books are like crack to me

    i have an addiction to books.  they truly are like crack to me.  when i am in the middle of a book, it is all i can think about.  while i am doing other things (working, taking care of the kids, etc) all i can think about is when i can squeeze in my next fix.  i will go without food and sleep to cram in a few more chapters.  if i'm driving somewhere, i take the book with me so i can read a sentence while sitting at a stoplight.  i am forever toting around several books at a time, you know... just in case (i like to have options).  i dream of having library in my home with walls covered in books.  i think my body physically needs books around in order for me to survive.

    i inherited my love of books and reading from my parents.  they were good role models and i have many memories of them reading.  my mom was constantly taking me to the library and we always would leave with way more books than what we could read in the few weeks time we were allotted.  my dad was always willing to get me whatever books piqued my interest.  i even have a memory of my dad trying to read a book while he was driving (dangerous, i know, but a fond memory never-the-less).  

     it has been hard to get much reading done in the past two years (since jagger was born).  what little time or energy i had was devoted elsewhere and the few books that i did read were mostly parenting and baby books.  i have finally broken free of that rut and in the past month and a half, i have read 9 books.  i just started no. 10 today, and it feels so good.  i love getting lost in a story.  it's like a watching movie in my head.  i didn't realize how much i missed it.

     i am a fiction reader.  i have in the last few years really enjoyed reading young adult fiction (harry potter series, twilight series), and now it's generally the first section i look to when i need a new book.  can i share a secret with you?  i'm a bit of a book snob.  they say never judge a book by it's cover, but i totally do.  a cover has to catch my eye in order for me to even pick up the book.  it's terrible i know, and i'm trying to get past it, but it is a hard habit to break!

     i really want to foster a love of reading in my boys.  i look forward to taking them to the library to get their library cards.  i look forward to reading stories aloud on long car trips.  i look forward to all of us gathered together in bed to read a chapter before going to sleep.  i look forward to them telling me about the stories they are reading.  i just can't wait :)  

psst...terry....I need to borrow the last book of the dragon fire series!

countless hours

are spent here.  In front of the computer.  Any spare moment I can find.  The chair has molded to the form of my butt perfectly.

I have a problem.  I'm addicted to the internet. 

There is so much more I should be doing, but I just can't seem to pull myself away.  I lose myself on blogs reading other peoples stories, surfing crafty websites looking for inspiration, searching amazon for the next good book, and discovering new music.  All this while my house is falling to ruins around me.  Dishes need to be done, laundry needs to be washed, kids need to be fed.  I need to get a handle on this!

Here's a little fact for you all about me.  I love getting mail.  It doesn't matter if it is all bills, I love opening the mailbox and seeing a stack of envelopes.  It's the first thing I do when I get home.  I love opening the mail, looking through catalogs, reading my magazine subscriptions, and such.  I especially love getting packages.  Today was a package day.  Yay!

I received a big stack of pictures that I ordered.  I am creating a wall-o-pictures at work because I'm tired of looking at cinder blocks.  

And the only picture I took of any of my kids today involved mail.  Junk mail has a purpose in my house....entertaining my children :)

As far as the kid front goes,  it was a frustrating day for all.  Poor Jagger just couldn't handle it if things wouldn't work for him.  A toy doesn't work the way he thinks it should? Cry.  He can't get the spaghetti to stay on his fork? Cry.  And on and on like that.  

I think Cash and Slade must be going through a growth spurt because they can't seem to satisfy their hunger.  Plus, they don't know what they want, they're just babies.  There were a lot of faces like this:

and this:

and this:

So the best part about today was putting the kids to bed :)