How we got our kids to listen to classical music
Being the parents of “tweens” (pre-teens, for those of you not familiar with today’s lingo, Usually between the ages of 9 and 12), we listen to a lot of music in the car when we travel. Even on a trip to WalMart or Best Buy or to church. And typically we listen to, you guessed it, pop music. Songs from the Jonas Brothers, Big Time Rush, Miley Cyrus, and from tv shows like Victorious, Phineas & Ferb and iCarly. These are the songs that fill their hand-me-down ipod (that used to be Brian’s before it was mine. Now that we both have iPhones, we don’t need the ipod anymore and have passed it on to the boys). So on the way home from running some errands tonight, our routine was no different. I plugged the radio adapter into my iPhone, started up the ipod, and we jammed to all of the songs mentioned above. And then…
Star Wars came up.
This isn’t unusual, especially not in a house full of boys (in case you didn’t know, I’m the only girl in the house). But what struck me is that it isn’t just a normal tween song…as in, it’s not a pop song. It’s classical music. That’s right. I almost had to laugh. My 9 and 7 year old boys are listening to classical music. And then I remembered the jazz album that is also on their ipod…Wynton Marsalis’ “Big Train.” Again, they listened to music most kids their age don’t and all because, in the case of Marsalis, they love trains.
Maybe it all started with their father’s love of Big Bad VooDoo Daddy and listening to it a lot when they were little. Or, maybe it’s just that we’ve been able to find ways to get them to listen to those genre’s by choosing scores that they would like. Whatever it is, I’m glad. At least they will have some culture when it comes to music. Now, if only I could get them to branch out into different genre’s of books. Oh, well. One thing at a time, I suppose 
A whirlwind vacation
We took our last vacation of the year last week. Well, it’s MY last vacation of the year, anyway. And what a whirlwind vacation it was. The kids had already been in Virginia for a week prior to our vacation, so our plan was to leave last Sunday, after the NASCAR race in Watkins Glenn and head down to VA because we were already 2 hours into our trip from there. We then spent a few days in Virginia with my in-laws, including a day spent down near the Chesapeake Bay area with Brian’s aunt and uncle. We left VA on Thursday and drove about 12 hours to Indiana to my mom, where we dropped the boys off for the weekend so we could go to the NASCAR race in Michigan this past weekend. While it was a fun trip, I think we spent more time in our car than we did anywhere else!
I am so glad to have the boys back, though. It was peaceful and quiet while they were gone, but it also made me realize something. Our life might be chaotic, but I really like the chaos. And I miss the chaos when it’s gone. I just don’t know of any other way to be! Makes me worried for empty-nest, though. How will I keep myself occupied when they all leave home and head off to college? Good thing I have 11 years to decide!
I also noticed the boys have gone through a growth spurt while they were gone. Yes, in only a week. Probably they were going through it when they left but I only noticed because they’d been gone and out of my sight for awhile. This means, of course, that I’m going to have to have them try on everything in their closet to see what fits and what doesn’t. I’m hoping that they haven’t grown enough to necessitate a major shopping trip before school. I’d really like to get through at least part of the school year without having to buy clothes for them. I realize that it’s wishful thinking, especially at their age and stage. But I can dream, can’t I?
Speaking of school, I’m back at it in 2 weeks. Yes, I know, I know. You’re saying “But you JUST graduated!” This is true. But I’m starting my masters program on the 30th. And I’ve decided that, rather than go the 2 year plan, I’m going straight through and doing it in 18 months. Which means I’ll graduate with my masters in December of 2011 rather than May of 2012. I hesitated to do it this way. My fear was (and still is, if I’m being honest) that I’ll be graduating mid-year with no job prospects. But, all of the teachers I’ve talked to have said it is actually a better way to go. I’ll be able to sub for the second semester, either being a regular sub or being a long-term sub. That will give me 6 months experience to put on my resume, which will help me get a job over someone graduating in May with no experience. Plus, it also gives me 6 or 7 months to try to find a job, rather than 2 months if I were to graduate in May. I still feel, somewhere inside, that it’s a risky move, but the reality is that it’s probably a far better move that my original plan. So I’ll be super busy for the next year and a half (which is why the aforementioned vacation is also the last one for me for the next 18 months!). I promise to try to keep up with blogging. Especially in light of me trying to revive this poor thing. But I can’t promise it will be regularly. Likely, it will be very sporadic. But I’ll at least try to make the effort
In the meantime, we’ll be doing school shopping and getting back into our school schedule. The boys start in 3 weeks. Still waiting on the twins’ teacher assignments to come in the mail. I’m hoping they came last week and they are in the mail that I need to pick up from the post office. Either way, I think they are looking forward to doing some school shopping. They are at the age where they like to pick out their own supplies (according to the list, anyway). I just don’t have a list for Alex, so I guess I’ll grab a first grade list and hope it’s what the second graders need, too (in his school, the students stay in the same class with the same teacher and classmates for both first and second grade). And, I’ll be able to save money because some of what they have on their lists I already have at home. Score one for me on that! Just goes to show that it helps to buy more than you need once in awhile – there’s always a chance you’ll need it later! (translation: I’m a pack-rat!)
Sphere: Related ContentA makeover
The boys have been gone all week and will be gone until Monday (technically, for the next week and a half). I decided to take advantage of them being gone and clean and organize their playroom and bedrooms. I don’t have any before pics of the playroom, but here are the after pics:
This is the first area. In the corner, where the puppet theater is now, is where the train table used to be. Along the wall, where the rolling towers are, used to be a storage unit that had colored bins. Each boy now has their own 3-drawer storage unit (only Alex’s is full). The tall tower is full of Lego’s (that I painstakingly separated by color!). They used to be in a huge Rubbermaid tub, but when they wanted to find something they had to dump the whole thing in order to find it. I’m hoping this will make it easier for them to find what they are looking for. Ideally, the larger drawers will be for their put-together sets when they get them put together.
This wall used to have a table with a chair. The table was piled high with drawn-on papers and random stuff. I got rid of the table, hoping they can use the computer desk for drawing and coloring, etc.
Not much has changed on this wall. There used to be a single drawer between the bookcases with all kinds of random stuff piled on top. The 3-drawer shelf here holds their games and some other random stuff (in the top drawer). I also used some of the colored bins that used to be along the back wall to store and organize stuff on their book shelf. I also used the Rubbermaid bin that used to house their Lego’s as storage for their stuffed animals. And I was able to purge a lot of books from their shelves, which means they have room for a bunch of new ones!
First, please ignore the mess! That area hasn’t entirely been cleaned up (that’s my laptop sitting there, which is usually upstairs. Theirs is sitting up on the ledge of the desk). The white drawer unit is mine, but it’s piled with papers and things I found in the playroom that I want to keep. I just need to put it all away in the laundry room. But this will be their new coloring, drawing, homework area, etc. I moved their storage tower (the colored one) next to it. It’s got all their paper and coloring books and I put all their crayons, etc in a bin sitting on top.
I’m really hoping this lasts. The problem before was that their toys had outgrown those colored bins that they were in. I’m hoping that the new storage we bought will be better conducive to keeping it clean and organized down there for longer than a day! Here’s to hoping…
Sphere: Related ContentOrganization tips/ideas?
The boys are gone for a week visiting their grandparents and their aunt and uncle in Virginia. I’m taking this opportunity to clean their playroom and their bedrooms. What seems to be plaguing me is how to go about organizing these rooms without breaking the bank. We’ve priced some things in WalMart and Target, but to do it the way I want to, I fear it will cost too much.
Does anyone have any organization tips or ideas that won’t cost an arm and a leg? Any tips on how to organize bedrooms and playrooms so that they don’t keep getting trashed consistently?
Sphere: Related ContentOne dream realized
I haven’t yet blogged about the biggest event that has happened in my life since giving birth to my youngest son: my college graduation. That’s right, I am now a college grad! It took me 12 years and a different path to finish my bachelors degree, but I made it. And I couldn’t be more happy. One dream has been realized.
I invited my entire family and ended up with about 12 people here (not including the 5 of us) to celebrate with me. I decided last fall that I was walking and going through the entire ceremony, rain or shine (though I hoped for no rain!). I was so thrilled that my parents were able to come out, along with one set of my in-laws and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, my sister and brother-in-law and my 18 month old niece as well as my aunt. It meant so much to me to have my family here to witness what we all worked so hard for.
It isn’t the path I had originally intended to take. But I learned long ago that God has a plan for me that is different that the one I have for myself. My degree is in Political Science, which was something I never intended. It just worked out that way. But I’m also happy to announce that I have been accepted to graduate school here at Nazareth College and will be starting a masters program in Inclusive Childhood Education on August 30th. In 2 years, I’ll have a teaching degree and will have fulfilled my life-long dream of being a teacher.
Sitting on the football field that day was a surreal experience. But aside from being really, really cold, it was a great experience, too. I couldn’t believe I was actually sitting there, about to be conferred with my degree (which has yet to come in the mail, btw). I couldn’t believe I had actually done it. And I still can’t! It seems so completely awesome that I just can’t wrap my brain around being called a college graduate! It also seems unreal to me that in 2 years, I’ll be a teacher! Something I’ve wanted to be since I was 4 years old (yes, my mom and dad can confirm that!).
I am so glad that the boys are old enough to really understand the gravity of the situation. They were probably the most proud of anyone there in the audience watching me. Brian said they sat there with a smile on their faces from ear to ear the whole time! For weeks before and after they could do nothing but talk to their friends and their teachers about it. Anytime I went to their school, everyone I ran into said something to me about it. It was really very touching. I really hoped it would be an event that they would remember and say in the future that if it was important enough for me to do, even at 30 years old, it should be important for them, too. I am confident that that is exactly what happened.
Sphere: Related ContentA revival
I haven’t blogged in awhile. Ok, if I’m being really honest, I have lost my mojo. I haven’t even felt like blogging. I get all these great ideas and think “Oh, yeah! I should blog that!” But the thought of sitting down and actually doing it seemed way to daunting and I abandoned the thought altogether. I even toyed with the idea of taking my blog down. But that idea pained me, so I tossed it aside. I’ve just decided that I need to do it. I need to dig in and (as Nike says) just do it. So expect random blogging from me in the near future. My mother always said it takes 28 days to form a habit. Here’s to hoping she’s right!
Sphere: Related ContentAnnouncing….
*note* I’ve had this post sitting in my drafts since just after Fat Tuesday. Please don’t ask me why it has taken me so long to get it posted because I really don’t have an answer. I’ve just finally decided to get on it and get it done!
I’m very proud to say that we’ve been selected as the March of Dimes March for Babies 2010 Ambassador Family for the Rochester, NY event! We are SO happy and honored to be asked to carry this awesome title! We love sharing our story with people at events like these because we don’t share our story with too many people on a regular basis. If you’d like to support our cause and sponsor us for the walk, you can do that here. I, personally, am just about halfway to my goal. And my team, as awesome as they are, has surpassed their first goal and is on the way to making the second. This is the first year that I’ve been able to recruit people outside the 5 of us to walk. My cousin Amanda is walking in Kentucky and I’m so thankful that she is joining us this year! My sister is walking, too, though she’s walking with her Moms group. That doesn’t matter to me. I’m just glad she’s walking!
Since my original draft of this post, NY is the first chapter to raise over their $200,000 goal…the state family teams have raised over a millions dollars already so far in 2010! That is fantastic!
Sphere: Related ContentOne step forward, two steps back
Just when I feel that we’re making headway with Zach and his bed-wetting problem, we seem to take two steps back. He had done so well for about a month. He was staying dry every night, and even admitted that he was able to tell that he had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night (even if he wasn’t willing to get up to go). That in itself was a huge admission. It’s what we’ve been struggling with. Certainly it’s the biggest part of the problem: his body hasn’t been mature enough to be able to tell his brain that he has to go. SO hearing him tell us this, unprompted, was a sure sign of progress on the maturity front. Yes, he’s still taking medicine. Without it, I think there would be a bigger mess than we already have. And I still wake him up before I go to bed. My hope has been that eventually his body will produce an internal clock that will allow him to start waking up on his own around the same time I wake him up every night. That hasn’t yet happened, but I’m still hopeful.
For the past week, though, he’s woken up wet every morning, regardless of any of the other measures. We can’t increase his medicine because he’s already at the max. And, short of me setting my alarm and waking him every couple of hours, I’m not sure what else can be done. I’ve been contemplating talking to his doctor and seeing if we shouldn’t do some sort of physical measure of his bladder. In other words, I’ve been wondering if we should do an x-ray or something like that to see if it’s smaller than normal. I don’t know that anything can be done if it is, but maybe there is something that I’m missing, like a way to grow his bladder and make it bigger (not sure that can be done, but it’s worth looking into).
I really feel bad for the kid. His self-esteem isn’t very high to begin with and I can always see just how dejected he is when he wakes up in the morning wet. He’ll cry and tell me he’s sorry, as if there is something he can do about it. I reassure him that it’s ok and that it’s not his fault. But short of a breakthrough where he stops wetting the bed for good, I’m not sure what else to do for him. I’ve considered putting him back in pull-ups for bed time, but I don’t think that will help him at all (other than he won’t wake up wet). I think when Alex finally stopped wetting the bed and had his plastic mattress taken off, it hit Zach pretty hard. Nothing really seems to console him. I know he’s getting to the age (just a month away from turning 9) where friends will start wanting to sleep over, or want him to sleep over and I worry that it will still be too soon for Zach. I don’t want him to be embarrassed by it because it’s not anything he can help. But I’m running out of options to help him. I realize that with each year older he gets, the probability of him growing out of the problem increases. It’s just really frustrating to not see that kind of progress, or in our case, to see it, embrace it, then see regression.
Anyone else had this problem and have any suggestions that we can try? Please keep in mind the monitor is NOT an option for us because of dh’s work schedule.
Sphere: Related ContentIt’s that time of year again!
It’s almost kick-off time for March for Babies. Because I’m interning at the March of Dimes this semester, I’m getting a jump start on fundraising while I work out some interesting (and hopefully fun!) incentives for family teams to raise more money, and perhaps for donors who donate a certain amount. So, without further ado, here’s my fundraising widget. Feel free to donate, if you can. You can also read our (brief) story on my page, or search for it here on my blog (I’ve posted it a couple of times before). If you can’t donate, you can still support us by leaving a comment here if you’d like. And, if you have any ideas on how to get teams and/or individuals to raise more money, I’d love to hear them!
One last semester
This is my last semester of undergrad! I’m so excited to start, too. I don’t technically start until Monday, but I had my first day at my internship today. I’m interning at the March of Dimes, which is an organization I’m already pretty immersed in. I figured I might as well put all that work to good use and get 6 credits out of it! I’m super excited! I’ll be a family teams specialist, with a little bit of admin work. I think it will be fun to get a feel for the inner workings of a non-profit.
I went back to campus yesterday to turn in some necessary paperwork to fix something that should have been fixed a long time ago. I found out last week during my winter session class that I’m being counted as an out-of-state student for tuition purposes, despite the fact that I’m getting a state grant that’s only available to residents! No one had bothered to tell me that I needed to fill out a residency affidavit prior to the fall semester. I paid 3 times what I should have in tuition for last fall and the winter term! Had I known, and had everything been squared away last summer, I would never have had to take out student loans.
So, I had to take the residency form to school to get notarized and turned in so they’ll change my status. I’ll get a massive refund this semester, too, because of that. That’s nice, but it still stinks that I wouldn’t have had to take out the loans I’m getting refunded to me in the first place. The only good part about that is that I was able to pay for my text books out of that refund. And because I’m taking a political philosophy class AND a politics in literature class this semester, there are a LOT of books! It’s nice to know I’ll have them all when the semester starts, though.
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