Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Whitney Gardner has been on my radar for years, as my older girls and I have read her other graphic novels (Fake Blood especially cracked me up); when I saw she’d published a new one last summer and it was called Free Piano (Not Haunted), I was kind of psyched for it. (On the cover, the “Not” is underlined twice, which I found even more entertaining.) And while it doesn’t have the same sort of specific, sly references to pop culture as Fake Blood does, it does add a fun twist to some well-known tropes. When Margot acquires a secondhand synthesizer, she’s thrilled at the idea of her dad teaching her to play it; her dad, however, is off to LA to pursue his music dreams, and so she’s left at home with her hardworking, rarely home mother. Margot’s feeling desperately alone when the ghost of an 80s pop diva who died young pops out of the synthesizer and starts asking her sometimes difficult questions about why Margot wants to be a musician–and for whom. Unfortunately, Vision isn’t the only ghost hanging out in the synthesizer…

Free Piano moves more quickly into its denouement than I was necessarily expecting; on the other hand, it’s a juvenile graphic novel with a few extra creepy panels, so I’m inclined to give it a pass. My favorite part as a parent was the theme of what (and who) is and isn’t important, especially Gardner’s negative portrayal of the times Margot is preoccupied with her phone and followers. Kids today need that message, and a graphic novel with an entertaining hook is a great way to get it across. I’m looking forward to my younger two girls reading it.

In the meantime, I prepped and distributed the first round of prizes for screen-free week today, and while I had a wretched night’s sleep, it’s been a pretty chill day overall. I’ll take it!

It was supposed to hit 80 today–and I’m guessing it did–which is why I went to Costco for the basics (milk, bread, gas) and came home with Trolli Gummi Pops to try. And since it’s late and I didn’t finish either of the books I was hoping I might, I’m reviewing those instead. Costco’s offering comes in a triple pack–10 each of very berry, grape strawberry, and cherry lemon. Everyone except my son (who just happened to be randomly out of the room every time) tried at least one of the flavors today, and while the texture was surprising to all of us, as I said–we’re not mad about it. In fact, they’re weirdly good. My youngest is possibly obsessed with them now, and so it’s good they currently get us a lot of Fetch points, because I foresee more boxes being purchased this summer. Frozen gumminess? Strangely satisfying. 5 out of 6 members of the household recommend.

I’ll keep you posted on the 6th one.

It’s always sad when a good series comes to an end, folks. And while technically there’s still a missed novella to look forward to–I bought a used copy online–Planet Omar: Ultimate Rocket Blast does appear to be the last novel in Zanib Mian’s lovely middle grade series. There’s a bit of a dearth out there of books for middle grade boys that don’t rely on bathroom humor, but the ‘Planet Omar’ books deal more with friend and family relationships in the context of the ups and downs of latter elementary school life. (Or at least its British equivalent.) In Rocket Blast Omar and his two best friends enter a rocket-building competition and end up representing their school at an event that doesn’t turn out at all the way they expect. (Sabotage!) Even kids who aren’t remotely science-y (I certainly wasn’t) will relate to the stresses of who should do what in a group project and presentation, not to mention the attitudes of some of the kids from other schools. By the end, there’s a lot to cheer for; at least the series is going out with a bang!

Seriously, though, parents of elementary school boys should not miss the ‘Planet Omar’ books. As for how my week is going, today is my “I can stay home if I want!” day, at least in the morning. Yesterday my youngest had a 4 hour long appointment–psych eval, because if she needs extra support, I want her to have it–and this afternoon, of course, my littles have piano. (Keep your fingers crossed that both of their attitudes will be better than they have been!) This morning, though–this morning is MINE!

Last night I finished reading the graphic novel I thought I’d finish on our trip, because I finally sat down and read it without distractions. (Sometimes doing that is hard, okay?) And while the art was not my favorite–I guess I prefer a crisper look?–the concept did make me giggle. Picture your basic superhero origin story, with an underdog girl tricked into consuming a potion developed by a leading scientist. Picture her discovering her powers (including her ability to fly!), making a new friend who’s solid sidekick material, and tracking down the town’s supervillain. All pretty typical, right? Except–she’s a pancake.

Not only is she a pancake, she lives in Breakfast Town, her new sidekick is a croissant, and the supervillain has sent his Henchtoasts to kidnap him. Luckily, before Luc Croissant is kidnapped, he found time to make Peggy a super suit, and she manages to save the day. Just your basic superhero story, right?

Anyway. It wasn’t earthshattering or excessively deep, but the puns were entertaining and Peggy and Luc are solidly likable. Graphic novel and/or superhero fans, this one’s for you! In the meantime, I’ve been doing trip laundry and making sure there’s food in the house again, besides the impressive list of errands I ran yesterday. (Five stops!) I also tackled my youngest’s bins of clothes, leading to more things leaving my house, which is always a win. Here’s hoping for a continuation of my extra-productive streak!

Spring Break is over, folks! The kiddos are back to school, the dishwasher is running, and I’ve got a hot date with laundry and Costco to look forward to today. (The dishwasher is already running, but the counters, stove, and ‘by hand’ dishes are also awaiting my attention.) I wanted to post before I got distracted, however, and eating breakfast while I do so works out nicely. As for what we did for spring break–we drove to Goblin Valley and climbed around the hoodoos on Monday, finishing up with a drive to the booming metropolis of Hatch, UT (a town so small that gas stations don’t have to open when they say they will, leaving hungry people to drive into Bryce Canyon for breakfast, find the breakfast buffet closed, and kill half an hour before the lunch buffet at 11) and a VRBO.

Tuesday saw us in Bryce Canyon, where four of us (my hubby was sore and my 16-year-old is not a fan of heights) went on a 1.3 mile loop down in and up out again, where the scenery was breathtaking but the climb out reminded me that I’m older and heavier than I used to be. We drove on to Vegas that afternoon, grabbing sodas shortly out of Bryce and stopping at a grocery store just before our hotel on the strip. Dinner was a paltry affair in the hotel room after hauling our bags through Excalibur, but we finally settled and slept pretty well, all told. Wednesday morning saw us breakfasting at Einstein Bros. in the hotel and hitting the pool in groups–my hubby and the three younger kids in the morning, and everyone but my hubby (who took one for the team and stayed with our stuff in the heat) in the afternoon. In between we found lunch, narrowly preventing a child meltdown, and hit the M&M store, which was fun to look at but horrendously expensive. After the second bout in the pool we went to Blaze for dinner and took ourselves off to bed.

On Thursday we breakfasted off groceries in our room and then I went to the Arte Museum with my bookends, who absolutely loved it. (It was cooler than I expected, honestly. Expensive but impressive.) We walked there but my hubby picked us up, and we ate at the hotel buffet before driving to the Las Vegas Temple, stopping to get my youngest a sticker book on the way. She sat doing her sticker book while the rest of us went to the temple, and after grabbing some fruits and veggies at the store we ate those plus leftover Blaze (for those who had it) in the hotel room and watched KPOP Demon Hunters together. (SO catchy with the songs!) Friday was our drive home, Saturday was a baby shower on my hubby’s side and then Stake Conference in the evening, and Sunday was more Stake Conference (the speakers were so good!) and family time. There were a few rough patches, but overall it was a good week.

NOW. I started April Pulley Sayre’s The Slowest Book Ever almost two years ago on the way to a family reunion; I picked it up again relatively recently, and I finished it on the drive to Vegas. (It appears to be out of print, which is why there’s no link, but it looks like used copies may be readily available if you’re interested.) Sayre does amazing picture books that focus on breathtaking nature photography, but this was 150 pages or so of somewhat random science facts and explanations, initially focusing on slow things in nature but starting to meander at around the three-quarter mark. I’m less of a science-y person, but I do enjoy interesting facts, and so I found Slowest Book to be an interesting read (even if it lost its focus towards the end). I don’t know how many kids it will appeal to, but the format is highly conducive to reading bits at a time, so science fans and those looking for a book that doesn’t suffer from very short available reading times will want to check it out. And if you’re still with me after such a long post, I hope your day is lovely–I’m off to switch the laundry!

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter! This week is my kiddos’ spring break, and since they’re home and life will be crazy, I’m taking the week off. See you next Monday!

Today my youngest had a rough day at school and a rougher afternoon; she had a sub and our family schedule was off because of a poorly timed doctor’s appointment (it being, of course, the only time the doctor had today), and she found out her team didn’t advance to the next round of debate, which she’d desperately wanted to do. This is a child that struggles frequently with emotional disregulation, and I fought unpleasantly familiar feelings of helplessness as I sat, eyes itching wildly from my weekly encounter with our piano teacher’s cat, and tried to get her to talk about what was wrong. She, at least, is in bed now, but I’m still trying to finish hard boiling eggs to dye tomorrow, because my burner keeps choosing to feel disconnected from its power source. (There’s definitely a metaphor there, but I’m going to let you parse that out on your own; PTA meeting Fridays are always long, and I’m just too tired.) Tomorrow is my hubby’s birthday and we have an impressive list of errands to run, and all I want is to shower and finish the puzzle in the living room and go to bed.

Still. It’s Easter weekend.

Any parent knows that holidays with children involve more work and less relaxation than holidays without them, but I am trying to choose peace, because there is peace in Christ. If you’re looking for some peace as well (because frankly, who isn’t in our world?), or just a peaceful way to celebrate this Easter season, you could (virtually) join my family and members of our faith around the world in listening to messages about our Savior this weekend. Click here if you’d like–the first session of messages begins tomorrow morning at 10:00 MDT–and have a happy Easter!

I was searching Pinterest the other day for recipes that would use items from my fridge without requiring me to go to the store; one of my picks was these Healthy Strawberry Oatmeal Bars, only I didn’t exactly follow the recipe. (Which means they weren’t necessarily quite as healthy, but oh well!) I used half whole wheat and half white flour instead of any almond flour–my oldest is allergic to most tree nuts, so nut flours are generally not a thing in my house–and melted butter instead of coconut oil, because I didn’t have coconut oil. I used maple syrup in the crust but regular sugar in the strawberries. I also stirred in a bit of strawberry freezer jam, because the berries were definitely not oversweet, but I ended up regretting it. You know how things are sweeter when they’re cold? Well, I refrigerated the leftovers and found that I preferred them cold (hot strawberries not being so much my thing), but once the bars were cold, the berries were sweet enough without the jam. I would definitely make them ahead next time in order to have them either cold or at room temperature, but I did rather enjoy them. Do with that what you will!

Okay, I’m still tired, but since it’s Monday morning I imagine you are, too! Either way, I’m finally reviewing Kate Messner’s The Trouble with Heroes, which I love love LOVED. It was already on my radar when it turned up on the preview list for Battle of the Books, but needing to preview it bumped it way up on my endless TBR list, and I’m so very glad it did.

So. If I could describe it in one sentence, it would be this: Gary D. Schmidt could have written this book. And if you know me, you know that compliments don’t come much higher. On the other hand, Gary D. Schmidt doesn’t really do verse novels, and Trouble with Heroes takes place in New York, not New England. It follows Finn Connelly, who lost his dad physically during Covid and metaphorically–to some degree, at least–after 9/11. (His dad was a NYC firefighter.) Hurting and angry at the rough hand he’s been dealt, he gets caught on camera kicking over a gravestone at the cemetery. In lieu of paying for a new one, which his family definitely does not have the money for, he agrees (somewhat under duress) to climb mountains instead. (Explaining why would take longer than it’s worth, since you really just need to read the book.) Suddenly his summer becomes a series of summits, accompanied by a varied group of climbers who have been there before; along the way, he loses some of his anger, makes a few discoveries about his dad, and finds his own way to being his own kind of hero.

Did I mention I loved this book? Finn’s journey is both heartbreaking and hopeful, his automatic text response to his mother while climbing adds both humor and tension by the end, and the entire story is satisfying in an ALL THE FEELS kind of way. I have yet to see what my 5th grader thinks of it, but as for me, I probably need to own this book.

In the meantime, we finally had a calmer weekend, which was lovely, and spring break is next week. Hallelujah!

We all survived the fundraiser, folks. And it was successful, which was a big relief. It would have been nice to make more, yes, but we still did pretty well. I think I’m waiting until Monday to attempt another review, though, because my mental energy still hasn’t replenished. In the meantime, at least three people in my house would buy the twice-baked chocolate croissants from Costco again (at 6 for $10), and I highly recommend the Boom Chicka Pop frozen strawberry almond bars there, which are finally back. Have a great weekend all!