The Power of Jazz

So I am now back up to date with my blog posts. I do apologize for the month of nothing, but I suffered from 2nd degree sunburns, and was without Power for 6 days, so cut me some slack! Even if you have read through these, you should go back, as I may be adding some rantings at a later time!

The first day after the power went out wasn't too bad. The house was still cool, and Owen had just received a bunch of presents, so we had lots to do. (In case you are wondering, I will put my ranting about the power company down in the post about the swingset...)

Here is the puzzle that he got for his birthday...there are 25 jumbo sized pieces, and he did a great job of not just grabbing pieces and trying to make them fit, but looking for clues as to which piece went where.

We went on a bit of a shopping spree when we got back from Delaware. One of the other kids there had a backpack, and Owen thought that was great, so we got him one:

He wanted Buzz Lightyear. We can thank Aunt Karen and Cousin Maddy, who had the first and second movies in the car during our trip to Utah and Idaho, for helping Owen not choose something lame!

Then we went to IKEA, because honestly, who doesn't want to go to IKEA, and we found a street mat. Every child needs a street mat.

Some friends from church invited us to a Free Jazz Concert at the local Community Centers. Owen's best friend Dean was going to be there, and they hadn't seen each other in some time, so we thought that it would be fun. The music was ok (I decided that I should be a music critic, because not only can I tell you that the band had issues, I can tell you exactly what those issues are!) and the kids had lots of fun.

Owen was quite excited for the trumpet solo!

At first I thought that Owen was making his typical "I'm not listening to you while I am getting in trouble," face, but in fact he was getting into the feel of the music.

Then the dancing began with the arms...

Then there was spinning around and around...

And then he started to put flowers in Dean's mom's hair.

This last picture is a very exciting accomplishment in the boy's life. Owen has sucked at Potty Training. He knows how to use the toilet, he just couldn't be bothered to do it. We had tried so many different things, but nothing worked. Owen's friend Dean had a chart that would keep track of the number of times he went, and after a certain number of times he would get a reward. We tried that with a pair of Lightning McQueen PJ's that Owen really wanted. All he had to do was go Poop in the potty 3 times. It still wasn't happening.

So I decided to be the meanest Dad ever, and put him back in Baby Diapers. This was the worst thing that could have ever happened to Owen. "I am not a Baby!" He would shout. Beki and I would just say, "I know, but until you decide to use the toilet, you are going to have to wear baby diapers." After a day and a half of this, as I was getting him dressed, I asked him if he wanted a diaper of underpants. "A big-boy diaper," he responded. (Meaning a pull-up) I told him that we didn't have any (what a liar I am), so he chose underpants. A little while later he was playing with his cars, and suddenly looked up, said, "I need to go potty," and ran into the bathroom. Two more trips to go poo in the potty later and....

He got his pj's! He put them on immediately. It was 10am.

I wish I could say that everything has been perfect since then, but of course there have been accidents. But the fact that something is happening is a great relief to us!

!!!Warning - Snobby Music Rant!!!

I chose purple instead of red, because this really isn't angry, it is just the truth! I bet you are wondering what was wrong with the jazz band that we were listening to. Actually, I know that you don't care, but I am going to tell you anyway, and you are so bored at work right now, that you would rather read my thoughts about a jazz band you have never heard, than do your work. I am happy to oblige!

The instrumental part of the ensemble was adequate. The sax player was quite good, I had no qualms with the drummer, the bass player was turned up too loud (not his fault), the piano was an electric keyboard, and the trumpet player started rough, but got better as the night progressed. There music selection was right on for a performance like this - plenty of standards like "Take the A-Train," "Jump, Jive and Wail," "All of Me," etc...

The problem happened anytime the piano player or her husband opened their mouths to sing. When people think of Jazz Singing they think that there is a lot of added extra ornamentation and stuff. That is ok, but there must still be a tonal center. All of the singing was always dancing around being in tune, but never got there. It was painful. Not as painful as the time there was a musical number at church that included piano, organ, and flute, but none of them was in tune with one another, but it bugged me all night.

And since I was being annoyed, I really started to pick apart their swing, which apart from the sax player, really wasn't swinging. It was about this time that I realized that I was analyzing everything, and that I needed to stop - plus it was getting late, so we went home. /end rant