A history lesson about me

Going through all those boxes of childhood stuff in the basement helped jog my memory of what I was like and things I did as a kid.

1. I tried out for and participated in my school talent shows from grades 1-8.  It kinda blows my mind that I had the nerve to try out when I was only 6 years old.  I danced to Blondie's "The Tide is High."  In 2nd grade, I danced and lip-synced to Manhattan Transfer's "The Boy From New York City" with a 1st grade boy.  He was the NYC "boy," and I kinda danced around him.  We won that year...solely based on cuteness because talent was nil.   I think most every year after that I danced to something by Duran Duran.

2. In 1st and 2nd grade, I played Star Wars on the playground with two boys, Mark and Greg.  Mark was my "boyfriend."  He was Luke.  Greg was Chewbaca, I think.  I was Leia.  Mark's birthday was the first party I ever attended.  He had a place-setting for me right next to him.  We played some kind of game where we had to balance a potato on our shoe.  I remember I won and his mom took a picture of me in my rockin' fake leather boots with the potato on my toe.

3. When I was in 3rd grade we were instructed to do all the math problems at the back of our math book.  I don't know how long we were given to accomplish this, but I didn't do any of them.  I hated math from the moment this was assigned, and I hated math even more when I had to stay in from recess for weeks and weeks to do the math problems at the back of the book.  I distinctly remember my mom sitting at the dining room table with me as I cried and cried over the horror of doing that math.

4. When I was in 4th grade I got a retainer to keep me from sucking my thumb.  It was a medieval torture device with prongs sticking down from the roof, basically making a metal gate so that I couldn't put my thumb into my mouth.  It took awhile for me to be able to speak properly with it.  After I saw the orthodontist, I remember my teacher asking me to read aloud in class.  I had to read something about the hemispheres.  I lost a tremendous amount of saliva trying to pronounce that word multiple times for the reading.

5. In 5th grade I got into a "fist fight" of sorts with a classmate.  She and I had an on-again/off-again relationship.  One year we'd be friends, and the next year we'd hate each other.  Fifth grade was apparently an "off" year.  My mom had made me a winter coat made of a white fur like material.  What I remember is my on/off friend dragging it on the gym floor.  I seem to recall walking over to her and popping her in the face.  It got ugly after that, and Mr. S had to intervene.  (I'm Facebook friends with this woman now so she can set me straight if my memory is off.)

6. In 6th grade a classmate got pregnant by an 18-year-old guy.  My introduction to the "real world." I remember our teacher wrote "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" on the board, which was also my introduction to that word and what it meant.

7. In 7th grade I was perhaps the most hated kid in junior high.  To this day I still don't know why.  That sucked.

8.  In 8th grade I was hell-bound on seeking revenge on the assholes who made my 7th grade year a living hell.  So I became a cheerleader and got straight As and won the Principal's Award, which is like the Oscar of my former school.  It might have felt better to give 'em all black eyes, but just rubbing their faces in my awesomeness was pretty good too.

9. In 9th grade I started at an all-girls Catholic school downtown.  It was my first experience with black girls.  I am ashamed to admit that my initial thought was, "How will I ever be able to tell them apart?"  That first day of school they all looked the same to me.  This is part of the reason I am pro-public schools.  Diversity is a good thing and really shouldn't just begin when one becomes a teenager.

10. In 10th grade I began dating BM, my high school sweetheart whom I fortunately did not marry.  He was (and is) a good guy, but I'm just not the type of person who could have married my high school boyfriend.  I guess this is where being inherently "boy-crazy" is a good thing----check out the other fish in the sea.  He and I dated for the remainder of my high school career.  We dated for my first semester of college, but once I got a taste of being around guys all day long, I was over it.

11. In 11th grade I was voted Junior Class President.  I had run for class president in 9th and 10th grades but no dice.  Junior year meant planning a prom.  I almost didn't get to attend prom because I had strep throat.  I missed my ring ceremony due to strep.

12. During spring break of my senior year of high school, my friend Kelly and I went to.......Cincinnati, OH for a couple days.  Somehow you don't get the screams and catcalls when lifting your shirt at the art museum and zoo as you do in Fort Lauderdale.  It was fun but even then I knew this was terribly lame.

Other things I remember in no particular order----
* Coming home from elementary school and eating a snack at the kitchen table with my mom every day.  Telling her about the events of the day.  This is part of the reason I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.

* Dressing up as hookers one year for Halloween with JP, DD and MBP.

* Making mud pies in the backyard with my brother.  When he went into the house to get something, I put mud into his Spiderman house slippers.

* Peeing under/behind the wiegela bush in the back of the yard.  (I mean we had indoor plumbing....I guess it was just for the thrill of peeing outside.)

* Swinging on the swingset in the backyard singing Buffy Sainte-Marie's, "I'm Gonna Be a Country Girl Again."

* Laying in the back of the car listening to Eric Carmen's, "All By Myself," and brooding.

*Dancing in the basement with my mom to various Johnny Mathis songs.  She did her sewing down there and would listen to his LPs.  She and I would waltz around to various tunes.  

ABCs of my iPod

I'm kinda stealing an idea from my friend G's blog but putting a twist on it.  Just to show how "back in the day" my music selections are, as well as how infrequently I get to listen to music I want (since I technically share this gizmo with the younguns).  I am certain you will find it rather difficult to determine which songs were selected for or by my kids).

Here are the first 3 artists listed on my iPod with the 1st song under that artist.

A
Aaliyah, Rock the Boat
Alison Krauss, Down to the River to Pray
Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch, I'll Fly Away

B
Backyardigans, Theme Song
Barbie, Connected
Beach Boys, Surfin USA

C
The Champs, Tequila
The Chipettes, Hot N Cold
The Chipmunks, Bad Day

D
Danny & the Juniors, At the Hop
Danny Elfman, Augustus Gloop
Dean Martin, Baby, It's Cold Outside

E
Earth, Wind & Fire, Shining Star
Elvis Presley, Hard-Headed Woman
Emmylou Harris et al, Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby

F
Fairfield Four, Lonesome Valley
Feist, 1234
Flaming Lips, The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song

G
Gwen Stefani, What You Waiting For

H
Hannah Montana, Best of Both Worlds
Harry McClintock, Big Rock Candy Mountain

I
Iggy Pop, Lust For Life

J
James Carter & the Prisoners, Po' Lazarus
Jeff Buckley, Mojo Pin
Jeff Conway & John Travolta, Greased Lightning

K
The Kids, Kryptonite

L
Lady Gaga, Paparazzi
Laurie Berkner, Rocketship Run

M
Michael Buble, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Miley Cyrus, Start All Over
Music Together, See How I'm Jumping?

N
Norman Blake, You Are My Sunshine

P
The Peasall Sisters, In the Highways
The Pipettes, Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me

Q
Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody

R
Ralph Stanley, O Death
Randy Newman, You've Got a Friend In Me
Rascall Flatts, Life is a Highway

S
Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber, Eenie Meenie
Sha-Na-Na, Born to Hand Jive
Sharpay, Humuhumunkuakua

T
Ting Tings, That's Not My Name
Toni Basil, Mickey
Tony Bennett, Fly Me to The Moon

U
U2, Beautiful Day
Usher, Yeah

V
Van Morrison, Wild Night
Vince Guaraldi, Skating

W
Whites, Keep on the Sunny Side
Wiggles, Monkey Man
Will.i.am, I Like to Move It

Not really "fun" but needed anyway

Today I went shopping for some new clothes.  Well not technically new, but "new to me."

Since everything I own gets snot, slobber or various other bodily excretions on it on an almost daily basis, in addition to dust, dirt and mud from shoe bottoms and a variety of food particulates, namely cheesy poof crumbs, I don't put a high priority on buying brand new or expensive clothing.  But when I see that my shirts are developing holes or I feel I am having to do my own laundry more frequently, I head out to local consignment stores.

The good things about consignment stores is that I can find items cheap, and the jeans have already been worn-in sufficiently.  The bad thing is that I have to try on everything because every brand's sizes are a little different which makes my preferred shopping method of "walk in, scan the store for something I like, and walk out if it doesn't pop out immediately" unsuitable.

Plato's Closet was good to me today---3 pairs of jeans, a pair of yoga pants, a hoodie jacket, and 2 long-sleeve shirts for $75.  I had hoped to find something a little festive to wear to D's company Christmas party, but the dresses I tried on were either entirely too short or clingy.   Having had 3 babies makes abdominal fabric clinginess not terribly appealing.

I had to stop for cat food before heading home, so I dropped into Dots, which sells brand new items.  Now the clothing was nice and reasonably priced, but the clientele at this particular store on this particular day---a little scary.  But not scary enough to prevent me from purchasing 3 "casual for anyone else but dressy for me" tops.  I have had 2 occasions now where I've wanted to dress up a little nicer for dinner out with friends and have nothing non-stained or faded to wear.

The biggest problem I had at Dots was trying to figure out how some of the tops were to be worn.  That is a bad sign, isn't it?  A clear indication from the gods that I wasn't meant to be a fashion icon?  When I have to ask the saleperson, "Um, how exactly does this here blouse-thingie work?"

Those 3 tops set me back $53, which leaves me almost $50 still sitting in my clothing budget for some other time in the future...after I've recovered from this shopping adventure.

D asked me if I had fun.  Shopping for clothing for me is never fun, but it was extremely nice to be able to shop without the distraction of keeping children plied with Goldfish and raisins in a vain attempt to delay a tantrum.

Christmas re-decoration challenge 2010??

Last Christmas I decided to buy some new holiday decor for my mantel.  Much of what I have has been given to me....since I'm generally not a big shopper and all.  Particularly for stuff that only stays up 3 weeks out of the year.

But the problem with not putting your own stamp on it is that everything is a hodgepodge and doesn't really speak to our home, the feel of it, the style of who we are.  (I say this as if we have a style.)

Anyway, so here is the before.  And here is the after.

When I was shopping for some Halloween decorations last month, I happened upon some really cute Christmas decorations, and I am now debating whether I want to re-do my decor for my built-in bookcases.

I am also toying with the idea of doing a themed Christmas tree upstairs...although I don't really know what the theme would be.

Any suggestions?

Letting go of some things

It can be tremendously difficult to allow one's child to do things for himself/herself, especially when it comes to crafty-type activities.  An adult's idea of what looks good is very different from what looks good to a child.  And for most kids, it is the doing of it that is most essential and the pride generated  rather than the professionalism or perfection of what has been created.

In the past two weeks, N's Girl Scout troop has done a couple of crafts.  Last week they painted their daisies on their smocks, and this week they began making Christmas cards and ornaments for nursing home residents.

I couldn't help but notice some exasperated "be carefuls" and the "don't do that theres," which were always followed by a sulky Girl Scout being completely uncooperative.  And I hoped that I wasn't sounding like that to N.

On occasions when I have allowed my adult creativity to impede her child creativity, I have seen the defeat on her face.  Because to her it sounds like, "You're not doing this right," and truly that is what it means (even though I can tell myself that I'm just trying to help her do it neater or whatever).

I try to remind myself that when it comes to crafts & similar things, I have to accept whatever it is N comes up with....just as I do her clothing choices.  My openness to whatever she does with only the most gentle assistance (and only if she wants it) tells her that she's ok the way she is.  That her choice of a green shirt, orange and purple striped pants and strawberry-patterned leg warmers is alright especially since she is doing it herself (and that is one less thing I have to do for her).   That her placement of stickers and stamps and her misspelling of Cristmas is ok, especially since the most important thing is that she is doing for others to bring them joy.

There are times when holding one's tongue is the best course of action and one that every mother needs to become a little better at as her child develops.

The good, the bad and the ugly

The ugly would be my response to the bad.  Just so ya know.

The good
N--
*Now reads aloud to me most every evening for her reading response journal.  According to her report card, she improved from a 28 to a 34 in this 6-week period, which puts her at, I believe, a 3rd grade reading level.  I don't usually brag on my kids (part of that critical parent gene), but I am really very proud.

*Likes making these Push papers.  She writes "Push" and you push the paper, then she opens it and you have to pick "Boy or Girl."  After this selection, you have to select "Love, Hug, Kiss or Marry." The final part is to pick a number, which N has coded with someone, like her brothers or a school friend.  She and I recently made some new categories like "Bootie Bump" and "Tickle" and "Tackle."  Because I don't necessarily want to kiss her friends.  Just her.

*Makes a really wonderful big sister...sometimes to G (since he tends to bug her), and always with M (because he hasn't yet figured out how to push her buttons).

The bad
For the most part, we are having a nice run whereby she doesn't get on my nerves.  If only she could sit still for longer than 20 seconds at dinner.


The good
G--
*Says "Where we are?" whenever we're driving.  He wants to know the name of the road.  Today he asked, "Where we are?" and when I told him he replied, "How can that be?"

*Said while driving past the small local airport, "There's an airplane port."

*Continues to use completely illogical cause/effect:  "You're Carrie because you're mommy."  Uh, ok.

*Hugs everyone at the end of Music Together class.  The teacher.  The moms.  The kids.  Even when we go to a make-up class and he knows no one except me and Ms. M.  So sweet.

The bad
He has been waking up more frequently at night, having more fears.  Nothing too terrible, but just one more little person disrupting sleep in this house.  But the worst thing is his shrieking/screaming when he is having a tantrum in the car---there is simply nowhere for the unholy sound to go.  It is all I can do to fight the wicked desire to pull over, park his ass on the curb and be on my merry way.

The good
M--
*Doing the Frankenstein walk all over the house with greater frequency which never, ever ceases to be cute.

*Says, "Kack, kack" whenever he sees a duck.

*Gives the best open-mouth kisses on my cheek, including the smacking sound at the end.

The bad
13 months. 10 days.  Crappy sleeper.

An endless list of things to do

Maybe, just maybe, if I download everything from my brain onto my blog that needs to get done I will do it.

(My friend G, who is also blogging for NaBloPoMo, thought her posts were dull.  Top this baby!) ;)

Now that I have the office closet completely organized, and the office almost back to normal, I need to do the really hard stuff, which is take the odds & ends out of here.  I can't shove anything else into my recycling bin so I have to wait until it gets picked up tomorrow before loading her up yet again.

1. Put kids' bonds in safe deposit box.

2. Buy N another savings bond.

3. Take electronic recycling to electronic recycling center.

4. Try to sell old LPs, a couple books and some VHS tapes at Half-Price books.  (Oh, and they can recycle the old VHS tapes that have television shows taped on them.  I almost squealed when I called to ask if they knew of how to recycle them locally and they said, "We do it.")

5. Call organization to pick up donations, including rolling chair.

6. Buy a new day planner.  (I have about 76 doctor reminder cards taped into the back of my 2011 planner...my planner is starting to look as lumpy as George Costanza's wallet.)

7.  Finish writing articles for local mag.

8.  Finish Christmas shopping.

The worst thing I still need to do is organize 2 small little piles of whatnot in the office.  I am all gung-ho until I just have the last leg of the race to complete.  And then I run out of steam.