A Minimalist?

Hello!

The other day Jack told me he was going to turn his room into a hotel room so he could create a spy movie. (The kid is always thinking about a movie to create.) So, after not hearing from Jack for a bit, I went up to his room and much to my HUGE surprise, he had taken EVERYTHING down off his walls. OH MY!

Please remember, that every inch of Jack’s walls had a poster, drawing, pennant, sports towel or bulletin board of some sort. I was a bit taken back.

“Why is everything off your walls?”
“I told you I was going to make my room look like a hotel room.”
‘”I guess you are. What else are you going to do?”
“I am going to take everything out of here and rearrange.”
“Where are you going to put all this stuff?”
“In the hall.”

Well, basically putting his bedroom in the hallway was NOT going to work and I suddenly found myself helping Jack for the next 4 hours clear out his room.

Here is Jack’s bedroom AKA a hotel room!


(The TV has been taken out and is not longer on the desk) Can you see all the white marks on his walls? Those are from the many tacs he used to hang everything on his walls.


Nothing on the shelves because hotel rooms do not have items on shelves.


The shelf unit in the lower left corner is no longer in the room.

When Jason saw it he said, “Cool dorm room!” He was quickly corrected.
Jack still hasn’t shot the movie. But, he has discovered “Basic” channels with is rabbit ears on the TV and is enjoying old shows on Me TV, such as Star Trek and Leave it to Beaver.

Priorities.

True Story…

Hello!

October is fire prevention month and I am glad to report the boys had an opportunity to practice their exit skills.

I was cooking dinner and suddenly the smoke alarms went off. (I must share this has not happened for a looooong time!)

Sam suddenly announces, “Get LOW, Jack!! We need to get out!” Of course, Jack headed down to the floor to join Sam army crawling to the front door. And then, this is true, CHARLIE got in between the boys and made herself low to crawl out with the boys.

Not the best picture, but you get the idea. I thought Charlie was on my side…that we gals were going to stick together! Nope, even she enjoyed making fun of my cooking!

Just Finished…

Hello, Fellow Readers!

I just finished
The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas

Image result for the hate you give

From Amazon:

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

Wow. This book was hard to read at times due to the range of emotions that you go through chapter by chapter, but a HUGE eye opener. It brings a different perspective of police shootings of African Americans. It made me start to think how shootings are reported by the media. We usually hear about the police side of the story and rarely do we hear from the victims family or friends. This story is about the issue of police brutality from the perspective of the victim’s loved ones. Too many people are quick to jump to the conclusion that somehow the victim “deserved it”, particularly when the victim is black. Lost in all of this is how the families and communities are affected.   The Hate U Give isn’t about a movement. It’s about black lives living, and about black lives loving, and about black lives pursuing happiness and deserving freedom—just like everyone. This novel’s protagonist is sixteen years old, and she lives without an ulterior motive or agenda. Starr is just a girl who experienced a horrific tragedy, and the novel follows her journey through her grief and self-actualizations.

I am actually going to have Sam read this book. I think it provides a different insight with everything that is gong on in the world.

Definitely a 5 out of 5 stars.

Happy November!

Welcome Back!

Happy November Second!
(That smile just cracks me up!)

(This post was scheduled for Nov. 1, but since the Halloween post went up yesterday, everything is set back a day!)

You lucky viewers! Now with our new little girl, Charlie, you get to see all sorts of pictures, enjoy stories and hear about our adventures with her!

Going Old School…

Happy Halloween!

Jack (on the right) and his good friend since preschool, headed out for Trick or Treating on Monday night. It was VERY COLD! The wind made the temperature feel like 26 degrees! Brrrrr!

The boys planned and made their costumes last weekend. They went as  Old School Ghosts. They took a sheet, cut some eye holes, HOT GLUED the sheet to a stocking cap (so they wouldn’t have to fight it flying off in the wind) and they were good to go!

As you can see, the eye holes were a bit of a challenge.

They also chose to carry Old School Plastic Pumpkins, but knew the handle would be uncomfortable when the pumpkins became full of candy. So, they found some small/mini paint rollers and made them into their handles. You can see the end on Jack’s pumpkin. Perfectly comfortable!

When Jack got home, I started to check the candy for razor blades and took out what he wouldn’t want to eat (heehee.) I mentioned that he didn’t have as much as other years. He said he and his friend had so much fun hanging out tonight…it really wasn’t about the candy anymore.  That’s awesome you two enjoy each others company so much, I told him.

And then I realized, I am going to have to start buying Halloween candy for myself, because Jack’s stash just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

Just in Case…

Welcome Back!

As you may know, Sam loves shoes. He follows other Sneaker Heads on instagram. He saves his money and mowing money to buy shoes. He tells me about all the new released shoes and shows me pictures of them.

So what do you do when you have a new dog and are afraid she might chew on them?

Make your shoes a part of your mother’s  decorations.

Congratulations!

Welcome Back!

Warning: Brag Post!

Just want to congratulate Sam on his academic award!

We received a letter that Sam was being honored with an academic award. I didn’t realize it was gong to be such a big deal until I got there! The National Anthem was sung, the choir sang the Alma Mater Ankeny song, a guest speaker spoke and then 320 kids were awarded their academic letter. So proud of this guy…he works hard and it has paid off!

On a different note. People are always saying how tall Sam is…I know he is, but I guess I didn’t realize how tall until I was able to spot him very easily when walking into the gym.

My mom is almost 6″ and her sister was 6′. My cousin is 6’7″.  My dad is 6’2″ and small for the men in his family, so you can see where Sam gets his height. It comes naturally. I remember being able to find my mom in a crowd or when shopping because she was a head above everyone else! Now I can find Sam in a crowd!

And…I caught him looking for me and finding me!! (sigh)

As Jack says, “Good things happen to good people when they do good things.” I couldn’t agree more.

Just Finished…

Hello, Fellow Readers!

I just finished another amazing story!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
 by Gale Honeyman

Image result for eleanor ophelia is completely fine

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. Eleanor lives alone and doesn’t have any friends, but that’s okay. She’s doing real well, thank you very much.

Except maybe she isn’t.

I read the following review and it hits the nail on the head with how I would review the book and about the story and Eleanor. While reading I kept thinking about the book A Man Called Ove. As you learn more about Ove, you fell more and more in love with him. You will do the same with Eleanor. Ove was funny, tragic, sad and heartwarming. You will find that with  Eleanor. You will cheer for Eleanor through the story, just like you did with Ove.

This book actually turned out to be one of those perfectly-balanced sad/funny books. Maybe like some combination of The Rosie Project, Me Before You, Finding Audrey and A Man Called Ove. It takes a serious, traumatic issue and weaves it into a warm, funny and, yes, sometimes sad tale.

I read a lot of books and many characters come and go. Some are well-developed and interesting, others less so. But on a rare occasion I find one of those truly memorable characters that will stay with me a long time. Eleanor is one of them. She is socially clueless in a way that puts my teen self to shame. She is literal to a degree that everyone finds odd. It’s painful to witness and yet so, so endearing.

I think I like this book so much because it is actually really sad, but never manipulative. On a surface level, it’s a very funny novel about a socially-inept twenty-nine year-old woman. Her attempts to become “normal” and integrate into society by having manicures and waxes are sources of hilarity. But it is very sad. It’s sad when we see her coworkers talking about her, but Eleanor is oblivious to their scorn. It’s sad how alone in life she is. It’s sad when she “falls in love” with an idea of a person.

It’s not a romantic book and I’m glad. There are hints that the central relationship will eventually develop into romance, but this is really a book about Eleanor. I am thankful that the author didn’t cure Eleanor and lead her out of the darkness by having her fall in love.

I really enjoyed it. It’s great to find a book so packed full of emotion without seeming overly-sentimental.

This is one of my favorite reads and was sad to see it end.
I would give this one a 5 out of 5 stars!

 

Hello!

Wanted to let you know that I am still around, but have taken a bit of time off due to a new member of our family!

Meet Charlie!

or should I say Smilin” Charlie? ❤️

It happened VERY suddenly and unexpectedly. SHE is an 11 month old Golden Retriever. She is super sweet, but still has some puppy left in her. 🙂 It’s been an adjustment for all of us and at times I think she is training us! Stop by again to check out updates on our new adventure!!