and now for my final TRICK: 02/01/2011

Friday, February 18, 2011

My Little Performer

Holden loves to sing and make up her own songs and dances. Her biggest hit (so far) was

"the moon is out....in the sky....tonight....the moon is out...in the sky...tonight...the moon is out...in the sky...tonight..." ***claps and cheers*** "hey! I'm not finished yet...the moon is out...in the sky...tonight..." you get the idea

This morning she informed me I was to take my coffee and sit on the bench so I could watch her "new"performance. Ev joined me and really added to the comic relief of an already hysterical video. My kids are fab!

Hope you all enjoyed! And I hope Everett forgives me for sharing his nakedness with the world!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Spring Fever

If you were wondering, this is what it looks like.

We spent an hour before dinner outside in the sunshine (and twilight) playing. After a gloriously warm weekend and the beautiful week we have had, I declared it official....we all have spring fever.

Gramma and Opa were in town last weekend for a nice visit. No big agenda, we all just hung out, ate a lot, and felt for baby kicks!

Oh, and if you were wondering what Holden is hysterical about in the first picture, here ya go

Thursday, February 3, 2011

A Major Award

Mr. Parker: It's a Major Award!
Swede: Shucks, I wouldn't know that. It looks like a lamp.
Mr. Parker: What is a lamp, you nincompoop? It's a Major Award. I won it!
Swede: Damn, hell, you say won it?
Mr. Parker: Yeah, mind power, Swede; mind power.

I WON AN AWARD!

Someone out there in blogland, who is not related to me, and I do not know personally awarded me

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You My Lily Darling!!!! Steffane deemed me worthy of this award as one of the new blogs she loves to read. How cool is that? She is quirky, silly, and I love how she dresses. Now, she is my new blog to follow too!

The Rules
1. Thank the person who gave me the award and link back to their blog.
2. Share seven interesting things about me.
3. Pass on the award to seven new found blogs.
4. Inform those new blogs of their MAJOR AWARD.

Seven Things About Me
1. I love staying home with my kids, but secretly wished I worked JUST so I had a a reason to wear cute clothes everyday
2. My favorite movie is Overboard...that 80's one with Goldie Hawn ("I don't wanna go to school, the teacher's a big fat tub!")
3. I could eat bacon every day if I let myself
4. I dream of being a chef
5. Man, I wish I had a better camera
6. I want to learn to sew! I have been whining about if for one year, and I plan to do something about it THIS year.
7. "If you ain't dutch, you ain't much"...I am PA Dutch and completely embrace the hickness of it shoefly pie and all!

Seven Amazing Blogs
1. Retropolitan fun decorating inspiration!
2. Lovelies in my Life a diary of all the things she loves-so sweet
3. Life's Sweeter with Chocolate well, it is! She has lots of cute crafty ideas.
4. Johnny in a Dress kids, crafts, and a really sweet family
5. Oh Baby Designs tons of fun ideas to inspire me
6. Junker Newbie hmmmm....the plans and ideas are already running through my mind!
7. Mrs. Happy Homemaker scrumptious recipes, one of which I will be trying out on Sat morning

So it was a lovely Thursday to find such a distinguished honor waiting for me in my in box! I am super duper excited to run and tell all of these amazing bloggers that they have inspired and touched me!

Recent Reads

Honolulu by Alan Brennert- 4 Stars
A lovely tale told by a Korean woman who came to America as a "picture bride." We learn of her challenging and oppressive childhood in Korea, her journey away from all she knew, learning the new culture in Hawaii, escaping an abusive husband, becoming an entrepreneur, finding love, becoming a mother, and living a fulfilling life. I previously read Molokai by the same author and loved it, which is why I snatched this one up as soon as I heard of it. I think I enjoyed this one even more! The writing is smooth and easy, the tales are gripping, and the experiences are harrowing which keep you wanting more of this woman's incredible story.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- 2 1/2 stars
This book is a collection of vignettes celebrating the awesome things in life. The cold side of your pillow on a hot night, finding money in your coat pocket, popping bubble wrap, when cashiers open up a new line at the grocery store, and watching Price is Right when you were home sick from school. This guy also has a blog where people can submit more awesomness. It was fun to read, but not as great as I was hoping. I will probably read his blog though, because he is pretty witty and definitely made me chuckle and remember to appreciate the small things in life.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- 3 stars
PAGE TURNER! I read this in 1 1/2 days. The story begins with a woman waking up in a bed, next to a man, in a house and she recognizes none of it. Over the next few minutes she learns that she has amnesia and every night when she goes to be she forgets most of her life. She begins working with a psychiatrist who convinces her to write in a journal, so she can reread it each morning and hopefully begin to build memories. The mysteries of how she ended up in this condition and her relationships with friends and loved ones kept me on the edge of my seat.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 4 1/2 Stars
Another winner here folks. This book was AWESOME (and a bit shorter than Cutting for Stone). This was a new perspective on World War II for me. The story follows a boy growing up in a Chinese household in Seattle during the war. He befriends a Japanese girl, which is STRICTLY forbidden by his domineering and emotionless father. He realizes he is in love with her just as her family is removed to a Japanese Internment camp for the remainder of the war. The stay in touch through letters and his enormous risks to visit her . I don't want to give away any more, but you simply HAVE to read this book. The relationships between the children and their families and even the public during these war years was an interesting perspective for me. The twists and turns kept me up till midnight and the ending was wonderful!

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese- 5 Stars
Oh my! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was long and delicious and I did not want it to end. The premise is a nun working at a clinic in Ethiopia dies while giving birth to twin boys. The story explores the people and relationships in these boys' lives through the eyes of Marion, one of the twins. He grows up in the clinic in Ethiopia with amazing adoptive parents who were friends with his parents and gives us a taste of the culture, food, and everyday life of an Ethiopian. He heads to America to pursue a medical career and his birth father. We read this for book club and had wonderful and rich discussions...I wish there was a part 2!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton- 3 stars
This was pretty darn good. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it and the ending was a bit too quick, neat, and tidy. But not nearly as terrible as the ending of Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult (I threw that book across the room and into a wall as I read the last word). I was hooked and couldn't stop myself once I was into it. It was a book club choice and there was more discussion than I remember in 3 years of book club. We were talking over each other and jumping into other conversations. I couldn't even keep up. This story centered around the lives of three sisters who grew up in a castle in England from World War II to the present. They had an eccentric family and extremely odd and famous author father. The mysteries weave through history and the walls of the castle, revealing themselves to the woman chosen to write a piece about the famed play written by the father. It was very good and I would highly recommend it.