Tag Archives: Evan

Mar14

Poor Baby…(what have we done?)

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We are a music-loving family. In fact, I would say music has a super important place in our family. We always have music playing during dinner. It is common practice for any one of us to be singing some song at the top of our lungs. My husband even posts a daily “Insidious Song of the Day” on Facebook.

Naturally, we have always had a tradition of singing to our kids before bedtime. Maybe we don’t sing “Hush Little Baby” or “Lullaby and Goodnight.” Maybe it’s more like “Part of Your World” from the Little Mermaid or “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” but our kids, particularly Evan, love it.

So, how do you know that you haven’t sung enough traditional lullabies to your kids? When they sing the following lyrics to “Rock-a-bye Baby,” like Evan did today:

Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top
When the wind blows, the dreidel will cop
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
Into a pit and into some water

Epic fail!

Oct4

Crazy Week

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Overcommitted + Type-A Personality = CRAZY!

So, while the name of this blog is “A Different Kind of Crazy,” most of my weeks are manageable. But every once in a while, parts of my week spiral out of control, and I find myself thinking that if I can make it though the rest of the week, I’m golden. This is one of those weeks…

Starting tomorrow, I will be going non-stop until Sunday afternoon, after my daughter Olivia’s 8th family birthday party. (This of course makes me wonder about who is going to do the laundry and grocery shopping after I collapse on the couch…)

So, coming attractions during my next four days include: being a fashion show model with my sweet lab-shepherd mix, Lilly; bringing donuts to Olivia’s class for her birthday; attending and watching Evan perform at a fundraiser for Kinetic Kids; hosting Olivia’s birthday party with her friends at the Magik Theatre; and celebrating my dear friend Cyndie’s 50th birthday.

So, this is my different kind of crazy for the next few day, and now that I think about all of the special things that are going to happen, I’m really looking forward to mass craziness!

Sep18

Scooby and Friends

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I have a confession to make – I’ve always loved Scooby-Doo. I remember watching Scooby when I was growing up and never tiring from the familiar theme: Scooby and friends meet a creepy person, strange things start happening, Scooby and Shaggy get scared, the friends trap the villan who turns out to be the creepy person from the beginning, and the villain proclaims, “I would have gotten away with it, too,  if it wasn’t for you meddling kids.” 

I was overjoyed when Olivia made the transition from Elmo to Scooby when she was almost four. I was impressed when she learned to sing the theme song with an English accent, and I was openly disappointed when she traded the mystery machine for My Friends Tigger and Pooh.

So, imagine my elation when five-year-old Evan asked to be Scooby-Doo for Halloween and started watching those classic shows.

Tonight at dinner, Evan informed us that he would like each of us to be one of  Scooby’s friends for Halloween. Even better, he went around the table and told each of us which characters we would be. Daddy would be Freddy, and Nicholas would be Velma. I quickly became aware of where this conversation was going… As I had suspected, Olivia was Daphne, and I was named Shaggy.

When I asked Evan why he made me Shaggy, he said, “So you can be my friend.” With a full heart, I answered, “And we can eat big sandwiches together.”

Scooby-Doo and Friends

The Ring Family – 2012

Aug16

Conversations in the Car

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I’m not sure why some of the most interesting conversations I have with my kids happen in the car. Maybe it’s because we are confined. Maybe it’s because they are excited to go to school or to come home. Maybe there is something about riding in a 5,800 piece of metal that pulls the interesting thoughts,  humor, and cleverness out of them.

Not sure, but here’s the conversation we had yesterday on the way home:

Background: The kids always want to play on my ipad. In fact, I’m not even sure I can call it my ipad anymore, since I almost never get to use it. Every so often, I will let Olivia play on my husband’s ipad while Evan plays on “mine” in order to accommodate the kids, avoid meltdowns, and keep peace in the house.

Olivia: Mom, can I play on the ipad after we eat dinner?

Evan: Mom, can I play on the ipad after we eat dinner?

Olivia: Evvvaaannnn. I asked first.

Evan: But, Olivia, I had a good day today. (Evan doesn’t get to play on the ipad if he gets his name on the board.)

Olivia: I did too.

Me: Olivia, if  you’re lucky, I’ll let you use Daddy’s ipad.

Evan: Olivia is lucky. Olivia is lucky. Olivia is lucky.

Well, Olivia wasn’t so lucky, because Marvin took his ipad to Phoenix with him, so we had to take turns playing with “my” ipad. Again, I never got a turn!