Dancing in front of the TV, still...

Shake Your Body from Kate Rober on Vimeo.

As promised, here's the most recent video of Ashlynn dancing. I tried getting some footage of her at her dance class, but that proved to be too much of a challenge. So we went for true Ashlynn style:

Dancing in front of the TV.

She's not as free and loose as she normally is, but her brothers' moves make up for that.

What Constitutes and Emergency?

Ty must have learned about 911 at preschool today because this is the question he posed to Brian this evening:

"Dad. If you got pee on the ceiling, would it be an emergency and would you have to call 911?"

To which Brian blindly walked into it with the question, "How would you get pee on the ceiling?"

"Well. You just point your privates at the ceiling."



Briggs must have learned what "teleported" meant at school today because when he showed up seperately at the bank from Ashlynn, and she asked him how he got there he pointed at the van and said, "We teleported! In that!"

Also, we aren't quite sure what to do with this rainy weather lasting so long. This morning I opened my sock drawer to put on a pair of socks, AGAIN, and realized I only own 4 pairs of socks. Rarely do we get more than four days of rainy or cold weather.

Hmmm.

Watch the hand! Watch the hand!

Untitled from Kate Rober on Vimeo.

Reasons why I love this video:

1. I love how she watches herself in the TV like it's a mirror.
2. If you stick with it and watch the whole thing, you get some pretty fancy choreography towards the end.
3. I love the chomping of the apple, then relinquishing it to the table to get down to business.
3. The last line is classic. If you can't hear it's "Hi to the camera!" in chipmunk.
4. I loved that house for raising my babies in. Sometimes I miss it's simplicity.
5. I loved her two little buns on top of her head. It was the only way I could keep her hair neat at that age. (She won't let me do that to her hair now. I know. I asked...)

Ty, I mean, Ashlynn Dancing

Ashlynn Dancing Defiantly from Kate Rober on Vimeo.


Here's another sampling of Ashlynn dancing. Here she was 2 and a half. She's basically a pretty version of Ty in this video. (They really are the male and female version of each other.)

Also...

Just know that when you are laughing and rolling your eyes at me and my "port de bras" comment, I'm laughing and rolling my eyes at myself. They say stage moms are the worst!

Also...

Why do I let my kids talk to me like that?

Ashlynn's dancing

Ashlynn's Hula Dance from Kate Rober on Vimeo.

I think I've mentioned this before, but it bears mentioning again.

In true Gloria Estefan fashion, the rhythm has gotten Ashlynn. It got her early on.

At the beginning of this school year, she started showing interest in taking a dance class again. However, she was really struggling just to adjust to all of the changes that a new school year brings. I didn't want to throw third grade, piano lessons and a new dance class on her.

So we struck up a deal. If she did her homework and practiced piano without complaining, that would show us that she was ready to take on another activity.

She must have really wanted that dance class, because after two months the transformation was miraculous. She came home from school everyday and sat down immediately to do homework. Then she went straight to the piano and completed her practice schedule. There was no whining and I didn't have to hover and hound on her to get it done.
Not only have her grades improved, but her proficiency on the piano is amazing. Even though it was her second year of piano, she could barely read notes, let alone play something without me guiding her through every note. Now she truly enjoys playing and will do so whenever she has free time. I never have to remind her to do it because (I think) she looks forward to it.

So two weeks ago, Ashlynn started her Jazz class and is loving it! I thought I'd share some videos of her impromptu dancing through out the years, then later this week I will post a video of her dancing now.

In this video she is four years old.

Of Course

I turned around one day and found that Ashlynn had made these cute little boxes for her Primary class out of dental floss boxes. She filled them with Jelly Belly's of coordinating color (of course.)

Briggs lost his temper earlier this week, but quickly apologized saying, "Dad. I'm sorry I threw a tantrum." Neither of our other children would ever be so considerate, but Briggs was (of course).

For breakfast this morning, Ty asked for "Cream of Weed" (of course...)

Defying Gravity

When I was in High School, I was more of an English/ Arts student. However, I had two really awesome science teachers that developed my love for science. Mr. Salerno-White taught me Physical Science in 10th grade and Mr. Gelpke taught me Physics in 11th grade.

Their classes were known as being amongst the most challenging at the school, but they cultivated such a rich learning environment that you couldn't help but love the class and want to succeed. How is it that a girl who hated math(me), loved physics? These two guys made it possible.

I was grateful to them when I breezed through my college physics course.

I think of the experiments we ran in their class when I watch Myth Busters with Brian and the kids. (Brian and I have been known to review Newton's laws over breakfast with the kids...)

And today (and everyday) when I cleaned the bathroom, I thought of them as I tried to remember the scientific property that explains how fluids (read: pee) defy gravity and run up along a surface (read: the toilet and every tight nook and cranny!)

Seriously! EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY!

EVERY DAY, BOYS!

(I've begged Brian for a solid stainless steel bathroom. No tile- ick! grout! No wood- ick! too absorbent!)

P.S. I really can't remember what that physical property is called. It's the same effect when you pour a glass of water and the water runs along the glass instead of straight down. Surface tension.....?

Anyone....? (Mae? Mark?)


(pictured above are my illustrious teachers, Mr. Salerno-White and Mr. Gelpke. Isn't it great what you can find on the internet?)

Mistakes and Lemonade

Sometime last year I changed the name of my blog. I felt that “Making Lemonade” illustrated the daily attempt our family makes to turn challenges into something sweet. Some days the lemonade turns out sweet, others, more on the sour side.

Yesterday, on the last day of the decade, I made parenting mistake 55,498 of my parenting career. I’m not proud of my mistake, but I had to document it because I learned from it.

(Oh. And it had to do with lemons.)

We have a great little lemon tree in our backyard. I love it. I love to send the kids outside to pick a fresh lemon for a meal I’m preparing. It makes me feel so fresh and organic.

We used up the last of our lemons towards the end of summer, but I’ve been watching the new ones develop and looking forward to a tree full of bright yellow lemons.

Apparently Ashlynn has been eyeing those lemons, as well, because she walked in with a huge salad bowl full of half ripe lemons, proudly showing her harvest. She had picked the tree almost bare, and every lemon in the bowl was half green.

So what did I do? Instead of processing the pleased look on her face, I cringed at the thought of an entire crop of lemons wasted.

As soon as her little face fell, the Mommy guilt set in as mistake 55, 498 registered to me. Why did I care more about my lemons than my one and only daughter’s feelings?

I started back- pedaling as she started asking what she did wrong. I immediately apologized and tried to distract her with the prospect of making a big batch of freshly squeezed lemonade. This helped some, because who doesn’t like to use an electric juicer?

Because I had just done a number on her self esteem, there was some smoothing over that had to be done once we were in the kitchen and she realized that she hadn’t picked one solid yellow lemon. However, once her pile of lemons started growing, she seemed to forget all about the child abuse that had just occurred (please note the self deprecating sarcasm).

I learned a few lessons yesterday. I’m not sure that I can even put into words what those lessons were. But I know that next time my daughter presents me with something, I’m going to look at her face and try and think about what she thinks she is presenting to me.

I also had some really good lemonade. Maybe half green lemons make the best juice after all. Maybe it’s the three cups of sugar that was added.

Maybe as parents we are always going to be half green. But I have plenty of sugar in my pantry to make up for that greenness.

Here's to a whole new decade filled with parenting mistakes and Lemonade.