Family Reunion

Last Saturday we had a family reunion with my dad's first cousins' families. Some of them hadn't seen each other in 47 years. It was fun to meet so many "new" cousins.

Baby Max had a blast. He ran laps around the house from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM. I swear we don't give the kid caffeine, but he had more energy than anyone there. With all of the people and Molly Dog to play with, he had plenty of distractions, too. He met a 2 third cousins and a third cousin once removed who were all about his age. He's never had such unlimited time with so many playmates.

The picture shows my brother hanging out with two of the little guys.


Meeting new relatives wasn't the only first I had that day.

One of the boys grabbed for Max's bottle. Due to all the illnesses going around right now, I took it from him quickly and said, "I'm sorry. That's not yours. Let's go look for your bottle."

Little Luke didn't crumple into tears, screams, or hysterics. He calmly released the bottle. His eyes never wavered from mine as his knees bent and he sat down. Without pausing, he extended his body until he was lying supine on the porch--still staring at me.

I had just been stared down by a thirsty 16-month-old!

Journal: costumes

I love Halloween!

We're trying to come up with costume ideas at the office. Should we dress as a quartet? Should we surprise each other?

I stood in a magazine aisle the other day for half an hour looking at various ideas for costumes. I love the creativity and innovation. Who knew a box and some dirty clothes could become a washing machine? Of course, this sounds awkward. I've heard several people comment on wearing a leotard with purple balloons all over them to transform into a grape...definitely uncomfortable. Buying a pre-made costume is out of the questions these days because regardless of whether one dresses like a nun or a fire(wo)man, a ladies costume purchased at a store makes her look like one thing: a stripper. What's up with that?

Am I so old that I want to be comfortable and costumed?

Journal: Write about a costume.

All gals--and guys--should watch this video

I can't figure out how to post videos on my blog. Grr. Oh well. I'll link it!

This video reminded me of a major theme of my novel Glamour. Click to watch it: Evolution of Beauty

Even the kitchen sink

G and I had tried a sale twice since we've been married. Once, only one person came and we didn't make enough to pay for the ad in the paper. The second time was during a neighborhood sale and we sold a bedroom set and most of our old living room furniture. We learned that in Edmond, most people don't shop garage sales, they just go buy new stuff.

People shop garage sales here. And they are serious about it. Especially when the ad says that kitchen appliances will be there. Not only do they show up early, but they also haggle.

It was a gorgeous fall day, and I was surprised at how much fun we had.

Max had the most fun of all, though. Here he is exploring toward the end of the day.

Journal: reflective reading

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
--Edmund Burke

Journal: Write what you think about something you've read recently.

Love and Logic for toddlers

As a young teacher I swore that if I ever had children, I would find the toddler version of Love and Logic and read it. Well, I recently purchased the book and am barely into it. So far, it's very similar.

I can't believe the strategy works as well on my 13 month old as it did on my teenagers in the classroom. Frankly, I didn't believe my son had enough of a grasp on the language for it to work, but you tell me...

Max happily played with a box of Elmo bandaids as I carted him around Walmart this morning. Then, it occurred to him that shaking the box was not nearly as fun as taking the bandages out and dropping them on the floor.

I figured it was as good a time as any to try Love and Logic for the first time with him.

Stopping the cart, I said, "Oh. How sad."

I picked up the dropped bandaids and placed them in the box. With a sad face, I said to Max, "I'm so sad because if you do that again, I'll have to take the box from you and you were having so much fun."

Returning the box to him, I said, "Here you go. I hope you get to keep playing with it."

Our shopping continued and he gleefully shook the box of bandaids until several flew out on his lap.

I stopped the cart and said, "Uh-oh." You should have seen him scramble to collect them and try to stuff them back in the box!

Could Jim Fay's Love and Logic be the answer to my parenting as it was to my classroom management? Oh, let's hope so!

Love and Logic

Jim Fay is a genius.

I knew it the first day I student-taught. A kid stormed into the classroom in the middle of my lesson and began cussing. His face looked like tears had freshened it. He carried his button down and wore only his bloodied, formerly white tee. He strutted so that no one would guess he was injured.

And I, only about four years older than he, used Love and Logic on him.

And it worked!

I don't remember exactly what I said, but I remember after giving him two choices that he calmed down instantly. The class calmed.

I was the teen whisperer. At least for that moment.

It was sooooo cool.

Teacher preparation in college makes one learn a lot of useless information that can never be used in the real world. Nonsense is thrown at us in the form of pedagogy and psychology and philosophy, and we're supposed to swallow it whole--and never use it.

Over the years, I used Love and Logic with my students, and it worked every single time. I always gave a packet of one-liners and other basics to my student teachers. Using strategies on kids who drove other people nuts actually became rather fun. I loved getting to know the real person and not the persona.

If you're a teacher or parent of a teen reading this, I urge you to read more about it and use it. It's classroom magic.

Here is a link to articles that help you use Love and Logic in your life.