My sister comes tomorrow! Hip hip hooray! My sister comes tomorrow! Yay oh yay oh yay oh yay oh yay!
Hmmm. I should probably at least get the bathroom clean for her.
Archive for July, 2007
What Was I Thinking?
Ches left this morning for band camp. He left the house at 5:30 am, while the rest of us were snoozing away in our beds. By 7 am I had all three boys in my bed, laughing and playing. At 7:40 am Ches called to say he forgot a few things, so could I gather them up and he’ll swing by and pick them on his way out of town. They were running just a little late leaving the school, I guess. About 10 minutes later, he called again to say that traffic is so bad, could I meet him somewhere? No problem. I got the stuff, got the kids (we were all still in pajamas!), and off we went.
Of course, it sounds easy now, but it took me 15 minutes to gt out the door as the kids cried and whined things about what shoes they were wearing, how hungry they were, and that they wanted to “hang out” with Dad at band camp all day. Yeah. Fun, huh?
After we got home (a little after 8 am) the kids acted happy again… for about 5 minutes. Then it was back to whining. This time it was about playing video games, eating oatmeal for breakfast (they wanted it, we don’t have any), getting dressed, drinking milk, playing with Dad’s big flashlight, and watching TV.
It is now 10:37 am and I finally have them all dressed, fed, and happy with activities on their own. I give it about 10 minutes before the whining commences again.
It’s going to be a loooooong wait until Friday comes.
The End
I’m done. It took me about 24 hours to read (and that includes all the stopping I had to do for things like sleep, feeding children, bathing children, searching the house for Ches’ driver’s license and birth certificate, and answering the stupid phone just to tell stupid telemarketers thanks but no thanks for umpteenth time!). I am exhausted. Now Ches is reading Harry Potter and I can’t wait for him to be done so we can discuss it.
I cried. Through the whole book. I guess I was channelling some spirit of Cho or Hermione (who seems to cry just as much as Cho does!). Aiden kept looking at me funny and asking what was wrong. I just told him I’m a big dork. That got him worried. “You’re not a dork, Mom! Don’t worry! You’re just fine!” Happy or sad, good or bad, I cried. Yes, I laughed through some tears, but I cried and cried. And now I have a huge migraine from all the crying. I am such a baby.
I will miss waiting impatiently for the next Harry Potter book. I can’ t believe this is the end of it all. Will we ever experience literature like this again? This eagerness of children and adults? This hunger for more? Will there be another series of books that will so grip it’s readers and bridge the gap of generations? Was this a once-in-a-lifetime thing that we have experience through this phenomenom called Harry Potter?
I understand that not everyone is a fan of Harry and not everyone will even attempt to read it. But wow. The way so many people have really come to love these books… it’s just wow. Ches came home from New Teacher Orientation today and said at the last meeing of the day, some big-wig from the superintendant’s office was speaking and kept saying, “We need to wrap this up. I’m on Chapter 17. I need to get home and read more Harry Potter.”
Well, I think I will go to bed and dissect the story some more in my mind before drifting off to sleep. I feel as if I’m saying goodbye to some friends with this knowledge that as often as I will read and re-read this series, it will never be like the first time again. I’m sad for that. Oh, and I liked the cheese. It brought more tears. I’m happy for that.
IT FINALLY CAME!!!
A friend of mine came over to borrow some kid CDs (the kind that won’t drive a parent nuts) for a long car trip, and the mailman arrived at the same time. This is what was handed to me:
So it’s not as fancy as Karen’s or Heather’s boxes, but I still get the cool sticker!! Anyway, I exclaimed, “IT’S MY HARRY POTTER BOOK!!!!” and both my friend and the mailman laughed at me. That’s okay. I’m excited. a little. Okay… a LOT.
Now, if you don’t mind… I’m going to go read my new book. Don’t call me until tomorrow at least. I have to get it done so Ches can take it to band camp with him. 
The Bedtime Battles
Because school starts in a week and a half, we have been trying really hard to get Aiden to bed early so he won’t have a problem getting up early on school days. It’s full day kindergarten, and I don’t want him tired and missing out because he’s cranky. However, early bedtimes have been an uphill battle.
We made a Bedtime Checklist for each of the boys, and included the time they are supposed to be in bed. Dallin’s bedtime is 7:30 and Aiden’s is 8:00 (we can’t put them to bed together because they’ll stay up all night, playing. So we need Dallin to go to sleep first). I would rather that Aiden goes to bed earlier, but this is an improvement. Anyway…
Last night the kids each stayed up a half hour past their bedtime, but other than that, things were going well. At 8:30 Aiden went to bed without protest. I was pleased. Until I walked by their closed bedroom door about 45 minutes later. I could see the light was on.
I opened the door to find both boys sitting on the floor, the train track out and put together so nicely, Mr. Potato Head sitting next to his very organized body parts and accessories, and cars lined up all around. The boys looked up at me as I hissed, “Get in bed now!”
They smiled and Aiden said so sweetly, “But Mom, we just wanted to play.”
They were playing so nicely. And they were looking so sweet. How do you argue with that????
Another half hour later, with the lightbulb taken out of the overhead light, the toys picked up, the nighttime CD started over, a new diaper on Dallin, and the boys tucked into bed, and they finally went to sleep. I don’t know who won this battle (I think it was me, in the end, since they went to sleep), but I know I’m going to win this war!!:)
How many of you are on Facebook? I hear all the time about how great it is, but like MySpace, I just don’t see what the big deal is, honestly. I mean, it’s cool that I can keep up with some of my friends or family members, but there are SO many things out there for that. Heck, I’m signed up for stuff through Facebook, MySpace, Xanga, Beebo, Blogger, and WordPress. I would think that my blog is good enough, but I guess not. And being the sorry sheep that I am, any time someone invites me to be a member of something, I think “Why not?”
One cool thing about Facebook is that there is a WordPress application, so I am actually writing this post from my Facebook account, just to see how it goes.
I still feel like a sad little sheep. What things do you do that you follow others (sometimes blindly) in?
Bah!
Parker said his first word today. As Ches was leaving to take the car in for an oil change, Parker raised his hand in the air and said “Bah“. I’m sure you can all translate as I did. Bah means bye. Apparantly, Parker had said the same thing to me a little earlier as I walked into the family room from the laundry room. So bah must mean hello, too. Bah is what you say when you wave at someone. Anyrate… Parker is just too dang cute and we are extremely proud of him!
I hear that most kids start off with words like “dada” or “mama”. Not my kids. Aiden’s first word was light (pronounced i-eet), and Dallin’s first word was uh-oh. My kids are so funny.
More On Harry Potter
It’s time to answer questions that Karen had on her post. To leave the answers in her comment box would have been just too lengthy (we all know how much I love to talk!) and i have some other stuff to add, anyway. And now, without further ado…
1. How did you get into Harry Potter? I actually fought against reading HP for quite a while. It was a kid’s book. Why would I want to read children’s literature when I had my own stuff to read? I had heard from my then-elementary school aged siblings that they loved the first book, but I just wasn’t interested. I think when I started to hear more and more people my own age tell me how great the books are, I felt a little spark of “well, maybe I’m missing something.” Tim (Alyson’s Mr. Wonderful) really made a case on how great it is, and I really respect Tim’s opinion on literature and music, so I thought maybe I’d check the book out from the library and try it out. One day I was at a friend’s house, and we got on the subject of Harry Potter. She couldn’t believe I hadn’t read the books, so she loaned me their paperback copy (with me taking some kind of a blood oath to return the book unharmed!). I think it only took me a day to read. I was hooked on what really feels like a magical story. I knew I had to read more.
2. How important is Harry Potter to literary and pop culture? I think it’s extremely important. These books have defined a generation of young readers, making reading cool again. Harry Potter has helped children become interested in other books and genres. We all know all those facts. As far as pop culture, Harry Potter has become a huge part of pop culture. With references in other TV shows, movies and books (I seem to recall Willow saying to Giles that he had “gone all Dumbledore” in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), we know this is something that has struck a chord with more than just children.
3. Describe your favorite moment thus far My favorite moment would have to be the Weasley twins brilliant exit from Hogwarts. The idea of that giant swamp, the broom-shaped holes in Umbridge’s office door, the instructions to Peeves to “give her hell”, and the utter pandemonium around the castle just makes me smile… a lot. I love those twins. Oh, and I love any moment where Professor McGonagall shows her utter human compassion. She loves her job, she loves those students, and she is completely loyal to Dumbledore and Hogwarts. She’s awesome.
4. What character do you most relate to, and why? This is a toughy. I feel like I can relate to almost every character in some way, and there really isn’t one total “Sariah” character. I guess I would have to go with Ron. Ron is the best friend… the guy in second place all the time. No one really notices him because he is always in Harry’s shadow. Ron has some amazing talents, but he tends to mess up quite a bit under the pressure of being someone else’s younger brother or best friend. He also tends to say stupid things at the most inappropriate times, easily offending others, but not realizing that he has done so. I think my own foot is permanantly in my mouth! Ron just wants to be his own being, but he has a hard time figuring out how to do that. I love Ron.
5. How do you think the series should end? Well, I absolutely think Voldemort should be destroyed completely. We need good to triumph over evil. I would love to see Snape come out good in the end, as well as Draco Malfoy (although I hope Lucius either dies in Azkaban or Voldemort kills him in anger). I have almost convinced myself that Harry will also die, but I think that’s more so if it does happen, I won’t be too heartbroken. Oh, who are we kidding?? I’ll cry even harder over his death than I did over Dumbledore’s! I don’t really want Harry to die. I want him and Ginny to live happily ever after… well, once they both finish school and he becomes an auror, of course! I want Ron and Hermione to finally straighten out their feelings for each other and live happily ever after. I want Hogwarts to remain open, with McGonnagall as Headmistress. And I want someone to hold Umbridge accountable for all the crap she pulled while at Hogwarts! Yes, I want more books, either about Harry or about future generations of Hogwarts students (maybe a series about some American wizarding school could be fun!), but I seriously doubt I would love any of it as I have these books. Another reason to have Harry die: no one can write anymore about Harry. Ever. (Seriously, we don’t need someon 75 years later trying to pick up where JKR has left off. Anyone read the “sequal” to Gone With the Wind, Scarlett? I have, and it was horrible!) I am very curious if the last word really is “scar”. We shall have to wait and see.
We have ordered our copy of the Canadian edition of Deathly Hallows. It will be shipped on Monday. NO ONE IS TO SPOIL THE BOOK FOR ME. Not that I think any of you would. I am apalled at all the spoilers that have gone up on the web. Yes, a part of me is dying to look at those and try and figure out which ones are real, but where would the joy of reading this book for the first time come if I have read the spoilers? So I’m asking you as JKR, The Leaky Cauldron, and Mugglenet have asked: do not seek out spoilers. Do not share any spoilers. Let everyone enjoy reading this book!! It’s our last chance to read this magical world without knowing what exactly is going to happen, so let’s live it up!
I don’t know yet if I am going to any release parties. I want to, but I doubt the kids will enjoy anything. They’re just a little young. I asked an old friend of mine if she wants to dress up and have a “Girl’s Night Out” Friday night, but she is out of town until next week. Bugger that! If any of you go, I expect a full report, as well as pictures. I will not expect to see any new posts this weekend as I know you will be reading. I will just be jealous until my book comes.
Oh, and if you just can’t wait until the book comes out, I suggest reading What Will Happen In Book 7. It’s a book full of predictions by the Mugglenet staff. I almost bought that book today, but I didn’t have enough cash. I think it’d be fun to read (it looks super good!) and then see how close or how off they were. Happy reading!!
Rain, Rain
Every summer at this time in Phoenix is the start of monsoon season. While it is normally extremely hot and dry, we get a slight reprieve with all the rain that comes. Last night we got a really good thunderstorm… lots of thunder (ka-chigga, ka-chigga!), lots of lightening (ka-chow!) and a lot of rain.
As soon as Dallin figured out it was raining, he grabbed his sandals and pleaded, “Shoes on! Go outside! It’s raining! Raining outside!” So, even though it was dark and getting late (waaaaay past bedtime), the shoes were on his feet and he went dashing out the door, into the driveway. Aiden soon joined his little brother, and Ches, Parker, and I watched those two crazy kids from the carport. Well, I joined in the running and spinning in the rain a few times. Heh. I haven’t done that since I was probably 19. It was so fun!
The boys were soaked. I wanted to get pictures of them playing, but it was just too dark. The storm brought the temperature down about 15 degrees, so it was definitely bearable. I think we were out there a good half hour. Aiden and Dallin just ran up and down the driveway, yelling and screaming. They would stop at the edge of the driveway and exclaim, “Look at the river!” One time Dallin even went into the “river” and ran, spalshing water up to his waist.
Playing in the rain is just pure joy. I can’t wait for it to rain again. I love monsoon season.
