Archive | Reading

Cast out crankiness!

Now that school is in full swing I can tell we need more sleep.  Those lazy days of summer were awesome.  But now it’s time to get back to work.  And getting back to work, and soccer, and scouts feels good.  We just need more sleep and less cranky.

So I am reminding my boys as they fall asleep:

My dear sweet children.  I want you to have a life that is great and wonderful.

And, as simple as it seems, one way to feel wonderful is to get enough sleep.

It is so easy to stay up late to finish watching a movie, or to keep reading your book, or to play just one more computer game.  But giving up sleep can make the next day more difficult to navigate.  Too little sleep dulls your thoughts and steals your joy.

Be sure to get enough sleep.

Snuggle in to a comfortable spot.  Do something soothing to calm you down and help you to rest. Have a cup of water by your bed. Get the room dark and keep it cool.  Then slumber with a content heart.

Good, solid sleep can help you be a clearer thinker. 

Good, solid sleep can keep you safe. 

Good, solid sleep can level out your mood, so you’re less cranky.  And we all know how we feel about cranky people. 

Cranky people feel yucky being cranky.

And the rest of us feel yucky around all that crankiness.

Get some sleep and cast out crankiness!

Set yourself up for a great and wonderful day by protecting your sleep.

Be sure to get enough sleep.

Now, deep breath.

Close your eyes.

Be still and quiet and you will go to sleep.

 

 

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The Mysterious Benedict Society

Favorite Book Friday 2 We just finished the very long but very captivating, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.  And we all listened to it together, which was so fun.  We could discuss what we thought about what was going on in the story, what we thought might happen, and the every popular, this is what I would do in that situation discussion.

We took the old school route and listed to it on CD, mostly in the car.  I picked it up at the library, my very favorite source for books!

Benedict cover

It took a couple of road trips and some errand running around town days to complete but it was so worth it!  The total playing time was 13 hours and 17 minutes.

Benedict cds

Listening in the car was our favorite way to hear the story.  We tried listening at night before bed but its so hard to find a stopping point.  I mean why not listen all night?

We tried listening in the family room sprawled out on the sofa or the floor but too many other things could distract us, like new library books, a strange cat in the yard, that kind of thing.

In the car we had to stop when we arrived at the museum or the pool or the grocery store.  It’s hard to argue with, we’re here!

This fascinating story has been one of the highlights of our summer.

We have our longest road trip of the summer coming up next week.  I just hope we can find a new book to enjoy as much.

Happy summer and happy reading!

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Beyond the Beyond (Another Kooky Poem)

beyond the beyond

I love you in the ordinary and in the over the top

I love you all my moments I just can’t stop

I love you in the clouds and under the table

I love you smelling good and all the pictures that you doodle

I love you with stinky feet and way beyond the horizon

I love you greasy shirted and more than anything I lay my eyes on

I love you happy, I love you sad, I love you sleepy and I love you mad.

I love you beyond the beyond and even further than that

But mostly I love it when I am here with you in our cozy habitat.

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Be Your Awesome Self

boat driver

(A poem and a reminder to my wild, loud, blustery boys.)

Be your awesome self and let the real you shine through

Be your awesome self and to thine self be true.

You’re a great kid.

You’re amazing and kind.

I think that in this life you will find

That though some things are hard and can make you feel sad

The world deep down is good and for that I’m so glad.

Be your awesome self, be happy and free.

Be your awesome self, you’re the only one you see.

So live your life in a way that fits you.

Be daring, be bold, in all you pursue.

 

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The Trumpet of the Swan

This one got past me as a kid.  I am so glad I discovered it with my boys.

Favorite Book Friday 2

They all read Charlotte’s Web at school and liked it, but didn’t rave about it.  All of us fell truly in love with E.B. White’s, The Trumpet of the Swan.

Trumpet of the Swan We read it out loud at bedtime.

It is the story of a swan named Louis.  He is not perfect but he has a perfectly extraordinary life.

Love, purposefulness, determination, using your gifts– all portrayed in interesting situations.  Louis finds the good in all he encounters.

I was afraid there was going to be some super sad, Mommy can’t read because she’s crying part, but it never came.  The story left all of us with a great feeling.  Kind of like, wow, if Louis can do it, so can I.

One of our favorites.  I look forward to finding another book to read out loud that brings our family that kind of goodness.

Enjoy your weekend and Happy Mother’s Day!

 

 

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A little something to read to my boys as they are falling asleep…

Tonight I want you to know it is possible to be your own best friend.  In fact, I think everyone should be their own super best friend.

super best friend

And how do you treat your best friend?

You are kind.  You are honest.  You let them go first.  You make sure they get what they need.

Do the same things for yourself.

Be your own super best friend.

When you talk to yourself—say something nice.

Make sure you get what you need:  Good sleep, healthy food, deep breaths.

And if you find a time when all your human friends let you down—it does happen—you already know your super best friend lives in your own body and in your own head and in your own soul.

Your super best friend is always ready to play.

You and your super best friend can count the stars, create a song, or bask in the sunlight.

There is super joy in being your own super best friend.

Now.  Deep breath.

Close your eyes.

Be still and quiet and you will go to sleep.

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I never would have thought…

Big Nate Red cover

Big Nate.  I love you.

You have provided our family with information we never thought we would need.

Since my boys have discovered you we have discussed Kenny G, Barry Manilow, two-pees (toupees), study hall, casual laughs, baseball and the Three Stooges.

This morning Walt quizzed his dad from the Big Nate Boredom Buster book. Who was MVP of Super Bowl ex-v? (He guessed Walter Peyton, not correct.)
When was ZZ Top inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Missed it by 2 years. The only question he got right was what is 12×7. I just don’t know when we would have ever gotten around to discussing ZZ Top without you Big Nate. Big Nate inside

 

Yes, Nate, I know you are a little irreverent, and detention is a word I hoped we would not have to deal with, but I love how much you value your friends,  how you tolerate your father, and how you find a lot to laugh about in middle school.  Oh, and your cartoons!

Last week Mack asked if I knew ree-oh speedwagon.  Huh? Oh!  REO Speedwagon!  Sure.  Let’s listen to “Keep on Lovin You”.   Then we listened to “Take it on the Run.”   I have not thought of those songs in a good ten years.  Thankfully, now my children know REO Speedwagon and the meaning of an 80’s power ballad.

I am so grateful.

 

 

Big Nate yellow cover

All these questions and flashbacks are good for a Mommy’s brain.  It feels good to know all the words to, “I Write the Songs that Make the Whole World Sing.”  Maybe my brain is still firing on some cylinders.

I pull out all my Mommy talent to follow the middle school banter read to me from Big Nate.

In cartoon frames.

While driving to soccer practice.

A good exercise in focus.

Keep those Big Nate books coming Lincoln Peirce.  You are good for our whole family.  And we love it!

 

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Becoming a “secure human”

Digging

In my mind reading blogs is like climbing a mountain or burrowing a hole. Some days I find myself dug down in a time waster. Other times I click on a “by the way, you might like this” and feel like I can see for miles, or at least think a little clearer because someone put into words what I think.

Happily I climbed up to read a post by Mike Posner, a songwriter who wrote Boyfriend, recorded by Justin Bieber and Sugar, by Maroon 5, both of which I have used in my Zumba class.

Mike talks about being famous, then not famous and what he learned. Wise words. I loved it. How he now uses “sturdy” adjectives to describe his life like: artist, human, writer, musician, poet and learner. Love that, learner instead of young, rich and famous.

It’s how I would like my boys to think of their life. To find the sturdy adjectives that describe their lives, and become “secure humans.”

And I may as well find some sturdy adjectives to describe myself too.

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Using my device for good. Every night.

Oh, bedtime.                      book cover (1)

Some nights it is such a struggle.  Some nights I have to raise my voice and pull out my mean mommy routine to get teeth brushed and pj’s on and little ones into their beds.  The stalling is just so exhausting.

Especially after a long mommy day.

A tired mommy is a frustrated mommy.  Not the way I want to end the day with my children.

I want the day to end on a comforting thought, with values passed on and reminders that I love them no matter what.  Thoughts and ideas that don’t make it in to the atmosphere of cleaning up the breakfast dishes, putting away clean clothes and studying for our timed times test.

That’s why I wrote, A Life of Great and Wonderful.

It’s a reminder for me.

If I have the words in front of me I have the tools to end the day in a gracious, comforting way that is soothing to my children and to me.

These are the messages I want pickling their sweet, wild minds when they are without me:  in their camp bunk, or their barracks, or their dorm room.

I want to remind these sweet precious souls how much they mean to me, to our family, to our community and to the world.

If you would like your own digital copy to read to your children, click here.

Turn out the lights, dim down the screen on your phone or tablet, and soothe.

Sleep well.  Everyone.  Sleep well.

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For reading aloud after lights out. (From my phone)

You are How You Act

Tonight I want you to know –you are how you act.

If you act scared.  You will be scared.

If you act sad, you will be sad.

If you act mean, people will think you are mean.

And thankfully, the opposite is true, so true.

To be happy, act happy.

To be courageous, act courageous.

To be friendly, act friendly.

Outwards signs reflect our inward thoughts.

What you think about inside will show up on the outside.

You are how you act.

Act like the cold doesn’t bother you.  Act like that last mile is easy.  Act like you know those 7’s multiplication facts…  and you will!  Especially if you act like you’ve been practicing!

The thoughts you think on the inside show up on the outside.

Outward signs reflect our inward thoughts.

Choose your thoughts well.

And remember you are how you act.

Deep breath.

Close your eyes.

Be still and quiet and you will go to sleep.

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