The play's the thing

In high school, I was a member of the International Thespian Society. In other words, I was a theater geek! Loved it! Worked mostly backstage, but dabbled in acting. It truly was a haven for me in high school and my best memories of hs are from theater. Needless to say, I want to impart that love to my girls.

We are lucky to have La Comedia Dinner Theater relatively close to us, and Mike and I have visited several times. The food is usually really good, as are the performances. The first play we saw there was "Miss Saigon", and it was okay. I thought it could have been better, but still had a great time. We went a few months ago and saw "Phantom". Phenomenal! The story, the singing, all of it was amazing. I had goose bumps by the end!
So, I wanted to have some special Ally and Mommy time and saw that La Comedia was putting on "Cinderella." Now, how could I go wrong with that??? We went on Sunday and had a great time. Lots of little girls were all dressed up like different princesses--adorable. I've never seen so many cute kids. Ally was so excited and behaved perfectly. The best part was when the Prince was searching all of the land for the woman whose foot would fit the slipper. He actually came out in the audience and tried it on a few people--including Ally! He took her sandal off and put it on. Of course, it was too big, but he said "Maybe next year!" So cute! I was beaming and laughing at the same time, while she really didn't get the fact that it was special that he picked her. We stayed to chat with the cast, and got a few pics. They were all awesome!

Ally, the stepsisters and stepmother

The fairy godmother!

And of course, Cinderella and the Prince!

Swamped--part 1

So, once again, I have been absent from posting for a long time. I am swamped with housework and feel as if I am drowning in toys, paperwork, and crap. The mess really takes a toll on my psyche and I have no energy to do anything else. I play around a little bit on facebook, but I almost feel as if that is my socialization. Without that, I would be a total looney-tune. I try to maintain a clean house, I do, but I feel as if I am treading water, about to go under.

I grew up in a messy house. I hated it. I would come home during the summers and try to go through the obvious stuff--I couldn't deal with my parents paperwork, obv. There would always be stuff everywhere. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about an episode of Hoarders or anything. Just really messy. So, you would think that I would be a neat freak in response, but it just hasn't turned out that way. Even before we had kids, the house was a little cluttered. Since kids, we have just added way more stuff to our house! Ally doesn't keep her room cleaned, and Kelly thinks its fun to throw all the toys back out of the box that Mommy picked up. Yes, I know this is normal kid behavior, but it is frustrating!

So, once the kids are in bed, I feel sapped of motivation. I want to relax and watch an ADULT tv show. I want to read. I want to scrapbook (another source of the mess--huge piles of pictures!). I want to talk to my husband. Instead, we bust our asses washing dishes, doing laundry, picking up toys, dealing with paperwork, etc etc etc. Or if I'm lucky, I get to go to the grocery store at 9pm. Woo-hoo. (insert sarcasm). I feel like we are always in survival mode, with regards to cooking and cleaning, and don't get a chance to delve into handling the messes that get pushed to the side.
How do you handle the housework? At night? On the weekends? Do you forgo sleep? (BTW, that sure as hell ain't happenin'!)

Project Fail=Success!

So, how have you all been? When I posted that I failed at Nablopomo, I really didn't intend to disappear for a couple of months. I guess if you are going to do something, even fail, then go all out! :o) I even started this back in Jan, and never finished it.

Just a quick note to let you know that I am still here. Things around here have been chaotic, as usual. Does that ever change? My mom is one of 5 kids, and my dad is one of 7 kids, and I just want to scream thinking about that. Having *2* kids has made me lose my ever-lovin' mind, so I don't know what you do with that many. Though, from watching some of the show with the Duggars, I guess the older help take care of the younger kids. On a side note, Michelle Duggar makes me feel truly inadequate as a mother. I think she must be a saint because she seems so patient, and even-tempered while dealing with ALL.THOSE.KIDS. Always smiling, and laughing, and loving. Is that for real or for the tv?

Anyhoo...back in October, Mike and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! Some days it doesn't seem possible that we have been married that long (and yet, there are times when it seems like centuries!). I have not yet come to grips with the fact that I am in my 30s, so the fact that we have been married for that long is just weird! I don't feel any older than 27 or so...maybe I'll stay that age for a while.

During my hiatus (ha), Allison turned 5 (!) and Kelly turns 18 months old next week. I am currently in the midst of organizing 5 years of digital pics, and hope to post some good ones soon!