65/100

It's over. I made it through the Holiday Concerts of 2017, and I am successfully unshaven and in smelly workout clothes on a Tuesday afternoon with nowhere to be for the foreseeable future.

This was definitely the smoothest year we've ever had. I don't know how we ever made it work when I was trying to do all of the concerts and also go in and teach at Lima (and do their concert) a few days a week, or to bring J down to accompany juries, or any of the other silly things I've tried.

The key thing this year was to keep expectations low. We didn't try to go to any unnecessary holiday parties or to take the kids anywhere. We didn't have any big household projects going on, (we mostly just kept food in the fridge and laundry in the wash), and didn't do any elaborate anthems or performances for church. Eat, sleep, drive, and play the trumpet. Repeat.

The trumpet playing was definitely easier this time around. For too many years in a row I've reached the end of the Holiday Pops shows in sad shape facially. I'll be backstage warming up into a curtain, trying to get my lips to vibrate, hoping that I can squeeze out just a couple more high notes and horse whinnies before getting some respite from the brutal pounding of high-octane shows every night. This year I switched no mouthpieces, made no desperate lunges for a piccolo trumpet, and forced out no reluctant notes. I just got up at 6:30 every morning and did a long, slow warm-up, and then practiced some soft fundamental drills. And then the concert at night, and that was it.

The biggest thing to survive, however, was the driving. There were a couple of snowy nights, but nothing that added more than a few extra minutes to the trip. There was SO much driving, though. In the 23 days from Thanksgiving to my last concert, I played 23 services, and not any two of them were geographically close to each other. I went as far west as Fredonia, and as far east as Ilion. I drove 4,342 miles in total. (Some of this was carpooled, to be fair.) To drive from our house to San Francisco, for reference, is 2,725 miles. It was about 3 days of being in the car.

But now it's over, for another year.

And now, NOW and not a moment before, I am ready to have Christmas music on in our house.

64/100

I.
Owen: <holding James' history book> What is this picture? What is it? What is this picture?
Me: I can't see it. You'll have to bring it over here.
Owen: What is this picture? What is it?
Me: I really can't see it. Bring it over to the breakfast table.
Owen: <brings it over> What is this picture of?
Me: Oh, that's a she-wolf. She's going to give suck to Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.
Owen: <with indignant fury> It is NOT a wolf. It is a MOOSE!

63/100

Owen: <sweetly> Mommy, I love to sit in your lap!
J: <with circumspection> Yes, I like to snuggle you too.
Owen: Can I please hold you?
J: Okay, sure.
Owen: <eyeing her omelette> Say, can I have a bite of your eggs?
J: Did you eat all of your breakfast?
Me: Nope, he didn’t finish it.
J: Then I don’t think we’re going to give you parts of our breakfast.
Owen: AHHHH!!!!!!
Me: And you can’t sit with us if you’re going to scream while we eat.
Owen: But I am so hungry for your breakfast?
Me: Do you know what other animal scavenges other people’s food?
J&Me: <singing The Vulture tune from the boy’s leapfrog, Owen’s favorite song>
Owen: <incensed> Vultures do not scavenge! That is ZEBRAS!

62/100

Little Bighead (Felix) doesn’t provide nearly as many interesting anecdotes as his brothers, since he isn’t talking yet. But that doesn’t mean that he isn’t interesting—he is smiley for just about everyone, squinty in the bright sun, and either very smelly (from his spit up stains and the laundryish odors of his nightclothes) or incredibly powdery-baby-sweet smelling when he’s just had a bath. He lies in his little jungle chair contentedly and strains for the pull string, reaching it occasionally, when J is working in the kitchen or when I am practicing in the basement. (I have a space heater running when we’re down there together.) He sucks his two fingers just like Owen, and when you change his diaper he makes lunges for his feet and looks please with himself when he catches them. He gnaws on my thumb when I hold him and sends long drips of drool down my arm and his shirt-front. When J nurses him he sticks an arm up in her face and whimpers between sides as if she’s going to forget to feed him the other half of his meal. He rolls from his back to his front and then gets stuck. In a house full of noisy boys, he always smiles when he realizes that one of his big brothers is looking and talking at him. He goes down for any babysitter and seems content to be held by anyone except for one of the Saturday pastors at J’s church. (I don’t know what he holds against him, but apparently he freaked out.) He is a good baby.

61/100

Me: Listen to this boys, it’s called “The Chipmunk Song.”
<groovy sax waltz>
Owen: <giggles>
<chipmunk voices sing>
Owen: “I like it!”
<song ends>
Me: So boys, who does Alvin remind you of?
James: I don’t know!
Me: Who do we know that has two brothers, maybe isn’t very good at listening, but is really funny and loves Christmas?
James: <grinning, points at Owen>
Owen: It is NOT me! That is like GRANDMA!

60/100

I. Happy Birthday
We went into the older boy's room yesterday morning to sing "Happy Birthday" to our sweet oldest son at 7:30 in the morning. It's hard to put into words how proud I am of him. He is patient with both of his older brothers, he is kind, and we knew he was terribly excited about his day to open presents and eat cake. Here's how the first thirty seconds of the morning went:
J and Me: <singing> "Happy Birthday to you,"
James: <sitting bolt upright and smiling>
Owen: "NOOO!!!! NOO!!! NO! NO! NOOO!!!!
J and Me: <singing> "...Happy Birthday to you,"
James: <ignoring Owen, still smiling>
Owen: "NONONO!!!! NOOO!!!!!"
J and Me: "...Happy Birthday to Ja-ames,"
James: <buries his face in his stuffed animals>
Owen: "NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""
J and Me: "Happy Birthday to you!"
James: "Can I open my presents?"
Owen: "NO! James, it is NOT your burfday!"

II. It's MINE
James opens Cars 3, a gift "from Owen and Felix." He asks whether it is ours to keep now.
Owen: "You cannot keep it. It is mine. I need to have it."
James opens a watch, which is the exact double of the watch that we gave Owen two weeks earlier.
Owen: "I need it."
Me: "You want me to go get your watch from upstairs?"
Owen: "No, I want James' watch."

et cetera...

III. Vertebrates
Me: "Okay, James. The last thing we are going to do today is Science. And let's see...today we're starting birds, and we're going to do the Turkey!"
James: "Okay, can I see?"
Me: <tilting the book towards him and reading> "There are over 9,000 species of birds in the world, and they are the only animals with backbones capable of flight besides bats."
James: "Can I tell you something?"
Me: "Sure!"
James: "I think the author made a mistake, because he forgot about pterodactyls. They can fly and they have backbones."
Me: "Well....yes, that's correct."

IV. CO and Ice
Last Saturday we had a carbon monoxide scare. J texted me as she was heading out of the house and we were heading back to it (from a performance of Treasure Island) that something was funny in the garage. Sure enough, the carbon monoxide alarm was going off when we got home. A visit from the Fire Department and RG&E later, we really didn't have any answers as to why the alarm was set off, except to say that there definitely was a high level in the garage and that our alarms were working correctly. (Our best theory was that the door to the kitchen was cracked open and that the heat from the house trapped in the exhaust from the van backing out even though the garage door was opened.)

But really, what a day for the boys. They got to skip their naps to see Treasure Island, and then within five minutes of being home there was a real fire engine parked in our driveway and some firefighters working in our garage. I took them over to our next-door neighbors while I worked with the Fire Department. Our neighbors, being kind and hospitable people, offered them food and drinks. James had a capri sun and a granola bar. Apparently Owen only wanted a cup of ice. They gave him one. And then, because he is Owen, he told them that he had ice for sale and would sell it to them for "fifty-nine cents."

V. The Digger
Our same neighbors have been doing a lot of work on their house recently. It started with putting up some new siding, which looks great. And then they hired someone to excavate a corner of their foundation to try to repair a leak. The digger operator immediately damaged their brand new siding, of course, and then left his digger parked in our yard overnight. They were deeply apologetic. But the Digger man was back at 7 this morning digging the hole deeper, and he was right outside the boy's room. I had to change Owen's diaper standing up this morning, so he could watch the Digger outside the window.

59/100

Quotes from the boys today:

Owen: Hey, I need a snack.

J: No snack right now.

Owen: But I need a snack!

J: You already had a snack.

Owen: Oh. ... ... That was just a joke.

James: Owen tore down my pictures from my bed! All of my hard work!

Owen: Yup.

Me: Owen, did you really do that?

Owen: Yes, I tore them down!

James: THIS is the WORST THING that has happened to anyone in my WHOLE WIDE LIFE!

Owen: Hey, are there dinosaurs in libraries?

James: <primal sobbing>

Owen: Hey, are there dinosaurs in libraries?

James: Great, now I have nothing but two blank pieces of wood to look at.

Dad: Think of it as a fresh start.

James: <to J> Great, now I have nothing but two blank pieces of wood to look at.

J: Think of it as a fresh start.

James: It’s not a fresh start. It was a fresh start a long time ago.

Owen: Hey, let’s do this puzzle!

J: Okay, you should help me!

Owen: I AM helping you!

J: No you’re not.

Owen: Yes, I am!

<some time later…>

J: Well, that’s it. I finished.

Owen: Okay, put it away!

J: You should help me.

Owen: I don’t need to help. You did it all!