Book Review :: Who Was...

Carter received these three books for Christmas from an Aunt of mine.  He loves non-fiction so this was a perfect gift.  We've been reading together at night, just a few chapters at a time, and finished Who Was Harry Houdini first, then Who Was Leonardo da Vinci second.  (We have saved the best for last, Who Were The Beatles).  

I've tried to turn reading these book into more than just a lesson about the person.  When their birthplace is mentioned we go to our world map (a gift from another Aunt) on the hall wall and find it.  We use our fingers to see what route they may have traveled and how far away Texas is.  Evan had a lot of fun with the fact that Harry Houdini was born in Budapest....or as Evan kept saying over and over until it wasn't funny more, Bootypest. 

Shawn is really into Art so we have, on our computers, pictures of just about every famous painting from the sketches of da Vinci to the modern paintings of....well...modern painters.  When we were reading about Leonardo da Vinci, it was fun to go on the computer and talk about the different artists he worked with and the significance of their paintings.  It's interesting to hear an 8 year old's critique of a painting from the 1800s.  

I have big plans for reading all about the Beatles!  Shawn and I have a collection of vinyl records we've picked up here and there at garage sales, used book stores, and specialty record shops.  I have several Beatles albums that I plan on playing for the boys as we read.  I don't always approve of the rock star's lifestyle, but I can't deny that they made some great music.  

There are many more books in this series and I hope to add them to our library some day soon!  

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Trophies, Cash, and The National Anthem

This Saturday was closing ceremonies for the 2011-2012 basketball season.  Each boy got a trophy before the game.  Carter is used to getting trophies for the various sports he's played, but it's still new to Evan.  Can you see the excitement in his smile?  

Carter played harder than he has in any other game this season.  Why you ask?  It's because Carter was the highest paid player on his team.   After a terrible showing the week before I gave Carter a little incentive to do well. 

 Cash! 

 I offered him fifty cents for each rebound.  Shawn threw in that he'd pay him a dollar for every basket made.  Carter seemed pretty excited so I offered to also pay him fifty cents for any stolen passes.  (Can you tell who the cheaper parent is?)

Carter worked harder than I've ever seen in any game this season.  He was the Dennis Rodman of 1st and 2nd grade boys....minus the tattoos, piercings, colored hair, and attitude....well maybe a little attitude. 

He worked hard for every rebound.  He ran up and down the court with speed and determination.  He scored two baskets.  He even got a cramp in his side sometime during the third quarter.  He was sweating!  

Total earnings for the game...$5.50.  

After his game we were all invited to his room for a small ceremony to watch him place his new basketball trophy on the shelf with all his other trophies.  We were all gathered in the room and he starts messing around with his CD player.  Now, if you know Carter you know he's all about the dramatics.  He gets his CD player set, pushes play, turns around, and takes a deep breath as the National Anthem starts.  He slowly turns around and places his new trophy on the shelf as we all watch.  

I think he got a little embarrassed when we started giggling so he quickly turned off the CD player and turned around with his back facing me.  I started to feel bad and waited for some kind of cue on how he would handle this.  He lifts his head, turns to me and says, "I want my money now."

sigh....

This kid got to carry both trophies out of the gym totally content that he didn't receive any cash.  

Carter and Evan each have one game left in the season.  And, while Evan is happy with a trophy and one final game, Carter and I are negotiating his contract for the last game. 

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Resolution Check Up

It's January 31st at 10:20 pm, have you kept your New Year's resolutions going for one whole month?  

I never officially made resolutions for 2012 but there are certain things I wanted to improve on during this year. 

In 2012 I want to keep up with this blogging thing. 

 So far so good.  

In 2012 I want to work out. 

 I don't want to work out to lose weight, although losing weight is nice,  I want to work out because working out makes me happy.  Very happy!  After a nice long sweat session at the gym I'm floating on cloud nine.  I have twice the energy I had before going to the gym and it's just the boost I need to get me through the long afternoons once the kids get home from school.  I've burned off any negative energy I've been harboring and I'm able to keep my temper in check.  

Because I've been working out I've lost just about all the baby weight I put on during pregnancy.  (No one was home to take a picture of me so I had to try myself.)  The variety of activities you can do while holding a baby should be a competitive sport.  I'd excel. 

I've lost more than just weight at the gym.  Recently I lost the ability to walk without pain.  I don't want to go into details but a very smart person gave me some discouraging news today and it looks like I'll be taking it easy for a while.  

In 2012 I want to ditch the negative self talk and be a little more forgiving of myself.  

Why is it that we're harder on ourselves than we are on other people?  I will repeat this as much as I need to..."It's ok that I can't run three miles tomorrow...It's ok...it's ok...it's ok." My mother may disagree, but it's ok to leave the load of laundry in the dryer.  I want to read to Carter and Evan before bed tonight.  It's ok that we ate Subway sandwiches for dinner on Sunday night.  We ate together as a family. 

He says, "It's not ok, that I'm in this Bumbo seat again.  He says, "I want you to hold me and type with one hand."  If I can't train for a marathon I CAN train for competitive typing while holding a baby. 

In 2012 I want to finish a project before starting a new one.  

I started knitting Carter a scarf at the end of December.  I'm not very good at knitting.  I wanted to give up, but I didn't.  Carter now is the proud owner of a scarf that varies in widths, has a few holes from dropped stitches, and isn't quite the right size for an eight year old's neck.  

I finished it though.

sigh.....Evan wants a scarf now.

Resolution number three...

Beans.

No....not just beans.  

In 2012 I want to make more things in my kitchen from scratch.

 I love convenience foods, but you can't beat the price of dried beans over canned beans.  With my new pressure cooker making beans is easy so I'll stick to making huge batches and freezing them.  So far I've made my own teriyaki sauce and my own barbecue sauce.  Pretty soon I hope to be making Jonah baby food.  It's important for me to do the very best job I can to nourish my family daily.  For me, it's worth the extra effort. 

It's easy to start something new at the beginning of January but hard to continue through the rest of the year.  Is it because our schedules get too busy or is it because we're too scared to push ourselves?  Are our standards too high and we talk ourselves out of making change because we think whatever we do won't be good enough? Can we really make a change in 2012?

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The Lengths We Go

Jonah has started laughing. 

Baby laughter that bubbles up from their bellies is one of the sweetest and most joyful sounds on Earth.  I'm speaking from memory because I haven't actually heard Jonah laugh yet.  One time he came really close to laughing during bath time, but it didn't last long enough to satisfy my need for baby laughter.  

Others have heard him laugh.  My mother heard him laugh.  Some friends at church heard him laugh - a lot apparently.  Shawn heard him just this morning.  Not I though....not I!  

It's certainly not for lack of effort though.  I spend a lot of time holding him up in the air making goofy noises and faces that require me to throw all self consciousness out the window.  I've tried singing silly songs.  Apparently the surprise "POP" in pop goes the weasel isn't that funny after all.  The reaction I normally get is a look from Jonah that says, "what's this lady thinking?" 

Have you been there?  Are you with me?  Do you make the most ridiculous faces and voices in an attempt to make a baby laugh?  It's a good thing I'm not a comedian because if I had to get paid in laughter I'd be flat broke!

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Evan's After School Routine

 Each and every day after school Evan rushes into the house so he can be first on the piano.  He may not be a musical genius yet, but he's certainly working on it.  

After 20+ years of teaching piano lessons Shawn has finally decided to start writing his own piano method.  It will include a lot of American folk songs and some original tunes.  The most unique part of his method will be that he includes instructional videos (something he does well) that correlate with the written music.  Featured in the videos will be Carter and Evan.  Carter thinks he's going to be famous.

It's fun for me to help brainstorm how to distribute the videos and files but beyond that I can't be of much assistance.  I'm no musical genius....I also don't practice. 

I had to throw this picture of Jonah into the post just because he's so darn cute!  This is his Joey from Friends, "How you doin?" look.  

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Mom Acne and a Solution

I hate to admit it but I don't have soft silky skin like this sweet little 3 month old.

I have skin like a 14 year old....boy!

I've heard stories from my mom and a few of my aunts and yeah...I don't think my skin is going to get better over the next 25 years.  

During Christmas break my cousin's perfect-skinned girlfriend gave me a tip for an inexpensive acne fix.  

Baking Soda and Cetaphil.  So far, it seems to be working pretty well.  All you have to do is sprinkle a little Baking Soda onto one squirt of Cetaphil.  Rub together and massage on your face then rinse clean.  For one thing, it feels GREAT on your skin and after you're done your cheeks will feel a lot like this...

...silky, smooth, and baby soft.

I was reading the back of the Baking Soda label and it's good for way more than smoothing your skin and clearing mild acne.  

You can....

remove dirt, wax, and residue from hard-skinned fruits and vegetables, and

clean burnt pots and pans.

I also didn't know this but you could clean stainless steel with Baking Soda.

You can sprinkle baking soda in the baby's bath water to help cure bad diaper rash and it can make baked goods, like my special oatmeal cookies, rise. 

What it doesn't do, is wipe the scared look off Jonah's face when he sees a giant zit on his mother's chin.

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This Weekend

This weekend we...

went shooting at Gran & Gramps' house.

(Photo not from this weekend but it's a picture of Evan holding a gun...I thought it worked well enough.)

I went from having long hair to having very short hair.

I took a spin class at the YMCA....as a result I can't sit on any hard surfaces.

We took basketball pictures.

We played basketball.

(Photo courtesy of Shawn's camera.)

We took basketball pictures - round two.

We played basketball - round two.

We signed up for Little League baseball.

We had a baby play date at an old friend's new house.