Category Archives for Videos

My 4th Baby

One of the big reasons that I haven’t had as much time as I used to for this blog, is because of my 4th baby – my work blog.  I started it 2 1/2 years ago, and I’ve been posting on it at least 3 times per week ever since.  It has been very successful in reaching our customers and creating real relationships with them.  This review of my blog that was posted on a building product marketing blog pretty much says it all.

Last week I found out that I won the IRST President’s Award in the Leadership category for my work blog.  What’s most exciting about this is that the company is starting to see the value of social media and blogging.  For a big, conservative company like ours, that’s progress.

I made a video of the announcement of the award on the president’s global webinar so I can keep it on the mantle and force the kids to watch it periodically.  🙂

Both of the presidents actually talked about my blog on the call, so here are both clips for posterity.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8FPCgjINq4?rel=0]

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=219q2CpJUcw?rel=0]

Adlani is 7!!!

We’ve been planning to have one birthday party for all 3 kids since their birthdays are fairly close together and a lot of their friends are siblings.  Maybe it was a stupid idea, but that was the plan.  A few days before Adlani’s birthday I realized that he thought the big party was on his birthday.  I didn’t want to disappoint him, so I made arrangements to take him to a movie (Smurfs in 3D) and lunch with two of his buddies – Griffin and Nicholas.  It was so funny hanging out with three 7YO boys for the day, although they almost got us kicked out of Friendly’s.

Did I mention that this outing was a surprise?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACocbGiYI1s?rel=0]

I swear, I did not set out to get them all sugared up and then send them home.  It just worked out that way:

From the photo booth:

One of Adlani’s presents didn’t arrive in time for his birthday so he was waiting for the mailman every day.  Before his birthday he kept wanting me to come to the TV to see the commercial for what he wanted – the BeyBlades Metal Fusion Battle Set.  While we were waiting for the package to arrive I told him that I made a mistake and I thought he wanted a Bey BABE.  Luckily, he’s got my number.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW_REzl8qqI?rel=0]

Norah Rides the Bus (Alone!)

Yes, I am aware that the last time I posted we were on vacation and I have neglected to post about the rest of our vacation and the days that have passed since we got home.  But I’m trying to let go of having to post things in order because otherwise I’ll never post another thing.

Today was Norah’s first day at her summer program, which is a half-day class taught in Spanish.  She’s signed up for the next 3 weeks, and I’ll have to say, it was QUIET without her in the house this morning.  That kid really needs scheduled entertainment or she makes her own, usually by driving her brother and sister to the brink of violence (and sometimes beyond).

I was a little worried that Norah wouldn’t want to ride the school bus because she would be going alone.  It was a first for her…she usually has at least one sibling with her or she’s familiar with the venue because she has been there before.  The program is at a different school this summer – one that she has never been to, and her teacher is someone the other kids never had.  I didn’t know of any friends who would be there, and I didn’t know any other kids on the bus.

This morning she was asking about her seatbelt on the bus, and I told her that I’d buckle it for her.  She said, “No, I’ll do it myself because no moms are coming on the bus.”  The bus came, she jumped right on, sat in the first empty seat, and waved goodbye.  No problem!  When the bus brought her home, some other kids got off and I asked the bus driver if she had another one.  Her answer…”No…”  Luckily Norah was sitting in the front seat so I extracted her from the bus – she seemed to have no intentions of getting off.  I wonder what the bus driver would have done with her if she ended up with a leftover.

She’s really excited to go back tomorrow, and so are we!

And in a totally unrelated clip (except that I took it today), I was talking to one of my coworkers about a typewriter, and decided to ask my technology consultants if they knew what a typewriter was.  I ended up with a glimpse into my life that I can share with you and save for posterity. There is a reason that I’m insane. Three reasons. Four, actually.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoSa0AhsqoI?rel=0&w=490&h=309]

School’s Out for Summer! (boohooooo?)

Yesterday was Aliya and Adlani’s last day of school and I had some last-day business to take care of so I ended up picking them up at noon dismissal.  I remember the last day of school from waaaaaaaay back in the 70’s…taking home all the crap that had accumulated, washing the desks, and getting ready to do nothing for 2+ months.  And when I say “do nothing,” I mean DO NOTHING.  Although I did go to camp a few times for a week, we didn’t have the summer schedules that most families have now.  We mostly just hung around the house playing with rocks and sticks.  Still, the last day of school was exhilarating!

So it was completely unexpected to be standing in the school lobby, and have lines of sobbing kids passing by.  I guess it’s a good sign that they love their teachers, but it’s SUMMER VACATION, for crying out loud!  Time to have fun!  Sleep late!  Camp out!  Swim!  Make S’Mores!  Not to mention the fact that these kids can communicate with each other and even with their teachers so much easier than we could.  When I was a kid we had a party line…for those who haven’t experienced a party line, we shared our phone line with a neighbor.  We could tell who the call was for based on the ring.  Sometimes when we picked up the phone to call out, they were already using it.  We lived out in the boonies so we couldn’t walk or ride our bikes to our friends’ houses, and we didn’t have a computer.  There was no Facebook or email.  Maybe I should have been the one sobbing back then.

So the year-end frenzy is over…the teachers’ gifts have been delivered, everything that needed to be picked up from school or returned to school is checked off the list, and summer has begun.  And I will tell you after Day 1, somebody is getting medicated – either me or them.

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Aliya had Señora MacKay for a summer program 2 years ago, and she was hoping and praying to have her as her teacher. She lucked out and had her for 3rd grade, and she absolutely loves her. She’s like a little clone. When Aliya was talking about who she hoped to have for 4th grade, she said, “It doesn’t really matter who I have, because I can make any teacher love me.”  Now that’s confidence.

Here’s a photo of Adlani with the blanket I made for his teacher’s baby, Ravi.  Adlani has been checking with me every day to see if it was ready.  When the blanket was about 2 inches wide, he asked if he could take it to school.  His rationale was that Ravi wouldn’t be that big when he came out, so a 2-inch wide blanket would be just fine.

And here’s Adlani’s note to his teacher.  In case you don’t speak First Grade, it says “Hi Señora Jeyadame.  I am going to miss you.  And I want you to have a nice time with Ravi.  Gracias para todo.  Te quiero.  Adlani”

In case you missed it on Facebook, here’s Adlani’s video message to his teacher, along with his reading demonstration.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoob5kjPP38?rel=0&w=560&h=349]

Don’t be a killer.

This made me cry. Looking back at my own middle school experience I feel like most everyone was bullied at some point, and the kids who got bullied found other kids to pick on. It’s amazing we survived and turned into responsible adults. I am not looking forward to the middle school years.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37_ncv79fLA?rel=0&w=480&h=390]


I love this.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhYyAa0VnyY?rel=0&w=640&h=390]