Turn It Up!

It is winter break for my kids this week. Yes, we already had a Christmas break, but it was only a week long and now we are getting Christmas break, take 2, a couple months later. As I have all three boys home all day every day with me all week long, I think I will take this opportunity to share with you something that is driving me loony in my daily life.

Jack loves music. Jack loves to sing. He loves to dance. He wants music on no matter where we are or what we are doing. He will dance at home or in the car or in a store. He does a little boogy on the sidewalk when a car drives by with it's music blaring.

Jack also loves music LOUD. Listening to a song at a normal volume just isn't acceptable to him. This is most evident in the car. I take Jack everywhere with me and he spends some time running to and from things in the car with me every morning. That kid loves the radio and he knows many songs by name, and often it is cute. He will say "I like this song, mom!" or "turn it off! It's rubbish!" or "Don't like this one!" or "I know this song!" But no matter what his opinion of the quality of the song, he always has one constant command: "Turn it up! Loud! Louder! Super loud!"

I also love music and I like to listen to it in the car. I also have opinions on which songs are nice and which are rubbish. Jack and I often agree on such things. We DO NOT agree though, on how loud to listen to it! I hate loud music. I love all kinds of music, but I want it all at a volume that I can hear other things going on around me, or my kids trying to talk to me, or a car honking, or my husband trying to have a conversation, or my own mind thinking!

Jack, like his dad, wants to blast the music, then talk about something. I then turn the volume down so I can hear him, and he shouts/demands, "Hey! Turn it up! Need it loud!"

I have a fight over how loud is too loud in the car every single day and am daily left wondering why this little boy of mine is such a bossy-boots with insensitive ear drums. I am going crazy...

Some Last Minute Thoughts

After all the kisses and all the silly sayings and bedtime rituals last night, the much argued over music selection was playing, but Ben had just one last thought as I was backing out the door:

"Hey mom, know how I know that I'm really into music right now? Because I know every song and I know all the words and I can sing along with all of them! Even when they aren't on, they get stuck in my head and I am singing them all the time! I just really like music..."

The last thing I heard as I was finally shutting the door was Mitchell mumbling, "Oh yeah? Well, I'm really into skeletons and I know everything about them!"

Running Away Music

While we were eating lunch yesterday, Mitchell asked me if I would please turn on the "running away music." Now, because he has made this request before, I knew what he was talking about, but perhaps you need a little help with it. "Running away music" is classical music. The boys love it when I turn the radio on to the classical station, especially when there is a faster, louder song in a minor key. What I always thought of as "danger music," make them imagine running away from something dangerous, so that is what they call it!

Mitchell comes up with his own titles for the compositions. Yesterday, he listened for a minute, chewing on his sandwich, then said, "This sounds like someone got left at the park and their mom is never coming back." After listening for a moment, I had to agree with him. It was quite a sad and scary sounding song.

The next song he described as "like flowers in the backyard and we're playing there!"

I love the images classical music makes him picture in his head. His descriptions are so childish, but so fitting to the music!

Other times descriptions/titles that have stuck in my memory are, "Promise to Come Back," and "The Basement Song." Anyone who has seen my basement can guess what that song sounds like!

My boys have such vivid imaginations, and thankfully are eager and happy to describe things for their somewhat imagination-challanged mom. I'm glad I don't have the imagination of a young child (I might be committed to a loony bin if I really did; can you imagine seeing the world that way as an adult?), but experiencing it second hand through them makes life a bit more interesting.

And They Play Christmas Music Too!

We bought my Christmas present early this year.  Do I care that there was no element of surprise or that I have no present under the tree?  Nope!  I'd much rather get something I really want/need and start using it the day it gets here, rather than wasting wrapping paper and waiting weeks.

I have been so grateful for my new boots every morning when I slosh through the snow and slush on our walk to school.  They were a tad more expensive than other boots of their kind, but they were the ones I wanted and they were my Christmas gift!

They have been well worth the money already, but this morning, I discovered a brand new feature I didn't realize they had!  I left Jack playing with my IPhone on the floor while I refilled my coffee cup, and when I returned, I found a grinning Jack, no visible phone, and a singing boot!  From the dark depths of my tall, black boot came the sounds of Bing Crosby crooning "Oh, Holy Night!"  Jack thought it was pretty funny and we played that game all morning until time to wake the big boys for school.

What We're Listening to These Days

While running an errand with Mitchell a couple days ago, a song by Eminem came on the radio. Yes, I listen to more than children's music and Sunday School songs in my car.  I admit it.  Don't get me wrong, I love Puff the Magic Dragon as much as anyone and a good, rousing rendition of Bear Hunt is always tons of fun, but even I have limits as to how many times in a row I can hunt this bear, especially when the motions are so exuberant my poor car takes quite a beating.

Now Mitchell has this thing where he has to know the name of every person who is singing every song.  Every time a new song comes on, I can count on him to ask, "What's this man's name, mom?"  And yes, he always says "man," even if it is a woman singing.  Welcome to my male-dominated world.

Anyways, like I said, Eminem was busy angrily shouting his lyrics into my car via radio waves (by the way, try explaining how radio and radio waves work to your kids!) and I was not paying attention at all to what as on until, sure enough, from the back seat came the voice of the inquisitor: "Mom, what's this man's name?"  He did not believe me when I told him his name was Eminem.  "Like the candy?"  After convincing him that I was not joking with him, he decided that was a pretty cool name.  He then went on to comment on the song: "Mom, why is he shouting and why is he so mad?  He really sounds mad.  [long pause]  I like it."

So Mitchell is an Eminem fan, apparently.  Not sure I'm too happy about that or think it is the most appropriate music for a 3-year-old, but at least he has moved on from Katie Perry (she just had to say something about a popsicle in one of her songs.  Curse you, Katie Perry!)

When we got back in the car after our errand, Mitchell asked if we could listen to the "angry Neminem guy" again.