Friday, June 29, 2012

What's The Dewey Decimal Code For Children's Sex Books?



My niece Brooke sent me the following link to a hysterical children's book from the 70s called "How A Baby Is Made". The drawings are enough to send you into fits of church giggles. If you get to the drawing of the baby crowning and you don't wet your pants, you need to look at it again.

Make sure you click through them all, and don't forget to read the "Sexplanations" from the blogger, beneath each page of the children's book.

"HOW A BABY IS MADE"


I think that most of us who came of age in the 70s and 80s, especially those of us in religious households, learned about sex via a book our parents gave us. For my brother Andrew and I it was, "Susie's Babies", a book about an classroom of students who had a pregnant hamster. The teacher explains to the children how the hamster got pregnant, and the students watch the hamster give birth.



As my brother Andrew jokes, "It was great! After reading the book, I knew how hamsters got pregnant. I still knew nothing about sex, but I could sure as heck teach a class on the hamster birthing process!"

Did your parents give you a book to help you learn about sex? If so, what was it?

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Bilingual

I heard the funniest story about my great-nephew Josh, who is 8. He has cousins who are deaf, so he and his brothers and sisters have learned sign language. They Skype with their cousins sometimes, and the other day Josh came running to his mother, Bonnie, saying, "Mom! I was just talking deaf with my cousins!"



So cute, I love it. I'm totally going to call sign language "talking deaf" from now on. What languages do you speak? Spanish? German? Josh speaks English and Deaf.

I learned to do Braille when I was in elementary school. I guess I was writing blind!!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Ava & Zach Make The Cut


 A friend brought me a copy of the recent Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center brochure. There were a couple of familiar faces in it! I've written about the library before, they have great homeschool programs.




Monday, June 18, 2012

Dancin' Mosleys

The videos from dress rehearsal for my kids' dance recital. My husband has the videos from the actual performance, hopefully he posts them soon...When finding a Mosley in a dance video, look in the back. Tall kids are always in the back. That's why we love solos.

 

Ava's Egyptian ballet routine. Zach says, "Are they supposed to be the Israelites??"




Ava's Hairspray jazz routine. After which Colson says to her, because 8 months of hip hop has apparently made him a jazz expert, "Ava, I saw one little problem in your jazz routine. You weren't shimmying as much as the other girls. I could tell because the strings on your dress weren't moving as much as theirs". But those of you who know my introverted Ava know that what she's doing in this video is akin to her having an epileptic seizure.




And Colson's Michael Jackson tribute hip hop routine. He comes in from the right side in the beginning, he's the one without the glove. Because he lost his. Shocking. Ava was irritated because this routine got all the applause. I had to explain to her that when 37 out of 38 routines are all girls, that one routine with all boys is going to get the crowd going. Plus any routine featuring Michael Jackson moves is going to get applause. I said even if all the boys fell on their faces the audience would applaud loudest for them. It's like a routine filled with babies and puppies.


We asked Zachary if he wanted to be in the dance recital next year. He said, "I think I'm more of a sports guy than a dance guy...."

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

They Need Stunting



Colson and Ava, 10 and 9. Whatever are they going to look like at 17 and 16?

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Goodnight Cars


Baby Zachary used to make me tuck his cars in with him at night. I miss baby Zachary.

Yesterday 6 year old Zachary said we should have another baby. I asked why. He said, "So that there will be at least one kid who doesn't boss me around!" I asked, "What if the new baby starts messing up all your stuff and crying all the time?" He said, while he rolled his eyes in exasperation at my ignorance, "Uh, we'll just take it to the Adoption Center."



Monday, June 4, 2012

Ava's Bucket List


I went into my daughter Ava's room the other day to put away clothes, and I found this taped to the wall behind her door. Her bucket list. I mean, it's about time. Tick tock, she's not gettin' any younger. One day you're 9, the next day you're 87, am I right??


This is the key to the list. Her mama's girl...


What you may not know about #5 is that Ava's had opportunity to go on roller coasters, she's just chosen not to. So that one is about overcoming a fear. And apparently #6 is the priority for this summer. 


#2 makes me laugh. She knows that KEEPING the pet is the hard part around here...


Sarah is Ava's best friend who lives up the street. 


No idea what the "egg tree" is. 



Since catching Bigfoot is this summer's priority, Ava made a plan. I'm guessing Bigfoot likes peanut butter? Or maybe that's for the girls to eat while they lie in wait...

And she knows that in this day and age, nothing really happens unless you have photographic evidence.