Look Out America's Got Talent

I have one child (Isaac) who isn't interested in doing ANYTHING. And, then, I have a child (Karson) who is interested in doing EVERYTHING. I guess the balance is good and helps me to maintain my sanity (if that even exists when 3 kids?).

The ONLY thing my daughter took away from the FIRST day of school was that there was a talent show this year. She's been talking about it for weeks. And, I've been wracking my brain trying to help her come up with something to do "talent-wise".

The saga beings with 10 points: (1) I call my brother in law Ben to see if he could play the guitar if Karson and Isaac did a funny Veggie Tales skit--he said he would. (2) Isaac adamantly said that HE WILL NOT do the talent show (no surprise there)--Karson's on her own. (3) Karson has been trying to learn how juggle and wants to take lessons (anyone?, anyone?). (4) I tell Karson to ask her talented friend Leslie if she might want to do something? (5) Leslie tells her NO. (6)I've been telling Karson that she's very talented in sports and smart, but you need a talent such as singing, playing an instrument, dancing, tumbling to do something in the talent show. (7) As she is mulling those VALID points over, she tells me, "Mom, all I need is carpet and a wall." =) Not sure if I mentioned in any prior posts that my children are obsessed my doing handstands. I have dirty feet prints all over the walls of the house. (8) I tell her a hand stand IS talented, but she still needed to come up with something else. (9) She finally has some luck when her friend Kaylee agreed to do something with her--WHEW. (10) They decide Karson will jump rope and Kaylee will hula hoop. AND the act is BORN!

I was thinking the show would probably be at the end of the year (ours always were), but Karson assured me it was SOON. Sure enough, the audition papers came home about a week ago. When the sign up sheets was posted, Karson waisted NO time getting their names on the list.

Brandy (Kaylee's mom) and I really wanted the girls to do "their thing". We helped them come up with some basic steps. Brandy picked up some hoops, and I made them some dancing wands. The girls both had identical shirts from the Taylor Swift concert that they wore--so they looked like a team. They chose the song "Baby, Give Me One More Chance" and came up with a minute's worth of material. We figured if they made it through try-outs we could help them come up with MORE, but a minute was enough for the small amount of time we practiced.

Check out their act...and decide it you think they made it to the show?

**Okay, I won't leave you in suspense. THEY MADE IT! Brandy and I acted like a bunch of teenage girls on American Idol--jumping up and down with excitement. We're SO proud of them. The show is on October 28 which only gives us a few weeks to come up with a 3-minute routine. We welcome ANY and ALL help =).

Ya Win Some, Ya Lose Some

For the past two weeks, our royal castle (aka 2,000 sq. ft. ranch style home) has been hustling and bustling preparing for Karson's debut as a Royal Court Princess Nominee for Plano Elementary. After being elected by her peer's to represent Ms. Tinsley's class, she accepted the title proudly! She came home and got to work but not before mentioning that they had to elect three different BOYS to be prince for her class. Apparently royal courts aren't for the boys! In fact, when I vaguely mentioned it to Isaac, he gruffly said, "aaack, I don't even know what you're talking about and I wouldn't do it anyway."

This has been our first experience with the royal court, and from what I've heard, it's only been done one other time--the first year Plano opened. The court is set up to raise money for STLP (student technology) and to assist kids financially for the state competition in Lexington in the spring. Each child selected was supposed to send in two photos (a baby and a current photo) for a slideshow--which I'm sure was put together by STLP.

All class representatives created a box. The students voted by placing money in the boxes each day. There was only a thirty minute window for voting. Then the money was collected, counted and locked up. Each penny raised was 1 vote. Coming up with money was no problem for Karson. We are fortunate having such a strong support system of family and friends. The money rolled in--plus lots of her school friends were voting for her. Karson got more and more excited as the weeks passed. I don't know if it was Karson's confidence that sold me or what, but I sure felt like she had a VERY good shot of winning.

The court was broken down as follows and winners were to be announced at Fall Festival: Duke and Duchess (Grades K-2), Prince and Princess (Grades 3-4), andKing and Queen (Grades 5-6) for our school.

Our neighbor Mia was selected as a duchess representative for Kindergarten.

My biggest stressor before Fall Festival was what on earth to dress her in? Karson doesn't have a large closet full of selections, I'm a minimalist, ya know! She only has a handful of dresses, and to me, none of them seemed appropriate for a Fall Festival event. I bought a cute little number at Crazy 8 and after trying it on Karson decided that I didn't like it that much. I have THE WORST case of buyers remorse and am always taking stuff back. I chose something more practical from Gymboree and thought she looked beautiful.

With my fingers crossed and my stomach in knots, the announcements were made. My sweet Karson DID NOT win. I was proud of her and how she kept her composure because I know it must've been hard not hearing her name called. The court closed all the fall festival activities, and we made a b-line for the exit of the gym. Karson burst into tears immediately after we were outside. Both of the boys reacted like...what in the world is she crying about? They had no idea what had happened and then spent the next couple of minutes comforting their sister. It was a sad and beautiful moment =).

**A couple of bright notes: (1) the court raised $2500 for STLP and (2) the true honor for Karson was being elected by her peers. The rest of the contest had to do with how much money was donated, and we will never know those results.

In other fall festival news, the kids enjoyed their time there. We visited all the classrooms, played all the games, collected all the junk, uh, I mean prizes, ate enough candy to make Dr. Elliott angry, and fellow shipped with friends. At one point, Miles won a 2-liter Coke which I had to carry around all night. After a while, I popped it open and started drinking out of it. Why not, right?

Miles never quite got the football kick down. I felt sorry for the poor guy chasing the ball everywhere.

I didn't take as many pictures this year. I had a lot on my mind with court and getting Karson changed and for this reason...

Seriously, my children (minus K) DO NOT like having their picture made. They don't realize it would take 2 seconds to smile and get it over with, but instead they choose to whine for 10 minutes, and I NEVER get a good shot. Any opinions of preventing this??? I'll take 'em.

Belated Grandparents Post

I meant to post this sooner considering Grandparent's Day was LAST Sunday and not today. BUT, it's hard keeping track of everything with three kids going in three different directions at ALL times. Miles had his Grandparent's Day Program at Greenwood Park EEP last Monday. I was keeping my fingers crossed that he would actually "perform" this go around. Last year his only preschool program was the Christmas Show, and Simon Cowell would've torn him apart if he had been there judging. Miles looked like a knot on a log, and to top it off, he happened to sit next to the most musically animated gal in the class, Ms. Lydia. Occasionally he would shift his eyes over to Lydia and kind of mimic her motions but nothing much.


Miles has been much more musical this year. He always comes home from school singing his color or bible songs. I was very proud of his performance. I video-ed the "I am Special" song which was the last number. Can you tell which little one is Ms. Lydia? You guessed it, front and center, in the pink dress. I LOVE her enthusiasm and animation--such a doll!

Miles has made some new buddies this year. The little boy behind him in the yellow is named Layne. My mom recently subbed at EEP and said the two of them play so well together. Ms. Teresa has also said that--we may have to schedule a playdate soon. The boy in the brown is named Dastin. His family lives a street over from us, and we have become fast friends. I have his little brother Zian in my 3 year old class. Precious family, and there is good chance Dastin and Miles could be in class together at some point at Plano. I was hoping that Miles would make some new friends this year. His closest pals Trapper and Samuel are not at EEP this year which made him (and me) a little sad. BUT, based on the his huge smile, it looks like Miles is happy as a clam with his new buddies.
How did I get so lucky having such a precious 4 year old son? Although his entire first year was a complete blurr to me, I am SO enjoying these moments with him. I love watching him grow and learn and make me proud =)!

Our Moment to SPEAK NOW

Karson and I finally made it to Taylor Swift's SPEAK NOW concert. Whoop, whoop! It has definitely been a journey. Read my July 6, post titled "Song of the South" to get up to speed with our Taylor saga. I had tank tops made for the summer concert we planned to attend. Thankfully the weather has still be pleasant enough for us to sport them in September (with jeans, of course).

After getting all dolled up, we took off for Nashville around 5 p.m. yesterday afternoon. I figured two hours would give us plenty of time to get there. The concert started at 7 p.m. After quick stops for gas and some Wendy's, we rolled into Nashville right around 6:45 and were stuck in downtown traffic. Ick. The concert was at Bridgestone Arena. I knew we could find some parking fairly close but was concerned when I saw ALL the traffic. Parking downtown is a nightmare. I had a parking plan in mind (based on prior internet research) but quickly squashed it when I saw the digital clock in the Camry ticking away and bumper to bumper cars. I knew we wouldn't miss much if we were a little late, but we were SO excited. I made a quick left on 8th Avenue and found a really great lot about 1 block from the concert. Whew!

I can't think of the last BIG concert I attended, but I am very certain that it was NOTHING like this one. Nashville was hopping. The vibes that night reminded me so much of our trip to Disney a few years ago. Everything was so magical and euphoric. We soaked the whole experience up.

We even walked the red carpet. Karson told me a few days before the concert how lucky she felt and that she couldn't believe she was seeing her very first celebrity. Love her!
Need to Breatheopened up the show. I had no idea who they were and had to ask the 10th grader sitting next to me. I only recognized one of their songs called "Something Beautiful". They did a fantastic job.

Waiting for Taylor...We love TAYLOR!!! I don't think we were alone!

SPARKS FLY

YOU BELONG WITH ME

OUR SONG

BACK TO DECEMBER, Karson's favorite

Taylor came into the crowd at one point during the show and made her way to the other end of the arena (our end) which was practically a stone's throw from where we were sitting. A tree came down from the ceiling where she sat and played about 3 or 4 different slower songs. It was awesome!

SPEAK NOW

The crowd went INsanely wild when Taylor started talking about meeting up with some of her friends in Nashville which included Haley from Paramore. Haley came out and rocked Misery Business. Very awesome moment in the night!

I wish I could say we lasted the ENTIRE show, but we didn't =(. Karson got incredibly tired and started getting cold around 10:30 at which point she also had to pee which meant we had to climb over about 20 people to go the restroom. Plus, (and I'm not complaining just adding) our section consisted of about 6 rows. We were in the 2nd row. There was one row in front of us that had a retaining wall and rail. I'm not kidding when I say our ENTIRE section was sitting down but a pack on girls directly in front of us. There were about 5 of them and they stood up the entire time. I can understand standing for an hour, even 2 hours, but after 3 hours, come on! I'm tired of standing up, and I KNOW Karson is tired. Half of the little girls in our section were already out cold. NOPE, not the gals in front of us. They came to party hard. I'm not knocking them, but I wish we could've switched places so Karson and I could sit and see the show (and not stand the WHOLE time). SO, Karson was over-done, and I was tired of looking at a wall of backs. I also didn't mind leaving because I knew we had an hour drive back home. I felt good about our decision because when we left, all the police officers were lining up outside which told me that the concert was about to end. I can't wait to go to another Taylor Swift concert. It almost makes me want to get tickets to the October show in Louisville (tickets that I sold on StubHub so I could attend this one). If you've got a little girl, this is a concert to see! An ENCHANTED evening with a Cover Girl (and Taylor too)!

Weekly Run Down...

just in case anyone out there is wondering. My life is officially in FAST forward. Whether or not I'm ready for the school year to begin, it's chucking right along, rather quickly I might add. I think that's the thing I don't like about the kids going BACK to school. It makes the year go soooo FAST! It's already September, and Matt informed me last night that progress reports go out soon. Eeek. SO, how is OUR life progressing...well let me tell ya...beginning with last Friday. Karson, as you know, is playing on the Sassy Spikers. Our coach organized a scrimmage with another team from our area--let the competition begin. Volleyball, at this age, is NOTHING like basketball or softball where NO score is kept. Volleyball scores must be kept in order to determine a winner. Teams play the best 2 out of 3. I had no idea what to expect considering volleyball is new to us, but I can recognize pure talent when I see it. Karson has some "players" on her team. We have two girls who can overhand serve and practically ace it every time. This has to be ab-normal at this level of play. And, some of the girls on our team have siblings that play for SWHS Middle/High school. Our girls KNOW the sport. I felt sorry for the other team we scrimmaged. We didn't cream them by any means but did win all three of our matches. Go PLANO!

The girls had their first official game on Tuesday and won two games in a row. We're good! And the most important thing is Karson really enjoys it.

Saturday, we spent the day at Nolin with family. There is no shortage on boats at our place. I think everyone in our family has one. My cousin Lori and her husband Craig took the kids out tubing in their boat.

No boating adventure at the lake is complete without a trip to the candy dock.

We couldn't get Isaac in a tube. He was completely content eating snacks and basking in the sun. Can't say that I blame him! I was never big on water sports myself.

Evan and Isaac...two crazy peas in a pod!

It was a special day. We laid my Papaw Pogue to rest in the lake, his favorite place. The sunset was so pretty I had to take a picture. God shows up at the right moments in life. Matt read the 23rd Psalm and had a prayer. My cousin Brent spread his ashes on the water close to our cove. It was such a nice tribute, and I can't imagine a more appropriate burial for Papaw.

CAPTAIN Miles and his side kick Pops.

We took the kids to Dog Creek afterwards. They had been begging to go to the beach all day.

Sunday is always busy as usual. Thankfully it was a 3-day weekend. I spent Sunday afternoon cooking--for Labor Day. I was looking forward to a relaxing Monday. We planned to go to Paul and Shannon's Monday afternoon for a Labor Day get together.

Mmmm...Chocolate Scratch Cake.

I wanted to make a run to Hobby Lobby Monday morning. Karson and I were on a mission for some glitter paper. Since Matt was playing golf, the boys had to tag along. We decided to pick up some other goodies while we were there. The morning was rainy and gloomy, but at our house, it was CHEERY and messy as we painted.

Our finished products which will most likely end up in the trash at some point next week. I mean REALLY what do you do with stuff like this? It's temporary fun and helps them be creative, but other than that, it's trash-bound. We spent the afternoon having some good ol' fashioned fun at the Mags.

I'm not sure at what point I put out all my Halloween decorations. I was up in the attic going through clothes since it's cooled down so much and decided I might as well get all that decor down. As fast as my life is moving these days, Halloween is tomorrow.

This white ghost came down with my Halloween loot, and Miles has played with it like he plays with his army guys or power rangers. It has instantly become one of his favorite toys. Since the arms and legs are held on by screws, I am constantly trying to repair it for him. I guess I should be glad he didn't choose the glass ones to play with.

I picked up a dreadful Monster High outfit this week. Karson wanted to be a werewolf for Halloween a few weeks ago but has decided to go this route instead. Ick. Will these creepy people go away already! I managed to find some dress up clothes and a wig that didn't seem TOO mature.

Isaac has decided that he wants to be a zombie. The BIG orange tent is up which means a weekly trip to Halloween Express (aka free time for Mom). Isaac has found a bloody limb that he wants there which translates into being a zombie. However, when I show him pictures of what zombies look like, he's not at ALL interested in dressing up. He simply wants the bloody limb. SO, I may have a kid dressed in street clothes flashing a bloody limb for Halloween. WHATEVER, right!

Speaking of October, which is a BIG month for us, Karson and I have been planning her birthday party (thus the trip to Hobby Lobby on Monday).

Her birthday falls on a Saturday this year so I told her we could have an actual party this year. We celebrate her birthday every year but haven't had a FULL blown birthday party with lots of friends since she was 5 years old. We talked about Spa Fabulous but decided we could probably pull off our OWN spa party. My mom has offered to host it, and I've talked to my sister, Lisa G. and MacKenzie, my group of posh ladies to help in assisting with it. We're going to do chocolate facials, feather hair extensions, and manicures/pedicures with crackle polish. Lisa is going to bring her chocolate fountain, and I found some cute, colorful champagne glasses for punch. Aren't her invitations the cutest! She was ready to send them out this week, but I convinced her we needed to wait. Her birthday is over a month away, but she is SO excited. Okay, I KNOW I am planning WAY ahead people, but like I said, my life is in fast forward and showing no signs of slowing down.

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AND I also have to plan a 5th birthday for Miles. His won't be quite as elaborate and will have to involve golf. He loves GOLF. I had to dig up my $30/ea. soft touch holly bushes this week. Thanks Alvaton nursery for selling me FOUR that managed to DIE this summer. Miles has been using his putter and golfing off our front porch into the giant holes. Golf is his passion. Matt usually takes him to Otte once a week (they went yesterday) for some "golfing with holes" as Miles refers to it. I wish Otte had a party room. I would SO prefer that to Southern Lanes which is a bowling alley with a mini-golf course in the back. Ugh.

Photo Of the WEEK. I like how Miles is using his underwear as a cell phone clip along with his glock, glock guns. He's all gangster. His favorite song right now is "This is Why I'm Hot" by Nims (edited version of course). We have to listen to it mutiple times in the car rider line. If you hear thumping around 3:00-3:30, it's me and my thug.

Karson came home incredibly excited on Wednesday. She had been selected to represent her 3rd grade class as part of the Royal Coronation court for the Fall Festival activities. Two students (boy and girl) are selected from each class as a representative. The kids vote for their favorites during the week of Fall Fest and then at the actual event. I had to email the coordinator two pictures of Karson--a baby picture and a current picture. Here is what I selected:

There will be a slide show at Fall Fest, and the winners will be crowned. I know she has high hopes of being selected, and like Maid Marian, it's a long shot but what an honor to be selected. Very cool!

Here is the box she took to school today. VOTE FOR KARSON!

Last night we headed over to SWHS for the girls volleyball game. I am totally into volleyball right now, and the game was amazing to watch. SWHS didn't pull out a win, but they looked great. We spent the remainder of the evening terrorizing Matt's classroom. I always loved going to my mom's classroom as a kid, but she didn't have all the gadgets that teachers have now--LIKE Active Boards and ginormous iMacs. The kids LOVE his classroom--we're so proud of him!!!

Today was Grandparents Day at Plano. I usually don't attend but heard it was better than ever this year. Miles will have his program on Monday. I decided to call my grandparents today to chat. It's been a while since I've talked to them. I wish they lived here so I could see them all the time =(. At least I'll get to be with Uncle Mike in a few short weeks at the BEACH.

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I've noticed our turtle hasn't been herself this week. She's looking kind of lethargic. A lethargic turtle, Tiff, how do you know? Well, let me tell ya, she isn't moving as much and hasn't been eating. Mind you, we keep her outside in a $6 tank I found at Grandma's Attic. I change her water a few times a week, and she has a basking rock. However since the temperature has dropped so much this week, her tank has been cold and no sun = no basking. This morning I decided to google: turtles in the winter. I read that their feeding habits slow down and that they hibernate deep in the pond mud for a couple of months for warmth. It got me thinking...maybe it's time to let Green Jill go??? Karson absolutely ADORES the turtle. She gets it out daily to play with it, feeds it, makes sure I change the tank water, a faithful companion. I tried to break the news to her this morning that maybe it was time to let her go. I explained that she was probably cold in her tank and needed to hibernate, laying it on thick and trying to convince my daughter we could find another one next spring. The next thing I know, the kitchen sink is on and I hear sniffling. She's filling up a cup with hot water to put in the tank and trying to hold it together. I call for her and tell her not to be sad and that I will figure something out.

After I dropped Miles off at EEP this morning, I headed over to Petco and pleaded my case to a sympathetic and HELPful employee. I managed to escape spending TONS of money, but let's just say I spent WAY more than I planned to on the free turtle I found months back on the side of the road. I can't help but think of the song by The Fray called "How to Save a Life". We saved a turtles life today (and probably an 8 year old girls).

AND that my friends is one WEEK in our house.