The House of Wings (book 3, week 3)

As I'm typing this Timothy is taking a little test on last week's book, The Outsiders. Out of the corner of my eye I see that he is doing the last question -- What did you learn from reading The Outsiders? -- and he writes for a moment, then looks out the window deep in thought.


For a book that is just 180 pages, it packs quite a punch. The storyline is tight, and while there is a lot of action in the book, there are also periods in which the characters talk, reflect, and explore some of life's more complex themes such as class, loyalty, violence, appearance, love, and hope -- themes which are not often pretty or neat (Timothy was shocked, for example, when Johnny kills Bob in the park).


But it was a great book, one in which grabbed (and kept) his attention, and this week we'll watch the movie.


This Thursday we are headed out of town for a family cruise, so this week's book had to be short and sweet which is why, at just 142 pages, I selected The House of Wings by Betsy Byars. At first Timothy complained about having to read just before vacation (Oh! The Horrors!), but I downloaded it on my Kindle and now, for some reason, he's excited.


Whatever works, you know?

Life Lately: A Caribbean Cruise, a Sneakers Intervention, and a Shocking Annoucement (in 7 quick takes)

~1~ After being without a passport for two whole months, my new one finally arrived in the mail. Thank goodness because I was feeling rather vulnerable without one. I mean, I have had a passport since I was a baby; in fact, here is my very first passport photo ...

The photographer actually then hung a giant version of this photo in his
office as a way to advertise passport photos.

~2~ Last weekend Joe and I decided to take the boys downtown for lunch. We didn't have a particular place in mind, but ended up at the Whiskey Bar (Kitchen). Delicious. The menu featured some different items, and I loved that it was limited because then you know that everything they cook is done well. Anyway, we had a great lunch, after which we browsed the stacks at The Book Tavern. The last time I was there I purchased Dante's Divine Comedy (in Italian!), but this was a first for all the guys.

A Saturday morning in downtown Augusta.

~3~ Superga sneakers. I have been wearing them for years  -- long before fashion magazines began featuring them as the new style "must have". They are casual, fun, and look great with a casual skirt or skinny jeans. Every year I purchase a new white pair, and occasionally I will pick out a pair in another color. A few years ago I even purchased a pair of platform ones which I loved. Anyway, Nordstrom's has been holding their half year sale, and I found two pairs of Supergas on clearance that were marked down even more for the sale. I can't wear to wear the platform ones with a cute (black) shift.

I have a white pair and a grey pair, and now I have these.
I probably need intervention, or something.

~4~ A couple of weeks ago I hosted a one year reunion picnic for our Girls' Trip to Italy. It was so good to get together to reminisce, share photos, and catch up. We sat outside for over four hours. Next trip: Tuscany and northern Italy.

Girls' Trip to Italy: One Year Reunion

~5~ Analyze this: I'm a doodler, and trees are what I doodle the most. Does it mean anything?

Do you doodle?

~6~ This Thursday our entire family -- adults, big kids, and little kids -- are going on a 4-day Royal Caribbean Cruise. We're keeping our packing simple with a duffle bag per person. And how, you're probably wondering, do I keep things from getting wrinkled in a duffel bag? Easy ... eBags.

How to pack a duffel bag so that things don't slip, slide, and bunch together?
Use packing cubes!

I used four  packing cubes to keep things organized:
1 large for tops
1 large for bottoms
1 long one for intimates, scarves, accessories
1 medium one for hair supplies (travel hair iron, shampoo, conditioner, round styling brush)

~7~ On a final note, although we've never done a family cruise before, here's what I already like about it: no Wi-Fi!! We broke the news to the boys and they were like ...

Nothing Gold Can Stay (line-by-line analysis)

Beginning Chapter 5 of The Outsiders means analyzing this poem today with the bambino ...

The Outsiders (book 2, week 2)

Timothy's book selection for week 1 summer reading was a huge success. Oh, the gross stuff we learned from How They Croaked: King Henry VIII's 300 pound body exploding in his coffin; George Washington's rotting teeth with abscesses and carbuncles in his mouth; and Edgar Allen Poe's fascination with death and misery after everyone he loved died of tuberculosis. We even read that Albert Einstein's eyeballs are in a bank safe deposit box somewhere in New Jersey. Who knew?!


In fact, the book was so engrossing (ha! a pun!) that Timothy finished it BEFORE the week was over, and last night I was reading in bed when I looked over and noticed that Joe was reading it, too.


For book 2, week 2 we are switching gears with The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I remember seeing a copy of the book when I was in middle school, but at that time a book about a gang of boys did not interest me at all. For that reason I didn't read it until I was in high school when the boy on the bus gave me a copy to read on the ride home. When I got to the chapter when Johnny died, I cried bawled right there on the bus. In front of everyone.


(BTW, you can read about the boy on the bus here.)


Anyway, this is a good book with some complex themes, and I'm going to enjoy sharing it with Timothy. I also have some plans ...


-To set the mood, I am going to first show Timothy the trailer for the movie. Very dramatic.
-We are going to do a line-by-line analysis of Robert Frost's poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay.
-I will give Timothy a list of characters with a brief description of each one.
-At the end of each chapter we will either have a chapter discussion, or he will write a one-paragraph summary.
-There will be a unit test on The Outsiders. Oh yes. Got it off the internet.
-When Timothy finishes the book we're going to have a family night and watch the movie.


And there you have it, The Outsiders. I just need to make sure and have a box of tissues handy. You know ...


Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.

The Bathing Suit Post I Would Write (but won't)

I planned to write a post about my bathing suit shopping adventure. Really and truly.


I was going to post a photo of my Erin Condren planner where Tuesday, May 24 had been circled for some time. Where, written in purple and circled in red, were the words mall for bathing suit which I had put on the calendar because I knew I would need the entire day.

In my post I would have written about the hour (and ten minutes) I spent at Macy's. How I tried on every style (one piece, two piece, skirted, one shoulder, strapless) and was even willing to try any color (well, solids anyway). I would probably even have mentioned the irony of how, in the end, I bought a cute cover-up ... but no bathing suit.


Then I would have told you about the TWO hours I spent at Dillard's and how the sales associate and I were on a first name basis; how I totally ignored the "six garments at a time" sign at the entrance of the dressing room and instead carried in double that amount; how I probably lost five pounds just by trying on suit after suit; and how I had several piles going: no, definitely no, and what were they thinking?


Maybe I would have even shared my rants:


-Ruffles? Seriously? There is no place you can put a ruffle that wouldn't add unneeded bulk.
-If only they put this top, with those straps, and that bottom.
-"Minimizer" simply means that a body part is displaced to another area of your body.
-Do NOT look at the cover-ups. Do NOT.
-A gold (functioning!) zipper down the front of a bathing suit is just asking for trouble.


In the end I would have mentioned how I bought two suits -- a black one piece (no lectures) and a navy top (bottoms to be figured out later).


So, while I had planned to write a post about my bathing suit shopping adventure, I won't.


I'm still trying to recover.

Summer Reading for Boys: Poison, Scurvy, Murder, Oh My!

This summer Timothy has the lofty goal of reading a book a week.


Actually, I made that goal because, well, I'm the mom. End of discussion.


Now, some of you have kids that are readers and are probably thinking: That's it? One teeny, weeny book a week? Believe me, I understand. I used to be that kid who read a book every two days, so the fact that Timothy inherited some weird, errant gene in which he equates reading to torture is foreign to me. I mean, who doesn't like to read? (Secretly, I'm pretty sure Joe is responsible for that weird, errant gene, but since he is solely responsible for all the Math genes the boys have inherited, I don't complain too much.)


So, a book a week -- and National Geographic magazines, World Record books, Lego instruction manuals, and multi-page instruction books for a four-cylinder engine do not count.


Yesterday was Timothy's first official day of summer vacation, and I knew that Book 1 for week1 had to be a perfect book to get Timothy excited about reading; in other words, I couldn't start with Tolstoy, for example. (Besides, Tolstoy is scheduled for Week #2.)


JUST KIDDING about Tolstoy. Sheesh.


Now before you start thinking I'm a horrible mom, let me show you how cool I can be (with the help of my sister who gave me the suggestion). Here is Timothy's first book:

How they Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous

Over the course of history, men and women have lived and died. Whether someone had a lung explode, was stabbed to death, or croaked from a really bad sore throat, getting sick and dying tended to be a big, ugly mess -- especially before modern medical care. These pages contain all the gory details of the awful ends of nineteen awfully famous people.

Last night he read of the untimely deaths of King Tut (malaria), Julius Caesar (murder), and Cleopatra (suicide). And who knew one can learn so much history just by studying how someone died! With King Tut, Timothy learned about pharaohs, the science of mummification, and Howard Carter; the chapter on Julius Caesar taught him about the Ides of March, "et tu Brute", and the betrayal of 60 Roman Senators; and with Cleopatra he read how her death was like an ancient re-telling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.


And the book is funny. Before falling in love with Marc Anthony, Cleopatra and Julius Caesar had a son -- Little Caesar. Do you know how funny that is for a boy? Right now he's reading about Christopher Columbus and he just finished telling me how sailors pooped on ships and what they used for toilet paper.


Blood, murder, poop = Little Boy Heaven.


I am well aware that  Little Women it's not, but after finishing the first chapter of How they Croaked Timothy continued to the next one without any prompting from me which, let me tell you, is progress.


And last night I actually had to tell him to put the book down because it was time for bed.


Again, progress.

Next week: The Outsiders
"Stay gold, Ponyboy."

Gelato Here, Gelato There, Gelato Everywhere

I was going through some of the bambino's old papers when I discovered this little paragraph he wrote a couple of years ago. It made me laugh. Out loud. You see, in listing all the reasons why he loves Italy, he left out the most important one ... GELATO.


Just before leaving on our last family trip to Rome and the Amalfi Coast, my parents promised to buy the boys a gelato whenever and wherever they wanted one ... no exceptions. If you wanted a gelato, Nonna and Nonno would buy it for you.


(In case you're wondering, Joe and I were NOT included. We had to buy our own.)


So, our boys basically gelato-ed their way through Italy.

Gondolas, race tracks, and pasta aside ...
it's the gelato!

"A better snack would be a gelato."
-Timothy, in Pompeii

"I really, really want a gelato."
-Timothy, in Pompeii

"Hey Nonno, about that gelato ..."
-Timothy, in Sorrento

Silence
(he's eating gelato)

"I'm ready for another gelato."
-Timothy, Villa Oplontis

"Nonna, can I have a gelato?"

gelato here, gelato there,
gelato everywhere!