Concert Central

This past Thursday and Friday evenings Chris and I expanded our horizons and attended two concerts: Trans Siberian Orchestra and Mannheim Steamroller.


First the back story, several weeks ago Chris saw commericals for Mannheim Steamroller and suggested that he'd like to see them. Then the commerical came on again and he mentioned wanting to again. Then the commerical came on again and he mentioned wanting to again. So we talked about it and decided it could be an early Christmas gift. Then we were at a benefit for a friend of a friend and they had a raffle. Well we saw that there were tickets for the Trans Siberian Orchestra so we dropped half our tickets in that bucket. Our ticket was pulled and we chose our prize--four tickets to see Trans Siberian Orchestra at the Nutter Center in Dayton the day before Mannheim Steamroller.


At this point I decided that I should tell Chris about already buying the Mannheim Steamroller tickets the previous week to find out if he wanted to do both or if I should try to sell them. He decided both was the better option, so that's what we did.


On Thursday Chris got off work a bit early, we swung through Spencerville to drop Ainsley off at my parents for the evening and then were on our way to Dayton to meet up with our friends Rob & Kate--we actually won a set of FOUR tickets! We were making good time and everything seemed to be right on track for walking into Nutter about 7pm for our 7:30 concert. That was until about a mile before our exit on 675. The right lane was very slow moving and eventually stop and go. I asked Chris if he thought I should join in that line or what the back up was from. We decided that it couldn't be because of the concert because there was still a mile or so on 675 and then a couple miles away after getting off the interstate. Well we assumed wrong, it was because of the concert, but we decided just to go to the next exit where there were additional signs for Nutter. We get off the interstate and warn Rob & Kate that it looks like things are backed up but we should be there shortly--they had already been there for a bit, but of course we had the tickets! Eventually we find our way to the backed up traffic and join in for the stop and go misery. It. was. so. slow.


Feeling bad that we were causing Rob & Kate to miss the beginning of the concert, not having any idea how long we were going to weave through campus before being about to park, very annoyed/frustrated at the entire situation, I was so incredibly close to tell Chris just to get out of the car and start walking! It'd be quicker than waiting in the car to park and then they wouldn't miss as much. I'd find my way eventually! I didn't ended up asking him to do that and fi.na.lly. we got to the a parking lot. We're we in Lot 7 or even Lot 27?! Of course not, we were in the parking lot shared by the Child Development Center and the Scultpure Building. With only a couple parking places left in the lot, we parked and began high-tailing it to the concert. Our friends had told us that they were delaying the concert a bit because of the crazy traffic--they ended up pushing it back 15 minutes--so we were booking it in hopes of missing as little as possible!


Thoughts as we hoofed it nearly a mile--it was seriously that far, I Google mapped it!:
-Why didn't I dress like that dorky old man with his matching sweatsuit and tennis shoes?! My lil' heels that I had on for over 12 hours weren't too merciful!
-Thanks Chris for asking what coat I wanted to wear for the evening. I wouldn't been a frozen, frustrated mama had I only worn the jacket I had planned on!
-Thank goodness I'm at least semi-healthy because had I had to stop for breathers on my walk--as I saw more than one person needing--I likely would've been more annoyed. It also made me a bit sad that not everyone can simply walk without getting winded.
-Why can't I be more like the lil' boy in front of us who jumping and swinging from his mom and sister's arms as he enjoyed the journey to the Nutter Center versus grumbling under his breath like I was!


Neverheless we finally got there, found Rob and Kate and headed to our seats. If you've never been to this facility before, the way that it is set up is that you walk in at the top and then once inside the arena, you have to walk down the stairs however low your seats are. We suprisingly had great seats, which meant we walked all the way down the stairs! No complaints for this lady! Our seats were the very first row of the permanent seating! Score!

If I were to close my eyes during the concert, based on what I was hearing, I would've expected to see something different that I did. And visa versa and then to add to it all there was practically a light show going on the whole time. A few times in the concert, the band members left the main stage for a smaller stage that just so happened to be directly in front of our seats!

Here are some pics for the evening:

Light Show

Elevating Stage right in front of us.

This pic looks like we went to a Show Girl show. :S

Rockin' it out on the lil' stage!

Overall the Trans Siberian Orchestra was very enjoyable--it was a rock concert, Christmas extravaganza, light/laser show all in one! We definitely wouldn't mind going back--just not at Nutter Center! ;)


After the concert all four of us headed back to our house for the night and my great parents were willing to being Ainsley to us at about midnight when we returned--they are awesome! Ains got to meet Rob & Kate for the first time, and not too much later we were all snuggled into bed! I definitely felt like an old lady though as I can't even remember the last time I was still up after midnight! When 9 o'clock strikes in the Massie household, we all start thinking "bedtime"!


7am came early the next morning--yes, I got up at 7 and was out the door for school by 7:20! Thank you Friday morning treats in the Teacher workroom and Thanksgiving lunch by the Spartan Inn so I didn't have to eat breakfast or pack a lunch!


School went well. I picked Ainsley up from Chris' parents. Changed for spin. Worked out. Headed home. Made homemade pizza & sweet potatoe fries. Enjoyed them with my parents. Then Mom & Dad stayed at our house to watch Ainsley as Mister and I headed to the Mannheim Steamroller concert. I was thankful this concert was only 5 minutes away! We arrived and found our seats and waited for it to begin. As we waited the people in the seats next to us arrived and a woman in her forties that smelled like she just came from a Legion somewhere topped with musky perfume ask me if I was ready to rock out with her. I said "Sure! I have no idea what to expect tonight!"


Well I listened to the music, she rocked out, and I got most of my entertainment that evening from watching her from the corner of my eye! The concert was enjoyable, a bit quirky and hard not to think that Mannheim Steamroller was a bit of wannabe TSO! [Largely in part oof their dated videos & effects!]


It was nice to have just a ten-minute drive home including waiting for the silly train versus the nearing 2-hour drive the previous night! Even nicer was to come home to all of our dishes being washed! You may have heard the saying, "All means all and that's all all means." Well in our case, all our dishes means a whole heck of a lot of dirty dishes! Thanks Dad and Momma-cita! You're the best! Even if you hadn't done the dishes!


So all in all, we had two different, but enjoyable experiences! We decided if the opportunity was there again, see them both if we won tickets to Mannheim Steamroller and we'd pay to see Trans Siberian Orchestra just not at the Nutter Center!

Dear Ainsley [12 weeks]

Ains:


12 weeks old! Can you believe it? I wonder if you can believe at all at this point?! At 12 weeks, I feel like it's at the point that we start to refer to you in terms on months not weeks! My, how the time has flown! I'm trying to hold on to each moment!


Monday you accomplished quite the amazing accomplishment! You said your first word!! You and I were upstairs at TFC because you were so chatting while the meeting was supposed to have a more serious mood. As we set up on the couch, you spat your pacifier out so as I offered backed to you, I asked, "Do you want your paci?" Right on cue, you yapped, "Yeaaa!" Stan from the kitchen immediately jolted his head towards us and confusingly asked, "Did she just responded to you?!" I confessed that you did, but it was purely coincidental! It was so neat though! Your Papa and I love to have "conversations" with you. As you coo and "talk" we'll have a conversation and then laugh uncontrollably as your expressions match up with what we are saying!


This week was a funky week as far as our schedules. On Thursday and Friday evenings, your papa and I went to concerts. This meant more quality time that you got to share with Grandpa and Grandmomma Clum, but this also meant more time we spent a part. After a bit of a fussy evening on Friday, we decided that you just missed us, so we snuggled the night away! Thanks to our funky schedule, my body's schedule was a bit funky as well! Something you won't fully understand until you are a mother yourself, just like I didn't understand what the discharge nurse meant when  she said I'd feel like cement when my milk came in. Let's just say, I felt like cement. After feeding you, I went out to the living room to pump out that cement! Shortly thereafter you were stirring and so was Papa. He came out and said he needed to give you a bath because you were all wet. He blamed it on a full diaper, but in reality it was my fault! :S This is the downfall of our bodies being so incredibly smart and adapting to your demand. When schedules switch, the body can't immediately adjust. Oh, well. Clothes can be washed! While you were being washed, your papa was talking to  you as usual, then the cutest was after he was done bathing you, I heard him say, "You did it! Give me a high 5!" You two are too cute!

12 Week Slobber Box

Well baby girl, happy 12 weeks almost 3 months! Looking forward to a short 1.5 work week and lots of family time!


Love,
Momma

Dear Ainsley [Week 11]

Dear Ainsley,

This past week was one long week lil' girl! I had Parent-Teacher conferences so my usual 7-hour day quickly turned into a 12-hour day. That's a lotta missing you--and your papa! Thankfully you're still too young to really miss me, or that would've broke my heart! Those long days just make me thankful that Thanksgiving aka 3.5 days off of school is right around the corner and Christmas break isn't too far either! Waaahhoooo!

In addition to two long days of PT conferences this week, we also went to 2 banquets and had our first overnight guests since you were born. Your papa's best friend Josh and his lovely wife Leslie came to visit this weekend. You see they are going to be going overseas to do humanitarian work for three years and so they were visiting in order to raise support. We loved showing you off to our great friends and loved watching them interact with you. The next couple of years while they are overseas you won't get to see them much, or at all, but your papa and I can't help but look forward to when they have a lil' one for you to be great friends with as well!!

Two other things to note about this week are your smiles and your sleeping. Most nights you wake up just one time to eat and then are out the rest of the night. Sometimes of course you sleep the whole night through! We never thought you'd sleep so well from the beginning and are already dreading your future little brother or sister's potential sleeping habits! I'm also thinking you may be a sleep walker like your momma--I'll have to tell you those stories when you get older--because boy do you wiggle at night. Squirming and worming but perfectly content.

When you wake you are such a smile box. I love the weekends when I get to be with you as you wake because you just smile and smile and smile. Papa and I love just laying in bed watching your smiles. It's so contagious!

You're growing so big so quickly. I'm doing my best to treasure each moment!

Love you more than you'll know!
Momma

Dear Ainsley [Week 10]

Princess--


You are a whooping 10 weeks old. Your personality is budding and I'm so excited to see what it's going to become. What parts of it will you get from me? What will you get from your papa? I know one thing you haven't got from me is your morning cheer! I'm not sure if it's because you're well-rested or because your stomach is nice and settled but in the morning you tend to be all smiles! It's one of the things I look forward to on the weekends! [Usually during the week your still snug as a bug in a rug next to Papa as I slip out of bed and kiss you good-bye!]

10 weeks

This week you accomplished a new feat as well. For two nights in a row, you slept a full 7 hours between waking/feeding! Each morning after your siesta I woke surprise and a bit confused thinking perhaps I slept through your crying. I didn't though. You just slept like a champ! :) Even just last night when I thought for sure you'd be up most the night because you slept sooo much the day before. Was I right? Nope! We went to bed a bit after 10 [your parents are real party animals now!] and it's 9am now [really 10am with daylights savings] and I  annoyed woke you to try to feed you no avail! I hope you're just becoming a great sleeper!


Perhaps the reason you are sleeping well is because you have a touch of something. The only affect it has had on you is a snotty nose. Now other's snot is absolutely dis-guisting to me, but worse than other's snot is a nose full of snot! So I've been picking away! Sick. I know. But as a friend and I discussed yesterday, much of what we think as gross pre-parenthood is complete normal in parenthood. Thanks for making picking your nose and examining your poo normal! It's just the beginning, I'm sure!

Being crazy is completely normal now!
:)

Love,
Momma

A Tasty Tastefully Simple Party

Last night in lieu of our regular Girl’s Night, I hosted a Tastefully Simple party at our house—which was perfect for girls night, because us gals like to eat! J

A couple weeks ago I received my party pack in the mail, complete with ingredients to make some yummy—tasty Tastefully Simple products to try out at the party.

I had low numbers for the party, so we all got to eat our full sample through the catalog.

We tried the Malted Cocoa drink.

Lots of Dips/Spreads: Artichoke & Spinach Warm, Fiesta Party, Olive & Herb Cheese Ball, Spinach & Herb, Onion Onion, Key Lime Cheese Ball with Twisty Grahams, Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam, and Tripleberry Fruit Spread.

A few sauces: Vidalia Onion Dressing, Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce, Bayou Bourbon Glaze, and Merlot Sauce.

And a couple odds and ends things like: Blue Aztec Chips, Creamy Wild Rice Soup, Caramel Cinnamon Sprinkles, Nana’s Apple Cake, and of course Bountiful Beer Bread.

Overall I think the Artichoke & Spinach as well as the Key Lime were favs last night! Well and of course the Beer Bread! J

The best part was after orders were placed and we all had our fill, the leftovers were put into my fridge! Any guesses as to what’s on the menu tonight? ;-)

If any of you—whoever you are—would like to try out any of these Tastefully Simply products, I would love it if you ordered through “my party”! Everything we tried last night was pretty de-licious and the best part of their products is that you only need to add 1-2 ingredients and they are good to go! [On the flip side, they are versatile so if you want to use them more elaborately, they work great that way too.]

So if you’d like to order something, go to www.tastefullysimple.com/web/korchard. Just make sure that Kristi Orchard is marked as your consultant and Rachel Massie is your host. The products can be shipped directly to you. If you are planning on ordering LESS than $57.92, let me know and I have a way to cut down on your shipping costs. [Why that odd amount?! Because I’m a math teach and love to crunch numbers! J My Crunching = Your Savings!] My party closes on Friday [Nov. 11th], so all purchases need to be made by then.

If online isn’t your thing, let me know and I’ll get you a catalog and/or a paper order form. Just let me know through email/Facebook/phone/comment!

Even if you don’t want to order a thing, if you are ever invited to a Tastefully Simple party, GO! It’s like a free, delicious meal you didn’t have to prepare! ;-)

Happy Halloweenie!

*This was written and not posted on Sunday evening. I just needed to add pics but Ains woke up and needed some cuddling so blogging just had to wait. She takes priority! :)*

This morning when heading to church it wasn't a decision whether or not we'd be walking because instead of heading to LBT, we were off to Southside [my Wednesday night church] to comemerate a special occasion. This weekend marked what would've been my Grandma & Grandpa Cow's 50th wedding anniversary. Yet instead of attending a celebration of sorts to honor this milestone, my family got together to show support of my grandma and in remembrance of my grandpa. Grandma purchased altar flowers to honor the occasion and the sanctuary was adorn with 4 beautiful banners that the church purchased with monies donated in my grandpa's honor.

After church we headed to my parents' for some of my Momma's Mac & Cheese and trick-or-treating. Sondra rode home with us "to help watch Ainsley" so the drive went quickly as we discussed the color of eyes, spelled everything from car to jack-o-lantern, debated what to do with our hands while we prayed, and tried to explain the definition of "included" to a 4-year old. [That's difficult! I'll have to come up with a better explanation for when Ains poses that question because I ended up saying, "Ask your mom! She'll know." :)]

We enjoyed our body weight in mac & cheese and waited for 3 o'clock to roll around for Trick-or-Treating to begin. The list of characters in the Clum household consisted of Batgirl, The Bachelor, and a Lil' Chickadee!

I'd say they were a pretty good looking crew!

Stuart was satisfied with his loot after a couple houses and Sondra made it down the street and back before we just stayed at my parents as they passed out candy. Oh, and Ainsley? She was a sleeping Chick after about 2 houses. Which was just fine since I was not one of those mom's who was taking my 2-month old trick-or-treating so I could eat all her candy! :)

After about 350 kiddos, my parents ran out of candy and we all headed in!

Ainsley's first Halloween/Trick-or-Treat? Success.

In other news, I've accomplished a couple more goals as of late.

Goal #32: Hit the snooze button no more than 1 time for a week straight.
Getting up in the morning just isn't my thing. It doesn't matter if it's 6am or 11am, if it ain't Christmas morning, getting out of bed is not on my top priority list! All comfy and snuggly, why would anyone want to leave that place?! When Mister and I were first married one of the things he just "didn't get" was that I'd set my alarm at a time knowing I was just going to hit the snooze. It made perfect sense to me. Not so much to him! So that was the inspiration for this goal, and not this past week [I hit the snooze plenty then!], but the week before, I accomplished it!

Goal #76 Smile while petting a cat. [Although I know this won’t be a “fun” one!]
I hate cats. Period. Ask anyone who knows me decently well and they'll know this tidbit. The root of this hatred is actually largely fear. Not only are cats so dang mysterious and they'll going from purring and "cute" [so to speak, not in my mind] to hissing and attacking. I just never know what they'll thinking! Anyways, when I was a wee lil' one, I had repetitive dreams nightmares about cats attacking me in Wapak's high school cafeteria. So as long as I can remember, I've dispised avoided them at all costs. [I also had repetitive dreams about a big green dinosaur chasing me through Big Bear, but that didn't have the same effect!] A couple weeks ago, at TFC's Fall Bash though, I did indeed pet a cat, which was big enough in and of itself, but I was also fake smiling while I did it. I asked Chris to record it with a pic, BUT I can't find it!