Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Seriously, folks. Monday was already a weird holiday, since my older girls were with cousins all day until after our dinner guest left, and then PTA stuff and chores ate Tuesday, Wednesday was the big snow day, and yesterday ended up being a second snow day, given that neighborhood plowing was still pretty sketchy in the morning. I went to the temple at noon and then spent the afternoon schlepping kids and picking up library books, and then last night my hubby and I stayed up way too late finishing the puzzle we were “just going to work on for a while.” Today was a more normal Friday, to be sure, but still.

Anyway. I did make a cake this week that I’ve been meaning to try for weeks; I found the recipe in an old Taste of Home magazine and thought it sounded tasty. The thing is, while the cake was moist and lovely (sans the pecans, because I prefer my oldest child alive), the sauce was–believe it or not–too lemony. (Have I EVER said that before?!) Not that it tasted bad, because it was really a delightful sauce, but when you see “Apple Cider Sauce,” don’t you expect it to taste like apple cider? On the other hand, when a recipe calls for 2/3 C apple cider AND 1/3 C lemon juice, we all know that’s not going to happen. And so I went looking for the recipe online, to see if there was a typo in the physical magazine, and while I couldn’t find it on Taste of Home’s website (because now it wants you to log in before you can search), I did find this recipe for Nutmeg Pear Cake that’s identical to the one I made–EXCEPT that the lemon juice is listed as (mostly) optional. (It says to use at least one tablespoon.) So, while I used a Taste of Home recipe, you should absolutely use the one I’ve linked to instead. On the other hand, the sauce with the full amount of lemon juice would be great with a strawberry or raspberry cake. Let me know if you try it!

We’ve got some impressive snow out there, folks–at least for the Salt Lake valley. The kids are home, my hubby’s working from home, and I’m feeling pleased with myself for being productive instead of just vegging with a puzzle, which is what I wanted to do. (By the way, yesterday was decently busy, which is why no post until today–I wrote checks for PTA in the morning, took my 13-year-old to the orthodontist, hit Costco, fed myself, did dishes and exercised, picked up first the littles and then that same 13-year-old, did laundry, took my oldest to dance and the other kids to Zupas for Fundraiser night, grabbed takeout for the two not with us and then picked up the oldest and left the 13-year-old at dance, drove home in the increasing snow just in time to take my 8-year-old to her baptismal interview…you get the idea.) So far this morning I have exercised, done the dishes (including washing an old-timey crockpot by hand!), made jello with cut up grapes, put in two loads of laundry and folded one, read three picture books to the kiddos, emptied at least 8 fridge containers during our ‘leftovers are what’s for lunch’ party, and finished a graphic novel to pass along to the three younger kids. Go me!

Last night, however, after the craziness of the schlepping in the snow was done for the night, I had a chance to veg with a puzzle for a while, and between that and my shower, I managed to finish listening to Katherine Applegate’s Odder. (Yes, I frequently listen to audio books in the shower.) And while I didn’t love it as much as The One and Only Ivan, that had nothing to do with the quality of the book and everything to do with my personal story preferences. (I’m more of a “stories about people with animals in the stories as well” rather than “stories about animals with humans in the stories as well” kind of person.) Odder is a lovely and moving verse novel about, well, an otter (!), her friends, and an aquarium program that does what it can for the wildlife that surrounds it. It’s inspired by the Monterey Bay Aquarium program and some of the otters that have passed through its doors (I’m pleased to say that I’ve actually heard of the program because of a picture book we read once upon a time!), and it gives a charming picture of otters in general, as well as its title character in particular (yes, Odder the Otter is the protagonist). If you have animal lovers, don’t miss this one.

That’s my reaction to “Jojo Rabbit,” folks. Very possibly the weirdest movie I’ve ever seen in my life, and yet oh, it made me cry. It’s late, though, and so I’m going to bed. Tomorrow’s a holiday!

That’s what I have now, folks. Yesterday the kids were off from school, and so–among other things–I took my 13-year-old to the eye doctor. She picked out frames to go with her new prescription, since she’s been complaining that she “can’t see!”, and I picked up my first pair of multi-focal lenses.

Hmmm.

They do help with the close up, yes. But stairs are weird, and when I turn my head it feels like the world is moving as well. On the other hand, I haven’t had them a full 24 hours yet, and by all accounts it takes more like a couple of days to adjust. So we’ll see?

I also finished reading Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild aloud to that same 13-year-old last night, and while I was thinking I might manage a same day review, we finished just before 9 and I really wasn’t feeling it. Today, though! And really, the title is self-explanatory. It’s picture book size and length, but the text is regular-book size and length, so to speak; on the other hand, there are multiple full-page photos of pandas, some of them undeniably adorable. We learned things about panda conservation efforts and how they relate to other conservation efforts, and the photos of the adults in furry panda suits were a bonus. Animal lovers should definitely check out this one!

My friend Britt has been clearing out books that her kids have outgrown or aren’t attached to; I’ve been taking boxes of those home with me to a) donate to our school’s next literacy night, b) read and then donate to our school’s next literacy night, or c) read and maybe keep for myself, depending on how I feel about them. James Patterson’s and Chris Grabenstein’s Laugh Out Loud is one of those, and now that I’ve read it myself, I’m going to have my son give it a try before donating it to that next literacy night. He may like it, he may not–his tastes are sometimes unexpected–but it’s not something I need to keep; on the other hand, it IS something that ought to be made available for middle graders to read if they choose.

Why, then, don’t I need to keep it? Saying it’s ‘not my thing’ isn’t really fair to me OR the authors, and yet I’m definitely not the intended audience. Patterson’s (completely admirable) goal for his non-adult books is to capture kids’ attention, entertain them, and make them want to read more; I’m GOING to read more no matter what, but I tend to want to emotionally connect with what I read, whether it’s with the story, the characters, or the setting. (Yes, I absolutely emotionally connect with New England.) I just plain care less about the purely entertaining factor, not to mention that what entertains me now is also not what entertained me in junior high, to some degree. (I still love reading, old movies, and cross-stitching, for example, but I no longer find the adrenaline rush of roller coasters terribly enjoyable.) Laugh Out Loud has some of the fun of an amusement park ride, which my kids love but I can now take or leave. I did get quite a kick out of its references to an impressive variety of children’s books; I’m just content to read it and pass it on. If you have a latter-elementary or middle grade child, however, you should definitely take a look.

That’s honestly what happened last night, folks. I finished reading Ami Polonsky’s Threads out loud with my 13-year-old by 8:45-ish, but after tucking her in I still had to execute my last minute ‘heart attack the kids for Valentine’s Day’ plan. (The PTA had extra hearts, and I decided my kiddos needed some extra love this year.) My hubby cut out hearts while I did my 10 minutes on the exercise bike, after which I took over and discovered that some names are easier to make acrostics out of than others. (I googled “adjectives beginning with y” and came up with–I kid you not–yawning, yielding, yodeling, and yeasty, among others. Yeasty!) By the time I finished the hearts, taped them up, and checked on the bunnies, my window for coherent written expression had completely closed. Today, however, is library day, and I decided that reviewing it this morning would be totally worth the effort, since it means it can LEAVE MY HOUSE today!

So–Threads. I can’t remember how long I’ve had a library copy floating around my house, and I can’t remember how it popped up on my radar; I only know I was thrilled to realize that it would make a solid read aloud, since I kept not getting to it on my own. The premise sounded fantastic–12-year-old Clara finds the note and photograph that 13-year-old Yuming tucks into a purse made at her factory-prison in China, and, still reeling with grief from the death of her adopted-from-China sister, is determined to find and save her. The direction of the novel, however, was quite different from what I was expecting. Clara and Yuming are not the only significant characters, and their stories mingled differently from how I had anticipated. That said, however, the subtlety of the story ultimately made it feel more real, and the alternating viewpoints helped structure our read-aloud time. Middle graders (and their adults!) should take a look at this one.

Reading a Joan Bauer book is like ordering your favorite dish at one of your favorite restaurants–you pleasurably anticipate what’s coming and you’re always satisfied when it gets there. I’ve loved her books since I first read Hope Was Here when I was 20-ish; her most recent novel, Raising Lumie, was another delight. Still grieving the death of their father, Olive and her (half) sister Maudie are forced to move in order to pay off debt and save some money; Olive isn’t sure how she’s going to manage the upheaval until she discovers that Maudie’s new boss volunteers for the Northeast Guide Dog Center. There are PUPPIES! AT THE OFFICE! (Those caps are on Olive’s behalf, you understand–she’s the dog lover, not me.) The idea of raising a future guide dog is irresistible–but is it possible?

Bauer fans can likely made a few good guesses about where the story goes from there. There is laughter, there are tears, and a fabulously satisfying ending is enjoyed by all. Animal lovers will be especially excited about this one, but it should appeal to middle graders (and their parents;)) in general. Enjoy!

In other news, my youngest turned 8 (!) yesterday and my son played hard in his basketball game this morning; I’m looking forward to our Saturday night pizza and a movie. Anybody have more exciting plans for the the weekend?

That’s still occupied and preoccupied, if that wasn’t clear (it mightn’t have been). This is the first morning this week that I haven’t had to be ready to go, more or less, when I left with the littles for school; the first two mornings I took my oldest to appointments, while yesterday I had PTA responsibilities at the school before heading off to Costco for necessities. And I’ve been worried enough about that same oldest that I haven’t had an ounce of mental or emotional energy to spare for blog posts by dinner time. Hence, another gap.

I’m trying.

This morning, however, I finished the last 20 pages of Andrea Cheng’s The Bear Makers, which I got through inter-library loan and which I’ve had renewed twice already (a more difficult process than with regular library titles). I read Cheng’s Anna Wang novels years ago–they’re lovely, you should read them–but The Bear Makers is quite different; according to the book flap, it’s based on a family story originally told to Andrea by her grandmother. (Cheng’s parents [Cheng was her married name] were Hungarian immigrants–she actually grew up speaking Hungarian as well as English.) The idea of it being a family story and based in truth made me that much more excited to read the book; as interesting as it was, however, it wasn’t actually as engrossing as I was thinking it would be. The slice of life in postwar Hungary it provided was completely interesting, but it was just that–a slice of life. Kata’s brother’s escape to the west provides, more than anything else at least, the dimensions of the plot, but that happens offstage and we only see Kata’s reaction to it all. The rest of the book is, as the flap says, “one family’s story of survival during a tumultuous time period,” and while the history lover in me was completely interested, I don’t know how large an audience is going to share that interest.

In other news, my youngest turns 8 tomorrow and my oldest has another appointment in a few weeks, while today is the third day of parent/teacher conferences this week. Good times! The night of the elementary SEPs I also took the three younger kids to shop at the book fair AND worked there an hour myself, which made the entire night a little tricky. I’m seriously looking forward to a quieter week next week! In the meantime, I’m incredibly grateful for friends and family; I am abundantly blessed with both, and they are a never-ending support when life gets difficult.

And that, ultimately, is the theme of The Bear Makers.

That pretty much sums up my reasons for abandoning y’all for the past week, because I have been both legitimately busy–especially during my daylight, capable-of-coherent-writing hours–and emotionally overwhelmed. The busy has been a variety of things, like PTA business and meetings, appointments, and errands; the emotional load comes from my daughter’s struggles with her mental health. You can’t help worrying about the people you love, and that worry steals some of the emotional energy you normally put into other things…like blog posts. I’ve gotten so behind, however, that I’m persevering today–which is easier to do after several better days in a row for my girlie.

(On the other hand, it’s 9:30 and my mind is winding down, so you get a relatively quick and easy book review so that I can switch laundry, do 10 minutes on the exercise bike, shower, and go to bed. Wahoo!)

My kids and I actually listened to Sharon Creech’s Saving Winslow on a road trip months and months ago (it may actually have been a year or more). Since I always feel like I miss a few touches when I’m driving, however, I borrowed a physical copy from Britt that’s been sitting in my room ever since; I unearthed it the other day and, on a whim, decided to just listen to it again and return Britt’s copy this week. (Yay for things leaving my house!) I did listen to it, I’m reviewing it now, and I’ll for sure see her next week, so that works, right?

Anyway. Saving Winslow is longer than, say, Creech’s Love That Dog, but it’s still short enough for the drive to Kanosh; in a way, it reads like Patricia MacLachlan, only less word- and more animal-oriented. Winslow is a newborn donkey with no mother to care for him, and Louie the boy who is determined to save him. There is (sparely drawn) effort and struggle and triumph, both of life over death and of hope over grief, and ultimately Winslow succeeds in winning over the people who matter. The book’s conclusion manages to feel both hopeful and real, and I would expect lovers of both animals and stories with plenty of emotional nuance will enjoy this one.