Books I’ve Read Recently

I don’t feel like I’ve done much reading since last I posted one of these updates. I think probably because it’s summer, and everyone is home, so I feel like a bit of a turd if I excuse myself to read for hours. I think it’s that and the Olympics have taken up every spare minute of my free time lately.

Moving on, here’s what I’ve made it through recently. Notice my excitement? Does it seem like there’s nothing good to read right now?

Sisterhood Everlasting This is the follow up the the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Yes, I’ve read them all. This was a quick, enjoyable read and I’m not at all embarrassed to admit reading it. I mean, mostly not.

The Imperfectionists  I read this because it was recommended by something high brow like Entertainment Weekly or People for people who are enjoying the show The Newsroom. This was the most depressing book I’ve read in a very, very long time. Each chapter is the story of a different person involved with an international newspaper with flashbacks to the creation of the newspaper that all come together at the end. There wasn’t a single chapter that wasn’t a complete downer. There was one moment where I thought that perhaps something cute might be happening and it turned into something completely humiliating. And the bad thing that happens to one of the characters is so awful that I felt like the author had gone too far. I almost put the book down with 10% to go. The New York Times Sunday Book Review published a rather glowing piece, and I will admit that the stories tie in to each other quite nicely, but seriously. Depressing. In case I haven’t driven this point home, at one point one of the characters is looking for a job that won’t let her down, so she goes to work for Lehman Brothers. I mean, COME ON.

The Marriage Plot This was our book club book for July, my pick, and overall I enjoyed it. Some people went crazy for this book, and I always feel like I’m missing something when that’s the case. I liked it, but I’m not going to beg you to read it. The thing that I can’t really seem to let go is that despite the character Madeleine’s apparent fixation with “The Marriage Plot” this isn’t particularly well developed. For a book that was more thought than action, this kind of left me thinking that I had missed something.

Gone Girl Perhaps I should have just listened to Elizabeth when she said this:

And it felt so full of “tricksy little author tricks!”. Like, yeah, for you! You successfully made me like a character, and then changed my mind! And then you made me change my mind again! And then again! Fancy! Except I don’t care about that at all!

Unfortunately, I had forgotten that she said that, and listened to the rest of the internet. I liked this book until I was 51% of the way through. Then I spent the rest of the book being annoyed with the author.

Faithful Place This was my first Tana French, and sometimes Twitter doesn’t steer you wrong. I just really loved the writing and the story, even if crime novels aren’t necessarily my thing. I want to read everything she’s written.

I’m currently halfway through Gold, and I’m liking it, but I can’t yet recommend it. If I were in the habit of recommending books I liked at the halfway point, I would be telling you to read Gone Girl and One Day. I also have started Shadow of Night, but haven’t made any real progress. What should I read next? 

I’m a Potty Training Liar (Giveaway!)

After the long, drawn out process that was potty training Bub, I swore I would keep Bubette in diapers forever. We wouldn’t be in any hurry to potty train, because diapers are so EASY. And then she started to show an interest in the potty, which was a stark contrast from Bub who screamed NO for months whenever presented with the cute little frog potty. So, when Huggies offered to send me a few things to get our potty training jump started, I said yes and hoped for the best.

First of all, let me eat my words here. Personally, I am not a fan of licensed characters. I would prefer that my children’s stuff remain character free. However, when Bubette turned two and developed a love for all things Disney princess (is it in the vaccines or something?) I knew exploiting that a little bit might work to my advantage.

What I didn’t expect was her full-blown excitement over just the packages of Pull-Ups adorned with Cinderella that came in the mail, just for her. The fact that she gets to wear them? It’s almost too much for her to handle. So, of course I bought her princess underwear to sweeten the deal.

This hasn’t  been an overnight success for us, but MAN if things aren’t starting to click for her. She flips her tiny lid whenever she goes in the potty, cheers, dances and claps for herself. Potty training? Actually a little bit fun. (A little. It’s still PEE, after all.) One huge advantage on my side is that my husband is home all summer. (YOU GUYS. It’s been eight weeks, and he still has at least two more weeks before he goes back. I haven’t taken both kids ANYWHERE by myself in the past eight weeks. Not once.) That helps so that one of us can stay home with her while the other one runs Bub to school, or to the grocery store. I’m not a potty training expert by any means, but my  number one piece of advice is to go straight to underwear. We’re still diapering for naps and bedtime because we’re not crazy, but if we’re at home, it’s undies all the time. It’s a lot less fun (for everyone) when you pee all over yourself, rather into a super absorbent diaper. If we have to run an errand, she goes into a  Pull Up and it’s here that I invoke the power of the princesses. “Keep Cinderella dry, okay?” Amazingly, she does, but I’m still not ready to run the risk of wet clothes in public. I’ve already broken all of my lazy parenting rules to this point. I need a little more reassurance that she’s got this thing before I run the risk of wet clothes in Target.

So, nearly 500 words on potty training, and what’s in it for you? Huggies wants to send one of you the same package they sent me. Two packages of Pull Ups, a potty time watch, and a $25 gift card for purchasing potty training supplies.

To enter, leave a comment below. Be sure to include your email address. One comment per person. Giveaway closes Monday, August 20 at noon. Prize can only be shipped within the United States.

I was provided with the same items I’m giving away. All opinions are my own.

Energy

I need you to stick with me for a minute here.

I was talking to someone about my kids today. She was commenting on how nice it was for me to be out of the house, all alone. And that IS nice, of course. I enjoy being in the car alone, running errands in half the time, having the choice to buy a cupcake and not have to share.

I'm not sure how we got to this point, but she mentioned not even being able to make a phone call in peace. And THEN she mentioned that she had been told that there's a reason for that. The reason that children immediately need you the moment you take a phone call is because your energy is being redirected away from them. This is where you need to stick with me!

She contends that parents have an energy and your children are aware of this energy. They use it as a sort of echo-location and they're aware of where you are in relation to them. When take your energy and direct it elsewhere, particularly into a phone conversation where it's hard to multitask because you can only communicate by speaking and listening, (you cant see the person, they can't see you, so you need to focus on the phone) you've taken that energy away and they become aware of that void.

Now, a million disclaimers: this was a conversation had on a beach, in the middle of discussing party plans. She didn't cite her source and I've done zero minutes of research into her claims since then.

HOWEVER. Doesn't that make perfect sense? Or have I gone off the crazy Californian deep end?