2 Much Is 2 Much

Usually I wait until I have finished a book before I recommend it to my friends - but I knew from the moment that Baxter put it in my hands that this one was different. Yesterday, we were very late for the new Sunday School class we were going to visit. I don't know about you, but I can't stand being late - especially the first time you attend something. I already knew that our joining this class would require quite a few hand shakes and introductions and that would take a little time. I also know how annoying it is when people crash in right in the middle of something and interrupt your mojo. Anyway, we ended up going to the church library to kill a little time before the church service started. We have used the library before; but mostly for kids books and devotional stuff. That's what I was actually going to look for - a devotional book for me to share with Abby and maybe something for myself to read in the mornings before the kids get up. As I crouched by the children's section, Baxter came over and plopped something in front of my face that I have never seen or heard of. Aptly titled, Too Much of a Good Thing: Raising Children of Character in an Indulgent Age, by Dan Kindlon, PhD - this book immediately struck me. It is a theme that continuously comes up in mommy circles and parenting columns - can there be too much of a good thing? Do our kids have too many things? What makes our kids truly happy? How do we parent our children in a different way from our parents while maintaining authority and control? Kindlon is the co-author of Raising Cain, the best-seller focused on raising boys in today's culture and the subject of a much talked about PBS miniseries. That book has been on my reading list for some time and although it was right next to this one, Too Much of a Good Thing seemed right for me to read right now. I'm up to page 100 and counting. I should probably finish it tonight or tomorrow but I wanted to go ahead and share with anyone reading my blog just how insightful and compelling this book is. I see so much of the way I was raised in it. I see my husband's parents as well as friend's parents, parents of Abby's friends and, sadly, myself. If you are a parent and you have concerns about the state of America's children - unable to take responsibility for their own actions with no sense of accountability, prone to drug and alcohol abuse, no concrete sense of values and ethics and an overwhelming sense of apathy, sadness and self-loathing - then this is the book that makes sense of it all. It has opened my eyes to the complacency I have let creep into my own home and it has also affirmed my belief in the importance of certain things in our life that I believe we are doing well. I will probably post again when I finish it and have taken it all in. Meanwhile, if you have read this far, share your own feelings about the excess our children are surrounded with. Do you have rules in your home about the TV? Computer? Limits on what you will spend on toys? Have your children ever wanted for anything? I'm just curious as to how other parents feel our consumerism is effecting our kids. I heard Abby playing this morning and her dialogue went something like this, "when we have a better house, we can get more stuff for it!" and I am left feeling a little sick to my stomach.

A Woman For All Seasons

I like to think of myself as a "well-rounded" individual. I have always enjoyed sports, intellectual pursuits, clothes and makeup, art, music, movies, books, languages, food, loud concerts and absolute silence. I think most people are like this. I think they enjoy lots of different things - but have a limited amount of time for them. My kids are the same way. That is one thing that homeschooling is really good for. Abby has time for everything. Since schoolwork will only take a small amount of her time each day (no time wasted being shuffled around, watching other kids getting disciplined and waiting for things to get started) she can get on with the things she loves most. I have a few other homeschool moms out there who read this and you've been wanting to see my plan for school, so here it is -

School will take place from 9 until 11:45 each morning. Every day we will focus on reading and lettering, plus basic math skills. She will be learning how to write her full name, address and phone number as well as the days of the week and months of the year. She will be learning about temperature, weather and the seasons. We will be continuing her allowance and guiding her about money management. She will learn how to tell time and we are going to introduce her to French with the Muzzy program. Every week, she will study one of Aesop's fables and practice drawing (which she LOVES). We will also have fun art projects weekly to tie-in to the units of study.

Here are some things she will be learning about:

Conservation

Ancient Civilizations

Introduction to Government & Politics (election season after all)

Charity and Giving

Religous themes throughout the year

Anatomy

Life Cycles

Sewing

Architecture

American History and Culture

Problem Solving and Following a Plan

I know, I know - she's just in Kindergarten - but all of this is getting scaled back to her learning level and will be WAY COOLER than whatever they are planning on doing at Whit Davis this year.

We will be tending to our ant farm, building an earthworm habitat and a bird house. We will be watching a tadpole grow into a frog, caterpillars grow into butterflies and seeds grow into vegetables. We will be going to the High Museum, Mayfield Dairies, the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Egyptology, Callaway Gardens, The GA Aquarium, The Zoo and the Coca Cola Museum. We will be visiting a working commercial farm and going pumpkin, strawberry and blueberry picking throughout the year. I am also trying to find a candy company we can tour so that I can help her find the answer to the age old question, "Mommy, how do they make lemon drops?" Plus, after school, she will be enjoying all of her favorite extracurricular activities - tennis, soccer, art classes, yoga sprouts and choir.

I'm so excited! I want school to start now!

I'm Totally Neurotic

In case you didn't notice, I really like this blogging thing. I don't even really care if anybody is out there reading this stuff, it's just really fun to have a place to say all of the crazy things I have to say. So, speaking of crazy, I was tagged by another blogger friend of mine, Jennifer, and I am going to play along. I actually have 4 of the same neurotic tendencies as she (1, 4, 5 & 6) but I was still able to come up with six fresh ones to write about. So, the following is a list of 6 of my own neurotic habits/quirks that hopefully make me endearing and not scary.

1. I cannot, under any circumstances, share a toothbrush with anyone else. Sometimes Baxter picks mine up by mistake and if I see that the bristles are wet I have to disinfect it in alternating amounts of hot water and Listerine before I can use it. Once I realized half-way through brushing that I was using Baxter's toothbrush and I almost threw up. I know, I know, completely irrational.

2. In the same category - I do not like to drink after someone else. Occasionally I can take a short sip of Baxter's wine to see if I like it, but never near the bottom of the glass. I almost always never finish a drink in a bottle either. Gatorade, water, whatever - I leave about a good inch in the bottom and it goes right down the sink later.

***Obviously I have a problem with spit! There must be a term for this...I'm going to look it up!

3. Speaking of looking it up - I cannot stand to have that "it's on the tip of my tongue" feeling for very long. Some people are not bothered by this but it drives me crazy. I honestly don't know how I survived before the Internet. Now if Baxter and I have a hard time remembering the name of that movie or the sister of that actor or JUST HOW MANY Baldwins there actually are, I go straight to the imdb. I'm pretty sure that makes me a neurotic nerd.

4. I change the side of the bed I sleep on every few months. I don't know any other married person that does this, but tell me if I'm wrong. Every so often, I just want to switch sides and Baxter doesn't seem to mind much. He thinks it's really funny though - especially since I am thoroughly committed to that side of the bed until I want to switch back and will make him move if he's on the "wrong side".

5. I don't like for people to watch me walking towards them. It makes me feel way too self-conscious and awkward. I would much prefer to walk up behind someone and surprise them than to feel their eyes sizing me up as I do my best not to trip or spill something on myself.

6. I don't like to make a scene. I much prefer to keep things very discreet and cool. Baxter is the total opposite. Although we didn't know each other in our teenage years, I can really picture him walking into his high school to the song "Summer of '69", high-fiving everyone and kissing a few girls along the way. It is also impossible to embarrass him and he finds it immensely funny to point out how easily embarrassed I can be. He has been known to say some pretty outlandish things while walking into Publix just to get me to pretend that I don't know him (only to point out that I do know him - very, very loudly)

OK - so I'm supposed to tag six other bloggers to do this - but I only know a few and three of them are already doing it! Oh well, it was still fun! If I make more blogger friends, I'll pass it along then. And if you have a blog and I don't know about it -- please tell me so I can take a gander at it!

Breathe

You may or may not know that I am a huge yoga fan. I started doing yoga over 10 years ago while a student at UGA to try and combat the almost constant back pain I was having. I had been to a chiropractor a few times and things just weren't getting any better. I was waiting tables and cocktail-waitressing at Harry Bissett's at the time. It was a very busy place and often I would sell over $1,000 myself in an evening. Bissett's is in downtown Athens in this great old building right on Broad Street across from the arch. A lot of these types of places are very narrow and Bissett's is no exception. You walk into the bar area and travel back into the first dining room and, if you continue on, you walk up stairs to the balcony tables, a second dining room and, of course, the kitchen. While having an upstairs kitchen must conserve a few dollars heat-wise, it really took its' toll on my spine. You see, it's a pretty swank sort-of place - complete with tray service and the like. So, on a busy game-day, you run a half dozen orders upstairs, come back down and fill more drink orders before venturing up to get a huge tray of food for everyone in the bar. I did this maneuver constantly while I worked there. Believe me, there is no easy way to carry a huge tray of food down a flight of stairs in front of 50 people (some of which you could really upset if you dropped the darned thing!). Twisting my spine under pressure is apparently the worst thing for my back and so off to the chiropractor I went. After a few sessions, this wonderful man actually gave me some advice which would prevent me from ever having to see him again. He suggested that I try yoga classes. It was back in the old days, before classes were offered at the gym and WAY before yoga studios even existed in Georgia. Classes were held after hours in a small herb shop (no that is not a euphemism) in a small strip mall. The teacher was very earthy and bendy as all yoga instructors seem to be. Her outfit was way-cooler than mine and we all drank some free mint tea afterwards that was very soothing and delicious. It was fun exercise and it absolutely cured my back problems. I have never been back to the chiropractor since.

Now it is years later and I am feeling that same old pain. It's right in the middle/lower part of my back (the part you bend to pick up your kids). I realized that my yoga routine has fallen off lately and I'm beginning to feel it. Despite the fact that I'm doing yoga with my kids, I'm forgetting to take care of Mommy's muscles too. Well, tomorrow I am going to re-commit myself to the practice. I need to do more than TiVo Namaste Yoga to get the full benefit. So, if you're up at 6:30AM and wondering what I'm doing at the time, imagine me looking something like a pretzel and you might start your day with a good laugh.

20 Things I've Learned this Summer

1. Abby can eat an entire container of raspberries before anyone else sits down at the table


2. My cat likes to eat photos and gift wrap


3. I have more strength than I was aware of


4. My kids aren't afraid of anything


5. I know what's best for my kids


6. I will never get over my hatred of getting my face wet, no matter how many times I get splashed!


7. There may actually BE enough hours in the day


8. I'm not getting any younger...


9. I am NOT my mother


10. If you don't clean it, it will wait until morning


11. I love love love my friends


12. My husband is the sweetest man I've ever known


13. Life only gets more interesting


14. My little girl likes Van Halen


15. I don't get to eat enough expensive cheese or drink enough expensive champagne


16. Life is what you make it


17. My son is as stubborn as I am


18. I can be with Baxter 24 hours a day and love every minute of it


19. I really, really, really missed creative writing


20. I love the Summer - but I'm ready for Fall