Friday Fickle

“Mom?” I hear through the locked bathroom door. I am in the shower, so I can barely make out what is being said. “Guys. I am in the shower, and I can’t hear you. Can’t you wait until I am done?” I yell in return. Ignoring my plea, Joe shouts, “Do I have to wear underwear today?” And so begins another morning . . .

***

Mother’s Day is this weekend. And, I will be spending Mother’s Day weekend heading to my Mom’s house on Saturday, tackling various chores around her house. Then, heading to my Mother-in-law’s house on Sunday, visiting with her, with the possibility of tackling chores around her house, too.

I watched The Middle this week, which is a comedy about a family of five. The episode surrounded Mother’s Day, and the Mom made the comment that Father’s Day is so successful because a Mom is in charge of it. Some Father’s don’t seem to grasp the concept of Mother’s Day, and/or they need the help of the Mom to pull it off successfully. That’s OK. Moms deserve to feel appreciated and loved more than one day a year, as do Dads. I must admit, the kids and Rob do a fine job of providing me with love and support. And, I don’t have a problem asking for a time-out when I need one. Sometimes, the guys even encourage it! (Go figure!)

***

So, it’s officially official. Joe was accepted into the Montessori school for Kindergarten. Rob and I met with the Director of the Montessori school this week. She reviewed Joe’s test and scores with us. And, she showed us a couple of projects he completed. In addition, she let us know how he responded to the following question:

“Joe, what is one thing you remember learning from Ms. Suzann [his day care provider]?” “Well,” Joe responds. “You should never say you don’t like God.”

Did I mention the Montessori school is a Christian school? Looks like Joe is getting a head start on the art of kissing up to the teacher. Good boy.

***

Not too long ago, the makers of the Baby Einstein videos were in the news. Apparently, parents were complaining because their kids weren’t becoming the geniuses the products claimed to create. Studies were done by – well, the folks that do studies. The conclusion was that kids who watched the videos did not speak or read any earlier than those that did not watch the videos.

Shocking, right? Kids do not become geniuses by watching videos. Who knew?

Though I make no claim that either Joe or Charlie are geniuses, I do claim that both Joe and Charlie know instruments because of Baby Einstein’s ‘Baby Meet the Orchestra’. We watched (and still watch) ‘Baby Meet the Orchestra’ frequently. Once, while driving in the car and listening to John Denver [hush], Joe said “Hey! I hear a French horn.” He was correct. And, to this day, both he and Charlie will request “the French horn song.”

Earlier this week, we drove by two water towers, similar to the one pictured. Joe said, “Look! That looks like a timpani.”

Is Joe a genius? I doubt it. But, I assure you, we didn’t teach him about the sound of  French horn or the Timpani drum. His musical knowledge (and strong interest) comes from Baby Einstein.

***

Facebook is a funny social network. Really. We’ve all seen the skits mocking Facebook, where some ‘stranger’ comes to your front door, barges in your house, hugs you and goes on and on about the good ol’days. ‘Friend requests’ pop up left and right. Friend requests are ignored, and friend requests are accepted. Names are entered in the ‘Search’ box on the off chance one might find a ghost of his/her past.

Well, after several failed attempts at searches, I finally found a long lost friend by snooping through friends of my sister’s friend’s friends. Seriously, there are several qualities about Facebook that make it a stalking network. Hello. My name is Lenore Diane, and I am a stalker. I think I have admitted that fact in previous posts.

This friend and I were in a movie back in 1979. When the movie was released in the United States the name was The Visitor. But, as I have since found, the movie was a foreign film with the name Stridulum. It’s a cult classic. Sadly, it is unavailable on DVD. I suppose I should say, it would be a cult classic. Amazingly enough, I found a clip on YouTube, and it is the clip that includes shots of my friend and me. My friend is more visible than me, but I see me (brown dress, blond hair.) Curious? Here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mi6PMFJyBo

***

Here’s hoping everyone has a nice day, night, weekend, etc. I am going to cut out of work early, pop in a movie and eat some Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food. Sure, I could spend my time doing something useful and perhaps meaningful. But, I like to remember an old Steve Winwood song, “While you see a chance take it”. I suppose I could see this as a chance to clean the house or do work-work. Meh. I like the ice cream/movie option best. Cheers!