May 28, 2009 at 11:21 pm (Miscellaneous)
Do you remember first learning how to make sense of all those squiggly lines on paper? How the light just *clicked* and your brain went from illiterate to literate? I was making lunch in the kitchen the other day when Titus came up to me, holding a book. “I can read this,” he told me proudly. So, I asked him to read to me while I worked, and he sat down and read the entire book. My five-year-old. Who was reading things like “shiver me timbers” and “pirates” and “crocodile” without help. I have taught him a few of the basics of phonics, but nothing that would enable him to read a level 2 book in its entirety. I was flabbergasted, truth be told.
It brought me back to the start of my reading. I can plainly remember the day my mom brought out some flashcards. How she explained that some words have silent letters. How afterward I went and grabbed a book about Margaret Mead, the anthropologist and how Mom told me that I just wasn’t ready for that particular book because it was so long (and it was, big pages packed with words upon words). I can’t begin to explain what worlds opened to me once I started reading. I never did like the kiddy books. Chapter books, with adventures that grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go, that made those pages keep turning. I loved summer, because I could read in my bed late into the night without turning on a light and getting into trouble. I got to order books through school that were grades above the one I was in – that was how I got hooked onto the Narnia Chronicles. I tried going through the school library alphabetically. I fell in love with Anne of Green Gables. I wanted to be Anne of Green Gables. Animal stories were a favorite. Big Red, Black Beauty, the Black Stallion – I can still recall snippets. The Wizard of Oz. The Adventures of the Mad Scientists’ Club. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. To name just a few.
I still love it. I gobble up stories and imaginings with a voraciousness that is hard to control. I honestly don’t know how people can live lives devoid of literature. What a gift it was that Mom gave me. It has ended up being such a large part of my life that I can’t help but hope my children become book addicts, too. Will they look back and see the magic in the pages? In my mind I wonder, how can they not?
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May 27, 2009 at 11:15 pm (Kids)
Tags: Titus
We were downstairs, trying to hook up a printer to the old computer, when he spoke up.
“Mom, I wish I was adopted.”
I was a little shocked. “Really? Why?”
“I want to be Riley and Kyle’s brother.”
“But then I wouldn’t be your Mommy. Don’t you want me to be your Mom?”
Titus looked me straight in the eye. “I like you, but I like Riley and Kyle better.”
And that was that. Good thing I’ve got that motherly unconditional love thing happening. What a kid.
Titus and one of his new brothers
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May 12, 2009 at 9:58 pm (Miscellaneous)
Tags: food
… that there could be too many raisins in a loaf of raisin bread. I was in such denial that I was half-way through the loaf before I admitted that I just wasn’t enjoying it. At all.
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May 11, 2009 at 11:36 am (House, Kids, Knitting)
Tags: Ethan, House, Knitting
We have sold our house! I think it was the freshly baked apple pie that did it, but who knows. They had also given me a full day to get the place all spick and span (I wonder where that term comes from?) and so it was looking mighty fine that day. The final remnants of snow had melted off our front lawn, as well. I’m sure all three things helped. A house-selling trifecta, of sorts. Now comes the stress and homelessness. As of today, the plan is to buy a camper of sorts and have an extended camping vacation until the new house is livable. Which better be before the snow flies, or I will be one unhappy mama!
putting in the driveway last fall
working on the power shed
As you can see, we have been doing a bit of work on the land. The driveway needs a bit of finishing and some gravel, but it’s usable. Luke is finishing the power shed today so the hydro people can put in the poles and lines. Things are progressing! Next comes the septic system and water and a basement. Hopefully we get the blueprints from the architect (or, as I like to call him, the blueprint guy) today.
In other non-house related news, I wanted to show you a picture of the sweater I knit. I found the pattern in Vogue Knitting 2007 Holiday and it was called the Reindeer Cardigan. I wasn’t feeling the reindeer, but the rest of the cardigan I rather liked, so I knit it up with a Lion Brand acrylic yarn called Vanna’s Choice in Brick. Of course, I made it too big and it won’t shrink since it’s acrylic, but I’ll still wear it.
I am NOT pregnant. Even though it looks like it.
One quick story to finish off the post. We were in the car, headed for soccer, when Ethan made a sudden exclamation from the back seat. “Mom, I’m not wearing any shorts!” That’s right, my child had run out to the car with his soccer socks and jersey on, sporting his tighty-whitey’s. And didn’t realize it. I could hardly drive back to the house because I laughed so hard. Now, every time we leave, I make sure to ask him if he’s got any pants on, which is apparently getting a little annoying (I think that’s what it means when he rolls his eyes at me). Kids. Gotta love ‘em.
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