Snapshots: An Idiosyncratic Mother's Day

Want to see what I got for Mother's Day?

Flowers!

Our very first iris bloomed on Mother's Day from the bulbs A. brought from Blackrock and planted two years ago. I thanked him for getting me flowers for Mother's Day.

And a trip to a movie theater!

Blurry photo of the movie theater. (The feature film was Adventures in Babysitting, which is still entertaining forty years later.)

I know. It doesn't look like a movie theater. Lemme 'splain.

What I always really want for Mother's Day is some time by myself. That was a particularly difficult request this year because of the hot, windy weather. A. would normally take the kids out somewhere for a few hours so I could be by myself, but no one wanted to be out in that weather. 

However, since all I wanted to do was watch a movie on my laptop, and that can be done indoors, I decided to take myself out for a few hours. So I went to school.

Specifically, I went to my classroom at school, which isn't a regular classroom with desks and everything. It's more like an enrichment room, with different areas that have tables or carpets or even bean bags on the floor. It's air conditioned. There's wi-fi. There's a bathroom. There's an ice machine in the concessions kitchen so I could ice down the seltzer I brought with me. 

And there was no one there. Perfect.

Moving on . . .

Quite a few more irises have bloomed in front of the house.

All purple.

I've stopped harvesting the rhubarb, so it, too, is flowering.

This plant is particularly exuberant.

Cubby's teacher called us on Thursday afternoon asking if it was okay if he was given a Tylenol. He injured himself jumping for a football when he came down on the edge of a three-foot stump at the edge of the playground. He was wearing shorts, and in addition to a massive bruise, a inch-long piece of wood went into his thigh.

It was really nasty.

Miraculously, the mother of another student happened to be at school for an event and actually on the playground when it happened, and she is a practicing nurse. There was just enough of the wood sticking out for her to remove it with tweezers. Very luckily, it went in laterally rather than straight in and deep, so she could see that she got it all. Then she wrapped him up and they gave him the Tylenol.

Of course, Cubby brought home the piece of wood as a souvenir. He remarked that the blood stained it a very nice red color.

Match for scale. Yikes.

He's been gimping around a bit--mostly because of the giant bruise on his thigh--but there's no sign of infection, so he should be fine.

And last, let's end with something a bit less gruesome, shall we?

Sunrise on the range. (Still somewhat dimmed thanks to the smoke from the massive fires burning to the east of us. We're still in no danger, though.)

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Book Talk: Modern Elementary Fiction

"Modern" meaning anything published between 1980 and now. Although probably most of these are still going to be on the older side, because I am not generally very impressed with more-current fiction for children.

Superfudge by Judy Blume--Judy Blume wrote a LOT of books, and I suspect everyone had their own favorite. I always liked this one. 

Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary--I forgot to put this one on the previous list. It was published in 1977, so not very modern, but my favorite of the Ramona books.

Clementine series by Sara Pennypacker--These are for younger kids, probably second or third grade, and the main character is a mischievous little girl named Clementine who gets into all kinds of things. She is very like Ramona Quimby.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman--Definitely not for younger readers. Neil Gaiman's books are, well, weird. This one definitely is, as well as being macabre and perhaps somewhat disturbing for some kids. My boys loved it, and I read it and thought it was a very good book, but it is . . . weird. 

Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parish--This could be both old and modern, since the books featuring this character have been published continuously since 1963. I haven't read any of the newer ones written by the original author's nephew (although, in my experience, those sorts of situations usually result in a definite reduction in quality), but the original books are beloved by beginning readers. Amelia Bedelia is just so . . . silly. Younger kids love her, and they're good books for kids who are ready to move beyond leveled readers but aren't quite ready for longer chapter books.

Ranger in Time series by Kate Messner--There are a lot of these books about a time-traveling golden retriever named Ranger. He gets transported to various periods of history and helps children out in different situations like the San Francisco earthquake or a voyage to the South Pole. I've read these aloud with my younger children, and I found the premise a bit forced sometimes, but kids love these, and it's a very good way for them to learn about different historical events.

Jasper says he's just as good as a golden retriever and someone should write a book about him.

I Survived series by various authors--Another history-based series with a ton of books. If not for these, I myself never would have heard of The Great Molasses Flood of 1919. (Yes, it really was molasses, and it happened in Boston.)

With You and Without You by Ann M. Martin--This author is best known for The Babysitters Club series--which I loved as a kid--but I think this book is much better than those. It's about a girl whose dad dies of a terminal illness. The subject makes it very sad, but it is a remarkably sensitive story about a family handling death and grief. She wrote another book about a boy whose brother is autistic (Inside Out) and another one about a girl struggling with dyslexia (Yours Turly, Shirley). I really think Ann M. Martin was way ahead of her time when it came to writing about kids who were mostly not represented in children's fiction at that time. She's just a great author for kids.

Hush by Jacqueline Woodson--For older elementary, probably fourth or fifth grade. I read this and thought it was great. It's about a black girl whose family has to enter a witness protection program after her police officer father testifies against a fellow police officer. It deals with some pretty heavy topics, but it is definitely still a book about and for children. There's nothing inappropriate in it, but it is serious in a way that is rare for children's fiction.

What would you add to this list of modern elementary fiction?

Friday Food: Short and Sweet

I do not appear to have felt very chatty this week. How unusual.

Friday 

Short version: Beef stir-fry, rice

Long version: A package of tenderized top round steaks cut into strips and marinated, then combined with onion, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, and bell peppers from the freezer. Tasty stir-fry. Slicing all the fresh vegetables is definitely more effort, but it's also better stir-fry than using frozen. True of so much.

Saturday

Short version: T-bone steaks, garlic bread, carrot sticks, random roasted things

Long version: While I was baking bread, I shoved many things into the oven, including thinly sliced onions, a pan of potato chunks, another pan of carrots and sweet potatoes, and the garlic bread. After the garlic bread was gone, some people started in on the potatoes, so I guess it was a good thing I made them.

Sunday

Short version: Bunless cheeseburgers, potato salad, raw cabbage, leftover carrots/sweet potato, chocolate pudding

Long version: Yes, I cook my own Mother's Day dinner. But I made it easy on myself by mostly including things that could be prepared ahead of time.

I made this potato salad (except with Russet potatoes, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, and half the amount of sugar) because A. does not enjoy mayonnaise-based potato salads, and I love every kind of potato salad. This is a good one for the mayonnaise-averse.

Also a good one for anyone who has a lot of dill in their garden. Which is everyone who has ever grown dill. It is a prolific self-seeder.

And then I made the pudding because I had a lot of milk that needed to be used soon, I could make it ahead of time, and I really love chocolate pudding.

Monday

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: Hamburgers, steak, potato salad, the very last of the ram/rooster stew for A. You know, workday food.

Potato salad is also good leftover.

Tuesday

Short version: Ground beef and bean tacos

Long version: I added another two-pound package of ground beef to the pound or so left from making hamburgers, along with half a can of black beans that was languishing in the refrigerator, to make the taco meat. 

We had both tomatoes and lettuce for a topping, so it was tacos deeeeluxe.

Or something.

Wednesday

Short version: Tuna salad sandwiches, fruit shakes

Long version: A. took Cubby to the sports banquet at school. I was tired after working, and it was 90 degrees out, so I took the easiest and coolest way out.

In our house, smoothies=fruit shakes. I had a couple of bananas that really needed to be used up, so that worked out.

Thursday

Short version: Tacos

Long version: Leftover meat and beans in tortillas. And it wasn't even a work day!

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

T.T.: Do As I Do

I came across this old post I never actually posted for whatever reason, and decided it was sort of appropriate for a post-Mother's Day Tips.

One of the Pearls of Wisdom I have acquired since becoming a mother is that having children will force you to come face to face with your own failings . . . in your children.

This is most uncomfortable, particularly when I get mad at them for some kind of behavior that I then realize was exactly what I did when I was a kid.

Humbling. Very humbling.

But even worse than that is recognizing in my children some of my failings that I desperately wish they could overcome, because I know how those failings have affected my life.

For instance, I know about myself that I never want to do anything I'm not immediately good at. There are many things that I have an innate talent for, and those are the things I do. If it requires multiple attempts with the possibility of failure? Nope. I will avoid those things.

Obviously, this is not something I want my children to do. I mean, talk about an excellent way to limit yourself.

Unfortunately, this is a tendency I can see in at least one of my children already. I want to shake him and tell him forcefully, "Try the things you're not good at. Try the things you're afraid of. DON'T BE LIKE ME."

Not that he would listen. Kids often don't. But you know what they do do? They watch. They observe.

I hope he watches when I'm trying and failing to drive a screw that I'm still trying. And that I eventually got it.

I hope he sees me struggling to understand his math homework so I can help him, even if I don't always manage it.

I hope he sees me decorating the ugliest cakes ever and understands that I did it not because I am a talented cake decorator who can create beautiful cakes, but because I wanted to make my children happy.

It helps that almost ANY cake makes children happy, as long as their name (or, um, initial) and some candles are on it.

And I hope he tries, and fails, but does the hard things anyway.

A Mother's Day Bonus

I know I already posted this Sunday's Snapshots, but I couldn't resist also posting a link to the best Mother's Day song of all time.

I apparently first directed your attention to this almost exactly 10 years ago, so I think it's definitely time to re-visit it.

In honor of mothers everywhere, I present Mr. T. is short shorts and high tube socks performing "Treat Your Mother Right." (When I showed this to my children this morning, I skipped the kids yelling at each other in the beginning, because, as I told my own kids, they yell at each other all day and don't need to see other kids doing it. Mr. T. appears 39 seconds in.)

Snaphots: Happy Mother's Day

Here I am, a regular ol' mom in the middle of nowhere. And here are my photos from this week.

Poppy's friend brought a bag of her outgrown clothes with her when she came to spend the day with us on Tuesday, and then she carefully laid them all out for display. And THEN, she folded them all and helped Poppy put them away in her drawers. She folded them! Magic! (My kids do not fold clothes. They do sometimes put them away, but folding? No.)

 

I am delighted every morning by how the rising sun spotlights this arrangement of weeds the MiL picked with Poppy, and how the sun makes the peacock feather I hid in it absolutely glow. 

And now, plants! Because it's spring! And things are growing! YAY!

I have finally managed some successful kohlrabi, after a few years of failure. Turns out, just like cabbage, it cannot be direct-seeded here.

Only a few of the strawberries we planted last year survived, but those few have several strawberries apiece on them. This tiny plant has six strawberries on it already.

As this is only the second year for our asparagus, I stopped harvesting it already and am letting it grow into tall spears and then into the fun, feathery asparagus trees. I like to eat asparagus, but I also like how it looks after it grows into the actual plant.

Between marauding rabbits, hornworm defoliation, and cold weather, A. has had many setbacks with his grapevines. But he's pulled some of them through by developing some novel techniques for protection (stone enclosures like this, plus he actually buried them in dirt to overwinter this year), and he thinks he may even get grapes this year. 

Random shot Poppy insisted I take of of the honey/peanut butter/butter combination to be melted for the snack cookies. Fun fact: When all mixed together, this tastes exactly like melted peanut brittle.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted. 

And Happy Mother's Day to all other mothers out there. I hope your day is exactly as you wish it to be.

Book Talk: Classic Elementary Fiction Part 2

It's no surprise that this is the largest category of books I'm recommending. It's what I like to read. I'm a classic sort of person, I suppose, for better or worse. 

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame--I have never read this one, but we got a copy from the MiL's friend (thanks, Mary!) and one of my boys has already read it twice. It's about as classic as it gets, and a very gentle sort of story with lots of friendships. It is, however, an old children's book, originally published in 1908, and is a perfect example of the ways in which children's fiction has changed. The sentences are long, with lots of punctuation, so only a quite proficient reader won't get lost in them. Also, the vocabulary is extraordinary, and I would venture to guess that modern adult readers wouldn't know what some of the words mean. So, it is a wonderful book to read aloud with a child who is not yet a very good reader, or a good book for a good young reader who is not yet brainwashed by Captain Underpants.

Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight--Another animal book. This one has been read a few times by the other boy, who is a big fan of dog stories. There are other Lassie books, I think inspired by the popular television series, but this is the original, and the only one written by this author. If you have children sensitive to animals' distress, this one might have some disturbing parts to it, because of course attitudes to animals were very different when this book was written in 1940. Also, it has some vernacular speech in it, so it's probably best for stronger readers.

Jasper says collies are overrated, and why hasn't anyone written a book about a border collie/cur cross? 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl--What kid wouldn't want to visit Willy Wonka's chocolate factory? I'm not a huge fan of all of Roald Dahl's stories, but this is a great one. And, of course, there's also the fun of getting to watch the movie after reading the book. But ONLY the one with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. I cannot countenance Johnny Depp as the creepiest Willy Wonka ever. (I've never actually seen that one--I couldn't get past how strange Willy Wonka looked in the ads for it when it came out.)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor--This is a hard book for kids, I will not lie. It doesn't shy away from describing how difficult life in the segregated deep south was for black people for generations. But there is no denying the truth of it, and this book is very powerfully written. It also has great female characters in it: Cassie, Mama, and Big Ma are all what would now be termed "strong women." And in the tradition of "strong women" of the past, their strength is all directed to keeping their families and communities safe and thriving. 

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan--I recently re-read this book, which I remembered liking as a child. It's written in such simple language that I think it would qualify as a beginning reader's chapter book, but the simple language (and happy ending) does not mean it's a shallow story with shallow characters. It's told from a child's point of view, and I think does a good job representing how children grapple with some pretty heavy things (death, resentment, fear). 

Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright--I found this book in our school library when I was cataloging everything. I had never heard of this author before, but I loved the book. Remember when I said that I think fantasy is such a popular genre now because it allows for safe children's stories with adventure? Well, this book (published in 1942) has very real children who had adventures simply because children at that time were still given the unsupervised time to have adventures of their own. The adventures in this book start when the family moves from New York City to the country. This is the second of what is referred to as "The Melendy Quartet," (the family's name is Melendy), and there were new editions of all four of the books published in 2008.

The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit--Another book about children who move to the country, but this one has a bit of a darker side, as the children have to move because their father is taken away. The children have all sorts of adventures in their new home, but there is the sadness and mystery of what happened to their father. It does have a happy ending, though.

Okay, I'll stop here. Do you have any more to add to this additional list of classic elementary fiction?