Older Brothers! Sigh.

After hours of listening to Jamie sing Old MacDonald on auto-repeat usually alternating between a cow and a pig, Adam decided to join in and add his own flair. . . .

Old MacDonald had a farm. EIEIO! And on his farm he had - DIARRHEA! EIEIOOOOWWWW! (both of them laughing hysterically)

Jamie (suddenly very serious and confused): Wat di-REEah?

Leave it to an older brother to take an innocent toddler song and interject Kindergarten potty talk. Boys!

Filling In Each Other's Paint-By-Numbers

Tonight Damonn and I are getting a little adult time out on the town and as an early anniversary gift to each other, we are heading downtown to the Schnitz to take in a Jackson Browne concert. We both love his music and although Damonn has been to a couple of concerts of his before, this is the first time going together. And there is no better place to see an artist than the Schnitz. It is small, intimate and has great acoustics. It really is the next best thing to having a private concert.

I’ve embedded this video of his song, The Pretender (from his 1976 album of the same name). It is one of our favorites and to Damonn and me this has become kind of a theme song of life. Managing hopes, dreams and the daily grind and doing it all with a person you love.

Damonn – Thank you for being the person who fills in the colors of my paint-by-number. There is no other person I’d want painting this family portrait with me more than you. Happy 9th anniversary, I love you!

Serendipity. . .

Sometimes I find myself trying so hard to create family moments that the event becomes something no one really even wants to participate in. Dr. Seuss birthday parties, “special” picnics in the park and family art projects come to mind. Other times I find myself smack dab in the middle of an incredible family connection without the least bit of forethought. The energy so vibrant you’d almost expect to get a static shock from it.

And so it was last night. The kids were fresh from baths and snuggling into our bed for a little TV. I slipped Curios George, a movie we had just recently found again while cleaning out a closet, into the DVD player and just as I was about to hit play to start the actual movie, Adam yelled, “Stop! I want to hear all of this song.” I was surprised because as far I knew he had never heard this song before, but he was adamant about listening to it. Just then Damonn walked in the room and said, “Hey I remember this song.” And before I knew it our whole family was singing and dancing to the Curious George theme song, Jack Johnson’s, Upside Down.

I want to turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found
I'll share this love I find with everyone
We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's songs
I don't want this feeling to go away

As I watched my family dancing, each one a different dance, time slowed and I could feel the lyrics, the music and the moment being etched into my memory. Jamie’s golden curls bouncing in every direction around her head as she jumped and screeched in sheer delight. Adam fumbling to learn the words of a song he instantly loved draped in the hooded towel he’s had since birth. Damonn awkwardly moving his body to the offbeat of the music, dancing the way only he does. These are the moments you look forward to when you dream of having children, when you dream of making a family. And slowly, for some of us very slowly, we learn they can’t be created or planned. They will simply happen and you only have to be ready to live them.

A Million Times Better Than Listening to a Piccolo Pete. . .

I first heard this song a few years back on CMT. I immediately downloaded it and spent the next several weeks toe-tapping my way through the chorus. Months later, a crashed hard drive ate my copy of Shooter Jennings', 4th of July (from his Put the O Back in Country album) and it somehow faded from my memory as well. It wasn't until Rick Emerson mentioned it on his website a few months ago saying how it was one of those songs you just wish you had written yourself, that I remembered this infectious concoction of country and southern rock and immediately added it back to my collection. Not only is 4th of July a perfect song for today, but is an anthem for every crazy road trip with friends, every bittersweet teenage crush and every lazy, going-nowhere-fast afternoon that summer brings.

Unfortunately they wouldn't let me embed the song here so you'll have to click on the link below to watch the video. Just try not tapping your toes, it's impossible.

LISTEN HERE!

Life, Liberty and Happiness to all!

Happy 4th of July!

Mid-Life Crisis

Watching these guys on stage is like watching your dad - and sadly, now our husbands - relive their high school glory days. You just know its going to end up with Advil and Aspercreme. It's over guys. It was great, but its over. Accept it and move on.





And if you're interested, here's their new song, Summertime. Just as sad, you just don't know all the words. The peek-a-boo belly shot that Donnie gives us halfway through is especially naughty!

Why?

New Kids on the Block reuniting

Story Highlights
Boy band New Kids on the Block one of biggest acts of late '80s, early '90s
Boston-based group's hits included "Hangin' Tough"
Group has new material; Donnie Wahlberg "had no interest [in] nostalgia tour"
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- They may be pushing 40, but the New Kids are returning to the block.
The boy band New Kids on the Block, which sold 70 million albums in the 1980s and early '90s, has reunited and plans to release a new album and go on tour. The reunion comes 20 years after the release of the group's multiplatinum album, "Hangin' Tough."
"The fan response to this has been incredible," band member Donnie Wahlberg told the Boston Herald.
Wahlberg said he was persuaded to get back together with his former bandmates -- Joey McIntyre, brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood -- when they decided to record new music. Wahlberg said he wrote 80 percent of the new material with McIntyre and Jordan Knight.
"I had no interest going out on a nostalgia tour and singing the same material," said Wahlberg, 38.
But he added: "We absolutely will do the old songs for sure."
Producer Maurice Starr formed the group in Boston in the 1980s, hoping to recreate the success he had with another teen group from Boston, New Edition.
At the height of their popularity, New Kids sold out world tours, marketed millions of dollars in merchandise and spawned a Saturday morning cartoon.
The group disbanded in 1994. Wahlberg has acted on television and in movies, while Jordan Knight, McIntyre and Wood released solo albums. Jonathan Knight became a real estate developer.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/03/people.newkids.ap/index.html

My Wish. . .

Tears well and my throat closes everytime I hear this Rascal Flatts song on the radio, showcasing my unbelievable ability to melt into a sobbing maternal blob at the drop of a hat.
This dedication goes out to Adam and Jamie. . . . my wish for you this year and every year is happiness.


I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.


My Wish - by Rascal Flatts (listen to a sample at this link - its way better than just reading)

Still Rockin'

Thirty pounds gone and I'm still rockin'!! And there's nothing better for kicking a little ass on the eliptical machine than AC/DC. I'm Back in Black, baby!

(click play button to listen)