Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I clearly missed Wednesday–can you tell I’ve been aiming for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday posts?–but I did have a good reason. After collecting money and taking it to the bank for PTA Wednesday morning I had to book it to make it to my ‘diagnostic mammogram’ on time. That (and the ultrasound) took less time than they said it would, which was good (although I have to say, it’s completely bizarre to get an ultrasound on your breast). Even better was the ‘everything looks good’ outcome; apparently my dense breast tissue, about which I’ve now gotten multiple medical letters, just messed with the imaging.

Britt and I had planned to go out to lunch afterward–I think you deserve a nice lunch after a mammogram morning–and she ended up taking me out for my birthday to a Nepali place, which was fantastic. By the time I got home it was time to pick up kids, exercise, feed kids, etc., which took me past my ‘express myself coherently in writing’ deadline for school days. It happens, right? Today, however, I get to review Muckrakers: How Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, and Lincoln Steffens Helped Expose Scandal, Inspire Reform, and Invent Investigative Journalism. (Which is a mouthful of a title by anyone’s definition, right?) I started reading it aloud to my 14-year-old, but she decided to bail, so I finished it by myself. (I can’t really blame her, to be honest–I still remember enough US history from high school to provide a level of context she didn’t have.) It was an interesting read with plenty of photographs and quotes from the period and the players; it felt brief to me, but then, it’s intended for middle graders, so that’s not shocking. Ultimately, it’s one that you should read if the title (which is a decently thorough summary of the premise) interests you or if you’re looking for research materials on relevant topics; if not, well–it’s up to you.

In other news, the kids and I spent a decent chunk of the morning cleaning out and organizing the shelves in the kitchen that hold coloring books and implements, school supplies, etc., and we have donations for my youngest’s teacher as well as some coloring books for my sister to offer to her grandkids. (Not to mention more space–wahoo!) It was satisfying!