Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Do your children beg to go to the dentist?  Mine do.  I never disliked the dentist as a child, but I don’t remember actively looking forward to it; my children, on the other hand, are constantly asking me when they can go again and if I’ve made their appointments.  (One of them declared that a dentist appointment would be a perfect birthday activity.)  Yesterday was finally the day of their scheduled summer cleanings, which means that I can put off the clamor for the next six months.  All three (my 3-year-old played at my fabulous aunt’s house) passed with flying colors, while I, on the other hand, appear to have the second cavity of my adult life.  (I had 3 after getting my braces off, but I was 13.)  Add that to my yearly OB checkup today, which was followed by three sets of essentially the same form to fill out at school registration, and it hasn’t exactly been a week of cracking good fun thus far.  (Can you tell I’m listening to a very British audiobook at the moment?)  On the other hand, I’ve at least done some of the things.  Maybe now I’ll manage more time to actually finish a book?

I’m not great at making homemade family night treats every week–or having weekly family nights, for that matter.  But I’m trying harder to manage the latter, and since it was a quiet afternoon, I decided to enlist my 6-year-old in making the former.  He was restless and feeling left out of his sisters’ activities and needed some one-on-one; he was also one of the most important recipients of tonight’s lesson (making proper apologies instead of yelling ‘sorry’ in an aggravated voice across the room, or the lawn), and so I figured helping with the treats would soften the message.  Out of several no-bake options–because IT’S HOT–these Puppie Chow Krispie Treats won out; they’re essentially Muddy Buddy flavored Rice Krispie treats, and who doesn’t like the sound of that?  Ultimately, I’ve decided I’d rather have the real thing–you don’t get the perfect amount of powdered sugar in each bite of these, making some bites not quite sweet enough for me–but if you’re passionate about Muddy Buddies and don’t have Chex, these are a reasonable substitute.  The kiddos seemed to like them–you’ll have to let me know what you think!

Can you tell I’ve been listening to “South Pacific” in the car lately?  Anyway…

I don’t always do two reviews in a row on a 31st/1st calendar combination, but since I missed on the 29th AND I just finished The Boys in the Boat:  Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, you get another review today.  Assuming, of course, that you want a review other than I LOVED THIS BOOK, which I did.  How could you not love it?  (Unless, of course, you’re my 15-year-old niece who read it for school and most emphatically did not.  To be fair, I didn’t enjoy nonfiction at that age, either.)  It’s a thrilling, come-from-behind sports/Olympic story, a poor-and-working-class-kids-win-out-during-the-Great-Depression story, a kid-from-a-hard-childhood-finds-belonging story, and an Americans-showing-up-Hitler story all in one.  The nice guys finish first–and in front of the Nazis, to boot.  The writing is compelling, the story is amazing, and I learned more about rowing crew than I possibly knew there was to know.  Go read this, folks–or listen to it. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.