YouTube Tuesday: Manamana

I've had this song stuck in my head for the last week. Reasons why will be further explained tomorrow. Sorry, it's one of those 'earworm' songs; it just won't leave the subconscious no matter how hard you try to NOT think about it. You're welcome.






*p.s. is anyone using the christmas devotional at the side or should i erase it? just curious*

The Bends

I have hit the parental jackpot. I have all 4 children in school 3 days a week. The older ones go to school every day, but Jacqui has now joined the ranks of preschool. Alhamdu-allah! Sorry, I don't have a picture yet. Friday was her first day and she loved it! Though I would like to add that getting 4 children dressed, fed, lunch packed and out the door is not as easy as it looks. Especially when the two middle ones (7 & 5 yo) already act like teenagers when the morning comes. Both of them wrapped up in their blanket cocoons, wincing when I flip on the light. I have to physically pull the covers off and even still they are left shivering in the fetal position. Or like Mairyn this morning; flopped on her stomach, head under pillow, arms pinned under her torso, left knee pulled up to the ribs, the other leg splayed out and that little, pinchable bum sticking up in the air.

Getting out the door this morning was akin to herding chickens. Because from what I've heard, you can't herd chickens. One headed to the car, another still buttering toast, yet another deciding they needed a second potty break and Jacqueline standing beside me, clutching her lunchbox, asking me if it's time to go to her school. We made it through the slickery roads and once they unloaded, I pulled away from the school, and felt *weird*. Not like I missed them, but that the van was empty. I was having some separation anxiety from my littlest, I mean, she's only 3. Then I reminded myself of the next 6 hours of uninterrupted time I had, and I relaxed a bit. But the thing that doesn't add up, the factor that seems to bend the space time continuum, is that I have less time. How is this possible?

I Hit the gym and had a nice, hot shower by myself. Yes, I didn't have to reach out and help put a doll dress on or get a tissue or let the child get in, too.

**sidenote** And you know what met me when I pulled into my driveway? My next door neighbor, shoveling my snow. He looked up a bit sheepishly and said that he had hoped to get to this yesterday and was apologizing! For what? I thanked him profusely and then he said, "Well, just so you know, there are about 4 of us in the neighborhood that keep an eye on your driveway. So we'll get to it, we don't want to see you out here!" Aw gee, let me go grab a tissue! **end side note**

So I guess it's not a factor of not knowing what to do with myself, it's finding time to cram it all in. I think of something I need to do, then internally argue with myself how I couldn't do it today, and then, the light bulb flicks on and I go, "Oh yeah, I don't have any kids with me!" I may need to bend that continuum further to accommodate all of the ideas I have! Let me say it again, Alhamdulillah!!! Even if it may feel like swimming upstream, I have 19 1/2 hours a week of time to myself. Well, until this Friday when school lets out for the holidays. For 2 weeks. Poo. I'd almost forgotten, getting ahead of myself I guess. Then I will declare it again, as of January 4th, I will have 19 1/2 hours a week of time to myself. To quote Skippyjon Jones (yes, go to the link, it's a wonderful children's book series.): Yip Yipee Yippito!!

Rollin' Back Time

I know, it sound cliche, but this time of year is magical. It's full of memories and feelings that seem unreachable, indescribable; only felt. And that magic seems magnified by the bitter cold and piles of snow outside. I know that doesn't sound ideal and for some, a definite 'warm fuzzy' eraser. But for me, it brings back memories of my childhood. Good memories. Waking up in my second story room in the farmhouse in Minnesota and peering out the frosted glass to check the weather. Snow? I could already tell before I sat up; that bright glow seeping through the curtains, telling me it was a snowsuit day. But the dread of getting out of my warm bed and meeting the cold curtain of air almost makes me want to roll over for a few more minutes. Almost. I know that if I hurry, I can have a little time before the bus comes to dawdle in the snow. Make a snow angel along the quarter mile road leading from my house to the point where I meet the bus. Or snap ice-encrusted twigs off the little bush by the mailbox; marveling at the glassy casing and the delicate woody core.

Moving ahead a few years, we're still in Minnesota, but not on the farm. In the city, we live across the street from my elementary school. I am entrusted with walking my little sister to school. All the way across our yard, between the crossing guards and skirting the baseball diamond that is all visible from our front window. In the winter, the school floods an area of the soccer field, making an ice rink. If we bring our skates from home, we can ice skate during recess. There was a sort of shed that had benches to sit on and change from boots to skates. We all jostled each other, wanting to get out and make the most of our 20 minutes of freedom on the ice.

It's these memories that I hope to be able to impress upon my children; create lasting impressions on their little gray matter. In a way, I feel under a lot of pressure to make the most out of this "Year In Country". Living overseas, I have regrets about what my children don't experience. I know, stop shaking your heads. How can I have any regrets when we took afternoon drives around the Sphinx and Great Pyramids of Giza? But it's these parts of my childhood that I want my children to have as well that I know can't be duplicated. Ice skating, building snowmen, freezing their noses off while they wait for the bus or stampeding inside, peeling off frozen layers of clothing and having a hot cup of cocoa. I've come to grips with the fact that their memories are drastically different from mine. That's not a bad thing. I hope I'm making a great, memorable childhood for them. But I am secretly pleased that they do get to have a winter of freezing their tushies off. Grant has already come plowing inside; shedding soggy gloves and socks, in search of a cup of hot chocolate.

Eliza Climbs

Beginning the last week of October, Eliza took a Rock Climbing class once a week. It was a bit of a pain because it started at 7pm. But she's a big girl that doesn't go to bed with the babies. (Grant's words, not mine. And he doesn't consider himself a baby.) Anyway, this last Saturday, there was a Speed Climbing competition. They had a kid's category and Eliza entered. Lots and lots of people showed up; there was a category for each: mens, womens, teens, etc. We had a fun afternoon, Eliza loved it and she won a coupon for a free frozen yogurt in the raffle. Go Eliza!

YouTube Tuesday: Brain Candy

Here is posed the eternal question; when a few spare minutes are found, do you a) feed your brain with healthy, wholesome, enriching facts and information or b) gorge on brain candy? Well, there are many factors to consider when making this decision. What time of day is it? Past a certain hour of the evening, my brain will not retain (hee-hee) anything of worth. First thing in the morning, I feed my gray matter with the stuff of champions; Slate, NYTimes, Drudge, MSN, etc. (And even some of that is fluffy.) But there is a point that you reach and your brain just needs some "lighter stuff". Ah, cue the intro music . . . . . . . . oh, sorry, I couldn't find the rockin' guitar riffs that roll before the beginning of "THE SOUP"!! Yes, I guess you could count this as a dirty little secret #3, but I'm really not that ashamed of it and um, I think we can just chalk this one up as a "Gee Whiz Fact on Lydia". I love The Soup. But the fact that it's combined something else I wanted to talk about this week in the clip, well, we just hit the double clip dip!



So, about all these cartoons from my childhood being made into full length movies; I don't like it. We have seen the cartoon choices available to our children these days and it's pathetic. I will admit, SpongeBob is occasionally entertaining in a train wreck sort of way. But the artistry, content and overall presentation of Saturday morning or after school cartoons is awful. Whatever happened to a good theme song? (see last week's Y.T.T.) Or do they care if the characters look like something that crawled out from under crazy cat lady's back patio? My husband and I have not been delinquent parents. We have been "The Best" and bought all of our childhood favorites on DVD. Gummi Bears, Smurfs, Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons, Jem, etc. So what really bugs me is when my son talks about how he loves Transformers, adults either a) patronize him, nod their head in agreement and whisper behind their hand, "Sheesh, what ELSE do his parents let him watch." thinking he's referring to the movies or b) if Gummi Bears are mentioned, they think my kids are asking for candy. Oh people, it's not your fault you've been poorly educated. Here, enjoy these introductions.

Christmas Idea #5

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without watching your favorite seasonal movie. My favorite? It's a Wonderful Life. Classic. And hey, Jimmy Stewart. I don't know if many are aware of 'What a Wonderful Guy' Jimmy Stewart was. His on-screen self-effacing performances reflected much of the man off-screen. Did you know he was a decorated World War Two pilot? Before the war ended, he was one of only a few men to move from private to colonel in just 4 years. He continued in the Reserves until 1959; when he retired at the rank of Brigadier General. He did do some successful acting before the war; and so after a short break after the war, he went back to acting. But he would not let the studios publicise his wartime triumphs. He did not want to appear to be profiting from the war in any way, even though he was a hero.

'It's a Wonderful Life' was his first movie after the war. Released in 1946, it was Jimmy's final Capra production and his first on-screen kiss since before the war. That phone scene kiss with Donna Reed? One take. It went so well that part of the embrace had to be cut to make it past the censors. Too passionate. I say well done, you can kiss me anytime, Jimmy! ;) Of course he has many other non-christmas-y classics; Harvey, North by Northwest, Winchester, Vertigo, Rear Window, The Man who shot Liberty Valence. Well, I could go on and on, but we have to veer back in the direction of holiday movies. I just HAD to plug one of my favorite actors; Jimmy Stewart.

So take some time and pop in your favorite holiday movie, whatever it may be. For more ideas, here are some great Christmas classics.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (original 1964 version)
Elf (2003 with Will Ferrell and James Caan)
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Scrooged (1988 with Bill Murray)
Miracle on 34th Street (original 1947 version)
A Christmas Story (1983)

Christmas Idea #4

Ok, my computer is smarter than me. Not like that was any big revelation, but I can't get my little christmas tree picture up there to align to the left. So, it will sit stupidly up there in the middle of the page. Booger, I mean, Blogger; it's a love/hate relationship. Though I am going to try the 'write the post on windows and post it' thing. I've heard it's good.

Anyway, that's nothing related to a Christmas Idea. I would like to preface this idea by saying that just because I'm suggesting these activities does it mean that I have accomplished any of it. These ideas are just as much a push in the tush for me as anyone. If there is a completely formed plan for me, I'm more likely to do it. More likely. Not necessarily do it, but at least I thought about it. For the record, I have managed to put up the tree, get it half decorated and set out my Nativities. And pay some guys to hang my lights. The rest of the week has been spent cleaning up kid barf. But, we're all good now.

O-K! Christmas Idea #4:
Make a paper chain to count down to Christmas. Or till the party next week. Or till that present comes in the mail. Count down to Boxing day, or New Years; whatever floats your boat. You could take it one step further and glue a little 'thought of the day' inside. Or make the chain out of candies and have a sweet a day!

Advent Paper Chain -- printable templates
Christmas Advent Calendars -- Step by step instructions for different kinds of advent things.