Mommy Brain

Dream When You’re Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg (I tried to listen to the audio version read by the author. She shouldn’t read her own books. I may try to read the print version one of these days.)

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (I couldn’t get past the fact that she stole much of the storyline from Stephen King’s The Green Mile.)

The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer (It didn’t grab me. Every time I started to get interested in a character’s storyline, she switched to a different character. It was just kind of blah, and there are too many other books waiting to waste any more time on this one.)

Petite Anglaise (ARC) by Catherine Sanderson (Just didn’t like it.)

Passion on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart of Italy by Sergio Esposito (Just couldn’t get into this one - it’s very well-written, though. I think it was too similar to another book I had recently read.)

When We Were Romans by Matthew Kneale (The book is narrated by a 9-year-old boy. I have son who will be 9 in a little over two weeks. I talk to him on a daily basis. I love him - very much - but I don’t think I’d want to read a novel that is entirely made up of his inner thoughts and narration of daily events. However, I loved To Kill a Mockingbird, which is narrated by a 9-year-old girl, so maybe it’s purely the execution. Author Matthew Kneale has written not only in Lawrence’s voice, but with lots of misspellings, as if he actually wrote the book. Maybe that’s what pushed it over the top. I also couldn’t take the descriptions of his sister Jemima’s misbehavior - it made me want to lock her in an eternal time-out. I did, however, find another reviewer who enjoyed the book - and several Amazon reviewers liked it enough to give it at least three stars. So it’s probably just me. )

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway (ARC) (I made it to page 100. Very well-written - Harkaway has a unique voice, but it is not my kind of thing. The sheer size of it is daunting anyway, but to make it to page 100 and not feel like you want to keep reading - enough said. It is getting rave reviews from other people, though, as you can see here and here.)

The Islands of Divine Music by John Addiego (I made it to page 100 or so, and then put it aside. It’s very well-written, but I didn’t like any of the characters, and when I found that I was forcing myself to keep reading, I thought, “Nope. Life’s too short, and there are too many other books waiting on the to-read stack.”)

Rating system:

1 star - Terrible
2 stars - Just Okay
3 stars - Good
4 stars - Very Good
5 stars - Brilliant, Wonderful, Excellent, Fabulous

Happy New Year

I just read over last year’s “Happy New Year” post, and now I’m in a funk. Last year, I wrote about all the things I’m grateful for, but some of those things aren’t the case any more. For instance, the tentative peace with our neighbors only lasted until April. We’re in debt again, thanks in part to our vacation - which was totally worth it - and thanks to Kevin’s van going belly-up and gas prices going through the roof. We are more involved in our new church - I was involved in the Christmas program - but I still cried when I came home from singing at the ladies’ Christmas party at our former church. Which makes me wonder if that longing and hurt will ever be gone?

It doesn’t help that for the second year in a row, we were sick over Christmas. First, I did something to my left hip, resulting in back spasms on Wednesday, the 17th. Back spasms that gave me horrible flashbacks of back labor. Not fun. Thank God, I was well enough by Sunday to sing at church, but I am still on muscle relaxants and still sleeping sitting up on the couch, because laying down puts me in immense pain.

Then, after the Christmas program, the stomach flu hit. Kevin first, then Josiah, then Jonathan. I had a bit of an upset tummy for a couple days, and thought I had got off easy, but no such luck. Last night the grand-daddy of all stomach bugs felled me, the details of which I will spare you, but let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. I’m somewhat better today, but so, so tired of not feeling well.

Side note: To give you an idea of how the past few weeks have gone for us, the power supply on my laptop just went out in the middle of writing this post. Sigh. I’m on Nan’s computer, and Kevin’s on the phone with Michelle’s husband who used to work for HP to see if I could borrow one until I can get one shipped to me.

I did have a follow-up appointment with my doctor before I got too sick, and he’s referring me to a chiropractor for my back and a neurologist for the headaches and dizziness that don’t seem to want to quit. I’m hoping that 2009 will bring some answers.

But, I don’t want to spend my New Year’s post complaining about everything that has gone wrong. I need to switch my focus, or this post-holiday funk won’t be lifting anytime soon. So here are the things I’m grateful for:

~ I’m grateful that Kevin is still working, with no end in sight.

~ I’m grateful that my freelance writing has provided extra money when needed, and kept us from going into even more debt.

~ I’m grateful that the kids are all happy and healthy, colds and viruses aside.

~ I’m grateful that I am still able to homeschool the kids.

~ I’m grateful that Natalie and I are close, in spite of a few puberty-related bumps this year.

~ I’m grateful that Noah is growing into a young man with the heart of a helper.

~ I’m grateful that Jonathan has a desire to do right, and that he has a repentant heart when his actions don’t line up.

~ I’m grateful that Josiah has taken on some extra-curricular activities, like Tae Kwon Do and archery, when he used to want nothing more than to stay at home with the family.

~ I’m grateful that my sisters and their husbands and kids are all healthy.

~ I’m grateful that Dad didn’t hurt his hand worse than he did, and that it seems to be healing well.

~ I’m grateful that the doctors were able to figure out what was wrong with Mom, and that she’ll be able to have surgery to fix it.

~ I’m grateful for Michelle, a friend who is a kindred spirit, and for her boys - who are wonderful friends to my boys.

~ I’m grateful for online friends who have expanded my world.

~ I’m grateful that no matter how bleak and discouraging things may seem, God is in control, and I can rest in that.

Happy New Year!

Jonathan’s Reading - December 2008

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
The Littles by John Peterson

Josiah’s Reading - December 2008

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Pinky and Rex and the Just-Right Pet by James Howe
Commander Toad and the Dis-Asteroid by Jane Yolen
George and Martha Round and Round by James Marshall
The Littles by John Peterson
Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald

Noah’s Reading - December 2008

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

Natalie’s Reading - December 2008

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True Friends by Robin Jones Gunn
Starry Night (The Christy Miller Series #8) by Robin Jones Gunn
Seventeen Wishes (Christy Miller Series #9) by Robin Jones Gunn

Read Alouds - December 2008

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Monks and Mystics: Chronicles of the Medieval Church by Brandon and Mindy Withrow
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
The Christmas Cross by Max Lucado
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury
The Travels of Francisco PIzarro by Lara Rice Bergen
The Travels of Marco Polo by Alex Bandon

2008 in Review

December 29, 2008 Categories: Blogging , This and That | 1 Comment

It has become my custom to post a year-end wrap-up by posting a short snip from the first post of each month throughout the year. Since I do a lot of review posts, I will use the first post of a personal nature for each month. It’s always fun to look back over the course of a year.

January 3, 2008 - Kindred spirits

I am re-watching You’ve Got Mail. Close to a perfect film: Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, witty dialogue, and books. Early on in the film, Meg Ryan’s character, Kathleen, talks about what her mother did when she started her bookstore. That she wasn’t just helping children find books, but she was helping to shape who they would become, because the books we read as children have a direct effect on the kind of people we become.

I started thinking about the people who helped me find the books that shaped who I have become. And wishing that I had a way to thank them, to tell them what a profound impact they made on my life.

February 1, 2008 - Links for Friday

It’s Friday! Anyone got exciting plans for the weekend? Kevin’s hoping to take the kids sledding tomorrow. It’s snowing - again. It’s pretty wet, though, and I have a feeling we’re going to have a big mess by the end of the day.

When I remember thinking we had a lot of snow last year, and compare it with what’s out there right now (and still falling), I have to laugh.

March 4, 2008 - Mean mom

I’ve been a mean mom today. How, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you.

~ I made Jonathan do both the drill sheet and the worksheet from his Saxon math lesson today.

~ I made the kids listen to a “really, really” long chapter out of The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of the Middle Ages - and then, I had the sheer nerve to ask them questions about what I had read. I considered reading a second “really, really” long chapter, but I thought that might be pushing a bit past the limits of matriarchal mean-ness….

I confess, I’m still a mean mom. Though our Christmas break has involved much less reading and much more game-playing on the kids’ part than I would like. I lose some of my steely resolve when I’m not feeling well.

April 2, 2008 - Love and books

“Some years ago, I was awakened early one morning by a phone call from a friend. She had just broken up with a boyfriend she still loved and was desperate to justify her decision. “Can you believe it!” she shouted into the phone. “He hadn’t even heard of Pushkin!””

Thus starts the essay It’s Not You, It’s Your Books from The New York Times Sunday Book Review. What do you think? Is literary compatibility a requirement for love?

I think not. Kevin and I have been married thirteen years, and our tastes in books are as different as night and day. For Kevin, it’s all non-fiction history, and mostly about World War II. For me, it’s just about anything that’s printed in a book. And he doesn’t really like to talk about books. When he makes the mistake of asking, “What are you reading?” - his eyes glaze over after the first few sentences. He says, “That’s what you have Michelle for.”

This hasn’t changed much, but that’s okay. There’s more to marriage than book-compatibility.

May 8, 2008 - 2007-2008 School year wrap-up

We’re not actually finished with our school year - won’t be until Friday, June 6th - but things are starting to slow down as various curricula gets finished or heads into review mode for the last few weeks. In most ways, it’s been a very good year. The only disappointment has been that we won’t finish history on time, and we didn’t do as much art as I’d liked. But we added a more intensive grammar program and Latin, so it all balances out, I suppose.

This reminds me that the New Year is generally my time for looking ahead to August and the next school year. Natalie will be entering 7th grade - junior high!

June 3, 2008 - Historic evening

As of tonight, there will be a black nominee for president on the ballot in November. Regardless of how you feel about Senator Obama’s politics, can we just take a moment to reflect on the historicity of this event?

July 3, 2008 - Links for Friday

Happy July, everyone! Can you believe that June is over? It went very, very fast - mostly because we were so incredibly busy.

Any plans for Independence Day? We’re heading to Mom and Dad’s for the day. Dad’s got some leftover pre-cut catamarans from camp, so the kids are going to make cool wooden sailboats, and then we’re going to head to Chewelah park to float them in the creek. We’ll have chicken and potato salad for dinner, and then celebrate my sister Marni’s birthday. Her 29th - my baby sister is turning 29! How did that happen?

Marni and Hans are settling in well in St. Louis after a couple rough months. I still miss her like crazy, though.

August 3, 2008 - Long vacation post, with pictures

We’re home! We slept in our own beds last night, but I still feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. Why is having fun on vacation so exhausting?

Our vacation was an amazing experience - one I hope we can repeat sometime in the next couple of years.

September 3, 2008 - I’m afraid to vote

Yes, that’s me. My name is Carrie, and I’m a terrified voter. I’ve had so many thoughts about the upcoming presidential election rattling around in this brain of mine, and I kept thinking I should organize them and write a post of some sort. Well, it was either organize my thoughts, or write a post, because I don’t have time to do both. So I’m posting, and you’ll have to excuse the disorganized (and probably long) mishmash of a post this will be.

Let’s start with a little background, and then I’ll get myself in trouble right off the bat. Sounds promising, huh?

I overcame my fear and voted for President-elect Obama. I’m still convinced I made the right choice.

October 1, 2008 - Political blogging

There’s something I’ve noticed as I’ve been reading blogs lately. And I’m not talking strictly about political blogs, but also about general bloggers who occasionally mention politics. Once a blogger has decided on a candidate - or if they are strictly a party-line voter - their blog posts reflect this in an unswerving way.

Blogging about politics and my decision to vote for a Democrat was certainly an eye-opening experience. Sad to say, some of the most hateful comments I received were from professing Christians.

November 7, 2008 - The election, my birthday, links, and nine winners

I don’t have many links to share this week - I’ve been too busy to do much surfing. I will say that we watched the election returns and speeches on Tuesday night. The kids and I watched Schoolhouse Rock, particularly the song “I’m Going to Send Your Vote to College” and talked about how the electoral college works. We tracked the votes on our map, with red and blue stickers. Since we live on the West, they were able to stay up long enough to see almost all of president-elect Obama’s speech, but Noah was nodding off toward the end.

I cried often, with true amazement that our country has elected a black president. Only fifty or so years ago, Barack Obama would have not been allowed in certain restaurants, would have had to sit at the back of the bus, would have gone to a segregated school. But this is 2008, and he is our new president. Noah wondered why I was crying: “Why are you sad? You voted for him, didn’t you?” I tried to explain, but I’m not sure if he understood.

December 1, 2008 - Stop this week, I wanna get off!

Today was my least busy day of this week - it’s all downhill from now. Sigh.

I got through it.

That was 2008 in review - blogwise, anyway. I’m sure I’ll post something more reflective as the New Year approaches.

Links for Friday

December 26, 2008 Categories: Holidays , Writing , Movies | No Comments

Happy Boxing Day! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. We did - it was simple and lovely, in spite of the sore back and tummy bug and Dad’s hand.

My back is doing much better, although I still can’t sleep laying down. The first day I had the spasms, they were calming down by bed time, so I slept in bed. When I woke up in the morning, my back seized up again, so I’ve been sleeping sitting up on the couch with a pillow behind my back. Last night, I tried bed again, and ended up moving to the couch at 2 am - just too painful. I have a follow-up appointment on Tuesday to talk about the back, as well as the headaches and dizziness. Hopefully, the doctor will be able to find some answers.

We’re being lazy today. The boys are playing on the PS2 games they got for Christmas; Natalie’s playing Nancy Drew and the Curse of Blackmoor Manor on her computer, with frequent help from me. It’s a lot of fun - I’ve installed it on my laptop! I’ve been browsing Barnes & Noble’s list of bargain books. I will have to do some laundry later, but I’m not planning on anything else productive today.

Here are some links to enable you in wasting a bunch of time today, as well:

~ Moviefone’s 50 Best (and 10 Worst) Movies of 2008

~ 2008 Pop Culture IQ Quiz - How well did you pay attention to the truly unimportant things this year? I scored 10 out of 15.

~ Disney has backed out of financing Walden Media’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Wlden is now shopping it around to other studios - I sure hope they find one.

~ One author shares her timeline for getting a novel published.

~ This woman’s pencil drawings are amazing.

Merry Christmas

December 24, 2008 Categories: Holidays | 1 Comment

May your Christmas be filled with the joy of the season. I hope your home is filled with loved ones and laughter, and that your Christmas celebration is one of grace and peace.

(The above print is available at AllPosters.com.)

Please pray for my dad

December 23, 2008 Categories: Prayer | 6 Comments

I would appreciate some prayers and good thoughts sent my dad’s way. He was working on a birdhouse that someone had asked him to make for a last-minute Christmas gift, and sliced the thumb and middle finger of his left hand on his skill saw. The middle finger only needed a couple of stitches, but the pad of his thumb was almost completely severed. The doctor re-attached it, but isn’t sure if the blood vessels will heal correctly. If they don’t, the pad of the thumb will die and fall off, and he will need plastic surgery to build that back up. Prayers for a quick and complete healing would be greatly appreciated.

Featured DVD: American Teen

Categories: Movies , Reviews | No Comments

(American Teen was provided to me by Click Communications for the purpose of review.)

Popularity is everything; breakups and missed jump-shots are the end of the world; a college acceptance is a dream come true; and an email forwarded to the wrong person is your worst nightmare.

Now experience senior year of high school through the eyes of five real-life Indiana teenagers: the Prom Queen, the Heartthrob, the Jock, the Rebel and the Geek. This revealing year-in-the-life feature delivers the real heartbreak, hilarity and - OMG - drama of senior year first-hand from five very different viewpoints. And no matter who you identify with, everyone will relate to American Teen.

High school is not an experience I would willingly repeat for any amount of money. Now, I had some fun, and I have some good memories, but most of those are over-shadowed by the angst of not being one of the “in-crowd,” of not really being sure which crowd I belonged in. Add to that the pressures of senior year -decisions about the future, college applications, scholarship applications - and you’ve got the recipe for one of the most emotionally-volatile times in a person’s life.

American Teen perfectly captures those emotions and experiences - and does so from the perspective of five very different students. Megan, the popular girl, is Queen Bee, with everyone groveling at her feet and fearing her frequent temper tanrums. She’s sure her life will be over if she isn’t accepted at Notre Dame. Jake is the band geek: he’s insecure, acne-ridden, and determined to find a girlfriend who will love him for who he is. Mitch is the gorgeous guy who is attracted to the girl who isn’t part of the in-crowd - will he follow his heart in spite of his friends’ ridicule? Collin is the jock, the basketball star, whose college hopes are riding on his ability to win games. Hannah is the indie chick, the individual who does not fit in small-town Indiana, and dreams of something more.

As I watched the film, I was drawn into these students’ stories, and was anxious to find out how things turned out for them. In spite of the fact that there are some sexual refrences and bad language, I had Natalie watch it with me, in order to see what life in a public high school is like, and why we have chosen a different path for her and her brothers.

There are some pretty big issues that stood out to me:

~ Parents put way too much pressure on their children to achieve the future they have chosen for them. That’s the future the parents have chosen for their child. And why shouldn’t they - they haven’t raised their teenager to be responsible for anything, so why should they be allowed to make this important choice?

~ Which leads to the second thing: parents not teaching their children responsibility for their actions. This was especially apparent in the story of Megan, the popular girl. She cuts a wide path of destruction: purposely e-mailing topless photos of a friend to the entire school; vandalizing a fellow student’s house because he got his friends to vote for a different prom theme than the one she wanted; destroying her friendships with both her male and female best friends because they decided to date. And all along, she was saying, “This just isn’t fair! Why am I being punished? Why is everyone deserting me?” When she got caught for the vandalism, her father said, “That was really stupid, Megan. And stupid because if you’re going to do it, at least don’t get caught.” What kind of parenting is that?

~ Every teen has a story. Even Megan, as snotty as she was, had a reason for some of the anger boiling inside her.

~ College seems to have become the default choice for all American students, whether they are academically-inclined or not. What is wrong with going to technical school and learning a trade that you will enjoy? Why do we think that going into thousands and thousands of dollars of debt for a kid who has no idea what their major will be, or even whether or not they will be able to make the grade, is the best thing to do?

~ Teenagers are under intense amounts of pressure. The look of pure relief on Megan’s face, followed by an outburst of hysterical tears, when she finally got her acceptance letter from Notre Dame said it all. The tears Collin shed because of a few baskets missed during an important game - brought on, I’m sure, by his father yelling, “Come on! What was that?” every time he missed; Hannah’s grandmother telling her, “You’re not special, you won’t be able to make it in California.” Why do people not think about the devastating consequences of their words?

~ Isn’t high school supposed to be about getting an education? Because that certainly wasn’t the focus of these five students’ lives. I guess they think the education begins in college.

I could go on and on. This is a fascinating, brilliantly made documentary, and I am wondering why it hasn’t been promoted more. American Teen will be available on DVD on December 21st.

Deja Vu

Categories: This and That | 3 Comments

Last year, it was the “real” flu that overtook us at Christmas time, so we faithfully got our flu shots in October, as soon as the clinic was offering them.

But the flu shot doesn’t protect against stomach viruses. Grrrr…………. Kevin, Josiah, and I have all succumbed.

Three down; three to go.

My favorite Christmas poem

December 21, 2008 Categories: Poetry , Holidays | 3 Comments

Mary’s Song

Blue homespun and the bend of my breast keep warm this small hot star fallen to my arms.
(Rest…You who have had so far to come.)
Now nearness satisfies the body of God sweetly.
Quiet He lies whose vigor hurled a universe.
He sleeps whose eyelids have not closed before.
His breath (so slight it seems no breath at all) once ruffled the dark deeps to sprout a world.
Charmed by dove’s voices, the whisper of straw, He dreams, hearing no music from His other
spheres.
Breath, mouth, ears, eyes… He is curtailed who overflowed all skies, all years.
Older than eternity, now He is new.
Now native to earth as I am, nailed to my poor planet, caught that I might be free,
Blind in my womb to know my darkness ended,
Brought to this birth for me to be new-born,
And for Him to see me mended, I must see Him torn.

~Luci Shaw

Featured DVD: The Duchess

Categories: Movies , Reviews | 2 Comments

(The Duchess was provided to me by Click Communications for the purpose of review.)