Today, Calvin was listening to Opie's CD player, headphones and all. I listened and was amused to realize that he was listening to The Jungle Book soundtrack. What amused me? His version of the chorus...
Look for the ... bears in sesame, the simple bears in sesame
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Thursday, December 27, 2007
CAAAAAAL-VIIIIIIINNN!!!!!!!!!!!
Today, the boys and I went to see Alvin & the Chipmunks. (Great flick, by the way.) It was a ton of fun, and we were utterly enjoying ourselves in the midst of the crowded theatre, sitting on the aisle about 3 rows from the top. It was a normal movie-going experience, until the 'Munks burst into their first big hip-hop type number.
Then the fun started.
Calvin decided he wanted to dance along, so he hops up and begins to boogie. Not the typical two-foot shuffle, but a full-out expressionistic dance number. The running man, the cabbage patch, the moon walk, the saturday night fever...he did them all. I was trying to get him to sit down, but I was laughing so hard the tears were running down my face. Then I noticed the people around us were laughing, too. As I glanced about, I realized that none of them were watching the movie; they were watching Calvin. And when the musical number ended with a big finish, so did he, striking a terrific pose with a winning smile.
The applause was instantaneous.
He bowed.
They laughed again. And as I grabbed him to put him back into the seat, I simply said, "thank you folks, we'll be here all week."
Perhaps I should call him "Alvin," and be done with it.
Then the fun started.
Calvin decided he wanted to dance along, so he hops up and begins to boogie. Not the typical two-foot shuffle, but a full-out expressionistic dance number. The running man, the cabbage patch, the moon walk, the saturday night fever...he did them all. I was trying to get him to sit down, but I was laughing so hard the tears were running down my face. Then I noticed the people around us were laughing, too. As I glanced about, I realized that none of them were watching the movie; they were watching Calvin. And when the musical number ended with a big finish, so did he, striking a terrific pose with a winning smile.
The applause was instantaneous.
He bowed.
They laughed again. And as I grabbed him to put him back into the seat, I simply said, "thank you folks, we'll be here all week."
Perhaps I should call him "Alvin," and be done with it.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Kids + Cameras =?
What happens when you leave a video-capable digital camera lying in an adultless room where a kid can find it? This...
At least Opie's socially conscious in his Oscar acceptance speech! My real question is...what sisters?
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
While I Was Sleeping
As crazy as this will sound, I was asleep. Opie was still not sleeping through the night at 23 months old, and I didn't have to teach a class until after noon that day, so hubby had taken Opie to my grandmother's so that I could sleep in. My phone rang, and my girlfriend Cherl - without any preamble - said "turn on your tv." I clicked the remote and at first thought I was watching a movie. Then I began to see the crawl across the bottom of the screen as the announcer's words began to sink in. About that time, the second plane hit. I remember sitting indian-style in the middle of the bed with my quilt bundled around me, trying to process what was happening.
I quickly dressed and headed to the school where the campus was basically locked down. I was sent to the principal's office where I was tersely informed that under no circumstances was anything to be said to the students, who were already on campus when the attacks started. It was the parents' job to give their children information if they wanted them to have it, and to help avoid any problems, all radios and televisions were to be off in the classrooms that day. I walked to the library where my classroom was located, and I saw teachers going into the resource room, so I joined them. We all huddled around a tv in there and watched quietly as the reports came in about the Pentagon. That was when I truly began to feel some panic.
A close friend worked at the Pentagon, and I immediately began to try to call her, as well as my theatre friends in NYC. Of course, no-one could be reached. All the teachers spent the rest of that day going back and forth between classrooms and that one solitary television.
As my first class filed in, they were more subdued than normal eighth graders. For the life of me I couldn't think of how to conduct a normal class, but I was trying my best when one of boys said, "Mrs. M, when are they going to talk to us about the attacks?" I was at a total loss. Here I was a fairly new teacher desperately clinging to some sense of normalcy and not wanting to lose my job, but at the same time wanting to allow these kids a safe place to voice their feelings. Then my boss walked in. After privately apprising him of the question and asking his guidance, he gave me the okay to let the kids have an open forum for their conversation.
I don't think I've ever felt so utterly inadequate in all my life as I did during those 50 minutes. I prayed constantly for God's guidance and wisdom as we talked about our fear, our anger, and what it meant for America. We continued to talk about it for months.
I left school that day exhausted. As I reached my grandmother's house to pick up Opie, I laid my head on my steering wheel and finally began to weep. All I wanted was to hold my little boy, who would never know the kind of world I had known. I don't think I put him down again for the rest of the evening, until hubby finally took the little guy to his own bed after Opie and I both had fallen asleep.
Even now, reminders of the attacks anger me and sadden me and stir my patriotic feelings. My husband actually lost a distant cousin - an FDNY member. I was finally able to reach or get word of all my friends, but my heart hurt (and still does) for all those who lost a loved one, a friend, a co-worker or a neighbor. And as I look at my boys I realize that they will probably never understand the impact of September 11, 2001. My prayer is that their truly conscious lifetime will never experience that sort of time-stopping, world-altering event. Somehow, I don't think that's possible.
I quickly dressed and headed to the school where the campus was basically locked down. I was sent to the principal's office where I was tersely informed that under no circumstances was anything to be said to the students, who were already on campus when the attacks started. It was the parents' job to give their children information if they wanted them to have it, and to help avoid any problems, all radios and televisions were to be off in the classrooms that day. I walked to the library where my classroom was located, and I saw teachers going into the resource room, so I joined them. We all huddled around a tv in there and watched quietly as the reports came in about the Pentagon. That was when I truly began to feel some panic.
A close friend worked at the Pentagon, and I immediately began to try to call her, as well as my theatre friends in NYC. Of course, no-one could be reached. All the teachers spent the rest of that day going back and forth between classrooms and that one solitary television.
As my first class filed in, they were more subdued than normal eighth graders. For the life of me I couldn't think of how to conduct a normal class, but I was trying my best when one of boys said, "Mrs. M, when are they going to talk to us about the attacks?" I was at a total loss. Here I was a fairly new teacher desperately clinging to some sense of normalcy and not wanting to lose my job, but at the same time wanting to allow these kids a safe place to voice their feelings. Then my boss walked in. After privately apprising him of the question and asking his guidance, he gave me the okay to let the kids have an open forum for their conversation.
I don't think I've ever felt so utterly inadequate in all my life as I did during those 50 minutes. I prayed constantly for God's guidance and wisdom as we talked about our fear, our anger, and what it meant for America. We continued to talk about it for months.
I left school that day exhausted. As I reached my grandmother's house to pick up Opie, I laid my head on my steering wheel and finally began to weep. All I wanted was to hold my little boy, who would never know the kind of world I had known. I don't think I put him down again for the rest of the evening, until hubby finally took the little guy to his own bed after Opie and I both had fallen asleep.
Even now, reminders of the attacks anger me and sadden me and stir my patriotic feelings. My husband actually lost a distant cousin - an FDNY member. I was finally able to reach or get word of all my friends, but my heart hurt (and still does) for all those who lost a loved one, a friend, a co-worker or a neighbor. And as I look at my boys I realize that they will probably never understand the impact of September 11, 2001. My prayer is that their truly conscious lifetime will never experience that sort of time-stopping, world-altering event. Somehow, I don't think that's possible.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Spoken Wishes
Last night I was in the middle of something when Calvin sticks his head around the corner. "Mommy, I have something for you." Being busy, I didn't even turn around. (I know...bad mommy)
"Hang on, bud," I said.
Then I heard him say, "Here go." I looked up, and there he was, holding out a silk rose that he had found in our storage room. "This is for you, Mommy. Make a wish."
My heart melted as I took the rose from my sweet little boy. I closed my eyes and said a quick thank you for moments like this. "Tell me what your wish was, Mommy."
I smiled at him. "But if I tell you, it won't come true."
"Yes, it will," he earnestly insisted. So I told him.
"I wished that you would always be as wonderful as you are right now," I said, bending down to kiss him.
He beamed. "See Mommy! Your wish came true!" And off he ran to bedevil his brother...after all, there's only so much wonderfulness a 4 year-old can handle.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Active Imagination vs. Passive Ingestion
new blog
Here's a new blog on my other blog site, livejournal. Check it out, and let me know what you think....you don't have to be registered on LJ to leave comments.
Here's a new blog on my other blog site, livejournal. Check it out, and let me know what you think....you don't have to be registered on LJ to leave comments.
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