One of the many reasons I am a "mean mom" (so dubbed by Chelsea)

Musical Training Makes Kids Smarter, Study Suggests

Thursday, November 13, 2008
By Jeanna Bryner, FOXNews

Children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no instrumental training on non-musical tests of vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning. This new finding adds to a list of music's magic. Past research has shown tunes can evoke strong memories, reduce stress and even boost athletic performance.

Researchers compared 41 kids, ages 8 to 11, who had studied either piano or a string instrument for at least three years, with 18 children who had no instrument training. Children in both groups spent about half an hour each week in music classes at school. But instrument-wielding kids also attended private music lessons for an average of 45 minutes a week and practiced on their own at home. Tests showed the kids who practiced instruments scored much higher than their non-musical counterparts on auditory discrimination and finger dexterity, both skills closely tied with musical training.

The young musicians' vocabulary scores were 15 percent higher, and non-verbal reasoning scores were 11 percent higher. The longer the child was musically trained, the higher the scores. The study was done by Gottfried Schlaug of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, and psychologist Ellen Winner of Boston College and Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and their colleagues.

"Music involves grasping patterns, and the non-verbal reasoning task involves grasping patterns," Winner told LiveScience. "You have to pay attention to the pattern of sounds, and you also have to pay attention to the pattern of the notes when you're looking at music notation."
The research was funded by the Dana Foundation, International Foundation for Music Research and National Science Foundation.

Blech...

Maybe it was politics. Maybe it was food poisoning. Maybe it was stress. But whatever the cause, we all came down with the flu this week. I'd love to delve into all the delicious details about why I hate the flu, but words just aren't sufficient. So, here is a helpful, visual example instead.
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This is the flu:
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This is me with the flu: .

Any questions?

Finally...

Did you?

I must say, I cannot wait until tomorrow, or Thursday, or whenever all this contentious hullabaloo is finally counted and over. I've had enough of it already!

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Living in such a vital battleground state only makes things that much worse. Utah is everyone's crown jewel, I tell ya! We are the real bellwether state! (For jello flavors.) We are the constituency everyone is after! We vote in an 89% bloc! We are... pretty much ignored. (Unless we dare to tread on national turf and interject ourselves into the presidential primaries. Then we are decimated.)

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And yet, despite my existence on the periphery of national significance, I have found this election year to be especially contentious. In my opinion, the presidential battle (who is running again?) is insignificant compared to the Prop 8 war raging in California. And so it is to you, my dear Prop 8 supporters, you who have fought the hardest battle, that I give my greatest applause. You have rallied and worked, polled and called, supported and endured much. To you I say: D&C 121:7-8.

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This battle and those that will rage in the future are not really about determining outcomes, they are about delineating sides. My hat is off to those who are courageous enough to stand up for what is right even when it is decidedly unpopular. The rest of the nation thanks you.

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Even those of us in Utah, "The other white meat."

6 Quirks

I am not good with tags. I have been tagged several times for several reasons, and by the time I actually get around to posting anything, it seems the tag is no longer relevant. However, in an attempt to keep my blog not boring, I am following up with my sister Hillary's tag to post six quirks about myself. (And just so you know, it took me a long time to come up with -- I mean narrow down to -- just six.)

1. I don’t like chocolate.

2. I do like Tyler.

3. I don't like to read anything that is currently popular.
(I ignored Harry Potter, refused the Work & Glory series, and won't even crack open a Twilight novel.)

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4. I took Bryce visiting teaching in his pajamas this morning. I only had time to get one of us dressed, and I reasoned it should be me. (Besides, didn’t you know that footed pajamas are all the rage currently?)
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5. I secretly try to hide vegetables in my family’s dinner. They know this and they hate it. (Last night I steamed a whole package of frozen vegetables, pureed it, and added it to the pasta sauce.)
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6. Sometimes, when I have a chore or task that is hanging over my head, I will write a poem about it rather than actually do it. For example, take this simple haiku:

My young one is dear
His eyes are bright, his smile sweet
But his rear, it stinks

Officially Boring

Today is Sunday. I should be showering, or reviewing my lesson, or making my bed, or cleaning up breakfast. But this morning I have to spend this precious, pre-church hour to address a horrifying accusation by my dear husband: my blog is boring.

It is true, my blog frequency has dropped dramatically from ten+ posts a month to maybe two. But, there are several reasons for this:

#1: I have a life. Between school, preschool, homework, grocery shopping, cleaning, church stuff, PTA stuff, piano practice, scouts, activity days and gymnastics, I am a bit tapped out.

#2: He blogs about all the fun stuff before I get to it. I figure none of you want to tune in for a "take two" post.

#3: I'm lazy. In order to write an effective post, I have to be witty, insightful, succinct, precise and motivated. In general, I am none of these things.

#4: Whenever I get on the computer for even a moment, children with needs come out of nowhere. It's like being on the phone or talking to a friend at the door. My children have an extra, "Mom is enjoying herself" sense that brings them out of the woodwork with the most obscure needs that require immediate attention. I could scrub windows for an hour and no one would interrupt me.

#5: When I get on the computer with the intent to blog, I often find myself sidetracked by news sites, beading sites, recommended reading sites, good recipe sites, and other engaging subjects that tend to usurp all my allocated blogging time.

#6: All of these are excuses.

I suppose rather than address this accusation directly, the best way to disprove it would be to actually post something interesting. So here are some pictures of a few of the cool things I did this past season.

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Here is me participating in a wakeboard contest at Lake Powell this summer. Don't I look toned?

Here is me skydiving out of a chartered plane over Las Vegas. (Jumping Elvises not pictured.)

Here is an upclose photo I took of a charging bull when I ran with the bulls in July in Pamplona, Spain.

Here is me climbing up the Second Step with the aid of my team in our Everest bid this last May.

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See, I am not just a boring housewife. I do lots of physically challenging, endurance demanding, sanity questioning, death-defying feats that routinely bring me to the edge of reality and back again.

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Or at least it feels like it.

Piano Virtuoso(s)

Bryce is sure he is the next great composer.
Anytime anyone begins their piano lesson,
he climbs right up on the bench to help.

And, since of course, louder is better, he pounds
on the keys with Beethovian ferocity.
(Carter, as you can see, has learned to tune this out --
also a Beethovian quality.)

"Wait, here comes the good part..."

"Oh, I love the scales in this Sonata."

"Stop taking pictures woman,
you are disturbing my concentration!"

Mmmm...fudgesicle

Do you remember your first fudgesicle?

Did it look something like this?

Chelsea's Birthday

August 11 was Chelsea's birthday.

She had a late-night movie party with some friends.

They enjoyed oreo cake.

Opened presents.

And squealed in delight about
Polly's and Littlest Pet Shop and Webkinz... oh my!

Then, to work off some of that excitement,
we had a dance contest.

(The loud music and dancing girls were just too inviting,
and Spencer could not be restrained from participating.)

Happy Birthday, Chelsea.
We love you!

First Day of School

Tuesday was the first day of school.
Summer sure comes and goes quickly.

A Mother's Tell-All

SPOILER ALERT!

The following blog contains "Tell-All" secrets about the everyday life of a superhero.

As the mother of a superhero, I'm here to tell you, it is not an easy life. I frequently find myself saying things like: "Don't fly over Bryce!!" & "Please don't attack the Home Teachers."

It is true that superheroes are brave and courageous. He repeatedly assures us that he is afraid of nothing! (Except the dark. And the scary parts of 'Wallace and Gromit, the Curse of the Were-Rabbit')

Like the rest of us, superheroes have an insecure side too. Sometimes he will ask me: "Am I as handsome as Superman?" & "Do you think Ruth will like my sunglasses?"

Of course, immaculate housekeeping was never the superhero's strength and I routinely find myself saying:  "Will you please come pick up your cape!"

But all-in-all, I'd have to say I enjoy being the mother of a superhero. Sure it has it's downsides, ("No, Bryce is not the green goblin and you cannot tie him up") but the overall desire to save the world is somewhat endearing.

We all outgrow that way too fast.

Lots of Changes!

Carter got his braces put on Friday, June 27.

Here is the before picture:

And here is after:

The shirt is a gift from the Orthodontist.
I thought it was clever.

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Also, Chelsea got a new haircut last week.
It is short and fun for summer.

Aren't they both darling?

Summer, summer, summer

Everyone loves summer, right? Just the word itself conjures up images of warm, lazy days spent barefoot in the grass or on the beach. A lack of responsibility, of deadlines, of snow.

Take this picture for instance: A young couple walking together in the sand. They look carefree, happy, relaxed. To me it represents the ideal of summer. And yet, it also makes me wonder:

Do they have a mortgage and where is the four year old?

My summer has been less-than-relaxing. As a mother I should expect this, but each Spring I convince myself that this summer is going to be different. This summer we are going to read and do workbooks and play games together and get along.

Yeah, right.

This afternoon about twenty different people asked me to do forty different things in thirty minutes. In the background, Spencer kept asking, "Can I have a peanut butter sandwich and some grapes?" I said, "Yes, just let me do one thing." I then watered the plants (they were withering badly), got the mail ("Kristen, this check must go out today!"), wrote a thank you note (where are the stamps?!), answered the door (Oh good, five boxes of sacrament cups), ran down the street to see a neighbor ("Are you feeling better?"), fielded phone calls for Carter ("No, he's at Ryan's"), Chelsea ("I think she's with Carly"), Tyler ("Yes, I'll tell him you'll be over around 3:30pm), and looked scornfully at the piano that I have yet to practice today.

At some point, Spencer became indignant and wailed: "Where is my sandwich!?" I apologized and quickly made him a PBJ and set it on the counter. Then I swept the floor (for the fourth time), answered the phone (again), and picked up Bryce (who had fallen on a hot wheel). Just then Spencer came over, looked disdainfully at his plate and yelled, "There are no grapes here!"

I must tell you it took every ounce of maternal instinct not to pick up the plate and throw it and all its contents out the patio door (which happened to have been left open in the 102 degree heat). Instead I said the one thing the spirit has whispered to me many times, which was, "What do you think would be a better response?" He smiled sheepishly and said, "Please, may I have some grapes?"

I decided that I needed a break, so now I am blogging and laughing (at all of your blogs -- I love them!) The messy basement/kitchen/laundry will have to wait while I regroup. And, I suppose in the end, the concept of "summer" is not so much a season, but a state of mind. Unfortunately, the sand under my feet is very real. And I am in my office.

Last Day of School

The kids' last day of school was about a month ago. But since Tyler has already blogged about all our exciting vacation adventures, I decided to post pictures of the first and last day of school.

This was the first day, August 14, 2007:

This was the last day, May 23, 2008:

Do they look older?

Pasta -- Yum!

Food tastes best when you wear it.

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Okay, enough pictures!

Put down the camera and get me out!!

Wait ... if I smile can I have dessert?

FHE

We went to a park downtown for FHE. It is next to the library and several other old, refurbished buildings. It is a beautiful location.

Tyler played catch with the kids while I took the pictures (it's my preferred job).





There are also several neat water features that the kids can play in.


We also had $5 Subways for dinner.

Of course, Bryce had Cheerios on the ground. Yum.