Helping Me at Least Pretend I'm Musically Literate. . .

I believe that I had a rather musical upbringing. My scores in the game Encore are proof enough of that. BUT I have always had a really hard time following contemporary music or remembering the names of artists or the names of the songs they sing, knowing who I like or what songs would be right for my mood or circumstance. Much of this comes from the fact that I've always been too cheap to buy many CD's. And then I had children and the car's CD player was taken over by "I'm Being Swallowed By a Boa Constrictor" and "Mommy's Taking Us to the Zoo Tomorrow" (definitely classics in their own right), and most recently, the Animanics Greatest Hits. Then I found that even when I was alone, I couldn't stomach the radio stations anymore (ads and DJ's) now that I've "matured," so I mostly just listen to NPR or the local news for weather info. How un-hip is that???

That long introduction is to say that I've found (well, Guy found it and told me about it) a website, Pandora.com where you can just enter in an artist's name and it will generate hours worth of music by that artist, and other artists with similar styles. You do have to register on the site but they save the "stations" you create. It probably shows that I spend too much time on the computer if I need to set it to music, but I've had a lot of fun exploring different music without having to spend any money! I've even used it on Sundays, entering in MoTab and getting a collection of Sabbath-appropriate songs. I fell asleep to my Norah Jones station the other night (and actually had to wake up enough to turn off the laptop). There is even a new Pandora app for your iphone (if you have one) so you can go mobile with it.

So, in short, I like Pandora because:
* there's no long-term commitment to anything
* it's easier than putting on a CD to listen to,
* it addresses my Musical ADD by playing songs from a variety of artists.

There is a lot on the site I haven't explored (ie. "Share" features), but I recommend it, and would love artist suggestions if you have any.

Just a Little Personality

These pictures were taken after we dropped Caleb off for his first day of Kindergarten (a couple of weeks ago). Initially, Mitchell really didn't want to leave the school, and then on the walk home, he used his persuasive powers to steal Guy's hat AND sunglasses. The second picture is the reaction I got when I told him to smile for the camera. Naturally, we ended the walk with Guy and I each holding a hand and doing "1, 2, 3, Go!" (though Mitchell would usually skip right to the "Go"), swinging him several steps each time. He gets to swing, and we get home a little quicker (it was a hot day). Win, win.

Joy

I found this great picture when I downloaded from my camera, and it made me happy.

Warning: A Glass-Half-Empty Post

Maybe even a Glass-All-The-Way-Empty Post.

I really hate Sundays when (and it's only 1 pm):

* You deliberately choose an outfit that won't need ironing so that Sunday morning will run smoother, then you put the shirt on and discover it is actually stained, so you spend far too long tearing through your closet trying to come up with a plan B (that also won't need to be ironed).

* Despite arriving at church on time, your family has to sit in the back, on the chairs, spread between two rows because they only set up 4-chair-wide rows on the sides and everything else is taken, and it's not even a missionary coming or going meeting.

* Sacrament meeting runs long, for about the 6th week in a row, and your tolerance for being climbed on and having your hair pulled expires right at 70 minutes.

* Mitchell has a runny nose so you take him home after said long Sacrament Meeting so that you don't infect the rest of the nursery.

* Scouts takes over Guy's life for yet another Sunday, despite the fact that we have friends coming for dinner, which means that you get to get dinner and the house ready on your own (with your little helpers), and even entertain solo while Guy goes to a Scout Committee Meeting.

* You take yet another pregnancy test and it's negative. . . again.


Sorry. I just needed to get it off my chest. I guess now I can blame my bad mood on PMS, right?

First Day of Kindergarten

August 25, 2008 "Mother of the Year", here. I actually had three boys going back to school, though you wouldn't know it by the pictures I took (or rather didn't take). I had a really negative attitude about school starting this year--Summer was just way too short, and we are (once again) trying out a new schooling situation (Sheridan is attending a gifted and talented magnet school the district just opened) which means I have kids at 2 different schools, and on 3 different schedules this year. I really was quite grumpy. I blame that and my worry about just getting the big boys where they needed to be on that first day for the lack of photographic celebration (?).

For Caleb it was a different story. His enthusiasm for starting school was just electric, he didn't start until a week after the big boys and I'd had a chance to relax about it all a little, AND, probably most importantly, he goes to AFTERNOON kindergarten, so I had the benefit of several hours to remember the camera. Guy and Mitchell and I all walked him to school via the trail from our neighborhood, and I don't know that I've ever seen him walk so quickly. There was not even a backward glance as Caleb got to his classroom and jumped right into playing with some blocks. No tears were shed, though Mitchell did flash us some pretty dirty looks as we kept him from going into the room.

So far, the reports are mostly positive. Caleb says school is great, though he had some strong feelings of injustice around them not being able to play on the playground for the first 3 days because of landscaping work that was going on. My only concern is that when I asked him what he learned each day his answers were (day 1) "not to jump over someone else's work," (day 2) "to clean up your work," (day 3) "that some of the kids are 6 years old," and (day 4) "nothing."

Camping with the Christensens

August 22-23 We celebrated surviving the first week of school by making a quick camping trip up to Jolly's Ranch in Hobble Creek Canyon with the Christensens. It turned out to be a great spot. It was relatively empty, and we got sites that backed up to this creek where the kids spent a majority of their time trying to catch water skeeters (Caleb insisted they were "skitters", although I don't think that either term is technically correct), pulling "bamboo" plants, trying to walk without falling down (unsuccessfully), and naturally getting their clothes very dirty. I really don't care about the clothes, though, because they loved it so much. Luckily, Mitchell wasn't too enamored with the water, so I didn't have to worry too much.

Quinn brought a tent to pitch and sleep in to fulfill one of his Cub Scout Arrow of Light requirements, and Sheridan was more than happy to assist. With their new-found independence, they made big plans to stay up all night making owl mating calls to try and lure one to the tent. They were both up very early, and very eager to build the fire. Though their first attempt wasn't successful, it was a riot seeing these "grown-up" boys wanting to assume more responsibility.

I was sorely disappointed in my camera, which has been going through our rechargable batteries in a matter of hours lately. These were the best pictures I got, and all the others were blurry. (I'm serious about finding a new digital camera with much higher MP, maybe a Zeiss lense, and video recording capablilities. Any suggestions?) Renae ended up taking over 80 pictures with her camera and promised to send them to me.

On Saturday we dropped the tent trailers and headed further up the canyon to a fairly remote little trail called Wadsworth Creek. We had a dubious start--too many flies, too much sun, not enough shade, but we ended up finding a lovely spot where the kids could climb rocks, play on the bridge over the creek, and where we saw some horseback riders. (Mitchell's motivation for hiking back down the trail was to get to horses again. Those short legs manage to move pretty quickly when they want to. We did find the horses again at the trailhead, and the owners were nice enough to let Mitchell pet one--and he suddenly got very shy about horses.)

Best quote of the trip:

Driving home after the hike:
Caleb: What kind of fruit do cars like best?
Me: I don't know, what?
Caleb: Road apples! I made that up myself.

Caleb's Version of Couch Potato

August 2008 I actually think Caleb was just REALLY enjoying having his older brothers at school (he started a week after they did), and thus commanding total control over the remote, the wii, the legos. . .

A Birthday Riddle

My parents came over on Caleb's actual birthday for dinner and a little celebration (GREAT cake, Mom). My dad came with the following:

Here is a riddle for Caleb (and his brothers and cousins too):

1. Take three years but one event on one date
2. The years all are multiples of three
3. One of the digits in two of the years mean nothing
4. This meaning is doubled in the other year
5. The date is a multiple of three plus one
6. The first year begins a century with the event
7. The third year ends the century (or beings a new century) with the same event.
8. Take three men or boys who range from tall to small

Who are the three? What is their great relationship?

Family members will probably figure it out, but I'll put the answers in the comments.

We Knew He Was Good for Something

For FHE tonight, we took turns answering the following questions about one another: 1)What do you love most about __________? 2) What does _____________ add to our family? When it was Caleb's turn to answer the second questions about Sheridan, he didn't skip a beat when he answered, in all earnestness, "nutrients."

I tried for a few valiant seconds to keep a straight face and come up with something appropriate to say, but it was a lost cause. Unfortunately, we could never quite get the lesson back on track after that, but everyone had a really good laugh.

Big Springs Hike

August 11, 2008 This is becoming one of our favorite hikes--close, cooler, and not too long. We met up with the Christensens, had pizza at the trail head and then hiked to the meadow and back. We would have gone further, but we were loosing light and it was actually getting quite cold for a little boy who refused to stay in his backpack and whose shorts kept falling down. Guy showed us all a pretty impressive beaver dam that he found while hiking with Marcus (2nd picture), and the kids had a great time running around. Mitchell's favorite thing was finding the huge dandelion-like flowers (he calls them "Bubbles").