Ugh. I want a do-over today.
I should have just decided from the beginning that we wouldn't try to do a regular school day.
Instead I spent most of the day frustrated because the boys weren't getting any schoolwork done, and one of my boys didn't do any practicing at all.
What did they do instead? Mowed and edged the lawn, helped Ben clean the pool, helped me weed the front yard, cleaned up the playroom, and composed music together on Mixcraft.
Those were awesome things to do, and I didn't need to be frustrated.
I got grumpy when the dog came in dripping wet, leaving wet doggy footprints all over the floor that JUST got mopped, and when Mosey spilled fruit juice under the table and Brigham got out a bunch of ingredients to make a blueberry smoothie.
I didn't need to get grumpy about those things. I don't want to be a grumpy mom.
Tomorrow I pledge not to get grumpy about ANYTHING.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
05/26/2013
Joseph and Brigham are heading into their last couple of months of primary. That is hard to believe. Anyway, Brigham was asked to give a talk in primary a couple of weeks ago, and today it was Joseph's turn. He's not a big fan of giving primary talks. I tried to tell him it's good practice for giving talks in Sacrament meeting! He'll be longing for the days of primary talks when he gets his first youth speaker assignment. :-)
I usually help the boys write their talks (well, probably more like they help me write them... :-)), but last night Joseph told me he wanted to write it himself. OK!! So I wrote out some basic suggestions for him and opened up the list of conference talks on lds.org so that when he got up this morning he could put it together.
Well, by the time it was time to go to church, he was sitting at the computer with his head buried in his arms, about to break down. What do I do? Do I let him suffer the consequences of procrastination and make him come to church without a talk ready? Well, I'm a softie at heart, so I gave him strict instructions to read some conference talks and write down some good quotes, and after I dropped Brigham and Mosey off at church I went back home, helped him add an introduction and a conclusion, and then took him back to church. I hope it went well!
This afternoon Brigham and Joseph worked on some compositions they are writing with some music software. We have a synthesizer that can be connected to the computer and the boys can play music and record it, add tracks, effects, and all sorts of other fun things. Both of them like to compose music, although they have very different styles. I think they both have at least one piece finished and I'll try to figure out a way to attach the audio file here.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. The boys and I really should do school, but I think Ben is taking the day off, so I guess we'll see how it goes.
I usually help the boys write their talks (well, probably more like they help me write them... :-)), but last night Joseph told me he wanted to write it himself. OK!! So I wrote out some basic suggestions for him and opened up the list of conference talks on lds.org so that when he got up this morning he could put it together.
Well, by the time it was time to go to church, he was sitting at the computer with his head buried in his arms, about to break down. What do I do? Do I let him suffer the consequences of procrastination and make him come to church without a talk ready? Well, I'm a softie at heart, so I gave him strict instructions to read some conference talks and write down some good quotes, and after I dropped Brigham and Mosey off at church I went back home, helped him add an introduction and a conclusion, and then took him back to church. I hope it went well!
This afternoon Brigham and Joseph worked on some compositions they are writing with some music software. We have a synthesizer that can be connected to the computer and the boys can play music and record it, add tracks, effects, and all sorts of other fun things. Both of them like to compose music, although they have very different styles. I think they both have at least one piece finished and I'll try to figure out a way to attach the audio file here.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. The boys and I really should do school, but I think Ben is taking the day off, so I guess we'll see how it goes.
5/25/2013
Today we had a really fun family outing. There was a WWII reenactment demonstration at Camp Mabry which included some WWII era tanks. Our friends gave us a flyer about it a couple of days ago and the boys were super-excited. They've been playing another tank computer game-- World of Tanks maybe? It's better than Tankionline, but the same idea. This game takes place during WWII, however, and the tanks are real WWII era tanks. The boys have learned a lot about them, and so this was right up their alley.
It was raining pretty hard as we drove down, so we stopped at Walmart for umbrellas, which we'll probably use only 2 or 3 times a year here in Texas. :-)
Once there, we went through the great little military museum they have, and walked up and down among a whole bunch of tanks that are on display outside. I took a picture of each of the boys next to their favorite tank. I can't remember what they were called now, but the boys could tell you, and tell you all the important facts about it, too.
It had been raining when we got there, and in fact the first reenactment got cancelled because of it, but by the time we got through the museum, it had tapered off a bit. We made our way down to a field and sat on some bleachers set up to watch the reenactment.
It was really cool! We got to learn about a whole bunch of WWII era weapons-- American and German, and see them in use, although only firing blank rounds. They also brought several vehicles out to the field-- jeeps, half-tracks, and of course tanks.
The demonstration itself was "totally awesome," to quote Mosey. It was also LOUD! The video I took does not at all convey the decibel level out on that field. The crowd was given earplugs before the show, and they were needed. How did those soldiers keep their hearing??
Anyway, this was the perfect tween-age boy activity, and was perfect weather-- overcast, breezy, and not at all what late-May in central Texas is usually like!
After this, we got food at Chick-Fil-A and then went to see the new Star Trek movie. We liked it, but didn't like how much death their was... On the way home we had a spirited family discussion about the plausibility of the Star Trek technology in the movie.
Then Ben and I had a solo-date to the grocery store, and then home and bedtime for the boys! A good day-- one that the boys will probably always remember.
It was raining pretty hard as we drove down, so we stopped at Walmart for umbrellas, which we'll probably use only 2 or 3 times a year here in Texas. :-)
Once there, we went through the great little military museum they have, and walked up and down among a whole bunch of tanks that are on display outside. I took a picture of each of the boys next to their favorite tank. I can't remember what they were called now, but the boys could tell you, and tell you all the important facts about it, too.
It had been raining when we got there, and in fact the first reenactment got cancelled because of it, but by the time we got through the museum, it had tapered off a bit. We made our way down to a field and sat on some bleachers set up to watch the reenactment.
It was really cool! We got to learn about a whole bunch of WWII era weapons-- American and German, and see them in use, although only firing blank rounds. They also brought several vehicles out to the field-- jeeps, half-tracks, and of course tanks.
The demonstration itself was "totally awesome," to quote Mosey. It was also LOUD! The video I took does not at all convey the decibel level out on that field. The crowd was given earplugs before the show, and they were needed. How did those soldiers keep their hearing??
Anyway, this was the perfect tween-age boy activity, and was perfect weather-- overcast, breezy, and not at all what late-May in central Texas is usually like!
After this, we got food at Chick-Fil-A and then went to see the new Star Trek movie. We liked it, but didn't like how much death their was... On the way home we had a spirited family discussion about the plausibility of the Star Trek technology in the movie.
Then Ben and I had a solo-date to the grocery store, and then home and bedtime for the boys! A good day-- one that the boys will probably always remember.
05/24/2013
Friday! Everyone slept in a little bit this morning, but it was OK. Mosey didn't freak out too much about it. I tried to be his schoolwork-buddy, sitting next to him and helping him get his stuff done. We went out on the porch swing in the front courtyard and worked on grammar together. Later, Brigham and I sat on the same swing and talked over literary themes and compared themes in a couple of books we've read this year. It was one of their assignments, and I hadn't done a good job in explaining to the boys exactly what they were supposed to do, but I suppose this is just the first of many, many times they'll do this sort of thing in their school career. Anyway, I like that porch swing.
The boys had friends over this afternoon which curtailed their schoolwork/practicing a little early, but I wasn't feeling worked up about it. Must be the end of the school year. :-)
The Eckholdt boys came over to play airsoft. It had been cloudy all day, but hadn't rained, so I thought they'd be OK. But their arrival triggered the storm that had been threatening, and it RAINED. They still went out for a while and got all wet. Then the thunder and lightning really picked up and I made them come inside. They made brownies and let me have some free time, so it was all good.
Mosey's friend Josh also came over and they had a good time playing with Mosey's radio controlled car and the cats. We got a new cat toy-- a plastic wand with a long strip of fleece-type material attached to the end, and they go crazy for it.
Later in the afternoon Ben came home and we ate pizza and watched Lost and then went to bed. A good day!
The boys had friends over this afternoon which curtailed their schoolwork/practicing a little early, but I wasn't feeling worked up about it. Must be the end of the school year. :-)
The Eckholdt boys came over to play airsoft. It had been cloudy all day, but hadn't rained, so I thought they'd be OK. But their arrival triggered the storm that had been threatening, and it RAINED. They still went out for a while and got all wet. Then the thunder and lightning really picked up and I made them come inside. They made brownies and let me have some free time, so it was all good.
Mosey's friend Josh also came over and they had a good time playing with Mosey's radio controlled car and the cats. We got a new cat toy-- a plastic wand with a long strip of fleece-type material attached to the end, and they go crazy for it.
Later in the afternoon Ben came home and we ate pizza and watched Lost and then went to bed. A good day!
Friday, May 24, 2013
05/23/2013
We had a pretty relaxed day today, due to my being gone for much of it. I had an appointment that went long, so the boys were on their own from 10:00 until nearly 1:00. Apparently they were pretty diligent, though, and all the practicing except for Mosey's piano was done before I got back! Yahoo. Of course there is always controversy over whether or not somebody or other did his full 45 minutes, and whether or not another somebody was on world of tanks when he wasn't supposed to be, but no blood was shed, and that's a good thing. :-)
I was a little worried, though, when I drove up the driveway and saw all the living room and kitchen windows open, and then opened my car door to a distinct odor of something scorched. Joseph came running into the garage to tell me that Brigham and Mosey tried to burn the house down. Not really, but Mosey did decide to try to get creative with his lunch. He and Brigham are becoming expert french toast makers, and Mosey decided he would try honey toast for lunch-- made french toast style. So he spread honey on a piece of bread and plopped it down on the hot skillet. Turns out that honey really likes to burn, and huge amounts of black smoke immediately started pouring from the skillet. But, they were quick thinkers and Brigham pulled the pan right off the hot stove and they opened up all the windows and turned on the fans and by the afternoon all traces of the residual honey-scented smoke were gone.
We had our homeschool group over for swimming in the afternoon. Brigham tied a long rope from the base of the diving board to the hand rail at the shallow-end steps and the kids used it for all sorts of games. He's pretty clever at coming up with creative, fun things like that.
Tomorrow is Friday!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
05/22/2013
Normal Wednesday today. School, practicing, piano lessons. Joseph didn't want to finish his piano practicing. There is a piece he is playing that he particularly is not excited about practicing, and so when we got to it, he begged to practice it "later." So I lectured him a while on exercising his discipline muscles in making himself do what he didn't want to do, and delay gratification and all that good stuff. The usual. I'm not sure if I convinced him, or just wore him down by my lecturing... Either way, he finished his practicing. :-) I wonder if he will remember all of this when he is grown up?
Mosey got upset around 2:30 or so as he realized that Brigham was nearly done with his schoolwork, and he (Mosey), was not. Mosey loves to get up early (5:30 this morning) and start his schoolwork. Of course many times that means getting up at 5:30 and playing computer games until breakfast, but the intention is there. :-) Sometimes he is on fire and finishes everything before lunch. Today was not one of those days, and he got very sad when Brigham finished first, even though Mosey got up earlier. So it was a good occasion to talk about Brigham's single-mindedness. A great thing when it means he stays utterly focused on his schoolwork and practicing until it's done, but not so good in other ways, like when he was 3 years old and had the most unbelievably long tantrums over the craziest things. You just could not distract the kid. :-)
But, everyone did eventually finish everything and then helped Ben clean the pool when he got home. He and I went to visit some people from church and came home to find the boys watching an old episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. What can I say? Ben and I are geeky kids of the '80's. Our kids are doomed. :-)
Monday, May 20, 2013
05/20/2013
Ugh. I just read about the tornado in Oklahoma. I don't even know what to say-- it is so sad. I can't stand it, especially all those little kids. It's hard to believe that all that was happening this afternoon as I was sitting with Joseph doing his piano practicing...
I was going to write more, but now I don't have the heart.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
More Mosey and cat pictures
Mosey loves his cats.
Today we had to do some errands, dropping some things off at a few houses. Mosey brought Sola along. Now, cats generally HATE cars. Hate with a capital H, with saliva foaming from their mouths, full-on shakes and shedding, and the most pathetic yowling you ever heard. But, Sola likes the car! She sat in his arms the whole time and looked out the window. Maybe it's a result of conditioning-- being wheeled around the house on my lap for example? I don't know, but it was cute.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
05/12/2013 Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful, brave, brilliant mother.
I had a very nice day. I slept in, woke up, dressed, got in the car that my boys had cleaned inside and out, went to church, listened to all my boys singing with the primary (the very LAST time they will all be up there!), ate delicious cookies that the young men brought (I have to say I prefer cookies over roses :-)), went home, went to an Austin Civic Orchestra concert with Brigham (his teacher is a violist in the orchestra), came home again, took our annual mother's day pictures with the boys, ate dinner, talked to my mom on the phone, and got my seminary lesson ready. I am one lucky mama.
I adore the forest area next to our house. So many pretty places to take pictures, if you can brave the fire ants. :-)
I had to include this last one-- Sandy photobomb! :-)
I had a very nice day. I slept in, woke up, dressed, got in the car that my boys had cleaned inside and out, went to church, listened to all my boys singing with the primary (the very LAST time they will all be up there!), ate delicious cookies that the young men brought (I have to say I prefer cookies over roses :-)), went home, went to an Austin Civic Orchestra concert with Brigham (his teacher is a violist in the orchestra), came home again, took our annual mother's day pictures with the boys, ate dinner, talked to my mom on the phone, and got my seminary lesson ready. I am one lucky mama.
Thursday, May 09, 2013
a few good things
OK, here are some good things from the past couple of weeks.
1. Brigham has gotten to be a master pancake-maker. He makes pancakes for himself and his brothers almost every day. It was so fun to watch him and Mosey a few mornings ago as Brigham taught him exactly how to make the perfect pancake. Brigham is a good teacher. I can learn a few things from him. :-)
2. T-Rex seems to be on the mend. Joseph has done a great job in helping me take care of him. We had to give him injections for a few days, and now we are down to oral medication every other day and eye drops twice a day. It's really, really hard to give lizards eye drops. T-Rex's eyes are small, and the surface tension of water is so great that the drop tends to just sit on his eyelids in a bubble. I'm not sure there's much transfer of fluid between the drop of medicine and his eyes. Giving injections is even harder. You have to grab the lizards arm, grasping the teeny eensy bone and squishing the muscle to one side so you can insert the needle and inject the medicine without getting too close to the bone. Seriously, this is very hard because it turns out T-Rex is feeling well enough that he does NOT want to be held down, and does NOT want to hold his arm still enough to be injected.
3. After Sunday's orchestra concert, Monday was Brigham and Mosey's orchestra advancement auditions. Brigham auditioned for the Sinfonietta orchestra, and Mosey for the Camerata Orchestra (the one Brigham was in this year). I stayed with Mosey and sent Brigham on his own to a different room for his auditions. Mosey was so, so nervous. He sat in his chair moaning, "I'm not ready, I'm not ready," for about 40 minutes. He was utterly immune to my pep-talks. Finally I got him distracted playing hand-slapping games and thumb wars and he was calm for his audition. I'm pretty positive Brigham will advance. I'm not so sure about Mosey, mostly because I don't really think the current cellists in the Camerata Orchestra are ready to advance, and if they don't advance, there won't be slots open for the Intermezzo kids to advance. It's not like there is a plethora of cellists anyway. Not like violinists. :-) Mosey's orchestra was really very, very good this year and I don't think Mosey was bored at all. But I'm not sure Mosey will have that same perspective. We will see.
4. I've been working on a sewing project the past few days, a few minutes here and there. I made a new skirt. Mosey was very interested in the sewing machine and so a couple of nights ago while Brigham and Joseph were at scouts, I gave him a little tutorial on how to use the sewing machine. Together we sewed a canvas bag. Then yesterday he made another bag entirely by himself (well, the first seam he made ended up being a mistake so I picked it out, but he did the rest on his own), which he used to carry his music books to piano lessons and cello lessons.
1. Brigham has gotten to be a master pancake-maker. He makes pancakes for himself and his brothers almost every day. It was so fun to watch him and Mosey a few mornings ago as Brigham taught him exactly how to make the perfect pancake. Brigham is a good teacher. I can learn a few things from him. :-)
2. T-Rex seems to be on the mend. Joseph has done a great job in helping me take care of him. We had to give him injections for a few days, and now we are down to oral medication every other day and eye drops twice a day. It's really, really hard to give lizards eye drops. T-Rex's eyes are small, and the surface tension of water is so great that the drop tends to just sit on his eyelids in a bubble. I'm not sure there's much transfer of fluid between the drop of medicine and his eyes. Giving injections is even harder. You have to grab the lizards arm, grasping the teeny eensy bone and squishing the muscle to one side so you can insert the needle and inject the medicine without getting too close to the bone. Seriously, this is very hard because it turns out T-Rex is feeling well enough that he does NOT want to be held down, and does NOT want to hold his arm still enough to be injected.
3. After Sunday's orchestra concert, Monday was Brigham and Mosey's orchestra advancement auditions. Brigham auditioned for the Sinfonietta orchestra, and Mosey for the Camerata Orchestra (the one Brigham was in this year). I stayed with Mosey and sent Brigham on his own to a different room for his auditions. Mosey was so, so nervous. He sat in his chair moaning, "I'm not ready, I'm not ready," for about 40 minutes. He was utterly immune to my pep-talks. Finally I got him distracted playing hand-slapping games and thumb wars and he was calm for his audition. I'm pretty positive Brigham will advance. I'm not so sure about Mosey, mostly because I don't really think the current cellists in the Camerata Orchestra are ready to advance, and if they don't advance, there won't be slots open for the Intermezzo kids to advance. It's not like there is a plethora of cellists anyway. Not like violinists. :-) Mosey's orchestra was really very, very good this year and I don't think Mosey was bored at all. But I'm not sure Mosey will have that same perspective. We will see.
4. I've been working on a sewing project the past few days, a few minutes here and there. I made a new skirt. Mosey was very interested in the sewing machine and so a couple of nights ago while Brigham and Joseph were at scouts, I gave him a little tutorial on how to use the sewing machine. Together we sewed a canvas bag. Then yesterday he made another bag entirely by himself (well, the first seam he made ended up being a mistake so I picked it out, but he did the rest on his own), which he used to carry his music books to piano lessons and cello lessons.
05/09/2013
Aaahh. Almost Friday.
I can tell it's getting close to the end of the school year. All the boys are getting tired and ready for a break. I know I am.
All my boys periodically (some more than others) have a strong need to assert their own will when it comes to school work. As the boys are growing up, this is getting less and less, and I do recognize the progress we have made. And most of the time they are really good kids, interested and willing to do their assignments. But other times... Well, other times sending them to public school starts sounding pretty good.
My challenge is, as always, to figure out how to avoid power struggles with my kids. When I'm stressed out, I'm not very creative, and my default mode is way too controlling, and definitely not humorous enough. So last week, when one of my boys outright and utterly refused to listen to an 8-minute clip of an NPR program that I wanted to play for them, I ended up taking away the privilege of him going to one of his favorite activities. Afterward I berated myself, because I HATE doing that. I hate, hate, hate punishing my boys and taking away things that mean something to them. If I let things get to the point where I am threatening punishment, that is my failing.
They're not entirely off the hook-- I mean, come on! Refusing to listen to an 8 minute radio clip for absolutely no other reason except that you don't want to be told what to do? This is stuff 4 year olds do, not kids as old as mine. But still, I should have handled it differently. I can always think of things I should have done after the face.
Yesterday I ended up in full-on tears with a different child of mine who was freaking out about another assignment he had to do. I'm not sure what they are thinking my motivation is in trying to get them to do their schoolwork. It's not like I'm having a jolly old time, rubbing my hands with glee while I'm torturing them into finishing a grammar assignment.
And today I got the other boy to cry. Awesome. Afterward, we had a pretty good talk. Well, I talked to him, and he listened. :-)
I've been trying to better communicate to my children what my educational goals for them are. It's not that I think every assignment is vitally important. Whether or not they finish this particular outline and short essay on Harriet Tubman is not the issue. Whether or not they spell "unsuccessfully" correctly on the language worksheet is not the issue. Whether or not they learn what compound interest is this very day is not the issue. The issue is learning good habits and developing an identity of excellence.
My goal is to help them be careful, thorough, and neat in their work. To take pride in a job well done. To practice having the discipline to finish something they don't really like. To these ends, sometimes the really annoying, stupid assignments are actually the most important! Because most of the every-day stuff of life is like that-- stuff you don't really like, but have to do anyway.
Anyway, I am trying to stay calm, use redirection and humor, and avoid power struggles. Sometimes I don't feel like I am making any progress. But, I guess there are some small victories. This morning I did manage to get a very recalcitrant to make their bed by initiating a pillow fight. :-)
I can tell it's getting close to the end of the school year. All the boys are getting tired and ready for a break. I know I am.
All my boys periodically (some more than others) have a strong need to assert their own will when it comes to school work. As the boys are growing up, this is getting less and less, and I do recognize the progress we have made. And most of the time they are really good kids, interested and willing to do their assignments. But other times... Well, other times sending them to public school starts sounding pretty good.
My challenge is, as always, to figure out how to avoid power struggles with my kids. When I'm stressed out, I'm not very creative, and my default mode is way too controlling, and definitely not humorous enough. So last week, when one of my boys outright and utterly refused to listen to an 8-minute clip of an NPR program that I wanted to play for them, I ended up taking away the privilege of him going to one of his favorite activities. Afterward I berated myself, because I HATE doing that. I hate, hate, hate punishing my boys and taking away things that mean something to them. If I let things get to the point where I am threatening punishment, that is my failing.
They're not entirely off the hook-- I mean, come on! Refusing to listen to an 8 minute radio clip for absolutely no other reason except that you don't want to be told what to do? This is stuff 4 year olds do, not kids as old as mine. But still, I should have handled it differently. I can always think of things I should have done after the face.
Yesterday I ended up in full-on tears with a different child of mine who was freaking out about another assignment he had to do. I'm not sure what they are thinking my motivation is in trying to get them to do their schoolwork. It's not like I'm having a jolly old time, rubbing my hands with glee while I'm torturing them into finishing a grammar assignment.
And today I got the other boy to cry. Awesome. Afterward, we had a pretty good talk. Well, I talked to him, and he listened. :-)
I've been trying to better communicate to my children what my educational goals for them are. It's not that I think every assignment is vitally important. Whether or not they finish this particular outline and short essay on Harriet Tubman is not the issue. Whether or not they spell "unsuccessfully" correctly on the language worksheet is not the issue. Whether or not they learn what compound interest is this very day is not the issue. The issue is learning good habits and developing an identity of excellence.
My goal is to help them be careful, thorough, and neat in their work. To take pride in a job well done. To practice having the discipline to finish something they don't really like. To these ends, sometimes the really annoying, stupid assignments are actually the most important! Because most of the every-day stuff of life is like that-- stuff you don't really like, but have to do anyway.
Anyway, I am trying to stay calm, use redirection and humor, and avoid power struggles. Sometimes I don't feel like I am making any progress. But, I guess there are some small victories. This morning I did manage to get a very recalcitrant to make their bed by initiating a pillow fight. :-)
Monday, May 06, 2013
Busy couple of weekends for music!
It started last Saturday with the boys' spring piano recital. They all three played great. Mosey was especially nervous and spent the 20 minutes before the recital telling me how he wasn't ready. But, he was. :-)
Here is Mosey playing Bouree and Musette by Martha Mier:
And here is Joseph playing Anitra's Dance by Grieg:
And here is Brigham playing Allegro from Beethoven's Sonata in F Minor:
Then this week, on Friday night with Mosey's Music on the Mezzanine performance at the Long Center. We stayed afterward for the Austin Symphony which the boys and I LOVED. Quattro Mani performed with the orchestra and was fantastic. On the way home Mosey kept raving about it-- he said it was better than any TV or movie he's seen! That is high praise, indeed.
In general I don't adore modern music. And today I talked to another one of the orchestra moms who stayed for the concert, who told me that she really didn't know how to appreciate it. But I really, really loved it. Plus, there is just something about the energy of a live performance that gives an excitement and life to a piece of music that you can't get any other way.
Here's a recording of "Circuit," the last piece on the program. Friday night was the American premier of that piece.
Here is the first part of Mosey's performance, until my battery ran out. :-) There was an awesome view of downtown Austin from across the river. It was a gorgeous day!
And here is Mosey, waiting for the performance to begin. He is happy!
And here is Brigham: The light was too pretty and he was too handsome for me not to take a picture of him.
Today (Sunday) was the final concert for the Austin Youth orchestras. Mosey and Brigham both played. I love how much they have enjoyed orchestra. It was really fun to see Brigham as concert master! :-)
And here is Mosey's performance-- he was the only cellist I couldn't see from where I was! Oh well.
And finally, tonight was Brigham's violin spring recital. He played the first movement of Vivaldi's violin concerto in A minor. There was a miscommunication between him and his accompanist (our piano teacher) resulting in Brigham putting the stand opposite from how it ought to have been oriented, which resulted in them not being synchronized at the beginning of the piece (and Brigham facing the wrong direction!), but it was just a minor detail in an otherwise really great performance.
Here is Mosey playing Bouree and Musette by Martha Mier:
And here is Joseph playing Anitra's Dance by Grieg:
And here is Brigham playing Allegro from Beethoven's Sonata in F Minor:
Then this week, on Friday night with Mosey's Music on the Mezzanine performance at the Long Center. We stayed afterward for the Austin Symphony which the boys and I LOVED. Quattro Mani performed with the orchestra and was fantastic. On the way home Mosey kept raving about it-- he said it was better than any TV or movie he's seen! That is high praise, indeed.
In general I don't adore modern music. And today I talked to another one of the orchestra moms who stayed for the concert, who told me that she really didn't know how to appreciate it. But I really, really loved it. Plus, there is just something about the energy of a live performance that gives an excitement and life to a piece of music that you can't get any other way.
Here's a recording of "Circuit," the last piece on the program. Friday night was the American premier of that piece.
Here is the first part of Mosey's performance, until my battery ran out. :-) There was an awesome view of downtown Austin from across the river. It was a gorgeous day!
And here is Mosey, waiting for the performance to begin. He is happy!
And here is Brigham: The light was too pretty and he was too handsome for me not to take a picture of him.
Today (Sunday) was the final concert for the Austin Youth orchestras. Mosey and Brigham both played. I love how much they have enjoyed orchestra. It was really fun to see Brigham as concert master! :-)
And here is Mosey's performance-- he was the only cellist I couldn't see from where I was! Oh well.
And finally, tonight was Brigham's violin spring recital. He played the first movement of Vivaldi's violin concerto in A minor. There was a miscommunication between him and his accompanist (our piano teacher) resulting in Brigham putting the stand opposite from how it ought to have been oriented, which resulted in them not being synchronized at the beginning of the piece (and Brigham facing the wrong direction!), but it was just a minor detail in an otherwise really great performance.
Friday, May 03, 2013
May 2, 2013
24 years is a long time to be missing my little brother.
For a long time, I missed that sweet little boy with the mischief-making grin. My arms ached to hold him again. I still miss that cute little guy. I still can't sing his favorite songs without choking up. I still cry whenever I go through my folder of Jacob pictures. But as my siblings have grown up, and I've been given the treasure of these amazing people in my life, I miss the grown-up Jacob, too. All of my siblings-- every one of them, is such a gift to me. A while ago I heard a guy on the radio talk about asking people who they would take with them on a desert island. He said that almost everyone said they would take a friend rather than a family member. I cannot relate to that at all. I would choose my family every time. I know I would love the grown-up Jacob. And I know I will get to be with the grown-up Jacob someday. But for now, I miss him.
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
RIP Scales
Oh, a sad night at the Turner house. Joseph's alligator lizard, Scales, died.
Joseph noticed he wasn't acting himself a few days ago. And yesterday I noticed that one of the leopard geckos, T-Rex, had lost weight and had a bit of an eye infection. So we took them both to the vet yesterday where they were diagnosed with an infection by the lovely name of "mouth rot." Nice. They got antibiotic injections, subcutaneous fluids, and were sent home with instructions for how to care for them. They both seemed to have perked up quite a bit, and were walking around happily today. Joseph took them both outside in the backyard for some sunshine in the morning.
After Joseph's flute lesson, we went by the pet store to get a smaller terrarium to keep the sick lizards in, and to keep as a home for Scales after he was well, since alligator lizards do better with a different substrate than what we had been using for the geckos.
But tonight when we went into his room to set up the new terrarium, Joseph reached in to pick up Scales, and he was already dead.
Joseph was heartbroken and was inconsolable for a long while. He curled up next to me in my room and I read to him for 45 minutes or so until his sobs subsided and sleep drew near. I hope he's never too old to take comfort in his mom like that.
But it is so sad! Joseph loves these animals so much, and he takes their loss really hard. This one was particularly hard on him since he had captured Scales from the wild. We've had him for a year and a half and he's been a great pet, friendly and beautiful and just about the coolest hunter you'll ever see. Joseph cried that he wished he hadn't ever captured him, although surely he had a better, and probably longer life in captivity than he would have had otherwise. We don't even know how old he was-- he could very well have been toward the end of his life anyway.
Scales really was a very cool lizard, and one that Joseph was justifiably proud of. He will be missed.
We're going to keep the terrarium and when Joseph is feeling better, I hope he will go on a hunt for another Texas Alligator.
In the mean time, I put Scales in a shoebox which I wrapped in white paper and decorated with some pictures of him and Joseph. I told Joseph that tomorrow he needs to find a good spot in the forest where Scales would like to be put to rest.
Joseph noticed he wasn't acting himself a few days ago. And yesterday I noticed that one of the leopard geckos, T-Rex, had lost weight and had a bit of an eye infection. So we took them both to the vet yesterday where they were diagnosed with an infection by the lovely name of "mouth rot." Nice. They got antibiotic injections, subcutaneous fluids, and were sent home with instructions for how to care for them. They both seemed to have perked up quite a bit, and were walking around happily today. Joseph took them both outside in the backyard for some sunshine in the morning.
After Joseph's flute lesson, we went by the pet store to get a smaller terrarium to keep the sick lizards in, and to keep as a home for Scales after he was well, since alligator lizards do better with a different substrate than what we had been using for the geckos.
But tonight when we went into his room to set up the new terrarium, Joseph reached in to pick up Scales, and he was already dead.
Joseph was heartbroken and was inconsolable for a long while. He curled up next to me in my room and I read to him for 45 minutes or so until his sobs subsided and sleep drew near. I hope he's never too old to take comfort in his mom like that.
But it is so sad! Joseph loves these animals so much, and he takes their loss really hard. This one was particularly hard on him since he had captured Scales from the wild. We've had him for a year and a half and he's been a great pet, friendly and beautiful and just about the coolest hunter you'll ever see. Joseph cried that he wished he hadn't ever captured him, although surely he had a better, and probably longer life in captivity than he would have had otherwise. We don't even know how old he was-- he could very well have been toward the end of his life anyway.
Scales really was a very cool lizard, and one that Joseph was justifiably proud of. He will be missed.
We're going to keep the terrarium and when Joseph is feeling better, I hope he will go on a hunt for another Texas Alligator.
In the mean time, I put Scales in a shoebox which I wrapped in white paper and decorated with some pictures of him and Joseph. I told Joseph that tomorrow he needs to find a good spot in the forest where Scales would like to be put to rest.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Sweet Sixteen
Ben surprised me by coming home with a huge bouquet of flowers. "Thank you!" I say. "What are these for?"
How's that for bending gender stereotypes? :-)
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
04/23/2013
1. My car died yesterday. It's been having trouble starting for weeks, but I have not had time to take it in, and yesterday afternoon after visiting teaching, it finally would not stop, for reals. After Ben came home, he managed to get it going with a jump and we left it at the car repair place. There is never a convenient time to have your car in the shop! I need it every single day! Anyway, Joseph had flute lessons this afternoon and was going to ride his bike. It's not far, but he would have to cross under the freeway. I didn't know how nervous he was until after he broke down in tears during his practicing. A quick text to his teacher, and now he has a makeup lesson scheduled for Friday. I remember loving my bike and riding all over town on it. But I guess there never was a big freeway to cross under.
2. The boys have a very sparse school week. Maybe the curriculum writers sense that these kids are getting tired? I'm not sure, but I have a lot of anxiety when my kids are not "anxiously engaged" in school work during school hours. It's hard for me to relax about it. I have a whole shelf full of books they can read when they are done with schoolwork, and a whole list of other extra credit activities they can do, and they've been pretty good about that. But I still have anxiety. I've been thinking Sonlight isn't quite rigorous enough for us. I've been supplementing their reading with some additional books of our own, but I haven't been thrilled with the writing program. This has been my biggest complaint for all our years of homeschooling-- I haven't found a writing program I really like, and I'm not that comfortable coming up with my own. So I'm not sure what we'll do next year. I think we'll probably stick with Sonlight and continue supplementing, but maybe we'll do an entirely different writing program. Homeschooling is hard because it's all up to you, and there's no one to tell you if you are doing it "right." When you send your kids away to school, it's easy to have a certain amount of confidence with the teachers and school-- after all, they're "experts," right? But when it's all up to you, it's easy to be full of self-doubt. I think my kids are doing just fine, but still I worry. I guess it's good because I'll never be complacent about their schooling.
3. I spent about 4.5 hours last night doing chores after dinner. The floors were in desperate need of sweeping and we were finally out of laundry baskets (we have a lot of them) since they were all filled up with clean clothes that needed to be folded. I really need another one of me.
2. The boys have a very sparse school week. Maybe the curriculum writers sense that these kids are getting tired? I'm not sure, but I have a lot of anxiety when my kids are not "anxiously engaged" in school work during school hours. It's hard for me to relax about it. I have a whole shelf full of books they can read when they are done with schoolwork, and a whole list of other extra credit activities they can do, and they've been pretty good about that. But I still have anxiety. I've been thinking Sonlight isn't quite rigorous enough for us. I've been supplementing their reading with some additional books of our own, but I haven't been thrilled with the writing program. This has been my biggest complaint for all our years of homeschooling-- I haven't found a writing program I really like, and I'm not that comfortable coming up with my own. So I'm not sure what we'll do next year. I think we'll probably stick with Sonlight and continue supplementing, but maybe we'll do an entirely different writing program. Homeschooling is hard because it's all up to you, and there's no one to tell you if you are doing it "right." When you send your kids away to school, it's easy to have a certain amount of confidence with the teachers and school-- after all, they're "experts," right? But when it's all up to you, it's easy to be full of self-doubt. I think my kids are doing just fine, but still I worry. I guess it's good because I'll never be complacent about their schooling.
3. I spent about 4.5 hours last night doing chores after dinner. The floors were in desperate need of sweeping and we were finally out of laundry baskets (we have a lot of them) since they were all filled up with clean clothes that needed to be folded. I really need another one of me.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
recent pictures
Pictures off my camera and phone from the last couple of weeks:
Brigham's very favorite math position. I cannot get him to put his books on the table and do math like a civilized person! :-) The bookshelves in the back remind me of the bookshelves in this picture I re-posted on Facebook a few days ago. :-)
As usual, I have way too many pictures of the cats. I need another baby. :-)
Pretty Luna
She hears something outside
She sees... something! I turned around, but couldn't figure what she was so mesmerized by. :-)
Sola trying to get Mosey to play with her instead of doing his practicing.
Oh, so cute!
My cousin Paul rode in the BPMS150 this last weekend (a 170+ mile bike race from Houston to Austin to fundraise for MS research). He went to Rice as well and now works in Houston. We drove downtown after church and met him along with some of the other 12,000 (!!) riders that were streaming in all afternoon. He had to catch a bus home that evening, but he did have time to come home with us for a quick shower and a little food before heading back home. He is a great kid. Not a kid anymore! Ben lived with Paul's family in Portland while doing a summer externship way back a million years ago-- 2000, I think. Anyway, Paul was a little kid at the time and got to be buds with Ben while he was there.
Some more of Sola's favorite past time-- staring longingly out the window. She tries to escape out the door whenever possible. It's so interesting to see the very different personalities of our two cats. Luna could not care less about going outside-- she is obsessed with food. Whenever I'm in the kitchen, she'll run up and jump on my lap hoping to get a snack. She'll eat almost anything-- she LOVES pancakes, for example, and ate about 6 canned green beans at a sitting once.
Sola also really loved the squirrels we caught. Oh, she so wanted to get her paws on one of them!
And the two of them at the window. I'll see them often on Brigham's windowsill (although this is my window), staring out at the birds and squirrels in the trees outside. It's fun to see their two tails twitching in unison, their heads moving identically back and forth as they track whatever critter happens to be passing by.
As usual, I have way too many pictures of the cats. I need another baby. :-)
Sola also really loved the squirrels we caught. Oh, she so wanted to get her paws on one of them!
Monday, April 22, 2013
camping
Brigham and Joseph had two scout campouts the last two weekends. I'm not sure why they scheduled them like that, but it was fun for Brigham and Joseph. Ben went with them and I think had a good time too. So Mosey and I had some mother-son bonding time, and it was fun!
The first weekend Mosey had a cello recital, so he and I got dressed up and went to the Milwood Baptist church where he performed Minuet by Boccherini. He did great! It's so fun to see how he has progressed from a year ago.
Afterward I gave him the choice of doing anything he wanted-- we could go out to eat, go see a movie, anything at all. Well, Mosey is a homebody at heart-- like his mom, and so I got him a cream slush and tater tots at Sonic and then we went home and watched Hunger Games on Netflix.
The next day we got all the trees on our property trimmed. It looks great now, and I'm glad we did it, but it made a MESS, and I had forgotten to pull the van out of the driveway before they started. And I was supposed to play my violin at a baptism that morning! Oops. So I called around frantically and luckily found a ride and even got to the baptism on time. Mosey was my helper and carried my violin and music into the church, and helped me get set up when it was time to play. Thanks Mosey!
This last weekend Mosey and I had no plans at all. I discovered that my tire was flat right before Ben and the twins had to leave, so Mosey and I were without a car again, but it was OK (since we're both the homebody type anyway). He and I went on a bike ride! Really, we did! Ben bought a hand-cycle off ebay a couple weeks ago, and got it all put together a few days ago. It's fun, but hard! Right now it's only one speed since the part that allows it to have three speeds broke while Ben was putting it together. Oops. So on our bike ride Mosey did have to get off his bike and push me up a couple of really steep hills, but that was OK-- it was so fun to be out in the beautiful weather with my boy! We watched a couple of episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (my favorite show from 15 years ago) after it got dark, and then turned in. The next morning Mosey helped me clean up the house and then very nearly beat me in a game of chess. It was only by pure luck that I won, honestly.
I think that is the last of the camping trips for a while. I'd love to have a one-on-one mother-son weekend with my other two boys sometime!
The first weekend Mosey had a cello recital, so he and I got dressed up and went to the Milwood Baptist church where he performed Minuet by Boccherini. He did great! It's so fun to see how he has progressed from a year ago.
Afterward I gave him the choice of doing anything he wanted-- we could go out to eat, go see a movie, anything at all. Well, Mosey is a homebody at heart-- like his mom, and so I got him a cream slush and tater tots at Sonic and then we went home and watched Hunger Games on Netflix.
The next day we got all the trees on our property trimmed. It looks great now, and I'm glad we did it, but it made a MESS, and I had forgotten to pull the van out of the driveway before they started. And I was supposed to play my violin at a baptism that morning! Oops. So I called around frantically and luckily found a ride and even got to the baptism on time. Mosey was my helper and carried my violin and music into the church, and helped me get set up when it was time to play. Thanks Mosey!
This last weekend Mosey and I had no plans at all. I discovered that my tire was flat right before Ben and the twins had to leave, so Mosey and I were without a car again, but it was OK (since we're both the homebody type anyway). He and I went on a bike ride! Really, we did! Ben bought a hand-cycle off ebay a couple weeks ago, and got it all put together a few days ago. It's fun, but hard! Right now it's only one speed since the part that allows it to have three speeds broke while Ben was putting it together. Oops. So on our bike ride Mosey did have to get off his bike and push me up a couple of really steep hills, but that was OK-- it was so fun to be out in the beautiful weather with my boy! We watched a couple of episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (my favorite show from 15 years ago) after it got dark, and then turned in. The next morning Mosey helped me clean up the house and then very nearly beat me in a game of chess. It was only by pure luck that I won, honestly.
I think that is the last of the camping trips for a while. I'd love to have a one-on-one mother-son weekend with my other two boys sometime!
skunks
There are a lot of skunks in our part of the world. Sandy has now managed to get herself sprayed FOUR times. Wonderful. That's got to be some kind of record. If anyone needs any tips for getting skunk out of dog fur, let me know. :-)
Anyway, our last two interactions with skunks came courtesy of Joseph's squirrel trap. The first was a week and a half ago. Joseph left the trap open all night long, and sure enough, a curious skunk wandered in and got himself trapped. I was ready to call animal control, but we did some internet research and figured we could get rid of it ourselves. Ben sneaked up on the cage, holding a big canvas tarp in front of him, and carefully covered the trap with the tarp. Then Joseph, covered in a big jacket of Ben's and an airsoft mask, carefully propped open the door to the cage. After only a few minutes, out trundled our skunk! Apparently it can take several hours for the skunk to get the nerve to leave the covered trap, but this guy apparently wanted to go home.
Here is Joseph opening the trap:
And here is the skunk heading for the hills:
Sadly, that was not the last of the skunk/trap encounters. Last Tuesday night Joseph accidentally left the trap open again, trapped probably the exact same skunk, and the next morning Sandy got out and made a beeline for the trap where she naturally got sprayed right in the face. Ugh. I didn't video that one. :-)
The skunk smell has dissipated from the yard, but Sandy will have a faint odor of skunk for probably several more weeks. Fun stuff.
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