Harper's Bizarre

I haven't done one of these in awhile. Used to when I would post these, I'd say a little something about any issues that Harper was having in her life at the time. Thankfully, there's really nothing to say right now. Things are fairly mellow for her lately-she even got her bike back (more on that in the comments on the post below.) She's still dealing with some of the same old issues, but things seem to be in somewhat of a holding pattern for now.

Translation: Things aren't great, but they ain't too bad either. At the very least, I don't have that worried, gnawing feeling in my stomach right this minute, so that's good enough for me.

The reason I haven't done one of these H.B. posts in several months is because she hasn't been pilfering through my CDs much. Well, she still does occasionally, but when she does, she seems to hone in on something embarrassing (you don't need to know that I have a CD that features the theme song to St. Elmo's Fire in my possession. And you don't need to know that my kid likes to listen to it. Yet here I am telling you about it. I fail.) Besides all that, she's got her own music to root through now, so I guess the allure of mommy's music is no match for the musical juggernaut that is Hannah Montana.

Except for this. She's been playing this one like crazy lately. I have to say, it's a joy to watch her when she listens to it: she bounces around like a ball, shakes her bootay and screams "SO WHAT!" at the top of her lungs. It makes me so proud, I can't even tell you.

Yes, Bruce, They Are Pricks

Harper is on Spring Break this week, and wouldn't you know it, it's rained every day except today. Fortunately it's extremely nice outside this afternoon-sunny, 75 degrees-perfect weather for her to go ride her bike. So a few hours ago, I granted her request to go out and she immediately comes back in and asks "Where's my bike?". I get up and go look and it's nowhere to be seen:some scum sucking, bilge biting rat-bastard stole it.

Who does this? It's an old, crappy bike, the seat cushion is totally gone, it's like sitting on a hemorrhoid generator. Hell, I hope whoever stole it DOES get a scorching case of 'roids, if not worse. Actually, I hope they get polyps and they become so constipated that sitting on the bike would be pure torture, in which case, I hope they have to ride it forever.

Sonofabitch.

Believe it or not, I'm not as enraged as I was when it first happened (if I was, I wouldn't be able to type, the whole post would look like this :"UGCDLHVFOUYR!!). Once my neck cooled off-my neck gets all hot when I get mad-this thing popped into my head. See, I can never get mad enough that I don't remember stupid shit I've seen on tv over the years. It's technically not the same thing, but it's related. If I wanted to be all specific, I'd have to post a review of the Bicycle Thief or something. It's just been so long ago that I saw that and I'm still KIND OF pissed, so I don't think this would be the best time to pontificate about a classic Italian film. As it is, I'm having a hard time following the Fairly Oddparents, which is on tv right now. I think Timmy's in the hospital or something, I dunno.

At least no one stole his bike.

Harper's Bizarre

Bit of a mini update..

Awhile back, I posted about Harper's school telling me to consider taking her to a psychologist to get tested, due to her behavior, and problems focusing on her studies. Weeeeeellll, today was her first appointment, and although I was extremely nervous, it went pretty well, and the doctor didn't say anything I didn't know already. He thinks that she exhibits signs of ADHD, but he's not willing to make a diagnosis until she's tested, which will be done in 2 weeks or so. There's more to all of it than that-nothing major-but I feel uncomfortable laying it all out in a blog post. As it is, I'm just glad the first appointment is over, and hopefully, with that tension out of the way, I'll be able to quit grinding my teeth while I sleep (my jaw HOITS, man.)

A song seems kinda superfluous, but I haven't done a Harper's Bizarre in a while, so I'll just slap this baby up there. I have no idea why she likes this song, but she does. I USED to like it, until every tv show and teen movie made from 1996 to 2000 included it on their soundtrack. It's still a good song, but I can't hear it now without thinking of Buffy and Angel dancing at the prom, after he was all "No, I can't take you, I used to be all evil, and now I gotta brood, blah-dy, blah-dy, blah" and she was all "But Angel, I looooove you, I don't care that you used to kill people and torture puppies. I don't care that we can't have sex because if we do, you'll get all evil and funny and not-whiny and start wearing leather pants again-we belong together. WAAAAH!" but then he showed up in a tux and stuff after Buffy got that sweet 'Class Protecter' umbrella and they danced and they were all happy and everything until the next episode, when Faith and the Mayor...

Oops, I went off on a little Buffy tangent. Sorry, sorry, it won't happen again.

Yeah, right...

Harper's Bizarre

There is a huge chance this could turn into one of those long-winded, moody-type schpiels. I hate making those posts. It's just not ME, you know. But I've got something on my mind, and it's about Harper, so I figured I could slip it into one of her music dealies, and no one would make too big of a thing about it. Pretty sneaky, huh?

Yesterday, I had one of those super-fun parent/teacher conferences at school. This is the second one I've had in as many months. She's not going around beating the snot out of the other kids, or anything like that, it's more to do with some of the things she says, which they've deemed 'innapropriate'. So, I was told by her teacher, the school nurse, the guidance counseler and some other woman, that 'perhaps' I should have her go in for psychological testing. YAY! THEY THINK MY KID'S CRAZY!

Oy.

As you may imagine, I was less than thrilled with this assessment of my pride and joy. I mean, they didn't come right out and say that was what they thought. Basically, they said that she was very smart, in fact one of them ACTUALLY SAID that she was "too smart for her own good" (!!), and it might be working against her. In effect, she has a vivid imagination, she says and does things that they don't get, and some of the kids are afraid of her.

You know, if this wasn't making me so upset, I'd be really proud that I gave birth to a mad genius.

The thing about this that really pisses me off, is that I don't know if I agree or disagree with what they said. Now, I don't think that's she's bonkers, or anything like that-she's certainly quirky, that's for damn sure, and even though I know that kind of thing is frowned upon (especially in small town Texas), it still makes me angry that instead of trying to understand her, they've just decided that it's a negative quality and it's to be stiffled (one of them, only one, surprisingly, made mention of medication. NO.)

However, there's a part of me, the Mom part of me, that wants her to be accepted and not thought of as a pariah, and knows that she has a tendency to cause some awkward moments when we're out(I've cringed at some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth when we're in public.) But see, that's just it though: maybe because I'm a bit on the odd side, I don't notice it as much, but when she's at home, she doesn't say anything that I'VE-or anyone else here, now that I think about it-ever construed as being peculiar. At home, she acts like a normal kid, for the most part, and only when she leaves the comfort of home does she let her freak flag fly. I'm sure part of the answer lies in that statement, but aside from keeping her prisoner, I can't glean a solution from it.

I guess I'll go ahead and get her tested, because maybe I can learn something from what they find, even if it's nothing (which is not without precedent: when she was about 4, we had to take her to a shrink because she bit her endocrinologist. The psychiatrist said he didn't think there was anything wrong with her, in his opinion, she was just fed up with being stuck with huge needles. Get. Out.)

But I digress...

Actually, I wasn't going to post this Bizarre thing after saying all that, but it's actually in context with what I just talked about. See, my sister in law got Harper a guitar for Christmas. Well, she's just loving the hell out of that damn instrument, however my ears are less than thrilled. I've ALMOST told her to give it a rest many a time, but since the first school meeting, I've opted to let her release her creativity here, at home, where it won't get her into trouble, even at the risk of my own sanity-I'm a SAINT, doncha know? So, I let her pluck along to my CDs, and right now, she's way into Guided By Voices, which isn't so bad. She doesn't sound ANYTHING like what she's playing along with, of course, but she's happy, so I don't give a rat's ass that it sounds like she's poking a cat with a sharp stick.

I told you-I'm a SAINT.

Harper's Bizarre

I haven't posted a Harper-centric music post in a few weeks, but it's not because she's gotten lax in her listening habits-oh no, no, no. See, about two weeks ago, she found a CD in her room that she forgot she had, and she listened to it CONSTANTLY for awhile. What's the song on this CD that she loves oh-so-very much? Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.

I have posted some terrible things on this blog-that photo of those 3 whores probably being the worst of it-but I draw the line at the most evil of songs. I am many things, but overly cruel I am not. Besides, posting it would mean that I would have to check and make sure that the song worked, which means I would have to hear at least part of it, and there is no way in hell I would voluntarily do that. As a matter of fact, I've been making her listen to it with the headphones on to protect my ears. So, you can rest easy.

Anyway, she finally decided to move on, and is currently under the thrall of the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. Before you ask, Yes, I do own the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack: I have a healthy appreciation for almost all genres of music (not ALL, though. There are some things I flat-out refuse to listen to. But that's a whole other post), and I've tried to pass that on to my offspring. Unfortunately, that's probably what led her to listen to that damn Grandma song for 11 days straight, but you have to take the good with the bad, I guess. Variety: it's the spice-and poison-of life.

And just because I feel like it, here's MY favorite song off the same CD. I have no idea why I like this song, but I do-accept it, and move on.

Harper's Bizarre

My youngin' has made two rather diverse musical discoveries this week, and it's kind of a "Good news/Bad news" situation.


The good news:




I am very, VERY pleased with this as you can imagine.

The not-so-good news:




Errrrrrr............

I like Prince. I really do, in fact if I didn't, I wouldn't have this CD. But I must say, when Harper put this on, and I realized what it was, my butt cheeks clenched together, and I had an insta-flashback to when I was the very same age as Harper.

I remember pitching a fit for my mom to buy me the Purple Rain soundtrack. She finally relented, and I listened to it almost every day. Imagine my 8 year old shock and surprise, when one day, for no reason that I knew of, she snatched it away from me and wouldn't tell me why. How was I supposed to know? I was EIGHT, for Christ's sake-I didn't know what in hell that woman was doing in that lobby with the magazine, or what kind of devices she had at her castle. I guess that was the real reason she took the tape away from me: she didn't want to have to explain it to me.

Now that I'm in the same position, I feel her pain to a degree, and thankfully, Harper seems content to only play the same song over and over again, and isn't in any hurry to explore the rest of the CD.

Whew.

Harper's Bizarre

Ah hell.

I've been trying to keep this band's existence a secret from Harper, but I have failed. I knew what would happen if she heard them, and I was %100 correct.

The other night, in a fit of 90s nostalgia, I threw on If I Were a Carpenter, which is a collection of covers of Carpenters songs, done by a variety of talented, and not-so-talented artists. You see, I forgot about the presence of Shonen Knife on that CD. Harper heard their cover of On Top of the World, and she, quite frankly, lost her mind-there was bouncing off of walls, and endless hitting of the repeat button. I also made the mistake of informing her that I had MORE Shonen Knife CDs. I am a foolish, foolish woman.

Radio Blog apparently has more sense than I do, because they have no SK songs. I went to YouTube, and they had a little more to choose from, though not much. Oddly enough, what with the MASSIVE number of options I was given, I still couldn't decide between these 2, so I'm posting both-I'm a giver, I live to give.

On It's Side, It's Infinity

Harper went and turned eight years old today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!), and I had planned to post the entire Spongebob movie for her. For whatever reason, I've decided against that, and have instead opted to post 2 cartoons and a tv sitcom. Harper loves these shows, watches them all the time (I, of course, am unfamiliar with all 3, since I am too mature to be drawn in by such silliness. Did anyone buy that?).

I realize that pretty much all I've posted lately is music and YouTube clips, but things have been pretty hectic around here, what with illness, not just this, but 3 other birthdays, Halloween preparations, and general drama. Once Halloween is over, I should be back to my usual posting habits. No, wait, I'm still planning to blow up Parliament on Guy Fawkes Day, so I'm booked solid til after the 5th...Erm, um, no, no, I should be back to normal after Halloween-forget about that other thing.

Harper's Bizarre

I haven't gotten lazy. I realize that my last few posts have been pretty much nothing but music and video clips, but I have NOT gotten lazy. That would imply that I wasn't lazy to begin with (Ba-dum-bum!). Seriously, yesterday, I was too busy wrasslin' with the nefarious monster known as Beta Blogger to post anything more substantial (since I got Haloscan running again, and my title pic up, I now hate BB %86 less than I did yesterday). Plus, at the end of last week, I had some trouble at home: Harper got into a bit of a scuffle. No, 'scuffle' isn't the appropriate word: some 10 year old bastard bully boy next door tried to beat the snot out of her ( I'm still hating him at %120 capacity-I don't care if he is 10).

What's my excuse today? Well, Harper is at home, sick, with strep throat, AND I had absolutely NO sleep last night-none, nada. So, you combine all of that-the stress from last week, the nightmare that is BB, my sick baby, and the no sleep, and you do not get a nice picture. I'm loopy at this point. If I posted anything more than this, it would descend into mad gibberish, like repeatedly typing "No TV and no beer make Jamie something-something"-No one wants that.

I wouldn't post anything AT ALL, but Harper has recently discovered the Beatles. She heard this song for the first time the other night, and she just sat there, perfectly still, with a very serious look on her face while she listened to it. Then, she asked to hear it again. Also, with everything that's transpired in the last few days, it's almost rather fitting. So, I am posting this song, and dedicating it to my Sweetie Pea.

Harper's Bizarre

It was suggested to me the other day by Jenner, that perhaps I should make use of my daughter's growing obsession with music, and make posting the songs she currently plays ad nauseum, a regular feature. Well, I happen to think that is a spiffy idea, so I'm running with it. I also thought that in honor of her first official gig as DJ, I would conduct a little interview with her:

Me: So, why do you keep going through my cds?

Harper: I don't know.

Me: Do you like music?

Harper: YES! Giggles

Me: Who is your favorite musician, or band?

Harper: Aly and AJ, and Johnny Cash

Me: Really? What's your favorite Johnny Cash song?

Harper: I Walk the Line. Is that candy?

Me: Yes, it's kind of old though.

Harper: Can I have it?

Me: I don't care. This song I'm posting today-you've played it quite a bit. Why?

Harper: I don't know. Can I go outside?

Me: No. It's raining.

Harper: Then, can I go watch tv?

Me: Go ahead. Give me a kiss.

Harper: Kisses

Me: Now, GIT!

Harper: Giggles, leaves

So, there you have it. I'd say my first interviewing job was a ROUSING success. Of course, I also say that purple and orange go well together, and that Dream Warriors was the best entry in the Nightmare on Elm Street series, so I'm probably not the best judge of these kinds of things.

Psychedelic Furs-"Love My Way"

Believe it or not, this is one of Harper's picks. God bless her...

Radiohead-"Talk Show Host"

Harper has moved on from the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack, onto the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. (For the record, I do own CDs that aren't film soundtracks, but they seem to be her preference)
Radio Blog doesn't have the song that she's been playing-ENDLESSLY, I might add-so, I'm posting MY favorite song from that CD.