Mixtape

My theory is that 90% of music is poopy. Ten percent, however, is original, honest, and played with passion. That applies across all genres. My favorite artists include George Strait, Fugazi, Tchaikovsky, The Get Up Kids, The Doors, and A Tribe Called Quest.

With that in mind, here is the playlist of mostly "underground" bands currently getting the most mileage in my car:

Action And Action -- The Get Up Kids
Call It In the Air -- Jimmy Eat World
This Photograph Is Proof -- Taking Back Sunday
Back and to the Left -- Texas Is The Reason
Hands Down -- Dashboard Confessional
The Taste Of Ink -- The Used
Tell Me What It Means -- Animal Chin
Catch Me If You Can -- Divit
Letters to You -- Finch
White Lights -- Rufio
Rookie -- Boysetsfire
Fahrenheit -- At The Drive-In
Connection -- Avail
If I Told You This Was Killing Me, Would You Stop? -- Juliana Theory
Waiting Room -- Fugazi
Sometimes I Don't Mind -- The Suicide Machines
Harry Bridges -- Rancid
My Brain Hurts -- Screeching Weasel
Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba -- Mr. T Experience
Electric Pink -- The Promise Ring
Shoulder To The Wheel -- Saves The Day
The Week of August First -- Impossibles
Careless -- Dynamite Boy
Fall -- Something Corporate
Only One -- Yellowcard

Bail me out, please!

Jenny, much to her credit, incessantly asks me about the our nation's current financial crisis. She has been for months. She probably thinks that since my degree is in finance and my favorite subject is economics, I would want to talk about it. I don't.

Karma hit. Sunday night a partner at my firm contacted me at home (where's the mercy?) and instructed me to summarize and outline the proposed bailout legislation by 2:00 pm the next day so some of the top partners in the firm can use it to discuss the organization of the firm's new task force (i.e.--a way to squeeze some work out of the financial crisis).

I went to bed and woke up really early Monday. I read that danged bill (110 pages). I read all the articles about that danged bill. Then I wrote a thick memo about the bill. I hate that bill.

While I don't think the bill addresses most of the underlying concerns, I don't think it's a bad approach to rescuing our economy from this crisis. In fact, I think most of the opposition comes from misinformed persons (from what I can tell, since most of the concerns expressed are actually dealt with in the bill). (Add: I sometimes jocularly refer to Lou Dobbs as America's most educated idiot. Hearing him jaw on about this topic has solidified my impression. How does that guy get paid???)

And now? Jenny and I have something to talk about.

How the Fruit Snack got Smooshed

As explained to me by Logan.

After a few hours of rest, Logan woke up from a scary dream and wandered into his parents' bedroom.  The light from the street lamp was shining through the window blinds.  He heard a strange, loud, thumping coming from outside.  The curious lad walked over to the window and saw, to his surprise, a man-giant jumping up and down in the driveway.  Why was he stomping?  Or better yet, on what was he stomping?  Logan looked down and saw (during one of the giant's very large jumps, in which the giant's head actually reached the second-story window and glimpsed Logan looking down) a tiny, red, strawberry fruit snack.  And that is how the fruit snack got smooshed.

. . . And . . . We're back!

In what some would consider an act of mercy and consideration, we haven't posted in days. It's somewhat ironic that Hurricane Ike made such a little dent in my family's life (they live a mere 250 miles from Galveston), but his remnants made a mess of our rusty community here in Ohio. Hundreds of thousands were left without power, and fortunately, we were one of them! At 2:00 am this morning we came back on line.

So how did we spend our pioneer days and nights? Well, I had to go to work, where no natural disaster could prevent this assembly line from moving forward. Logan's school had power. And Jenny kept mothering. All of us expanded our appreciation for power. We were also able to assess our preparedness for another similar event in the future.

The worst part? Jenny made me play Phase 10, where if I win, I lose, and if I lose too much, I actually lose worse. So basically, it's a no win situation. Sounds fun, right?

Ahemm.  He won.  I mean he won and I lost, and all was well.  I actually enjoyed the power outage. No vacuuming, no laundering, no t.v.  The kids had a blast "camping" with their shake-to-light flashlights.  We have natural gas, so we could take hot showers, cook on the stovetop, and wash our dishes (ok, so I missed the dishwasher).  The only worry was keeping our food cold.  In an effort to be prepared, we bought an upright freezer this summer and packed it full of food--not so great in power outages.  We were told not to open the freezer for 48 hours and then to pack it with dry ice. If you ever need the cold stuff, check the yellow pages under dry ice.  I think (really, really hope) our food made it!

Lessons to be learned

You've all heard the saying, "don't wake a sleeping baby."  And of course you've also heard that babies are most lovable when sleeping.  So you would think, after having three of them, that I would know that this advice is not an old-wives tale.  You'd think.  Yet I make the same mistake over and over.  I walk into the room at 10:00 p.m. to double-check on the babies and kiss them goodnight once more before retiring to bed.  Madison is usually curled up under layers of blankets.  Logan is turned around in bed, surrounded by toys.  And Grant is sleeping peacefully in the crib.  And, loving him like I do, and wanting him to stay little, sometimes I lose whatever sense I have and pick him up! I think I realize it could be a bad idea, and I think I know I shouldn't, but, almost without thinking at all, I bend over, reach in, and pick up my sleeping child! In my mind, I imagine Grant asleep while I cradle him in my arms, freezing time for just a few moments.   But no.  He wakes up, angry at me for interrupting whatever dream a 6 month-old baby has, and cries, actually screams, for an hour, which I spend apologizing to Logan for waking him up, apologizing to Joe for waking Grant up, trying oh-so-hard to get him back to sleep, and all while remembering the countless times I have attempted to hold a sleeping baby without waking him/her up.  Maybe next time it will work.

Scooting, Scootering, and a Race

Today's weather was the recipe for a perfect fall day: chilly in the a.m., warm and breezy in the p.m.  The beginning of a new season always leaves me knowing that the current season is my favorite.  

(rambling ahead)

My piano, an inherited 1975 Sohmer, was tuned for perhaps the first time ever.  I've been putting it off because, well, I played my out-of-tune piano everyday--why tune it?  I hate spending money (a leftover from our not-so-long-ago student days), and I have an especially hard time spending money on myself.  Sometimes my resourcefulness prevents me from doing things that I love or would love to learn about.  But last week I broke down and called around to find a tuner.  I thought I would rethink my decision, but instead I felt renewed and encouraged to set new goals and to begin doing things I did before I became a mom.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mother.  But sometimes motherhood has been my excuse for not progressing, for not pursuing the interests I had before becoming a mom.  I tell myself I'm too busy, there's more to clean, meals to make, laundry, kids to play with, etc.  Do you ever make excuses, or am I the only one? ANYWAY, I set up an apt. with a tuner and my mind seemed to open.  And today I sat down at the piano after Tony Romano worked some piano-magic, and WOW!  It is so worth the money!  Not only because it sounds sensational (I didn't know I could sound like that!), but because I've learned that sometimes spending money and time on something important to me motivates me to make time to increase my talents and oh-so-limited knowledge. And that feels good.    

SOOOO, we enjoyed this perfect fall day by:

• getting the piano tuned
• playing with friends
• making yummy freshly-ground, whole-wheat rolls (a perfect smell for an autumn day)
• going to preschool (Logan)
• eating lunch with some friends (Madi and I)
• playing outside--scootering, biking, walking, running
• cheering for Grant as he scooted across the carpet to get Logan's pirate toys
• watching a movie (Mulan II from the library.  Don't waste your time :))
• putting 3 tired, cranky kids to bed early (7:00!)

I'm finally figuring out the iMovie, although I can only blog it on the lowest quality. Anyone know why?  So, without any further ado, I present, for your viewing pleasure: Grant scooting across the floor; Madison riding a scooter, and Logan and Madison racing (I think Logan slowed down for Madison). Enjoy!

  

TROUBLE

I've seen what I've seen and I saw it.

Grant has been rolling around, turning around in circles, and pushing himself backwards.  But today I saw him eye an important piece of paper that shouldn't be on the floor, then he pulled his chubby legs close to his body, picked up his chest and pushed himself to the paper.  YIKES! Freak accident?  Maybe.  He can't (I don't think) get into the average crawling position, yet, but he's figuring out how to get where he wants.  double YIKES!  Madison actually army crawled until she was almost 1 (probably because our apt. had ouchy utility carpet).  And I'm excited, but not so much.  Because with Logan, I just had to make sure I didn't leave things out that he could reach in any possible way.  With Madison, Logan was still kind of in the same stage, so no big adjustments needed to be made.  But now my kiddos play with legos, Barbie shoes, and I've forgotten what it's like to have a baby who spots things like important papers and would, for some crazy reason, prefer that over the fun toys sitting right in front of him.  AGHHHHH!  and at the same time, YAY!

Song

*To be sung, with a county-twang,  to the tune "The Farmer in the Dell"

My piano's gettin' tuned.

My piano's gettin' tuned.

I've waited so long to play this song,

My piano's gettin' tuned.

"I" tag

I just realized this is really repetitive.  You may learn more about me than you'd like!

• I usually: don't get everything done that I would like to.
  
• I search: for ways to keep myself feeling productive.
  
• I wonder: what my kids will be when they grow up.
  
• I regret: always looking back and forward instead of living in the moment.
  
• I love: relaxing when the house is sparkling clean.
  
• I care: about my 3 children and wonderful husband.
  
• I always: second guess what I should've done.
  
• I worry: about everything.
  
• I am not: perfect.
  
• I remember: the silliest details and conversations.  
  
• I believe: that I decide what kind of person I will become.
  
• I dance: silly.  
  
• I sing: country music loudly in the car.  
  
• I don't always: have a clean house.
  
• I argue: and  I think I'm always right, when I should know better.
  
• I write: less often than I should.  
  
• I win: games. Well, I really, really like to win.
  
• I lose: vocabulary to everyday words.  
  
• I wish: I was more athletic.
  
• I listen: to my kids play.
  
• I don't understand: why people hurt each other.
  
• I can usually be found: at home.
  
• I am scared of: something bad happening to someone I love.
  
• I need: to feel accomplishment.
  
• I am happy: when we spend quality time together as a family.
  
• I tag: Ashlee, Laura, Sarah Steele
  

Quote of the Day

 Lately, Grant will be happily playing on the floor until I walk into the room.  The moment we make eye-contact, he begins grunting and whimpering, "uh. uhuhuh. uhhhh," letting me know that he wants to be held.  I told Joe my dilemma, and his response: "He's got the perfect pick-up line.  It  works every time." 

"I'm so hungry....

I could eat a whole... fat bowl of cereal."

--Logan

A Day in MY Life

So here's the truth.  I make it to the bathroom maybe three times a day, not counting my morning shower and brushing teeth at night, which means I have the opportunity to look in the mirror about 3 times daily--but somehow I manage not too.  Maybe it's avoidance, maybe it's the rush to break up a fight, maybe it's remembering the bread burning in the oven.  I don't dress overly nice, although I try to add some make-up and wear something comfortable and non-icky.  Today I chose a clean, loose-fitting, black shirt--comfortable, matureish, not old-fashioned.  I wanted something I could wear in the company of the other women who would be at the 7:00 p.m. book club.  So during my afternoon bathroom break I manage to look in the mirror--no lettuce in teeth, brush hair, double-check  clothes.... stop.  Yes, there on the shirt I had planned to wear on my "night out," were spit-up stains, nose drippings from my teething baby, splatters from the cornbread Logan helped me make in the Bosch (and turned on before the lid made it on). Why had I thought black would hide the toils of my day?  Instead of lovely perfume, I thought of the rotten milk and chili smells I would be sporting.  Sigh.  Running through my head were the few other items of clean clothing I could wear on my special night out.  And then, of course, came the smell of cornbread begging to come out of the oven.  Plates on the table, stirring chili, Dad's home, dinner, and run to the car (after 7:00, of course).  As I pull out of the driveway, I realize I am still wearing the soiled black shirt.  Do I go back in?  Rehug the kids?  Sift through the contents of my closet to find something to take its place?  No.  I'm going as I am, proudly wearing my black medal of motherhood.

Logan's First Day of Preschool

Logan started preschool on Thursday, Aug 28.  He got to buy a new outfit for school, which was kind of hard for me because he chose a bright blue Spider-man shirt--not what I would've chosen! Luckily, we found this brown Cars shirt in his closet, and the blue spider shirt became day #2's shirt.  He is super excited, likes his teacher, Miss Mindy, and the new friends he met.  His preschool is really like kindergarten was when I was little (I'm ancient, you know).  He goes Mon.-Thurs. from 12:30-3:00.  My little boy is growing up, and he's way too excited about it!  

The videos are two of the songs the kids have been singing lately: Rascal Flats "My Wish for You," (which I can't get to download; I'll try again later) and "When Jesus Christ was Baptized" (the song we are learning in Primary).  Just in case you can't understand the lyrics....

My Wish

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,

Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,

You never need to carry more than you can hold,

And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,

I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,

Yeah, that's my wish.

When Jesus Christ was Baptized

When Jesus Christ was baptized down in the River Jordan

Three members of the Godhead were present there in love.

The Father spoke from heaven when Jesus Christ was baptized

The Holy Ghost descended as gently as a dove.

The Closing of a Summer

I'm sorry, I can not get the pics and writing to do what I want them to do.  

It's hard to believe that summer has come and gone.  The pool is officially closed (the

 splash park is open until Sept. 21, though--I'll be there Fri 10:30 a.m. if anyone wants to join me).  School has started. Madison is 3, Logan on the verge of turning 5, and Grant about to crawl. 

We went on camping trip '08 #2 on August 22-23.  Joe's brother, Aaron came out for a short, 3-day visit--and he went camping with us!  In case you didn't know: camping is a lot of work. I enthusiastically go because of a talk titled The Joy of Nurturing Children

(thanks, Jessica, for the link!).  Actually, this wasn't as much work as it could've been because of friends who are great planners.  We went with the Parks, Waites, Larsens, and Yearsleys, and if we forgot anything (like plastic-ware) there was someone to cover us.  

We had fun swimming, water-sliding, eating, and roughing it for a few hours.  Even Grant enjoyed the lake.