My Favorite Viola Joke

A boy begins taking viola lessons after school each day. The first day, he comes home and says, "Mommy, Mommy - today I learned how to play the C string!" The second day he comes home and says, "Mommy, Mommy - today I learned how to play the G string!" The third day he comes home and says, "Mommy, Mommy - today I learned how to play the D string!" The fourth day he comes home and says, "Mommy, Mommy - today I learned how to play the A string!" The fifth day, he didn't come home. Hours passed, dinnertime came and went, it got dark. His mother was totally panicked and hysterical. Finally at midnight the boy walks in the door. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???" cried his mother. "I've been worried to death!!!" The boy replied, "Oh, I had a gig."

I love you violas!!!

Easter Fun

Grandma Ricks has done it again!  

She sent this super cute Easter Bunny house for us to put together.  

The boys LOVED it.  During the whole process I got a few accolades:  

“You’re a good mommy.”  

“I love you, Mom.”  

“You’re doing it right!”

Music to my ears.  Thanks, Margo, for letting me mooch off of your generosity.  Don’t worry.  I made sure to remind them it was actually from you.

Front

Rear

Sides

We've Started Soccer

Well, it has begun.  I am a soccer mom.  Since I married Weston I have known this would be my destiny.  That is….assuming the boys have inherited their dad’s love for soccer.

Today was my first time taking them and I’m not so sure.  It was windy.  It was FREEZING.  Adam spent part of the time cuddled up in my arms….trying to stay warm and waiting for the snacks.  (He made that abundantly clear.)

Although, every now and then he would decide he wanted to play, and he did a decent job.  He turned three at the very beginning of the season so we debated whether or not to enroll him.  He has a pretty strong kick when he wants to.  He just forgets to run after the ball once he’s made the effort to meet it with his foot.

Warm-ups

Peter does a good job, too.  He enthusiastically listens to the coaches while giving instructions for warm-ups and drills.

Toward the end of the practice they did a couple of runs across the field to score a goal with their balls.  I was so focused on helping Adam get across the field, knowing Pete could handle it on his own.  But there were a couple of times when I would look up and scan the field for Peter.  All the kids had made it to the goal by now but I wasn’t able to find him.  Then I would see him way off in la-la land…the outer abyss of non-pre-K-team territory, chasing his ball.  Apparently his ball had different ideas about where it was supposed to be headed.  

Cute kid.  I’m sure Weston will be able to show him a thing or two about keeping his eyes on the goal.

Daddy Don't Need No Wii

The other day Weston forwarded me an email with the following phrase in the subject field:

"Why Daddy Needs a Wii" 

 

This video was attached.

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

I responded:

"You don't need a wii for that."

We took the kids to the 

National Aquarium

in Baltimore today.

I hardly know where to begin in my attempt to describe how much I looked forward to this day.  It wasn’t so much for the Aquarium itself, although it is significant because in the six years we’ve lived here we’ve never been able to bring ourselves to pay the EXORBITANT entrance fee.  We chose this as our destination today because in 3 weeks, Adam will turn 3.  Old enough to add another head to the you-must-pay-to-enter count.

But the main reason I was anticipating it so much is because it was a scheduled date with dad.  Weston has so much on his plate these days that I often feel starved (and jealous) for time with him, and our quality time as a family.  He told me this was a day he could set aside for us and I put it in my calendar.  

In pen.

We had a great time touring the museum and examining all the marine life on display.   

Here the boys are investigating the anemones.  

They were also very impressed with the electric eel. 

 Well, we all were.  (Sorry, no good pictures of the eel.) 

My personal favorite was the dolphin show.  

It was so enjoyable to watch the dolphins play with each other and interact with their trainers.

I have a soft spot in my heart for dolphins.  They were always my favorite as a kid. 

After lunch we climbed a flight of stairs and were met by these three penny-squishing machines.  The big black cranks immediately drew the boys to them like the most powerful magnet in the world.  I took one look at Weston and couldn’t help but point out the genes he contributed to the pool.  Somehow he has always found these machines to be irresistible.  Well, the boys are definitely chips off the old block.  Fortunately to a four-year-old, a good turn of the crank is adequate entertainment and doesn’t necessitate actually going through the process of getting your entire dollar ripped off.

We bought tickets for the whole kit n’ caboodle, including the 4-D immersion show.  The thought never occurred to me that it might not be completely fascinating to the boys.  I thought they would absolutely love the 3-D element plus the special effects (rumbling seats, mist in your face, bubbles…)

There were a few startling moments.  In particular you feel a poke in your back when the animal makes a sudden motion on the screen.  We were trying to encourage Peter to keep is glasses on, so he could get the full effect.

We sat through the preview, a fast-paced offering of what was to come.  Then silence in the theater.  Just enough silence for EVERYONE to hear Peter exclaim, “This is NOT a good movie!”  

Annelise was a champ.  She sat cozily in the moby wrap for almost the entire day.  Occasionally emerging to nurse but never quite getting to sleep.  For how zealously I’ve been guarding her nap schedule, I’m surprised she didn’t completely freak out as the hours passed and she gradually accumulated a total of about 4.5 hours of lost sleep.  Well, she did freak out eventually.  Fortunately it wasn’t until we were almost home.

 It was a great day.

Keeping It Real

This is what the boys' room looked like this morning when I walked in.  

Just to set all of you straight who may be thinking that my life is always idyllic.

p.s. that was a joke.

I tried to get them to clean it up this morning but we all know that it's easier just to do it onesself.....so it's still not done.  Now I have two kids sleeping and the middle one will go down in a few  minutes after he's done with his episode of lunch eating intermittent with overtiredness tantrums. 

Three kids napping.  This hasn't happened in about forever.  Oh, wait.  I guess this has never happened.  

It's a miracle.  And not a moment too soon because last week was a bear and right now I feel like a  heifer and I need to get off my feet.  Hmmmm.....which one will win out?  Scripture study and a nap.....or blogging.  I guess you'll know soon enough.

Just A Little Rant -- My Current Top 3 Pet Peeves

For some reason I feel the need to blog about my top three current pet peeves.   Things I've noticed lately that I have about zero patience for.

#1 RUDE DRIVERS

I need to change lanes.  I turn my signal on, giving plenty of notice to the driver in my lane of choice.  What does he do?  Speed up.  No, not to get out of my way.  I don't mind it when there is a mutual understanding that the driver is trying to accommodate my request and his only option is to step on the gas.  No.  The rude driver speeds up for the express purpose of NOT LETTING ME IN.  Why?  So that he can wait at the same stop light I am going to wait at.  But he maneuvered his way into waiting in front of me instead of behind me.  Impressive, Mack.   Wow.  Not only did you save yourself so much time, but you just demonstrated that you don't know how to be polite.  Why is it acceptable in our culture to be rude on the road?  I just don't get it.  I could sit by that same guy on an airplane and the cultural understanding would be that we would make chit-chat and be buddies by the end of the flight.  But on the road?  No way.  Every man for himself.  

....and the other scenario.  The bird....or any other form of chastisement from the next car over.  Now, I'm a good driver and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  You can even ask my husband and he will eventually get around to saying I'm a decent driver if you pressure him with your eye contact long enough.  There are occassions, however, when I am driving in an unfamiliar place.  You know, that spot where everyone who lives there knows that from 4-7 pm it's one-way traffic but you've never been there before so of course you are going to have to quickly come up with an alternate plan?  Nothing wrong with that.  Then all of a sudden you get the bird.  Or a rude honk, or the driver in the next car over looking over at you and shaking his head in disgust.  We've all been there.  I don't need to go on.  But the point I want to make here is that this attitude is so full of HYPOCRISY!  We've all been there.  We've ALL made mistakes while driving.  Fortunately most of them are minor and there's no harm done.  But for other drivers to make people feel like idiots for the little mistakes that they make, I just want to say "who the bleep do you think you are?  God's gift to the road?"  You've made your own share of mistakes so don't go around shaking your head in disgust, trying to make other drivers feel lower than the dust under your feet.

#2 MISSING BABY WIPE

I'm changing a messy diaper.  In our house they come in various shapes and sizes.  I have an almost-three-year-old that I'm procrastinating potty training, and a 6-month-old baby who's just barely started on solid foods, if you know what I mean.  I don't mind the smell.  I don't even mind the process.  I'm used to it by now.  What DRIVES ME CRAZY is when I've got a pair of poopy legs in my left hand and I go to reach for the second wipe with my right hand.  It is not there.  Somehow the wipe I just used failed it's second-most-important duty....to invite it's successor up and out.  Now I'm under enormous pressure.  I only have one free hand and I'm about to have to do another load of laundry if I can't find the new wipe through that tiny little diamond-shaped hole.  No patience for this, I'm telling you.  It makes me want to scream....or swear.  And I'm not the swearing kind.

#3 "Someday you'll understand."

  One word: CON--DESCENDING. 

You're right.  I don't understand.  I can't comprehend a scenario that would justify saying this to another human being.  I think it's supposed to be some sort of fake sympathy?  That's the best I can make out.  But to me what it says is, "You are an imbecil."  Or at best, "My station in life is so far advanced in comparison to your primitive existence that you won't possibly be able to understand the logic of the statement I'm about to make."  Don't say this to people. Just don't.