Yay!
So yesterday was nice because Bruce brought home some fly/gnat riddance stuff and it seems to be working. I've seen only 1 so far his morning which is a huge improvement. Also a win was dinner. I made Rachel Ray's fire roasted pork chops whic are always a hit, but I didn't have the scallions this time, and you know what? Didn't really miss them. Added some extra seasonings and it was fantastic!
Also yesterday Connor got his notice about his Christmas program. His first Christmas program yay! It's Thursday December 16th if any of you are inclined to go let me know I'll get you details. I'm excited because
he's doing so well with the songs, and it's just the kindergarteners so we don't have to sit through the entire elementary school performance, and he helped me put together his props. It was really a lot of fun working with him. He's really good with pipe cleaners and tribeads! Seriously this boy is into beading. He's starting to really like the idea of crafting which I want to encourage because it works the creative side of his brain and it works his fine motor skills. Both of those things are so hard to get him to do and so if he's not only willingly but eager to do both yay! So if any of you have tribeads or pony beads or something else sitting around you don't want/use let me know!
Also yesterday while putting together his props for the program, I ran into a box I hadn't opened in awhile and it contained more of my Dr. Seuss books! Some of you know that I collect old Dr. Seuss books. Well awhile ago while visiting my mom she gave me a ton of them that their library had cleared out. They were in GREAT shape and many of them were titles I'd never seen before (like the Dr. Seuss Song Book). Well last night Ian picked out one for bed time that I'd also not read called the Butter Battle Book. Woah, it's a brave book to have written in 1984. I'd always heard there was a Dr. Seuss book that had gotten censored from libraries, but I'd never known which one it was, after some searching my suspicions were confirmed it was this one. Now there is nothing offensive in the book. But the book was written in 1984 in the height of it and it talks about the silly differences that make people divide and the escalation of violence based on those differences. It's really a great book. Especially since it ends like this: both sides have developed bombs and both have their people in underground shelters and are about to drop the bombs on the other persons side of the wall when they see one another and there is a standoff. It ends with a grandchild (whose grandfather is one of the people holding one of the bombs) pleading for the grandpa to be careful and says:
"Grandpa!" I shouted "Be careful!" Oh gee
"Who's going to drop it?
Will you...? Or will he...?"
"Be patient," said Grandpa. "We'll see. We will see...."
Not exactly your typical child's book ending. In fact since it was a library book I checked to make sure there were no missing pages, there weren't, and went online to see if that's how it really ends, it is. Fascinating really fascinating. And courageous to write such a thing in 1984. Especially considering his reputation and whatnot. It reminded me of 5th grade where we actually were shown a propoganda film talking about the failures of communism and the gloriousness of capitalism and how any day then their system was going to collapse (which it did which is not the point though). Now I'm not saying capitalism isn't a good system, it is, but what I am saying is that the level of demonizing of the Soviet people in this film was criminal. But for the time was pretty much status quo. What's fascinating to me is when I was talking to my mom about it and she told me about her neighbor Nellie. Now Nellie grew up in the Soviet Union and apparently at the same time her kids were being shown videos doing the exact opposite and saying that it was just a matter of time before OUR system collapsed. Interesting.
Anyway, now I've gotten way off track because it's just that time of year when my brain does things like this because it is overloaded by the millions of evil leaf mold molecules in it. Really the point was, cool book, Dr. Seuss is cool, I love my books. My mom is cool. Glad to refind that box.
Going to make cookies today to distract me from the fact that my kids are ALREADY driving me crazy. Ian is so whiny today. Connor is so demanding. Both have a little bit of a cough. Not enough to keep Connor home though, no way. Hope the weekend goes well.
Also yesterday Connor got his notice about his Christmas program. His first Christmas program yay! It's Thursday December 16th if any of you are inclined to go let me know I'll get you details. I'm excited because
he's doing so well with the songs, and it's just the kindergarteners so we don't have to sit through the entire elementary school performance, and he helped me put together his props. It was really a lot of fun working with him. He's really good with pipe cleaners and tribeads! Seriously this boy is into beading. He's starting to really like the idea of crafting which I want to encourage because it works the creative side of his brain and it works his fine motor skills. Both of those things are so hard to get him to do and so if he's not only willingly but eager to do both yay! So if any of you have tribeads or pony beads or something else sitting around you don't want/use let me know!
Also yesterday while putting together his props for the program, I ran into a box I hadn't opened in awhile and it contained more of my Dr. Seuss books! Some of you know that I collect old Dr. Seuss books. Well awhile ago while visiting my mom she gave me a ton of them that their library had cleared out. They were in GREAT shape and many of them were titles I'd never seen before (like the Dr. Seuss Song Book). Well last night Ian picked out one for bed time that I'd also not read called the Butter Battle Book. Woah, it's a brave book to have written in 1984. I'd always heard there was a Dr. Seuss book that had gotten censored from libraries, but I'd never known which one it was, after some searching my suspicions were confirmed it was this one. Now there is nothing offensive in the book. But the book was written in 1984 in the height of it and it talks about the silly differences that make people divide and the escalation of violence based on those differences. It's really a great book. Especially since it ends like this: both sides have developed bombs and both have their people in underground shelters and are about to drop the bombs on the other persons side of the wall when they see one another and there is a standoff. It ends with a grandchild (whose grandfather is one of the people holding one of the bombs) pleading for the grandpa to be careful and says:
"Grandpa!" I shouted "Be careful!" Oh gee
"Who's going to drop it?
Will you...? Or will he...?"
"Be patient," said Grandpa. "We'll see. We will see...."
Not exactly your typical child's book ending. In fact since it was a library book I checked to make sure there were no missing pages, there weren't, and went online to see if that's how it really ends, it is. Fascinating really fascinating. And courageous to write such a thing in 1984. Especially considering his reputation and whatnot. It reminded me of 5th grade where we actually were shown a propoganda film talking about the failures of communism and the gloriousness of capitalism and how any day then their system was going to collapse (which it did which is not the point though). Now I'm not saying capitalism isn't a good system, it is, but what I am saying is that the level of demonizing of the Soviet people in this film was criminal. But for the time was pretty much status quo. What's fascinating to me is when I was talking to my mom about it and she told me about her neighbor Nellie. Now Nellie grew up in the Soviet Union and apparently at the same time her kids were being shown videos doing the exact opposite and saying that it was just a matter of time before OUR system collapsed. Interesting.
Anyway, now I've gotten way off track because it's just that time of year when my brain does things like this because it is overloaded by the millions of evil leaf mold molecules in it. Really the point was, cool book, Dr. Seuss is cool, I love my books. My mom is cool. Glad to refind that box.
Going to make cookies today to distract me from the fact that my kids are ALREADY driving me crazy. Ian is so whiny today. Connor is so demanding. Both have a little bit of a cough. Not enough to keep Connor home though, no way. Hope the weekend goes well.