Children's Book Reviews

Before naptime and bedtime, I always read a story to each kid. And, of course, if they bring me a book and want me to read it, then I usually comply. So we end up reading a lot together. (A fact which makes me very happy.) This meant that, with my limited library, we ended reading the same stories over and over again. So it didn't take me long to realize that there were some that I enjoyed more than others. This morning I thought it would be fun to make a list of my favorites and what I like about them. If you need some suggestions, maybe this will be helpful. And, of course, I'd love to hear any suggestions you might have!

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
It turns out Dr. Seuss really is the best with rhymes! Anything else that tries to rhyme just looks so amateur in comparison! The rhymes roll off your tongue so well you feel that the entire book must have just come into being with absolutely no effort on Dr. Seuss's part at all. Which, of course, means he must have worked incredibly hard to make it so good. Add to that a wonderful story with a great moral and you have an excellent book.

Animalia by Graeme Base
Beautiful illustrations packed full of detail. I could spend so much time just looking for all of the alliterative words that Base packs into each page. It's a delight to look at this book!

One Monster After Another by Mercer Mayer
This book is full of fun tongue-twisters, which makes it great for reading out loud. I think my personal favorite is the Wild'n'Windy Typhoonigator. What a great name! And if you think it's easy making up a score of different monsters with fun names, just try it! Mayer is a genius!

How the Trollusk Got His Hat by Mercer Mayer
I love the story for this book-- how the honest stamp-collecting trollusk perseveres in trying to return Reggie's hat to him, despite the fact that everyone is afraid of him and refuses to help him out. But what really makes this book fun is all the detail in each drawing. Random objects are labeled as "Island Joe" merchandise (followed finally by a sign that reads, "Who is Island Joe?"); there are constantly joggers making their way through the pages; and my personal favorite-- a portrait of the "Moaning Lisa" which looks like the Mona Lisa in pain... So much fun for kids and adults!

Naughty Nancy by John S. Goodall
These books have no words, which drives Craig crazy, but I like the freedom it allows me to make the story as long or as short as I want it to be. The illustrations manage to be both beautiful and hilarious all at the same time, and I love the antics that Nancy gets up to. I think when I was a kid she was my hero.

Creepy Castle by John S. Goodall
This one may not be as funny as Naughty Nancy, but it's still a fun read. And Bentley loves the whole dilemma of the Bad Guy who is following main characters. It has the feel of a traditional fairy tale and I love that!

Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Lovely internal rhymes, which make me happy. And then at the end, when Lloyd the llama is talking to his llama friend Llyn I nearly die laughing. It makes me want to have pet llamas just so I can give them ridiculous double-L names.

This Little Piggy by Steve Haskamp
The little squishy piggies are fun for the kids (as are the holes that you can stick your fingers through), but what really impresses me is how a whole mix of different fairy tales are all woven into the story. It's very clever.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
This is just one of those classics that I didn't fully appreciate when I used to read it to the kids I babysat. I love how it feels nice and sleepy by the end-- a perfect bedtime story.

Peek-a-Who? by Nina Laden
This is a very simple and short little story-- definitely geared towards babies and young toddlers-- but I think it's very clever.

Just a Little Critter Collection by Mercer Mayer
Mostly I just like having a lot of selection in this book-- seven stories to choose from! And they're all that perfect bedtime length! But I also genuinely like all of the stories, and that's saying a lot! Having said that, though, I think my favorite is probably Sometimes I Forget because it rings so true to me.

Pajama Time! by Sandra Boynton
Another book with fun rhymes. This one just feels like a party! And something about Boynton's drawings is just so cute. I remember thinking her drawings were super-cool when I was in 3rd grade. I guess my tastes have changed much...

Possum Magic by Mem Fox
An adorable story, with wonderful illustrations to match. And added bonus-- it takes place in Australia, so you get fun terms like "Vegemite sandwich." What could be better?

So those are some of my favorites. I just know as soon as I publish this list I'm going to remember a whole bunch of others, but this is a start at least. Oh-- and I like most of the Berenstain Bears books, too, although they run a little long for my attention span (not my kids', though).

What are your favorites?

Hodge-Podge

Here's a whole mess of pictures that didn't fit into any particular category, but I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy!

For sitting in a pink doll's stroller, Bentley manages to have a surprisingly tough look on his face.

I like the fact that Bentley put Lightning McQueen on top of his tower of blocks. It's a nice touch, don't you think?

Kendra is always happy when she's eating!

I think maybe it's impossible to fully enjoy spaghetti unless you eat it without utensils and smear it all over your face.

Bentley sports the ever popular Harry Potter look in eyewear.

'Nuff said.

And now with sword-- ahem, wand in hand, he's ready for Hogwarts!

And I couldn't resist-- one last picture of my little groundhog family (on our neighbor's porch steps)

Home Improvement

Now that Craig is on summer break, he's been working around the house. Here are some of the things he's done so far:

Can you tell which half of the concrete has been power-washed and which half hasn't? Yikes!

This was just a fence (a broken fence, at that) and Craig made it into a gate. All by himself! Who does stuff like that???

Here's one of the hinges on the new gate. Isn't it lovely? My husband does such fine work!

And this, my friends, is what the granite looks like that we just picked out for our bathroom countertop. It's called Costa Esmeralda and I think it is beautiful. I can hardly wait to have a brand new bathroom!

So that's some of what Craig's been doing! Next week he's in class all week, but after that he'll really get going to work. It's so fun having him home!

Picture Time

These are all pictures from a week ago when my parents were here visiting. Unfortunately, my parents aren't actually in most of the pictures. How did that happen? And they tend to be a bit blurry (apparently I should have used a flash). So hopefully I can get Craig to upload some of our video footage so you can see Grandma and Grandpa, too. But for now, I hope you enjoy these:

My Dad kindly allows Bentley to cover him with bubble wrap

The finished product!

Pretty in Pink

I'm not sure which Kendra is more excited about-- the sippy cup or time with Daddy!

Kendra demonstrates her lovely walking technique

(I wish I had tan enough skin to pull off wearing that color!)

Bentley isn't nearly as upset as Kendra was to wear her hat. Is it just me, or does he look French or something?

Mystery

My hair dryer has three switches on it. The main one is the on/off switch, with options for "High" and "Low." Above that, there is a blue button which, if held down, makes it blow cool air. And then below the on/off switch is another third switch which is a complete mystery to me. When it's flipped on and the hair dryer is in use, it lights up green. Otherwise, it's dark. I have no idea what that little green light could possibly mean. But every time I dry my hair I like to make sure it's switched on, just in case.

Because you just never know, do you?

Maybe it's the Green Button of No-Static! Or perhaps it's sending out waves of body that will someday transform my thin hair into a mountain of sleek curls. Perhaps it kills lice (not that I've ever had any!!!). Maybe it sets up some standard so that the back of the hair dryer won't suck up my hair, turning it into a burned and snarled mess (don't you hate that?). Maybe it will add blonde(r) highlights to my hair. I have no idea.

But I hope it's doing something really important.

Because you have to admit-- that would be really cool.

Tragic

This may be my favorite picture of all time.


You can make up any story you want about it-- she's sad because Grandma & Grandpa are leaving, she's depressed about what is happening to our country, she's having a bad hair day... But the truth is, Kendra is upset because I wouldn't let her take her hat off until Grandma could take a picture of her. It's a hard-knock life!

(As a sidenote, looking at this picture helps explain why my own Mother would always wind up laughing at me whenever I cried over anything. Who could take a face like that seriously???)

Lame, I know

After much thought, I've decided to make this blog private. If you are:

a) family
b) linked to my blog
c) someone who has left comments recently
d) any combination thereof

then I'll be sending you an invite soon! If you're not any of those and would like to keep reading my blog, then leave a comment to let me know (and include your email address) so I can invite you.

For my parents and anyone else who thinks this will make it complicated to read, if you want me to, I'm more than happy to walk you through the steps-- I promise, it isn't really a big deal!

Thanks!

A few random notes

I have a whole slew of things to share, so rather than a bunch of short posts, I'm going to just give you a long list. Enjoy!

-I took the trash out yesterday while Craig was in the shower (wasn't that nice of me?). As I was doing it, I realized that I really don't mind such chores when it's warm outside. So can I use this moment of nice-ness to try and coerce Craig into taking care of the trash in the winter?

-I'm proud of myself for finally grabbing an old toothbrush and some SoftScrub and cleaning out the corners of the shower this morning. Such a little thing that makes such a difference!

-Yesterday my parents treated us to dinner at The Melting Pot, which was fabulous. My in-laws were super-nice and watched the kids for us so we didn't have to bring them along. That was also fabulous. How did I get such nice people in my life?

-Along with her new-found ability to walk, suddenly Kendra thinks she should be able to walk down the stairs just like the rest of us. She hasn't fallen down yet, but I think it's probably just a matter of time...

-Every time I see our little groundhog family, it makes me happy.

-My sister Leah just sent us all an article about how Ken Griffey, Jr. and Ichiro have become really good friends and how much happier Ichiro is now. I sat wearing my "Griffey Returns" t-shirt that my Dad got me in Seattle and tried not to cry. Ever since having kids weird happy things will make me cry (like the fireworks at Disneyland-- WHO CRIES OVER THAT???). I really hate that I'm so emotional, but at least it's always over happy things and not sad things!

-Craig has one day left of school. I can hardly wait to have my husband back again.

That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I have more, but I'll just do a new post when I think of it. What's new with you?

Finally!

I am pleased to announce that Kendra is finally walking. Hallelujah!

(Apparently she just needed her Grandpa Rex to walk to in order to properly motivate her. He's a very proud Grandfather!)

Suburban Wildlife

We have a groundhog, who we dubbed "Gordy," who lives near us. Occasionally I see him in our right-hand neighbor's yard, once or twice I've seen him burrowing under our front porch, but mostly I see him under our left-hand neighbors, the Feint's, back porch. That seems to be his favorite hang-out spot.

Last week, though, Gordy had me worried. Craig and I were sitting at our dining room table eating when we saw him coming out of his favorite home. He began climbing up the stairs to the Feint's porch, only to slip and fall down, rolling back onto his back! This was a little alarming, but when he proceeded to do it again, and then finally gave up and retreated to underneath the porch, I got really worried. What could possibly be wrong with Gordy? Was he dying? Should I mention this to our neighbors? (I have to admit-- having a dead groundhog under your porch would be really gross.)

What with being gone over the weekend and things being busy since I got back, I hadn't spotted our fat little friend in a while, so I continued to be a bit concerned about him.

Until this morning. I was just finishing my breakfast when I noticed movement under the stairs. As I kept watching, hopeful that Gordy had finally recovered from whatever was ailing him, I got something of a surprise: a very small groundhog finally made her shy entry into the outside world! She's about half the size of the groundhog I usually see (about the size of a squirrel, rather then the size of a very large cat as Gordy is), so this is clearly a baby groundhog!!!

So now I understand what's been going on. Gordy-- who is hereby renamed Girtie-- was clearly up all night nursing last week, which reduced her to stumbling around drunkenly. Poor thing! She has my sympathy. But what a cute little baby!

P.S. I just managed to snap a picture of the two of them-- check it out!

Fried Ramen

I've never bothered posting a recipe before, mostly because I'm not much of a cook. But this one is really good (albeit a bit strange) and I doubt many other people have ever tried it, so I thought I'd share.

Being me, I do have to explain it a little first. This recipe feels very Japanese, but it actually comes from a Japanese American friend of mine-- Mitarai shimai, from my mission. She called it "Dad's noodles" and since her Dad was less Japanese than her Mom, I'm not really sure where this recipe falls on the Japan to America scale of cuisine. If you've ever eaten a Spanish tortilla (which have nothing in common with the ones you'd eat at a Mexican restaurant), this is kind of similar, except it uses noodles instead of potatoes. Or like okono miyaki (for those of you well-versed in Japanese food), except the cabbage has been replaced with noodles.

This made a lot more sense in my head, before I tried to type it out...!

Anyway, here it is:


Fried Ramen
Boil one package of ramen noodles, drain
Mix one egg, spice packet (that comes with the noodles), a little chopped onion, and a small handful of cheese (I usually use mozzarella, but anything would probably work)
Add noodles to egg mixture
Spray a small frying pan with Pam
Flatten noodles into frying pan and fry, flipping once as the egg gets cooked (like you'd do a pancake); add more cheese as it's cooking, if you want
Smother with mayonnaise and little bit of BBQ sauce (mixed together-- this is how you eat okono miyaki, too, so try it before you just write it off as being too weird! It's yummy!)
Enjoy!


This is really only enough for one person. When I make more, I like to keep it all separate, so last night I had three little frying pans all cooking away. But I just do that because I'm really bad at flipping things and it gets harder the bigger they are; if you're good at flipping pancakes, you could probably manage to make one big one and just cut it in half!

Suspicion

I could be wrong, but I think the fact that I took at least four naps today is the cause of my current bout of insomnia.

More than you would ever want to know about my opinion regarding flip flops

After my post about flip flops, alert reader Tom Smith (yes, that's my father-in-law!) sent me an article from the Star Exponent (a Culpeper, VA newspaper) about how flip flops can be bad for one's feet! Editorial columnist Jeff Walker mostly is annoyed that people are wearing them all the time; it strikes him as too casual. But in the midst of his rant, he goes on to claim that, "there is a price to pay for freedom, even for your feet" and has several podiatrists on the record saying that flip flops can cause foot, ankle, leg and back pain, not to mention a shorter, shuffling gait.

I have to admit, this came as a surprise to me. I've been a flip flop wearer for years now and have never experienced any of these problems. I've never even had a blister. And they certainly don't slow my walk down-- I've got plenty of friends who can't keep up with me because I walk so fast! (My pet peeve is always tall guys who couldn't keep up with me-- what were they using those legs for if not to MOVE??? Lucky for Craig he's a fast walker, also!)

Not that shoes haven't ever caused me pain. I can remember back in High School when I wore birkenstocks (I'm from Seattle after all; although I don't recall ever wearing them with socks...). Those did make your toes hurt sometimes because you'd end up lifting your toes in order to keep the shoe on. But only for the first month or so, and then your toes got stronger. So it's not like we're not talking pain and agony here, just a little soreness if I'd walked a lot.

In all honesty, if this guy is really so concerned about foot health, you'd think he'd have a problem with high heels. Now those things are terrible for your knees, ankles, and back! And if, like me, you find yourself wearing them at church while simultaneously trying to chase after little kids, then good luck! It's not uncommon for my knees to ache after church.

The more I thought about the whole thing, the funnier it got to me. When I camped out in the deserts of Namibia, I brought hiking boots for the occasion. They were terrible. You'd wind up with these little thorns embedding themselves in your socks, which would then itch like crazy so that you'd finally have to stop every twenty feet to try and dig them out. But it never worked. Those socks and thorns would make you miserable. I threw away all my socks from that adventure! After about two days of hiking boots, I switched back to my flip flops and it was such a relief! These were my favorite pair of flip flops EVER, an awesome purple pair I'd bought on Zanzibar with the phrase "4 X 4" written on the strap. I always figured they were meant for off-roading or something!

But with the flip flops, the thorns were never a problem. The little tiny thorns could never stick to anything, and if the big scary thorns for which the Namibian desert is famous (it nearly defeated the German army for the Namibians) managed to work their way between my foot and my shoe, I'd just kick it out before stepping on it. It meant that I did have to tread more lightly than I normally do, but it was a small price to pay for the added comfort, not to mention how much cooler the flip flops kept my feet!

Back when I did my backpacking through Europe trip I wore flip flops the entire time. I didn't have room in my suitcase for tennis shoes! I wore flip flops on my wedding day. And now that I'm a mom, I'm even more devoted because I can put them on while holding Kendra, the diaper bag, and Bentley's hand. And let's be honest-- I spend enough time putting shoes on my kid's feet. I don't really want to bother lacing up my shoes, too!

Jeff Walker may be concerned that we're becoming too casual in our footwear. But I don't think that tennis shoes-- probably the healthiest for your feet-- have ever been considered an more formal. He might be worried that we're sacrificing our podiatric health (Craig says that's a word). But I think there are a lot more worrisome fashion trends out there and I have yet to see any negative impact on my feet.

I say, Long live the flip flop!

Conviction

I truly believe that some day I'll have the maturity to not do things like pulling off hang-nails in the middle of Stake Conference, causing me to go running to the nearest bathroom to find paper towels to staunch the blood. Embarrassing!