Book A Month Challenge-- August

The theme for August was "Cold". With work, school, bbq's (real Texas ones), and life we kind of forgot to pick a book for this month's challenge until just recently. Jones has opted out for this month's challenge because he's been busy with work getting ready for school to start. So it's just going to be me. I chose to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I think it is appropriate for the theme 'cold' mostly because when I think of WWII and Nazi Germany I always imagine snow and coldness (mostly because of I book I read in high school called Night by Elie Wiesel--also recommended). There are also moments in the book that involve cold--brrr! I got cold just reading it. Click HERE to read more about The Book Thief.

And here is my review...



The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is probably the best I've read in a long, long time. The story is of a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany during WWII. The author is amazing. He can create the most wonderful pictures and feelings just with words. Highly recommended!


View all my reviews.

If you want to learn more about the Book A Month Challenge, click HERE.

Are you kidding?!

So on the way to the store today Ruth set a goal to meet someone new during the trip. (this is not unusual, for some reason she likes meeting new people). While we were picking out some nectarines Ruth found her first victim. It was an old lady who was holding her grocery list in her teeth (so she could use both hands).

Ruth: "Why do you have your list in your mouth?"
Lady: "So I can choose some fruit"
Ruth: "Well blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Oh and I like your hair! blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah."

So then we went to a different aisle and we saw her again.

Ruth: "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blah" (SERIOUSLY)

Lady (to me): "haha! She's going to be a politician!! Haha!"


Okay.. so was that an insult??.. because I was deeply insulted.

Races

Today we decided to take a trip out to our front porch for some chalking. I guess Ruth has seen something of the Olympics because she immediately decided to make some racing tracks. Gareth has never turned down an opportunity to race his sister so off they went!


When they got bored with the first track, Ruth made a second.

Gareth thought about helping but got distracted by all the different colors.

Gross!!

Okay it wasn't quite this bad, but it was close!

I forgot to tell Jonesy that it's important to make sure Gareth has pants on (to cover his diaper) when he get's put in his crib for a nap. After about a half an hour of listening to Gareth playing in his crib and not going to sleep I went in to check on him today. He was covered in mud! (or at least something of the same color and consistency) It was all over the mattress, covering the bumper, all over his hands, his legs, his butt, and even smeared across his forehead and around his mouth. It didn't smell like mud, it smelled like poop. When he saw me come in he quickly stood up and grabbed on to the side of the crib and leaned his head forward puckering his lips for a kiss (he does this after all his naps). When I refused to kiss him he got angry and rolled around on his pillow, smearing the mess even more.

We quickly put him in the tub (shirt and all) and Jonesy washed Gareth up while I had to deal with the bed. 30 minutes and a gallon of bleach later we were all back to normal.

We are permanently scarred for life though...Yuck!

It's been a while... (Book Recommendation time!!)

So you might have noticed (or not) that we haven't posted on the Book A Month Challenge in a while. It's not because we're not reading, it's because we never found a book for the July theme (which was Independence) and our move in June distracted us from that month. Don't you fret, we're planning on reading a book for August (the theme is 'cold'). If you don't know what I'm talking about read this post and also click here.

Like I said earlier, just because we haven't been reading our BAM Challenge books doesn't mean we haven't been reading. I have officially dubbed this summer as 'chick-lit summer' for me (Jones refuses to join in on the fun). I've been tearing through the pages of many chick-lit books. Don't worry, they're not the 'bodice-ripper' (as my husband calls them) type books. They're just simple every-day romance books. Here are a few that I've loved:

The first one I picked up this summer was called P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. I hadn't seen the movie yet so I thought I'd try the book. I loved it.
The story is about a girl (not quite 30) whose husband dies of brain cancer. A week after his funeral, she finds a letter from him that explains that he has written her 12 letters, one for each of the next 12 months. I was a little nervous to read this book because I knew it dealt with death and I wasn't in the mood to cry through a novel. I was pleased to find that the book was not all about the sadness of death but about how a person can still be happy after losing someone they love so much. Anyway...I saw the movie after I read the book and it was very different from the book. I loved the movie every bit as much as I loved the book but I am glad I got to see/read both. If you've seen the movie and loved it, try the book too. It's different enough that you'll almost feel like you're reading a different story.

The next few books I read were some by the writer of the Shopaholic series (which I haven't read yet). There was The Undomestic Goddess and Remember Me? These were both fun books. (To read a description of each, click on their pictures).

The next book was Austenland by Shannon Hale. It was a lot of fun. I listened to this one as an audiobook so my opinion might be a bit different than one who has read the book. The story is about a girl who is practically obsessed with Jane Austen characters (mostly just Mr. Darcy though) and gets sent to a resort where everyone dresses and acts as if they were there in a Jane Austen novel. This is a book I will own (which is saying a lot... I don't buy books all that often (but I do have a dream of having a libray in my home some day FULL of books that we love!)). Anyone who loves Jane Austen (wether they love the books or just the movies or both) will love the book.


The next book was a quick read called Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. I saw the movie years ago and loved it. The book is even better. Its an imagining of the backstory of the painting Girl With a Pearl Earring painted by Johannes Vermeer. I can't do the plot justice in describing it so click on the picture to get the summary from the back of the book. This is also a book I will own someday. (note: I'm not giving hints about gifts to give me in the future...or maybe I am...)

The most recent book(s) I've been reading (aside from the Twilight series) has been The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. My Mother-in-Law recommended this book to me years ago but the title kind of scared me away from actually reading it (I mean really, travelling pants?? come on...). I saw the movie when it first came out, enjoyed it and figured that was enough for me. But then when I saw that the second movie was coming out, I decided I should try the books. I'm very glad I did. I just finished reading the Second book and I'm heading tomorrow to the library for the third. The author does an amazing job of showing the reader the closeness of the four friends as they go through all the drama of growing up. The books remind me of my growing up years and the friendships and relationships I had. I love how by the end of the book I feel as close to these girls as they are to eachother. I'll own this series as well!

All of these books are safe to read for those who don't want to get into the "bodice-ripping" romance but still want to read about love. I have more chick-lit that I've read this summer (these are just the highlights), if anyone wants a complete list just let me know. I've got a list of a fun urban fantasy series among other various books.

So what about YOU? What have you been reading this summer??

Ruthie Reads

When Ruth was a little bit younger than Gareth is now (she was about 16 months old) Ruth had a favorite book called Snowmen At Night. She would make us read that book to her about 4 or 5 times a day. One day were amazed to find that she had the book memorized. The funny part about that was that since she was still too young to know how to speak words, it was actually the SOUNDS that she had memorized. She could recite that book to us every time. I REALLY wish we had put it on film because it was truly amazing.

When Ruth did start learning words, her ability to recite that book disappeared. She can no longer do it. We kinda set that aside as a fun memory and left it there. Just the other night she decided to surprise us again by telling us that she can read. She opened up one of our library books and began to read it to us. (Okay, she wasn't reading.. she just had the whole thing memorized). The book is called Cowboy Camp by Tammi Sauer.

I decided I couldn't put it off this time. I wanted to get it on film. Ruth was being a bit camera shy so when I finally got her to start reading and found the camera was out of focus I didn't want to stop and make her start over. So sorry about the blurriness. Also, Ruth didn't want to be in the movie, she just wanted the book to be in it.

Laugh Now

This entertains me.

It's Over!!

I finished reading Breaking Dawn, the final book in the Twilight series, today. I'm so glad it's over!

Don't get me wrong, I loved it. But it's exhausting being obsessed by a story that hasn't ended yet. I read the first three books back in September or October of last year and have constantly had it on my mind ever since. (If you don't believe me, ask Sarah...we seriously mentioned it every time we spoke). I enjoyed the last book and am very pleased with the way it ended. I feel like I have closure. I will no longer be obsessed as much.

So if you haven't picked up the books yet I very much recommend that you should! Now you can read the whole story without having to wait for another book to come out. I've got them if you want to borrow them.

Anyone want to come see the movie with me when it comes out in December?? Jonesy won't take me.

Warning!! Only read the comments if you have read the book or don't mind spoilers!

Boy will be boy...and then the Girl comes and helps

I wouldn't exactly say that my kitchen was especially clean. But it wasn't to the point were I felt I had to drop everything to go and clean it. That was until Hurricane Gareth struck.

First he found the step stool. Then he found a bag of rice. When he discovered it was opened he became delighted (quietly delighted...). After dumping it on the counter and pushing most of it onto the floor, he decided to try eating it. Yuck! He got angry that it didn't taste like the rice he's used to so he started hitting it. This is what caught my attention and I came to check it out.

Ruth came to check it out too and decided that it would be fun to run around in the mess. When she realized that it was sticking to her feet she went out to the living room to wipe the rice off. So now I had a mess on the counter, on the kitchen floor, in the drawer, under the microwave, and into the living room. I guess that's what I get for trying to read Breaking Dawn, the last book in the Twilight series.

This is a picture of the rice all over the floor. It's kind of hard to see though because of the lighting.
Ruth was nice enough to help me clean it up.

Ruthieisms

I've decided to dedicate a portion of our blog for 'Ruthieisms' or quotes from Ruth. So check the sidebar for updated quotes!

Out of the mouth of Ruth...

Just so I don't forget, I have to write these down!

To a lady who was smoking at the pool: "Why are you smoking? Didn't you know it's bad for you?" (oops, better teach her proper etiquette...at least she knows about the health effects of smoking)

To our new upstairs neighbors and the people helping them move in: "Hi everybody! This (grabbing my hand and pulling me forward) is my mom Havilah, and this (holding up her swim floater thing that looks like a fish) is my fish!"

To me after church while showing me a picture she drew: "This is me, and all the squiggly colorful lines in my head are all my muscles!" (i was thinking it looked more like a brain...)

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For!

To ease all of your curiosity (and for those who haven't seen it yet), I am breaking my promise and doing yet another post on 'hair.' Hopefully this will be my last for a long while.

I have realized that I don't let people take my picture often enough. I forgot to take a before shot so this one from February will have to do. It is pretty good at showing how WiLd and cRaZy my hair has been for the past while.

I want to thank all of you who voted. It helped me a lot in making the final decision to cut my hair. I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to accurately describe to the hair-cutter lady (what are they called again?) exactly what I wanted my haircut to look like, but I think she did a pretty good job of deciphering my non-professional hair lingo. I'm pretty happy with it even though I wouldn't have minded going even shorter in the back.


Here was my routine this morning to make it look like this (I've colored the parts that actually have to do with my hair): Wake up, feed breakfast to the children, eat my own breakfast while checking my email (it's what I do every morning), wake up husband (it was his turn to sleep in), get in shower, wash hair (among other things), get out of shower, dry off, get dressed, towel dry hair, brush hair, part hair, put in headband, put gel on the back, hairspray. My hair has a natural wave so no curling is involved! I love easy hair.

Choosing Careers (already??)

Ruth is very excited about choosing her future career. She has a few ideas and is working on learning all she can about each.
Her first goal was to become a cook when she grows up so she can make spaghetti. To practice this she helps me in the kitchen (when I let her) and plays with her toy kitchen.
Her second and most recent goal is to become an astronaut. We've told her all the things she has to do in order to become an astronaut and she's working hard. Here are all the things she's working on for her goal...
She's going to start going to school in September. She knows that in order to be a successful astronaut a person must learn a lot and spend a lot of time in school.
She's eating healthy foods and exercising a lot. Ruth knows that one must be in perfect health to be able to go into space.
She's trying on different space suits. Ruth knows that she must be in style while in space so she's working on creating the perfect outfit. Here's the latest:

Ruth is especially excited about becoming an astronaut because she knows she can fulfill her goal to be a cook at the same time by being the "astronaut cook" in the spaceship. I can't quite decide how I'm going to go about training her for that...

**UPDATE**
About 5 minutes after posting this entry Ruth told me: "Silly Mom, don't you remember that I don't want to be an astronaut anymore? Now I want to be a Piano Player!"
Consequently tomorrow we're off to the music store to check out what they have for young children to help introduce them to music. (actually we were going to go anyway but now I'm more motivated)

My New Hobby....or perhaps it's an obsession...

I don't know if you've noticed but I've got hair on my mind (literally) (unlike my husband) (that was mean, sorry Jones!). After finding a bunch of blogs dedicated to giving ideas on how to do hair and trying out a few on Ruth, I've realized that it's actually fun to do my daughter's hair! This is good for her because now when we go out, people comment on how wonderful her hair is before they comment on her brother's hair (sometimes I think Ruth feels left out when strangers talk about Gareth's hair and don't even acknowledge Ruth).

And because I like to show-off, I took a picture of Ruth's hair today. Please only look at the hair and not my messy house! It looks real tough to do, but it's so simple!

This has become my new hobby (read: obsession). But I promise I won't post anymore about hair for a while! (unless I do something REALLY cool with Ruth's hair)



Here's some links to all the Hair blogs I subscribe to:

Cute2TryHairdos
She Does Hair
Babes in Hairland

Girly Dos