short and sweet

The other night after her bath Eloise was telling me that she loved me and that she will always be with me and never leave me.  After a few seconds she updated that statement and said that when she did have to leave home to be a veterinarian she would write a note for me and leave it on the dining room table.  That note would say, "Dear Mom, Don't forget to call Eloise every single day".

I have three reasons for writing this post today.

1.  So I have a record of it just in case I ever even start to forget about it.

2.  So I remember it on the days when it seems like everyone in this house is screaming, crying, or in a time-out, including me.

3.  So I remember to call my own mom and tell her how much I miss her and I that I can't even imagine how much she misses me.

caroling

I.
Love.
Christmas music.

 I can't deny it.  I start listening the day after Thanksgiving and don't stop until December 26th.  I love the fact that there is this giant collection of songs that are reserved only for this short window of time.  I've got to get them while the getting is good and I never get sick of them.

In our house and in our car we pretty much have Christmas carols on all the time.  There is a radio station here that plays them round the clock.  If we ever don't have them on, like, say at 7am when we come down for breakfast, Eloise likes to say "Speaking of (insert whatever we were talking about whether it is related to Christmas carols or not) why aren't we listening to any Christmas music?"  Then we switch on the radio and hope it is not that Home Run Pizza commercial.

I like to belt out  sing just about every Christmas song that comes on and I know most of the words to all of them. (Are you thinking that you are glad you haven't been invited over to our house lately?)  When I am with both girls, Eloise and I like to dance and make up actions to go along with the words.  If it is a really "groovy" one she has to run and put her tutu on.  If I am just with Harriet I like to lip sync along with the radio in an effort to fool her into thinking that I have the voice of  Celine or Mariah...or sometimes Josh.
 I think it's working.

My most favorite Christmas album for years has been Aaron Neville's Soulful Christmas.  It is my dad's favorite as well, and I think I stole it from him originally but have since replaced it.  I am not picky when it comes to my carols though.  I pretty much love them all from the old standards to the new pop-y ones.
This year we added the Glee Christmas album to our collection and, as you can imagine, it is loved by all.  My absolute favorite is Kurt and Blaine's version of Baby It's Cold Outside.  Blaine just makes me swoon.

Very soon after we got the new Glee cd it was cut up and made into a collage for the season.  I was laughing so hard when Eloise had the idea to put the little talk bubbles on Finn and Rachel.  She said, "We should cut out those little circles with the points you know and put one on Rachel that says 'Oh, Finn', and one on Finn that says, 'Oh Rachel', because they are friends, you know, and we can put little hearts around them and stuff."

Speaking of little hearts and stuff, why aren't we listening to any Christmas music?

merry christmas

ode to aquaphor

You might have realized this about me already, but I tend toward the obsessive about a few things.  One of the things that I have been completely obsessed with for years is Aquaphor.  

I started using it for chapped lips about 12 years ago.  If you have ever spent a minimum of 15 minutes with me then you have surely seen me digging around in my purse for a tube of Aquaphor.  Open, dab, dab, dab, click, close and ahhhh.    I slowly began to realize how many things it was great for besides chapped lips.  I use it under my eyes at night, on my cuticles, for hang nails, on little cuts or scrapes, dry skin patches, elbows, feet, for a reddened sore nose during a cold.  Also, more times then I would like to admit I have fooled myself into thinking it was makeup.  A little on the lips, a little on the cheeks and, voila!,  I'm ready for my close up.

I thought I had pretty much exhausted the possibilities of this magic potion and then I had kids.

 Aquaphor, may I present diaper rash, chapped cheeks, eczema, cradle cap, chapped lips and that one time Eloise got a ring stuck on her finger.  Aquaphor, is there anything you can't fix?

Everyone in my house is a devotee to this stuff.  My husband no longer says, "Do we have any Aquaphor?".  He now says, "Where is the nearest Aquaphor?"  He has begun to realize that I have them stashed all over the house and outlying areas.

Please, please, please don't tell me anything bad about Aquaphor's ingredients or potential side effects.   I research practically ever other product and food that comes into this house and it can be such a drag sometimes.  I have purposely never looked up Aquaphor.  I don't want to know because I wouldn't be able to quit it.  I know that it probably isn't perfect but we all have our flaws don't we?

In the meantime I will remain blissfully and blindly happy... and moisturized.

kitchen

purse

eloise's bedside

harriet's bedside

my bedside

car

makeup bag

also makes a great teether

santa

Over the Thanksgiving weekend we took a trip downtown to see Santa Claus.  This is the first time we have visited him and done the traditional sit on the lap for the picture scenario.  In years past we have seen him at various Christmas events and there was that one awkward run in at The Home Depot but we had never made a special outing.  This year Eloise seemed like she was ready and excited.  She totally believes in Santa Claus, as she should, being a four year old.  I hope that I can preserve the magic for a few more years at least.  What I mean is, I hope she doesn't walk in on her dad putting together a dollhouse that her sister receives 'from Santa' the next morning.  Sorry, Dad, I do still blame you after all these years.

We went down to Macy's (really, Marshall Field's) on State Street to view the traditional Christmas windows that they create every year.  This year they consisted of amazing paper sculptures telling the story of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus".  The story is printed on the outside of the windows so it is fun to read it to the little ones while they stand in front of the giant displays that have brought the story to life.

Let me go on record as saying that I am not a fan of Macy's in any way.  I have so many gripes with that company but that is another post entirely.  I will say, however, that the State Street store is amazing.  Beautiful architecture, beautiful decorations, beautiful windows.  On the 5th floor they have Santaland and guess what you find there, folks?

We waited in line for 45 minutes to see Santa.  By 'we', I mean I waited while my sister, Gretchen, disappeared with Eloise who upon her return was wearing a new sparkly headband, carrying a new purse, and holding 6 pairs of Hello Kitty socks.  Aunts are awesome.

As we got closer and closer to meeting Santa I could tell Eloise was freaking out a little bit and not in a good way.  She has a tendency to build things up in her head and she was getting nervous.  I said we would still go in and if she didn't want to talk to him she could just wave and leave.  That seemed to calm her down a little.  We also tried to distract her by taking 432 pictures while in line.

Finally our turn came to see the Big Guy and she was really shy.  He was perfectly nice except he kept calling her Ellie ( she found this unsettling and worried he might deliver her presents to the wrong person).  She stayed very close to me and DID NOT want to sit on Santa's lap.  Frankly, I'm fine with this.  So...my kid doesn't want to sit on some stranger's lap no matter how jolly he is and even if he gives her a peppermint and a button. Totally cool with that.  She managed to utter one thing on her list.  He asked what she would like this year and she quietly said "the head".  I'm sure he knew that she was talking about a lifesize doll's head that had hair that she could style and makeup she could paint on its face.  He knew that, right?

Santa seems to have put some magical spell on Eloise because she has no memory of being scared or uneasy or uncomfortable.  She talks about Santa like they are the best of friends and can't wait until he comes to her house in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve.  She even flip flopped on the whole 'Ellie' thing and later told her dad that Santa had come up with the silliest nickname for her--"because that what friends do, you know".

state street that great street

macy's windows with aunt gretchen

notice the death grip she has on my coat

pulled it together for a photo

came home to write her list

(I have no idea where the barbie obsession 

came from.  we have none.)

carla's magic drum

This past weekend marked the debut of Eloise's musical, Carla's Magic Drum.  It was awesome.

A few months ago I came across a class called Musical Theater at The Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago.  It sounded right up her alley but Mike suggested I first tell her about it and see if she would be interested.  The next morning,  I told her about this class called Musical Theater and it is twelve weeks long and you go with other kids and learn a musical and perform it at the end.  I could barely finish my sentence before she interrupted with, "I wonder what part I will play?"
So...I guess you're interested then?

I knew that it would be fun for her but it far exceeded my expectations.

Every week I dropped her off for one hour and left her in the capable hands of two women that deserve a special place in heaven for what they do.  Miss Julia and Miss Diane wrote the original show and all the songs and taught it to 3 and 4 year olds!  They were the most patient women and treated all the kids equally regardless of ability or talent.  They just seemed to be filled with joy and they made it so much fun for the kids.

Not only did the kids perform the show, they also made most of their props and costumes.  I really loved that aspect of the program because it gave them a chance to show their individuality and creativity in other ways.  Some weeks they worked in the art room and made animal masks, cardboard pizzas, spacesuits out of duct tape, and rainbow streamers.  Does that list of items make the plot of this show sound crazy or what?  It was perfect for this age group.

The day of the show arrived and all her fans (Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Vicki, Oma, and us) were in the audience and so excited.  Eloise was playing Carla, "the main character", as she put it, and she was not one bit nervous.  She knew all of her own role and then seemed to be 'directing' the other kids as well.  I saw a couple quick hand motions to the other kids telling them where to go and what to do. I know she was devastated when Lucas would not stand up at the right time or when Gray stepped on her line a little bit but the show must go on!

 I just loved watching all the kids and their own interpretations of the words and the songs and the dances.  I was very impressed.  I'm not sure who got more joy out of this show, the performers or the audience.  I think I was grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

We will definitely do this again next year for the 5-6 year old group.  In fact, before we had even left the building, she was talking about what part she would have in the next show.

 We headed home with our little star for an Afterglow Reception and that's where her dream day continued.  After asking 100 times, she was finally allowed to set up a face painting booth and left her mark on all of her guests.
She was buzzing with excitement for days.

carla and her drum

duct tape space suit

with her teachers, in  her deer mask

celebratory hot cocoa and applesauce cake

sign for booth

grandpa getting a snake

singing pizza planet

*

that's fall

Years and years ago we saw one of the best shows at Second City that I can remember.  In one of the sketches there was a guy raking leaves and he was talking to another guy. (which I just realized those guys are now these guys). He had a really thick Boston accent and every time they would come to a pause in their conversation he would say, "That's fall".

For some reason that stupid line stuck with me and Mike for years now and we say it all the time to indicate something's awesomeness or perfection and really having nothing to do with autumn whatsoever.  For instance, Mike will take a drink of an ice water that has been sitting for a bit and has just that perfect amount of sweat dripping off the glass and the water is so delicious because it's Illinois tap water, and after a long sip he'll say, "That's fall".

The reference in this post, however, is all about it really being fall.  We are in the midst of a beautiful fall season here with the crisp, but not too cold temperatures, crystal clear, sharp blue skies, and leaves in the most beautiful tones barely clinging to the branches for dear life.

The trees in the back yard are just gorgeous right now.  Everything is bathed in gold.  A few more weeks of that and then--poof!--they'll all be bare.  We like to take advantage of the fallen leaves every year by doing some little crafties with them.   This year Eloise and I went on a leaf hunt and made collages on clear contact paper with what we collected.  (Just cut 2 pieces of the same size of contact paper.  Stick on the leaves in any arrangement and then cover them with the second sheet of paper. Press it together and smooth out any air bubbles, or leave them in, what the hell.)  Hanging on the glass doors in the back they let us enjoy  those beautiful hues for many more weeks.

We really enjoy fall around our house.  I think we feel like it is our last chance to hang on to that precious outdoor time that remains before the long, long, long winter comes.  It will be here soon.  We have already cleared out and cleaned up the garden for the season, put away all the toys, and gathered up the hoses and rain barrels.  I think we're pretty much set for a long winter's nap.

Now, if I could just teach Harriet how to use the rake.

beautiful golden view from the back door

our little leaf tamper

leaf project

finished collages

wouldn't be fall without watching the Bears on Sundays

yes, she is naked and 

yes, she peed on his leg shortly 

after this picture was taken.

that's fall.

costco

If you have had at least 3 conversations with me then, chances are, one of them has been about Costco.  I was probably extolling the virtues of Costco and trying to convince you to get a membership and get shopping.

I love and appreciate their top notch customer service, their 'no questions asked' return policy and the variety of items that they stock for bourgeois bohemians.  I love that they pay some of the best wages and benefits in their industry, treat their employees well and cap all their markups at 14% across the board.

We probably shop there every couple of weeks and there are things that we always get (olive oil, nuts, diapers, toilet paper, wine, salsa...) and then there are new things that we discover each time (magazines!!!).  I don't feel like I go that much but on career day last year, Eloise did tell her class that my job was "cooking and going to Costco".  Could be worse, I guess.

Costco rarely disappoints, but today was just not a good day for the warehouse and me.  I thought we could run over quickly in between Harriet's nap and lunch time, make a return, grab a couple things and be on our way.  I was mistaken.

On our way over in the car I realized that I had forgotten my shopping list.  I knew this would mean aimless wandering around and wasted time.  I still trudged ahead.  When we got there and I remembered that the carts are the double wide kind and Eloise could finally fulfill her wish of sitting up top next to Harriet, I knew that she would be thrilled.  She was, and the two of them looked so cute sitting there I had to take a couple pictures.

We had to make the return first and for some reason it took forever.  I mean FOREVER.  We were just waiting and waiting and waiting and the girls were getting fussy and I was getting bitchy and we were running out of time to still shop and drive home and avoid a 'fall asleep' in the car.  I just kept promising them that once we finished the return we could go over to the kids books and pick one that they could read in the cart.

Once we were finally finished with the return Harriet was full on crying but I put in her paci and thought we could buy some time.  Two minutes later I saw that she had dropped her paci and when I looked behind us on the ground to retrieve it I was met with, I kid you not, a giant Zamboni-like street sweeper being ridden through the aisle and, from what I could tell, directly over Harriet's recently discarded pacifier.  What the hell?  I have never ever seen one of those in there before, let alone at noon on a Friday when the store is filled with hundreds of people.  I only had the one paci. Now it was gone.

We finally make it to the books and Eloise points to the one she wants to read to Harriet and Harriet seems excited at the idea.  Eloise holds it in her lap and opens the cover of the book.  The corner of it, that seems sharp enough to circumcise a gnat,  pokes Harriet in the eye and continues a long slow scrape down her cheek.  She does that kind of silent cry at first when her face is just so pained, mouth open, eyes squeezed shut,  but she can't make a sound because she hasn't been able to take a breath yet.  I brace myself and then, there it is, the most blood curdling, shriekiest, most pathetic cry you have ever heard.  I unbuckle her and take her out of the cart to hold and comfort her and survey the damage.    Meanwhile, I am trying to steer the double wide cart, now with one hand,  and trying to squeeze past another shopper.  I bump right into him smashing Eloise's fingers in between the two carts.

I now have two crying  screaming kids howler monkeys and people are full on staring.  I was totally prepared for eye rolls or sighs but a lady nearby said, "Oh, I remember those days. Hang in there, mom".  See?  Even the customers at Costco are awesome.

We left.  We purchased nothing but will, of course be back soon for a much less disastrous trip, hopefully.  The best part was in the car on the 20 minute drive home.  Harriet took a break from her continuous crying and I could hear Eloise say in this baby-talky sing-songy voice, "You're just having kind of a bad day today aren't you, little one?"  Yes.  We are.

before the mayhem

future Costco members

word games

The other day I found a pad of post-it notes with lines on them like a little legal pad.  I seriously love post-it notes and wanted to use them for something fun.  I remembered a scene from one of my favorite movies, The Color Purple, and was inspired.  We got to work playing a new little game.

"What's it Called?"  is basically sitting around on a Sunday morning, drinking coffee, and having my 4 year old, who is learning to read and write, label different things in the house.  Or more specifically, label anything I can see from where I am sitting on the couch.  This is a parent-sits-in-one-spot game, my favorite kind.
Mike and I took turns picking things, giving clues or hot/cold hints and once she guessed what it was she had to write the name of it and stick on the label.  This was a fun activity for all, except maybe Harriet who got labeled, simply, "baby".  Nettie and Celie would be so proud.

here is the scene from The Color Purple

our version 

working on a label

nothing could escape a post-it

costumes from mom

This year I made Eloise's costume for Halloween again.  She is dressing up as Laura Ingalls and has been planning it for months.  Every year as Halloween rolls around, I feel like I am paying a little tribute to my own mom.

Every single year my mom created our costumes for us.  We would come up with the ideas together and she would sew different components or the whole damn thing.   She would paint or tape or pin or stretch or manipulate any variety of materials to get just the right look.  She also must have run about 50 errands to find that extra little touch that our costume needed.  My mom is extremely creative and talented.  She is a terrific sewer also.  There were times I remember going to bed (at whatever time The Carol Burnett Show was over) with nothing to wear and waking up the next morning with a complete outfit and accessories newly sewn and hanging from my bedroom door--all sewn in a few hours time.

 Looking back on it now, I realize how special it made me feel to have a homemade costume.   Also, I remember what I was for Halloween just about every year of my childhood:  angel, clown, ladybug, bumblebee, Rubik's cube, valley girl, bag of jelly beans, Dorothy.  I know they may not have been the most unique and most creative costumes of all time but to me they were brilliant and they were just one more reason I was in awe of my mother.  I mean, there were four of us!

As I do the costumes for the girls each year now, I know that the joy of putting them together is not just for the costume wearer.  I know why my mom did it.  It is so much fun.  Whoever thought I would be so in love with 5 trips to Michael's to find the perfect flowers for Mary Poppins' hat?  Why didn't I expect the thrill of piecing together a pirate vest and cutting a little skull and crossbones out of felt?  Who could have anticipated the excessive giggling brought on every time I thought of one of my black DKNY knee-highs stuffed with batting for a tail on the black kitty costume?    When I see the excitement on Eloise's face and I see how much fun she has dressing up in the costumes I made, and I see just how darn appreciative she is, I take a moment and thank my mom.
I get it now.

maggie simpson,  2006

black kitty, 2007

friendly pirate,  2008

mary poppins and bert,  2009

laura ingalls, 2010 

(still working on this one...)

little house

Around January this year Mike thought it would be fun to start reading the Little House on the Prairie series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder to Eloise.  I guess he thought that she would like them because she loves books, loves stories, and loves animals and farms.

 I think every single morning, for the last 2 years or so, she comes in our room while Mike is getting ready for work and asks if he "wants to play farm".  I think every single morning he has said "sure!".  They have a whole little scenario in which he plays the farmer and she is some visiting guest (her characters vary)  that is coming to help with the animals on the farm and do chores.  It is hilarious.  Usually, I am told that I am the farmer's wife and I just sit inside and drink tea all day.  Fine by me.

Well, Mike was right about the books.  She has loved every minute of them.  I think what she especially loved was the fact that is was something special for her and her dad to do.  They made a special trip to the library each time to get the next book and talked about what they thought might happen in the coming chapters.  He has read just about every word in all 8 books of the series, with only a couple chapters to go.  Sure, we have had a few guest readers at bedtime every now and then---Aunt Vicki, Grandpa, even I was allowed to read a couple, but for the most part, all was read by 'Pa'.

We did worry a little that the material would be too mature for her at times.  I mean these are stories about a real family trying to settle land of their own and facing everything from droughts to long winters, sickness, and sadness.  They had to make do with the very little that they had.  I remember one time Mike came down after putting her to bed and reading to her and he looked sick with worry.  I asked him what was wrong and he said the Ingalls had lost their bulldog, Jack, and hadn't been able to find him for two days.  He was so worried that something was going to happen to him, he put Eloise to bed and snuck the book out of her room so he could read ahead to make sure Jack didn't die.  I think he was prepared to rewrite history if needed.  We know how Eloise feels about dogs.

Because I wasn't the one reading to her it made for some interesting interactions where I had no idea what she was talking about at first.  Like the time she asked if I knew where we could get a calf's stomach so we could make some cheese.  Or the time she asked if we had any thimbles so she could write her name with her finger in the frost on the window.  Or the time I was supposed to be  "blind Mary" and  Laura was bringing me some books written in "pail" that I could read with my fingers.

It seems as though the timing of finishing up the series this week is working out perfectly.  You see, this week is Halloween and I'm sure you can guess what Eloise has planned for us.  Our Halloween 2010 has been decided, by Eloise, for about 6 months now.  She will be Laura, of course.  Mike will be Pa and I will be Ma and she even has Harriet in the act as Baby Carrie.  A friend of mine asked her who would dress up as older sister, Mary.  Anticipating this potential kink in the plan, and not wanting to be inauthentic, she answered swiftly and confidently, "She's at blind college."

half-pint

pinkalicious

We had a fun outing yesterday.  I took two very excited girls,  Eloise and her friend Isa, to see the musical Pinkalicious at the Emerald City Theater.  This show is based on the very popular, and much loved in our house, book of the same name.  Its about a girl who eats too many pink cupcakes, turns pink and then has to eat all kinds of healthy green foods to return to the right shade.  You might be wondering how they made an hour long musical out of that and I was dubious as well, but it was darling.  Great songs, funny characters and a nice little sideline plot about Pinkalicious's younger brother loving the color pink but having to hide it because people will make fun of him.  Eloise told me later that it is okay for boys to like the color pink and that people like different things and that doesn't make them weird.  Well done, Emerald City!

If you have kiddies ages 3-12, check out the Emerald City Theater.  They do great productions of some of the classics and some interpretations of popular kids books and they do them in a very age appropriate
way.  This is fantastic for us because Eloise is super sensitive to things that are mildly scary or even suspenseful or loud.  They also make it fun for this age group by inviting the kids to do a great craft beforehand in the lobby for each show.  The kids can go up on the stage before and after the production and look at the props and scenery, and after the show, the actors are in the lobby signing autographs, posing for pictures, and making the kids laugh.

 starting off the day of fun with a little craft at our house

they made pink paper cupcakes

"my colors are blush and bashful..."

being silly at lunch before the show

of course, there must be ice cream

craft in the theater lobby

up on stage before the show

 (I'm not sure why Eloise pretended to be frozen)

with Peter and Pinkalicious after

*

holy harriet

Did you know that I have another child?
Poor little second child.  Always the forgotten one.
We never call her by the right name.  We forget to teach her stuff like "sooo big!".  We don't check on her milestones that were so important with the first one.  We wake her up from precious slumber often because the older one needs to be taken somewhere.  She wears mostly hand me downs and has only a handful of toys and books that are just for her.  She eats all her baby food from jars even though the first child's was all homemade.  She doesn't get bathed nearly enough.   There is no Wiggleworms or Gymboree or special playdates thus far.   We finally got around to getting her baptized, only about 6 months late.

In spite of all this, our Harriet is the happiest, sweetest, friendliest, little girl with the biggest personality around.  She has brought so much joy to this household there is no way she could ever understand how much we love her.

In the blur of all the things that are always going on around here, Harriet managed to teach herself a few tricks.  When the whole family was over this weekend for her Baptism, she put on a show of all her newly acquired material.  It went a little something like this:
Sit up.  Smile and show all 7 of my teeth.  Wait for laughter.  Crawl to something.  Sit up again.  Look cute.  Clap hands.  Hold for applause.  Shake head from side to side.  More applause.  Try and try to stand up. When that doesn't quite work, go back to the clapping and the head shaking.  Big smile.  Wave.  Repeat.
She repeated this sequence, or something very similar, about 30 times.  I could have watched it 30 more.

Time is going by so quickly with Harriet.  All of a sudden she is into everything and all over the house.  I had barely gotten the baby gates back up.  She tries to open the oven and climb onto the dishwasher.  She is the Roomba I have always wanted and cleans up all the food on the floor (and probably some leaves and dust bunnies and, who am I kidding?, a coin or two).  She is like a magnet to any electrical outlet and chews on cords of any kind.  She can't be left alone for 1 second.  Was the first one like this? I blocked it out if she was.

I try and try and try to slow her down, her movement and her growth, both are impossible to do.
 I always think of the line in one of Eloise's books,  Clifford the Small Red Puppy.  When Clifford, the soon to be Big Red Dog, is a puppy and he keeps growing into his future huge self,  Emily Elizabeth says to him, "Clifford, stop growing!  You're perfect just the way you are!"
My sentiments exactly.

sitting

crawling

clapping

being cute

standing

O.M.Glee

I know, I know, enough about Glee already.  Well, I can't help myself.  It is a big part of what consumes us these days.  We have been listening to the soundtracks in the car all summer long and it doesn't seem to be losing its interest anytime soon.  

Eloise has never seen the show but she knows most of the songs and asks a ton of questions about the characters.  She wants to know who sings every song, what the name of the song is, what they are talking about and if it is a "Broadway song" or "just a pop song".  What?

We started watching some of the songs on YouTube and she was completely enthralled.  I also showed her the original songs of some of them if they are showtunes like Patti LuPone doing Rose's Turn and Barbra doing Don't Rain on My Parade.  

She performs the songs all the time, wants the "glee kids" to come to her birthday party, and talks about the cast of this Fox television show as if they are her closest friends.  One day, when she was disappointed that I didn't have their phone numbers to call them to invite them over, I suggested we make some glee puppet type figurines and have them play on a stage and sing songs and stuff.  As you can imagine, she loved the idea, and next thing I knew we were cutting up the cd booklet and pasting heads on popsicle sticks and dancing them around an empty box.  Hours of entertainment.

supplies

rachel, finn, and mercedes

quinn, kurt, and artie (by eloise)

For some reason, she identifies most with Kurt, the homosexual male character.  Not that there's anything wrong with that...

She is crazy about Kurt and Rose's Turn is one of her favorites to sing.  I actually love his version of it as well.  I wanted to share Kurt's, played by Chris Colfer, performance with you and then check out Eloise's version.  She made a "Kurt" sign and hung it in the background and set up a stage comprised of two very wobbly Ikea chairs.  Hope you enjoy, Gleeks!