Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

We’re just not going to talk about any days I miss between now and New Year’s, okay? Because in addition to, oh, CHRISTMAS, I’m also on–heading?–the STEAM night committee and my youngest is working on submitting her topic for the history fair. Plus we’ve been challenged by our local church leaders to read the Book of Mormon as a family between now (well, a week and a half ago) and Easter, and coordinating that (even though we’re doing two family groups during the week) gets interesting. At least the projects are coming along?

In the meantime, I’m still volunteering at the school at least 2 days a week, and I promised I’d take care of delivering the food if student council headed up a food drive. Luckily I found someplace exceptionally close, except they’re only open on Wednesdays.

How’s your December going?

It’s normally my second girlie that I’m frantically previewing books for in December, but she’s deep in the throes of her junior year and so not reading a ton. On the other hand, when I saw Maria van Lieshout’s Song of a Blackbird described and realized that it was a dual-timeline Holocaust mystery with art as the key, well–that fits my oldest to a T. (I did worry at one point that it was going to go in a direction that would bug her, but it didn’t, and I was SO glad!) She should find the art interesting, even if it’s deliberately evocative of printmaking and thus uses a very limited color scheme, and she’s always been my mystery lover. I suppose I’m more of a devotee of Holocaust literature than she is, but she inherited enough of my love for history that it should still be a draw, so it’s a win–I ordered it from B&N (may Borders ever rest in peace) today.

For those of you wanting more of an actual plot description, Blackbird follows two teenagers in Amsterdam, Emma in 1943 and Annick in 2011. When Annick discovers that her grandmother, who is in need of a transplant, was actually adopted as a child, she dives hurriedly into the past to try to find her a biological relative who may be a match. That dive starts with a series of prints on a wall and leads, eventually, to Emma. How their stories connect involves a fictional story based on a good many historical events, and my daughter should love the ‘fight hate–make art’ theme van Lieshout explores. I found the color scheme required more light than usual for my eyes to appreciate, but as long as I was working with more than just my bed lamp, I did fine.

I highly recommend this one.

I refuse to feel guilty about Monday’s post; I did 6 loads of laundry, gave blood, made dinner, and attended a Driver’s Ed parent night that night. As for yesterday, my youngest and I were home all day with iffy tummies, and I did at least manage to order Christmas cards and get the majority of our Christmas letter written. (Ordering Christmas cards is no mean feat, by the way–I had no idea what a good deal Costco offered until they stopped offering it and partnered with Shutterfly instead.) I also finished listening to Gordon Korman’s Old School, another ‘Battle of the Books’ title that’s getting passed on to my youngest, in part to guarantee that I could write its review today.

So. If you haven’t read anything by Korman before, you should know that he’s generally over-the-top in what I assume is a self-aware kind of way. His characters aren’t two-dimensional, but some are fleshed out more than others, and many of them are (again, I’m assuming) intentionally representative types. Some of his stories work better than others because of this, but I have to say–he’s pretty much always a good time. Old School, in fact, is a perfect example of what Korman does well. You’ve got Dexter Foreman, whose parents work overseas while he lives with his grandma at her retirement village and gets homeschooled by the residents; he dresses, behaves, and thinks more like the senior citizens he lives with than the middle schooler he technically is. Enter a truancy officer–for reasons I shan’t spoil for you, his homeschooling isn’t quite official enough–and suddenly he’s plopped unwillingly down in the middle of Wolf’s Eye Middle School. Reactions to Dexter aren’t exactly enthusiastic, middle school being what it is, but he’s making it along (in his own unique way) until he bumps up against a school rule not designed for a kid like him and finds himself suspended. Which is great for him…or is it?

I’ll let you enjoy the rest of it on your own, which you definitely should do. Is it realistic? Heck no. Is it purely recreational fun during a season that, at its best, tends to be far busier than we’d like? Absolutely.

I can’t wait for my youngest to read it.

Monday clearly got away from me, but let’s be fair–I had a child home from school AND I had to grocery shop for pie night. (Technically, I also grocery shopped for pie night yesterday, just at different stores. But Monday was the big Walmart trek.) This morning I’m making MY pie–my youngest and my hubby made theirs yesterday–and my oldest is baking hers before we leave for my in-laws’, where my middles are making theirs. Except that I also have to pick up Munchkins for one of those pies and take my son to the orthodontist to fix a broken bracket. Good times…

Anyway. Last night I finished ‘Epic Fails’ #3: Not-So-Great Presidents: Commanders in Chief, which I’ve been chipping away at before bed. (I’ve decided I need to pick books divided into short chunks to chip away at before bed; that’s going to work better than novels in my current stage of life.) It was certainly informative and often hilarious, especially with its casual, chatty, almost gossipy tone; I did think, however, that it came across more as a list of presidents with their good and not-so-good accomplishments than as a book devoted to epic fails. The authors may have skipped a few, but they covered a lot of presidential ground, some of it the antithesis of failure. Still, I definitely learned some new things, and I found myself reading bits and pieces aloud to my husband (did you know that Gerald Ford was named Leslie Lynch King, Jr. at birth?). I’d recommend this one as high accessible history for elementary through middle schoolers, not to mention for reluctant readers.

Well, I’m off to do the things. Have a happy Thanksgiving, folks!

Not that I’m surprised, you understand; Rob Buyea always has plenty of feels. But Carter Avery’s Tricky Fourth-Grade Year has different kinds of feels than some of his other ones, so they still feel worth mentioning. (By the way, I put off my post deliberately so that I could review Carter Avery today, since I only finished reading it aloud with my youngest yesterday afternoon. And it’s a ‘Battle of the Books’ book, so she and I can fill out our summaries today as well!)

First of all, Carter Avery is narrated only by–surprise surprise!–Carter Avery; most of Buyea’s books have more than one narrator. Secondly, he’s on the youngest side of Buyea’s main characters, and he and his sister live with their grandmother because their parents died in a car accident when he was a baby. (Feels.) Third–well, the plot does involve teachers who make a difference (in both directions!), but Ms. Krane and Mr. Terupt are really quite different. Carter’s journey with teachers, learning, and friendship has all the heart you could ask for, however, and while the Missy Gerber aspect of the plot feels like one of the biggest reality stretches, it definitely matters. I loved Lieutenant Boss, Mrs. Stinger’s fate felt perfect, and overall, Carter’s story grabbed me and didn’t let go. As for Grams, Torrie, and Brynn–and Mason and Susie–well, let’s just say there are a lot of characters to love.

Don’t miss this one.

You know those foods that your children say they really like but then don’t necessarily eat much of? Cheddar Bay biscuits–you know, the Red Lobster kind you make from a boxed mix you can get at Costco–are one of those things, and I had one package of mix left in the box when I came across this recipe for Creamy Tomato Soup with Cheddar Bay Dumplings. I knew my family wouldn’t be particularly excited about any tomato soup, but hey–it was an easy recipe, and they can live with something they’re not excited about every once in a while, right? So I waited for an acceptable soup day (it’s been a warm November) and today was it. The verdict?

First of all, my hubby’s tummy was bugging him and my oldest went out to dinner with friends, so it was my younger three and me eating it. Among the four of us, my 16-year-old couldn’t deal with the texture and my littles both gave it a thumbs middle, so not exactly a success, but I rather enjoyed it. I do know that a lot of people struggle with the ‘soggy bread’ sort of texture you find in soup dumplings–among other things–and anyone who so struggles should definitely avoid this recipe. If the texture doesn’t bother you, however, and the idea of garlic-cheddar dumplings in a simple tomato soup appeals, then I recommend giving this recipe a try.

I’m kind of looking forward to the leftovers.

Seriously, folks. I just finished listening to all of the ‘Little House’ books again since my youngest started the series, and as far as I can tell, ANY time ANYONE just needs one good wheat crop to pay off their debts and start making a real go of it on a farm, it NEVER ends well. (Did that need a spoiler alert? This does, too, then–does any wheat crop in the whole entire series ever come out well? Maybe in Wisconsin…) I mostly read the first four books multiple times growing up; the rest of them must have needed checking out from the library, so my memories of them were spotty. I read the whole series when my oldest child or two was little-little, but that oldest turned 19 yesterday, so it had been a bit. Now it’s just hard, because instead of relating to Laura, I’m worrying and working with Caroline and Charles, and it’s not at all the same experience.

Anyway. It was an odd sort of birthday celebration yesterday–the day seemed to creep up on my other kiddos, my oldest doesn’t like to choose food, Saturday’s BYU game was a late one, and my youngest sang in the retirement center’s branch sacrament meeting in the morning. We didn’t even have family scripture time until after church, and I work pretty hard to avoid that. Still, we were home together as a family, the kiddos got to bed at a decent time, and I’ve been relatively productive this morning. Cross your fingers for me that it stays that way for the rest of the day!

The coolest thing about this week was watching two of my children perform–my son in a sport/hip hop dance number at the Jr. High’s dance concert and my youngest daughter in a patriotic concert on Veteran’s Day. My older two were more stressed this week than anything, and my youngest had to complete and turn in her science fair project by Friday, so that balanced out the good; I also spent Wednesday and Friday mornings at the school, helping (respectively) with ‘Battle of the Books’ and the school’s fundraiser (our attendance secretary was out, and it took pretty much three PTA volunteers to adequately take her place). Today my older girlies and I went shopping at Seagull Book and then went to see my niece (their cousin, of course) in her high school production of ‘Oklahoma!’. You know, I never loved that musical, but boy howdy, as an adult woman in the 21st century I found that I actively dislike it. I could write pages and pages of scathing literary criticism about that thing, and while the kids were great, I would have vastly preferred to enjoy their talents in a different show.

On the positive side, I did finish listening to Meg Eden Kuyatt’s Good Different–another ‘Battle of the Books’ title for this year–and yowsers, what a book. This verse novel about a girl learning about and growing to appreciate her neurodivergence had ALL THE FEELS, and while I was pretty annoyed with the mother for most of the book, I was much more understanding by the end. (I could still cheerfully slap–or sue–the principal, though.) Selah is an inspiration to every kid who feels different, and as a mother of more than one not-exactly-neurotypical children, I hope her story helps its readers better understand those with a different perspective than theirs.

Everyone really ought to read this book.

After a PTA meeting, too! Which went okay, although our numbers aren’t what they used to be. Afterwards I talked to multiple people at the school before heading home and–quite literally–finishing the last three pages of Fingerprints: Dead People Do Tell Tales. (You’d think I’d have just finished it last night, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Which is generally what happens when I read in bed.) Now, full disclosure? I only picked it up from the library because the author has written some fantastic nonfiction picture books. Still, I learned some really interesting things about fingerprinting and the history of criminal investigation, so it was definitely well worth my time. At a little over 100 pages–with illustrations (mostly photographs)–it’s accessible for a wide variety of ages and is a great choice for people who enjoy crime shows or have a scientific interest in fingerprinting but don’t have as much time to read as they’d like.

Know anybody like that?

I’m dreadfully afraid that I’m going to be struggling with posts this whole school year; I’m certainly not half as involved as the PTA president I was treasurer for, and yet I’m still at the school more than I’ve ever been before. Add to that the Great Laundry Crisis of 2025–plus regular errands–and I feel like I never know what I’m going to be doing. Sunday afternoon we watched “Night at the Museum” as a family, and the kiddos seemed to enjoy it; since I didn’t help with dinner, however, the kitchen the next day was terrifying. It’s also crunch time for the science fair, and I’ve been driving more with my 16-year-old again…yeesh. I just feel like I’m doing all the things all the time.

What I DID take time to do today, however–in between cleaning and laundry and Sam’s Club and dinner prep–was finish reading The Challenger Disaster: Tragedy in the Skies. The ‘History Comics’ series run noticeably less than 150 pages, but there is a LOT of information in this one–slightly more technical information than I wanted, to be honest. Once I was past the technical specs of the space shuttle, however, it was a thoroughly interesting read, with profiles on each astronaut and an explanation of the Rogers Commission and its findings. While I do remember watching the Challenger’s launch live, I was young and my memories are not vivid; I still, however, was in tears before I finished the book. It’s a ‘Battle of the Books’ title for this year, so my youngest will be grabbing it in the morning, but I may honestly have all of my children read it, because it matters.

On that note, I have to be at the school first thing tomorrow morning, and the rest of the day is going to be full as well. Here’s hoping y’all had a good hump day!