Monday, October 29, 2012

Could the Toothfairy Really be a Man?

I want to tell you about the great tooth fairy debacle of 2012.  This great injustice just happened to take place at my house and I admit my follies, only because people everywhere, particularly overworked and tired parents will appreciate what I am about to describe.
It all started out so innocently.  My nine year old daughter lost a tooth. The next day the dentist redid the wiring on her braces and handed her the small white baby tooth, smiling as he informed her that teeth with a bracket attached are worth extra money from the tooth fairy. Easy for him to say, he’s not paying for the bracket. On the way home, my daughter examined the tooth, prattling on about how she wished she could show her friends the next day.  That night, my daughter placed her tooth on the dresser next to her bed and went to bed dreaming what she would do with her upcoming windfall of cash.
Here’s what happened next.
Morning #1. My daughter approaches me and says, ”The tooth fairy never came last night,”
I scramble for an excuse coming up with the less than brilliant, “Wow, she must have known you wanted to show your friends and gave you an extra day.”  I wonder if lies about fictitious magical beings count as lies since they are lies about a lie. I hope so because some bigger ones were coming.
Morning #2.  My daughter comes in, her forehead scrunched in confusion and says, “She still didn’t come.” I know exactly who “she” is and while silently berating myself say, “Are you sure it was visible enough?” My daughter is smart, but maybe she thought the tooth fairy wasn’t the brightest fairy in the forest so she went and smoothed out the clear bag that held her tooth and moved any books or lip gloss that might confuse the tooth fairy-making her tooth painfully obvious.
Day #3  She didn’t even come into my room in the morning. Instead, just before bed, while I am tucking her in, she looks at the tooth skeptically and then climbs under her covers. I leave the room willing myself to remember to go back after she is asleep. 
Day 4 She wakes to an untouched tooth but by then, I’m already onto the days lists of task and have long forgotten.
Yes, at this point, I realized, I totally suck!
That night I walk into her room and find my daughter frantically searching all around her dresser. “What are you looking for,” I ask.  “My tooth,” my daughter answers. The tooth really is gone but I know my husband and I did not take it and we most certainly did not leave any money.
Now my daughter thinks the tooth fairy is a rogue tooth bandit, taking the goods but leaving nothing in return.
Scrambling again, I tell my daughter I need something from my room. As I walk through the master bedroom I call out in an unnaturally loud voice, “Honey, did you pick up some money in Ainsley’s room , maybe on the floor. She can’t find her tooth fairy money,”
Oh yeah, I wasn’t going down alone.
Now sucked into the pit of lies, overly loud, he responds,” I did, the cats knocked some money from her dresser onto the floor so I picked it up.” 
I know, blaming on the cats…we’d hit a new low.
Now he’s moving fast to get to his wallet before she busts us. He breezes by me with two dollars. I stop him, “better make it three,” I say thinking about all the pain we’ve caused her.  Several minutes later I go in her room and listen as she recounts the elaborate story her dad told her about cats and money and it’s all I can do to keep a straight face.
After my daughter is settled into her bed, just before I go to leave, she turns and sleepily asks, “Is it possible that the tooth fairy is a man?”
I pause for a minute, wondering why she asks this. Does she think men are more disorganized, forgetful, or maybe a man tooth fairy got distracted by a football game?  I’ll never know, but being big on avoiding gender stereotyping in our house I answer, “anything is possible honey,” With that, she turns over and drifts off to sleep and finally, the great tooth fairy disaster has come to an end.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

KATE FOR PRESIDENT


Hi, I’m Kate, Jennie’s little sister from the book Unbreakable Love.  I’m not your typical twelve year old girl.  I do check out Jennie’s dates when they come to pick her up.  I guess that’s pretty normal, and I do think her new best friend Nate is totally gorgeous and that’s normal too…but, my parents tell me that I am unusual in a specific way.  I love politics!  I love our American government and someday, I am going to be a senator or even the first woman president of the United States.  I’ll make laws and travel the world.  I’ll cast my vote. It’ll be amazing!!!!  
It’s an election year and I’m still a kid so I can’t vote but I want to give you three reasons why I think you should get involved in the political process.
 First, we need really smart people running our country!  The whole world watches the U.S. and if we have stupid people as our leaders, we all look stupid.  Besides, what if my future husband is a totally hot French guy. How will I get him to take me seriously if we have an idiot for a president? 
Secondly, we have a lot of problems.  Big ones like people starving and kids failing in school and stuff that’s even worse.   We need leaders that actually want to make our lives better.  We need smart and brave people that aren’t afraid to tackle hard problems and we need them now. 
The third reason is that the founding fathers knew that when American people put their voices together, they become more powerful than any one leader. They wanted to put the power, in the people’s hands.  I know, I just took a test on the constitution of the United States in social studies and got an A for awesome, by the way.  Yes, the founding fathers were rich old men and had egos the size of California, but they were also wise and knew if we chose good men to lead our country, our freedom would be protected and the United States would be great.      
So, I totally hope I gave you some reasons to get involved in politics. I hear my mom and dad talk about the candidates for President and I know they worry that the next one won’t be good enough, but then I remind them, at least we get to choose.  Thanks for listening and just you watch, in a few years, it’ll be my name on the ballet.  See ya!
 
VOTE 4 KATE

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Will Our Twitter Feeds be the History Books of Tomorrow?


I have been using Twitter for about a year now. I think the twitterverse is a fascinating place and  I’m always stunned at what a person can convey in 140 characters or less. Twitter gives new significance to less is more.  Here is some real tweets that I found interesting.

People do business-IndieAuthor, are you looking to promote your tweets? Use these hashtags and other indies will Retweet you! #BYNR and #authorRT

Tweeps pass on tidbits of wisdom-Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.-Aristotle #quote #wisdom

Tweeps think out loud, just because they can-Marcie @2readornot2read

I should go to bed.

Tweeps share their faith-Kimberly Jones@RealTalkKim

The only reason God is taking so long with you is because He has something absolutely extraordinary, unique, and amazing for you!

Tweeps support each other-Ally Condie@allycondie

Have been traveling, so this news is a bit late, but readers, you did it! MATCHED just REACHED (ha!) one YEAR on the NYT paperback list!!!


@allycondie Congratulations! I'm so happy for you! It's such a great book- you deserve it!:-)

Tweeps even delve into their political views, which of course, is even scarier than talking about their faith- Tera Lynn Childs@teralynnchilds

What?! Bill Clinton was at a rally in Vegas yesterday and I missed it?! So sad. :(
I know these are just a few examples, but I was impressed by the intensity and intimacy of them. It doesn’t take many characters to reveal a lot about yourself and the world around you.  This got me thinking. With every character, are we
leaving footprints, like the dinosaurs of old.  Are we creating our daily history as individuals and people in general.  So, here’s a funny question. What if, in a hundred years, they didn’t learn about us in text books, but by reading our twitter feeds. Who would they think we were? What would they think we did with our time? What would they think we valued? Wouldn’t that be crazy! So is Twitter just random quips and banter? I don’t think so. I think it is one of our records. I think it is a digital footprint in our history leaving an indelible impression on us now, and in future generations.  Lucky me, I get to part of it. How about you, do you agree? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from youJ

 

 

Friday, October 5, 2012

A Few Valuable Lessons from Pride and Prejudice


 
Recently, I watched Pride and Prejudice for the first time. I have tried reading the book, but found it hard to get past the old English, so I decided to watch the movie first to help me navigate the storyline better when I tried reading again. I do admit that I LOVED IT and am now numbered among the many who call this enchanting novel, their favorite. I know many of you feel the same, so just for fun I wrote a blog all about what we can take from Pride and Prejudice. Enjoy.

Lesson #

1.    When you see a hot guy, that’s kinda grouchy, don’t assume he is rude.  Maybe he is on his way to blind date with some socially awkward, less than completely attractive girl his grandmother met in the grocery store and set him up with. We all know what trouble a bad set up can cause.

 

2.    A good mom should be a busybody, anxiously engaged in the cause of finding the right man for their daughter.

 

3.    Everyone daughter should a dad as wonderful as Mr. Bennett!

 

4.    Put enough girls in one house and the walls will actually pulsate from the giggling.

 

5.    And finally, if a gorgeous rich guy says “I love you, ardently!” Don’t tear his head off. Instead try…”You had me at hello.”

    

Monday, October 1, 2012

Ten Perks to being Sick


I write this post on great authority. I have been flat-on-the-bed-sick for the last eight days and in an effort to find good in a bad situation, I wrote Ten Perks to Being Sick Enjoy!

1.       You finally get caught up on all those movies you have wanted to see.

2.       If you are a mom, your kids ignore you while are sleeping and actually go to their dad to ask for things.

3.       You can eat whatever your stomach “wants”

4.       Taking a shower is a feat, so no one expects you to do your hair or makeup, which gives you at least another hour for direly missed sleep. Notice there are no pictures attached to this postJ

5.       All those deadlines, that would people said would end the world if they weren’t met, come and go, and somehow the world keeps spinning

6.       Your kids finally find their own shoes.

7.       Your husband finally finds the kitchen

8.       You turn off your alarm clock

9.       Your family develops a new appreciate for what you do each day

10.    You breath in and out and appreciate the ability to get up in the morning.

 

I hope you don’t, but if you face sickness this year, you can find a few positives stuck in the middle of horrible experienceJ