Mommathon

All of the Above is the last book I am reading for Battle of the Books, unless, of course the librarian asks me to read another one. This was a really quick read and was also very easy to write questions for. It was not my favorite of the three I have read for Battle of the Books, but it was still a good story. It is basically about middle school kids in an urban area who try to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by completing a huge tetrahedron project. It reminded me of the tetrahedron project I did with my 6th graders one year, but ours wasn't going to break any world records. Anyways, good book, fast read, but not my favorite.

Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of me, my oldest brother and our cousins running around our grandparents' house on Sundays. We always sat in the living room during family meals and ate on card tables while the adults sat at the big table in the dining room. (We still talk about Mark and his ham and olives...that's all he would eat.) :) Since they lived on a farm, there was always plenty to do. We jumped on the hay bales after crawling through the electric fence (once I got shocked-ouch), went exploring the fields, stepping over cow patties to get to the creek at the back of the property, we shot BB guns at aluminum cans and played on the swing set they got for us (which is now a big pile of rusted junk). We also had Easter Egg hunts outside and played hide and seek. I think the big propane tank outside was base. If it was too cold to go outside we would play endless rounds of LIFE and there was another card game that I remember playing a lot with them, but I can't remember the name of it to save my life. (It had a bell that you would ding and cards that had picture of various grains on it.) Anyways, I feel so lucky that I got to share those memories with my cousins and I am even happier that my own children have cousins that live close so that they, too, can remember Sunday dinners, birthdays, Christmases, Easters, etc. playing with their cousins. Even though there aren't any cow patties or BB guns involved, they can make their own memories.

From February 2009

From February 2009

From February 2009

From February 2009

Honestly, I didn't watch that much of the game. I was busy chatting with the women and playing board games with the kids. The kids spent most of their time playing board games and running around with their cousins. They were exhausted by 8p.m. I think they had too much fun, but I love it that they have cousins that live so close.

Sunday-Superbowl Party
Monday-Pasta and Salad
Tuesday-Southwest Salad
Wednesday-Stuffed Green Peppers
Thursday-Veggie Burgers and Coleslaw
Friday-Tacos
Saturday-Out to dinner

We had book club last night and have chosen The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. The author's name may sound familiar; she also wrote The Lovely Bones, which was very popular a few years ago and is a very good book if you haven't read it. The subject matter is difficult, but the story is good.

This is another book that I read that is for Battle of the Books and it is so good. It is historical fiction and the author created the main character, Grace, after seeing the picture that is on the front cover of the book. The picture, it turns out, is of a little girl whose real name was Addie and she worked in the mills from the age of eight. I felt like the book started out kind of slowly, but I am glad I stuck with it. It was a good story and even more interesting once you find out the history that inspired the story.