The Dog

Anyone who knows us gets that we are animal people. We love the yard dogs (see older posts). We love romping with them, playing with them, loving on them--the whole works. In fact, we have a new round of them sleeping in the driveway at this very moment--Leroy, Big Fella, and Sassy.

The beauty of these dogs is that none of them belongs to us, they just come over to sleep, eat, and have play dates. The rest of the time they belong to our many neighbors. It's like having dogs with none of the responsibility of having dogs. The Husband thinks this is a brilliant deal.

I, on the other hand, have always wanted an indoor dog that we actually own ourselves and claim as a family member. So, The Husband finally 'caved' and set forth a list of complicated criteria, that appeared at first glance to be the unattainable dog. (And if you think that's true, you have obviously never met moi.)

Small--under 10 lbs. Non-shedding. Potty trained (or easily potty trained). Cheap or free.

Introducing Mellie (as in Gone With the Wind). She's a shia-poo: a toy poodle/shiatsu mix (this means "mutt" if you're from the country and "designer dog" if you're from the city). Non-shedding, smart as a whip, good mannered, working on her potty training (this means that she hits that pad like a pro 80% of the time and 20% of the time her head is on it with her butt hanging off the back--hey, I didn't ask my toddlers for that sort of accuracy). And I'm in love! So is the rest of the house. Even The Husband. :-)

Chattanooga

Our Grand Adventure to Tennessee...

I wish that I had some thrilling reason for not blogging on a regular, but I think it boils down to this one thing: being at home as a full-time mom is DEMANDING! I was laid off from my job in June and one thing led to another (or yada-yada-yada) and now I can't find time to do anything at all. I'd like to just accomplish one blasted thing and have it done, but no, I keep wandering around starting a bunch of stuff that never comes to fruition. What is up with that?

I think my time has actually dissipated since coming to the house. It's like some sort of weird time warp where you have six hours of home time with kiddies at school and it vaporizes right in front of your face while you keep doing the same activities over and over and over. Lunches, dishes, clothing, mop floors, put away groceries, cook dinner, do homework, go through backpacks. It's like I'm living in that movie Groundhog Day. Same stuff; different day.

On a brighter note, we traveled to Chattanooga and had a big time of it. My plan is to post some photos of our trip (but you know how that will actually work out, don't you? I'll write it in my calendar as a to-do entry, but will never find time to do it. The people at Franklin-Covey are as I type this tearing my face off of their advertisement as Poster Girl for Getting It Done.) (Sigh.)

So, the recap:

June: Disney World. Laid off from work. (Big Month)

July: Swam. Gained four pounds. Summer camp.

August: Became addicted to Facebook. Swam. School started. Began walking again three times a week. (Thought I was going to have a heart attack that first week.) Had to work three full days on the computer updating the church website because it had gotten so far behind. I used to do it before/after/at lunch when I worked. Now, no work, no time. (The Vortex again; it's weird that way.)

September: Started as a part time lunch lady at the kid's school. (Questioned all of my life choices up until this point that caused me to become a part time lunch lady at my kid's school.) Went on a retreat to Georgia with The Husband. Probably gained another five pounds. Kept walking.

October: Loaded up for fall break and went to Mississippi and Chattanooga. (Remembered why we stopped traveling with the kids.) Camp WorldSong overnight adventure. Fall Festival. Journaled multiple entries with the thematic question--how in the world did I get ANYTHING DONE when I worked full time?????

Which brings us up to speed. For now.

Lily Mermaid

Lily playing mermaid in the tub. Just thought it was funny. I fill the tub up and she floats there awhile until she sits up and says, "I'm done swimming!"

Fools of the World and the Flying Ship

This is my precious son, Carter, in the play "The Fools of the World and the Flying Ship". I'm so proud of my boy! Theater camp in the morning; football practice in the afternoon. Nothing like a well-rounded man child. :-) (He's on the front row in the white socks. Spiffy.)

Link to the article: http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/news/2009/jul/17/montevallo-kids-anticipate-friday-theatre-performa/

Starshine Faces

We took the kids to the library for a Starshine Faces event. Fun, fun! Carter was even part of the show, taking on the role of Tim the Tiger to have his face painted professionally as part of the program. How cool is this?

Books Gone Wild

The library is about to have a significant Sister Sunshine Charlotte Moment on its hands.

We were checking out books at our local library (the bigger one) and hanging out in the children's section, when my 5-year-old handed me a comic book and said, "This is nasty, Mommy. Very nasty." I took it from her, and this is what I gazed down upon.


The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Graphic Novel. Like a fancy comic book. With pictures and text.

Naturally, I flipped through it. (You would have too.) I'd give anything to get that 20 seconds of my life and hit rewind. Nasty isn't the half of it.

I want to be crystal clear about this so that I am not misquoted. I am absolutely and completely in favor of the library carrying this smut. It's free speech in action. We should not be in the business of banning materials, books, videos, etc., based on any set of subjective criteria. It's dangerous and leads no where good, because if They can ban one thing They will ban Your Thing eventually. Adults should be able to make informed decisions about what we view and read without being prevented by the Government or Religion.


HOWEVER

We need ratings like "R" that (at least attempt to) prohibit 12-year-olds from going to see certain material/movies/etc. without parental consent. It's just a good idea and helps us make better decisions. You can't drive or drink or vote until a certain age; guidelines aren't the enemy. They are a tool, a help.

So, before anyone gets in a twist, I am all for you being able to check out a graphic novel where half-naked women are sawed up and cut up and hacked to death by a homicidal maniac. Knock yourself out. (And stay away from my house.)

When I picked up the comic book and hauled up to two library workers, I wanted to know how and why it is being stored at eye level where my preschool child had instant access to it.

Why? Because it's in the Young Adult Section. And the Young Adult Section in the library is right next to the Children's Section. (On top of it, in fact.)

I asked what qualifies as "Young Adult". The Librarian told me 16-24 year old people are "Young Adult Readers".

No, Sister, not exactly. You might recall that stink when The Golden Compass came out? Well, I distinctly remember that the qualification "Young Adult" can refer to anyone TEN YEARS OLD AND UP.


WIKI says: The distinctions between children's literature, YA literature, and adult literature have historically been flexible and loosely defined. This line is often policed by adults who feel strongly about the border. [5] At the lower end of the YA age spectrum, fiction targeted to readers age 10 to 12 is referred to as middle grade fiction. Some novels originally marketed to adults have been identified as being of interest and value to adolescents and, in the case of several books such as the Harry Potter novels, vice versa.

So, my next series of inquiries involved asking pointed questions about restrictions on checking out this sort of book to minors, you know, since every single filthy word that has ever been thought of appears at least once per page. And I'm talking the choice, four-dollar words. The ones that are reserved for Very Special Occasions like you wind up on an episode of Cheaters or you come home and find out your wife has left with your best friend. Stuff like that. The page I flipped open to? F-bombs to the left and right. Lovely.

No, the librarian informed me, there are absolutely no restrictions for checking out any book in the library. I mentioned that children can't rent R movies, so there are some restrictions in the library.

(This is where it gets rich.)

Librarian: "No, there are no restrictions on checking out print materials. We rely on the parents to police their own children and their reading materials."

Me: "Well, what about the self-check-out station? Anyone can take his/her library card and books and simply check them out without a librarian's help."

Librarian: "Again, we rely on parents to handle this."

Pause. (Because I know that isn't the answer she meant to give me. Surely.)

Me: "You just had 20+ children in this building with the Boys and Girls Club of America. No parents at all--two childcare workers who were browsing around for themselves. Not a single parent in the building with that group. And yet I watched every one of those kids use the self check out. So, you're telling me that every one of those children can check out anything in this library, and that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre can go home with any of them?"

Librarian: "Yes. Again, we are counting on the parental supervision to take effect."

Me: "But they can check out without having a parent sign or present the family library card or whatever, so you're counting on their 'figurative' and not-present parents to supervise them?"

Librarian: "Yes."

Okay then.

Me: "Who is in charge here? I mean, specifically, who do I address a letter to?"

Librarian: "Me. I'm in charge of the Children's Section."

Of course you are.

And now, when boys come to call on my daughters, in order to leave the house, they are going to have to bring a list of every single book they've checked out from the library. Ever.

A lot of Somebodies are getting "A Letter" today.