Hometime

I have a lot of things I want to say today and no time to say them. I was asked yesterday to substitute teach on Sunday so any plans I had for today have been thrown out the window. My lesson is on "comforting words at the time of death". Yipee! A real upper! I have no clue what I'll be saying.

So, the rest of my house pictures will have to wait (they are just sitting on my camera, taunting). My thoughts on a great playdate will have to wait (um, well, great for me; the jury is still out in regards to Sammy!). For now, though, I will give you the answers to a tag. Lora asked me to play along sometime last week and who am I to say no? It's the eight random facts about you tag and since I won't be tagging anyone (I know, I'm such a stick in the mud!), here are my random facts without any fanfare.

1. This song ALWAYS makes me cry. Unfortunately, it's what I thought of most while I was in the hospital having Sammy. I really shouldn't have watched She's Having A Baby the week before.

2. I am buying raspberries this week and will attempt, for the first time, to make and can raspberry jam. I'm excited.

3. I let Sammy watch a cartoon on my iPod the other day, earphones and all. I KNOW!

4. I used to be able to just sit down and read. Whenever. My plans for reading now never happen when I think they will. Sammy is way too interested in all the letters.

5. I just bought a freezer for the garage. For some reason, THAT makes me feel like more of a grown-up than buying a house did.

6. My OCD has calmed, some what, since the move. However, it's still something I have to daily think about so I know there's room to improve.

7. We bought a "London with Kids" guidebook last week. I'm excited for a trip that doesn't even have a date yet!

8. I'm trying to figure out a way to justify a weekend trip to LA in September to see Paul Weller in concert. So far I've come up empty and it makes me sad.

Progress Keeps Moving Along

We have a toddler bed sleeper. We are on day four, so I'm feeling pretty confident that it isn't a fluke.

We took down his crib rails on Sunday and Sunday night was a breeze. Nap Monday was cake. Sleep Monday night - not a problem. Yesterday was great. The most curious part of all of this is that he doesn't get out of his bed before he goes to sleep. At all. Not at bedtime, not at naptime. He lays down, he reads a book, he talks to his stuffed dog, but he stays in bed until morning or after his nap. It's a wonder to behold. I know we sometimes caught a lot of flak for keeping him on such a rigid schedule and routine, but if this is the result? I'm ok with that! If it's not the result and just the gods smiling down on us, I'm ok with that too! (although, I'm sure I've just cursed us somehow with that paragraph...I'll keep you posted how the curse manifests itself!)

Next week is Sammy's birthday. I think I can say with confidence he will go crazy when he sees his gifts. It's been hard to keep them from him, and I'm excited the day is nearly here. We're having a nice family party (if you haven't RSVP'd, let me know!) and keeping it lowkey. Perfect. Even if I can't believe my baby is two!

Language is still coming along. He gains more words and letters all the time now. He still sounds like a little alien, and all stories lead to cars eventually, but I'm recognizing more and more of what he says. He learned to jump recently and it's become a favorite pasttime. Tomorrow brings his first ever playdate and I'm anxious to see how that will go. (I'm mostly excited that I get to have mommies over to get to know better, though!)

It looks as though it may rain today and just yesterday Isaac and I were commenting on how fast this summer is going. We've kept so busy that the days are just passing us by. Dare I say it? Life is good. Hopefully it'll stay that way!

Language

I love language and spelling and grammar. I love new words and definitions and the way you can construct a sentence that is mind blowing. I own over twelve different dictionaries or thesauruses of varying sorts (Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary, The Dictionary of Difficult Words, Thesaurus of Phrases, etc). I know, weird. However, they do come in handy. I finished the book Ella Minnow Pea last night. I could try to describe it, but I'm sure I would do a poor job. (A description is here) I have a fairly decent vocabulary, but this book made me make very good use out of my dictionaries and skills in deduction. As the characters have to resort to more and more outlandish ways of getting their point across, they begin to use words, dare I say most of us?, aren't using in our daily lives.

I have read a lot of articles about the dumbing down of America and, specifically, children's and young adult literature (the debate over the Twilight series comes to mind). I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that I think we are doing a disservice to everyone by this trend. I wish literature, good quality fiction and nonfiction literature alike, was a higher priority for most. I know a lot of people who don't read, won't read and it's a shame. It has been proven time and again that, "persons who read more write better, speak better, and know more. Naturally, then, they are more successful in life" (George Gallup).

I believe we not only need to read, but gravitate to the things that will challenge. The books you need to think about or that make your opinions a little uncomfortable as you work through them or even the ones that make you learn a new word or two. I love a good fluff novel as much as the next person, but if all we read is fluff, I'm afraid of what may happen to our brain. Is it a matter of you are what you read? Moderation is key. I think it's important to teach our youth that reading really is fundamental and that reading a wide range of topics will make a more balanced person and open doors never thought possible. For that matter, I wish we could teach adults that breaking out of their comfort zone and reading different genres really isn't the work of the devil.