Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Harry Potter and the obsessed fan

Over the weekend Miss C. and I saw the new Harry Potter Movie - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I am not sure who was looking forward to it more - me or Miss C. I love HP so much that I insisted she have a Harry themed party instead of a Pokemon one for her 10th bday. I have attended most of the Barnes and Noble parties (kids in tow), read every book, watched every movie, and am so sad this magical road is coming to an end.

For Half Blood I worried less about the movie staying true to the book, missing or underdeveloped, characters, missing "chapters", etc and just enjoyed the movie.

For a quick refresher Miss C and I watched Movies 4 and 5 before going to see number 6. I must admit that it was helpful - it has been a while since I read the books and I needed to brush up on who's who outside the muggle world. (Our favorite part in 5 was is the public, classroom rebellion, led by the Weasley Dynamic Duo complete with fireworks, destruction of school property and insubordination).

In The Half Blood Prince it was great to see Harry, Ron and Hermione. I missed my favorite antagonists such as the Dursley clan, and "he who shall not be named" but we got our loathing fix via Team Draco. There was plenty of evil Malfoy action abrewin'. Helena Bonham Carter was superb - As Bellatrix Lestrange she was beautifully creepy, evil and horrid, taunting and ridiculing Harry at every turn.

A few other brilliant Brits magically appeared. Alan Rickman brought Snape to life again as only Rickman can. We also had the wonderful portrayal of Horace Slughorn by Jim Broadbent (aka Bridgit Jones' dad) - he showed us a quiet, subtle wizarding opportunist with a conscience but an opportunist nonetheless. Slughorn apparently is not as flamboyant or unethical as Kenneth Branagh's Gilderoy Lockhart for example, but was just as enjoyable.

Movie Number 5 was more action packed so Miss C. was expecting more mayhem than was given in Half Blood Prince. The subtle (and not so subtle) humor was there though, as it has been all along. Oh, and Romance - can't forget that. There is a little snoggin' going on too. Actually a lot. These are teenagers with raging hormones after all. Jessie Cave deserves a standing ovation, or at least some one on one time with Ron, for her hysterical, teen-angst driven portrayal of Lavender Brown. Despite the snogging, Half Blood Prince was a little darker, deeper and much more depressing, laying the groundwork for the finale(s).

Yes, the final movie will be split into 2 parts and I am thrilled. We can stretch this out just a little longer.



Sunday, July 12, 2009

Back to School already.

A few updates.....

The girls are already in their new grades. Miss E is in 2nd, Miss N. is in third and Miss C is in her last year at middle school. Even though we have been on the year round schedule for years, I still cannot get used to starting school in July. We track out the end of July and will be traveling, having visitors, and moving right back into Fall schedules in the middle of August.

All of my girls are doing so good in school. Miss C. struggled through middle school - my parents even helped us get a tutor for her. it was not until we switched to middle school that she started to do well and even excel - I she responds less to sitting in one classroom all day. The structure of middle school is what she needed. I cannot believe in 1 year she will be in high school.

I hate the school year starting so soon - the good sales literally start 1 - 2 weeks after they are already back in school. I can wait on the clothes sales but not on the supplies ones. The kids had to have the supplies and sales had not started yet so we went to Walmart. We were not the only other parents that had this idea - it was a mob scene. It took three lists of supplies, three kids, 2 parents and 2 carts to get the job done. The majority of the list for my elementary school kids are items to share with the other kids because some families cannot afford supplies. We spent about $250 last year and spent the same this year.

A new year brings new schedules - new teachers, new activities, new plans, new struggles, new accomplishments. It also means I have to start preparing for the holidays. With three kids, 4 nieces and nephew, 3 sets of parents/grandparents and 4 grandparents/great grandparents it takes some planning and creativity.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the weekend! Thanks for visiting. While you are here, make sure you check out the current giveaways posted at the right. There are also some great summer end / back to school sales posted.

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