Laptops and Swing Sets

My oldest son recently went to an interview at our church.  Our church requires an interview with all children before they can receive their first communion.  This was something we expected.  The was something we prepared for.

So on the day of the interview, we sit in the large, old Nativity of the Lord school office.

I'm tired and a little frantic from running late that morning.  My son just looks nervous.  I look around the room.  I see old books.  Beautiful wooden crosses are on the wall.  The room reminds me of the old school I attended as a child.  And when I look at my son sitting in the chair, legs swinging, staring at his lap - I see myself 30 years earlier, sitting in a similar chair, legs swinging, staring at my lap. 

I know my son can handle this interview.  But I don't know how to convince him.  I want to hold his hand.  But at 7 years old, he pulls his hand away.

The religious education teacher walks in the room.  She sits in her desk across from us.  She smiles.  We talk and laugh about our hectic morning.  The teacher is easy to talk to and she has a calming effect on me and, thankfully, she also has a calming effect on my son.  My son looks at the teacher.  He smiles a little.  The interview begins.

My son sails through the interview.  He correctly answers every question.  He even volunteers his own information.  Suddenly, within a delightful 10 minutes, the nervous boy whose eyes were glued to his lap is now overflowing with confidence.  (I'm proud and now want more than ever to hold his hand.  But I remind myself that he probably won't let me.)

The teacher asks her last question.  She holds up a statue of a shepherd.  There are two sheep with the shepherd.  One sheep is on the shepard's shoulder.  The other sheep stands next to the shepherd.  The teacher speaks.

"There is no right or wrong answer to this question.  So take your time."  She says to my son.  My son nods. "Who would you rather be: the sheep on the shepherd's shoulder or the sheep standing next to the shepherd?"

My son stares at the statue for awhile.  He looks at the teacher.  He looks at the statue.  Then quietly and with confidence, he answers her question.

"I want to be the guy."

With a joyous laugh, the teacher tells my son that no child had given that answer before!  She also told him that the shepherd represented Jesus and that if he really wanted to be like Jesus (instead of the sheep), then he'd have to work very, very hard.  My son smiled and repeated, "Yes - I still want to be the guy."

And as we left the interview, on the way out the door, I smiled with pride and grabbed my son's hand.

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Here's a link to a great book - a book for all those parents who have kids who see the world a little sideways and, whether we like it or not, provide thoughts and opinions outside the box.  We need to encourage this, but we also need all the help we can get!  (I fear my son's teenage years.)

Kids Who Think Outside the Box: Helping Your Unique Child Thrive in a Cookie-Cutter World 

Check out this web site.  A friend sent this site to me a couple months ago and it is amazing!   Rockabye Baby. 

Rockabye Baby turns classic rock music into baby lullabies.  For music loving parents who are insanely bored of the same baby songs - over and over and over, this site is perfect.  Here you can find lullaby renditions - to name just a few - of:

• The Beatles


• Bob Marley


• Cold Play


• Metallica


• Nirvana

One of these CDs would make a great gift.  And I'm sure it would be quite amusing to see a visitor or friend's reaction when you play Metallica's Master of Puppets in lullaby rendition.

(Oh how I wish I knew about this site when my kids were babies.)

Wow.

Being someone who is involved in my kids' school, this video says it all.  This video puts words to so many things that I feel or have felt - about my kids - about their schools - about their teachers - and about our roles as parents to see that our kids succeed.

I know that parents in this area are registering their kids for 4k and 5k kindergarten right now or soon.  They need to watch this.

To paraphrase some of the words in this video - when we hand our kids to a new school - to a new teacher - we hand over our heart and ask them - trust them - to care for it.  And in return, it is our responsibility as parents to stay involved, to listen, to ask questions, and to make sure our faces are familiar within the hallways of our schools.

(My sons' teachers are, just in case, on speed dial on my cell phone.)

(Two numbers above my husband.)

(Three numbers above Papa Murphy's.)

(I still have goosebumps from this video.)

Awhile ago, we were trying to find a restaurant in Mequon.  We knew the name of the restaurant.  We knew the general location of the restaurant.  And my husband seemed confident that we could make it there in a timely manner.

No.  We were lost.

Up and down Green Bay Road we drove.  Up - and - down. 

We were in a city we weren't familiar with.  We were confused and frustrated and wished more than anything that we had printed a map or had a phone number for this place.  Finally, after a few minutes of gawking at street signs with my nose pressed against the passenger window, an obvious idea came to me.

I pulled out my phone, looked for the number that I had previously programmed 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411), and called it.

Within 5-minutes - with the guidance of a restaurant employee over the phone - we were at the restaurant, family in tow, and we had a great evening.

Goog-411 is a free telephone service that, in my opinion, will someday replace the fee-based 411 (or 555-1212).  It's free and for the most part does everything the fee-based service can do.  You call the number, say your city name "Mequon" or "Cudahy", and then say the name of the business you want "Papa Luigi's".   You then get the phone number for the business and an option to directly connect.  This whole system is voice automated, works well, and IS FREE.

Everyone needs this number in their cell phone.  1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411)

Do you know a kid whose volunteer services have affected our community?  Kohls is providing over $350,000 in scholarships and prizes to over 2,000 kids who contribute and volunteer for their communtiy. 

Kohls - Kids Who Care Scholarship Program

The deadline for this is March 15, so you need to nominate quickly. It would be great to see one of our local kids get a scholarship or award for something like this! 

I am mostly a visual learner.  If someone tells me to do something, it may possibly travel into one ear, out the other ear, and right into the air.  However, if that same person sends me an email with instructions - then I see it - and I read it - and I usually remember it.  It's even better with pictures or graphs or charts.

A picture of all the buttons (and what they do) on a game system provides more meaning than written instructions ... and WAY more meaning than verbal instructions.

Here's some great dictionary web sites for visual learners (like me):

Meriam Visual Dictionary - This dictionary site shows detailed pictures with callouts or descriptions of the word you search on.  I love this web site and wish it had more.

Visuwords Online   This web site is a dictionary.  And a thesaurus!  

You enter a word and the word with its origins and connections appear in bubbles that you can zoom in on or move around.

My husband is the second youngest of seven kids.  On multiple occasions, I've asked his mom, "What was Mike like as a baby?  When did he walk?  Did he cry a lot?  How did he sleep?"

Always - my mother-in-law looks at me, laughs, waves her arms, and clearly explains that after seven kids and 30+ years - she - does - not - remember - anything.  The most I can get from my in-laws about their memory of my husband was that he was "the fat one."

Last week, we visited friends.  Our friends have an infant and a three year old and are currently experiencing big milestones in their lives: first words, first steps, and potty training.  All of this excites our friends and, of course, they want to know about our experiences.  When did our sons roll over for the first time?  When were they drinking from cups?  Were they easy to potty train?  How did we get them to sleep through the night?

As these questions are being asked, I immediately think about my mother-in-law and smile.

Even with my kids still young, these milestones, these wonderful moments that meant so much to us at the time are FADING.  I cannot remember when my oldest son rolled over.  I cannot remember when my youngest son talked for the first time.  Some of these things are documented in baby books.  But not everything. 

I think it's time to start writing more things down. 

---

Here's a cool web site where you can create secure online baby journals, photo and video albums, growth charts, and a lot more.

Kidmondo.com

Kindmondo Kidbook

Everything you create can be printed and bound into beautiful baby books.  My favorite thing about this site is that you can have your baby journal professionally bound and printed.  Something like that, especially if it's full of detail, would be such wonderful gift to a child when they are adults.

To get ready for this weekend, here are some classic Superbowl commercials.  Most of the reason to watch the Superbowl are for the commercials. 

(And Bruce Springsteen's halftime show!)

Budweiser - Fist Bump is OUT!

Superbowl of Love

Budweiser Clydesdales  

Sprint - Crime Deterrent

Britney!

Budweiser Frogs

T-Mobile - Charles Barkley/Dwayne Wade

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

I know this is a little late, but better late than never.  I finally created a list of New Years resolutions.

A few days ago, I reached for a book on the bottom shelf in the library.  Then I stood up.  I winced in pain.  My knees hurt!  My knees only hurt when I don't exercise. 

I realized this after I had my first son and needed to lose some pregnancy weight.  I signed up for a gym membership and started to work out.  A miracle occured!  Not only did I lose most of my pregnancy weight, but the knee pain that bothered me for years VANISHED.  It was wonderful.

Now, during the past few months - with working full time, spending time with my kids, volunteering for our school, and blogging - I stopped exercising.  Fatigue finally beat the tread mill.  My down time, when it occurs, consists of a book, a couch, and the faint image of my husband with a remote control.

Now my knees hurt. 

I need to set a goal to exercise again. Here are some more goals for the year.

• Make a new friend.
  
  
• Learn to video blog.
   
• Teach my youngest son that kicking toys underneath his bed is not my definition of "cleaning"
  


• Incorporate journaling into my kids evenings.
  
  
• Go out with just my husband once a month.
  
  
• Buy a super cute pink Cudahy Packers jersey.
  


• Buy or create a chore chart.
  
  
• Secretly throw out all my husband's ugly shoes.
  


• Put all our family pictures into photo albums.
  


• Dance with Al Pacino.

Like a lot of people, Google is the start page for my browser and I use it constantly.

(... too much.)

I google my name (ego-surfing).  I google my friends names.  I google my place of employment and hometown and favorite actors and song lyrics and current news and favorite authors and poems and recipes and on and on and on.  Here are a couple NEW search engines. 

WhosTalkin.com (can also be appropriately called Who Stalkin')

SocialMention.com.

Both search engines are called social search engines because, along with regular news, they also search blogs and social networking web sites like Facebook and Twitter. Both search engines are also fun and quite addicting!   You search on something - for example, Cudahy.  

Your results provide information according to:

• blogs (what has been blogged about Cudahy)
• news (formal news articles about Cudahy)
• pictures (pictures from Cudahy)
• video (video from Cudahy)
  

As much as I love Google, I sometimes don't get the results I'm looking for. It's usually too much information and can be frustrating.

Going to the movies with my kids is such a luxury.

The lights go out.  The movie starts.  Sometimes my youngest son lets me put my arms around him.   And then I go to SLEEP.  When I go to the movies with my kids, I get at least an hour nap and, as long as they don't notice, it's wonderful.

(I normally put one hand conveniently next to my eyes, which always guarantees my secret.)

The only time this plan backfired was when we were at Wisconsin Dells and decided to see the Noah Ark's Spongebob 4D movie.

(I did NOT know what 4D meant.)

At Noah's Ark, we walked into the theater.  We took dark glasses for the movie (very cool - no need to cover my eyes) and we sat down.  The lights went out and after a long day of walking, I was so ready for a nap.  The movie started. My eyes closed.

Suddenly, my chair moved.  I heard my kids laugh and I became startled.  My chair then started to shake to the action in the movie!

OK.

The chairs in front of me then sprayed me with every reference to water.  This was, as you can imagine, a lot since the plot is about a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea.  Small fans whirled beneath my seat, blowing air on my ankles with every reference to creepy sea animals.  I heard both my kids and my husband howl with laughter.

OK.  

I was both amused at the sudden revelation of what a 4D movie was and annoyed that I was AWAKE.  For the rest of the movie, I gave up all hope for a nap, clung to my chair, and laughed with my family.

------------

Now that we're home - far, far away from the Dells, 4D movies, water park weather, or money for a movie theater movie - we are always searching for inexpensive entertainment (and a dark room for mom to nap).

Hulu is great place to watch free movies and TV.

Here's a list of family full length movies your kids can watch.

Dragonheart

Karate Kid

Thunderbirds

Cosmic Voyage

Speedracer - The Movie (Cartoon)

Jonah - A Veggietales Movie

Here's a list of free movies adults can watch (there are a lot more if you go to the site).

Wolf

St. Elmo's Fire

Fifth Element

Men in Black

Basic Instinct

Go

The Devil's Own

Here's a cool way to share songs you like to anyone.  Playlist.com allows you to create a list of music you like, save it, and then either listen to it later or share it with friends. This site is very easy to use and a lot of fun.

Here's my playlist.  Happy New Year!

It was insanity.

My younger son stood in our living room yelling at his older brother.  My older son stood in our living room yelling at his younger brother.

It was cold outside.  We had no plans and I was on the computer paying bills.

Suddenly, the volcano of two children erupt.  Voices rise.  Doors slam.  Insults fly.  Threats escalate to a volume beyond comprehension.

With my face red, I walk to the living room and send one child one direction and the other child another direction.  I hear only the crying of two kids in unison.  My heart pounds.

Ding dong.

Oh my god.  Someone's at the door.

I scan the house.  Toys are everywhere.  Dishes are unwashed.  Garbage needs to be taken out.

Ding dong.

One child is crying and flinging insults across the house.  The other child has his whole body smashed and spread eagle on our hallway floor.  His cries are muffled only by his face against the linoleum.

Ding dong.

I look at the door again.  Through the window, I see the framed smiling faces of my inlaws.  They are waving.  Smiling and waving ... smiling and waving ...

The door knob turns.  I close my eyes.

Through the screams, I take a deep breath, grin amid the insanity, and greet my visitors.

---

This evening, finally relaxed, I've made my Christmas list.  At the top of the list is a one day trip to a warm beach, by myself, with nothing but a cute swimming suit and an endless supply of silence and strawberry margaritas.

(You can buy this margarita set on Amazon.com for about 25.00. Remember, there's only 4 more days left of free shipping!) 

I'm not the best cook but, of course, I love food. And I love looking at cookbooks.

Blurb.com is a web site that allows you to create all kinds of books: photo books, biographies, memoirs, and cookbooks.  You simply download the free software, choose a template you want, design your book, and purchase it (between $14 to $25). I have not used this web site to create a cookbook.  However, I have used the site to create photo albums. Both the web site and the software is fairly easy to use and most importantly, the final product is wonderful.

I have a few friends who are wonderful cooks and have large recipe collections.  I would love to get one of their cookbooks in my Christmas stocking!

Can you tell me how to get - how to get to Sesame Street?

Well - just go to:

YouTube.com - Sesame Street

Hulu.com - Sesame Street

Fans of Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, Oscar and gang can now watch new and old Sesame Street clips from these sites.  It's very fun and brings back so much memories!

I recently asked my kids about Kermit the Frog and they said "Huh - who's that?"  When I asked them if they knew the Count to 12 Pinball/Disco Song, they looked at me - glassy eyed and confused - and said "Huh?" again.

There was a time when we bragged that none of our kids ever colored on the walls, or furniture, or anything else other than paper. We bragged and bragged.

Well.

Our four year old, with a black sharpie, just drew a "house" on our hard wood floor.  Then he drew a "car" with his new markers on his bedroom wall. There is even a purple crayon line on one of our lamp shades.

At school, he got his markers taken away for coloring on his marker case, milk carton, and hands!  This new interest in art is making us crazy.

Coincidentally, we found this web site for a free Magic Eraser. This product should be on the permanent shopping list for all parents. It works, it's wonderful, and can take black sharpie off of floors.

Go to this link and click Share of Love.

This video makes me think of a friend in California who talks about how disillusioned he is with the voting process.  Why vote when it's clear that Obama will win California?  Why vote when the election is usually decided before polls in California even close?  Why vote when the issues that matter to me or him aren't even discussed in any of the debates?

Of course, I always tell my friend - IF YOU DON'T VOTE - then you are letting other people make decisions for you.  IF YOU DON'T VOTE - then you should never complain about anything that could require a vote, which is almost everything.  And like this video states, even though we seem like just one person in a big, big country - in 2000, just 537 people in Florida decided the fate of a whole election.  Our votes do count.

So, on Tuesday, I'm voting. (I still don't know about my friend in California.)

I'm voting because it took us two years to pay the bills for the birth of our second son.

I'm voting because our monthly property taxes are almost as high as our monthly mortgage. 

I'm voting because I have to take vacation time when my kids get sick. 

I'm voting because last night when I bought gas at a gas station on Packard Ave., I got scared for my safety. 

I'm voting because I want all the soldiers to come home from this war - alive. 

I'm voting because our monthly gas payments are sometimes more than our monthly car payment.

I'm voting because when I retire in 30 years, I want, just like my parents, social security - or something like it.

And most importantly -  I'm voting because I want to watch my kids open a book, watch their eyes as they learn, and feel confident that we are capable as parents to send them as far as their ambitions will take them.  I want my kids to know that with hard work, they are capable of doing anything, including standing in the same shoes as the people we are voting for on Tuesday.

I will definitely see you on Tuesday at the polls!

Here's a very convenient way to shop.  Amazon.com offers a subscription service called Subscribe and Save for certain grocery items. These items are always 15% percent off with free shipping

Subscribe and Save provides a huge convenience for items you regularly buy.  We have used this service for diapers (not any more thank goodness), cat food, laundry detergent, paper towels, and toilet paper.

You can set up this service to deliver the items at any time interval: from once a week to once a year.

Lately, we've spent so much of our days running errands, playing with the kids, paying bills, and working.  It's nice that a service like this is around to save a little of our time ... and money.

Coffee anyone?

Get a free sample of Dunkin' Donuts dark coffee. 

Get a coupon for a complimentary cappuccino (up to $3.20 in value) at Barnes and Noble. The expiration date is 10/31/08, so this expires soon! 

Check out this web site - Blip.fm.  You become a DJ. This site is easy to use and has a similar look and feel to the social networking site Twitter. However, this site is only for music. Basically, you create lists of music you want to hear while other people create lists of music they want to hear.

What I like about Blip.fm is I can pretty much listen to any music I want.  They have a huge database of all kinds of music. I do have an iPOD; however, sometimes there are songs I don't have and don't necessarily want to buy. 

Here, I enter the song I want and listen to it. Very, very cool.

There are also all kinds of things you can do with the music you post.  Apparently, you can post directly to your Facebook or Twitter accounts.  You can also - so they say - embed songs on a blog.

(For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to embed a playlist from the site onto this blog. I have a great Halloween mix I wanted to share but I cannot figure out how to get it on this blog. After days of struggling with it, I just gave up. Grrr...)