Nothing gives me more of a thrill than a fresh pile of books I'm excited to read. As I mentioned on Sunday, Alex got me an Amazon gift card for Mother's Day and I have already spent it. I got Tina Fey's Bossypants, which was the first book I thought of when I opened the card. It's a little pricey since it's so new, so I figured that's a good use of gift money. I also got Heaven is For Real, which I had heard of recently. It's about a 4 year old boy's experience in heaven while he was having emergency surgery. I don't know about you, but I've ALWAYS been fascinated by those "dead for a minute/got to see heaven" kind of stories.
I also sucked it up and paid my (huge) library fine today because Jack was OBSESSED with Ten Black Dots this morning. I have no idea what got his attention about this book, maybe his current fascination with counting? But it became obvious we weren't going to leave the library without either 1) the book or 2) a fit. I decided to suck up my pride and pay the ridiculously huge fine and let him take the book home. What kind of mom would I be if I denied him a book just because I'm a cheapskate? So I paid the fine, renewed my library card (which had, uh, expired), and checked the book out.
After he went down for his nap, I went BACK to the library by myself (the joys of having your spouse work from home!) and got three books for me. Life of Pi, Tinkers, and Dead in the Family. I got Life of Pi thanks to a blog post shared by Mrs. G that mentioned it as one of their top 10 books ever. I grabbed Tinkers because it's a Pulizter Prize winner and supposedly beautifully written (and horrible depressing). And Dead in the Family? Well, it's Sookie. What can I say?
Oh! I almost forgot. I found A Thousand Splendid Suns at Half Price Books on Mother's Day for 6 bucks. So that's on my To Read list as well. What's on yours?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Mother's Day
I hope y'all had a great Mother's Day and/or treated your mother to a great day. Alex and Jack gave me an Amazon gift card and a certificate good for guilt free Starbucks and Kindle time for Momma. What, what? Starbucks better watch out cause this Momma is coming for a skinny vanilla latte and a comfy chair!
My mom was here this weekend, so it was nice to spend the day with her. What was not so nice is that she's sick and I had to clean up her puke last night. I feel like we've come full circle in our relationship, now.
I'd show you some pictures but I think they're still on the camera and Alex is putting Jack to bed and that trumps getting pictures off the card. For now, I'll leave you with a picture of why I got to celebrate today.
My mom was here this weekend, so it was nice to spend the day with her. What was not so nice is that she's sick and I had to clean up her puke last night. I feel like we've come full circle in our relationship, now.
I'd show you some pictures but I think they're still on the camera and Alex is putting Jack to bed and that trumps getting pictures off the card. For now, I'll leave you with a picture of why I got to celebrate today.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Random Monday
Here's a couple of things I meant to share on Friday and then, uh, didn't.
- Have you heard Adele's latest CD, 21? It's AMAZING. If you haven't heard her "Someone Like You," here's a video of her singing it live. She sounds so flipping amazing live, it is RIDICULOUS. I'd give my left arm to sing like that, yo.
- And speaking of singing live, you've seen Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon's "Friday" right? Right? I'm sure you have. But I bet you could use a pick me up right this second, so here it is:
Alex and I have watched this HUNDREDS of times now. HUNDREDS. We randomly sing it throughout the day and Jack will even sing "Friday! Friday!" It's just so fun and about 1000 times better than the original. (If you don't know the back story behind this version or if you've never heard Rebecca Black's Friday, let me know! It's way funnier once you know the whole story behind the video.)
- I'm in a book reading rut. I have tried to read Upton Sinclair's Oil! for years now and it's just not happening. I read about half of Room the other night and I can't get up the motivation to read the second half. I even got our book club book last week and can't seem to get the energy up to read it. I need some book reading motivation, stat.
- I've managed to mess my shins up quite spectacularly. They constantly hurt, so I've been using an exercise bike at our apartment complex's workout facility. It's quite possibly the most boring work out ever. I'm wondering if it's time for new shoes? And how much longer I have to ride the bike? Because I miss running and I really miss running outside. We even bought a jogging stroller! And we've used it once because I couldn't even finish the inaugural run with it. I feel like a running wuss.
- Have you heard Adele's latest CD, 21? It's AMAZING. If you haven't heard her "Someone Like You," here's a video of her singing it live. She sounds so flipping amazing live, it is RIDICULOUS. I'd give my left arm to sing like that, yo.
- And speaking of singing live, you've seen Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon's "Friday" right? Right? I'm sure you have. But I bet you could use a pick me up right this second, so here it is:
Alex and I have watched this HUNDREDS of times now. HUNDREDS. We randomly sing it throughout the day and Jack will even sing "Friday! Friday!" It's just so fun and about 1000 times better than the original. (If you don't know the back story behind this version or if you've never heard Rebecca Black's Friday, let me know! It's way funnier once you know the whole story behind the video.)
- I'm in a book reading rut. I have tried to read Upton Sinclair's Oil! for years now and it's just not happening. I read about half of Room the other night and I can't get up the motivation to read the second half. I even got our book club book last week and can't seem to get the energy up to read it. I need some book reading motivation, stat.
- I've managed to mess my shins up quite spectacularly. They constantly hurt, so I've been using an exercise bike at our apartment complex's workout facility. It's quite possibly the most boring work out ever. I'm wondering if it's time for new shoes? And how much longer I have to ride the bike? Because I miss running and I really miss running outside. We even bought a jogging stroller! And we've used it once because I couldn't even finish the inaugural run with it. I feel like a running wuss.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Friday, April 01, 2011
Seven Quick Takes - April Fools Edition
1. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not a fan of April Fool's Day. Probably because I'm gullible. Please, be nice to me!
2. I've started a beginner runner training program in the hopes of increasing my speed. I walked/jogged outside the last two days since the weather has been so nice. I tried a new trail yesterday and it was WAY more hilly than I was expecting. And now my shins are KILLING me. KILLING. ME. Like, I thought they were going to snap in half yesterday. Treadmills make you soft, man.
3. Speaking of shin splints, Alex informed me yesterday that he's only gotten them ONCE in his life. Once! I've gotten shin splints my ENTIRE life. (I over pronate like a mug, yo.) I can't imagine an exercise life shin splint free. It must be awesome. And a lot less painful!
4. My mom is making me a memory quilt from some of my grandmother's old clothes. She's been working on it for a few weeks and I'm really excited to see it. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get it.
5. Allow me to complain for a second. So we cloth diaper up in this house, but the 2 that Jack uses overnight are starting to stink. They're by the same company, a Swaddlebees and a Blueberry, and their website was USELESS about making the smell go away. (Their solution? You're probably using too much detergent. Or maybe too little. I dunno.) So I tried stripping them yesterday and I don't think it worked. It's really annoying because our other diapers, Fuzzibunz, won't make it all night. And I don't want to drop the cash for disposable overnight diapers.
6. Jack hates it when I sing to the songs on TV. He'll turn to me and go, "Mama? No." They grow up so fast!
7. Birthday 2.0 preparation is well under way. I ran out of wrapping paper yesterday, which is dangerous because that means I need to go to Target again and that means I'll probably find something else that Jack "needs" for his birthday. I have no birthday self control!
2. I've started a beginner runner training program in the hopes of increasing my speed. I walked/jogged outside the last two days since the weather has been so nice. I tried a new trail yesterday and it was WAY more hilly than I was expecting. And now my shins are KILLING me. KILLING. ME. Like, I thought they were going to snap in half yesterday. Treadmills make you soft, man.
3. Speaking of shin splints, Alex informed me yesterday that he's only gotten them ONCE in his life. Once! I've gotten shin splints my ENTIRE life. (I over pronate like a mug, yo.) I can't imagine an exercise life shin splint free. It must be awesome. And a lot less painful!
4. My mom is making me a memory quilt from some of my grandmother's old clothes. She's been working on it for a few weeks and I'm really excited to see it. I'll be sure to post pictures when I get it.
5. Allow me to complain for a second. So we cloth diaper up in this house, but the 2 that Jack uses overnight are starting to stink. They're by the same company, a Swaddlebees and a Blueberry, and their website was USELESS about making the smell go away. (Their solution? You're probably using too much detergent. Or maybe too little. I dunno.) So I tried stripping them yesterday and I don't think it worked. It's really annoying because our other diapers, Fuzzibunz, won't make it all night. And I don't want to drop the cash for disposable overnight diapers.
6. Jack hates it when I sing to the songs on TV. He'll turn to me and go, "Mama? No." They grow up so fast!
7. Birthday 2.0 preparation is well under way. I ran out of wrapping paper yesterday, which is dangerous because that means I need to go to Target again and that means I'll probably find something else that Jack "needs" for his birthday. I have no birthday self control!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Big Guy
Jack is going to be 2 on Sunday. TWO! It doesn't seem even possible that my sweet baby boy is going to be two entire years old, and yet here we are. Presents have been ordered. Cupcakes are being contemplated. (I'm thinking Funfetti.) And plans are being made. We're not doing a big party because we just don't know enough people around here to call it a party. My parents are coming in town and we're going to go somewhere fun (Maybe Tinytown?) and let him play and run and eat cupcakes and open presents. I'm bringing (more) cupcakes to Parents' Day Out the next day so he gets to celebrate with his friends there as well. Two days of birthday fun! I bought a Birthday Boy shirt a few months ago and it's hanging in his closet, raring to go. We're all ready.
Except I'm kind of not.
Two years is no longer a baby. Granted, one year old isn't technically a baby either, but I figured I could fake it one more year. He was still wobbly on his feet and so squishy with his baby fat. He was still my sweet little baby, gosh darnit. But I can't really say that anymore. He's my sweet little BOY now. And he's great. Don't get me wrong. He is so much fun. He yells and talks and laughs and claps and marches and kicks and spins in circles. And he always wants me to do it with him. We draw with chalk and stack blocks and play choo choo trains and blow bubbles. He likes to sing songs and play with stickers and tear apart play doh. I don't see how it's possible for him to get more fun or cute or likable.
But, oh, my heart aches when I think of what a little baby he used to be. How time has gone by so very quickly. I can't hold him anymore. He doesn't need me to hold a bottle or give him a paci or hand him a toy or carry him around. He can do that all on his own, thank you very much. He has no time for cuddles when there is so! much! to! do! And I love that he's so big and strong and excited. I'm so thrilled to see him discover the world. But can't we wait on that a little bit longer?
We can't wait. I know. He's a big boy NOW. He's growing up NOW. Right before my eyes. And it's been such a privilege, such an honor to get to know this boy. I can't wait to see the man he grows up to be.
The shirt doesn't lie. He's a big guy.
Except I'm kind of not.
Two years is no longer a baby. Granted, one year old isn't technically a baby either, but I figured I could fake it one more year. He was still wobbly on his feet and so squishy with his baby fat. He was still my sweet little baby, gosh darnit. But I can't really say that anymore. He's my sweet little BOY now. And he's great. Don't get me wrong. He is so much fun. He yells and talks and laughs and claps and marches and kicks and spins in circles. And he always wants me to do it with him. We draw with chalk and stack blocks and play choo choo trains and blow bubbles. He likes to sing songs and play with stickers and tear apart play doh. I don't see how it's possible for him to get more fun or cute or likable.
But, oh, my heart aches when I think of what a little baby he used to be. How time has gone by so very quickly. I can't hold him anymore. He doesn't need me to hold a bottle or give him a paci or hand him a toy or carry him around. He can do that all on his own, thank you very much. He has no time for cuddles when there is so! much! to! do! And I love that he's so big and strong and excited. I'm so thrilled to see him discover the world. But can't we wait on that a little bit longer?
We can't wait. I know. He's a big boy NOW. He's growing up NOW. Right before my eyes. And it's been such a privilege, such an honor to get to know this boy. I can't wait to see the man he grows up to be.
The shirt doesn't lie. He's a big guy.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Books!
My goal is to read 52 books this year. So far I've read 15, which hardly seems fair since over half of those are Charlaine Harris books. But Sookie counts, man. Sookie counts.
In fact, I didn't read a book that wasn't about vampires or parenting until last week.
There's not much to say about all of the vampire books, is there? You either like them or you don't. I happen to like them. Well, most of them. Some of them aren't so great, especially Dead and Gone which was simply atrocious. But I'm committed to the Sook and I'll read the next few and hope they keep getting better.
Same thing with the Blue Bloods series. I will keep reading them until they get so bad I can't stand them anymore. This last one was wildly uneven, but it was a million times better than the one BEFORE that, which I suspect was actually written by a robot.
I've read two (non-vampire) YA books so far. Al Capone Does My Shirts and Speak. Spoiler for the Book Club - I really liked Al Capone. Really cute and really fun to read. I just finished Speak today and I'm still processing it. It was fine but I'm not sure I liked it. At least, not yet. I still need to think about it.
The three parentings books I've read are The Happiest Toddler on the Block, Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood, and Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline. I'm not linking to those because they are boring and I doubt you will care. I really didn't like The Happiest Toddler on the Block, but the other two were pretty great. They both had overlapping ideas that I think will serve me well as I bumble my way through parenting an almost 2 year old.
The main reason I wanted to post was to tell you about The Kite Runner. It was FANTASTIC. Far and away my favorite book I read this year. And definitely one of my favorite books ever. We're talking top 5 favorite right here. While I was reading it, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. The story is dark and it can be really difficult to read because it's so incredibly sad, but unlike other sad books (*cough* Little Bee *cough*), I didn't want to bleach my brain and forget all about it. I wanted to know more about Afganistan. I wanted to spend more times with the characters. I was heartbroken at some of the tragedy in the book and cried at least 3 times. The story has stuck with me and I keep going back to it. Hosseini's style is really simple and clean. He's not as much of a minimalist as say, Hemingway or McCarthy, but there's not a whole lot of flowery language here. It's straightforward and just plain GOOD. I bought it on a whim for one dollar at Half Price Books because we've had the movie in our Netflix Instant Queue for months now, just waiting to be watched. And it was BEYOND worth it. The best dollar I have spent in maybe ever. The fact that Hosseini can get a little white girl in Texas invested and empathic with a bunch of male Afghani Muslims is a testament to his writing abilities. I cannot recommend this book enough.
I've got a few books lined up that should last me through the end of March. I'm always open for suggestions. What are y'all reading?
In fact, I didn't read a book that wasn't about vampires or parenting until last week.
There's not much to say about all of the vampire books, is there? You either like them or you don't. I happen to like them. Well, most of them. Some of them aren't so great, especially Dead and Gone which was simply atrocious. But I'm committed to the Sook and I'll read the next few and hope they keep getting better.
Same thing with the Blue Bloods series. I will keep reading them until they get so bad I can't stand them anymore. This last one was wildly uneven, but it was a million times better than the one BEFORE that, which I suspect was actually written by a robot.
I've read two (non-vampire) YA books so far. Al Capone Does My Shirts and Speak. Spoiler for the Book Club - I really liked Al Capone. Really cute and really fun to read. I just finished Speak today and I'm still processing it. It was fine but I'm not sure I liked it. At least, not yet. I still need to think about it.
The three parentings books I've read are The Happiest Toddler on the Block, Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood, and Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline. I'm not linking to those because they are boring and I doubt you will care. I really didn't like The Happiest Toddler on the Block, but the other two were pretty great. They both had overlapping ideas that I think will serve me well as I bumble my way through parenting an almost 2 year old.
The main reason I wanted to post was to tell you about The Kite Runner. It was FANTASTIC. Far and away my favorite book I read this year. And definitely one of my favorite books ever. We're talking top 5 favorite right here. While I was reading it, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. The story is dark and it can be really difficult to read because it's so incredibly sad, but unlike other sad books (*cough* Little Bee *cough*), I didn't want to bleach my brain and forget all about it. I wanted to know more about Afganistan. I wanted to spend more times with the characters. I was heartbroken at some of the tragedy in the book and cried at least 3 times. The story has stuck with me and I keep going back to it. Hosseini's style is really simple and clean. He's not as much of a minimalist as say, Hemingway or McCarthy, but there's not a whole lot of flowery language here. It's straightforward and just plain GOOD. I bought it on a whim for one dollar at Half Price Books because we've had the movie in our Netflix Instant Queue for months now, just waiting to be watched. And it was BEYOND worth it. The best dollar I have spent in maybe ever. The fact that Hosseini can get a little white girl in Texas invested and empathic with a bunch of male Afghani Muslims is a testament to his writing abilities. I cannot recommend this book enough.
I've got a few books lined up that should last me through the end of March. I'm always open for suggestions. What are y'all reading?
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