Movie VS Book

  Okay, I joined the 5 or 6 other people --ahem thousands and thousands, maybe millions, who have seen The Help.

I liked it.  No, I loved it!  Let me tell you why, in no particular order:

1. I was with a great friend, movies are always more fun with a friend or two!

2. We may or may not have sneaked in yummy sushi to munch on.

3. The book, oh the wonderful book, with depth and characters and multiple story lines each given the attention they deserve.  The movie had to be selective.  Let's face it, at 2hrs and 17 minutes it is already 47 minutes longer than most movies, without selective editing, I would STILL be at the theater watching it, and we would have needed to pack an entire picnic.

4. But they did a brilliant job, choosing to focus, but not dismiss other story lines, and doing a really smart job with that focus.

5. A great and unexpected experience at the movie was the fact that the audience was unable to help themselves from cheering on characters, weeping with characters, and of course laughing along the way.  It was the all out cheering at moments along side the un muffled sniffles that really showed just how well this movie was made.

6. To have that experience watching the movie was unique.  The movie is unique. It is worth seeing.  Even if you haven't read the book because, you will be moved to read the book to discover more about each character, the stories they have to share and discover that while the movie did a fantastic job, there is much more in the book.

7. This era that it takes place, was NOT that long ago. In fact, for many, it is still within memory.  And truthfully, while faces and names are different, this story is still being played out, just a new version of the old story.  Be careful, the movie and the book, might make you think, might get you riled up, it might just bring out the better person within you.

8. I really like movies, and books, that challenge me and make me think.

9. Grab a friend, or a husband (probably yours would be best) or a sister or a brother and block out 2.5hrs (4hrs if you're like me and live far away from the theater) of your life to enjoy this movie.

10. Your choice as to whether your sneak in sushi or not. I won't tell but I also won't endorse!

Friday Finds

It's Friday and it is hot around here.

Yes I realize I live where it is hot.  And that we are blessed to have working AC.  While our humidity is lower than most of the rest, we have still been humid by our standards and the rains have either not came or not cooled us off.  I've just had one of those weeks in which it appears my already Swiss cheese of a brain may have melted and flowed right out my ear while I was sleeping.  Humidity or not, 109 is HOT, and I saw that number more than once this past week, and perfect for melting Swiss cheese brains.

I wanted to share a couple of more great reads!

I started the month off reading this engaging book.  I hear it's all the rage in the movie theater too, but I don't actually know how the movie stands up to the book.  I know the book is fabulous!  READ IT!  Either now while you're avoiding the heat or tonight when you should be sleeping.  You'll be happy you did!

I just recently finished The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma.  This non fiction book takes you on an amazing journey and a peek into the lives of Alice and Jim.  As a parent you will be moved to make sure your children are always engaged in books. As an individual you'll reminisce about the books you have read.  You could discover a new reading list for yourself or child.  Your passion for books will be renewed and you may discover a new passion burning.


Also it is important to note that today is National Dog Day.

 Panther would like you to know she is doing pretty well. She complains to me about how hot it is and I tell her how her old bones couldn't handle the ND winters anymore.  This morning on our walk, as we neared home it was about 8:30 she tried to lay down in any bit of shade she could find.  I'll admit we got a late start this morning. I know it is best to be hidden away by 8am these days.  Are these the days referred to as the "dog days of summer".  She should be thrilled then!

Still spunky and spirited at 10yrs old!

Gallivanting around the States

A couple of weeks ago my cousin got married.  When we got the invitation, I let one of my wild hairs rule my thought process, and decided I should go! I also decided to take one child with me.  The great debate, which one?  Through a process of weighing pros and cons, the situation changing and me chauffeuring my grandparents to the wedding, then re evaluating it all again, it was Sweetness who went this time.

We took a rocket ship off the moon (since that is where we live) and landed in the lush grasses of the Midwest.

We got to meet up with another cousin of mine and her little one:

The wedding was held in a beautiful park and it turns out I took absolutely no pictures of the wedding.

And the reception had bowling!

Lots of family!  Grandma and Grandpa had all 5 daughters there! And the Mother of the Groom is in pink. It was a great wedding and weekend!

Everyone got to catch up a bit.

 Simple things that bring us the most joy!

We had a fun time driving around with Grandma and Grandpa.  They showed us new tricks, like how suction works with windows while driving down the interstate. Grandpa owes Grandma a new green towel. And Sweetness loved having Grandpa read books to her, and she quickly caught on to any page skipping he tried to pull.

In fact, all my aunts mentioned throughout the weekend how Grandpa has the best reading voice and one of their favorite childhood memories is of him reading to them. They also mentioned this page skipping thing has been going on for a long while!



And this brings us to the update on Sweetness.  I can spin it as a graduation or her first dropout from school. I can say it was just too much hassle for me to do the preschool runs or the price was too high.  However, the truth is not only was she bored, she was unhappy.  When discussing with her teacher, her teacher said that in class she is just sad. All the time sad.  The best they can get out of her is a thumbs up or thumbs down and sometimes when they ask her a simple "how was your weekend?" question she bursts into tears.  The words her teacher used were, painfully shy. Sweetness might be reserved and not a chatter box, but she is not painfully shy.  Something else was going on that she was so unhappy at preschool that she was shutting down.  Academically she is ready for kindergarten. She wants to keep doing "school at home with mommy". So we will continue to work on things. When I told her this would be her last week, only 3 more days, I saw her whole body relax and lift as if the world had been lifted from her shoulders.


Sweetness, on her last day of preschool:

We were all giddy!

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again." Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762

Cherries!

Something a little sweet for you.

I shared a case of yummy sweet bing cherries with a friend that we got through Bountiful Baskets.

One bag, was eaten fresh out of the bag.

The first thing I made was cherry sherbet

Very very yummy.  I doubled the recipe. A single batch was maybe enough for everyone to have one bowl.  The double batch only made a regular size batch of ice cream, which is about 2 quarts, so I didn't go over board with this one.  Although it is such a big big hit, I should have made another, double, batch!

Such a wonderful rich color!  Mmmmm.....Mmmmmmm.....good!  I got the recipe from  The Pioneer Woman. She has fabulous pictures and easy directions to follow. And I did follow the directions, for the most part.


I filled a jelly roll pan and froze a bunch for future yummies.
I used the water that I kept the pitted cherries in to make cherry juice. The kids loved it and nothing went to waste!


And I made a lovely cherry crisp.  First cooking the cherries into a canned cherries consistency.

I only wish I had more to dehydrate. 

Hope your Sunday is as sweet as these cherry goodies were.

Adventures in....

I have had a couple of recent cooking adventures.

I was able to get my hands on some fresh from the cow milk.  I dreamed of making mozzarella cheese.  Since I would never want to start with something easy like butter, or yogurt, or just skimming the cream off for my own whipping cream and drinking the milk.  No, I felt a challenge was in order.

Actually, I was stocked up on other items and cheese sounded yummy.

I like cheese, even if my stomach isn't always a fan.

Mozzarella is the easiest and least time consuming of the cheeses to make.  It does require precise temprature and careful monitoring.  I set myself up and had everything ready for when the milk hit the magic temp of 80*F.  At one point I carefully removed a fleck using my bare finger tip. I was surprised how it burned me. It was only at about 77*. As I was waiting and waiting and thinking how it was taking much longer than indicated on the recipe, I had a DUH moment.

A really LOUD and obvious DUH!

I was watching the Celisus side. And it had just reached 180*F or 80* C.

I now had a gallon of scalded milk.

But I saved it!  Yes, I was able to rack my brain and remember a tid bit from reading about how to make yogurt. First the milk must be heated to 180*F!  BINGO!!!

Now most yogurt recipes are done in 1 quart batches.  So I did some adjusting, some guessing, and finished my scalded gallon milk off as yogurt.

Next time Grandma asks why I do things in such large batches, sometimes it's because of a dumb move on my part, and to salvage the situation I just quadruple the batch.

This has happened before.

With banana muffins, I thawed out four times the amount I needed.

And sometimes I just get carried away! If I want something to last more than the afternoon, I must double it. If I want to share with friends and neighbors, I must triple, and if I want my freezer to be well stocked for future use, well now we're at quadrupling.  I'm sure that happens to everyone.

No?

Oh.

Well, I have a couple of crazy hairs and sometimes I let them make all my important decisions.

In the blink of an eye

Where does the time go?

I know it's not just me!

I would have sworn that just the other day I had a toddler running around the house.


Probably naked.


That's pretty much how we role around here.

Wait, no.  There are a select few who feel that clothes are optional, and let me be clear, I am not one of them.

Moving on.

Where did that baby little boy go?

Oh yea, here he is:

 Shaving.

YIKES!  Did I just say shaving?

Why yes I did.

In fact, this was his second shave of the day.  It was 3 o'clock and his "5 o'clock" shadow was more than he could bear. So he shaved for a second time that day.

Careful to not miss a spot

Or to take the plastic cover off (heeheeheehee), it is a real razor. And he carefully puts it up in the shelf when he is finished.


We are nearly done with week 5 of school. Hard to believe we are in the second month of school already!  And, we're already making some dramatic changes around here.  I can't wait for week six!  No really, I can't wait!  I have been avoiding blogging due to having events, people, and places to share, from as far back as JUNE and 50 new pictures to import from the camera, and how each day slipping by made me realize how quickly time moves.  So I will save some of those summer adventures for a rainy or cold winter type of day. Or just cherish the memories myself.

I couldn't let a day more go by without sharing how quickly this little guy is growing!


Really!



This was how he looked when he got up this morning:

That is some bed head, boy!


He may have a follicle problem.


I like the head full of crazy curls, it's kinda how I feel most days, all over the place and a little bit crazy.

Pioneers

I was invited to participate in a Pioneer  blog series.  Today is my post!  Take a look:





Click here to read.

Van Time

We are often asked, how do your kids do on  the 3 day car ride trips?  The answer: They do great!

They really really do!

 We're in this together!

I LOVE traveling with them.  All staying in one hotel room.  Always within 10 ft of each other. Life simplified to only what we have and ourselves.  I mean it!  Eric does not have the same love for it as I do. Each night as we lay our tired bodies to bed, I tell him how I love us all in one room, that we should down size our house, get rid of the "stuff of life" and just be us.  He likes the road trips, he does not feel that a one bedroom home would suit us.

The kids know that a movie is not automatically on the agenda.  Even with the built in DVD player, we don't use it much.  We typically have one really long day of driving.  On that day after lunch or if we know it will be dark for the last bit, that is when they might get to watch a movie.  Other wise they are very happy reading books, singing songs and playing various car games.

 When ever we went under an overpass, he would cover his face and say "oh no" until we had cleared it

This trip, thanks to Aunt JoJo, we had to play the "Honkers" game.

The game where you pull your arm down when passing a semi truck to try and get them to honk.  With tinted windows, I don' think they see us very well.  It caused fits of giggles this time, for us the parents.  See the kids were truly, enthusiastically into this game.  They felt I should be just as eager to get the trucks to honk.  So when we were approaching a truck, from the back all three kids would yell:

" Get your honkers out! Mom, get your honkers going to"

They began pumping their little fists long before the driver would see them.  Since this motion would get the trucks to "honk" they called them their "honkers".  I am sure you can see where as parents we had a hard time keeping it together.   Of course in their innocence, honkers would not refer to anything else.  Eric thought we might have better luck getting responses if I got the "other" set of honkers out.  The kids still believe their arm pumping motion are honkers, and we'll leave it at that for now.

 Night driving is more fun with glow sticks! 

 Silly guy kept putting it between his toes!

 We can use this picture to take note just what we travel with.  Three kids. Dog in kennel. Suit cases. Pillow pets. And the ever important golf clubs!  I love how we can re configure our van to suit our needs to whatever we might be hauling.  This trip the actual golf clubs went in the storage area below the second row seats. the bag didn't fit, however this way we didn't have clubs banging around or falling out when doors were opened. Yep, I have a life long Eagle Scout I married, he is always prepared!

The next time you might be riding with our kids, note that "get your honkers out" is a fun game to get semi trucks to honk.  Please keep your shirt on. They are great at entertaining themselves. Naps are occasionally taken, but not always and certainly not be everyone.  When's the next road trip?

Union Station pt 2

The grander

 We watched the last shuttle launch at the planetarium at Union Station

 Model trains

 Trains to play with

 We had so much fun, we didn't want to leave.

And yes, Mommy did take a picture of this tantrum.  I took several, when I wasn't wrestling him out the door myself.

 Thanks for the good time, we'll be back.

Really, we will have to go back! These are just the highlights of the free stuff you can do there!  Science city is calling us back, but requires at least a half day if not a full day to go through. There is another train museum set up, but again would require more time than the couple of hours we had to spend.  A picnic on the bridge watching the trains sounds right up our alley! Next time we will know to plan at least a day, if not two!

Union Station pt 1

We kept very busy in our short 7 week summer break. We packed it with as many adventures as we could along with days of staying home, playing in the pool and riding bikes. Balance. It's all about balance!

It was recommended to us to make a stop at Union Station in Kansas City.

There was a cool bridge we could walk over the live train tracks:

 Poor guy, he didn't know which way to look. He was so overwhelmed with all the trains.

 The girls thought it was really cool as well. I heard the comment "best day ever" several times.

There are trains here and over there, the trains are coming and going.