Christmas Eve

Oíche chiúin, oíche Mhic
Dé, Cách 'na suan dís araon.
Dís is dílse 'faire le spéis
Naíon beag, leanbh ceansa 'gus caomh.
Críost, 'na chodladh go sámh.
Críost, 'na chodladh go sámh.
[ Lyrics found at www.mp3lyrics.org/RlE ]

Oíche chiúin, oíche Mhic
Dé, Aoirí ar dtús chuala 'n
scéal. Allelúia aingeal ag glaoch.
Cantain suairc i ngar is i gcéin.

Críost an Slánaitheoir Féin.
Críost an Slánaitheoir Féin.

Silent night, night of God's son,
Everyone is asleep, the pair together.
The most faithful pair, watching with hope
A little baby, a mild and gentle child.

Christ, calmly asleep.
Christ, calmly asleep.

Silent night, night of God's son,
Shepherds were first to hear the tale.
The angels crying out Alleluia.
Lovely chanting near and far.

Christ, the saviour himself.
Christ, the saviour himself.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Third Sunday of Advent

Second Sunday of Advent

First Sunday of Advent

Rubbing Elbows at the Debate

Okay, well, we didn't really get close enough to rub elbows and we weren't actually at the debate (just the pre-debate events on campus), but it was kinda cool seeing national politicians, newscasters, and performers in our (relatively) small and out-of-the way town on Friday.

We watched a broadcast of Hardball with Chris Matthews.

After his interview, former Mississippi Senator Trent Lott (Ole Miss grad and former cheerleader; the university is the home of the Lott Leadership Institute) boarded a golf cart next to where the kids and I were standing. I forgot to change my camera to video mode, but did snap the above picture during this minor exchange:

Me: [to the kids] Ready? 1, 2, 3...

Kids: Hi, Mr. Lott!

Mr. Lott: Hey there, guys!

We thought it was pretty cool!

Josh Kelley (Ole Miss grad who attended on a golf scholarship... he's got an interesting story you can read here) was one of the performers at the all-day-long Rock the Debate concert.


Before the debate started, the kids and I decided to head home (we'd been at Rock the Debate for about 4 hours, and the kids were getting tired, and I could just as well listen to the debate at home). While waiting for the shuttle back to our car (which took 45 minutes... ugh), Howard Dean arrived for his MSNBC interview. I could not for the life of me remember his name until it was too late to say hi and ask him to stop for a picture, and he was busy juggling two different cell phone conversations, so he probably wouldn't have appreciated a crazy stranger saying hi to him at that moment anyway.

I'll post some other shots from events surrounding the debate in a few days.

A Gap in Their Education

The kiddos are trying to fit in as much TV as possible before we cancel the satellite service at the end of the month. Primo's favorite channel is the Bomerang Network. They show classic cartoons from the 60's and 70's with a few earlier ones thrown in for good measure. I think Primo is just amazed that they had cartoons when Frodo and I were kids... heck, she's amazed that television existed when Frodo and I were kids! Anyway, tonight she was absorbed in an episode of Scooby Doo. When I walked into the room, she turned to me and said, "Mom, that's Cast Elliott," indicating a character in the show. "Dad knows who she is. Do you know her? Cast Elliott?"

"Do you mean Cass Elliott? Yeah, that's Mama Cass."

"Yeah, that's it! Cass Elliott. Who's Mama Cass?"

"Mama Cass. She's a singer. From The Mamas & The Papas."

"Yeah, she's a singer on here, too. Who are The Mamas & The Papas?"

"You don't know who The Mamas & The Papas are?! Are you sure you're my child?"

At this point, I open up YouTube. (What would I do without YouTube and Google? I mean, seriously?)

"This is The Mamas & The Papas..."



"And this..."





"And this is Mama Cass. Cass Elliott."



"Oh."

Oh?

Sigh. I can see we have to have a more formal study of "American Folk Music of the 50's, 60's and 70's", aka "stuff Mom listened to when she was a kid" and these kids better learn it if they are going to have a good grounding in American Culture Studies (and be able to get half of the jokes in The Simpsons... when they are old enough to watch The Simpsons, that is). They obviously aren't picking it up properly through casual exposure and are seriously lacking in appreciation of the classics of American music.

Johnny Cash does seem to be sticking with Secondo. She has recently declared him her favorite. So, here is a little Johnny Cash to help diversify your own folk music studies. Here is Secondo's favorite:



And here is mine:






(Hey, I'm impressed I was able to hold myself to two.)

It's All About The Music, Right?

Come on, admit it... you only tune-in for the music.

The Headphone Rule

Between Frodo's studies, my writing and homeschool, our family's schedule is, well, complicated. I was on the phone with my mother in law the other day, and we were discussing the awkwardness of our getting used to a new time zone, especially when timing calls to our family on the east coast. She commented that she has gotten better with the time difference, but trying to remember whether or not we are home or available to talk at any given time can be an exercise in mental gymnastics. Tell me about it! On an almost daily basis I hear myself saying to Frodo as he walks in the door, "I thought you were going to be home at X o'clock today. What day is it?" We did write our schedules down, but it is completely different every day, and I have to check it a few times a day to figure out what is supposed to be going on.

Frodo is definitely on the go more than the rest of us, and I have been known to disappear to the university library, but generally we are home... working, schooling, eating, playing, entertaining, sleeping. The first couple weeks that Frodo was in school and working were chaotic. The kids would be done with school, and Frodo and I would try to sit down to get some work done while the kids played or read or whatever. Inevitably, someone would come in and ask one of us, "May I have a drink?" or "May I go outside?" If we were lucky. Often, we were interrupted by two or more kids coming in, "I wanted to watch a movie, but Primo wants to play a video game." or "I wanted to play outside with Terzo, but Quarto keeps following us and messing up our stuff." or "All Secondo wants to do is read, but she promised to play dolls with me today." They would ping-pong between Frodo and I (who were both working in the office area) trying to get attention or sympathy for their cause. Frodo and I were getting frustrated and not much work was getting done. We decided to schedule an "on" parent and and "off" parent for different blocks of time. I even color coded our schedules. Blocks of red meant that that parent was working and not to be disturbed (the "off" parent), so if the kids needed something or a meal needed to be made or whatever, it was to be done by the "on" parent. Well, remember how I said that I have to consult the schedules daily to figure out what is going on? Imagine how confusing it was for Terzo (who is just learning to read) or Quarto (who's three). The kids had no clue who they were supposed to go to, so they just kept interrupting whoever looked the least busy. Then, Frodo came up with the Headphone Rule.

The Headphone Rule: The parent wearing the headphones is working and should be left alone (except in an emergency... emergency being defined as the presence of fire or blood). The parent without the headphones is in charge of all things house and home.

What a difference! A kid will start to walk into the office and approach one of us then stop short, "Oh, you're wearing headphones" and he/ she redirects themself toward the other parental unit. It's beautiful. Even Quarto figured it out in less than a day! We've confused them a couple of times. When they have been contentedly playing outside or off at Quiet Time, the "off" parent will don his/ her headphones to input some working music. Suddenly, a kid will show up with a question and begin to approach the first parent and see the headphones and change course only to see that the other parent is wearing headphones too. One day, poor Terzo just spun around in the middle of the room a couple of times, heaved a big sigh, and said, "I've got to talk to someone!" LOL!

I love the headphone rule. Sometimes, I don't even have music playing, but usually I do. I've even taken to using my MP3 player when I am off-duty but trying to get household stuff done. Right now I am working my way through a semester's worth of lectures from Reformed Theological Seminary - their "Philosophy and Christian Thought" class (you can download it for free from iTunesU). I have discovered iTunes radio, also. So far, my favorite channels are (the descriptions are off of iTunes):

Green Mist Radio - Celtic, Americana, Irish, and global folk
liveIreland - Independent Celtic Irish music live from Dubin
African Internet Radio - The best mix of music from Africa
Radio Darvish - Persian Traditional Music
IcebergRadio.com/ Chill - A blissed-out, trippy mix of downtempo ambient music

I have also been cycling through the CDs I have stored on my computer. I have found that the albums that keep me on track the most are:

Back to work. No headphones for me, though... everyone is asleep.

On second thought, I wonder what's on Radio Darvish.

We Found It! We Found It!

You know the car commercial with the happy family (stick with me... I know they all show happy families) and there is this wonderful, imaginative ukulele/ humming music in the background? It is such happily haunting music that sounds like children playing, fireflies dancing, and curtains blowing in a warm summer breeze. I have no idea what brand of car the commercial was for... I kept getting lost in the music. Almost a year ago now, we were driving in the car and listening to the radio, and we heard that familiar humming and felt our spirits being lifted away to that happy place where magic is real and elves paint freckles on children's cheeks (right, Sis?) and finally found out who the artist was and the name of the song. We've been looking to purchase it ever since. Last night, we were in Borders buying some new CDs at their "Buy 3, Get One Free" CD sale and just as we were walking up to the checkout, Frodo gasped and pointed at a small display near the register. There it was. Now we can journey to the land of fairies and warm summer showers whenever we want.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow/ What a Wonderful World
by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole

A Great Pick-Me-Up and Exercise Program

Go ahead. Try not to bounce around with your kids while you watch... I dare you!

Furry Happy Monsters

Mushaboom

Frodo recently introduced me to the artist Feist. Her album Let It Die has quickly become a favorite... especially for road trips or as a gloomy day pick-me-up. I find myself drawn to the song Mushaboom, in particular. It has a wonderful, dreamy quality to it that I find easy to get lost in. I just may adopt this as my new theme song... it fits me so well. To listen, click the link below. The song's lyrics follow.

Mushaboom

Helping the kids out of their coats
But wait the babies haven't been born
oh oh oh

Unpacking the bags and settin' up
 And planting lilacs and buttercups
oh oh oh

But in the meantime I've got it hard
 Second floor living without a yard
 It may be years until the day
 My dreams will match up with my pay

 Old dirt road
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Knee deep snow
(mushaboom, mushaboom)
Watchin' the fire as we grow...  old
(mushaboom, mushaboom)

I got a man to stick it out
 And make a home from a rented house
 oh oh oh
And we'll collect the moments one by one
 I guess that's how the future's done
 oh oh oh

How many acres how much light
 Tucked in the woods and out of sight
 Talk to the neighbours and tip my cap 
On a little road barely on the map

 Old dirt road
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Knee deep snow
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Watchin' the fire as we grow... old
(mushaboom, mushaboom)

 Old dirt road
 Ramblin' rose
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Watchin' the fire as we grow
 (mushaboom, mushaboom)
 Well I'm sold ...
Oh oh oh oh oh oh ...
 Oh oh oh oh oh oh ...

It's Just Been One of Those Days

Today's Slogan

Sell crazy someplace else. We're all full up here.

- Jack Nicholson in

As Good As It Gets

Today's Theme Song

They're coming to take me away, HA HA
They're coming to take me away, HO HO HEE HEE HA HA
To the funny farm
Where life is beautiful all the time
And I'll be happy to see
Those nice, young men
In their clean, white coats
And they're coming to take me away, Ha-haaa!

- Lard's They're Coming To Take Me Away