February Reading Log

I am almost done with the book I am currently reading, but won't be finishing it tonight before midnight when February is officially over. I could potentially finish it by tonight, but Friday nights are now reserved for Dr. Who nights with Elisabeth, so no reading. Oh, and we definitely are enjoying Dr. Who. :)

So, this month I finished 7 books. Are you ready?

1) A Feast for Crows (Book 4 in the A Song of Ice and Fire series)
by George R. R. Martin
The fourth book in the what I refer to as the Game of Thrones series, Martin continues on in his ginormous story telling of all the favorite and hated characters from Westeros. This one was probably my least favorite of the series so far, but that's not saying much because I am so engrossed in this series that I still couldn't put the book down. I think I was just missing some of my favorite characters who were not in this book, but rumor has it they will be in the fifth book (which? no worries, I totally own). If you have not read any of this series yet, I definitely recommend it, but please know, it's a commitment. Each book is close to or over 900 pages and there are a lot (a lot, a lot) of characters to keep up with. However, Martin's story telling is completely captivating. The details in his books are so mindboggling. I ranted and raved so much about the books that I talked Evan into listening to the first book on audio on his commute to work and I got him hooked on the series too!

2) Divergent \
3) Insurgent-  all by Veronica Roth
4) Alliegent /
Elisabeth received this trilogy for Christmas and after reading the first book, Divergent, begged me to read it so we could discuss them. Knowing how I work, I told her she'd need to finish the series before I started the first one because it wouldn't take me long to read them and I'd want to read them all at once. I know me so well. I devoured these books like candy. They are not intellectually challenging by any means, but they are a fun, fast paced read.  The series is about Tris Prior, a 16 year old girl living in a futuristic dystopian Chicago. At 16, all children must choose which of the 5 sectors of Chicago they want to live the rest of their lives. Each sector is divided by characteristics that those people deem most valuable in society. I read all three books in 3 days. Roth is able to keep up the high action and fast plot throughout all three books. I felt like I was in a Divergent fog by the end of those three days, but they were so fun to read!

5) The History of the Church
by Eusebius
Written in the early 300s, Eusebius wrote this book to chronicle the Church from Jesus and the apostles to Eusebius' present time of peace with Emperor Constantine. This was a very long, heavy read, not just because it was written 1700 years ago and I was not familiar with every one he mentioned, but also the content was heavy. There was a lot that happened to the early Christians and Eusebius does not mince words concerning how early Christians were persecuted and martyred. One of the things that I loved was the history in this book. Eusebius sites other works from the centuries before and his own contemporaries. He also puts in documents from the early Church and legal documents from Rome. I started the book in early December, put it down for most of January, and was able to finish the rest this month. I'll probably read it again in the future because there was so much content that I know I missed this time around.

6) The Screwtape Letters 
by C.S. Lewis
So, I love C.S. Lewis. He has a simple way of knocking you on your feet with how he describes religion and philosophy. This book is written in letter form by Screwtape, a seasoned devil, to his novice nephew Wormtail, about how to keep his "patient" (a new Christian) from God. Lewis wrote this book during World War II, but so much of what he wrote could apply to today, which I have found true for all the books I have read of his. An easy, but very fulfilling read.

7) The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
Elisabeth has been begging me to read this book so that I can let her know if she can read it. Uh, no, she can not read this book anytime soon due to it not being appropriate for an 11 year old at all!  However, this book was great! Another book written in letter form, Chbosky uses letters written by 15 year old Charlie to an anonymous friend. Charlie starts writing to this friend because he is scared to start high school and wanted to talk to someone about his fears. Through his letters, we get to know Charlie as an intelligent, emotionally unstable boy who has discovered true friendship in a step brother and step sister duo, Patrick and Sam. The book is very raw and honest--sad without being too heavy. I am very excited to see how they turned it into a movie (which has Emma Watson of Hermione fame in it, hence Ebeth wanting me to see if she could read and watch them).


March is national reading month, which now makes March the best month of the year! I'd best get to reading!!

7 Quick Takes Friday

I have a new favorite blog--Conversion Diary run by Jennifer Fulwiler. It was the first blog I was told to start reading when Evan and I started looking into the Catholic church. Jennifer's story (which is actually going to be a book! in print! soon!!!!) is that of a born and raised atheist who begins to question if maybe there is a higher being. She and her husband begin reading and researching and questioning and end up finding their way to Catholicism. I am actually still reading her archives (shush, I have issues with starting a blog like that from the middle, I have to start from the beginning), so am only in July 2009 (I said shush!). I really love her wit and honesty. I find her story is very parallel to mine in many ways (minus the being raised atheist part, of course) in her journey finding God and joining the Catholic church. Plus, she loves to read, so she's always recommending books. I have a soft spot for book readers, you know.

But, one of the things I like the best is her 7 Quick Takes Friday. Every Friday, she posts 7 quick little blurps about her week, life, random thoughts, and it's super fun to read and I thought I would join in on the fun! So, here is my 7 Quick Takes Friday debut!!

1)

This new smile of Julia's, the one with the missing tooth, is my favorite:

 I love kids with jack o' lantern smiles. I remember being about 6 and feeling self conscience that I had lost a front tooth right before picture day. Instead of smiling big for my picture, I grinned. I refuse to let my kids hide their missing teeth smiles. They only loose teeth for so long.

2)

This child:

is going to be 2 years old tomorrow.

I don't want to talk about it.

3)

These pictures were taken last month:

(Excuse their faces, my children are nothing if not weirdos.) December and January is our fall here in Texas and when our tree really drops all of its leaves. So, we raked them (by we, I mean Evan) into a big pile and the girls jumped in them with their neighborhood friends. Vivian really liked throwing them on everyone. The crazy thing is, that tree dropped all its leaves last month, but will start budding new ones in March. Texas weather is so crazy.

4)

I took a crocheting class this month!!! One of my goals this year was to learn how to read crocheting patterns. I have been crocheting since I was seven, but never bothered to ask my grandma how to actually read patterns. She can make all these awesome afghans, baby doll clothes, purses, etc., and I finally decided that, if I'm going to be an awesome grandma who crochets things like that for my grandkids, I need to actually learn new things. Anyway, the class was on a Saturday, which meant Evan was home, so I skidaddled out of the house for a couple hours and learned a new pattern!! If you are a seasoned pattern reader, my new pattern will seem very elementary, but I'm excited. I'm using it to make a family afghan, which I'll take pictures of soon and show you all.

5)

I have decided that I really need to work on my pie crust making skills. Which means I'll probably need to make like a pie a month. Which means that either I will need to step it up at the Y to counteract all the pie eating or I will need to share my pies with my neighbors. Which means my neighbors will either love me for sharing delicious pie or hate me for sharing delicious pie because they will have to step it up at the gym to counteract all the pie eating. 

6)

This kid:

first off, is getting too tall and too old (sob!), but is also really improving in her dance classes at the dance school she and Julia attend. Her teachers had recommended a higher jazz class for this year that has her with junior high and high school girls (she looks so tiny in that class!) and have now emailed me to ask if she can attend a camp for dancers who they'd like to see advance higher in classes. Elisabeth was very proud of herself, and rightly so, she's worked really hard this year to keep up with the older girls and has been successful. Yesterday, Evan and I were watching her run to the house from the backyard to get something and Evan said, "She's even starting to run like a dancer." But, the camp is a sleep away camp. It's maybe 4-5 days long, but Elisabeth has never been to a sleep away camp. Because she's Elisabeth, she's all excited and not a bit nervous, but I'm all "My baby is so biiiiiiig! Waaaaaaah!".

7)

I love our trampoline. The younger two are outside right now jumping on it to their hearts content. They jump on it all day every day. The neighbor kids come over and jump on it and it somewhat contains them, which is nice. Elisabeth and her friends either jump on it or lounge on it talking about 11 year old things. I have vowed our family shall always be a trampoline family. Plus, it is super funny to watch Vivian and her little friend Mak (who is about 22 months) jump on it together. They are so small and they just smile and giggle the whole time.

  There are tons of other blogs participating in the 7 Quick Takes Friday if you all are wanting to check out more! 

Eisenhower

As you all remember, our cat Roosevelt died in January. We really missed him, as did Figaro. Evan and I were talking about how since Figaro wasn't even 5 yet, maybe we should get another cat so that he wouldn't be lonely. Evan started looking at cat shelters online and became kind of smitten with one. The rescue shelter was going to be having an adoption day at a nearby PetSmart on January 18th, so we decided to go and see if the cat Evan liked was there and if it would be a fit with our family. We told the girls that we were not making any promises, we needed to find a cat that would be family friendly and good with Figaro.

When we got there, they had the cats in large pens. There was an all gray cat who was enthusiastically playing with a toy in its pen. It was hilarious, because it was just flinging the toy around like crazy. We saw other cats that were gorgeous--long, soft fur, sweet dispositions. The ladies running the adoption told us that the cat Evan had been interested in they had not brought because he is not really a people person and this atmosphere would have stressed him out. Evan was kind of bummed, but we looked around at other older male cats to bring home...except we kept going back to that gray cat. It looked to be a full grown female cat, but after we got closer and read the paper it turns out that the cat was a male cat who was only 5 months old! The ladies told us that he was very sweet, great with other cats (he was in a cat foster home with 3 other cats and got along with all of them), and was a Russian Blue breed. They also told us that, due to his size at 5 months old, he was going to be a HUGE cat. We brought him out of the cage, held him, let him interact with the girls. He was sweet, soft as silk, and we knew we'd be bringing him home. 

And that is how Eisenhower became a part of our family...

 Of course, less than a week after we got him, Eisenhower started acting funny. He wouldn't wake up in the mornings, wouldn't play, was barely eating. He also kept sneezing and sounded congested. We took him to the vet and he had a pretty bad respiratory infection. After giving him some meds, and iv to help with his dehydration, and special food to make sure he was getting nutrients, he pulled through. Seriously, we thought he was going to die for a day or so. How traumatic would that have been for the girls?!

 So, I totally forgot what having a kitten is like...it kind of sucks. He is CRAZY. He plays with everything--the girls' stuffed animals, wooden blocks, our toes, the rugs. He runs into walls, is terrible at jumping which means he is constantly knocking things over, and goes from calm to manic in less than 3 seconds. Yesterday, while trying to kill our beta fish, he knocked over one of my favorite vases and shattered it. I was less than happy.

 Figaro about lost his mind when he realized we brought a new cat home. He got all big and puffy and hissed a whole bunch. For the first two weeks, he hung out upstairs and would only come down to eat and beg to go outside. Slowly, though, he has adapted. He started staying in the same rooms as Eisenhower, would pass him without hissing, stopped trying to smack him every time Eisenhower sniffed him, and even will lay beside the kitten now. Actually, last night, Figaro tried to lay down and cuddle with Eisenhower (Figaro really, really misses cuddling with Roosevelt and it's so sad), but Eisenhower was so excited/confused that he just started trying to wrestle Figaro instead.

 Eisenhower is a total cuddle buddy, though. He loves to curl up next to or on us and has a huge purr. He's unbelievably soft and I love his eyes. He's also good with the girls. He'll sometimes play too rough (we all have scratches from him trying to wrestle us), but he lets the girls carry him around and loves to chase string that they dangle in front of him.

I'd say he's a perfect fit for us.

Ice Day

As far as Texas winters go, this one has been abnormally cold. I've heard plenty of elderly Texas natives complain about how these cold snaps just keep coming. They can't remember the last time winter has lasted so long here.

I can hear my Illinois friends and family booing and hissing right now. :)

We even had an ice day here in January! Evan and Elisabeth got to miss school and work because it was in the 20s and there was ice on the roads.

Julia did not remember icicles, so seeing these on the grill made her day. (My kids are becoming more southern by the minute, you all.)

 Frozen dew!!!

 Our awesome neighbor asked if we wanted to ice sled down the "big hill" between our houses. Julia and Vivian were so pumped. (Elisabeth chose to keep lounging in her pajamas.)

 So, Vivian wanted to stand on the sled before sitting, which caused the sled to move, which caused Vivian to fall on her bottom. After the third attempt and all refusals of any kind of help, Vivian gave up in an angry gnashing and weeping way and asked to go inside and watch Peppa Pig. Peppa Pig heals all wounds.

 So, Julia kept sledding. She loved it!

 This is Julia sledding past Vivian as Vivian was storming to the house in disgust:

It's been beautiful outside lately, so my future pictures will all be in sunshine and shorts, with lots of outside playing. Sorry, northerners.  :)