My apologies {or excuses}

I'm bored with my own thoughts recently.

Does anyone else get that way?

Re-reading Anne of Green Gables, and all I want to do is shut myself up in an old attic with a writing desk in front of a bright window and write about girlhood and sisters and so many romantic notions that I hold dear.

Seeing as I have no character of my own, just a conglomeration of all my favorites {Jo March, Jane Eyre, Anne Elliot}, I'm losing myself in Anne Shirley's provincial life.

That and my sewing machine.

News bulletin: I got a new sewing machine!
I can't remember if I bemoaned my broken sewing machine when it first started to go {while I was quilting a gift for a baby being delivered the next morning}. DH slaved over it for hours and restored it for one more use. Only to have it break again mid-project {due that evening - must stop procrastinating tomorrow}. I was done fighting with that machine. Hubby could see it in my eyes.

My old machine for its temperamental nature, had sentimental value. It was DH's gift to me when big one was born, a 'push present.' At that time, I only sewed at Christmas when I felt compelled to make homemade gifts using my grandmother's original 1930's Singer. A beautiful, tiny powerhouse with a perfect straight stitch. Perfect because it could do nothing else. I made a tragically home-ec Christmas skirt that my dear sister still wraps around her tree every year - I love her for that.

Maybe it was the 40 stitches or my new identity as a SAHM, but I sewed the stuffing out of that welcome-to-maternity machine. Sewed through tension nightmares. Sewed through layer after layer of thick fleece and flannel. Sewed my first dress and my first free motion quilt. Until the machine cried, 'uncle,' seized up, and died.

{Did I mention I got a new sewing machine??}

I spent days hours reading reviews, consulting more experienced seamstresses {everyone has a different, equally valid opinion} trying to spend my very respectable budget wisely. Between sewing machines and baby names, I cringed at the computer screen. Until I made my decision {in case you are curious - the Brother PC-420 PRW}.

Then I couldn't be bothered with the computer screen because I have a brand new LED screen on my brand new sewing machine with 200 stitches {!!}. Which is of course why I'm working on my most monotonous project since diapers - fabric banners for the nursery.

Despite the excitement over the new machine and the escape into a good book, this week has been a trial. My girls are whirling through the house leaving the damage path of a tornado.

A glimpse into the tumultuous routine at the renaissance house: Just this morning, the girl wonders took apart their princess tent and used the poles to knock all the 'no touches' off of their dresser. Momma's not up for much these days, certainly not cleaning up raging messes. I've resorted to competition and prizes {a third 'third trimester' is ruining my parenting ideals} - the best cleaner gets to choose the before lunch movie. The first day, Gwennan thought she would strong arm influence her sister into the movie of her choice. Afton raced from toy to bin and proudly announced that we would be watching The Lion King, again. Since then Gwennan has cleaned with a desperate frenzy to ensure that we get to watch a princess movie.

After reading this, you may be bored with my thoughts this week, too. I don't blame you {and I did warn you}. Some weeks are just unliterary. I guess that's my excuse and apology. My brain is fogged by screaming kids, hormones, and nursery decor. While my brain clears, might I suggest re-reading a childhood favorite? I hear Anne of Green Gables is pretty good.

Peace in the stacks

We have days: Monday grocery shopping, Wednesday library {most weeks}, Friday day off with Daddy. Weekly rituals give something to anticipate and add structure to lives that lean towards the reactionary, which wheel squeaks the loudest.

This morning, after two years of library trips, I realized I was breathing easily at the library. A little girl was crying and whining, her mom trying every trick to calm her. My girls kept giving her the 'seriously, get a grip' look while I browsed the non-fiction shelves for school material. Small one sat with a modest stack of board books, happily flipping pages, pointing out animals. Big one lost herself in the Illustrated Grimm Brothers. They sat like that for thirty minutes{!}. I finished before they did. A family milestone.

How did this happen?

Our first library trips were nightmarish. Big one emptied the board book bin all over the floor and ran circles around the circulation desk while we checked out. Small one wrapped her body around a book and screamed torture if you tried to remove it - we worked out a system where I held her over the counter and the librarian scanned the clutched book. We barely made it to the library once a month because momma couldn't take it.

Even a few months ago, small one ran the stacks in a peace disturbing game of hide and seek. Big one sat down next to a stranger and told him she wore 'big girl panties' all the time. And I snatched books of the shelf without cracking the covers hoping a few would prove school worthy.

A peaceful library trip is such a small thing, yet my heart sings. The library is one of my happy places - all those books that I don't have to pay for. Made even better by sharing it with the girls. Especially if we can enjoy the literary wonder without ruining it for others.

At least until little man discovers the board book bin...

The library is our greatest home teaching resource, even over free coloring pages. I want more for my family than an education. Recognizing the ABC's is not enough, a subgoal really. What good is reading if you hate opening books? My homeschooling hope is that they become life-long learners, seeking information after degrees are earned, when no one is testing their knowledge or offering career incentives.

A questioning mind complemented by a library brimming with answers are true tools of learning. When the girls bound for and squeal over new books, curiosity sprouting, we're on the right track.

What I'm Reading

Baby, it snowed outside. The girls and I are stuck inside again.

If I had nothing else to do, I would make a huge pot of tea and read, curled up in our big blue papasan chair. But really, who can afford such self-indulgence?

It got me thinking about the books I love right now, and I thought I'd share.

For G:

• The Jesus Storybook Bible - amazing. No, AMAZING!! Tim and I enjoy this one as much as Gwennan. In fact, the other day, I closed it after reading the 10 plagues and said, "This is the best book. Wait, this really IS the best book."
• Is Your Mama a Llama - I love the rhymes in this one. It's so sing songy that G bobs when we read it,
• The Belly Button Book - "beebo." Who wouldn't love a story about hippos and their belly b's?

For Me:

• Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass - We watched Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" the other day, so I wanted to read Lewis Carroll. Not sure where Tim Burton came up with the plot of his movie, but I rather liked it. Alice in Wonderland was a reread from my college children's lit class, and I enjoyed it, again. This was my first time with Through the Looking Glass, and well, it was odd.
• A Study in Scarlet - The first adventure of Sherlock Holmes. I just started this one, and I love Doyle's writing style as well as his cooky characters. In case you think my taste random, it is a little bit. I'm on a classics streak right now because they are free to download to my phone (love public domain!!), and my phone is the most portable, easiest to use while nursing  reading device I have.
• Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe - I've been working on this one for a while because it's just too meaty to read in one sitting. Fantastic book that covers the foundations of Christian belief.

That's my reading list during this cold month. What are you reading???

A Bad Habit Faced

Confession... I'm a lousy reader... now. Why? Hulu. Is it really their fault? Of course not. They provide the material at my mouse click with limited commercials 24 hours a day. But I'm the lazy bum who frequents the site.

I used to read for the joy of it. When I was little, the library offered a reward system in which you received a free personal pan pizza after 20 or 25 books. I think I earned them every other week. I had a laundry basket to hold all my library books. I remember getting so caught up in whatever I was reading that I would pray for the characters at night.

Then, library fines caught up to me, really to Tim. I think he might have a most wanted poster in the Knoxville Library System for borrowing over a dozen books and keeping them for more than 6 months. We actually received a notice that it would start affecting his credit if we did not return the books. Yikes!

I was afraid to reenter the library at that point. But that did not stop me from going to McKay's - the best used bookstore maybe on the planet (probably not, though). I got lost in McKay's, wandering up and down aisles of great classic works and modern Oprah Book Club picks and Children's books - Oh, how I love children's literature! If I could make a career out of loving children's literature, I would! I want to be the lady who dresses up and reads amazing tales to small children every Thursday at 11.

So what's happened to me? I can't blame it on being burned out from school. If anything, grad school trained me to read longer and smarter.

In fact, I still love to read, once I actually open the book. But 90% of the time, when I get a free moment, instead of opening a book, I crack open the computer. Before I know it, a TV show is playing. Keep in mind, I would never miss the shows if I didn't turn them on. I don't spend all week thinking, "I wonder what happened on Flash Forward or Fringe?" I don't care.

Theoretically I'd rather be reading. And my mind (probably my writing, too) would benefit. So I'm starting an experiment. I am breaking from Hulu (couple time with Tim excluded) and spending my resting time reading - reading paper pages, not just webpages.

First on my list, catch up on my "read through the Bible" plan, then finish the really interesting book in the women of India that I started a month back. Wish me luck!