Attack of the Teeth!!!!!

No one said being a parent was easy. While it comes with endless amounts of joy and wonderful memories, it also has a dark side rarely talked about. Well, I'm gonna share one of the those dark moments with you. Here's a taste of teething...

My year old just went through another bout of teething. She cut her first 2 teeth at 4 months old when the bottom fronts came in together. After getting 8 teeth in total over the next few months, she took a break for a little while. No, I should say, her teeth were just plotting and buying their time.

For about 1-2 weeks my baby was cranky, fussy, and clingy. We were on the look out for more teeth, but if she doesn't want you poking around in there she won't make trying to do it easy. For about a week- if not more- her sleep during the night was next to non-existent. She would sleep for a couple of hours only to stay awake for a couple of hours. For reasons we could not figure out, she wanted nothing to do with her crib at night. Instead, she enjoyed sleeping in our bed with us.

Her Daddy and I were exhausted! We were at the end of our ropes! Then, while making her laugh on the floor one day, I got a glimpse of something...signs of teeth! One forced examination later left me a little shocked. Turns out, my littlest lovebug was cutting 4 TEETH!!! Not just one, or two. Nope! She was cutting 4 of them. And 2 of them were her top back molars!! No wonder she's been having such a hard time lately!! No wonder she wanted to to be held all the time and sleep with us!

Now everything made sense. Since aceptametaphine doesn't phase her, we got out the baby Motrin. Her sleep has gotten back to normal. She's back to her little wonderful self. We're all still a little worse for wear, but we survived the latest invasion of the teeth.

All that's left to do now is wait for the bottom molars and teeth to show up!

The Girl With No Shadow

The Girl With No Shadow

By: Joanne Harris

444 Pages

Summary:

The wind has always dictated Vianne Rocher's every move, buffeting her from the French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes to the crowded streets of Paris. Cloaked in a new identity, that of widow Yanne Charbonneau, she opens a chocolaterie on a small Montmartre street, determined to still the wind at last and keep her daughters, Anouk and baby Rosette, safe. But the weather vane soon turns, and Zozie de l'Alba blows into their live. Charming and enigmatic, Zozie provides the brightness that Yanne's life needs as her vivavity and bold lollipop shoes dazzle rebellious and impressionable preadolescent Anouk. But beneath their new friend's benevolent facade lies a ruthless treachery for devious, seductive Zozie has plans that will shake their world to pieces. ---bn.com

I LOVED this book's predecessor, Chocolat! When I found out about this book I couldn't wait to visit the characters I came to love. What I got was another book that needed to leave well enough alone. I think the book would have been a better service to a whole new set of characters instead of doing the disservice to previously successful characters.

The book takes place 4 years after Chocolat. Anouk is now older and dealing with cliques in her school. The baby Vianne was pregnant with at the end of Chocolat was born, Rosette, and refuses to talk at 4 years old. Vianne is now using a different name and living a whole new life for the sake of her girls.

Everything I loved about Vianne's personality and the way she interacted with people has seemed to have been lost in those 4 years. While, eventually, she gets most of it back, it was not a welcome surprise, and a little too late for me. She becomes involved, and later engaged, with a man who is selfish, snobby, and a jerk. You realise very early that she's only with him because of the stable life he represents and would offer the girls, but he's a jerk to them. Their ultimate split up was welcomed with open arms.

Chocolat's bad guy was the Priest, The Girl With No Shadow's is Zozie. She has made a life for herself by stealing other people's ids, and sometimes taking their lives. Her plan for Vianne is to take over her life. So the whole book is watching her do this. Seeing how she charms the customers, Vianne, and goes after Anouk as her keepsake.

Overall, I was disappointed. I had such high hopes for this book, and none of them were realised. The next time I miss these characters I'll just reread Chocolate.

Rating: Borrow From Library

Chocolat

Chocolat

By: Joanne Harris

Summary:

...an enchanting novel about a small French town turned upside down by the arrival of a bewitching chocolate confectioner, Vianne Rocher, and her spirited young daughter. bn.com

Since I'm currently reading the sequel to this book, I thought I should do a post about Chocolat. I loved this book! I was drawn in by the main character, Vianne. This mysterious woman comes to quiet, church-centered town and dares to open a chocolate store! She somehow knows what everyone likes, what they need, and it drives the town's priest insane. The whole chocolate part was my favorite! Reading of Vianne making it, decorating it, and serving it had me drooling! Joanne Harris did a phenomonal job of creating a story around my favorite treat!I also loved watching this group of characters unapologetically come together.

I loved the secondary characters! There was only a couple that I didn't enjoy reading about, but that's how Joanne wants them to come across. The mysterious drifter, Roux, who you can't help but become drawn to. The priest who refuses to believe the store won't be the end of the town.

Woven throughout the book is the story of Vianne's life. The mother storyline, after awhile, got a bit dark for me and uninteresting. Her mother's death was not something I needed to have drawn out the way it was. A brief synopsis would have been fine with me. I also got fed up about fearing the dark man. However, through learning of Vianne's past you come to see why she's the drifter she is.

I loved all the little magic ever so subtly involved. It wasn't an amount that would have freaked me out, but enough to make the book all the more interesting to read. This is definitely a book I would read again; I'd just skip past the mother storyline after awhile.

If you decide to read this great book, I strongly advice doing so with some kind of chocolate with you. I am convinced it made the reading experience all the more magical and enjoyable!

Journey Through The Classics Update!

The Turn of the Screw

By: Henry James

This was another re-read for me. I enjoyed it the first time and struggled with it this time. Of all the things I've forgotten about the book, I can't believe I forgot how wordy Henry James is. He got elaborately descriptive with his writing to the point that I had to read more than a few sentences and paragraphs over again. I eventually got to the point where I didn't bother reading it again if I knew nothing important was missed.

Having said that, the plot of the story was great! I love a good ghost story that isn't too scary. Henry James told a great story and at a great pace. The story is the re-telling of a governess's time taking care of 2 siblings in their Uncle's country house. She's the latest of a few people who had taken care of them, and a couple of them haven't left the children...

I may read this book again, someday, but it wouldn't be any time soon. It's not a book I recommend reading if you aren't able to invest a chunk of time, despite it being barely over 100 pages long. I also wouldn't read this book if you're reading others as well. For me, at least, I had to dedicate a lot of concentration and time to it because of the way Henry James wrote it.

The Leaning Tower of Jen...

For the past 2 days I have looked like this. My back has been spasming and in no time, I am leaning to the right. To say it's painful would probably be redundant, but it is.

I've spent pretty much all of today in bed. The one good thing out of this is that I've been able to get a little bit of reading done- but not much.

When no amount of ibuprofen did anything to help, I took matters into my own hands. I was sure that a piece of cake from my daughter's birthday party would fix me. Is there anything good cake can't fix?! Apparently, there is because it didn't do the trick. I then began to bribe my back. I pleaded that if it would stop spasming on me I'd give it chocolate chip cookies. I swear it knows because it started getting better. But I'm still in bad shape.

Oh well, no one can say I didn't try. I wonder if I should charge admission for people come check out the real life version of the historical landmark? Just a thought...

Journey Through The Classics Update!

A big reason I wanted to read this book was wanting to see how close the book was to a movie made of it. In the 1990s the movie "Clueless" was made as a modern day adaptation to the beloved book. As happens with many adaptations, things tend to get lost in the translation, and I wanted to see if this pairing was going to be another example of that. It wasn't. The book and the movie were pretty darn close! More over, both were great!

Once I started reading Emma, I didn't want to stop. I remember reading it in far less time than I expected to. My husband was home from work, so I've no doubt that's why. I was just enthralled with the story. I thoroughly loved reading to see how much the book and movie had in common.

Emma was the girl who took people under her wing in the thought of knowing what was best for them. In some cases she was right. She took excellent care of her Father. Some she was off... way off. When she befriends Harriet, she decides to find her new friend a husband. In the end, the match was not made and love was almost missed out on by everyone involved.

As enchanting as Emma was, I do have to say I wasn't expecting her to treat Harriet in the way she did towards the end of the book. Other than that, I loved the book.

This Blonde Vs. Facebook...

Alright, so I've been wanting to post pictures on Facebook so my family & friends could see them. Most of the pictures I take these days are done on my iPhone and I even had my hubby download the Facebook app. I've had my phone for over a year & the app on it for a little less than that.

I have tried and tried to figure out how to post the pictures from my phone with no success. Well, a few days ago I happen to see a little camera icon next to the space where you write what you want to say. I clicked it and sure enough I was able to pick pictures from my phone's library.

I was so happy and peeved all in one! It was that easy and RIGHT THERE!! I still don't want to discuss it, but I had to share this moment with you all.

Oh well. Better late than never?

Journey Through The Classics Update!

**Rebecca is not on the Barnes & Noble Classics list. This is one of the several classics I'll be reading that is not on it.

Rebecca

By: Daphne Du Maurier

This is another re-read for me. While I don't remember much of it from the first reading, I do know it didn't take me as long to read as it did this time.

Overall, I liked the book. I found the first half slow going and even boring at times. I felt like it took awhile to get really going. But once it got good, it got REALLY good. The second half of the book was great! I had a hard time putting it down when I had to. Laundry was put off until I had no choice about it because I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

The character Mrs. Danvers, the head house employee, was one of those characters you want to throttle! As awful as this may sound, that woman needed a good dose of reality to hit her in the face. Somewhere along the line she forgot she was an employee- a replaceable one at that- and not the owner of the house.

I was a little disappointed with the ending. I would have liked a bit more closure. All you know is that Manderley is on fire, but there's no resolution as to who did it, though you have 2 good ideas. I can't really put my finger on it, but I thought the book would end in a different way.

September 11, 2001 Tribute

September 11, 2001

A tear can be shed.
Blood can be bled.
But we will never forget

The living, now dead.

-me

Journey Through The Classics Update!

Pippi Goes On Board

By: Astrid Lindgren

While not as magical as the first book in the Pippi series, Pippi Goes On Board, is still a continuation of Pippi's adventures. She takes Tommy and Annika along with her as she goes on a shopping spree in town. Lesson learned that day: if 36 pounds of candy isn't enough for all the town's children to feast on... get another 36 pounds! You just might have some for the following day. Pippi gives Tommy and Annika a little taste of what it's like to be shipwrecked. While their parents are out of town, the siblings and Pippi set sail for a nearby lake island.

There are plenty of adventures to enjoy in this book. You'll get to meet Pippi's father and find out if he really did become a cannibal king. You'll also get to see what she does when given the choice of staying at Villa Villekula or set sail with her beloved Father.

If you read Pippi Goes On Board, I hope you enjoy it! Reading Pippi is like visiting a long lost friend only to feel as if no time has gone by.

Places I find Books....

Recently a question was posted on Twitter asking people where they found books to read. For some reason the question stayed with me. So, I thought that I would share with you guys some of the places I go to when looking for books to read.

1. Bookstores
I'm sure this one goes without saying. I can't count the number of times I found books when browsing through. My local B&N has stands holding books and I usually find a few gems there.

2. Magazines
People magazine is my biggest source in this category. Every week they review a few books and it's one the reasons I love the magazine. I have found sooo many books there that I read and even had to start making a list.

3. Libraries
Another obvious pick. Again, you'd be amazed what you find when you just walk through the shelves and really look at the books. I also found lots of possibilities while I volunteered there.

4. Friends/Word of Mouth
This is such a good source! You often find out things about books you normally wouldn't.

5. Websites & Book Blogs
Whenever I go to bn.com or Amazon I always take a peek at the other books people bought when they bought one I was interested in. You'd be amazed what you uncover. Also, book blogs are GREAT for finding books. There are so many to look at and cover every book genre there is. I have spent many an afternoon browsing different websites and walked away with a list of books I was ready to read.

Well, I hope this has been informative for you. Find lots of good books and enjoy! I'd love to hear some the places you find books to read!

Shopping With My 4 Year Old...

Those of you who have children can understand: kids + stores= anything can happen. Often, anything does happen. Well, a recent run to Kohl's for my family & I was the scene of some spontaneous fun. And it was all at the hands of my wonderful 4 year old.

While I was checking out the purse section, we each found one we liked. Instead of just checking it out and putting it back, my oldest had inspiration hit her and decided she needed to have a fashion show! Alright, we can pull that off. She then decided that she needed a hat to complete her fashion attire.

Look out Ellite Model Agency, here comes

Alyssa!!

After having fun by herself, she wanted to get me in on it, too. Well, okay. If I must, I must.

The things a parent will do for their kids...

Journey Through The Classics Update!

Note: This book is not on the Barnes & Noble Classics list that I'm reading through. Some people may call into question whether this book is a classic at all. I felt it was so I included it here.

One of the great things about helping run a children's blog is getting to re-visit characters I loved as a kid. Pippi Longstocking is one of those characters I never forgot and couldn't get enough of. Turns out, I still can't!

I grew up watching her movies when they'd air on TV. It was years before I ever knew the movies were based off of the books. Well, once I knew, there was no stopping me. I HAD TO READ THE BOOKS!!

I've read this book a couple of times now and have loved it as much every time! Pippi is so much fun to visit. She's a girl who lives alone in a big house and had incredible strength. She becomes friends with the next door kids, Tommy & Annika, and the fun never ends.

Pippi has her own way of doing things. She has no problem putting bullies in their place... or hanging them from tree branches. She does household chores... like washing her floors on skate brushes. And her creative side cannot be contained to a piece of paper alone... but the school room floor might do it.

I could go on and on. There are 3 books in her series and I intend to enjoy each of them.

September Reading Plans...

This month I'm participating in another reading invitation hosted by http://kidsbookkorner.blogspot.com/ They have turned the month of September into Pippi Longstocking month. I loved her so much when I was growing up! I've already gotten started on the 1st book in the series.

I'm still making my way through the classic, Rebecca. I haven't been able to read as much of it as I'd like becuase it's been really busy lately. But I'm still chugging along...