Audio Book: Dreams from My Father

Dreams from My Father:
A Story of Race and Inheritance
by Barack Obama

Length: 7 hrs 13 min

Format: Audiobook
Price:  Free via Overdrive
How I Heard: After reading Elizabeth the Queen, I was on a world-leaders biography kick. Since I've always been a little fascinated by Barack Obama's dual status as politician and celebrity, this one seemed a good choice. Throw in the fact that it is READ BY THE AUTHOR AND HIS VOICE IS LIKE SWEET BUTTER, it was a no-brainer.

Basic Premise: This memoir begins with Barack's grandparents and follows through to his wedding to Michelle Obama. It does not, as I assumed it would, address his presidency, or even his senate seat. It was published in 2004, as you may notice, 5 years before Obama took office. (For the record, I did not notice and had to look it up.) It focuses on his father, the void his absence left in Barack's childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, and his journey to finding the role his father's legacy would eventually play in his larger life.

My Take: 8 out of 10 (scale here)
First of all, I don't care what the book is about - if Barack Obama is speaking, I'm listening. There were actually a few times I got caught up in the timbre of his silky smoothness that I realized I didn't know what was going on and had to go back. 

Voice-appeal aside, this book was far more interesting that I had expected. I think I knew his mother was from Kansas, but I had never really thought much about it. When describing his parents, he drew on his mother's Kansas roots when he contrasted her to his Kenyan father. As his maternal grandparents were instrumental in his upbringing, it was neat to read about the role Kansas played in their lives. I also had no idea that he spent several years of his young life in Indonesia, a country I visited last year and to which I have some family ties. But I particularly enjoyed his early years struggling as a community planner in Chicago prior to the meteoric rise we all know about. He had to work closely with churches and church leaders, and his spiritual development, while not discussed at length in the book, is an object of fascination. The book's primary focus is on his father, and during this time in his life, he takes a trip to Kenya to meet his father's family, including brothers and sisters. This trip proved very formative in his journey to find a place for his father in his own life.

I was disappointed that it stopped so soon, but it did pique my interest about reading The Audacity of Hope. Unfortunately, it was not available on Overdrive, nor was Michelle's biography.
:(
Maybe some day!

Audio Book: Elizabeth the Queen

Elizabeth the Queen:
The Life of a Modern Monarch
by Sally Bedell Smith

Length: 21 hrs 20 min

Format: Audiobook
Price:  Free via Overdrive
How I Heard: I read Diana, Her True Story because I stumbled upon it at the library, but I was looking for a biography on the queen. When I saw this one on Overdrive, I thought PERFECT. 

Basic Premise: This biography of Elizabeth II chronicles the queen's life and reign, beginning with the abdication of her uncle, Edward the VIII, the reluctant reign of her father, George VI, and her premature ascension to the throne at the age of 26. It follows through her marriage and family life, the larger diplomatic and societal struggles of her reign, and the challenges her children and their spouses have posed to the monarchy. Having been published in 2012, it would seem that it concludes somewhat prematurely.

My Take: 7 out of 10 (scale here)
Obviously, because of my extensive knowledge on the queen gleaned from watching The Crown, I fancied myself the expert. (Did you appreciate my very British phrasing there?) Having recently watched the second season, I can say there were few surprises. However, as I went on, I realized I was, in effect, getting spoilers. My expertise really starts in the 80s, so the rest of the 60s and all of the 70s was a blank slate. It was interesting to see the things the show included and skipped as opposed to Smith's account. There were a few that weren't mentioned in the biography, which caused me to wonder about their historical accuracy. (There is a historical companion to the show, but I have not read it. I put it on my Christmas list, but then I thought that was displaying my obsession a little too broadly, so I took it off.) Overall, though, the picture of the queen, painted both by the show and this biography, is that she is the essence of poise and dignity, but isn't afraid to ride her horses, yell at the races, adjust to the times, and occasionally (though rarely), do the unexpected.

I haven't figured out royal biographies yet. This was clearly an unauthorized biography, although Smith has met Queen Elizabeth several times. She frequently quoted Charles's biographer, or Philip's biographer, so there is some sort of official capacity for biographers, I just haven't figured that system out. I don't know if the biographer is assigned by the palace, or whether the object picks someone they like, or whether Queen Elizabeth's official biography has been all but completed and he/she is just waiting for the queen to kick the bucket...? I don't know. Either way, I was pretty pleased with this one. There were times where I felt she was stretching, grasping for something meaningful to report, but overall, I liked it. Smith has also written a biography of Princess Diana and has recently released a biography of Prince Charles. Having just read about (and frankly, feeling a little tired of) Diana, I'm not really up for that one, and as Charles is perhaps the royal personality I find least interesting, I'll be skipping that one, too. Maybe if she writes one on Kate, Meghan, or one of the boys...

Audio Book: Love Warrior

Love Warrior
by Glennon Doyle

Length: 7 hrs 45 min

Format: Audiobook
Price:  Free via Overdrive
How I Heard:  I follow her on Instagram since reading Carry On Warrior

Basic Premise: This memior chronicles the story of Glennon's marriage, how she handled her husband's shocking infidelity, and how she was able to rise and continue with her marriage, raising their three children, and living life.

My Take: 9 out of 10 (scale here)

I fully intended to read this book right after it came out, but I got busy and then kind of forgot. And then I was playing that game where your last audio book has expired and the book you really want isn't available, so you sort of search whatever you can think of that sounds interesting because you don't want to start doing laundry and going on your morning walk without one. Somehow this one popped up and was available, so I snagged it. I knew this book was about Glennon's marriage. I also knew her marriage ended the week the book was released. Lastly, knowing Glennon through her other book, her blog, and her social media presence, I knew it would be very poignant and honest.

Love Warrior did not disappoint. It was raw and authentic (and included language that would have made listening out loud difficult with my kids around) and gut-wrenching, as her writing usually is. It was also wonderfully simple, as her writing usually is. She can say a lot with only a few words, and her skill puts her right up there with Lewis in my book. Her circumstances, flanked by her history with substance abuse and eating disorders discussed at length in Carry On Warrior, and revisited to a lesser extent in this book, are the sort you would see in a movie. Maybe one day, we will!

Listening to a book is always different than reading it. Glennon reads it herself (another thing I love about audio books...when the author reads it!), and she has a high, sort of tinny voice. As I always listen to books at at least 1.25 speed, she sounded a little like a chipmunk. I had to slow it down to curb the effect. But otherwise, I really did enjoy this book. It's hard for me to fathom an experience like the one she describes here (and I both hope and expect to keep it that way!), but reading books like this, in addition to increasing my compassion, makes me grateful for my own blessings.

Book: My Lady Jane

My Lady Jane 

by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, & Jodi Meadows

Length: 491

Format: Hardback
Price: $10. I went ahead and bought it for my trip and so I can have it in my classroom!

How I heard about it: I saw it on a YAL must-read list.

Basic Premise: After the death of King Henry VIII, whose Euthian ability to change from a human to a lion at will, Euthians all over England are in danger. And when Henry's successor and son begins to die a premature death, he redrafts the line of succession to bypass his sisters and go to his bookish cousin Jane, whose Euthian husband is a prince by day and a horse by night.

My Take: 9.5 out of 10 (scale here)

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. For at least 8 reasons. 1) I love this period of history. It's full of intrigue, suspense, and scandal. 2) I am reasonably well-read when it comes to historical fiction of this time period, having read The Other Boleyn Girl (twice), The Constant Princess (both by Phillipa Gregory), and a handful of YAL novels about the times and people, as well as viewed many films and documentaries. 3) I LOVE Jane Grey. She is possibly my favorite character in all of this. She's like the Hermione of the 16th century court...no nonsense, her nose always in a book, and a will of iron. 4) It blends history with fantasy. I mean, how cool is it that King Edward VI was actually poisoned and escaped death by transforming into a falcon instead of slowly dying of an incurable affliction? 5) Related, it was a stroke of GENIUS to make the conflict between Mary and Elizabeth about Euthians and Verities (those who believed Euhians were heretics and should be burned at the stake) instead of its original struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism. It was a perfect segue between history and fantasy. 6) Strong woman abound in this book. #girlpower 7) This book is chock full of pop culture references  (i.e. "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries," "I am a Euthian, like my father before me," etc.) So entertaining. And funny. And something my 7th graders would completely miss, which leads me to 8) I CAN HAVE THIS BOOK IN MY CLASSROOM. No swearing and no sex (although Jane's mother does attempt to have "the talk" with her before her wedding night, which she refers to as "the very special hug") and, finally (okay, more than 8) 9) The authors chose to rechristen Guildford as Gifford. GIFFORD. It's truly not often I see my name in print, people. Even if Gifford does go by G because he hates the name.

Great book - my favorite summer read so far!

Summer Vaycay: Getting There

On Saturday, June 25th, we set off on our first big family road trip since the summer after Lucy was born three years ago. Our destination: Gulf Shores, Alabama!

We picked Gulf Shores because we'd never heard of it and so many of our friends had been and recommended it. It was also notably cheaper than Florida and we'd heard it was less crowded. Win win.

Leg 1: Oklahoma

We drove to Tulsa (a journey we've made many many times before) and stayed at my brother's house. We ate at our favorite pizza restaurant (Hideaway Pizza) and went to their rockin' church. Then it was up and at 'em early the next morning.

Isn't Sister cute with her little magnetic fish puzzle?

Leg 2: Texas & Louisiana

On our way out of OK, we stopped and got a selfie with the Capitol. My kids are obsessed with Capitols.

We decided to go through Ft. Worth because Husband has cousins there whom we love dearly and haven't seen for ages. So after four hours of these types of activities in the car,

And Brother with his. He did 80% of it on his own.

we were ready for something besides the inside of Big Blue. Rick's cousin works at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and has for years, but we figured, since it was a Sunday, that wasn't an option. However, not only was it open, but she offered to take the kids on a gallery walk and let them do some actual art!

Oh, Sister.

It was so much fun. I even did some art myself.

And, to end our Texas visit, we ate at the best taco joint in all of Ft. Worth. I ordered the trailer park and it was delicious!

After that, we hoofed it to Louisiana, where we got a hotel in Shreveport and swam, ate Wendy's for dinner, and crashed early.

Leg 3: Mississippi & Alabama
I forgot to mention that I had done a TON of prepwork for the car. I wanted this to be fun and memorable for the kids so I put together all these busy-bags in the hopes that they wouldn't want to watch the iPad the entire time. I also made sure to get Brother a journal in the hopes that he would write his favorite parts of the trip down. But the best thing we did was download one of these:

for each state. We printed two of each and then each time we entered a new state, the kids got the new sheet to color. One of my favorite things about this process was how both my kids wanted me to look up a picture the actual flag, Brother so he could diligently copy it and match all the colors, and Sister so she could color it pink.

We stopped near Baton Rouge and ate seafood for lunch and then THE MOST EXCITING PART OF THE TRIP SO FAR HAPPENED. And we weren't even expecting it! The GPS took us to a toll ferry. That's right - we drove our car onto a ferry boat!

 

The kids FREAKED OUT. It was so much fun to watch. I had done this during my LA trip several years ago, but on that one cars were packed so tight and it was for such a short time that no one got out. This one was 30 minutes, so we got out and enjoyed the view!

But you guys, hands down, the highlight for me was when Brother, who sounded like a broken record with his wows and awesomes, looked at me and said, "Mommy, can I go get my journal and write in it right now?"

I'm not going to lie - there were tears. Yes, son, you can. Write your little heart out.

And then, we arrived at the condo, we ate dinner, and we did this:

It's hard to put this part of the experience into words. There is something amazing about firsts. Your first first day of school, your first lost tooth, your first time on an airplane. But the ocean is not like school or teeth or airplanes. The ocean is wild. It's fierce and majestic and formidable. It's like magic.  And getting to introduce it to my children is something I will always, always treasure.

Summer Week 1: Goal Review

So Week 1 of summer is officially done! (I never count the last week in May because I'm usually recovering. This year was no different.)  Here are the notable things I began or fully accomplished:

Health Goals:

• watch the diet very carefully, focusing on fresh, plant-based foods - I did GREAT at the beginning of the week, but with the wedding this weekend I allowed myself a little wiggle-room - not a lot, but a little
• weight down to 140 - down to 148.4 (from 151...yikes!)

Reading Goals:

• finish my list - only 5 more to go! - 4 more to go!

Relational Goals:

• take at least one trip down to OK to visit my brother and his family - on the books for the week after next!
• coordinate a freezer cooking night at church- this Thursday!

Spiritual Goals:

• continue to be discipled - we are meeting EVERY WEEK during the summers! 
• lead a Moms Connect Group- ongoing
• participate in our movies/13 Coffees Connect Group both by going and doing the prep beforehand - ongoing

Family Goals:

• make a summer "do" list with my son...and do all the stuff!

I had plans to make it super cute, but as frequently happens, super cute got replaced by super practical:

Personal Goals:

• make a "to do" list every week and post it in my bedroom

This is my one from this last week:

I loved seeing it every day before I got up and when I went to bed. It was great to have the reminder daily of all the things I wanted to accomplish

Garden Planting

One of my 30 Before 30 goals was to plant a garden. Unfortunately, we do not have enough sun in either of our yards to properly nourish tomatoes and cucumbers, which is what I wanted to grow.  So my mother-in-law graciously donated a portion of the raised garden my brother-in-law built for her for our use!

Now, to be clear, I know nothing, NOTHING, about plants.  All I know is that we eat a TON of Greek salad (nothing but tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta!) and it sure would be nice (and cheap!) to eat it fresh!

My mother-in-law bought the plants from a greenhouse.  We have five tomato plants, each of which need to be planted 26 inches apart.

Then you just dig a little hole with the mini-shovel.

Pull the plant out of the pot and break up the roots a little bit:

Then put it in the ground, fill the dirt in around it, and you have a planted tomato plant.

The cucumbers were a little trickier because they came from seeds.  The instructions said to create a mound and then place 4-8 seeds in about an inch deep and a few inches apart.

And then cover with dirt and water.  There wasn't anything in the instructions about sending your four-year-old over to dig it all up, but we had that added advantage.  I think I got everything back in the ground.  I guess we will see in 60 or so days!

I will keep you posted ;)

Charlie's 3.5 Birthday Party

Our son's birthday falls at Christmastime - maybe the worst time for a party.  And this year, because Lucy had just come home from NICU and was not supposed to be exposed to large groups of people, we did not have a party.  So we decided to celebrate his half birthday instead!

I found this photo invitation online and used a picture from his recent trip to Day Out with Thomas:

Then I pinned a ton of ideas from Pinterest:

I'm actually not a big Pinterest person.  I didn't like the interface and felt like there was just too much stuff.  But since Jennifer walked me through it and showed me what all the stuff meant, I am cautiously agreeing to spend a little more time with it.  Anyway, I had some grandiose plans for the party that ended up simplifying themselves...which is pretty much the story of my life.

But I like simple!  One thing that ended up WAY simpler than I thought it would was the cake.  I found this Wilton cake pan online:

And was a little intimidated.  Fortunately, my mother and MIL are both very knowledgeable about (and even enjoy) cake decorating.  And Molly, my sister-in-law, was great help, too!  Our process in pictures:

My MIL made the frosting and laid out all the high-tech equipment we needed.

And I brought the instructions that came with the pan.  They were...mildly helpful.

Thomas is light blue, so we didn't have to add much.

We used little white circle-things for the eyes so we wouldn't have to try to frost them.

And the final product:

I think it turned out pretty great.  And Charlie FREAKED out when he saw it.  We had to leave it at Gigi and Pepa's house because I was afraid he might mess with it.

For the actual party, I purchased a table cloth, plastic ware, and four tin loaf pans.  I hot glued Oreos to the sides of the loaf pans so they looked like freight cars.  I filled them with Charlie's favorite things in the world: animal crackers, goldfish, strawberries, and gummy bears!

I also found little train whistles at Target (which I got a screaming deal on, right Molly?) and wrote the names of all the kids on them.  They were a hit, but I was glad the whistle wasn't louder.  I made some cupcakes (as we had more people than cake slices) and, as favors for the kids, I made cookies in the shape of trains and then I iced them with a brush using this recipe.  It was amazing - I'm totally bookmarking it for the future!  This plus balloons and a "Happy Birthday" sign (neither of which were photographed) were the extent of the decorations.  I think it was pretty perfect!

And so did Charlie.  When he got there, he got so excited about the Thomas balloon (courtesy of Grandma), the cake, and the freight cars filled with his favorite foods on Earth.  And boy did he have a blast eating food and opening presents!

It was a LOVELY party.  A huge thank you to all our family and friends who came out to help celebrate, and to my mom, mother-in-law, Molly, and Kristin who really helped pull things together.  Charlie had a WONDERFUL time, and look at all those presents!

Ideas for Summer Fun!

I am SO EXCITED about being home with my kids this summer!  This is a working list, but so far, I want to do the following with my kids:

• lots of hugs, kisses, and one-on-two time
• swim A LOT (though it's been too cold to go yet)
• zoo
• art lab at WU
• Bonkers
• finger painting
• camp out in the back yard (contingent on me finding a tent) 
• gymnastics class
• Farmer's Market
• library
• go bowling
• park
• swim lessons
• build forts
• sidewalk chalk and sidewalk paint
• make homemade ice cream (Rick's family has a tradition of doing this on the 4th of July, so we'll probably try that)
• July 4th parade and party!
• go on walks
• Bible study playdate on Wednesday mornings
• go on picnics
• putt putt
• fly a kite
• make and mount a bird feeder
• go to a movie
• family vaycay in CO
• play with trains
• watch something

The last two are ones that Charlie added before he got bored with the task :/