Mommathon

We had book club last night. We discussed the last book we read and then chose Signora da Vinci as our next read. This is the review that helped us decide that was the book we wanted to read...

“In this exquisite gem of a novel, Robin Maxwell conjures a fascinating account of Leonardo Da Vinci's mother, a bold woman whose adventurous spirit and quest for her own truth captures the exuberance of the Italian Renaissance. Though little is known of the historical Caterina da Vinci, Maxwell's impressive research and keen storytelling skills sweep us into a very plausible account of a young alchemist's daughter whose unfortunate love affair brings her the greatest love of her life - her genius son - as well as the opportunity to escape the restrictions of her gender and enter a seductive garden of philosophy, art, learning, and danger. From the dusty streets of Vinci to the glories of Lorenzo Il Magnifico's Florence and the conspiratorial halls of Rome and Milan, Signora da Vinci is a tour de force celebration of one woman's unquenchable ardor for knowledge and of a secret world that historical fiction readers rarely see.”
—C.W. Gortner, author of The Last Queen

We had our own little Mardi Gras party here last night complete with beads and a King Cake. Our King Cake wasn't very fancy, but it did have some hidden uncooked pasta noodles in it for the kids to find. (I figured they wouldn't choke on penne as opposed to kidney beans.) Anyways, the noodles were found and our kings were crowned. They had so much fun we did it again tonight. There's enough cake left for a few more nights of crowning. It's amazing how the noodles always seem to end up in the boys' slices of cake and no one else's...

From February 2009

Monday-Stir Fry
Tuesday-Chinese Salad
Wednesday-Veggie Tacos
Thursday-Oven Fried Chicken, Biscuits, Salad
Friday-Baked French Toast, Eggs
Saturday-Chicken Enchiladas

Such a good book! It was a quick read, too. Not only was it a good story, but I had to keep reminding myself that it was non-fiction. The story takes place around World War I on a poor street in England. The interesting thing about the street is that half of it is Jewish and the other half is Christian and, for the most part, the two sides don't interact or even talk with one another. Even though they may not be speaking with one another, there are several stories brewing on both sides of the street and that is what keeps you reading. This author has written another biography, as well, and I am on the waiting list at the library for that one.

My plan today was to: take Colm to school, help the librarian at Colm's school for about an hour, go help the art teacher at Liam's school for most of the day, go home and watch the video I needed to watch for Bible Study and then go pick up the boys from school. This is how it actually went: took Colm to school and as I was getting ready to go upstairs to the library the secretary asked me if I could help serve lunch today since the parent who was supposed to do it was out of town, I said yes, decided I could help in the library tomorrow, drove to Liam's school and helped the art teacher for about 45 minutes, drove back to Colm's school, served lunch and ate lunch with Colm, drove back to Liam's school and helped the art teacher a little bit more, drove back to Colm's school, picked him up and then went and got Liam. I'm tired from all that driving.

Sunday-Liam's family birthday party
Monday-Breaded chicken, rice, green beans
Tuesday-Pasta alla Carbonara
Wednesday-Sloppy Joes and Potato Salad
Thursday-Stir Fry
Friday-Noodle Bowls
Saturday-Italian Wedding Soup