dance classes and halloween - Fall is Here!

I'm being boring today, I know, but I've not been doing well with my blogging, so I wanted to just do a quick catch-up of family life ...

My daughter started her dance class again, last night. Last year she started taking ballet and tap. (The Park District offers a combined class, once a week, for her age group.) This year they've added jazz dance to the mix. They have a total of 45 minutes to touch upon all three dance categories, once a week. I don't know how much she'll learn, but I know I know she has fun. At 5 years of age, that's really all I care about. (Although, I was impressed with her at her last recital. She did a good job, far better than what any of were expecting out of a 4 year old on a big stage for the very first time!!) Two of the girls that she became friends with last year are in her class again. They were all very excited, and there's already talk of playdates galore. How nice it is for her to have friends that are girls. (At church the kids her age are mostly boys, and she plays with them pretty well ... unfortunately, they're starting to get to the age when the boys don't always want to play with her.) I was in awe of all the estrogen in the waiting room ... there are no less than 3 [obviously] pregnant women, one 5 month old, and two 2 year olds. Yikes. I was suprised my husband didn't go running from the room. (It was unusual that he was there, though, and maybe that's what led him to stay!?)

Halloween is coming up, and what do you think my children want to sress up as!??? Who else but Harry Potter. --They ARE their mother's children. I found a neat wizard's robes pattern, and thought it would be neat to make those for them to wear. Then, the other day we were at Target and my daughter saw the Harry Potter costume, complete with glasses. Now she wants that. I told her I'd talk to Daddy (meaning, I need daddy to back me up, here), and Daddy said he'd think about it. The whole reason we're hesitating is that I've always made the Halloween costumes. It's a pain. It's stressful. But the purpose of it is that the kids get to be individuals. Nobody else has a costume like their's. They'll also be able to look back and remember the neat (I hope) thinngs Mama did for them. We also try to buy items for the costumes that they can wear in other ways, for a good long while. Costumes cost money, and we feel it's a more justified buy if there are multiple uses. Are we weird?? Maybe we're being ridiculous, and stressing our selves out for no real reason.