Kristen 9/9/16 Kristen 9/9/16

What we're reading, watching, listening to: September, 2016 edition

Things we've enjoyed—and would highly recommend—as we move out of summer and into fall:

Kid books

Beautiful Birds by Jean Roussen and Emmanuelle Walker—An ABC book with birds, the illustrations are spectacularly cool. Also like how inside the front cover are eggs and on the back cover they've all hatched...
Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn't Sit Still by Karlin Gray and Christine Davenier—The kids are excited about gymnastics lessons and this book is inspiring them. I get teary each time I read it and 14-year-old Nadia scores the first perfect 10 but they don't have the scoreboard programmed to show it. Such a sweet book...
Silly Wonderful You by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Patrick McDonnell—A mama talking to her toddler about how her life is so noisy and messy now that she has a child but also so incredibly filled with love...
Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson—Another ABC book, this one photographs of things in the city that look like letters...so cool...

The Art of the Photograph by Art Wolfe and Rob Sheppard—It's been a really long time since I bought a book and I talked myself out of this one I found in a bookstore on a weekend vacation with my mom and then went back and got it. I'm so glad I did. I'm learning a lot...
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky—You know, this book is interesting and engaging so far (first 50 pages or so), but I'm having a little trouble getting into it, much as I'm liking it. Jury's out on how far I'll get. Not sure Russian novels and 4-year-olds mix...feel like I need some long, leisurely reading hours on the porch...a luxury I currently do not have...
The House by the Sea by May Sarton—I borrowed this from my mom and have read it very slowly...it just seemed like a book to digest in small chunks...it's the daily happenings of a writer who moved to costal Maine and is for the most part relishing the solitude. I like the small pleasures she finds. I love that this is one of my mom's favorite books...I can see her in it...

You Are my Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell—This has been a constant in our car lately, it's kids songs but the singers are amazing and the songs are done in a very sophisticated way...it hasn't gotten old after what feels like a million plays either...

Stranger Things—Oh, how I love Stranger Things. I just finished Season 1 last night. It's scary. The story's cool. The acting is great. It's its own thing, which I love. A number of nights I watched this right before bed and then couldn't sleep after. I love that twin brothers have created it. And that they tried and tried to sell it...showing that even very good ideas need some nurturing and love and persistence sometimes. I can't wait for Season 2. I actually think I'm going to watch Season 1 again...
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver—This is the one show I make an effort to consistently watch. Honestly it's been a little uneven this season, but when it's funny, it's so very funny...
Kubo and the Two Strings—A kids movie that played like and indie film and was so good, so original and so complex, I feel like adults could watch it multiple times and get something new out of it each time. This is definitely one for our video library...
Mad Tiger—Seen at our local monthly foreign film night, it's the story of a Japanese band in New York and how things kind of fall apart. Loved watching the strangeness of this, and also had so much empathy for the main character who was trying to find his way...

Anything you've found fabulous lately??

Happy reading/watching/listening!

XOXO

Kristen 9/8/16 Kristen 9/8/16

We caught a great big brown spider in the "bug hotel" this morning. (He was in the upstairs bathtub. And fast. And jumpy. There was definitely some screeching on my part.) Kids could not wait to show Daddy...
I've been playing songs somewhat randomly from the music on my phone for the kids at bedtime. Tonight a song by Supergrass I don't even know how it is in my music, don't ever remember listening to it, but it's got the lines, "Bite me!" and "I want to pack you in my suitcase." Luke has declared it his favorite song and said, "My favorite song is so funny! They say such funny things in my favorite song!" Love that the kids listen to (and like) more than just kid music...
Kids are very interested in Broncos football...will be fun to watch with Grammy and Papa this fall, they are big fans...
Thought I had to travel tomorrow but I don't...think we're going to head over to the hot springs in the morning instead...was looking forward to my (very short) trip, but nice to have found time as well...
Kids have been asking to sleep together in the same room a lot lately...not sure what that's about...preschool transition maybe? Regardless, it's super cute they want to be together...

XOXO

Kristen 8/30/16 Kristen 8/30/16

Luke told me I could have one--just one--going back to school picture this morning. Zo, on the other hand, hammed it up for me. Luke had some fear this morning, you can see it on his face. "I don't want to be away from you, Mommy," he said. I didn't want to be away from him either, but off to preschool they went, just 2 1/2 hours 2 days a week is what they'll go, and they had a lovely time. The house was deathly quiet with them gone...it was so strange. I was sorting through boxes of old photos and letters while they were gone today too and it's been such a strange day...how time and life passes hugely magnified...
There's a John Denver song that I sing the kids sometimes, "Matthew," and the start of the chorus is, "Joy was just the thing that he was raised on." "Mommy," Luke said, "Am I being raised on joy?" "Yes," I said. "And what else?" he said. "I pick up garbage on the side of the road wherever we go, so maybe I am being raised on joy and garbage." And then Zo chimed in with a hug for me: "I'm being raised on joy and flowers!"
Speaking of flowers, Zo picking me a little bouquet from the weeds on the side of the road today...she does that a lot...so sweet...
Jeff bringing home dinner...thank you, Jeff...
Kids using the word "apparently" all of a sudden, eg Luke: "Apparently, if you use the brakes on your bike, you stop." (He has been using his hands to brake lately, which is awesome.) Or: "Apparently, if you leave the blinds open, you can see the stars." Adorable.

Good day.

XOXO