Dance Mom Survival Guide

2 of my daughters dance.

And if any of your kids dance then you know, recital time is here.  Recitals mean many things, makeup, hair, costumes, finding things for your kids to do backstage.  I've put together a simple recital guide.  Let's start from the top down.

Hair
I suck at hair. I'm horrible at it.  One of the best tips I recently received was to wet your daughter's hair before putting it in a ponytail.  I personally don't like the doughnut bun makers but, many people swear by them.  Pack extra hair supplies for backstage

Make-up
Unless you are told to buy a certain brand, I suggest getting it at the dollar store.  I get the girls' there.  They have  lipstick, eye shadow, blush, everything.  It's especially a great idea if you're only going to use it for recitals.  Make sure to pack extra for backstage, especially lipstick.

Costumes
Invest in a garment bag,  They make actually sell them at the dollar store too.  Put all your costumes on hangers and then put all the accessories (hair pieces, tights, etc) in a bag with the class labeled on it.  If you child has multiple dances a nude camisole leotard is a good idea.  This way they don't have to get completely naked when they change costumes.  

Shoes
Make sure they are clean.  I normally throw the ballet shoes in the washer.  (My girls' are canvas.  Do NOT do this with leather ballet shoes.)  Double check before you leave the house they have have 2 of each of their shoes.  We dump out dance bags and repack them before we leave.

I think that's everything to do with hair, makeup and costumes.  Your studio should give you a list of necessary supplies but, if I forgot anything let me know in the comments!

Now onto backstage stuff.  These tips will make the backstage moms SUPER happy.  I know that it would make me happy if all parents did this.  

Pack your kid some snacks and something to do.  Does your child have food allergies?  Let the backstage mom know!  Kids share snacks.  

Snack tips:

• Nothing sticky
• Nothing gooey
• Nothing messy
• Nothing greasy,  
• No colored drinks.  

Sunny and Mo have pretzels, crackers and water.  I don't pack chips (greasy fingers + expensive costumes = NO GOOD), or fruit snacks (if someone sits on it, it'll stick to their butt and be really hard to get off), or juice (juice = stains).  It's only 3ish hours.  If they can't survive on water and a couple snacks for that long then there's something wrong.  

Some other good options would be:

• Rice cakes
• Pumpkin seeds
• Popcorn (unbuttered)
• Hard granola bars

My best piece of advice if you're a backstage mom?  Chill out.  Clear your mind of anything that might bother or upset you.  The dressing rooms of recitals are loud, crazy, chaotic, and hectic.  I like to do my workout in the morning before the show and forget about everything that is weighing on my mind.

The most important thing tho?  Let your kids know that you're proud of them, let them know how well they did (even if they messed up), and show that you are their biggest supporter.  They will be nervous and possibly scared.  Before her first dance she told me that she wanted to go home and she didn't want to be there anymore.  Reassure them that everything will be okay.  

NaBloPoMo For the Week of May 9th to 15th

Second week of NaBloPoMo Photo Theme.  The photos this week were a bit difficult for me.  But, here's what I came up with.  I promise I will be back soon with some new recipes and health & fitness related posts.  My mind has been blank recently.  If you have any topics you'd like me to cover leave a comment!

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Photo: Light

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Photo: Three

Monday, May 11, 2015

Do you ever secretly snap pictures without the subject knowing? Tell us about a secret shot you've taken.

Occasionally.  It's normally when I'm at the beach.  I take pictures of people who are doing something interesting.  Mo told me that she photographs people all the time without them knowing.  The last person I shot without them knowing was a few months ago, the fog was really thick at the beach and I took a picture of a person walking to me.

Photo: Close

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

What is the hardest subject to photograph?

People.  I have a hard time photographing people.  I did wedding photography for a while and hated it.  Loved the paycheck but, I had a hard time with it.

Photo: Far

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Do you sometimes make recipes due to the accompanying photo?

Yes, all the time.  You eat with your eyes first.  If it's pretty or appetizing, I'll read the accompanying recipe.

Photo: Bokeh

Thursday, May 14, 2015

What place do you want to visit based solely on beautiful photographs that you've seen?

Fiji.  It's so pretty!  The crystal blue water, the gorgeous scenery, I don't just want to visit I want to move there.

Photo: Sun Flare

Friday, May 15, 2015

Have you ever developed a crush on someone due to a photograph?

Nope.  That's just weird.

                        Photo: Black and White                      

NaBloPoMo For the Week of May 2nd to 8th

Every month I try to follow the prompts for NaBloPoMo.  If you've never heard of NaBloPoMo, it stands for National Blog Posting Month.  The goal is to write 1 post a day for the month.  NaBloPoMo assigns a theme for each month and gives daily prompts.  This month's theme is PHOTO.  Most months I can slide the prompt into my posts.  Other months, that plan doesn't work very well.  This is one of those months.  But, as an ex-photographer {do you ever REALLY quit photography?  I might not label myself as a photographer anymore but, I still love my camera and photography is one of the things I love}  I always jump at the chance to take a photo.  And I love it when I can get creative with it.  So, during May, I will be posting my prompt answers and the photos from the prior week (Saturday to Friday.)

For more information on NaBloPoMo click HERE

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Photo: Your Passion

Explanation: This picture is actually a collage of all my passions.  The camera and dumbbell for my love of photography and exercise, my girls in the pool for my love of my kids and the water and the ocean.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Photo: Your Feelings

Explanation:  Recently, I have been feeling very driven.  

Monday, May 4, 2015

Do you think one side of your face photographs better than another?

Nope.  I think both sides of my face photograph the same.  

Photo: Your Energy

Explanation:  My energy seriously comes from being home.  My house is where I gain my strength.  Being in public wears me out.  I come home to recharge.  I love my house, everybody, and everything in it.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

What is your favourite angle for being photographed? Head-on? Slightly above, below, to the side?

Not going to lie.  I have a photo stance.  Every time I pose for a photo I cock my head to the right.  I don't know where it came from or why I started doing it but, I do.  But honestly my favorite angle depends on the photo.  The head cocked angle is my favorite when people are photographing me.  If I'm taking a selfie, my favorite angle is slightly above.

Photo: Your Style

Explanation:  My style is alot like these pictures, childish.  I basically throw on the first thing I find.  

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

How often are you in your photographs?

Hardly ever!  I'm normally the one behind the lens.  Finding a photo of me is hard.

Photo: Your Love
Explanation:  My husband.  

Thursday, May 7, 2015

When was the last time you asked someone to take a picture of you?

When I needed a progress picture taken.  I had Ken take them for me.  

Photo: Your Time
Explanation:  Flying away, just like the bird.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Do you think you smile more honestly when you're taking a selfie or when someone else is photographing you?

When someone else is photographing me, definitely.  My "selfie smile" is more of a grin.  Actually, most of the time I don't think I smile at all in selfies.

Photo: Focus
Expanation:  Just like the fluff Buddie took out of the bear, my focus is scattered.  

Just Another Youtuber?

**Warning:  Shameless plug ahead**

Sunny, my 6 year old, has her life planned out.  She seriously has decided the rest of her life {to an extent.}  During high school she's going to do the culinary program that the school offers.  After high school she's getting a culinary degree.  When she's done with that, she's opening her own restaurant {she's going to be nice and give me a job there.}  On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays she's working at the restaurant.  On Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays she's going to teach dance classes.  OH!  And she's going to be a professional dancer.  

For now, she's obsessed with YouTube.  IhasCupquake, StampyCat, and Nerdy Nummies, are a few of her favorite You-tubers.  So, what's a child, obsessed with cooking and Youtube going to do for fun?  Make YouTube videos, of course!  She has her own YouTube channel.  She hasn't done much but, she loves making them and there are more coming.  

So please, go show her some love.  She works really hard on these.  The ideas are all her own, I just help with the recipe development {and really, I don't do much of that}  

Please, PLEase, PLEASE, click the link below.  

Funny Foods With Carma

Do your kids know what they are going to do with their lives?  

Well, Hello There!

Hey guys!  Remember me?  The blog writer?  The Fit Beach Babe?  The girl who disappears for what seems like a week but ends up being a month and a day?  I'm sorry.  I truly am.  Hopefully the past month has been good to you.

April was crazy for me.  I started working with a few new clients, a local cheer and tumbling gym offered to let me run group classes out of their location so, I've been busy marketing and working on that.  For anyone who's interested, classes will start in May.  Tentatively, they will be Wednesdays at 9 AM in Daytona Beach.  If you're interested please contact me!

Easter was also great.  The girls had a good day.  Unfortunately we missed the community Easter egg hunt due to Mantha having a ballet rehearsal but, I hid eggs on Easter morning.  {Well, Ken hid them, I just filled them} We actually had Easter lunch so Ken could eat with us before he went to work.

The most exciting, {and kind of sad} thing about the month was that my baby girl turned 6. It's crazy.  6 years ago she was tiny and helpless.  Now she's an amazing, wonderful, little lady.  She's got goals and dreams and she knows what she wants in life.  {Those goals and dreams are to be a professional chef and dancer}  She has both her restaurant names picked out.  Her sushi restaurant is going to be name Su-shay.  Yes ladies and gentlemen, Sunny's favorite food is sushi.  She could it it 3 meals a day, 7 days a week.

So, where do you take your sushi-obsessed 6 year old for her birthday dinner?    A sushi restaurant, of course!  We took her to Sakura, the local Japanese hibachi and sushi restaurant.  This place was really nice.

They have one run dedicated to hibachi.  {That's a separate post though.  We're planing on going back for hibachi for Kaylee's birthday}  You can see the hibachi room in the top left picture.  If you sit at the bar you can watch the sushi chef making all the sushi.  That's in the bottom right picture.

We ended up getting 11 orders of sushi.  This picture is just a portion of them.  We stuck with the simple ones.  California rolls, spicy tuna, avocado, asparagus.  They were all delicious.  Prices weren't bad either.  For under $90 we were all stuffed.
For more info on Sakura check out their website:  Sakura Palm Coast

And of course we had to take some time for selfies.  I have 3 girls and they are obsessed with selfies.  I find new ones on my phone every time I get it back from them.  I don't totally get selfies.  I mean, I do but, I don't.  I take selfies only because I'm always the one BEHIND the camera.  According to my Picasa there are like 175 photos of me compared the the 400+ of the girls and Ken.  And 90% of those are selfies.  If I want a picture of me and the girls, I take a selfie {is there a term for a group selfie??}  If I want a photo of me in general, I take a selfie.  99% of them never get posted though.

Oh!  I almost forgot!  Look at this cute necklace I bought Sunny for her birthday.

She for some reason is in love with carrot cake.  I don't even know that she has ever tasted carrot cake but, every time we go to Publix she always asks me for a carrot cake.  I honestly think it's the carrot on top that she likes.  When I found this necklace in the Scrumptious Doodle Etsy shop I knew that it would be perfect for Sunny.  Scrumptious Doodle is awesome.  She has the cutest stuff.  I got Mo taco earrings for her birthday, and Kaylee is getting apple pie earrings for hers.  I'll post a picture of Kaylee's when I get them.  But, below is a picture of Mo's taco earrings.

Scrumptious Doodle is run by a lady named Mareesa.  She makes food themed polymer clay jewelry.   She makes everything from s'mores to cupcakes, tacos to cheeseburgers, and everything in between.  The turn around times and prices for her creations isn't bad.  My first two orders took less than 3 weeks and cost under $20.  I will be a very regular customer of Scrumptious Doodle.  I plan on ordering many more pieces.  My kids are food and jewelry fanatics     If you are looking for food related jewelry, magnets, or charms, click HERE to check out her shop.