The Dude Turns 5!

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The Dude has gotten his fill of dinosaurs and digging for a while! I am glad the two things I thought would be most fun were popular! The kids really enjoyed digging up (and sometimes re-unearthing multiple times) the dinosaurs and dinosaur bones and they REALLY liked being told it was OK to play with their food (even if they didn't end up eating most of it - except for the dinosaur chicken nuggets, of course!) One picture that I wish I had gotten was the Dude's slice of cake after he was "done." He ate the ganache frosting and left the rest of the cake untouched! Thanks to Lady Steed for all the pictures!
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I Like My Children

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Sometimes I feel like when I'm talking about having kids with other people, that I am expected to complain about them (in general and specific). Although sometimes I need to unload about having a rough day, I really do just enjoy being with my Dude and Sita. They are wonderful!

Some things I love about them today:

The Dude:

...wants to understand things. He asked about what "on purpose" meant. He wanted to know why Mars was about war and Venus was about love.
...recognizes classical music. He can tell all of Holst's Planets apart (hence the discussion above).
...can determine which instruments are being played in a piece of music. "There are the double basses! And the trumpets! And the timpanis!"
...likes to write out math problems for himself. He wrote 3 math problems in his notebook: 9+1=10, 10+1=11, 10-1=9 AND when someone asked him what 5 plus -3 was, he knew it was 2.
...is a good big brother. He makes up games for he and the Sita to play and they have a great time together. He had them pretending to be slithery snakes on the polished gym floor.
...can be quiet for a long time. He let us take naps while he entertained himself with his Thomas storybook and a phonics workbook.
...is reasonable. When I explain why I can't do something at the moment, he accepts it and sometimes even offers to help me.
...is trustworthy. During choir practice, I don't have to worry about him because I know he'll stay out of trouble.
...wants to be good. When we were walking to church and he made the Sita fall because he was being a bit boyish, he accepted the responsibility and said he was sorry.


The Sita:

...loves wearing her dancing dresses, and then dancing (spinning around in circles until she's thoroughly dizzy).
...loves to sing! She sang the "Glooooooooria een exshellsees djeo" to Angels We Have Heard on High all day.
...isn't afraid to talk to people. Her favorite topics are "The Chicken Nugget Story" "The Nerds" "Cataloguing the Owies" and "Getting Treats for Going Poo in the Potty" (which she has yet to do).
...eats fruit. Having a pear for breakfast is just delightful. Having craisins for snack is grand.
...memorizes books and then "reads" them back to you. She's got Pinkalicious totally down (even the silly voices).
...tries new foods. She ate a couple bites of a new soup tonight without complaint.
...keeps track of who gives her what. Right now Auntie C is in her good books because she gave her a new dancing dress!
...is so charming! She has claimed the lap of her nursery leader for storytime - all the other children must crowd around.
...is excited about having a new sister. She tells everyone about her new baby sister and that someday after she gets baptized and married in the temple, she will have a baby in her tummy, too.
...can interpret my drawings. She got angel and baby Jesus and Jesus getting baptized correct (even though the Spozo said John looked like a scary octopus monster).

I love my kids. They are truly a great source of delight and laughter and love and I'm glad they're mine.
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Not what I wanted

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With all that Thanksgiving action, I completely forgot that the Dude was supposed to give a talk in Primary today. If I had only remembered 10 minutes earlier, I could've written something out for him to read. But no - I didn't remember until they asked the child who was giving the prayer to come forward. Our only prep time was while the other little boy (or, more accurately, his mother) was reciting the scripture.

So we settled for the Dude reading his favorite verse of I Am a Child of God and talking a bit about it. It looked a lot like a traditional Primary talk - the parent whispers something to the child, they speak into the microphone, the parent whispers something more, the child whispers something back, the parent nods their head, and the child again speaks into the microphone. Our dialogue went a bit like this:

I'm going to read my favorite verse of I Am a Child of God.

I'm going to read my favorite verse in I Am a Child of God. I am a child of God, Rich blessings are in store. If I but learn to do His will, I'll live with Him once more.

Ok. What are some of your blessings? (pointing to rich blessings.)

Rich blessings. The world.

What else?

I don't know mommy.

How about living with Heavenly Father?

Living with Heavenly Father.

What are you doing to learn His will?

I'm learning to choose the right.

How about being kind?

Being kind. And nice. And sharing.

I am glad I am a child of God.

I am glad I am a child of God.

In the name...

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I didn't think about this until just now, but I never had to prompt him when to speak into the microphone - he knew when was a time to speak into the microphone and when not to. Counting our small blessings. A dear sister that was in Primary came up after church to compliment us on his talk. I looked at her a bit incredulously and laughed, explaining that we had completely winged the whole thing. She said she had guessed that, but that what was impressive was that we did that well just improvising. That made me feel a bit better about completely forgetting to prepare something, but I still think I'd like a re-do.
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Thanksgiving Lessons

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We learned several important things from having Thanksgiving at our house this year:

It is a LOT of work.
Having no counterspace means making several things at once is extremely difficult.
Mashed potatoes taste best when there is lots of butter, cream, and sour cream and they are whipped with beaters.
If you want the Sita to eat anything besides olives at Thanksgiving dinner, you should let her eat them more often.
Trader Joe's turkeys prepared the Martha Stewart way makes THE BEST turkey.
Tenting the turkey really does work!
The Dude will eat mashed potatoes, corn, turkey, and pumpkin pie with enthusiasm (but not much else).
Leftovers are ginormous when you're by yourselves.
Having a dinner party the night before is good because your house is already fairly clean.
Having a dinner party the night before is bad because you're already tired of slaving away in the kitchen.
Pumpkin pecan streusel pie is five times more scrumptious than traditional pumpkin pie.
It is a slight disadvantage to have Black Friday be the day after Thanksgiving when you have a gadget-obsessed husband.
It is a huge blessing to have a competent cook for a husband.
You will always, no matter what, forget to take a picture of the turkey no matter how beautiful it is!

We missed having Thanksgiving with family this year, but we're glad we have family to miss. We're also very glad we have friends to share it with!
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A Harmonious Day

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The highlight of my day today was having the Sita singing the Peter theme from Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf at random times - at Target, while playing, and in her bath. Not exactly note perfect, but she had the rhythms!

I even loved her more when she told me (very emphatically bordering on screamingly) that I was NOT allowed to sing along with her.

Another highlight was piano practice with the Dude. We had such fun doing forte and piano and high and low notes (and high and low voices - his low elephant voice is adorable). He very seriously explained to me that he can't make such low notes because his vocal chords are smaller than mine.

I am so proud that when he plays one of his little songs, it sounds like a song! (My current favorite is the Magic Tree House song). He's already better at looking at the music rather than the keys than I am and when he lifts his hand to move it on the keyboard, he does it so gracefully. We're still working on the graceful curving of the fingers.....
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Tagged! Crazy 8s

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(At least I think I was!) by the darling Sierra.

8 things I'm obsessed with right now:
1. Finding order
2. Thinking up Christmas gifts
3. Reading my friends' blogs
4. Planning the Dude's party
5. Justifying getting new things for another baby girl
6. Stopping the Sita's tantrums
7. Taking beautiful pictures
8. Deciding if kindergarten is the best thing for the Dude

8 words or phrases I use daily:
1. "Did you want to ASK me for something?"
2. "Sita que bonita!"
3. "Girlawog!"
4. "Screamacita"
5. "Dude-a-lude"
6. "What a nice big brother!"
7. "Are you listening to your body?"
8. "You're right!"

8 T.V. shows I love to watch:
1. We don't own a TV.
2. But we do get Netflix.
3. So I do watch some "TV."
4. Monk
5. Star Trek (in general)
6. Project Runway (when they're not swearing!)
7. And that's about
8. It.

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Tried on Maternity clothes at Old Navy
2. Had lunch at IKEA
3. Put a bandaid on a profusely bleeding wound
4. Carried a sleeping Sita from the car to her bed
5. Laundered the "warm" colors and the "cool" colors
6. Read "Pigeon wants a Puppy" 3 times in a row
7. Went to Target and found pants (on sale!) for the now 4T Dude
8. Played the Scripture game in the November Friend for FHE

8 of my favorite places to eat:
1. Barney's
2. Cheeseboard Bakery
3. Bistro Jeanty in Yountville
4. Chez Souvan in Campbell
5. My Mom's house
6. Teacake Bakery
7. Macaroni Grill
8. In-and-Out Burger

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Thanksgiving!
2. Concerts with the Spozo!
3. My birthday
4. Christmas!
5. Singing Psalm 91 in church
6. Teaching a lesson on Moroni
7. New baby girl!
8. The Spozo being off his nasty diet

8 Things on my wish list:
1. The Princess Bride (the book)
2. Enamel Dutch Oven
3. Camera carrier
4. Really cute pregnancy dress
5. Naptime everyday
6. Full-time maid
7. Quickish labor
8. Healthy baby

8 People I tag:
1. the Romgi
2. Roni
3. Lady Steed
4. Tristen
5. Cindy
6. FoxyJ
7. Ramblings
8. the Spozo (even though he swears he won't do it)
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Wise Words from a Wise Man

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(with bolding added for emphasis)

"We are forgetting God, whose commandments we have neglected and in some cases forgotten, and which we seem reluctant - or too undisciplined - to obey. In too many ways, we have substituted human sophistry for the wisdom of the Almighty.

"America is still strong, but destructive forces have been and are at work. There is a serious unsteadiness in our country's stance in terms of morality, ehtics, principles, and behavior. We as a people and a nation have increasingly neglected and abandoned time-honored virtues that have been proven through the centuries to keep human beings individually, and therefore collectively, strong.

"These problems are only symptomatic of many other problems we have as a people. During recent years, polls and circumstances have suggested that an unprecedented majority of Americans believe that the private lives of public official need not be considered as a factor in their eligibility for public office, and that private morality has no connection with public behavior and credibility. I am more deeply concerned about the growing moral deficit than I am about monetary deficit.

"For a good while, there has been going on in this nation a process that I have termed the secularization of America. The single most substantial factor in the degeneration of the values and morals of our society is that we as a nation are forsaking the Almighty, and I fear that He will begin to forsake us. We are shutting the door against the God whose sons and daughters we are."

"Marriage was once generally regarded as a sacred sacrament, but, for the populace as a whole, it is becoming an increasingly secular ceremony. ... We are losing something that speaks of accountability, not only to one another but to God who is our Father and who will stand in judgement upon us."

"If we are to continue to have the freedoms that evolved within the structure that was the inspiration of the Almighty to our Founding Fathers, we must return to the God who is their true Author. ... If we would individually and collectively resolve to stand for something, to lift our voices for truth and goodness and offer our supplications to our Eternal Father, those supplications would be heard, and the result would be remarkable.

"Does this compromise the separation of church and state? Of course not. Such a provision does not preclude a constant petition to the Almighty for wisdom and guidance as we walk through perilous times."

"There is something reassuring about standing for something, and knowing what we stand for. ... Those who are committed to, and have patterned their lives after, a Higher Power need not rely on public opinion, which is often blatantly skewed."

"Here is the answer to the conflicts that beset us. ... Here is the answer to tawdry politics that place selfish interests and pursuits about the common good."

"... Let us look inward and adjust our priorities and standards, recommitting ourselves to time-honored virtues that embrace right and shun wrong. ... Let us work tirelessly to defend and strengthen the family, which is the fundamental unit of society.

"Notwithstanding the trouble, notwithstanding the argument, notwithstanding the increasingly heavy hand of government, notwithstanding the spirit of arrogance we so often display, notwithstanding the growing tide of pornography and permissiveness, notwithstanding the corruption in public office and betrayal of sacred trust - I marvel at the miracle of America, the land which the God of Heaven long ago declared to be a choice land above all other lands, and at the people He has designated to inhabit this nation.

"This is a good land, a great land with a glorious past and a bright future - if we treat and cure the sickness spreading throughout our society."

All quotes taken from Gordon B. Hinckley's Introduction to Standing for Something: 10 neglected virtues that will heal our hearts and homes.
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Surprise!

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We went to Kaiser yesterday for our ultrasound of soon-to-be child number 3. They wanted to look at all these crazy things like stomach and brain and heart and umbilical cord to make sure everything was in working order. Since I was practice for a new technician, I didn't get to watch much of the procedure, but the Spozo got to and would make a comment every once in a while to let me feel included.

"It's got 2 sides to the brain!"
"It's bicycle kicking right now!"
"Seems to have all 10 fingers!"

I kept peppering the technicians with questions about what they were measuring and why. I don't remember much of anything except for this tidbit: Most umbilical cords have three blood vessels, but it is perfectly OK if they only have two. Ours had three. So there's really nothing interesting to report because everything was normal (Thank Heavens!).

Finally they get around to the reason I'm there: finding out the gender.

Now, I've been thinking of this baby as a boy and expecting it to be a boy. I'm so assured that it's a boy that the Spozo even thinks it is a boy (even though he'd like another girl to cuddle and protect). I get a chance to look at the screen and see my baby (which is always emotional for me to realize that there's this little independent person moving around inside me, and even though I feel some movement, there's a lot more going on than I can tell). They start searching around to find the key indicators of gender and I'm pretty sure I don't see any exterior plumbing. And then they find the 3 dots. Which means, yes, we're having another girl. One who likes to have one hand on her ear and the other hand across the body and tucked under her chin. One who is very stubborn about showing her spine to the ultrasound technicians.

So now here's our problem: We had a boy's name all picked out and settled. Now we are searching for a girl's name that seems to fit. Any suggestions?
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Why Prop 8 irks me

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Or, in other words, why Proposition 8 shouldn't be on our ballots.

The reason that Prop 8 is on my ballot next week is because a handful of judges decided that they knew what was better for the people of California than the people of California did. Only 8 years ago, the majority of California citizens voted to decide that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman. But in March of this year, judges ruled that this definition was unconstitutional.

Deciding what marriage means in California should not be left to the hands of an elite few. This is a decision that the people of California as a whole should get to decide. And they will get to - now. But it happened in the opposite way that it should have. That's how democracy works - the people decide when things change (even if they're wrong). If just the elite few get to decide what is good for society, it is usually considered a dictatorship.

The judicial elite do not have an especially great track record of predicting the societal impact of implementing their top-down changes to the traditional fabric of society. But with the benefit of hindsight, we can plainly see how the availability (and subsequent acceptability) of abortion (as birth control) has helped create a highly sexualized culture in which pre-marital sex is expected and accepted. Looking back over the past 30 years since the advent of no-fault divorce the lasting and harm and damage to the emotional, mental, and physical well-being of many children of those divorces (and their future relationships) is apparent. This is not to say that NO good has come of these "societal innovations," but that the NET results on society have been decidedly negative.

No one can say how changing the traditional definition of marriage will impact our society, but it would be naive to say that there would be NO impact. You cannot change a definition so fundamental that no need of a "definition" was even necessary (until recently) without fundamental changes to society. Not immediately perhaps, but they will happen.

To consider a few: If the new definition of marriage is "a relationship in which people love each other and are committed to each other," why limit it to just 2 people? Some experts think it would be better for the children for the parents to stay married and just bring in other partners as they come along instead of getting divorced each time they find someone new. After all, many religions provide for polygamy in their doctrines, and it is mostly only in the Western nations that polygamy is not recognized as a legitimate form of marriage.

Why couldn't consenting adults (be they first cousins, brother and sister, father and daughter, or grandfather and grandson) be allowed the "right" of marriage?

Yes, some of those examples may seem extreme, but once you change the definition of marriage to accommodate the feelings of some, what basis do you have for not changing it further?
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Little Pitchers Have Big Ears

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I never understood this line from the Little House series really meant (really, how many pitchers do you know that have ears, let alone big ones?), but I completely understand what they are trying convey.

The Sita really loves learning new songs. The surest way to get her to be quiet and settle down is to sing her a new song (or a song she hasn't memorized yet). Which would be why for her naptime everyday, first she picks two songs and then I pick a song she doesn't know so well before Quiet Time begins. This means that I'm quickly working my way through all the Primary songs I have memorized - she's got "A Child's Prayer" (the "Heavenly Father Song"!) and "Love is Spoken Here" ("Mommy Kneeling!") down pat. "Heavenly Father Loves Me" ("Rose Song!") and "I Love to See the Temple" ("Love the Temple!") are other favorites. "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" ("Walk in the Light!") is quickly being mastered.

I had to laugh the other day the Sita started singing along with the Dr. Laura theme song. Now, it's not like we listen every day and the Sita is usually napping during this time anyways, but the Sita proved she had heard it often enough. (Bolded are words the Sita actually sang)

I’m feelin’ good from my head to my shoes
Know where I’m goin’ and I know what to do
I tidied up my point of view
I got a new attitude

I’m in control, my worries are few
‘Cause I’ve got love like I never knew
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
I got a new attitude

At least there's nothing too incriminating in those lyrics. We learned our lesson with our firstborn.

I remember when we had to start censoring our conversations when the Dude was around because he was articulate enough to show that he understood what we were talking about. Or at least that he could parrot what we were talking about. It greatly decreased our "adult talking time" - especially because it meant we couldn't talk on our drives to visit family unless we wanted everyone at our destination to know exactly what we were talking about (or at least enough to make them very curious).

Beware of those little pitchers!
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Parcheesi!

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We have been sadly lacking in games at our house, so in the past couple weeks we've been accumulating games. We now have Candy Land (the Sita's favorite), Go Fish and Parcheesi. Parcheesi took awhile to arrive, and when it did, the first thing the Dude did (after asking to see the board and pieces) was to read the rules. I was busy making sure the Sita didn't scatter the pieces to the wind before playing our first game and then cleaning up the wrappings and uploading our new Carnival of the Animals music, so I just asked him to make sure the rules got back in the box when he was done.

Now, you would think that I would be past being surprised at the Dude's comprehension, but I admit I wasn't expecting him to understand the rules. He did! When we played for the first time and the Sita rolled her doubles he got so excited for her that she got to go AGAIN because she had rolled doubles!

Watch out if he challenges you to a game of Memory. He beat me. Both times. And I wasn't trying to be nice.
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Traumatized for Life

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Until last week, the Sita had one deadly fear in her life: Buzzy Bees. She has never been stung. She has never had one land on her. She just fears anything that buzzes and flies. Which includes flies. This fear was not helped by a fly that got trapped in our car and then landed on her head.

Then. Last week we went to the scenic city of Monterey and while we were dining in the park, the seagulls decided that we had some pretty good food to eat. We were mostly tolerant of their begging and (unfortunately) gave them the random french fry that fell to the ground. Little did we know this was a major tactical error.

In a feat of great cunning, a seagull got close to us and then leapt up and grabbed a chicken nugget RIGHT OUT OF THE SITA'S HAND, then flapped away to enjoy its spoils leaving a devastated Sita behind. She cried unconsolably for five minutes and screamed whenever she saw another seagull for the rest of the evening.

Luckily, the Dude loves to chase birds and was very happy to chase away the offending birds until their birdy brains understood that coming near us meant having an energetic little boy run after them while laughing maniacally (and that there was no food). He was our little Knight and scared the monsters away. The Sita enjoyed the sport after awhile and started yelling, "Naughty Bird!" to all seagulls that ventured near.

This past week, she has been retelling the thrilling story of the theft of her chicken nugget to all who will listen. But she also has another phobia. If she sees any seagulls, she shrieks and needs to be comforted from the safety of parental arms. At least she's a discerning girl. She only accuses seagulls of being "naughty birds." The rest of our avian friends remain safe from her scorn.

I don't think we'll be watching The Birds anytime soon.
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Our Reading Material

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While I was preparing my lesson tonight, I had Jesus the Christ by Hugh Nibley out and the Dude popped in to see what I was up to. He read the title and then opened it to chapter 1. He then asked me, "Can we read Chapter 1 together?"
I said, "It's probably very long...."
He flips through the pages, "No, Mommy, it's only This Long."
He shows me that it's only 5 pages (of really dense text) long.
"Sweetie, it has a lot of really long and tricky words..."
(He usually hates too many long words all at once.)
"Mommy, that's ok. I really want to read it."
How do you fight that?
"Alright, Dude, let's read!"
And we did. Tricky words and all. Until bedtime.
(We didn't finish.)
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Long Car Trips Bring Surprises

You might remember last year on our long trip up to Portland, the Dude surprised us with what he could do.

Recently, on our way home from SoCal, the Dude states, "Daddy, you can tell how fast you're going by 10s because it goes 10, 20, 30, 40...."

The Spozo and I glance at each other in slightly amused surprise before I exclaim, "You're right! Where'd you learn that?"

"Oh, I read it in my Math Brain Quest!"

(Thanks to our friends for giving us those Brain Quests! They keep him occupied for hours!)

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Welcome, Trespasser!

Our walls snickered when they heard this today:

"I'm done with being sick. I'm ready to be glow-y and beatific."

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Reptilian predecessors to Mammals discovered!

Actual conversation between the Sita and I this evening:

"[The Dude] is a big boy. [The Sita] is a big boy!"

"No, [the Dude] is a big boy; [the Sita] is a big GIRL! Mommy is Girl! Daddy is a Boy! Nonna is a......."

"CROCODILE!"



(Don't worry, we cleared up this confusion quickly. After laughing about it.)

Memories

I'm stealing this from Mikaroni. It's not my birthday soon, so I can't use her incentive, but I still think it could be fun!

1. As a comment on this post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Consumerism, Revealed

The Dude has a subscription to the Legos magazine. He loves getting something just for him in the mail, he loves looking at the cool things kids have done with Legos, and he loves reading the comics that come inside with every issue.

Today, he enthusiastically exclaims, "I like my Legos magazine because it shows me all the things I don't have!"

Yes, yes it does. And because he is so keyed in on getting new things and better things and the things that everyone else have already, I don't know why we even considered letting him get this magazine. Since really, he's uncovered the entire reason for this "free" collection of shiny colorful papers at the age of four and a half.

Allotment

Whenever the Sita and I are reading a book and we come upon a group of similar objects, like say butterflies or flowers or jelly beans, she immediately starts divvying them up. "Dis one is for Mommy" (pointing to a red one), "Dis one is for the Dude" pointing to a green one, "Dis one is for Dada" pointing to a small blue one, and "Dis one is for [Sita]!" Pointing at the pink one. "AND dis one is for me, too!" pointing to the purple one.

Yep. Her favorite color is pink. I don't know how this tragedy happened. But at least purple is a close second!

What I've Been Reading.....

I gave up on finding the lost library book and paid the fee, so now we are library regulars again! Mostly driven by a need for new reading material for the Dude (since we have neither money nor space for all the books he could read!) I know this is a rather eclectic mix: I'm trying to find appropriate books for the Dude for which I am very grateful for a new spate of books with lots of illustration (a la Roald Dahl). It's surprising how many books geared towards boys are rude and disgusting - lots of potty jokes and hating of nerds/school and general rudeness. I also picked up some random books in the New Books section that caught my eye.

Young Readers:

Babe the Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith

I'd seen and loved the movie, so when I saw it on the shelf, I dropped it into our basket (causing much spontaneous weeping and wailing from the Dude - still have no idea why). The book's story is simple and charming - the male sheepdog from the movie isn't even there (eliminating a lot of the movie's contention). I like most that the pig succeeds because he is polite and treats everyone (er...animal) with kindness AND that he sets his mind on a goal (being a sheep-pig) and reaches that goal spectacularly. It is next on the Dude's reading list.


Cal and the Amazing Anti-Gravity Machine by Richard Hamilton

With a title like that, how can you resist? Cal and Frankie (his talking dog) befriend a zany inventor neighbor on his latest experiment. Of course things don't quite go as planned, but Cal enjoys the ride! I like that Cal is curious (which gets him into a bit of trouble) and isn't afraid to try new things. The Dude and I are currently reading this book - even though the first page scared him a bit because it has the word "cacophonous" in slightly-more-difficult-to-read font. He's liking it so far!


Surprises According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

I chose this book because I had heard of the Humphrey series and wanted to try it out. It won't work for us because it has too much of classroom/school politics and scheduling for the Dude to really understand (the same problem we had with Frindle, only much more so). The idea of a classroom hamster taking care of his friends in his class (and the teacher!) is fun - a nice "how-to-get-along" book, but I didn't feel it had a real quirky spark which I like when reading.


The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

This is an earlier book by the author of Inkheart and Inkspell (which I really liked). This was purely a for-me read, since the plot and the fact that there are no in-story pictures made it unlikely that I could convince the Dude to read it. I liked the story, but not as much as I liked Inkheart. Plus, I couldn't help but imagine that horrible merry-go-round in the movie Something Wicked This Way Comes which terrified me! I felt that the children's behaviors and dialogue were believable and I adore Victor, the bumbling private detective; Scipio, the arrogant Thief Lord; Prosper and Hornet and Bo. And it has a happy ending. Mostly.


For Adults:

Fiction
(all grabbed from the New Books Section)

The Sound of Butterflies by Rachael King

I admit, I had butterflies on the brain, so I saw this on the shelf and picked it up. That it was set mostly in Brazil was an added bonus! It's a kind of historical fiction, I suppose - set in the early 1900s - and showcasing the excesses of the rubber-making bosses in Brazil. Set up as a mystery - Thomas returns to England from his expedition to Brazil a mute shell of a man with no apparent reason. He had gone to Brazil as part of an expedition looking for new species in the Brazilian jungle - he especially wanted to find a rumored butterfly so that he could name it for his beautiful wife, Sophia. Nasty things happen to the nicest people and even Thomas gets corrupted. BUT he picks himself up when he returns home (with the help of his wife) and faces his fears. A good book - I stayed up super later than late to read it, but not one I will need to reread.


Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy

I really liked the characterization in this book! Sarah is completely believable as a bereaved widow trying to pick up her life after her husband dies. I like her rebellious granddaughter and her struggles with her grown daughter. The people are so human in their interactions. For the first bit. Then the "let's all live together in peace and harmony" hippy-ness really gets to me. And the "oh, let the new generation do whatever feels good and makes them happy." Too obviously preachy. Otherwise, a well written book.


The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Told from the conflicting perspectives of two neighboring mothers that start out friendly, edge into uneasy truce, and then break out in hostilities ending with 9/11 and uneasy truce again, this is a book about mothers. That was why I picked it up. But the one that was staying at home ended up unhappy and the other was unhappy being a working mother. The "perfect" mothers were the despised target. So, a good book, but not what I'm looking for. I know mothering can be hard, but I feel that aspect is overemphasized in media already, so I don't need to be adding more of it to my life.


Non-Fiction:

Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men by Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D.

If you have a boy, I strongly suggest reading this! I am determined to read Dr. Sax's other book Why Gender Matters as soon as possible. Because I've read this book, I am now paranoid of using plastic bottles (so, if we have another baby boy, it's glass all the way!), wary of public schools (well, the next book probably convinced me more), more open to the idea of an all-boys school and determined to strictly limit the type of video games and time played. Dr. Sax points to the changes in school, video games, medications for ADHD, endocrine disruptors, and (tongue in cheek) "the revenge of the forsaken gods" as factors in why boys are losing interest in Growing Up and becoming Productive Members of Society. What I liked most upon reading this was realizing that the Dude is just a normal boy in his NEED TO COMPETE and that (most) boys are just inherently different than (most) girls (which by no means suggests that one in more or less than the other - just that they're (shockingly!) different!). It also gave me pause about sending the Dude to Kindergarten early.


Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind by Deborah L. Ruf, Ph.D.

Dr. Ruf's main thesis is that there are many more gifted children than schools are really set up for and that because of this teaching to the lowest common denominator that a lot of gifted children end up hating school and failing to realize their potential. She also pokes holes through the commonly held thought that gifted children should be kept with their age group so that they can be "socially well-balanced." She divides giftedness into 5 different levels and has examples of children in each of the levels and (more importantly for me) suggestions of how to get the appropriate schooling for each of the different levels. It was also nice to know that other parents of gifted children have had similar problems and frustrations in getting people to believe in their children's abilities. A most informative read, although her focus on math/science giftedness was a little frustrating for me at times. Since a lot of the kids I know would fall into her "giftedness" scale somewhere, I would suggest reading this one, too!