The other day, I was talking to Adam on the phone while the kids were waiting for the bus. I said something like, "Ah, in the good old days, when we could make an appointment with a contractor and he would actually show up."
"In the good old days," Adam echoed.
Xavier, who could only hear Adam's side of the conversation said, "Ah, the good old days ... when you used to brush my teeth for me!"
Ha, ha, Xavier is such a kidder ... or so we thought, until he had his dental appointment today.
Guess what? It looks like the good old days have returned.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Variations on School House Rock
Sometimes when I am helping Gwen with her spelling homework, I give her little spelling tips, sometimes in the form of jingles that I learned as I was getting my undergraduate degree in Sesame Street and Electric Company. OK, I guess I didn't quite get my degree in PBS Educational programs, but I might have if my brother hadn't destroyed the TV set when I was six. All the same, some of those jingles are memorable, as is evidenced by the fact that Xavier counts on his fingers to identify the letter "C", but he can sing, "T-I-O-N, shun Shun SHUN SHUN, T-I-O-eN, shun, Shun, SHUN, SHUN!" with the best of them.
Anyway, seeing how helpful these little jingles can be, I bought the kids a CD of some of the classic School House Rock songs that they used to play on Saturday Morning cartoons back in the 70s and 80s. In order to save myself the embarrassment of being caught singing, "To use when your happy -- HOORAY! -- or sad -- Awww -- or frightened -- EEEK! -- or mad -- RATS!" in my cube at work, I also got "Schoolhouse Rock Rocks" which has a group of contemporary artists doing their interpretations of some of these classic tunes.
One of the songs on this "Schoolhouse Rock Rocks" album is a rap version of "Mr. Morton." I admit, I am not familiar with the original song, but you don't need to be to get the gist of it:
Mr. Morton is the subject of my story; what the predicate says, he does.
Mr. Morton is the subject of my story; what the predicate says, he does.
Actually, the concept is kind of cool, but this chorus gets repeated OVER and OVER through the song. Xavier doesn't even know what a predicate is, but he has this song down pat.
For example, this evening at bedtime, I was tickling him on the floor and I had the inane chorus of this song running through my head. Teasing him, I said, "Mr. Xavier is the subject of my story ..."
"... and what the predicate says, he doesn't do!" Xavier chimed in.
Ah, it is so true.
Of course, by the time we had him tucked in, Xavier had created a few alternate lines, like "Mr. Xavier is the subject of my story, what the Republicans say, he doesn't do" and "Mr, Xavier is the subject of my story; what the president says, he doesn't do." Well, at least I have to agree with his political inclinations.
Anyway, seeing how helpful these little jingles can be, I bought the kids a CD of some of the classic School House Rock songs that they used to play on Saturday Morning cartoons back in the 70s and 80s. In order to save myself the embarrassment of being caught singing, "To use when your happy -- HOORAY! -- or sad -- Awww -- or frightened -- EEEK! -- or mad -- RATS!" in my cube at work, I also got "Schoolhouse Rock Rocks" which has a group of contemporary artists doing their interpretations of some of these classic tunes.
One of the songs on this "Schoolhouse Rock Rocks" album is a rap version of "Mr. Morton." I admit, I am not familiar with the original song, but you don't need to be to get the gist of it:
Mr. Morton is the subject of my story; what the predicate says, he does.
Mr. Morton is the subject of my story; what the predicate says, he does.
Actually, the concept is kind of cool, but this chorus gets repeated OVER and OVER through the song. Xavier doesn't even know what a predicate is, but he has this song down pat.
For example, this evening at bedtime, I was tickling him on the floor and I had the inane chorus of this song running through my head. Teasing him, I said, "Mr. Xavier is the subject of my story ..."
"... and what the predicate says, he doesn't do!" Xavier chimed in.
Ah, it is so true.
Of course, by the time we had him tucked in, Xavier had created a few alternate lines, like "Mr. Xavier is the subject of my story, what the Republicans say, he doesn't do" and "Mr, Xavier is the subject of my story; what the president says, he doesn't do." Well, at least I have to agree with his political inclinations.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Halloween and Other Traditions
Tonight, as a special treat, I drove the kids around town before bedtime to look at Halloween lights. I was a little disappointed -- there weren't quite as many up as I had hoped -- but we did see a few truly spectacular displays (most of them, as we discovered on our way back home, were on our street.)
Still, the kids were enthusiastic, and I think maybe they got a little too excited. When we pulled into our garage and got out of the car, Gwen asked in a quavering voice, "Who turned on the light?"
"The light comes on automatically when the garage door goes up," I replied. "Why? Who did you think turned it on?"
She murmured softly, "I thought it might have been a ghost!"
Still, her response was topped by Xavier. When we walked into the house, Adam called, "Did you have fun? Did you see anything scary?"
"Oh, yeah!" Xavier replied in hushed, but emphatic, tones. "We saw FIVE McCain-Palin signs!"
Still, the kids were enthusiastic, and I think maybe they got a little too excited. When we pulled into our garage and got out of the car, Gwen asked in a quavering voice, "Who turned on the light?"
"The light comes on automatically when the garage door goes up," I replied. "Why? Who did you think turned it on?"
She murmured softly, "I thought it might have been a ghost!"
Still, her response was topped by Xavier. When we walked into the house, Adam called, "Did you have fun? Did you see anything scary?"
"Oh, yeah!" Xavier replied in hushed, but emphatic, tones. "We saw FIVE McCain-Palin signs!"
Saturday, October 04, 2008
On Politics and Bedsheets
(This is to make up for my unfunny, but very necessary, BLOG below) ...
My kids are very much into politics. As I mentioned before, Xavier intends to vote for Iraq Obama (despite our failed attempts to teach him to say Barack ... luckily, he is too young to read, so he is dependent on us to pull the lever), and Gwen, with her strong interest in environmental issues, is likely to join the Green Party when she gets older.
And yet, of late, they fight over who gets to put the Palin-McCain sheets on their bed. (Xav's got them this time -- next time will be Gwen's turn.)
If you are wondering where I managed to procure politically-themed sheets, you need go no further than your local Target, then look for Nickolodean-themed sheets.
Specifically Dora the Explorer. And, no, the irony has not escaped them that the part of McCain is being played by Dora's best friend, Boots the Monkey.
All the same, I have to thank the McCain-Palin campaign. Two months ago, neither of my kids would have been caught dead with those old Dora the Explorer sheets on their bed. And I expect on the weekend after Election Day, those sheets will be on their way to Good Will.
My kids are very much into politics. As I mentioned before, Xavier intends to vote for Iraq Obama (despite our failed attempts to teach him to say Barack ... luckily, he is too young to read, so he is dependent on us to pull the lever), and Gwen, with her strong interest in environmental issues, is likely to join the Green Party when she gets older.
And yet, of late, they fight over who gets to put the Palin-McCain sheets on their bed. (Xav's got them this time -- next time will be Gwen's turn.)
If you are wondering where I managed to procure politically-themed sheets, you need go no further than your local Target, then look for Nickolodean-themed sheets.
Specifically Dora the Explorer. And, no, the irony has not escaped them that the part of McCain is being played by Dora's best friend, Boots the Monkey.
All the same, I have to thank the McCain-Palin campaign. Two months ago, neither of my kids would have been caught dead with those old Dora the Explorer sheets on their bed. And I expect on the weekend after Election Day, those sheets will be on their way to Good Will.
Rainbows
This is not a funny BLOG, just to warn you.
This week we have seen a lot of rainbows. First we went walking with my friend Vicky, who took us on a hike in a little-known park with lots of caves (we "forgot" the flashlight), a waterfall, and dog poop (this just after passing a sign that says, "No dogs.") The hike was fun, although had I known that we would have to cross the scariest bridge known to humankind IN OUR CAR, I might have brought the Civic instead of the van.
No, seriously, Vicky, we all had a great time, and the kids are already planning our next adventure with you. In the meantime, don't bother going to the Pond as we had discussed unless you like a view of mosquitos and decay -- it looks like the drought got it.
Anyway, we saw a rainbow that day, and we saw two rainbows the next day (one all the more amazing, because it was not raining.) We consider rainbows lucky (for fun.) We also saw several crickets this week (also signs of good luck), and a salamander and a deer.
Although we always like good luck, we don't need it as much as my friend and former boss Henry. Henry is leaving for Iraq tomorrow; he is half a year from retirement from the Reserves, and he has been called up to serve a year for our United States. He has two kids and a business, so this will be a hardship for him, but he is going anyway because he feels this is the right thing to do.
If we could send him our luck, we would. In the meantime, we will send him and his family our prayers, and hope you do likewise. I am adding his blog to my list so you can read about his adventures as well.
Thank you and take care!
This week we have seen a lot of rainbows. First we went walking with my friend Vicky, who took us on a hike in a little-known park with lots of caves (we "forgot" the flashlight), a waterfall, and dog poop (this just after passing a sign that says, "No dogs.") The hike was fun, although had I known that we would have to cross the scariest bridge known to humankind IN OUR CAR, I might have brought the Civic instead of the van.
No, seriously, Vicky, we all had a great time, and the kids are already planning our next adventure with you. In the meantime, don't bother going to the Pond as we had discussed unless you like a view of mosquitos and decay -- it looks like the drought got it.
Anyway, we saw a rainbow that day, and we saw two rainbows the next day (one all the more amazing, because it was not raining.) We consider rainbows lucky (for fun.) We also saw several crickets this week (also signs of good luck), and a salamander and a deer.
Although we always like good luck, we don't need it as much as my friend and former boss Henry. Henry is leaving for Iraq tomorrow; he is half a year from retirement from the Reserves, and he has been called up to serve a year for our United States. He has two kids and a business, so this will be a hardship for him, but he is going anyway because he feels this is the right thing to do.
If we could send him our luck, we would. In the meantime, we will send him and his family our prayers, and hope you do likewise. I am adding his blog to my list so you can read about his adventures as well.
Thank you and take care!
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