Theme Thursday: Fences

You may have noticed, (okay probably not, I am not that important and that is a really self-centered statement I just made) that I did not participate in Theme Thursday last week. I wish I had a good reason for you or something. But no.  I don't have any particularly interesting or pretty dishes. And I have written about this recently but as I hate washing dishes more than any other household chore, I love me some paper plates. And that's all good and fine but that makes for a really uninteresting picture. 

Then we got to this week and fences. Call me lazy or crazy but there wasn't a chance in *use your preferred strong word here* that I was venturing out of this house into the arctic to take a picture of an interesting fence. And while we have a chain link fence in the back yard it's about as interesting as tin foil. And since you could build a cool sculpture out of tin foil, the chain link fence is even less interesting.

And I just thought that maybe Theme Thursday and I were going to have to have a little alone time. It's not you, it's me kind of a thing. It's too cold, I'm not feeling creative enough, Husband always has the nice camera at work these days... you know, first world problems at their finest really. 

But I couldn't do it. Thursdays beckon me and I just have to. So here. Fine. It only involved going to the basement. 

Fences by August Wilson

August Wilson. Do you know about him? He wrote "The Pittsburg Cycle" or the "Century Cycle." 10 plays. One for every decade to explore the Black experience in America. They were not written in order of their decade but they are beautiful works of dramatic literature.

Anyhow, Fences, is the Pulitzer Prize winning story set in the 1950s. It's pretty good. Lots of symbolism. A tragedy at it's core. Nevertheless, it's the only Fence I have inside my house and so that's what I have for this week. 

I am just super failing at this 7 in 7 week. Clearly I blog differently than others because I don't have a bunch of unpublished drafts started. And Micaela is all "Link-ups don't count and must be in addition." She's got guts I'll tell you that because if link-ups actually didn't count I wouldn't have signed on.

Anyway, Happy Thursday. I will see all of you back here tomorrow for another post. Link up with Cari if you are more ambitious than I and have a picture of a fence.

WWRW: The Cuckoo's Calling and Wonder

So you remember back when there was that big "news" story that J.K. Rowling had "secretly" wrote and published a book but it wasn't doing very well. Then, remarkably, right after the "news" story the book became a best seller? Well I wasn't about to buy it. But I did put my name on multiple multiple Library lists. Having 3 different library cards gets you on 3 different digital copy lists and then 1 hard copy list because I only live here so it didn't make sense to try and get a 2 week book in Minnesota for instance.

And I forgot about it and read a lot of other books.

Then apparently Ms. Rowling got a little too far away from the limelight and had to stir the pot again with the whole Ron/Hermoine debacle. She is wrong.  All I can say is it's a good thing I already liked Harry because her antics wouldn't make me want to run out and read the books.

Then, the very day after a sequel was announced, I got the lovely email from the library letting me know my very own digital copy was available for 2 weeks! Delightful!

So "Robert Galbraith" wrote this book called The Cuckoo's Calling. And here's the scoop: 

It wasn't bad. There was a lot of British slang. And I think it went on a little too much. But overall it was not a bad book. The characters are well developed and interesting to read. You are curious about their back story but slowly the onion skin layers are peeled back and you're given what you wanted. I can even see how a sequel will be well received. It's definitely a whodunit and certainly I thought it was going to go a different way for quite a while. I am delighted that I am wrong. J.K. has strength is in believable dialogue. And while it all wrapped up a little too "cherry on top" there's a sequel so it probably isn't all sunshine and roses. Though I am worried for Robin's relationship and it's future, just sayin'.

Overall: worth a read. Not appropriate for kids. 

Also this week I got another email for another book from the library I had been waiting for. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I feel like everyone's heard of this book at least. A 10 year old with a severe cranio-facial abnormality is switching from homeschool to traditional school for the first time. Along the way August (our main guy) discovers how the world works, mean people and all. He also works on his family relationships and creates lasting relationships. 

Was this book a little bit "happy ending you could see coming?" Yep it was. 

Are there some elements that seemed forced or trite? Yes. 

Was it all around a pretty accurate portrayal of fifth grade, ninth grade, family life and friendship? Yes. 

And I loved it. Yes, there are some happy happy parts and some people may feel that some of the "tragedy" seems forced but it just seemed like life to me. Things that sneak up on you when you least expect it, like not recognizing a family member is sick until much later. Life is full of ups and downs ranging from tragedy to wonderful, so it just felt realistic to me. Plus emotions are complicated. And it's written for youth so there's that. I think some reviewers out there are jaded souls. 

Wonder is not all written from August's perspective, it switches to his sister and friends occasionally. It isn't typical YA where it goes every other chapter either. Palacio uses the other voices to give more insight and clarity to situations so the reader is given a more well-rounded picture. Because everyone has a story to tell. 

The book made me cry, both of sadness and happiness, and I couldn't put it down. From start to finish it took only a few hours and I read straight through. I haven't done that in a long time. If Wonder doesn't fill your heart with kindness... well I don't know because it probably will. In high school I took a Modern Dance class and I had a teacher who always said "In this room we watch with love in our eyes." It stuck with me and I try, generally, to have love in my eyes as I go about my day because everyone could use a little less judgement. That's what Wonder reinforces. 

I'd say 10 and up would do well with this book but younger readers may have questions or a want to discuss with someone. There are some teenagers kissing (only mentioned) but that's about as racy as it gets. 

Linking up with Jessica for WWRW

3/7 for the week. Nice. 

Find Your Happy

So we are on day 2 of this 7 posts in 7 days journey.

My goodness. Have you seen the whole 100 days of happiness thing? You take and post a picture everyday of things that make you happy. I find this a worthy project but I don't like to tweet or instagram enough to take it on officially. But this doesn't mean something doesn't make me happy every day.

I wouldn't say that I am an optimist. Generally speaking I just focus on whatever is in front of me whether that is happy or sad. I am a realist however.

I also have high hopes. If I had a Native American name it would be Little High Hopes. If my hopes aren't met, I get incredibly disappointed. Which actually proves how much of an optimist/control freak I am. If I have made a plan or had an idea it should probably follow through. 

But I am working on letting go of that a little bit. The whole toddler thing is helping this, there's not a whole lot that goes exactly according to plan. It takes quite a bit of finagling to just get out the door on time but once we are in the car it's anyone's guess how the outing will go. I can't control it, but I can set it up for success. 

That's kind of like life though. We aren't really in control as much as we'd like to be. We can only prepare and hope for the best. And in that, it is my plan to find the happy. I mean why wallow? I hung out with my friend this weekend and realized everything she said was negative. That's sad. It is just sad. There has to be a glimmer of hope or enjoyment or really what's the point?! 

And it all started to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. "Waa waaaaa Waaa Waa" I don't know how to fix it or help her but I've got to do something. There's so much good in the world. There's plenty of bad too but if you let yourself get all swept up in it... that's not good. 

So here is a list of 10 totally arbitrary things that make me happy! Perhaps something will make you happy as well. Happiness is contagious after all! 

1. Rubber Duckies
2. Making cookies
3. Sunshine
4. Fresh nail polish
5. New socks
6. Blog comments
7. Getting real honest to goodness mail
8. Crafting
9. A delightful beverage
10. Hugs

So I challenge you, if you're reading this to find the happy today. Life is pretty awesome. You do not want to miss it! 

7 in 7: #1

So to kick off this little "let's all blog for 7 days in a row thing" I am just going to do a little run on blogging and go where my mind takes me.

So let's recap the Olympics. I LOVED the closing ceremony. I am a huge fan of Marc Chagall so I loved it. Plus the ballet, writers and everything. I still think I'd go to Russia. Very cool. I think that probably NBC should not have sportscasters announce the Opening and Closing ceremonies... they are pretty clueless when it comes to art. (Phantom of the Opera has not a thing to do with Russia but nice try.) Though... The Spice Girls in London were pretty great.

Who says Russia doesn't have a sense of humor?

I liked what I saw of the Olympics. Which wasn't much. NBC decided NOT to interrupt basically any of their everyday broadcasts for the Olympics. So if it wasn't in Prime Time I couldn't watch. And since I don't pay for TV I couldn't watch online either. Kind of pathetic NBC.

But anyway I will get excited for Brazil 2016! Woo!

We had a delightful night out on Friday. We went to see The Lego Movie, dinner with a gift card at Red Lobster and then ended the night with a quick run to the grocery store. Pretty snazzy. The Lego Movie was just fine. I didn't see anything wrong with it, I was just enjoying. There were lots of kids with us in the theater and we of course laughed at completely different times but that's to be expected. I LOVED the Lego ocean, so so cool!

Those were the weekend highlights. See you tomorrow for more blog fun.

7 Quickish Takes

1. So on Monday it snowed 6 inches. Tuesday it was 50, sunny and melty. Wednesday was in the 40s and nice as well. Thursday it thunderstormed and flooded everything. Basements, roads, the creek... floods. Today it's sunny again but there are those pesky 50 mph winds we're dealing with. Plus it got cold again so all the melting turned to thick sheets of ice. Hot dog. Oh February. The most volatile of the months.

2. We're having fun learning about the Walrus these days. And in scoping out the closest walrus to us... I hope C is content with YouTube, :)

3. We are going on a date tonight. Supposed to be dinner and a movie but we might ditch the movie I actually do want to see it but it just seems like a lot of money when they put movies out on DVD/streaming so quickly now.

4. Working on language skills has been very rewarding, it's fun to see progress! Every time he learns a new word and uses it on his own is great!

5. Generally speaking my house is cleanish. I need to vacuum but when don't I? I could vacuum every hour and that might actually combat the problem but who knows. I've always wanted a Roomba but my Dyson works great and honestly a Roomba would just be in the way these days.

6. I cannot believe there's only a week left of February! Thrilled that it's a short month but I'm not entirely ready for March and Lent and all that. Though I do know what I'm doing for Lent. I think.

7. After these the most boring quick takes of all I give you take 7:

We actually had a pretty good week but Husband has been busy and I am really looking forward to this weekend! 

Have a nice weekend! And Link up with Jen. 

WWRW: Walrus Books

It probably started with The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems. Our love for Mo is well documented on this blog and that is probably C's most read. In the book, wait for it, the Pigeon wants a puppy. And when he gets a puppy he realizes that he does not in fact want a puppy. He changes his mind to a walrus.

And that my friend, planted the seed. Babies, toddlers and children, they are like little gardens. You plant seeds of knowledge, faith and manners and with some nurture they will eventually grow into (hopefully) self-sufficient adult people.

It was the one line about Pigeon wanting a walrus. Then we read the wallpaper on the inside of back cover. You can "Look Inside" on Amazon but it's a box that says "One Walrus" repeated. So at the end of the book we say "One Walrus" many many times.

Then there's the classic Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. After a smattering of zoo animals the very last zoo animal is a walrus bellowing.

We apparently read these books a lot. I knew we did, but gosh we must have. Because in C's magnetic fishing  there is a walrus to grab and it is his favorite. He carries it around.

Some kids like dinosaurs. Or trains. My younger brother liked gnomes. C... has a thing for walruses. I know this will shock you, but there's not a whole lot of toddler appropriate information about the walrus out there. We made some walrus coloring sheets. Those are fun. We've been watching some YouTube videos obsessively. Here's his favorite:

Bonus: When he watches this he sits in my lap and gives me a hug when the two walruses do!

So as of 3:00 today when my package finally arrived. (Oh President's Day getting in the way.) We have been reading:

Where's Walrus by Stephen Savage. The walrus escapes from the zoo and hides from the zookeeper who is chasing him down. In the end, the walrus does go back to the zoo and gets a bigger enclosure to boot. So in some respect it's a book about tiny zoo enclosures and animals getting bored in captivity. Except it's not really about that at all. (That's me really really digging for an over arching theme.) 

This is the perfect book for a toddler who has a fascination with walruses for a few reasons: 

• He gets to find and point to the walrus on every page. But it's easier than Where's Waldo? So he is actively engaged. 

• There are no words. I know listening to stories is so important but narrating what's happening is a lot of fun and super helpful for understanding as well. Plus then it can be as short or as long as we want. 

• The graphic-y design is really fun. Not all kids have a graphic designer Dad but since C does, we're happy to engage him in good design and talk about good design elements with him. And he doesn't mind because it's about a walrus. 

So that is what we are reading, or rather, paging through this week on our journey of walrus love. Any other walrus book suggestions? We'd be happy to hear them. 

 Linking up with Jessica and her other lovely people.

Ode to a Diaper Bag

You probably read Grace's blog right? Who doesn't read that hilarious bit of wonderful?

So you probably already know that she has an amazing giveaway right now. A Lily Jade Diaper Bag. But not just either of their diaper bags. The Madeline Bag. In red.

Just to be clear for a minute, my name is Madeline and red is already my color. It is the color of my kitchen. It is the color I picked for C. It is the color of the diaper bag we already have. I'll be honest with you and tell you that my L.L. Bean Bag is getting the job done. Apparently they don't have red anymore which means I would definitely not buy it again but since L.L. Bean stuff lasts forever it doesn't matter one bit.

It's just that it looks like a diaper bag. Which is great and fine by me when C was a baby. In his infant car seat (also red, he coordinated with his diaper bag) and when it was so easy to go places with him. But now, C is a toddler. He hasn't been in a carrier car seat in a long while now. He's grown up. 

Unfortunately, our diaper bag hasn't. I cannot tell you the amount of covet I have for the Lily Jade Madeline diaper bag in red. But it is extreme. 

I've never been much of a purse girl to be honest. The thing about schooling for 18 years in a row meant I had a backpack 90% of the time to put stuff in. And in the summer, I worked at camp which was another great option for a backpack. As I have transitioned to true adulthood however (read: no longer take a backpack with me everywhere) I have basically just switched to the diaper bag. 

And that was fine. I guess. Then I saw the Lily Jade bag and I fell in deep, hardcore love. It's real leather. (Grown Up.) Mature. Stylish and I could really use some stylish in my life. But best of all, it has this amazing insert that converts it from a diaper bag into a purse in a moment. So I can take the youngster to the museum and playdates with his stuff in tow but later when it's time for book club... it will no longer be jammed packed with fruit snacks, wipes and cars. (I carry diapers too I do, but I have like 4 different kinds of wipes and a whole lotta fruit snacks.) Oh. And it can be a backpack if I want it to be. As a long time backpack user I can safely say that this bag is magic. 

This is not a post like Cari's boots. I certainly do not expect that anything will come from this post. I just needed to put it out there. Get my feelings out on paper you know? Or typed into the blog but whatever. 

I entered the giveaway every.single.way I knew how including dusting off the Facebook account I don't really use to like Camp Patton. Which seriously goes against all of my own policies on Facebook as I haven't liked anything in years. Literal years. Since they were links in paragraph form on your profile. 

There isn't another entry for writing a post all about how much I want the diaper bag. But I'm putting it out to the universe that this Madeline wants THAT Madeline very badly.