aaahhh fall

just a quick post to declare, once and for all- I LOVE FALL.
for the record.  write it in blood.  order a plaque.
fall is wonderful.
[at least in georgia.]

i'm typing this as i'm smelling my first roast (after summer) cooking in the oven.  roasted potatoes.  yum.  warm. familiar.  yay.

last night, after enjoying a most gorgeous (yet slightly windy) autumn day, we came home from dinner and started our fire pit.  hooray!  The Mr. got me one for mother's day.  we used it once (june 1st) and now i just want to use it all the time.

reasons to love fall, from the obvious to the practical, in no particular order:

• it's not hot!!!
• looking forward to going to a mountain house for a weekend!
• college football saturdays (i cannot believe i'm saying that!)
• beautiful leaves.
• the sounds of the leaves
• seeing the leaves covering parts of your front yard (don't rake them TOO quickly, Mr.)
• watching the littlegirl enjoy said raking.  (she asks me every!day! is it time yet???)
• cool mornings. 
• hoodies, sweaters, jackets.
• long days at the park.
• the joys of the autumn holidays. (my bday, halloween, t'giving and xmas prep)
• picnics w/o sweat & bugs swarming
• hearty meals
• apples and the things you can do with them. (painting prints, baking, dipped in PB or nutella)
• baking new recipes. (applesauce muffins, pumpkin bread, baked donuts etc)
• our fire pit.
• roasting marshmallows at said fire pit
• lower electric bills.
• w/o the AC on (or heater) you can hear "nature"--- crickets, tree frogs.
• can sleep with the window cracked for a few weeks.
• not having to mow every single weekend.  (more time for The Mr. to enjoy saturdays)
• blankets
• cuddling
• reading little girl books on a blanket outside
• carving a pumpkin (or more like watching The Mr. do that)
• watching little girl help with said pumpkin.
• enjoying an afternoon coffee.
• early dark.
• (the rare days) sleeping in for the late dark mornings.
• being able to run b/c it's not meltingly hot outside
• my annual 5k (in 2 wks)
• back to school (not gonna lie.... love the routine)
• lazy cloudy coldish days (rare)

i bet i could list even more; and make this list better....   but
i guess i just needed a nice reminder of the "ups"
so glad it's finally here!

tell me----  WHAT DID I MISS?  can't wait to be reminded of yet another reason to love this season.

thoughts on re-writing the calendar

i appreciate the feedback on changing Valentine's Day to suit other families.

i guess i'm pretty much a stooge. but maybe not the only one.

my first thought was: poor girl! she has 3 older brothers, so on v-day, she was going to listen to their excitement, and her excitement has passed. i mean, not many 4 year olds can remember and appreciate "oh, ok. i already had my party" i mean- they ask if it's christmas yet- the day after christmas, no?

then i thought: since when did valentine's day become a huge HOLIDAY and nothing more than the excitement of stuffing shoeboxes that were decorated with too much glue, lace and hearts with little cards.... and the hope that the teacher (or one rich kid) would give a lollipop?

and i do know that these parties i am talking about are for mother's morning out programs (as opposed to all day day-care); many parents don't work outside of the home, or have flexible schedules. but when these parties happen in elementary school- i don't expect to be invited [or expected] to come.

yes, i know how things have changed since i was growing up; but wow. little j came home with candy that rivaled halloween. every parent has to outdo each other and send goody bags for gosh's sakes! the food at the party was sweet-laden and plentiful. (luckily it was way more balanced than halloween's party; which if one parent didn't bring in a tray of CFA nuggets, nothing "lunch-y" would've been eaten at all. it was all sweets!)

i remember last year in the 2yo class thinking it was ridiculous to have Vday at all..... it's not like they had any notion to get cards for friends, much less read/write them.

when i taught 1st grade, i usually had a parent want to bring in cupcakes, but that was it. the rule at school was they had to eat the cupcakes at lunch. other than that it was the good old-fashioned dropping cards in to their friends' bags. it was exciting enough to do vday activities in math & reading and have a special "break" for the "party"

oh, and don't even get The Mr. started on this, or even birthday parties! i am routinely in his wrath every year because i do re-write the calendar and have her party on a nearby saturday.

shudder!

re-writing the calendar

Wanted: YOUR OPINION

yesterday, little j's occupational therapist told me that her 4year old already had her valentine's party at preschool..... LAST WEDNESDAY.

i really am interested in your reactions.
then i will share mine.

to give any amount of "background" info, when i asked the OT why?? she said "i really don't know. i think they know that most of us have older kids & want to give us a chance to be in the schools for their parties"

thoughts???

things i'm really into right now:

the haunting song "Someone I Used to Know" by Gotye, featuring Kimbra
(i dare you to play that song only once. i've tried.... don't think it's possible)

the hilariously ironic song "The Walk" by Mayer Hawthorne
(he is from some bygone era. it's so refreshing)

the extremely well-written book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall
even if you don't like to run, this book is so amazing, intriguing, and fascinating. there's some history, anthropology and seemingly fantasy all wrapped up in this book about a hidden tribe in Mexico. and it's so well-written that you truly think you can just wake up and run 50miles tomorrow.

and shamefully i'll admit, i've also been more interested in The Bachelor this season, mainly because i really like Ben. or, as the blogger that i watch this stupid show for (lincee) calls him: Groban.
truthfully, i watch this show because lincee & "some guy" do a great job of making me laugh about the recaps. it is so disgusting & shallow, and nothing that will come of this will last; but ben is doing a good job of being the bachelor. i really like how he (FINALLY) gives explanations with his rose hand-outs. very refreshing. but, yes... juvenile
i will say, though, that i will NOT be watching at all next season, and will miss lincee & DP very much!

so, guys... what are you really into right now?

at least i'm not Bert...

i recently went to have my eyebrows waxed again.

that's not usually fuel for a blog post.... even though sometimes i do feel desperate for a topic!

but every time i go in, i always think the same thing.

tell me, do you feel like you look like this, too?? :

or is it just me?

better watch out....

you'd better watch out, you'd......

what comes next in the old holiday classic "Santa Claus is comin' to town"?

i always sing it wrong. i have a complete mental block on this song. and have since- well- forever.

i always mix up the first lines & sing it:

you'd better watch out, you'd better not pout.

you'd better not cry, i'm tellin you why....

i guess i'm always wrong.

am i the only one??

in any case--- i hope you're on the "nice" list & you all have a very wonderful holiday season! may it be restful, relaxful, & fun. enjoy these times with your families & friends.

you can see that thelittlebean must be on the wrong list....

stranger danger

there's an article on ajc.com today about a 61yo man slapping another woman's (a stranger's) child in a local Wal-Mart. he went up to the lady with the crying 2yo and said, "If you don't shut that baby up, I'll shut her up for you."
and then a few minutes later, that's what he did. he picked her up and slapped her across the face 4 or 5 times. (you can read the article here)**

i shared this info with my friend and we started talking about -first of all---- SERIOUSLY?? O-M-G. but then, would you discipline another's kid?

i would have no problem with someone disciplining thelittlebean. if she needs disciplining. if she's getting into something or bothering your kid and i'm not around (really? when am i not around??) i'd have no problem with your telling her to cut it out. or solving the problem by taking away whatever's the cause.

i wouldn't expect anyone to cross the taboo line of spanking with another child. since that's such a hot-button issue anyway, it's likely you have a differing opinion than that of your friend.

i know when i taught for 7 years, i had no problem disciplining other students. if you are running in the hall, it's still not OK even if your teacher's not around. or if i see that you're starting to tell my 1st grade student that there's not a santa claus- you bet i'll say something to you about that... you just can't go 'round ruining kids' lives and dreams!!

i can't believe that man in the article, though. i mean- it's kinda sad to think he's so wound up right now that he couldn't stop himself before he crossed such a line. nobody likes to hear the babies cry in Wal-Mart (or wherever).... least of all that mom! but WOW. to haul off and smack a kid. in front of the mom. instead of just leaving the store? or rolling your eyes? or even mumbling loudly under your breath.

in a time where you can get in trouble for publicly spanking your own kid, he really risked a lot to make such a statement.

i'm sure many out there would say we don't have the right to 'parent' a kid who's acting up. and then there are those out there who say "it takes a village..."
what do YOU think?

**if you clicked on the article, then you saw the picture of Mr. Scowly-McScowlerson. it's hard not to wonder if this is the first time he's done something like this.

who's your favorite?

i saw a commercial the other day for the new show coming in the fall: cougar town.
it's nice to see courteney cox in a new show. i guess dirt is over. i doubt i'll be watching this new show either.
one thing that struck me, though, is that the announcer said something to the effect of "a favorite Friend is back." which made me dispute out loud. i noticed just now, watching another commercial for it, that he left that part out this time. i rewound it to be sure.

The Mr. then asked me who i thought that would be. so i listed for him who i thought that was. i said:

1. chandler
2. phoebe
3. rachel
4. joey
5. monica
6. ross

i listed who i thought may be in that order according to what i thought would be public opinion.

my own personal list would pretty much keep it the same, except i'd put monica below ross. and depending on the day, i'd probably change out joey & rachel.

of course, he googled it & after disputing that chandler would be even near the top (he ranked him #6), this is the list he found:

1. chandler
2. joey
3. ross
4. phoebe
5. rachel
6. monica

so, here- i ask you. you're the public. what's your opinion??

vividity

how do you dream?

i am a dreamer that can watch the dream as a movie; they are so very vivid.
The Mr. has said before that my dreams are epic. if i go to explain one, he thinks i'm done & i keep going (and going and going).
i feel as tho i dream a dream that can last all night sometimes. i know from Psych class that REM isn't really like that. but surely i dream longer than the few minutes allotted.

unfortunately, this vividity can really haunt me. i can see, hear, & feel in most of them. & many of them leave impressions that run so deep, i remember them years later. i vividly remember dreams i had when i was around 3 or 4 years old. which isn't always a good thing because a lot of what i dream is disturbing.

and last night i think it's safe to say i had probably THE most disturbing dream ever. (and that "honor" is hard to come by!!). it disgusts me to no end to still feel part of the feelings that went with it. it was just horrible. *shudder*
it really is the craziest thing- what i dream & how real it seems at the time.

like everyone else, i'm sure- i dream very odd things (even last night's was quite odd)... things that don't make sense; for instance: 2 people meshed into one. ever do that?? oh, and the ones that got me into trouble in college- where i dreamt that i did all the things to get ready & went to class & sat thru class. only to be woken up by the phone b/c i actually slept thru all of it. that was a pain in the ass.

the ones i seem to remember are the ones that are bad. i do dream happy dreams; i'm sure of it. but those either aren't as vivid, or for whatever reason get filed into the normal part of the brain where you don't remember jackity-crap.

my mom used to insist she never dreamed. ever.
The Mr. doesn't dream too often, that he remembers. but he has been known to have recurring dreams. i don't normally have that. but lately, i have dreamt that when one of LittleBean's teeth come in, they all do. which is kinda funny, b/c The Mr.'s recurring dream involves teeth as well.

i don't fly/float very often. but i do remember 2 dreams from my childhood where i did. i can still conjure up that sensation of hovering in my old house. bizarre.

so- how do you dream??

a poll on human nature- take two

earlier, i'd asked for your thoughts. it seems as though i was too vague. i would like to clarify what i meant.

this has come up soooo very often in our relationship.
let's remind ourselves that i rarely fuss about The Mr. on my blog. & he has the endearing monaker: best husband of bunko. see here, here, & here.

however, i have been guilty of needing affirmation. i'm sure we've all been guilty of saying: i'm a bad mom....or....i don't feel attractive. & there have been countless other statements i've made wanting some response.(not all of the "am i pretty enough" variety) but how 'bout this number, taken from actual conversation tonight:

me: i'm worried about her dr. appt tomorrow

him: why? what did you read in that book just now? [AAP's Caring for your Child from birth to age 5]

me: i pointed out 3 things i have some concern about, that i'm not in the mood to discuss right now b/c it's probably nothing.... but enough that i've been concerned.

him: ..........................rolled over.

SERIOUSLY.

in these times of needing affirmation, is it human nature to:
----ignore statement?
----confirm/negate statement?

because i'm really wanting to know!