2018 Reading List, Quarter 2 (Apr-Jun)

I finished Quarter 1 with 14, so here goes:

Actual Books:
15. Percy Jackson and the Olympians 4
16. Percy Jackson and the Olympians 5-- read these aloud to the boys before bed, 10 pages at a turn. It took us nearly all school year to get through this series, but I think the boys liked it! Onto either the next Rick Riordan set or maybe Harry Potter?
17. Bellevue: Three centuries of medicine and mayhem at America's most storied hospital, David Oshinsky
18. Essentialism: the disciplined pursuit of less, Greg McKeown-- I thought this was going to fit into my de-cluttering reading theme, but instead it was a 20-something business person mansplaining how you need to decide what's really important for you and then saying no to any and all other offers in your workplace. And I thought... that's really great, if you're financially stable, but for most people that simply isn't an option and your whole book is awfully presumptuous
19. The year of cozy: 125 recipes, crafts, and other homemade adventures, Adrianna Adarma-- an example of why a successful blogger shouldn't necessarily write an actual book. Trite and of little substance. I only got a few ideas from this, not a lot I could or wanted to implement in my own life. (That sounds really negative, but I guess not all books can be life-changing, right?)
20. The midwife, Jolina Petersham-- semi-religious fiction about midwifery practice to the Amish (although she calls them Mennonite?) with shame-filled adoption and gestational surrogacy stories.
21. Being mortal: medicine and what matters in the end, Atul Gawande-- Discussing healthcare practice at the end of life and what people REALLY want, which is to spend their last moments in peace with their families, ideally at home, not hooked up to a ventilator and trying half-assed, dangerous, unhelpful remedies to eke out a few more minutes. An eye-opener about what I want and what I need to make clear to my family and in my living will
22. Doctored: the disillusionment of the American physician, Sandeep Jauhar-- Another good one about the state and practice of medicine in a for-profit healthcare system which prioritizes money over actual care. Came off as a little whiny because why else become a doctor except for the paycheck and prestige, but Dr. Jauhar had some really good points to make.
23. Wrapped in rainbows: the life of Zora Neale Hurston, Valerie Boyd-- because I was listening to the audiobook, below
24.  Dietland, Sarai Walker-- cannot recommend this one enough! I didn't want it to end. AMAZING
25. Ready, player one, Ernest Cline-- good, video-game, fast-paced read
26. Hatchet, Gary Paulsen-- I got this from the library for Ben to read, but wanted to go through it myself before he did to make sure it would be ok. I think he'll be a little scared at the beginning, but the rest will right up his alley
27. Barracoon: the story of the last "black cargo", Zora Neale Hurston-- both the biography and the audiobook were checked out in response to this book, which came up on a recommended list. And I can't recommend it enough! So, so good and so necessary to read!
28. Birthing From Within; Pam England and Rob Horowitz
29. Secret Ceremonies: A Mormon woman's intimate diary of marriage and beyond; Deborah Laake

Audio books:
30. Improvement, Joan Silber-- an ok audiobook written from several POV, circling around a story of of two women who experience love in various forms
31. Yesterday, Felicia Yap-- a murder mystery about an alternate universe where people retain either one day's worth of memories or two... How will they every solve the crime?
32. The Little Book of Hygge: Danish secrets to Happy , Meik Wiking-- gave me some ideas on how to up the cozy factor around the holidays, and insight into some Danish culture
33. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore: A novel, Matthew Sullivant-- a suicide at a bookstore leads a young woman to look back on her traumatic childhood
34. City of the Lost, Kelley Armstrong-- what if you wanted to disappear, off the grid? What if the off-grid town harbored a murderer?
35. Their eyes were watching God, Zora Neale Hurston-- I really liked this story of a woman who won't settle for anything less than what she wants in life and love and it was impressive that it was written so early in the 20th century, when the feminine role was so rigid. The description of the hurricane washing into the Everglades was incredible!
36. The lovely bones, Alice Sebold-- PBS is sponsoring a "Great American Read" for summer 2018, and this was on the list of 100 recommended books. I'm not sure who made up the list, because the 50 Shades of Gray trilogy is on there too, but I thought I'd work through what I could work through during the heat.

E-books:
37. Leaving the Saints: How I lost the Mormons and Found my Faith, Martha Beck

In 2017, my Quarter 2 reading list brought me up to 25 total. Obviously, listening to the audiobooks during my commutes is increasing my total this year!
In 2016, my Quarter 2 reading list was at 17 total. I'm at double that this year, wow!

2018 June DITL: A Sunday to start the Month

We had a Red, White, and Blue bouquet to celebrate Memorial Day, and it's still looking beautiful!

2018 May DITL: A normal Monday in May

A post-Mother's Day DITL in 2018

2018 March DITL (delayed): A Seventh Birthday!

It's not every day that you turn seven, so I thought we should document with a DITL!

2018 Reading List: Quarter 1 (Jan-Mar)

I'm beginning to tally up my reading list for 2018. Here goes nothing:

2018 February DITL: Field Trip to Kennedy Space Center

Our February DITL took us to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida

2018: A Snowy February Day

Yesterday, a big snowstorm blew in and left us with somewhere between 4-6" of powdery white. 

Boys learned they had a snow day early (school sent out a text at 4:30 am) and celebrated with French toast. 

2018 January DITL: Thursday, the 18th

I have been doing DITLs (Day In The Life) since 2007. In 2010, I decided to start doing these photo journal-style blog entries on a monthly basis and it was a great way to look back on how the boys were growing and changing.
Last year, I stopped doing them. There were several reasons, but some boiled down to Livejournal's decline as a blogging space and then Photobucket changed their terms of service so I didn't have a place to host the photos for free. Facebook wasn't an ideal option either.

Without further explanation, here's a short DITL for January 2018. Eleven photos, no warnings.

2017 Reading Log

I've been noting my reading habits for the past two years on Livejournal. Since LJ is pretty much defunct, but I still wanted to have a record of my book log, I decided to migrate the list to this site.

My 2017 Book List:

Valentine's Day in a mirror

Last night, J and I quickly put together small "Valentine's" for the boys and set them out on the breakfast bar for them to see when they got up this morning.

Several Years Jump

It is quiet right now in my home, all the boys are still sleeping. It's rare that I get a chance like this in the early morning to be alone and have silence.

I have (to be honest) been avoiding journaling for some time, although I know that it's not necessarily the best for me, mentally. Journaling has always been the way for me to document the ups and downs, the milestones I've made and now that the kids are making, my thoughts and reactions to this world that we live in... and for so long I've been frozen-- thinking but unable to write, or wanting to write but afraid that my words would be insufficient or misunderstood.

Bring on the Summer Fun!

It's been unseasonably HOT here for as long as we've been in New York. It was an exceptionally sunny and warm fall, a very mild winter, and now an extremely hot spring! While we definitely did not complain during the chilly months that the snowfall was less than anticipated, we're gearing up and bracing ourselves for a scorching summer. Yesterday the heat index was 95 F, and it's still May!  Incredible.

I'm already planning a number of 'tricks' to pull out this summer when the heat has us all uncomfortable and lethargic. We tried out one a couple weeks ago, and I can see it being a blast for the boys every time.

A climber!

Little L has been reaching milestones by leaps and bounds. He has successfully figured out going up AND down stairs, which makes our lives much easier. We no longer have to hover over him if he heads for the stairs and be worried that he will take a tumble.
He's been trying to 'jump' for a couple weeks now, with no success. We're not entirely certain if he's trying to leap from the floor or rather showing off his awesome dance skills.

Transitions

The boys seem to grow larger and larger every day. We generally don't notice until suddenly B is standing on the counter, having pushed over his step stool and climbed up, or L is standing on tiptoe and reaching objects on a table that were previously unattainable.

Since the boys are growing so quickly, we are thinking seriously of transitioning them into more age-appropriate things.

A new love

Like most of the Eastern seaboard, New York had a wonderful spate of 70-80 degree weather in mid-March. I apologize for any posting absences, as we were busy outside enjoying the wonderful weather!  During this time, I introduced the boys to the concept of eating 'al fresco' and spreading blankets in our backyard for lunch. Big B particularly loved this idea and continues to ask for picnics at nearly every meal, and especially on days that Mama and the boys are home together.
Unfortunately for B, the weather has cooled off quite dramatically and now fits the average temperatures for April in New York. Not exactly my idea of a fun picnic! Add into this a wet lawn and gusty winds... we just aren't going to have picnics any time soon.

So we moved the picnic indoors! 

Here are my tips for a perfect indoor picnic:

Birthy stuff

I follow many birth-y blogs, blogs about birth safety, blogs about natural childbirth, blogs which highlight birth stories for different women. Today, my perusal of these blogs in my feed brought up the following articles:

Time for Labor has increased for women and a cord prolapse birth story.

Already One Year Old!

I can't believe that a year has already passed by.
Happy birthday, Little L (although not quite so little anymore)!  We love you so.

We had a birthday party with much of our family. 

Little L (and Big B) were definitely spoiled rotten!

Our family, March 2012.

Why Libraries are Awesome

We attend a weekly Toddler Story hour at our local library every Wednesday. Both boys love it! There's reading, songs, interactive guessing games... something for everyone! After the story hour we usually peruse the children's books for a bit and pick out new stories to bring home each week. Most of the time, our books have a distinctly truck-oriented theme. For example, this week's books are titled 'School Bus' and 'Dinotrux', respectively. We are always on the lookout for new books related to fire trucks, dump trucks, garbage trucks, school buses, or anything else that moves on wheels and plays in the dirt!

Leap Day

Today is Feb. 29th, a day that only comes every four years. In honor of Leap Day, we're planning some special activities!

Just Like That...

Babyhood is so fleeting, so swift. We were reminded of this fact yesterday, when Little L took his first unassisted steps. We had gone to get his 1-year portraits taken and decided to go earlier than 12 months for the simple fact that he WASN'T walking yet! No sooner had we told the photographer that he should be all set for L staying in the frame, off he went! We were astounded.

(Taken in December--well before L decided to walk!)

Yet another reminder that babyhood and childhood pass so quickly. In just over a month, L will reach his 1st birthday. I can't even believe that we're coming to that point already! I am making a point to really treasure moments from these days because I know that too soon they'll have disappeared and be only memories... I want to make sure I have some awesome memories to look back on.