Idol Thoughts

I have so many opinions on random things and sometimes think to blog them. However, I always think I would offend someone and keep those thoughts to myself. That being said, AI is safe from offending readers, unless you are on that stage. So, I love Neil Diamond... great songs... great man. How many times did a night end with Sweet Caroline? Many. How many times has my CD player played Forever in Blue Jeans. A lot. I was so hopeful for some good entertainment last night. When I heard the AI's were each singing two songs, I thought double the chance that some good songs would be sang. So here are my thoughts.... I like Jason Castro. I like his voice and his eyes. My mom can't stand to look at him without thinking about the stench of the dreads, but I've been around a few and you just deal with it. The dreads suit the guy. Anyhow, Forever in Blue Jeans was good. At some point in the song I thought he needs to do something big... he needs to power out a note. He never did. His second song was boring, plus I didn't know that song too well. David Cook... he's brilliant. He's got a great voice. I started of AI not liking him, cuz he was kinda freaky looking, but I have totally turned around on him. I don't remember the titles of the songs he sang, but he did good. Especially the second song. Lots of emotion. Adam would have liked him to sing America, and I agree. In the end... front runner. However, my mom was telling me that he had previously recorded an album that did move well. Now it is selling like hotcakes. Is it right to have him on the stage?? Hell, I don't care. Brooke White has got to go. Her Monkees I'm a Believer was awful. I did not mind I Am I Said, but that first one was bad. I loved her sincere niceness in the beginning, but I have had enough. Now David A is someone I have never liked. He's always nasally to me and he is always licking his lips. I did however like Sweet Caroline. It was fun to listen to. I didn't think he had the voice for America. So why the hype with this guy? I haven't a clue. And finally, Syesha. Wear your hair curly... I like it better that way. She is a pretty girl with a nice voice, but I've really never thought much more. She will make it to Broadway and she definately could have done Dreamgirls. I would only buy Castro and Cook music so those are the only two I root for. I say go home Brooke, but I'd tell David A to too out of personal taste. But, I don't vote and watch for pure entertainment. Whatever happens, happens. What the heck was wrong with Paula. She's gotta couple screws loose. Seriously.
So that's the AI Opinion by TJ. Sad as it may be I had to express some thoughts and this was my subject. I apologize to all you non watchers.

Where Oh Where Did the Warm Weather Go?

Hard to believe last wednesday we were at the park in tank tops and shorts and today we are taking out the winter jackets that were washed and put away. There's a frost alert for tonight. Thank goodness none of the seeds have come up in the garden yet. I'm hoping this is the last of it. We haven't really even got a lot of rain, being april. I hope we have a nice summer without surging temperatures.
Although cold, Maya had her soccer game saturday morning. She's doing pretty well (for a girl). That afternoon we had our first Tball practice. How our team got 3 kids with MHS grad parents I will never know, so that was kinda nice. I thought Adam did a good job with the little kids. Obviously these games are going to be a pain to sit through, as they are all learning "how to play the game".
I took Maya's training wheels off her bike last week. She's doing pretty good. Hopefully by mid-summer she'll get it down pat. This week I taught her how to start herself. Prior to that I would hold her up and let go when she started pedaling. We've figured out Brennan really likes basketball. He is a great dribbler. He may be little, but speed is his key. I'm gonna put the kids in a basketball/soccer clinic this summer. I think Brennan will enjoy it, plus they will finally hit the age groups that they can be in these things together! Yeah.
Our landscaping should hopefully begin next week. I can't wait. It'll definately pretty up the outside of the house and extending the patio and adding the seat wall will add something to the backyard as well.

Finally

I do not know where the time goes. April is almost gone. This is somewhat good, because that means tuesday and thursday swimming lessons will be over. For some reason, they are just a pain in the butt timewise. It'll be nice to get those dinner nights back. Swimming parties seem to be the big thing here. I will feel so much more comfortable when my kids know how to swim. I think these are the most important lessons they can be taught.
Maya's soccer team pulled off a victory last saturday. No score is kept, but we do have a killer team. Doesn't hurt that we have a boy who's dad is a Brit! Soccer is huge in their life. Maya did pretty well. She had two stellar moments where she got the ball and dribbled down the field. No goals... but I was so proud of her. I told her if she got a goal, I'd take her to Dairy Queen and buy her whatever treat she wanted. Bribery. It's just so fun cheering for your kid out on the field, although I cheer for all of them. Brennan seems to be a little interested. Hopefully, he'll be ready next year.
Tball starts in May. We are the Padres. We haven't rounded up the team yet, so not sure how it's all gonna go down. The rules of the game are very relaxed. There are no outs and all kids get a chance to bat and run the bases each inning. Good for the age group I suppose.
The kids and I went to the dentist a couple weeks ago. That went really well. Maya of course is a pro, but I was worried about Brennan. He surprised me by being a great patient. My sister said you always want the first appointment to go well... that'll make or break the idea of going to the dentist. Frankly it just depends if Brennan wants to be Jeckyl or Hyde.
I dressed him for school this morning and realized how much I miss when he didn't have an opinion. I miss the boy I could dress myself. Can I say I've had enough of Diego clothes. He's got a closet full of shirts, but he will throw a fit if I try to put anything on him that doesn't have Diego plastered on it. Ugh.
We all had a nasty cold last week. First Maya, then me and Brennan is on the tail end of it. I had one really bad day that kept me on the couch reading a book. The kids were great. Just a couple bowls of marshmallows and animal crackers and they left me alone and played.
This past weekend we cleaned out the garage (still full of junk) and Adam leveled and switched out a couple boards on the swingset. I think him and the kids were outside 9 hours of the day. It was really nice. The kids and I planted some seeds in the garden. I hope I didn't do it too soon. It's all just an experiment anyhow. Like I know what I'm doing.

The fun of having a sister

"Look Mommy. I styled Brennan's hair while you were in the shower." What else can I say? Beautician in the making?

Grandma's Visit

It's been a week of crazy! Grandma came in on thursday. The kids were both excited. We kept very busy. In fact, there was never a dull moment. From swimming lessons, soccer lessons and birthday parties we had many activities. Friday afternoon, Brennan started screaming in dire pain. His stomach was hurting him horribly. I called the doctor and they made us take him to the ER. Thank goodness grandma was there to drive, because I had to hold Brennan in the back seat as he tensed up grabbing his belly. Once we got there, they did his vitals and such and all of a sudden he threw up hugely. Then he was fine. They made him eat a popsicle and make sure that stayed down. They don't know what caused the pain. They thought it could be the beginning of the flu, but no. Possibly, his bowel was twisted and it untwisted itself or it could have been something he ate? All I can say this kid was in pain. He's been fine since.
Saturday morning we had Maya's first soccer practice. Adam is coach. Maya thought it was fun for the first half and then got too tired. Thank goodness we have a couple boys that really can play. The season will be interesting. We also had a birthday tea party saturday. It was so cute. The girls got to dress as princesses. Maya had a blast. The day was so nice that I thought it'd be nice to walk around the Peoria Zoo (worst zoo known to man at this point). The kids had fun though.
Sunday was a perfectly good day until 3pm. Adam had to fly out of Bloomington to Atlanta that evening, so we decided to go to the Children's Museum first. The kids had a blast and it is really well done. We then decided to hit Noodles & Company since it is a restaurant chain we missed from Madison. Adam and I both drove so he could leave his car at the airport. Well, on arrival to the restaurant, Adam could not get the keys out of his car or the engine to shut off. Long (long) story short. OnStar was going to send someone out to pull the battery and tow the car, but we didn't have the time with Adam's flight. So we thought I'd drive it back home and have it towed from there. Meanwhile, we stopped at the Sears Auto Department to see if they could do anything. Nope. The key was stuck. So, we dropped Adam off and drove home. Once here, I called OnStar and spoke to someone that said, no, they couldn't have someone come out and pull the battery to stop the car for liability reasons. Basically, they couldn't do anything until I got the car to turn off. Meanwhile, guess what.... I got the key out. Do you think the car stopped? Nope. I could not freaking believe it. Longest story in the world, short.... I got my neighbor to come over and he pulled the ignition fuse. The car stopped around 8pm. And was finally towed around 10pm. (They also would have pulled the battery if needed... ugh) It was ready the next afternoon. Apparently, this is not a surprise problem. The ignition chamber was changed, however Adam let me know today his cruise control is not working. Lovely.
Monday we took the kids to ChuckECheese. Partly cuz Brennan has done a fabulous job with his pottying. He's pretty much got it down. I've been keeping him in pull-ups during grandma's visit, just because... but he went 48 hours with the same dry one on. We'll get him in his underwear today. Grandma just left us, so we are going to try and get back into the old groove. We had fun, but it was one long week. We're looking forward to visiting her in July! Mommy and Daddy just may have to make a quick getaway to an adult location!
One word about Maya in her Belle costume..... Sarah Bush.