What Makes You Happy?

Last week was spring break.

During spring break I got to do a lot of things I don't normally get to do.  I was able to wear my pajamas as late as I wanted.  I got to drink coffee from my favorite coffee mug (as opposed to the travel mug that always accompanies me to work).  I ran errands mid-morning with my husband and son.

And I watched Oprah.  Almost every day.

My favorite episode (which I'm sure was a re-run) was about happiness.  I was fascinated by what Oprah the experts say make people happier.  Many of them made a lot of sense to me.  For example, spending money on life experiences rather than material items will promote happiness in people and create memories of happy times that will last a lifetime.  I may never have thought about that myself, but that sure makes a lot of sense to me.

Other things mentioned as promoting happiness were sitting in the quiet for 10 minutes every day, watching less TV (ideally, only half an hour to an hour a day), having more sex (the more you have, the happier you'll be they say), earning $75,000 a year (but making more money than that will not make you any happier), living close to where you work (because apparently a long commute every day can make a person very unhappy), and getting to know your neighbors.  Knowing your neighbors not only makes you happier, but it helps you feel safer and, interestingly, if your neighbor is happy, it increases your own happiness by 30%!

So, this has me wondering, can I do anything to make myself happier?  Can I sit in the quiet for 10 minutes every single day?  Should I make a bigger effort to be friendly with the neighbors?  I know I could watch less TV!

With a little effort, could one of these make you a little happier? 

It might be worth a shot.

Jackson Really Looks Up to his Daddy!

The Tables Have Turned

One of my favorite games to play with Jack is "Find the Belly Button". It's a pretty easy game to play since it just consists of me peeking under Jack's shirt to tickle his belly button while singing a simple song about.... (you guessed it) finding a belly button.

Often, once I have found Jack's belly button, I use the opportunity (i.e. a bare belly) to give Jack a big ol' raspberry right on top of that elusive belly button! 

Jack loves the game!  I can tell because of all the giggling.

The other day, I was playing with Jack on the floor in the living room.  I turned away for a minute and, before I knew it, Jack had crawled up beside me, lifted my shirt and, with the biggest grin on his face, put his finger smack dab on my belly button!

Then, yesterday, Jack and I were snuggling on the couch while he finished his last bottle of the day.  This is a nightly tradition we share just before bedtime.  After he finished his bottle, clever little Jack quickly threw it aside, pushed up my shirt and planted his face right on top of my belly button.  Then he sat up and looked at me with a huge smile, totally pleased with himself.  I realized that he was giving me a raspberry!  So, when he leaned down to do it again... and again... and again, I laughed and laughed and laughed.  Jack, self-satisfied as ever, laughed right along with me!

It's in the Mail

Nan, the winner of my Top 10 Books of 2010 Giveaway made her choice (weeks ago) and I have (finally!) sent her the book The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.  It's on it's way!  I hope she enjoys the book as much as I did.

To read my review of The City of Ember, click here.

Happy reading!

Quote of the Day

A 2nd grader raises his hand in the cafeteria.  I approach him to see what he needs.  He waves his hand over the fish sandwich, tater tots, and canned pears on his lunch tray and says...

"I'm just here for the free grub!"

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

I read this book with my students when I was a 5th grade teacher in Virginia... four times. However, I don't remember enjoying the book as much then as I did this year. 

A 12-year-old boy, Phillip, and an old black sailor, Timothy, are stranded on a tiny Caribbean island after their boat is attacked by the Germans near Curacao during World War II.  Phillip has been blinded as a result of the shipwreck and must rely on Timothy to help him survive on the island.

Theodore Taylor effectively illustrates the mature theme of race relationships during a tenuous time in history through Phillip and Timothy's unusual relationship in this book.  Phillip is less than excited about relying on an old black man for food and shelter but slowly comes to appreciate Timothy as more than just a means for survival. The reader is drawn into the story by the compelling situation thrust upon the characters and will keep reading to find out if Phillip and Timothy will be rescued.

The girls in the Battle of the Books group that I work with had their best discussion regarding this book.  These 5th graders are the highest performing in their grade level, but I was still astonished to hear the following conclusion pour (without prompting) from the mouth of one student: "The reason they made him (Phillip) blind was to show the theme that the color of somebody's skin really doesn't matter... just like true friendship is blind."  Gotta love those moments as a teacher!

Two interesting facts about this book are that Theodore Taylor wrote it in only three weeks in 1969 and, appropriately, dedicated it to Martin Luther King Jr.

Despite my reluctance to re-read this book, it turned out to be one of the best of the 40 books on the Battle list this year.  A great book for any student old enough (and motivated enough) to tackle Timothy's island accent (the only real challenge of this quick read)!

The Jackson Four

Jack's Favorite Homemade Baby Food

I have enjoyed making most of Jack's baby food recently.  I began by making a couple of basic purees- one sweet potato and one apple.  Jack definitely preferred the sweet potato and it took some time and a little coaxing (namely, watching daddy eat it first!) before he would eat the apple puree.  Since then I have tried more complex recipes, most of which have come from the The Healthy Baby Meal Planner.  Here is a recipe I tried this week that Jack just loved.

Gratin of Carrots

~makes 6 portions~

3/4 cup diced carrots, pureed

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup grated Swiss cheese

1/2 teaspoon fresh tarragon (optional)

a little margarine

Make a carrot puree, add remaining ingredients and bake as in recipe above for 10-15 minutes.

(I actually baked it much longer than it recommends before it seemed ready, but that might have more to do with my oven than the recipe.)

So, do any of you mom's out there make your own baby food?  If so, what have you made that your baby loved?

A Babe in the House

A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.  ~Martin Fraquhar Tupper

Are You Sleeping?

I have never been much of a singer.  It's not that I don't like to sing.... it's that I really can't sing.

Just ask Nathan, he'll tell you.

But, since having Jack, I have found that (surprisingly) my inhibitions about singing have all but disappeared and now I sing.   Constantly.

Sometimes I sing to Jack the real songs that I dredge up from the annals of my own childhood, but most of the time I make up the songs I sing.  In fact, they kind-of burst out spontaneously throughout the day.  Some are about Jack being the king of a wild frontier and others are about Jack bringing us such joy (you know because it rhymes with boy).

Last night, Jack had a bit of a coughing fit promptly at midnight (and immediately following the second Nathan and I laid our heads down on our respective pillows).  The coughing fit was strong enough to wake Jack from a peaceful slumber, and prevent us from beginning our own.

So... I spent the next two hours attempting to get Jack to fall asleep again.  I read to him.  I rocked him.  And, of course, I sang to him. 

It was the singing that seemed to finally do the trick.  The minute I began gently serenading Jack with the classic song Jesus Loves Me, I felt him relax in my arms.  After a few rounds of that tune, I began crooning the words to You Are My Sunshine which was immediately followed by a tender rendition of The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

In the darkness, I couldn't see Jack's face but I felt sure that he was drifting into a deep and peaceful slumber.  After all, his body was relaxed, his breathing even, and his hands (which he often uses to play with his pacifier while drifting off) were still. 

For good measure, I decided to sing one last song before laying him in his crib.

The words came effortlessly....   
                                                Are you sleeping?
                                                Are you sleeping?
                                                Baby Jack
                                                Baby Jack
                                                Morning bells are ringing
                                                Morning bells are ringing...

And then, at 1:45 a.m., my bed waiting, I sang the final words in this very last song...
                                                
                                                Ding, ding, dong
                                               
 ...and a tiny giggle erupted from the small body in my lap.

                                                Ding, ding, dong

Another tiny giggle.


I sighed.  Maybe it was time to resort to the old sleep-inducing midnight standby- an episode of The Golden Girls.

Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler

For me, so much of what I read has to do with timing...

I desperately needed a break from all the children's chapter book fiction I've been immersed in since August.

This book had just arrived in the mail from paperbackswap.

And, it was Friday afternoon....

To be honest, I didn't have high hopes.  I hadn't seen her show, but I've read books that are supposed to be humorous, books that are supposedly written by comedians,and I haven't been impressed.

The humor was crass. The topics were ludicrous. It was uninhibited, raunchy, and absurd.  And, for me, the effect was surprisingly entertaining.  Perhaps I was desperate for adult content after all the basic ingredients in those kids' books.  Maybe I needed a breather from thinking like a mom and a teacher all the time.

Whatever the reason, I read all weekend and had finished the book by Sunday evening (and I think that means a lot more when you factor in a nine-month-old).

(That being said, I won't be surprised to hear that other readers with whom I share book recommendations did not enjoy this one.)

Is That a Sense of Humor I See?

It was time for Jack's nap.

We settled into the recliner and read a few books after which I rocked the little guy.  Quite a few minutes had passed before his eyes started to glaze over and his eyelids began sagging.

Then, quite out of nowhere, a little arm slowly rose from where it rested on the blanket.  Tiny fingers calmly closed into a fist and Jack's pointer finger rose straight above the rest.  Steadily, it came closer and closer to my face.  With strong force (for a little guy), he used that pointer finger to firmly smash my nose flat into my face.  He held it there.

A wide grin spread evenly across his face and he giggled once, quickly.

Cruisin' Jack

Although he's not walking yet, Jack is becoming more mobile every day!

SRES Brunch

Instead of dinner together this month, we tried a Saturday brunch. I think it was a hit! We had so much delicious food- french toast, hash brown casserole, spinach quiche, sausage, fruit salad, and mimosas!   All the kiddos were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning and everybody seemed to have a really nice time. It was fun welcoming Kelly and Kyle to our get-together and we hope they will be able to join us in the future.

The Meal:

The Children:

ben & the toys

rock'n'roller caleb

jack, relaxing in his highchair

 

kyle, relaxing in the bouncy seat

beautiful bradynn

Visiting:

Jack & Ben:

 

Baby Love:

I love how these babies are gazing at their mommas!

The whole gang this month:

 

{P.S.}

When Ben smiles, the whole world can't help but smile with him!

St. Patrick's Day Treat

My teammates made these for us at work today and they were so tasty, I promptly made one for Nathan when I got home from work (although I substituted frozen blueberries for frozen pineapple and put an entire small banana in mine)!

Pina Colada Green Smoothie
1 packet of No Sugar Added Classic French Vanilla Flavor Carnation Breakfast
1/2 c. pineapple or orange juice
1/2 c. frozen pineapple cubes
1 c. of fresh spinach leaves
1/4 c. vanilla fat free yogurt
1/4 banana
1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c. ice cubes

Place ingredients in blender, cover.  Blend until smooth.

Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech

Florida and Dallas are orphan twins living in Boxton Creek Home, where every day they are forced to follow rules, rules, and more rules.  Sairy and Tiller are an elderly couple who have raised their kids and are looking for one more great big adventure... but not necessarily together.  When Sairy and Tiller show up at the home ready to take Florida and Dallas as companions on their respective adventures, Florida and Dallas are understandably suspicious.  After all, none of their previous experiences with adults have been pleasant, and why should they trust two old grown-ups who want to separate them, even temporarily?

Dreamy Dallas and feisty Florida bring to life a tender story of belonging that beautifully illustrates every child's desire to have a real family.  As they prepare for their adventures with Sairy and Tiller, the twins realize that families may not look alike and love can grow in surprising places. 

And maybe... just maybe... they do deserve a family of their own.

March Brunch Bunch

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Little Boy

Jack is Ten Months!

The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

"The life of a swan must be a very pleasant and interesting life.  And of course Louis's life was particularly pleasant because he was a musician.  Louis took good care of his trumpet.  He kept it clean and spent hours polishing it with tip of his wing feathers."         (p205)

Louis is a trumpeter swan who is born without a voice.  Louis enlists the help of his good friend (and human), Sam Beaver, in an attempt to find a way to speak.  Sam has Louis attend school with him so Louis can learn to read and write.  Louis learns to communicate through writing but a trumpeter swan without a voice is unable to find a mate and have a family of his own.


When E.B.White was young, every child in his school had to give a speech or recite a poem.  White worried about this assignment all year long.  He was so embarrassed to speak in public that whenever he was asked to, he would write a speech and then have somebody else read it out loud.  White may have avoided using his own voice as a child, but his character Louis in The Trumpet of the Swan has so much to say yet no voice with which to speak.  It's an interesting contrast.

If you pick this book up expecting to read another Charlotte's Web, you may find exactly what you are looking for, in theory.  The talking animals (some might even say "wordy" animals!), the child hero who aids the animal in need, the newspaper articles, and the human/animal worlds colliding are all reminiscent of the childhood favorite.  But, The Trumpet of the Swan doesn't quite deliver the same emotional tug as Charlotte's Web.  There are endearing characters in Trumpet, and the heartwarming themes of family and honor, freedom, and overcoming the hardships of being "defective" are sincere.  (I especially enjoyed the cob- Louis' father who, despite his hilariously overdone conceit and unending pride, goes to great lengths to help his son find his voice.) 

This is a great book, one I would especially recommend to children who have had difficulty finding their own "voice" (or parents of those children) but The Trumpet of the Swan was no Charlotte's Web.