A Long-Overdue Post

Life has been crazy lately.  I've been swamped with work and with trying to keep up with all the library books I've had rolling in that must-be-read-because-they're-too-new-and-won't-renew.  Which means that I actually have 2 overdue posts to make.  This one on just life in general & another on books I've read recently.  In trying to compile my list of books I've read since spring break, I'm kind of amazed at the number of books I've read considering how busy work has kept me!  So since the last time I posted (nearly a month ago!), here's what has been happening.

Luke turned 7!  It is just unreal how quickly time passes and it does not seem possible that is this big.  We enjoyed celebrating over a couple of days with family.

We celebrated Easter with my side of the family.  It was a beautiful day & the kids got to enjoy lots of outdoor activities besides the Easter egg hunt.  They golfed, fished, ran around like yahoos, and Luke even got to shoot a BB gun.  It was great times for all.

The school year is now winding down.  Luke lost another tooth last week and had to stay home sick for the first time this week.  So far, I have not had to take any sick days this year - I thought we both might manage perfect attendance.  There is still hope for me, though!  (knock on wood)  In the last couple of weeks, my team has learned that we are losing 2 of our team members to different positions.  We're excited for them, but anxious to know who will replace them next year.  We have such a great team dynamic right now that it is a little scary to wonder how that will change with not just one, but two new people thrown into the mix.  Hopefully, it will be an easy & smooth transition as we head back to 7th grade next year.  We plan to loop again with our next group.  I hope they will be as awesome as the kids we have now.  I am so going to miss these kids in a little over 4 weeks when they move on to bigger and better things.

We really haven't done much, but it feels like the last few weeks have just flown by.  I'm hoping as things wind down at work, I'll have more time to post!

Bye-Bye Spring Break

After eagerly anticipating spring break since, well, Christmas, it is now in its final hours.  The weather wasn't that great for most of it, but we managed to fit in as much fun as we possibly could.  We spent some rainy hours playing an old favorite of Brandon's & mine...Skip-Bo. 

We both played this game as kids with our grandmas, which attached some special memories to it while we play with Luke.  It can be a little complicated, so we hadn't played it before now, despite Luke really wanting to learn how to play it.  He even spent some time playing it on his own.  On Friday, he said, "Mom, I played Skip-Bo against myself and I thought I wasn't going to win, but I did!"  Huh?  As long as he's having fun...

We thought it would be fun to do some roller skating with Luke too.  Tuesday night is family night at a local skating rink, so we braved the rain to get out on the roller rink and see how much Luke learned when he went skating with Grandma and Grandpa a few weeks ago.  It was a little rough for the first hour or so and I was worried he'd just be one big bruise the next day (and that my arm might never get back into socket from being yanked as Luke fell!), but by the second hour, he was scooting along pretty well without hanging on to either Brandon or me...or the wall.  At the end of the night, Luke asked me how many times I thought he fell.  I said I didn't know.  He said, "Do you think 10?"  and I said, sure (yeah right!).  To which he replied, "Well, I know I fell WAY more than 10 times last time, so this was much better!"

A couple weeks ago, Luke's Uncle Shawn brought him an early birthday gift - a Season 1 & 2 DVD set of Leave it to Beaver.  This is probably Brandon's (and Shawn's) all-time favorite television show and thanks to the rain, it is now one of Luke's as well.  He burned through every season 1 episode (39!) and part of season 2.  Thank goodness for the early birthday gift to entertain someone who couldn't get outside to play!

I also thought it would be a great time to break out the 500-piece puzzle Luke got for Christmas.  I thought we could spend some great hours chatting over the puzzle while it rained.  It was great...Monday. Then it got hard and Luke played with everything else in the basement and filled me in on Leave it to Beaver trivia. 
Luke:  "Mom, did you know that Eddie calls his dad 'Old Man'?  If you had a dad, would you call him 'Old Man'?" 
Me:  "I do have a dad and I don't call him 'Old Man'."
Luke: "Did you know that Wally & Beaver call Eddie a wise guy?  And Eddie calls Beaver a squirt?"

And on & on & on pretty much like that.  Here's the puzzle on Tuesday:

And finished on Thursday, thankyouverymuch!

I spent a lot of time with these and have finished all but 2 in the stack.  It was awesome to have time to sit & read so much - probably wouldn't have gotten nearly as much reading in if it hadn't rained!

We also spent some time with cousins!  We got all 6 together for the first time on Friday at my sister's house.  She, my sister-in-law, my mom, & I had a really nice visit while the kids played.  I'm so thankful we all got to get together.

Luke & Brady goofing around - they will not take a serious picture together!

Look at Tucker & Bennett checking each other out.  I can't believe how big they're getting already.

Ellie and me goofing with the camera.

Cooper wanted to join us. :)

So...as we wind down the evening and start thinking about things like what we're going to make for tomorrow's lunch and about making sure the alarm clock is set, we have some pretty good memories that were made over the last few days to comfort us.  Later, spring break...it was fun!

Another nephew!

For my 200th post, I introduce you to my 2nd new nephew in one month!  Bennett Kyle was born last Friday...exactly one month after Tucker.  Poor Tucker was in the hospital with RSV at the time, so he hasn't gotten to meet his new cousin yet.  He's back home and doing better, thank goodness.  Hopefully, they'll get to meet soon...I have a feeling these two will be good friends! 

We got to meet Bennett last night and spend a little time with my sweet niece Ellie, as well.  She's such a good big sister already! 

Ellie being big sister!

Luke checking out his newest cousin.

Uncle Brandon with sweet little Bennett.

Ellie & Luke just goofing around.

I'm so thankful for all 4 of my nephews and my sweet niece!  They are all such blessings!

Musical Super Genius/Dancing Queen

It's now been almost 2 weeks since we enjoyed it, but I promised my sister I'd post some pictures of Luke's music program.  What was great about it was that they did it by class, so it was short and you could actually see your kid.  As I shared with my sister, it was an interactive music program.  Parents got called up to participate in part of the festivities.  Unfortunately, I did not get to share in my singing abilities, as some parents were able to (much to their dismay!).  However, I did get to bust a move in the dance portion of the program.  Ironically, Brandon teased Luke before the program that he (Brandon) was going to give really bad & embarrassing dancing lessons to all Luke's friends, but somehow when the time came to dance he changed his mind pretty quick.  He didn't hesitate to get my picture doing so, though!

Our son, the soloist (in all fairness, all the kids sang a solo)

I think he was pretty happy his solo was over at this point.

Mother/son dancing extravaganza

I know you can see we had some wicked dance moves in these.

Yes...we had to change partners.  When you ended up with a kid, not so bad.  When you ended up with a kid's mom/dad you didn't know, maybe slightly more awkward...

Luke had a great time...and so did we!

Cardinal Directions

Me to Luke, "Hey, which shirt do you want to wear tomorrow?"

Luke to me, "I'll wear the one on the north side of the drawer."

Me, "Huh?  You mean this one?" (pointing to the shirt on the north end)

Luke saracstically like I am clueless, "Yeah...that's north." (Like, Duh)

True story.

Weekend Update

Friday morning, I found this picture in the book I was reading.  I love, love, love it.  I am going to put it in a frame and set it out.  It just makes me smile every time I look at it.  How adorable is this dog?  We've affectionately named him Blue.  Ginger is only slightly jealous, but very thankful that we would never dress her up in all that garb.

Yesterday, I started my round of Sunday laundry.  It didn't last long. 

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

The diagnosis is that (likely) the transmission went out.  It was nearly 13 years old, but I must admit I am quite sentimental about my washer.  It was the first major appliance Brandon and I bought, and it ended my days of doing laundry in yucky laundromats.  When we lived in Maryville, I did my laundry at a gas station & people could smoke there.  So gross, but it was the cheapest and we had to watch our quarters!  So sad to see this one go, but so thankful for the many happy hours of laundry I've been able to do in the comfort of my own home.  Laundering will continue on Thursday with the arrival of my new washer. 

Luke got to do a first with Grandma & Grandpa Jackson last night.  They came and got him and took him roller skating for the first time at a skating party with their church.  We warned Luke that there would likely be lots of falling down, so he couldn't get mad or upset about it.  It sounds like he was finally sort of getting the hang of it just when it was time to go home, but he had a great time.  Here's a picture Grandpa sent us of him in action.

(I think he must be nocturnal - look at those shiny eyes!  Or maybe it was just the disco ball...)

Tonight, we're settling in early since it's once again a school night.  Luke and I have been reading the Little House series.  I don't know if those are necessarily "boy" books, but they were a childhood favorite of mine & I have all of them, so why not.  Luke really enjoys listening to Laura's adventures and learning about what life was like in the late 1800's.  As we were reading tonight, we discovered evidence of a well-loved book.

Uh oh - better dig out the tape!

Just in case you were wondering - we're about to finish On the Banks of Plum Creek.

Happy last of the 3-day weekend to you all!  Or if you didn't have today off - happy end of Monday to you!

Fun Reads

Looking for a quick and fun read?  I've got 3 goods ones for you. 

First up, Austenland, by Shannon Hale.  I read this book awhile back...maybe last summer (not that it matters when I actually read it), but it is a good one.  It's about a 30-something girl named Jane who is obsessed with all things Jane Austen.  Her great-aunt dies and leaves her an all-expense paid vacation to Pembrook Park, a resort in which the guests spend 2 weeks living as if it were still the Regency era...corsets & all.  The guests interact with actors who represent the people of that time.  Jane is determined to have her vacation, then leave her fantasy of the perfect, "Mr. Darcy" behind her.  It's pretty amusing reading about a modern woman trying to live in an era of old and finding love in the midst of it all.

Next up - the reason I remembered Austenland...because I got Shannon Hale's new novel, Midnight in Austenland at the library and read it this week!  I wondered how the author would create a new novel out of the same scenario, but I enjoyed this one as much, and possibly more than the original.  In this novel, we return to Pembrook Park with a new heroine, Charlotte.  She's recently divorced by a husband who left her to marry another woman, and she's just wanting to get away from it all.  After her divorce, she discovers Jane Austen books and then hears of Pembrook Park and decides to spend a couple weeks there while the kids are staying with their dad over the summer.  She solves a mystery and falls in love and everything works out just swell for her.  A few of the characters from the original Austenland return, and it's just a fun, feel-good, easy read.

Finally, I also read Mindy Kaling's, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) this week.  Another short, easy, and very entertaining read.  If you're a fan of The Office, you'll enjoy Ms. Kaling's memoir of life growing up as an "androgynous" nerd and how she became a writer and producer on The Office.  She's very entertaining and this book is laugh out loud funny in several parts. 

So, there you have it.  It's been nice to actually have time to do some reading this week.  The snow day helped!  I'm hoping for lots more good reading time over the 3-day weekend!  Happy reading, friends!

True Story

I shared this one with friends at lunch today as we were reminiscing of Valentine's past.  When Brandon & I first moved to KC, we lived in an apartment.  On Valentine's Day (which we don't really celebrate), we decided to go out for dinner, because we didn't want to cook anything.  We had this great idea - we had received a gift certificate (yes - they were still in certificate form then) for Outback Steakhouse for Christmas and decided it was the perfect time to use it.  So, I went to my handy coupon organizer where I kept gift certificates in those days and started digging around for it.  I went through my organizer once...no gift certificate.  I went through again & again with the same result.  Then it hit me...I had cleaned out the coupon organizer earlier that day.  I must have thrown the gift certificate away with the old coupons by mistake!  And...I had just taken the trash out to the dumpster probably not even a half hour before this.  So...I marched my behind out to the dumpster - climbed in (note - our bag of trash was the only one in aforementioned dumpster or I probably wouldn't have), opened our bag of trash, found the gift certificate, climbed out & went to dinner.  My friends said they wouldn't have climbed in after it.  I say, I am way to cheap to let a free dinner go to waste over my stupidity. :)  And I did wash real good after my excursion into the world of dumpster diving.  Don't you feel better about your Valentine's Day now?

Snow Day...Hopefully the One & Only!

It's our official first snow day...there is not much snow on the ground, but I'm thinking that those in a position to call the day were like, "What the heck, we haven't had any snow days yet!  Why not?  Let's make the kids happy."  I'm sure that was the conversation.  Despite Luke's grumbling last night that he didn't want a snow day, he seemed pretty happy about it this morning & is currently out in it having a great time.  I don't know where he learned grumbling about snow days from?  If this is the only one, I'm okay with it - not thrilled, but okay.  I want my vacation days in the summer - not when it's snowing & gross outside, but it is a Monday, and I do like Mondays off, so I'm okay with it.

I've been crippled for the last few days, as well, so it probably doesn't hurt anything for me to have another day of rest, as well.  I did something to my lower back last Thursday sometime, but I don't know what.  All I know is that there were a few times Thursday night that I was shedding a few tears because it hurt so badly.  We were going on a field trip to see a play Friday, so I didn't want to take the day and do that to a sub.  I managed okay (and I still have perfect attendance for the year - yay me!) and my friend and next-door-room neighbor taught me some stretches he does for his lower back because he's had problems with his lower back in the past.  Anyway, I've been doing my stretches & I'd say I'm about at 90% today.  If I don't sit too long, I feel pretty good.  It's probably good for me to be at home and rest it for another day, though.

On the agenda today - start a new book - Midnight in Austenland, by Shannon Hale.  I read Mindy Kaling's (Kelly Kapoor from The Office for those of you who watch it) memoir (Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And other concerns...) yesterday (sorry for all the interruptions in parentheses).  It was pretty entertaining.  I also have work I could do for school.  Maybe a balance of both would be good today.  We'll see which one wins out!  We're also tossing around the idea of pizza buffet for lunch...a favorite snow day past time.  Yum!

Catchup

I haven't made a really substantial post for awhile, so I'm going to try to make up for that today.  I've been so busy with work since coming back after Christmas that I've been short on time, as well as ideas! 

First off, it's interesting the things you find when your child becomes able to write.  I find things he's written on his desk that just crack me up.  This little gem was found on my bedside table last week:

When asked why he felt this way, he said it was because a friend at school told him that they put poison in the food at fast food places.  It's not like we eat fast food all the time or anything, but I'm pretty sure Luke has never complained about a fast food meal.  We'll see how he really feels next time we eat fast food.

As mentioned in the previous post, we got to meet my new nephew, who does have a name now, by the way.  Tucker Wade is a sweetheart.  Luke really enjoyed getting to meet his new cousin.  I can't wait to see this sweet little guy again sometime soon!

I've been trying to stay caught up with my reading, but I've been so busy lately, it's been tough.  Here are the books I've been reading for the last few weeks. 

First up, probably my favorite...Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand.  I'm not typically a nonfiction reader, but this book...just. wow.  It is the story of Louis Zamperini, who started out in life as a bit of a thief, discovered running in high school, went to the 1936 Olympics, then ended up fighting in WWII, which led to him being a Japanese POW.  It's the story of the hardships of his life and his ability to remain, well, unbroken, in the face of unbelievable circumstances.  This author also wrote Seabiscuit.  I've never read the book or seen the movie, but the book is definitely on my list.  Though, it was nonfiction, it didn't read like it.  I couldn't put it down.  There are plans in the works to turn this book into a movie.  If so, I'll definitely be seeing it!  Thanks to my friend, Rachel, for recommending this to me!

Next up, another nonfiction book recommended by my friend Shea. This book was a fascinating look at the World's Fair that took place in Chicago in 1893.  It took you through the planning and building of the fair, which was accomplished in an amazingly short time.  It gives you a look at things we use today that were developed and part of the fair.  The fair was called "The White City"...the "Devil" was a doctor who ended up murdering a number of people during the time period of the fair.  It's a fascinating look at one of the first documented serial killers in the US.  This book is definitely being made into a move - to be released in 2013 starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Dr. H.H. Holmes, the killer.  I'll definitely be seeing this one too! 

I love VI Warshawski.  She's a tough as nails private eye in Chicago.  She's getting older, but she doesn't back down from a case.  If you haven't read books in this series, I'd recommend any of them.  VI fights for what she believes is right and doesn't let any threat or danger get in her way.  In this case, she works to solve a murder in a cemetery where a group of girls were holding a vampire club meeting.  There are no actual vampires (can't do those types of stories - too weird for my blood), so no worries there if you feel the same! 

Unwind is a young adult novel I read for work.  Some of my kids may be reading this as part of lit circles coming up in the near future, so I wanted to make sure I had read it.  To be honest, I wasn't really that excited to read it, because I had categorized it as "weird" in my mind, because it's futuristic and science-fiction-like & those aren't really my favorite kind of books.  In this novel, a 2nd civil war has been fought over abortion and the result is that parents can make a choice once their child is 13 to "unwind" their child if he or she doesn't turn out the way they'd hoped.  An unwind will basically be taken apart and every part of his or her body used to replace worn out, broken, etc parts in other people.  In this way, they'll live on and never exactly die.  It was actually a really good story and raises lots of questions.  I can see young readers really getting into this one.

And finally, I joined the world of Pinterest a few weeks ago.  It's kind of interesting to see what other people are "pinning", but to be quite honest, I still really don't get it.  It's just not my thing.  I've mainly pinned books I've read or want to read.  I don't cook, I don't decorate, I don't do crafts...and a lot of other stuff I see pinned.  I guess I'm happy to say I don't find it to be a time waster the way other people say they do when they really love it. I don't really find a need to spend much time there at all!  So, to those of you who love it...that's great...it's just not for me. :)