Be Back Soon

Sorry I haven’t blogged lately. I’m writing another car seat article in my “spare” (haha) time, and it’s taking much longer to write than the previous articles did. Will be back soon - give me another day or two!

Hi. My name is Jim, and I’m a bookaholic.

That’s how bestselling author James Patterson introduced himself to a (large) group of co-workers at my office today. He was visiting to film a spot promoting his newest book, Sundays at Tiffany’s.

I’ve been reading James Patterson’s books since about 1994. His first few Alex Cross books scared the crap out of me - back in those days, Tim worked nights sometimes, and if I read an Alex Cross book while Tim was out then I had to sleep with ALL the lights on. Some people criticize his writing, and I’ll admit that it’s not exactly Shakespeare, but he knows how to tell a good story.

 So when the opportunity to attend today’s event came up, you can bet that I RSVP’d right away. I was not disappointed. Mr. Patterson was funny, and had some great insights into the book business. He visited our new “concept store” and had great things to say about it. One of his big concerns about bookstores is “elitism” and that lots of people don’t actually feel comfortable going into a bookstore because they don’t know what to expect, they think they won’t know what to do, etc. Imagine going into a hardware store for a gift, he said, and only having a vague idea that the person might possibly like something from the hardware store. And then trying to select a gift. Well, it can be like that at a bookstore for a lot of people, and he says our new store design helps those people feel comfortable. I happen to agree with him.

He also talked about how important it is to get kids reading. Just get them reading something they’re interested in - doesn’t have to be classic literature, just something they like - and eventually they’ll “find their own level.” I wholeheartedly agree with this, and in fact it’s the approach that we’ve taken with Book Boy. We let him read what he wants, and while he does still read some of the basic “step” readers or even Dr. Seuss books, he really has found his reading level and tends to read at that level. (I will say, though, that I will NOT buy him “step” readers anymore - I’m not paying $ for a book that will take him 10 minutes to read.)

So anyway, it was a nice event today, and now I’m going upstairs to start reading my free, autographed copy of Sundays at Tiffany’s.

Edited to add: I realized later that this is actually the second autographed James Patterson book I have. When I was working at the bookstore, a friend got me an autographed galley of Cat and Mouse at BEA (the annual booksellers convention). The cool thing about that is they actually changed the ending of the book between the time the galleys went out and the time they published the final version! That doesn’t happen very often.

I Love a Parade

I can think of no better way to start the day than this: Sleep until 10. Then be awakened by a parade of two adorable children marching, carrying homemade signs and chanting “We love you! We love you!” Follow that with breakfast in bed (complete with two varieties of fresh fruit) delivered by my great husband, and you have the perfect start to Mother’s Day.

The rest of my Mother’s Day wasn’t nearly as exciting, but it was very nice. Tim let me take it pretty easy - no chores (well, I washed one small batch of dishes), no laundry, no cooking, etc. Ah, lovely!

Can’t Wait to See What She Names Her Kids

Like many little two-year-old girls, Little Sister has a lot of dolls. At least eight. Until recntly, she hasn’t paid particular attention to them, and certainly hasn’t shown a preference for any. And none of them had names.

Until last weekend, when she named her Bitty Baby (a somewhat extravagant gift from Mimi on her first birthday). What did she name it, you ask?

Two.

Yes, she named her doll Two. And shortly afterward, she picked up another doll and named it Three. There is no One, of course.

Today, she named a third doll Four.

If she keeps naming these dolls numerically, we’re in big trouble at bedtime.

“I want my Two.”

“You want Blue? You already have Blue.” (her pink blankie)

“No, my Two.”

“Shoe? No, you’re not wearing shoes to bed honey.”

“No, my TWO!”

“Oh, you want your Two doll?” (Oh crap, which one is Two, and where is it?)

Baby Two is pictured below. (Oh come on, are you really surprised that LS has a toy car seat?!)

Does the Insecurity Ever Go Away?

The company I work for has a charitable foundation aimed at helping fellow employees in need (unforeseen medical issues, partner’s job loss, death in the family, etc). Part of the fundraising includes events at the home office, and there’s a group of volunteers who keep these events running, as well as the general operations of the foundation.

The “friends of the foundation” had a thank you breakfast yesterday. I was looking forward to it. Several other people in my immediate department (of about 15 people) are also “friends of the foundation,” so I figured we’d go together and sit with each other. However, when I asked people about it yesterday morning, they all said they had too much work to go.

My first thought was “Crap, now I won’t have anyone to sit with!”

What the heck? I’m 37 years old, have worked at this office for nearly 10 years in at least four different departments, and have volunteered for the foundation for most of that time. There’s no reason on earth that I would have NO ONE to sit with. And, in fact, I ended up sitting with several people that I knew, and we had a perfectly pleasant breakfast together.

But sheesh, does this high-schoolish insecurity ever go away?!

Perhaps the Most Delusional Person I’ve Ever Heard Of

I’ve heard of - even known - some pretty delusional people.

Average people who thought they were pretty, skinny people who thought they were fat, smart people who thought they were dumb (and vice versa), even a girl who thought she was a prophet.

But this guy takes the cake.

“I am not a monster,” he says.

Let’s take a look, shall we …

• He kept his daughter locked up in a windowless dungeon.
• For 24 years.
• He started planning/building the dungeon when she was about 12.
• He raped his daughter repeatedly during those 24 years and fathered 7 children with her. Neither his daughter nor the children had any sort of medical care.
• He kept three of the children confined with her. They never saw daylight until last week.
• The other three, he took away from their mother.
• He incinerated one baby after it died from lack of medical care.
• He let his wife think - for 24 years - that her daughter had run away from home and never wanted to see her again.

I’m not a particularly religious person, but I believe there is a special (extra hot) place in hell reserved for this monster.

 

 

 

They’re He-eere!

Yesterday was one of my most favorite days of the year.

Mom and Dad came home from Florida! They’ve been gone a long time - since Halloween, really - and even with a very quick visit here in January, it seems like forever since we last saw them.

So yesterday, we resumed our regular weekend visits, and they arrived at 9 a.m. (A little earlier than usual, but we were all anxious to see each other.) I’m not sure who was more excited to see “Mimi and Grandpa” - the kids or me! Of course, my parents were thrilled to see the kids and only hugged Tim and me after giving the kids their giant hugs and kisses first.

We had a nice day, and will see them again (here) next Saturday. Can’t wait!

(OK, I will admit that when they called at 7 a.m. Saturday on their way home from Florida and said “we’re 15 minutes away” - they drive up the interstate that’s just up the road - we said no way, we’ll see you tomorrow. BUT that’s just because I was still in bed, no one else was dressed for the day, and the house was a mess.)

Redefining the Phrase “Get Out of the Fridge”

Today, when I was putting groceries away, this is where I found Little Sister. She was actually sitting.

Edited to add: I tracked down this picture of Book Boy at around the same age (5 months younger, I think). At least he knew the right thing to do when faced with an open refrigerator door!

Big Girl Bed

So, Tim and I did break down and buy Little Sister the big girl bed I mentioned earlier in the week. We went to IKEA and bought a shallow mattress (4.5″ spring mattress) for Book Boy’s bed, bought the new bed for LS, and used BB’s old (but nice!) mattress for the big girl bed. I was even able to find a blanket similar to the one in the picture, which she insisted would come with the bed. LS LOVES the bed! (Whether bedtime has improved is a different story. A short story, actually, entitled No.) Interestingly, since she got the big girl bed, LS has started sleeping with her Bitty Baby doll, which she’s had for 1.5 years but never felt the need to sleep with. It’s very cute.

With the new IKEA mattress, we were able to “flip” BB’s bed over. It’s pretty darn cool. (That’s the old crib mattress underneath, in BB’s “reading nook.” It has a blue sheet on it now.)

The bed is perfect for reading in.

Even Little Sister loves it - she keeps sneaking up into it.

Edited to add: I’m starting to wonder whether we bought LS the wrong bed. Bedtimes have still been long and drawn out. Today was the first naptime at home since we got the new bed. She threw an absolutel temper tantrum before nap (unrelated to nap) and when I finally got her settled down, I asked where she wanted to go. “BB’s bed.” I put her down, covered her up, gave her a book and a glass of milk. She was asleep within 5 minutes.

I think maybe we should have gotten her the same bed that BB has! Here’s a picture of her after her 3-hour (!) nap.

“Celebrity Baby Blog” Features Article on Rear-Facing

One of my favorite “brain candy” web sites (and I mean that very affectionately), Celebrity Baby Blog, has posted an article supporting rear-facing children in car seats until age 2.

Oh, and in case the little girl in the picture doesn’t look familiar to you … I wrote the article!