Charlotte, Supermodel Extraordinaire

Because Charlotte's birthday comes on the tail of so many other celebrations (it's January 3), we tend to keep it low key around here.

We started with homemade waffles, topped with strawberries and whipped cream.

Opening presents is always a highlight!

After opening presents (and wearing them..thought not the earrings, those are for when she is older), she was off to school. These glasses are fake, by the way. She is obsessed with all different kinds of frames.

What would a birthday be without cake? The big 7!!!

For her party, she wanted a "red carpet" theme. She invited a few friends to sleep over, and we celebrated the evening with good food, dressup, and photographs.

Instead of cake, we a did make-your-own ice cream sundae bar and a fancy drink cart.

Then came the big event of the evening, the dining room transformed into a dressing room.

But first, hair and makeup. Green eye shadow and the straightening hair iron were most requested.

And they're off! I created a "red carpet" from some rugs I had around the house, hung a white shower curtain for a backdrop, and acted as paparazzi for the evening.

The clothes and accessories were a mix of mine and Charlotte's, as well as some dance recital outfits a friend brought. I thought the girls put together some really creative and fun looks all on their own! And once they stepped into the spotlight, there was no stopping them.

LOOK #1

LOOK #2

LOOK #3

LOOK #4

LOOK #5

Some of my favorites were of the other girls in front of a large-scale painting by James Brewer we have in our family room.

Altogether now...

 Girls just wanna have fun!

It was a fun-filled and hilarious evening. And I promise in real life they didn't look like such hussies. Their take-home party favors were little photo books with printouts of photos of them, like a model's portfolio. S much work, but worth it. And virtually free, except for the $1 photo books and ice cream (don't tell, I used mostly candy leftover from decorating Christmas gingerbread houses for toppings). Lots of laughter for so little money.

Now if only getting them to sleep that night was as much fun...

A Rite of Passage

We definitely live in the South.

Have any of you ever attended Cotillion or a debutante ball? I was dragged to one year of Cotillion as a middle schooler. Although I remember it being awkward and annoying at the time, I admit that what I learned about manners, etiquette, and dancing has more than made up for having to dance the cha-cha with a sweaty military school cadet or sip coca-cola with an obnoxious pre-teen. It's amazing how those little rules and skills emerge throughout the years. It has really given me the social confidence to participate in just about anything thrown my way.

As a result, I have "forced" Anson to participate in several manners or etiquette classes over the years. (Remember Manners Camp?) Although he whines every time he has to go, when I pick him up, he is giggling and bright-eyed. Last night was no different. It was the final part of a year-long program...the Grand Ball.

Boys brought their mothers as dates, and girls their fathers (but we were relegated to the outskirts while the kids danced with each other). Boys wore tuxedos; girls wore long white dresses and gloves. No doubt, it was old-fashioned and somewhat archaic (certainly parts were completely useless), but as a parent, it was pure entertainment. There is nothing like seeing a room full of fifth graders looking dapper and elegant, escorting their partners, handing the girls roses, filling out dance cards, and awkwardly asking someone to dance. It was so so freaking adorable!

We started the evening at our friend's house, getting ready.

Here is Anson with two friends, just before they went in to start the ball.


They started with some sort of complicated march that started in intersecting lines, snaked through like a braid, and ended in a large circle. Then dancing commenced as they danced in place with partners and moved together in a circle. I honestly couldn't believe these laid-back, video-game playing, neon green sneaker wearing kids could do this. The parents were like paparazzi...told to stay behind a line of chairs, pushing and shoving each other out of the way to try to get the perfect shot of their little gentleman or lady waltzing across the dance floor. (I only had my iPhone so my pictures are less than perfect.)

Anson did what most of the boys did when told it was time to choose a partner. Stand shell-shocked and then lurch quietly to the edge of the group, hoping for a miracle. Over the course of the night, he realized he had to step up if he didn't want to get partnered with a stranger or someone a foot taller than him (and as a general rule, the girls were WAY taller than the boys). I mean, come on, who could resist this cute face?

One of the young lady's fathers said to me, "If any boy out there thinks he is leading anyone, in a dance or otherwise, he is mistaken." Those girls were on it! They totally led the boys when dancing, and went right up to them at "asking" time, breathing down their necks and making eye contact, waiting to be asked to dance. Anson once told me that he wasn't sure what was worse: boys being expected to do all the asking--how nervewracking!!!--or being a girl and hoping the right person would ask you or having to nicely turn down someone you weren't interested in. (The good news was, this was a manners class, and any young lady they asked to dance would have to say yes.)

First we can see Anson (on the right, barely moving) and one of his earlier partners. They look like they are having SO MUCH FUN.

Did you watch that? Was the volume on? I know, I know, what's with the music? I admit that was one of the best things about last night, seeing the kids dancing traditional steps to the latest pop and hip hop. You could see most of them mouthing the words, and the occasional errant fist pump. Made me smile!

Another awkward move with a new partner.

Soon, he figured out the ropes, honed in on the girls he goes to school with, and started having fun.

The evening was long and included refreshments (vanilla cake, potato chips, and lemonade, apparently the highlight of the night), a dance with your parent, kids and parents doing the electric slide, and more escorting, waltzing, foxtrotting, and so forth.

Here is Anson signing a lovely lady's dance card.

During the Final Promenade (similar to the one at the beginning), Anson pairs up with one of his school friends. Don't you love how they can't look each other in the eye, and Anson's hand that is supposed to be on his dance partner's back just hangs loose in mid-air?

Anson's final dance card....

Whew, it's over! Let's celebrate!

Excuse Me While We Pause for Technical Difficulties

Hi all!

As if you hadn't noticed, there will be a pause in blog writing for a while longer. I've been having trouble with my computer (I'm trying to transfer from one to the other) and photo downloading, which is causing a myriad of problems I won't go into.

On top of that, my blog account is full on the photo end, which means it won't allow me to include any more photos in my posts unless I pay more money. I think.

That means there's going to be some sorting out around here regarding how to continue.

Thanks for hanging in there, I hope to get this problem solved as soon as I can. In between buying Christmas presents, decorating the house, and so on.  :)

So here's my attempt at some sort of graphic element for this post. Hope you are having a wonderful start to the holiday season!

                                                                *
                                                                ^
                                                             ^    ^
                                                           ^     o  ^
                                                         ^     o      ^
                                                       ^    o      o   ^
                                                     ^        o           ^
                                                   ^       o       o       ^
                                                 ^     o     o          o   ^
                                               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                                             |||||
                                                             |||||

Fall Back

Wow, I have been a seriously bad blogger. My apologies. Mostly because I am trying to transition between two computers, which means the only place I can download photos is the old computer, which moves at a snail's pace. But it's time to get back on the bandwagon.

So, happy autumn!



I'm glad family and friends made it through Sandy OK. (Let's just hope this next storm doesn't set everyone back.) Here we just had some wind and rain. We actually lost power for an hour or two one night, which resulted in everyone camping out in our bedroom. It was actually pretty fun! Russell disagreed, as I found him sleeping in the guest room in the morning.

Some fun things that have been keeping me busy include trying to get to know the camera better. I enjoy a creative outlet now and then, and I also know taking a photo here and there is an easy way to fill weird pockets of time with a fun activity.

Russell and I went on a walk through downtown Raleigh with a friend who is a professional photographer. I tried to stop and think about what would make an interesting photo. I tended to do better focusing on shapes and closeups, rather than wide landscapes and people. I have a lot to learn! I tried not to edit them too much, so that I could focus on what I need to work on. There are so many apps and programs out there that allow you to manipulate your photos, and they work really well to make them look better than they really are! But in this case, I'm trying to keep it real so that I can learn as I go along.

I'm not going to be winning an photography contests, but I am proud of what I was able to do on my first "official" day out.

I've also started heading up a group at the kids' school that helps the school's families in need. We started the year with a huge clothing drive and distribution day, collecting clothes from families at the school, and then setting up a "free shopping" day to hand them out. We helped about 150 children this fall with their winter wardrobes! Each child gets a new toothbrush, two new pairs of underwear and socks, and a gently used coat, hat, gloves, pair of shoes, and two outfits for winter. We also put together bags for the younger siblings. It's a huge hit at the school, and the kids are clamoring when we do setup to see what outfits they can find for the year. It truly helps so many families at our school who need financial assistance.

Sorting and more sorting...

Right now we are in the thick of the Thanksgiving food drive and holiday angel tree projects. I love how the school has this "parents helping parents" and "kids helping kids" program. It requires a lot of my time, but it puts a spring in my step to see the happy kids and parents. I get so many hugs on those days!

The kids are chugging along at school, in first and fifth grades. They love their teachers (nothing better!), and are enjoying hanging with old and new friends.

Let's see, shall we share some Halloween photos? Charlotte was a vampire and Anson is James Bond.

 

This is Anson's posse. His two best friends, Rhys and Wes, went as Mario and Luigi from the Mario video games. Rhys was still warming up to wearing the costume. He gradually added parts at the evening went on.

Apparently, this house was the scariest of the evening, with some serious Halloween spirit.



Luckily, this year the weather was beautiful, so the kids were out late and came home happy and dry (last year it was super cold and rainy). Russell even got in on the fun...

We also attended some Halloween parties where he dressed as Lance Armstrong and I was the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Let me tell you, I scared quite a few people! I always dress up, but the last few years it's been stuff like an equestrian, flapper, etc. Nothing shocking.

This year, most of my friends walked right past me and then did a double-take.

The funniest question of the evening was if my piercings were real. Really? Of course not. Anyway, I enjoyed being unrecognizable for the evening, but it was nice to wash it all off when I got home (I even spray painted my hair black). I was wearing leather pants, a leather coat, leather boots, and a black t-shirt with a dragon tattoo on my chest. It's hard to see, but I even wore a spiked necklace. I admit I wasn't even sure if I wanted to put this pic up on the blog, but then I thought, why not? Keeping it real...

Speaking of black hair, I've finally gone back to my roots. I've been highlighting it for so long that it was getting a bit too blond and brassy over the years. So just after Halloween, I toned it down. It's weird to look in the mirror and see my "old" self from over 10 years ago!

P.S. Can you tell I took all these photos of myself?

BEFORE...

DURING...

AFTER...

I've also been very involved in the local campaign for Wake County Board of Commissioners. My good friend and old neighbor, Caroline Sullivan, just won this race. Here is a photo of her (on the left) with North Caroline Governor Beverly Perdue, and me with her, at a recent fundraiser. (In case you are wondering, purple was Caroline's campaign color, so it's not a weird coincidence that everyone is dressed like an eggplant.)

Lastly, oh yeah, I turned 40! And what a surprise it was. I'll save that for the next post. Keeping ya in suspense, am I?

Cutie Pies

My best friends...

Keeping Up

Now that the kids are back in school, I'm cleaning, clearing out, and organizing like a fool.

I feel like next week I may be back to normal. See you then!