in months.

But tonight. Tonight was the big show, the date to remember, the 3 hours when Dan earned King Shuggy-Puddin Husband status for life. Tonight he took me to SOYOUTHINKYOUCANDANCE — LIVE!!!!! And he clapped and cheered and remembered the routines from last summer when I made him watch it with me every week until he was hooked and then he’d ask me to tape it for him when he had to work late and analyze the choreography and either really enjoy it or pretend to in a way that makes me want to just squidge him really hard and then learn a romantical Shane Sparks hip hop routine with him.

So we thought we could park… park…park…park?

So we thought we could use binoculars… binoculars… binoculars… binoculars?

So this weekend we will explore Dan’s higher taste for the arts with a trip to Jazz Alley for the company Christmas party and a performance by the legendary Chick Corea and a chance to wear my high-heeled black leather boots and some red lipstick without raising questions about my career choices or hours of employment.

DAN!! I enjoy dating my husband!

A mother is someone whose phone call you can answer unembarrassed even though Vanilla Ice is blasting on your stereo while your kids dance around like maniacs in the background.

Are we the only ones who’ve been doing this for the past several weeks at Costco?

I wonder if all my previous experience will count AGAINST me during the rigorous interview process.

Really really loud music in the library maybe sometimes sort of can stop the rock… if you’re attending the concert with small people, people who have tiny and delicate ears.

I’ve been boiling over with excitement to see my favorite literary-themed garage punk band Harry and the Potters live in concert ever since I was blown away with their original hit song This Book is So Awesome a few months ago.

Apparently they planned to hold a concert in their shed but when all the bands canceled, they wrote an entire CD in the course of an hour and performed it that night to an audience of themselves and their 5 friends. Out of that evening was born the legend that is Harry and the Potters.

Now they’ve released several albums and have all kinds of merchandise for sale. They’re touring the country to huge “sellout” crowds at mostly free concerts.

We took Laylee and Magoo and stood in a gigantic line on Friday night outside the Seattle Public Library. The kids danced for money but were thrown none. I don’t know what this world’s coming to but when I see a 2-year-old in downtown Seattle, spinning on his head while waiting to get into a rock concert, I tend to throw down some coin.

I’m pretty sure our family would have won the award for the oldest AND youngest people in line. We would also have won the award for Least Obvious Wizard Costumes and Most Likely To Wear a Color Other Than Black.

After dancing in line for an hour, we made our way into the library, up the giant lime green escalator and into the atrium. Music played on the speakers and Magoo rolled and boiled around on the floor, alternately playing dead and break dancing. At one point the ultra cool security guard said, “Nice moves man,” and at another I said, “Watch out dude or you’re gonna get squished by a goth tween.”

Then the Potters came out.

They sang Voldemort Can’t Stop the Rock.

We cheered and plugged little ears. Laylee cried that it was too loud and we headed home because it was bedtime and because I like standing in line for an hour to listen to 2 minutes of a concert. I am what they call “a mom.”

My only regret is that we didn’t hear them sing This Book is So Awesome.