Guilty Pleasures

What I should be doing= cleaning the house.  What I'm really doing= reading a book.

I remembered about books today.  That I like them.  Shawn happened to be able to go with me to library story time today because we didn't go on our normal day.  Usually, we sit and listen to the stories, color a picture, and then pick out books and go home.  I'm busily running after a 1 year old the whole time and keeping tabs on 4,6,and 10 year old boys who are grabbing books at random (except Demetri- who is supposed to look them up first and find what he wants) and asking if we can bring them home.  (We now limit picture books to age.  The 4 yr old gets 4 books, etc.)

Today, since Shawn was there to watch kids for a little while, I got to go...UPSTAIRS, to the adult section of the library (*squeal*)!  I was a little hurried, but I picked up three books and my house has been suffering for it ever since.  The kitchen is clean and that's the important part right?  I even had two people separately drop by today (of course, since I didn't clean much), and was able to let them in my house :).  So I figured maybe I could get away with reading for a while.  I asked for books about developing a music curriculum- like Kindermusic or something.  There wasn't anything like that so I'll have to peruse Amazon.  But there were a couple of about music and young kids in the home, and I'm always looking for new activities or ideas for singing, rhythm games, and anything else related.  They know all the ones I remember...and it's starting to get repetitive.  You can only play "Who Stole the Cookie From the Cookie Jar" so many times.  They like "The Telephone Game" and there are definitely some favorite songs.  They love to "throw people out the window"- haha.  But still.  Variety is good.  So I'm making a list :).

Oh, and Olie has been super duper excited all weekend because today he was able to get a library card.  The librarian told him he could have one if he can sign his whole name, but he had to talk to Shawn and me first.  We decided he is old enough, and he has a place to put it (he got a wallet as a prize for losing his first tooth a month or two ago), so now he gets to be more responsible for his own books.  He borrowed a movie today too because he's been saving money (it costs $1.00 at our library).  He's been proudly showing his library card to anyone who would look at it :).  

And with that, I think I'll go back to my book!

Recipe overload combined with self-imposed sleep deprivation

I found out this week that there are some awesome music-related games for the Wii. I’m going to have to look into that some more…my position on the Wii is softening considerably. But I’ll still have to go try it out. Amazon reviews are mixed. Wouldn't the kids be surprised?! (And Shawn too:))

Re-learning about pathos, logos, and ethos. Kind of. That’s what I was supposed to be doing tonight. Instead, I amassed 11 pages of new recipes and food blogs to visit “someday.” I spent 2+ hours looking at food! And I still have to go figure out what to make my husband for lunch tomorrow. (Sandwiches are the normal standby but we’re out of bread- though I just made it on Tuesday.) I’m still trying to figure out exactly why I am so attracted to food blogs…because I can’t really cook (okay, not completely true, but my cooking skills are limited) and my husband’s greatest desire is that I learn how? Ah, well, guess I better just buck up and go find the kitchen. I’m sure there is Pasta Roni somewhere in the pantry…which will at least get him through the day. What do normal people-with-jobs do about lunch?

The kids had a very difficult time going to sleep tonight, so hopefully they’ll sleep in. And then, the weekend. Weekends make everything better. Sleep helps. One of these days I'm going to write about something much more interesting.

Side note: Ebay is my best friend. Love it. Bless the one who thought it up! (Pierre Omidyar- courtesy of Google and Wikipedia.) Amazon is a close second.

The very short version of the past week.

I'm getting in the habit of going to bed earlier, but my house is getting messier and messier all the time. I think I'm going to have to revert back to my old habit of cleaning the house after the kids are in bed but before homework. Life is just easier when I start the day with a manageable house.
Goal for the weekend: tame whatever living things have taken up residence in the refrigerator.

"We" started violin lessons today. I'm learning along with my son so I can help him practice at home. I'm dubious about how much help I'll be, and crossing my fingers that we can keep the violin away from little fingers.

The Raingutter Regata (comparable to the pinewood derby, but not as big, and with boats) took place yesterday. It was a success, as far as those types of activities go, but I'm rethinking my position on competition. Other than that, yesterday was a pretty difficult day...but today was much better. In the end it probably all balances out.

My research paper is on music and art in public schools. I'll feel better about it when I can see the progress.

If you can't tell from my short disjointed paragraphs, I don't really have a lot to say...but I felt I've been neglecting this blog, and I just didn't have the energy to write about some big political, moral, or other reflection-worthy issue.