...with a little shot of performance joy.
It's been awhile since I've spent time here, and as is always the case when that's my reality, I have missed my little blogging sphere, much like an old friend. These days there is little creative room in my daily schedule, and the right side of my brain is beginning to feel the pinch. I am hoping to make the necessary adjustments in 2012 to gain a better sense of "brain-balance."
Meanwhile, it's been (and still is) great having our whole brood home for the holidays and having a few days off from work. This holiday season our entire family (with the exception of Job, whose semester ended too late in December) participated in the Nutcracker performances of Maia and Montgomery's dance school. Although there are parent roles every year, and Maia has danced with this dance studio for about eight years or so, Craig and I have always held back because of the rehearsal schedules and the fact that there has usually been a very small child in our arms. We had promised Maia, however, that we would participate at least one year before she graduated high school. Well...she's a senior this year...sooooo...this was the comeuppance year.
Surprisingly for the two of us, other than the stress of timing and family schedules with the rehearsals and other holiday season activities, we all had a really good time. We just might do it all again next year too. I'll post more on our Nutcracker experience in future posts. The photo above is just a small slice of those festive days: Montgomery, of course, costumed out as a "small peppermint from the Land of the Sweets," enjoying some giggle time with her fellow mint-lets...and loving wearing the required stage makeup! You'll notice that she's lost her first tooth since my last post in October. That was a funny story, one I'll try to be sure to tell in days to come.
(By the way, Maia begged me not to post this particular photo because she thought Montgomery's make-up left quite a lot to be desired that day, and then she insisted on applying Gommy's makeup herself from then on...so her baby sister wouldn't look -- in her words -- "jacked-up." Teenagers!)
Take care. Much love. Happy New Year!
