Several months back, Steve-o was speaking with the band director at his school, who also teaches up the hall from him. Said band teacher was talking about how he chooses an instrument for kids based a lot on their personality. Intriqued, Steve said, "really? What instrument would I play"? and without hesitation, the guy says Clarinet. I'm not sure what that means?
Owen started piano lessons a few weeks back, and he's loving it- which kindof surprised me. Pretty much, I'm planning on forcing the kids to take musical lessons of one kind or another (they can choose the instrument) but I think it's one of those things that is just good for them to learn, whether they like it or not. I tried to convince Owen to do violin, but he kept insisting on the piano. And that made me remember the conversation that Steve had and made me ponder if his personality was suited to the piano.
I found this quiz online that helps determine what instrument would suit your personality. Take it and tell me what it says. Do you play an instrument? Does the instrument you play suit your personality?
When I took it, it said that I should play the piano. Which is interesting, because I do. LOL. Although I'm not sure that this description actually fits me, especially that first sentence. ------------ You are a calm person who always thinks things through before you do them. Sometimes you can be a bit fussy and dont like to do things wrong. The piano is perfect for you, seeing as it takes a calm hand and mind to perfect the art of the piano. ----------- You try it!
Owen was 6 months old when we unexpectedly got pregnant (we're good at that) with baby #2. Shocked, we were attempting to process that news when about 2 weeks later that baby was lost. And with that loss came questions that got us thinking....about what it would be like to have another. What it would be like to have 2 children, siblings close in age. A pregnancy that we had actually planned. LOL :) The loss of that unknown baby led us to a surprising desire for another child.
9 months later....AJ arrived.
He slept in our bed from the day he was born -- a habit we just recently broke him of about 2 months ago.
He was born with startling blue eyes...a trait I expected to fade over time and turn into creamy brown - like mine, like his daddy's, like his brothers. Today, he is the only blue-eyed member of our family - a characteristic that I bring up frequently and praise for it's uniqueness. I always want him to be proud of his individuality.
He is full of life and laughter, thrilled by the smallest of things - a frog on the side of the house, a trip to the park, a rainbow in the sky - all are exquisite and exciting and worthy to be shouted loudly about.
He is sensitive and caring - willing to give you the shirt off his back. His eyes fill with tears and his lower lip trembles when he realizes that he's hurt his brother or done something naughty enough to warrant disapproval from us.
He is snugly and physically engaging - willingly giving hugs or begging for tickles or a wrestling match.
He is a patient big brother, playing with Ty while Owen is at school - whether entertaining him with his silly antics or sharing his cars, he is thoughtful enough to play with the things that Tyler would like, not what he would like.
He is funny and loves jokes - telling us lies with a twinkle in his eye only to shout "JUST JOKING!!" a minute later with uproarious giggling.
He is all boy - lover of legos and trucks and dirt and Star Wars. Imaginative and playful, most often around the house in costume or a land of make believe - "puming" you with his guns (it's the gun sound - "pume, pume") or "swording you" with his light sabers, jumping from furniture and racing around with his blanket around his neck like a super hero.
I can hardly believe he is five years old already.
Happy Birthday Skittle - we love you and are so proud of you and the man you will become.
Some pictures from the last 5 years.... And some snaps from his birthday celebration over the weekend:
procrastinating. an escapist. enjoying the spring weather. feeling inadequate. wanting to be a better friend. tired of myself. wanting a vacation. thinking I need to join the gym again. wondering what the future holds. defining some goals. floundering in my own lack direction. irritated by how much I care. needing to care more, but about different things. wanting to make a difference. going to bed early. wishing i was different. thinking that change is good. resisting the urge to move again. planning to paint some stuff. ignoring my camera. twittering. anxiously awaiting summer. coveting time with my husband. looking to reclaim my passion. realizing my insignificance. needing a break. from everything.
Check out this eco friendly playhouse for kids, made by artist Judith Needham. TheDreaming Spires Willow Playhouse is designed to meet the child's need for imaginative play whilst being an attractive feature in the garden in its own right. Handmade in England from natural english willow, the playhouse has impeccable environmental credentials.
At 1200 pounds it's a pricey environmentally friendly play structure, but it sure is pretty.
I wonder if they sell the English countryside to accompany it??
I've had a fantastic week of Spring Break with Steve-o this past week, and by fantastic I mean, I didn't do anything. Most importantly, I haven't worked even one. tiny. bit. Glorious.
I know I've been a bad blogger. Seems like these days are getting away from me, between 3 busy boys, spring sunshine, and a growing business, I don't have much time for blogging anymore. I'll try to get on here more often for some random bits of goodness though.
Yesterday we're picked strawberries so today I'm home making jam from them while Steve takes the older two boys to an Easter Egg Hunt. I'm not too sure how wise it is to be making jam out of mushy, staining red berries with The Cyclone (#3) at my heels but we'll see how it goes.
Making jam is super easy - I posted a tutorial/recipe on it last year - go check it out and make some today. Super easy, not a lot of "stuff" needed, and just a handful of ingredients. :)
We turned in our minivan yesterday. It was a lease, and the lease was up yesterday. For all my years of griping about it, it was a decent vehicle and served us well. So naturally, we've spent the last week looking at family-mobiles and examining our options. Yesterday I re-read this article I've kept from Relevant Magazine that I thought was interesting. Here's an excerpt:
____________________ From Straight Talk About Debt by Dave Ramsey:
"Taking on a car payment is one of the dumbest things people do to destroy their chances of building wealth. The car payment is most folks' largest payment except for their home mortgage, so it steals more money from their income than virtually anything else. USA Today notes that the average monthly car payment is $464 over 64 months. Most people get a car payment and keep it through their lives. As soon as a car is paid off, they get another payment because they "need" a new car. I you keep a $464 car payment throughout your life - which is "normal"-you miss the opportunity to save that money. If you invested $464 per month from age 25 to age 65, a normal working lifetime, in the average mutual fund averaging 12 percent (the 70-year stock market average), you would have $5,458,854.45 at age 65. Hope you like that car!
If you put $464 per month in a cookie jar for just 10 months, you have more than $4000 to pay cash for a car. I am not suggesting you drive a $4000 car your whole life, but that is how you start without debt. then you can save the same amount again and trade up to and $8,000 car 10 months later and up to a $12,000 car 10 months after that. In just 30 months, or two and a half years, you can drive a paid-for $12,000 car, never having made a payment, and never have to make payments again.
Taking on car payments because everyone else does it does not make it smart. Will your broke relatives and friends make fun of your junk car while you do this?? Sure they will, but that's a very good sign you are on the right track. Having been a millionaire and gone broke, I dug my way out by making a decision about looking good versus being good. Looking good is when your broke friends are impressed by what you drive, and being good is having more money than they have." ____________________
While I don't necessarily agree with his tone, implying that acquiring wealth is the greatest goal to work towards, I DO like the idea of working towards living debt-free. It's taken me months to get over the idea of having a car with less than 20,000 miles on it. I've had this phobia or "thing" about older cars or cars with higher mileage - fretting about their dependability, expecting them to fall apart on the road as I drive them, etc. etc. Admittedly, I'm a very short-sighted person. Yes, we'd be in debt, but we'd have a GOOD car, a RELIABLE car, and (said to myself) a PRETTY car. Yeah, guess I'm shallow like that. So here we are...looking at cars - and for the first time, I'm thinking: Maybe it WOULD be worth it to drive a crappy car for a couple of years so that we can save $400 a month.
And I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I'm okay with that.
So if you see me in town with my kids in tow in a crappy old minivan or SUV - just wave and smile and laugh if you feel like it. It's taken me a long time to get to the point that I don't care. :)
Several months back, Steve-o was speaking with the band director at his school, who also teaches up the hall from him. Said band teacher was talking about how he chooses an instrument for kids based a lot on their personality. Intriqued, Steve said, "really? What instrument would I play"? and without hesitation, the guy says Clarinet. I'm not sure what that means?
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