Big J's Big Bash

Big J had his 10th, yes, 10th! birthday last week.  He wanted to have a Rock Band party, so rock and party is what we did. We sent out invitations that looked like concert tickets and told everyone to dress as a rock star. I totally dressed up but didn't get any good pictures of it. I will be doing the same thing for Halloween, so I will get some then. When the guests came, everyone got a VIP backstage all access pass, chose a rocker bandanna, a rubber spiked bracelet, temporary tattoos, and a blow up electric guitar.

It was interesting to see how at first they were all a little shy about it, and would only pick zero, one or two tattoos, and maybe or maybe not get any of the other stuff, but by the end they were all tatted up with bandannas.  It was so simple to throw together because they all just played Rock Band in the basement while hanging out and eating snacks, then we sang Happy Birthday and had the cake and then opened presents. Decorations were a snap because I used rock star posters and some balloons, and then at the end they all got to take a poster home with their other things, too. Easiest party ever and Big J said all his friends were talking about how awesome it was at school. It was really fun!


Here are a few pictures and a fun clip from the big day:

  

 

Happy Birthday, Big J!

Let's Talk Scivvies

This week I happened to see Little J in his underwear after his shower. He had on briefs. Briefs that looked like a Speedo! They were so little and tight! I was like, "Little J! Your underwear is too small! Why didn't you tell me? Aren't they uncomfortable?" And he said that, yes, they were and that he would like some new underwear and to get him the same kind Big J has (which are boxer briefs).

So I go to the store the next day and get him some new underwear. Poor guy - he had size 6 underwear and according to the boxer brief package, he should be in size 10!  I get home and wash them, etc., and when I am putting them away I start to wonder about Big J's underwear. It's just not something I pay that much attention to. I mean, I wash them and put them away with a 1000 other things and that's it. I figured they would tell me about something essential like their underwear not fitting anymore. So I go look at what size his are. His were all size 10! According to the package, he should be in a 14!!

So I go back to the store and get some new underwear for Big J. That night when he put on his new boxer briefs, I started laughing so hard I was crying. Because how those looked on him compared to his old ones was like a pair of boyshorts compared to a pair of swim trunks. His old ones were so little on him that there really wasn't any "boxer" part to them. It was hilarious!

My poor, poor kids. I hope they can still have children after this.

I Am Smitten

Do you ever just look at your kids and feel totally in love with them? I mean, I know I love them and (usually) enjoy them every day, but some days I am just totally smitten with them. So, as the lucky readers of my blog, you get to hear why. Besides the fact that I think they are some of the most beautiful creatures on the planet, this is why I adore them at the present moment:
 

Big J always makes me proud. He is just good. He has a really kind, pure heart and a sensitive spirit. He is smart and good-natured. He is respectful. He is the one who the first thing he does when he gets up every morning is come and give me a hug. He is also the first to give me a hug after school. He is the type that still drops by to visit his past elementary teachers and give them a hug! He is my only kid with a tiny smattering of freckles across his nose and the top of his cheeks that I think are adorable.

                                         
 Little J is my beautiful (and only) hazel-eyed little boy. He is the passionate one on all accounts. He is the one that will excitedly, in detail, tell me about his day or his story or his cool move he did on the playground. His mind amazes me the way it works. He just has a really unique way of seeing things. He is a smart guy who is constantly creating - whether it be new Lego creations, drawings, or entrepreneurial adventures. Whatever it is, he throws himself into it. And I love how he dotes on his little sister.                                   

     
Little Man is my sweetheart. I hate to say this, but he pretty much is the perfect kid. He is so pleasant and good-natured. He is the first to want to help. He is obedient. He is kind and happy. He always looks at the bright side of things and rarely complains.We have always said ever since he was a baby that he was just happy to be here! He and his little sister have a really special relationship. Whenever they wake up in the morning they immediately go to each other and give each other a hug and a kiss and it melts my heart everytime. He tells me, "I love you every morning and every night!"

Little Miss is my very own personal Little Miss Sunshine. She is sweet and sassy all rolled up into one. She is the perfect balance of being a girly-girl - she loves to accessorize with bracelets and purses and is often found wearing someone else's shoes - but she can definitely hold her own with the boys and jumps right into the wrestling match with her brothers, dumps dirt on top of her head, crawls and climbs up onto anything, plays cars and Legos and swords. She loves to give kisses and will be the first to go and console someone if they are upset - she'll sit right down next to them and start patting their head. Sometimes I just look at her chubby, adorable face and wide, alert eyes and just love that I have another chance to see the world through brand new eyes.


So there you have it. I am completely smitten with my children. They are all so different and unique in their own way and I love being able to take this journey with them! It really is such a humbling thing to realize that only four little beings in the entire world and in the entire history of the world will be able to call me mama. It makes me want to do my best to make sure I am worthy of that title!

Little Miss' Delight Part 2

Here is another short clip of Little Miss enjoying the squirrels. Although this time she sees a spider on the outside of the window she is looking out. Between it and the squirrels she is beside herself. Until the end when she decides she doesn't like that spider much anymore.

Little Miss' Delight Part 1

We have discovered that Little Miss really loves animals. The word to describe how she reacts around animals is delight. Here is a little clip of her watching the squirrels run around in our back yard. There's even a little head banging involved.

Book Reviews

Admittedly, I have not been reading that many books in the last year compared to normally. However, I thought it was high time for a book review. So here are the books I have read over the past year or so.

Mental Floss. This isn't really a book, but it is a magazine I have really come to enjoy. You can check out the website here. It is basically a trivia magazine filled with interesting facts and stories about everything from pop culture to classic literature. Very interesting. And if I ever go on Jeopardy one day I might actually know some of the answers. The subject of Rooster Sauce (you know the red sauce at Chinese restaurants) came up at dinner once and I was able to regale our guests with the history of how it came to be -all because I read Mental Floss. Now don't tell me that doesn't make you jealous.

The Hunger Games. I love this book. It is about a post apocalyptic world where the Capitol of a country that is the ancestor of the United States demands that  two "tributes" (two children) from each of its territories come to The Hunger Games each year and fight to the death on live TV. It is such a unique book - unique plot, thought-provoking, disturbing, strangely real in an unreal world. It has the classic theme of the battle between humanity and inhumanity. I love that the heroine is a strong, capable, down-to-earth girl who is gritty and tenacious and does what it takes to survive, and yet you still like her. It is shocking in it's nature, kind of how I was shocked the first time I read Ender's Game, only more so. I was riveted and repulsed at the same time.

 

Catching Fire. This is the second book in The Hunger Games series. I loved it as much as the first, maybe even more. Which is rare in a sequel. It has the same action, sadness, horror, romance, and grit as the first one. I just kept thinking "what kind of twisted person came up with all of this?"

Mockingjay. I am still contemplating this one. This is the third book in the series. I thought it was a realistic ending to the series, which is probably why I was kind of ticked about it. I won't say much since I know it just came out and many probably haven't read it yet, but I was so conflicted in how I felt both reading this and completing it. It is brutal and bleak. But, then again, war is bleak. I thought some of the resolutions were a little trite, but overall my main thought was that I felt bad about what a suckfest Katniss' life was.

Still Alice. This book was loaned to me by a neighbor, and honestly, I wasn't that interested in it, but decided it would be awkward to give it back unread. So I read it and am glad I did. It is a fictional book about a 50 year-old Harvard professor named Alice who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. What makes this book interesting is that it is from Alice's perspective. It is heartbreaking and thought-provoking and totally changed the way I viewed this disease. It is also endorsed by the National Alzheimer's Association.




 

 Night. This is the second time I have read this book. I am not usually a re-reader, but I thought I might join a neighborhood book club and this was the book they were reading next. You know of my weird fascination with WWII, so that is why I owned this book already. Night, however, is a very difficult book for me to read because it is so very raw. You can feel the hate, anger, despair, confusion, and devastating grief that the author felt as he shares his story as a teenage Jew sent to Auschwitz with his family toward the end of WWII. Many of the survivor stories I read will comment on the horror they saw, but sandwich it with the beauty they found. Not in Night. It is painfully honest. It is a short work and extremely powerful.

 
The Boy Who Dared. This is actually a youth book. I picked it up at the boys' school book fair in the spring, because it was a true story about a teenage boy that stood up to the Nazis. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the boy whose story they were telling was a Mormon boy growing up in Nazi Germany! I had no idea, but that obviously peaked my interest. I didn't particularly like the style the book was written in, but the story is definitely worth reading.

The Dirty Secrets Club. This book (the first of several) is about Dr. Jo Beckett, a forensic psychiatrist, who is brought in by the police to do psychological autopsies on people who have died in undetermined ways. She reconstructs their life to find out their mental states, etc. before they died. I didn't really like this book. It was engaging, but to me it felt like the author was trying too much on several different levels. Almost like the kid brother who wants to get in on all the action but just can't quite fit in. A little too contrived. Plus, there was a little too much raunch in it for my taste.

The Memory Collector. This book is also a Dr. Jo Beckett book, and I actually read it before The Dirty Secrets Club, which is why I got the other one. I did like this book better, however. It was fast-paced and I couldn't figure out how all the pieces were going to come together. I like the main character, Dr. Beckett, because she is smart and spunky.








I think I have started and stopped a few other books along the way, too, but I can't remember them all. I am now looking for a good book or series to read, so let me know if you've read something you've loved!