Secular Confessions

[Gwenn]

That poem is great! I do think you should submit it!

I need to get back to my writing, as well, but I'm having a really hard time sitting down and doing it.

[Suja]

Bridget, I really wish Kai could go to India and hang out with kids there. Ever since we returned, I've been noticing the difference. I hadn't noticed that my kid was a terrible flirt because older kids here do not respond to her. Back home, kids, including teens (boys and girls), are SO responsive to other kids. Not to say they're angels or anything, but they behave so differently. Little kids are always played with/responded to by older kids.

[3andMe]

Can I just brag on Mylah for a minute and say how incredibly awesome she is (as if you didn't know already)? We went to Bodhi's birthday party yesterday and she had a huge houseful of people with a ton of food, goody bags for all the kids, everyone was relaxed and cheerful, AND there were ponies roaming around for the children to ride on at will. The twins spent most of their time hopping from one pony to the other, although DS took time out of his busy schedule to convince Bodhi to let him help him open some of his presents.

It was a great party. Bodhi was a wonderful host, too.

[missychrissy]

Poor Kai Conner has had similar experiences himself. His sisters will often have friends over and he loves getting rough and tumble with the guys. I have to say for the most part they're great with him. But a few times there have been some that weren't as into playing with a little kid as he's used to. You may (or may not) remember at Bobbie's 17th birthday one girl was so against it she actually shoved Conner down off the couch. I spoke right up and Bobbie got mad at me, but I still say I was right in that. I have never 'yelled' (or used a mom voice) at any of my kid's friends...till then. It was justified.

Another time Conner actually peed on a boy's (Derek's) leg. :/ Still not sure what that was about, but he'll bring it up from time to time and laugh like he's the funniest boy to ever live. Derek wasn't too happy that night, but he's been really great with Conner since and didn't hold that against him. I think Conner was 3 or maybe just 4 at the time.

L-that doesn't surprise me about M at all. I'm so envious that you two cool moms get to see each other and share birthday parties!

[daylilies]

The party sounds awesome! I wish you all were near me!

[Ky'sMom]

At school, we read James and the Giant Peach, Matilda and The BFG, but I've seen some of his books that make me go 'huh?' Like, The NitWits and The Witches. There are a few other titles that I can't think of right now, but a lot of his stories are about the adults being horrible people and the kids needing to escape.

Ky read all of those before The Witches and he really enjoyed them. The Witches was just too much for him. It was astonishing to me because he hasn't been that afraid or bothered by books or TV shows in a long time. I have never read Roald Dahl books, but I saw the movie Matilda and loved the movie even though I thought Ky would not like people being so mean to Matilda but he loved that one. He was excited about The Witches and he got halfway through it before he couldn't take it anymore. Last time he got upset about a book was when I was reading Sounder to Elle in her bedroom. He heard me reading to her even though he was in his own room and burst out in tears when Sounder the dog got shot. I had to stop reading it.

I recently bought him some books by Judy Blume, the ones about Fudge and Peter and I think he'll enjoy those even though I think they are below his reading comprehension level. I also got him a book by Virginia Hamilton called "The House of Dies Drear" which was one of my favorite books as a child, but it has ghosts in it and is kind of scary so I told him he could wait to read it if he wants. It is about a family who buys a house in Cincinnati that was used in the under ground rail road, so it had a lot of secret passageways and rooms. Ever since I read it I always wanted to live in one of those houses. If I ever move back to Ohio I would move to Cincinnati.

Erin

[missychrissy]

Um, Fudge and Superfudge are below my reading level and I still enjoy them!!

[Ky'sMom]

Um, Fudge and Superfudge are below my reading level and I still enjoy them!!

LOL! Me too! But he has to read "on level" books at school during their "Independent Reading" portion of the day and it is a book recommended for 4-7th grade and since Ky is on an 8th grade level now, they may say something. But I know he will like them. I will have him read "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" first since he is in 4th grade and has an annoying little sibling and a turtle LOL! He got all excited when I told him about it.

Erin

[missychrissy]

I was in 4th grade when we read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing as a class. I fell in love with those books right then and there. I just may have to find them and re-read them again! I remember my mom read and loved them as well.

[Suja]

I was reading Agatha Christie around Ky's age, so I suppose murder and mayhem never really bothered me. Nephew (who just turned 10) finished reading the HP series over Christmas, and apparently I didn't need to warn his parents about the torture and death and stuff, he seems to have handled it pretty well. I kind of thought all kids in this day and age are pretty immune to violence. As for reading below grade level, I still read Enid Blyton every chance I get (when I went to the bookstore in India and found a whole shelf full of her books, it really was like I had died and gone to heaven - growing up, it was a premium to find her book at all), and looooove Asterix comics.

[missychrissy]

I was definitely reading adult books when I was in elementary school too. But I still liked the kid books. I remember I did a book report on Elvis, What Happened? in 5th grade. When I read it later as an adult, I wondered what my teacher thought of it. lol...if she even knew the context of that book at all. It wasn't gruesome in a gory sense, but there was a lot of sex in it. I've always been a real life murder mystery fan. It has to be real life though. Or a really, really well written fiction book where EVERYTHING that occurs could actually happen irl. It has to make sense to me. No ESP, people flying, or magical nonsense crap. I can't even finish a first chapter in any science fiction book.

[Suja]

Have you read 'Lucky'? It's by Alice Siebold who wrote The Lovely Bones (which I did not like), and a very good read of her story as a rape survivor. I don't generally do true crimes, unless it's serial killer stuff - the psychology, profiling, forensics, all that stuff intrigues me. Mom didn't really restrict my reading much when I was a kid, but we weren't allowed to read books with explicit sex in it. Which just meant that we'd sneak it into the bathroom and read it there anyway.

[missychrissy]

No, I haven't read Lucky because I DID read Lovely Bones and didn't think that author would ever write anything that could interest me. I was ok with the dead girl looking down from heaven...it wasn't my favorite, but we don't know what we don't know so I went with it. When she came down and entered someone else's body though...ugh. I wished right then I had never read any of that book at all. It totally killed it for me.

[Suja]

I know that The Lovely Bones is generally well liked, but I didn't like it at all. And that ending with a neat little bow? Oh, come ON! You should give Lucky a try. It is really a good book. A little hard to read at times, but, such is life.

[3andMe]

I forgot to reply to the Roald Dahl posts earlier. I still have a few scenes from some of his more macabre works haunting the niches of my brain, but I re-read some of his books multiple times. And I had no restrictions, to my knowledge, on my reading. I read one of his adult books as a child and thought it was quite amusing. My Uncle Oswald is "dedicated solely to the diaries of 'the greatest fornicator of all time.' Inspired by stories of the aphrodisiac powers of the Sudanese blister beetle, the palpable seductiveness of the lovely Yasmin Howcomely, and the scientific know-how of Professor A. R. Woresley, Uncle Oswald anticipates the concept of the Nobel sperm bank by some 40 years, flimflamming crowned heads, great artists, and eccentric geniuses into making 'donations.' The life of a commercial sperm broker has a few surprises even for a sophisticated bon vivant, and Dahl manages his signature sting-in-the-tail ending even in one of his lightest comic works."

[Suja]

So, my friend who is pregnant is going to inherit Mira's large items and toys she's outgrown. She isn't terribly thrilled about it, but points to stuff and says 'For Milena baby, not for Paru'. Today, I told her that maybe we'll give her bottles to Milena baby because she is a big girl and can drink out of a cup, and the baby is so little, and can only drink out of a bottle. Her response: 'Go away, baby'. Bottles are apparently non-negotiable.

[Cosmosmom]

I also liked Lucky better than The Lovely Bones. And I generally do not like non-fiction and almost exclusively read fiction now that I'm not in college anymore (which is funny since I'm a librarian in a totally non-fiction library).

I like funny stuff like Janet Evanvoich, CSI kind of stuff like Patricia Cornwell, mystery suspense like James Patterson or Tess Geritessen, sci-fy stuff like vampires, a lot of young adult stuff...vampires or dystopian. I especially like books with a female lead character and series.

[AmeriBrit]

I remember that book The House of Dies Drear. I think I read it and it did seem spooky to me as a kid. My favorites as a kid were Island of the Blue Dolphin, Where the Red Fern Grows and Number the Stars. I hope at least one if not both my boys love to read as much as I do. DH and his family all are not readers, so there's a chance that one or both of them won't like reading, but I hope not. I already have a list of books that I want to read with them written out in their baby books to make sure I don't forget one (and I add to it when I think of one I'd forgotten).

Suja, that is funny about the bottles. There are some things that you just can't give away! ;)

One of my cousins just posted a lot of old photos on facebook and my papaw was in some of them and now I'm in tears because I miss him so much. He died in his sleep 12 years ago this February. I miss him every day, but when I think of him now it's so weird that it's almost normal that he's not here anymore. Any ways. I'll try not to stay too melancholy tonight, so I'll try to think of happier things.

[missychrissy]

Ash. Any way you can focus on the happy memories without them making you too sad?

[AmeriBrit]

Ash. Any way you can focus on the happy memories without them making you too sad?

Good idea!

[demigraf]

Can I just brag on Mylah for a minute and say how incredibly awesome she is (as if you didn't know already)? We went to Bodhi's birthday party yesterday and she had a huge houseful of people with a ton of food, goody bags for all the kids, everyone was relaxed and cheerful, AND there were ponies roaming around for the children to ride on at will. The twins spent most of their time hopping from one pony to the other, although DS took time out of his busy schedule to convince Bodhi to let him help him open some of his presents.

It was a great party. Bodhi was a wonderful host, too.

Awww, L. I'm totally blushing here. I was so happy that you guys could make it. Your twins are such a pleasure to have around. I was so impressed with every single one of the kids who waited patiently around the cake for Bodhi to blow out his candles. And the smile on B's face as everyone sang "Happy Birthday, Dear Bodhi" was just unforgettable, even from just the profile view I had of him. It makes me teary to think about it. I was also so relieved that the party happened during the one break we had in the rain. The sky started spitting at us as the last party guest was leaving, and it's been storming every since. Talk about a lucky break!

Ash, I really like the poem. I would love to read more from you (and from other creative writers in our group).

I read a lot of Dahl, Cleary, and Blume as a young child. I also went through a huge Oz phase and Madeleine L'Engle too. Later, in my pre-teens, I hung out in this used bookstore that had a back room filled with dime paperbacks. The two guys who worked there were totally cute skate punks, but I digress. I read a lot of super-cheesy adult novels and particularly remember a "racy" series called "Coffee, Tea or Me" about swinging stewardesses of the sky. I sort of shudder to think about the literature I could have been reading around that age.

[AmeriBrit]

That's brilliant that B had such a good birthday party! It sounds like you threw a really great party. I'm so jealous that you and L get to have get-togethers! Y'all secular ladies need to do a European tour....come over and start in London or something and then we can all go to Spain or Paris or somewhere like that all together!

I'll happily share more writing with y'all any time. One of the things I miss about my college days was having a writing group and having people who could give positive criticism of my writing.

I forgot to mention before that today Travis came home with a little certificate. It said, "This certificate is to say that Travis had a great day today" and it was signed by his teacher. I felt so proud. He must have listened well or something today to get that, and for him that's a big thing since most of the time, Travis doesn't go to school to listen to the teachers but for them to listen to HIM instead. LOL.

[Suja]

I've been thinking about going to Belize for a vacation some time this year. Maybe we can have a heathen family meetup there?

Myles, it sounds like you guys threw a great party. Count me among the jealous ones that we don't live anywhere close to any of the secular mamas.

[Ky'sMom]

Belize sounds AWESOME!! It is one of the places I have considered retiring to.

I also read a lot of adult books as a child. I was into Stephen King and Gloria Naylor (wrote the Women of Brewster's place, that movie Oprah starred in with Robin Givens) all her books were amazing to me. I also read a lot of Toni Morrison and even Charles ****ens. I also loved Little Women and Little Men. I got into a lot of James Steinbeck books too, which helped me out in high school since I didn't have to read them if I didn't want to.

LOL at APA blocking out Charles D!ckens!

Erin

[Suja]

"Charles ****ens" That's just too funny.

I used to read whatever mom brought home from the library, which was mostly horror/murder mysteries.

[3andMe]

Mylah, I read Coffee, Tea or Me, too. It made me want to be a stewardess for a while. Now, knowing how miserable air travel has become, I'm so glad I never went that direction.

I think I might have mentioned this before, but I basically learned to read with the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. That and Donald Duck and Little Lulu comics.

Oh, and Mylah, I was kind of holding my kids back from the birthday cake while Bodhi was blowing out his candles. One of the other moms asked me if I was worried that it wasn't safe. It hadn't even occurred to me to think about that. I just didn't want them to grab any of the train pieces, or any of the cake.

[daylilies]

Oh I was reading inappropriate stuff. Mostly in high school though and I guess by that age it's not so bad. I read a lot of Stephen King and the infamous Flowers in the Attic books. I'm still very much into creepy stuff like that but I read much less now. It seems like now when I have free time I'd rather jump online than read a book.

[demigraf]

I've always wanted to recite Emily ****ensen poetry to a ****zu puppy.

Ha! It bleeped for me! LOL. How old am I?

[daylilies]

LOL Myles!

I feel kind of bad...DH came home sick tonight and I immediately laid into him about a couple things that pissed me off at the beginning of the day-
1) I couldn't find a bowl my mom left here at Thanksgiving. DH put it away and I have no idea where he put it and I wanted to bring it back to her today since we visited earlier.

2) I bought a new scale that does not turn on when I step on it so I wanted to use a screwdriver to see if the battery was missing or something-could not find a single screwdriver anywhere. I'm sick of looking for things DH has put away and not being able to find them.

So I felt bad that he was feeling like crap but sometimes I feel like I'm not considered when he has these special places where things "belong" that usually end up being a foot over my head. (my husband is over a foot taller than I am) It's like being a stranger in my own house.

So he is on the couch watching anime and I honestly can't wait for him to go to bed so I can have a snack and a drink in peace I'm a terrible wife.

[missychrissy]

Kate, we all have those days. Enjoy your drink!

I should have bought some wine for myself tonight. It's Bobbie's last night at home before she goes off to college. I'm playing this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP-Sxfntdb4&ob=av3e and working myself up for a night of bawling.

That song is especially touching to me because I was 17 and Rich was 19 when she was born. And look at us...we're still together. I did mention to Rich as we watched the video that we aged a lot better than those parents did.