Become a Bookworm!

I really like our Relief Society here. I'm on the activity planning committee and--at the risk of sounding boastful--we come up with some pretty awesome ideas. (Of course, most of them are our chairman's, Ashley, but still.) Anyway, at the beginning of the year we had a little meeting to roughly outline what we'd like to do for our monthly/bi-monthly activities. Ashley said she had been trying to think of things that used our talents and she was a little despairing because she didn't feel she had any talents that were really shareable. Then it came to her that she loved books and could share that. At the meeting she found she was in good company and so we decided to have an activity that focused on learning to love books and how to find some great ones. It was awesome! We had some people sign up to share books from different genres, and despite trying to keep it to about 40-45 minutes so there'd be time to peruse the books on display as well, we went over. But nobody seemed to mind--which means it's really good!

Anyway, I just thought, since there are so many people who read this blog who love to read books, I would post the titles and genres of each. Before I do that though, let me start off with a couple of tips Ashley gave before the presenters got up.

~I know some of you are already on there, but Goodreads.com is a great site. Mike just got on recently too, and he's really enjoying it. Go! Explore! Add me as a friend! It's free and it's pretty easy to navigate.
~Ashley keeps book-journals. They're not anything deep necessarily, but just the title of the book, the author, and a little blurb about it. She read a couple; some of them were as short as, "Fantastic!" and others go into more detail. I prefer to write in my books. Either way, I strongly recommend writing. When I write about what I read, or take notes in the margins, even if I never go back to that book again, I remember a lot more from it. Reading to me demands participation.
~(This one's from me.) Try to read from a variety of genres. Mike has a really hard time getting away from non-fiction, and Ashley has a really hard time getting away from YA, and another friend of mine reads only fiction, especially sci-fi, and another friend of mine just told me she's a junkie for socio-economic commentary. That's all well and good that they enjoy reading those genres, but c'mon! Ever heard the phrase "stranger than fiction?" That is so true! There are some incredible true stories out there, and you're totally missing out! But if all you read is non-fiction, you are depriving yourself of some of the most moving and truthful and eye-opening prose there is; honestly, you're hampering yourself from a greater understanding of the world you live in. And fiction like that can come from any sub-category--any. After you've read some of each then you can decide whether you really just don't like that genre or not. Not before. Okay, off my soapbox.

Onto the books! (The titles are links, except for the church historical fiction ones. I tried to find more than just reviews, but that's not always the case. Sorry!)
Science Fiction: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Romance: (trilogy) Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan (point of view of Mr. Darcy)
Church Historical Fiction: (She kind of got carried away picking, so these are all series) Prelude to Glory by Ron Carter; Children of the Promise by Dean Hughes; The Promised Land by David G. Woolley
Non-Fiction: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Biography: Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow; Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Young Adult Novel: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Middle Grade Novels (between 8 and 12): Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan (I am putting this on my list, FYI)
Graphic Novel: Bone by Jeff Smith
Poetry: Behind My Eyes by Li-Young Lee
Mystery/Thriller: The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
Adult Fiction: Room by Emma Donoghue

Back home, and upgraded

For those of you who haven't heard, we were babysitting and house sitting this last week for some friends who went to Europe. We went from one kid to four in a blink of an eye. It was exhausting, I'm not going to lie. Anyways, their youngest was born the same week as Madie and it was so fun to watch these two run around together.

Within 24 hours, we used one of our life-lines and phoned some friends for help. The kids were kind of fighting and we were still adjusting to each other. Luckily, the Atheys brought Maggie over for a visit and totally distracted the kids for a few hours! That's Maggie's tongue, btw.

I couldn't help myself.

And of course, we got some good shots of our ever so photogenic Madie. The family had a basket of shoes sitting by the door, which meant Madie was in heaven. I'm pretty sure she test drove every pair in the basket at one point.

Mal took the kids to the splash park so that they could get out and stretch their legs for a bit.

Post splash park picture. Madie's hair was so greasy from the sunscreen that we decided to have a photo-shoot.

These two did really well together. Even though each kid (and adult) had our meltdown moments this week, I think it was pretty good overall. Of course, I'm the one who was working all week and was only home in the evenings.

One huge bonus that came from watching kids this week was we had access to a van. Vans are pretty amazing, because they can actually hold a lot more than trucks can (for the most part). We have been wanting new furniture for a while, and have hounded Craigslist for months trying to figure out ways to squeeze furniture into our little Jetta or even renting a truck for a few hours. I don't know why we don't know more people with trucks, but we don't! It just worked out that we were looking into getting this table the day that we began babysitting...and it was then that we realized we had a van to put it in! I took the seats out of the van and headed over to pick up the table and chairs.

We figured hey, we have the means to transport furniture. Lets get a leather couch! We picked one up that same day for a very reasonable price. Great condition, comfortable, and hopefully will endure anything our kids will throw at it for the next 15 or so years.

What's that you say? A $15 pony from the local thrift shop? Pick it up!

Awesome $3 lamp at a garage sale. Guess we didn't really need the van for this one.

Things I've Learned

Some of you may know Mike and I have been watching the three children of some friends of ours while they're in England for the week. We're almost done--they get back on Saturday morning--but it's been an interesting experience. Let's just say we are glad twins--and triplets--don't run in either of our families! I thought I'd share a few highlights.

Deep thought:
~If Wish Bear can grant pretty much any wish, why are there any other Care Bears? And for that matter, is there really any risk in any of the episodes?

Proud moments:
~The food is a little different than what we normally have at home. I don't know that it's worse or better, it's just--mooore--what exactly? Faster? Yes, it's faster. Much faster. I was a little worried Madie might end up not feeling very well after a week (she's got sensitive bowels, if you know what I mean) or worse: that her tastes would be spoiled. All my work! Not that we only eat organic foods or even all good foods--I love to bake and Mike's obsession with homemade ice cream is hard to reel in sometimes--but we eat a lot of vegetables and fruit and vegetarian meals and fishy meals--a nice balance I think. Madie eats two or three whole fruits a day. So last night while the other three were chowing down on saucy chicken and rice (with extra sauce poured on top), I was very happy to see that the first thing gone from Madie's plate was the broccoli. :)

~Despite all the craziness and extra kids, I've gotten a lot of reading done. In fact, I finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Oh so good!

Breakthrough:

~I realized what it was about some friends' houses that really turned me off as a kid: the smell. It's not the smell of poopy diapers or pee-soaked beds. It's the smell of microwaved corn dogs and maple syrup long after breakfast is over.

Back to school....back to school...

I have already disclosed this on Facebook to most of you, but for those who haven't heard I got accepted into the School of Public Health at Tulane University. I'll begin coursework for my Masters of Public Health, concentration in Occupational and Environmental Health on May 31st. I am very excited to begin working on this and get it out of the way. Luckily, work has agreed to pay for nearly half of it which is HUGE! That also means that I'll be working full-time and taking at least 6 credits per semester (two courses) every summer, fall, and spring semesters until July 2013. Busy? Indeed. I'm glad Mal is willing to go along with this, because she will most likely be working much harder than me.

One thing that I like about Tulane's distance education program is they literally broadcast their lectures live via internet, and require you to have a camera and mic so that you can participate in classroom discussions and interact as if you were actually there. Amazing, isn't it? Another plus about Tulane is they have a really good reputation in public health because they are the oldest school of public health in the U.S. (see malaria outbreaks in the 1800's). And, out of all the schools of public health in the nation, they are ranked number 13 by U.S. Weekly. Always a plus. I feel very fortunate to be in the program and am ready to work.

You. Me. Splash Park. Done.

A couple of days ago a friend of mine called to say she was desperate to get her daughter and herself out of the house and if I planned to do anything this week I was under orders to let her know. Well, after all the rain we've been having we've had two or three days in the high seventies and I was in agreement. I love the rain, and I'm really glad we've had a couple of weeks of not much else, but I was also ready to do something outside. Especially with all the colds we've been fighting off, we haven't done much with other kids for weeks.

So I sent out an email to The Moms and said we'd be spending Thursday afternoon at the splash fountain park downtown. Well, the splash park was off (HELLO?!?! The ground was soaked when we got there, but after fifteen minutes nothing started up again! Lame.) so we went across the street to the park fountain. (It's a real fountain, not just a splash fountain.) The kids were a little hesitant at first, but once Max got there and jumped right in, the rest of them started to be a little braver. See? All it takes is one wild kid and the rest are gonners.

Here are some pictures of the cutest kid I could find at the park:

She was very hesitant at first. I took her close time and again but she wouldn't even let me put her hand in the flow.

Then I she braved up and started sticking her hand in on her own. Whenever she did that she'd run back with a gleeful scream. It was so cute! (Video on FB.) 

Then I showed her there was more than just running into the flow, if that wasn't your thing. I splashed a puddle a couple of times and that was the end of it. She stomped all around the fountain splashing puddles. By the end of a half hour she was soaked from neck to toe. I had to run to get her dress out of the car. I didn't bother bringing it because I didn't think she'd get so wet!

Oscar + The Grinch = Me

I am in a grouchy mood. Very grouchy. Not all day or anything--in fact, parts of the day have been delightful--but right now I'm grouchy. And the biggest problem with this kind of grouchiness is that it's very hard to explain. I got a decent night's sleep last night. I'm not stressed out about anything I can think of. The Fi has been in a pretty good mood all day--not spectacular but pretty good. Mike even cleaned up the kitchen, dining table, and living room and is now outside with the kid.

It could be because despite the decent night's sleep I'm still very tired and when I tried to get a nap in SOMEONE was throwing a fit.

It could be because on my four-mile walk with Lady Fi today I noticed the house of my dreams no longer had the sale sign posted out front. No, there was no chance of us ever buying it (it's in the $500K range) but still...

It could be because I know I need to get some spring cleaning done and I definitely need to finish some projects so I can start on others, and yet all day I have lacked any desire to do any of this. I don't even have a vision of the finished product in my mind to make me plow ahead.

It could be because my right arm has been aching all day.

It is definitely partly because I have had a craving for sweets two solid days now and I have not satisfied it. Not one little bit. The thing is, this is not a craving that can be satisfied with a piece of toast with jam or a Twix bar or something. No. This is Craving. It's an entity. I've almost called it by a gender-biased pronoun a couple of times already.

Baby? No, You Must Have The Wrong Number.

It's official, The Fi is no longer a baby, my friends. She's barely holding onto toddlerhood. *sniff* 

As her uncle Levi said today when I said it was normal for a girl who was almost two to have as many teeth in her head as Madie does: "Yep, almost hitting puberty." Honestly, that's how it feels sometimes. (Especially when she's throwing a tantrum.) She even gets my name right most of the time. There have been so many changes in Madie just in the past week it feels like. I think part of it is that Mike and I are realizing that if we let her have more control over the things she can do then she doesn't get upset throughout the day as much. (LIGHTBULB MOMENT, that one was.) So, that's what we've been doing. For example she climbs into her car seat on her own now. This is a miracle. Simply a miracle. 

Madie now helps around the house with the chores. She has always been good about taking care of her toys and books, but now she "sweeps" the entry way; she takes her dishes off the table and into the kitchen to whoever is cleaning up; she even takes dirty clothes and napkins to the hamper in our bedroom. In fact, while she was in there one day after Mike got home from his trip to Yosemite she came back with this:

The Face.

We all know she's got a thing for clothes, and recently it's been hats. When she toddled out of the bedroom she had this hat on just the way it should be and Mike and I both cracked up laughing. Then she got ahold of this hat...

I'm from Fargo, doncha know.

She reads all the time, and often when I ask nicely she will read to me, rather than have me read to her. It's a very exciting experience. Something is happening in The Pokey Little Puppy that warrants a much more dynamic rendering than I ever seem to accomplish. I think it's the pell-melling down the hill, but I can't be certain. Madie also attends workouts at the church with me and the other women who go. She insists on using her own mat and when she tires of entertaining the children she joins in on the yoga. She's got a Downward Dog that can't be beat.