Have you every had a parenting moment that borders on absurd? I've been thinking about some of the things that have come out of my mouth that I never would have imagined having to say before kids:
Hey! Check your quarter staffs at the door!
That's why I said no millipedes in the car.
Don't lick my neck, it's something that's just wrong, I don't care if it tastes good.
You change your underwear every day, right? You do, don't you? (ringing silence)
A few weeks ago, my mom, sisters and I all met in Boise for a girls weekend. We'd never done anything like this before, and we were amazed at how delightful and stress-free it was. We got to chat, play makeup, play games, (anyone tried the game curses?) have a clothing exchange, all kinds of fun things all without trying to cajole bored spouses, quiet children, and tend to grouchy babies. It was such a relief to just enjoy each other without dealing with all these issues. We swam, shopped, caught a movie, and best of all, we got to know our new baby sister-in-law Jenny. She's adorable! We are all so charmed by her sweetness. As a family of sisters with only one brother, we worried about what it would be like having another woman in the family that's not us. What if she's a snob? What if she doesn't want to borrow our maternity clothes? We got so lucky! She's the best.
I think the reason Dumbledore trusted Snape so implicitly is because he what no one else knew about Snape. Lilly Evans was the love of Snape's life. I think when the Potters were killed, Dumbledore witnessed Snape's grief, and swore to keep that knowledge secret. Think about it: they both had a passion for potions, she was so bright but kind...I'm sure that's the way it was. I think that's another reason Snape hates Harry so much; he looks just like his dad.
I think the only way Harry can survive book 7 is if only his scar is the horcrux, not him completely. I'm going to guess that at the end, Harry will see a chance to sacrifice himself and take Voldemort with him. He'll be surprised when he should have died, but didn't. My theory is that when the little piece of Voldemort's soul is destroyed, his scar will disappear.
The latest book we're reading is Dirty Magic, by Carol Hughes. I highly recommend it. It's one of those books that suck you in right away. I kept telling my husband how good it was, then Saturday night I saw him "reading the paper" while looking furtively at me. Sure enough, behind the paper was my book! He stayed up late that night, lost in it's pages, and when I woke up the next morning, we were in the same chapter. We decided to finish the rest aloud as a family. It is impeccably written with a tight, fast-moving storyline. I find I love reading good children's lit because I never have to worry about offensive scenes. This is definitely the high quality children's lit!
I bought tons of software and made up complicated schedules for each of the kids. Their periods are in 30 minute increments, with different classes for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and then for Tuesday and Thursday. They have to keep a writing journal, with outside and inside chores worked in to the schedule. Kuba laughed when he saw what I'd done. He told me he would have either killed me or himself if I was his mom. Ah well, my kids are excited to start. I don't know if I'll be able to keep it up for long, we'll see.
I've been hard at work on the script for Henry V. Last night I finally finished! It was such a relief. It was tough to keep the soul of the text and still cut in down small enough for kids to memorize. All the lines are still Shakespeare's words- just not in iambic pentameter any more! Some of my favorite parts had to be chopped. There was no way son #2 (King Henry) would agree to trying to kiss our neighbor neighbor girl (Princess Katherine)! It's a final 16 pages, and I think the movie should be around 30 minutes when its done. Now we get to start on the costumes....
