A Little Bit Tiger Mother

I have music on the brain. While I love music and always have music on, there is a reason for an increased cognizance: music is now being played in our home - not simply listened to.

Sweet Cheeks has been asking to play the violin for years now. Yes, she's only 5, but it's been years since she has wanted to play. My niece plays the violin, and when we visited Arizona earlier this year she lent us her teeny, tiny violin. It's a 1/16, meaning it's 1/16th the scale of a full size violin. It's adorable, although doesn't boast the most  pleasing tone.

Lessons have begun and practices are held regularly. Lessons are wonderful. Practices are not. They are a bit reminiscent of the practice sessions with her daughter Lulu that Amy Chua described in her book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. But it's better than when I was attempting to teach her. (Yes, I played violin as a girl. No, I'm not any good. At one time I had potential, alas I quit to involve myself in other high school related pursuits. And I never practiced.)

I will admit that I'm hard on my girls. I have high expectations, particularly of Sweet Cheeks. I see what she is capable of  and it drives me crazy when she tries to be lazy. In terms of violin lessons, these high expectations coupled with a clash of personalities has made for some stressful situations not devoid of tears, yelling, and threats - both idol and fulfilled. It's not something I'm proud of.

Not all practice sessions are horrible. If all goes well they last 10 minutes. With fighting, they drag on. Through this  I have definitely gained an understanding of what she Amy Chua was doing. Like her, I have come to understand that because parents do have the perspective their children lack, the parent often must push them beyond what the child feels comfortable with.

That being said, there is a balance that must be attained. I hope Sweet Cheeks sticks it out and plays into her adulthood. At this point she doesn't have the choice, but I hope, unlike Amy Chua, I don't drive her to quit something she loves.  I have to make sure my obsessive parenting doesn't outweigh the benefits violin lessons can bring into her life. Most important of all that it doesn't drive her from me.

At any rate, violin practice can be heard most days by both mother and daughter. I anticipate that will continue for years to come.

On a similar note (no pun intended) - Sweet Cheeks has been "beat boxing". I'm not quite sure where she picked that up, but it's quite entertaining. I'm wondering if one day she'll be like this guy:

Amazing, right? It makes me wonder about the back story from both his perspective and that of his parents. Something to think about.

How You Doin' (Part Two)

I told you I was committed to updating this little blog of mine. In a way I'm a little surprised myself. I had always sworn that if I got backed up I would just pick up right where I was and not back track. This certainly isn't the first time I'm going back on something I swore I would never do. You should just ask the youth leaders I had growing up about everything I said I would never do.

The thing is, with the blog I never really wanted this to be a journal. For now I feel like it's been a good spring and summer that needs to be documented. So, no...I'm not journaling. I'm simply documenting.

Early Celebrations This year marks 10 years of wedded-ness.Being that this year is the really the first whopper of an anniversary, we decided to go on an adventure sans children. It was the first time. Ever. Ever, as in since the girls entered the picture. Okay, our anniversary is not until November, but who says you can't celebrate a milestone of this magnitude for an entire year.

So we left the children in the capable and loving hands of Grammy and my niece, Victoria and headed to the rainy Northwest for a week.We had never been to Seattle, and the stars aligned in such a way that the city kind of chose us. For the record, the only time it rained was the day we left, but it was much colder than I anticipated.

We found a week away to be too long not only for what there was to do in Seattle, but it was difficult being away from the girls for that long. We divided our time between the northern Puget Sound/San Juan Islands and Seattle. Seattle has some fun and whimsical neighborhoods that we loved, and hiking up north was breathtaking. The antique stores weren't too shabby either.

The week away certainly did it's job: we were able to reconnect in a way that isn't possible when the kids are around. It's amazing how much effort is required before you remember how to have conversations without the typical interruptions and that don't revolve around the functions of life at home. I think we're sold on an annual couple's retreat. Maybe not for quite as long next time. 

My Happy Place Once again we are participating in the Great Country Farms CSA. Getting out to the country once a week where the girls have an opportunity to play after we pick produce from the fields is just about the happiest thing we've done this summer. I don't think there has been one time the girls didn't want to go.

Though they were very ready to leave this past week when we were DRENCHED by buckets of rain that lasted only while we were picking our peaches and raspberries. It started as the hayride to the fields left and stopped when we pulled up to the store coming home. It was kind of nice to have use of the heater in August.

More to come. Certainly the best is yet.

How You Doin' (Part One)

I'm a failed blogger. Regular updates lasted roughly six months. Sounds about right. I really do have a short attention span. But just when I think I've reconciled myself to that fact I get the itch again.

I really do enjoy it. It's therapeutic for me. It's just time consuming. Maybe I need to reevaluate my blogging expectations. Does every post need to be a book? Of course not, but apparently I have a lot to say. And does every post need to have an image that has been edited?  Not really, but it's fun and I'm obsessive.

When asked by friends what I've been up to, I honestly have to think about it for a while. Things have, for the most part, been status quo. I guess that isn't completely true. There have been goings on. And status quo for spring is definitely different than that of summer. Spring ended along with school routines. Summer began bringing with it a desperate attempt to make some kind of routine.

So, in case you've been wondering, I'm going to give you a glimpse into the goings on of my life since spring. Now that I'm actually sitting down to do this, I'm realizing that it's just not going to happen in one, quick blog post, so here is Part One. Not to fear...you won't be left hanging. I'm in sincere catch-up mode. Which I swore I would never do, but that's a different story.

Without further ado, I bring you Part One:

Run You Mother: Yeah, not so much 
Remember how I announced I was signed up to run the Charlottesville Marathon? Well, that didn't really happen. See, I found out that it's really, really, hard training for a race through the winter. Especially when I ended up training solo. And then I got a pain in the butt, literally. Technically I injured my right piriformis (which is in the butt) and hamstring. It made running lots of fun. I was forced to take some time off.

I did end up running the half-marathon injury and all. Not only did I run it - I KILLED it. I wanted my time to be below 2 hours. Not only was I below 2 hours, I did it in 1:56 and placed 133 out of 629 women. Injured to boot. WAHOO for me. It helped that my sister ended up coming from Arizona to run the full marathon. Seeing her cross the finish line was fabulous. What was even more fabulous was that I wasn't sad that I couldn't run the full marathon. I was content with 13.1 miles.

After the race I took about 4 months off to heal. Which didn't work so I went to Physical Therapy. Good times. While I'm not yet 100%, at least I'm running again. Slowly. It's just good to be able to run.

The Little Dirt Diva Sweet Cheeks was on a softball team for the first time this spring. It was so much fun for her to play, and even more fun for us to watch. By the end of the season she understood what was going on, but even then she often found the pile of dirt she was building or something that caught her eye in the distance more engaging than the game. I have quite a few videos of it, which I'll eventually get around to editing.



Stay tuned for Part 2.

All I Want is A Bouncy Cow

Friday was my Sweet Addie-Cake's birthday. Who knew three years could go so fast. No longer the chunky 8lbs 8oz babe, she is full of personality, happiness, and a mind of her own.

Did I mention that she knows what she wants? We're going to the farm again this year, where one of her favorite things to do is play with the bouncy cows. Silly thing.

So that's what she got. And she bounced all evening while she played with her cousins. What can I say, the girl likes to move.

It was more than a little difficult getting her here, but who could resist those chunky cheeks and rolly-polly legs. And that cute smile.

A Discovery a la Last Post

On the topic of great music, I just found some. There is a production group called The Occidental Saloon out of good ol' Provo, Utah that produces music videos of up and coming artists. Let me clarify - Utah artists. Be ye not skeptical. There are some A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and talent peeps that write great music. Neon Trees, anyone?

So, this is Emily Brown. I'm amazed by her. Her voice to me is innocent and wise, playful and pensive. All at the same time. This song, Nocturne, is hauntingly beautiful. I'm in love and wishing for about the gazillionth time I could play the piano.

Those Pesky Consequences...

If I've learned anything from being a parent, it's that you frequently get bit in the be-hind. That does happen literally, but right now I'm speaking figuratively. Even the most innocent things you do and say will inevitably come and bite you. I'm thinking along the lines of letting the girls sleep in bed with me while Otterpop is out of town means an entire week of re-sleep training. Or giggling at a potty joke at home usually means embarrassment...nay, MORTIFICATION...when said child shouts to the world that same potty joke in the most inappropriate of places. 

I'm not especially a fan of "kid music". It kinda drives me nuts. Okay really drives me nuts. My sanity is hanging by a thread as it is, so why push it, right? I want my girls to cultivate an appreciation for music across all genres, which I feel means they need to be exposed to real music early on. Kid.z B.op doesn't count. I have my own feelings on that, mostly because I don't think a moderately edited song should receive a stamp of approval simply because a kid is singing it. In fact I think it makes it worse. There I go on tangent. Back to my point...

This has backfired on me more than once. The girls listening to adult music, that is. There was a time I heard Sweet Cheeks singing a very inappropriate Black Eyed Peas song while listening to my iPod. While I made it clear to her that song wasn't appropriate and turned it off she kept singing it for days. I could just imagine her doing it in public. I suppose it would serve me right. After all, I'm supposed to be the gate keeper.

Did I learn my lesson? A little. I am more vigilant than I was about the music in our home, but not as much as I ought to be. Consequently, as of late I am constantly being serenaded with somewhat less-than-appropriate songs by a 21/2 year old.

Okay, it's not so bad.  Full disclosure...I regularly put on "Single Ladies" for the girls. I think it's fun and basically harmless. But I hate La.dy Ga.ga. Even if her songs are catchy and not all are completely inappropriate, I think she is a horrible example to young girls. I'm not sure where Addie-Cakes picked up that song. Well, actually from her older sister. Who I think heard the Kid.z B.op version at the gym. Dang that Kid.z B.op.

I guess the consequence of children listening to adult music is children singing adult music. Yet I have not one bit of remorse. There is a lot of good music out there, and I want to teach them to choose good music as they grow up. Maybe I do need to be more careful about what they listen to. And nipping it in the bud rather than videoing it because it's funny. What can I say? It's my punishment.



 P.S. There are a few exceptions to the awful kid music. When Addie-Cakes was born my former boss gave me a kid music CD Barenaked Ladies wrote and produced, which is really good. The Curious George soundtrack by Jack Johnson is great, too. Who are we kidding, though? I would bet money those albums were inspired by their very own battle with kid-induced insanity. Thankfully they had the talent to do something about it and helped talk parents everywhere off the proverbial ledge. 

Music to My Ears

 
Scrubbing the toilet the other day wasn't quite the chore it typically is. Yes, I actually said that. Only because of the lovely background music, though.

You see, Sweet Cheeks was reading her sister a book. They hovered over a book all close and cozy-like the entire time I cleaned the bathroom. Crazy, right? Crazy and wonderful. Both that Sweet Cheeks is already reading, and that she's reading to her sister.

The girls have been playing incredibly well together lately. Of course there is the typical bickering, tattling, punching, kicking and hair pulling that all sisters put each other through. But more often than not they are best friends.

And those days when I'm not forced to referee every two minutes make me remember why staying at home to raise my girls is the best choice I've ever made. Until tomorrow when the truce is broken and Referee Mama is on duty. All day. Then I'll need another reminder.