Note to Self...

Remind me that I
HATE
putting together gingerbread houses.



It does not matter how adorable the gingerbread house may look on the box.
It does not matter how cleverly advertised as "easy to build!" it is.



I HATE THEM.

And, just in case you wondered,

NO-
our stupid Halloween gingerbread house came out looking
NOTHING
like the picture above.

We demolished it, and ate the pieces.

Stupid gingerbread house anyway....

Counting down...

4 more days...
or 100 more hours...
or 6000 more minutes.

Miss him already.

Can't wait until Friday when he comes back home.

It's a really good thing Colby only has to travel twice a year at most.

Big questions...

Today at lunch...

Charlotte: "When I die, I'm going to ask Jesus why He made me love oatmeal SOOOO much, because it's my favorite, and I love it!"

(gales of laughter from the kids)

Barrett: "When I die, I'm going to ask Jesus why He made my Mom not give me cookies at breakfast."

(more insane laughter)

Charlotte: "Well, when I die, I'm going to ask Jesus why He made Mom SOOOO scared of spiders, because they are soooo yucky and gross, and they freak her out."


Hey, Charlotte- get in line for that question!

Kids are endlessly amusing.

Music Theory

We have already established that I love music. Hopefully, you have caught on to that from previous posts, or from visits to
my house, or whatever.
Love music.
Always have.
Probably always will.

My kids love music, too.
Hopefully always will.

Which brings me to my point of this post:
"Why I Do Not Fear My Kids Listening To Music."

Let me explain.
A little bit ago, I was having a discussion with someone about music. About what we like now, what we used to like, what we wish we could still find, etc. And then it turned into what our kids like to hear and listen to.
Interesting conversation.

My kids like to listen to a wide variety of musical styles, genres, etc. Some of the things they like happen to be the same things that
Colby and I like. Go figure!
Not all, but much of their musical taste is shaped by what they have been exposed to at home. My kids have a constant diet of music fed to them at our house. Depending on our mood, it could be anything from Billy Idol to Beethoven; Ella Fitzgerald to My Bloody Valentine; A.F.I. to Elvis; Metallica to Enya; ABBA to The Clash; Depeche Mode to Disney Princesses. And anything and everything in between.

I was asked how I thought my kids react to some of the
music that I like.
I asked what she meant by "react."
Basically, she meant what kinds of things does "my music" teach my kids, or say to my kids.

You know what? Honestly, I really don't think of things that way. Whether music, or movies, or clothes, or hairstyles, or anything else, I don't categorize them into "what could this
possibly 'make' my kids think or do."

Because I remember what my childhood was like.
My dad is one of the biggest old-school style cowboys you'll ever meet. Deep, twangy, hillbilly country music for him. The closest to "rock" music he likes is Fleetwood Mac and Kim Carnes.
A good ol' country boy, through and through.
My mom likes almost every kind of music you can think of.
Growing up, I had exposure to the old classic greats of country music, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Sr., and many others. From my mom, I also heard a lot of the Moody Blues, The Pointer Sisters, The Beatles, Tina Turner, Blondie, and a whole lot more.

I still love a lot of the same music I heard as a little kid. I still hear the Pointer Sisters, and I am immediately transported back in time, and I love that nostalgic feeling! Whenever I hear a good old classic country song, it reminds me of my Dad, and I love that feeling too.

But, I also found music that was uniquely mine, in a way. It was music that I came upon on my own. Music that my parents didn't have at home, and didn't always "love."
It was music that spoke to me, for whatever reason. Music or lyrics, or a combination of both, that touched me. It touched my heart, my soul, whatever you want to call it.
It was music that was Mine.
Music that meant something to me, deeply.

I was then, and I remain now, very grateful to my parents for allowing me to become whoever I was going to become, and for letting music play an important role in that 'becoming.'
Even when the music wasn't exactly their taste. I mean, my Dad tried really hard to like Depeche Mode and The Cure and Skinny Puppy, but it just wasn't for him! But, he let it be 'for me' and I will always be appreciative of that.

I am certain there were times when my parents were concerned, and worried about me. And maybe they even questioned if 'my music' was playing the wrong part in my life, but they still chose to
let me be 'me.'
They allowed me to be myself, even when that meant they had to listen to Depeche Mode or The Cure VERY LOUDLY because that was what I needed.
I love that about them.

And I intend to give my kids the same chance.

Because I know that even if I had the personality type that would allow me to be a dictatorial parent, and force my kids to listen to the "right" music, or to force my kids to stop listening to the "wrong" music, they would still find music they could call "their own."

I know that eventually my kids will gravitate toward whatever music speaks to them.
I know that it may or may not be music that I love.

And I know that I will be so proud of them, and so excited to see glimpses of whoever they are going to be.

I am not afraid of music, and I am not afraid of
what it "might do" to my kids.

Stupid News....

Had a great two weeks....NOT!
My hip is killing me, enough that I actually made an appointment with an orthopedic specialist.

Diagnosis: Greater Trochanter Bursitis.
Okay.

Treatment: Lortab every six hours. Why Lortab? Well, in a nutshell, because I don't react well to Percocet.

End result: I don't react well to Lortab, either.
I think I'll take the 'holy crap, this HURTS' pain from the bursitis over the constant nausea, dizziness, alternately shaky and numb hands and feet, and total fatigue from the Lortab.

Apparently, my body does not like narcotic pain relievers.
And just when I was thinking of becoming a pain-killer addict, too.

Hurry, Tooth Fairy!

Charlotte has officially joined Savannah in the "big girl" club-
she has lost her first tooth!
She is very excited about it, and cannot wait until the Tooth Fairy takes it away and leaves her money instead.

Welcome to the "Big Girl Club," Charlotte!