Last fall we taught the girls how to sing in a round. Click through to my blog to watch these short videos.
"Frere Jacques"
"Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
*I meant to post this last fall, but it got saved in drafts and never got posted. Oops!
SheSpeaks sent me a package of Rubbermaid Premier storage containers to review. I thought I would attempt a video review, my first ever vlog experience! Don't laugh, I'm an amateur. ;-) Click through to my blog if you can't see the video.
I like the look of the Rubbermaid Premier containers. They are clear with a stylish little design on them. It's neat that the lids and containers snap together, as I showed in the video. The fact that they are BPA-free, stain-resistant, and microwave, dishwasher, and freezer-safe makes these containers a great product.
SheSpeaks and Rubbermaid sent me this product to review. All opinions are my own.
What is it like having five kids under the age of seven? Extremely busy! How are we adjusting? We're still trying to find our new groove, and so far I've been doing lots of baby-holding and not much house-cleaning (or blogging, you may have noticed)! But this time will pass quickly and I'll never have it back again, so I'm trying to enjoy it and not worry about the house. We have some wonderful friends who have helped us with meals, for which our whole family is so very thankful. :-)
When our hands are busy with the baby, Ted and I have found ourselves delegating more to the older kids. This season of life has brought new responsibilities and more independence for them. They are not losing their chance to be kids, but they're growing and entering a new phase that provides an opportunity to be contributing members of the family, not that they weren't before, but it is even more important now and they can take a certain pride in that.
One thing that's been nice is that I have two baby-holders this time around that I haven't had in the past. When F was born two years ago, my oldest, H, was still four years old, and although she enjoyed holding the baby, she couldn't quite be trusted to be left for more than a few seconds. This time, H is 6 1/2 and G is 5 1/2, and both girls have been a huge help. If I need to throw in a load of laundry or make lunch, one of them can usually be counted on to hold baby J, even if she starts fussing a little. H is great at "shushing" her and she stays calm even when she gets spit-up on! G is especially patient and the fussing doesn't seem to bother her at all. She sings to her, rocks gently and talks to her, helping her to find her pacifier. "Don't worry, mama," she'll say, "I've got her, you just finish. She's fine with me." (Click through to my blog to see the cute video of G and J below--it's short).
So what is our house like with five kids so close in age? Loud. Messy. Crazy. Chaotic. Busy. Fun. Full of love. We are loving it and we wouldn't change a thing!
H and G had a piano recital last week. It was H's second performance and G's first. H has been taking lessons for almost 2 school years and G has only had 3 formal lessons, although H started teaching her in January, so she had a head-start. :-) They were both very excited, did 2 songs each, and did a great job! Here are the movies of their songs (if you can't see the movies, click through to my blog):
One of the things I love about Christmas is Handel's "Messiah". I sung it in high school and then for several years I enjoyed going to "Messiah Sing-A-Longs" where you could bring your own music and join in the singing during the chorus parts. Unfortunately, I haven't found any sing-a-longs for several years, but I still sing along to the CD at home. As I get older, though, the high parts seem higher than they used to be!
I just had to share this YouTube video of Silent Monks Singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" with you, since it made me smile so much! This group of people found a clever way of presenting the Chorus without singing a single note! What could be more wordless than silent monks? ;-)
H has been taking piano lessons from our friend Mrs. B. for a little over a year now, and she just had her first piano recital! She got dressed up in her Christmas dress, and I even let her wear one of my necklaces since it was a special occasion. She was SO excited! She prepared two songs, Away in a Manger and We Three Kings. H is not usually one to get up on stage (unlike G who loves the spotlight), so I wasn't sure how it would go--would she get nervous? I tried to prep her as much as I could, asking her if she felt confident about her songs. She replied, "I can play Away in a Manger with my eyes closed!" I said for a concert it's probably better to keep your eyes open! :-)
Recital night came and she was #6 on the program. There was a wide range of abilities there, from kids who had just started lessons to those who had obviously been playing for several years. H's turn came and she did a wonderful job! We were all so proud! Ted asked the kids afterwards what their favorite part was. M said "the notes". G said, "the music". H said, "When it was my turn to play!" The first thing she said when we got in the car was, "When can I do another recital?" I guess she wasn't nervous after all! :-) Click through to my blog to see two short videos of H playing her two songs. She looks so little and so grown up at the same time!
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