Basketball & Reading

In case you haven't noticed, we like sports.  More specifically basketball.  Actually, I like football better but the boys like basketball.  And as a sign that the littlest one is already paying attention to everything his big brother does, he is following suit.  He speed crawls to any available basketball he can find.

{I Love My Chunky Cheek Baby!}
I'll be darned if Santa wasn't right on with this gift!

{And he moves too fast for my cell phone to capture him!  Check out the belly & saggy britches!}

Since I was little I have enjoyed spending quality time reading magazines, hoping to find the next beauty secret for the average girl.  It started with YM.  I even entered one of their "girl next door" contests where my mom took a bunch of pictures of me posing at Wilson Park and we submitted them with hopes of becoming the new "fresh face."  Seriously embarrassing that I am admitting this.  And what's even more embarrassing is the hot pink t-shirt and bright green shorts I was wearing with my white tube socks and dirty keds for the photo shoot.  I am honestly cringing right now at the image although I'm sure my mom will smile at the fondness of the memory as she reads this.  Anyway, I eventually made my way up to Cosmo, Vogue & Elle as I aged.  But now, I read this:

And it excites me every time I find it in the mailbox.  It's like a birthday card full of money or something.  For once in my life a magazine with articles that actually relate to me.  I mean I was in college reading Vogue like I was going to go out and purchase the $999 dress on the model titled "Look Like a Celebrity Without Paying Like One." Uh huh.  Because $999 is a bargain.

Not everything in Parenting magazine relates to me or even goes along with my morals & standards but it's pretty darn close.  One of my favorite sections is at the front called "Back Talk" where they ask a general question and mommy's answer.  In the March issue the question is What's Your Favorite Memory of You & Your Kids?  The answers range from "My 2 year old daughter loves '80s and hip-hop music.  At night when I put her to bed, she wants me to sing 'Drop It Like It's Hot' instead of lullabies."  (This made me laugh out loud because it's so something I would do.) to "When my 7 year old son dropped his ice cream on the sidewalk, his 9 year old brother gave him his own - willingly and unprompted!  That was my 'I am doing a good job' mommy moment."  I like to read stuff like this because it makes me feel normal (if there is such a thing) in this world of parenting.  One of the nice things about parenting is that you can read and read and read about the "correct" way to raise your children but ultimately it is up to us as parents to decide what we think is appropriate for our kids.  So far I think I am pretty set in my ways about certain things but very laid back and indecisive about others.  And I know this will continue to evolve and change as Deuce gets older and I think I am okay with that.

"On March 2, the National Education Association calls for every child to be reading in the company of a caring adult."

It is also noted in the March issue of Parenting that March 2nd is Read Across America Day.  March 2nd is the birthday of Dr. Seuss.  According the the NEA website, the purpose of Read Across America is to motivate children to read because it's an important factor in student achievement and it creates lifelong successful readers.  Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school.  Reading is also very near & dear to my mom's heart as she has been a literacy specialist in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System for years.  It is part of Deuce's bedtime routine that we read books together every night.  I hope you all will celebrate Read Across America Day with a child! 

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