Stop, You Leaf Burners

So it's that time of year again - one of two times of year when smoke can be seen from neighborhoods. I don't have asthma or any other breathing issues, and I'm thankful for that. However, I still have problems when people who live in close proximities of others burn dead leaves or plant or grass clippings. The smoke is really annoying and does not disipate quickly. It's also bad for the environment. I understand the urge to get rid of dead lawn stuff, but I work my ass off to do the right thing by either recycling them with my garbage service, or like I did this year, start a compost. It does take work, but it's worth the effort to make the world last a little bit longer for our kids and their kids. Plus, you don't know who lives by you who does have breathing problems, and that doesn't help.

The Curious Tale of Curious J

In the past week or so, I have started noticing a change in behavior in Curious J. Today it became abundantly clear that this behavior will not be going away anytime soon. J has begun talking to - strangers.

This morning, we went to Sonic and he started talking to workers he didn't know saying, "hey, we're going to a car wash."

Later, we went to Old Navy to get summer shorts, and he started talking to other customers in the store. He would tell them what we were doing and what we were buying. He told one lady, "I have an idea about my clothes." He saw a little girl at the store and said "hi" (he is starting to say hi to little people his size) and starting mimicking what she was doing (which was playing with a belt).

Tonight he was telling one of the servers at dinner, "We're telling stories about books."

Who is this kid? And what did he do with my husband's kid? :) It does appear that he tells people factual things - what he did with his day, what he was doing at that moment. I have an idea it has to do with school and the confidence he gets from being away from his mom. I like this new J - just as long as he doesn't make strangers his new family.