First, I have to say "welcome!" to my friend Jenn who has started her own blog--yea! I'm begging all of my friends to start one--even if you only write once a week. It's a great way to keep up with each other and for me to continue to procrastinate everything else I should be doing.

NOW, for a little brag session...you know me, you know that I don't go on and on about how wonderful, brilliant, gorgeous, and talented my children are. Even though that is all true, I don't get much in the way of hard evidence to share with all of you. More often than not, the little fumbles we go through are much funnier than the successes. And more plentiful. However, I have to say I am shocked, stunned, and seriously filled with motherly pride from today's event.

This morning we were getting ready to head out the door, and Cameron looked at my shirt and said, "Guh, Ah, Puh" and then continued with "athletics" but I'll spare you the phonics version. I recently discovered that he not only recognizes all the letters of the alphabet, but he also knows the sounds each makes! Great, but today he actually sounded out Gap. HE'S THREE!! Being a teacher and a book lover, obviously I am overjoyed.

Now the funny: I never taught him a thing. Sure, we sing "ABC's" and read books before bed, but I'm a big believer in age appropriate learning and well, I think three is too early for most kids to read. Leave it to my kid to do the opposite. (Granted, he's not actually reading yet, but he's well on his way.) So, how did he learn all of this you ask? The dreaded TV. Yep, you got it folks--TV actually can be educational.

It's no secret--I love TV. At one point, I felt like I was watching too much and wasting my life away and decided to only watch shows that teach me something. Then I had to justify Grey's Anatomy, Notes from the Underbelly, and ER as teaching me social skills and relationship building...well, whatever. DVR rocks my world and now I have something that I want to watch when I am folding laundry rather than whatever crap is on daytime.

Enough about me, this is about my brilliant son. So, I shared this in my "check this out" section a couple weeks ago, but in case you missed it: Kids: To TV or Not TV? And here's what I think helped Cameron. Now that we live about 1/2 hour from civilization, I ask for a little peace in the car and occasionally turn on the DVD player. One movie that we keep in the van is Leapfrog's Letter Factory. It was a gift from my in laws and even though it's Canadian and pronounces "z" as zed, I like it. After realizing Cameron was actually learning from this video, we purchased Word Factory and Math Circus (you know, so he's not only reading, but also computing formulas) Cameron has always loved Baby Einstein and Little Einsteins, Dora and Diego, or anything on PBS. No, I don't plop my children in front of the TV for hours on end. If we happen to catch any of those shows at the right times then I might turn it on. It's not on a daily basis or any regular schedule--and I don't leave the TV running all day long. That's a personal preference; I have never been one to like "background" noise. If there is a show that I want them to see, I will DVR it and turn it on when I need a half hour to cook dinner or whatever. Especially recently, our favorites are Word World and Super Why on PBS. There are other shows that encourage reading skills, but these are the ones my kids like at the moment.

Hey, I'm not saying that any of this will make your kid read or that I feel every kid should watch TV. Kaela really isn't all that into TV, no problem. I'm just saying that my kid has given me a reason to shout from the roof tops, so I'm gonna. :)

Have I mentioned that I love books? I tend to look up what's new and exciting or see what other people are reading and then head to the library with my list. Now I can do the same for the kids.

It's not just the smell of books that I love--I love everything about them. I love the look--I have always wanted a wall full of books surrounding a fireplace, cozy chair, and sleeping dog. I love the cozy, warm, comfort of curling up with a good book. I love the escape to lives and place unknown. I love the connections with characters and feelings. I love getting so lost in a book that I think about it all day long. I love/hate the obsession I have when reading a book--I have to read it constantly until it's finished, all the while knowing I'm going to be disappointed when it is done (only because I won't have it to read any longer). Luckily, my husband loves to read, and will even remind me when its been a while since I took some time for myself to actually sit and read. (Lately, I've been fulfilling my crave for reading through blogs.)

I have a really hard time when someone asks my favorite books. I feel like I am choosing between my children! I know that I have favorite parts of books. I will read something that is so well written that I will have to read it over again to savor the beauty of the sentence. (Don't ask me what those parts are right now, I'm coming off of a week of my entire family having rotavirus. And am slowly rebuilding brain cells.) Hard pressed, I will say a few of my favorites for different reasons/ages:

• young child: The Monster at the End of This Book & Where the Sidewalk Ends--my mom would read these to me and I not only loved the stories, but the special time with her. (Great Shel Silverstein website)
  
• elementary: Charlotte's Web--the first book that pulled at my heart strings. I think at that age (2nd grade) I really began to realize the world around me. Anything and everything Judy Blume--She somehow got into my head at every stage and age of books she wrote. She sometimes wrote about controversial (at least at my young age) topics and I loved that.
• teenage/young adult: Mrs. Mike --Ahh, Mrs Mike. One of my all-time favorites. This is one that all the women (well, almost) have read and loved for many years. I was completely in love with the romance in this book. Nothing controversial really, some harsh lessons, but it really took hold of me. Little did I know then, I would grow up to marry my own rugged Canadian. I made it part of a book study in my classroom several years ago and as far as I could tell from young teens, they loved it, too. I re-read it as an adult, and while still good, it wasn't as enchanting as it was back then. I think it's best read when you are still full of hope and innocence of love. I know that sounds pessimistic, but what I mean is that I hadn't experienced any of the pains of love (nor the joys) so I had an open mind about love and life. The Outsiders--I read this when I was in 7th grade. It was so different from anything that I had read and went through it all with my classmates. I think that was another book that was read at the right time.
• high school: I took an AP English class (begged to get in) and experienced some of the best literature of my life. Books that I would have never picked up on my own and would never have been exposed to in another class. The Great Gadsby and Ethan Frome stick out in my mind, not so much as for enjoyment--possibly, but again because they took me to places so unique from anything I had ever read or experienced. One that I tend to mention as a favorite is The Scarlet Letter. This book gave me a run for my money. I had a very difficult time getting through the first few chapters. I struggled and really wanted to give up on it. Thankfully, I didn't. I stuck with it and loved it. I don't know if it was because I felt like I conquered the book or really just enjoyed it, but either way I keep a tattered and torn copy on my bookshelf.
• adulthood: this is where I get stuck. I've read many books that I enjoy. Many that, at the time, they are a favorite. But, then I pick up another one and it becomes my favorite. At one time I swore off reading more than one book written by an author because I felt like the books were repetitive. Then I read Nicholas Sparks and JK Rowling. I couldn't get my hands on any of their books fast enough. Unfortunately, since True Believer and At First Sight I have jumped off the Sparks bandwagon. They felt a little forced and fake to me. However, I am a Harry Potter fan through and through. I have read the books and have seen the movies multiple times. I get completely lost in the magical and exciting world of Potter.