Category: Uncategorized (Page 37 of 118)

While driving in the car the other day, we were listening to a song on a new CD I won , and I was singing along to the song, and then checked to see who sang the song, and the kids already knew. “Oh, she’s on Disney channel, mom.”

Well, isn’t that great. Somehow our conversation turned to something like this:

Me: Well, Jenna, you’ll have to get your own show on the Disney channel, and then you, too, can record songs and be rich and famous. And I can be your manager.

Jenna: What would my show be?

Me: I don’t know. What WOULD your show be about?

Jenna: Something with dogs. Lots of dogs.

Me: And you could call it “Josie and the dogs”. Because you never use your real name, you have to have a character name.

Jenna: Then I want my name to be Chrissy.

Me: OK, Chrissy it is. Chrissy and the dogs? Chrissy’s dogs? Let’s think about that.

John: And I will be her neighbor.

Me: Ok, John. What will your character’s name be?

John: Joe. And I’ll like help her with the dogs and stuff.

Natalie: And the dogs can have superpowers and stuff.

Jenna: Where are we going to get all the dogs for this show?

Me: Well, that’s something you let the director worry about.

They kept asking questions and coming up with more ideas for “their show”, and I didn’t have the heart to tell them that this is all hypothetical and it’s NEVER going to happen, but I was glad that it at least got their brains thinking. And who would I want to play in this little show? I’ll play Chrissy’s other neighbor, the broadway star who is always rehearsing for a show.

Note to self. Don’t try to tackle the really yucky jobs around the house (like cleaning up after the birds) without a nice cold drink.

Oh, and send the kids outside before you start because you’ll just end up yelling at them if you see them lazing around when you are working.

I’m just sayin.

I managed to make it out garage sale shopping a week or so ago. What with rainy weather and rehearsals on Saturdays, I haven’t been out hitting the garage sales like I would like, but on this paricular Saturday, the boys were off at their fathers and sons campout, and I was taking all the girls with me to a rehearsal/work day for Annie Get Your Gun, and I took the girls out for an hour of garage sale goodness before we had to be to rehearsal at 8:45. Yes, we scored some good stuff, of course. One of those things being a fabulous “Gucci” bag. I put Gucci in quotes there, because it’s probably not a real name brand bag, but I think it’s fabulous. Yes, I have a little love affair with purses, do you want to make something of it? But when I am spending $4 for a new purse, I don’t see what the problem is.

ANYWAY, I really didn’t want to talk about purses. I wanted to talk about music. Yes, music. I know. Strange way of getting to the point. Yes. But, I picked up two CDs at a garage sale, and they’ve taken me back!

I hear that saxophone solo in “NEVER TEAR US APART”, and I’m instantly back to my junior year at BYU. My little finch Stevie is chirping away, and my friend Robin is there at my side as we do our air saxophone. I hear “NEW SENSATION” and I think of a roadtrip to Montana.

Or I hear “WE WILL ROCK YOU” or “ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST” and I’m whisked back to good old Brighton High cheering my lungs out at a basketball game. Oh, nostalgia. My kids were laughing at my ‘silly music’, but they really liked the “I want to ride my bicycle song” and had pretty much learned most of the words to that one by the time the day was over.

Music can really bring back the memories, can’t it? And it’s such a powerful emotional tool. Have you ever been watching a scary tv show or movie that got a little too scary? Just press the mute button. Without the music building and building it’s not so scary, right?

We’ve played This is the Christ in our bell choir for a few of our concerts, and I have to say that every time I play it, I get a little bit choked up inside. The message, the music, and the words are so powerful, that I can’t deny the spirit that fills my heart even when we are just rehearsing it.

Do you have those musical memories that come with certain songs? When I hear Raspberry Beret I think if my friend Ger, Simply Irresistible makes me think of Patty and Robin, and more than one Chicago song make me think of my brother. I used to love the Sugar Plum Fairy from the nutcracker, but after we played it in our first Christmas concert, I still haven’t really recovered from the stress. I can’t hear that song without cringing. Fishing in the Dark belongs to Michelle, and Three times a lady makes me think of Melinda and Sharmyn. And there are many, many more songs that bring back vivid memories for me. Is it that way for you, too?

I’m glad I have those memories, too. Because maybe when I’m old I will hear a Queen song and it will, even then, take me back to high school.

Oh, and in other great news from my house, I served my friends moldy muffins for our Relief Society meeting. Because I’m such a great cook and all. Yeah, I’ve got skillz. Some of the muffins didn’t get all the way cooked, and then when they sat around in the tupperware, the moisture in the muffins just went to work. So, I served them some muffins. I wondered why they were just picking at them, and not eating the whole thing. I didn’t eat one myself, because I’d just had one (mine was cooked). When I was cleaning up, I looked closely, and it looked like there was some blue in there. I’d seen enough. Into the trash went every last muffin. I was so embarrassed, I hurried and sent off apology emails to the ladies who I had tried to poison. I thought about calling, but was just too embarrassed. I did get one response that “they weren’t moldy, just not cooked all the way through”. Thanks, but I think she was just being nice.

So, what awaits us today? Maybe we’ll go to Target.

Friday was the last day of school around these parts. Not really a last “day”, more like the last “hour and a half”. My junior high kids decided not to go, but my elementary kids went to say goodbye and sign autographs and other fun stuff. But by 10:00, they were all home.

I started them out right by making the three who didn’t go to school do some weeding. 30 minutes a day is all I ask. They didn’t quite do the whole 30 minutes before they started on the fun stuff–filling water balloons for our super-fun party extraordinaire. For the past 7 years or so, we’ve had a last day of school party. It started as a water party/barbeque, and it’s gotten bigger and better each year. This year we had a bounce house, a big inflatable slide, and a big blow up obstacle course, as well as quirt guns, water balloons, and tons and tons of food. The kids were in heaven! The adults have a fun time, as well.

It was beautiful weather, although the 85 degree heat is a bit of a shock to our systems. We haven’t spent that much time outside, yet, and we weren’t up for all that sun. After a few hours in the sun, I had to move to the shade. I’m such a wilting flower. Despite liberal sunscreen, we all have some areas of sunburn. But we can live with it.

If my life were a movie, there would need to be a “time is passing scene”. And for my time passing scene, I would chose having John come in to my room to wake me up every morning. When he was little (two or three), he would come in, climb over me into my bed, and whisper “pea-butter toast”. Then when he was a little bit bigger, he would come in and say he was cold. His solution would be to climb in bed and snuggle. Other days he comes in and complains that no one is helping him get his cereal, and when I come downstairs to help him, there are three or four kids sitting around eating cereal. When I ask them why they didn’t help John get his cereal, they say, “He didn’t ask for help!”

This morning he came in and said, “Mom, I need a flashlight.” I asked him why he needed a flashlight, and he said, “I’m doing hand puppets. First you need darkness and second you need light.”

How cute is that?

Well, time is indeed passing. I can’t believe that John is done with preschool. I’ve attended my LAST preschool graduation. I figure I’ve attended at least 9 preschool graduations for my 5 kids (some kids attended more than one year of preschool, you know). Those are always cute. Last year Megan had a 6ht grade graduation. This year Cole is “Graduating” from junior high, and moving on to high school, although there’s no ceremony for him. We’re just lucky he’s made it through junior high and hopes he’s more responsible with his high school years.

Soon I’ll have (gasp) children graduating from high school and moving on to missions or college. Too soon, actually. We’ve got to enjoy the time we have together!

Last year at a garage sale, I picked up the Book of Bunny Suicides. Each cartoon shows one or more white rabbits in their creative attempts to end their lives using a variety of items. While kind of disturbing, it is very funny.

Today the kids were fighting over this book, as kids will often do. You know how they ignore something for months and months until someone ELSE is looking at it and then they want to look at it right this minute? I’m sure you get the picture. Well, John wanted to READ it, and so I told the older kids to let John read it. And read it he did. But after almost each page he had to come over and explain it to me.

“Look, Mom, the bunny’s watching the sharks at the zoo.”

(And he’s got a hammer, ready to break the glass and let the sharks out)

“Look, Mom, the bunny is having a picnic”

(While all the animals are loading onto the ark, the bunnies sit on a blanket outside)

I laughed, but then I said, “John, maybe you shouldn’t be reading that book. It’s a little disturbing, and it’s sad. Why would those bunnies want to kill themselves?”
“I don’t know,” he said. But the kid is smart, and knew I don’t really like talking about death (bunnies or otherwise), so he toned it down for me. “Oh, look at this one, Mom, there’s like two parts of the bunnies! But they’re still ok.”

(The bunny had been sliced in half by ice skaters)

“Oh, look at this one. It’s his dog, and he’s going to jump on the stapler and make the dog mad so he’ll run away,” he said.

But I’m glad he’s still only five and that most of them don’t make that much sense to him, it’s just a silly book about bunnies. But if it made YOU laugh, you can see more of these silly bunnies here.

Thursday is play group day around here. It started out with 6 four and five year olds, and it’s grown into an out of control group of nine (I think) boys. Each Thursday we look forward to an hour and a half of kid free time while the boys go and trash someone else’s house. Unless it’s your week, and then you have to entertain, corral, control, feed, and keep track of the herd of little boys.

It’s almost 11:00, and I just checked the calendar to see who the lucky mom is, who gets to host the play group today. It says “playgoup–me.” What? I’M hosting play group? Crap. It would be helpful to look at the calendar before the actual day, and see what’s going on.

Good thing I didn’t just start some huge time sucking project, or make plans to run some errands during that time. And it’s a good thing it’s nice weather outside. I guess I can work on the garden or the yard while the kids run around and play in the back yard. I’d better make sure I have Capri Suns and goldfish crackers on hand.