resolution-ish

We ended up choosing to read Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls. I had several great suggestions for our next books and am looking forward to picking up the different holds at the library. Which brings me to one of my semi-serious (as in, I'm taking it seriously. mostly.) New Year's resolutions. I don't really do resolutions, although this year I thought about how, if I had to choose one, it would be to stay committed to all of this self-work and listening to myself and continuing to push aside the extras cluttering up my mind so that I can see more clearly. Etcetera. Peace of mind and all that.

However, in addition to all of that goodness, I had another semi-official-ish resolution about not having quite as many over-due items at the library (and at blockbuster and other such places, but mostly the library, because that is where I am most frequently). And to keep my fines (if overdue items do happen...) to a minimum and paid. So far- I am quite pleased to say- I have had just three overdue items- one specifically when I was too sick to return it. And, the really exciting part is that when I went to pay my fine, I thought I would owe $2.15 (the um dvd's are $1.00/day) I only really owed $.15 for the one book that was one day late. Hurray. I was so excited. Perhaps the library angels turned back the computer clocks for me? I've no idea. My account, though, is currently paid in full, with no overdue items to speak of. Which feels really, really good and much more doable than I had initially thought.

Two kids, two computers

Thank goodness. There is still some scuffling over who uses which and when, but it has mellowed out quite a bit since we figured out the sound on one of them and added a second wireless mouse. Now Webkinz can be played seamlessly on either.

books

After finishing The Wind in the Willows recently (which, by the way, we really enjoyed. the language and story telling- not to mention the characters- were lovely.), we decided to read something completely different and chose Matilda. We read quite a bit of Roald Dahl a few years ago, but stopped when we got to some of his more gruesome stories, including Matilda, The BFG and The Witches. The timing was right for Matilda this time around, although I have to say I had forgotten just how thick Roald Dahl lays it on with some of his nastier characters. Toward the end of the book, Samuel mentioned that since he has now read so many different kinds of stories, he was trying to find something redeeming in Miss Trumchbull's character. He lamented that he could find nothing and said he remembered {now} how with this writer (Roald Dahl), the mean characters were usually just that- mean. Without a single redeeming quality to be found. Yep.

Then we had a discussion about Miss Trunchbull vs Professor Umbridge {in Harry Potter}. (who, by the way, i nearly stopped reading order of the phoenix because of- because i found her so loathsome.) Samuel thought that Professor Umbridge was the worst of the two, hands down- although they are both, obviously, cut from the same villainous cloth. I think the thing about Miss Trunchbull that redeems her a little bit is that she *is* just plain mean. One of the scariest parts about Professor Umbridge's character is that she thinks she is doing the right thing. Miss Trunchbull punishes the children because she dislikes them. She also thinks that children will always be bad. While she may hope that they will stop doing whatever it is she is punishing them for, she has few illusions that they will ever really change (at least not until they have grown up). Professor Umbridge, on the other hand, actually hopes to change Harry {and everyone else} for the greater good, which, by the way, she believes she stands for. Both characters definitely gave me enough pause (and obviously we've all given them quite a bit of thought) for the time being.

I was hoping to read Treasure Island next, but Eva is adamant about not reading it right now. I'm not sure why. I'm holding onto it, but still need to find something {else} to read next. Maybe another Roald Dahl? I'm not sure. I'd also like to mix it up a bit and choose something quite different altogether {again}.

game day

I'm really excited about trying out the game Go after seeing it played at a game day for tweens the kids and I went to yesterday. The game day itself was a mixed bag. Samuel had been looking forward to playing several different games with some of the other kids- some that we took and maybe trying out a few other games. We took Battleship, Stratego and Carcassone. I had my doubts about Carcassonne being played but I thought Battle ship and Stratego were a shoe in. (And, it turned out I got to explain Carcassonne to one of the other moms there, which was fun.) He did end up playing a few games of Stratego (and some Connect Four) and one girl even asked to buy it when she got home. So that was fun, too. But there were no takers for Battleship, which surprised me. The real bummer was that *most* of the kids stayed in one large group and played a single game together that way. And, I don't think there were quite a many kids there as had planned, which may have contributed to the game play as well.

Eva really enjoyed her Valentine making class today at The Warehouse with Portland Art Adventures. Both kids have taken several classes with Becky and they have enjoyed the classes and really like her as a teacher/ facilitator. Eva has just signed up for a few more of the upcoming classes. One of the reasons I think both kids are enjoying the classes so much- and why Eva has signed up for more- is the format of most of the classes. Becky brings in a ton of different materials for the specific project and the kids can use them how they like. For the Valentine class, she had boxes, card stock, ribbons, fabric, feathers. So much to choose from in the name of pink and red and purple.

daffodils!

Eva and I went for a walk today to the park and lo and behold, we saw our first daffodils. I LOVE daffodils, so I took a picture for posterity. Yesterday, we saw the first crocuses in our own yard and on our walk we saw several others popping up in other yards, both yellow and purple. The snowdrops are also in full bloom right now, along with the wood violets. I still have quite a bit of clearing out to do in a few of the violet patches and would love to finish it all up in the next couple of days. We'll see if the weather continues to allow for that kind of time spent outside. My roses are nearly all pruned. It seemed to go so quickly this year and I was reminded today when I was clearing away some more leaves in the front yard that Eva pruned over half of them and most of them in the front yard!



Snowdrops in our front yard.



Daffodils on the way to the park.

More pictures from our trip to Seattle

The kids had a lot of fun with the giant chess set at the Pacific Science Center-











Samuel at the top of the Space Needle.



All four kids (Samuel, Vivian, Eva and Sabine) in front of a Totem Pole at Seattle Center after the Harry Potter exhibit.



Butterflies in the butterfly exhibit at the Pacific Science Center.