Thursday, July 27, 2006

The Piano ...

On the other side of my office wall stands our piano. Over the years the cost of maintaining it has gone to diapers and new shoes, but it still sounds clear and bright albeit slightly out of tune. Over those same years as my kids grew older the songs played on that piano went from classical masterpieces to a more and more discordant mishmash of notes played randomly by little fingers and fists.

So when I heard a beautiful melody the other day as I was working in my office, I sat back listening, thinking my wife Kathleen was playing. I thought it was a variation on Beethoven's Fur Elise as most of the notes of the melody seemed to be there.

Slowly I went to my door and peaked around the corner and to my surprise saw it was my 4-year-old son Milo doing the playing. "Good job, Milo!" I exclaimed when he stopped. To which he responded by pounding relentlessly on all the keys at once while singing in his now famous screeching voice.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Multi-Lingual ...

Where we live, we have the benefit of receiving both Canadian and US children's television programming. So our kids are exposed to French and Spanish words on many of the pre-school shows.

One day my daughter Neva and her little friend were discussing how many languages they speak. When you're almost 7 years old, being able to count to 10 in both French and Spanish counts as two languages, so they were up to three, including English.

Then Neva excitedly asked, "Mommy! How does Daddy talk to Oma's sister?"

"In German," I answered.

"I know four languages," she exclaimed, "'cuz I almost speak German!"

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Still Singing ...

On Tuesday I wrote how my children love to sing, especially my 4-year-old son Milo, whose singing talent is the envy of the neighbors. Recently, Milo has come to have his first public "commercial" performance.

It came about the other day as my wife Kathleen was grocery shopping with Milo at our local supermarket. Always the energetic type, Milo was running from one aisle to the next. It was in the paper products section that Milo suddenly stopped. Pointing to the toilet paper on the shelf, he burst into song, loudly singing the "Charmin Ultra" toilet paper jingle he's heard on television.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

I've Got the Music in Me ...

My wife studied music for the better part of her life and it led her to a degree in Music Theory and Composition. And coming from a very musical family that stretches back generations it's not surprising that Kathleen has those musical genes.

So it stands to reason that my children should likely have similar talents. And for the most part they do. All three of them love to sing, love music and especially love to perform. Both my 6 1/2 year-old daughter Neva and 2 1/2 year-old Willa are not bad. Willa often sings melodies in tune.

It is my 4 year-old son Milo however, who really stands out. He sings with such bravado and power that you can hear him halfway down the block. Whether it’s a children's classic or the latest pop song he's hooked on, Milo screeches and shrieks his butchered melody and made up lyrics with abandon, convinced he’s a Rock Star. Which goes to prove that even with good genes, talent doesn't always come naturally.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Since I Saw You Last ...

My two-year-old daughter and I were visiting our landlord the other day and it just so happened that her brother was in town at the same time. It's been close to a year since Greg visited his sister last and it was good seeing him again.

Though she had met Greg during his last visit, Willa being just one at that time, had no memory of their previous acquaintance. But he's such a character: young at heart, outgoing and boisterous. Little wonder Willa warmed up to him instantly.

We were seated in front of Greg, Willa on my lap, when he suddenly turned to her and said: "My Willa, you've grown three feet since I saw you last". Without missing a beat, Willa raised her legs in the air and pointing to her feet said: "No, I two feet... see ... one, two".

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Mosquito Bites

My 6 1/2 year-old daughter Neva has been complaining of itchy mosquito bites this last week, asking me to "Scratch my back, Mommy," and "A little to the left... Ooh, more... Ah! That's the spot!"

The other day, however, she decided they weren't mosquito bites at all.

"I know why I've been so itchy. I've been cold, so I must have alot of frost bites."

Happy sweeping!

Kathleen Gunther
Editor, ContestHound.com

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Schools Out for Summer ...

It's been a week since my 6 1/2 year-old daughter Neva started summer vacation. No more waking her up in the morning or rushing through breakfast to get to school on time. No more frantic searches for overdue library books, missing shoes or lost homework. Morning's pace has slowed, at least until she starts summer art camp.

For the first few days Neva kept busy doing all sorts of things. She visited some of her schoolmates, dug holes in the garden looking for worms, watched TV, and went rollerblading.

But this morning it seemed that she might have run out of things to do. As I stood at the front door watching, Neva meandered around the yard with her butterfly net catching those plastic garden pots that store-bought transplants come in.

Happy sweeping!

Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com