book peeves ...

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the Bernstein Bear books can get a little too preachy? My husband and I are both particularly tired of reading how Mama knows everything and Papa is dumb and rarely does the appropriate/right thing. What are we really teaching the kids with this message?

We had these books given to us (hand downs) and were happy to have them, at first. They seemed to have valuable lessons in them, and the kids really enjoyed listening to us read them. After awhile, though, we started paying more attention and noticing some of the patterns and formulas in the writing. It's annoying. Worse yet, my son LOVES them. I'm so tired of reading a couple of them, in particular, that I tried to hide them. (I thought about taking the lot to Goodwill, but decided to just to give myself a break from them.) They stayed hidden for about a week, but they seem to have been discovered. We must have at least 30-40 books to choose from ... why do we always have to read the same 3!?

I also hid the Barbie and Dora movie books. That's another pet peeve ... I'd like my kids to experience variety. We have plenty of books that have original stories inside their covers. Why do have to rehash the DVD movie in book form. Every day. Sometimes twice a day. why why why WHY WHY!??! (note: most of our books are gifts ... I'm not sure I would have bought these books, but my children picked them out for themselves.)

Could someone please tell me what's wrong with Dr. Seuss or Fairy Tales or Noah's Ark or Dinosaurs or one of the other many many books on our book shelves!? I know kids like repetition and that it's beneficial for them to have that ... but seriously ... enough is enough!!!

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

an observation

I don't understand people who live for themselves and nobody else.

the end of a tradition

For the last 8 years my husband and I have had the pleasure of hosting a Christmas party. It started out because many of our college friends had scattered and this was a guaranteed time for those living nearby or with family in the area to see each other. One year we decided to branch out and invite all of our friends ... it was a great success! The year after, and all the following years, not so much. At one point we decided that financially, we couldn't do it anymore. To our great surprise (and pleasure), a few people pleaded for it to continue and offered to start bringing food to help out. And so ... we continued. This year ends our tradition and I'm a little sad.

To all of you that are familiar with our annual tradition, I wanted to let you know that it will be no more. We will miss extending the invitation into our home, but know that you are always welcome here.