Damn That's Good Stuff

Got to the beach today. Yay. I needed that. What a nice day to veg. And play.

This image reminds me so much of me, it's crazy.

We love digging for crabs, sunning, collecting shells and rocks, catching the little minnows that nip at our feet in the water. It's a blast. Our best days are spent right here at this beach. Not 5 seconds from our front door. Lucky? Youbetchya.

As the Girl wades and swims, I am reading The Book Thief. 

I can't put it down. Read it. It's a book that you will never forget. It is a Historical Fiction Novel narrated by death. Can you imagine? Death with a voice and a sense of humor? And sometimes not. I love it.

Speaking of books, read this one too...The Help.

My first audio book from iTunes. I couldn't stop listening. It was heartwarming, heart wrenching and fun and another really great Historical Fiction piece.

Oh, and The girl reads now too. Like she's been reading her whole life. Her suggestions:

1) Diary of a Worm.

Her favorite parts, and I quote Doreen Cronin. "May 28th...Last night I went to the school dance...You put your head in, you put your head out, you do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself about...That's all that we can do."

and "June 15th...My older sister thinks she's so pretty. I thold her that no matter how much time she spends in the mirror, her face will always just look like her rear end."

Comical.

2) Junie B. Jones Books. Since she's going into 1st grade, The Girl is into Junie B's. First Grade adventures.

3) Anything from this knucklehead:

Hey, it's promoting her literacy skills...Don't judge.

Since elementarty school started she's into the "Big Girl" Nick shows like iCarly, Big Time Rush and Victorious just to name a few. And I gotta say, I like them. They are cute and harmless and she loves to dance and sing to the music. And okay so there's a little kissing between the sexes, but what evs? She's gonna see it anyway. Make it taboo and it becomes something born out of curiosity. Then where am I?

Listen, this kid knew where babies came from at 3. I'm not holding back any info here. Ignorance may be bliss but Knowledge is Power.

She's one smart cookie. I can't hide anything from her. And I won't. I'd rather her fird out from me than some stupid kid in her class.

Speaking of growing up. We've had that "stranger danger" talk again. I've come up with two good rules for detecting trouble. Yes, you may use them. 

1) An adult will NEVER ask a child for help with anything. Finding a puppy, kitten, lost child...period.

2) If a Stranger approaches, run. How do you define a stranger you ask? Well, a stranger is someone you've never sat at a table with to have dinner.

I know, kids can be abused by family members and people they know also. We talk about that too. I've told her the deal. I can only hope I've armed her enough. She's already had to deal with bullying kids and kids who can't keep their hands to themselves in school, I think she's getting it. I think she's toughening up too. It's hard and it takes time. But I try to get her to talk to me as much as I can. All the more now because when she's a crabby teenager, I'm lucky if I get a grunt.

That's why bonding on days like today. Rocks. I love these summer days. The ones where we can enjoy each others company and chit chat and giggle...

I love 6. 6 Rocks.

Oh, I gotta go...iCarly is on and I want to watch it....