Read-a-thon! Read-a-thon! Read-a-thon!

Yes, that is a direct from quote from the lovely Trish.

*****
So many of us start anticipating the next read-a-thon the very day that the previous one ends. (Sorry for that extremely poorly written sentence...my brain is squishy this morning, and try as I might, I just can't seem to phrase it any more coherently. But I hope you get my meaning.) Seriously, to so many of us, Dewey's Read-a-Thons are literally some of our favorite days of the entire year. And I just can't go on with this post without again acknowledging the joy that Dewey continues to bring to our lives. I can't believe it's been almost a year since she died. And every day I've missed her. Face it, we'll always miss her. And you know, I have to think she wouldn't hold our tears over missing her against us, but I also think she would be much happier knowing that we continued to celebrate our love of reading with one another in a joyful manner. I can't promise that I won't cry a little, or a lot, feeling the empty space where Dewey should be, but I will promise that I will try to hold on to the wonderful gifts she so freely gave to us all in the creation of her baby, the read-a-thon. The gift of time set aside to indulge in a passion. The gift of sharing all the silly giddyness with friends. The gift of meeting new people and starting new friendships. For everything, Dewey, thank you.

*****
When the date for this read-a-thon was first announced, I thought that I wasn't going to be able to participate. Normally it would be the weekend we celebrated Gray's birthday.  At first I thought I was okay with that. Until the official sign-up post went up, that is, and everyone started excitedly chatting about it. I'm ashamed to say that I went into major pout mode. :(  But that evening at dinner, Rich and I were talking about it, and the thoughtful, soon-to-be birthday boy chimed in with, "Well, Mom, why don't we just celebrate my birthday the next weekend?" We explained to him that if we did that, he'd have to share his birthday celebration with Halloween festivities. And bless his sweet heart, he said that was okay with him. So, thanks to Gray, I will be able to participate in my fifth straight read-a-thon! :D

And this year, it's going to be even more of a family event here. This will be Annie's fourth read-a-thon, but in the past the guys have always taken off for fun adventures elsewhere. But this time, Rich is going to fully participate, and the boys are going to participate on a mini-scale. Gray has committed to reading at least 4 hours. ("But it's okay if I read more than that, right Mom?" :D ) And Max...well, if he meets his 1 hour goal, we'll be thrilled. Sort of a poster child for reluctant reader, this little guy is.

So, how are we going to pull this off, both Rich and I reading for 24 hours? (Or attempting to anyway...probably shouldn't count those chickens yet.) With a heaping pile of bad parenting. Yep, a huge stack of DVDs and extended Nintendo DS time. The boys will be overdosing on "screen time." Actually, hopefully they'll be doing all kinds of other things. But when the string of "Mom, can you play chess with me?" and "Dad, let's go play tag." and "Mom, can you make me some more cards?" and well, you get the idea...when this normal string of requests begins, we'll answer it with the electronic babysitter. Yes, I do feel guilty...but it's just one little weekend, right? It won't scar them for life or anything, will it? Come on, help me here people...

*****
Okay, and what is half the fun of the read-a-thon? Yep, putting together that lovely, teetering pile of books!

You've heard it before, you'll likely hear it again: I am a slooooow reader. Wish I wasn't, but I am. Thus, I really only need a pile of three or four books. Maybe five if they're all exceptionally short. But where is the fun in having a pile that small?!! And a person needs options, right? Right. However, this person probably doesn't quite need 35 options.

So, as Annie and I have both done for the last two read-a-thons, I'm going to ask you to help me weed down my pile with that little "first sentence" game. I'll post the first sentence from the books in that precarious monstrosity I've labeled my "read-a-thon pile," and you'll tell me which ones grab you. The duds will thereafter be eliminated.

Which ones would pull you in and keep you awake in the wee hours?

1. Follow the rules.

2. Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he stayed up all night, was seated at the breakfast table.

3. On a morning in mid-April, 1687, the brigantine Dolphin left the open sea, sailed briskly across the Sound to the wide mouth of the Connecticut River and into Saybrook harbour.

4. What a lot of hairy faced men there are around nowadays.

5. I am telling you this just the way it went with all the details I remember as they were, and including the parts I'm not sure about.

6. The surname of the family was Cox, the father a very successful trial lawyer, but the target was the mother.

7. The slaaf stumbled along the shore of Willow Lake.

8. "Mrs. Locke?"

9. After a hard day, your steps become heavy.

10. My first anime convention...did not start out smooth.

11. Dear friend, I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have.

12. Midsummer: The long days begin in bright, rising mist and never end.

13. The promised me nine years of safety but only gave me three.

14. This is how things look: Shady Pines Apartments, four shabby buildings tucked off the road near the highway.

15. Anyone who writes a book of science about great, flesh-eating beasts should be required up front to disclose their bias.

16. When he was thirty-six, Gregory Volfovich Chudnovsky began to build a supercomputer in his apartment from mail-order parts.

17. Once upon a time, a scattered group of girls undertook the passage from girlhood to womanhood in a city built around a bay.

18. That's a great idea!

19. I opened the door and froze.

20. Here we go!

21. I was born in this house, and grew up here.

22. I once believed that life was a gift.

23. An owl called, its shuddering hoots repeating mournfully in the distance.

24. The forecourt of the Chinese Theater smelled of rain-wet stone and car-exhaust, but a faint aroma like pears and cumin seemed to cling to his shirt-collar as he stepped around the clustered tourists, who all appeared to be blinking up at the copper towers above the forecourt wall or smiling into cameras as they knelt to press their hands into the puddled hand-prints in the cement paving blocks.

25. How shall I begin this tale so you will get some sense of what manner of creature I am?

26. A Midwestern town.

27. Like many fathers, mine could occasionally be prevailed on for a spot of "airplane."

28. Science, reason, and rationality have, by nearly any recent measure, suffered serious diminishment in the public sphere.

29. Anyone living in the United States in the early 1990s and paying even a whisper of attention to the nightly news or a daily paper could be forgiven for having been scared out of his skin.

30. No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream.

31. This is my story about what happened to me last year when Mum got ill and Dad and I had to go and stay at Aunt Nan's and I had my weird dream.

32. "Here they come," said Cecy, lying there flat in the High Attic dust.

33. It was so weird.

34. "I'm off to school, Ma."

35. "Say what you will about our mutual ex-husband."

Thanks for playing...I'm sure you'll all pick me some winners. :D

*****
On a sort of related note...

Annie is a member of the Teen Advisory Board at our local library. And our library is one of the local libraries that helps sponsor the annual Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival each spring. Today all the sponsoring groups get together and participate in a fund-raising read-a-thon. (Pretty sure this 4 hour version will be a piece of cake for Annie...and a nice warm-up for the 24-hour one, huh?) Anyway, I wanted to thank all of you who so generously sponsored her! She's thrilled to be walking in there with such a nice list of sponsors and an envelope full of money. Thank you!

****
Okay, I'll finally shut up.

little miss four-eyes

Annie got new glasses last night. She absolutely loves them. And so do I.

They are SO HER!!!!

as National Poetry Month winds down...

I'm bit disappointed with myself for not spending more time exploring the worlds of poetry this month. But today I was treated to quite the wonderful poetry experience. A poetry reading. Seventeen wonderful poets shared both examples of their own poetry and favorites of theirs by other poets.

My invitation was delivered a couple weeks ago, and I've been impatiently waiting for today to arrive ever since. Walking into what had been a typical third-grade classroom before today was quite a treat. It had been transformed into a lovely poetry coffeehouse. Yes, complete with a stage for the poets, with tables graced with tablecloths and vases of fresh flowers, with a coffee/hot chocolate/juice bar, and donut/bagel/muffin bar. They worked so hard to make this a fun experience for everyone! And these seventeen poets...man, they rocked!

Including this incredibly cute fellow here (said with all the impartiality that a mommy can muster). This kind of thing is so far out of his comfort zone, but he pulled through. The photo came at a price, however. I knew Gray was nervous enough about the whole thing, and he hates having his picture taken as it is, so I really didn't want to push things. I'd asked him if I could bring the camera to take pictures and wasn't the least bit surprised when he said "no". But I brought it with me in case he changed his mind. He knew I wouldn't break my promise not to take any pictures of him unless he agreed...so he made the most of it. Yep, the little rascal ended up with an IOU for a trip to Pizza Hut, and I ended up with this photo. That's okay...don't tell him, but I think I got the better end of that deal. Unfortunately, he won't allow me to share the poem he wrote for the occasion.

*****

Okay, and since this is sort of poetry related I'm going to share this here, too...

So, you all know that sweet, generous, creative guy
Carl, right? Well, in yet another unbelievably awesome gesture to Miss Annie, he sent her a special birthday package. I'll let her share with you the other goodies, but I just had to show you all this. Carl not only bought her this beautiful journal (oops, should have taken a picture of the cover, too, because it truly is lovely), but he made it just over-the-top incredibly special by printing up one of Annie's own poems that she posted on her blog and personalized the inside cover of the journal with it. Is that not just the coolest idea ever?!! Carl, I honestly can't begin to tell you how much she loves it!!!!

*****

And thus ends a sort-of-poetry-post for National Poetry Month.

mishmash Monday again

I've totally been off my blogging game lately. Not posting much. Not commenting much. Sickness in the house. Mostly just busy. Hope to get back on track a bit this week in preparation for Dewey's Read-a-Thon. Oh, and speaking of the read-a-thon, Annie would love some help in narrowing down her book pile. If you'd like, pop over here and vote for the first sentences that sound most intriguing to you. I haven't made my pile yet, but am really looking forward to it. :)

*****

Don't you just love the feeling you get when you finally get someone to read a book you just love? Yeah, like with Herding Cats. And it's even more fun when you get to witness it in person. Thanks to Carl's Once Upon a Time III Challenge, I was able to convince Rich to finally read American Gods. Just a few of his comments thus far--"This guy can sure write an engaging story, but I don't have a clue what the hell is going on yet" and "I just encountered the most bizarre sex scene I've ever read!" And yes, in case you're wondering, he really is enjoying it. :)

*****

And I do have some new acquisitions. With points to award! Now, this pile might seem a bit large--well, not when you compare it to Chris's normal hauls ;) --but I have a lot of excuses to throw out there. First being that I skipped posting last week, so this is actually two week's worth. (Other excuses will be forthcoming.)

Mission Planet Earth: Our World and Its Climate--And How Humans Are Changing Them by Sally ride and Tam O'Shaughnessy. Guide to the Planet by Matthew Murrie and Steve Murrie. Ready for another excuse? See, these two wonderful looking books can't be counted against me because I won them from the lovely Amanda. Thanks again, Amanda! I think they both may end up in my read-a-thon pile (unless Gray asks to take them with him on their boys weekend out, that is).

Okay, so as far as excuses go, I'm going to have to go with that old standby, "But these were free!" This next batch all came from PaperbackSwap. And while I will take no responsibility myself, I'm more than happy to pass out the blame. ;)

King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green. Okay, I'm actually going to award two points for this one. While it may seem a bit unfair to blame Nymeth for this one when I asked her directly for a recommendation for a place to start with Arthurian literature, I'm going to do it anyway. After all, she didn't need to be such an enabler, did she? ;) And well, Becky's getting herself a point, too. If not for her Arthurian Challenge, I might have been able to resist ordering this book for a little while yet.

Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce. Straightforward case of blame. Another point for Nymeth.










Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson. Hmmm...no one to blame. But hey, it was still free.











Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland. Nymeth narrowly avoids blame for this one because her recommendation to Chris might have been enough to push me over the edge...if I hadn't already been pushed over the edge by this review. Point for Rhinoa.







We Never Talk About My Brother by Peter S. Beagle. I manage to avoid responsibility for this purchase by pointing out two things. One, it was a purchase worth making beyond anything having to do with me. (For explanation, read link at number two.) Number two, Nymeth is a wonderful sales person. And I actually did order it the day she wrote about it, they just had some slight problems getting things shipped out...but all is fixed up now. Anyway, yet another point for Nymeth.


Crap. My excuses seem to be getting weaker and weaker here. All I've got to go with on this next group is that they were on sale. But it was a really good sale! Book Closeouts had all their Manga on sale for 99 cents each, so I let Annie pick out a whole truckload for herself. And well, I figured at those prices it wouldn't hurt to pick up a few I wanted too. Seriously, you can't argue with that logic, can you? Well, pretend you can't.




The Dreaming 1 and 2 by Queenie Chan. I really wanted to read these after reading Rhinoa's reviews. And our library supposedly has them, but no one can find them. :( But this made it very exciting to find them priced so inexpensively. Two more points for Rhinoa.

Legend of Chun Hyang by CLAMP.












A Midnight Opera 1-3 by Hans Steinbach.
























And finally, this last bunch were all picked up at B&N yesterday. Rich gave me a gift card for Easter. What could I do?

How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer. Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert. These are actually the two books I went into the store determined to buy. These points really belong to Nick Hornby.


The Monsters of Morley Manor by Bruce Coville. Juliet Dove, Queen of Love by Bruce Coville. An Enemy at Green Knowe by L.M. Boston. A half-price sale on all their used books led me to these three, each only costing $1.50. And Eva gets a point for the last one, because she's talked so lovingly about the Green Knowe series. Of course, that means there will be more points in her future, as I'll need to read others in the series first.

The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French. The Garden of Eve by K.L. Going. The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech. As I was hanging in the kids' section with the boys, these three just begged to come home with me...what could I do, right?











Whew. If typing this post wasn't enough to make me stop acquiring books, I don't know what will.

*****

Annie really wants me to do the first sentence game to weed down my read-a-thon pile, too, so perhaps I'll do that tomorrow. Of course that means actually gathering up my pile to start with. And yes, I know from previous experience that it will need some serious weeding down.

and she's twelve...

Some fret over each passing year. For some, each birthday, most especially those "milestone" ones like 25, or 30, or 50, is met more with mourning than with celebration. I've never really had that problem. (At least so far.)

But, like many a parent, every time one of the kiddo's has a birthday, it feels somewhat like a punch in the gut. Of course, on the outside, it's fun and celebration mode. But there's that voice in the brain saying, "How did this happen?!! How can another year have flown by with such speed?!!" And it's not that you don't want your children to grow and flourish. It's not that you don't want them to become happily more independent. It's not that you don't want to be witness to the incredible changes they go through. It's not that you don't want to see each amazing, unique little person mature while hanging onto that amazing, unique personality that makes them so special.

But it would be a boldface lie if I were to say that each of their birthdays doesn't make me a bit sad as well. For every wondrous "new" phase in their lives means saying goodbye to the "old" phase. And with every year that passes, they need me just a little bit less...and yes, I admit it, I like being needed. Every day that goes by is one day closer to the day they walk out the door to grasp that life that will have little to do with me. Yes, I know full-well how selfish I sound. And I would never in a million years want to do anything to hold Annie, or Gray, or Max, back from following their dreams. Honest.

Still, in private, I needed to shed a few tears today. For somehow, twelve years ago this beautiful little being showed her sweet face to us for the first time...and in a flash, she's now this beautiful young lady. She's nearly as tall as I am. She's taking college classes. She's loaded with dreams for her future.

Okay, enough of my pout-fest.

*****

Annie today, as she turns twelve:



















Interview answers by Annie.
(Followed by commentary by me.)

Choice for birthday breakfast: chocolate dipped strawberries and mini glazed donuts with sprinkles
(She's throwing caution to the wind today. :) In general, she's very conscious of eating healthy.)

Favorite foods: pizza salad, mozzarella sticks, chocolate dipped strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
(She's been a vegetarian since the age of six.)

Present most wanted for birthday: mini laptop
(Despite it costing waaaaaay more than we would normally spend on a birthday, we did come through for her. She works so hard and it really will be useful for school...so we caved.)

Best friend: Cece.
(The giggle sisters.)

Favorite books: Warriors series. His Dark Materials. LOTR. Harry Potter series. Twilight saga.

Favorite ways to spend free time: Reading. Hanging out with friends. Playing outside. Writing. Hanging with the animals.
(By "the animals" she meant the cats and dog, but she does love hanging with her brothers, too.)

Favorite school "subjects": Writing. Science. History. Literature.
(Anything but math.)

Looking forward to during the coming year: Meeting new people. Visiting new places through books, and in real life. The Children's Literature course I'm taking at MCC this fall. The Read-a-thon.

For supper tonight: The China Buffet or Friendlys.

Current career goals: Infectious disease specialist for the CDC. Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court. Veterinarian. Author.
(A girl's gotta keep her options open, right?)

Would most like to visit: Alaska. The Bahamas. Spain. Japan. Mars.
(And any thrift store she can find.)

tidbits...

*Seriously behind on blog reading again. Actually I think this has just become a perpetual problem.

*After a break from "depressing" reads, I seem to be right back into it. Almost done with Fax from Sarajevo. Very good, but very, very sad.

*Annie is very excited about Teen Book Festival tomorrow. She's taking a friend with her, and then we're all going out to dinner, and then coming home for special dessert, and then the girls will be watching Marley & Me, and then will undoubtedly be up all night giggling in that oh-so contagious preteen sort of way. It's sort of like the beginning of a week long birthday celebration for her. Though I'm still secretly (well, not so secretly now, I guess) in denial that Annie is soon to be 12-years-old.

*Now at 75 pages in, I'm thinking that Jane Eyre may just be my surprise read of the year. I keep telling myself that I've got a long way to go, and that I shouldn't get my hopes too high, but thus far, I just can't get over how pleasantly surprised I am by this book!

*I'm so excited...I convinced Rich to join Herding Cats (hope it's not too late), and from what he told me his picks aren't even going to all be nerdy science books. ;)

*Am hoping that everyone has a wonderful, glorious weekend filled with things that make you smile!

a mommy post with some book stuff thrown in, or vice versa

First of all, let me tell you all how very lucky you are that I was "on blog break" last week when I read this book. Seriously, it's just one of those books that you want to talk about something on darn near every page. Since I already gushed away once, I'll skip it this time around. Instead, like Nymeth and Chris, I'll share the damage this damn book (and I mean that in only the nicest way) did to my wish list:



*How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
*George and Sam: Autism in the Family by Charlotte Moore
*How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World by Francis Wheen
*True Notebooks by Mark Salzman
*Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
*What Narcissism Means To Me by Tony Hoagland
*This is Serbia Calling by Matthew Collin
*We're in Trouble by Chris Coake
*Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman
*Early Bird by Rodney Rothman
*How to Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward
*A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
*Citizen Vince by Jess Walter
*Pure Pleasure by John Carey
*What Good Are the Arts by John Carey
*Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov
*Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje

Yeah, isn't that pathetic?!! He also had me wanting with greater intensity books already on my wish list, had me wanting to pull books I already owned immediately off my shelf, and had me wanting to reread books I'd already read! He's a menace, I tell you. A menace. ;)

*****

***Many thanks to our lovely hostesses, Eva and Alessandra.***










George and Sam: Two Boys, One Family, and Autism by Charlotte Moore. See above for blame on this one. :)










Fax from Sarajevo by Joe Kubert. Whim. Looks really good.











Circle of Cats by Charles de Lint and Charles Vess. Chris, you've not only earned yourself another point, but you've earned an enormous thank you from me! Oh my gosh, this book is so wonderful! And beautiful, oh so beautiful! Both to look at and to listen to. Basically, it's the story of a little girl who is bitten by a venomous snake and how she is saved by a group of cats who use magic to save her.

As if the book itself weren't special enough, the experience of reading it to Max was one of those truly cherished moments of motherhood. He's gotten so big that he rarely crawls right into my lap anymore, but he snuggled right in for this one. He was completed enchanted by this story. And after it was over, we had one of those melt-your-heart mommy moments. In fact, when he went running off right afterward, I immediately had to write down our conversation:

Max: If I was her, I'd tell Aunt that I was that kitten.

Me: Do you think Aunt would believe her?

Max: I don't know. She probably doesn't believe in magic.

Me: Do you think people stop believing in magic when they grow up?

Max: Do you believe in magic?

Me: I don't know. I think I do. Do you?

Max: Yes. And that means we both have magic in our hearts. 'Cause that's where magic lives.

*****

And I had a couple more "great mommy" moments in the last few days, too. Yesterday we received an invitation in the mail. An invitation to "the opening" of the 2009 Youth Art Month Show. Each year the school district puts on a show of student art. The art teachers from each of the eight schools in the district choose a handful of art work done by students in their particular school to be featured in the show. And the art teacher at Gray's school chose one of his pieces. I can't tell you how teary-eyed this makes me, because if ever there were a little boy who could use some self-confidence, it's Gray. Even he didn't know about it until we received this official invitation yesterday. I'm not sure if I can stand waiting these few weeks until "the exhibit" opens. :)

*****

And then there's Annie. I know I talked before about how she took her first college course last semester, and she did very well. But I'm not sure if I mentioned that she was taking another one this semester. Spanish 101. And I admit, I worried about her a little bit. It's a much bigger class, and it's not in her normal comfort zone of writing. Turns out I needn't have worried though. She just got back her first test...not only did she get an A, but the professor said she was the only one in either of his two sections of this course that did. Needless to say, she was very happy. Ummm, and yeah, I was pretty proud of her. :)

needing a quick dose of good stuff...

Never in my life has the Christmas season been this totally out of hand. (Scheduling the end of a school quarter for this time of year was definitely a HUMUNGOUS mistake!) I seriously feel on the verge of a breakdown. And what does that call for? Yep, a look at all the good stuff of the past week.

*SNOW!!! 19 inches in the past 48 hrs., with another 12+ called for in the next day and a half! So even if a warm front appears out of nowhere, we should still have a buttload left to make sure it's a white Christmas. :)

*Annie finished her first college class! She should find out her grade in the next few days. (Unless she totally blew her final project, she'll probably receive an A- or B+.) So proud of her for giving it a try and for facing the challenges with a smile.

*Jean! Not only did she send me two cards that put huge smiles on my face, she also sent me A Taste of Earth and Other Legends of Vietnam by Thich Nhat Hanh. It looks wonderful! Thank you, Jean!

*Zanna's Gift by Orson Scott Card arrived in the mail while we were away for the day yesterday. I simply had to order it after reading Chris's wonderful review.

*Finally finished all the Christmas baking, and Annie delivered tins of cookies to all the neighbors on Friday.

I hate so very much that I haven't had time to visit everyone's blogs to see how everyone else is fairing. I miss you all so very much! Hope each and every one of you is having a beautiful holiday season!!!

having a voice...

One of these days, I suspect someone is going to start screaming at me, telling me to "just shut up already" about my kids. But you know, I just can't help it...I think we may just be genetically predisposed to be proud of our offspring's every accomplishment. And right now I am feeling especially proud of Annie...

A little background: There's a park near here with a beautiful hiking trail. It's a wonderful place to view wildlife. A great birding spot, for one thing. Anyway, they've proposed greatly widening, and paving, the trail for biking. Now, I most certainly have nothing against bikes. We love riding our bikes. But there are already a multitude of biking trails in the area. So anyway, last night there was a town meeting to discuss the whole matter. Bottom line, if the town goes through with it, they're going to get sued anyway, because they're ignoring the Endangered Species Act (there are two threatened species that would be affected and the current plans don't take this into consideration). Anyway, none of that is really the point anyway.

The point is that Annie took part in the process. She was incredibly nervous, but she went to this meeting and spoke up anyway. She only talked for a couple of minutes, telling about one of the wonderful experiences she has had along the trail. She told about how one day she had the privilege of watching a snapping turtle laying its eggs right there on the trail itself. And she said how she would hate to have these kind of experiences taken away from her in the future. I didn't get to attend the meeting (too late for the boys, and probably way too much sitting still for them as well), but Rich said Annie did wonderfully. She came home so proud of herself for battling her nervousness, and with a big smile on her face told me of how everyone clapped when she finished speaking.

Way to go, Annie!

talented ladies...

If you don't already know that Nymeth is one of the sweetest people on the planet, then you apparently live in a cave. Either that, or you're not a book blogger and have never made her acquaintance. And if you do read her blog, you also already know she's one very talented person. (Seriously, is there anyone who can write a more insightful, intelligent, downright eloquent book review than she can? I think not.) But her talents don't stop there. Just look at these beautiful bookmarks she sent to Annie and I for Christmas. And these photos don't even do them justice...they are just so gorgeous!




I think it was Chris who said before that we need to convince her to open an Etsy shop, and he was so right! Thank you again, Nymeth! So very, very, very much! Annie and I couldn't treasure them more!

*****

And speaking of talented people, I never had a chance to mention how Annie did with NaNoWriMo this year. Well, my silly little girl was disappointed in herself, because she only made it to a little over 45,000 words (her goal was 50,000). But considering that she wrote 15,000+ words during the first week of November before our computer crashed, and then started all over on a brand new novel on November 14th and got to 45,000+ words on that one, I'd say she did way better than okay!

*****

And one final thing for the evening, I know I'm supposed to be cutting way down on challenges, but there's a few I just HAD to join. (Okay, I'm sort of doing several more "unofficially" too, but we really don't need to go there, now do we.) First, of course, there's Annie's What's In A Name 2 Challenge. And there's J.Kaye's Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge. And now Eva has gone and started a challenge that is IMPOSSIBLE for me to resist...The World Citizen Challenge.

par for the course

Annie just arrived home from a sleepover at her best friend's. They went to see Twilight last night. Annie's take:

"It was really, really good. But not as good as the book."

Isn't that always the way?

over already?!!

I can't believe how fast RIP III went by. I don't think I'm ready to let go just yet. But anyway, many, many thanks to Carl, challenge host extraordinaire, for yet another wonderful experience!

Though I didn't read nearly as many books as some, I did actually manage to meet my stated goals, plus a few extras.

*The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

*We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

*Dracula by Bram Stoker

*Daphne du Maurier's Classics of the Macabre

*The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

*The Floods: Good Neighbors by Colin Thompson

*The Witches by Roald Dahl

Only one was a disappointment (The Floods)...the rest were all truly wonderful! A few are likely to make my top ten list for the year.

Oh, and as I was linking up some reviews on my challenge blog, I noticed that I actually finished Becky's Initial Challenge as well. I know I changed my status to "unofficial" for most challenges, but it still feels mighty good to have actually finished. Thanks, Becky!

And while I'm talking about reading challenges, let me mention Annie's What's In a Name 2 challenge. (And yes, I'll probably bring it up another half a dozen times before it starts.) Anyway, it's actually a pretty easy challenge to complete, so I hope you'll think about joining in!

By the way, anyone who has completed this year's What's In a Name Challenge should pop over to this post and leave a comment so you can be entered in the final contest (Annie's giving away a $20.00 Amazon gift certificate to one person who completes the challenge and answers the question on the post).

Well, it's going to be tough to get in my computer time during the coming month...Annie started NaNoWriMo this morning, so I imagine she'll be hogging the computer. But I guess I have to forgive her, as her computer usage will be far more productive than mine ever is. :)
She wasn't technically allowed to join as an adult, which means her site won't be open for outsiders to view, so I think she plans to do a post on her blog each day updating her progress. Keep your fingers crossed for her...she set her goal at 50,000 words again. And good luck to any of you other brave, ambitious souls who are participating as well!

while away...

*I'm going crazy here. I have a story I want to share sooooo badly. It's the story of how the ever-so-incredibly-generous Jean spent an entire day doing something very special for Annie. Want a teaser? Neil Gaiman is involved. But it's really Jean's story to tell, and I hope she'll post about it soon!


*Miss Annie is now carrying around a few thousand dollars of gear in her mouth. She said something like, "There's nothing like announcing to the world what a nerd I am...glasses and braces." Of course, I happen to think she looks adorable. And as her mom, I'm sure I'd find her adorable if she sprouted horns and a giant wart on her nose, too. After just a couple of days, they're finally starting to hurt a little less, but she's having a tough time getting adjusted to them playing her flute.






*Baker and Lucky have become fast friends. Well, maybe friends is a slight overstatement, but they certainly have no problems with one another. Aren't they precious?!!

*Annie's new vocabulary game is starting up, if anyone wants to join in. (Prize is a $15.00 Amazon gift certificate.)

*I didn't get nearly as much accomplished as I'd hoped during my hiatus. But I probably did get as much done as I'd reasonably expected, so it's not all bad news. (Both in terms of our switching rooms around and in terms of school prep.) I have to say that I found the "blog break" a mixed bag. I've learned that blogging is both stress-inducing and stress-relieving. I think the stress-inducing part comes simply with letting it take over so much of my time. So I'm trying to come up with some strategies to help accentuate the "stress-relieving" and squash the "stress-inducing". For one thing, I'm thinking about trying some sort of schedule again to help keep myself organized. I tried, and failed, to do this before...but I'm hoping with some concerted effort on my part, that it might really help. (Unless I end up tweaking things, Mondays shall be set aside for my useless babblings about family and life in general.) I may just have to admit that I need to pare down my reader, too, as sad as that idea makes me.

Hmmm...now I'm off to see how unmanageable that darn reader has become...

babbling idiot

I suspect that would be a fair description of me today. Of course, some might say it's a pretty fair description of me on any day. Sorry, I truly am feeling a bit loopy today. Lack of sleep, nothing more. Thanks to a kiddo with a chronic case of insomnia and a dog, who frankly should be thanking his lucky stars that I'm not serving doggie kabobs for supper tonight, I barely got two hours of sleep last night. I'm not complaining (I get a lot more sleep in general these days than I have in many years), just trying to make excuses for my rambling.

I'll be the first to admit that Rich, my darling husband, is very good to me. Very supportive. Thoughtful, loving, generous. Etc., etc., etc. Still, as none of us are perfect, he makes the occasional blunder. He made one such blunder this morning when he called me from work with "some news". Now at this point I had been up since 12:30am, had single-handedly cooked all children breakfast, got children ready for school, packed lunches, fed and medicated the currently in-the-doghouse dog, and begun the school day with our daughter. The news? It was official...he is again going to co-teach a marine biology class in the Bahamas for two weeks in January. Now, it's not like I didn't know this was likely going to happen. We've talked about it, and I gave my blessing (the no-way-am-I-ever-going-to-keep-you-from-such-an-awesome-opportunity, despite-the-fact-that-it-is-going-to-totally-suck-for-me variety of blessing) to the whole idea. But still...this morning was NOT the ideal time to call me with this news.

Or was it? See, I just read Dewey's announcement about this fall's READ-A-THON! Now, I can say with absolute certainty that regardless of anything else, Rich would have been perfectly willing to haul the boys (Annie, of course, wants to read again) off for the weekend so I can participate. But coming on the heels of his big announcement, I can most assuredly say that I don't feel one iota of guilt about asking him to do so!

Hey, and while I here dumping on my poor, sweet husband, let me just throw a little blame his way, too. You know how I was sort of unofficially participating in J.Kaye's book buying ban challenge. I said, and I really meant it, that I wasn't spending another penny on books for myself until I'd knocked 20 off my TBR piles. Well, I seem to have a bit of a setback. Since books I already had started at the time didn't count towards my 20, I'm now sitting at 0% of the way there. Well, Rich found out about a library book sale a few towns over. I told him I couldn't go because of my book buying ban, but he dragged me there kicking and screaming! (You're buying this, right?) Oh heck, to make a long story short, here's the pile I came away with:



And there are some points to be awarded here, by the way...point for Carl thanks to his wonderful review of Out by Natsuo Kirino, point for Stacy thanks to her wonderful review of The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards, and point for Dewey thanks to her wonderful review of The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian.

So, you see, when you combine the incredible reviews you all write with Rich's abominable behavior, you understand why I just didn't stand a chance, don't you? That said, I'm going to try again...

Oh, and one more thing before I finally shut up. Many of you have been so sweet, asking about Annie. So here's a quick update on how her class is going. First of all, she absolutely loves it! She comes home chattering away about the things they discuss in class. Words like "rhetoric" and "pathos" and "ethos" and "logos" and "persuasion" come tumbling out of her mouth. Secondly, she hasn't felt as if any of the other students have looked down on her or anything because of her age. And finally, she seems to be holding her own as far as her work is concerned. They didn't receive the initial writing assignment they did in class back. Turns out it was just for diagnostic purposes, not for a grade. But the professor told her in person that he was impressed with both her reasoning and her writing. And she did get back her first essay assignment yesterday, and she received an A-. Overall, so far so good. Hopefully things will continue to go well...it is just the start of the semester after all, but at least it's been a good start.

And now, I really will shut up.

let me apologize up front

Not sure what's wrong with me lately. I'd say I'm in a bit of funk, but that's not quite it. Nothing is really wrong, and I certainly have nothing to complain about. Just been feeling disjointed and out of whack, if that makes sense. Can't seem to keep things organized, despite my compulsive list making. Anyway, I'm betting this post will reflect my general feelings of disorganization. So, I don't blame you one iota if you decide not to trudge your way through this one...seriously. (But I do hope you'll read the next paragraph.)

I just want to thank everyone for their incredibly sweet comments on the last post. You were all so very kind to one sappy old mom! And I so very much appreciated that. :) And I should tell you that this sappy old mom felt so much better when she talked to her daughter on the phone after her class. My goodness, the pure excitement in Annie's voice when she told me about how her class had gone knocked all those selfish "you can't grow up" thoughts right from my head. Her enthusiasm truly was priceless! And by the way, I'm sorry if I misled anyone. Annie hasn't started college full time or anything like that. She's just taking one class at the community college. Though it is an Honors Level Advanced Composition course that I think would kick my butt. Just hope it doesn't kick hers! She showed me the writing assignment they had to do in class that first day, and whew...all I can say is "better her than me!" I'll be anxious to see what her professor had to say about it (I think they're supposed to get them back today). I really hope she did okay, as I'd hate to see her get discouraged right off the bat.

*****

And what about my sweet little guys? I didn't have any back-to-school photos to post yesterday morning, because they wouldn't let me take their pictures. No, my little guys definitely do not have their sister's outgoing, try anything personality. Two very shy little boys who hate the unknown. They were extremely anxious yesterday morning, and the last thing I wanted to do was cause them any more stress by insisting they have their pictures taken. I even had to carry poor little Maxidoodle onto the bus, just as I did on the first day of kindergarten last year.

But their faces were lit by smiles when they arrived home. They'd both had a good first day. As Gray said, "It was good; it wasn't wonderful." Believe me, that's high praise coming from him! And they both allowed me to take their pictures after school, so technically we've still got those obligatory "first day of school" photos to be scrapbooked.




*****

And speaking of scrapbooking, I'm pretty darn sure I have the best husband on the planet. He's definitely the best husband for me! :) Anyway, he took over all kid duties on Saturday so I could spend the entire day scrapbooking. It's been a long time since I've spent any real time scrapping, so it was quite a treat. Maybe one of these days I'll even get my finished layouts posted on my craft blog.

*****

On the book front, I did something I rarely do...I gave up on a book. It was a book (Fiscal Pear and Shimmer in the Call of the River Whale) that I was reading to the boys. It started out okay. In fact, Gray was really loving it, in part due to the fact that he is a true fan of the pear (seriously, I think they rate above Smarties on his list of favorite treats) and having a book with a pear as a main character is definitely unique. But as we continued, we just found the story extremely hard to follow. Gray, Max, and I all eventually agreed that we just didn't want to stick with it. I honestly can't recommend reading it or avoiding it, because we didn't finish it and therefore don't have the full picture.

We didn't want to end our reading last night on a down note though, so we started a new book, The Witches by Roald Dahl. Oh my, and are we ever in love with this one!

I'm still working my way through The Stand: Complete and Uncut. Have finally passed the 1,000 page mark. Not sure why it's taking me so long to read it...just too little time to read lately, I guess. But hopefully I'll finish soon so I can jump into some of my RIP reads!

*****

Well, this is quite a day for me...for the first time since Annie was born, all my munchkins are off in school. (Actually, that's not quite true...Annie went to preschool 2 mornings a week during part of the time I was pregnant with Gray, but I was too sick to enjoy the alone time.) Anyway, it shall be that way every Tuesday and Thursday for the next few months. Maybe I can now get a bit caught up on lesson planning, and maybe my poor family won't have to live in such pig sty anymore. :) But on slate for today is painting the boys' bedroom. Ugh...I hate painting. They've decided that they want to share a room again, so we're going to turn Max's room into their bedroom and turn Gray's room into a playroom. We already went out and found some bunk beds that we could sort of afford. Heck, any price would be worth it if they'll actually sleep in them and aren't both sleeping on the floor of our room anymore. :)

*****

And thus concludes this even-more-rambling-than-usual post.

the downside of fall

Love fall. Really, truly do. Except for one thing. Back to school. What can I say, I just love having my kiddos around. Despite the fact that, yes, they do drive me crazy from time to time. They wouldn't be kids if they didn't, right?

Maybe I shouldn't admit this. But I cried this morning. Yep, sat down and had myself a big old cry. This is why:



Not quite 11 1/2 years ago, 5 lbs. 2 oz. of beautiful baby girl entered this world and completely stole my heart. She may have grown by 80 pounds, but she's still got my heart and she's still my baby girl. So why do I now have this photo of her heading off for her first college class?!! I know it's the right thing for her, so why is it so hard for me?!! I know, I know, I know that they're supposed to grow up. But why do they have to do it so fast?!!

But despite the fact that I may not have been ready for this, I do, of course, wish her nothing but the best! I hope that this is a fulfilling, challenging experience. I hope that she hasn't bitten off more than she can chew. I hope that she'll be accepted by her fellow students. I hope that this serves to feed her love of writing and of learning.

And selfishly, I hope that she stills needs her mommy now and then.

(Stay tuned for more tears tomorrow when I have to send the boys off for their first day of school.)

a new game is starting

Want a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card? Well, Game 2 of Annie's vocabulary challenge is beginning over here. And please don't think you have to be a talented writer to play. I swear, the best strategy in this game is to play to our young judge's interests...fantasy, animals, history, books. Oh, and humor is always a good bet, too. You have until Thursday to get this week's entries in. Hope we get some more players this game...the more the merrier, right?

why does the time have to fly so quickly?

First let me warn you, I realize I am probably going to sound horribly melodramatic here. I apologize, but I can't help it...Saturday I really felt like I got a big old kick to the gut.

The day actually started out wonderfully. We attended the awards ceremony for the John Hopkins University CTY program. It was quite nice, the speakers gave some fantastic speeches, and, well, of course, we beamed with pride as Annie got her certificate for being among the top scorers in New York state.



We took the gang out to lunch. Again had a great time.

Then we came home and found the mail had been delivered. Two items conspired to give me that "kicked in the gut" feeling I mentioned. And it's not that either of them came as a surprise, we knew they were coming at some point. But there was just something about seeing these things in print. I've probably mentioned complained about all the paperwork required for homeschooling in NY before. Each year, you have to send in a "letter of intent"...no biggie, just a letter that tells them you're homeschooling your kiddo for the year. After they receive it, they send out a packet of information about what you need to include in your IHIP (Individualized Home Instruction Plan) for the year. Anyway, this letter was in the mail on Saturday...and it now showed Annie as officially skipping a grade, from 5th this year to 7th for next year. As I said, not a surprise by any means as it was our choice. But then there was this second piece of mail right in the same pile. Annie's college schedule, along with info on her college e-mail account and whatnot. Yes, I know, it's not like she's moving away from home. Heck, she's not even taking a full course load of classes or anything. She's only taking one course at a community college.

So what's the big deal? I don't know. I've sort of had these moments before. When Max stopped nursing at 21 months, and I realized there were no more babies in my future. When Max headed off to kindergarten, and I had to face the fact that they were all old enough to be in school. But Saturday it really hit me full force for the first time that it isn't going to be long at all until Annie is going to be grown up and leave home. Obviously, a parent knows all along that it will happen. But somehow those two stupid little pieces of paper just made it seem SO REAL.

good stuff

*The weather continues to be glorious...you'd swear by the temperatures that it was late June, not late April. Now the tulips are blooming along with the daffodils. And even the cherry tree and the pear tree are bursting into flower.














*The kids and I are off to the local nature park this morning for their Earth Day Celebration (a tree-planting ceremony, a black bear presentation, and some wetland ecology activities).

*Annie got some exciting news this week. (Do not feel obligated to go read my shameless bragging. Seriously.)

*Today starts Educator Appreciation Week at Barnes & Noble. Gotta love that 25% discount!

--Hope everyone has a super-fantastic weekend!

book power

Me: What's on your to-do list for today?

Annie: Write thank you notes. Finish watching our Frida Kahlo movie. Write some book reviews. And read, read, read. That's one thing I have to do, because I run on book power.