A Rocket and a Ramp

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . .  Anna having a meltdown for half the drive home because we were running late and I asked her to walk down the stairs instead of a long ramp.  She seemed mildly bummed about it at the time, but over the next fifteen minutes she got herself really worked up, to the point that she was tearfully asking that we turn around and drive back so we could go back and walk down the ramp.  She thought I was unreasonable and downright not nice for refusing to turn around on the freeway.

Todd's tantrums, though explosive, tend to last about a minute or two, and then he moves right on with life.  Anna tantrums are long, drawn-out affairs, often sparked by something I didn't realize was a big deal at the time.  The worst ones are when she gets upset with me for doing something she wanted to do (like open a certain door) without telling me beforehand that she wanted to do it.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . visiting the California Science Center as a family.  My favorite parts were the big aquarium (we all thought the sharks and eels were particularly cool) and the Space Shuttle Endeavor.  I could have spent an hour in the Endeavor hanger, but alas, the kids got bored of it long before Phillip and I did.

Fall Sing 2015

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . attending the annual, all-school choir performance at Joy and Daniel's school this morning.  The directors always choose great songs, and the kids get really into it.  This year's theme was "Be the Change," and the songs ranged from Civil Rights era songs to Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror."  My favorite number was "We Are the World," a single recorded in 1985 to benefit the starving people of Africa.

Little Boy Pink

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . .  my kids having a day off school on a morning when I didn't get enough sleep.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . playing with our wooden train tracks with Anna and Todd.

. . . cooking a new recipe that turned out really well.  I love when that happens.

And another thing . . .

. . . Anna adores the color pink.  She colors every picture pink, including a preschool picture of Little Boy Blue.

Music and Alternative Basketball

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . practicing a Christmas song with a small choir.  I'm the weakest alto in the bunch, but it's still a pleasure to be part of a group making lovely music.

. . . trying to shoot a basket with a big purple ball that weighs about a tenth what a basketball does.  Joy wanted to see if it would get stuck in the net.  It did, so I heaved a soccer ball at it and successfully dislodged it on the first try.  Then Joy asked me to sink another purple ball basket so she could heave the soccer ball.  Each time it took me about eight tries to make a basket, but we were having so much fun that it didn't mind.  I reflected that I couldn't remember trying to get anything in a basketball hoop since PE class in junior high, when Mr. Frick taught us to shoot layups.  I liked Mr. Frick.  He was cool in a friendly sort of way.  It's weird to realize that he was probably younger then than I am now.

October Memories

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . looking through pictures and remembering some of the fun times our family shared last month like carving pumpkins, or scooting around the neighborhood with Anna wearing her Minnie Mouse costume after her preschool Halloween party.

Popscicles and an Unfortunate Lamp

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . .  Todd locking my iPhone for an hour.

. . . hearing Joy say, "Mama, the lamp broke!"

. . . debating whether to say, "Savor the zany delights of childhood, kids!" or, "Stop that right now before someone ends up in the hospital!"

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . buying popsicles with the kids after school to celebrate Todd's birthday this week.  They're already counting the days until we can do it for Joy's birthday next month.

One-on-One Time

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . explaining to Anna that if a one-year-old hits you, it's not OK to hit them back.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . baking some gingerbread with Anna this morning.  It was fun to cut out shapes with her, and it made our home smell lovely.

. . . playing with Todd while his sibs were at school.

. . . spending time with my sweetheart after the kidlets were all in bed.

And another thing . . .

. . . I'm noticing a pattern: I like one-on-one time with people.  My favorite moments rarely involve lots of people at once.