Surround Sound.

Now that it's getting nice and summery out, we've been spending more time in our backyard. We discovered the other week that the little solar powered twinkle lights we'd bought last year have already died. I mean, they were cheapies, but they were cute and I liked them. Tim looked into getting a more sophisticated lighting system, and told me that with what he found on Amazon, using the plug in timer we already had, it would be about $500. I of course, balked at the price, because we do already have lighting on the patio cover and I feel like for $500, I could get an electrician out and get things hard wired, not plugged into a socket and hanging along the side of the house.

Then instead, I doubled down and said, if we're going to spend $500 on a home remodel, I'd like to get surround sound through the house and back yard, and a system that would allow me to stream music or play my iTunes from where ever I was, because we had almost 20 year old surround sound speakers haphazardly throughout the living room, including a center speaker off center because otherwise it would block the IR for the TV remote, and then a boombox in our bedroom and a Bose player in the pretty room. So, for slightly more than $500, we now have speakers in the walls and ceilings for the living room, and the ceiling of the pretty room and our bedroom, a new TV, a Roku for streaming, and a separate hard drive that has all of our media, and speakers across the back yard. It's the best outdoor living space ever now - enjoying the fake grass and the blasting music while I lay in my hammock, which is big enough for two adults plus the occasional child. The project was finished up on Friday afternoon, and Kristen and the kids came to hang out after gymnastics, and she and I immediately flopped in the hammock with Moscow mules while the girls had a gymnastics dance to Hamilton. Summer time and the living is easy.

Overall, very pleased with how it's all turning out.

The rest of the weekend continued to be busy. We had Mimi and Poppy and Jake over for brunch on Sunday, which we turned into a little mini party for Mimi's upcoming birthday. Tim showed everyone how to do the floss dance, and I laughed until I near about died.

We continued the fun at Judd and Matty's birthday party that afternoon, which was at an indoor kids gym, not at our house. Ellie went straight ninja warrior for most of it - I enjoy that she paired a pearl necklace with her workout shorts and tank top.

Both kids had a blast, and then because Kristen and Jeff are generous and saints, we spent the rest of the night at their house too - pulled into our own garage at 10pm, with both kids asleep in the back seat. Needless to say, we spent yesterday doing a whole lot of nothing, other than mooching dinner from Gigi and Grizz and making patriotic crafts.

I've been listening to a lot more music and watching a lot less TV now that the system is up and running. We also found our old camcorder and got all of the videos off of it, including a tour I made of our apartment before we moved, and a tour of our house after we first moved in that I made for Grandpa Thiel. Man, things certainly have changed! Makes me feel even more house proud about this cute little house. In a weird twist of fate, the Bose player crapped out a week or two ago, perhaps knowing that it was about to be replaced, but the ancient boom box and my elderly iPod is creaking along. I moved it into Ellie's room, and she is SO excited to be able to listen to whatever she wants in her room. Like her mother and grandmother before her, she's ready to listen to the Beatles.

Arts and Culture.

Thursday night Adam's school had their annual art show, which is a fundraiser for a scholarship fund at the school. It's a cute evening - each kid has three pieces of art around the play ground area, and each class makes a canvas of art that they put in a silent auction. Plus there were sno-cones. We met Tim for dinner out beforehand and made a little date of it.

His commentary is about the best part of his art, the little nut.

Friday night after gymnastics we went to the Feista fundraiser at Lexi and Juddy's school - all the carny rides in the church/school parking lot with our friends, what more could you want?

Hard to tell, but the middle swing is Ellie and Olivia, the third is Laura and Lexi - the other three girls totally peer-pressured her into it.

All of the other parents and kids were scared of the Zipper ride, but I've never been one to back down from dying needlessly in a carnival accident, just not how I was raised. So after dinner, Ellie asked if we could ride it and I said sure. We got in line behind this big group of teenagers, who kept inviting their friends to line jump with them. Ellie noticed them cutting, and I said "that's fine, we can sneak ahead" and so we did, and then later, when a couple of teens tried to cut in front of them, I told them to stand back, she was a little kid and I'd seen them inviting a half dozen friends already. It was frustrating to be standing there, watching the line move nowhere despite the ride emptying on a regular basis, with a little kid who didn't have a phone to look into or friends to gossip with - she just wanted to ride the dang ride. Directly in front of us were a younger brother and sister pair, who were also getting bored waiting. I got the ride operator's attention and pointed at all three littles and put my hands up in frustration, and he told us to come around to the front. I told the other two kids to follow me, and when they looked confused, I said "I'm a mom, I can do whatever I want, come with me." And lo, we got to ride right away. I showed Ellie how fun it is to make a rickety cage flip a solid half dozen times. No one barfed, no one cried, I got to yell at some teenagers, so everyone wins!

And yesterday, the best of arts and culture, taking Ellie to see Hamilton at the Segerstrom Center.

Moments from Hamilton with a 7 year old

Ellie: wait, all the actors have brown skin? 
Me: Yes. Because even though people think America was built and owned by people with white skin, America was built by and belongs to everyone.

Ellie: This doesn't sound like the real Hamilton. This isn't the CD. 

Me: They're singing live, that's part of the fun.

Anytime she caught someone saying a swear (most noticeably shit) Ellie: That's RUDE!

When Alexander and Eliza are cradling their son as he dies, Ellie: Mom, stop crying, he's not really dead. 

During Quiet Uptown, Ellie: stop crying. 

During the finale, Ellie: Mom, are you crying? Stop crying.

Overall, she did great. She hung in through the three hour show with less fidgeting than some of the adults near us. She clapped with genuine glee at the end of the big numbers, she laughed uproariously at King George, she danced a little in her seat from time to time. It was a totally self indulgent thing for me to take her, mostly for my own benefit, but I guess there's worse passions to try to share with your kids.

Mother's Day

Belated, but we had a really lovely Mother's Day weekend. The kids had their aforementioned performances and t-ball practices, but then we took it early Saturday night, watched a movie and lazed around. And then on Sunday Tim and the kids made me breakfast in bed, brought me my coffee and showered me with cards and affection. I must also say, I love having a preschooler, because preschool teachers really turn it out when it comes to cards and crafty stuff.

When I look at this picture, I think of my dad telling my mom "I could have had Meg with anyone woman in the world, and she'd look just the same." It's like he stole my face, except with a new hair cut.

Ellie also made a little book about why she likes her mom at school. My favorite part is how she captured my true essence - a cat lady who is happiest when being left alone to read in bed.

Also for Mother's Day, Tim ordered me a hammock.

I even let my family lounge in it sometimes! On Sunday, Tim then took the kids out to his mom's house for brunch, and my mom and I went to the swap meet, and then out to the Hat for a high quality lunch of pastrami and chili cheese fries. What mama wants, mama gets! Then he even brought me a drink out in the hammock, where I read a book until we went to have dinner with Gigi and Grizz and Auntie Sara (who does the best mothering of pretty much anyone.) We are lucky to have such nice Gigis and Mimis and Aunties, and I am lucky to have such wonderful kids, and such a supportive partner as their dad. The other day I was hugging Ellie and I couldn't believe how tall she was. It blows my mind that this big beautiful girl once was my teeny tiny baby, small enough to live inside my actual body! I wonder how much longer I have before both of my children tower over me.

Music Recital

In the fall, we signed up for Let's Play Music's first year of music lessons - it's a three year course designed to teach children basically musical concepts and how to read music so that when complete the course they're ready to hit the piano running. I have been super impressed with the course and what the kids have picked up. Adam's going to continue with year two, but since Ellie will be eight in the fall, she's going straight to piano lessons, because she has the maturity, the patience and the hand span to take it on.

During our Wednesday class this week, Adam was being a regular old turd, and thinking about the upcoming recital, I decided to bail. I mean, he was going to get up there, he was probably going to cry and refuse to do it and I'd have to go get him and then listen to him cry about how he didn't get to perform their song and you know, I've got other things to fight with him about. Plus today would have been his first actual tball game, and since Tim's the coach, it just made more sense for Adam to stay and do his sports ball, for Tim to use all of the new coaching equipment he bought, and for them to meet us after the show for the cake reception.

Thus, Ellie had plenty of time to shine.

For Ellie, the best part of the recital was that Lexi came to support her, and got to come participate in the puppet show.

Mimi and Poppy also came and so we got to go out to lunch afterwards too (after we ate cake!) Pizza, beer and cake, a perfect Saturday before Mother's Day. And now I don't have to listen to little kid music for a few months.