Last night I was thinking about fun...specifically, having fun and laughing with my girls. Yes, they make me laugh on a daily basis with the funny things they say and do. But, how often do I make them laugh? Not often enough.
It seems that all too often I'm the mommy that's working on her to-do list and not taking time to enjoy fun moments throughout the day. I realize that it doesn't have to be some elaborate craft or activity...although those are always fun. It can be a simple as tickling them, dancing and singing along with Taylor Swift, or having a pillow fight. These all just take a couple of minutes and bring such joy to all involved.
Just the other day, I unearthed a craft that my sister Jamie helped us make at Thanksgiving -- an Indoor Snowball Fight set. It's basically a tin filled with little "snowballs" (cut up bits of men's socks turned inside out, stuffed with fiber fill, and stitched up into a ball-like shape). They are super lightweight and are safe to throw around in the house...and just might be the ticket to some afternoon fun. Now, I just have to wait for them to get up from their naps!
A few months ago, my sister-in-law sent my husband a link to a YouTube video. It's a live version of a song called "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords (you can play it above). They describe themselves as New Zealand's fourth most popular digi -folk paradists...and they are pretty darn funny. Their music is catchy and their lyrics are oftentimes hilarious. Apparently they have a show on HBO but I've never seen it (or heard of it until now) because we don't have cable. Anyway, with this particular song, the subject is really for adults only (suffice it to say that it's about "business" in the bedroom), but the chorus is rather benign and catchy -- just "It's business, it's business time!"
The other day, Brett was working on the computer in our room and Ella decided that she wanted to play in there. So, she pulled her little Rose Petal Cottage table and chairs into the room along with some paper and colored pencils and got to "work". Brett started singing the chorus of the song to himself and sure enough, Ella soon began to copy him. Okay, this is NOT a song that I want my daughter to be singing! But, she DOES have a total child's view of it...she said to him something like, "Dad, you do your business on the computer and I'll do my business right here." It was just too funny. From now on though, I think we need to be careful about exactly what we sing around here...even if it IS just the chorus!
If you're interested in hearing more Flight of the Conchords, you can check out lots of their videos on YouTube. Brett has watched LOTS of them there...and lauged hysterically. But just as a warning, there is another version of "Business Time" (from their show, I think) that is more like a music video...and to me it's much more objectionable and not as funny. Of their other stuff, I really like "Foux Da Fa Fa". If anyone has taken high school French, they should find it amusing. You can play it below. Happy Friday!
Earlier today, my sister (aka FishMama) wrote a blog post about her musings on an article she read about Randy Pausch. Perhaps you've heard of him. I only have ONE channel on TV and I've managed to see an ABC Primetime Special about him AND read an article about him in some magazine. If you haven't heard of him, he is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who has terminal pancreatic cancer. About seven months ago, he gave his final lecture that was posted on the internet. It quickly went viral and inspired many people. And soon, it will be available in book form. Anyway, in his lecture, Randy Pausch says that we all must make a choice in life -- are we going to be a fun-loving Tigger or a sad-sack Eeyore. Despite his terminal illness, Pausch chooses to be a Tigger rather than lament like Eeyore about the hand he has been dealt. It is a moving story...I confess that I cried while watching the ABC special and again when I read the article. (And no, I don't think it's the postpardum hormones!)
Just for fun, FishMama posted a link to a personality quiz to see which character from the 100 Acre Wood you most resemble. I am a Kanga. Who are you? (Just click on the link below the Kanga picture to take the quiz.)
