Mommy Brain

Saw this at Meg’s and decided to play along.

Accent: Growing up in Washington State, I don’t have one. Pretty generic American, I guess. Though I pick up accents, especially when I’ve been watching a lot of BBC. Noah could always tell when I’d been watching Monarch of the Glen – he said I talked like Lexie.

Breakfast or no breakfast: Definitely – and I must have protein. I like the low-fat breakfast Lean Pockets with eggs and sausage. Or toast with peanut butter. And coffee, though I’m not supposed to have it because of my GERD.

Chore I don’t care for: I’m with Meg – any type of housework is low on my list of favorite things to do.

Dog or Cat: Neither – I’m not much of an animal person. And, we have a small house and four kids…

Essential Electronics: Laptop, MP3 player, and PDA.

Favorite Cologne: I used to wear Nokomis, but I don’t wear any perfume any more. On men, I like Cool Water – but my hubby doesn’t wear cologne, either.

Gold or Silver: Silver.

Handbag I carry most often: Burgundy purse. Usually accompanied by a tote full of books.

Insomnia: Occasionally – usually hormone related.

Job Title: Just one? Homeschooling mom, freelance writer, chief cook and bottle washer.

Kids: One daughter: Natalie, 11. Three sons: Noah, 10; Jonathan 8; and Josiah, 6.

Living Arrangements: A very small house that we’re trying to sell so we can move into something bigger.

Most Admirable Trait: Compassion. I’m also a good listener, I think.

Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Most of my naughtiness occurred after I was no longer a child, at least technically. I did skip school once, but I got caught. Oh, and once I got my driver’s license, I used to sneak the car out at night for junk food runs with my sisters. My parents slept through just about anything. Oh, and I got drunk on champagne at a wedding at which I sang – but it wasn’t my fault. That’s enough true confessions for now.

Overnight hospital stays: Five days for Natalie’s birth, but I was only considered a patient for two. I stayed three more nights in a “parent room,” because Natalie was in the NICU. I can’t remember if I stayed for one night or two with Noah’s birth. Four nights with Jonathan’s birth – an emergency cesarean. One night with Noah when he was 17 months old and had croup. Three nights with Josiah’s birth – a repeat c-section and tubal. One night for gall bladder surgery.

Phobias: Spiders, crossing old bridges in the car. Oh, and I’m not so hot about heights, either.

Quote: My favorite, or something I say? One of my favorites is on the header image above. I say “crap” more often than I should.

Reason to smile: My kids can always make me smile.

Siblings: Three younger sisters: Andrea, Debra, and Marni.

Time I wake up: On a weekday, 6:30 or 7. On weekends, I like to sleep in until 9.

Unusual Talent or Skill: Unusual? Hmmm… I can alphabetize words really fast.

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Peas. Shudder.

Worst Habit: Procrastination.

X-rays: My ankle twice, but it was just sprained both times.

Yummy Stuff: I’ll go with Meg’s answers: Chocolate, Cheesecake….

Zoo Animal I Like Most: Like I said, not much of an animal person.

I tag Sheila at Dodging Raindrops, Eileen at Books and Hooks, Karen at Praise the Lord and Pass the Prozac, Lisa at The Funny Farm, and Lawanda at Lovin’ Life.

Do you read one book at a time? A couple? A whole stack?

I used to be a one-at-a-time reader, but not any more. There are so many good books to choose from, and so little time, that I can’t resist dipping into several at a time.

I took the kids and my tote-o’-books to the pool today. While they splashed (and fought over floaties) I dipped in and out of:

Kristin Lavransdatter III: The Cross by Sigrid Undset

Mediterranean Summer: A Season on France’s Cote d’Azur and Italy’s Costa Bella by David Shalleck and Erol Munuz

The Bookman’s Wake (A Cliff Janeway Mystery) by John Dunning

Three completely different books, but each equally wonderful to dip into. Kind of like sampling at a buffet.

The Woman Who Can’t Forget: The Extraordinary Story of Living with the Most Remarkable Memory Known to Science is a memoir by Jill Price & Bart Davis.

Jill Price has a remarkable memory. Not the kind of memory that would allow her to memorize random lists of objects or strings of numbers – she has remarkable auto-biographical memory. Name a date since she turned twelve, and she’ll tell you what day of the week it was, what she was doing that day, and whether or not anything memorable happened in the news. Chances are she’ll be able to tell you what she had for lunch.

Her memories play like constant movies in her mind. A song, a TV program, a scent, a taste – any of these things can trigger her mind to replay the associated memories.

Think this sounds like a great thing? Think again. Yes, she says it is wonderful to be able to replay with perfect recall some of the best memories of her life. But she also is under constant attack by the painful memories – and she can’t shut them off. Break-ups of past relationships, fights with her mother, hurtful things said to her, hurtful things she said to others in a fit of anger – she can never forget those things.

Her story is fascinating and heartbreaking, and well worth reading. The only fault I had with the book is that it seemed to only scratch the surface emotionally. I didn’t really get the full sense of how some of Ms. Price’s memories have shaped her personality and self-image. In particular, I did not like the way she glossed over the hurtful and abusive things her mother said and did to her, almost excusing her mother’s behavior. Her mother is still living, and maybe that’s why it was difficult to be completely honest in that area.

That one area aside, this memoir is definitely worth your time. I was very interested in her story, and found the information about the brain and how the brain stores and retrieves memory to be fascinating.

3 out of 5 stars.

Goodbyes are hard. It is awful to know your child is hurting and not be able to do anything about it.

We said goodbye to my sister Marni and her family today. They are moving to St. Louis, which is across the country from us. Hans, Marni’s husband, will be pursuing his Masters in Divinity degree. (The picture is of my son Josiah on the left, and her son Peter on the right.)

We got through the goodbyes all right, but I started crying as we pulled out of the driveway. Then I heard sobbing from the back seat. I pulled over and offered to hold Josiah, but he said, “No, just keep driving.”

My precious Josiah then cried himself to sleep on the way home. Four years is a long time – and when you’re only six, it seems like your whole life.

The White Mary by Kira Salak is the story of Marika Vecera, a journalist whose job involves traveling to the most violent and dangerous places in the world. She has seen in person horrors that most of us couldn’t bear to even hear described.

When Marika hears of the suicide of Robert Lewis, a journalist that she idolized, she decides to write a biography of his life. During her research, she reads a letter from an American missionary who is certain he has seen the supposedly-dead Lewis in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Marika is involved in her first ever healthy relationship, but her own demons prevent her from fully giving herself over to Seb, her boyfriend. She decides to head to Papua New Guinea in the hopes of tracking down the possibly alive Lewis.

I’m not quite sure what I think of this book. On the one hand, it is extremely well-written. The descriptions of the Congo and the jungles of Papua New Guinea are breathtaking in their detail. Salak fully demonstrates the physical horrors of what Marika experiences while held hostage in Africa, and the toll the jungles of PNG take on her body. I appreciated the honesty and emotion with which the story was written.

But, I can’t really say that I loved it. I disliked the way that the author used the character’s sexual experiences to portray her emotional state. Many of the scenes were too explicit, and even brutal, in my opinion. I think there are other ways to portray what a person is going through emotionally than through how they experience sex.

I also found the scenes of Marika’s emotional “redemption” unbelievable. They just didn’t play as realistic to me. However, I have read many other reviews of The White Mary that are full of praises, so it could just be me.

3 out of 5 stars.

I spent the afternoon with Mom and Marni and Nan in a used book store/deli/coffee shop – what could be better? Here are my finds:

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes – for a history read-aloud this year.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh – for Nan.

And, for me:

Charming Billy by Alice McDermott

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

Jewel by Brett Lott

The Dive From Clausen’s Pier by Ann Packer

Concord Hymn
~Sung at the completion of the Battle Monument, July 4, 1837~

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1837~

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?

We’ll spend Saturday with them, too, celebrating Dad’s 60th birthday. Then Marni and Hans and the boys will spend Sunday and Monday saying their goodbyes to Hans’ parents. Tuesday morning, we will say our goodbyes. Sniff. They will be leaving for St. Louis at the end of the month, but with gas prices the way they are, Marni needing to get their apartment packed up, Natalie’s Bible camp in the middle of the month, and us leaving on the 27th for our trip to the Oregon Coast, we won’t be able to see them before then.

Well, I refuse to think about that until I have to. Here are some links for your Independence Day weekend:

~ If you love words as much as I do, you’ll love Visuwords. Type in any word, and watch what it does with it!

~ Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’? is giving away up to five prize packages – each one containing 14 books!

~ There’s another book giveaway at The Tome Traveller.

~ Quantum of Solace, the next Bond movie starring (the yummy) Daniel Craig, opens on my birthday, November 7th – here’s the trailer.

~ Joss Whedon, of Firefly and Serenity brilliance, is presenting Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along blog, a 42-minute web-musical that will be presented in three 14 minute episodes. It stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion, from Firefly. Part one will go live on July 15th, part two on the 17th, and part three on the 19th. It will remain online until midnight the 20th, with a probable DVD release after that, but while it’s online, it’s free.

~ Didn’t this already happen in an animated children’s film?

~ Anyone else looking forward to Mamma Mia? Here’s the trailer.

~ Feeling apathetic about the upcoming presidential election? The Onion has created a video to help those who couldn’t care less. It’s satire, of course – don’t want to get any comments reminding me how important it is to do my civic duty.

~ Author Dennis Cass presents Book Launch 2.0.

~ Why does everyone hate homeschooling moms?

Methinks American middle-class people are uncomfortable around the home schooled for the same reason the alcoholic is uneasy around the teetotaler.

Their very existence represents a rejection of our values, and an indictment of our lifestyles. Those families are willing to render unto Caesar the things that Caesar’s be, but they draw the line at their children. Those of us who have put our trust in the secular state (and effectively surrendered our children to it) recognize this act of defiance as a rejection of our values, and we reject them in return. (emphasis mine)

Here’s what I’ve been blogging at Books and Movies this week:

~ An Incomplete Education

~ Squids Will Be Squids: Fresh Morals, Beastly Fables

~ The Bucket List

~ Kung Fu Panda

Kevin posted a bunch more recent family photos at our family web page (which is supposed to be doubling as his blog, but he doesn’t post very often). Here’s one of our Josiah (age 6, on the right) and our nephew, Peter (also age 6):