It's no secret that Mosey doesn't love playing the violin. Sad, because he is actually pretty darn good!
This week I decided I was going to try my hardest not to fight with him about it. Yesterday afternoon I gave him the choice to practice then, or right before bed. Usually right before bed is when they get to play with Ben, and I thought that might be an incentive for him to get it done earlier. However, you can't underestimate the motivation of immediate gratification for a 7 year old, and he chose that night. He promised me he would "focus like a laser beam." And he did! He made more progress in 15 minutes last night than he had in the 3 previous practice sessions. Mainly because every time I said something to him ("Try playing that last line again, making the short notes a little bit shorter"), he didn't throw himself down on the bed (we practice in my room) and freak out about how "It's impossible!!!" for 5 minutes. :-) Which can quickly stretch a 15 minute practice session into a much longer period of time.
So I asked him when he would like to practice today. He told me, "My brain can only focus like a laser beam when it is twilight." OK, twilight it was. So tonight, right as the sun set and twilight officially started, I told him the time had come (I'd been giving him progress reports on the approach of twilight). Suddenly he wanted to debate me on the definition of twilight. I told him twilight means the time between sunset and when it gets fully dark. He said, "Well, when I said twilight I mean when the light looks sort of blue outside." I asked him when that would be. "Well, I don't exactly know, but I'll tell you when I see it!" I can see I need to be more precise when asking him when he'd like to practice. :-) We finally agreed that in 15 more minutes, it *really* would be time to practice. And he focused like a laser beam again! Good job, Mosey! I reminded him that tomorrow is lesson day, so he'd have to practice before twilight. He told me he was pretty sure he could "focus like a laser beam" right after breakfast. We'll see. :-)
Mosey had his 2nd speech therapy session today. It's so fun to watch him on the video feed. He is so cute! Of my 3 boys, he is the most animated when talking, and it is so cute watching him show his therapist the light saber and stuffed animal jaguar (named "Spotted Pelt") that he brought. I've always wanted to be a fly on the wall to be able to observe how my kids are when I'm not around, and this is the perfect opportunity. The vending machine was all sold out of Sierra Mist on our way out (he gets to buy a pop from the vending machine in the parking lot as a treat), so instead we stopped by Burger King and he got a shake and a hamburger. He's going to hope the vending machine is sold out every week. :-)
I took the boys to one of the Steiner Ranch pools this afternoon/evening for Brigham's and Joseph's pack meeting. Mosey came back under the pavilion where I was trying to stay cool, and started chasing grackles. He was running all around chasing them from one area of the pavilion to another. At one point he came up to me and asked, "Mom, will you pay me for every crow (he thought they were crows) I scare away?" Ha, ha, ha! Um, no. Sorry sweetie. We've been battling houseflies (there's a reason I'm so shrewish when it comes to keeping the back door closed!), so I've been paying the boys a quarter for every fly they kill. They're ridiculously hard to kill, so I haven't paid out more than a dollar or two over the last couple of weeks. I upped my rates from the dime-per-millipede I paid last year during the Great Millipede Migration (I had no idea how bad it would get, but soon realized that 10 cents a millipede would quickly clean me out). I guess Mosey thought that the compensation for de-pesting might extend to grackles outside. Well, sorry buddy, but no. :-)
Yesterday evening we had a family home evening lesson on Joseph Smith's martyrdom, it being the 167th (I think?) anniversary. I read the account from George Q. Cannon's "The Life of Joseph Smith" book, and then we sang all 4 verses of "Praise to the Man." That has always been one of my all-time favorite hymns. I remember when my dad had us memorize that song for family home evening probably 25 years ago or more. As we were closing, I told the boys about my testimony of Joseph Smith and how I feel the Spirit strongly every time I hear that song. (It's true-- I'm not much of a crier at all, but I have trouble getting through that song.) I tried to explain how it feels to me-- like tingling that goes down from my head. Mosey said, "Oh! I know that! Whenever I sing "Scripture Power" it feels like my hair is touching a TV screen!" That was a pretty cool mommy-moment-- being able to confirm to my son that he was feeling the Holy Ghost.
I love you Mosey!
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