Country Lyrics I Love, Part 2

"I still write your name in the snow."

What Do You See?

This is a classic example of the abstract/concrete difference in children. We were at Melissa's house the other day, and Luke and Zachary were playing together. They both had a cup of dry cereal. Zachary pulled a piece of dry cereal out, and called out to Melissa and I to look at this particular piece:


Zachary: Look! This one is a "P"!


Luke: That's not a P!! It's CEREAL!!!!!


For an abstract child, things make them think of other things. For a concrete child, things are what they are. For Luke, why would you look at cereal and think of anything other than food? For Zach, why can't that piece of cereal be anything he wants it to be? Reality versus imagination. Practicality versus possibility. Both sides extremely necessary to make the world go 'round. But both sides never quite understanding the other.

That's the clearest example of the abstract/concrete difference that you can get.

Do A Line Of American Girl

This exchange between Bethany (my 2nd oldest niece, who is also an INTJ) and Ava (my INTJ daughter), when they talk about how much they love reading, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...Listening to INTJ's talk about their books (or INFJ's, for that matter) is like listening to drug addicts talk about the high.

The conversation starts with Brooke telling Ava that someone shares her love for books:

me: hello, i wonder if Zach still calls you brookey...

Brooke: hi!

i don't know, you should ask him!

me: but hees takeing a nap

Brooke: oh well when he wakes p!

up!

me: he always wakes up near diner

thats a long time from now

right?

Brooke: yes, will you remember?

me: i hope so

my favrite thing in the whole world is reading books

Brooke: awwww yay

you know you likes to do that too?

me: mommy

Brooke: yes, but someone else in our family

me: who?

Brooke: Bethany

me: ohh

I didn't know that

Brooke: yes, she loves to read and write

:-P

me: :-| :-o :D

i like to coler & read

and do ballet

on wendsdays i dance

Brooke: wow

thats fun

me: well........Coler & read are a little better

Brooke: i like to color too

me: i like to make people

Brooke: cool

me: brooke just told me you like to read like me

Bethany: i LOVE reading

me: i like reading chapter books and guess what!

Bethany: what?

me: i love reading Junie B. Jones books and i'm colecting them!

Bethany: have you read the American Girl books?? i read those when i was a little girl and i really liked them.

me: this is a tiny bit funny, here i go, once or today i read my american girl dolls book

did you mean those books?

Bethany: yes. have you read them?

me: only once and NOT the whole thing

Bethany: i liked the books about Samantha

and Molly

me: Emily i think is scared to play her music cause i can't remember who but one of her friends interupted her

let me check who

Bethany: ok

me: if only i remember where i put the box

Bethany: that's ok, you can look later

what else are you reading?

me: rainbow fairy books

Bethany: very cool

me: and disny fairy books

Bethany: fun

do you still like to draw?

me: yes

i like to do my drawing pad every night before going tobed

to bed

Bethany: have you gone to any art museums?

me: only 1...

Bethany: did you see any cool drawings or paintings?

me: :) :-o :-| i forget

but i remember one, but i don't know what it was or what its name was!!!!

Bethany: guess you need to go again

me: i forget what it was

but.....

it was only for masters acadamy

and masters are over icseped i have 4 more weeks of sience class

Bethany: what do you do in science class?

me: last week we dyed eggs

Bethany: cool

me: one of the weeks wher gona cut open frogs

Bethany: ewww....i did that in my science glass too. cool, but gross.

me: isabelle dosent want too

eather

?did you want too?

Bethany: nope

me: i want too

bye

Monday Mornings With Zachary

Zachary elicits way more comments than I do, so we're going to make Monday Mornings With Zachary a regular feature.

In this interview, Zachary discusses career goals, marriage plans, illiteracy, God's age, and what happens when you're kidnapped.

Ungame Sunday

Yes, it's still Ungame Sunday. No matter how often you ignore it, it will never die.


If you were lost in the woods and it got dark, what would you do?


Please leave a comment with your answer.

240 Pounds Of Pure Art

This picture was taken at the hospital, right before I went in for my first c-section. The lobby of the maternity wing of Lehigh Valley Hospital is decorated with this pregnant statue, as if seeing a carving of a super skinny full term pregnant woman is supposed to make you feel good before you go in to deliver...Mom made me pose next to the statue, she thought it was oh so funny . Even though that statue was 6 feet of solid bronze, it probably weighed less than I did.

Calligraphy Will Be Next

Ava's been wanting to write in cursive lately. I guess she taught herself, because the other day she wrote this:


Her "cursive" is pretty hard to read, but she's certainly putting a lot of effort into it.

The Perfect Pet

Eric took the kids to the Q-Mart last Saturday, where they went into a pet store. A few days ago, we were all in the car and I was asking the kids about the pet store.


Me: Zachary, what was your favorite animal that you saw at the pet store?

Zachary: The dead fish!!

She's Full Of Hot Air

Here's a funny video clip I found of my niece Victoria, filmed many years ago at a birthday party. Eric had created a website, www.mosleyzone.com, when we first got married, and it was where everyone in the family went to see recent pictures and the family birthday/anniversary calendar. Eric hasn't touched mosleyzone in years, but back in the day it was the hippest site to visit in our family...Anyway, Victoria was doing a mosleyzone welcome greeting that I was going to put on the homepage.

Me Doing School

Ava wrote a story about being homeschooled:




My favorite part is the self-confidence displayed, even when she couldn't think of the term "public school", in the statement "if you know, you don't have to tell me, i'll think of it".

Interview With Zachary

This is a conversation I had with Zachary the other day. He was making me ask him questions.

Highlights include Zachary's attitude towards pets, Zachary trying to name the biggest number in the world, how he would escape from a park, and how he would scratch himself if he had no arms.

Ungame Sunday

Why do I bother with you people...you and I are in a classic one-sided relationship. It's not good for me. I should get out, I should dump you and find a relationship where I get as good as I give. And yet I linger on with you, hoping I can change you. I keep on giving, hoping my acts of love will jar you out of your self-absorbed slumber. The least you can do is participate in Ungame Sunday.

Today's Ungame question:

What is your favorite sport and why?

Making Eyes

Ava was 3 months old in these pictures. To this day, she looks at Eric the same way, a mixture of awe, trust, and intensity. I have a feeling that will never change....

An Old Man Shall Lead Them

So, we tried my new WiiFit on Monday night.One of the aerobic activities is running. You put the Wiimote in your pocket and jog along a pretty little path. You follow another runner, who's like a "pace car". You don't pass him. But along the way, other Miis are jogging as well, either in the other direction, or passing by in the same direction. The kids have created Miis for my parents, and various friends of theirs. Those Miis show up in various activities, as extras. As Eric was jogging for the first time, I heard this dialogue between him and Colson...

Colson: Hey Dad! There's Gramma!.......She just passed you!

Eric: Well, THAT would never happen in real life. I'd never let her beat me!

........30 seconds goes by....

Colson: Hey Dad! There's Papa!.........and HE just passed you too!

Eric: Now that, that WOULD happen in real life. He'd kick my butt every single time.

What Video Game Genre Are You?

Eric bought Command And Conquer for the PS3. For the past few days he's been addicted, staying up WAY past his usual bedtime.

Eric: Wow, I can't believe I keep losing track of time like this. I usually don't have addictive tendencies.

Me: Remember, this happened when we got SimCity4, too.

Eric: Yeah, the three games that have done this to me are Command And Conquer, SimCity, and Civilization...

Eric: I don't know what it is about these kinds of games that grab hold of me...Surely it can't be that I like playing God, and creating and running entire worlds and controlling everything and everyone in them...

Me: Surely not. The games that have done that to me are the fantasy/mystery/role playing games, like the old Kings Quest and Space Quest games. I love solving the mysteries and walking through fantasy lands and finding the hidden treasures and figuring out which tool to use with which problem and interviewing the characters to find clues.

Eric: Yeah, I hate games where you're following a story. They make me feel like I'm being controlled. I like ultimate power. I like to do whatever I want.

And there you have it, folks. Eric and my personalities described via our video game selections.

Better Than A High And Mighty Pie With A Candle

The title? It's an old Chilihead reference, you wouldn't get it...

I Don't Repeat Myself

Eric called from Walmart yesterday, and he asked if there was anything he could bring me that would bring me joy and satisfaction.

Me: Yes, a Wii Fit.

Eric: Wow, you still want that?

Me: Yes, when we bought the Wii I said we could buy it as long as I could get Wii Fit.

Eric: But you only said it once, and that was months ago!

Me: Haven't you learned that I only say things that I really mean? That I don't say anything impulsively?

Eric: When I want something I make sure I say it over and over and over.

Me: No kidding...

Eric: Well, I have the memory of a gnat, so you need to say these things more than once. (just so you know, he doesn't have the memory of a gnat, he has the SELECTIVE memory of a razor sharp defense attorney with a genius IQ.)

Me: When I say something, it's what I really mean. And as such, I won't say it again. Unless and until I have changed my mind about said subject. Then I will let you know my new position, and that position will stand.

Eric: Ah, this explains why I say I love you every single day, and you said it once back on June 23rd of 2005....

Me: Exactly. And that will stand unless or until my position on that subject changes....Then I'll be sure to let you know my new opinion..!!

Monday Morning Comment Roulette

Comment Roulette rules: Answer the previous commenter's question, and then ask one of your own.

I shall begin the game today with:


What was your first paying job?

Ungame Sunday

There'd better be some players today. You don't want Ungame Sunday to die out, do you????

Today's Ungame question:

If someone could give you anything in the world for your birthday, what would you
want?

Memmmmories........

Here's a blast from the past...Amy and Sue in their "Explorer Girls" phase.

Never A Dull Answer

My Mom, to my kids: I have a riddle for you. What has 4 legs, a back, but can NOT walk?



Zach: I know! A DEAD person!




(Colson's answer ran a close second, "A statue of a pig!")

I Got A Handel On It

From the age of 8 or so, until I was 18, I competed every year in the National Guild. Here is the report card from one of my later efforts.

Pick Up Your Bick

Another short story by Colson. This one was probably an exercise for New Year's Resolutions.

I love how he spells garage.

Explore the Book, Ezekiel

Monday Morning Comment Roulette

Comment Roulette rules: Answer the previous commenter's question, and then ask one of your own.

I shall begin the game today with:


What is your favorite breakfast cereal?

Ungame Sunday

Today's Ungame question should be a goodie....


"What family holiday experience has left you with a pleasant memory?"

Hooray Earth!

Short Story by Colson

Colson has been writing stories at school. His teacher says that whenever he has free time, he's working on another story. You'll notice a theme to his stories: love, friends, playing together, lots of exclamation points, friends, and love. Here is one of his short stories:

Crazy Love

Here's yet another reason why I love my husband:

He rarely flinches upon hearing my often unusual plans. I mean, how many husbands in America hear "Hey baby, I'm going to go dance in a same-sex dance event this Saturday". Or "Hey darling, I'm going to ride up to Katie Couric's house in the Hamptons on Friday night to dance at her birthday party". Or "Hey honey, I have to DJ at Richard's dance in the city this weekend". Or "I'm going to drive to Pittsburgh next month to meet a girl I met on Twitter". Or "You're going to Vegas with me this weekend to play poker while I dance, and then we're going to watch show girls for your birthday". Or "Can you drive to Queens with me on Saturday night, I'm performing in the Valentine's Day show at the Jewish Senior Center?".

He's become so used to it that he barely looks up when he hears my plans. At this point, he just rolls his eyes and chuckles. I haven't figured out yet whether he chuckles because he finds me interesting, amusing and exciting, or because he's imagining the funny look of shock on my face when he finally calls the men in the white coats to haul me away.


Either way, he's very sweet for letting me express myself the way I do. I just love him....

Draw Nearer

More of Ava's pencil drawings:

"Part of a sunflower"

"nothing" (we'll call it "nothing 2.0")

"face"

"basket"

"balloons"