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Elisa's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 12/21/00 -------------------- 11/22/00 10/27/00 9/12/00 8/20/00 8/4/00 7/14/00 6/2/00 5/19/00 5/6/00 4/21/00 4/15/00 4/3/00 3/18/00 3/10/00 3/6/00 2/18/00 2/11/00 2/2/00 1/20/00 1/14/00 1/7/00 12/31/99 12/24/99 12/17/99 -------------------- Elisa's Introduction

October 27, 2000

Hello, fellow moms and dads,

It’s been a while since I’ve written again. Things have been so busy! With iParenting launching its 30th Web site (http://travelingtoday.com), work just keeps going and going. And then there are my three energetic angels, who keep going and going. I usually run around all day between home and office, making sure, somehow, that everything gets done and everyone gets attention. I’m tired! :-)

The weirdest thing happened with CJ yesterday. When I went to pick him up from preschool, he was reading a book about a ghost with his teacher and classmates. He was so intrigued by it that the teacher offered to let us take it home. He kept talking about the ghost and the dark room.

So at home I read the book, and it was just horrifying. There were several stories in it: about a cemetery, a girl’s head falling off, a ghost in a dark room, etc. I was just appalled. I told CJ he couldn’t read it any more and he agreed that the book was "too scary."

That night, he awoke at 1:00 a.m. crying. I went into his room and asked what was wrong. He said he was scared, and proceeded to tell me that he was scared of his ceiling fan and the bee and butterfly hanging from it, things he had never been scared of before. I turned on lights to show him that everything was OK, and left a light on for him. He was up for a couple of hours.

This morning, I took him to school and explained what had happened. CJ wanted to read the book again at school and I wouldn’t let him – I even offered to return the book to the library for the teacher. It was just inappropriate for 4-year-old kids. Maybe a 10-year-old would enjoy it – maybe.

At any rate, I feel bad that I had to let the teachers know I was disappointed in their choice, but even more upset that CJ will probably remember this for a long time. He has a photographic memory, and that picture of the ghost, looking so frightening (not like Casper at all!), will likely haunt him for a while.

But he is doing great otherwise. He will be either a bee or fly for Halloween, and the girls will be insects also: Julianna is a bee and Cassandra is a ladybug. I’ll try to get a picture up so you all can see! We’re just going trick-or-treating around our neighborhood, and then we’ll hand out candy when we return.

The girls are so big now. They are wearing a lot of CJ’s old clothes – size 3T! Sweats, fleece pants, etc. I also went shopping at http://iparentingstore.com the other day and found lots of great winter gear. They melt my heart each day as they learn new words and explore their world. The only thing I would change is their fighting. It’s not a lot, but when they fight, there is hair pulling and hitting and biting. Such girls! It hurts me when they hurt each other.

I turn 32 years old this week. Sounds so "grown up." I don’t feel 32. I remember the "glory days" of college and high school like they were yesterday. But I wouldn’t go back there if you paid me – life without my family is no life at all.

Enjoy Halloween, and your children!

Elisa