Kids | Book Chatter

The Sunday Salon: Pulling Back the Reins

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Ti

This past week has been challenging. Without going into too much detail, The Boy found himself in a pickle and then could not dig his way out of it. When a fourteen-year-old boy, a busy one at that, thinks he can do it all and then doesn’t, it’s an alarming realization to both him and those around him who are used to seeing him succeed.

This week proved to me that no matter how mature your kid THINKS he is, as a parent, you still have to reel him in, take the situation apart and then figure out a game plan to set it all right again. That is pretty much what happened these past few days. I had to pull those reins… yank them really.

Now, the house is quiet but the “setting it all right” part is going to keep me busy for weeks! And the events of the past week have taken the shine off of some good things, like The Boy landing the part of Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast and his solo for Jazz\Pop (choir). I hate when you want to revel in the good, yet you keep having to remind yourself that the kid in the dog house.

But at the moment, the house is quiet and everyone is asleep except me and the Otter Pup. I am enjoying my first cup of coffee of the morning and plan to do some thrift store browsing later with the hopes of finding some costume pieces for The Girl’s ensemble costume. After errands, I will finish one book and begin another and then The Girl and I will settle in to watch Thunderball as our Bond movie marathon continues. Not sure what we’ll do for dinner. I usually like to make something really good on Sundays but I am not really in the mood!

This week should be more even and calm. Rehearsals and Open House at the school. More writing and more reading. That’s all I need to perk me up. Plus, I am gearing up for #winditup2013 which begins next week. Over seventy readers from all over the world will be joining me. Can’t wait.

What about you? Doing anything fun today? Reading anything really good?

The Sunday Salon: Cleaning, Watching…but not Reading

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Ti

Folks, I am in a world of trouble. I am participating in a book tour on Tuesday and I am nowhere near being done with the book. I made the mistake of cleaning out the garage and now I can’t stop. We were given a really nice treadmill not too long ago, but my brother-in-law is having some health issues so he asked for it back. Totally cool with me since I HATE the treadmill and find it more boring than watching paint dry.

But…

It freed up quite a bit of space so I had to rearrange things. Then, The Girl came out here and took out all her craft stuff to make Christmas boxes with nothing in them. I know! My clean garage is now a mess again. Paper scraps everywhere and glitter! Glitter coming out of my ears. I’ll shine all week. She’s playing Britney Spears now which means she has no plans to leave anytime soon. I like her hanging around though. It’s sweet how she follows me around.

She just gave me a box of hearts. Sigh. So sweet when she is not screaming her head off like a demon.

Well, at some point I am going to have to get this book read (The Round House) and then later we are going out for a burger. I am working on Christmas cards too and just hanging out.

How was your weekend? I’ve been trying to work in a Christmas movie here and there so last night we watched The Family Stone. Tonight, maybe Elf or Christmas with the Kranks. What are your favorite must-see holiday movies?

The Sunday Salon: Back to Normal

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Ti

After a hellish week of illness, I am back to normal. Well, almost. I am about 95% back but I feel so much better. Thanks for all your well wishes. They worked!

Part of getting back to a normal routine meant me going to the market (two of them actually) to stock-up on all the stuff we ran out of while I was sick. I hate the market! I hate spending all of that money but what can you do? The kids have to eat. If it were just me, I could live on grilled cheese and salad but the kids, they want (and need) a bit more. I got yelled at by cranky people though because all they had were two EXPRESS lanes open and there I was, with like…1000 items. I hate to be THAT person but it wasn’t my fault. I let someone in front of me but I couldn’t let everyone in front of me, or I’d be there all day.

All that food translated to a full day of cooking. I made tacos for tonight, and chicken tortilla soup for tomorrow night when my son and I will be standing in line to get tickets for the show my kids are in. The show is not until February, but to get the best seats, you literally have to camp out. Last time, we got there at 2pm and the box office opened at 5:30pm. This time, I can’t get their that early so we’ll see what kind of seats we get. Since they both have rehearsal as well, the soup will come in handy once they get home.

Some updates:

Winter Formal: Will you go with me??

The Boy got asked to the winter formal so all is good. I was on pins and needles! This “girl ask boy” thing is always a bit nerve-wracking. She gave him boxes full of candy with cute sayings inside. Oh, to be young again.

The Boy had his cross-country banquet last week and now he is heading into track. This is new to us as well but with a lot of the same people in track, I am thinking it’s going to be another great experience.

The Girl opted NOT to attend cheerleading camp. Say what?? She has been bugging me for over a year but she took one look at the brochure and changed her mind. Apparently, the girl doing splits in the air was not inspiring to her. I could tell she was freaking herself out, but I didn’t want to push her. Instead, she wants me to take her to a cheer/tumbling class first so she can see first hand what she’ll be expected to do. Sounds reasonable to me.

Well, I’ve said enough for today. I hope you are enjoying what’s left of Sunday. Tonight, my son is playing “waiter” at a holiday dinner show so we are going to try to capture a pic for the Christmas card before he leaves. Wish us luck. Hoping that the Otter Pup is a bit more discreet with her privates this year. Last year I had to photoshop them out which made her look very strange.

Oh, and in case you want to know what I am reading…I am still reading The Twelve. I read tiny bits here and there but I am almost done with it. I am also reading The Round House and This Cake is for the Party. What are reading?

Busy Weekend

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Ti

My weekend was off the charts. I didn’t have time to do anything. No reading, no lounging. Nothing. Here’s why:

The Boy had a cross country meet which was out of town. With the commute, plus the rain, it took a while to get there and back. He did great. He ran the 3 miles in 21:54. I think that’s pretty good for a freshman. His chest issue, which I mentioned before sometimes acts up but it did not this time. Maybe because it was rainy and cool. Anyway, he ought to be proud of his time. It’s over a minute faster than his last run time.

The next day, The Girl had her 9th birthday party. There were eight kids total and as soon as I could, I got them to go outside for a “picnic” which basically means, your screaming and shouting and overall craziness is too much for my brain. It was fun. They had fun but a house full of girls has its own challenges. I spare you the girl drama but I was putting out fires left and right.

Today, I am half asleep and still working on this freakin’ project at work. I feel as if I’ve been sentenced to a lifetime in the hole but as the holidays grow closer, so does my vacation so there’s hope for me yet.

What am I reading? Is that what you asked?

I am reading Cold Light, which I hope to finish today. I am also reading Nesbo’s The Leopard and of course The Twelve although I haven’t gotten far with that one because I feel as if I must have perfect conditions to read it and I’ve not been able to control that so much lately. What are you reading?

What? Monday already?

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Ti

There are moments where I feel completely out of the loop and this is one of them. It’s not that I have too much going on. Yes, there are cross country meets and rehearsals and other dates to keep straight, but for whatever reason, I just don’t feel like keeping track of any of them. My calendar is in an awful state right now. The word “neglect” comes to mind. So tonight, while hanging out in my car for yet another rehearsal, I will get it all straightened out because the alternative it to just run around with my head cut off and that’s no fun at all.

That said, this weekend was busy:

The Boy is in ASB (associated student body) so they had QUITE the week planning the homecoming festivities. There were late nights. There were late, late nights and then a lot of other stuff like float building, setting up for the dance, etc. In the end, he decided to actually attend the dance. Yes, he actually thought he might skip it after all that planning, so I am glad he decided to go after all. The football game was fun (we won!) and then during all of this, he had a cross country meet. Running on so little sleep is a challenge, but he did great and managed to take 30 seconds off his previous run time.

Then this past Sunday, it was The Girl’s 9th bday:

The Girl’s birthday always falls during Fall break so we’ve never had successful parties due to no shows and it conflicting with family vacations and the like. This year though, the Girl decided to move her birthday to 10/21 so she can have a party. You know how that goes. You tell the kid, “Okay, we’ll celebrate on 10/21″ and then what ends up happening is that she gets more than one celebration. So yesterday, we ended up at breakfast to celebrate her 9th birthday and then hit Six Flags, you know… to celebrate some more. It was a great day! Great weather and no crowds!

Maybe The Boy was in a really good mood from the successful dance and his great race time or maybe he was just feeling all warm and fuzzy but he was really nice to his sis for her birthday. He purchased this photo which is evidence of course that the two CAN get along after all. I was grateful because by the end of the day, I was passed out on a cement bench staring up at the blue sky. Theme parks wipe me out and I don’t even go on the huge coasters. However, I don’t do dizzy and one ride did me in. I was done at that point. The Hub thought it was funny that a little kid ride did that to me but it did.

I had no time to read this weekend, but I am on the final pages of The Lighthouse Road and I just started (for real) 1222. I finally finished IT. So, SO glad I am finally done with that one.

I am swamped at work with this looming, black cloud of a deadline so I may not be able to get to my Google reader today, but I am thinking of you all and hoping you had a nice relaxing weekend.

BTW, in case anyone wants to know.. the kids got parts in The Music Man. The Boy did not get Harold Hill but ended up with Marcellus, Harold’s friend so he has a great dancing and singing part. The Girl did not get what she wanted, but she got a part as a majorette. I’m not sure what happened as they said she did really well but she is now a majorette instead. She’s okay but every now and then, there is some drama. Fitting, isn’t it?

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The Sunday Salon: Pulling Back the Reins

The Sunday Salon: Cleaning, Watching…but not Reading

The Sunday Salon: Back to Normal

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