Saturday, August 30, 2008

Becky is my leader (said in a robot voice).

Becky changed her background, so I did too. I'm not sure if I like it or not yet. Becky, what do you think? I honestly don't know what to do with myself without her and Parsley Pants to entertain me.

On the first day of school I found out that the school I worked for last year, where I was assured on the last day of school last year that I would have the same class room next year, no longer had a job that worked for me, so I am jobless. I have picked up two hours a day at the rec center, so I go straight there after dropping Sam off at school. I work my two hours and then I use one of the elliptical trainers for 30 minutes. Right after that is where the part about me being lost starts. Thankfully my friend Melissa has kept me entertained for two afternoons and she also lets me hug and kiss her sweet baby. My cousin, Andrea let me help her move in to her dorm and live vicariously through her for an afternoon. She also kept me company a few days in the last two weeks. So my life has two main problems.

Problem #1 - I don't want a job. I want Becky to come back and hang out with me everyday.

Problem #2 - I am a total job snob. I applied to the library, which , let's face it, would be my dream job. They don't have any openings right now, but they will keep my application for 6 months and then they will have it when an opening comes up. I also filled out a freaky long application for our school district. I am watching their postings for an opening at Sam's school. So, I only want to work if it's at the library or Sam's school. And I'm being snobby about where in Sam's school I want to work too. No sweeping or cleaning toilets. I'm happy to work with teachers, in the classrooms, or in the office, in the lunch room, on the playground, even in a little closet sorting take home readers. Who knows what the wicked job fairy brings.

Problem #3 - I know I said I have 2 main problems but I thought of another. I have cried for the third year in a row on the first day of school! This year, not only did I cry on the first day, I cried at back to school night. Why am I such a boob? Why after two full years and a well adjusted child am I still having the urge to roll down the window as he walks away from the car and scream,"COME BACK!!!". I picture him running back to the car, jumping in and me peeling out and racing away, never to go back. Why can't he stay a baby, or even a three year old? And is feeling like an obsessed mother a good enough reason to start home schooling. Maybe it's the number one reason NOT to home school. It's not like I don't have hobbies, I do. I just miss him and I want him to stop growing up.

Sorry for the random post. Oh well, what can you do?

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Book Review - A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

I love, Love, LOVED IT! Touching, funny, realistic, characters that I could get attached to. I laughed until I cried when I read the chapter about "Giving the baby the Gussie", and then I made Matt read it while I read it again over his shoulder. Too funny. I cried when Francie and Neeley caught the Christmas tree.
Something I found interesting and coincidental is Katie's parenting tactics. We have been reading Love and Logic because our child whines too much. Katie is a full on Love and Logic parent. It cracked me up.
This is such a good book. Read it!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Too Brave for his Britches.

I think the saying is really "Too big for his britches" but I"m not sure.
Anyway, I got a call from the school today. Sam jumped out of a swing, which was going quite high and he landed on his feet, but wrenched his back and wouldn't move. So, they busted out their handy dandy wheel chair and wheeled him into the nurses office. I heard this and immediately had flashbacks to last year when he "broke his leg" at school when he slipped on some ice. So I headed to the school planning on not falling for it this time and sending him back to class. Of course he's going to play it up of it means he can ride in the wheel chair. But my poor little Poody Hootie really was hurt. He didn't want to move, or let me touch his back.
So I brought him home and put him on my bed and alternated between hot and cold on his back. It worked - his whole posture changed after two cycles. We might need to start the hot and cold again in a while because he's starting to look stiff again.
He wants to go out and play now that the neighbors are home from school but, I'm a mean, wicked mother who won't let him out to play with his friends.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Our Summer

School started on Monday so I figure now is as good a time as any to let everyone know what we did with our summer. It was fun and it was filled. I guess you could say we had a fun filled summer. So besides frequenting the park with friends and spending some time at the pool, though not much because we are still afraid of crypto, here are some of the things we did this summer.




Sam and I went on a trip with Grandma and Grandpa to Reno, Nevada for the baptism of our cousin, Sydney. Here is Sam and Grandpa.







There were several times on this trip and throughout the summer where I would have liked to do this:








At some point this summer, my kid became a thug. Not sure what gang he belongs to but I'm pretty sure the hazing has something to do with peeing your pants.




We got to go to Virginia City, Nevada and ride on a train. This is the train we rode on. It was awesome.




And someone gave Sam a quarter which he bought a railroad spike with and then burried it in his cousin's front yard later that day. We never did find it. This is him and the long lost spike.




We got to bring cousin Allynn home with us, which was cool and exciting. Her first night with us we got to go to a Bees game.







Becky and Parley Pants came to the game too.

Parsley had to keep herself busy though.
She blew bubbles and puked on the bee.
So the bee got mad and stung Sam.



Allynn had a monster jaw breaker that went everywhere with us. We tried to talk her into letting the bee autograph it but no, then she couldn't eat it. We also told her she needs to write a book called, "Summer of the Jaw Breaker" or "Journey to The Center of The Jaw Breaker", so be sure to watch the book stores for that one.


If you look very closely you can see Parley Marley's puke on the bee's yellow stripe, just under the magazine he's holding. We are so classy. Don't worry, I cleaned it off him before he left our box.

Sometimes the game was a little too loud, but no joke - Parlayna was happy as long as the Bees were winning and when they fell behind she got really grumpy. But then they pulled it off and won and she smiled all the way home. Seriously!


It was fun and I miss them. They ditched us and moved to Nebraska of all places.



We also did fun stuff like going to Payson Lakes twice and watching fireworks and other stuff, but I didn't take pictures so it's like it never happened.

Here is Sam on his first day of SECOND GRADE! Which do you like better - My little weirdo or my little thug?



Wednesday, August 13, 2008

My list of books to read YEARLY

1. Harry Potter 1-7 - This is mostly a dream, because there is sooo much to read and so little time (still haven't been bitten by a vampire and made immortal). I read at least one of them a year, usually more. I would love to have the time to read them all each year and then maybe I could get my color-coded-cross-referencing project started.

2. Pride and Prejudice - I have only read this twice, but I would love to be able to read this every year.

3. Life of Pi - I freaking LOVE this book. I HAVE read it every year since I got it.

4. The Red Tent - I have read this several times, but not every year. But I would like to.

5. Jane Eyre - I could read this again an again, and yet I haven't read it yearly... I don't own it yet.

6. Hatchet

7. Wednesday Wars


So there is the list - so far. As you can see I don't read them all every year but I guess the point of the list is that these are books I could read over and over.

Book Review - Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Wednesday Wars was written by the same author as Lizzie Bright And The Buckminster Boy. I started doing a joint review and then I realized that I already reviewed Lizzie.... It's OK, I'm back to reality now.
So, Wednesday Wars is another one of those books that I will buy and read every year. It's set in the 1960's during the Vietnam War. The main character is in 7th grade and as the only student who is a Protestant in his class he gets left behind - alone - every Wednesday while all the others are bussed to Hebrew School or Catechism. Charged with teenage love (or hate "They are the same thing in the 7th grade") and the issues of the day, an awkward student teacher relationship and the relationships of families, it is a truly good read. And very clean. I laughed, I cried, I cried some more and then I laughed again and then of course I was a little teary at the end. And I miss the characters, they were great. I highly recommend everyone to go and check this one out.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Here you go Mom, a real post.

My mom says I can't just do book reviews. So here is a real post - about Sam and some of the funny things he has done and said lately.



First of all, our new favorite place to go is Payson Lakes on the Nebo Loop in the Uinta Mountains. It's far enough away that you feel like you're actually going some where, but close enough to still want to go. So there is this little lake and people of all ages come with their floatation devices of all shapes and sizes and they have fun in the sun and water. Thanks to my niece Allynn, Sam had something to float on when we went last Saturday. It was just your average floating mattress, Long, Skinny, Pillow at the top. So he's going around on it with his stomach down and his arms in the water to paddle with. He got the hang of it really fast and he was pretty quick too. He knew how to turn and get where he wanted to go pretty well within the first three minutes. I don't know why this impresses me so much. Oh yeah, it's because I have the smartest kid EVER!

Anyway, he's floating around, and there are these little punk four year olds, (not really punks, but let's just say for my story they are) who have these tube guns that suck up water when you pull and shoot the water when you push. They shoot far. So Sam , who is about 25 feet from the shore, is floating around totally relaxing when he starts to feel water landing on himself. So he slowly starts to turn. Now remember, he is laying on his stomach and he is really relaxed. Well he sees those kids with the squirting tube guns, he looks kind of interested and then they full on squirt him. Both of them . So he turns his raft thing so it's aiming right at them and then he sets his face and it is totally determined. Then he starts paddling really fast. Picture both arms moving at the same time in quick little strokes. And the raft is moving FAST. And the punks realize it. They are only about 10 feet from the shore but they know they are about to get rammed. So they turn around and start running. And the water is up to their waists so they aren't getting anywhere fast. Then the girl punk loses a shoe and she tells her brother to get it but he's not stopping. So she turns around and hesitates, seeing that Sam is totally gaining on them and then she leans out and reaches as far as she can to the shoe, not wanting to lose any ground, and then turns and starts running again. Once they reach the shore, Sam is only about 5 feet behind them and he slows and then stops and looks at them for a while like he wants to make sure they know he means business. Then he slowly turns his raft and leisurely paddles away. We all watched this from the shore and laughed our heads off.... I had no idea he had it in him. He does not usually stick up for himself, but he did us proud.



Yesterday, he and I were driving in the car and I stopped at someones house to drop something off. When I got back into the car there is a really annoying commercial on for Low Book Sales, which is a local chain of used car dealerships. They always take popular songs from the past and put their own ridiculous lyrics to the music. This was one of them. So I get in and Sam says, "Mom, this is a Low Book Sales Commercial." I said , "Oh, do you like this one?" His answer, "No, because the song said that the car scared all the women away." At that point in the commercial their theme jingle music cuts in and Sam says, "And I hate it when they say, 'Low Book Sales, a better way to buy a car!' " So then I said, "You don't like Low Book Sales?" And he said, "No, except for when we bought this baby." He is a very observant child because we did buy our car at Low Book Sales and even I didn't remember that or equate that with the commercials, I never have. And I was surprised to hear him refer to our car as "This baby" because he usually calls it Jazz. Yes, he thinks it's a transformer.



This morning Sam watched The Doodlebops, which he had not done in a long, long time, and that is fine by me because I think they are creepy. So at some point towards the beginning of each episode they recite the Doodlebop Pledge. And today is no different. Matt and I are moving around the house, each preparing to go to work, and Sam is sitting quietly on the couch watching when they start up, "We Promise to SHARE, We Promise to CARE,.... (I can't remember this part).... There's nothing to IT, We can do IT, WE can do ANYTHING!" Then we hear Sam quietly say, "Tuh, Not anything." in a totally sarcastic and jaded voice. Matt and I just looked at each other like Whaaa?????? Sam watched the whole thing and when it was over he stood up to turn the channel, (I don't know why he stood, the remote was with him on the couch) and as he was about to change it he said, " We are NOT allowed to watch that ANYMORE."

Book Review - Hatchet and How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen

Somehow I made it through Jr. High and Highschool with out having to read Hatchet. My book club chose to read it for our August book selection and I loved it! It's the story of a 13 year old boy who finds himself stranded in the wilderness with nothing but a small hatchet, and the experiences he has there. Everytime I tried to put myself in his shoes, to think about how I would react to the situations he found himself in, the answer was always the same.
I would have POOPED my pants!
Plain and simple. I couldn't have done it. This was a quick read that really got to me. I bawled several times, I couldn't help it. I highly recommend this book.
One night before bed, when I was about 3/4 of the way through the book I started telling Sam the story. He was stuck on every word. And then he had to go to bed without the end of the story. I finished it that night and the next day he reminded me before 8am to tell him the rest of the story. I'm thinking about buying it so I can read it to him and then I can read it again every year. My list of books to read once a year is getting long.
The more I write these reviews, the more I realize that I crave likable characters. I like most books and the ones that don't get good reviews from me are the ones where I didn't like the main characters. I want to read about characters that I can relate to in some way. This is not to say they need to be a 30ish mother of one who works to help support her family and feels the frustration of not being able to sit at home and read all day, everyday. I mean, who wants to read about that? (Thanks for reading my blog anyway.) I'm talking about identifying with characters on a human level - the good natured side of human. And when I read books with those kinds of people in them I usually enjoy it. And then I miss them when I'm done with the book... Freaky, I know.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Book Review - Eclipse and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

So, as I have told many, I am not a freak about these books, like most of Utah is. I read the first two for book club and they were VERY entertaining. But I do not like Bella. She is totally selfish in my eyes and she bugs me. Some would say I'm just jealous, and maybe that is true. I also feel that while very entertaining they are not very well written. Meyer repeats herself too much and I'm not just talking about certain phrases (I'll barf if I have to read about how "Edward smiled that crooked smile that I love so much." again - EWW) . She repeats whole conversation over and over and rehashes and rehashes. It made me crazy. It got to the point where pretty much every conversation between Bella and Edward made me want to fall alseep. Also, Meyer needs a new proof reader because I am horrible at proof reading (those of you who read my blog regularly are aware of this) and even I found at least 5 typos, extra words ect., in each book. But please, don't get me wrong Very entertaining.

I thought Eclipse fit perfectly with the first two. Great continuation of the story with nice suspense and resolution - well as much resolution as you can get in the third book of a four book series. My favorite part? Jacob and Bella in the same Sleeping bag! That part was great.

On to Breaking Dawn. I have to say it. She went too far. Again - very entertaining, I couldn't put it down. But soooooo weird that I'm not sure if I liked it or not....

These books totally mess with my head though. I am seriously feeling a time crunch on my life. Why can't I be a mother for twenty years and then go to med school for a decade and then vaccinate African babies for a decade and then go to school to study anthropology and do that for a decade or two and then spend a few decades traveling and learning languages and going on humanitarian missions or reading, reading and reading. Do you know how much reading I could get done if I didn't have to sleep at night. TIME! I need more time. A few more centuries is all I'm asking!