Guys, I Want a Castle

21. Your favorite subject to study.

My favorite subject has always been English (except for 8th grade when Mrs. Schultz who only concentrated on boring stuff like analogies and we never read a book!). I've always been a really good reader - I read fast in my head and out loud. We always had books in the house. My dad is an especially avid reader. He used to read The Little House on the Prairie series to Leah and me every night before bed. And then I reread them myself when I was older. My mom would read us the Sweet Valley Twins series and always read Elizabeth and Jessica's names as Leah and Rachel. One of my favorite places to go is to the book store or the library. To be surrounded by tons of books is just amazing!

I have also enjoyed the essay and research paper part of English class. I love to write! I love researching about a certain author or book and writing about it. I love coming up with my own opinions. I love figuring out what the motifs and symbols and themes of the book are. I also enjoy discussing books and talking about the characters and the plot. My favorite part of AP English in 12th grade was when we would just discuss the book we were reading (of course, it would be just me, the teacher and maybe one or two other students talking, since no one else even read the book). One great thing about English class, in my opinion, is that the teacher introduced us to books we may never have picked up. Leah's English teacher had them read Pride & Prejudice, and now that is one of my favorite books! I was introduced to Margaret Atwood and enjoy a few of her books. I really enjoyed The Scarlet Letter and A Tale of Two Cities. Shakespeare's plays I could do without, though.

I still love to read, although I rarely have the time or energy. I used to borrow three books a week from the library, but now I borrow two and usually have to renew them before my three weeks are up. The book has to be extremely interesting for me to want to stay up late to read. I am currently reading a book called Juliet (forget the author) and it is pretty interesting. I constantly have books lying around for Lydia to read, since I really hope she will be a good reader. She loves to look at picture books and point at the pictures. She won't sit in my lap while I read a book, but she mimics how I turn the pages and even started "reading" out loud.

But, after I say all that, my favorite subject to STUDY would have to be history. But not the history parts about wars or politics or finding new lands. I like to learn about the PEOPLE. Napoleon Bonaparte's family is the only interesting thing about him. Henry VIII's politics and religious beliefs aren't interesting to me, just his wives and what they must have been like. The history of the Mayflower and what the pilgrims did are only somewhat interesting....I like to read about the people and how they dealt with their new lives. I love books (here comes the English part) about history. I like to read different people's points of views on historical subjects. I love the Women of the Bible book series. I have several books about Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth. I enjoy reading about real people and real happenings, but it in a fictional sort of way. I usually skim over the war and politics parts, haha.

I think that is why I enjoy writing research projects. I get to learn about a specific person or time period.

In other news....

We put Lydia down for bed tonight WITHOUT a pacifier! I picked her up from Leah's house after 1:30 and never offered her a pacifier (she didn't have one when I picked her up). Although we were quite bored since we were stuck inside because of the rain, she only asked for one once, when she was getting a bit tired. She then asked for it again after dinner. When I put her to bed, she didn't even cry. It wasn't until about 2 minutes after I closed the door that she even remembered she wanted one! She cried for less than 10 minutes before falling asleep.

My plan is to only offer her the pacifier IF she is constantly waking up. And then each night try to offer it later and later until she no longer needs it. It would be so great if we could break off the pacifier completely. I really think this will help her verbally.