Family

Aug 9, 2011

Because we buy books when we go on vacation

Last week, our family enjoyed a vacation to Toronto. (See yesterday’s post for the first installment of our vacation adventures.)

We enjoyed seeing the sights, doing some classic “touristy” things, and soaking in the experience of being in a different country…somewhere new. But one of my favorite things we did was visit a local bookstore. It was located on the main street in Old Toronto, and since we are admittedly a family of book people, we couldn’t resist.

Yes, we know we can buy books at home, anytime we want. Amazon.com is always standing by, awaiting our orders, ready to ship any desired tomes directly to our front door.

But still…a bookstore. We had to at least check it out.

Nicholas Hoare Books was a charming place, narrow and cozy, with a neat little balcony area and a sizable kids’ section in the back. We spent a fair amount of time browsing books that morning. And as I’m sure you can guess, we couldn’t leave there without letting the kids pick out a book or two.

***

C.(12) takes after his dad in some ways, such as the fact that they are both mildly obsessed with maps. Once C. saw the book Historical Atlas of Toronto, I don’t think he looked at anything else. It combines several of his favorite things: maps (of course), history, and a big city. Full of stories, maps, documents, and interesting facts, this book has already taught C. more about Toronto than any of us knew before. A good find and a suitable souvenir, I would say.

L.(5) had a harder time finding a book. He was instantly drawn to the newest Elephant & Piggie book, Should I Share My Ice Cream?, but he knew that book would be sitting on the shelves of our own Barnes & Noble, so he kept looking for something different. In the end, he picked a Dr. Seuss Dictionary (maps and dictionaries — our kids must take after their geeky parents), but I’m not going to tell you about that book.

The real find, as far as L. is concerned, is a little paperback that my husband, Chad, told me we “really should get.” It was a book I’d never seen before, but Chad had quickly read it while we were browsing and he knew that L. (and all of us, truth be told) would get a kick out of it.

Binky the Space Cat is a quirky book about Binky — a house cat devoted to protecting his humans — who has been given the opportunity to become an adventuring Space Cat. Along the way, he defends his home against bugs…er, alien invaders, builds a rocket ship, and prepares to leave the safety of his space station (aka, the house).

The author (Ashley Spires) clearly knows cats, and readers who know and/or love cats will appreciate Binky and all his feline idiosyncrasies.

Binky the Space Cat is a graphic novel loaded with cleverness and humor. I’m not exaggerating when I say that all four of us thoroughly enjoyed it. There were a couple little gags I could have done without (mostly because I have a 5-year-old who laughs a bit too hard when he reads the part about “aliens”/bugs who “eat poo”), but they were very minor and in my opinion, not enough to detract from the overall cuteness and enjoyability of Binky the Space Cat.

I was very glad to see on Amazon.com that there is a previous Binky book and one coming out in September. I wouldn’t be surprised if those books mysteriously find their way into our ~~space station~~ house at some point.

***

Like most families, we enjoy picking up a souvenir or two while on vacation. But with our family, you can be sure that somehow, at least one book will find its way home with us at the end of a trip.

***

I’m linking this post to 5 Minutes for Books’ monthly blog carnival, Kids’ Picks. Hop over there to see what books other kids have picked this month.

Filed Under: Family, Kids' Picks 13 Comments

Aug 8, 2011

Oh, Canada! (Part 1)

written by katrina · 11 Comments

My 12-year-old, C., has been proclaiming (frequently) his desire for two things: to go to a different country, and to visit and explore a big city. (For the record, he had very specific ideas on what constituted a “big city” — I think “millions of people” was part of the definition.)

And because I’m the best mom in the world (or so I’ve been told), I gave in to his ~~incessant demands~~ polite requests, and we all spent last week in the lovely city of Toronto.

We packed up the car on July 31st and hit the road bright and early. Okay, it was actually about 8:00 a.m., but in my opinion, that’s bright and early enough.

We made a few stops along the way — exploring some smaller towns and sights, and getting me a Starbucks Mocha because I am generally more pleasant to be with when I have a Mocha in hand.

As we crossed the Peace Bridge and approached the Canadian border crossing, L.(5) was not impressed, but C.(12) was very excited. This was it. He was actually in another country. Granted, that country is only a matter of hours from our home, but still. Another country. (For the record, C. was in another country — Mexico, to be exact — when he was two years old, but since he can barely remember it, it doesn’t really count in his book.)

Before heading to the thriving metropolis of Toronto, we spent the afternoon at Niagara Falls. We’d never been to Niagara falls; Chad and I had never even gone there during our growing-up years. So we couldn’t resist stopping to see this magnificent piece of nature.

And yes, the falls are amazing. They are loud and misty and overwhelming and huge and incredible, and I’m so glad we went.

Also, Niagara Falls itself — the town, the surrounding area — is a very busy tourist trap. At one point, I wanted to stand up on a pillar and tell everyone to move out of the way so I could get a decent picture. I didn’t of course, but I wanted to. Everywhere we went — every lookout, every walkway, every grassy expanse — there were tons of people. And it was hot.

I found out later that there were to be fireworks at the falls that evening, which could have contributed to the immense crowds of people. So I will give you some advice: if you choose to go to Niagara Falls someday, and if you care more about the falls than fireworks, do some advance research and go on a non-fireworks day.

So while I enjoyed the falls themselves (very much), I was hot and tired and sweaty and ready to be away from all the people by the end of the day. Somewhere around 7:00, we finally began our last leg of the journey — on to Toronto!

****

C. had been ~~pretty~~ very clear in his request to actually stay in a big city, as opposed to near a big city or even right next to a big city. So we chose to stay right downtown in Toronto, only about 2 blocks from the CN Tower.

If you’ve never heard of the CN Tower, scroll back up to my first picture. See that gigantic tower-thing in the Toronto skyline? Yeah, the big one? That’s the CN Tower. And that was C.’s top priority when it came to Toronto Sights to See.

Needless to say, Monday morning found us getting tickets to go to the top of the CN Tower.

There are several levels you can visit in the CN Tower. You have the basic Observation Level, the Glass Floor Level, and the Sky Pod (which, if you care to scroll back up to that first picture, is the little bump about half-way between the observationy-looking part of the tower and the very tippy-top of it). We did it all, and I admit, it was very cool.

[Don't ask me about L.'s "smile" in that picture -- he wasn't exactly feeling cooperative at that moment in time.]

We were there on a clear day and could see forever.

Coincidentally, the day we went was the CN Tower’s grand opening of their new “Edge Walk” attraction — whereby guests suit up and get strapped into harnesses and actually walk outside, on top of the observation levels, with no railings. We considered doing the Edge Walk. For about 0.02 seconds. And then quickly agreed that we weren’t even remotely interested in doing anything that insane, thankyouverymuch. We were quite content to stay behind railings and in nice safe enclosed spaces while viewing the city from more than 100 stories up.

We spent hours at the CN Tower that day, and though most of us were happy to be gazing at the surrounding city and Lake Ontario for most of the morning, one of us got a bit bored. And admittedly, I handed him an iPod touch and let him play Angry Birds in a corner while the rest of us continued our gazing.

You gotta do what you gotta do, sometimes.

***

I initially planned to tell you all about our vacation in one blog post. But it seems that I’m feeling a bit talkative, and I’ve most likely bored you enough for one day. So I’ll save the rest of our vacation exploits and pictures for another day. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Family 11 Comments

Jul 18, 2011

Forgiveness from a five-year-old

written by katrina · 5 Comments

I got L.(5) settled into bed Friday night, following the usual routine.

Jammies were on, teeth were brushed, and Daddy got his hugs and kisses. Then the two of us climbed into L.’s bed and read one of my personal favorites, Calvin Can’t Fly.

We talked about starlings and flying and books, and we giggled a bit.

But before L. started his bedtime prayer, I had to tell him something.

“L.,” I said. “Can you look at me?”

“Yeah, mom?” he asked, turning so his blue eyes took in my gaze.

“I need to tell you that I’m really sorry for yelling at you earlier today. Remember when I did that?”

“Yeah. When you were putting the bikes on the car.”

***

Earlier in the day, I’d had the bright idea to take both boys to the local bike trail, so the three of us could enjoy a little ride. The idea itself wasn’t bad, but perhaps the spontaneity wasn’t ideal.

I had never put the bike rack on the car before (Chad always does that). I had never put bikes onto the bike rack before (Chad always does that too). It was hot. And my bike is heavy and shaped in such a way that it has to be put on the rack in a really weird way (and yes, Chad always handles that part, too).

C.(12) was incredibly helpful, but still, at one point I found myself sweaty, frustrated, and holding a heavy bike up in the air while realizing that my current approach to bike-rack-loading was simply not working.

L.(5) — not wanting me to forget his bike — pushed his bicycle over just then and stood with it, right next to me, right under the bike I was holding in the air.

And…I’m sure you can see it coming. Instead of responding with grace and kind concern, I yelled at him. I snapped at him. I ordered him to get back in the garage and just. wait. right. there.

He did. Patiently, he sat in the garage and waited until I finished loading bikes.

Ugh. I’m embarrassed to even recall it. It wasn’t a pretty moment. Yes, I was concerned that I would drop a bike on him. But was my response the right one? Far from it.

***

“That’s right, buddy,” I continued, smoothing his bed quilt where it lay on his shoulder. “When I was putting the bikes on the car. I yelled at you to get back in the garage and that wasn’t very nice of me. I should have spoken to you more kindly, and I should have let you know that I was concerned, instead of just sounding angry. I’m really sorry, L.”

“Mom?” he said. “I really, really forgive you.”

And that was that. As far as he was concerned, it was over.

***

I wish I could say that this incident was 100% out of character for me. I wish I could say that I never, ever yell at my kids, and that I always speak to them with just the right amount of gentleness mixed with just the right amount of firmness, surrounded with just the right amount of love.

But I can’t. I don’t think of myself as a “screamer,” but there are days, there are moments, when I respond out of frustration rather than love, when I’m quick to yell instead of quick to communicate. When I over-react. When I snap at my kids.

There have been other nights like last Friday, where we get to bedtime and I once again look one of my sons in the eye and apologize for my behavior.

And time after time, I’m amazed at their response. Yes, they remember the moments I’m apologizing for, but they don’t hesitate to forgive me. They don’t tell me that they’ll “try” to forgive me.

They just do.

Right away.

Completely.

And it’s over. No hard feelings. No grudges.

Just forgiveness. And love.

The forgiveness my children offer me is a grace that overwhelms me. It reminds me of the sure and complete forgiveness God offers us when we confess our sins to Him. It is more than I deserve.

And it spurs me on, makes me want to be a better mom, drives me to prayer, asking God for the grace and help to love my children better today than I did yesterday, and to love them better tomorrow than I do today.

Filed Under: Faith, Family 5 Comments

Jul 5, 2011

A VBS-induced absence

written by katrina · 5 Comments

Multiple Choice Quiz

One week of Vacation Bible School is enough to:

a. Render me practically incapable of blogging, and of most communication with the outside world.
b. Cause me to nap every day; and not just light naps, but out-cold for-real-sleep naps.
c. Make me forget about the fact that I have not yet given away the gift certificates from Spring Reading Thing 2011 (ugh- sorry!).
d. Prevent me from noticing that a cup of milk has been sitting out all day…until my 5-year-old mentions that he drank his “breakfast milk” at 3:30 in the afternoon.
e. All of the above.

Correct Answer: e

Yes, last week was VBS week at our church. One week of Pandamania craziness. More than 600 kids and more than 300 volunteers. Singing, Bible stories, crafts, games. Getting up early, taking afternoon naps.

It was a great week. I loved working with a fantastic group of volunteers and seeing all the kids having such fun learning about God. But my favorite part of VBS is when I catch a glimpse of one of my kids thoroughly caught up in the moment, singing his heart out.

L.(5), singing during the "Rowdy Wrap-Up."

C.(12) was officially too old for VBS this year, so he spent last week volunteering (and he did a great job, by the way). But L.(5) was in a preschool “Bamboo Crew” and loved every minute of Pandamania. At one point, he asked if we could go to VBS twice each day.

[I told him that while that would be fun, and I would support him doing so, I had a feeling that all the grown-ups needed to go home and take naps, and would be unable to pull double VBS shifts all week.]

So while last week was really amazing, it was also really exhausting. Each day, we’d stumble into our house sometime before 1 p.m., I’d make lunch for the boys, sit bleary-eyed while they ate, and then announce the start of Nap Time.

Neither of them napped, because my kids are apparently blessed with some kind of freakish Neverending Energy, but I crashed every day into much-needed slumber.

And then it took me about 2.7 days to start feeling normal again, after VBS was over.

Here it is, Tuesday, and I think I’m mostly recovered. Well, to be honest, I still haven’t unpacked the backpack I used to carry all my VBS supplies and materials last week, and I have a VBS follow-up meeting later this week, but other than that, I think I’m mostly recovered.

So before something else comes along and completely distracts me, I’m going to draw the winners of the SRT ’11 gift certificates. And then tackle the piles of laundry that are waiting for me.

Filed Under: Everyday Life, Family 5 Comments

Jun 22, 2011

A mom-and-tween book club

written by katrina · 3 Comments

True confession: I’ve never been in a book club.

To clarify, I have participated in Bible studies and related book studies — usually weekly meetings, going through a particular topic or book. But I’ve never been part of those delightful-sounding gatherings: fiction book clubs. You know, where everyone reads the same novel and then gets together at the end to discuss it? Nope. Never been part of one.

I don’t really have a specific reason for my lack of book-club membership. If pushed to come up with an excuse, I suppose I’d say that it’s not easy for me to add things to my schedule. Between my husband’s out-of-town travel, kid and family and church activities, and my general homebody-ness, I find that my calendar is usually “full enough,” and I try not to mess with it too much. [I tend to become a bit unstable when the calendar squares begin to overflow.]

But I’ll be honest: part of me would someday like to give the book club scene a try.

Right now, however, I have something that just might be even better. I’ve instituted a summer fiction book club with C., my tween. Since he shares my love for reading, and is now at that age where he reads and appreciates some of the same books I do, I decided this would be the perfect time.

To begin, we picked The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. It’s perfect. C. has never read it, and I haven’t read it in ~~decades~~ years. It was one of my favorite books during my teen years, though, and I’ve been thoroughly looking forward to enjoying it once again. (Besides, Peter Jackson just started working on the movie version, which I am eagerly anticipating.)

We’re not doing the usual book club thing, where you read the entire book and then discuss it as a whole. Instead, we’ve decided to meet regularly and talk about each chapter as we read it. As you can imagine, the meetings will be frequent, but I’m not complaining. Reading a favorite novel with my tween and chatting about it regularly? That’s awesome in my book.

We had our first book club meeting last night, to discuss Chapter 1. We settled into our comfy swivel chairs (in our library, of course), and discussed Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves. We talked about big themes and deep truths, amusing parts and character traits, things we can relate to and things we can’t…and that’s just in the first chapter!

C. has already read Chapter 2 (entitled Roast Mutton). I need to catch up so we can schedule our next meeting. I can’t wait!

Filed Under: Books/Reading, Family 3 Comments