I took my daughter to Skatetown with a coupon she received on the last day of school. She was brave and eager to prove that she could learn to roller skate in the short time we had together. I hope I’ll get another chance to take her back to practice again. She enjoyed the magical atmosphere of disco lights and loud music and seeing so many confidant, experienced skaters.
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Skatetown is almost exactly the way I remember it being 25 years ago. The disc jockey even played some of the same songs, like Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Choosing not to participate in the Four Corners game, we took a break at the snack bar. Along with her free admission coupon, she was given a coupon for a free small popcorn and drink. When they organized a limbo challenge in the center of the rink, she insisted we participate in that. I couldn’t believe that she would want to take such a risk, but I went along with her and she actually did well.
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I tried hard to say positive things to her as I was teaching her to skate. I also tried to smile. While we were in the rink, I kept reminding myself to smile for her sake. I was hoping she was having fun, but also aware of how difficult it is to wear roller skates for the first time. I could see that she was tired and maybe disappointed that there were so many skaters she couldn’t keep up with, but I could also see her determination. We skated holding hands sometimes, but that seemed to make us more likely to fall. What worked best was for me to slowly skate backwards with my hands outstretched and encourage her to take small steps toward me.
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She and I made a New Year’s Resolution together. We have resolved to choose our words carefully.
This toy was made in 1973 in the USA by Fisher Price. It has beautiful, intricate designs and makes a lot of fun noises. It can be attached to the crib with a thick plastic screw on the back. Here Logan shows Charlotte how to use it.
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My husband and I appreciate that my parents hung on to this toy. It attracts the attention and admiration of all of us.
My mom got her three grandchildren new Christmas ornaments for our tree. The photos aren’t the best quality because I’m having issues with my camera. We’ve mistreated it and rain drops may have damaged it a bit. Our photos with Santa are a total loss because of an ugly purple hue and grainy stripes throughout. But I still hope these photos will look nice with the virtual snow flakes. In our area we are going to get a snowstorm this afternoon. Between 10 and 20 inches may accumulate. We shall see.
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Last Sunday I took all three of them to the Nutcracker ballet. It was the first time for Logan and of course for Charlotte. Margaret and I had been together to see the Nutcracker twice before so that ornament is what my mom chose for her. Margaret is always so impressed by how brave the ballet dancers are to be on the stage in front of such a large audience. Every year she whispers to me, “They must be so nervous!”
Logan was excited about going with us. He kept whispering to me, “I love the Nutcracker!” The only trouble I had with being outnumbered three to one was when Charlotte was nursing and fell asleep right before intermission. I wanted to give Margaret and Logan a chance to stretch their legs, but I wanted to stay in my seat and let Charlotte continue to nurse quietly. Logan asked me what the point of an intermission was and I told him it was to stretch. He asked permission to “get the wiggles out” and I told him it would be fine to go to the end of our row of seats. So, because he is totally oblivious to limits, he took off into the lobby. A sympathetic mom sitting behind me offered to go get him for me.
Overall, we had a very nice time and enjoyed the ballet, but I was exhausted and my back hurt and I had a “bad mother” moment in the parking lot when a stranger thought he should comment about us. I was yelling at Logan to stay close to me and hurry into the van because he had gotten distracted by a drain grate. I couldn’t hold Logan’s hand because I was trying to hold a blanket over Charlotte and when he refused to keep up with me I yelled, “Come get in the van now.” And a man commented that I could have said “please.” Well, it wasn’t a request, it was a safety issue and I had already been embarrassed by Logan during intermission and by Margaret in the bathroom after the ballet was over. I was in a bad mood and definitely didn’t need any remarks from the peanut gallery.
Oh, this post is supposed to be about ornaments. What a tangent!
The dinosaur ornament is for Logan because this year he has really cultivated his knowledge of them. He loves knowing their names and he often goes into “documentary narrator” mode when he’s playing. He has mastered their ostrich-like gate and curls his hands into little stumpy arms. The majority of his coloring books and sticker books are of dinosaurs and one of his favorite things to do online is play Dinosaur Train games at pbskids.org.
This is Charlotte’s first Christmas so her Noah’s Ark ornament says “Welcome Baby”. Thank you, Mom, for the ornaments and for the tickets to see the Nutcracker ballet.
My parents and I remember the very first time I dyed my hair a bright shade of red. I was a high school student. They had dropped me off at Hollins for a summer creative writing workshop, and I changed my hair color during the two weeks we were apart. When they picked me up they were surprised!
Every once in a while during college I would choose a shade of red at the drugstore, but never found one that looked great. Even if the hair color looked brown or blond on the box, it always looked red on me. Honestly, if I look at photos of myself with red hair I’m not impressed at all. I look weird with red tones.
I’ve only had my hair dyed by a professional once. It was supposed to help cover the grey hair that grows in one section, but I didn’t explain exactly what I wanted and the stylist misunderstood me. She did a wash with that cap that they pull tiny pieces of hair through, and I still had a lot of grey hair when I left the salon that day. I cried because it felt awful to have wasted so much money.
About 2 years have passed since that visit to the salon and I have so much more grey hair now. I really needed to do something about it. My husband suggested that I not wait any longer. I chose a color (in a box from the drugstore) named “Soft Black” and dyed my hair on Saturday morning.
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Fortunately, I didn’t spill any drops of the dye on our bathroom tiles. Whew! I concentrated mostly on the section where all my grey hair grows and I ended up not having enough dye to saturate other areas. So, as you can see in the second photo, there is still a little bit of my natural color on some of the ends. Oh well. It would have been fun to have a friend there to help me get it right. But the section I was concerned about looks so much better! I may have found a color I can keep. What do you think? Is it too dark?
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Yes, I am the milk source, but she much prefers to be with him.
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