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Tonight we returned to ballet practice, and this time were surprised to see more kids in the ballet class than last session - I think there are at least ten in the class now, and Madison is already making new friends. She had a great time, even before class and waiting. She met a new friend, and the two were perched atop these tall chairs, looking through the windows nearby at people swimming laps. They giggled a whole lot each time a swimmer reached the end of the pool and did a little flip to turn and face the other direction.

We just registered today, after a bit of thought about budgeting and the upcoming season. We opted to not go on any elaborate vacation this season, in an effort to save money. We did register for ballet class, of course. We had plans on seeing a movie, even tonight, but then thought about the prices of movies lately - remember how it cost $50 to see "Beauty and the Beast?" Well, that's nearly half the cost of registration for an entire session of ballet. Why not just wait until the movie comes out on Blu Ray, and save some money? The only thing you'd be missing out on is that movie theater popcorn. Goodness, that stuff is delicious!

We'll still go see movies from time to time as an excuse to "get out of the house," but as of late we're considering the prices.

Three of us going to see a movie: $50.

OWNING that same exact movie: $25

We have a fairly large television now with an amazing LED picture, and by gum, we can have a whole lotta' popcorn at home for a lot cheaper. Why not have "movie night" at the house more often. In fact, that's what we did tonight with a short movie that I'll talk about later...

Occasionally, we'll go on date night to see a movie, and so forth. But seriously, consider this statistic: it is cheaper for us to go see Disney on Ice (in a few weeks) than go see a movie in the theater. We even have fourth row seats. Or something like that. It is stunning to me that the three of us can go to see a huge cast of people skating in a variety of costumes, set to music, renting out a large arena because they tour everywhere - and that is still cheaper than going down the street to see a movie. What's up with that?

CHANGING THE SUBJECT: The weather was so nice outside, we had one of those moments before class where we sat out on the porch swing together just sitting together and talking. The tree in front of our porch is in bloom and looks beautiful, and the temperature was just right.

Last night marked the beginning of Purim, so tonight before bed we watched the VeggieTales movie about Esther together, which Madison enjoyed. But part of the enjoyment is watching a movie together with Mommy and Daddy. See? "Movie Night" is fun! This weekend, Daddy has a message written about Esther - and about princesses - which was all planned ahead of time. Hopefully we'll have a lot of little girls dressed up in their princess dresses. We'll post pictures. In the meantime, last night we already had kids dressing up as knights, a few princesses, and even a dragon. They really do get into these services!

Nana had a difficult medical procedure early this morning. It's fairly routine, something we all have to go through. We're not going to get specific on this blog - suffice to say everything came out in the end. There was some surgical work done, so recovery time was a little slower than normal, so Nana was understandably sleepy and needing time to recover. We tip-toed around the house for a while, and were pleased to see Nana make a few appearances for dinner - all smiles, of course. Grace under pressure.

Tonight we had the pleasant opportunity to go to sleep with the windows slightly cracked. A cool breeze flowed through the room, and the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the fresh leaves was so refreshing. We all got to sleep early tonight, not long after Madison. Daddy was reading a book in bed, and one room over, so was Ba-Ba. Mommy was doing a bit of surfing on the web, and Madison was sleeping peacefully in her room.

All is well.

"Why is there a piano on my cake?"

- Mr. Nezzer