bee and rose

See that Lego game up there?  It's not as innocent as it seems, my friends.  The tv commercial for this game is clearly harmful to grown women with teenage sons.  It has reduced me to tears on more than one occasion. How on earth can this seemingly child friendly game cause so much heartache and distress?  Allow me to weave my tale of woe for you.... A few days ago, I saw this commercial and immediately said to Irish Dancer Girl, "Your brother (aka Teen Caveboy) would love this game...He's such a Lego freak!"  She looked at me like I had just told her aliens had invaded the neighborhood.  "Uh, Mom...he doesn't play with toys anymore, remember?"  She was edging toward me slowly.  "He stopped playing with toys back when I was a little girl."  (she's 8 years old...)  The truth in her words smacked me in the heart like the Karate Kid hitting me with a five finger death punch.  Tears welled up in my eyes.  I was a blubbering fool...

Look at that awesome toe point on Irish dancer girl!  We are finally finished with what we lovingly refer to in Irish dance as "March Madness"! Whew!  As you might imagine, Irish dancers are pretty popular come March.  We've just completed our two week tour of performances all over Tucson.  We wrapped up the season yesterday with a viewing of the movie "Lord of the Dance 3D".  Here's a little peek at what we've been doing! Cat with Brandon Mull, author of the fabulous "Fablehaven" series of books! We met him after her performance at the Festival of Books! What a nice guy! (and if you haven't read this series, do it!  It's fantastic!) Parade Prep on the firetruck for the St. Patrick's Day Festival and Parade... Taking a bow at Pima College's St. Patrick's Day celebration... And here's a little video of Irish dancer girl in action!  The stage floor was super slippery, but she still managed to knock out so...

See that big pink sign up there?  That's my daily mantra.  Well, it was until life around here went seriously in the dumper over the last several months...Where should I begin?  With the loss of health insurance for my terminally ill husband?  Hmm...oh! How about the very long delay of multiple paychecks for said terminally ill husband which still haven't been paid in full (umm, yeah, my children would like for their father to live for a bit longer so being able to purchase his medications would be lovely..just sayin')...or how about the time our tires (all flippin' four of them) went bad on the car...yep, good times.  Oh! Oh! Even better!  The gas leak that kept us without heat for the two coldest weeks in the winter!  Then came the pneumonia, the sinus infections that would not leave and so much more fun.  Yeah baby, those were the days!  But even in the darkest of days, I would still awake to those encouraging words " Keep Calm and Carry...