Best laid plans

We're back. Yesterday we drove 750 miles through 8 states. That was our only insane driving day. Since we're knee deep in dirty clothes, missing toothbrushes and now kids who can't go back to sleep the tales of travel will start shortly.

But one story I just had to tell you was how my best laid plans for the traveling tunes were thwarted by a drag queen. I wanted little lady's 5th birthday CD to be the songs we listened to. Instead, RuPaul's Champion CD became the music of choice.

And there is nothing like having a now 5-year-old girl sing in the middle of a parking lot in the southern United States "hump and pump it! hump it and pump it!"

The lyric is actually "park and pump it" as in park the car and pump gas in it.

And the tales only get better.

Got any good songs to share today?

Please join in Music Monday. Just remember if you plan to use little Mr. Linky below, write a post about music and link back to me. Music always makes Monday a bit more fun.

Happy Birthday darling

Dear Daughter,

You light up a room when you walk into it. Children and adults are drawn to you, in part by your Botticelli curls and in part by your personality.

Last year as a girl turning 4 you didn't notice them. This year you look over your shoulder as you pass people to see if they have noticed. While I long for that little kid oblivion, as you turn 5 it would be inevitable that you would figure out your effect on people.

But what I am grateful for is that you seem to use this power for good.

You are in a big pre-school class. It is no secret that most of the students just invite every single classmate for birthday parties. I'm in no mood to have 22 classmates plus other non-school friends and your brothers in our house for a birthday party. I asked your teachers for help in who you really play with to winnow down the list. Years ago when I asked similar questions for your brothers I would get a few names and that was it.

It took your teachers a few days to get back to me and when the lead teacher did, she sheepishly told me they couldn't pare down the list.

"She plays with everyone. It doesn't matter who it is. She decides she wants to do a certain activity and whoever wants to join her is welcomed. If she ends up alone, that is fine. If she ends up with everyone, that is fine too."

The teacher reminded me of how you talked about a particular boy a fair amount last year. She then disclosed it was because no one else would play with him. He had a tendency to hit or lash out in other ways. You told him early on he couldn't do hit and he listened to you. For a good part of the year you were the only classmate who would play with him. Now he plays fine and is welcomed by the other kids. You helped him figure it all out and welcomed other kids to play with him.

You use your powers for good.

I love you,
Mama

Moving Right Along

We're hitting the road again. School vacation is upon us and what better to do then throw the kids in the van, drive through many states, and visit family, national parks and other various places and people?

You know what we'll be singing....

Be back in a week with photos, stories and ... well.... photos. But I will interrupt my vacation on April 23rd. Come back to help me celebrate a certain little lady's birthday.

Any other songs we should be singing in the car?

Please join in Music Monday. Just remember if you plan to use little Mr. Linky below, write a post about music and link back to me. Music always makes Monday a bit more fun.

Stealth Grooming

When the boys were little they hated to have their nails clipped. I would wrestle each of them after bath time and be unable to safely trim the growing claws on their fingers and toes.

But they were very heavy sleepers. I could trim all 40 nails as they slept.

So now I have a daughter with gorgeous curly hair. I do not have curly hair so was unprepared for how best to care for it. When I told my hairdresser, a woman with curly hair, that I was brushing her dry hair when full of knots she dropped her hands and practically yelled at me to stop and only comb out my daughter's hair when wet.

I don't like to bath my kids every day which means my daughter doesn't have her hair washed daily. This leads to some pretty nasty knots between baths. She won't let me put my fingers through her hair so I can't gently work on the knots when they start.

This week I remembered the stealth nail clipping. The other morning I sat on the edge of my daughter's bed and ran my fingers through her golden locks, admiring how beautiful she is as she sleeps.

And getting those knots out of her hair.

Horror thanks to Disney

Did anyone else see the article entitled "Walt Disney Expert Uses Science to Draw Boy Viewers" in the New York Times today?

Just to give you a taste:

"Fearful of coming off as too manipulative, youth-centric media companies rarely discuss this kind of field research. Disney is so proud of its new 'headquarters for boys,' however, that it has made an exception, offering a rare window onto the emotional hooks that are carefully embedded in children’s entertainment. The effort is as outsize as the potential payoff: boys 6 to 14 account for $50 billion in spending worldwide, according to market researchers."

Trust me, the entire article is a handbook on how to manipulate children into spending their parents' or grandparents' money.

In the email I sent to Amazing Guy with the article included I told him this was setting me over the edge to permanently shut off the television, DS and computer thus making the only entertainment options playing outside, practicing the piano and reading. Huck Finn.

But this evening we came home and one little man promptly threw up as we were getting out of the car. After helping me clean him up the other little man asked to go onto a math website to work on his measuring skills while I continued to comfort the sick one.

Not a Disney or other character to behold. And he was happy.

So I'll keep the electronic media around for a bit longer.

I was outed

Practicing the boys' spelling words have always been a family activity on weeknights. The other week I couldn't help but show everyone this video to explain why I sang "Everybody, Everybody" when everybody was one of the spelling words.

So when Amazing Guy stubbed his toe this past weekend and yelped out "Ow!" in front of little lady, she repeated the "ow!" part of this song. Repeatedly.

"It was part of learning how to spell everybody" I explained. He just sighed.

What song do you use as an education tool?

Please join in Music Monday. Just remember if you plan to use little Mr. Linky below, write a post about music and link back to me. Music always makes Monday a bit more fun.

Sith

"Mom! Our new coach said a bad word after a game last year."

This announcement was made in the car on the way to soccer practice. The boys are now on a travel soccer team. Don't get me started on the fact that second graders are now traveling to other towns to play soccer. I didn't start playing town soccer until third grade. However, the boys love that they are on this team of mostly third graders and I think the experience will be good for them. They have joined a team that played last year and clearly the "old-timers" wanted to let the new-comers know what they are in for.

So back to the bad word.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"I can't repeat it" he said cautiously as he glanced back at his younger sister.

"She's not paying attention" I assured him.

He lowers his head and leans forward.

"Sith" he tells me in a stage whisper.

"Sith?" I confirm.

He gets all worried. "Yes."

"Ohhhh...." I mutter as the light changes.

He thinks for a minute. "Isn't that a name too?"

"You mean 'Seth'? That is a different word."

"Oh. But our coach said a bad word."

Yes. He did.

Sith.

Tyranny has finally come to our shores

I don't watch that wiley news network. The one that is supposedly "Fair and Balanced".

However, I have been having a field day as Jon Stewart skewers them.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
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In case you miss what Jon says...

"So, government is taking over our schools, our corporations, our health care. our personal liberties.

Scary.

And while President Bush was the one who started it

• Nationalizing an insurance company
• adding a $17 trillion prescription drug entitlement program
• had a government mandated public school initiative literally titled "No Child Left Behind"
• wire tapped citizens without warrants
• created secret internment camps in international waters beyond the reach of our justice system
• and allowed his Vice President to live in a Netherworld between the Executive and Legislative branch where his house didn't exist on Google Earth

Only now has tyranny come to our shores."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you Jon.

Yes.

While driving home from a Saturday morning ballet lesson, my 4-year-old and I heard this song on the radio.

And as the song ended with the singer asking "Are we human? Or are we dancer?" Little Lady answered from the back seat with an unequivocal,

"yes."