What the Right Decision Looks Like

After three weeks of school I transferred Riley. The details aren't important because after three weeks at her new school it is clear I did the right thing. Thank God! My heart is overflowing with gratitude. Look at the evidence, I found my sweet happy girl again.

There was a new first day sign for our fresh start. She's collected leaves for a nature collage, learned new songs, discussed science topics, practiced her handwriting, made friends, made art, taken a field trip, befriended the stuffed dinosaur in the front office (Diney), learned about a different culture, practiced her musical scales, been to a party and danced a lot! The bulletin board inside the door says "You are artists! You are bright! You are explorers! You are loved! You are the reason we are here." Isn't that great? I'm glad she's happy and learning again.

Hippity Hoppity Easter on it's Way

Spring has sprung and Easter preparations are underway. I'm always excited for our annual gathering which has grown from four kiddos to somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen. This party was one of the reasons we chose our house with its amazing backyard. I live for excuses to fill my house and yard with happy children. Every year we invite friends and family over for Easter egg pancakes and egg hunting.

Miss Roo filling eggs for her classmates.

The eggs we dyed and decorated

Treats and favors

Just Another Girl On A Stage

I've been listening to old Cds in the car lately (I know so 90's of me). Ever notice how song lyrics strike you differently at different stages of life? I love that. I love that about all art, every viewing has fresh life experience behind it. Just now the idea of being "one more girl on a stage" seemed exceedingly pleasant.

For those of you who don't know, I'm an actor. I've been recovering and writing for a long while now with an audition here and there. Nothing too exciting on that front. The point being I'm itching to get back out there. On the surface the song describes a performer acknowledging that she's one of countless thousands. I lived in NYC & LA and counted myself among the 70,000 actors looking for work. That feeling wasn't news to me.

After a few listens, it dawned on me, I was never "just another" anything. That sounds more arrogant than I intended. I wasn't just another girl on stage anymore than I am just another mother of two now. As much as I resented being the "girl in the wheelchair" growing up, there is power in being memorable. I never had A-list Hollywood success (got famous), but between my inconspicuousness and my talent those who didn't cast me certainly did not forget. My most exciting TV role was a girl in a wheelchair, as it turns out.

I remember the day I took those head shots. I'd been living in New York and peddling my wares with a black and white head shot. I was immediately given two pieces of advice upon arrival on the West Coast: 1)Get a local number 2)Take new head shots. The world was my oyster. I was ready for anything! In the years that followed many of my dreams came true. So many unforgettable roles and experiences came my way. So very unforgettable that I am stunned at how long ago many of them were. Time marches ever forward. The postcard below is role I decided to move to New York after college to pursue. I was so excited to be involved in the inaugural Tribeca Theatre Festival, to have the lead, to work with celebrities, and to have my face on the post card! I remember thinking this is the beginning of everything. I imagine most kids fresh out of school have that moment: no more learning, time to do it. After seeing the show the playwrite came to the next performance and gave me flowers.

I share time's love of forward motion and I went where ever opportunity took me. I pressed on and shined through until my body broke down like a used car. Even as I relocated and adapted I kept on trucking. It wasn't until my difficult pregnancy and subsequent back surgery that I decided to let it rest. It felt like a betrayal of who I was. I've never sought fame and fortune, but when it's in you it's in you. I find it difficult to be articulate about my craft. I remember auditioning for BU's theatre program. I was asked (after my performance) "Why do you want this?" Without hesitation I replied "It's the ONLY thing I've ever wanted. It's like air to me. I need to be good at it."

Passion is important. Everything is so dull and predictable without it. I don't think true love in any form really dies. I'm still reeling at the show in NYC being 9 years ago. Plays, performances, film, TV, voice work...So much happened before and since. So much change in the rest of my life, but it never left me. Now it refuses to wait quietly while I deal with other things. I'm one of thousands of thirty-somethings who isn't where I thought I'd be doing what I thought I'd be doing. Maybe, the song lyric is agreeing with me: You see me as "just another", but you're so very wrong. Onward, art-ward forever and ever.

Finger Painting 2.0

I saw the idea for Mess Free Finger Painting (where else?) on Pinterest. I wanted to test out this activity because it seemed like a perfect activity to add to the "Art Table" I'm setting up for Riley's party. We made a special trip to the craft store for glitter paints.

It's just washable glitter paint from Joann's. Not that it mattered greatly for the experiment, but I knew glitter paint will find other messier uses quick enough. She chose pink, green, blue and yellow so we still got some color mixing action.

The set-up is simple put paint in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Then tape it down. My only question was about paper. I put a piece in the bag, but the blogger I linked to put hers underneath the bag. If you're intending to liberate the final product then paper in, if you're going for multiple uses then paper out. I used tie dyed duct tape because it's fancier, but ran out on the final edge.

Fingers Ready!

Testing the waters...

We used our fingers and then a plastic fork.

Art!

In a situation like today it was a bit of a hard sell. She kept waiting to add more paint. I explained that all the paint was already in there, but with paint and paper right there on the table she wanted to do it the old fashioned way.

She painted two pictures and then I gave her the white canvas bag from the potty party. It came out gorgeous. Between the paint and the sparkles we had an early bath. I think in a situation where the baggie painting was set up ahead of time (during nap or for a party) it'll be a big hit.

DIY Scratch & Sniff Watercolors

Today was doubly artsy. We made get well cards for Grandma because she had dental surgery yesterday. Riley wore fairy wings for card decorating, of course. I decided she was a big enough girl for real glitter.

Riley's card came out spectacular. Isaac is sitting at the computer in the background writing book summaries for the two reading list book he finished this week. He joined the card making later. My mom was very pleased with their efforts.

While cards were drying we did our "Go Dog Go!" day thing and went. After nap though, we finally got to the scratch and sniff watercolors I'd been dying to try. They were super duper simple and reasonably easy to clean-up.

Materials

• An Assortment of powder drink mix
• Warm water
• Small Bowls or Muffin tins
• Spoon

The grocery store had a limited number of Kool Aid flavors so Mike got some more from a different store once we were underway. I mistaking thought the blue package was blue, but alas it was another red. At least there'll be a variety of fruity aromas if not a rainbow's worth of hues. Bare in mind it's the color of the tiny pitcher on the front of the package not the color of the package itself. Also, grape Kool Aid paint looks black (shrug).

Next you add two packages of Kool Aid (1 Tbsp) and 1 Tbsp of warm water to a container and mix. Although, I just happen to have acidently grabbed three packages of orange and that one came out super vivid. Either use separate spoons to mix each color or wipe your spoon in between so you don't contaminate the lighter colors. Our yellow was tainted right off the bat.

Then it's ready, set...paint! I put a hug stack of scrap paper on the table and we painted every single piece. Riley wore an apron, but throughly coated her hands and managed to get some in hair. It all washed off in a prompt bath. It smells pretty good while your painting but you don't get the scratch and sniff effect until it's dry.

We have quite the fruit scented art collection now. I painted that Minnie Mouse with the grape color, see what I mean? Maybe it'll dry more purple. I'm going to hang them all up tomorrow. We're going to have our own gallery for the week. Fun and so simple. This one is an A+ for sure.