witchkitten

My daughter’s friend moved to San Francisco and went to preschool with Ava Getty, one of the butterfly flower girls. The parents were supposedly very nice and not pretentious at all. I find that to be the case more often with old money than new money because they don’t have as much to prove. Apparently Ava’s birthday party was at one of those normal children’s venues but the party favors were expensive for a kid’s party.

We were right Kaley, was the first to divorce (she’s now on her second one). I can’t believe Tori and Dean lasted as long as they did, and I’m really surprised Eddie and Leann are still together.

Fourteen is the most common age specified for when a judge is required to consider the child’s wishes but many states don’t specify the age and instead use language like a “‘mature child”. I think in many of those states, though, 14 is the unspoken age. A few do specify 12 as the age at which a judge is required to take the child’s wishes into account. Georgia is an outlier. They require that a judge consider a child’s preference at 11 and they are the only state that specifies that a 14 year old can decide which parent they live with, however, a judge can overrule the child’s wishes so it’s still ultimately up to the court.

There is no age at which a child can legally decide their own custody or visitation. Until the child turns 18 the court can still disregard their wishes and order them to live with or see a parent they would rather not see or not see a parent they wish to see. However, at age 14 the court is required to take the kid’s wishes into account even if they ultimately disregard them. Prior to that, it’s at the judge’s discretion whether they want to hear what the child wants. At age 12, children get a say in whether or not they’re adopted. Before 12, a child can be forced into an adoption they don’t want. I thought the age at which children would get a say in court would be the same for custody and adoption but apparently not.

Jamie Spears is stepping down as Britney’s conservator. I think this is for the best regardless of whether the allegations against him are true or not. https://variety.com/2021/music/news/britney-spears-father-jamie-spears-quits-conservator-1235040690/?fbclid=IwAR1wbPY8ZuHKzyeKCux0dzWNIBt3F7X7a_SxGp1eH9MU4Yfg3bIUqRkLxN8

Granted I have never been a huge fan of the Olympics or sports in general (I sometimes watch figure skating and gymnastics) but this year I was even less interested. It’s partly COVID but a lot of it is because of the gymnastics scandal. Unpopular opinion. I think only adults should be able to compete in the Olympics. Children shouldn’t have that kind of pressure on them, and it creates a situation where abuse is rewarded, which makes them more vulnerable than they already are by virtue of being children. I’m not just talking about the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. Those child gymnasts were (and probably still are) also being physically and emotionally abused by many other adults, and while raising the minimum age to 18 wouldn’t completely protect them since training would still start early on, I do think it would lessen it. Before the Karolyis the female gymnasts were all adults. I know because of their size children are often capable of more than adults are in some sports but it’s not worth it, IMO. Figure skaters have also gotten much younger over the years it seems although not to the same extent as the gymnasts. It just creeps me out now seeing these children compete at this level.

Princess Eugenie’s husband snapped partying with models in bikinis, one of whom was topless. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9847853/Jack-Brooksbank-pictured-Capri-glamorous-women-Princess-Eugenie-stays-home.html

Prince Harry is writing a memoir. It’s set to be published in 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/books/prince-harry-memoir.html

Kate Middleton was always thin but she lost a lot of weight once she started dating Will. There are a few pictures from right before or just after they started dating and though she is thin she definitely weighed more than she did by the end of university and beyond. You can really see a difference in her face in particular. Also, the camera really does add ten to fifteen pounds as well as a few inches in height. Celebrities that look skinny but normal in photos or on screen look scary skinny in person. I grew up on the west side of Los Angeles so I’ve seen quite a few celebrities in person and I’m always shocked by how tiny (both in weight and height) they are. If they look scary skinny in photos or on screen I can almost guarantee they look even scarier in person.

The research on this topic is pretty clear. It’s never a good idea to stay together for the kids if there is conflict between the parents and usually there is before a divorce. Family conflict (including conflict between parents) is much more damaging than divorce.

Good guess. Their youngest child, Phoebe, is 18 and must be going to college this coming fall.

Interesting. I always thought the engagement ring was part of a contractual agreement. The ring is given in exchange for marriage. If the marriage doesn’t happen then the person who bought the ring keeps it. However, if the marriage does happen and the couple later gets divorced then the ring stays with the receiver. At least that’s how I think it should be.

Both statements are lovely. There’s no need to compare and contrast. I don’t think William’s statement was a dig at Harry. Both of them mentioned Phillip’s life of service. The public service line is mentioned in almost any statement/speech made by the royal family about themselves, actually. It’s a long standing justification for their existence.

I got my second Pfizer shot on Tuesday. After the first dose I had minor side effects (mostly it triggered a migraine) but I was hit hard with side effects after the second dose. I felt like I had the flu. A fever between 100 and 101 degrees, chills, headache, muscle aches all day Wednesday then miraculously woke up Thursday morning completely fine. Zero symptoms, normal temperature. It was not a pleasant experience but so worth it. It pretty much confirms what I already thought, that if I had gotten COVID I would not have been asymptomatic or just gotten a cold. At the very least I would have had flu-like symptoms and at worst I would have needed to be hospitalized.

I loved Beverly Cleary books as a child and now my daughter’s teacher is reading Beezus and Ramona in her first grade class and my daughter loves it too. RIP Beverly Cleary.