Word Sabbath - OFHS 2010 Prom

Word Sabbath - Mia's Dance Recital

Word Sabbath - Doogie's Graduation

Hit the Road

Last night Molly and I curled up in bed to watch The Sound of Music. It was her first time seeing the movie. I remember as a child waiting for it to come on every year to watch it with my mother. I remember the words to nearly every song, and even though Molly hadn't seen it, she knew them all too. It was so nice, we've decided to do it regularly. Get an old movie, some snacks, comfy pjs, and snuggle.

Molly makes it very easy to be proud of her. Two weeks ago, she made it to cheer camp. Not every cheerleader is chosen to go; it's considered an honor. She'll be gone the first weekend in August. It costs a bit, but she's willing to work for it. Saturday was Solo and Ensemble at the high school. She entered five different performances and came out with five firsts! She's going to state with Jazz Choir. The other pieces were Class B; you can only go to state with a star first on a Class A piece. Next year it'll be Class A all the way. I spent the day at the high school going from classroom to classroom to listen to her. It makes for a very long day. Her first performance was at 10:16 and the last was at 3:48. I was so proud of Molly. She's confident as she sings, and her voice is lovely (if I do say so myself). Her duet with a friend brought tears to my eyes.

It hasn't been easy for Molly having a mother who is chronically ill. Sometimes she resents me for missing her performances and games. She has to help out around the house more than other kids her age, and she's a little mother to Mia. But I've noticed in the last couple of months, a maturation in how she deals with my illness. She's taken on the chore of laundry to help Jesse out (not without monetary compensation, of course), and her patience is growing. She's a good kid, and I'm glad she's mine.

Hit the Road by Caroline B. Cooney is another terrific YA title by a prolific author. 16 year old Brit's parents have gone on vacation, leaving her under the care of her grandmother, Nannie. But Nannie has no intention of babysitting her teenage granddaughter or being babysat as well. Nannie and her two lifelong friend are determined to make it to their 65th college reunion, and if that means non-licensed Brit doing the driving and kidnapping a friend as well, so be it. Cooney has a real talent for getting inside teenagers' minds. Brit is selfish and rebellious, all without being unsympathetic. The idea of spending time with Nannie isn't what she wants to spend her free time. But as she spends time with her grandmother, she finds that they are in similar places in their lives. Both are on the verge of independence. Brit is about to break free from her parents' authority, while Nannie is just coming under it. Both struggle with the restraints place upon them, and Cooney manages to make the reality of growing old come alive even for a teen audience. This wonderfully written book is enjoyable to read and has a good message a well about doing what's right, even when it hurts.

Tonight we're going to pick up our new laptop. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be blogging on that instead of Molly's. I can't wait!

If Democrats Had Brains, They'd Be Republicans

Last week I talked about Mia's silliness. Today I'm bragging up my oldest daughter, Molly. She is fourteen years old and miles ahead of me in sophistication. Almost every day I have to ask myself where she came from, because the skills that she shows with ease most certainly did not come from me (or her father)! Molly's pulling off straight A's in school, tonight she's the female lead in the play One and All at the school, and on Thursday, she made the junior varsity cheerleading squad. There are days when she's at school 10-1/2 hours between practice for jazz choir and cheerleading, but she's managing it with ease. She just blows me away. But the thing that makes her shine the brightest in my eyes is how our relationship has grown in the last couple of years. Molly was prickly as a child. She didn't like to be hugged or cuddled, and she had the nickname Katie Ka-Boom for a reason. Middle school mellowed her, and high school seems to be refining her even further. Now I get regular hugs, and she likes to curl up in bed next to me just to chat. And chat and chat and chat! :) I'm not complaining; I was worried about communicating with her in her teens, but she's opened up. She also does sweet things like change the banner on my cell-phone (that she's always using) from Christy to Best Mom. I know I am blessed, and I never take it for granted.

If Democrats Had Brains, They'd Be Republicans by Ann Coulter is another bullet in Coulter's every ready arsenal for attacking liberals/Democrats. I've read all of Coulter's previous books, and this one was a major disappointment to me. Even when I agree with her points, it's hard to get past the vicious rhetoric. The same kind of sweeping generalizations she uses on her opponents are what she accuses them of using. Coulter has become a flashpoint for conservatives; even they have a hard time supporting her, and this book doesn't help. But the biggest reason this book is just ok, is because of the content. It's just quotes from her interviews, columns, and previous books compiled into lumped headings. It feels like Coulter picked out her favorite slams and digs and then put it out in book format. So if you are a fan and already read her stuff, this is just recycled material. So for me, this book was a disappointment, it felt like a cheap way to push out another book. Coulter is obviously angered by the implication that she writes purely for the money; she doesn't help her case with this book.

The no-beef diet is still working well. I'm tired today, but I overdid yesterday and didn't sleep well last night. It's hard with a four-year-old in bed with us! In the last few months, she's lapsed back into climbing in with us almost every night. Any ideas on how to break the habit without breaking both of our hearts?