Amadeus

I had the privilege of going to Amadeus opening night performance at the Clarence Brown Theater last Thursday. I had such a good time that I am still "enjoying" myself even days later. Just the experience of going to the Theater was amazing. The production was spectacular and me, the audience, into the story, made me love and hate the characters, and feel the emotions and passions of the characters portrayed by the actors. The music was perfect and the opera singers really were fantastic. The lighting and scenery were so integral to creating the atmosphere--there is just nothing like this in a film production.

One of the best scenes was when Siveli first encountered Mozart, quite by accident, while inadvertently hidden in an armchair in a sitting room where he witnessed Mozart acting immature and lude with his soon-to-be fiance. Mozart's music was then played and Siveli talked through his first experience of how the music moved him and how he was so upset that the perfect god-like music was coming from out of the infantile man. The first act made me dislike Mozart and feel pity on Siveli. The second act took me on a different journey to dislike Siveli and feel pity on Mozart. The play was complete with classic themes and mechanics of drama and comedy that told a moving story. I'm so glad that I got to see this production!

I really could write so much more about this! I just wish I had time!

Thomas' first candy

Today, Thomas ate his first piece of bona fide candy. There was no fanfare. In fact, no one noticed until it was too late. Now, we've not come across the point of no return. I would still not want Thomas to have candy for a long time. He simply doesn't need this in his diet.
Here's what happened: Jason gave Joanna three pieces of candy. She sat two down and ate one. At some point she was going to get the other two pieces ... Jason said he spotted Thomas chewing and had something in his raised fist.

Impromptu Family Gathering

Chris and Tracy came over Sunday. They called as they were leaving Lenoir City to let us know they were heading over. Jason and Joanna were napping. Thomas and I were not. His 20 minute post church ride home nap was enough to keep him in the game until 7 p.m. Once they got here, Jason and Chris talked with the neighbor. Then, Rachel called Chris and while they were talking I mentioned she might want to come over, too. Then Tracy texted Canellen and here we all were, enjoying a meal together. Spaghetti with our homemade maranara and grilled chicken. Nice times. I wish I had thought to take a picture!
Joanna wore Chris out bouncing and Thomas dumped over Chris' drink.

Wows on Potty Training.

http://aplaceofourown.org/watch_video.php?type=field&id=435&pos=0&rate=hi&player=rp
Joanna saw this Place of Our Own episode on potty training and she was
interested after that at Thanskgiving at my Dad's house she asked to
go to the potty and Aunt Terri took her.
Today, I found this on the web site. I like Dr. Harvey Karp and that
Place of Our Own show, so I read this
article:  http://aplaceofourown.org/question_detail.php?id=237

A few things jumped out at me. I probably shouldn't quote the whole
article,but here is the big thing: "If your child expresses a
willingness to use the potty, the biggest mistake you can make is to
jump up and down, applaud, and make a huge deal about it. If you blow
it out of proportion, it will backfire on you. Your reaction may scare
the kid. They may start to think that it's too important and won't
want to do it. Some kids will use it against you when they're mad."

Another article:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/potty-training/CC00060/METHOD=print

A Day at the Aquarium

Saturday we got up early and made breakfast. Jason took Joanna out for a jug of milk since we were too low on milk to make gravy with what we had left! Jason's biscuits were the best so far. I cut them out, so that must be why. No, really. He made sure the Crisco was solid instead of melted and used a ratio of butter and Crisco instead of just plain Crisco. They are definitely fluffier.
We talked about what to do for the day. We had such a great weekend last weekend that I wanted another good one together, just having fun. So we did! We thought about going to go to the zoo or the aquarium. The weather was cool enough to do the zoo, but still be hot, maybe too hot. We thought about the aquarium. We thought about going a few weeks ago, so it was an easy decision. Also, after we asked Joanna which she'd rather do, go to see animals or fish, she picked fish. 
The aquarium was busy, but mostly with small kids and babies (with parents of course). I was suprised at how many TINY babies. One was 3 weeks and one was 3 months (but looked 3 weeks and we decided it had to have been born preemie to be that size at 3 months). Jason and I recalled how we kept Joanna in the house for like 6 weeks, then about 4 weeks with Thomas. It's fun to think back on things!
It's also interesting the instant camaraderie parents can have with each other since kids are similar in so many ways.
Joanna behaved fantastically. She liked the activity center but loved the penguins play area.
We went to stride-rite in Tanger outlets to get Thomas his first pair of shoes. They are blue tennis shoes and they are not baby shoes at all. He skipped that. He's wearing size 6W. We got Joanna's foot measured again and she's at 7.5W and got a size 8 shoe.  Thomas is so big it is amazing. I bet the admission person almost didn't believe he was only 11 months. He does look like a baby still, though!
It was wonderful being together as a family, relaxing together doing something fun. A big A+ in my book.

Joanna's scraped chin

Joanna took a spill down Nana's porch stairs today and has a big ol bruise on her chin. Ouch. She cried a little about it when she told me. Later, when we told Daddy what happened, she wasn't upset about it any more. I asked her if Nana gave her a big hug to make her feel better and she said "Yes." I asked her if she kissed her boo boo. she said "No".

How to Make a Freezer Tomato Pot

I read this article that caught my eye while I was looking at tomato sauce recipes.

It's a good idea!