A Good Album

Are you looking for a good album that the whole family can enjoy? (Okay, I can't guarantee it for teenagers, but all other age ranges are included.)

On the way to school today with the van full of carpool kids, we listened to an old favorite of our's, "No" by They Might Be Giants. This has to be the best "kids" album out there.

It will not make the parents cringe when they hear the first strains of the first song, it will not make the big brother groan that he has to listen to little kid music, and it will not make the little sisters whine to put on different music.

It will make you want to hear as many songs as you can before you have to get out of the van and go to school, it will make your mom leave it playing, even after the kids go to school because the songs are so fun, and it will have every kid (and parent) singing along at the top of their lungs to every tune.

This is what happened this morning in our van. I was driving six kids to school, my three plus three others. About half way to our destination, Ian finds the "No" CD and puts it in. Two seconds later the whole van is singing Fibber Island. This is no small feat. My passengers are one sixth grade boy, two fifth grade boys, two second graders, a girl and a boy, and one kindergarten girl. Oh yeah, and me, the 37 year old chauffeur. By the time we were listening to John Lee Supertaster the three youngest kids were swaying and moving like backup singers and telling the older boys to, "Look at us!"

It was a great way to start the morning!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have become so busy with my family and other obligations that I've dropped the ball on my blogging lately. And it seems that the longer I go without blogging, the harder it is to get back into it. So today I am forcing myself on here in hopes that I will become re-dedicated to my blog and sharing the fun and crazy things going on in my life.

Today I share with you two fairly new (within the last month) occurrences in my life.

#1: I have begun to listen to country music. And I like it. I find myself turning to US99.5 more and more often, and only turning back to my traditional pop/ rock channels when they run one of their extremely long commercial breaks. Much to my husband's disdain, I like the themes of the songs, the slower pace, and the often humorous messages in the songs. I have even used some of my birthday iTunes gift card to download two country songs already (Darius Rucker's "It Won't Be Like This For Long" and Rodney Atkins "Watching You")

I have always liked some country. I own lots of Garth Brooks and have Shania Twain's first album and Carrie Underwood's first album. I also love Kenny Rogers and have an album of his greatest hits. So I guess it's no surprise I am liking it more and more now.

My husband will just have to find some way to live with it.

#2: I joined Facebook. Truly addicting. And I feel guilty when I haven't responded to people who send a message to me. I have been trying to find time to sit down and write everyone back, and therefore have neglected this blog in the process.

But it is fun! And I think that after the initial finding of old friends, the time on FB should slow down. Because really, once you catch up with someone you haven't talked to in over 20 years, you probably aren't going to talk everyday.

For anyone who is reluctant to give it a try, I suggest you do it. I have found people I never imagined I could find. For example, I lived in England for five years when I was in elementary school. I have found several old friends from those years, as well as an old music teacher! And seriously, it was so fun finding my fourth grade boyfriend and reminiscing on those days.

On top of that, I've found old college and high school friends and I'm able to quickly keep up with them and see their beautiful children.

And probably one of the most rewarding is finding old students from the four years I taught. They are all in college and graduating soon. The two I've contacted are so sweet and told me how much they loved me as a teacher. If that doesn't make someone feel good, I don't know what could.

Makes Me Cry Everytime

I discovered this song some time ago, finally bought it from iTunes and every time I hear it I can't hold back the tears. It is Steven Curtis Chapman's "Cinderella" and if you have a daughter, I dare you to listen to it without tears.



My girls are only 5 and 6, but I can imagine all these upcoming events and I realize our time with them is truly only fleeting. I hope my husband and I are taking the time to dance with all three of our kids.

Musical Choices

Ever since my husband installed iTunes on our computer several years ago, I've listened to way more music than I had I the past. It's so easy to turn on the tunes while checking out everybody's latest blog entries. What seemed so revolutionary at the time, being able to buy just one song at a a time, is commonplace today. I love it because if I hear a song on the radio that I fall in love with, it is just 99 cents away from being in my iTunes.

Due to strict budgeting, my music purchases have pretty much come to a standstill. But for my birthday my father-in-law got me a gift card to iTunes. I am very excited. I have already bought five songs, leaving me 10 more to choose. Here's the dilemma: I have more songs in my "shopping cart" than $10 worth. I have to pick and choose. It's hard. Do I pick one of my new favorites, like Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" or do I pick Rosemary Clooney's "Sisters"? (Answer, I picked them both.) But I am finding I'd love a Phil Collins album. If I buy a whole album of his, then I can't get anything else. Decisions, decisions.