Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Tonight I brought the 4th Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel out into the living room to finish and loosened my hold on it; I ended up having to (literally!) pry it out of my 8-year-old’s hands while pointing out that I had fourteen pages left, I would review it tonight, and she and her older sister would find it on the stairs available for them to read when they woke up tomorrow morning.

Me: …And THEN you guys can fight about who gets to read it first.  And by “fight about it” I mean politely use words to come to a peaceful and mutual                    decision.

Since my oldest is in the middle of one of the Frog Princess books, and the 8-year-old specifically chose the shortest library chapter book she had to read tonight so that she could finish it and be ready for the other in the morning, I’m not expecting any surprises.  She is obsessed with graphic novels.

Thankfully, Claudia and Mean Janine makes for a good one.  Sibling conflict is widely relatable, and Mimi’s illness makes a meaningful catalyst for change in Claudia and Janine’s relationship.  The panels depicting the BSC’s summer playgroup scenes made me giggle more than once, and the ending was emotionally satisfying.  It’s true that sibling relationships are more likely to gradually improve, but the sit-down-conversation between the two girls felt representative of that, in a way.  It felt like it ought to seem too neatly and quickly wrapped up, and yet it didn’t terribly to me.

Ultimately, these versions of the old books have been surprisingly enjoyable to me as an adult, and my 8- and 11-year-olds are both nuts for them.  If you’ve got middle to upper elementary daughters, these ought to be a hit.  (Just cross your fingers with me that the change in artists from this book to the next won’t be a terrible change.  I don’t envy anyone stepping into Raina Telgemeier’s shoes.)

That’s what this post is, but last night was one of those nights where you’re doing ALL THE THINGS and it just gets away from you.  On the other hand, it is with the GREATEST pleasure that I review Does This Book Make Me Look Fat?:  Stories About Loving–And Loathing–Your Body, because I have been reading this forever.  (Clearly it’s a day for emphasis and hyperbole.)  It was in the bathroom drawer for a while, being read small bits at a time, and then I brought it into my bedroom and read until a long short story had me stalled, and then I pushed through that only to realize that while I loved the essays, the short fiction didn’t always speak to me.  I made it through, however, and overall I think the target audience might really like this one.  I really enjoyed parts, mostly enjoyed others, and found at least one to be downright bizarre.  I also put myself into a few pairs of shoes that I hadn’t before, metaphorically speaking, and noticed myself pondering events and possibilities that I wouldn’t normally give much thought to.  I’d say that’s a recommendation in and of itself, wouldn’t you?

Who could ask for anything more, right?  I was at my friend Britt’s house looking at tortellini recipes–it both felt doable and sounded good–and came across this Ham and Cheese Tortellini that looked awfully easy.  The bonus?  It called, specifically, for deli ham, and guess what I had languishing in my fridge that needed to be used sooner rather than later?  This recipe, then, was both practical and tasty.  My one issue with it as written was that it didn’t have anything acidic going on (and oh, how I love acidity!).  To that end, I chopped up a couple of tomatoes and tossed them in with the peas (which I about doubled–yay for veggies, right?), and I drizzled some Balsamic vinegar on top of the individual servings (my choice and at the kids’ request!).  I also tossed some garlic into the pan shortly after the ham, because why not?  I ended up quite liking the result, although next time I will salt it less.  The kids were ambivalent, interestingly enough, but since it was quick and easy and I liked it, they’ll probably end up having a few chances to change their minds…

Since today is the first of two odd-numbered days in a row, I’m taking the easy way out.  Have you read Mother Bruce yet?  Because this tale of a grouchy foodie (bear) who finds himself an extremely reluctant mother (figure) to four baby goslings cracks me up.  The art is pure fun, the text satirically hilarious for adults AND wildly entertaining for kids, and…yeah.  Grab this one, folks–whether you have kiddos the “right age” for it or not.

Quite literally!

The good?  No further ear complaints from my 5-year-old today.  Instead we had a lovely play date with friends in the neighborhood AND made it to Ream’s to buy apples, apples, and more apples.

The bad?  My hubby’s got a stressful, stressful week at work, and my oldest has big projects due that she’s stressed about.  Also, my 2-year-old’s being very, very two.

And the ugly?  My kitchen and dining room.  Intellectually, I know I accomplished multiple things, but you wouldn’t know it to look at those two rooms.  I guess we’ll see what happens tomorrow…

No review today–my hubby got in from out of town and then my 5-year-old woke up freaking out about a clogged ear.  Here’s hoping that there’s not a Sunday trip to Instacare in our future!

I read Victoria Jamieson’s Roller Girl back when it became a Newbery Honor book, and I was impressed with it.  When I saw she had a new book out, then, it went on my list; it shot up to the top when I realized that my 8-year-old had borrowed Roller Girl from her teacher’s library, read it, and loved it.  (She’s kind of obsessed with graphic novels.  I would have waited a year or two before getting it for her myself, but what’s done is done, right?)  So I checked All’s Faire in Middle School out on her library card and read it myself before sending it her direction.

Yeah, I won’t be sending it in her direction just yet.  And it’s not because it’s offensive or not a good book, because it’s not and it is.  It’s just that she’s EIGHT, and some of the middle school issues and drama–not to mention the peeking at an older girl’s romance novel on the sly–are either straight up a bit old for her or not what I want her to be focusing on.  (Which I’m sure is why the suggested age range is 9-12.  I’d pass it on to my 11-year-old if I could do it without her younger sister seeing it and completely freaking for it, but they share a room.  I don’t actually think that’s possible.)  I’m going to return it in favor of some Jennifer L. Holm graphic novels, but I won’t be forgetting about it any time soon.  Imogene’s struggles to adjust to a foreign environment, her painful journey through tween girl friend issues, and her interactions (and relationship readjustments) with her family make for a visual reading experience that’s both humorous and poignant; Jamieson does coming-of-age very, very well.  If you have a middle schooler–especially a girl–you should grab this one.*

*In the interest of full disclosure, the queen mean girl in the story uses the full length, full strength version of OMG multiple times.  We’ve had the conversation with our kiddos that we don’t use that expression long since, and I don’t see them picking it up just from reading this.  On the other hand, it is there.  Just so you know.

If you know me at all, you know I grew up in RI but now live in UT, which means I pretty much gave up amazingly authentic (and just plain amazing) Italian food for amazingly authentic (and also amazing) Mexican/Latin food.  (Not quite a fair trade, given my Parmesan cheese obsession, but not a terrible one either.)  When I opted to try this One-Pot Chilighetti recipe for dinner last week, I was hoping it would be the kind of mashup that gives a nice nod to both contributors, and I have to say, we weren’t actually disappointed.  No doubt my Italian friends’ grandmothers are shuddering in their graves, and possibly some of my Latino friends are rolling their eyes, but all of my kids really liked this one, and I enjoyed it, too.  (Although next time I’m totally chopping up some olives for the half of us that like them to put on top.)  My bean-hating-8-year-old said not a word about the beans, my almost-3-year-old fed FAR more of it to herself than she usually bothers with, and my 5-year-old gave it two thumbs up.  Even the 11-year-old was pleased, and my hubby willingly ate the leftovers, which almost never happens with pasta.  A clean sweep all around!  I did mess with the spices a little, since I vastly prefer cumin to chili powder–I used 2 tsp of cumin and 2.5 of chili powder, after consulting with my friend Andrea–and I swapped out the kidney beans for red beans, since they sit with my digestion a bit better.  (I may also have tossed some garlic in to saute with the ground beef and onion at the end–I honestly don’t remember.)  OH, and I used V8 instead of plain tomato juice, because I like the taste.  What really matters is that everyone ate it happily, and while it made a ton, they all ate the leftovers happily as well.  THAT, my friends, is a clear win.  You should try it for dinner this week!

Okay, so maybe it’s a brinner, but this Strawberry Cheesecake Baked Oatmeal was lovely.  I was looking for a baked oatmeal recipe that wasn’t peanut butter or banana–or apple, because I was about out–and this one said fresh OR frozen strawberries.  I looked no further, because a)strawberries and b)cheesecake and really, there is no c.  They had me at strawberries and cheesecake.  Interestingly enough, it got mixed reactions when I served it up; my oldest loved it, although she doesn’t actually like cheesecake, but my middles weren’t unqualified fans.  (My two-year-old is, you know, two, so her relationship to food is a complicated one.)  My hubby doesn’t enjoy the texture of oatmeal, though, and I’m wondering if that may have been a factor for some of the kiddos.  Either way, I certainly enjoyed it, which means they’ll likely get a chance to change their minds.  Let me know what you think!

Seriously.  I want to take a road trip there, because Angel Island just soared up to the top tier of my “places I want to visit in the US” list.  Did you know that Angel Island–an island near Alcatraz, ironically–was known as the Ellis Island of the west?  In the latter years of the 19th century up until just before WWII, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other immigrants were detained there, hoping to gain entrance to America.  Their experiences and history make for fascinating reading, although they also make one shudder at the racism they endured.  Russell Freedman excels at making history accessible and compulsively readable for younger readers (AND older readers with small children at home and resultantly diminished powers of concentration); his Angel Island:  Gateway to Gold Mountain is no exception.  Don’t miss it!  (And if you’re planning a trip to San Fran, take me with you, will you?)