Leaving a baby to cry it out (CIO) puts the baby in danger.
Read about it.

Another excellent article.

Treasures & Observations

At the library book sale, I bought an extensive compilation of poems titled Favorite Poems Old and New, edited by Helen Ferris Tibbets, for $.25. :D I also got a huge book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes by Marguerite de Angeli for $.25. The editions I linked to are not the ones I picked up, but I couldn't find those editions on Amazon.com. The volumes I purchased were part of a set called "Beginner's Bookshelf" published by Doubleday in 1982. I'm thrilled with them! We also bought a few Berenstain Bears books and I got a couple board books for Luke. I also found a brand new beginner's dictionary for Katie, a DK book about large cats, and an Angelina Ballerina book. I may include links to the actual books later.

The train ride was amazing! We all loved it! The train was a real beauty, black and shiny, big and loud. We got some great pictures and oh-so-thankfully the car we were in was air-conditioned! Woo-hoo! It was terribly hot that day.

While we were waiting for the train to arrive, I was looking around at the other people gathered near the tracks and I saw a family of four. The children were about 8 months (?) and 4. The mom fed the baby his bottle while he was in the reclined stroller. Later (I'm not sure if he was picked up after the feeding or not), the baby was crying in the stroller with the shade pulled over it. After a short while, the dad went over to the baby and said, "You're fine, buddy. Take a nap. Take a nap" and walked away. [sarcasm]Sure, the baby's fine. That's why it was crying. [/sarcasm] The mom just jiggled the stroller and continued talking to her friends. The baby continued to cry for a few minutes and then went to sleep. I wonder how many times the little guy has had and will have to cry himself to sleep. It made me sad. Parent-centered parenting - of all, but especially of babies - really upsets and angers me. They are vulnerable. They need reassurance and nurturing, not abandonment couched as teaching. I suppose most parents who cry-it-out believe they are doing the right thing. However, I would never leave anyone I know to cry alone and certainly not my infant children. They may cry in my arms if there's nothing I can do, but they will not cry alone. I also want to add that I consider it to be CIO when parents have their children cry in their crib while they are there next to the crib talking to them or patting their backs. In the vast majority of cases, the child wants to be picked up and cuddled or nursed, and that's what babies need. They need to know that their mommy is always there to comfort and help them, to teach them gently and guide them along the way.

Wheeeee!

I went to a library book sale today. It was smaller than I expected and it was held outside, which annoyed me because it was very hot today. I really don't care for the heat at all unless I have a body of water nearby, preferably chlorinated. ;) I didn't find any books for myself, but I bought a couple for Luke and lots for Katie and, quite by accident, found a book for Brian. :) I'm so excited about this weekend! Tomorrow, the kids and I are going to citywide garage sales in a nearby town. Then, in the evening we'll all be going to a parade. On Saturday, we'll be taking a 2-hour ride on a refurbished (hopefully including A/C!) steam engine and going to a petting zoo, both of which I think Katie will love! There will also be those bouncy things for kids to jump in, another favorite of Katie's. The reason for all the festivities is the town's anniversary celebration. I think it will be a lot of fun, not to mention a fantastic people-watching opportunity. I really love taking in the mannerisms, personalities, dialects, and clothing choices, and thinking about all the questions and assumptions/intuitions swirling around in my frazzled but exceedingly inquisitive mind.

Luke is sleeping. One down, one to go.

Ew! Yuck! Go away!!!!!!

There is a huge house centipede crawling on its 500 little legs from the ceiling down the wall and probably headed right for me!!!!! HELP!!!!!!

I despise bugs.

Here's a very interesting article on cryopreservation, or the freezing of embryos. The article explains why the preservation can be done with embryos but not entire human bodies. (Not that I would want my body preserved in that way!)

Nightlight Christian Adoptions has an embryo adoption program called Snowflakes. Isn't that neat?

"Something's Afoot at the Circle K!"

A couple of days ago, I finished a book called Alone at Night by K. J. Erickson. My interest in mysteries has been renewed these past few months, starting with the Jane Jeffry series by Jill Churchill. I prefer Churchill's Grace & Favor series, however. They're a bit meatier read. Tell No One by Harlan Coben is also an excellent mystery/suspense novel. Kept me on the edge of my seat, for sure. I am now near the end of Third Person Singular, another book by K. J. Erickson. I really enjoy Erickson's novels. I do wish to warn you, however, that Alone at Night does involve a disturbing war crime, though not much time is spent on it. I've heard Erickson's books described as police procedurals. I really don't know that much about different types of mystery and suspense novels, though I would like to learn more.

Here are some interesting links about the mystery genre:

http://www.midnightinkbooks.com/info.php?content=guid
http://www.hsmb.com/mysterious-links/mystery-genre-definitions.html
http://www.mysterybookstore.com/
http://www.mysterynet.com/genres/
http://www.mysteryguide.com/index.html

Meyers-Briggs-Type Test

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends. You are also unconventional, irreverant, and unimpressed by authority and rules. Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives. You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're qutie the storyteller! You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist.

What's Your Personality Type?

DH is ISTJ. :D

I despise ticks. Why are they so small and dangerous? That's a terrible combination! They are one of the main reasons I do NOT wish to camp. Book me a room at a hotel any day, especially one with a pool. I love the smell of hotels. I love to stay at hotels. They're so uncluttered and clean (hopefully) and ... did I mention uncluttered? ;) Can't wait 'til we go on vacation on Brian's birthday weekend. We're not going very far, but there are fun places to visit where we'll be going and it will be nice to stay in a hotel and visit a couple who are friends of ours. I'm very excited! When we take a "vacation," it's usually to visit relatives and we all know that's not a real vacation.

Luke is one today! Hooray! We're so thankful for you, little guy, and we love you so very much! <3 (I think he'll be walking any day now! :-O )