Domestic Psychology

Dinnertime

Everything that I love and hate about our kitchen in 45 seconds. Bonus points if you can identify two East Tennessee iconic businesses whose products are visible in the video. Double bonus if you know which child flashes a peace sign near the beginning of the video.

Star Trek Into Darkness immediate reaction

Mickey! Sherlock! Buckaroo! So many fandoms.

Love, tragedy, courage, violence, betrayal, sacrifice.

An extremely familiar line… with a twist.

Tribbles.

Humor.

I have stubbornly denied the 3D revolution, but I now admit that when 3D is used to pull the audience INTO the screen instead of throwing the scenery AT the audience, 3D is spectacular.

My only complaint is that the sound effect used for fistfights sounds like slapping metal. It is jarringly distracting. It takes the viewer out of the movie and into a sound effect room. Fix that before the next movie. It’s very clear who the antagonist in that movie will be.

not-so-great mysteries

In the past two days, I stripped all the beds and laundered *everything. When I went to re-make all the beds, I had one extra twin mattress pad and a missing full size mattress pad. Did I have a twin mattress pad on a full mattress? It doesn’t fit now, so how could it have fit before laundering? I remember buying a full size mattress pad. Are mattress pads to trolls what single socks are to elves?

In a household where apple cores accidentally fall behind beds and get forgotten until they stink, used dental floss is strewn on the ground all around the OUTSIDE of the bathroom trash can and I frequently find garbage piled on the closed lid of an empty trash can, WHY do the wrappers and sticker backing from bandages get neatly put back inside the bandage box so that you don’t realize the weighted box contains no unused bandages until your finger is dripping blood?

Why does anything with a drawstring emerge from tumbling in the washer AND dryer, completely untangled from clothing without a single knot while earbuds neatly folded and untouched in a drawstring pouch emerge in actual knots?

*Six mattress pads, six fitted sheets, six top sheets, nine blankets, nine pillowcases and two comforters that didn’t require a trip to the laundromat to use the over-sized machines. Yay!

wise man

Him: “Why are there wine corks in the houseplants?”
Her: “I saw it on Pinterest and blah-blah-blah…”
Him: <- backs away slowly ->

cat zen

Gimli smiles in his sleep. While the dogs hint that they are dreaming of play by running and gurfing in their sleep, this cat relaxes completely. Sleep is the only time that Gimli is truly relaxed. Clearly, Gimli dreams about… sleeping.

tv quickies

Once Upon a Time -
I would really like it if the deplorably flat acting Greg and wickedly evil Tamara were used to reframe The Crusades and bring the Camelot legend into the overall story. I doubt if they will.

Community -
I really loved the first few seasons of Community. Clever and funny don’t begin to describe what Dan Harmon did with this show. This season, I’ve found myself constantly waiting and hoping for signs of what Community once was or what it could become. It didn’t. The only thing that they did right was making Chevy’s *unredeemable character vanish this season. I don’t know why they renewed Community without bringing back Harmon.

Bonus movie quickie: Star Trek Into Darkness hits theaters this week. Squee!

* Deliberately vague wording that could refer to the show’s character or the actor’s character.

Diagnosis: Sleepy

Yesterday, my right shoulder started hurting. Today, my shoulder hurts, my neck hurts and my right hand is noticeably colder than my left hand. I’m going to take this as a sign that I should take to the bed and nap with the furry children. Therapy napping is a thing, isn’t it?

Minecraft <3

I have lost count of the number of times I’ve read moms on social media declare that they are banning their child from playing MineCraft because their child “likes it too much.”

Is your child still eating and sleeping? If the answer is yes, then they don’t like it TOO MUCH.

MineCraft isn’t the first thing to captivate children and confuse parents. Children have fallen head over heels in love with other games, cards, collectibles, dolls, books, clothing, tv shows, movies, music, celebrities and colors. Do you remember World of Warcraft, Pokemon, beanie babies, matchbox cars, Tamagotchie, Pound Puppies, My Little Pony, Barbie, Legos, Pogs, Atari, Lemon Twist, Silly Bands, Troll dolls, CB radio, Crazy Bones or arcades? Ask your parents about YOUR childhood obsessions. Even better, ask them about THEIRS.

Children are supposed to like things. It’s okay for children to become so infatuated with skating that they sleep in their skates. There’s nothing wrong with wearing their favorite shirt day after day. It’s a good thing when they must learn everything about their infatuation and create imaginary stories to fill in the gaps in their obsession’s mythology. Encourage them to read everything written by a favorite author. Listen to their detailed descriptions of the difference between this card and that card.

Liking something too much teaches children about time and money management. It teaches them about prioritizing things and people. It helps them learn who they are and what they really need. Liking too much teaches children about love.

Do you really want to teach your children that they shouldn’t like things too much?

On to us

Sawyer: “Did you put the dollar coin under my pillow?”
Me: “No. The tooth fairy put it there.”
Sawyer: “Right. So was it you or was it Daddy?”

Dear english teachers,

Me: “A green, framed “Leaves of Grass” poster would look great in our bedroom.”
Professor Teen: “Leaves of Grass? Is that a book or something?”
Me: “Are you joking?”
Professor Teen: “No.”