Eeeek!

Today we were all watching a movie at my parents' house. I was sitting on the couch holding Rosemarie, and Roger was messing around on the couch next to me. In just a split second, he climbed up on the couch behind me and jumped on to Rosemarie's head!! The poor baby screamed like she was being murdered! It seemed like she screamed a very long time, but I think it was only five minutes or so. I was seriously thinking that we might have to take her to the emergency room, since I couldn't get her to calm down in the usual ways (nursing, pacifier, holding) and she sounded like she was in pain. I'm not sure what to do about Roger. He's not being especially disobedient, he's just a whirlwind. Lately these destructive forces have been attracted to his baby sister like a tornado to a mobile home park. As this episode demonstrates, it's escalating. I can't even get dressed in the morning unless one or the other of them is shut away in a bedroom. And breaking that DVD this morning did not earn Roger extra points with me.

Now I'm Jumpy

I just got a creepy phone call. Phone rang about 20 minutes ago (just after 9pm) and when I answered the phone, some guy said, "Baby, I can't wait to get you alone." Um, OK. Didn't sound like Bob, but it did sound like something Bob would say. So I said, "What? Who is this? Is this Bob?" The caller responded, "Yeah, this is Bob. (pause) Yeah. (pause) Yeah (pause). Yeah, this is Bob. (pause) Yeah." I don't think he was sure whether he was Bob or not.

At this point, I was sure it wasn't Bob, and was some other creep. So I hung up. The guy didn't sound too coherent, I figure he was not entirely sober and got the wrong number. I called Bob at game night anyway, and double-checked the lock on the door.

But I jumped anyway when my dad called about 5 minutes later. Sigh.

I guess they don't quite get it

This morning, after pretending to pass out communion, Roger declared "I'm Jesus!" Pauly got into the pretend play and said "He's going to die in a minute." Then Pauly pretended to shoot Roger, and said "I'm Mary, and I killed him because he wouldn't listen to what I said."

Um, OK.

Mass at St. Michael's

This morning we attended mass at St. Michael's. Bob was very, very happy about it, and I was a bit less so. I do appreciate the little things that are done at St. Michael's, like the use of the patens, that make the parish seem more traditional. I also appreciate the bigger things, like not changing words in the mass and kneeling. That was quite a change from what is done at St. Mary's, where we don't currently kneel at all. At St. Michael's they don't just kneel at the required and customary time, but everyone also kneels after mass and remains kneeling until the altar servers come back in to extinguish the candles. And they have, gasp, statues!

I missed our parish, though. Not the building, not the pastor, but the people. St. Mary's people really feel like family. The people at St. Michael's are very nice, and we had people come up and introduce themselves to us, but they're not my family, at least not yet. I don't think we're ready to say that we're changing our membership to St. Michael's, likely we'll end up involved in both parishes at least for a while. Bob has obligations with the Knights, with regard to cooking parish breakfasts, etc.

One of the things that makes me think that St. Michael's would be a better fit is the school situation. Most active parishioners at St. Mary's have their children in the parish school. It is not a bad school, it is actually quite a good school, but it is an institutional school. Choosing homeschooling, as we are planning on doing, over the parish school would definitely put us somewhat "on the outside" and I have a feeling that some would view it as a rejection of the parish school.

St. Michael's doesn't have a parish school, although some parishioners will send their children to St. Mary's. It does have a strong homeschooling population, and I already know some of the homeschooling moms (they're all lots older than me!). Most of the families use more traditional curriculums like Seton, while I see us using something that relies less on workbooks, either classical or Charlotte Mason-ish.

Anyway, thems my thoughts this morning.

Greg Wiggle

I'm a complete and total dork, and I'm a bit ashamed of posting this but it's very upsetting to me. And I'm a bit ashamed that I'm so upset. Greg Wiggle passed out before a show a couple weeks ago, then again the next day. Media reports at the time said that the doctors found nothing wrong, but that he was going home to rest. Well, it looks like it's quite a bit more serious than we'd all hoped:

"I am still undergoing tests here in Australia, and the passing out episodes have continued (however, I now know when it is about to happen, so I can get myself sitting down before hand).

Tests in the US hospital DID reveal something, however, I am not going to confirm anything until further testing is done, and when I am ready to. Hopefully, there was an error, and further tests will disprove what was shown. The result of that test weighed very heavily on my decision to come home from the tour and seek further medical advice and treatment where I can be at home."

So it sounds serious. And of course I'm thinking the worst, like a brain tumor or something. And I'm very very upset by this. Isn't that silly? I feel like I know Greg, and of course I don't. The Wiggles feel like part of the family, and of course they're not.

Anyway, Greg wrote that he was appreciative of any prayers and good wishes, so keep him in your thoughts.

Artistic Prodigy?

I recently read about a "child prodigy" who is becoming increasingly famous, Marla Olmstead. Her paintings are selling for $15K+, one video clip on her website states that one painting sold for $24K. She has made a big splash, and has had several art shows including one overseas in Germany. And she's not even in kindergarten yet. You can see her website and view some of her "work" here.

I'll admit that I may not be the best person to write about this, as I know relatively little about art, and don't have a particularly high opinion of modern abstract art. According to the book in which I first read about Marla, Hothouse Kids: The Dilemma of the Gifted Child by Alissa Quart, "Marla's aesthetic style is clearly superior to that of the average four-year-old--critics have noted its abstraction, consistency, color sense, formal balance and maturity." Her paintings still look like finger paintings to my uneducated eye. Yes, they may be better than average finger paintings, they have distinct line and colors, rather than being a mottled gray-brown from mixing all colors together into a mess like many children would. I wonder how much of that has to do with the fact that she is using far superior materials to what most children would use to paint. The fact that the paintings cover the entire canvas and appear "finished" is significant as well. There were a couple paintings on her site that I wouldn't mind having on my wall, Dory is one.

Or maybe the artistic quality of her work has something to do with the fact that it isn't all her independent work, as can be seen here in the second clip on this page (scroll down) from 60 minutes. And here's a link to the transcript of the show. First the canvas was primed by her father, which explains the lack of white space left in her paintings. Then she was coached by her father to keep painting, even when she said she was done, and he offered suggestions on where she ought to paint. The child developmental specialist 60 Minutes interviewed noted that this finished painting looked much less polished than the other work, the creation of which has not been captured on film. The parents' explanation for this does actually make some sense. If they felt pressured to capture Marla's performance, then they would likely pressure her. It would significantly change their behavior.

So why do I care about this? I just find it fascinating that anyone could pay so much money for a piece of artwork done by a four or five year old, and it seems to me that her "success" is due to her young age and some major pushing of her work by her parents and agent.

Or maybe I'm just jealous because my four-year-old isn't earning me thousands of dollars. I'll better figure out what he's good at.

Things have been going well

Things are going well lately. That's all. Not too exciting to write about, but it was kind of exciting to think about today. I haven't turned into psycho-banshee-mommy much at all recently, I can't recall the last time. I'm feeling better and more in control of everything, and the kids seem to be somewhat happier. And even when they do burst into tears (because they're sensitive guys) it doesn't bother me.

I think one thing that has helped a lot is Roger's increased ability to engage in imaginative play. He can play with Pauly, and they keep playing together for longer periods of time. More importantly, I think I've had a better attitude. I've borrowed a couple positive discipline books from the library, and I really notice the change in myself after I read them, even if I don't agree with all their suggestions. And the kids behave better when I have a better attitude.

Although I'd still like to know how to get them to pick up their room.