{Between the Pages: "Little Bee"}

A hush-hush novel, Little Bee by Chris Cleave is the story of two women, voiced by two women.  It is a book about life, choice, chance, and fate.

I was told very little about the book before I read it; Little Bee is our book club's selection for the month.  I was drawn in by the premise: two women brought together by fate and one having a terrible choice to make.  With that, I made the choice to learn nothing else about it and dive right in.  In fact, it wasn't until I was a couple of chapters into the novel I decided to read the author's bio and found out it was penned by a man!  Little Bee beautifully represents these two women, their thoughts, feelings, behaviors.... His only miss, in my opinion, is when he has one of the main characters repeatedly pressing her forehead to a glass window; any women I know would refrain for doing such a thing because of the mark it would leave behind. Hah!

Nonetheless, I found the book difficult to put down.  I've never read a novel scripted in this form.  It is thought-provoking on many levels and has made me rethink my opinions and adjusted my perspective.

I look forward to discussing Little Bee at our next book club meeting and hearing the various takes on this compelling story, that while fiction could quite possibly be true.

I recommend Little Bee to anyone who appreciates a human story and the lives and choices women have to make.

[GiVe AwaY: I've completed the book, so after our book club on March 9th my copy is up for grabs.... The first reader to comment for request is the lucky recipient.]

Syncing the Bridge

It's gymnastics moves abound at our house.  If they're not working on handstands, it's cartwheels or bridges.  Shortly after snapping these shots of the girls, I walked into a vacant family room to find the scene at the bottom....

{Abby's Bridge}

{Lauren's Tabletop Bridge}

 

{The Scooby Friends}

{Syncing the Bridge}

"It Was the Park", by Abigail Zahn

Abby has been working diligently on writing stories in kindergarten.  Friday's snow day unleashed Abby's creativity.  While she was more than happy to celebrate the day in her pajamas, she was all business scribing this work of nonfiction.

It Was the Park

by Abigail Zahn

 It is at the park./I see the books.

I see books./I see Piper.

I see the playground./I am going to the cabin.

I am at the cabin with my mom.

Flashback Friday

There's Something About Lauren

Summer 2007

Thank You Thursday

1. I'm thankful for my Lauren. And her handywork....

{Lauren Swimming in Her Pool}

{"I love my Scooby friends."}

2. I'm thankful for the people I surrounded myself with.

3. I'm thankful for Abby's quick recovery tonight at gymnastics. Well, relatively quick. She rejoined her class and finished the evening successfully leaving me to a few more minutes of peace.

4. I'm thankful my wallet broke before I closed my Thirty-One party. Looks like I'll be adding a wallet to my list of goodies. It's over ten years old, so it's not like I'm not overdue.

5. I'm thankful for finishing my book.  Not so sure I'm thankful for the way I felt about the way it concluded.  Maybe mulling it over will help.

Ten on Tuesday

1. I love how they ask you so politely if they can help you get anything from the bottom of your cart in the check-out lane at Kroger. Oh, yes.  Please do.  Because getting that toilet paper myself would be a medical nightmare.  Come on.  Just because I wear a sweatshirt and my child's clothes don't seem to ever match doesn't mean I've got sticky fingers for the Cottonelle.

2. The vomiting, the diarrhea, the coughs, sneezes and buffet of runny noses at school makes me want to spray myself down with a decontaminate.  Oh please let this current round of flu pass me by.

3. Whomever designed the city sewer system obviously did not coordinate with the street engineers.  I hate misplaced man holes that leave you bumping down the road.  Dayton-Xenia Road, you could use a little help.... but Old Shakopee Road in Bloomington is the worst!  Yes, worse than the pot holes in parts of Duluth.

4. The Wisconsin senators are cowards. Period. You were elected to a job and now you're fleeing the state in protest.... are you children?  Ughhh.  It's a disgrace.

5. Fun night at the library with Abby and her class.  I'm glad we went!

6. Frisch's Big Boy. It's hard to believe the establishment is still open for business.  Needless-to-say I won't be going back for future dining adventures.

7. Abby is fairly certain that her ability to count to one hundred is a solid step into the field of logistics, a term she learned from a commercial.  Type and click, that's how you do math on the computer.

8. My new guilty pleasure snack: hummus and Triscuts.  Even the girls like the cheese on the fancy crackers.  Why destroy their fun?!

9. Geoff and Abby have been quite the pair lately, spending an abundance of time together.  It's fun to hear the things she picks his brain about.

10. With a delicate layer of crunchy snow currently blanketing our yard, it's hard to believe we were sitting outside enjoying a cold treat at the custard stand on Friday.  It is February, right?!

Presidents Day: Setting Precedence

True to my word, I have been actively cleaning my life of the clutter it has collected.  Our basement is the first to reap the benefits of my New Year's Resolution.  Yesterday, along with the help of my lovelies, I finished going through their toys.  I'm a hoarder, and getting rid of my girls' life in play was a hard step for me to take.  I guess I finally had enough of it all, and it is now sorted into things we will keep, things we will give to younger friends, and things we will donate.

I'm trying to set a precedence for my little people.  Trying to teach them to give, to share, and to do it with an open heart and no regrets.  This is why Geoff took them to Dayton Children's Hospital today where they donated a healthy collection of stuffed animals.  The man receiving their good will thanked them for their generosity, and assured them that many children will be grateful to enjoy a special new friend.

After trekking into Dayton, Daddy treated his girls to lunch at McDonald's where Abby was asked by an older woman if she knew what holiday it is today, and why she didn't have school.  To which Abby replied that it is Presidents Day and we are celebrating Abraham Lincoln's birthday.  Yay, Abby!

Back at home the girls are enjoying perhaps the most glorious part of our material cleansing.... The toys that made the cut are getting a new life of their own.

And Abby will always be Abby, just the way I like her.