On a Reading Frenzy

I think I mentioned in a Daybook once, that I had long since gotten out of the habit of reading books for me.  Just for me.  For pleasure. 

I read for information and knowledge and inspiration.

I read to educate, to entertain and to share and bond with my children.  Picture books, chapter books.  Lots of delightful books, really, and I enjoyed, still enjoy, reading stories with my kids. 
It's one of my favorite things in the world to do.

But, over this past summer I began reading for me again, just for fun!  And it is so fun!  I completely enjoy it! 
I have found that 13 year old girl inside myself again.  The one who can't wait to slip away and become deeply involved in someone elses life.  It feels like I'm right there for the ride of their lives!  I have laughed and cried.  I've become angry at the injustice (and stupidity in some cases) and have been so anxious to see what's going to happen next!  (To the point of losing sleep because I can't put the book down!)

I am thrilled with books now.

I will continue to read to my kids, because that's just a wonderful experience for all of us.  It's one of the best parts of being a parent.  You get to sit, super-snuggly-close if you want to and dive into another world with your favorite little people!  And afterwards you can talk about it, if they want to and it can open doors to all kinds of great conversations and insight into their cute little minds and how they feel about things. 

Awesome.

  I want to start a personal log or journal of sorts.   I want to list all the books I've read and review them, for myself, to know if I should ever venture to reread them or recommend them to a friend. 

But before I go on, I should mention that I do not care at all for cheesy romance novels.

                                Ick.  Blech.  Gross.

I gave them a fair shake, too, I have to say.  I wanted some sweet little Christmas stories to read during Advent.  Just something with a cozy feel to it.  I ordered 2 from the library.  They had good recommendations from other readers. 

Ick.  Blech.  Gross.

I finished them because I didn't want to feel defeated or like I gave up too soon.  "Maybe it will get better" I'd say to myself.  No.  It did not.  Both books were just cheesy.  Possibly they are just not my style.  Maybe they rated so high because there are a lot of other people who prefer this kind of book.  So if you do, don't go by my judgement.  They were just not for me.

I don't shun romance in books always.  I like the classic Pride and Prejudice and such.  But this modern day malarky.  It just left me with a feeling of, "Really?.....oh come on!"

Now that I dissed a certain type of book,  I should mention some I liked.  I've always like Little House books.  They take me back to my 13 year old-book-lovin' self.  Maybe that's why they still appeal to me.  I recently reread  The Little House on the Prairie and The Long Winter and enjoyed them both immensely.  Good wintertime reads.

I also read more from my kids shelves......The Cottage at Bantry Bay series (it was ok), The Letzenstein Chronicles (4 books....loved them all), And a bunch of other classics.

More recently I read The Secret Life of Bees (good book!), and The Hunger Games (excellent, excellent book!).  I ordered the 2nd one from The Hunger Games series from the library and it should be in by next week.  CANT WAIT!  And my sister recommended books by Patricia Cornwell (I think that was her name).  I will order a book by her from the library, once I finish the Hunger Games series.

In the mean time I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love.  I've just begun to read it tonight so I can't say how I feel about it yet.  Perhaps I will let you know in a future post.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It snowed again last night, just a little.  Just enough to put a layer of fluff on top of the ice, which is on top of a ground layer of snow.  Looks cold out there!  I'll find out later when we venture out for Mass.

Well, stay warm everyone!  And if you come across any interesting fiction stories (without the gush), let me know! 

TTFN
~Tina

Relaxed Winter Schooling at Home

I love days like these.

Days that have a schedule, but not really.

We have things to accomplish, many things to learn, but not a list of places to be with rigorous time constraints.

That's when our learning feels more natural.

Some subjects, like handwriting, really do require sitting at a desk or table.  And with Evan, the core subjects work best at my desk because he understands he needs to try to focus when we sit there (although I do have to mix it up a bit with him to get his wiggles out).

But I love it when we can relax on the floor as the sun shines through, or get cozy on the couch as I read to the kids and we discuss history or their religion lessons.  It just feels right.

I especially love it when it's in the middle of Winter, and it's freezing cold outside, but yet the sun is shining.  And the warm sunbeams are streaming in through the curtains, stretching across the floor in our front room. 

I can totally see why cats tend to sit right in those sunny spots.

I hope you are enjoying your Winter!

TTFN
~Tina

They Made Me Do It

Okay, not really.

They didn't make me do it.

It was more like "convinced me to see the benefits of it".

I was all set to take the tree down today.

...and the outside lights and decorations.

When Alexa gets in her silly moods, she has Evan in hysterics!  I know this picture is a little blurred, but it really captures just how much his big sister amuses him.

I know this warm weather was perfect to get those down.

But as Evan and Alexa also pointed out, these warmer days are rare.

And fresh air and mild temps will soon be only something we long for as we look forward to Spring.

So how could I say no to spending some time with 2 of my favorite people in our backyard on an evening like this?

I just couldn't.

So the tree still stands, fully decorated.

And we are one of the last people in our neighborhood with the outside lights still up.

I'm okay with this.

There's always tomorrow.

Wonder what they'll talk me into next.  ;)

In my defense, though, the house did get cleaned on Friday

....bathrooms, kitchen, dusting and some laundry.

So, we'll just have to see about tomorrow.

I'm not worried.

Hope you are making the most of your weekend.  :)

~Tina

It Makes My Heart Glow

Evan says this now, anytime someone does something kind, or says something kind to him.

"It makes my heart glow"

And he smiles.

 I know I'm probably partial to that smile, in fact I'm sure I am,

But that smile makes my heart glow.

This was on an afternoon I had planned to clean.



Evan had other plans for us.

He said, "The girls get to have a fun afternoon, why can't we?"

(He was refering to them being dropped off at their Girls Club)

I knew he was right

but it is hard to put the work aside sometimes.

and I know the work needs to be done,

but on this day

after a specific request from my son,

how could I say no?

We played "monster tag",

and he giggled so hard he had to stop running at times.



And we discussed our shadows

as I pushed him on the swing.



When our shadows hid from us, and the wind picked up

it was time to head to the van for water

and to warm up a bit.

Then time to head home, where I faced this...

The tree that needs taken down. 

Remind me to fire my little "house cleaning fairies".

They suck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But I continued to ignore that mess

and instead enjoyed more time with my boy.

I'm so glad I listened to my boy

and my heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This day, this special time with Evan

really made my heart glow.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Make it special!

~Tina

And for the record, the cleaning fairies never came,

but I managed to clean it all the next day.

And the tree comes down today.





Good Morning to Me

First thing in the morning

His sweet little boy hands

Showing me how much he loves me

It's the perfect way to wake up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have a nice day :)

Daybook Looking Back on Advent (long post warning)...but pictures included so it's okay.

 For today, Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

(actually very late the night before through...umm Thursday night...took me a while to complete this thing!)

I am thinking:

Do I really want to start this post so late at night?  It's been so long and I miss it, so...yeah, I'll go for it.

Outside my window:

It's very cold, and dark of course.  It's not raining or snowing or windy.

I am wearing :

A new purple jammies set that I got from my in-laws for Christmas.  The pants have peace symbols and winking smiley faces on them.  They would suit Skylar very well. 

Doesn't matter to me what's on them.  All I know is they are a soft, warm fleece and I never want to take them off. 

 Ever. 

 It has a matching solid purple top that is cotton, with a plunging neckline I could do without.  But the pants are delish. 

 And I'm wearing some purple and pink striped fluffy slippers.

I am hearing:

Evan's peaceful breathing and the white noise of the sound machine.

I am hoping:

Evan gets over his stomach virus quickly and that no one else gets it.  Part of what makes Winter such a crappy season is the abundance of illnesses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am also hoping that my kids enjoyed their Advent season and that I didn't wreck some wonderful moments with my "stressing tantrums".

Grownups can be such babies sometimes!

(yes, I am refering to me)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our simplest traditions are always a hit.

Evan gets so excited when I bring out our Christmas picture books and Children's Nativity sets.  We have the Little People Set and the Playmobil Nativity.

The kids always enjoy baking.  I know they would prefer we bake from scratch
(simply because it tends to be messier and messier = funner around here). 

And we do, on occasion, but I'm ok with using ready-to-go-dough. 

I know this disqualifies me as a contender for "Mom of the Year", but I've made my peace with that.

The Christmas parade was exciting.  We haven't seen it since Taylor and Skylar were really little, so we were all looking forward to it.

.

 We had fun during most of the parade and it was a beautiful, chilly day.

Taylor invited a friend to go to the parade with us, but unfortunately she got sick partway through and her mom had to come and pick her up.  Poor thing.  Not the best experience for your first time at a parade, which is what it was for her. 
We need to take her with us next year so she can have a much more pleasant parade experience.

 The parade was so cheery and festive.......
............and long,
 so Evan didn't quite make it to the end.

I'm lovin' the shoes.  They must share my affinity for Elf Culture.  ;)

Thankful for:

Meaningful Advent Traditions

A local Catholic high school hosts a St. Nicholas Day Carnival of Saints every year.
We've attended for the last 6 years or so, and they look forward to it each Advent.

Our Saint Nicholas Day Celebrations here at home are a tradition I started with my kids a few years ago.  They awaken to find a few small gifts and treats in their shoes.  This year, though, they found their treats in cozy, new slippers.

We own The Miracle of Saint Nicholas, but the other two are from the library.  Evan's favorite is The Baker's Dozen.

This is supposed to be a the Mitre of Saint Nicholas.  Before you go all "cookie critic" on me, you must realize I cut them "freehand" and it was a last minute idea for the treat for Evan's K Group which I was hosting that day.  It got cancelled due to many ill children, so we enjoyed them at home as part of our own celebration.  Poor sick K Group....
but very fortunate older siblings in our house.  ;)

This year we participated in our home school groups Advent Retreat for Children.
The children were divided into two age groups.
There are some amazing ladies who volunteered to organize and run this and it was a pleasure to see them in action with the kids.  Skylar and Alexa were in the older group, and I stayed to help out a little with Evan's group.
My mom was still in town from her Thanksgiving visit, so she assisted with me.
It was a great morning focusing on the real meaning of Christmas with the children.
I have pictures from this event, but don't want to post them without the permission of the wonderful mom-in-charge of our group. 

Our Advent Wreath is always special and important. 
Unfortunately, I was not so good at remembering to light it at mealtime this year.  It did sit there, in the middle of our dinner table, reminding us of this important season of waiting.  But I just kept forgetting to light it.
As Sky would say, "Epic Fail, Mom".
Well, at least I can get another year out of those candles. 
(I'm a glass half full kinda girl)

Guess I should have cropped out the paper plates and water bottle first.  Oopsie.

Next year I hope to majorly simplify my plans.

But it's going to be hard to decide what to remove.

It will take some serious thinking about what wasn't necessary this year, and what just didn't go over well.  There are certain things the kids would really miss.

Some of their fave's have nothing to do with the true meaning of Christmas, but they don't take away from it, either.

If I tried to skip these traditions, my children would at best, stop speaking to me and at worst, probably tie all my shoelaces together and stick bleach in my shampoo bottle.

So for starters, I think we'll keep decorating those gingerbread houses.

My kids couldn't imagine December without them.

Praying for:

My dad's wife, my sister n laws mom, John's sisters, a local family that lost their young mother, another local family that lost their 15 yr. old daughter shortly before Christmas.....

From the kitchen: 

 in December it was fudge, cookies, and sweets and treats of all kinds.  The regular meals were rushed quite a bit some days, so usually not the healthiest.

But we are gettiing back on track, so our diets need to be brought back to the real food groups. 

Not the ones in Elf (candy, candy canes, candy corn, sugar and syrup).

Looking back:

to Skylar's 13th birthday!  My children are growing up so fast!   I have two teenagers now?! 

What?! 

How?!

Looking ahead:

Some birthday parties that my girls are invited to, Evan's K group getting back in session, Girls Club, karate, dance, Taylor getting her permit, Taylor turning 16!, Taylor's trip to NY, some exciting field triips for the younger kids, a Valentine's Day party for the younger kids.....

In my heart:

Cherishing moments we spent with family on our trip to Pittsburgh.

(so many photos in the post already...will save those for another day)

Right now:

hittin the post button on this sucker and hittin' the sheets!

This week:

is practically over, but we do need to clean tomorrow and take down the tree....and Sky has a Christmas party to attend, and Alexa has dance....and Tay hopes to go out with a friend.

Well, this took forever to write.  I know there were a ton of pics and  a lot of focus on this past Advent, but I wanted to reflect on it a little before moving on.

Sorry if it was boring, but I like to have it recorded her for myself, too.

Well, have a great weekend!

TTFN

~Tina