Book It Tuesday

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It's Tuesday, and technically it's Book It Day, but I am having a hard time drumming up thoughts for conversation. Online book clubs are hard! One of the hardest parts about the club is that I don't know who has the book, how many folks finished the book, and if anyone is actually interested in discussing the book. Some books just don't make great book club books... Is this a case of a poor book for discussion? Is the Internet in our way? Am I a poor book club moderator? Am I throwing in the towel on the book club idea too early?

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A semi-side note: I was shocked and kind of annoyed that Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was not available on the Kindle. How snobby and 21st century of me, I admit it. It was enjoyable to have an older copy to read though. I felt like I was connecting with the history of the girls, now women (Yes, I am assuming no boys have ever read this book), who read the copy before me. The community that can form through books is something I miss by using a Kindle. I miss bookstores especially. Yesterday a friend and I were discussing that we would like to visit a local bookstore that opened recently. It looks charming, like the dream everyone has at one point of being a bookstore owner. It's the Kathleen Kelley in all of us. But, sadly, I don't have anything pressing me to go to the store other than curiosity and a little nostalgia. Any book I want (well, any book other than a Judy Blume classic) is at my fingertips. Maybe I should go to the bookstore today just to hear the bells that I am certain are hanging on the door and to breathe in the wonderful smell of shelves of books. 

Don't these photos make you want to curl up with a good book? Would a Kindle suffice?

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Morality Now

It's Monday, and I am having a hard time pulling my thoughts together for a post. I found this New York Times article interesting though. Thoughts?

Friday Favorites

Have a calm and happy weekend.

FAVORITE SPECTATOR SPORT
Grayson has made a sport of trying to touch Lucy's tongue. Whenever Lucy yawns really big, Grayson readies his finger and sticks it in her mouth at the very last second. For most folks the game would be to get your finger in and out of someone's mouth before they finish yawning, but Grayson loves getting his finger stuck in Lucy's mouth. I am pretty sure he is trying to tickle Lucy's tongue.

The yawn. See the anticipation in Grayson's eyes?

The finger stick. 

FAVORITE STYLE
I have quickly become obsessed with infant leg warmers. Thank you Japanese stylists for pushing this trend! Leg warmers are so convenient and, let's face it, extremely fun to see on a baby. Even John can't resist commenting on how cute Lucy looks in her leg warmers.

Happy Weekend!

Thought-Provoking Thursday

This week I have been thinking about the immigration laws in Alabama and a gripping series I recently started watching on Al Jazeera about fistula repair hospitals. But what has been the most thought-provoking for me - albeit seemingly shallow - this week is: Can I actually pull these off?

Being 30-Something Has Perks

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I learned something exciting the other day. I learned that after the age 30, if you have had three consecutive years of clear pap smears, you only need to get a pap smear every three years. How did I now know this? What a great perk to being 30! And I thought there were no milestones that went with being 30....

As I was searching to confirm that what I heard was in fact true, I came across some extremely entertaining videos. NPR reported the other day that every minute an hour worth of video is uploaded onto YouTube. I love that YouTube encourages any and all videos to be posted.
Note: These videos are not graphic, but may be awkward to watch in the workplace with the volume turned up. A few months ago I sent out an email with this photo. It was hilarious as I quickly received emails with horror stories of being caught at work reading my email. So, maybe you should watch these videos at work... all in the name of having a good, awkward story to share.

Canada has a Cervical Cancer Awareness week. Their promotional ads have me beyond intrigued. I have so many questions. Why is the woman dressed like a fairy godmother? Is the fairy godmother's wand actually a microphone? Who wrote the dialogue to include phrases like, "Let me tell you, girlfriend"? Why did they choose to make the campaign look like a scrapbook? Who wrote the rap theme song? How did the men who sang the rap feel about their gig?

This is by far the most confusing video. The model person is interesting in and of itself. The brief photography lesson is nice. The fact that this girl wants photos of cervixes emailed to her is confusing and disturbing. Is she an artist? A medical examiner? A creep? How many photos has she received?

Book It!

Reading Judy Blume has really taken me back to the days of my youth. I have been thinking about the Pizza Hut Book It program. Did you do Book It? I loved it. I felt so accomplished when I got my personal pizza. I figured Book It was long gone, since I rarely see Pizza Hut anymore. But, thankfully, Book It is still around. Tim Tebow even gets in on the action... oh, Tebow.

Literary Chat Tuesday

It's here! Our first book discussion. First things first, I am curious how many folks have actually obtained the book and started reading. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was oddly hard to find. I am saddened when "classics" are hard to find. Barnes and Noble misplaced all their copies, and I did not have the energy to comb the giant store, so John ended up checking out the book from the middle school library for me. In hindsight, getting Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret from the middle school library seems perfect. The first time my copy was checked out from the library was November 10, 1986. Who was that young girl? Where is she now? Did this book leave a lasting impact?

Confession: I just started the book last night. I made it to chapter 8. I plan to finish today. I want to keep today's discussion somewhat broad, just in case this post spurs some others to start reading. Hint, hint. My initial thought about Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is that it could easily be a prequel to Mean Girls. Nancy Wheeler terrifies me. Is she a young Regina George? (cue quote: "Raise your hand if you have been personally victimized by Regina George.") I keep cringing and waiting for a bad trick to be played on Margaret, for her to get hurt.

The second thought that has been bouncing around in my heard while I am reading is, "Is this a good book for young girls?" The inspiration for reading this book came from Jackie, who wondered if this book was too mature for one of her young elementary students. I have been debating if Judy Blume focuses too much on the obsession with breast size, boys, looking like a Playboy model... Is Judy Blume over-emphasizing topics that are not very healthy for young girls, or is what she writes about exactly what 12-year-old girls are consumed with anyway? It's a debate to me. Are most tween and teen novels consumed with these topics?

Weigh in on the discussion. Run wild!

Rule of Three

This morning I had my six-week postnatal check-up with the midwife. During my later prenatal appointments I was repeatedly asked how many children John and I plan on having. It seemed crazy to think about having a third child when I was just trying to prepare for the second child, but since we are fans of having our children close in age, it takes some early thinking and planning. The day I delivered Lucy the midwife again asked how many more children we plan to have. When I told her that we may stop at two she said, "Your body is a remarkable vehicle for birthing babies. You should have at least three kids!" What a good mantra - my body is a remarkable vehicle for birthing babies - but I have to wonder if the fact that I birth babies easily is good enough reason to parent another child?

The question of whether or not we will try to have more children has been rattling around in my head since Lucy was born. I have always imagined having a family with three children. I really like the dynamics of three children (family band!), but as reality of life has set in, the argument for only two children has seemed a little more valid. Some days I have been excited about the prospect of having another child. Other days I am ready to close up shop completely. Lately, though, I have consistently leaned towards wanting three children. Lucy feels like a middle child to me and our family feels full, but not complete. Now it's just a matter of John getting on board.

Do you have any arguments for or against having only two children? Having three children?

I've decided that if we have three children I would like to recreate these photos.

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Look at these hairdos! I would have to get professional help for this, especially since our children are bound to have fine hair. 

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Grayson kills a rabbit, to his sisters' complete dismay. 

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Very excited trio. Would they each be happier if they had only one sibling?

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Historical and cultural awareness.

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Now this is just plain fun. Can you believe these are carrots they are eating?

Morning Tradition

 We have an unspoken weekend tradition in our house. John is so gracious to get up with Grayson each morning, even when Grayson wakes up at an absurd time like 5:15 am. I am lucky enough each morning to stay in bed with Lucy while John keeps Grayson entertained. I usually feed Lucy while I listen to Grayson pitter patter - actually, gallop -  around the house. I try to stay as quiet as possible with Lucy. Each morning, as soon as Lucy or I begin to stir I hear "Baby!", followed by fast footsteps, and a moment later Grayson bursts through the bedroom door. On the weekends there is no morning rush, so Grayson climbs into bed next to his sister. The tradition has become that Grayson hands me my phone and asks that I take pictures of him and Lucy. This tradition leaves me with dozens of very similar-looking photos on my phone, but every photo is priceless to me. I don't know how long this tradition will last. I am certain I will miss it.

Friday Favorites

FAVORITE VIDEO CLIP
I am often endeared to videos of children on the web. I would love to make more videos of the kids. I wonder what it does to children to always have a camera running and an Internet presence though. At any rate, this hardcore video is entertaining.

FAVORITE TASTE
Kale is a staple in our house. I started getting burned out on kale salads, so I looked for different, easy kale options. I have become obsessed with making kale chips. I will admit to eating two batches a day.

FAVORITE STYLE

I am loving stripes on stripes.

Thought-Provoking Thursday

First, this photo is terrifying, yet intriguing. Second, here is a brief article about Chinese censorship. Censorship is so foreign to me. I think of SOPA and the fight against that form of censorship, but the regulations of SOPA compare nothing to the Chinese government (my blog is probably officially being tracked now. More readership... ha!) It's hard for me to comprehend living in a culture that has so many regulations.

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There is controversy over this Mad Men promotional poster. Some say it is too reminiscent of 9/11. Fans see the poster simply as the silhouette that is shown during the beginning credits. I did have flashes of 9/11 when I first saw this poster, but my question is why there is not controversy over the opening credits, where this man is actually falling from a building?

P.S. We stopped watching Mad Men at the beginning of season 2. I loved the social commentary that was so big in season 1, but I felt like the show took a turn and became primarily about infidelity. Is it worth picking up again?

I would love to know your thoughts and comments, or anything that has been thought-provoking to you this week!

So Much Anticipation

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Am I the only one that gets anxiously excited as I wait to find out what my child's eye color will be? The anticipation slays me! When Grayson was one week old the pediatrician told me that he was almost certain Grayson's deep blue eyes would ultimately be brown. I secretly, or actually not-so-secretly, really wanted Grayson to have my light colored eyes. I knew genetics was not on my side, but I thought that maybe, somehow, Grayson could pull through with light eyes. Sure enough, as the months went on Grayson's eye color changed from the deep blue to a deep almond brown, John's eyes. I am pleased that Grayson has almost the exact shade of brown as John. Now it seems impossible for me to think of Grayson with light eyes. His round almond eyes are perfect.

When Lucy was born I mistakenly thought I matured enough to not be partial and impatient about her eye color. At this point finding out the eye color is as exciting to me as finding out the sex of the baby when I was pregnant. And truth be told, I would like for Lucy to have light eyes. The past few days I got my hopes up and  believed I saw flecks of light green in her deep blue eyes. Today, however, the shade is back to being murky, making me think she will have brown eyes. Each day I questioned Lucy's future eye color made me anticipate Lucy's upcoming pediatrician appointment. I figure that since pediatricians see so many babies they are the experts in the area of determining eye color. After all, it was a pediatrician who predicted Grayson's eye color. I realize that I view pediatricians as not only being medical doctors but also being fortunetellers of sorts. Lucy's pediatrician is a very astute and no-funny-business doctor. Not exactly the fortuneteller type. He has been known to call school teachers who have questioned his prescribed medical treatments. John and I know a woman who recently underwent thyroid surgery because Lucy's pediatrician happened to notice that this woman's neck looked irregular while he was examining her son. Very astute, indeed. So at today's appointment I focused more on the pediatrician's astuteness, and less on his seriousness, and took the risk of asking about Lucy's eye color. I figured I had nothing to lose, but I had a great deal to gain - the unfolded mystery of what will come to light in a few months. I was wrong. I did have something to lose. I am confident I lost a lot of credibility in the pediatrician's eyes. The one question I had during the exam was, "Well, do you know what her eye color will be? I'm so curious!" The pediatrician looked dead at me, rolled his eyes, pulled open Lucy's eyes, rolled his eyes again, and said, "There is no way of me knowing. Any other concerns?" I just shook my head. I tried to play it off like I was not that serious about wanting to know Lucy's eye color, and I had to hide my disappointment that Lucy's pediatrician refused to divulge what the future looks like for Lucy's eyes.

Does waiting for your baby's eyes to change color make you as anxious as me?

I always grew up hearing that people with light eyes can see in the dark better. Is this true? I consider it an advantage in playing sardines.

Person of Intrigue: The One Transcribing the Drama

Within the past week John and I have been in traffic behind two cars that had 'Certified Court Reporter' license plate frames. What are the chances? I had no idea that the court reporting industry was so big and flashy. I did a little investigating about some of the other swag the court reporting group has to purchase. My investigation proved enlightening and entertaining. I feel like I understand the plight of a court reporter as being more than just a high risk of having varicose veins.

A somewhat wittier version of the plate frames John and I saw. 

This is the front of a t-shirt, clearly conveying the inner stress and dialogue that goes on within a silent court reporter. (Source)

Why does it seem fitting that court reporters would also enjoy tile coasters with cats? I would like to point out that the advertisement for this gem is, "Liven up any room or party with our fun, hip tile coasters." Count me in! (Source). 

For the seductive, yet not so intelligent, court reporter. (Source). 

I would love to be at a baby shower full of court reporters where this is given as a gift. What a crowd pleaser! (Source). 

All this swag, especially the swag with court reporter inside jokes, makes me want to take a peek closer into the world of court reporting. No longer will the court reporter simply be the silent person typing away in the corner of the court room, but instead the court reporter is now a person of intrigue for me. 

What validating and yet ridiculous professional swag have you seen around town? Or, more personally, what professional swag have you indulged yourself in?

Life Aquatic

This past weekend we took Grayson to the Georgia Aquarium for the first time. We were not sure how he would respond to all the fish. We ran the risk of Grayson being more interested in the crowd dynamics of the aquarium patrons than being interested in the fish. Thankfully, Grayson absolutely loved the fish. He was in heaven. I find it hard not to be in awe of aquatic life, especially all that is at the Georgia Aquarium.

 Family photo: take 1

 Family photo: take 2

Accepting that we would not get a good family photo when Grayson had fish to see. 

 I love that he is smiling. 

 Exhausted from a day of intense observation. 

 This couple was endearing. They chose to watch the least stimulating thing at the aquarium. 

 THINGS TO COME...