Hey, Soul Sister!

Hey, Soul Sister by Train

I saw this video one time on a music channel. I liked it instantly. The catchy music was refreshing, sort of like reggae. The video itself was cute. I liked how some of the words of the song literally led the guy and the girl to each other. When the video was done, I found myself singing some parts of the chorus although I was not familiar with the lyrics. I think I had a case of LSS or Last Song Syndrome. But gladly, it was a nice song, and not some crappy, nonsensical one that got stuck to the "front lobe of my left-side brains." :-D

I Wouldn't Use These As Children's Room Decor

Remember I want to redecorate our children's bedroom? Well, while I was swirling kids' room looks in my head, I thought of the idea to paint the walls with nursery rhymes or songs characters. Wouldn't that be cute? Hand-drawn and hand-painted Mary and her little lamb, little stars twinkling near the ceiling, and London bridge falling down. WAIT! That doesn't look right. In fact, it seems to be a negative thing to draw. And my children could be forever asking me why that bridge is falling.

My kids have a CD of children songs that we listen to in the car and there were ones whose lyrics seem a bit disturbing. Like this particular song:

Throw someone down the stairs?

Oh, such unfortunate events!

I used to wonder why songs that are supposedly for children, would  be violent or depressing in nature. The reason for that is explained in this post.

Lately, my 5-year-old daughter kept singing the song Oh My Darling, Clementine. She probably learned it in school. Upon researching (read: googling) the words to the song, we discovered that it's a super sad song! The lyrics below are from this source:

“Oh my darling, oh my darling,

My darling Clementine,

You are lost for me forever,

Dreadful sorry, Clementine.

Drove she ducklings to the water

Ev’ry morning just at nine,

Hit her foot against a splinter,

Fell into the foaming brine.

Ruby lips above the water,

Blowing bubbles soft and fine,

But alas, I was no swimmer,

Neither was my Clementine.

In a churchyard near the canyon,

Where the myrtle doth entwine,

There grow rosies and some posies,

Fertilized by Clementine.”

I don't know if I would let my children sing these songs still. But, even with seemingly harmless songs like these, I think parental discretion is needed. I am not sure if there's some research on that, but exposing the kids too much to these nursery rhymes might have a negative psychological impact. Who knows? I am glad I could sing wonderful Christian songs to them instead.

On Birthdays

Starting a new year may be like starting our lives anew, but in my opinion, being able to celebrate our birthday is a blessing in itself that we have another chance at living. I am thankful for the people in my life who made me feel special, especially on my birthday. And I believe a birthday is not a birthday without cake. It's a tradition!

I already wrote on my other blog about how I celebrated my birthday. Mommy Moments for this week called for a birthday photo, but I just want to share a video where my daughter sang The Birthday Song for me, with the cake my hubby Rix bought for me.

I am starting to plan my two children's joint birthday party and my baby boy's baptism. So far, I have reserved the church for baptism. I am planning on getting a Barbie cake for my daughter. I need to decide where we will hold the reception. A simple Chinese style sit-down "pan-toh" lunch at a good restaurant is on our minds.

Thanks to my friends Meg and Jack, I got to try the Red Ribbon Chocolate Fudge Cake at last. They surprised me with this when they came and visited me here at home. It was so moist! I love the fudge icing so characteristic of chocolate cakes. Yummy indeed!

She Moved Up

Moving up, that's what my daughter Elle's school calls their commencement exercises (but more of an awarding ceremony) where the students move up to the next level of their education. But not all the students were there, though. Elle did not go up the stage to claim an award but she did go up to perform a song (with matching actions) entitled Small Voice with her classmates. She was so cute! 

Even though Elle entered Junior Nursery just last November for the second semester, I am so proud that she could follow the class lessons and her assessment showed that she's going to "move up" to  Senior Nursery level next school year. Praise God! 

After their performance onstage, they went back to their classrooms and she was awarded the Most Participative of her class. I had a glimpse of her being participative when we were in her Sunday school and while the teacher was telling a Bible story, she had a lot of ideas to input and she answered questions, too. I will read the teacher's narrative report on her again. It tells how Elle was doing in school for the past semester. I am so thankful to God for giving me a smart and sweet little girl.

Note: This video was taken from YouTube.

Song Of Dreams

Here in my song

My dreams I realize

I know I will soar

High up to the skies

Places I'll go

My wings will take me there

Lovely scenes I'll see

I'll leave behind each care

Dreaming of a castle

Built on em'rald hills

There I am a princess

Don't need to pay the bills

I can be a fairy

With magic to spare

With a wave of my wand

Needs are met everywhere

In my song, anything I believe

Will take place

All the tears, from the hurts will be gone

From my face

And my heart, with each beat it skips to

The melody

In my song, I am whole, I am me

I am free

Mommy Is A Child

Beauty and the Beast

Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Than somebody bends
Unexpectedly

Just a little change
Small, to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast

Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will arise

Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong

Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast 

I have always loved fairy tales! I love reading them from books and watching them on TV. I love how the heroines end up with the cute guys who absolutely adore them. I love how the characters could sing a song of just about anything. I love how the animals could talk and make the characters' lives more colorful. I love the happily ever afters.
There was a time I thought that I have outgrown these fairy tales. When I went to college, when I fell in love, when I started working, when I got married, I didn't really get the chance to rediscover my love of fairy tales, of children's stories, of reading, of singing the beloved songs.
Until now. One of the things I love about being a mommy is that I could watch kiddie shows and fairy movies and cartoons, and get away with it. My hubby gets bored with those kind of shows and he smirks when I sing along to some of the songs. With the help of Disney channel and the Internet, we were able to get hold of animated fairy tale movies that we let our daughter watch. Like me, she loves them too. She even finds Cinderella funny!
The most recent one that we watched was Beauty and the Beast. It still brought tears to my eyes. And I still love the songs! I think it's still my favorite Disney animated movie of all.   

Thought of sharing this touching song

In My Daughter's Eyes sung by Martina McBride

(James Slater)

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero

I am strong and wise and I know no fear

But the truth is plain to see

She was sent to rescue me

I see who I wanna be

In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal

Darkness turns to light and the

world is at peace

This miracle God gave to me gives me

strength when I am weak

I find reason to believe

In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand

around my finger

Oh it puts a smile in my heart

Everything becomes a little clearer

I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart

has had enough

It's giving more when you feel like giving up

I've seen the light

It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future

A reflection of who I am and what will be

Though she'll grow and someday leave

Maybe raise a family

When I'm gone I hope you see how happy

she made me

For I'll be there

In my daughter's eyes

Snippets

Here are some thoughts to ponder, some snippets of wisdom that I found in some songs by popular artists. You can share with me your finds if you have some.


"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
-Closing Time by Semisonic
They say life is a cycle, so maybe this holds true.

"We live and we learn to take
One step at a time
There's no need to rush
It's like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It's gonna happen and it's
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

When you can't wait any longer
But there's no end in sight
When you need to find the strength
It's the faith that makes you stronger
The only way you get there
Is one step at a time"
-One Step At A Time by Jordin Sparks
Words of wisdom for those who are rushing through life that they fail to see and feel the beauty of it.

"I'd change the world if I could change my mind

Why do we keep killing each other, what's the reason?
God made us all equal in his vision"
-Union by Black Eyed Peas
It is easier to change ourselves, than to attempt to change the world.

"Now I understand to hold you
I must open my hands"
-Butterfly by Mariah Carey
Letting go is a part of being in love. God gave us freewill, so why not give our partners freedom?

"Well heaven only knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up Christmas list"
-My Grown Up Christmas List by Kelly Clarkson
Material things could not take the place of unconditional love.

On a different note, have you seen The Sketch Show? Here it is shown on Jack TV. It is a show full of skits of comical essence. I like it! If you feel down, I am sure it will lift your spirits. :-)

Confession: 7 things

Would you think I'm corny if I say I am sort of a fan of Miley Cyrus? And that the melody of her latest song, 7 things, keeps playing in my head, like an LSS (Last Song Syndrome)? I also watch her TV show Hannah Montana when I get to catch it. It's funny, she's funny. I feel like a child for liking her, and liking shows like Totally Spies, Kim Possible, Pocoyo (and his friends Pato and Ely), and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (*sings "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!").

The 7 things I hate about you
You're vain, your games, you're insecure
You love me, you like her
You make me laugh, you make me cry
I don't know which side to buy
Your friends they're jerks
When you act like them, just know it hurts
I wanna be with the one I know
And the 7th thing I hate the most that you do
You make me love you

And compared to all the great things
That would take too long to write
I probably should mention
The 7 that I like

The 7 things I like about you
Your hair, your eyes, your old Levi's
And when we kiss, I'm hypnotized
You make me laugh, you make me cry
But I guess that's both I'll have to buy
Your hand in mine
When we're intertwined everything's alright
I want to be
With the one I know
And the 7th thing I like the most that you do
You make me love you
You do (oh)

Oh, and I need to get this off my chest.
7 things I hate about "her"(not Miley Cyrus), and more:

1. Conversation with her is 1-way, she does all the talking
2. What comes out of her mouth is mostly complaints
3. She's also a nagger
4. She's bossy and expects others to meet her wants
   
5. And discriminative
   
6. And demanding
7. She thinks she's all that

Woohoo! There's a whole lot more I'd like to list down, but she's not worth every inch of my blog.