Chicago

H and F pic's

Indefinitely

I am indefinitely finished with blogging. The announcement comes at a crossroads for me and my family which makes me realize I am not able to be honest in this forum at this time.

Book Reviews

I'm going to begin a star rating system for each book:

1 star--I could barely get through this book

2 stars--I got through it but not well. And/or it is forgettable

3 stars--It was entertaining, not life changing in any way.

4 stars--It is good. Or, it may be excellent but a hard read for me for an assortment of reasons (which will be explained)

5 stars--It is one of the best books I have ever read

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

This is a really good book. It is an easy read with an interesting moral/twist. Even though my life, growing up, was much different than Miranda's I can really relate to her and the way she thinks about the world and the way she learns life lessons. I highly recommend this book. 4 out of 5 stars.

The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

I was reminded of the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" while reading this book in that the characters are ironically linked and are also on the same academic bowl team. This book is quite deep and even though I claim to be a thinker the deeper meaning sometimes evaded me. Since this is a juvenile book I think such themes will be completely lost on children and most adults. From what I gathered the deeper themes are: kindness, finding meaning in one's journey, and forming meaningful relationships. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo

I may be the only one on earth who did not care for this book. It was stupid. 2 out of 5 stars (but it is not forgettable in that that is how much I did not care for this book).

Sarah's Quilt by Nancy E. Turner

This is the sequel to "These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine" which is one of my favorite books of all time. Of course, Sarah's Quilt paled in comparison BUT the book accomplished something important--it mourned Jack. If you don't know what I'm talking about it is because you haven't read the first book. I love Sarah as a protagonist so much that Sarah's Quilt is a pretty easy read as a result. Unfortunately this book finds her at a cross section of life when she is responsible for many things and so her spunky personality doesn't come through in this book as much as the first. That is what is missing from the sequel. 3 out of 5 stars. I will be reading the last in the series eventually: "Star Garden".

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

A 14th century historical fiction account of feudal England. I kept imaging this book would make a good movie while I was reading it. The protagonist, Crispin, is a young adolescent who meets a very wise traveling companion, Bear, on a journey for "freedom" and "safety". Bear is the star of the show and this book is worth reading for his life insights/one liners. I recommend this book to pre-pubescent boys most. 3 out of 5 stars. This book is the first in a series.

I am reading "March" by Geraldine Brooks next. Leave me a comment if there is a book you suggest/would like me to read and review. Disclaimer: I commit to reading nothing but welcome any suggestions (e.g. I refuse to read Tolstoy)

Thoughts on Mother's Day, Belated

There are two camps of thought on Mother's Day: those that want to be showered with affection, validation, appreciation, and worship and those that use the day to appreciate their children.

I don't mean to make the first one sound bad at all. I want those things too, but really I feel an overwhelming affection and appreciation for my children on Mother's Day.

What I thought about this Mother's Day: Being a mother is the hardest assignment I've ever been given but I don't expect my children to ever understand this. I am fine with them thinking that being their mother should be easy, because it should be if I was perfect. In reality, it's not easy at all. Being a mother stretches me and makes me grow in ways I never thought possible (kind of like how your muscles feel after the first time snowboarding...what!? I didn't even know I had muscles in those places!). After particularly hard times I realize I am smarter, stronger, better, wiser, and closer to perfect than I was before the hard times.

Being a mother is a gift for two main reasons: children's laugher and happiness and hugs and kisses are better than money, chocolate/cheesecake, big houses, fancy cars, or pretty much anything; and being a mother makes me a better version of myself every single minute of every single day.

Moreover, I am in the second camp of thought. Mother's Day should bring me a bit of relaxation, nice words, and maybe a gift or two but really I will always be celebrating my children that day.

Book Review

I am going to make an effort to document every book I read. I will start with the last three:

"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

By the author of "Seabiscuit" "Unbroken" is a historical account of Louis Zamperini who survives incredible circumstances in WWII including a plane crash, 40+ days in the Pacific Ocean on a life raft, and three Japanese prisoner of war camps. The story is captivating to say the least; I was completely engrossed by this book. I was left with a lot of feelings as I finished this book including reverence, gratitude, admiration, anxiety, anger, sadness, and love. Hillenbrand's account of Louie's war experience and life are an incredible tribute to not just Louie but those he came into contact with that helped him "survive." This book made me want to hug my children a little more, for a little bit longer, and a little bit tighter. Like Louie's mother, I can't stand the thought of my boys suffering and the reality of WWII to so scary and the idea that war is occurring right now makes me physically ill.

"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson

If you haven't heard about this book/series where have you been? The first of three, which I plan on reading, is good. It is a thriller and it is quite thrilling. Here's the catch: the first hundred pages or so are a little dull as the story is set in Sweden and there is a lot of talk about Swedish industry and politics. Once the plot gets going, however, it's a page turner. One more warning: the crimes are grizzly and difficult to read about. A journalist and a hacker set out to solve a mystery and end up solving a few mysteries. The hacker is quite awesome...you'll have to read it to find out why but here's a hint: girl power!

"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaimen

This book is good for two reasons. 1) It is written with a unique style. 2) It is an interesting idea. The idea is that a boy is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. I had a hard time really connecting with most of the characters, however, besides the main character and his "guardian". I wonder if Gaimen did this purposefully, however. I also didn't think the antagonist/climax (it was slightly anti-climatic) was executed as well as possible as I was left with unanswered questions. I wonder if Gaimen intends to write a series which may answer my questions. Neil Gaimen also wrote the popular "Coraline."

My next book: "Sarah's Quilt" which is the sequel "The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine" by Nancy E. Turner. I haven't reviewed the latter book but said simply, every female book lover will love it.

Obedience At Age 3

Play-Do + Hip = Tons of Fun and Happiness

Play-Do + Mom = A Lot to Clean Up

Me: Go potty please.

Hip: There's no pee coming out.

Me: Good. The idea is to go before pee comes out.

Hip, after several minutes of not going potty: Mom? Can I be obedient like Nephi?

Me: I would love it if you would be obedient like Nephi.

Hip, jumping up and down: I can be obedient like Nephi! Goes potty. I like being obedient.

Me: I like it when you are obedient too.

Hip: Was Nephi obedient?

Me: Yes he was. And his mother Sariah and Heavenly Father were very happy when he was obedient. Just like how I am happy when you are obedient.

Hip's favorite song, besides K$sha songs, is "Nephi's Courage". We've been reading First Nephi in our family scripture study and we have been emphasizing the importance of Nephi's obedience to God's commandments, especially when facing adversity. Someday I will post a video of Hip singing "Nephi's Courage" as it is totally awesome.

Month 6

Now that I'm six months I am doing a lot of things like sitting up all by myself, sitting in my high chair to eat, eating a lot of food, creeping (moving around on my tummy), babbling ("babababa"), jumping in my exersaucer and in my Johnny JumpUp. I am also working on my fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. I like to experiment with my body and lately I've been doing back bends while my mommy holds me so I can see the world upside down. I also like to stand a lot and am really strong. I already am trying to climb in and out of the bathtub and climb up my mommy when she holds me.

As you can tell, I have a very cute and fun personality. I like to play with toys a lot. I like to play with my mommy, my daddy, my brother, friends, and my kitty too. My mommy says the kitty has a lot more patience with me than she did with my brother because the kitty appreciates the fact that I cry much less.

I like to play outside too. Hip and me are best friends. My mommy thinks I am Hip's biggest blessing in life right now because I like him so much. I like to hear him talk, laugh, and play. I like to watch him be rowdy, laughing hysterically at his attention seeking. My mommy says to ignore him when he does obnoxious things but I can't help thinking he is really funny. Sometimes I even copy the things he does which makes my mommy roll her eyes and take some ibuprofen for her resulting headache.

We like to do many things together including watching movies/helping Daddy with homework (as pictured above) playing cars, tummy time, riding in the jogging stroller side by side, riding in the bike trailer side by side, riding in the car side by side, going to the store together. Costco is our favorite store to go together; last week at Costco Hip was making me laugh so hard we were attracting more of a crowd/comments than the sample booth for crescent rolls. Now that is a HUGE deal, says Mommy.

This is how I know Hip loves me: he shares this swing with me. This swing, besides his rags, is his prize possession. He loves this swing but does not think it is a big deal at all when I take a turn. In fact, he often offers it to me first and waits for his turn patiently.

Hip does not like it when mommy gets me out of my crib before he wakes up because he likes to come in my room and greet me to each new day saying/yelling, "WELL HI PT!" He also likes to help change my diapers, bath me, feed me, dress me, etc. Hip sometimes gets bored and upset when I am napping and he begs Mommy to play with me when I wake up.

I get really excited a lot. Mostly about toys, my mommy, Hip, and food. I make a lot of sounds (one of my laughs sounds like a machine gun) and facial expressions which makes my family and friends laugh. I still like to drink my milk, mostly in the morning and at night but I am really into eating baby food and cereal. I love it all. My doctor was surprised that I gobble up green vegetables so easily and readily. My mommy told her that I was born into a food loving family and so it is not that surprising.

Here are my two teeth. They don't really help me with eating yet and I'm not sure I like them because today I bit my tongue! I didn't cry very long because I never cry very long. The one exception is in the middle of the night last night when I realized my mother was upstairs sleeping instead of holding me. That means I am going through object permanence right now.

I pretty much demand to sit in my high chair. My mommy wishes I didn't like it because she says it takes up way too much room in our snug dining room. But I love it. I can interact with Hip better while he is eating and I can also stare out the window and look at the various rodents which congregate on our front lawn. My mommy didn't get a picture of it but today Hip and I stared out the window while cars drove through our flooded street. She says she can't believe how different we are (Hip and me) but how alike we are too.

My mommy says I was born "barrel-chested" and I still am. Even though I am in the 50% in weight (17.10 lbs) and in the 70% in height I definitely have girth.

Here are a few other things about me that my mommy wants to remember: The ladies at the gym childcare really like me and tell my mommy that I am their favorite baby because I am so cute, nice, and cuddly. I get out of my swaddling really easy and I think it's funny my mommy still tries to swaddle me at all. I like to smash my face against my bumper in my crib, I can't sleep if I don't. I still take a pacifier but I can be okay without one too--except to sleep, I really like it when I sleep. My feet are chronically cold and clammy and my mommy had to get special socks to help them stay warm. I love the bath and I even love to poop in it. My mommy says she doesn't mind that I poop in it as long as daddy is here to clean it up! I entertain myself quite often. I can wake up and play for several minutes so Mommy can finish whatever she is doing before coming to get me. I am content but very curious and interested. I would rather watch and interact than nap and so I have to sleep in my crib otherwise I won't nap, which makes being out and about difficult for Mommy sometimes. I still have pretty severe reflux which has made my mommy's life a nightmare. Our living room area rug is destroyed due to beginning solids like sweet potatoes and carrots. My mommy can't wear anything too nice or it will also get ruined. In fact, I ruined her University of Utah hoodie and she said it was "okay" since it wasn't her BYU one!

Happy Easter