My new piano blog

I decided to create a piano blogspot for my piano preschool mom's to find out more about what we are doing each day. So if you want some fun ideas about teaching piano to your little ones check it out @ http://heidispianonotes.blogspot.com

Piano Adventure Preschool

Now that school has started I decided to do a little preschool for Emily & Dan and a couple of other friends for fun, a little extra $ and incentive for me to consistently teach my children to play the piano. Maybe one of them will learn to be as passionate about music as I am. I find myself thinking of new ideas when I lay in bed at night - but then I can't fall asleep for hours. I try to focus on the little black speckles on the backs of my eyelids - but piano is just way more interesting. At least my mind is addicted to something positive!

Germs & Learning Lessons the Hard Way

Somehow the germs are coming to visit our house every 4 or 5 days. Daniel threw up this morning. Then he made this observation. "I know how I got sick, I ate the gum that Emily gave to me because I wanted to see how it tasted." Apparently Emily found a piece of gum on the floor or street or sidewalk - who knows. She gave it to Dan to taste it. Maybe that is not the cause of Daniel's barf this morning - but at least he won't be picking up stray pieces of gum on the ground and eating them anymore. I think he learned his lesson the hard way.

A Child's Mind and Pet Flies

Today Daniel asked me what his friend's dad does for work. I told him he's a news anchor on TV. He asked, "So does he just make himself small and climb into the TV every day?"

We have a new home teacher who is really fabulous for our kids. He really gears the gospel message towards the children and took the time to get to know them and all of their interests on his first visit. When he asked Jacob his name, Jacob said, "Guess." Brother Hale said "Is it George?" Jacob nodded his head with a mischievous smile, so now Jacob is "George Jacob" to Brother Hale & Brother Edwards. There was a fly in the room during his last visit and Brother Hale made a comment about a boy he knew who actually caught a fly and tied a string to it and watched it fly around like a kite on a string. So ever since then Jacob has tried to catch his own pet fly. He's actually caught 2 with his bare hands, but unfortunately by the time he manages to get the string on it, its wings are too damaged to fly. He tried it with a grasshopper too. We don't need pest control - we have Jacob!

Sardines & Shelves

We just got done with our Family Night Activity - Rebecca's Choice: Sardines. My kids love this game. I don't know if they'll remember much from the lessons, but when they grow up I think they'll remember singing Popcorn Popping (because we sing it pretty much every week, at Emily's request) and they'll remember sardines. Jacob likes to get clever with his hiding spots - like climbing onto the teeny top shelf of our bedroom closet. But Jared beats all. Tonight he hopped on top of the pantry/planter shelf that extends over our staircase. (We have vaulted ceilings with built in shelfs hanging out.)It is a good thing that we had a reliable builder, because I would hate to be posting E.R. pictures after what would have happened if the planter shelf collapsed above the staircase. The kids thought it was great. He actually dusted up there for the first time since we bought the house. Maybe we should play sardines more often.
Good things:
Family Night
My kids have a fun dad
Memories
I didn't even touch the treats! (I am soooo motivated by money. So when I looked at my growing legs this morning I recommitted that I have got to stay away from the sugar. I made a deal with Jared. He's going to pay me for every day that I exercise and stay away from the treats. (He give me all the money anyway, but somehow when I feel like I'm being paid to be good, I can resist my cravings a little better. And there's a piano book I've been eyeing at the store that I really want but probably don't need. Now I can feel like I totally earned it.)

A Great Book: Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers

I love piano & reading inspiring books. This is one of my favorites - Thanks for the recommendation Ang!
Here's a mini book review I wrote for the Pocatello Music Club newsletter I'm in charge of :
"The study of great composers' lives should be more than an academic exercise. Biography is to inspire, not merely inform" (p. 203)
In this book, Patrick Kavanaugh offers a refreshing glimpse into the lives of 20 different composers including well known names such as Bach & Handel, and lesser known composers such as Elgar & Messiaen.
Rather than focusing on the negative aspects of each composer-their tempers, financial trouble and failures, he highlights the virtuous characteristics of each. The author describes the "verifiable aspects of these mens' lives as they strove for good, sought ot understand God, and found meaningful spiritual purpose in their lives." (p.13)
My favorite part of each chapter is the conclusion in which the author highlights one particularly striking character trait that each composer exemplified. I found each chpater in this book both informative and inspiring. After reading it I felt inspired to be more like the great composers of the past... to have the humility of Haydn, the unselfishness of Ives, the determination of beethoven and the optimism of Mendelssohn.

I Think its a Toddler Ladybug

Daniel and I were out pulling weeds in the garden this morning. He loves to use his mini shovel, even if its just for pulling weeds. He excitedly exclaimed, "Mom, look I found a baby ladybug, well actually I think it's a toddler ladybug, its too big to be a baby." I am finally reaping the harvest of all of my gardening efforts - my green beans are on! I love eating green beans. In fact, I've eaten all of the beans from my first 3 pickings. I even ate them for breakfast yesterday. I also like how my kids get to discover how we grow the food we eat. I actually find weeding kind of satisfying (except when my allergies get the best of me). Its nice to look down weed free rows. I never thought I would be saying this. I always avoided the outside chores as a child, but now I find early in the morning I can go out and be all alone with no interruptions as I weed.