My Photos: W/E 8-18-12

It has been a few weeks since I've had the chance to share my favorite photos.  This is partially due to lack of time and partially due to lack of photos.  I have not been the camera-happy person that I usually am, but I think I'm starting to snap out of it.  Back-to-school time means lots of preparations, shopping for clothes and supplies, making sure everything is labeled, fitting in check-ups at the pediatrician, dentist, and eye doctor.  I also have to mentally adjust to having to pay for lunches for three children rather than the one and for buying supplies for three classrooms rather than one.  We also had to adjust to finding out that our daughter will need to take a year off from dance classes because the studio doesn't offer classes for her age that start after she gets off the school bus during the week.

Anyways, below are some of my favorite photos from last week.  If you missed it, I had also shared photos recently of the lion dance from the August Moon Festival we had attended.

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"Looking Towards the Future"

"The Last Dance" 

"Not Ready for Back-to-School"

Click here to view all my past favorite photos.

Transitioning from Ballet to Jazz/Hip Hop with We Love Colors Dancewear

For the most recent Fall and Spring seasons, our 5 year old daughter had been taking pre-ballet/jazz at a local dance studio.  The class was more centered around ballet than jazz, but she did enjoy it and proved to be quite graceful.  This summer, she is sampling a jazz/hip hop class for 6 weeks.  So far, she seems to be having fun and I will likely sign her up for the full year of jazz/hip hop for the coming Fall and Spring seasons. Our daughter is a very pensive careful person, so I am hoping that this class will help teach her to let loose a little now and then.

The arrival of her new fun and colorful Splash Color Scoop Neck Leotard and Kids Microfiber Footless Tights was timed just perfectly by We Love Colors Inc., a Miami-based family-run company that is known for both its hosiery and dancewear for men, women, and girls.  Our daughter had 7 colors to choose from for the Splash Color Leotard and then, based on her choice, I selected the color of the tights.  With 51 colors to choose from, you do not want to know how long it took me to decide on one.  I ultimately went with the ultra-versatile Ivory.

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Our daughter is wearing a size 6-8 in the leotard and a 4-6 in the footless tights.  I think I made the perfect choices for sizes.  The leotard fits, but is barely stretched out at all, so she has room to grow.  This is after we machine washed it in cold on the gentle cycle (even though hand washing is recommended) and we let it drip dry.  There was no fading, pilling, or shrinking that I could detect.  The tights are super-soft.  I was worried that a size 4-6 would be too small for our daughter, but the rise, the waist, and the length were perfect.

Through August 31st, 2012 We Love Colors Inc. is offering Free shipping to Australia and New Zealand with any order of $50 or more when you checkout with Code: WELOVEAUS2012.  There is flat rate shipping of just $5 for U.S. orders.  Visit WeLoveColors.com and We Love Colors on Facebook to see their vast selection of tights and dancewear products.


Thank you to We Love Colors, Inc for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.

My Photos: W/E 6-2-12

Last week was a busy one!  We had Memorial Day weekend, a playdate, dress rehearsal for dance, soccer practice, a speech session, a soccer game, and a dance recital.  Need I go on?  I think I need a nap just thinking about all we had scheduled last week.  Actually, forget about the nap!  I want to sleep for 2 or 3 days a week straight.

This week I have to get together our end-of-the-year teachers' gifts.  Be sure to look for a fun free printable I made especially for that occasion!  I also will be attending a Bug Parade (if I can confirm that younger siblings are welcome), where all the children will be wearing homemade insect costumes, at my second grader's school.  Hopefully I will have some fun photos to share of that.

Speaking of naps . . .

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"This One's a Snorer"

"It's a Bird!  It's a Plane!  It's . . . Spiderman?"

And here are some photos of our daughter before her dress rehearsal.  She was a little nervous about getting up on the stage for the first time ever, but ended up doing great at both the rehearsal and the recital.

Click here to view all my past favorite photos.

New Disney's "Shake It Up" Dancewear Collection by ivivva athletica

Our daughter only began taking dance classes less than a year ago.  Although it is too soon to know if she will be an aspiring dancer someday, we can already tell that she is thoroughly enjoying it.  She has a natural grace (for a 5 year old) and she is not too timid to try new steps demonstrated by her instructor.  When she dances, even when her moves have yet to be perfected, she does so with confidence and a smile on her face.  That is the spirit captured by this new line of dancewear for girls.

This new dancewear collection by ivivva athletica, the girls' dance apparel division of the Canadian company lululemon athletica, was inspired by the hit Disney show "Shake It Up".  The video below shows a quick overview of the 2012 Spring Collection and will make you wonder what is to come for the upcoming Summer, Fall, and Winter seasons . . .




Although our daughter is just under the age group for the "Shake It Up" target audience, the Shake It Up dancewear is a huge hit as far as she is concerned.  We had received the Shrug It Up shrug the Tumblin' Tank II, and the Stretch It Up Tight tights to try out.  Although the clothing is fitted, it is in no way restrictive and the styles and prints are suitable for young girls and tweens.  Our daughter normally takes a size 5 or 5/6 and there is definitely room for her to grow in these size 6 ivivva pieces.

I especially like the feminine gathers on both the sleeves of the shrug and the legs of the tights.  Our daughter was just thrilled with the thumb holes on her sleeves.  They made her feel like a real dancer.  The shrug can also be worn by flipping the front hem behind the neck to look like a more traditional shrug.  This is perfect for wearing over her tank style leotards during the colder months since I prefer not to buy her different leotards for each season.  A cool feature about the tights, which our daughter can wear as leggings since they are a little large on her, is the hidden pocket in the waistband on the back.

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All three pieces came out of the washer and dryer looking as great as they went in.  I did not see any signs of shrinking either.  Most of the ivivva Shake It Up dancewear pieces are available in girls' sizes 4 to 14.  From our experience, these pieces seem to run true to size.  Visit www.ivivva.com and ivivva athletica on Facebook to view the entire Shake It Up Collection.  Overall, this collection would be perfect for girls who are dancers, gymnasts, cheerleaders, and other types of athletes.


Thank you to lululemon athletica for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.

Silly Monkey Stories: Can't Argue With a Preschooler's Logic

Last week, all the students in our daughter's dance class were invited to come to class wearing their Halloween costumes.  Makenzie was dressed as Little Bo Peep minus the hat and oversized crook.  Her twin brother Luke did not want to be left out, so he wore his Darth Vader mask.  His Halloween costume was actually Iron Man, but he wanted to save it for Halloween night.

Every week at dance class, Luke stays with me in the waiting area.  He usually brings some toys, but mainly he likes interacting with the other siblings who are also waiting for their sisters.  There is one particular mom at dance class who is always nice to Luke.

Last week, this mom commented about how Makenzie is always smiling no matter what she is doing.  Then she asked Luke whether Makenzie ever cries at home or ever yells.  He told her yes, of course.  Then she asked him if Makenzie ever talked back to her mommy.  To this he answered . . .

. . . "NO!  She can't talk back to MumMum because Kenzie doesn't have a phone!!"

How could the woman argue with that?  She just looked at me and we both started laughing.  Then she told Luke what a smart boy he was.

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My Photos (W/E 7-16-11)

Our 4.5 year old daughter had her first ballet class last week.  Luckily I was not the only parent their all excited, commenting about how adorable all the students were, and taking photos.  I was, however, the only parent who took about 150 photos.  I'm not crazy and obsessive.  I had doubts that many of my photos would come out well because I was using my little point and shoot, I was shooting through a glass window, and I was not using a flash to eliminate any reflection.

I did share a few photos on Facebook, but I liked this one because . . . well, I've always had a soft spot for photos from behind.  It was not the best quality photo, so I had to do a little photo editing.  So do you like the colored or the black and white better?

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Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus a.k.a. Sarcastic Mom.