what we're reading

I think it's been a couple days since my last reading of Ponyella. Matea's new favorite is The One and Only Opal from the Toot & Puddle series by Holly Hobbie. Some of the books about the two little pigs and their friends strike me as a bit random--this one in particular seems to be teaching a lesson about being kind to others, but the ending doesn't offer much of a moral. Ariel is the one who pointed this out to me, though. Matea likes it because the little pig Opal wears a tutu on the cover. I picked this up used because I love the illustration style--soft, slightly realistic watercolors (I think). All in all, a well-loved book.

As for my own bookshelf, I'd like to suggest Essential Exercies for the Childbearing Year by Elizabeth Noble to anyone who is pregnant. I got it after borrowing a copy from the doula I used during my first pregnancy. This crunchy mama of five had also worked as a labor and delivery nurse, taught childbirth classes, and was trained as a lactation consultant--basically, a highly experienced pregnancy/birth/infant care consultant. What I like most about the book is the exercises it gives for re-zippering your abdomen in the early post-partum weeks. I have re-read it after each baby!

~jkg

this moment

Inspired by SouleMama, here is a moment from our week.

~jkg

what we're reading

We are still spending lots of time reading and talking about Ponyella, but we do have something new from the library. We recently discovered the Crinkleroot nature series. I first brought home Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees; it was such a hit that we now have Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds. Meris professes to love nature and animals, so he is the primary fan of these books. The Crinkleroot character is a knowledgeable little old man with a long white beard who takes the reader on nature walks. I haven't read them many times--Ariel is the preferred bedtime reader at the moment--but the illustrations are pleasing and the content apparently compelling.

As for me, I've been flipping through The Family Dinner by Laurie David. It's a cookbook, but with lots of tidbits about why we parents should make it a tradition to eat dinner at the table (as opposed to in the car) with our children most nights. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but it's a fun collection of anecdotes and photos to browse through when I've got my hands free to hold a book (as opposed to a newborn!).

Happy reading!

~jkg

what we're reading

Both Meris and Matea are budding bookworms. Meris finally can read on his own, which means that soon enough I'll be reading children's chapter books again. But for now, we are deep in picture book territory.

This week, we've had multiple readings most days of Ponyella, by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans with illustrations by Lynn Munsinger. As you might be able to tell from its title, this is a Cinderella-inspired tale about a pony. I picked it up on a whim at a Scholastic book fair, but turns out that both kids love it.

As for my own book shelf, I am almost finished with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I've been reading it for a book club meeting (which I missed--it was last night!), but it also had been recommended to me by a friend. It's a fascinating look at Henrietta Lacks, a woman whose cancer cells have been an essential part of medical research for decades. However, the narrative includes way too much repetitive detail about the author's adventures reporting the story with the Lacks family.

And that's what we're reading!

~jkg

still pregnant....

Here I am at 40 weeks, 3 days pregnant.... Just for fun, I've got photos from the tail end of my previous two pregnancies.


This is a belly full of Meris, taken just days before he was born (as far as I can tell/remember).

Matea was born less than 12 hours after this photo was taken.

I'm not sure we'll take any more belly photos this time around unless I hit 41 weeks. I'm ready for some newborn pix instead!

~jkg

Pregnant women can jump!

So it's apparently been about one year since my last post. Quite a bit has happened since then. For one thing, I'm expecting baby #3 in about three weeks. As a last-blast family trip, we enjoyed 10 days of February warmth and sun in Florida. This included a visit to Disney World, complete with a jumping shot in front of Cinderella's castle. (Yes, jumping at 31 weeks pregnant is painful.)

Meris had a good jump here. Hopefully Matea will be able to jump on command by next year....

Matea's favorite activity these days is "triking." Here she is, raising money for Beth Emet's Early Childhood Program, one of the two preschools she attends. This is also an opportunity to point out her Cinderella costume, a hand-me-down she wears at least 22 hours a day, 7 days a week!

And last but not least, here we have her blowing out candles at her third birthday party. (Note that she is again/still wearing the Cinderella dress, just over one month after the trike-a-thon!). Matea requested strawberry cake with strawberry frosting for her party, so I dutifully found and made the recipes in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. I decorated them with dinosaur toppers from ShopBakersNook.com--cute enough for a little girl's birthday celebration! The sheet cake base is Grandmother Whitehead's Famous Texas Fudge Cake from Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers by Kathryn Kleinman. My husband, who normally turns down chocolate cake, says that this one is a keeper. He also loved the frosting--but then, who wouldn't love mascarpone frosting (tinted green), also from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book.

The cupcakes were a hit with both the kids and adults. Personally, I think I need to break out my pastry bag and improve my frosting technique before the next birthday party baking project. Another project for the list of things to do with all my free time!

~jkg

home at last

We have been all over the place lately, and I am glad to be home!

Our most recent trip was to Virginia for a family wedding. The fashion highlight (for us, at least) was Matea's dress, hand-smocked by Imo Kim!

And here are the requisite shots of the two kids, and the whole fam.



More on this and other recent trips next time....

~jkg