A morning with music



Saturday morning with the Prelude string orchestra. This was Larissa's first performance with the Orchestra, she had a great time.
Pictures are:
The whole orchestra on stage.
Larissa close-up
Her admiring fans- Brianna, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Grandma, Grandpaw, Amie.

The Orchestra played four pieces, followed by the Prelude Chamber strings playing five pieces.
The concert was incredible, these were all kids!!

I am trying to post a short video of Larissa playing, can anyone tell me how to put a quick time video player onto blogger??

This and That...

conversation from the backseat:
(my two youngest who both lisp!)

Amie: (in a grave, important voice) Mudders are very bad.

Demi: (in shocked, offended-you are so wrong tone) No they are not! Mudders are good!

Amie: (now aggrieved and near shouting) No, Mudders are very bad

Demi: No

Amie: yeeess

Demi: No!

Amie: uh haaaaaa....

Amie: Mudders are two really bad, they go to jail, huh Mom?

Demi: they are not, they are nice!

my husband is rolling his eyes and about to issue a threat, when I tell him, laughing that Amie is saying "murderers" and Demi is saying "mothers". They couldn't understand each other either!!
The lisp thing makes teaching phonics really interesting...

It was, it really and truly was, the only right word....

I am reading Beatrix Potter's tales to my two youngest. A few days ago we read
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, which begins, "This is a tale about a tail..." -delicious! It's a very cute story about a very naughty, excessively impertinent squirrel. So daringly naughty I knew my boy would love it. And a running hint of danger to keep him asking to hear it again...the story is supposed to read the same everytime, but for little ones, the possibility that the old owl just might gobble up the squirrels, is always there.

This quote from Madeleine L'Engle came to mind while I was reading and enjoying Beatrix Potter's lovely big words that are sprinkled throughout the story (read with a British accent of course!)

"The simplest word is almost always the right word. I am convinced that Beatrix Potter used "soporific" because it was, really and truly was, the only right word for lettuce at that moment."

So, we read Squirrel Nutkin and reveled in words such as excessively impertinent, and obstinately. For school I had Demi draw a picture from the story and then dictate what he remembered back to me. He did a wonderful job remembering the story.

Secure enough in his manliness...

We celebrated Demi's 7th birthday last night, having cake and ice-cream and inviting a few friends and family over. Demi requested a strawberry cake. When I went to the store to buy the mix, they did not have strawberry, so I bought a white cake and strawberry frosting. When my husband saw my purchases, he was highly indignant. I didn't see his point, and my reply was that it was his birthday and he wanted strawberry, so strawberry was what we were having. It wasn't until later when I was frosting the cake that I saw his problem. The cake was light pink. This is what ruffled my husband. We had a good laugh over it, and philosophized that Demi was secure enough in his own manliness to not notice.

We bought him a skateboard....luckily the pediatric E.R. Doctor lives a few houses down...

Thursday Thirteen edition #11


13 benefits of having more children then most

1. 3 words: hand-me-downs

2. buying in bulk at warehouse stores...and using the food up before it goes bad

3. the sweet, happy view sitting at your dining table

4. the ultimate fun-naming a baby

5. your pediatrician's office staff recognizes your voice right away on the phone

6. deductable? No problem, you meet it by March

7. Your pediatrician gives you the really big bottle of whatever...she knows everyone will need it.

8. One asthma nebulizer machine's price, when averaged out among at least 3 kids suddenly seems a bargain.

9. You have at least 3 kids with asthma, plus the usual ear infections, colds...you are your local pharmacist's favorite customer, and he bought you a Christmas gift.

10. You amuse the pharmacy staff greatly when you walk in, fan 10 prescriptions like a hand of cards and tell them "pick a card, any card..."

11. when faced with any hot-button parenting question at a 1st time mom's baby shower, instead of stiring debate, you honestly reply that you can't remember anymore what you did with your babies.

12. once you survive three, you now have lots of hands for chores and helping

13. thinking up great replies to the very rude comments thoughtless people seem to feel free to make (usually in front of your kids) such as "don't you know what causes that?", "better you then me" "are you done yet?" "are they all yours?" My favorite replies: *"yes, and we are very good at it!", *"birth control is for wimps", *"yes, I have my hands full-full of blessings".

thursday thirteen is a weekly meme hosted here. The edition number indicates how many I have done. Go on over to the Thursday Thirteen hub to view more.
*graphic courtesy of the world according to me



Winners! Winners!

O.K. drumroll please....
or keyboard chatter, whatever you have handy...

Winners of Jennifer's 100th post contest:

1st prize: Shalee (she wins her choice of a year subscription to Wondertime Magazine or Kiwi Magazine)

2nd prize: Drama Mama (she wins a $10 starbucks card)

thank you everyone for playing, it was fun hosting my very own contest. And, I met alot of new people and got to visit lots of new blogs. Thank you for helpin me celebrate my wordiness...

and my reasons for posting the results in the afternoon, not the morning as planned...Simply, I'm swamped...

"...I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it. I'm swamped."
-Prince Humperdinck