What’s the Password?

15 Jan

Although she doesn’t say the words, this stance means “what’s the password?” Emulating her big brothers, Cj usually does this playful move in a doorway or the at the top of the stairs if she beats you there. What does a two year old girl pick for a magic password? She usually makes us list 5 or 10 words before letting us pass, sometimes more. Some of her favorite common passwords are “cupcakes” “balloons” or “grandma”….I think she just enjoys the power to hold us back until she says we can go, the most.

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Pipe Dreams

1 Jan

A few months ago, there was a conversation between the boys on what they wanted to be when they grew up. M wanted to be a policeman and help people. B wanted to be Batman. Hopefully they would make a good team.

Tonite on the drive home they had a similar conversation except M said he wanted to work for the city and paint all the houses in town so they would look nice. B followed up by saying that when he grew up, he wanted to be a snowman.

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This is my first blog post published entirely from my iPhone!

Christmas Concerts and Joyful Voices

20 Dec

One of my favorite parts of Christmas (since having kids) is the pre-Christmas concerts and programs that involve the kids.  They are a little magical, very sweet, and always fun. This year was the first year that B was in a preschool Christmas program. I was happy to see B being such an active participant in the concert of 3-4 year olds and follow the teacher’s directions so well.

Here is his Jingle Bell song: (notice the  bow at the end)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2MWJbEMRFo

And here is the “Reindeer Hokey Pokey”:
(notice the “hoofs”)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRyXHixOKDY

M also had an amazing Christmas program at St. M’s last week.  My favorite part was the “march” in.  All the kids marched in, and M put everything he had into a very deliberate, wide stride, and stiff arm march.  Then the K & 1 sang 2 songs (one being Away in a Manger) with actions which made it cute. There was lots of playfulness in the concert with the K boys also being “naughty sheep” for a part, running down the church aisle away from the shepherd.

I don’t know  a lot of lullabies (nor am I good singer), but this time of year (actually anytime of year), I like to sing Silent Night to CJ when I rock her before bed (sometimes she tries to sing it with me).  It was funny to see how attentive she was when the kids sang Silent Night at the Church Christmas Concert. She really liked the music.  Several times during the concert, she was also imitating the director and was moving her arms with the music.

Some moments feel so magical. There were times during both M’s and B’s concerts where I started to tear up (proud – and moved my music – even the “Reindeer Pokey” apparently). These little things are what life is all about.

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Christmas Poem of Gratitude

18 Dec

2011 was not just another year,

for us it was full of new experiences, change, and cheer

M started kindergarten at St. M’s so proud,

and B was a new preschooler (there he is never as loud)

The boys started sharing a bedroom & we play more games since getting rid of cable

and CJ earned a newly decorated bedroom and a chair at the dining room table

CJ started walking, then dancing, talking, and singing…

And we’ve explored fishing, tae kwon do, bike rides, drawings, cooking, Wii & swimming

The fun never ends until the fighting, whining, or bedtime arrives.

(And then it starts again when the boys’ alarm starts to beep – at 6:45)

In the mean time mom and dad appreciate fine wine and a good night’s sleep

But we wanted more, so after 13 years at the same jobs we took big leaps

J now has independence to be with the kids more while working from home,

family clearly comes first

even though I am often (working) on Facebook, blogging or my iphone.

N is making career changes too, for he has been driving many miles for so long

Starting in mid-December working in Technology for our communities schools –

Staying local, can’t go wrong.

We welcomed new babies with open arms from our families so dear:

Brooklyn, Thomas, and Nolan (a nephew! and another niece or nephew near!)

Treasuring each day, and the people in it.

For that’s what this short life is all about.

So Merry Christmas to you and yours

and Cheers to an even better 2012!

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My Sound of Music

20 Nov

For my entire life, I have been surrounded by music (we had 3 different live bands play at our wedding!).  As a kid, I fondly remember Christmas’s on my Dad’s side where everyone sang songs for what seemed like hours.  Anyone who knows my Dad well knows his musical history – Bands like Bandicoot, Rebel,  Mark’s Bros, and Fast Forward….  Stories of opening for the Monkee’s at the Gibbon Ballroom before the Monkee’s were famous ( I hear this story all the time, but still don’t know if it is REALLY true), long travels in the Mark Bros. van, and pyro-technics gone bad.  I met lots of my Dad’s musician friends who came to the studio to record – many who I remember fondly to this day. Back then I saw a lot of my Dad’s brothers, who also have music in their blood, and dearly miss, Uncle Dan, (who mostly played bass guitar) the guy who was so shy in person but not on stage.

And I have no musical talent, or at least never gave it enough time as a kid to develop it.  I remember taking piano lessons and just hating to “practice”.   My Dad bought me the most beautiful red electric guitar for my 10th birthday, and I never really learned how to play it.  I just did not have the passion for it, that my brother Joe developed in High School and still has to this day. I wish I did, I wish I would have focused on it more.  To me, there are few things that are  cooler then girls that can really rock a guitar. Yeah being in an all chic rock band would have fit me just fine.

So here we are today.  I am watching my kids play and sing music and hoping to see the talent develop into something awesome.  CJ likes to sing while Grandpa plays piano.  B just bangs on the drums and keyboard.  We have a room basement that used to be the “train room” but is now more of the “music room” with drums, keyboard, my old (like new) guitar, etc.  The kids like to jam out in here, in a very random, “just make all the noise you can” fashion.  M has shown a lot of interest in my guitar lately, we have been hooking it up to the amp and he has asked to take it to friends’ houses…. we are not quite to that point yet.

I went to  Thursday mass at St.  M’s since the Kindergartner’s had a role.  They walked up with Father with food shelf items since it was the Thanksgiving mass and then got to sing a song.  I patiently waited to the very end of the mass to hear the song that the Kindergartner’s sang.  I had never heard it before, although Grandma H. had, who came with me.  It was the song “Edelweiss” from the movie Sound of Music, a movie I have never seen.  Seeing the 5 and 6 year old’s sing it and do the actions was adorable.  It seemed like the sweetest church song a little kid could sing. I have since done some research on the song…. It is known as “May the Lord, Mighty Lord” when the lyrics were modified for Church use.

The Church Lyrics for “May the Lord” go like this:

“May the Lord, mighty God, Bless and keep you forever.

Grant you peace, perfect peace, Courage in every endeavor.

Lift your eyes and see His face, And His grace forever.

May the Lord, mighty God, Bless and keep you forever.”

So here is the inspiration behind this blog post, M’s version of the song, not taken at the Church with his classmates, but at home a couple days later. Below is Take 2, (Take 1 had bad audio and a meddling brother), so I am glad that M willingly and enthuisastically performed it again for me.

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Autumn Little Big Things…

8 Nov

Little things are big,  and what make life memorable.  Here are some of the little things about my kids that are memorable to me the past few months:

M.J.ready to sparr

  • M has been loving playing football.  It is pretty fun to see him catch a 20 yard pass and then see that look on his face. So proud and a little shocked (I caught it!)
  • M went to his first Tae Kwon Do tournament and got 4th place in forms and 3rd place in sparring. Both him and his Dad loved the experience overall.  I am looking forward to seeing the next one, which will be closer to home. (see short video of practicing form here, or longer video of tournament sparring here)
  • M got Student of the Month in October for being artistic/creative. Then he also got a sudden interest in playing electric guitar again.
  • Today Neil joined M for lunch at his school and it was a surprise. I am not sure who had more fun, M or his Dad.  When the kids talk you into staying for recess, you know it is good.
  • It is really fun to see him really learning how to read words and be so excited about school.
B.T.B on a hayride
  • I have been enjoying some time w/B in the mornings, on the laptop next to me, after M leaves for school and before CJ wakes up.  He likes to wake up early, then “rest in my office” with his blankie for a bit.  I like my  new office-mate.
  • I love first drawings.  B’s faces and family drawings are fun.  Big eyes, big smiles, lots of legs.
  • B has had mid-night wakings lately that result in “Daaaad” being yelled from upstairs.  Dad (or mom) goes upstairs and then he says”I just want you to lay by me.” or “I want you”. Sleepy parents usually abide, but in the meantime a bad habit has begun.  Sleeping by a cuddly kid who wants you to sleep by him, though, is not all that bad.
  • B knows how to talk the talk.  His says some pretty “big” things and his dad says “his negotiating skills have improved.” huh.
  • So he loves to Dance and Sing, he particularly likes Go Fish and a kids Halloween CD (yes all year round).  But if his mom dances or sings *too much* with him, he says “Stop Mom!” Yes he already thinks his mom is embarrassing.
  • Preschool is oozing out of this kid, he is learning so much and growing so smart.
C.J.kitty cat learns how to say trick or treat
  • She learned how to say “trick or treat” by the end of Halloween night.  She also protected her furry pink pumpkin candy holder all night until bedtime.  She then transferred all the candy to her purse, and then proceeded to try to hide her purse under her crib.
  • We are working on all of our words.  She says some words, but many others are a bit backwards or all sound like “daa” or “dis” or “joose”  or “uck” or “um”.  I have to remind her to practice all the time, “can you say [insert any random word here that CJ thinks is pronounced  "diiiis" or "aaaaaak"]?.  Maybe every word needs to have the excitement of “Trick or treat” with it for her to learn it faster.
  • We have been working on potty training, mostly when we see the look that a #2 is coming, we rush to the bathroom.  She knows the drill now because she will look at me smile, hold her hand out (grab it mom) then totally get into the mad rush to the bathroom. She is doing pretty good but we are not pushing it real hard.
  • Although she loves to try dressing herself (likes pulling up her own pants!), she likes to make it a challenge for me to get her dressed, usually escaping mid-way with giggles half naked.  The funny part, if I want to take the easy way out, I just pass the chore on to her Dad, which she will run to (instead of away) to get dressed.
Other fun stuff:
  • We went to Nelson Farm with Grandma Kathy and saw all kinds of farm animals, climbed haystacks, and went on all kinds of wagon rides.  Kids all fell asleep on the way home.
  • Halloween is one of our favorite holidays.  The kids get so excited about it that the decorations go out around Oct. 1.  The kids were Darth Vader, a Ninja, and a kitty.  The kids got a couple rounds of trick or treating in, as well as a full dose of handing out candy at our house and seeing all the other spooky and silly costumes.
  • Neil turned 36.  I had no idea that putting all those candles (an entire box) on a cake would make such a waxy, smoky mess.
  • I am a new Aunt!  Joe and Amanda had baby Nolan Hendrix! And the baby has some very proud cousins, especially when Darth Vader so little Yoda sleeping on Halloween.
halloween crew

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Tae Kwon Do Kid and Copycats

24 Oct

So here is M demonstrating one of his “patterns” to me, on his first day of going to Tae Kwon Do with his white belt on.   He started Tae Kwon Do last month and so far loves it.  He knows how to count to ten in Korean and a few other “patterns”.  He said that he can earn his purple trim (this is the seventh belt) in two years. I hope he sticks with it.  His instructor “Master” is awesome and I can tell that he teaches the kids a lot of respect and discipline.

Then there are these two comedians.  They fight. They play.  They scream. They laugh.  They are only one year and nine months apart so right now and for a few months yet they are age 2 and 3.  The older brother does a lot of teasing.  The little sister is learning a few bad habits.  B calls CJ  “Sweetie” all the time, and he tends to know what toys to pick up that will instantly set her off.  But as  you can in this video, they are two peas in a pod.  The cupcakes they are eating were a prize CJ won at the church cake walk.  We were just having fun eating cupcakes outside one afternoon and being silly.

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Jawbreakers are for Big Boys

16 Oct

B got his hands on some candy that M brought home from a birthday party. CJ went screaming after him upstairs, where I continued to hear screaming and fighting over the candy.  Then I found the 2 kids hiding in a corner, still trying to get the package open.

Somehow, I convinced them to come downstairs and to “save the candy for after dinner”.  CJ now had the package of candy in her hand and was cooperatively coming down stairs, with B following closely behind.

As I was getting dinner ready, there was still arguing over the candy in the kitchen.  Then, before we even knew what the candy was, CJ  had the package of 3 jawbreakers open, and one in her mouth.

I have never been a fan of jawbreakers – they just don’t taste good at all, and they just seem totally unsafe for kids…. a broken tooth or candy lodged in my kids throat? I don’t want either, thanks.

But CJ already had it in her mouth, and B, he just couldn’t believe she got the package open herself.  He was accusingly asking me and and his Dad, “Did you open it for she?”… “Did you?”

To avoid a bad medical jawbreaker situations, I said to CJ, “CJ please spit that candy out, it is icky and not for little girls.” I held out my hand in front of her mouth, and she must have realized it didn’t taste good anyways.  She spit it out in my hand.

Then B said matter-of-factly, “Yeah!  It’s for big boys!” And he grabbed the already-been-sucked-on candy from my hand and put it in his mouth.

And I was left with just spit on my hand and a smile on my face.

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No TV Experiment

29 Sep

Like many of you, Mediacom is far-from-favorite place we want to give our money to.  Their customer service is beyond poor, but there just isn’t many options for internet and TV in our area. So we canceled our internet/cable with Mediacom and just have internet through Century Link now (fantastic connection, so far).  So we are saving some money over the next 6 months by not having cable, but then if we chose to go back to Mediacom, they may THEN value us as a customer to give us decent pricing again, and we start over?

We have never had satellite or spent more then the bare minimum for cable so we were not very hooked in the first place.  I have never seen Jersey Shore or most of the reality shows everyone talks about.  It has never been a priority. We do have streaming Netflix (for now), a Wii, and Apple TV to keep us somewhat connected and I cannot wait to get caught up with the latest seasons of Dexter & Weeds through Netflix or whatever our poison may be.  But even with those options, not having that hour or so of typical TV before bed is challenging.  With just basic cable before, there was only one channel for the kids – and that was PBS.  This is probably what I (and kids) will miss the most.  First, just great shows (Martha Speaks, Curious George, Cat in the Hat). Second, having something there in the morning for the kids to get thru the wake-up time.

B loves “movies”. Movies to him are anything he can pick off Netflix, even it it is short show. Whenever he gets hurt or is really tired he gets into a “I want to watch a movie” whine.  I don’t mind a “movie” during quiet time  and I love movie  night with kids and popcorn.

MJ is a Wii boy.  He would play Wii all afternoon if I let him, but we usually set the time for a half hour and go from there.  We don’t have many games so he is really good at the ones we have – Wii Resorts, Mario, Moster Jam. Wii is Mav’s TV. Although he is also one who can be glued to a TV when walking by it if it is on.

So my experiment,  week 1, the start of NO TV.  Here is what happened:

  • Started to declutter old paperwork and said goodbye to a bag full of old papers that should have been shredded years ago
  • Wrote 3 (your reading #3) blog posts this week for Inspiration of the Moon
  • B played Curious George computer games this morning instead of watching TV.
  • I also got caught up on 2 of the kids baby books, which I can’t attribute totally to not having TV, but I think getting thru the piles of old paperwork inspired me to carry on with other crap that has been taunting me.

So, my goals: Spend more quality time with my kids and husband. Get more creative. Enjoy more books. Get more done.

Would this challenge be easier to take in the summer months? Without a doubt.

Will I get tired of being on this computer? Probably.

Will I end up doing lots of reading? I hope so.

Will my kids be deprived? I don’t think so.

Will I be insane by the time winter is done? Quite possibly.

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20 Things I would Do if I was a Kid Again

28 Sep

“Mom, when you were a kid, was I a grown-up?”

This is a question I have heard both my boys ask Neil and I several times, over the last few months.  This is an interesting question to ponder:

Picturing Neil and I as kids again, and my kids as the mature adults. Do they think, they were our parents at some time? I can imagine being young kids (6 and 3) they don’t have a lot of memory of their lives so far, but do they think they just “forgot” a time when they were the grown-ups? Or are they making up a fantasy of them as the parents, doing whatever they want?  With us, mom and dad, as the “kids” that (in their head) they get to “boss” around… Like all the parent/child swap movies. I must admit, it would be fun to think being the grown-up for a kid.   It is also fun for me to think about being a kid again.

So, I am going to pretend, that instead of getting old, I am going to be a kid again, when my kids are grown-ups.  Now, with all this experience of being a real kid, a real grown-up, and a parent 3 times over, I think I have some pretty good experience, or hind sight, that is.

Here would be my to-do list for Being a Kid, Take #2:

  1. Turn off the TV.
  2. Stay away from the tanning booth. Put sunblock on.
  3. Listen to your girlfriends.  But listen to your mom first.
  4. Never EVER tease other kids. Even the mean ones.
  5. Learn to play an instrument. You will need to practice and listen to your Dad.
  6. Read more. Not just magazines.
  7. When a boy asks you to roller skate, and you really want to say yes, SAY YES.
  8. Tell your parents you love them more.
  9. Don’t wait until your an adult to become friends with your brother.
  10. Write in your diary more often.
  11. Play more sports. Again this takes practice. Don’t give up.
  12. Make more sandcastles. Swim more. Catch more fish.
  13. Beg parents to have more sleep overs. Even if it is not your birthday.
  14. Spend more time with my mom in the kitchen.
  15. Visit with my grandma more.
  16. Color more pictures.  Give yourself time to be artistic.
  17. Give lots of hugs. Smile more.
  18. Be genuinely thankful. Be present. (how fun is play?!)
  19. Study harder.
  20. Invest in Apple Computer (Assuming this adventure would mean I am going back in time and would have a couple hundred bucks to spare).

I am ready for the parent/child swap! What would you add to your list?

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