Mission To Be Happy

I've been a Michael McLean fan for many years! I love to hear his music. He's funny and a very talented storyteller. I love to stand at the piano while Aaron plays and we both sing, especially Michael's music. It speaks to my heart.

Well, recently he wrote a handbook about his new mission, a mission he wants to share with everyone and hopes that they follow suit. It's called Mission to be Happy. It has a CD with music to go along with each chapter. Some of the songs are silly and I think that makes the topics easier to deal with, but some are amazing and touch my heart.

So, why am I posting about this? Well, I'm going to try to post about my reasons to be happy. I usually don't have a problem with being happy, but I want to make this a place where I can write a quick note about the blessings in my life that make me happy. I've been really good about writing in my journal, lately and I'm going to keep that up, but I want this blog to be a place where I can share my gratitude with the world.

And if you're interested, Michael blogs about his daily mission of joy! He's hilarious and at the same time insightful.
Check it out: Mission to be Happy Blog.

The Books of Pellinor

Aaron found a great series of books just looking on the shelf. It is called The Books Of Pellinor. It seems mostly undiscovered at our library, so I thought I'd share it with you! They are fantasy books that are supposed to be based on earth thousands of years ago. They are about magic and saving the world...I really don't want to give away too much, but they are awesome!

The main character is Maerad, a slave who really doesn't know who she is or what is outside her owner's domain. She meets someone who changes everything and then she is on a quest to save the world! The writing is very good and the details about everything are amazing!

The books are called, The Naming (The Gift, outside of the US), The Riddle, The Crow and The Singing. They are by Alison Croggon.

They are listed as young adult books (which I have NO objection to reading...they are many times better than many of the adult books out!) but I think it is really only because some of the main characters are youth. Oh, and they have nothing to do with the King Arthur legends. I was a bit confused by this at first because of the name...

Go check them out! They are definitely worth your time!

My Mom Toolbox/Bookshelf

Now that I am on my (most likely) last child, I have found all of the books that help me be a better parent. You know how they say that kids don't come with an instruction manual? Well, I think this list of books is really close to being the perfect pregnancy and parenting instruction manual for me!

Planning Your Pregnancy and Birth

This is the best pregnancy book I have ever read. It was produced by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. I love to have books written by people who have researched and know the most about a topic. I wish I had had this book when I was pregnant with all of my children, instead of just Doodle. It is a really informative and helpful guide to know what is normal, and what is not. I also have the "What to Expect..." books, and I don't like them. They always gave me things to be paranoid about. This book is very straightforward and organized well.

Nursing Mother's Companion

Breastfeeding is difficult at first and remains that way for many people. I'd recommend this book and you should start reading it before you have your baby and keep it close by for the first couple of months. It is amazing! I think I would have been able to nurse my first baby for a lot longer if I'd had this book!

Babywearing

Okay, so this isn't so much a book as a way to help take care of kids. I found this when Princess was about 18 months old, so I got to carry her around a bit. She is actually still small enough, so this summer, we may still use them for her. I don't carry Doodle around in a carrier all the time, but when I know we're going to be walking around a lot, I do. I love my Mei Tai ("May Tie")! It is so nice to have her so close. Shopping is wonderful and I don't have to carry a heavy car seat everywhere we go!

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

No matter how old your kids are, go read this book! It is the best book I have read about sleep. The author teaches why sleep is so important and tells you what to do to make sure your child gets enough quality sleep. I read a little of this book when I was pregnant with Princess and she was a lot better sleeper than Indy, still is! Now, Doodle is a great sleeper. We are still working on night time, but she puts herself to sleep so well! It makes life so much better!

From Baby to Toddler

Again, I like this one better than the "What to expect..." books that I also got. It goes through each month and helps you to know what your child may be doing and how to play with him or her to get them to their full potential.

Diaper Free Before 3

This book is what gave me the confidence to get Princess out of diapers. It is written by a pediatrician and mother of three. She talks a lot about why we potty train the way we do and how it is completely wrong. She says that waiting until the child is "ready" is a bad idea. Instead, she says to start putting your child on a potty when they are six months old. You don't expect them to do anything at that age but get used to it as a normal part of life. Then, at one year old, you get them out of disposable diapers and into cotton underwear. It may sound crazy, but I am going to try it with Doodle. With Princess, it is a little different, but I just get her to "go" every couple of hours. After three weeks, she sometimes tells me when she needs to go. There are still accidents, but it is working! Go read this book!

Supernanny: How to get the Best from your Children

So, this one isn't written by a doctor or anything, but I really like the way that Jo does things. She has a no-nonsense attitude about child rearing. She goes through several "issues" and teaches you how to have control of yourself and teach your children.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone out there. I just wish I could have had these tools all along. I have learned so much and I'm always learning new things. If you have any questions about them, just ask!

What are your favorite parenting "manuals"?

Banned Books Week

I just wanted to make you all aware that we are in Banned Books Week. I am going to make sure to download a banned book at manybooks.net. I can read it on my Palm Pilot, since I try to keep it in my pocket. Here is a list of the frequently banned books. Go read one, just to be rebellious!

I can't believe some of the books that are on the lists! I should be the one to decide what I want to read. If a person or group disapproves of a certain book, fine. Let them skip it, but I should be allowed to decide for myself what I read and what my kids read. I skip books, but there is no reason that I should be allowed to decide for someone else!

We Both Read

I got to go to the library ALONE! It was so nice to actually get to look at books all by myself, rather than only getting to look at kid's books or chasing Princess around the library, while she laughs and screams!

Anyway, while I was there, I looked our library's easy reader section. I found a great series of books. They're called "We Both Read". In each book, the left page is for the adult and the right side is for the child to read. They also make some words bold on both sides so that the child can see the new word while the parent is reading and then read it for themselves. It is so neat. Link loves them! He can have a more complicated story, but still be able to read the story, too. He stays a lot more engaged in the story. It is a lot easier for me to stay interested in the story as well. He is a great reader, and these help us to keep that going!

There are dozens of titles in various age ranges. I am so excited to buy several!

You can buy them at We Both Read or Amazon.

Why, Oh, Why? (Please love me anyway!)

Why is it that as I was sitting at a park day with friends does one of them have to bring up politics? Especially, HER?

Why do I have to read and mostly enjoy a book, but really and truly hate it, when everyone else seems to think it's been written by a wonderful author?

Okay, so maybe this isn't the most positive post, but I want to get this out anyway!

On Friday, I was sitting with some friends and one of them asked what we all thought of Sarah Palin. Immediately, all of them except for two (one who doesn't keep up with politics and me) gushed about how much they love her! They really didn't talk much about her politics, but more about her attitude and the fact that she is a mom. They were of course all moms, but that is hardly a reason to vote for someone. I honestly think Sarah Palin is about the last person I want to be in line to be president! (If you haven't seen it already, go read this. This is worth reading, too.) Honestly, someone who is that controlling and manipulative is seriously looking like a fascist, to me.

So, I didn't say anything, but I really wanted to.

And on to the book. I just finished reading Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer. To start, I did read it in three days, so I enjoyed it. But... when I even think about it a little bit, I hate some of the things she did with it. I think my biggest complaint is that she wrote these books for teenage girls. There are things that are grossly inappropriate for girls to be reading. They don't need to think that life it the way it is painted in this book. I know, I know, it's just a story, and furthermore, it's written about vampires, but still. There is way to much s*x, too much of the idea that "life will be better after this horrible life I'm living" and too much emphasis placed on how beautiful they become and how that makes Bella feel so much better about herself. We are all human and teenagers hate enough things about themselves to have these ideas put into their heads. I understand the need for an escape...what do you think reading this book provided me? I just think that Ms. Meyer takes things too far. While I'm at it, there are so many better books written for that age that are SO much better. There are better writers that don't take twice as long to say something as they need!

Okay, I'm done. I hope you all still love me...oh and I'm really not a left-wing Democrat or anything. I just have more moderate views and the Republicans are trying to be so far right at the moment that it really irritates me!

Wuthering Heights

I just finished reading Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, for the first time. I was first introduced to the story by a movie version. I loved it.

I'm not sure what the draw is for me. Usually, I have to like characters to be able to read a book. The characters are horrible. They are well written, but they are mean and malicious people. Though, there are some very good characters who redeem the story and make the some of the others better people.

It is a story of love, betrayal, revenge and redemption. As I was telling Aaron the plot, and as I am writing here, I can't figure out what it is that makes me really love the book and movie! Maybe it is the ending that pulls it all together for me.

Does anyone else love this story?

Eclipse

(If you haven't read this book, and will, I may give away some plot points...)

I really enjoyed reading these books. This one not so much. There were several things that really bothered me.

Bella (the main character) is a jerk! The author tries to make her this mature teen, but I really don't think she knows what mature is. She is a twit! She is mean and hurtful and she does it on purpose!!

When do love triangles happen in real life??

What 17 or 18 year old really knows what they want for the rest of their lives? They don't know what life is really about!

Why did she even bother to use vampires? The only similarities to fabled vampires is that they drink blood and are pale. They are killed in different ways (nastier in her book), they can be in the sun, they can have control...it goes on. She should have just made up her own creature, rather than change one so much that it isn't a vampire anymore. I know she tried to make it as if the old type were just legend, but still!

The thing that bothers me the most is that Stephenie Meyer advertises that she is LDS and then she puts LOTS of things in her books that are definitely NOT LDS. (She doesn't claim that these are LDS books, but still!) She is also writing these books for teenagers. She has the two main characters in bed together all night, every night!! Sure, they don't DO anything, but it is a horrible example for the teens reading. She also has Bella hate marriage, but want to spend eternity with Edward. I don't get the point.

Side note: Meyer also has no idea how to properly use foreshadowing.

I will probably read the last book in the series next fall, but I don't think I'll recommend the books to anyone without some warnings.

New Moon

So, I spent the last couple of days reading book #2 in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I finished it yesterday morning and then I looked around and realized we'd barely gone outside and I hadn't opened the blinds next to me. Do you think I'm turning vampire??

Have you ever gotten into a book and then went out to run errands and started having to remember which thoughts were reality and which were the fantasy of your book? We went to the library and I had just been reading, so the images and ideas of New Moon were still in my head. It was so weird. I started thinking about plot points and then I had to realize that it was the road (I wasn't driving!!) not the book that was real.

Maybe I shouldn't read the third book right away....

Twilight

After a stressful week, I became engrossed in a great book and ignored my house!

I found Twilight on someone's blog. (and it has been a while, so I don't remember where--sorry) Aaron found it through his colleagues, who are mostly women. He really enjoyed it as well, but he wanted more violence in a vampire book.

I loved it! It is a great story about a girl who is learning who she is and how to love! It is mostly a romantic book, but it doesn't get all...icky!

I'll admit, it is definitely a "girl book" as Aaron put it.

I also learned that it has two sequels!! I need to spend time doing other things, so I am going to wait to get those.

I did make that decision before I finished the book, and if you've read it, the last line REALLY makes you want to read the next book!! I wonder how long I can hold out!