-
The Hills Are Alive… With HM and T-Swizzle
Gigi has discovered music. And I mean discovered music in that way where you seal yourself in your room and turn it up LOUD kind of way. I asked her, once, why Jude can’t come in to dance too. Gigi replied, “Mom, I need privacy to ROCK OUT!”
At the tender age of four, Gigi’s eyes and ears landed on Hannah Montana, that Mecca of preadolescent pop music. We denied her. We said she was too little for Hannah Montana and diverted her to Princess Tea Party music and Disney soundtracks. Then came kindergarten. I am not sure whether or not the girls in Gigi’s class give a fig about Hannah Montana, but we finally relented after two years of resisting and let her listen, watch, and gyrate to Hannah. She was in love. The best song? The Best of Both Worlds. The best show? The one where the hick cousin comes to visit and is mean to Miley (who is the real Hannah by the way; apparently and blonde wig is all it takes to totally hide your identity). We were all shocked at how quickly our girl was sucked into the Hannah Montana obsession.
Hannah’s discs got scratched (oh-so-sad) and the computer in Gigi’s room broke (no more episodes as I am not watching the tripe on the main TV) and Hannah fell to the wayside. While Hannah is still in Gigi’s top two, another songstress has entered the ring: Taylor Swift. The first time Gigi heard ‘You Belong to Me,’ Gigi screeched, “Mama, I like this song!” While I am not a huge Taylor Swift fan, I find her much more palatable than Miss Montana.
We bought the CD, Fearless, half price at the Everett Mall where a record store was going out of business. With our minimal exposure, I was not sure what to expect. We popped the disc in and were nonplussed. But you know how if there is only one CD in the player then you listen to it way too much and it grows on you and you know pretty much every word to every song on the thing? That has happened. Plus we you-tubed her videos and watched her on the Grammys. That helps to build a fan.
The other day it was probably 50 something degrees out, not a cloud could be found, and the sun was shining its glory down. We were on our way from point A to point B and Taylor Swift was in the player. We rolled down the windows and sang our hearts out as loud as we could. ‘She wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts, she’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers.’ It was a moment, well if you count five replays of the same song a moment. Like I said, it is not necessarily my thing, but I was loving that my daughter and I were in this moment of togetherness, singing in as one, embracing the day. She’s my girl.
-
Little Girl Art
Gigi wants the new house to look more like a home – even though there are not proper walls to hang it on. She frequently sends her drawings with her dad which he dutifully hangs on the studs. I think her purpose is to not only to her dad know she loves him, but also that she wants him to have something pretty to look at. When you enter the house, you certainly get a sense of the little girl who will be living there in the very near future!
-
February House Update
It is February, and Bradley continues to head to the house on a daily basis to run wires, lay pipe and frame. This month, in addition to another throw-down with PSE, Bradley also had to work out another kidney stone. Fortunately this one moved a little faster and went from diagnosis to expulsion in about three weeks instead of ten. We now are looking to April as a move-in date.
This is a view from our fireplace into our kitchen. It is a pretty good example of the house as a whole.
The oven and microwave are framed in,
The electrical boxes are wired and labled,
And the light cans are in awaiting bulbs, plaster, and sheetrock.
Here is the view from the kitchen towards the fireplace. The fireplace is framed in with the gas pipes running to it.
Bradley is also putting in the plumbing. Here are the links that seal the pipes together.
The kids had a great time playing with the hot and cold water pipes. Putting these in is the big job for the week. The plumbing advisor came by this past weekend and gave the go ahead for sealing everything together.
This is the pipe coming out of the floor, heading towards the future placement of the kitchen sink. Bradley, with is own two hands and a little help from our dads and his uncle, is plugging away and we are getting closer and closer to having our home to live in!
-
The Littlejohns Exchange Valentines
From Gigi to Mommy and Daddy. I found this at my plate this morning for breakfast.
From Tamara to Bradley. I made these cards with my class. No, this is not real hair, rather doll hair. Only available in super jheri-curl variety.
From kids to Mommy. Daddy is super reliable at letting Gigi pick out blooms for me on holidays, and Gigi is super reliable at picking them out in either pink or purple. I can’t complain, they are lovely. Yesterday, after walking by the display of flowers in Costco, Gigi insisted on making a frantic call to her father, “about Valentine’s Day, Mom! It is really important.” Then proceeded to walk behind a giant display of nuts to have her private conversation with her dad, which I think might *MIGHT* have been about these flowers.
From Bradley to Tamara – Calla Lillies were my bouquet at our wedding. Bradley made my bouquet.
From Mommy and Daddy to the kiddos – when we bought balloon bunches for another Valentine gift to a different person who does not live in our house, the kids went bananas so we decided that this was the way to go this year. Cheap, too! Again, they went bananas when they saw them. Balloons are just terribly exciting!
And lastly, Jude’s Valentine’s chocolate’s package said, “You’re top dog, Valentine!” Jude proceeded to say, “Cockit!” And then ate the face off of his chocolate dog. Mmmm! Not such a happy Valentine’s Day for the chocolate dog, I guess, but we Littlejohns are full of love for one another. And full of a little ‘cockit’ too!
-
Be Mine, Valentine
As we wandered the Valentine aisle at the store, I expected Gigi to beg for the best, most wonderful, every-girl-would-love-them Hannah Montana Valentines to give out to her friends. Instead, I was surprised (and charmed) that she wanted to make her own with her own two sweet little hands.
I am always up for something doing something crafty with my girl, so we spent way more money purchasing supplies for homemade Valentines than we would have on the pre-made variety. That is okay by me. Naturally, this task is best completed when wearing a Cinderella princess dress and feathered sparkle crown.
Then we had to add a gift, of course. Her classmates have many varieties of allergies, so we could not include any food items. She chose pencils and a little mini pad of paper. We taped them to the back of her Valentines.
She had so much fun making her Valnetines, and, I think, a sense of pride when she got to hand them out to her friends!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Fresh Comments
9th Jan 10
My brother is 7 years younger than me and always wanted in my room. One day when I was reading ...
19th Nov 09
where can i get a vest like jude's to add to my collection?
15th Nov 09
VERY exciting to see this update. WOW! Can't wait to see it!
13th Oct 09
She's lucky to have such an insightful mama!
11th Oct 09
I am astounded at how quickly this is coming together!! Wahoo for a roof over your head!