Beauties and the Beat

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got around to playing the first record on the stereo I got for Christmas. Tessa was already asleep and it wasn’t Bridget’s bedtime yet, so I decided to let her choose the record. As she thumbed through the albums, a few caught her eye. She stopped at Queen’s “News of the World” (which has really cool cover art by Kelly Freas), but passed on it. She looked at the Go-Gos’ “Beauty and the Beat,” Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Bark at the Moon,” and Alice Cooper’s “From the Inside,” all of which have interesting artwork. The album she finally settled on? “Night of the Living Dolls” by The New York Dolls. Couldn’t have made a better choice myself!

The cover doesn’t have any jazzy artwork and is not a double cover that opens up or anything. It just shows the Dolls in all their teased-hair, lipstick-wearing, platform-shoed glory. Bridget seemed to like the music pretty well. We played the record while coloring in our favorite book. She liked the song “Looking for a Kiss” (at first she thought it was talking about the rock group KISS – that’s a whole ‘nother blog). I told her “Chatterbox” could have been written about her. After perusing the cover further, she decided she wants to marry Johnny Thunders. EGADS!! It’s hard for her to understand that he would be old enough to be her grandpa if he was still alive. She just likes the way he’s dressed on the album cover. I dig the music, but the guy was a junkie . . .

Of course, she also wants to marry Rooney Doodle from the Doodlebops. What? You haven’t heard of them? According to the Disney channel, they are “kids’ favorite band.” They star in their own morning t.v. show. I actually like the show. It reminds me of the psychedelic kid shows I watched in the 70s. There’s not a hint of “realism” anywhere – everything is very colorful and slightly surreal. I’m not sure what species the Doodlebops are, but they have really fat fingers all have different skin colors. Dee Dee has lavender skin and pink hair, Rooney has blue skin and two-toned blue hair and Moe has yellow skin and orange hair. Doodlebop Central, where they hang out, is decorated with very bright colors and populated by puppet characters like a talking moose head and Mudge, who’s a cat version of Oscar the Grouch. Tessa loves the Doodlebops, too. Moe is usually the one she wants to marry, but sometimes she wants to marry Rooney, too. I don’t have the heart to tell them that Rooney seems a little bit “light in the loafers.” They don’t have any knowledge of that kind of stuff yet, thank goodness.

Their songs are actually kinda catchy. Pure pop with kid-centered lyrics. They ain’t the New York Dolls, that’s for sure, but they are wholly unobjectionable and I actually have fun watching the show with the girls. I’d much rather listen to this “kid music” than a lot of what passes for pop music nowadays.

A cute thing happened on the way to preschool on Friday. Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” came on the radio and Bridget was totally enthralled. She was disappointed when she got to school before the song was over. Today, I put the CD in the car and she got to hear the whole song. She really loves it. It doesn’t surprise me because it is a very dramatic song and she is a very dramatic girl. Tessa loves it, too. She sings along with all the parts where it says “Mama.”

The girls have pretty diverse musical tastes so far. I wonder what kind of music they’ll like when they get older . . .

Dominic's Baptism

Our newest nephew, Dominic Tristan, had his baptism December 31. It was the first time we’d gotten to meet him in person. He is so cute and has a very calm disposition. He behaved wonderfully during the baptism and was very patient through lots of picture-taking afterwards.

After mass, Jimmy and Tori threw a party that stretched into the new year. They had tons of great food that covered all the bases for an all-day party. We had turkey and ham, country company potatoes, baked beans and other yummies around lunchtime. Later on, we had taco dip and chips, veggies and dip, cookies and other delicious snacks. Bridget discovered she likes cauliflower at the party (thanks Jimmy and Tori!). Of course, there was a cake for Dominic and the girls had 2 or 3 pieces each (it was really good).

The kids had a blast playing with each other. They all get along so well; there is very little refereeing of fights, etc., when they all get together. Desiree had gotten Dance Dance Revolution for Christmas. She and Ashley tried it out for the first time at the party. It’s a video game that uses a dance pad. You replicate the moves on TV to move on to the next level. They both were getting good at it pretty quick, even though it was the first time they’d played it. All the other kids tried it, too. Marshall was pretty good on his first try! True to form, I remained a spectator, but I loved watching the kids dance. I think it would be fun to try it out in the privacy of my own home when the girls and Dwayne are asleep and with the curtains drawn so there’d be no danger any neighbors would see me. Can you tell I’ve absolutely no confidence in my ability to dance?

I got to hold Dominic for a good long while at the party. He is so precious!!! Can’t wait to see him again.

The photo is of Jimmy, Dominic and Tori.

Our Trip To Illinois

We took a trip to visit Dwayne’s family after Christmas. It’s about an 8-hour drive to Pinckneyville, Illinois, if you drive straight though. When we go, it takes more like 9 or 10 hours. We always stop at about the halfway point and eat inside a McDonald’s so the girls can run around in the playland and work off their excess energy. We have DVD players in the car so they can watch movies. That really helps pass the time on a long trip. But, they don’t want to watch movies all the time. We got stuck in a traffic jam in Nashville and their movie went off. I asked if they wanted another, and they both said, “No.” Bridget said she “wanted to talk.” So, we looked at the people in the cars around us and made up stories about who they were and where they were going. The girls are so good-natured about traveling that they can even make a traffic jam enjoyable.

The girls love going to visit their Babushka and Dyedushka. They have such a great time playing with their cousins. There are 9 kids in addition to Bridget and Tessa. Seven of them are boys! Their only other girl cousins in Illinois are Desiree and Ashley, who are both teenagers. They love seeing them and think they are both so pretty and grown-up. They really love playing with their boy cousins. Their Auntie Dee’s older boys, Marshall, Wesley and Robert, are so sweet about playing with the girls. They make a big deal out of them and watch out for them. They will even play house with them! Amazing!! The girls love them all. They love to play with Uncle Jimmy’s kids, too. Anthony is the same age as Bridget, so they have lots of fun. L.A., Vincent and little Dominic are younger, and the girls see them as cute little “babies” (which is funny because Vincent and L.A. are physically as “big” as Tessa, though they are younger). When they girls get all boy-ed out, their Uncle Travis’ girlfriend Sarah and her daughter Abby are there for them. The girls love them some Abby. She is a couple years older than Bridget and teaches them new things and “mommies” them. They always love that.

We all got Christmas presents while we were there. Dwayne got some Richard Pryor DVDs (“Moving,” “Greased Lightning,” and “Hear No Evil, See No Evil”) and a cool light that you wear on your head, (for when you’re working on cars or something). I got a very pretty Emerald ring. I was very surprised and pleased to get it. My godson Marshall got me a light-up Christmas pin. It’s very cool and the batteries are replaceable, so I can wear it in years to come. Bridget got a new Leap Pad that’s all about learning to read. Tessa got a train set and some musical instruments (xylophone, tambourine and maracas). They both got Cabbage Patch newborn babies from Sarah. They love the babies so much; they are just the right size for carrying! Bridget loved the whole “adoption” theme and wanted to fill out her adoption form for her doll right away.

On New Year’s Eve, when the clock struck midnight, we went outside and rang bells and blew car horns. We didn’t stay out too long because it was really cold. It had been unseasonably warm, but rained and then got cold on Sunday. You know it’s cold when my kids are ready to go back inside after 5 minutes!

The trip home was uneventful. We got home around 10:30. The girls were excited to be home and both stayed up way too late. It was about 1 a.m. before Bridget finally nodded off. I didn’t mind that they stayed up late; it gave me a chance to sleep in a little bit the next day . . .

The photo shown is of Marshall and Tessa. Aren't they cute?

Moments

“Another rainy day, we’re trapped inside with the train set,
Chocolate on the boil, steaming windows when we met.”
From the song “Another Sunny Day” by Belle and Sebastian

I love this line because it captures a moment. Moments are really all we have in life. I recently had a conversation with someone about whether the joys of having kids outweigh the loss of freedom, the weight of responsibility, and the work involved. Lots of people speak in generalities about how great it is to be a parent and make it sound like one big party. That’s definitely not the case. But, then life is never one big party. Like any relationship in your life, parent/child relationships have their ups and downs.

To me, it is all worth it because of the way my girls can make me feel. The week after Christmas, we had so much fun together. We just stayed at home, playing with all their new toys and watching their favorite TV shows together, nothing exciting but somehow it was magical. They are at such a wonderful age. Everything is new to them. Sometimes when I am really in tune with them, I get a glimpse of the world through their eyes and commonplace things and events take on a new luster. Those moments make me indescribably happy.

It’s similar to the way places and things seem to look and feel better when you’re in love, but I think it will last a lot longer with kids than it does with romantic relationships. The “new” wears off those relationships relatively quickly; hopefully it will take years and years before my kids start being jaded and cynical about life. If I have my druthers, they’ll never get that way. I used to be the eternal optimist, but age and life experience have somewhat dampened my enthusiasm. I am so fortunate to have my happy little daughters to restore my belief in magic.

I am also very lucky to be able to stay home with them. Nowadays, there is so much talk about “quality time,” but I value the quantity of time we have together. Time just doing ordinary things. Going to the mailbox. Making up our own ball games to play outside. Watching TV shows, then acting them out together. Singing and making up the words as we go, like now . . .

“Chicken noodle on the boil, sticky doorknobs at our house.”

A Very Merry Christmas

Dwayne and I set our alarm for 7 a.m. Christmas morning. Now, when I was a kid my mom didn’t need to set an alarm – I’d be up at 5:00 or 5:30 begging her to get up so I could open my presents. The answer was invariably no, but I still tried every year. Our girls are not such early risers. Last year at Christmas, we woke them up, because WE couldn’t wait any longer. We almost did the same this year, but refused temptation. We wanted them to think that they were the first ones up, the first to see what Santa brought, etc.

While we didn’t exactly wake them, we did try to make noise. We rang some jingle bells really loudly from our bedroom (which is right across the hall from theirs). Didn’t work. We coerced the dog into barking. Didn’t work. We banged on the walls. Didn’t work. These kids are heavy sleepers.

They finally stirred themselves a bit after 8:00. They came in our room and I said, “I’ll be up in a minute. Go on in there and see what Santa brought.” I expected them to run back in, breathless with excitement, and tell me what they found (several of their gifts were unwrapped and sitting out in plain view). Instead, they started playing with things and didn’t come back to tell me anything. So, we went ahead and got up.

They got lots of fun things from Santa, including: a Lego building table; some new Lego blocks; a huge container of Tinkertoys; an easel and all kinds of paints, brushes and sponges; a keyboard with mic and stool for Bridget and a drum kit for Tessa; and several assorted Barbies and Doras and Little Mermaid dolls who swim in water. They had a very exciting day.

Since Dwayne and I had agreed not to spend much on each other, I got him a couple of DVDs and a credit card wallet. He got me a retro-design stereo; a nice hardcover copy of “The Haunting of Hill House”; a pricey box set DVD containing every episode of “The Prisoner” (a very cool 60s TV show); “Talledega Nights” on DVD; the latest Belle and Sebastian CD; and a pretty floating heart necklace. See anything wrong with this picture? I felt kinda bad that he bought me that much stuff, but didn’t anguish over it for too long (hee, hee).

The photo is the girls paiting a picture together on their easel. They really love getting messy with the paints and I really love the fact that washable paint really is washable. Woo hoo!!

The Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through our house, two little girls were stirring till at least 9:00. Bridget told me she wanted to go to bed right after dinner, at 7:00. But, I knew that wouldn’t happen. I’d have been sitting back there with her for two hours waiting for her to go to sleep. So, I talked her into waiting until 8:00. We put out some cookies and milk for Santa, then watched a 70s-vintage cartoon called, “The Night Before Christmas.”

We looked at NORAD’s web site, where they track Santa’s progress in his trek round the world, at 7:55 p.m. At that time, he was leaving South America and was headed towards the southern part of the U.S. Stressing that Santa’s arrival was imminent, I marched them to the bedroom, got them into their nightgowns, then read (you guessed it) “The Night Before Christmas” as our bedtime story. (Think there’s a theme here?) I wound up talking to them, doing all I could to calm them down, for about an hour. I don’t know how many times I warned them that Santa might just skip over our house if he flew over and they were still awake. This tactic didn’t scare them too much. Then, I pulled out the old, “Santa’s watching you right now and seeing how you’re not going to sleep like I asked you to. He might not bring you any toys.” They weren’t biting on that one, either.

I think what finally put them to sleep was a big crash from their high of pre-Christmas energy and excitement. Once they were out, they slept soundly all night.

P.S. Don’t tell the girls, but our dog Ginger actually ate Santa’s Christmas cookies . . .