For me, I will take anywhere that is not my house.  I’m thinking like down the street in someone else’s house while they are away would probably re-charge me.  But, to be true to my own question, I will say that my dream vacation is a toss up between Italy and Greece.  I’ve never been to either, but I have wanted to go to Greece ever since a college buddy told me about his adventures in Greece one of which involved another friend winding up in the back of some local’s truck and driving off into the darkness after … well… indulging in the local greek beers a tad too much. Of course, that isn’t why I want to go there. He also described the beaches and the food.  And Italy… oh please just get me to Florence where I can feed he English -Teacher-Nerd-Esque part of me by walking where Dante walked.  That and the gelato. And the art.  And the countryside.  I will stop now.

How about you?

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.

I first heard this book when it was read aloud by a good friend at her one year old’s dedication.  I then went out and got the book to give to Emme.  

This is a book of power and majesty.  The author tells the story of what happens on the night “you” were born.  All of creation stops and takes notice as the child in the story is told again and again how unique, perfect, wonderful and loved he is.  It is one that sinks deep into a mother’s heart, and still remains relevant to the child — it doesn’t go above a child’s head, but instead simply reveals each child’s profound place in the world.  And, of course, to mom and dad, that child IS the whole world.

This book is a poignant reminder that God’s creation is, indeed, for each of us.  And each time a new “you” comes into the world, there is reason to celebrate.   This book would make a beautiful gift for any mom and it is a wonderful addition to a child’s library.  Its message of love is too special to pass up.

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.

It wasn’t an easy thing to decide to bring another child into an already bustling family of 6.   But, to be honest, my heart would not rest… I could not stop yearning for another baby.  We found out that I was pregnant on the 4th of July 2008.  And to be honest, we were not 100% prepared for the news.  To say she was “unplanned” would be acting like  a teenager  – in other words, we knew what we were doing.  But, the news still had a bit of a “wow” factor to it.

She came into this world and immediately changed it. When I look at my two babies, I can say I love them the same amount.  That my depth of love for Ty and for Emme both runs deep, fathomless, to the heavens and back again.  But whereas my love for Ty could be described as moonlight — all mystical and magical and mysterious — my love for Emme is a sunrise — bright and celebratory and joyful.

Emme at 1 Week Old by Jessica Nichols

She has taught me many many things. 

Lately she has taught me that no matter how often I sweep and mop (even with my uber shark steam mop) she will find that infinitesimal speck from 20 feet away, crawl her chubby little bum right off to get to it, and consume it before any of the 6 of us can stop her.

Mostly, she has taught me that no matter what I “expect” she is going to suprise me.  She put me into labor only 6 hours before my planned (yes, the “no labor” planned) C-section.  I can put her down in the crib WIDE AWAKE and walk away from her and she will roll over and go to sleep for 14 hours.  This still has a shock factor for us.  

Although my husband was overwhelmed and worried about bringing another child into our life, he took one look at her and fell madly in love.  She is drawn to him to the exclusion of others.  She will smile so big sometimes that I think her face is going to break.  I have never smiled like that.  And, I am sure that I have never felt the joy that she feels, the exuberance for life that she exudes from all her little chubby, yummy parts.  She literaly and figuratively spreads her arms wide and grabs hold of the world around her and then devours it… me… with her smile, with her sense of hope, with her pure sweetness.  

I did not expect any of that.  I did not expect that I would love her so much.  I did not expect that there would once again be a person in my life that I cannot live without. 

I did not expect that Ty would want to suck on her toes and calls her “his baby“.  Or that Jade would stare into her eyes, turn to me, and exclaim, “We are so lucky to have her!” Or that Izzy would invent games to teach her how to put that darn Cheerio into her mouth.  Or that Lily would crawl around on the floor, following her around the house just to keep her safe.

So, today is Emme’s birthday. 

We named her Emme because the meaning of her name is “complete” or “whole.”  And that is what she made this family…complete….whole.

Emme Rose

Happy birthday, sweet girl.

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.

I don’t want anyone … me included… to forget about Haiti.

As I was out and about on the internet today, I found this site called Wild Olive Tees that is selling T-shirts to raise funds for Haiti.

Please consider checking out the site and purchasing a T-shirt.  The other T-shirts they sell are amazingly cool, too.

Jade’s 14th birthday is coming up and I think I just may spring for one of these. There are a bunch more to choose from.  Click here to check them out.

And then there is Chile.  Habitat for Humanity  is on the move there, trying to provide housing for people who have lost their homes.  And The Salvation Army has pledged to provide food and other relief.  Please consider donating to help out.

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.

Ah man.  I am so glad someone told me.

So glad.

Here is how we celebrated:

She said, “Hey, this girl doesn’t even flinch… wow!”

I guess, technically, Izzy isn’t poking HERSELF in the eye.  But, it was the best we could do.

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.

I had no intention of liking these books. None.  But because I like to keep up and read alongside what my kids are reading, I went ahead and dove into this one.  And, frankly, it hooked me.  So much so that I finished the whole series in a little less than two weeks.

I really had to get used to James Patterson’s way of writing.  He rights in quick sentences, no fluff, not a lot of detail.  And because this book is told in 1st person from the perspective of a 14 year old girl, he writes in the vernacular and jargon of a sassy teen.  And Max often talks right to the reader. Sometimes I feel like Patterson nails the voice of a 14 year old girl — just gets right in that sweet spot with the cadence and the language.  And at other times, the voice is painfully not the voice of a teenager; it almost yells to the reader “middle age white guy trying to sound like a teenage girl.”  During these passages, well, lets just say some of them are cringe-worthy.  Especially when Patterson — through the voice of Max — gets preachy about responsibility and global warming (yes, you read that correctly, there is a anti-global warming thread throughout this series…).

But if you can put all that aside and read on, you have yourself a solid story that winds up to be compelling, interesting, and a fun read.  Teenagers will love it (mine sure did).  I even think this one would grab the attention of teenage boys, even though it is told from the point of view of a female.  The story spins from one intense moment to the next and the characters are easy to care about.

I recommend this book series for boys and girls age 11 and older.

Author: James Patterson

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.

Items that my son has transformed into an imaginary gun:

• Foot-shaped calcualtor
• A slice of cheese – bitten into the shape of a gun
• Clothes hanger
• Broom
• My flip flops (work great as over-the-wrist attack blasters… apparently)
• A pillow
• My $900 camera
• Toilet paper holder
• Vacuum attachments
• Baby bottle

• Socks
• Pens
• Soap dispenser
• His old leg cast
• Foam leters, particulary the “L” and the number “7″
• Sticks in varying shapes and sizes.
• Baby Monitor
• The headrest in the car
• A traffic cone
• A candy cane
• Breast Pump – seriously, this one stopped us all in our tracks.
• The car key remote
• Kleenex box

I keep telling myself that an active imagination is GOOD thing.  And… I try to stay out of the line of fire whenever possible.

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.

My husband was the DRUM-MAJOR at his high school… so, yeah… my kids were doomed to be band-geeks. I was on drill team in high school, so I got to parade around in short little skirt and swivel my hips while said band nerds played “Tequila” at football games.  I am not sure what this dooms my kids to be… I won’t go there.

But in all fairness the band at the local junior high is full of the cool kids.  Largely in part to an amazing band director who wins, like, POPULARITY contests for being the coolest teacher in the whole wide world.  Nobody stands a chance against this guy.  So…. back to what I was saying… my kids (and everyone else’s) are in band.

So, last week I went to the band concert.  They call it a “gig” which, to me, is more like a cool dude with a guitar in a coffee shop, but I’ll go with it for now.  So, I went to the band gig.  Izzy was playing in the 6th grade band (trumpet) and Jade was playing in the 8th grade band (clarinet). I left the two littlies at home with Dave, but took Lily (who plans on joining next year and playing the flute) with me.

We arrive at the junior high, head to the gym, and climb to the top of the bleachers.  We cuddle in with a bunch of peeps from the hood (I know that I live in a suburb, but every so often I like to speak the speak, ya know?)  I end up sitting next to Lily and 3 of her buddies from 4th grade. Which is possibly THE MOST embarrassing thing that has ever happened to Lily.  I mean… can you even stand it?   Her Aunt sat NEXT to her in public? 

But back to me…

As I am sitting there listening to “Go Tell Aunt Rhodie” and “Old MacDondald Had a Farm” for the third year in a row, the numbers started to calculate in my head.  And then I realized that because of the way my kids were spaced out, I had 15 MORE YEARS of band concerts in front of me.  Oh yes… 15 more years. Then the images began to flash.

The people around me would change, but I would be the one constant at all the concerts for the next 15 years.  There was like this time-lapse photography thing going on in my head of me sitting in the same place on the bleachers while the people around me changed – most of whom will be younger than me. I would keep getting older and my eyes would glaze over just a bit more each year.  The rest of the parents would come and go and I would still be there… in 15 years.

15

I wonder if I will be wearing the same jeans and Old Navy t-shirt, with my hair up in a pony tail.  Will they refer to me as “that old crazy woman with all the band kids.”  Will my husband continue to run marathons, but me… my braggin’ rights will be endless band concerts on rock hard bleachers listening to wobbly renditions of “Aura Lee.” 

But I guess this is what I signed up for. I look across the gym and see Izzy waving at me from opposite bleachers where the 6th graders are waiting to perform.  I wave back with a big smile and lots of kiss-blowing.  I swell with joy as I watch a collection of little girls that Izzy met in 3rd grade who are now not-so-little perform flute solos, flute duets and trios, and a saxophone solo. These beautiful girls whose mothers I love and who were Izzy’s very first friends. I couldn’t help but bob my head a bit as they played.  When they finished, they bend their heads to receive medals for their bravery and I snap pictures because they are soooo brave.  So beautiful. I see Jade hanging out with her friends that she met in band — good, no, great kids who love music and Jesus and each other. I see the cute boy that knocked on our door to pick Jade up for youth group perform in a trombone trio and although I know Jade and he are just friends (really), I am glad that she knows him and that there are boys of his caliber in her life. And when the 8th grade band performs a overture from “The Music Man”, they are actually good.  And fun to listen to.   And I was proud of them all.

So, after the concert I went down to take the required pictures, which I now realize will be in every family photo album for  the next (wait for it) 15 years.

My Band Kids

Which is very, very cool.

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.

The voting is really really easy.  Click here to go to her blog where you can view the 5 finalists.  Then post a comment with the # of the photo you want to win.  That’s all you have to do to enter.  Voting ends tonight at midnight!

Do it … I did.

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.

Ali’s mother, Claire, and her aunt Dulcie have a secret.  And like all good secrets, they yearn to be revealed and discovered.  Who is that girl ripped out of the picture from their childhood? Claire and Dulcie claim that they do not remember.  Ali thinks otherwise. So, when Ali gets invited to go the lake house to babysit her cousin Emma for the summer, she sets out to discover who the girl in the photograph is and why she is such a secret.

This book is written very simply without a lot of fanfare.  The older the reader, the faster the book speeds to its conclusion because the story is pretty straightforward and, I guess, pretty predictable.  I guessed early in the story what the secret was and how this whole thing might play out.  My 12 year old did, too.  BUT, having said that, I still think the story holds the reader (I mean it IS a ghost story, afterall…) and is a good little story.  It is not terribly scary, which is good for a tween novel, and I would rate it as a PG book.  Tweens and teens will relate to the angst that Ali feels at trying to fit in with her hip aunt and her desire to both separate from her mother and defend her.  There are a couple of twists and turns and then the final result brings peace to everyone.

And there is just enough eerieness to keep the story moving along.

And the story definitely puts the ka-bash on secret-keeping, that’s for sure!

So, I would recommend this novel for boys and girls ages 9 to 13.

Book by Mary Downing Hahn

©2010 MamaBloo. All Rights Reserved.