billarnold.typepad.com

Thumb Sucker

Here's a recent shot of one of the upcoming Arnolds!

Duty Calls

I've definitely fallen into this trap many a time!

ht: Addison Road

Mariachi

I'm in the middle of performing my normal Sunday afternoon task: lesson plans for the coming week. My third graders are studying Mexican music this week so I was searching for a video of some Mariachi to show them. I came across the one below, which I thought was so superb that I had to share it. This might not be your type of music, but you've gotta admit these guys are good!

Arnold Update

For some of you that may not have heard we have a couple very exciting things going on:

1. Valerie had an ultrasound done recently and there were two heartbeats. We're having twins!
2. We made an offer on a house and it was accepted! We're hoping to close in mid-February, just in time for my Winter break. This way I get to spend my time off painting!

12 Days of Christmas

Pregnancy Tracker

I put a "pregnancy tracker" in the right-hand column. It shows a 3-D image of what a typical baby would look like during the given phase of gestation and has a countdown to our due date, which we've calculated to be August 25. If you click on "Open Week __" you will be taken to a page that has interesting info about the given week.

The Results Are In

Did Someone Say Twins?

It's scary to talk about this because it's such a fragile undertaking. Nonetheless, Valerie and I want to illicit everyone's prayers so we're sharing our exciting news. The picture to the left is of the two embryos (three days old) that were transferred to Valerie's uterus on Wednesday. Let me back up a minute...

About a month ago Valerie and I talked about the idea of giving artificial insemination a shot. We knew that this would be covered by my new health insurance, so we thought it was worth a try and scheduled an appointment with a nearby fertility clinic. The doctor we met with told us that our chances were very slim and asked if we had considered in vitro fertilization. We said that we had discussed it years ago but were uncomfortable with the process. We discussed our concerns and the doctor informed us that his institute would be willing to come up with a plan that we would be comfortable with. We also discovered that in vitro, which is a fairly expensive procedure, would also be covered by my insurance.

During a normal in vitro cycle, excess embryos are frozen for future use. I'm not sure how I personally feel about this process. It appears to be relatively safe these days. The ethical dilemma for me, however, lies in the fact that fertility specialists will only freeze those embryos that meet a certain criteria. This means that any "extra" embryos would be discarded (or possibly donated to science). Because Valerie and I were not comfortable with this prospect we decided to have only two eggs fertilized. That way we knew we could use all existing embryos no matter what. Even if they did not meet the criteria for freezing, they could still be transferred and therefore given a chance for survival. Our doctors would have preferred for us to fertilize 4-6 eggs. Remember, you can't be sure how many will actually become fertilized, so statistically speaking, fertilizing 2 is not the "safest" route to follow. A nurse told us that in her 6 years at the institute, no one had ever made this kind of request.

Fast forward to last Sunday...Valerie was given an anesthetic and her doctors retrieved 3 healthy eggs. I was given an anesthetic and my doctor retrieved plenty of sperm. We were sent home after three hours or so and told to wait for a phone call. On Monday morning we received word that we had two fertilized eggs (zygotes)! Next, we had to wait till Wednesday to have the new embryos transferred to Valerie's uterus. I watched the sonogram as the doctor pushed our microscopic babies into Valerie on a tiny air bubble.

What now? We wait and pray until the 16th, when Valerie will be given a pregnancy test at the clinic. Any kind of a home pregnancy test would probably result in a false positive because of the progesterone I have to inject into Valerie's body every night. Please pray that the embryos attach themselves safely to Valerie's uterus. You can read more about this process here. Also, pray that they will continue to grow into full-term, healthy babies!

Purple People Eater

In honor of Halloween, one of the 3rd grade classes will be singing Purple People Eater. Their classroom teacher asked me if I would make a recording for them to sing along with and I decided to do a Soulja Boy remix.

If you haven't heard Crank That yet, first listen to this excerpt:

Next, listen to my Purple People Eater remix:

First Impressions

So far, teaching music in an urban elementary school is just plain difficult. I have over 300 new names to learn and I know maybe 30-40 so far. The group I know best is my lunch crew. I have lunch duty every day and I am assigned to specific group of 2nd graders. They are cute but difficult to work with nonetheless. They only get a half an hour to eat and lunch and have recess every day. I think they need  lot more time to expel some energy! Many of them only eat a small amount of the food they are given. Our school is big on their new health policy, which means they can't have candy, soda, potato chips, etc. No one is making sure they actually get some nutrients into their bodies, though!

I have two classes for each grade, from kindergarten up to grade 6. I also teach a combined pre-K class, which includes special needs students. My easiest classes are probably kindergarten and 1st grade, although I always find that I run out of stuff to do with my kindergarteners! From 2nd grade up, they become a real handful. There is always a lot of anger in the air and it's difficult not to get angry myself. We do a call and response clapping drill, which is supposed to get their attention. I give smelly stickers to those who freeze when they're supposed to. They freeze pretty well, but it never lasts long. All of my classes, from 2nd to 6th, are on a point system where they are working toward an incentive they chose as a class. A pizza party is the most popular one. Thankfully, the nurse gave me the OK on bringing in pizza.

It seems that just about every child in the whole school knows the Soulja Boy dance. Hopefully, I will be able to develop lessons that are more immediately relevant to their world as I go along. I want to broaden their horizons, but I also want to meet them "where they're at" and help them to explore the music that surrounds them daily.

Chorus is going fairly well so far. I have about 60 participants and they are divided into three groups. My most difficult rehearsal so far was the first one with boys only (they're group 3). We're learning 6 songs for our Winter concert.

I guess that's all for now...

Pirate Party

 

We celebrated my son's 6th birthday today. As you can see, it was a pirate theme. My wife, sister, and brother built the boat in the picture below out of cardboard and wood.

Something's Missing

What's missing from this picture?

First Day of School

Use the Mic!

When you are asked to speak in front of a group, and a microphone is offered to you, this is my plea: Use the mic! So many people refuse to use one because they think they're loud enough. There are two problems with this:

1. You probably aren't. Many people seem to think they have a loud voice and yet it turns out they do not project well enough for everyone in the room to hear them without straining.
2. Even if you know how to project, it's still easier on everyone's ears if you would just use the technology available to you.

I honestly can't back this up with scientific facts, but it seems to me that there is something about amplified sound that is simply easier to hear. It's not just about volume. I don't know if it's because the sound cuts through background noise better or what, but that is my observation. Maybe someone who knows more about acoustics can back me up.

I have decided to move this to the top of my pet peeve list, right above people who drive slow in the fast lane!

The Good Life

Popular music has helped to keep composers in touch with their audience—that is, until the mid-twentieth century, when composers turned away from their audiences (and from popular music), with disastrous results....I am concerned with maintaining good relations with the audience; I see the composer as a moral force, as an instructor, and as an essential contributor to the good life. (William Russo, Composing Music, p.179)