Twoo Wuv

Todd and I have been married for a little over 17 years now, and we've known one another in varying degrees for the better part of 34 years. We've reached an age where a lot of our friends have married, had kids, and are beginning to divorce. Or in some cases, have already divorced and are remarrying.

I can't say that will never happen to us. Mostly because I've learned to avoid definitive statements like that. I've eaten my words far too many times after uttering "I'll never...". That being said, I genuinely like Todd. He is such a good man and I'm always so amazed at his generosity of spirit. 

The other day, I asked if I could borrow his iPod for the day so I could go running. (Technically, I own an iPod, too, but mine is big and clunky and no fun to run with. His is delightfully small AND has my running mix loaded on to it.) But he and the kids have been listening to the musical "Hamilton" on the way to school each morning. When I remembered that, I waved him off with the kids and told him that I would just run later that night when he got home or run without it during the day. No problem. 

Todd is so busy at work with meetings that we often have zero interactions throughout the day. So he leaves the house at 7:20 am, and I don't see him again until 7 pm. (You can take the businessman out of New York...) However, 20 minutes after leaving the house that morning, he pulled back in the driveway. I assumed he'd forgotten something, so I opened the front door to find him coming up the walk with his iPod, as he hurried back to his car to get to work after handing me said iPod he said, "We've listened for the morning, now you can use it to go running today!"

Such a simple little thing. But a reminder that he cares, and is willing to go out of his way when he can to make my day a little nicer.

Yesterday was a hard parenting day. (That's the second one in a week and with a different child. We haven't had those in a while, for which I'm grateful, but two in one week was tough.) I was emotionally spent by afternoon. I knew I couldn't call Todd because he's always either in a meeting or heading to one, and I didn't have the energy to craft an email about everything that had gone on and what I was feeling. But I needed to loop him in. We exchanged a few simple texts. He was having a hard day, too, though in different ways. Then last night right before bed, he gave me the last hoarded piece of his Valentine's Day chocolate and prayed wishes for an easier day today.

It takes so little to show someone you care about them. And while neither Todd nor I are perfect at anything, even and especially that, I appreciate the small and simple ways in which he tries.

If there were any secret to a happy relationship, it's those small and simple acts of caring. Those little things that say, "Hey, I was paying attention to you enough to know that you could probably use this." 

I am fortunate enough to be told daily by my husband that he loves me. I am kissed each morning as he leaves the house and each night when he comes home, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about these two small examples of caring from the last few days. They were sweet and thoughtful and unexpected and so very appreciated. 

Guess all those hearts with "MTS + EAB" drawn all over my 9th grade algebra book cover were worth it, even if I did end up having to retake the class. ;)

Sometimes "this" is a date to Jeni's for ice cream.

Conversations with Smiths- Part 24 or "My Son is the Interpretive Dance Penis in the High School Musical"

Hello, do you think that you could give me Bens phone number so I can get Pippin info?

Oh wait, does he have a phone?

He has no phone number. He is in the wind. Much like the anatomy he will be playing on stage.

Conversations with the Smiths- Part 3

Our 15 year old was in a production of "Zombie Prom" this Spring.

Lilyanna was particularly fascinated by the whole idea of the show and kept asking how the main character, Jonny, becomes a zombie.

My kid is the one who is not green.

Both Benjamin and I had explained that he drives his motorcycle into a Power Plant but instead of dying, he turns into a zombie.

Weeks later, after seeing the posters for the show, meeting some of the other kids involved in the production, and hearing a bit more about the story line, Lilyanna piped up from the backseat of the van saying, "So, are they going to use a real bush in the play?"

Me: What do you mean?

Lilyanna: In "Zombie Prom", when he jumps into the power plant, will it be a real bush or a fake one?

Me: Um....OHHHH! Not THAT kind of plant, Lilyanna!

Benjamin and Me: [fumbling explanation of what a power plant is while trying to not laugh too hard. We didn't want to hurt her feelings, after all.]

Conversations with the Smiths- Part 1

I need a place to record a few conversations we've had so far this summer. 

I haven't had a decent night's sleep in months. First was my typical spring twitterpation beginning in April which left me completely blissed out and high on life, green things, pollen, warmth and sunlight. Who needs sleep with such a potent combination? 

Then there was a medical scare in the family that left me unable to sleep for worrying. 

Then it was stumbling into the rabbit hole that is fanfiction. So, reading won out over sleeping.

Last night, I couldn't sleep because I was giggling remembering some of the aforementioned conversations. I was actually laying in bed in our darkened room next to my sleeping husband and giggling. I finally gave up on sleep and went downstairs to clean up the mess my children recently made of all the photo albums.  

I should have just sat down last night and written this then, instead, I stayed up until 3am when I couldn't read or walk in a straight line anymore. I miss being able to fall asleep at normal times.

Onto the conversations, though. This one from the last day of school, whilst sitting around the dinner table. [On the last day of school, our high school theater director puts up partial cast lists and names all 10ish shows for the following school year.]

Todd to Benjamin: So what are the shows for next year?

Benjamin: [Lists a bunch] and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

Todd: Oh, you should totally sing the erection song!!

Me: That's what I told him, when I heard the show list!

Benjamin: Um...okay.

Nathaniel: [Horrified gasping that his parents are discussing erections at the dinner table]

Me: Every kid wants to hear their parents tell them to sing a song about erections, right?

Todd: To be fair, I just meant that it's a really good song for a tenor. 

Benjamin: [Trying desperately to refocus the conversation] Well, I'm excited!

Me: I guess you'd have to be to sing a song about erections...

Nathaniel: [Moaning, blushing, and running from the table]

Me: Why isn't anyone eating the peas?

Todd: Because they're still frozen.

Me: Frozen peas are great! They were one of my favorite snacks when I was a kid.

Todd: But they're still frozen.

Me: New slogan for the pea council, "Frozen Peas! They're not just for vasectomies anymore!"

Nathaniel: [Groaning from the next room]

Seven Things Sunday

Phew! This week has been exhausting. Here are 7 things we did this week:

1. Lilyanna went to her friend's birthday party. After 2 days of school being cancelled due to frigid temps, some playtime with friends on Saturday was a blessing. Getting her face painted like her beloved white tiger was a dream come true for her!

2. After 2 days of those aforementioned frigid temps we then got a large snow storm on  Saturday. The roads were awful Saturday morning, but alas, the school district's science day did not get cancelled. Nathaniel was not happy about having to slip and slide through the storm.

3. Friday night was the opening of  the high school's production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". Now the last time I saw this show was on Broadway, so I went in with very low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised, though, and enjoyed the show very much. Their Bud Frump was better than the Broadway version, IMO. Benjamin was one of the Junior Executives and in the chorus and had a great time dancing and singing his little heart out. And then Saturday's show was cancelled due to the snow. (NOT THE SCIENCE DAY, just the play. Grrrr.)

4. Earlier in the week, Nathaniel deigned to get his haircut before his audition for his school's production of "The Sound of Music". I took lots of pictures of the process and kept trying to convince him to stop at each phase, because he had kind of a cool emo thing going on. Alas, he didn't think it would be authentic to the period of the play.

5. Nathaniel was cast as one of the children in the Von Trapp family. I believe he was typecast, as Kurt is the incorrigible one after all! ;)

6. All of my careful trip planning for this summer fell apart this week. We were supposed to spend part of our trip this summer visiting our relatives in Spain, but they discovered this week that they have a conflict the only days that we can be there, so in a flurry of fb messages, phone calls, texts, and emails, we managed to purchase tickets for a few weeks from now so we can visit the Spanish relatives in the Western United States while they are visiting other relatives. We're really excited to see everyone, but figuring things out almost cured me of my omnipresent wanderlust for the week. (Almost. I was back at it today to try to figure out where to go for the days we would have been in Spain. I know. We should all have such "problems".)

7. Warren got not 1, but 2 jobs in the last couple of weeks! Fingers crossed and prayers said that all will go well for him.

BONUS:

8. I had my first mammogram yesterday. After the first couple of pictures, I wondered what all women were whining about. (Unless they are relatively flat chested women. That would be awful.) THEN they did the sideways pictures with the arm up and all manner of contortions and just OUCH!! The technician gave me chocolate afterwards, which did help assuage my shock at the whole thing. But still, I think at the very least a good dinner beforehand should have been warranted. Oy. This was also on the same morning of the icky, slippery roads. The upside of all of this was that everyone else had cancelled, so I was in and out of my appointment before my appointment was even supposed to begin. Silver linings, you know. 

"A Wonderful Town"

Guess who just scored crazily cheap plane tickets to NY???  We'll be celebrating our 15th wedding  anniversary in one of my favorite cities!  Two of my delightful neighbors agreed to take my kids for a couple of nights before I even bought the tickets, bless them!  

Hooray hooray hooray!

Now to find a place to stay...

Nathaniel's Been Holding Out on Us!

Nathaniel doesn't love performing. He enjoys everything else about theater, except the actual performing. And yet, this year especially, he keeps throwing himself at it as if he's determined to find the right formula to conquer this fear. When I saw him perform last week in the 5th grade production of Cinderella, I was SO proud of him. He didn't seem nearly as nervous for this production as I've seen him with others in years past.

Also, he SANG! Nathaniel has always had a deep voice, even as a baby. So, while other kids can happily sing along to chirpy "kids' music" that was never easy for him. He often just gives up and sings at sort of a low monotone leading the rest of the family to feel sort of bad for him being the one Smith kid who doesn't really sing.

But, here on video, I have proof that he CAN do it! He can match pitches, AND sing high, AND harmonize! (This was the evening production, and he was a little more nervous for this one, so he was running out of air at the beginning, but that didn't happen in the day time production.)

On top of all this, he's performing in a different production this week. No singing in this play, but he's really looking forward to only worrying about lines for one show now. (He's been working on both shows for the last couple of months.)

Super proud this kid!

The Tooth Fairy Sings!

In all sorts of timeliness, Chris Ian sent this today. It's him singing a song traditionally sung by Mable, one of the main characters from Pirates of Penzance. Who knew the tooth fairy was such a rock star?!



sigh

Isn't he amazing?!

Musical Monday

It is snowing here.

I enjoy winter.  I really do.  It's not my favorite, but it has it's charms.  However, I have decided that I need to take a few preemptive measures to ensure that I can stay happy and upbeat throughout the long, sunless months ahead.  (Did you catch all the clever music references in that sentence?) 

I hereby declare today and every future Monday to be "Musical Monday"!  Because, honestly, how can you not feel smiley inside when people are singing and dancing around in front of you?

This first selection is "I'll Cover You" from the movie version of "Rent".  Todd and I briefly considered it as our wedding song, but went with something a little more traditional instead.  ("I Could Write a Book")

As for this song, it makes me happy, if not a little nostalgiac for NYC.  And check out what that guy can do in heels!!  Truly Amazing.

Goldfish!! The Musical

I was a voice major once upon a time. People were often surprised to learn that voice was my concentration and not an instrument. When they would ask why I thought that was, I replied, "It's because I don't walk around thinking life is a musical." I said it scornfully. Like everything else in life, it has come back to haunt me.

I have a mild obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was particularly thrilled by the fact that there was a musical episode. I walked around singing it all the time so for Christmas Todd and the boys gave me the soundtrack.

My sons can sing and act out every single scene now. And do. A lot. In fact while I was mowing the lawn today, Nathaniel and Caleb insisted that I sing all the girl parts and they sing the boy parts. Caleb always plays the part of the demon. (Typecasting, anyone?!)

Benjamin plays the part of the moody vampire who's in love with Buffy. (See above comment.)

And Nathaniel plays all other male rolls.

Two nights ago at dinner, Caleb reenacted this entire scene singing every part with his Goldfish crackers. He made them dance appropriately. Which is amazing when one considers the inflexibility of goldfish crackers. At the end, he took a bow, crushed them all into a pile of crumbs and then slurped them off the table. (I've directed shows before. I completely understand the impulse to do that to the cast.)

If you watch the whole thing, you will note that the moody vampire, Spike, sings the infamous "B" word. After the "B" word incident, we discussed with all boys that "witch" is an acceptable substitution. But more about our boys and their language later. For now, enjoy campy TV musicals!