I Believe She's Amazing Flash Mob

And this...

A flash mob dance organized by Kim MacGregor of IBelieveShesAmazing.com in honor of her great friend, Erika Heller, who passed away in May of 2009 at 31 years old.

MacGregor wanted to start a grassroots movement to celebrate people like Erika, the amazing everyday woman, and the importance of these women in our lives.

She posted the video on YouTube under the moniker 1MillionAmazingWomen with the hope that one million viewers would take the time to acknowledge and celebrate the amazing woman or women in their lives.

The flash mob included 200 people.  Apparently, 80 or so were actual dancers from MacGregor's daughter's dance troop.  The others heard about the flash mob through e-mail or social media and wanted to take part.

You have to watch the video in full screen for the full impact.  The core dancers of young girls and women are just beautiful, but take some time to catch the everyday dancers interspersed on the periphery -- you'll find little girls, middle-aged women, older women, young men, older gentlemen, each dancing with as much feeling and emotion as the next.

When the music stopped, each dancer held up a picture of their own amazing/inspiring woman.

Then, the dancers slowly dispersed into the mall crowds as if nothing completely amazing just happened.

I'm not crying...you're crying.

(For full-screen viewing, double-click on the title)

 

Credits:

YouTube Channel: 1MillionAmazingWomen

Published on May 28, 2010

From the video show notes:

"Kim MacGregor organized this flash mob of 200 dancers to launch the "feel good" movement, "I Believe She's Amazing" in honor of her friend Erika Heller who passed away May 28th, 2009 at 31 yrs. old...this is her living legacy. The amazing choreographers and dancers pulled this together in just one-6 hr rehearsal the day before the shoot."

Song: I Believe by Yolanda Adams from the soundtrack to the movie Honey starring Jessica Alba

Reflections of Motherhood Video by Scott Stratten

Saw this video recently...

Parenting is the most rewarding yet difficult thing I get to do daily.

Sometimes I feel proud...like I'm doing pretty well.  Other times...not so much, which is what makes videos like the one below by UnMarketing.com so welcome and inspiring.

The video montage was uploaded and inspired by Scott Stratten of UnPodcast. According to his show notes: We asked moms if they could go back to before their first baby, what would they tell themselves. These are their answers. Everyone in the video is a mom :)

You will note the video screen size is too big for this blog post, which means you can't see the full screen.  I've tinkered with the HTML trying to reduce the dimensions, but I can't get it to work yet.

For now, double-click on the video title, Reflections of Motherhood, so you can watch the video in full screen.  It will be worth it.




Credits:

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/taDqKWWPDAY

Uploaded by Scott Stratten of UnPodcast - Check out his YouTube Channel
Published on Aug 30, 2010

Produced by UnMarketing http://www.Un-Marketing.com

Additional Credits (per YouTube video show notes): 

Original Post Sponsor: Nummies Maternity Bras http://www.Nummies.com

Song: "Days Away" by InAshton http://www.facebook.com/inashton

Photography: Sara Collaton http://www.SaraCollaton.com

Yesterday

Last night was fun.

We had a late dinner and all Kate wanted to do was go outside which we did...at 8:00 p.m.

It is getting darker earlier now, but the neighbor kids were also outside. Kate essentially spent the time running from one lawn to another and she is a kick to watch. She is a speed demon, for sure. Dave said she reminds him of a little Scottie dog when she runs, a scurry of blurred feet.

The neighbor girl was trying out her roller skates and Jackie and the neighbor boy were trying to fly a kite...at night with no wind. That was fun to watch, the two of them running at top speed, Jackie with the string and the boy lagging behind with the kite and Jackie saying, "Okay, let go now!" A little Charlie Brownish what with the maple (?) trees looming every 5 to 10 feet but lo and behold, the kite did get up in the air many times for a few seconds anyway.

Too soon it became even darker, but the two boys across the street ran over for an impromptu tag session with the neighbor boy (with the mother warning, "Okay, but only for 5 minutes).

Jackie and Kate stayed on our front lawn. Kate did somersaults in dizzying circles and Jackie tried to do flips with me by holding my hands, planting her feet on my thighs and then flipping backwards. Both did their things with many glances at the neighbor kids to see if they were watching.

Soon the boys' 'five' minutes were up and they went back home and the neighbor kids went inside and it was just me and my two girls.

Jackie and Kate raced each other across the neighboring front lawns and I laughed at my Scottie dog.

We saw one lone lightning bug who apparently did not wish to be caught.

Then, we went inside.

Fourth Grade...

First day of Fourth Grade was yesterday. I didn't catch the brown boots in this picture. Can you tell the backpack weighs more than her? Kate is sad because she did not have a backpack but Jackie had her carry her lunch bag (which is like a mini-backpack and which she got from Grandma). She's a smart kid and though I wish the little one was cooperating for the middle picture, I really love Jackie's expression and body langunage in it. She finds Kate trying at times, but she loves her more than anything. You're gonna have a great year, Jackie. Love ya. Mom and Dad. NOTE: If you look closely at the left side of her backpack, you can see the bead buddy made by her cousin Sara hanging off a zipper pull.

Today was a nice day. We had lunch with Uncle Brian and then went to see Karate Kid with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. Last year Jackie was upset because some kids teased her and called her Jackie Chan - of course because her name is Jackie and she is Asian. I really wanted Jackie to see a Jackie Chan movie before school started because, quite frankly, Jackie Chan is awesome. He works really hard and does all his own stunts and he is funny. Jackie loved the movie, so my hope is if someone calls her Jackie Chan this year she will say, "Have you seen him in Karate Kid? Wasn't he awesome?"

Anyway, after the movie we came back to our house for a very simple dinner of which Kate ate none but, to her credit, when she asked for a fudgsicle later and I said essentially 'no', she did not put up a fuss. After Brian went home, Jackie and I worked on her two major dance numbers for her Annie play which is coming up this Friday and Saturday. It has been so fun watching these kids over last couple months. They really have worked very hard and have had so much fun working on this production. Jackie was a trooper tonight because it was late and she was very tired, but we watched the videos of Never Fully Dressed and Hard Knock Life and went over the routines and over the routines and over the routines so she could be more comfortable with her numbers. (I videotaped a couple of their practices with the choreographer, Ms. Jennifer - thanks Mom for letting us borrow the camera and burning the discs for us. Someday I'll be a grownup and learn how to be more proficient with the computer.) The kids have done great. It has been fun to watch each kid grow and develop over the last couple months.

Jackie starts school in a week and a half. I think she is ready, but I think she also enjoyed this summer. She got to try new things and spent some great quality time with her cousins. She is very, very happy that she will be getting off the bus at Grandpa's again this year. I am too. It's been really neat to watch Jackie and Dad's relationship develop over the last couple years. It's also really comforting to know that Jackie can talk to Grandpa about her day if she needs to. Plus, this means Kate will see Grandpa and Grandma often, which she loves.

Grandma has been stocking Jackie with school clothes over the past year. I did a quick count to see what we needed to fill in but Grandma scored three tan pants, three navy blue pants, one navy blue skirt, two short sleeve white shirts, three long sleeve white shirts and one dark turtle neck. I think we are actually pretty well set!! Thank you!! Grandma also went on a 40 mile bike ride today in Rolling Prairie. 40 miles is farther than LaPorte, and it takes about 40-45 minutes to drive there. Zoiks. You rock, Grandma.

Well, suppose I should turn in. I am up late because Kate's Mimi rag doll has been in desparate need of a bath so I snuck it from her bed and into the washing machine after she went to sleep.

Well-intentioned Plans

I have dishes, laundry (and laundry and laundry) and thoughts of running today, but so far all I have accomplished is:

...omelettes for breakfast with green pepper and tomatoes from garden (yum)

...being Bat Cat (from Charlie and Lola with mask made by JJ)

...being a Prince (as directed by Kate)

Enjoying...

Jackie is enjoying:

* Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief movie (she already read the book)

* 'Annie' rehearsals

Kate is enjoying:

* playing with the toys that she hasn't played with in forever but now loves because they are in the going to Goodwill pile (of course)

* the pink nighttime sky: 'It is going to rain,' says she.

* Charlie and Lola episodes on YouTube

Dave is enjoying:

* unexpected phone calls and e-mails from Pat in Africa

* 'Sea of Monsters' book - 2nd in the Percy Jackson series

I am enjoying:

* online community at Runner's World.com. Really, really, really need to get running again. I wonder if the Potato Creek Triathlon at the end of September is too much to expect.

* listening to Kate sing to herself as she plays with her new-found old toys

* Jackie's interest in Michael Jackson. We've been watching Thriller, Beat It, I'm Bad, etc., on YouTube.

Oh, and you can also find Cha Cha Slide on YouTube, too, much to the girls' delight.

Shabby Blogs Website

I just stumbled across the Shabby Blogs website while searching how to add some buttons.

See the two buttons on the sidebar (Welcome Family and Friends and Journey)?  Those were free from the Shabby Blogs site which is fun to check out.  Hopefully, I did the link to the site right.  You should be able to just click on the title and it will direct you there.

Okay, no more posts from me today.  Have a good night one and all!

First T-Ball

Kate started t-ball last week. It's so much fun to watch. At this age, most of the kids' shirts hang past their knees when untucked and their hats hang over their eyes. They're not sure why they can't just walk off the field and, say, go to the big park just over yonder.

For Kate, waiting in line to bat is the hardest. When I asked her which she liked best, throwing, catching or hitting, she said throwing and to tell you the truth, she's got a pretty good arm.

It's the Hard Knock Life

It's all about Annie here, all day, all the time.

JJ's playing one of the orphans at a local Church production of Annie in Niles, Michigan.  It's amazing, really, how much effort is being put into the play by the Church. We've been listening to the Annie CD of all the songs over ... and over... and over... :0)

JJ's very excited and has been singing and dancing her heart out and getting little sis to join in.  Kate sings parts of 'It's a Hard Knock Life' with great enthusiasm. 

It's too bad she's so young.  She would have made an adorable orphan, too.

So this is why I am not an IT professional

Having trouble adding more than one picture at a time.  Will try again.  Excuse multiple postings....ahem.

Back from a long absence

Has it been five months since the last post?

Oy.

And now that I'm back, I am only going to do a post-a-pic and run.  Here are some pictures to share from our most recent weekend at the campground.  Thought it would be the fastest way to share the photos without clogging up anyone's computer.

Build a bears by Jackie

How WE love build a bears. you ASk how mAnY wE hAvE?

From freespiritknits.blogspot.com:

making space for what matters most


You know you have a clutter issue when you are blogging about clutter. This image is actually also my first attempt to add a button to my sidebar - it worked!

Are you drowning in paper/stuff/toys/paper/paper/paper like our family? No? It's just me? Okay, well, my name is Kari and I have a clutter/organization issue. It has contributed to the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) of our house for too long (credit FlyLady for that acronym - yes, it's sad I know about FlyLady). Anyway, I'm challenging myself to reduce the clutter in my house so I can create space for what matters most. I will gather one bag a night to put in the car for Goodwill (have you seen my basement? No, of course not, and this is why!) If I do not do that, I will pick one drawer, one stack, one cupboard (you get the point) a night. If I ever get to the point that I've tackled every pile, corner, nook and cranny, then I will start over.

Here's Day 1 of the COAT challenge (Come Over Any Time):

Scrub scrub scrubbed my stove. Is that clutter? Don't know, but the kicker was when my sister (Hi Megs) thought I had dark burners. Nope, they're light grey, just like yours. Ew, I know. Anyway, they're light grey again and wow are they pretty. Looks so much better, and then I moved onto the microwave. I would have taken a picture of my stove to post here but then you'd think man does she have too much time on her hands.

You not touch my band-aid

Many tears from the little one today.

She got her second boosters of both the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines.  Many, many tears and concerns about people touching her band-aid.

Didn't want Dave to dress her for school after because she thought he might take off the band-aid. 

Didn't want to take a bath tonight because she thought I might take off her band-aid, or that the band-aid might inadvertently fall off in the water. 

The whole time I was washing her it was, "Don't get soap on my band-aid", "You not touch my band-aid", "You not get water on my band-aid" to which I responded, "I won't get soap on your band-aid", "I'm not touching your band-aid", "I'm not even looking at your band-aid", "What band-aid? Do you have a band-aid?"

Oy.


[Dora, enjoying Grandma-made mattress and quilt]

At least some of us are sleeping well tonight.

the very very quick post

In the mad dash that is our weekday mornings around here, I am blogging. 

Does that make sense to you?

I am very excited because I actually am taking steps to enter the digital era and purchased a small flash drive (?) so i can download my pictures to that which means I am not worried about taking up memory (?) on the computer anymore which means I can actually take and share the cute pictures that I've taken and get back to recording some of the goings on here which was the whole purpose for this blog. (massive run-on sentence but am in hurry)  I did set the timer for 5 minutes so this will be a very quick post.

 Woops, there's the timer.  Am I that slow? Okay, I am giving myself just one more minute which means I will stop writing inane things so I can post a couple really cute pictures (which I did and they are on top rather than below.. still figuring this thing out).

I will leave you with Katie's first joke ever that she told Brian yesterday:

Kate: Knock-knock.
Brian: Who's there?
Kate: Banana.
Brian: Banana who?
Kate: Wot?? I can't hear you....I've got finger in my ear!!!

Apparently, she learned this from Dora the Explorer. Who knew my kid was a comedian.

Well, actually...I think we all know she's a comedian.

Have to run.  Hope everyone has a great week.