DANCIN' MAN

Right before Christmas, as we were heading to Cora's in-house review, James said out of the blue "Mama, I want to try dance." So I told him that he absolutely could, but that we'd talk about it again the next day to be sure he was serious. When I asked again, he confirmed that yes, he wanted to try dance. He wanted to start Acro and knew that he needed to take Ballet in order to take any other class at RiverPointe, and he was up for the challenge and new adventure. So we got him signed up, ordered him some black ballet shoes, and off he went when classes resumed this month!

 (Sissy instructed him how to do a ballet pose, since it's all new to him. She was SO EXCITED to have him starting dance at her studio!)

Wednesdays are his Pre-Ballet class and Thursdays are his Beginner Acro class (which he is expected to graduate from within a month or so - the instructor was very impressed with his strength and flexibility - at which point he'll join Cora's Acro 2 class on Wednesdays). As we were getting him ready for Acro on Thursday, we received an email that RiverPointe had just hired a male instructor to lead a boys-only ballet class that would incorporate hip-hop and break-dancing as well, and did we want to try it free for a couple weeks? Well James? YES, of course he wanted to. We were allowed to watch through the open curtains during the first class and it was really something to see - the 4 boys in the class were all smiles, dripping with sweat, and working so hard. James loved it and it quickly became his favorite class. Turns out, the boys will even have their very own number in the recital this spring!

 (Cora had the option to play her Kindle while James was in class, but she chose to watch him the whole time instead. And do some of the moves with them out in the hallway... when she wasn't spying on the new male instructor. At one point I saw her jump up and run around the corner, and when I went to investigate I saw her sitting in the chair closest to the door, and when he exited the classroom, she immediately introduced herself: "Hi! I'm Cora and I dance too. I'm a ballerina! And my brother is going to be in YOUR class tonight! His name is James!" She does not lack confidence, At all.)

 After a quick dinner (and finishing his homework at the studio), he was all set for boy ballet!

 While I never expected James to be a dancer (not that I ever expected Cora to be either - they sure don't get it from Jay and I!), I really think he's found something special here...

GUINEA EGGS!

We've started getting Guinea Fowl eggs!

It's the one in the middle, surrounded by a regular-sized hen egg and an itty-bitty Bantam egg. Everyone is finally laying again! Lady never stopped, but Elsa and the guinea didn't start laying until the ice storm hit (and we lost our rooster, Chester, probably to a hawk at dusk). And Anna started laying not long after for the first time since before the drought. Now if Chickaletta would just start giving us some pretty blue Americauna eggs...

CHRISTMAS MONIES

The kids used their Christmas monies to get (more) Calico Critters and (more) Lego Dimensions sets. They made their choices in about 8 minutes (despite ALL those toys staring them down at the toy store - they know just what they wanted to spend their money on). They couldn't wait to unwrap the packages and put stuff together when we got home, despite the late hour and looming school day... (Mean mama made them wait until after school the next day to play.)

(She wanted these photos to go to Lauren so that she'd come over and play)

WINNER WINNER PIZZA DINNER!

After successfully dropping their grandparents at the airport (as much as they love us, they really were ready to end the travel drama and get home to doctors appointments and my grandparents), I took the kids to Mellow Mushroom for a fun dinner (to lift their spirits) before going by Toys-R-Us to cash in the giftcards that their great-grandparents sent them for Christmas. As soon as we sat down our waitress gave each of us a scratch-off and told us we could win all sorts of things, including free pizza for an entire year. After laughing that off, we got to scratching, and what do ya know? Cora won free pizza for AN ENTIRE YEAR. I thought she was kidding, but nope. A free large cheese or pepperoni once a week for 12 months! James won a $10 cheese pizza and I won a free appetizer. Needless to say, our dinner was practically free and the kids were thrilled ;-)

QUIET AND COZY

 James just can't even with all the ice and cold...

 Eventually he pulled himself together and finished the Lego set his grandparents got him for Christmas (a lighthouse - PawPaw's favorite!)

 Out to lunch (because Grambot and PawPaw's rescheduled flight was cancelled while we were en-route to the airport - DOH) in the matching sweatshirts that Uncle Jamie got them for Christmas

 Back at the house, back into pajamas, back in front of the fire...

 Early morning math fun with the Cloud Hoppers game that Gramma got him for Christmas

 Sneaking out of the house to see Rouge One while their grandparents napped

 Helping mama with the laundry...

 One last bedtime story (theoretically) before their grandparents fly out tomorrow night (as long as that flight doesn't get cancelled too!)

BLUES OVER THE BLUES

 Today should have been the 10th running of the Mississippi Blues Marathon, but the race was cancelled due to icy roads and unsafe conditions for both runners and volunteers. Not that I would have run anyway (I've been out with a hip injury for a few weeks, and slipping around on icy roads would have made it so much worse and wasted any healing time I'd accumulated this far), but I felt so bad for those who had driven a long distance or flown in (or registered just this week when the rate was sky-high at $120 - I had lucked out with a $10 anniversary registration). It's hard to believe that this event was my first marathon was 3 years ago already... Had they not cancelled this year's event (and I had been able to run), it would have been my 7th marathon+ race distance. I'm sure I'll run another someday... Our running group plans to put on an honorary 13.1 "race" followed by a celebratory tailgate sometime soon so that everyone who collected a medal for today (they gave them out to anyone who wanted them, even though nobody ran the race) can justify the award. There's always next year for the Blues...

SLEETSTORM

Doom and gloom (had been projected for days, and it arrived just in time to cancel mom and dad's flight and strand them in the 'Burg for an extra day (which ended up being 3 days, since the airport didn't reopen as expected on Saturday, and then so many people were backed up that getting everyone on flights was a challenge). The kids loved it, of course, and we greatly enjoyed our extra "found" time with them! Cora went outside to check out the sleet and ice and snow as soon as it stopped coming down, and James waited until bedtime to go play. It was really slick out there (Buster slipped a few times) and there was no way we could have driven up the driveway to go anywhere - good thing we had plenty of food and wine already at the house!)

 (even the ravine behind our house was iced over)

 Icicles!

 Christmas lights under the thin layer of sleet/snow...

 ...we didn't have a White Christmas, but the lights were still up, so why not take a photo!

The next day brought the opportunity to crack through the ice in the pond...

 Check out the map of snow/ice in the south... no wonder everything shut down for a few days!