Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

What with spring break, Easter, and my hubby’s birthday, I’m afraid I’ve gotten a bit behind on book reviews.  That being the case, today you get brief reviews of two books that either one or both of my girlies have been waiting for!

The Invisible Fran is the third installment in Jim Benton’s ‘Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist’ series; in it, Franny learns the folly of belittling other people’s interests AND defeats a ketchup-shooting robot (with the help of some of her classmates).  What’s not to love?  Benton does an amazing job of embedding a worthwhile lesson (moral?) inside a thoroughly entertaining and easy-to-read adventure, so if you’ve got an emerging or a reluctant reader, don’t miss these.

The Return of Zita the Spacegirl is a third installment as well; sadly, it also appears to be the final one, at least for now.  Zita joins with friends both old and new to save a planet from a maniacal overlord–which is fun all by itself–with a twist that took me completely by surprise.  This trilogy has just gotten better as it goes along, which makes me want to write Ben Hatke a letter asking if there will be more about Zita eventually.  Even if there isn’t, however, you at least want to read what there is!  Graphic novels and sci-fi are two genres I don’t actively seek out, but Hatke hooked me.

There you have it, folks!  Goodnight!

Since tomorrow is my hubby’s birthday, my fabulous mother-in-law offered to come down this week and tend the kiddos so that we could go out.  Tonight, we ate way, way too much at Texas Roadhouse (it was so good, though!) and then went to see “Ready Player One.”  I’ll admit, I haven’t read the book–I usually do that first–but I had a blast at the movie.  There was a lot of minor profanity–it was VERY 80s in that regard–but that was my only complaint.  Go see it!

Today is Easter, and the day we celebrated my hubby’s birthday with his family, and the second day of our church’s semiannual general conference.

It was a good day.

However,* since it’s after 9 and we just got home from my in-law’s house, I’m making this a short and simple post.  I made Sandy’s Chocolate Cake Recipe for today’s birthday celebration, and it was moist and rich and flavorful and thoroughly delightful.  (It was also forgiving, which was a good thing given the timing of the day!)  I’d make it again, which is saying something for a layer cake.  Next time you’re looking for something rich, moist, and chocolaty, look no further!

*Sorry, Mrs. DiDonato.  It pained me not to tuck the ‘however’ in, but it sounded weird when I tried it.