Motivation

This FINALLY arrived in my mailbox today...


It contains the highly anticipated conclusion to The Hunger Games Trilogy, Mockingjay. At least I believe it does. As much as I'd love to rip it open and start reading NOW, I'm going to wait. Instead, I'm going to use this box as the motivator to get my online grad classes finished by the end of September (Because keeping my job isn't enough of a motivator???).

So, it's a date. October 1st you'll find me curled up with my book and probably a nice glass of wine. I can't wait! But first, back to my studies...

Beginning Again

They conquered the first day of school!

Sleep Mask for Kids

I couldn't stop laughing when I checked on Joshua and walked into this...


Yes, this is how he fell asleep. Why is he blindfolded? A more interesting question might be what is he blindfolded with? Any guesses?

If you said a blue stretchy cobra snake, you would be correct. Maybe we could corner the market on blindfolds for kids with this new reptile design. There is a market for sleep masks for kids isn't there?

Growing Up

Does it ever just hit you that your kids are older?

Joshua decided he wanted to a start his summer with a Mohawk. I love that he isn't afraid to be his own person or to try something different. The hawk lasted a couple of weeks until he got tired of doing it (or tired of hearing me tell him to do it).

Sometimes that moment hits you when you hear a mature response after so many that were not. Sometimes you just SEE them. This happened to me during dinner one night. Looking at Noah it just hit me how much older he was - taller, such long arms and more mature conversation (occasionally). He's moving into that pre-adolescent category and has more and more questions about growing up. Most of those questions involve driving and getting your license. Some do not.

Signs that it's time for the first "talk."

• Yesterday at the pool Noah asked when you get armpit hair. He then asked if an older cousin had it, if I had it, and if he could see it. Um, no and not on the pool deck!
  

• A couple of weeks ago while discussing his day at camp Noah said he was surprised that only two other kids made it to the top of the rock wall besides him - and they were girls! I said something about not raising a sexist and that girls can do what boys can do blah, blah, blah. He then started trying to use the word sexy. When I asked him if he knew what sexy meant he said, "Hot." When I asked him what hot meant he said, "You know, sweaty."

• He's a little too interested in woman's undergarments. If we walk by that section in a store he wants to touch all of them. Is it inappropriate to pat a mannequin's crotch?
  

I know we'll get to all of this soon enough but I'm okay if he thinks sexy means sweaty for a little while longer.

The End - 48 Hour Book Challenge Complete

Clocked out but not done? The end of my 48 hour period came and went at 8:45 this morning. I HAD to finish the book I was reading so it was another 30 minutes before I could stop (Don't worry, I didn't count the extra in my total.). Instead of tired of reading, I'm just anxious to get into more books! If I had read more and slept less maybe I'd feel differently - but probably not.

When I discovered this challenge blog-hopping a couple of weeks ago, I was intrigued and wondered how much time I could actually spend reading. I fell a little short of my goal (24 hours) but still feel good about the 21 hours and 14 minutes spent reading. I finished eight books and started a read aloud with the boys. I must admit I was more into the reading then the social networking. When most people are posting from their book blogs you feel a little "odd blogger out" posting from your personal blog. That being said, it was still a blast and I'm looking forward to checking out what everyone else read and adding some new blogs to my RSS reader. I narrowed my book selection down for the challenge to the Nebraska Golden Sower Nominees for 2010-11 in the Intermediate and Young Adult categories. I'd already read two, so with 18 left to choose from, my 48 hour reading journey began.
Books Read:
Intermediate Nominees

• Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell - This was my favorite. I don't know why I'm always shocked when I enjoy fantasy so much.
• Do Not Pass Go by Kirkpatrick Hill
• Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
• (started Masterpiece by Elise Broach)

Young Adult Nominees

• Peeled by Joan Bauer
• Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs
• Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee
  
• Fakie by Tony Varrato
• Steel Trapp: The Challenge by Ridley Pearson

Thank you MotherReader for hosting this event. I know beating my time next year is totally possible with less "Mommy!" and more caffeine.

Total Time Reading/Blogging: 22 hours 14 minutes

Let the Reading Begin!

The 48 Hour Book Challenge is finally here and I'm ready! Pork chops marinating, garbage out, dishwasher running, laundry started, kids gone until 5:30 and a big stack of books. I intended on starting earlier but it would be shocking to those that know me to find that I'm running behind. I'm going to be working my way through the Intermediate and Young Adult Nebraska Golden Sower Nominees for 2010-11 starting with Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson. My official start time is 8:45 a.m.

Day 1
Woo hoo! I'm clocking out today with 11 hours and 26 minutes spent reading. I'm tired and my eyes are tired.

Books Read:

• Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarian by Brandon Sanderson
• Do Not Pass Go by Kirkpatrick Hill
• Peeled by Joan Bauer
• Fakie by Tony Varrato
• Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs

Too tired for more now... must sleep. It will be harder to get as much time in tomorrow unless I lock myself in the bathroom and ignore the boys all day. I might have to lift the video game time limit for the day. Are there really people that read 30-40 hours??? Crazy!

Thrilled To Be Reading

New find for summer reading: Mark My Time Bookmarks. They are bookmarks with a clock and two timers. One timer counts up so you can keep track of minutes read. The other timer counts down for those that want to read for a specific amount of time. You can stop or start each timer as many times as needed.

I found these at The Bookworm (The Make Your Mark web site says they are available at Barnes & Noble and Borders too.) and gave them to the boys last weekend. They are a HUGE hit! I'm sure the newness will eventually wear off but for now the boys love keeping track of their time spent reading. Joshua likes to see how long it takes him to read each book...

• Jump, Frog, Jump! - 4 minutes
• Starry, Starry Night - 10 minutes
• Chapter 1 of Gross Out! - 9 minutes

... and Noah logged an hour and ten minutes the first time out. He was quick to inform me that he wouldn't do that every time but I'm not worried. He's like me in that he has trouble putting a book down once he's gotten started.

If you're looking for a way to encourage reading this summer these bookmarks might be exactly what you need.

48 Hour Book Challenge

I am so excited for the 48 hour book challenge! It is happening the weekend of June 4-6, 2010. Go to the MotherReader blog for all the details. I love that I will actually have a reason for non-stop reading. Since I brought 60+ books home to read over the summer I might need several 48 hour book challenges. It will be interesting to see how much time I can actually log reading. Anyone else up for the challenge?

You're My Obsession

We become obsessed with things around here. I know I'm guilty of it too (new products, books, parenting ideas, etc.) but when Noah gets stuck on something that is ALL you hear about.

Noah's latest obsession is the desire to go to a baseball game. I think it stems from the school program he was just in about summer vacation. His part ...

Anyway, I'm not opposed to going to a ballgame (not that I have any desire or love of baseball) but I'm already tired of being asked to go - every day. Especially since I think he's really just interested in having a hotdog, peanuts and cracker jacks. He's been warned that they probably don't serve peanuts anymore due to all the nut allergies but he will not be dissuaded. Is it un-American to make him wait for the free tickets you get for participating in the summer reading program at the library for a game in August?

Baseball has already begun to fade only to be replaced by duct tape. Thank you Mythbusters for once again showing us the amazing power of duct tape. Fascinated, Noah found videos on how to make pouches, flowers and backpacks. Here he shows off his first two duct tape creations.

Since this video Noah has taught Joshua how to make the pouch and flower. He has added a backpack to his own duct tape collection. I think we have a cousin summer craft.

What Do You See?

School is almost out and one thing on my summer list of things to do is blog. Obviously, not much of that happened during the school year - except in my head. I thought I'd dip my toe back into blogging by sharing the thought process of our seven-year old this evening....

While gathering laundry tonight I asked the boys to dump their laundry baskets into mine. Joshua brought his in and although it seemed somewhat empty, I didn't think much of it. That is until I walked by his room.

Before you judge his room know this:
1. It has looked much, much worse. MUCH!
2. He has actually been picking it up on Saturdays but we had a really busy weekend.

Anyway, when I went by his room I saw the upturned empty blue laundry basket (Thanks for emptying it when asked the first time Joshua!) and then clothes strewn from the doorway to his dresser. It's amusing (sometimes) how literal kids can be. At what age does saying "bring me your laundry" become all encompassing? Clearly not at seven.


The clothes on the floor are also an example of how tired I am. Not because they are on the floor but because Joshua wore the khakis in the doorway to church on Sunday. Today is Thursday. His room is across the hallway from mine. I have stepped over those pants all week when I've gone in to wake him up and not even noticed.

Hmmm, how did he miss those clothes on the floor when getting his laundry? It couldn't possibly be in his DNA.