Ahem, All Stand Please...

Please stand for the Ladies Spohr, and their royal escort, Linus the Lion.

The Ladies and Lion attended the annual masquerade ball on October 31, at the Willowbrook Grounds. Though many were in attendance, the Ladies were stunning and beautiful. The Lion almost lost his nose before the feast, but alas all enjoyed the time.

Blog-ouragement

I think I need a little...
Just something to know you are there...
To say you are interested...
To have some comments...
Anyone? Bueller? Mommy?

HELP! I need some blog encouragement, aka blog-ouragement.

The Art of a Handshake

Yesterday as my mom and I had a kid free, hit the rummage sales and mall day. I noticed something, an oddity, a flash from days gone by. It was several young men greeting each other with a handshake. My first thought was, these must be well raised boys, what a respectful way to greet each other.
Then I thought of how few times I see things such as this. These days a greeting I most see is a twist of the hat, grab of their person and sometimes followed by a semi-hug. Now there was a time when a semi-hug seemed more, well, personable, and it may still be. Then I also see the hand bump, you've seen it. They bump fits, do a little jig and again the semi-hug. Now that I think about it, it's more like a chest bump with an arm thrown in there. Is it? Of course there is the nice to meet you handshake, that one my man has down pat. His arms are in his pockets, I introduce him to so and so, then he extends his hand toward so and so. Shake and move on.
Right now I am trying to think of how I will teach my son the art of a handshake. The kind of covenant of it. Once upon a time, a handshake was your signature in an agreement, no need for lawyers, if you didn't stick to it, your name would be tossed around in a sort of stoning. You wouldn't ever be trusted and you had just better get out of town.
Also a handshake was a sign of respect, young men approached older men with a handshake.
Especially when seeking advice or wisdom. Like saying I am extending myself to you in hopes of your extending yourself and gained knowledge to me.
A firm handshake meant strength in character, a stand up guy. Even for a woman, it shows confidence and commands a certain respect. In contrast, a person with a dead fish shake seems timid, sneaky, and as if there is something else going on here.
As I write this I have decided that the art of a handshake all boils down to trustworthiness. If a man is trustworthy, he will shake hands with others in an appropriate manner, he will not be overbearing or inject pain, nor will he be flop in your hand, or be timid. A woman's character can be assessed also. She will smile and look you in the eyes, with respect not seduction. She will be of firm character such as her handshake.
I realize I how often my character assessments are based on a handshake. Now thanks to the four young men I saw greeting each other, I will start, even now, teaching my children the "Art of a Handshake".

The boy

I am on the subject of the boy, he is really starting to change. Maybe he has been changing alot this month but now he is just E. He communicates through 4 words and screaming. Fun huh? He says mommy, daddy, pocket(the dog's name) and drink. The rest of the time we are playing "Find what the boy wants so he will be quiet." I think that's what we did with Joy and well, not so smart. I had the pleasure of keeping his class this past Sunday night. I can tell you he is a man's boy. Not that other boys are not, but my boy is like a steam roller. He is just rough. Not mean, just strong, and he doesn't know it. My friend's boy is much the same so I had no idea that they were so "grrr" "uuuhh" BOY. He'll push the little dainty girls and he ends up whacking them into the corner of something. They cry, he falls into the same corner and nothing, just get up and do it again.

I have also noticed a few E-isms. Mostly involving animals. For instance, if allowed, he will fill his mouth with anything available. I have seen him stuff it with cat food, pennies, paper, or fries, one day I found him with paper, a penny, a washer and a nail! It is like he is part chipmunk. He will just hold the stuff in his mouth. Also he is part goat, I don't know if it's due to the fact that we live next to a goat farm or what. He will climb to the top of whatever is there. One day I found him on J's bed, wow big deal you think, but she sleep on the top bunk! If there is a book, cat scratcher, box, toy, really anything, he will get to the top and then get stuck. Today he got a new tonka hummer, this is after he had been whining about being stuck (he hasn't figured out how to get down). Wondering about the smile? Yes he does that to the camera, is he a ham or what?