Armpits

I've been up to my armpits this week in...well, armpits.
You'd think it would be a bad thing, but it's NOT.

Armpits have provided my family with HOURS of entertainment over the past few days. 
I'm not talking about this kind of armpit entertainment (which my youngest learned from his father.)

Instead, we found a new, much easier way for people EVERYWHERE to have musical armpit entertainment. (And when I say "musical"...I mean, my kids actually made MUSIC.)

Unfortunately, this discovery happened in the MIDDLE OF A HOMESCHOOL DAY. (I was reading one of my new favorite blogs My Life and Kids while the boys were doing actual work, and I just couldn't wait to teach them!) So, my children were distracted from improper fractions and ancient civilizations as they tried to focus on improper inventive methods for utilizing their new-found ability.

Music and race cars were two of the more creative ways that we smiled due to bendy straws.
I have video of them squatting and making faces and being quite gross as well, but you don't even need imagination to picture what THOSE look like. (Of course, those moments still made us laugh - a lot. I plan to sneak a straw into bed sometime this weekend and shock Clay with odd noises in the dark. It may not sound romantic, but he will be so attracted to me as we laugh...and laugh...and laugh. I just hope he doesn't "pretend" to have a straw...and answer me back.)
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Last night we had another kind of  "Armpit Moment".
Evan took the fastest shower ever known to man. 
I had asked him to hurry, but his timing was warp speed. 
So I wondered out loud - to his face - about his success at actually getting CLEAN.


"Mom! I'm probably cleaner than NORMAL. I made sure! Smell my hair!"
*I smelled his hair
"It's clean isn't it? Smell my armpit."
"No."
"But it's CLEAN."
If someone asks you to smell his armpit, the answer should ALWAYS be 'No.'
*I'm constantly looking for a teaching moment...and he handed that one up on a platter.
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And today, I have decided to quit writing my latest blog series: "Revelation Road: How Becky Is Getting Broken"
My attention span just can't handle it.
This doesn't seem very armpit-y, you say?
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
For me, a blog series is the armpit of my blogging world.
You see, I am only capable of keeping a theme 'fresh' for so long. Soon, all the hard work that it requires to keep my train of thought starts stinking up what started out to be something pleasant (like deodorant failing in an armpit).
I just have to give up, shower off, and start fresh.
(OK, maybe that's a bit of stretch to make an armpit connection; but I had something else to say, and I wanted to include it in this post.)

There were 4 main events that I planned to share in that little blog series.
They all led up to a big, wonderful crack in my bad attitude (a.k.a. Bad-itude) which happened on January 1, 2013. I knew it might not last, so I promptly instated a 2013 motto:

"Let the things that God is breaking, STAY BROKEN." 

(Notice it's not a resolution. My short attention span gets in the way of resolutions. I don't make them, because I WILL NOT KEEP THEM. But a motto, now THAT is something I can pull out of my pocket when I need it...without feeling like a big ol' liar when I don't quite keep it.)

Anywho...
The journey I took to January 1 is still pretty awesome, but I just don't feel like writing about it anymore.
This whole blog is full of posts where God has been breaking my self-centered will and helping it to line up with His; and I've had a all kinds of *NEW* lessons I've been learning in the past 6 weeks, but I haven't shared about any of them because I thought I should finish my "series".
I know I could finish the series later...and write other things now, but I still feel the expectation hanging over me.
So I'm being realistic about the small expectations in my life that I make into big deals...and the blog series qualifies. Bye-bye unneeded, imagined, unnecessary stress.
It's my blog and I can do whatever I want; and today, I want to laugh about armpits.

First Paying Gig

I live with a houseful of musicians that rock and roll at all hours.
My heart loves it...but my ears could use a break once in a while.

Don't get me wrong, I don't cringe at the sound of missed notes or flat singing.
Instead, my pain comes from the crash of cymbols, the cranked-up amplifiers...and a mother's concern over hearing loss.
*If they go deaf, the music will only get louder!*

Our good friends got wind that our boys were saving up money to buy a PlayStation 3 - and that Dad was trying to convince them to earn money by playing concerts. (He's sneaky like that, motivating them musically through economics). So, the dear neighbors arranged for my boys to be the LIVE BAND at a New Year's Eve Eve party they held last night.

*WARNING: Proud Mama Alert*

My little musicians practiced all week and convince their main groupie (Dad) to join them on stage for moral support...and to add a funky bass-line.
It's amazing how much more tolerable the LOUD can be when Mama is beaming across a crowded room rather than trying to steal a quiet moment on the couch at home.

With bass guitar joining in, the group turned to Flea, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers for inspiration.
(Caution: do NOT Google Red Hot Chili Peppers unless you want an earful of lyrics requiring a Parental Advisory Sticker. This School of Rock does not allow such language, but Dad knew of a song that is rated G.)

With hat on the ground to collect tips for their wages, and their #1 fan in the front row (*ahem* that's me) -here is a little highlight from their very first PAYING GIG.
 *Walk About by Red Hot Chili Peppers...a song about a journey thru Australia  - but performed as an instrumental by Rassis

I think they need to write their OWN funky bass-line with some lyrics that can be sung to the glory of God. Hmm, sounds like a perfect school project.
Maybe next time they perform, they will get up the nerve to SING it as well...but I'm not holding my breath just yet.

If you want to see the video in a larger format (or other old videos), go visit them here