Amen to this

My son's commentary on life:

I was tucking him in tonight and he's fidgety. He finally comes out with this gem:

"I just don't feel right with the way I'm living my life right now."

I tried to clarify and asked what he'd like to change, if he'd like to exercise more or eat healthier or be nicer to friends and family. He goes:

"It's like we're in the desert and there's nothing to learn about but sand."

Can you please tell me how I'm supposed to respond to that?

Books are Fun!

My friend emailed me a while back asking about book recommendations for her Christmas shopping list. Here's what I sent her:

One week down in the library and here are a few things I've noticed:

7-8 year old girl

The first-second graders are obsessed with this type of book: http://www.rainbowmagiconline.com/uk/books/books_ocean.html

There are all kinds of fairy books, and Norah's even reading them!

These are also hugely popular, and easily found almost anywhere: http://juniebjones.com/books/

Need suggestions for girls who don't like fairies?

Can't go wrong with puppies: http://www.ellenmiles.net/books.html

4-5 year old boy

Do they like dinosaurs? Try these cuties:

http://bobshea.com/ 

And you can't go wrong with anything by Mo Willems. (for any age/gender, really)

2-3 year old girl

When Norah was this age she couldn't get enough of these little books (both in board books or small hardcovers, perfect for little hands): http://www.olivierdunrea.com/Gossie---Friends.html

She also really liked Max and Ruby books. http://rosemarywells.com/category/books/new-releases/ 

And just for kicks (and parents)

#1 (maybe more for parents of littles who don't sleep? We sent it to some friends w/ a new baby as a welcome-to-parenting gift.)

and 

#2 (we found this one at the Howard County Library. We read it a lot!!)

I realize these are all fiction books. I can recommend nonfiction books too. There's a neat series of biographies that the older kids seem to like, but I'll wait to see what else is popular next week!

New School Year, New Job

Here we are, one week into September, and I've just finished my first week in my new position at the school.
The quick story: I went back to work at the beginning of the year as the aide to two fantastic teachers. But then a position became available as the library assistant and I couldn't pass up the chance to go for it! In my interview I got to talk about some of my favorite books (including Mo Willems--who doesn't like that guy?!?!), which was cool. And, surprise surprise, I got the job.
So now I'm working 25 hours a week in the school's library, and I get to help kids check out books all day! (Along with loads of other really important stuff, but mostly: BOOKS!)

It should be a fun way to get to know lots of kids at the school, and see what they're reading! The family is fully on board with my new position, and the kids are excited to see me every week during library class. Here's to a great year ahead filled with... more books! :o)

Conversations with Kids

Overheard at our house recently:

T: "Norah, where's that dog leash? I want to use it as a whip and pretend to be Indiana Jones."

...

N: "Mom, is heaven underground?"
Me: "No."
N: "Is heaven up in the sky?"
Me: "Not exactly..."
N: "Then why do we bury people when they die?"
Me: "Well...(My poor attempt at 6 year-old theology) You don't take your body with you to heaven. You get a new one when your soul gets to heaven. So we bury people here on earth and their soul goes to heaven."
N: "OK."

...

N: (whining from the backseat) "Moooommm, Toby won't let me read The New Yorker!"

Playing Catch-up

It would be overwhelming to post pictures of the year I've missed on the blog. So I am just going to ignore the fact that 12 months have gone missing (we'll blame it on user error--my inability to juggle too many things at once).
Here are a few pictures from the last month or so.

Norah at Kindergarten Promotion!

Toby played a month of post-season little league!

#18. He played every position, but pitching. He liked catcher best.

Toby got baptized on June 8th!

Carmel River State Beach--I had just dropped Toby off for a day at summer camp when I snapped this picture. I was a little jealous of his 2 weeks at summer camp!

Norah at open house, where we went on a tour of her classroom. She worked so hard this year!

Happy 4th of July!

From Carmel by the Sea!