There's a Write Way and a Wrong Way to do Things

Dear Son #2,

This is a writing instrument. It can be very useful
when your mind is full and your paper is blank.
You can capture forever the thoughts that were torturing
your sleep or teasing your humour.

You can also use this to draw things. Beautiful landscapes,
cherished faces, super heros and award-winning cartoons.

You can do that, you know.

This can also be very handy when you're plugging through
your facts in math, or when you'll need notes to jog your memory of a fast-talking teacher expounding on important
information you may someday hope to remember.

It is sometimes a toy.
When placed over the middle finger and under
the two fingers on either side, you can snap it to impress your friends.

Those are the right ways to use a pencil.

Never, ever at any time should you ever use it to remove an eyelash from your beautiful chocolate eyes!

On the PhotoStoryFriday Bandwagon

Pure joy
2005. My son's band entered a Battle of the Bands contest, without ever having played in public before.

Our whole family sat outside (in the New Mexico sun) through performances from band after band.
Some we really enjoyed, some not so much so. One heavy metal band was SO loud, I had to put a bouncy castle between the bandstand and myself and still hold my ears. It was terrible. That statement may make me sound old, but believe me, I like a good head banging tune as much as anybody else-- just not so loud that my teeth start cracking.

As the sun began sinking deep into the clear afternoon sky, my son got more and more nervous. At one point he was desperate to find a place to throw up. I considered joining him. I was nervous too.

I liked their band. I'm the weirdo parent that would encourage the band to play in our house and would allow all of my furniture to be moved out to make room for the amps. I liked the songs they wrote and often sang along (picture a 40-year old woman toting a baby on her hip and singing Blink182 loudly as she dusts), but I was nervous because they entered a contest to compete with people who were making their livings performing.
I was so proud of them for entering and equally anxious for them.

Their turn finally came. They performed. J1 was on drums and vocals.
On the song he sang lead vocals, his headset went a little nutty on him halfway through the song. He kept drumming. He kept singing.


When they were finished, relief was palpable. J1 was reduced to just a smile sitting on a sweaty teenage body..



Three more bands played.
The sun set.
We had been tapping our feet and bobbing our heads for over 7 hours. Now we had to just sit and wait.

The results were in:

1st place: a local band, well-loved with quite a following.

I was holding a sleeping toddler, so I handed the camera over to my husband and asked him to get in front of the boys. I told him to be ready. I don't know for what.

2nd place: another local band, but this one plays cover tunes in lounges.

And finally, The People's Choice-- determined by the crowd (who had to pay to vote)...

That first photo is the boys hearing that they won. They won the cash prize. The cash paid to say, "I think these guys rock!". They won a few hundred dollars and only $20.00 of it was from us.
I won a new respect for the fearlessness of three teenage boys who suddenly saw opportunities they hadn't imagined before. And a great shot despite the red eye.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Blog Blog Go away, Come again Another Day

Blessings of the Day.

Every morning, whether it's raining or shining, I wake up to fresh air. Air filled with the scent of damp, fertile earth and oceans of blossoms. Occasionally during the spring, it's a little too fresh-- as in animal freshness -- but for the most part, the air is sweet. I never give it any thought. I rarely take a moment to just breathe.

Every morning I wake up to the antics of my quick, lively children-- whether or not I want to. And there are days I don't want to. Take yesterday, when I heard them down in the dining room giggling and hiccuping in their hysterics while I was dressing... only I discovered they weren't in the dining room. They were on the trampoline in the back garden. All four of them, in their pajamas, outside at 7 am. My poor neighbors. I bet there's mornings they don't want to wake up to my lively children as well.

Every evening, I hear the "silence" of a house that's truly lived in: the washer spinning and making it's "preparing for take off" noises -- the occasional 50p coin clanging against the door, the dishwasher humming away at a plethora of uneaten food holding fast to our mis-matched dishes, the sigh of my computer as I pull it out of the deep sleep.

That may not be quiet to you, but after a day with toddler that can call dogs from miles away, and boys bickering over whose Match Attacks cards were left in the toilet-- that's quiet.

And in that quiet as I look back over the day, I have my moments of "I wish I had...".
None of which ever includes, "...spent more time on my computer while my bottom half grows larger".

So today, you're receiving this post through the magic of blogger scheduler. The heavy breathing Mac Baby isn't coming on. I'm going to attend A2's recognition ceremony for the Museum Club he participated in; say good bye to a great guy retiring from the Air Force and kiss grubby little faces (my children, not my husband's military friends) while letting the unswept dog hair swirl around our play. I will enjoy the noise and the quiet. for one day.

Surely I won't suffocate if my mouse is removed from my hand and connections to this addiction is severed for just one day....

Just breathe....

Playing in the Remains of a Dead Mermaid

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

How about that... my 200th post was a ranting heard 'round the world. I had such high hopes for #200.
So today, in lieu of a wasted day, I am listing the 200 great things in my life.

Not really-- I heard you cringe all the way over here.
I will however give you a couple of glimpses into things I have learned as a parent (because we all know that I am a current contender for a Mother of the Year award).

• Friends will come and go. You will wax and wane in importance in their lives, but your children are forever.
• Teachers will come and go. Teachers are pretty awesome for the career choices they've made, but they are not perfect. They have issues like the rest of us so don't automatically assume they are always right and your child is always wrong. Sometimes, you need to stand up for your child.
• Loyalty. Just as you like to hear your children tell their friends they know you're great, they like to hear you tell yours the same. An example: my friend Lori once dropped off a non-slumber party kid to his home and when the Mom asked if everything went alright, Lori replied, "Well, they were up pretty late, there was a lot of laughing" and the Mom smiled at her son and said, "Oh, he does have such an infectious laugh" with all the love and pride as if the kid had just saved a baby from a burning building.
• They grow fast. They stop wanting to come to your bed, to cuddle, to kiss at a much earlier age now. Don't waste a second of it. The dishes will still be there when they're in bed.
• and for my Hubby: Building forts, sleeping in the living room and making messes are what builds fond memories of "home". It cleans up. One day our house will be so clean we'll be begging neighborhood children to bring their hotwheels over for us to step on in the dark. For now, we're having a picnic in the living room and you're invited.