Reading Our Way Through The Week

Once in a while we land upon a book that just makes us all say "Wow!" This week we've found another one: The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins. Along the lines of The Librarian Who Measured The Earth, it's a child-sized biography. (We need more of those! The boys are thoroughly enjoying them, as are Zorak and I. Anyone else know of some great child-sized bios they'd like to recommend?) It's engaging, the illustrations are delightful, and the boys took an immediate and deep dislike to "Boss" Tweed.

Speaking of which... it's funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same. I've read so much of the nastiness in this election: the intimidation, bullying, badgering, vandalism, even assaults. It's making me absolutely nauseaus. For all the talk of respecting the opinions of others, there is terribly little true respect being shown in America this year, and even less of the so-called tolerance that's supposedly en vogue (a word which I really don't like to use, anyway, as it denotes a certain elitism- in that they will tolerate the poor plebes who aren't enlightened enough to agree with them. Urk.) I really don't get it. There are so many of us here in the blog-circle who are of incredibly diverse philosophies and backgrounds, faiths and ideologies, and yet we don't run about knocking one another in the head and vandalizing each other's blogs. I'm certain we wouldn't be doing it if we actually lived next door to one another, either. What is wrong with some people that they are so threatened by the opposing viewpoint that they cannot abide a little respect for fellow human beings?

Blech. Anyway, politics aside, it's been such a nice week. The weather has been grey and drizzly. It's just gorgeous. Yesterday we had hot chocolate and read, read, read. We played on the front lawn with the Wonderful Neighbors (who have also recovered from the Sneaking Snot). Tomorrow is the hs group's corn maze/pumpkin patch field trip. The boys remember last year's corn maze and they're so excited to go again. John asked, "OH, will it have dead ends and a map and everything?" I love watching those connections string together year-by-year. These are among the memories they're building. We hope to make them warm and loving ones; great and small.

We've done music daily this week, and it has made such a difference! Recorder practice, rythm games, dancing in the living room, background music to our reading- it's been a smorgasboard of musical activity! Today, John, who would probably skip the second coming of Christ if there's a good movie showing, said he didn't want to watch a movie this afternoon because, "We might miss all this nice music!" He danced back through the kitchen and left Zorak and I standing, jaws agape. Well... cool. This is a definite keeper!

We have to make Halloween costumes this weekend. I've got to find a duck pattern for James and figure out a Lone Ranger costume for John. Need to get on that, eh? I'm such a procrastinator! It's embarrassing, really. Nobody's fault but mine, I know. Well, if we do get them done this weekend, it'll be the first time I've done it before the 30th, so that's an improvement. *grin* For those of you who are celebrating Halloween, what are your little ones going to be this year?

OK, well, my play-time is up. Kiss those babies and have a wonderful Wednesday evening!

~Dy