Last week, we said goodbye to someone who was very important to us. My husband's favorite aunt passed away at the age of 85. She was someone who was very important to our family and we will miss her terribly. Her name was Oletha, but "down home", they called her Nance and we always called her Nanny along with most of the rest of the family. I can't even think of how many kids she had a hand in raising, at least three generations worth that I can remember, including all three of ours.

My husband used to go to their small farm in Oklahoma every summer when he was growing up, to help with the hay harvest and help with the cows. They never did farming in a serious way, but Uncle Joe loved his cows and he had enough of a garden to take a few truckloads of melons and other produce into "town" and sell it. We figure mostly it just gave him a chance to get out of the house and visit with the folks around their small town.

Later, we made visits with our children and I found her as warm and welcoming as the grandparents I never really had. My parents were older when I was born, so I only have a few memories of my grandparents and they all had died before I was out of elementary school. Nanny didn't mind and she always made me feel as welcome as all the rest of the family. This picture is of us celebrating my birthday on one of our trips, with a cake she had baked especially for me.


She was my mother-in-law's oldest sister and here is a picture of the two of them - she's the one sitting behind the chair. I tried to find a picture just by herself, but I wasn't too surprised that I couldn't find one. She wasn't someone to stand out or be made a fuss over. She was just always calm and sweet and loving.

It's interesting to see how different they were. My MIL was a good person, but she definitely had a sharp tongue and strong opinions. I remember the first time she visited us in our new house. I knew she was a perfectionist, so I had worked myself silly to get the house "mother-in-law" clean and looking it's best, but she started in criticizing before she even got in the door. And it just broke my heart because she was pointing out things I'd never even noticed or thought to do anything about and taking no notice at all of the other things I'd worked so hard over.

A few weeks later, Nanny came over for a visit too. Same house and it wasn't even as fancied up, and all she had to say was how wonderful everything looked and what a lovely job we had done fixing it up so nice. I never forgot what a difference a few sharp words could make and what a benefit a few kind words could bring.


She had a pretty rough life. She survived a brain tumor, lost her daughter and daughter-in-law to cancer, lost half a dozen sisters and brothers to cancer and other causes, and finally lost her husband of 63 years to old age and diabetes. Never had much money, especially in those last few years, but with a little help from the family, she managed to keep things going and I never heard her complain. Her faith was always strong and she just trusted everything to work out for the best. I think when she came down with pneumonia a couple of weeks ago, she just decided that she was too tired to carry on, and requested that she not be kept going with tubes and machines. So they sent her home with a hospice team and she passed quietly with her family around her. It was sad, but we felt good that she was able to make her own decision.

I think of the lessons she has left behind for her whole family and her community too, and I wonder when this older generation dies off, what kinds of examples our children and grandchildren will have to live up to? They literally just do not make them like this any more and that's a shame. I don't think I ever heard her say a bad thing against any one. She might not agree with their actions, but she always trusted that they were good people at heart and they maybe just strayed from the path a little and that's a great way to look at it. I used to love to sit and look at her hands. I would wonder how many meals had been lovingly prepared for her family. How many sick children and ailing relatives had they nursed. How many kind deeds had they done for the members of her church. Now that those hands are stilled, I guess it is up to us to step in and take over the chores, but it will be hard enough to do them in the same loving way.

I hope when I am 85, my family will look on me with the same amount of respect and love as people did for her. I think that's about the best legacy we can leave our family and I hope we can live up to your example, Nanny. We love you and we will miss you forever.





By TwitterButtons.com

Well, since I've been burning up all my computer time reading book after book on my Kindle, I guess I ought to at least share with you what I've been reading. I've only had this doo-dad for a couple of weeks and I've already ripped through almost half a dozen books. I keep getting questions from people asking me if I miss "real" books. Are you kidding? This is way easier to carry around than a paperback. Fits perfectly in my purse and remembers exactly where I'm at in each book.

Lace Makers of Glenmara

This was a great book. Set in Ireland - I'm on an Irish kick for some reason. This lady is fleeing a bad breakup and the loss of her mother. She ends up in Ireland and hooks up with a group of ladies who make lace and helps them revitalized their art by changing it from tea towels to gorgeous lingerie. Sort of like a Maeve Binchy novel, but better. Her more recent ones have been terribly boring.

Hide in Plain Sight

This was a freebie - your basic Amish romance, if there is such a thing. Woman goes home to the family farm in Amish country to help her sister and grandmother open a Bed & Breakfast and falls in love with the handy man. It was a nice light read.

Wicked

I'm still working my way through this one. Not one of my big favorites. It's got a lot of stuff I didn't expect to find in an Oz book. Of course, I never read any of the originals, so maybe sex and violence and politics are all really normal stuff. But it's full of obscure plotlines and doesn't explain a lot of stuff.

Ireland

OK, this wasn't on my Kindle, this was an audio book, but I was listening to it in between reading my books. This is a fabulous book, but you have to get it on audio so you can get the benefit of those gorgeous accents! It's sort of a collection of famous Irish folktales and legends strung together with a good plot.

The Assassin's Apprentice

Oddly enough, this one has been my favorite and surprisingly it was another freebie. It's kind of a medieval thing with kings and princes and stuff, but it's also got magic in it too and a pretty good plotline. Good read - I'll be sorry when I finish it. Sometime later tonight, I predict.




By TwitterButtons.com

Someone sent me this E-mail and I think it really give us something to think about with regard to our immigration problems.

I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it is, as I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table and next to the barbecue.

Then came the shit. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table... everywhere!

Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.

And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore! So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be... quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.


Now let's see... Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.

Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 or 6 families; you have to wait 6 or 8 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English.

Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to 'press one' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than the ours are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.

Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder. ..

If you agree, pass it on; if not, continue cleaning up the shit!




By TwitterButtons.com

As promised, I said I would draw for the winner of the iPosture System tonight. I had a very good response on this item and was very pleased to see how much interest there was in a new product like this. I'm still using mine and I think it's pretty cool. If you don't win it, feel free to pop over to the iPosture.com website and purchase one for yourself.

I did the random number generator thing and the winner is:

Carma!!! from CarmaSez

And I promise to send you the correct item this time! Carma won an earlier giveaway of mine and I accidentally sent her a book that I had sold to someone on Amazon instead of the stamp set she had won. Thankfully, she was very gracious about it and they each sent the items to each other. And it's nice that I've already got her address!

Congratulations Carma - you are one lucky duck!




By TwitterButtons.com

Hi all,


I have a great new gadget I've discovered. It's called an iPosture device. This is the coolest thing. It helps you correct your posture - automatically. It's a special computerized sensor you wear that detects when you are slouching and gives you a little reminder to stand up straight.


Here's how it works. It's a little sensor about the size of a quarter. You wear it on your upper body, either clipped onto your bra strap, on a necklace, or stuck to your chest with a little adhesive patch they give you. Then you stand up straight. When you find the posture that you like, you push on the sensor to activate it. Then whenever you deviate from that posture for more than one minute, the sensor vibrates slightly. That's it.

They sent me one to try and I've been wearing it all week. It's great. It's small and white and you can't see it under your clothes. The vibration warning is very slight, just barely enough that you notice it. In the beginning, they say to wear it for just a few hours until you get used to it, but I've been wearing it all day. I was a little worried that it might make my back sore to change my posture drastically, but it hasn't bothered me a bit.

Here are some interesting facts about your posture. Women with good posture are viewed as more attractive. Men with good posture are viewed as more successful. It helps women be less prone to osteoporosis as they age. And even better, your waist size is reduced by an average of 2 inches! That's better than a diet pill.

I was so excited to get this unit because I've always had terrible posture - really bad posture. I inherited it from my Dad - thanks Dad! I've tried the special bras, the posture harnesses, anything I could think of to get me in the habit of standing up straight, but I could never tolerate them for more than a day or so, because they were so darn bulky and uncomfortable. And no matter what I did, you could always see them under my clothes.

This sensor has been completely unobtrusive. I don't even notice it unless it vibrates, or once in a while I will forget and flip my purse over my shoulder and it will buzz a little. I haven't worn it as a necklace, but I've been experimenting with different ways to wear it. I've worn it on my bra strap - both high on the shoulder and down lower near the cup. The last couple of days, I've been wearing it with the adhesive, stuck up near my collarbone. That seems to get the best response and the adhesive is fine. It holds securely, but doesn't leave a sticky residue on my skin.

The people at iPosture were really great. They not only sent me one to keep, they sent me one to give away too. And you might the lucky one to win it. The package includes the iPosture unit, which normally retails for $79.95. (I did notice that it was on sale for $64.95 this week, so if you don't win one, this might be a good time to buy one!) Pop over to the website at iPosture.com. Plus, they have included this bonus item - a book called "Young, Sexy, and Healthy" written by the designers of the iPosture system. It's got all sorts of yoga and Pilates-type exercises that are specifically designed to improve your posture. Plus it includes all the accessories for the iPosture unit - extra batteries, a bra clip, a couple of sheets of the little sticky thingies, plus the book.

So, how do you win this little puppy? Well, all the usual things. The iPosture people have been really nice to me and I'd like to give them a little lovin'. So, you get one entry for each of the following things.

1. Leave me a comment about why you think you would like to have an iPosture unit.
2. Add yourself as a Follower to my blog (if you're already a Follower, let me know).
3. Tweet about it or do a Facebook update (include a link in your comment).
4. Post about it on your blog - a "real" post, not just a "go over here and win this thing"-type post. Worth 2 entries because this one is a bit more effort.

The contest will run until July 24th and it will be featured on the SITS Saturday Shoutout - hey SITSas! If you're coming to the SITScation event with me, leave a comment and I'll give you an extra entry!










By TwitterButtons.com

You know every once in a while you come across a post that is just so perfect, so funny, that you just have to share it with the world. The Creative Junkie is my favorite blog these days. I like it so much, I have to ration myself to one or two posts at a time or I get laughing so hard I can't stop. She just has a way of putting things that just kills me. I so wish I could write posts like that, but I just don't have that wry, quirky sense of humor like that. You know what they say - Be yourself - everyone else is taken.

This one about her trip to San Francisco had me laughing so hard, I was literally crying. I just keep thinking about this line - Walking up to Coit Tower is like walking all the way up to the planet Mars, only longer and sweatier, while wearing a two ton backpack known as Your Ass.

Pop over there and read the rest of it. You know you want to. Trust me, you do.



By TwitterButtons.com

OK folks, just a couple more days to get your entries in for the iPosture system. I've had a lot of positive comments on it. Surprisingly, most folks had never heard of it and most of them seem to think it's a pretty good idea. Like I said, I'm really liking mine and I think it has improved my posture, especially when I'm sitting on the computer, like right now. I tend to want to hunch over the screen and the iPosture unit has been a good reminder to stop me from doing that.

I'll be cutting off the contest on Friday night and notifying the winner over the weekend. However, if you don't win one, I believe they are still on sale for a discounted price at the website - iPosture.com. Good luck!




By TwitterButtons.com

For once, I got a new toy for myself. The kids have all their video games and all their guitars, Tony has his ATV's, his big screen, and his trains. I finally decided it was time for me to get a new toy. So I bought an Amazon Kindle just for me.

I've been wanting one for ages. I think I first heard about it two Christmas's ago when my sister was thinking about getting one. Then one of my customers showed up with one and she brought it to show me. Once I had that baby in my own two hands, I knew I had to get one! I'm proud of myself though. For once, I didn't just go out and impulse buy. I saved and planned and I waited until the one time all year I've seen it go on sale! How's that for responsible?

What is a Kindle you ask? I'll tell you. It is the coolest little electronic book reader you ever saw! It's a little bit bigger than a paperback book and even a bit thinner, and it can hold a whole bunch of books at once. I'm not exactly sure how many, but I've got an even dozen on there already and I'm sure I could double that easily. It's got a special no-glare screen that you can read even in bright daylight (I tried it). Plus you can turn the speech function on and you have an instant audio book. And you can download any Kindle book from Amazon in about 60 seconds from anywhere in the world. Some of them are even free. Out of the dozen books I loaded in the first 24 hours, all but one of them was free. Most of them are about $10 though.

I am just loving it. It is a little delicate, so even though I bought the warranty for it, it's only good for one breakage, so I'm being super careful with it. I got a protective cover for it and I keep it in my lingerie drawer at night instead of on my night table. The only thing I wish it came with was a built-in light for night-time reading. But I got a special clip-on light for it. And the battery on it is very strong, so I've just put it on the charger for the first time after a week of near-constant use. So far, I've already finished one book (The Lacemakers of Glenmara - fabulous!) and I'm partway through three others.

Mama's lovin' her new toy!


PS: If you decide you want a toy like this for yourself, there's a button on my sidebar that will take you right to the site. Like I said, it's on sale right now because they've just introduced the new larger version, so you save about $100 on it. Go for it. You deserve it!




By TwitterButtons.com

I've been watching Gene Simmon's show Family Values for a couple of seasons now. It's actually a pretty good show, but that's not why I watch it. I watch it mainly because of his son, Nick Simmons. No, it's not like that, get your mind out of the gutter, people! I like him because he's always reminded me of my oldest son Matt.

Part of it is because they look alike. At least, I think they look alike. You be the judge.



Here's Matt on his 20th birthday.

Matt at the Capitol. He's holding his little brother captive inside that giant safe!

I have had the most unusual weekend. Blake is off to Scout Camp for a week, Tony has been out of town for almost a week for a family emergency - his favorite aunt took a bad turn and we thought we were going to lose her, fortunately, it seems like she will recover. Matt, as usual has been working until the wee early hours of the morning. So that has left me on my own for most of the weekend.

The first night, I was kind of excited. It's pretty rare that I ever have the house all to myself and it's kind of a treat to be able to go to bed and get up when I want, eat when I want, eat what I want, and have full control of the remote control. Plus the quiet was kind of nice. Not only do my guys talk non-stop, especially Blake, but they always have something electronic on - TV, video games, computer, electric guitars, something is making noise around here just about 24 X 7. The chance to sit and read a book, or just listen to music with nothing else going on, is a real treat.

But it's also lonesome, I discovered. Fortunately, I've been able to do stuff with Matt during the day. We went to the Scottish games yesterday and had lunch and a movie today (go see UP!, it's so cute!). But in the evenings, it's just me 'n the cats. And all that quiet just starts to close in on you.

I start wondering if this is what it would be like if I ever got divorced. I've been married for 25 years, and I lived with my Mom for the 24 years before that, so I've never lived by myself - ever. Maybe the odd weekend or two, like this, or some time alone on a business trip or something, but I really can't imagine living alone for any period of time. It's really boring!

I think it would be really hard if I were ever divorced. Neither one of us has any family to speak of. Our parents and grandparents are all gone and both of our sisters live quite a ways away, and we aren't very close to them. Other than a few aunts, uncles and cousins scattered around the country, we don't have any family and not a lot of friends. We have some couples from church that we hang out with sometimes, but I hear it's a little strange when you have couples and singles together, so I don't know how that would pan out. Seems like I'd be spending a lot of time alone, or just with the kids.

You think about all the practical things - how would I get the lawn mowed or the snow taken care of, how would I get Blake to and from school - since schools never have hours that mesh with any normal working schedule. Would I keep the house? If I didn't, what the heck would I do with a six bedroom house worth of STUFF? Not to mention how I would manage the bills on one income and one kid's worth of child support? That doesn't even bear thinking about.

Makes you feel like being really nice to your husband, that's for sure. I like being married. I know how to do married. My husband drives me nuts sometimes, but he's really a pretty good guy. I don't think I'd know how to do single after all these years. Could you imagine dating someone at this stage? I've seen some of the guys my age and I rarely see one of them that I'd be interested in dating. Not to mention that my hefty little self is not exactly prime dating material to begin with.

Years ago, one of my male co-workers gave me a bit of great advice. I was complaining about my husband for some reason and he said "You know, we're all the same. We're all a big, fat, hairy mess. You just need to pick a set of faults you can live with". That's actually pretty good advice. We've all got faults, but there are ones you can overlook and there's ones you can't and it's not like every new person comes with a list of them, so you can know what you're getting right off the bat. At least after all these years, I know that the package of faults I've got is one I can live with.

Does all this have a point? No, I don't think so. I'm just bored and lonely, so I'm blogging. But I am definitely staying married for the time being. It can be stressful and frustrating sometimes, but at least it isn't ever boring!



By TwitterButtons.com

I read somewhere about this lady who said she had "broken up" with cheese and had lost about 30 pounds. I guess that has stuck right in my little brain. I mean really, how do you "break up" with food? Do you send it a "Dear John" letter? Do you give back the ring (made out of swiss cheese holes, of course!) Just have the talk with it?

I think I must be a polygamist. Makes sense, that stuff is pretty popular here in Utah. I'd have to break up with both carbs and cheese to get anywhere. And then I'd probably starve to death. 'Cuz cheese and carbs are about all I eat. Well, except for fats and sugars. (Note to self - stop wondering why you keep gaining weight.) Well, I guess starving to death is kind of the point, isn't it?

I know you're supposed eat fruits and veggies and all these whole grains and stuff, but how exactly do you do that? I mean, do they make Veggie Helper? Do they have Stouffer's fruit plate with whole grains? Does Rice-a-roni come in Salmon flavor? Keep in mind that I was raised on TV Dinners - Banquet TV dinners, the real cheap kind. That's how my Mom did the grocery shopping, she bought a big stack of TV dinners and stacked them up in the freezer. I'm not quite that bad, but I definitely didn't pick up the cooking gene.

If it takes more than 10 minutes and two ingredients to prepare, I'm baffled. Not to mention that my family will not eat anything with onions, tomatoes, or any vegetables other than corn and green beans - especially mushrooms. Well, Blake will eat brocoli and cauliflower on occasion and I've can get Tony to eat zuchini a couple of times a year, but that's about the extent of it. You try cooking healthy meals like that!

Anyway, I've got to go. I've got a couple of Dear John letters to write. At least until I can fit back into my favorite pair of pants!



By TwitterButtons.com

Wow, we just got back from a little weekend trip into Wyoming and we had the BEST time! I think this is going to be a long-standing tradition for our family.

For those of you who don't live in the Western states, the fireworks laws vary considerably from state to state. Here in Utah, we are only allowed the "safe and sane" varity, while right across the border in Wyoming, it's pretty much an "anything goes" situation. A lot of people just slip across the border (about an hour's drive or so), buy their fireworks and then haul them back to Utah. There are two problems with this - one is that there are Highway Patrol troopers waiting right on the highway to nab people bringing back fireworks. Also, when you set them off you can be caught and fined for that. So to me, it makes a lot more sense to just buy them and set them off in Wyoming where it is perfectly legal.

Now Evanston is the first town you come to across the border and it's a cute little town with about 3 main streets, a whole street full of bars and hokey little restaurants, and a delightful little rodeo. They also have a big 4th of July bash at the local park, complete with bouncy things for the kids, bingo and a dutch oven cookoff in the evening. Just the sort of small town stuff we really enjoy.

Plus there are the fireworks! Not only do you get to DO all the fancy fireworks, but you get to SEE everyone else's and it results in about the best fireworks show we've ever seen. Just as soon as it gets dark, there are the most fabulous fireworks going off in every direction and it goes on until nearly midnight. If you get in just the right spot, you can see the professional and the amateur fireworks all around you. I do love a good fireworks show, so I was in heaven.

Then we went to find a place to set off our own fireworks. We found a parking lot outside a baseball field that had the most amazing scene. There had to have been 50 families all crowded into this parking lot and they were setting off every type of fireworks you ever imagined. It was CRAZY and beyond CRAZY. I'll bet that there were $20,000 worth of fireworks being set off in that one park alone. I'm not kidding you. It was dangerous as hell and we ended up with a couple of minor injuries to show for it. Blake caught a spark on his forehead and got a tiny burn, I had a bottle rocket flick by my ear and had a firecracker smack me on the back of the leg, but nothing major. Tony and Matt got multiple flicks from firecrackers, but fortunately, they both had long pants on so they were OK.

The guys next to us were a couple of big Hawaiian guys and they kept giving us fireworks - roman candles, strings of firecrackers, bottle rockets, M80's, just all sorts of stuff. Blake and Matt thought they had died and gone to heaven. In our neighborhood, the 4th is generally pretty quiet and dull. Each family goes out and does their little fireworks thing - about $30-$40 worth of fountains and ground bloom flowers, maybe a few sparklers for the kids, and that's about it. This wasn't even close. The Hawaiian guys were doing bottle rockets right out of their hands, and there was an eight year old kid on the other side of us setting off a fusillade of bottle rockets and roman candles every few minutes. The sights and the sounds were just dazzling. But it was like being in a war zone. You had to be constantly on the lookout because a firework might go astray and end up coming right at you from any direction. We saw one group lay down a 30 foot roll of linked firecrackers that went on for about 10 minutes. Makes you want to buy stock in a fireworks factory!

Besides all the fireworks, we had a wonderful time. We stayed in a nice little motel on the main drag. It was about a block away from the Bear River Parkway, so we went over there for a little mini hike every day and saw all sorts of wildlife - lots of squirrels and cottontails, a couple of elk, a snake (that scared Blake to death even though it was a little garter snake), half a dozen bison, and some very pretty birds. It was very nice and peaceful. I've got some good pictures, but I'll have to wait until Tony gets them downloaded from that fancy camera of his.

Now the boys want to move to Evanston. They are fascinated by the thought of life in a small town - so are we. Salt Lake actually IS a small town to us. Tony and I both grew up in Orange County, so we can't even imagine living in a sleepy little small town like Evanston. I'd do it too, if I could figure out how we'd earn a living there. But for now, I think we'll just have to content ourselves with brief annual visits.



By TwitterButtons.com

Blast from the Past

I haven't posted anything in a few days and I feel bad, but honestly, I am SO tired tonight. So I'm going to do the lazy thing and post one of my oldey-moldeys. Hope you enjoy this. I think it's some good info.


I'm a big fan of early childhood learning and fortunately, so is my daughter-in-law. I send her all the flash cards and educational materials that Blake has outgrown and she uses them for my grandchildren. Recently, she told me that Noah, my three-year-old grandson has started to read simple words and count well, which I think is delightful!

Young children are so eager to learn and they just lap it up when you can find a way to teach things in a fun and interesting way for them. Blake had some delays when he was starting out - he didn't speak well in his toddler years and had some coordination issues. I attended a week-long program in Philadelphia at the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential. It's a fabulous place and they are near-miracle workers with children of all levels - from severely handicapped to near geniuses. Here is their website http://www.iahp.org/

When I came back, I started to teach Blake to read, do simple math, and a whole host of other things and he just ate it up. By the time he was four and a half, he was reading quite well and his speech had improved greatly. He also knew all of his states, presidents, Spanish words, and a whole ton of other things. If you are interested in early childhood learning, check out some of the IAHP books - look on Amazon under Glenn or Janet Doman. I always thought you had to be a stay at home Mom or a homeschooling Mom to be able to teach your kids stuff, but I soon discovered that there are a whole ton of things you can teach your child using just a few minutes consistently every day during your regular routine. We had Spanish tapes from the library in the car, maps and reading words all over the walls, flash cards in my purse at the doctor's office or the post office, educational videos to watch. You can sneak learning in all over the place if you're willing to try.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share with you this little article I wrote a while back for a mother's magazine. It's pretty cool stuff and it works like gangbusters. And it's a great way to prepare your child for school. Early elementary teachers are so pressed for time, it's hard for them to give much attention to a child who is struggling with reading, but if they can already have that skill in place, it just makes everything else so much easier and there is less chance of them falling behind by the time they get to the upper grades.

Teach your Child to Read by Adrian Gentilcore

Here is a simple little trick for parents to help you teach your child to read in a fun and painless way. Surprisingly this will even work with very young children and will help get them interested enough to sit still for a story. All you need to do is to make sure that the print is large enough for them to see the letters very clearly - otherwise you can choose any book that you think would appeal to them.

When you sit down to read your story, determine ahead of time several words you want your child to "read". Names of characters or other words that are repeated frequently in the story work best. It doesn't matter if it is a short word or a long one, in fact a longer word is easier to recognize because it is a more unique pattern. The first time you come to the designated word in the story, point to it and say the word clearly. Then each time you come to that word, simply pause, point to the word and look at your child expectantly. You may have to prompt them a couple of times, but they'll catch on very quickly and they'll learn to recognize "their" words. At the end of the story, praise them and give them a big hug, then put the book away.

The next day, they will likely BEG to read the same book. Let them read the same words and add two or three new ones. By the time they get tired of the book, they will have learned at least 8 to 10 new words and will be able to recognize them in other books as well. Keep this up and before you know it, your child will be reading confidently and easily.

Here is another trick I used to get my older child to enjoy reading. When he was 7 or 8, Matt could read quite well, but he wasn't particularly interested in books. So I went to the library one day and picked out a few books I thought he would enjoy (I think they were R.L. Stein's Goosebumps books). Then I casually dumped them next to him in the backseat of the car and said the magic words "Don't touch those, they're your brother's". Problem solved! He nearly ripped the covers off them, he read them so fast!

I think he ended up reading nearly every Goosebumps book the library had on the shelves and now that he is in High School, he scores in the top 3 to 5 percent in the nation on his reading comprehension.