Sweetly Sings Dominic!

Please enjoy Dominic's rendition of "Sweetly Sings the Donkey!"

Nanny Available!

Are you or anyone you know looking for a full or part-time nanny?  Miss Lindsay's sister has recently returned to the area, and is available!  Leave a comment here and I'll send you her number.

The Water is Wide

The water is wide at the Payette River in Idaho, where I stayed this weekend!

It's Song #19 on the Splash CD, and I LOVE it.  When I was whitewater rafting with my friends this weekend, I could not stop singing it!  My poor friends!  It was either that, or "We're Floating Down the River."   I also happen to know that I am not the only person to burst into tears when "The Water is Wide" comes on for rocking time.  It's a very short song on our Kindermusik Splash CD, but I know there are more verses I've never even heard!

I decided to look for it on iTunes so I don't have to hit Repeat many, many times in class.  Have you looked for it on iTunes? There are more than 200 versions!  I'm overwhelmed.

So, dear readers who own this fantastic CD, do you have a favorite version of this song?  Which one?  I'm gong to spend a whole 99 cents on it, so I need your honest opinion.  The more gentle and folksy, the better!

Above is a picture of my kids and me today at the SF Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum.  They only had to listen to the song 14 times on our drive into the city.  "MOM, are you crying AGAIN?"  Yup, that's me!  So much for my eye makeup!

Don't pencil me in-

Is scheduling unscheduled time an oxymoron?  For many years I was one of those moms who over scheduled my children- sports, music lessons, play dates, chess club (seriously); all enriching activities x4 kids.  A few years ago, due to an "unscheduled" life change (otherwise known as divorce), I hit my limit.  I was raising 4 kids alone, and tired.  They were involved in many worthwhile activities, but frequently begged to "please just let me stay home."  I was tired of hurrying them into the car, and forcing them to go to "fun places" to do "fun," "this is good for you darn it!" things.

So I did it. I canceled EVERYTHING.  Other than school and church, we didn't go anywhere.  My children came home from preschool and elementary school, and did nothing but play.  Special bonus- I saved money NOT paying for things! They made up games, put on plays, rode bikes, and even played alone some afternoons.  Sometimes, I actually had time to make them a dinner, other than scrambled eggs or chicken nuggets.  My house had never been so messy, but it was wonderful.

Since then, life has returned to "normal" (single, actually DATING mom "holy cow this is hard but OK!" normal), and we've added the important activities back in (yes, including Kindermusik for the Young Child for Beatrice!), and I've even let one child participate in organized sports where I have to drive her to practice because she begged for over a year.  I've tried to retain lessons I was forced to learn.

With kids, it's true that less is more.  Although I never would have chosen the circumstances under which I learned this lesson, I'm grateful for it.  This summer I scheduled nothing for any of them (except Kindermusik for Bea and piano lessons for the older kids with wonderful Miss Shannon) and it's been relaxing.  A relaxing summer!  A novel idea!  (Yes, my house is still trashed but they get to clean their own messes every night.)

Plus, with unscheduled time, great things can happen.  Yesterday my girls came home from our neighbor's house with this off-the-cuff picture they posed. . .

Crazy hair and outfits, but hilarious!

For more on Overscheduled Kids, I loved this article on the blog Parenting 24/7.