Amazing Acappella Music

Kendall and I have sung in a couple of acappella groups over the years, and it has been loads of fun. The joy of making several voices come together to create harmony and beauty is just joyful. A friend of mine sent this link to a Slovenian choir on YouTube, and I just had to share:



The other thing I had to mention was the new Fox show, Glee. They've only shown the first episode as a teaser after the American Idol finale, but it was so much fun, I don't care that their marketing worked. I am already hooked and anxiously waiting for the season to really begin. Here is my favorite song from this episode, though I loved all the music in it.



Anyway, every time I take a break from music, and then come back to it, I'm always stunned at how much I love it and miss it. (I guess that's about right...it's basically July, six months from the Christmas season when I'm singing my brains out.)
Have fun, and I hope I've addicted all of you to Glee (if not, go to Fox and watch the whole first episode) so you can talk about it with me when the season starts in September!

Cold Stone Concoctions

I've always been a fan of Cold Stone Creamery. I love the idea of being able to put together flavors that no one else has ever thought of and have it be really nummy. We don't go often, but when we do, Kendall always complains that I make much better concoctions and then eats half of it.

So after going to see Hello, Dolly! at Hale Center Theatre last night, we stopped at Cold Stone. After tasting my experiment, he said, "You need to blog about flavor combinations, and say things like 'It finished with the deep flavor of oak.'"

He was kidding about oak, but not about the blog. So here is last night's nirvana (and I wish I had taken a picture): Oatmeal cookie batter ice cream, raspberries, and Twix. Fresh raspberries add tartness, the caramel is smooth and chewy as it cools, and the cookie base and milk chocolate bring a satisfying crunch and creamy finish. The oatmeal cookie ice cream also gives it a nice roundness of flavor, rich and buttery, with some cinammon to add a final dimension.

I would also recommend Oatmeal cookie batter ice cream, raspberries, Nilla wafers, and white chocolate chips. It would taste like the fabulously indulgent white chocolate raspberry brownies that my mom makes from Aunt Deb's recipe. (Thanks, Aunt Deb!)

So there's your Coldstone recommendation for the week. If I made your mind work and your mouth water, go indulge your craving with this recipe. It's on the house.

Speed Bumps of Life

What are speed bumps for? Why do they even exist? Physical ones are there to tell you to slow down, drive slowly, cautiously, with careful considerations of your surroundings.

The speed bumps of life do the same thing in our consciousness. These experiences come into our paths to say "Wait! There are things here to stop and ponder! Think through the path you've chosen before you continue!"

Some are small, like a child trying to get you to listen while you're busy 'working the plan'.

"Mom, Mom, Mom! You gotta come see..."
"Just a sec. Mama's got to finish this one thing--"
"But Benji just flushed the shampoo down the toilet!"

Or it could be major, like Kendall's dad collapsing and being rushed to the hospital. The doctors have ruled out a heart attack or stroke (his dad is almost 78), and think he might have a really bad inner ear infection, or something that can be taken care of. We're hopeful that it will be something "minor".

But today as this unfolded, and a few years ago when Kendall's mother was extremely ill, it caused us to stop and think about where we are, and this "plan" we're working so hard to follow. Where are our priorities? Where is our focus? Are we really choosing "the better part"? Or are we settling for good, when better or best is who we should be?

Edelweiss

Edelweiss - Sound of Music - Christopher Plummer's own voice from Mark on Vimeo.

Today we changed Benji's crib into a "transitional bed", i.e., a toddler bed with railings at either end. He's been successfully climbing/falling out of his crib for the past week, and hurt himself a few times.

I don't know why I thought it would be just like any other night, where I could put him in and walk away. He likes his freedom too much. So for almost an hour, we played "Get out of bed and find Mom so she can put me back in bed", including a bonus round of "crying so hard I throw up". I finally figured out (duh) that he wasn't going to stay, so I had to lay him down and sit in the opening created by the two end railings. He still didn't want to stay, so I offered to sing for him.

Now I have to add here that one of the only things that this busy, busy, BUSY boy will sit still for is when Kendall sings "Edelweiss" to him. He loves the sound of his daddy's singing, and will be so still I don't even recognize the tornado that is normally my son. So I usually leave Kendall to sing this lullaby to him, because, well, I love to hear him sing it, too.

But it was my turn tonight (since it was my decision to change up the crib situation) to figure out how to keep him in bed, so I sang to him. I used all my usual lullabies, but he wasn't quite there.

"Benji," I said, "Do you want me to sing Edelweiss?"

He smiled his biggest smile at me and said, "Yeah."

So I sang it to him about 20 times, the last time a gentle humming as I listened to my baby snore. Peace.

So I post the picture of my now FAVORITE flower and a video clip from one of my favorite movies, in honor of Benji, sleep, and peace.

Milestones

This is the summer of learning something new...for me and the three youngest. Meri is on the brink of making a breakthrough in reading...so close. So this summer she will learn to read before she goes to kindergarten. This is awesome, and I look forward to working with her.

For the two youngest, not so fun. I think it's time to teach the two little boys the joys of toilet training. Andrew has been very reluctant, refusing any suggestions to start. But (and here's where the psychology comes in) he always wants to do things BEFORE Benji. But Benji is showing signs of readiness, and I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to get the rest of my kids out of diapers.

So wish me good luck (and good aim).