No Harm Done

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Time Flies, Man...

I can't believe it's been 6 days since I last posted! Wow.

I had hoped to post again this evening, but I'm just soooooo tired that I don't think I could write any kind of appropriate summary of our week. I'm just minutes away from physically taping my eyelids open as it is.

Braden and I stayed up late to watch the "Amazing Race" premeire tonight. I'm quite militant with the kids' bedtimes, but on "Amazing Race" I'll make an exception. Staying up an extra 30 minutes once a week won't stunt his growth. I think. Anyway, he's in bed now but I can't sleep when any of the kids are still awake, so I'm waiting for him to drift off before I head to dreamland.

But, I cannot allow you to leave empty-handed. Here's a link to a site with Star Wars themed valentines. One is sampled below. The kids and I enjoyed these on Valentine's Day and enjoyed trying to work the word "Wookie" into conversations whenever possible.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

If You Speak Three Languages, You're Trilingual.

If you speak two languages, you're bilingual.

If you speak one language, you're American.

Or so the old joke goes......

Here's a link to a very clever commercial demonstrating the importance of learning a second (or third or fourth) language.




Translation:
Si usted habla tres idiomas usted es trilingüe.
Si usted habla dos idiomas, usted es bilingüe.
Si usted habla una lengua, usted es americano.

Asi dice la broma.

Aquí está un anuncio muy listo que demuestra la importancia de aprender una segunda (o tercera o cuarta) lengua.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Milli Vanilli - Still Popular With the Toddler Set

Last fall my college had a big alumni homecoming push. We were not able to go, but all week long, in honor of homecoming, I played old tapes from my college days.

One afternoon, my Milli Vanilli tape was playing while I set the table for lunch (now that's a phrase I never thought I'd type) . I looked over and saw Colson dancing to the music and reading a book at the same time.

This video is not displayed properly, so you'll have to tilt your head to watch. Sorry!

Monday, February 20, 2006

So...Is That a *Good* Thing??


Hillary H.

[adjective]:

Full of bees



'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com




On a related note, here's a cute flash film that's become one of the boys' favorites. I have a feeling we'll sing it a lot this summer.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Where is Absurdity When I Need it?

I’ve been struggling with blogging lately, due to lack of inspiration, I suppose.

Our days have fallen into a comfortable routine lately, a welcome change after the chaos that was Christmas and New Year. We school in the morning, have a relaxing afternoon naptime, watch a short movie after nap, and then head to swimming afterwards Field trips are rare, as the weather is cold again. (When it was warm last week, we were sick and did not want to change out of our pajamas, much less go outside.)

These comfortable, predictable days have been wonderful. But the absence of absurdity is perplexing. It is not unusual for me to have odd encounters with people fairly frequently. Like the time a restaurant worker asked the kids about what Santa brought them, and Braden politely told her we did not “do” Santa; Christmas was about Jesus. The worker turned 3 shades of red, apologized loudly and profusely for offending us (???), and glared at me accusedly (when the kids weren’t looking) as if to say, “How could you let me embarrass myself like this? Why don’t you wear a head covering wear a plain dress and no makeup so I will know from the outset that your family is ~gasp!~ religious? This is your fault!”

My friends and family have a long-running joke that I need to write a book entitled “How To Win Friends and Influence People,” the humor being that I have no skill at doing either. Frequently encounters with people tend to end with them looking askance at me, as if they’re asking themselves, “Ooooookay, how do I respond to that???”

I’ve grown quite used to that over the years, and its absence this week is slightly alarming. Am I losing my touch? Am I conforming to the Midwestern norm that has surrounded me for the past 5 years?

Or perhaps we just need to leave the house more often?

Friday, February 17, 2006

Free Your Mind.......



This picture is originally posted on the website for the Glenn Beck radio show.


Also, please try watching the karaoke video below and let me know if you can see it. I think I may have the bug fixed. I hope.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Karaoke Christmas

Trying this again:

This is my experiment with uploading and embedding video. I've been searching for a way to do this, and now we'll see if I can get it to work.

As a test video, these are the younger two monkeys playing with the karaoke machine that my parents bought for Christmas. They also gave us a couple of Billboard Music CD's with songs from the 1970s.

My apologies for the odd camera angles at the end. I'd forgotten that you can't rotate the video screen like you can photos.



Oops! I Did It Again!



This is posted several days after the fact, but last week Brogan lost his second tooth. His first tooth came out on a Wednesday and promptly disappeared. We never saw the tooth. When M. came home from Boston he noticed a gap in Brogan's teeth.

The following Saturday we noticed the neighboring tooth had fallen out as well. Again, we have no idea when it fell out or where it went. So the Tooth Daddy made two visits that week and Brogan's feeling quite wealthy.

Those two teeth were 2 of several that were knocked loose in his sledding accident in December. The top teeth have settled back in nicely, but today we noticed that another bottom tooth is wiggling precariously. I told Brogan to keep track of his tooth this time. When it comes out, he's supposed to bring it to me.

Monday, February 13, 2006

AWANA Bible Quiz

On Saturday Braden participated in the regional AWANA Bible Quiz. Area AWANA programs assemble teams of volunteers in grades 3-6 to answer 20 questions from their handbooks. It's a lot of work, and each year I'm amazed at the children's ability to recall the information.

A sample question for Book 4 might be:


What is the reference for the following verse "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
a. Romans 6:4
b. Romans 6:5
c. Romans 6:6

The kids have 5 seconds to decide on the correct answer, select the corresponding paddle, and then raise it high in the air for a judge to record their answer. Each correct answer is worth 10 points.

There were 2 rounds of 10 questions each. Braden and his partner J. did very well. In round one, Braden "quizzed out," meaning he answered all 10 questions correctly. He was the only boy to do so. In round 2, Braden missed one question, but J. quizzed out. I *think* he was the only boy to quiz out in round 2. Together, Braden and J. were the top scorers and earned a first place medal for Handbook 2.


Our church's AWANA team took first place overall. The kids all did very well and should be proud of their efforts. It was a nerve-wracking experience, but they worked so hard to prepare and their work showed. They handled joy and disappointment with grace and class. I was so proud of them all.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Superbowl Sunday

Last Sunday our house looked a lot like this:



With a little of this thrown in:





We had friends over to watch the Superbowl, and had a wonderful time. The kids had a good time playing together, and the karaoke machine got a little workout. Some of them even watched the game a little.


Neither M. nor I were strong fans of either team. M. grew up loving the Vikings and, in times of desperation, would root for the Packers. When you live in Idaho, you get to pick the teams you’ll cheer for, as Idaho had none of its own. I grew up cheering for the teams of the places I’d lived before: primarily the Bills and the Lions. So for this game, having no strong attachments, we got to pick our teams.

M. chose to cheer for the Steelers. While I was growing up, most people in Boise seemed to be Seahawks or Broncos fans. (Shudder.) So I went for the Seahawks because a) They’ve been a terrible team for so long, b) They’re kind of, sort of, very distantly a hometown team, and c) They were the underdogs, and I love an underdog.

The G. family is from Pittsburgh and was very excited to see their favorite team try for its 5th title. Some of the kids even showed up with rally signs they’d drawn. They were so excited in fact, that Mr. G., consumed by nerves and excitement, spent nearly every commercial break pacing the floor or roaming from room to room in the house trying to walk off the pent-up energy. (I should’ve cleaned the Red Room. Drat!!) In between pacing, he watched the game yelling “Give it to the Bus!!!” with increasing frequency as the game progressed.



We laughed about it a lot, but I’ll tell you, it made the game so much more fun to watch. That much energy and investment into the Steelers’ success made it so much more exciting. Plus, I got to be a bit louder when cheering for the ‘Hawks and their Killer B defense than I otherwise would.

In the end, the Steelers won, and the G. family went home elated. I last spoke with Mr. G. on Friday, and he said he still hasn’t calmed down. That’s a true fan.

My take on the game: I thought the Seahawks’ first touchdown should have counted. I did not think that was offensive pass interference. We saw the multiple replays of the Steeler touchdown by the QB and I do not think that was a touchdown, though it was very close. And the penalty for tackling the blocker below the waist should not have been because the QB went around the blocker and tackled the ball carrier.

Not that I’m bitter, or anything.

No, not at all.

Hey, by the way, how do you keep a Steelers fan out of your yard?

Put up goal posts.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

A Movie Ahead of its Time

Or before its future.

Or something....


Thursday, February 02, 2006

Brogie's Big News

On Christmas Day, Brogan hit a tree with his face while sledding. If you missed that exciting episode, you can read up on it here. Thankfully, there were no broken bones, just extensive swelling and bruising....a several teeth knocked loose.

A little over one month later his scrapes have healed and his bruises have finally gone away. This week a tooth joined the injury exodus, much to Brogan's delight!

If you're looking for drama and exciting details, well, there's none to be had. We've no idea when the tooth fell out or where it went. We just know it's gone.

M. had been in Boston and upon his return he took one look at Brogan and asked, "Did he lose a tooth?"

Turns out he did! And the one next to it looks like it won't be hanging around much longer.

Tonight the "Tooth Daddy" will pay his first visit. Brogan is looking forward the beginning of this very lucrative relationship.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Well, this week was supposed to be about painting the master bathroom:

Monday the boys and I hit Home Depot and bought the supplies. Monday night I taped off the trim, caulked a bit around the sink and the shower, and got everything ready.

Tuesday Braden took care of the littles after school and I coated the room with primer and later painted the ceiling with its first coat of paint.

Today I was supposed to finish the ceiling and paint the walls. But last night I got sick.


Ugh. Instead of being a wonderfully productive, and nurturing mother, I limped through the day, just doing the minimum to get by. The boys were good sports, though, and didn't seem to mind the cloud of Vicks Cough Drop aroma that enveloped me most of the day.

Brogan has quite a surprise for me to blog about, but it will have to wait for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have pictures of the finished bath on Friday.

But for now, my NyQuil is calling....