Rock n Roll

So, do you think she loves rock n roll?

Stayed tuned.  Next we'll have a video starring "Bob".

I’m five. I like to say I”m 5 ½ (because my brother is always saying he’s 6 3/4). Mom says that’s not really true, me being 5 ½, as I just turned 5 in January. But, I still say it anyway. I say it and lots of things these days. I’m not trying to impress you with my word skills, I’ve been talking for a long LONG time now. No, what I’m trying to impress upon you is that I talk, and talk, and talk a lot. I love to talk. I love to explain things and tell stories. I really like to sing. Mommy says some days with me are like living in the middle of an opera. I’ll sit in the reading corner and sing about my day. Sometimes I’ll cook in my little kitchen and sing about the eggs I’m making or the chicken soup. If you’re really lucky I might put on one of my ‘fancy’ dresses and invite you to a tea party. While I’m serving you lemon meringue tea with milk and sugar, I might just sing you a song about string, but probably it will be about kitties. I like to sing.

I read now. I don’t think I’m ready for chapter books yet, too many words! Mommy says I can read chapter books if I want to, but I don’t. So, I read other books. Sometimes, when N puts his Star Wars books down (which is not often) I will pick them up and read them. They’re like chapter books only with comics. N told me what that kind of book is called, but I forget. I really like to read books over and over again. In the evenings I like to read books out loud to Mommy before bed. Sometimes we read together. Then I get to pick which character I am. I like to be Fancy Nancy and Sister bear a lot. Sometimes I like to read all the girl parts. Mommy says she doesn’t mind being the boy. She does funny voices sometimes. Sometimes that’s okay, but sometimes it just hurts my ears and I ask her to stop.



I am no longer afraid of the hair dryer or the shower. I still don’t like lawn mowers, the vacuum or loud movies. But my “Neema” gave me a great pair of earmuffs last year on the 4th of July. Now whenever things are too loud I can put my earmuffs on and it’s not so bad. I still prefer it if Daddy takes me for a walk when Mommy vacuums, but that’s not always possible.



N and I are getting along pretty well these days. We play lots of make believe games. Sometimes we get into arguments over which game to play or how to play. Our imaginations are pretty big and sometimes we each think our way is the best. Mommy and Daddy usually tell us to “work it out” but sometimes they have to help, especially when I cry.



I like wearing my hair in pigtails now and think that roller skating is lots of fun. I am super excited about started kindergarten in the fall. N and I wish we were twins so that I could already be in school with him. But, N says he’ll show me around the school and might even talk to me at recess. I can’t wait.

I love to do housework and wish Mommy would let me wash the dishes every day. She’s afraid I’ll cut myself or maybe let the water dump out all over the floor. I promise to be careful, but usually she just distracts me by asking me to dust instead. She does let me clean the bathroom mirror and sort the laundry. I don’t know why N doesn’t like to do these things, he doesn’t know what he missing!

I’m five and that’s pretty great.

Saturday Chores

Let's face it, it would be easier just to do it myself.  The chores I mean.  After all things have to be done "right", right?   Wrong.

I admit it's hard for me to watch the kids do things the "wrong" way.    I realize they are only 5 and 6,  no wait excuse me 6 and 3/4,  years old.  I have to swallow my first reaction when I see their "made" beds.   But, when see their faces and the pride in their eyes over the job they did, I melt.   So what if the blankets aren't smooth?  They put the blankets and all the animals back on the bed, which is what I asked of them.  And that's good enough for now. (and no, I did not go back and smooth out the blankets, tempted yes.....)

My kids love to note their accomplishments.  So, this week I made a list of our Saturday chores.  I included myself on the list. As everyone completed their jobs a name or initial was put in the box.  (Lest you think Patrick is a slacker, he has classes all day, so he is exempt from this list).  Ms. L raced around the house to get her jobs done and in fact wanted to more.  She also, dusted and wiped down the tables and chairs in the kitchen.   N moved a bit slower but did his jobs without complaint (which is saying a lot these days)

Go team!

What I didn't expect was that they would want to wash the dishes.  I shouldn't have been surprised  after all, it's an activity that involves water and bubbles.  However, I wasn't ready to relinquish control of clean dishes quite yet.  At first I tried to discourage them from joining it, but then I thought about the importance of letting them help, teaching them new things and the road to independence (which is what we want them to walk on some day, right)  So, I took a deep breath and said, "yes you can help".  I asked them if they would be willing to be in charge of rinsing and stacking the dishes in the drainer.  Hoorays all around!  I got clean dishes (and no one cut themselves on hidden by suds knifes) and the kids played in the water, and learned new skills.

On a side note I'm always surprised by people who say "your kids clear their own dishes?" or "how do you get them to do chores?"  Sometimes people imply that it's a little soon for that kind of responsibility.  Well to those people I say, I respectfully disagree.  Do they always do it as cheerfully as they did today?  Hell no.  There are plenty of days when there are squabbles over who's turn it is to set the table or whining about, " Why do we always have to......"     But, it's important.  And as for how do we get our kids to do it, well they know what our expectations are and we follow through on making sure they carry them out.  It's pretty amazing how kids will meet our expectations if we just set them.

So, whenever I'm inclined to do it myself or fix it... I remember that it's not really about perfect beds or perfectly folded clothes.  It's about instilling a sense of accomplishment and pride in doing things yourself.  It's about understanding that we all contribute to the household, and thus the world at large.  And it's about moving them down that road to independence one baby step at a time.  After all since the day they were born we've been readying them to fly on their own.  

2012  - Happy New Year.  I don't know if it will be a better year, but it will be a different year.

I wish you all many adventures in the new year.  I also wish us all peace. 

Happy Freakin' New Year

True story - Paperclips and parenting 101

"If you don't put that paperclip down you're going to poke your eye out.  Then there you'll be in the back seat of the car trapped in your car seat with your eyeball poked out.  And then, because you are 6 and 1/2 and you can't help yourself, you'll pull the paperclip and your eyeball right out f your head.  Then where will you be?  Sitting in the backseat with your eyeball on the end of a paperclip and you'll just keep staring at it with your good eye and screamin' "AHHHHH!!!!!!"   Do you think your father or I will care?  No, we're just going to be getting the story ready in our minds.  The story that we will forever taunt you with year after year as well tell it every holiday season.  It will be known as, '2011, the year Noah poked his eyeball out screwing around with an unbent paperclip in the backseat of the car' story.  Is that how you want to remember your 7th Christmas on this earth?  Yeah, I didn't think so, give me the paperclip and find something better to do with your time."

True Story.   

I'm thinking about giving out parenting advice in 2012, clearly I've got the communication skills down.  

Holiday Greetings 2011

Greetings from the Pacific NW. 2011 had many ups and downs. We are so grateful to our friends and families who were there to celebrate with us during the good times, and who lifted us up during the not-so good times. We hope 2012 brings you and yours much love and laughter. Below we hope you enjoy some random journal entries (in no particular order) of Carol Ann’s from 2011. Merry Christmas!

I realize that there are more important things going on in the world, but someone just told me I look like David Cassidy ala his Partridge Family days, might be time for a haircut.

Happiness tonight = Lucy wanting to snuggle on the couch with me until she fell asleep.

Why was I laughing hysterically at the kids crying at the breakfast table this morning? Noah was crying because he wanted to help his "favorite" sister by getting her a fork and Lucy was crying because her "favorite" brother wouldn't just let her do it herself. Generosity and Independence. Can't get much better then that on a Monday morning.
　
Happiness tonight = hearing the kids cracking each other up with nonsensical knock- knock jokes. All from their room where they are "sleeping"
　
Guess who’s husband continues to get a 4.0 in grad school?
　
Because it was so much fun the first time, Im going to do it again. Surgery #2 today! Can you feel the excitement ?
　
William (Bill) C Smith Sept 16, 1933- Sept 27, 2011.
Thanks for taking me fishing, sharing your love of books and music with me. I hope there's a never ending library wherever you are.

11 years ago today our eyes met across that smokey room.. This summer we’ll celebrate 9 years of marriage. That’s pretty awesome.
　
Today was L's first day of preschool. She was so excited! But, leaving her in the classroom, my big girl suddenly looked very small. I wanted to scoop her up and bring her home.

Home. Tumbled and jumbled on the couch with the kids. Now about to snuggle on the couch with my hubby and a beer. It's good to be here.

Patrick’s play, Continuum, had a terrific read at JAW this summer, I am so proud of him.
　
Holy cow! 3 weeks in the hospital and I can fit into my wedding dress again. I wouldn’t recommend this diet to friends and family, but I’m not going to complain.

I love that my kids believe I have the power to make the cross-walk change with my magic.
　
Cool misty morning. Perfect for our last summer walk to the library. Now we all sit reading quietly our pile of books. I'm so luck to have a family who loves to read as much as I do.
　
While never one to encourage the wasting of ice cream (horrors!) I am pleased to report that Lucy abandoned her bowl in favor of picking and eating some late pea pods. She announced they were much better then ice cream.
　
"Argh, who art thoo" - Noah
"WHAT!?!" Mommy
"Argh, who art thoo, that's pirate and middle ages for who are you" –Noah
　
The pie Patrick made me for my birthday this year had chocolate, raspberries, blueberries and whip cream. Oh, and some lemon.... it was awesome. I’m a lucky woman.
　
Took the kids outside tonight, they were whining about the heat. So, instead of baths I hosed them down. Seemed to make everyone happy.
　
Listening to the soundtrack of "Oklahoma" with the kids this evening. We came to the dream ballet and the kids were dancing, until the gunshot and the thunderstorm. Suddenly two scared kids... the power of music and the imagination. Luckily they stuck it out and it was once again, "Oh what a beautiful mornin’" Can’t wait to share the movie with them.

Happiness is playing Go Fish with the family. The giggle factor is very high.
　
Why is it no matter where the Stage Manager sits in the room, the Director will stand directly in front of them during blocking rehearsals?

Lucy still hates the noise of firecrackers, as well as lawn mowers, vacuums and just about anything that makes loud noises. Lucky for her Grandma W had a pair of earmuffs for her to wear. I think she’s going to wear them everywhere now!
　
"I am like the cockroach, surviving all the extinctions" ~Noah

Lucy has announced for her birthday in January there will be a princess bowling party, but without the pizza, that’s just for a boy party. She’ll have humus, thank you very much.

Bill Smith - in his own words.

My Dad passed away Sept 27 at the age of 78. He was strong advocate for peace and social justice issues in the state of Iowa. As a child I knew he chose the cause over the paycheck, but I really had no idea just how much he did over the years. A few years ago he wrote a piece for a reunion he could not attend. It is with love I share with you in his own words just a few of his accomplishments over the years

Sixty years since graduating? What did I do in those years?

Well, right after graduation I served in the Navy and married my high school sweetheart, Mary Hoyt, who was still enrolled at St Luke's School of Nursing in Cedar Rapids.

The Navy sent me to Hawaii, my wife, Mary joined me after receiving her RN degree. We had our first daughter, Jerri Ellen, in Hawaii before being discharged in August 1957.

I was hired as a copywriter for the Fremont Guide & Tribune in Nebraska--where our second daughter, Theresa Eileen, and third, Robbin Marie, daughters were born. Worked for the Des Moines Register and Tribune as an Advertising Account Executive before returning to Nebraska for a better job.

Later my wife, Mary Louise, was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia. We moved "back home" to Iowa to be near family members. Mary died in March 1964. For the next four years I continued writing the employees' newsmagazine and other copy for Bankers Life Insurance Company, in Des Moines, now the Principal Financial Group.

Subsequently, I married my second wife, Bonnie who also worked for Bankers Life. We had a son who died at birth, then one more child--a fourth daughter, Carol Ann. In 1969 I was hired as Assistant to the Advertising Manager for Iowa Power and Light Company. My boss soon quit and I became Ad Manager. This job was not comfortable; I did not agree with management’s decision to promote Nuclear power. My disagreement was based on the fact that there was no industry-wide way to dispose of spent nuclear waste. There still isn’t. Needless to say, I started looking for other career opportunities.

Thus, I went to work for a small public relations firm with an option to buy. The owner of the firm was nearing 70, had a bad hip and was tired of the work, which was mainly lobbying. After a few years he had a heart attack and died. This should have been my warning sign of the stress of owning your own business and the long, hard hours of lobbying. It was not; I was buying the firm. Consequently, I had a five by-pass heart surgery in 1994. Through out the years I enjoyed being a professional lobbyist for a number of various clients. Dealing mostly with peace and justice and educational issues. The shortcoming of this quixotic perspective is that it was not very lucrative. You must love a career of helping others and enjoy being in the political arena. We helped the “under dog” and I stayed with it long enough to become an invited member of the “Pioneer Lawmakers" honoring those who have served more than 25 years as an Iowa State House Lawmaker or Lobbyist.

During my lobbying years, I was happy to help obtain the Iowa Educational Grant for the Private Colleges. Am delighted that College students are still able to benefit from this program. Also worked to pass the Iowa Family Farm Act, and was hired by the Iowa Podiatric Medical Society to be their Executive Director and Lobbyist. We lobbied to have the Iowa Podiatrists recognized as physicians when it was determined that their training justified the recognition and then added the ankle to their scope of practice and leg muscles to their Practice Act over the years. Also, the Child Day Care Centers group was another client for which we lobbied and improved their State Appropriations.

One of our most interesting challenges had to do with Iowa's General Practitioner shortage. The Iowa Medical School had a healthy number of specialists BUT not general practitioners. The Des Moines College of Osteopathic Medicine & Surgery (COMS) was graduating D.O.s who were, for the most part, general practitioners. At that time the COMS' President and the Iowa Governor came up with a plan: Iowa would subsidize COMS with $8,000 per student for a third of the entering class. We lobbied for this program and it went well for almost 20 years until the COMS' President was able to offset the subsidy with East Coast students, who were able to pay the high tuition. Unfortunately, the $8,000 per student went to the College, not to the students. Yet it helped with the doctor shortage, especially in Iowa's rural communities.

During Bishop Dingman's tenure we worked for the Iowa Catholic Conference. Which enabled me to work with him and other Iowa Bishops in a coalition with two farm organizations: the Iowa National Farmers Organization and the Iowa Farmers Union. This coalition worked for family farmers especially during the Farm Crisis of the 1980s. The Coalition's biggest success was the passage of Chapter172C, which disallowed Iowa meat packers from owning feedlots, which was in direct competition with our family farms.

It was during this period Bishop Dingman and Fr. Bryan Hehir prepared and published Strangers and Guests: Toward Community in the Heartland, under the auspices of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference. Much of the editing of this piece was done by Bishop Dingman's Rural Life Committee, which I was a participating member in Des Moines.

In the 1990s I lobbied for Iowa's eight largest School Districts. The client was really an association formed to counter a group of smaller schools. They were taking advantage of their large representation in the Iowa General assembly. The big issue was the Iowa Foundation Appropriation Formula's distribution and Iowa's reluctance to consolidate schools.

In 1980 we managed “The Committee to Protect the Constitution.” The Iowa Code offers this amendment opportunity every ten years. Any update, if so needed, is triggered by an Iowa Legislative Resolution, per the Iowa Constitution. The Governor has not role, but the Citizens of Iowa have a chance to vote on the "proposed amendments" after an amendment(s) have been processed and passed by two separate General Assemblies.

The need for this Committee was occasioned by a group of conservative " high rollers' headed by a former state senator author of a number of self serving amendments limiting taxes on upper income earners.

We countered with educational radio, TV and print ads. The Committee was constantly strapped for money. But in the end, with the help of two former Iowa Governors: Ray and Fulton along with retried Lt.Governor Art Neu we whipped Iowans for Tax Relief on the ballot issue in 1980 and again 1990. Thus we were able to keep the Iowa Constitution from being amended with our fund-raising, writing radio, TV and other media commercials and educating the people of Iowa. The ads were complemented with Public Service announcements (PSAs) telling why it was important to keep the Iowa Constitution as it is. This was a major accomplishment.

My wife, Bonnie, with her office administration and accounting experience ran the office and kept track of all the legislative amendments and coordinated clients visiting the State Capitol to talk to their Senators and Representatives. She also handled the Podiatrists' State Conventions and Continuing Education Seminars. As you can see, I was almost unnecessary.

We both achieved a lot of self-satisfaction with helping those in need. Looking back on the fifty years since leaving the halls of Loras College, I am content with what I have accomplished in my on-going life career

Our daughters have added to our family joy with three sons-in-law, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Daughter, Jerri has three children and resides in St. Paul, Minnesota. She works as a Payroll Specialist. Daniel and Hayley are now both in college. David, the eldest son, served in the U.S. Army; now he and his wife live in St. Paul, with their two young children.

Other three daughters went West. They live in and around the Portland, Oregon area. Theresa is an Environmental and Recycling Specialist. Robbin has two boys, Nathan and Peter. Robbin works for the VP of research at OHSU. Carol Ann has a son, Noah who is in first grade and daughter, Lucy age 4 and is now in preschool. Carol Ann is stage manger for a theatrical playhouse in Portland.