The Fish Pond

Oranges, Oranges, Oranges, and the Oddest Meme Ever

Last weekend we went to a birthday party at a friend's house, and as part of the yummy yummy lunch they served orange slices. Now, I tend to not ever buy oranges, even though I love them, because I hate to peel them (am lazy, yes.) and I hate the ooky white stuff. For some stupid reason my small brain never ever came up with the idea to slice the oranges. Slices! Joy! I cannot get enough of orange slices. Maybe it's the having been sick and my body is craving vitamin C? Fortunately for me none of the kids like them except Sunny, so I have little competition for them right now. Am now regretting only having peapod bring me two oranges instead of an entire bag (I order in small quantity because I have a tendency to buy something while craving it and then the craving is satisfied in one serving or so and I HATE when the food sits around and goes bad). They also had a Wii, complete with Guitar Hero III and two guitars, and now wii want one.

Anywho.

Uncle Orca/Agincourtdb, our illustrious Manny, has tagged me with an odd sort of meme, but it involves books and I LOVE books so I'm doing it. Here's what you do:

1. Grab the nearest book with at least 123 pages.

2. Go to page 123.

3. Type in the following three sentences.

4. Tag some number of people.

So, without further ado, from String of Lies by Mary Ellen Hughes, a mystery writer I have recently discovered, two of whose books my family gave me for Christmas and I'm finally getting around to reading:

"Loralee," Jo heard Loralee's friend Betty ask, "have you decided on buying a condo?"

Loralee looked up from her bead board on which she had lined up several pink beads of various sizes. She shook her head.

Not near as relevant as the book he chose, but fun, nonetheless. So! Now I tag some people, um, Carmen, Angi, Summer, Hokgardner, and Redneck Mommy. Mostly cause I want to know what ya'all are reading.

Tooting My Own Horn

We got back from Illinois this morning at 1 am. I am exhausted, physically and emotionally. I will write a real post later, all about the trip, but I got a nice surprise today. On Friday while I was on the road, my piece about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that I wrote for Props and Pans got picked up by Reuters UK. Cool, huh?

Pregnancy in the Moment

Who better to review a pregnancy book than someone who's been pregnant four times? Well, maybe someone who has been pregnant more than four times, but probably I have enough experience to offer something good here. When The Parent Bloggers asked for people to review a new pregnancy book called Body, Soul and Baby, by Tracy W. Gaudet, M.D. and Paula Spencer, I thought that maybe I have a large enough audience among the 10 or so of you who regularly come here who would be interested in this book, so I decided to give it a shot.

Body, Soul, and Baby is a meaty book, more than 500 pages, and it may be intimidating to some due to its sheer volume, but those who are persistent will find a gem of a pregnancy book, unlike any I've ever encountered. In addition to providing basic information about the medical aspects of pregnancy, development of your baby, and labor coping strategies, it teaches you how to care for all aspects of you - your body, your mind, your soul. It does this by encouraging you to be mindful of your pregnancy - all parts of it - to make decisions and live with purpose instead of letting your pregnancy just happen to you. It covers from pre-conception through a lengthy section on the postpartum period, not just a few pages but several chapters.

Of particular interest to me was both the treatment of c-sections and postpartum depression. I was thrilled to find that c-section was not treated as an afterthought, but rather had a lengthy section devoted just to it, the reasons one might be needed, what would happen, how to care for yourself afterward, and how to be at ease with getting one should you need it. I found some previous pregnancy books to be a bit dismissive of c-section or cover it in such a way that scared the crap out of me about how awful a c-section would be. As the veteran of four of them, one of which after 19 hours of labor, I can attest that while they carry more risk than a vaginal delivery, they aren't THAT bad, and I was happy to read a book that seemed to hold the same opinion.

Postpartum depression was extensively covered, including ways to decrease your risk of developing it, coping strategies if you do, how to recognize it, and ways that it may be treated. It was the most comprehensive coverage of postpartum depression that wasn't a book exclusively devoted to the topic that I'd ever seen. It also covered depression during pregnancy, something I most likely was suffering from during my pregnancy with Nemo, and something that I don't think I've seen even mentioned very often elsewhere.

I like this book, and I recommend it to anyone who is either pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant in the future. It is comprehensive without being frightening. The positive approaches teach you to nurture yourself as you prepare to nurture your baby - just what every new and prospective mom needs.

Cut Yourself Some Slack

As you probably know, I live in the Washington, DC metro area.  In fact, I live in one of the more expensive places in the country, and the most educated.  Washington is home to the Nationals, the Redskins, the Wizards, the Capitals, and DC United.  It is home to the the monuments, the President, the government.  And it is home to the Competimommy, the Sanctimommy, the self-rightous, the extreme parent.

I try my best to go against the tide here.  I shoot for slacker mom, and I succeed about 75% of the time.  I don't believe I am in charge of my kids' happiness.  I don't believe they will suffer from lack of attention from me; in fact, I believe a bit of benign neglect benefits us all.  I am a lousy housekeeper, and if someone mentions anything about it to me I am much more inclined to suggest that they clean it up their damn selves than I am to feel any pressure to do any more about it than I would normally.

But bucking the system around here is tough.  Real tough.  There aren't many around me who are publicly like me.  Your kids must be in the best preschool program, the best enrichment classes, the top sports teams.  If you express that you don't believe any of those things is necessary, you may as well announce that you are giving birth to a martian at 7 pm tonight for all the positive reaction you'll get.

I am just now starting to find my groove as a mom of four, now that Nemo is six months old and not necessarily attached to my person all the time.  For me, it is an absolute necessity that I not be Supermom; I will end up on the psych ward.  I constantly search for ways to avoid getting sucked into the Bree Van de Camp lifestyle, but around here it is oh, so very very hard.  Especially when you are overwhelmed and sleep deprived.

So when the Parent Bloggers asked for people to review the book Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box by Ann Dunnewold, I jumped all over it.  Usually when I get a book to read I have it done in about three days; I've had this book for over a month and just finished it last night.  The tag line is "Cut Yourself Some Slack (and Still Raise Great Kids) in the Age of Extreme Parenting" and to me it feels like this book was written for everyone who lives in the DC area (and everywhere else, too). 

It took me so long to read this book because it requires a decent amount of reflection after each bit you read.  It teaches you how to reprogram the automatic thoughts in your head that kick yourself for not being Supermom into positive thoughts to teach you how to be the Perfectly Good Mom.  It gives you tips on how to avoid falling into the traps of extreme parenting and helps you learn how to connect with other mothers.

In short, it's a big ol' dose of perspective.  And sometimes we moms get so bogged down in the details of life that perspective is completely missing.  The book also offers practical tips on how to keep that perspective as we go through life each day.  There's even a chapter for Dads that includes advice on how to keep Dads from falling into the competidad trap, as well as advice on how parents can work together to keep each other sane and healthy.

It's hard work, I'll admit.  Real hard.  But aren't we worth it? 

This Is The Most Awesome Book. Ever.

So said BigDaddyFish a minute or so after I handed him The Dangerous Book for Boys.  Seriously.  He loves this book.  And so do the rest of the family members.

When the Parent Bloggers Network asked for people to review this book, I jumped right in, seeing as how I'm a girl and not well versed in the ways of boys, yet tasked with raising them and all I figured it would help me bond with my boys.  And it may very well.  I just have to get my copy of the book back.

I was intrigued by the title, the DANGEROUS book for boys.  I mean, what makes it so dangerous?  I still ponder this, because quite frankly, I think it's more an ADVENTUROUS book. 

Want to know how to tie a bowline knot?  It's in this book.  What about make the perfect paper airplane?  How about making a go cart?  Learning the basics of navigation?  Build a great treehouse?  Basic first aid?  It's all in there.

What I also like about this book is that in addition to the very practical knowledge, it includes much more intellectual subjects as well, such as grammar basics, as well as an explanation as to why grammar is important, which warms the heart of this English major to no end.  It lists poems every boy should know, sections on history (though to be fair, mostly military history), Shakespeare, latin, word origins, space, and the like.

And, of course, it addresses girls.  The brief section on girls is ... amusing, to a girl.  My only problem with this book is that it is for boys, and to my Free to Be You and Me raised self this bothered me quite a bit, because frankly the girls I like to hang out with get as much of a kick out of skipping stones and deftly tying knots as any boy.  And really, one of the things it says about girls is "Avoid being vulgar.  Excitable bouts of windbreaking will not endear you to a girl, just to pick one example."  Maybe not some girls, but I know girls who can get just as giddy about flatulence as the next boy.  But the final thing it says about girls is "Treat them with respect," and really, that's the most important thing, don't you think?

The Dangerous Book for Boys is a great book, for everyone, especially in this overly scheduled culture in which we now live.  My husband said he wishes he had this book when he was a kid.  I'm glad that my kids do.

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Guess what?  Parent Bloggers Network is giving away a North Face two-man tent as part of this campaign - just pop on over to the main website and tell the story of one of your childhood adventures on the campaign launch post or the mid-campaign post for your chance to win it.

Trout FishFamily, First Grader

Kindergarten isn't what it was when I was a kid.  When I was in Kindergarten, we learned how to share, our colors, and the alphabet.  When our school system went to full day kindergarten in 2004-2005, I expected it to be tough, but I still thought it would be more of the same, with nap time and maybe an extra story thrown in or something.  Clearly I was way delusional.  Since Trout has a late birthday, we made the decision to hold her back for a year, sending her to a private, half-day kindergarten one year and then moving on to the full-day kindergarten last year.  Oh, was I glad we did.

These days in Kindergarten, if you don't start school knowing all of your ABCs, in and out of sequence, upper and lower case; counting to about 30 or so; some basic set theory; how to write your first and last name; your phone number and address, you are already behind the day you start.  Knowing this, and knowing that Little Man is going from preschool to kindergarten without the benefit of the extra time Trout got, when the Parent Bloggers Network asked for signups for Let's Get Ready For.... I tried to sign up for the Kindergarten book.  Alas, the slots were full, and I didn't think too much more about it until they asked a second time for First Grade students to review Let's Get Ready for First Grade.  I told them Trout is currently in first grade, and since the books are supposed to be for entering first graders and Trout is a bit ahead in school I wasn't sure if we fit the bill, but I was willing to take a look anyway.  I expected that she'd know everything in the book already.  I was delighted to learn I was wrong.

Let's Get Ready for First Grade, available from Cedar Valley Publishing, is a neat little book that introduces the concepts that students should know by the time they complete first grade.  It is laminated so students can use a dry erase marker to answer questions and work on concepts over and over again.  Inside the front cover is a list of concepts that students need to know coming in to first grade, and based on our experience they are spot-on.

Like the current county curriculum, the book emphasizes reading and math skills, and I wasn't surprised that Trout knew all those concepts, given the amount of drilling that goes on every day in school.  What did surprise me was the information on science and social studies that the book covered, like the food pyramid (the new one, not the one we learned as kids), the major organs in the body, the concept of day/night caused by the earth's rotation, the planets in the solar system, and the names of the three branches of government.  Thus far none of those concepts has been covered by our school curriculum, and it was nice for Trout to be able to work on them.  The book did a good job, I think, in providing a good, high-level review of concepts needed by the end of the year.

So if you want a set of these books, go to www.parentbloggers.com and leave a comment as to why you need them in the announcement for the Let's Get Ready For.... campaign or mid-way through the campaign, and a winner will be picked at random at the end of the campaign.