Book Report

I always mean to write about the books I've read. But, somehow I forget. So today I'll talk about a few of them at a time. I belong to a book club and we meet once a month. A fabulous and fun book club...a great bunch of women!

Last month we read Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg. It was good. The main character Elner is an elderly lady with the best outlook on life. She spent her life helping others and living each day to the fullest. She is charming and funny too. Some of the other characters in the book are annoying. Overall the book was good but I did have a few issues with it. For one I didn't like how the author used the word "retarded" numerous times to describe a girl with Down Syndrome. The book was only written a few years ago so I couldn't understand the author's use of the word. Also, I thought it was strange that the only time the author mentioned a characters color of skin was when writing about a black woman. I don't know...it just seemed odd. The others in my book club felt the same too. Overall I'd give the book a B-.

Also last month I read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. I have had this book on my shelf for years and finally just picked it up and read it. I loved it. It's a great story of women, mothers sisters and friends. It made me think about all the women in my life and appreciate them a little bit more. I also thought a lot about my parenting and how my kids will remember me. And also about my childhood. I cried and laughed throughout the book....and couldn't put it down. I give this book an A+.

This month's book club selection is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I've read 15 pages and I'm hooked. It is going to be a great read. I've also had this book on my shelf for awhile and was glad it was the pick for this month. I started reading it today at the gym. I could have kept at my cardio for hours but alas my blood sugar plummeted and left me rooting around in my purse for an almond, a cracker, a crumb. Nothing. I weakly walked to the snack machine and bought some trail mix. Now that I'm re-nourished I can't wait to dive back into this book.

Other books I've read recently...or ones that stand out in my mind. Really good books!!

The Help
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I read all three in the series.

I am hosting my book club next month and get to pick the book. What have you read that you love?? Leave it in the comments and if I choose your book I'll send you some chocolate!

Ouch!

Poor Sis...her burn is looking worse. The dark part is coming off now. Baby George was mad at her and poked her in the arm...and it removed a piece of skin. Ewwww. I called the Dr. today and got some special burn cream for it. It will help with healing and lessen scarring. I just feel sick about her burn.
And I'm feeling doubly sick because of this:
I went to the drive-through at Walgreen's to pick up the burn cream prescription. I was thrilled that it was only .80! Wow! I had called ahead to make sure it was ready. As I was waiting the lane next to me opened up so I backed up and started to move into the next lane when.....screeeeeeech.....! Oh! I looked at the guy's face in the car next to me and he had his lips all pursed up and was making a very bad face. OH! I had hit the stupid-short-yellow-concrete pole that separates the lanes. OH! I got out to look at the damage. OH! When I got back in I muttered..."Daddy is going to kill me!". Mr. P got all worried looking and said, "Is he REALLY going to kill you or is he just going to be mad?". Okay, that got me laughing. No, he isn't going to kill me....and I hoped he wouldn't be mad.
I drove straight over the the autobody shop and got an estimate. The preliminary estimate is $2,177.00. OH! Well, my hopes of paying out of pocket and avoiding an insurance claim were out the window. OH! My deductible is $300.00. Not that I can afford that but it beats the alternative. OH!
I then called Cam and told him I'd been in a wreck. Right away he wanted to know if we were all okay. Well, I can see that was a good way to start the conversation. :) Of course he isn't mad and he's just glad we weren't hurt. :)
In the end it made me think how it was a good life lesson for my kids. They were all in the car and got to see how I responded. Okay, at first I did say a bad word. My bad! OH! But, then I was calm and told the kids I was mad at myself but that we all make mistakes and accidents happen.
Such is life.

The Report

This sweet picture of Busy Guy was taken one afternoon last week. He was in his room playing and it was so quiet so I went to check on him. He was fast asleep in the midst of the Legos. Good thing a pillow was also on the floor.

The kids have all been growing and changing like crazy! Here's an update.

Tuba: He is doing wonderful at school. His teacher is amazing and the lady who rides the bus with him is the most positive person I have ever met. These wonderful women make Tuba's day great. He is continuing to say new words. It's amazing...when he sings he can put together so many words. He sings whole sentences and whole songs. His language has gotten more clear. It used to be that only his family knew what he was saying but now people who have never met him know what he is saying lots of the time. His seizures have been stable. Good news! He has been really hungry lately and is in a big growth spurt. Teenager!

Mr. P is really enjoying Taekwondo! It's the first sport he has done that he has LOVED from the beginning. He pays close attention and is a fast learner in class. He is anxious to learn his form so he can test for the next belt level.

Busy Guy also loves TKD! He is the tiniest kid in class. The classes are taught by belt level and not age so the class in age 4 up through adult. BG looks so small. His uniform is huge on him. He is also a studious learner. The instructor has commented how well BG is doing for such a wee kid.

Sis is singing her days away. She loves to sing and often puts two or more songs together to make one of her own creations. She is a busy body too! She is in to LOTS of things and keeps me hopping...I mean cleaning! ;) Her latest was to squeeze toothpaste up and down the cat! Ugh! I put her into time-out and after getting the cat cleaned up I went to talk to Sis. She looked me right in the eye and said, "I NOT sorry!". Well....I left her in the corner and she soon became sorry. Ha!
Yesterday she got a terrible burn at our friend's house. She was standing near their woodstove and somehow touched her arm against it. She was wearing a sleeveless dress so her poor arm was really burned. Ouch! At first we only saw the small burn near her elbow where the skin came off. But once we were home I looked at her arm and then I about flipped! I called the Doctor and after putting cold washcloths on it she felt better. She cried for a bit but hasn't complained about it since. This morning I noticed a few more blisters on the burn (there is also water or her arm as I took this photo in the tub). She is tough! I'd be crying and wincing in pain if I had that burn. Poor girl....poor Mama.

Baby George is a BIG boy. He took to potty training like a champ. No accidents! He wears big boy undies and has no problem going potty in various public restrooms. Yeah! He is super excited for school....next Fall. He says he wants a Batman backpack!

Cam and I are doing well. The adjustment to Cam's new work schedule is going great. We finally trained our tummies to wait a bit longer for dinner. :) I love having Cam home most nights for family dinner and I LOVE having him home on the weekends! TGIF finally means something to me! Cam is also doing TKD and really having a good time.

Weighing In

So I'm back at it. Trying to lose some lbs. that is. I really like Weight Watchers. It works for me. I can't do the online thing....I've got to go in and get weighed. I don't mind so much someone else see my weight. It sounds crazy but having the weight written down in my book works for me. Now, I could do that at home but it's much easier to "forget" about weigh-in day. :) Also, I do like for someone to say, "good job" to me when the weight goes down. Here's a secret about me...more like a neurosis...If I know I did not lose any weight...well, I will just skip a weigh-in, get back on track. Then the next week my book can reflect my loss. I do NOT want a gain recorded in my precious WW book. Of course there are times I really fall off the wagon and months pass without a weigh-in. Then it's really hard for me to go back. But, I have returned.

The good news is WW has a new program. That means a new book! Yeah, I don't have to look at my weight gain...okay, it was only 3 lbs. but still I hate to see it. Worse yet I hate to feel it in the waist band of my jeans! Blech! Back to the new program. I like it! WW stole one of my famous quotes. They should have given me credit for it...I have been saying it for about 15 years. Here it is. "Nobody ever got fat eating too much fruit". Tadaaaaa! Seriously!! The point of them saying that is because there is no longer a point value for fruit. Eat as much as you want! Bravo! I have always said it was silly to meticulously weigh and measure my fruit.

More neurosis on my part. When I get weighed at WW I go on the same day of the week each time. I only go in the morning. I do NOT want to know what I weight at night...thank you. I wear the same outfit each week (sweats, t-shirt, socks), I take off my shoes, and sweatshirt. I make sure I'm wearing my wedding ring and no earrings. This is what I wore the first time I weighed in....some 7 years ago. Now for the really crazy town part. I drink one cup of tea, eat one yogurt and make sure I've done my morning constitutional. I know...TMI...but I already said I was neurotic. Then as I stand on the scale I wonder if I should spit, blow my nose, exhale. I wonder if my haircut will make a difference. Yep. There ya have it. Crazy Town.

Potty Dancing

Yeah! Potty Dance, Potty Dance...time again to sing our Potty Dance song. Yep! Baby George is doing an amazing job of going on the potty!! Yipeeee! I said a special thanksgiving prayer to God that my last baby is so easy to potty train! He's only 2.5 and he has got it down. ALL pee-pee is done. No accidents. Still workin' on a perfect record for the other...but it's only been 3 days. Doing very well. We of course went out and got him some Toy Story 3 undies! He's in heaven. He is wearing them with his TS shirt and socks....and pajamas too.

We are so close to no more diapers!! Wow! If I add all the years of diaper duty up...it's a lot. Tuba potty trained at about 5 and then Mr. P was born a couple years later. I think Mr. P was potty trained for about 6 mos. before Busy Guy came home and then it's been solid diaper duty since. We even had three in diapers for about 6 mos. Whoa! All in all that's about 11 years. So happy to be done...soon. And..the money we will save! Actually I always think of diaper money going straight over to pre-school funds. Anyway, Yeah and Yipee!

Stats

Something to entertain you! Poor Cam had a tooth fall out. It was a tooth that was damaged in a soccer game when he was a kid. The post went bad and the tooth fell out. We got some good laughs with the new look. Like Father like Son! Unfortunately the tooth couldn't be re-glued and Cam has been going through a torturous amount of dental work to have an implant done. Very expensive and very painful. He now has a retainer with a tooth that he has to take out every time he eats. What a pain. The dentist removed the root and put cadaver bone in and it will be about 6 mos. before he can get a tooth implanted. The bone has to grow. It was challenging to explain "cadaver bone" to the kids. Ewwww. But, we are thankful for access to a dentist and restoration of a beautiful smile. :)

Well, I actually got on here to post the latest stats on height/weight of the kids. No, I will not be sharing my stats. Ugh. Christmas indulgence has snowballed and I need to stop!! Eeeks!

Well, here's the kids.

Tuba: 5'1" and 88 lbs.

Mr. P: 4'3.5" and 55 lbs.

Busy Guy: 3'6" and 36 lbs

Sister: 3'1" and 25 lbs.

Baby George 3'1" and 30 lbs.

Wow! Finally, the wee ones are the same height...not so much in the weight. Sis is a feather, long and lean, Baby George is solid, strong and muscular.

Chopsticks

A few years ago my mom bought a couple pair of kid friendly chopsticks. They are hooked together at the top and can be used simply by pinching them together. Well, one set broke and the lone pair have been argued over. The other night at dinner Mr. P noticed there were some real chopsticks in the silverware drawer. So, we got them out to use. Everyone was excited.

Baby George used the stab method.


Busy Guy tried SO hard to make it work.

Mr. P worked hard too.

I wasn't really much help. I am terrible at using chopsticks. Terrible. I tried showing the kids how to do it but in the end I told them the only thing I knew how to do with chopsticks was to put my hair up! I showed them an up-do! Soon after I looked over and Sis had her own chopstick hair-do goin' on!

Of course then everyone had to get in on the action. Baby George was very sad that his hair wouldn't hold the chopstick.
Busy Guy was rockin' the look.

Tuba doesn't care about chopsticks or hair-dos. He's into the food!

Oh, and by the way, Yes, we do eat dinner naked. Okay, not naked but my boys are always running around in their undies and often eat dinner "in their boobies". So in case you ever come to dinner be prepared. :)