(Only a little) Library Love

Our days at the library have been a bit like (an unnamed toddler's) use of the potty... regular, but a little too quick to accomplish much good, or in fact, leave the place "better than we found it" *AHEM*.

Sorry. Was that TMI?

Nevertheless, despite our quick in and outs we have managed to score some really good deals*! You may notice a bit of a love theme, so feel free to tag this post for February 14th next year (sorry I couldn't help you out for this year).

Mama Loves by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
This one was so sweet! I loved how the rhymes all began with "Mama loves..." and ended with  "and ___ with me!" It was actually a book that I could see a homeschooling mom appreciate in particular, since it seemed that the mama in this book is doing a lot of homeschool-y things. But there was one scene of the mama going to a coffee shop - and at least *that* one fit me pretty well.

Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda
Picked this one up on a recommendation from Carrots for Michaelmas - loved the artwork and the story. But the kids just couldn't/wouldn't get into it. Shelve it for next year I guess.

The Friend Ship by Kat Yeh
A sweet tale of a hedgehog who mishears some animals say "[A] Friend ship is out there. You just have to look!" and then goes on a voyage to find the mythical friend ship. The ending makes me LOL and I'm not sure the wee girl understands why, but she still likes the story a lot. The little dude seems to like it too.

My Dad by Charles Fuge
This one... what can I say? I swear the pictures were originally of gorillas and then at the last minute edited to be bears. And it (inexplicably) takes place in a tropical jungle/woodland forest that grows both bananas and carrots (or maybe they're parsnips?) Is that even possible? I don't think so.
Clearly I'm far too picky. Because the story completely appeals to the little dude, and he loves to have it read to him at nap. And it is a cute little book. So... good for 2 year olds, but bad for picky mamas who would like their picture books to have some accurate details in them.

The Geography of Genius by Eric Weiner
Ok, not exactly part of the love theme (but maybe we can construe it to be?) This is my current read and I can say it's much better than the author's "Geography of Bliss". I picked it up because of the author's stated intention for why he would go on a search for the world's most creative places:

"Am I hoping that some of the genius I encounter will rub off on me? Sure, but I am middle-aged, and any hopes of my becoming the next Einstein or Leonardo have long since disappeared, along with my hair. But my daughter--nine years old and brimming with brightness and infinite possibility--is another story. There is still hope for her and what parent doesn't secretly wish that his or her child might become the next Darwin or Marie Curie? ...Family has variously been called a clan, a tribe... but it is also a microculture, one that we shape more directly, and profoundly, than any other. Like all cultures, family can either cultivate creativity or squelch it. This is a big responsibility if you think about it, which is precisely why, up until now, I've avoided thinking about it. But that is about to change. Creativity, like charity, begins at home."

See? There's the tie-in to love. *wink* I'm not saying I'm trying to raise the next Marie Curie over here, but cultivating a love of learning has been on my mind a lot and I just wonder if this book might have any take-aways. I'll let you know. (If you remind to. I'm notorious about forgetting to write down insights and such.)

*And now for our super sweet deal that we got from the library! Over on IG I posted a pic about all the things I found while looking for the lost CD part of a book/CD combo:

Not a bad stash. But missing CD it is not.

So I sucked it up and went in to ask how much to pay for the missing CD, and the result? They marked the whole combo as lost, so I could keep the book for $5! I'm still holding out hope that the CD will show up, because if not my "awesome" deal will actually have cost me $1.05 more than if I just bought the book on Amazon. OK kids... time to find the CD...

What did you check out this week? Feel free to share here, or over with the Mighty Miss Alicia at Sweeping Up Joy. 

On Falling Behind...

Am I the only one who feels like I'm not doing enough of the right things?

I cook. I clean. I shuttle the wee girl to preschool. I try to get us out of the house in the morning. We have a weekly date with the library. I do the grocery shopping and help make/keep the budget.

But.

I fear the kids aren't eating enough any vegetables. I fear the wee girl is having too much screen time. I worry I'm not providing a rich learning/playing environment for the wee ones (read "Crafts? What crafts?") I mean, I freaking gave my boy a full cup of tea this morning. (Oh the look I got from my husband when he found out... not pleased, he was. Not. Pleased.)

The little dude has been pestering me for my tea, so I made him his own cup... I should probably get some decaf for him or this could get ugly! #toddlersoncaffeine #badparenting

A post shared by Sara Rooney (@rooney.sara) on Feb 15, 2017 at 8:39am PST

How does a mom cope with all these things? I mean, really? I'm trying to figure out what to be concerned about and what to let go. But it honestly feels like everything is important and I'm stuck. I don't know what to change, much less how to change.

Lest you (or I) think that's it's all doom and gloom over here, I do like to look at these pictures and remind myself that we all are still growing with and loving each other.

Having fun at the children's museum!

Somehow got color-coordinated for Mass! #mysundaybest

Still nervous to take it out on the *real* street, but I'm learning!

I hope that counts for something? Gotta admit I feel like Kathleen Kelly and "just want to send this cosmic question out into the void," but I'll go ahead and ask:

How do you handle the doubts and struggles of being a parent?

Library Love - the (mostly) Audiobooks edition

Linking up with Alicia for another Library Love! Thanks to a friend's suggestion on the last library love post, we found a really great book about a digger that could appeal to the whole family: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Imagine my surprise when I found an audiobook version of it that was set to its own musical score (performed by the London Philharmonic no less)!

We listened to it once together, with me turning the pages - and then the next day, I found the wee girl in her room with the book and CD listening and "reading" the book herself! I sat down with her and didn't make any moves to turn the pages... she followed along herself and when it was all done, she turned to me and said, "That was fun! I'm going to do it again."

Pretty much my face afterwards.

My next thought (after gathering my jaw up off the floor) was to figure out how to capitalize on this. So what follows is all that I found at our library. We haven't actually listened to these yet, but I love (the idea of) them because they're read by famous actors and they come with original music to accompany the story. What I need now is the books to go along with them... hmmm...

Heather Forest - Sing Me a Story
I picked this one up because I thought singing songs about well-known stories might be a good way to introduce the stories themselves to the wee girl. We'll see!

Rabbit Ears Treasury of Fairy Tales Vol 2
This one has King Midas and the Golden Touch read by Michael Caine, with music performed by Yo-Yo Ma; and Jack and the Beanstalk read by Michael Palin.

Rabbit Ears Treasury of World Tales, Vol 2
This one has The White Cat read by Emma Thompson, and The Fool and the Flying Ship read by Robin Williams (I'm really looking forward to listening to this one!)

Little Bear and Little Bear's Friend by Else H Minarik
We read A Kiss for Little Bear last time, and because we loved it so much I wanted to find more Little Bear - and specifically the first one in the series. Turns out I couldn't find the first one last time because it was hiding in the audiobooks section! I'm curious to see how the wee girl likes these...

And now for the ones that are currently on the "Can't Stop Won't Stop Reading These" list:

King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently

This one is too cute. Three boys build a fort, defend it from dragons, and generally have a good time... until the "giants" come for them. The little dude loves this one and will actually cover his eyes when it gets to the "scary" part. (Bless.)

Oh look! More audio... ;)

Count these as my "sneaky geography lesson" books.

And there's more... but I think I'll stop here as these are our most worthy titles to share. I think the rest might be considered "mere twaddle," especially since one of them actually contains the line "And landed kersplat in a big pile of poo." (Poor Charlotte Mason is turning over in her grave now, I can just see it... ;) )

What have you been reading lately? And/or do you have any audiobooks that you can recommend?

Pay a visit to Alicia too for more suggestions!

Things that broke while my hubs was gone - a 7QT

It is a truth universally acknowledged that as soon as your husband goes on a business trip, things will break. Particularly the things that he would have taken care of if he were there, though really, anything is up for grabs (and could possibly include that last thread tethering you to reality... OK, maybe I'm exaggerating on that one. But MAN it felt like a loooong week.) I am so glad he is home, safe and sound... if only to deal with all the things that fell apart this last week:

- 1 -

This Craptabulous Thing
It's in the sink because if it doesn't roll, then maybe it might float? (Keep this idea in mind...) The little dude picked this up from the dentist for being "such a good sport." HA! We all know he screamed at the top of his lungs, and then when the dentist was done, promptly sat up and whimpered "Go home now... go home..." Poor lil guy. But anyway, this thing broke and even though it only has 4 parts I can't figure out how to put it back together and keep the wheels free moving. Where's that guy with the engineering degree again? Oh yeah. On a business trip.

- 2 -

The roof
Yeah, somewhere up in the roof water is getting through and seeping into the wee girl's room. Now to be fair, this was broke *before* the hubs left. But of course the rain would have to come while he's gone, right? (She says melodramatically)

- 3 -

A few children's books
And yeah... I didn't remember/catch the leak until it caused a fair amount of water damage to the books below. Damage to books just makes me cry...

- 4 -

A coffee mug
...As does damage to anything that can hold my source of caffeine for the day. Fortunately the mug that broke wasn't my favorite "Offer It Up" mug - although saying that, if it had been that mug wouldn't that have been a little ironic?

- 5 -

The Nook tablet
OY. I have let my daughter read books on the Nook during the little dude's naptime for well over a year now - and when Daddy is on his trips, then she gets to use it twice in one day so I can also put the lil dude down for bedtime. But on Tuesday she got curious and decided to do an experiment: which things will float in a sink full of water, and which things will sink? Well, surprise, the Nook... floats! When it's in its chunky foam cover, that is. But floating still did not prevent the water from seeping into all the holes and buttons and well, everything.

YouTube to the rescue! I figured out how to use a cookie spatula to pry open the case and pull the battery out; then all the pieces sat in a tray of rice in the oven for the rest of the week. And glory be! When I put it all back together and powered it on it worked. The screen looks like it has some water spots, but it seems to be working just fine... I'm actually writing this post on the Nook right now - all praise to God for YouTube and not letting it get damaged beyond repair. (And I guess the silver lining of this was that I had been having a bit of mommy guilt about the amount of screen time the wee girl was getting - and well, breaking the screen is probably the easiest way to make her give it up cold turkey.  Now shhh... don't tell her that it's working again, OK?)

- 6 -

My ego
Many others have pointed this out before, but motherhood really can act like a mirror, showing you all the flaws in your heart that you would rather pretend aren't there. And for me, not having my guy there to help out on the rough nights, or run interference during dinner prep, caused my fuse to burn short pretty quick. There was much apologizing and forgiveness seeking by all parties this week. God's grace abounds in such circumstances though, and when a little voice says, "Mommy boo-ful" even though I just lost my temper and apologized a moment earlier... well, all I can say is, Thanks be to God.

- 7 -

The small stuff
Crayons, pencils, apps on my phone, eggs, I broke a nail, etc... Oh. And even though it didn't break, the wall now has multiple indentations in it from where the little dude took to it with a can opener. Eh. Whatcha gonna do? It's all inconsequential. And as they say, "Don't sweat the petty things. And don't pet the sweaty things."
The end.

How was your week? Hope everything at your place stayed in one piece!
Catch up with other 7 Quick Takers over at Kelly's

Flyin' solo - My Sunday Best - 01

There's nothing like a good link up, amirite? This is one that I've watched from afar but hesitated to participate in because even though I understand its purpose (to encourage each other and build community around "getting thyself to Mass") - there were so many other reasons for me to not participate. Number 1 mainly being I have little fashion sense and number 2 being I have at most 3 outfits that I cycle through. Oh, and the whole awkward selfie thing.

But then I read this post from Alicia, and after reading it, I turned to my husband and said, "If I ever were to participate in a My Sunday Best linkup, this would be the only reason why." In it she says that she "participate[s] in My Sunday Best so other moms online can feel less badly about how their kids are behaving at Mass.  So they can see that other people only have a handful of Mass clothes that work– and it’s okay." The important part is that we're there and "Just like the invisible benefit of eating broccoli, going to Mass helps us in ways we can’t immediately see.  It gives me the grace to be a better mom and wife.  It gives the kids graces too.  Even if none of us completely heard the whole homily."

So count me in as part of the bloggers who won't be sharing fashion tips, but (may) regale you with tales of their children's antics!

Relaxing after mass - me in my outfit and the wee girl in her pj's - cause that's how we roll

Black cardigan - older than dirt - got it at Target
Red top - Do you like it? I love it. I got it at Ross
Jeans - Silver jeans co.
St Theresa of Calcutta medal - our wonderful Deacon John

This Sunday my husband was on a business trip, so I brought my littles all by my little self. But not before anxiously texting a friend: "I'm flying solo today. Can we sit next to you?"

Alas. She didn't get the message in time.

So we sat in the back next to some other friends of ours - even though they were sitting in the chairs in the back. Our family has a rule that we do not sit in these seats (anymore). These are the overflow seats and they're not bolted down - so hopefully it should be clear why I avoid them with my 4 year old and my 2 year old - even when Dad is there to help wrangle.  But I figured having 2 extra people around to keep the kids from getting out of line would make up for the moveableness of the chairs.

Only barely.

Things started out well - even though both children immediately pushed the chairs around so they could sit on the floor in-between chairs while nibbling on their Cheerios. The wee girl was remarkably self-contained and grabbed her coloring pages and crayons and kept to herself for more than half the Mass, leaving me to keep the little dude in line. But just like every week, things started falling apart after the homily: little fights for each other's cheerios, toys or water, trying to wander off, not staying in line when walking up for the Eucharist, then not returning to our seats afterwards (instead deciding to run to the doors and LICK the windows on them. Blergh!) Then when we finally got back to our seats, the little dude told his "big isser" that they should play "Hide Seek" and he started to count LOUDLY to ten... over and over again and he just wouldn't stop. Our saving grace was that a sweet baby behind us was also getting rowdy - and being a baby - was far more cute about it.

But then it was (finally) done and the children (and their mother) were finally free! (It does make me wonder if that's why we really say "Thanks be to God" at the end... ok, just kidding!)

But here we are done! (Thanks be.) Do feel free to click on over to Rosie for more.

New Year, New Library Love

Happy new year to you all! We are just beginning to take down all our Christmas decorations here, and similarily, our book selections are less seasonal too.  Life and library runs are returning to "normal" (i.e. the kids are trying to grab all their familiar books while Mom is trying to force encourage the reading of new books). I'd like to think though that there were more winners than losers in this bunch - winners, of course, meaning "those books that were not thrown aside immediately by the kids after the first read."

First up: A Kiss for Little Bear and Penguin Problems
How cute are these books?! I used to have a Little Bear treasury growing up, and I remember loving them. This story wasn't included in the treasury though, but once I started reading it to the kids it was like being reunited with an old friend. I love that. Plus the skunks in Little Bear were darling and even made the wee girl giggle with their kissing antics. Definite recommend.

Penguin Problems also makes the wee girl laugh but I'm torn. I love reading it - I get to use all my funny voices - but it's about a penguin who does nothing but complain all the time, and that just makes me slightly hesitant to recommend it to others. But maybe I shouldn't be so worried? (The part about how all the penguins look the same is just too funny.) Totally preview this one in the library first.

Next: Dig! and Blankie
These are the little dude's current favorites. He loves all things "digger" but I don't like that most books that contain "diggers" are just pictures with one word next to them. (Maybe I've been looking in the wrong place for these kind of books?) There's actually a story that goes along with this book, so even though the text is a tad repetitive, this was still a great book to add to our pile.

On Blankie: Leslie Patricelli's art is what makes all her books so fun. This one is no exception. Little dude's favorite part seems to be when I say "Super Blankie!" *shrug*

Every Cowgirl Needs Dancing Boots and (a repeat) Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa: Spring Babies
Two things: first, I succeeded in getting out of the library without bringing *all* of the Cowgirl Kate books home with us! (Yay!) Second, I just found out that "Every Cowgirl" is actually a series of its own, so this may be the new "thing". We'll see...

The story for why we got these books is the real reason why I'm happy to share them - we were listening to Grammy's favorite radio station, Classical KDFC (go ahead and give them a listen!) when Aaron Copland's Rodeo: Hoedown came on. When the song was done the little girl really wanted to listen to it again... and again... and again... (it's been on non-stop repeat now for a few days). But when I told her the name of the song was called "Hoedown" she didn't know what that was. Library books to the rescue!! At first I wasn't sure that the first book was going to cut it, but it actually turned out to be a great story about how to make a new friend. It's really endearing. A definite recommend. And you can read my (brief) thoughts about Cowgirl Kate here.

And now commences the books that Mom sneaked into the pile...

Once Upon a Northern Night

It was the illustrations that grabbed me for this one, and when I got home I realized why: the illustrator is the same one who did Migrant (a book that we read over the summer for the Read the World bookclub). I loved that book. This one is also lovely and perfect for bedtime reading. But now to *my* favorite...

Du Iz Tak?

At first I thought that this book was in another language... and it is! Just not one that anyone will recognize because the author made it up. 

It's so creative! I love a story where I have to pay attention to the pictures as much as the kids do so I can understand the story better. It's like getting to be a kid again. So I'll need to read it through a few more times before bringing this one to the kids. However, I won't need any practice on how to read this page:

BOOBY VOOBECK!! 😝

And finally, for myself:

The Inquisitor's Tale (or The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog)

Already I'm making changes to my 2017 Reading Challenge: this one is replacing the one listed for "Book chosen for its cover". The gold embossing caught my eye and for whatever reason the dog drew me in. Then I read this review on Goodreads and I was sold. I hope it lives up to the hype.

Alicia at Sweeping Up Joy has some more new year's recommendations for you too! Do *you* have any for me? Do share! and thanks, in advance.

Good reads! Looking Back and Looking Ahead

I've really been enjoying reading everyone's year-end recaps... things like people's top 10 posts, top 9 pics, books read, books to read, etc... Is it too late to join the bandwagon and post my reading accomplishments/aspirations? I hope not. Here we go!

Read in 2016

             
Sara's favorite books »


I was so proud to hit my goal of reading 12 books this year - and I did it early even! Yay, me! Although, really what that meant was for the last few months of the year (after I had met my goal) I totally fizzled out and couldn't finish anything to save my life. (Coincidence? Probably not.) So I guess I should aim a little higher next year?

But then the question becomes "Aim higher in what way?" Read more? Read differently? I don't know that I could read too many more books given how my schedule keeps getting busier as the kiddos get older. But then I saw that Modern Mrs Darcy has an excellent reading challenge on her site - and I love that it's choose-your-own-adventure style: do you want to "put the oomph back in your reading life?" or do you want to "stretch yourself in 2017"? I kinda want to do both! As you can see from above, I pretty much read non-fiction exclusively. So, I figured I would go for the Reading for Fun track, as that would actually challenge me to read outside my self-imposed non-fiction genre restriction. (Ooo. Try to say that 10 times fast! ;) )

So for 2017...*

* Even now as I'm putting this list together, I'm questioning some of my choices. So just in case anyone is planning on holding me to this, I'm just going to throw in the caveat now that all this is subject to change. But better a so-so plan than no plan, because as they say failing to plan = planning to fail, and ain't nobody got time for that.

A book chosen for the cover: Ishmael's Oranges

A book with a reputation for being un-put-down-able: Now Taking Suggestions!

A book set somewhere you've never been and would like to visit: A Year in Japan

A book you've already read: Matilda

A juicy memoir: Yes, Please or Bossypants or Shirt of Flame

A book about books or reading: Ex Libris

A book in a genre you usually avoid: The Name of the Wind
Ha! A genre I usually avoid... hmm, nearly all of them? But of them all, fantasy is highest on the list, yet this one keeps getting recommended over and over again. Ok. I'll give.

A book you don't want to admit you want to read: Boy Oh Boy and/or The Highly Sensitive Person
Both of these could also easily go in the category of books I most definitely did NOT choose for the cover - but don't tell me that, because I think I might be highly sensitive. ;) 

A book in the backlist of a new favorite author: Loaded
Why aren't more Catholic Mommy Bloggers talking about Heather King? (Maybe because she's only Catholic and not mommy or blogger?) This really should change. I read her book "Redeemed" this past year and loved it. I'm really looking forward to this one about the spirituality of money.

A book recommended by someone with great taste: The Summer Before the War
Shoutouts to Bobbi and Kirby for this one

A book you were excited to borrow/buy but haven't read yet: Lab Girl

A book about a topic or subject you already love: Rise of the Rocket Girls
A book about women, math and science? By all accounts, I *should* love this...

There you have it! Have I inspired you? Or do you have a suggestion for me? I'd love to hear it. There's only a few hours left in 2016, but I'll take 'em all year long in 2017 too. In any case, may you have a Happy new year!