MRFH Article

[lls_mutant]

My Why Moms Should Watch Movies article is posted at MRFH. It's mostly stuff I've said here in my journal, but I'm really pleased with how this one came out. Plus, it's been a long time since I submitted an article. (pfrsue, I was thinking about it some more last night and yeah- we should definitely do Old Guy Smackdown as a conversation. Now all we need is the time....)

The past two nights Toby's gotten up in the middle of the night. The night before I'm not sure what woke him up, but it was clear he wanted to play. Last night, he fussed for about 40 minutes, then we finally went to see what was wrong. (Actually, Howard went to see what was wrong when I burst into tears.) He was hungry. Shoot. He cried himself to sleep after in about 10-20 minutes. He had been sleeping through the night for two weeks solid- I hope he's not breaking out of that again. On the bright side, Howard gently but firmly reminded me to TELL him when I need help, instead of bottling it up and bursting into tears. I had been planning on having a conversation telling him I needed more time off, but last night when he got home from a trip at 9:30 just wasn't the time to do it. I think maybe tomorrow in the car or something. Or tonight, while last night is still fresh. Either way, as several wise people reminded me yesterday, I need to be totally honest that I just need some time off. And what I REALLY need is to have more faith in my husband that he'll understand, because he does. That's what he was telling me last night. :P

And just for some fun HP-related ranting, did Ginny really change all that much in HBP? I thought JKR did a lot more telling than showing at times, and that she did kind of overdo Ginny is great (like Lily is great at potions and Harry has his mother's eyes and Snape has greasy hair), but did she really change much? And yeah, she was kind of cruel to Ron, but she's his sister. It's in the contract that you MUST occasionally be out-right cruel to your siblings, isn't it?????? Especially when they aren't exactly being nice to you.

Hmmm. I need to feed Tobe snd then I think we need to get out of here.

Comments

[magic-at-mungos.livejournal.com]

I think part of the problem with Ginny is that we just didn’t see a lot of her in the first four books and then she was either the damsel in distress or Ron’s little sister. She was sweet enough to still go to the Yule Ball with Neville even when Harry asked her. But then she seemed to be a completely different person in OotP and HBP. It seemed to be that JK was trying to hard to make her ‘cool’. With the argument with Ron, both of them were out of order really. He was mean spirited enough to almost call her a slut and she was mean enough to call him on his lack of experience.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

It seemed to be that JK was trying to hard to make her ‘cool’

Totally agree with that aspect of it. I do think JKR overdid that part. The difference in her personality... that I can see, because she's a.) growing up and becoming a teenager and b.) opening up more around Harry. But the overemphasis on how
ideal Ginny is for Harry... bleh

With the argument with Ron, both of them were out of order really. He was mean spirited enough to almost call her a slut and she was mean enough to call him on his lack of experience.

Exactly, really. They're siblings. You say things to siblings that are really mean that you would NEVER say to anyone else, especially at that age. That's why I think Ron is a freebie. (And he's being rather nasty too ;) )

Hmmm. Wishing I actually had a kidlet icon.

[magic-at-mungos.livejournal.com]

I thought most of the romance in HBP was unevenly done and made some characters just jar a bit with me. Ron/Lavender was done well as I have seen so many relationships like that and it made me laugh. Some of the stuff with R/Hr and H/G (and less with R/T) just made me go hmmm.

[merlinssister12.livejournal.com]

Toby might be having a growth spurt, and therefore be getting hungrier/hungry more often. You might try adding a little more solid food to his diet, a tablespoon or so per meal, he should then go back to sleeping through the night.
When my youngest hit about six months old she decided to go on a hunger strike, wouldn't eat any solid food. When I took her to the doctor he suggested that maybe she wanted to feed herself. Believe it or not, he was right. I did what he suggested and gave her Farley's teething biscuits, bananas and carrots cooked to the mushable point but left whole and then cooled. She went straight back to eating, and would occasionally even let me spoon-feed her.

As to the question of Ginny's changing a lot during HBP, I don't think she changed very much at all during that book, I just think Harry started noticing her more, and yes it is a siblings perrogative, especially if your the only girl in a family of seven, to torture your siblings.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I was wondering about the growth spurt. I was looking at a magazine article that had pictures of the same baby at each month, and it looks like Toby's due (he's 5.5 months).

That's really interesting (and kind of funny!) about your youngest- is she very independent?

And yeah, that's exactly what I think about Ginny. I just like shaking my head at some of the posters on FAP :)

[merlinssister12.livejournal.com]

Yes, my youngest is very independent, and creative.

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

I didn't think that Ginny changed much from OotP to HBP. Harry simply didn't notice her before. We've had hints that she's a firecracker - in CoS Ron remarks that she's usually really chatty, and in GoF she gets at least one snarky comment in - so the "change" didn't surprise me at all. I wish we'd seen more of her pre-OotP, but for the most part, I'm happy with the character.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

That's actually exactly how I feel about her. I just get "amused" at some of the FAP posters. I can understand why people might not like some of the things Ginny does, and I agree that JKR kind of tries a little too hard to show us she's "ideal" for Harry (I don't think there is such a thing as an ideal girl for a person), but I didn't feel like there was a huge change in her personality- just in what we were seeing.

[sasha-davidovna.livejournal.com]

I don't really think she changed so much, no, but JKR's treatment of her changed. I thought there were pretty obvious clues all along that she wasn't really the quiet, shy girl she seemed to Harry. Wasn't one of the first things Ron said about her "Normally she never shuts up?" I liked the way her character matured in OOtP, she had some great moments, like the "Hem hem" and the scene in the library. In HBP, I thought her behavior crossed the line from cleverness to mean-spiritedness at several points and was annoyed that we seemed to be expected to think it was "cool." Gun and others have pointed out, and I agree completely, that her behavior was perfectly normal for a teenage girl. I think it's one of JKR's greatest strengths that she portrays the relations and behavior of teenagers so accurately. But Ginny in HBP wasn't somebody I would like in real life and I didn't much like her on the page either. Fighting with Ron was one thing - everybody fights with their siblings, especially when their siblings are being stupid, which Ron was - but things like calling Fleur names and crashing into Zacharias left me cold. I suppose I prefer more underhanded means of revenge - like winning the match and being revoltingly classy about it. ;)

Best wishes with Toby!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Yeah- I REALLY liked Ginny in OotP as well. The Zacharias bits were what bothered me more. Fighting with siblings (and nastily) is totally normal, and I'll even cut her a pass on Fleur, because you're TOTALLY allowed to mock your siblings' significant others as well. (My brother and sister always said my husband looked like John Lovitz.) But yeah, I can see why there were things people didn't like about her (and I agree at times). It's just the big "change" or "ruining her character" (another fun FAP thread!) that kind of cracks me up.

[medicinal-mirth.livejournal.com]

It seems to me there was just more of Ginny than usual.

As for Toby waking up at night again, I hate to tell you this but you will find that every so often this will happen. He'll sleep great for months, then suddenly he's waking up again. Sometimes you figure out why -- teething, etc. -- sometimes you don't. Unless he's actually in real discomfort, you're right to stick to your guns so he gets back on track. It's no fun.

But Danny has only recently stopped climbing into bed with me at night, and that habit of his was my fault entirely. He'd just pass out next to me, but of course he'd wake me up as he climbed over my body. So, yeah, uninterrupted sleep is a good thing.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Sleeping schedules suck. :P I sure hope he gets out of this soon!

Last night I think he truly was hungry- he took a good 4 ounces, which is a respectable meal for him. Growth spurt, maybe, like merlinssister12 suggested. I think he's due.

::sigh::

[misscake]

Don't feel guilty for needing a break! Unless you are a Stepford Mommy, everyone needs one. If you were having a stressful time at work it would be the same way - you'd need some way to decompress. As much as we believe we can do it all, we can't and there is nothing wrong with saying you need help.

On Ginny, I never understood the Ginny hate and so I didn't think she was overdone in HBP. Now, I have had people point out certain things to me and how they could be interpreted, but I still go with my first impression. It is because Harry notices her more that we see more of her in HBP.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Thanks :) I need to keep reminding myself that it's normal to need a break!

I agree that we see more of her because Harry does. I don't quite understand the Ginny hate myself. I do understand why people don't like certain things she does, but I don't like certain things a lot of characters do. I don't like that Remus was totally ready to kill Peter in cold blood or lied about Sirius when he thought that Sirius truly had killed all those people, I don't like that Harry really took Ron and Hermione for granted in OotP, and I don't like how oblivious Ron can be to people's feelings. But they're three of my favorite characters. So Ginny can be a bit bitchy- why should she be strung up while the guys get off free?

I do think JKR overdid a few things, like that Ginny has long red hair and that she's pretty, but it's kind of like overdoing Snape having greasy hair or Harry looking like his father or Remus being skinny and sick-looking. She's just a little too fond of her descriptors. And I won't mock that too badly, because somewhere I have a story that mentions someone's brown eyes 5,464 times.

[pinkfinity.livejournal.com]

There is one significant aspect of change, and it's re quidditch. In book 4 at the qwc, she covers her eyes and won't watch scary plays, then falls asleep on the table when they discuss it after, which is a total opposite of the quidditchy person she is in 5.

So, yeah, that.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Oooh- the covering her eyes is a really good point. (I'll cut her slack on falling asleep because it was really late.) Unless she had a crush we don't know about on Krum or something, yeah. THAT I can see a point on!

[lupinspatronus.livejournal.com]

Hrm, I actually became pretty fond of Ginny after book 5. Book 6 was a little odd, because yea, as everyone has said, the over-doing of her perfect-ness for Harry. D'you think JKR might have been influenced by fanfic, HAHA. I had that impression since book 5, in terms of the style of her writing.

I do think the transition between GOF Ginny to ootp and beyond Ginny was a bit rocky, but again it could have been because we're hearing the story from Harry's POV all the time. However I still think JKR could have put in slightly more effort.. she tends to become lazy with certain characters, especially the minor ones. Like Draco was so two dimensional until book 6's breakdown (I wasn't very impressed by that)..

And of course, you MUST be cruel. To tell the truth I thought Ron deserved it. He is insensitive, and rather daft.. he's just taking a longer time than Hermione and Harry to grow up (and even Ginny), but HONESTLY, some of the things he says/does.

Do take a break when you need it.. the people who love you will understand :)