Call Me Bookworm

I have always loved to read. I remember going to the library as a grade schooler to pick out books. I read every Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew book on the shelves. The Little House on the Prairie books, and hundreds more. I went through library cards (in the old days, when they stamped your card with the date your books were due and when you filled it up you got a new one) like my kids go through a gallon of milk.

Some days when the weather was nice and my mom would throw us all out of the house for our health and hers, I would take my book and climb up into the apple tree to read. At least I was exercising my mind!

As you can imagine, I don't have as much time to read as I used to, but I still love it. I have come to understand just how right my mother was when she said Readers' Digest is perfect for moms. The articles are short enough to finish in a day or maybe two if things are really bad.

Last fall a neighbor told me I had to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Since my reading time is limited, I'm always glad to get a recommendation for something good. I don't have much time to wander the stacks at the library or to work my way through a disappointing read. So, I put my name on the list at the library.

Trouble was, when I got the book I only had a few days to read it since there was a waiting list. And I barely got started before it was due. So a friend bought the book and gave it to me to read first. It's been sitting here waiting on me. I read a few pages here and there, but I finally sat down Sunday to really read it.

Now I'm in trouble because I can't stop. It's good. Really good. Really, really good.

Today I read while I folded clothes. While I washed dishes. While the kids ate lunch. I read while I unloaded the dishes, and if I could figure out how to make this coherent while I read, I'd be reading right now.

The best thing for me to do is stay up and finish this thing so my house doesn't sink any further into the morass. Which is a little ironic given that the story revolves around black maids in Jackson, Mississippi during the height of the civil right movement, and just reading about all their work makes me tired.

If you haven't read it, get a copy of The Help. It is a great book. The story is compelling and so are the characters. I don't know how it ends, but I can't wait to find out!

How about you? What's the best thing you've read lately?

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Assign Me A Dewey Decimal Number

Today I went to the library so I could participate in a conference call without interruption.

It was bliss.

I now want to live in the library.

It's quiet. It's well-organized. They have Wi-Fi and outlets for my laptop. The bathrooms were clean, and I wasn't responsible for cleaning them. I could comfortably sleep under or on one of the large study tables. As long as it's quiet, I believe I could sleep anywhere.

And then there are, of course, the books. Stacks and stacks of books waiting to be devoured in the peace and quiet.

Heaven on earth.

I have always been a reader and a big supporter of libraries. I just never appreciated them as a potential domicile until this point in my life. You know, the point at which I'm surrounded by mostly-controlled chaos and four small children who are both energetic and LOUD.

Reading to the boys and Amelia ~ April 2008 ~ 6 months old.

I must admit my reading has fallen way off since the boys came. I still find time to squeeze a few books in, but far fewer than I used to read, unless you count Goodnight Moon; Little Red Riding Hood; Moo, Baa, La-la-la and a host of other children's books.

I must admit that I love, love, love children's books, and I love, love, love reading to Amelia, especially now that she enjoys books with more of a story to them. (Seriously, the nonsensical baby books are enough to make the staunchest supporter of reading to kids want to chuck in the towel.)

We like to get a really close-up view of our books around here.

Here's a list of a few of our favorite books for preschoolers that we have checked out of our local library recently:

Yum, Yum, What Fun! by Mara Bergman
Snip, Snap What's That? by Mara Bergman

Eating Up Gladys by Margot Zemach
Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear by Emily Gravett
Will You Carry Me? by Heleen van Rossum
Sticky People by Tony Johnston
Granny's Dragon by Lisa McCourt
A Piece of Chalk by Jennifer A. Ericsson
My Father, the Dog by Elizabeth Bluemle
Gulliver Snip by Julia Kay
Monster Toddler by John Wallace

Since I doubt my local library would allow me take up residence, and my husband probably wouldn't approve of that move either, I'll have to content myself with more frequent visits to check out more great books like these. Maybe I'll even pick up a few things for myself.

© Trippin' Mama 2010

Mom's Night Out

Thursday night I went to a Mom's Night Out for a group for families with triplets or more. They were a great group of women, and it was good to connect with them. They answered my questions, but didn't scare me with their horror stories -- and I'm sure they all have some.

Since I just joined the group, I got a couple books and lots of other good information. Anyone expecting multiples should get the book, "When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads: Proven Guidelines for a Healthy Multiple Pregnancy" by Dr. Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlein. And get it as soon as you find out your coming bundles of joy number more than one.

If you can't find it at your local bookstore, it's on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Expecting-Twins-Triplets-Revised/dp/0060542683/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210447048&sr=1-1.

This is real, research-based nutrition for a multiple pregnancy. Women in Dr. Luke's Multiples Clinic who follow the guidelines in this book have triplets that weigh 35% more than the national average for triplets. When you consider than the average weight for a triplet at birth is only 3 pounds, a 35% increase makes a big difference!

The good news is that I'm eating a lot of the right foods. But, I haven't put on enough weight fast enough. Early weight gain would be crazy in a singleton pregnancy, but the average triplet pregnancy is 30 weeks -- 10 weeks shorter than with just one. That means there's no time to lose. Triplets generally don't get the advantage of those last two months of time to grow. So you've got to grow them big early!

With that, I think I'll go have a milkshake...