Dance Recital Video: Kids Clogging!

Here's Nathan and Megan's first clogging dance: "Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself"





Here's their second dance: "Get Your Head in the Game"



Pretty good for first years, dontcha think? Say yes.

The Great and Terrible Day of the Dance Recital

Nathan, Megan, and I began clogging lessons in September... and worked on these songs for four months before the performance on December 15. It was scary, it was fun, it was exhilarating... and all too soon it was done. Fortunately for you, my loyal fans, my dad captured it all on tape. Unfortunately for you, I don't have the vids posted here.

And this is why:

I tried in vain for a week to get the video of our recital off the camera and onto this blog. Well... technically I was successful in getting it uploaded to google video (it took overnight!!!). The bad news is that somewhere in the process, the video and sound got off synch... so it's maddening to watch because the legs don't kick when the music says they should. So I'm not putting it up. Perhaps I'll try again with YouTube and see if it works better. No promises.

For now, all you get is pics of us before we went on stage:


Nathan and Megan's clogging number was at the beginning of the program, and then Megan had one song during which she frantically changed into her ballet costume (not as hard as it sounds; she has her white leotard and tights on under this ensemble, so all she had to do was strip the pants and shirt off, and put on a blue tutu). I wish we'd gotten a pic of her as a ballerina. She was a most adorable one.

Jessica and Me. Yep, we're it. Our class started out at six ladies, and four dropped out by mid October. We were just ornery enough to stick with it, and we had an absolute blast. I think we spend 25% of each class laughing uncontrollably -- usually the teacher and Jessica are laughing at me because I cannot master the new incredibly difficult step she has just taught me. Or else I just slipped and fell flat on my fanny. Good times.

Nathan and Megan dancing "Run Run Rudolph" in formation.

Here's a closeup. Notice the creepy alien eyes. Okay, my kids are not really aliens. I'm just too lazy to fix it since I've already postponed this silly post for three weeks. Deal with it.



Okay... somehow the vid of Nathan and Megan's dance got on here, so I'll leave it. The video does kinda catch up to the music near the end of the dance. Nathan starts out at the middle back, the tallest kid at the point of the V. Megan is on the far left side of the screen. She's the tallest girl with the pile of blonde curls on her head.


As scared as I was beforehand, dancing in recital was one of the funnest things I've ever done. Afterward I felt a little sad that after four months of working my tail off to learn the steps, it was over in 3 minutes on stage. At least I have the consolation that class starts up again next week. Yippeeeee!

Do you think it will be a problem that I've done almost zero exercise and gained at least five pounds since recital?

Happy Halloweenie

Nathan informed me this morning at 7:15 that he was a nerd. "Whatever you say," I said, preoccupied with trying to get kids off to school. "No, mom. I'm going to be a nerd for halloween." Ooohhhhhh. I get it. So we tucked his pantleg into a sock, buttoned his shirt up all the way and left a tail hanging out, and found him some glasses and a notepad for his shirt pocket. Susan helped him fix his hair so it was sticking up in the back... and whallah! Nerdville.


After many weeks of daily indecision, Megan decided on an angel. (Witch was runner up.) With borrowed wings and a pipe cleaner halo, she was the cutest little angel this house has seen in many a year.

Oh, and notice that her face is working again. It's a good thing. Otherwise she would have had to be a mutant swamp monster or something.

My favorite thing about these costumes is that they were FREE! Improvised from stuff we had around the house and a little creativity (not much needed, thank goodness, cuz I don't have much).

Viva la Halloween!

The Last Pinewood Derby

Nathan is my only son, and what a fantastic boy he is. Nathan had his 10th birthday at the end of March, at which time he became a Webelos Scout. He was quite excited to move up another notch on the ladder of life. In Cub Scouting, Spring always means Pinewood Derby. With Google on his side, Tom armed himself with ideas for making the cars fast, and helped with cutting, wheel assembly, and weighting. Nathan decided on the design, and did all sanding and painting. Nathan's cars are perhaps not as fancy as some, but what they lack in aesthetics, they more than made up for in speed.

Before our foray into the world of Pinewood Derby Engineering, I hadn't given any thought to what made a car fast. Obviously, friction is bad. Anything that reduces friction makes the car go faster. What surprised me were the number of speed-em-up strategies that could be applied to a simple creation made from a block of pine, four wire nails, and plastic wheels. Here are a few:

• Sanding the wheel axles (wire brads) to remove tiny burrs that catch on the tires and increase friction.
  
• Applying powdered graphite to the space between axle and tire.
• Inserting axles at 90 degree angle to car body, to ensure straight tracking. Tracking must be tested to make sure that it followed a straight line, to prevent rubbing against the side of the track, which produces friction, which slows down the car. Adjust axles as needed.
• Angling one front wheel slightly upward so that it doesn't touch the track. Three wheels in contact with the track produce less friction than four wheels. (I personally am not convinced of this, since the same amount of weight will be distributed among three wheels, thus increasing friction on each wheel, thus net friction will be unchanged. However, since I was not consulted for my expert opinion, I kept my mouth shut).
• Weight distribution is also important. The farther back on the car the weight is placed, the faster it will go. I could explain why this is so, but it would require diagrams and several paragraphs, and since it is too early in the morning for that much effort, you'll just have to take my word for it. If you desire more details, please email my Pinewood Derby Engineer husband at ntn000@yahoo.com.

Nathan's first derby car (left), painted black with flames on the hood, sported vaulted nuts to provide the needed weight. It took second place in the pack -- not bad for the youngest Cub Scout in the pack! Nathan was proud, dad was pleased, and the car and trophy were displayed proudly on his dresser for many months.

2006 produced a red car of similar shape, with coiled lead fishing weights attached in front of a flared spoiler. This car also took second place overall in the pack, and fastest car in the Bear Den.

For 2007, Tom and Nathan decided to go a new direction with the car design in one last effort to produce a champion car. As mentioned above, weight distribution is very important. In order to put maximum weight at the back of the car, the pine block was cut very thin. A drill press was used to create 90 degree holes for the axles. The flat shape inspired the skateboard motif, and yes, that is C3PO hanging ten with the help of a little hot glue. A stack of weights was added to bring the creation up to the allotted 5 ounces, and wallah! -- a champion was born.


Kinda gnarly looking, isn't it? This car finally earned Nathan the title Pinewood Derby Champion... at least is would have, except that for some reason, this year, the Cubmaster decided to award prizes within dens only, rather than an overall champion. So while Nathan was officially only the Webelos champion, his car beat the Wolf and Bear champions, so I'm claiming Pack Champion as well. And nobody can stop me. So there.

Here is the proud boy holding his winning droid skateboard.

Could he get any cuter? I sure love this kid.