Book #36 - Moonwalking with Einstein

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer is a fun, quick read.  Foer explores how we memorize information, and if the modern world has seriously hurt our abilities.

To more fully invest himself in his project he decided to enter and train for the U.S. Memory Championship (Yes, that actually does exist.).  The chapters follow his story, relating his experiences to different mental phenomena.

The book is an interesting mix of personal experiences, historical figures and scientific studies on the human memory.  Foer has a knack for making it all alive and pertinent to the world today.

It's Complicated!

My relationship with Clare is complex.

Sometimes I give her kisses.

Sometimes she gives me kisses.

And most of the time I love her, but I need some space.

A Toothy Day

After days of being very loose, Gregory pulled his first tooth out.

It was so wobbly and could come completely out of it's place, It was hanging on by one tiny thread.

It also just happens that this tooth is coming in for Maria too.

Book #35 - Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention

One of the things I have enjoyed most about this reading project is how much there is to learn about everything.  From ancient Egypt and Greece, to current day situations in the Middle East, I realize more and more the paucity of my historical  knowledge.

The 1960's are no exception in this.  And Malcolm X?  I knew he was black and maybe a figure for black supremacy.  I'm not sure I had even connected him with black rights' figures like Martin Luther King. 

Manning Marable's Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention was an eye opener.  It extensively covers Malcolm X's life.  I never seriously considered the historical baggage that simple comes with being born an African American.  Or the ways the American government has failed them as a people. (This isn't the author's point, it is a conclusion I have drawn). Or some of the crazy religious sects out there - the Nation of Islam for example.

I'm glad I read this book.  I don't know what to do with the information, but it was amazing.  Malcolm X was a fascinating person, and many people have taken different things from him.  I'm also not sure how the slant of this book plays out in reality*, but it definitely gives one lots to think about.

*Some commentors on Amazon insist that Marable has pulled up alot of gossip, innuendos, and changed the real meaning of the man, and some acclaim the author.

Mini Beach Ball Sports

For Vacation Bible School I bought a half dozen mini beach balls.  I wish I had gotten half a dozen more, because the kids loved them so much, and they are so easy for little hands to hold.

My kids have been playing with them every day since.  We've played baseball, dodge ball, and soccer.

They've attempted volley ball and juggling.  One of their new favorite games is human arcade - where Clare and Gregory run back and forth and I try to hit them.

Here are a few of their fierce poses while playing. 

Tough Thomas 

Berserk Gregory 

Warrior Princess Clare

If you know of any other good beach ball games, let me know.  I'm sure they'd love to play.

Bowl me over!

Hmm.. what is this?

It's my happy little bowl.

There must be something in here.

Yum, yum!

Well, a girl can dream of real food, can't she?

Delayed gratification

All Clare wanted for her birthday was a sleepover with her best friend Lacey.  She didn't want a big party or lots of stuff.

Unfortunately, on the day of the sleepover Lacey had a fever. 

The same thing happened on the day of the make up sleepover.  It turns out that Lacey had an ear infection.

We scratched the sleepover idea and Lacey came over for a play date.  Clare finally got to do all of the things she had planned.

Wordless Wednesday

Tinkerbell and Bamm-Bamm

Guitar Girl

Much to John's delight

(and dismay, depending on the situation)

Ree still loves the guitar.



Photo glimpses

The past few weeks have been busy.  We've had Vacation Bible School.



Maria, who never likes to be left out, helped me out with preschool games all week.

Here she is, trying to join her siblings on the stairs.

Clare got her spacers for her orthdontic work. She was eating soft food for a while, especially ice cream and frozen yogurt.

Gregory and Thomas had to have their own just to make sure it was soft enough for Clare.

There were a couple of days when Maria and Thomas had stomach bugs and were wiped out.

And there was also a block party with a bounce house, face painting, balloons, and bike rides.

Gregory's only complaint - the dad wasn't going fast enough. ;)

I think things are getting back to normal, with our everyday routines.

Like this one: 

I sure hope so, I'm tired.

Hope you all are having awesome, busy, tiring summers too.



Book #34 - Hemingway's Boat

Me:  Name 5 things (outdoorsy) men love.

John: food, sex, fishing, hunting, boats.

Hemingway's Boat by Paul Hendrickson covers all of these topics more or less. (Food was probably the least covered.) Of course they were all in relation to the subject of the book Ernest Hemingway.

I guess there a countless number of books written about Ernest Hemingway.  586 items pop up on goodreads.com when you search his name.  Even when you consider that this includes his own works, that is a very large number of books.

Other than reading The Old Man and the Sea in high school, I have never been that interested in Hemingway.  I don't remember being thrilled even then.  I wondered what was the point of this book with the old man, his fish and the sharks.  And regardless of my teacher's opinion, I didn't see him as a Christ figure. 

Now, I feel like I know more about Hemingway than I ever wanted to know.  Hendrickson's book jumps around chronologically but covers all of the major loves in Hemingway's life including his 3 sons, 4 wives, friends, secretaries, and boat.   Being a Hemingway novice, I have no opinions on the biography, but I was annoyed with the presentation.  Hendrickson was a reporter for the Washington Post and this book sometimes feels like a series of long articles strung together instead of a comprehensive biography.

If you love boats, hunting, fishing, especially fly or deep sea fishing, this book may really appeal to you.  I found those parts interesting.  However the last section about Hemingway's relationships with his sons really threw me.  Gigi or Gregory, his youngest was a very disturbed individual, and the author seemed to focus mainly on him and how Hemingway scarred his sons.

Definitely not my favorite read.

8 months (pony pictures)

Dearest Pony, it's time for our monthly photo.

  I am becoming quite fond of these times with you.

You know, I've never tasted you before.  Let's see what your ear tastes like.

As much as I love you, you don't taste very good.

Let's keep our relationship solely to the cute and cuddly from here on out.

And we'll both be smiling!

8 years and 8 months

My two beauties!

Ree has figured out how to climb stairs.  Clare watches over her all the time.

And sometimes Clare tempts Ree up the stairs with some baby puffs.

Happy Birthday Clare!

How sweet it is, and how sweet you are!

Book #33 - The Beauty and the Sorrow

We have been away on vacation.  I have pictures and such to post, but decided to start with my latest reading adventure.

It's always nice to have a book to linger over and work through slowly when you're on a trip.  The Beauty and the Sorrow, by Peter Englund, did that perfectly.  In fact, I was happy to spend a leisurely 3 weeks on this book (not all of that was on vacation.)

Englund's book follows the lives of 20 people through World War I.  As the subtitle suggests, it is very intimate, pleasurable read.   None of the characters were famous and the author includes persons of differing nationalities, ages, socio-economic classes, and genders.

By the end of the book you feel invested in every character.  Since the book follows the lives, there are very few pages full of historical facts.  However there are awesome informative foot notes that flesh out the picture when needed.  One also gets a sense of everything from the details in the entries.

I loved this book and was very sad when the war ended.