BOOK REVIEW: THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY

Title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Authors: Marry Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Number of Pages: 274

Number of Stars: 3.8

 That could possibly be the longest and strangest title of a book ever. Weird title aside I mostly enjoyed this book.  It was funny and quick witted.  The characters were likable.  I thought the whole book being written in letters made it unique and gave a break from the traditional narrative type story.  Reading all of the letters made me wish that people would still sit down and write hand written notes every once in a while.  The bad part about that is there is no delete button, which I find I use on a daily basis. Maybe it's a good thing we don't still write that way? It was nice in the fact that I could sit down for 30 seconds or 30 minutes to read. The actual writing was pretty good - and very witty.  I can only wish to ever be able to write like that. There was some dark content, but it was evenly balanced with humor and love.  This was a little piece of history that I had never been introduced to before. My favorite thing about this book is that it all boiled down to what choices we make in life.  Do you realize how one seemingly small choice can have major consequences? Would you sacrifice your life for a complete stranger?  Would you stand up for your beliefs in the face of fear, danger, and unpopularity? I wish I could say "yes", and right now I do say "yes", but when faced with the actual choice - I really don't know! This book points out the incredible amount of things we take for granted like: salt, meat, any food, soap, clothing, shoes, heat, wood to burn, freedom to meet with friends, freedom to be with our families, and so many more. Like a few of the ladies in book club, I also didn't appreciate the undercurrents of accepting homosexuality and the fact that family is easily replaceable by friends.  The ending turned a little more into a romance novel that I felt it should have. I am glad I read it, I probably won't read it again, unless it is another book club book.  I would love to travel to Guernsey someday...someday.

Willing the Weather Warmer

Last Saturday we decided to go for a picnic in the canyon.

First we had to figure out a canyon that wasn't buried with many feet of snow.

We decided that even though it was still cold outside, summer could not be put off any longer!

The ducks agree with us on this.

 

These little ducks have been frequenting our yard lately.

We drove up Provo Canyon, which was so beautiful.

We were going to park by Deer Creek and have our picnic, but they wanted to charge us $10.00 per car just to park by a picnic table.  I am way to cheap to do that,  so on we went.  We made it to Midway and found a great park.  I would love to live in Midway someday - if only they didn't get so much snow in the winter.  The park turned out to be way better than a lake.  I can only imagine how hard it would have been to keep William out of a lake.

Isabelle and Jee Hoon are best buddies! 

 

It's nice that he lets her boss him around so much.

 

Where are you William???

He thought it was hilarious to be standing on top of me.

 

Walking up the slide is just as fun as sliding down it.

 

Getting off of the swings was truly heartbreaking!

After a delicious BBQ, (thank you Soung-Jo!)

we had to play a little football.

Here are the boys trying to explain the "rules" to Isabelle.

 

Football might not be her forte.

It's definitely not mine!

It was so fun to play, but WOW - I am out of shape.

I don't recommend playing football with 

3 very physically fit grown men.

Luckily we weren't playing tackle.

As a side note though I can run very fast when I am afraid,

and Soung-Sik, Jee Hoon, and I won! 

Yay for us!

You can't drive past water with Soung-Sik 

without stopping to fish.

 

Sadly we didn't catch any fish.

Isabelle said there must not be any fish here.

We wrapped up the day with Bocce Ball and card games.

All in all a wonderful day and I am so happy that summer is peaking around the corner at us!

Humbled By My Children

Children have a unique power over their parents.

They have the ability to either inflate your ego higher than anyone else possibly could, or they can humble you to dust in a matter of seconds.  As everyone knows kids say the darndest things.  When I had children everyone told me "You should write down all of the cute things they say".  I thought this was a wonderful idea until the minute Isabelle learned to talk.  How exactly are you supposed to write down ALL of the funny/great things they say?  It has been non stop with that child.  I would have to follow her around with a tape recorder all day everyday. I don't know any mom with that kind of time on her hands.  So here's a sampling of some humbling (for better or for worse) things my children have said or done in the last couple of days.  

There is a commercial on one of the news channels I watch that is frequently played.  It is for a company called "Lifestyle Lift" that specializes in face lifts.  The "models" are both around 65 years old. Isabelle came up to me and said "Mommy, I think you need a lifestyle lift!  When you smile or do a face like this (picture any kind of weird face you'd like) you get wrinkles on your forehead.  I think a lifestyle lift would help a lot with that!"   Thanks girlie,  I really hadn't noticed the 3, or is it 4??? wrinkles that like to perch on my face.  I have a theory that a mom should grow a new arm with every baby she has, because let's face it, you need it.  I think what you grow instead is wrinkles on your forehead.  

Another experience that occurred after watching the news...I am not a supporter of our current president, President Obama, at all.  That is actually a huge understatement. If I could help him pack his bags and move out of the White House in a year and a half (or sooner) it would probably be one of the best days of my life.  Sometimes, like 6 times an hour, when watching the news I will get angry at my TV - or the President who happens to be speaking on it.  Isabelle knows that I don't really have tender feelings for Obama.  At lunch she started asking me about why people have different skin color.  I just explained to her that God created people of all colors and we are all children of God and he loves each and everyone one us.  Then she asked me "Is President Obama a child of God?" 

"Yes sweetie he is."  

"Then shouldn't you love and respect him mom?"

Humble pie - I think that is why God wants us to become as little children. As a disclaimer to this story I have to say that Obama's skin color has NOTHING to do with why I don't like him.  Okay Isabelle I am working on the whole loving others thing...

Isabelle ran into my room the other day and gave me the biggest hug.  She said "You are one of the best mommies I have ever had!!!"  I'm torn on this one.  Who are these other mommies I'm in competition with?  Well at least I am one of the best at something I am doing!

Even though William doesn't talk much he still helps out with the 

ego inflating/deflating machine.  

He can say about 20 words now.  But he still adamantly refuses to say "mommy".  Yesterday he said peanut butter cup.  If I ask him to say mom I get one of two responses "Grandpa or Daddy".  I am going to remember this William when you are a teenager.  I will find a way to pay you back...you have been warned!  

He is really into bedtime kisses now.  Last night he grabbed me by both of my ears and pulled my head down to his to give me a slobbery bedtime kiss.  After he did this at least 15 times my ears were finally given freedom.  

He also wants any boo boo he gets to be kissed.  My mommy kisses have magical powers.  They can instantly heal any problem, big or ever so small.  In a pinch a kiss from Grandma will do too.  She must have some of that magic left, or maybe grandma magic is even better - who knows?

Well those are the ramblings of a tired and deflated mom.  

I LOVE my job, even if wrinkles are on the list of benefits!

BOOK REVIEW: BATTLE HYMN OF THE TIGER MOTHER

 

Title: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Author: Amy Chua

Number of Pages: 229

Number of Stars I'm Giving: 5

I loved this book.  I have wanted to read it for a while because it is so controversial.  I had to get on a rather long waiting list at the library to even get it.  When I picked it up this afternoon I thought "I'll just read a chapter or two".  It only took me a few hours to read the whole thing.  It was so entertaining.  It was hilarious when she was horrified to learn that her breed of dog was only of an average intelligence! There were a few moments when I felt bad for her daughters, but then again there are moments when I feel bad for my own daughter.  I didn't really find any of her techniques "weird" or "abusive" as she has been labeled by many. Sometimes you have to sacrifice to get the benefits. I have at least 10 Korean mom friends who are exactly like this. 

She does bring up a few things that I think as a culture we should really think about.  Asian children more and more are trumping Americans in almost every subject.  I don't think its because they are more intelligent, but rather they are taught from a very young age to work hard.  They put their blood, sweat, and tears into being the best.  I believe this can be taken to an extreme, however most Americans would have to change by leaps and bounds to get to that point.  I have witnessed at our Taekwondo center literally hundreds of children who quit because "they just don't want to stop playing to come to practice," or "they just want to have a break for a little bit".  This has always surprised me.  

When I announced to the world that I was going to home school my children, no one was concerned about the level of education they would be receiving. I did have to fight off hoards of people concerned about my kids socialization.  At what point in our culture did socializing become our #1 priority?  In my humble opinion, we are way out of balance in our priorities as a society. There's also no denying that hard work breeds success.  After reading this book I consider myself to be 70% Tiger Mom.  I could never be 100%, because lets face it I was raised in an American home and am therefore lazy...ha ha ha, sad, but true.  

The main thing I took away from this book was that whatever you push your children towards - just push.  Don't just sit around and wait for them to become great.  Greatness comes from hard work, by both the parents and the child.  Also something I already knew, but this book reinforced is being a good parent will often times be unpopular.  You have to stick to your guns as a parent, regardless of what your family, friends, acquaintances, and even your children may say.

I really don't care if my children ever end up performing in Carnegie Hall or have PHD behind their names.  But you'd better believe we don't believe in quitting and my goal as a mother is to produce very well rounded contributing members to society....

ROAR!!!

BOOK REVIEW: THE GOOSE GIRL

Title: The Goose Girl

Author: Shannon Hale

Number of Pages: 383

Number of Stars I'm Giving: 3.8

Here are a couple of things I didn't love about this book.

#1 - The whole "speaking to animals, wind, ect. seemed a little too convenient. It was thrown into the story in places where I wish Ani would have relied on her own new found strengths. #2 - The ending was insanely predictable. Not that predictability is always a bad thing.

Here are some things I enjoyed about this book.

#1 - I love reading fairy tales.  I doubt I'll ever out grow that. So it was nice to have a fairy tale written for someone older than 7 in mind.  However it was still probably written with people aged 13 to 15 in mind, just remember that as you are reading. #2 - The writing was fast paced, interesting, and clean.  #3 - It shows the consequence of people's choices. 

#4 - Surprisingly it almost made me cry in one spot. 

#5 - It has a fairy tale ending...

which you will figure out about half of the way through.

Overall a fun, quick and enjoyable read.

I definitely recommend it if you are 

wondering what to read next.

If I Have to Tell You 1 More Time...

We had one of those days today.

Not bad per say.

Not good either.

I think we all woke up feeling like 
we wanted to go back to bed. 

Isabelle and I really had it out a few times today. Our house guest doesn't believe that I could get really mad at my kids. 

Obviously he hasn't been around long enough yet. 

Honestly I don't know if I needed to be more patient with her, or if she needed to be more patient with me. 

It took her over 2 hours to finish 1 page of her piano theory.

It took her 2 hours to not finish 1 page of math.

Science, crafts, and spelling didn't happen at all.

Strange that we were still doing school at 6:00 tonight.

Not so strange that the kids were in bed by 7:30.  

They aren't sleeping, but they are out of my hair 
for the day so - whew!

I must have said the phrase "If I have to tell you 1 more time to (fill in the blank) I swear...
That's as far as I get.  

I am not really sure how to end that sentence.

During one of Liam's many tantrums tonight I said

"Somebody is a little cranky today."

Isabelle immediately replied

"I think it's you Mom."

Normally a comment like that would not fly in my house, but today there was just enough truth in it that 
I had to let it slide.

Tomorrow I am determined to wake up on the 
right side of the bed.  
This might require me to switch sides with Soung-Sik.

There is a new rule at our house effective today.  NO TV, Wii, or fun until chores, school, and piano are done.  
I might reconsider the fun part in the 
morning when I am a little less "cranky".

For when my little minions read this in 20 years, I just want to add that you had plenty of cute and loving moment as well today.  I love you both!

Korean Picnic & Choir Performance

I have to give a disclaimer for this post - yet again.

I had some of the worst picture taking luck all day!

The pictures are far from good, but you'll probably get the idea.

We started off the morning at a picnic in beautiful Sugar House Park with all of the students in our Korean language school.  Since this was a Korean party there was good food.  LOTS and LOTS of good food.

The man sitting next to Soung-Sik is the friend staying with us for the next few months.  His name is Doo-Il.

 

After we stuffed ourselves the kids had to get some playground time in.

 

William LOVED the swing, but he is so small he 

kept falling out of the baby swing.

Now that I look at the picture I think he's in the swing backwards.

Hey I was just doing what all the other parents were doing.

I wonder why their kids stayed in?

 

Here's Isabelle with one of her teachers.

Her teachers were the best!  They have been so nice, patient, 

and incredibly loving with Isabelle.

We are really going to miss them during the summer!

 

This is Isabelle and some of the other kids doing a drawing competition.

 

They also had hackey sack competitions, a treasure hunt, and played some Korean games called "something, something in Korean".   Isabelle had an extreme amount of fun even though she didn't win any games.

William was just running around like a crazed baby without a nap.  

I tried to subdue him with the sling...

 

 Sadly he never fell asleep.

Instead he started entertaining himself by pinching me and pulling my hair.

It hurt.

He laughed.

After an hour I gave up and turned him loose again.

After the party we had to hurry, 

and I mean hurry to Isabelle's choir performance.

Actually I had to dress her and do her hair in the car.  This was not an easy feat, and sadly we still missed the first song. Were you aware that it takes more than 10 minutes to get from Sugar House park to 7200 S? 

 

Here's my summary of the choir performance.

Natalie (my niece) and Isabelle were the cutest kids, if you ask me.

The choir as a whole did great.

Then came the soloists.  Horrible is an understatement. It was so so bad.

Someone such as their parents or the choir director should have let them know this. 

I realize it's mean to say things like that, 

but I think it's meaner to let them go do that in front of 100 people.

As a side note I am ridiculously glad choir practices are over.

By this point in the day William couldn't resist sleep any longer.

 

You know he's tired when he falls asleep without finishing a sucker!

Congratulatory ice cream was in order.

 

We wrapped up our busy day by torturing William...again.

 

 

All in all it was a very fun and very memorable day. 

I hope the memories last longer than the sunburns!

House Guest

We have had a fair share of house guests since we got married.  

Our guests usually have a few things in common.

Number 1 - The don't speak any English,

Number 2 - They are much older than me,

Number 3 - They stay for at least a month,

Number 4 - They make me really uncomfortable and on edge.

When my husband told me someone was coming to stay for 3 months a mere 6 days in advance - I started to get uneasy. Do you know how hard it is to feed a Korean man?  Well it isn't easy.  It's taken me 10 years to condition Soung-Sik to my lack of cooking skills. And ever since I caught my Mother-in-law mopping my walls I tend to second guess my cleaning abilities. 

As it happens Soung-Sik is always at work when people arrive at the airport.  That means I get to be the official "Welcome to America" greeter.  I do refuse to hold signs.  This time Soung-Sik forgot to tell me his last name and flight number.  I just looked for a really lost and worried looking Korean man and luckily he was the first one I saw.  Like our other guests he doesn't speak any English so I checked my nephew out of school to be a translator - a VERY good idea.  Our guest is younger than me, which means I'm the boss.  Being the boss is a first for me when our guests are concerned, I think I am going to enjoy it. He is planning on staying 3 months, but I wonder if a single guy used to living in Seoul will die of boredom at our house. The really great news is he hasn't made me nervous or uncomfortable at all.  Actually I just boxed with him, I was a little nervous then.  Hopefully this will be a smooth visit for all involved.

After reading this post I am wondering if I should just learn how to cook really well and speak Korean?  

It could happen...

IN OUR WORLD: AT LAST

Usama Bin Laden has finally at long last been caught 

- and dealt with.

I am not one to usually feel elated over a death, but I must admit I gained a pretty big smile when I heard of the news.

 

Here's a brief news story about his death.

Usama bin Laden is dead, multiple sources confirm to Fox News.

President Obama is expected to deliver a statement from the White House Sunday night to discuss the major development.

Sources said bin Laden was killed by a U.S. bomb a week ago. The U.S. had been waiting for the results of a DNA test to confirm his identity.

The announcement comes nearly a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks which started a tireless hunt for the terrorist mastermind and Al Qaeda leader.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/01/usama-bin-laden-dead-say-sources/#ixzz1LA7D8tgx

I am also happy that we don't have to deal with a long drawn out legal process.  I wonder if the after life is what he believed it to be.  He's probably in just a bit of shock right now. And that is all of the attention this guy is going to get on my blog.  I will be off to talk about bigger and better people now!