Sing a song of sixpence, and heroin, and studs

My daughter Claire never stops talking. Or singing. My husband has an addiction to YouTube and plays videos through pretty much every meal, and after until I tell him to stop and do something else. You expect Claire to sing a song of sixpence, or other children's ditties, at age four. You expect her to sing a few verses of her parents' favorites or her favorites (although I never picked up much from Wagner's Ring cycle, but my parents weren't very cool). Currently, Tom Petty's The Waiting is her favorite song, and she has yet to catch on that every time she asks her dad to play that on the laptop that he makes her wait. On Saturday in the car we played most of the soundtrack to Oh Brother Where Art Thou going to and from Hannah's hippotherapy, and not unsurprisingly, she declared Big Rock Candy Mountain her new second most favorite song. But the current song you most hear from her is the Mighty Mighty Bosstones' Royal Oil, which I am fairly certain is about heroin. I find it somewhat disconcerting that she is popping around the house singing "sleep down in the soil, nothing comes from nothing comes from royal oil."

For reasons no one can really explain, all little girls love the film Grease. Maybe a young hot John Travolta explains it, but I digress. Claire's little friend who is roughly her age has Grease and MamaMia and loves to watch her movies and sing along. I imagine we are celebrating an anniversary of the film, but a theatre in our area will be showing Grease the Sing Along movie, and so along with my friends, and Claire's friend we are planning to take Claire to see the film. I don't really expect her to follow the story entirely, but we have in the past shown her the video on YouTube of We Go Together and she thought it delightful, so I agreed to take her because I thought she'd be highly entertained by a theatre full of people singing along to every song (I will). So, to help her know the songs better so she could join in, we decided to school her in some of the numbers she didn't already have familiarity with. First up, Lord Honey picks You're the One That I Want, which begins with Olivia Newton John saying "tell me about it, stud." Immediately Claire says "his name is Stud!". I try to downplay things, tell her it is just a nickname, like when I call Daddy "Muffin." Next we played Summer Nights, and my face turned a funny shade of pink watching the hip thrusts. Lord Honey offered to play Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee and I had to put a stop to it.

I'm telling myself she'll focus on the popcorn.

Life in a Day: YouTube and you

YouTube asked everyone on earth to document their lives on July 24, and submit the film to YouTube for editing to become part of the largest documentary ever. Our entry, if we submit it, will be Hannah doing hippotherapy at the National Ability Center. We'll skip the part about how the fireworks we set off in the evening (not because we lurve Pioneer Day but because we love to set stuff on fire) really scared the bejesus out of Hannah. I swear she liked a home fireworks display on the 4th, I swear she did. Somehow, though, Lord Honey bought the screamer package, so every single fountain came with whistles and wails that brought my child to a screaming halt. One thing I can say, she has good reaction time, and is adept at clinging to a parent in times of trouble. If I ever need to carry her out of a burning building, I'll have both hands free, cuz that kid will be well attached.

What did you record for posterity, and will you send it in?

Friday haiku - Pie and Beer Day

Utah's holiday
to praise the birth of statehood
and Brigham Young's find.

Mormons celebrate
and call it Pioneer Day
I pick Pie and Beer

The real pioneers
pushed handcarts across the plains
I'll be pushing peas

In chicken pot pie
follow it with chocolate cream
and Hefeweizen

Hippo Session 5

Posted over here at Grace in Small Things you can see a video of Hannah riding on hands and knees on her horse. Absolutely amazing stuff. I can't even write about it without sobbing, so you are getting some pretty short posts on the topic.

Hippo session number 4

Wordless Wednesday, Cheeto style

The talkies! Made up of walkies and dancies!

If you go here, can you see it?

And here

Enjoy this one

More to come, now that I have a plan.

A Cheeto by any other name would taste as sweet

Hannah the Extraordinary, younger sister of Claire the Magnificent, did something quite noteworthy this week. Some might think it mundane, or average. Some might think the shine of the moment dulled by the cheesy residue. Some might even think the event not so significant because it was a Natural Cheeto, and therefore lacking in artificial dyes so the proof was not smeared throughout the house for all to see.

Hannah. Ate. A Cheeto. From. Her. Right. Hand.

Is it the horse? Is it a developmental stage she would have achieved on her own? Who cares? She still finds the greatest indignity in my attempts to make her use her right hand to deliver the disc of peace to her mouth, and she doesn't always like it when I stuff toys in her hand, but her hand is more open than ever before. She held sticks in each hand in music class, and rhythm eggs although that was more short lived, and all her OTs this week thought she did better/more with her right hand than they had ever seen.

A Cheeto was consumed, and the heavens shone down upon us.

Friday haiku - have I pleased the internet Gods?

Now I'm trying hard
to gain back Blogger's respect.
Let the movies play!

I spilled olive oil
with a touch of balsamic
from my caprese

Sandwich to touchpad
a ritual sacrifice
will it be enough?

Grace in Small and Big things - 44

I've been having a terrible time getting videos to post on Blogger lately. If you want to see some of we've been up to, try viewing some short movies on my GiST blog and go here:

In order to get back into the swing of posting minutia plus, or perhaps we call that uberminutia, I'll go back to the small stuff.

1. Claire said to me today "Mama, you crack me up."
2. If you look at my page on GiST you can see videos of the early crawling, the early walking, the advanced walking, the dancing and flirting with musicians (I am in so much trouble), and the walking with such confidence that she refuses to hold my hand, despite all the peril. Peril! Everywhere! Disregard that peril!
3. I don't know if it is the hippotherapy or just general improvement that would have happened anyway, but Hannah is holding her right hand open more, using it to help open a toy or carry an object of desire.
4. My bad neck is improving thanks to Jazzercise and PT, and I am proud of myself for making an effort.
5. Antibiotics are improving double ear infections in both girls. Thank all that is holy for Amoxicillan and all its little friends.

now with more cowbell

This post should have come out ages ago but BLOGGER HATES ME. I have apparently failed to make the requisite ritual sacrifices. Maybe it is time to drop the laptop down the stairs again? Anyway, I have been going on Claire's summer camp field trips when I can. this post should include a video of the cacophony of a passel of four year olds going wild in the music room of a children's museum. Just pretend you saw it. But at least you get cowbell, the most significant instrument. Strangely, it is not just video I am struggling with. I know some of you see some of the movies by way of your comments, and I am trying to overcome my fear of going straight to You Tube for the linking, but why does Blogger eliminate edits to my post, mid post? Why? BLOGGER HATES ME. Would the burning of a flash drive be enough?

Friday haiku

Summer is now here
from rainy and cold to hot
sweaters to heat rash.

My birthday flashed by
now it's the Fourth of July
we've not camped out yet

The peacefulness past
of camping and resting well
will elude me now.

Judging from the fun
of burning sparklers tonight
Hannah won't be safe.

The walking and now
experiencing horses
gives independence

No matter the risk,
her self determination
will not be contained.