Thursday's Theories

During my long absence, I decided I needed to have a more organized blogging schedule. Or topics. I used to just blog on the fly. I think I've run out of that stream of writing consciousness. :) And so one of the things I'm going to start every week is Thursday's Theories or Theory; depending on how well I've processed life previous to writing the post. ;)

Today is a smorgasboard of theories....

1) Science Fair projects no matter how well intended for educational purposes, are a pain my ass. Yep, I actually swore because that's how much I hate them. I hated them as a kid and now I hate them as a parent. And I don't do all the work. That's not the reason. It's mostly because Science just isn't my thing and so it's hard for me to process my eleven year old Science-Genius talk about what she wants to experiment with. Is it anything that is simple, like growing mold or using different plant foods? Nope. I'm not even going to go into it on here it's that 'complicated.' Thank goodness the Court Jester is more inclined to be helpful in that subject area.

2) In general, people as a whole have gotten incredibly lazy. So lazy that they can't read menus before ordering, instructions before building, signs before entering/exiting/merging/not merging. And don't get me started on work ethic.

3) The youngest child is spoiled because I'm parents are exhausted by then. Although I'm still trying to keep some semblance of order in the court; my Young Prince wins a lot. Possibly too much. I see it in Princess Rhiannon's eyes. "I never got away with that!" You know; bedtime, eating in the living room, eating whatever he wants, eating whenever he wants (look, I just want him to eat), etc... I'm just too damn tired to battle every single thing he does 'wrong' because then I would never, ever stop yelling, talking, time-outing and smoking.

4) The experts say that quitting smoking is harder than kicking heroin. Fabulous. I've been trying to use mind over matter as I slowly cut down. I'm not doing the whole cold turkey thing. Why? Because I'm too much of a wimp. Quitting causes certain receptors on our cells to die. DIE. Like, withering away. I know it's good in the long run, but those receptors dying off is what creates withdrawals. So, experts suggest that you slowly step down. *sigh* However, I'm continuing to change my attitude about smoking. I'm hoping that if I keep saying to myself, "you're a non-smoker" it will eventually sink in. Okay, it's not that easy either, but......


What's your theory/thought for today??

Thankful Snapshots

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

This incredibly unique, artistic and sensitive princess...She's growing into a (way too) gorgeous young lady with a beautiful heart to match.

This little girl has strength I never imagined, but a part of her beauty is her times of 'weakness' when she shows her fears and insecurities.

I never imagined how complete this little guy would make my life. My princesses were all I ever wanted, until I laid eyes on this little face.

Despite the 'death' in this tree, it is surrounded by green life. Incredible symbolism of our lives on this Earth, it truly is neverending in a cycle of beauty.

I love this smell, when the Court Jester comes in from burning, I hold him close and sniff his scent mixed with the smoky spice of the fire. True happiness in one whiff.

If you are travelling this Thanksgiving, Please be safe, and return to your normally scheduled lives. Thanks and much love!

How To Choose a Book

Before I begin.....21 followers?!?!! WOW, I never thought I'd see the day I got to double digits, let alone 21 :) Thanks to my new...supporters. I like that better than followers. :) And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.......

I had a very informative conversation with my two girls last night about checking out library books. I thought I would find out exactly how they decide what library books to choose. I was quite surprised by what I heard.

Princess Rhiannon opens a book to a random page and reads five paragraphs. If they are good and make her want to know more about the story, she checks it out. I thought this was funny, after all, she is nine years old and I really thought she read the back of the book to figure out if she would like it or not. Nope-she reads the back after she's done with the book. She says she reads the author information on the flap of the book about halfway through. I asked her if it was important to her to find out about the author. She said, "Well, not at first. But if I find that I'm really liking the book, then I go to read about the author. But, sometimes, it's just dumb stuff, like married with pets or kids. I like the ones that are funny." Hmmm I thought about my blog and the About Me section-while a lot of bloggers have very clever adaptations of their life-mine is simply married with kids. LOL I will have to take the Princess's advice and make it more...funny. :)

Princess Kayla opens a book and uses the five finger rule. If there are five words she can't read-the book is too hard and she puts it back. If there are NO words she can't read, it's too easy and she puts it back. As she explained, "Two or three or four big words are good for me to learn. But too many makes me mad." Okay-I can understand that. Princess Kayla is six and while she's learning to read like crazy-there are still some words that she can't 'sound out' and recognize.

I thought it was very interesting to hear these opinions. I have never checked out a book that way. I had a friend that read the last page. I never wanted to spoil the ending, so I was a simple 'read the back of the book' kinda gal. Then, I became devoted to certain authors and would pick up a book simply by their name being on the spine. It's amazing how different we are as readers and writers, isn't it? I love it...the more the merrier in any way!!

What about you? How do you choose your books? Do you think if Princess Rhiannon read five paragraphs in a random spot she would want your book?