Ear Piercing and High School Musical 3

What a Saturday it was today in the Woodiwiss household. We got Isobel’s ears pierced and went to see High School Musical 3. Woo hoo!!

First the ears.



Isobel has been asking to get her ears pierced since Meredith got hers done 2 years ago. When Meredith got hers done, I told Isobel, she could do it in Grade 2. Boy does time ever fly. She still seems too young to do it, but I didn’t want to go back on my word. We had agreed she would get them done after her birthday, but then she got sick and I didn’t want her doing it when she was all snotty and full of germs and goo. So we waited. One day last week, she asked me when we were going to pierce them. I have to admit, I was kind of hoping she would forget. Fat chance. I told her it needed to be her decision, not mine, and when she was ready she needed to remember to mention it to me on a weekend. Well, she remembered. Here she is before the piercing:



During the piercing:



And after the piercing:



She knew it was going to hurt but I don’t think she realized how much. She did tell me earlier in the week that she knew the second ear would hurt more than the first. Because with the first you weren’t anticipating it like you were with the second. I thought that was a pretty grown up concept to understand. However, she did tell me afterwards that it was actually the second one that hurt the most. She’s fine now and was fine very shortly after. She says she doesn’t regret it, even though it hurt more than she thought it would. Now I just have to be diligent in the care of her newly pierced ears and ward off any potential infection.

Then, we were off to see High Musical 3.

Both girls enjoyed it, although Meredith was a little put off that Troy and Gabriella actually kiss. Five times. She counted. She was a little disgusted.

I certainly don’t remember high school being anything remotely like that. No one danced so well, or dressed so nicely. And I really don’t remember many people wearing 4 inch stilettos. Anyway, as always, these boppy, dancey, movies leave me really wishing I could dance. No such luck, though.

Meredith has gone off to chocolate making class with her friend. I’m hoping she brings some home for me!!

Books, books and more books

I am a book hound. I can admit it. It’s been building for a while now but I finally realized it was out of control when I noticed I had 8 books on the go at the same time. Some were due back to the library in 2 weeks and couldn’t be renewed while others had been renewed twice already. I had to take a bunch back and decide which ones I really wanted to read. The others have been entered onto my list with the page I was at duly noted. I don’t think it’s been this bad since I was in high school. I have very clear memories of secretly – or so I thought – reading in class. I would balance the book on my lap and pretend to be working hard. Now that I think back on it, I can’t imagine that my teacher didn’t know what I was doing. I can also remember reading entire Sydney Sheldon books on a Sunday. I’d stay in my pajamas and read in my room until I could barely see. I’m not quire sure why I wasn’t going out or didn’t have any homework.

Right now I’m really enjoying anything by Jodi Picoult. I find her books to be enticingly deceptive. They always twist and turn in ways I hadn’t expected and keep me looking forward to the next page. I’m also reading the teen vampire series by Stephenie Meyer. I really gobble these ones up. I’m on Breaking Dawn right now, which is somewhere around 700 pages, but I bet I’ll have it done in a week. I know they’re teen novels and they’re about a young girl who loves a vampire, but for some reason, I really enjoy them. Perhaps it’s because I can read them so fast, or perhaps it’s because they really are so far from reality, it is true entertainment.

I’ve got a long list of books I want to read on my blackberry. I am pleased to say Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are on that list but for the most part I like trashy novels. The trashier, the better. I am just thankful that I’ve reached a point in my life where I have the time and the desire to read. When the girls were little, my ability to read almost totally disappeared. Not only was lack of time an issue, but also my capacity to focus and retain what I’d read just wasn’t there.

There’s nothing quite like a nice cup of tea and a good book on a lovely fall day.

Gotta go. Breaking Dawn is calling me.

A New Class for Me - and for you???

Enrollment for the newest Jessica Sprague class is today.



And the best part? It’s free and you don’t need to be a scrapper to take it. She talks about the class here on her blog.

I am really feeling the need right now to record as much as I can of our daily life. There are too many unexpected, unexplainable things that can happen. The more I read, the more I need to record the little details of our daily life for Meredith and Isobel. I don’t remember much of my daily life as a child and it bothers me. I know I could just call my mom and talk to her about it, but it’s just not the same. Why don’t I remember? That’s the bigger issue for me. I suppose I’m pushing my own issues onto my children but I feel the need to do this as much for me as for them. At least I can admit that, right? Anyway, I’m hoping that someone one out there will join me. It’s free, it’s crafty and you don’t have to be a scrapper to take it! Anyone?

I’ve been working very hard to get caught up on my paper pages. If you know me, you know how rigidly structured I can be. I know the ‘in’ thing in scrapbooking right now is to work non-chronologically, however, that just doesn’t work for me. I’m working on April 2008 and I’m hoping to get up to date before November. I’ve got about 14 double page layouts to do, plus a handful (or more) digi pages too. Am I crazy? Probably. I’ve got some Christmas gifts I’d like to make plus my cards so I’d like this done before I feel the need to start working on them. Of course, I’d also like to have all my Christmas shopping completed before the end of November as well, but, whatever. Who needs to sleep, right? (Actually, I do. I’m really not good without my 9 hours!) Perhaps it’s eating I should give up!! I’ll get it done somehow; however, I may need to explore the crops at my new local scrapbook store to get it all done.

Well, enough of this blogging for me. I need to get this house tidied up and get working!!

What Was She Thinking?

I’ve been walking Isobel to school. I know, it’s crazy. We live across the street. I really need to cut the umbilical cord. Anyway, this morning I decided it’s soon going to be too cold for me to drag my sorry ass out of the house so I suggested she walk by herself. She’s done it before and is quite happy to do so. It makes her feel very grown up. So, off she goes. She gets to the school and the bell rings. She’s at the playground. And what does she do? She continues to play. Hello, I’m thinking, the bell has rung. She starts chatting with her friends and they hang around for a while. Are they discussing the merits of going to school? I watch patiently (or not so patiently) and wait. Eventually, they decide going to school is a good idea and wander over to the door. What’s up with that? My youngest definitely has a mind of her own. We’ll have to have a wee discussion about that when she gets home tonight. I couldn’t believe it. What is it that this group of seven year olds are discussing that is so engrossing that they miss (or disregard) the school bell. I can only imagine!!

WOO HOO

I've got an ad on my blog. How cool is that?

A trip to the Dump? Yup.

Another belated blog entry for me.

Here’s my last page from the Type + Writer class.



Supplies include:
Papers: KPertiet-LetterBoxBirdWatcher4, KPertiet-KingMePaper-6, Floral Overlay, JSprague_TW_BrownSolid
Fonts: Ma Sexy, Seeing Stars, Designer Mixed
Template: This is the Story by Jessica Sprague for Type + Writer

Meredith read it and declared it “romantic”. So cute.

Yesterday, we pulled apart our shed. This seems to be a bi-annual event for us. For some reason when we take things out, we never seem to be able to put things back in their rightful spots. We managed to get our patio table, 6 chairs and glider in as well. Of course, it helped that we were able to throw a whole bunch of stuff out. We even hopped in the car and made a trip to the dump with some of our bigger stuff. Such an exciting day.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my place in life right now and what I like to do and what I wish I was doing. Scrapbooking is right up there, of course, as is playing around with my computer. But also reading and writing. I really wish I could find some way to combine all these things into a career for myself. I think the only way I’m going to be able to return to full time paid work is if I manage to do something from home. Unfortunately, I’m not willing to give up the freedom I have right now. Nor am I willing to be absent from the lives of my children. I know it is possible to find work that fits into their lives, but I don’t want or need it enough at this point to go out and search for it. Anyone else out there struggle with this? The desire to work and the desire to be home battling it out within your heart? I know I do.