Mother's Day

Sitting on the porch
Putting the binding on our family quilt
One kid sleeping
One kid playing outside
One kid snuggled right next to me, reading.

Exactly What I Wanted

After reading this post, you will know that this is exactly what I wanted!

Find a Comfy Spot and Read

If there was only one thing I could pass on to my children it would be a love of reading. Most reading in our house is done at night, before bed. I'm a big reader myself but my kids probably don't even really know it! We should spend more time reading during the day too. I put some bins of books in the fairy tent. So far Alex has enjoyed spending time in there. This year in school the kids in Talia's class spend a lot of time looking at books themselves. It is the skill she learned in school this year that I'm most happy with-- she will now sit and look through a book even if no one is reading it to her. She is definitely learning how to read but it seems to take a ton of energy. She is so exhausted after concentrating so hard for just a few minutes. This morning she actually read a book to Alex for the first time. It was very cute.

Home Sweet Home

I can never seem to get a photo of the two of them looking at me and smiling at the same time. This will have to do. They were both "reading" books on the steps today. I couldnt' resist snapping a few pictures.

Some Great Reading

We've been reading "chapter books" in our house for a while now. It's hard to find ones that are age appropriate though, since most chapter books are written for kids who can, well, read. It started with the Rainbow Fairies books but frankly they are a little formulaic. When I read the first one I was thrilled that I could be interested in the mystery too-- but then I realized that they basically all followed the same pattern.

Most of the books I want to read with Talia are too old for her-- like Charlotte's Web. It's one thing to watch the movie for two hours and another to listen to it for nights on end. The Little House books are filled with scenarios that she can not comprehend at this time. "The olden days" is a concept too far from her reach. She can hardly understand that we didn't have Tivo when I was little. Or Target. I just don't think she has the ability to imagine very much from Laura's life. I'm pretty sure I read them for the first time when I was in third grade-- and I certainly don't want to spoil it for her. If you want to try to read a book you thought perfectly acceptable for a 4 year old, try Amelia Bedelia. Actually, now that T is 4 she's starting to get that one. But we got it last year and it made no sense to her, as it is all play-on-words. Or Curious George-- the original one, where they STEAL him from his native land in Africa and force him on a ship to America. While that book is ok for kids it's NOT ok for adults.

So imagine my excitement when I discovered that there is a series called "My First Little House Books!" They are picture books that follow one simple story from the big books. Talia likes them but I like them more, of course. I have also found longer versions of Angelina Ballerina books.

More recently we have been reading the "Betsy" books by Carolyn Haywood. I actually remember taking them out of the library when I was a kid. I loved them and apparently I still do. They have pictures on ALMOST every page which is perfect. Now T can start getting used to listening to the story without pictures for some pages and get to look at the pictures (line drawings) on the others.

We read together every single night. Bedtime is taking longer and longer since two books has turned into two chapters (Ok, 3). It's pretty much my favorite time together (which is suspiciously close to my least favorite time together, when she gives me a fight about me leaving her room at bedtime each night-- I mean, doesn't it get old sometimes?) I'm so happy to read her stories that have substance!

Currents

On My Bedside Table:
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Jewish Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World: Soups, Salads, Side Dishes, and Main Courses for Holidays and Every Day by Gil Marks

Latest Interests:
Nothing new-- sewing, reading, cooking.

On My Mind:
My grandmother, who recently passed away and my mother, who is taking it day by day.
My friend Katie who lost her grandfather.
My niece who is almost one year old!

Learning:
How to use a serger
How to start a garden

Making:
A winter quilt for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap.

Looking Forward To:
Spring, of course.
A trip to NJ for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary
A trip to Holland in April

Enjoying:
The kids, but Alex in particular is at a fantastic age. He has so many new tricks.

Amused By:
Talia's antics. She's always trying to get her brother to laugh.

My To-Do List:
Register to vote in Wisconsin
Finish the winter quilt
Switch my nursing license to Wisconsin
Get Alex a passport
Buy furniture for/ decorate the house
Babyproof babyproof babyproof

On the Media

A quick post before I go on vacation to Mexico with Talia. I'm leaving Alex at home with my mother-in-law and with Ron, who has to work Christmas. Yes, I feel bad that I'm leaving my baby. Yes, I am excited to go on vacation with my mother, father, daughter, sister, brother, brother-in-law and niece!

I read a book that I absolutely loved; Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. It was fantastic and surely the best book I've read all year.

Also, one of my favorite shows is running it's whole series over Christmas and the New Year. It's Run's House on MTV. I kid you not. I LOVE that show. I can't seem to convince ANYONE I KNOW to watch it. This is my plea-- it's great! Set your Tivo!

Lastly, here is my conversation with Talia yesterday:

Upon finding a new princess in her Polly Pocket collection (I bought a playset to bring on vacation and it came with Aurora and Prince Phillip so I just added them to her pile of Polly's).

T: Mom! Did you get this at Target?

Me: Yep (not true but whatever)

T: Where was it?

Me: What do you mean?

T: Was it in a corner or on an end (of an aisle, I suppose)

Me: Uhhh... the corner.

T: (Excitedly) That's what I figured!

Who is this kid? She's been asking some interesting (and tough to answer) questions lately, such as "Where does the pee and poo go after I flush it?" and "How did the fog get here?" Interestingly enough, Ron and I answered the first question identically. I was pretty much making up the answer so I'm glad I got it somewhat right.

An update on Alex too while I'm at it... he's been sleeping better, so that's good. He is the cutest kid ever. So happy and good-- completely different from when he was a tiny baby. He loves to play with anything that's not a toy (naturally) and paper especially. He can grab and reach anything so super quick. He's very tactile and just loves to touch and grab (and puts everything in his mouth, of course). Sometimes I'm going about my day and I just put him in front of a basket of toys (princess ponies, princess dolls etc.) and he just plays and eats things and I forget to pay him attention because he's occupying himself and then all of a sudden I realize he's just STARING at me. So I flash him a smile and maybe go over to him for a minute and he's just so happy about it. Poor kid. It really DOES suck to be the second kid. He doesn't have a life ANYTHING like what Talia had. On the plus side, Talia is IN LOVE with him and he her. She only had Ron and me. He has a sister too and she's really good to him. I know I should cherish these good times.

Book Abuser

This is so totally me! It's an essay about abusing books by writing in them, folding down the corners, cutting them in half, etc. I believe in all of it. I also believe in NOT keeping my books. At this point in my life I have kept only a VERY few (fiction) books, maybe 2 or 3 from my adult life and a dozen or so from childhood. I like to pass them on or get rid of them. I absolutely don't keep them. Perhaps when we move to Madison and have a home in which we hope to stay for years and years I will create a library but at this point I feel no need to keep them.

I also don't really buy books. I definitely use my public library (so easy now with online reservations!) and borrow books from family and friends. Of course, the family and friends have to buy the books for me to borrow them but I would be almost as happy to get them from the library. I actually read them faster since they have to be returned. I am terrified of accumulating fines at the library and use an email reminder service to help me remember to return them!

I would say I have read more in the last 3 years than ever before. Perhaps it's because I'm not in school, or not working (much), or getting in bed earlier because I'm tired from parenting all day. I think the main reason however is.... TIVO. I rarely watch TV at night anymore (we have no TV in the bedroom) and just Tivo my shows to watch while I'm cleaning etc. Also, Ron wants to watch the Jim Lehrer news hour every night and frankly it bores me. He has this moral superiority about how it's the NEWS and it's on PBS so it's infinitely more important than say, America's Next Top Model or Project Runway. So he will watch the news and I'll go upstairs and read. I guess that's good for me!

I'm attaching the link to an essay in the NY Times Book Review last weekend. I would just copy and paste the article here but somehow I don't think that's right...? http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html

I know the NYT links to articles only work for a week or so...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/books/review/Schott.t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=review&pagewanted=print