Pills

these two to supplement the sun
and two of these to keep me sane
this small one to boost my energy
two bigger ones to help my brain
one of these for my general health
occasionally these for aches and pain
a handful to swallow until the spring
then next fall it starts over again

Question of the Week - That's Not a Kids' Song

I've always loved to sing. I was in chorus in high school, and I even made the chambers singers group. I took voice lessons through high school and college. And over the years, I was asked many times if I wanted to be a professional singer. Not only was I honest with myself about not being at that level, but I knew that even if I was good enough (which again, I wasn't) I wouldn't want the life of a professional singer. But when I said no, then people would want to know why I kept up with taking lessons. Aside from the joy of singing learning new songs and techniques, my answer was always that I just want to be able to sing pretty lullabies to my future children.

Now that I am a mother, I do indeed sing my babies to sleep. I spent years singing the Pumpkin to sleep, and occasionally still do. I sing the Pookie to sleep every time I put him to bed or down for a nap. If you think about it, that's a LOT of songs. A LOT of the same songs. Over and over and over again.

I have to admit, I get tired of the same old songs again and again. Don't get me wrong, I love the lullabies and even kids' songs. I sing a lot of Rockabye Baby and Twinkle Twinkle and Frere Jacque. But I've got to stay sane, so I also sing some of my favorite jazz and blues standards and some rock songs too.

I remember reading in Jenny McCarthy's book Baby Laughs that she didn't really know any lullabies or kids songs, so she would sing Brittany Spears (I think it was Baby One More Time). And when The Office had that episode with Jan bringing in her baby and she sang Son of a Preacher Man, I didn't think it was really inappropriate of her to sing that to the newborn. After all, at a certain point you've got to sing what you like or you're going to hate singing.

So this week's Question of the Week is:

What song have you sung/do you sing to your kids that borders on or flat out is inappropriate?

This past summer, right after I weaned, I was craving margaritas. In fact, I was walking my son and bouncing him, trying to get him to sleep for his nap, thinking about a nice, cold margarita with salt on the rim of the glass... and I started singing Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. And wouldn't you know it? The boy calmed down and fell to sleep. He really liked the tune, and I imagine he will become a Parrothead like his daddy was.

And Margaritaville isn't that bad, right? I mean, it's not like it's Let's Get Drunk and Screw!

What about you? Do you sing to your kids? What adult songs to you sing, knowing they don't understand the words? What do you sing or listen to to keep you sane at bedtime?