Jeff has a kindle. My mother is dying to buy me a kindle. I've been told that books will soon be things of the past. That electronic readers like the kindle will be all around. Jeff LOVES his kindle. He reads more with it, he went on and on and on and on about how wonderful it is. How you can change font size and bookmark pages and really I kind of only half paid attention because I still don't want a kindle.
I did, recently, TRY the kindle. Jeff downloaded "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" for me. I was going to my first book club and hadn't had a chance to actually go buy the book at a bookstore - so Jeff got it. Last night I used the kindle to read the book. Now the book, I loved it. It did, however, take me a little while to get into it because of whole reading on the screen thing - I don't know, I think I missed the whole having a layout of a physical book. Since the story is told in a series of letters from different people, and it took a while to follow along electronically. In a physical book, I'd be able to kind of glance over pages to get used to it, and while I could go back and forth with ease with the kindle, I still missed having a book.
I love books for various reasons, and I never quite knew how attached I was to having a PHYSICAL book until I used the kindle. My favorite books are completely wrecked. The spine is bent. The pages are bent down. Sometimes they are wavy because I've taken them into a bath where with hot water and bubbles I indulge myself in my two favorite pastimes. Long, hot bubble baths, and books. My favorite books have been read and re-read. I tend to read really quickly. The more I like a book, the faster I read. So re-reading will sometimes let me pick up things I hadn't noticed before. If I'm re-reading Agatha Christie for example, I already know the ending of the mystery and I like to go back and see if I can spot things that were clues that I hadn't seen previously. I like to see how the plot points were laid out ahead of time, waiting for me to puzzle them together. It's always fun. Fannie Flag for example will carry her characters over from book to book and I like seeing how a minor character in one book, becomes the main player in another. I like holding the books and randomly picking a page and starting to read. I like browsing my shelves and seeing what I'm in the mood for. I enjoy going to bookstores and looking at colorful covers, reading backs and pages, sometimes I discover a new author I had never previously considered. I like looking at staff favorites for the same reason. I love physical books so much I am sorely tempted to buy a REAL copy of "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" even though I own it in an electronic version.
There is one thing, if having a kindle gets more people to read, more people to explore different authors, different subjects - well I'm all for it. But for now I think I'll stick to actually owning the book!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Weekend
Oh what a weekend. What a weekend it was. I worked my part-time gig on Saturday and realized how nice it was to get out and make a little money for the family. I also had lots of anxiety the night before. Kind of that "back to school anxiety". I don't know WHY I get nervous before work, but I do. Maybe I won't remember everything? Maybe they won't like me? All sorts of worries run through my head. But I went, I chatted, my co-worker was lovely and sweet and basically the time really flew - which is always nice. I came home and it was immediate mom mode. Nathan woke up pretty much as soon as I walked in the door and it was time for lunch and everything that goes with lunch. It's figuring out what to make, making it, cutting it into tiny pieces and then FEEDING NATHAN which takes FOREVER. After lunch it was the mad dash to the toy store because of COURSE we didn't have the required birthday present for the birthday party we were going to. Scramble in the store for cute and age appropriate gift, next to the Hallmark store for gift bag, tissue paper and card, and THEN a crazy drive TO the party where Nathan and Jeff had a lovely time in the bouncy house that was set up while I sat and chatted with people. Nathan did have a minor meltdown towards the end (for some reason he gets constipated REALLY easy and I guess he was having one of those moments). Off to home after a quick piece of cake and it was time to give Nathan a bath.
Deep breath. Nathan does NOT like the bath. He wants to stand, he doesn't want his hair washed. basically giving Nathan a bath is a two person deal and it requires lots of patience. He's fine the first 5 minutes or so, but as soon as it's hair washing time, well, meltdown takes place. Saturday it was no different. Nathan had a meltdown. He was trying to stand and Jeff was holding him kind of under his arms, and Jeff had one foot in the tub (Nathan bathes in a Eurotub - plastic tub that fits IN our tub). Well as Nathan stood he made an oh so familiar grunting noise. Before we could blink, Nathan pooped. He pooped in the tub and that's where it became chaotic. Jeff is trying to lift a slippery Nathan out of the poopy tub, and I'm trying to empty the tub of poopy water so I can grab Nathan and DISASTER. I dumped the tub, poopy contents and all, all over Jeff's foot. His sock and sneaker clad foot. Jeff let out a ROAR of protest and I practically threw the now-empty tub across the bathroom as I scooped up the now hysterical Nathan. I don't know HOW Jeff managed to get his foot out of his now-toxic sock and sneaker.. but we put them on the deck to deal with later. As Nathan and Jeff rocked in front of "Wonder Pets" I SCRUBBED the tub. I bleached the tiny Eurotub and I bleached our tub. Repeatedly. I scrubbed and scrubbed. The bad thing? Nathan still needed a bath. Well our new bath has a shower head that can be adjusted, so we pulled it out and gave Nathan his very first shower. A shower that went pretty well and we were even able to wash his hair. The rest of the night was a blur. There were jammies and dinner and bedtime, there were hot showers for me where I attempted to cleanse myself of the picture of poop in the bath, and I was passed out in bed by 9:30pm. It had been a long, long day.
Sunday was a little better. We got some laundry done, some unpacking done, and some stuff put up in the attic. It was non-stop from the moment we woke up until the moment Nathan went to bed, but we felt very accomplished. I switched out some summer clothes for fall clothes, took inventory on what we need for Nathan this fall/winter, and I even mopped some floors. And because there was no repeat of poop in the tub - well let's just call it the best Sunday EVER!!!
Deep breath. Nathan does NOT like the bath. He wants to stand, he doesn't want his hair washed. basically giving Nathan a bath is a two person deal and it requires lots of patience. He's fine the first 5 minutes or so, but as soon as it's hair washing time, well, meltdown takes place. Saturday it was no different. Nathan had a meltdown. He was trying to stand and Jeff was holding him kind of under his arms, and Jeff had one foot in the tub (Nathan bathes in a Eurotub - plastic tub that fits IN our tub). Well as Nathan stood he made an oh so familiar grunting noise. Before we could blink, Nathan pooped. He pooped in the tub and that's where it became chaotic. Jeff is trying to lift a slippery Nathan out of the poopy tub, and I'm trying to empty the tub of poopy water so I can grab Nathan and DISASTER. I dumped the tub, poopy contents and all, all over Jeff's foot. His sock and sneaker clad foot. Jeff let out a ROAR of protest and I practically threw the now-empty tub across the bathroom as I scooped up the now hysterical Nathan. I don't know HOW Jeff managed to get his foot out of his now-toxic sock and sneaker.. but we put them on the deck to deal with later. As Nathan and Jeff rocked in front of "Wonder Pets" I SCRUBBED the tub. I bleached the tiny Eurotub and I bleached our tub. Repeatedly. I scrubbed and scrubbed. The bad thing? Nathan still needed a bath. Well our new bath has a shower head that can be adjusted, so we pulled it out and gave Nathan his very first shower. A shower that went pretty well and we were even able to wash his hair. The rest of the night was a blur. There were jammies and dinner and bedtime, there were hot showers for me where I attempted to cleanse myself of the picture of poop in the bath, and I was passed out in bed by 9:30pm. It had been a long, long day.
Sunday was a little better. We got some laundry done, some unpacking done, and some stuff put up in the attic. It was non-stop from the moment we woke up until the moment Nathan went to bed, but we felt very accomplished. I switched out some summer clothes for fall clothes, took inventory on what we need for Nathan this fall/winter, and I even mopped some floors. And because there was no repeat of poop in the tub - well let's just call it the best Sunday EVER!!!
Friday, September 10, 2010
get thee behind me Pottery Barn for Kids
I blame my friend Lisa for taking me to Pottery Barn Kids last night. I saw SO MUCH STUFF I want for Nathan. Right now, I want Curious George sheets and bedding:
And I want a little chair for his room where he can sit and read books. Something like this in chocolate brown:
Soooo cute! Never mind all the room decorations and toys and books and mobiles that they have. I'm telling you, this living within your means sucks. It sucks a LOT!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Struggle
Why oh why is it SO HARD not to give in to temptation? I mean, I KNOW that opening a credit card is a no. I KNOW that if I have a credit card, ANY CREDIT CARD, in my hot little hands that it's a recipe for disaster. Yet I STILL find myself tempted. Tempted to get a credit card. Let me explain. I was in Macy's with my mother last week and I was SORELY tempted to open a Macy's card. I was saying in my head "I need new bedding. I need some new clothes. I need some new towels. I need, I need, I need". And the list just went on and on. I had it all justified in my head on to whyI NEEDED THIS MACY'S CARD! But I didn't do it. Didn't open a new card. I soooo wanted to. I mean.. right now our bedroom is like a maroon color and with our new Queen sized mattress and our sheets are.... turqoise. Cheap sheets from Target I grabbed on sale right after we got the new mattress. It clashes. And I dream fondly of expensive and soft linens. Deep colors and bright patterns and textures. But it's not in the budget right now. And sadly, I know deep in my heart, that getting a credit card will only mean that I go completely and utterly CRAZY in Macy's. First it would be linens. Next would be some new clothes for me. And then... be still my heart.. we would go to shoes. If I'm feeling REALLY FRISKY I would look for a new diaper bag. And then, it would be off to the baby section. There I would lose every ounce of sense I have and Nathan would be getting a wardrobe for the next 10 years. He'd also get a down blanket and comforter because my BABY DESERVES TO BE TOASTY WARM THIS WINTER! He'd get some new toys. Some new shoes. Oh I am fantasizing already.
Be strong, be strong, be strong. Remember, as Oscar Wilde once said "I can resist anything except temptation".
Be strong, be strong, be strong. Remember, as Oscar Wilde once said "I can resist anything except temptation".
Friday, September 3, 2010
Path to Happiness
So I was reading on Woman's Day magazine site that starting a collection can be a way to celebrate happiness. It talks about how one woman spends about $20 each time she goes to flea markets or craft fairs getting snow globes - something she collects. She loves the hunt, and getting new globes. I used to collect anything and everything shark. It got a little out of control and I didn't LOVE the pieces I got. Right now I have one ceramic shark wall hanging, and a huge stuffed shark that Nathan has taken over. So no collections right now. I was thinking though, that this is an idea I might be able to get on board with. I'm still in a mess of unpacking boxes and trying to find things for the house, but there is ONE THING I am very excited about. Holidays. I love, love, love holidays. Growing up my family wasn't really into holidays - we have a small family and we never really OUT THERE on holidays. But I LOVE holidays. I want decorations, I want glitter, I want gaudy and tacky blow up ornaments for outside the house. Do I need to add that my husband and father are HORRIFIED by the ideas that I have? But why would they be? What's wrong with this?
People, it's WITCHES AROUND A CAULDRON! They are BLOW UP WITCHES! And they are ANIMATED! I mean... ANIMATED PEOPLE! Never mind that as an English major these witches can be traced back to Macbeth:
Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble
What could be bad about this on our front lawn? And maybe some light up pumpkins? A few solar skulls?? Jeff thinks our neighbors will hate us, but I love the idea of really decorating the lawn. How fun would this be for Nathan?? Don't even talk to me about what I want to do for Christmas.. that's a whole other can of worms! But lawn decorations for holidays definitely make me happy - so let's see what's in the budget for this year!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
BIRTHDAY!
It's my birthday, it's my birthday, it's my birthday! As a special "Happy Birthday Mama", Nathan slept till 7:30am. Since Nathan has been toying with switching his morning time to the ungodly 5:30am, sleeping till 7:30am is like a dream! I also did a little bit of shopping with my mother last night - she treated me to new sneakers that cost an arm and a leg from Ecco at the mall, and of course a little outfit for Nathan from Baby Gap. Because really, no shopping trip is complete until Nathan has gotten something as well.
Since Jeff and I moved this past Friday we've been unpacking pretty slowly. It's so hard to unpack with Nathan crawling around. He's like a barnacle and if I leave the room or, heaven forbid, use the baby gate to keep him in his new playroom - tears and screams and runny noses abound. So it's one box at a time, and also trips to Target for things like garbage bags and toothbrushes and tons crap that we somehow desperately NEED! Of course we still need to sell our old house so weekends are going to be mostly Jeff doing painting, weeding, and a whole bunch of other chores to make our former home prettier. Fingers crossed!!
Back to my birthday - a new house has been a pretty wonderful present and I'm excited to make this place more a home for us. I'll try and take pictures this weekend and post them!
Since Jeff and I moved this past Friday we've been unpacking pretty slowly. It's so hard to unpack with Nathan crawling around. He's like a barnacle and if I leave the room or, heaven forbid, use the baby gate to keep him in his new playroom - tears and screams and runny noses abound. So it's one box at a time, and also trips to Target for things like garbage bags and toothbrushes and tons crap that we somehow desperately NEED! Of course we still need to sell our old house so weekends are going to be mostly Jeff doing painting, weeding, and a whole bunch of other chores to make our former home prettier. Fingers crossed!!
Back to my birthday - a new house has been a pretty wonderful present and I'm excited to make this place more a home for us. I'll try and take pictures this weekend and post them!
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