Not Such a New Recruit

Today, on the eve of his five-month birthday, it seems appropriate to demonstrate how the little master has grown. 

 

The first picture is from his exact first month birthday, the second a few days before three months and the third a few days before the fifth (no, I don't know why I take them on different days...).  As you can see, that onesie doesn't quite fit anymore, but I think he pulls off the belly onesie look pretty well.   

He is getting so big and so much more active.  While he can't actually propel himself anywhere yet, he will rotate around on the floor and he rolls about and rotates in his crib.  Sometimes I have to rescue him from being stuck in the corner, which is both cute and just a little bit sad.  He also grabs for everything and puts whatever it is directly in his mouth. We haven't started solids yet, but that's coming soon!  :o

What's that you say?  More laying-in-the-laundry pictures?  I am ever so happy to oblige.

The chins!  My goodness.

Tasty sock.

Lest you think he stays still for pictures.

There is this, shall we say, ridiculous miniseries called The 10th Kingdom that has these little enchanted birds that talk in very high, squeaky voices.  At one point the birds say, "Please, please!  Please set us free!"  Babycakes thinks it is really funny when I quote those birds, and the evidence is in these next few pictures:
 

"Please, please!"

"Please set us free!"

(He also loves his feet.)

Pumpkin Fever

Last fall, as I worked at growing a Speck, I made almost no pumpkin foods at all.  I'm sorry to say pumpkin sounded gross, and I only rallied in time for a pie at Thanksgiving.  So I guess you could say I'm making up for lost time this year--or you could say I'm doing the same thing I always do, and that is make every pumpkin thing in the world.  

Now, I have come to the realization that when I make a pumpkin thing, I want it to taste like I've actually shoved my face in a pumpkin pie and have to eat my way out.  I don't want subtle pumpkin.  I want to be hit in the face with pumpkin.  So when I complain about recipes not being pumpkin-y enough, well, maybe they would be for other people.  Here's what I've made so far this fall:

Pumpkin Oatmeal Scotchies 
I started off the season with these and they were tasty little things.  I am a big fan of butterscotch so that was a bonus.  The butterscotch kind of overwhelmed the pumpkin flavor, but it was still there.  (Note: I used quick oats, and also this recipe makes a LOT of cookies)

Pumpkin Pie Spice
I made my own after seeing how much a tiny jar of the pre-made stuff was (it was cheaper to buy allspice, the only ingredient I lacked).  Of course, only after I made it did I discover a bottle of it in the cupboard...

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies 
Not pumpkin-y enough!  That said, they were REALLY great chocolate cookies... (Note: I too used chocolate chips)

Pumpkin Whipped Cream
I made this to give a pumpkin boost to the chocolate cookies.  If you REALLY want to go big, make a cookie sandwich with it!  Even better, make a frozen cookie sandwich.  I combined the recipe with the spices of this one.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Again, not super pumpkin-y, but ever so delicious anyway.  Totally worth the work!  As for the glaze, well...I discovered that the whisk attachment for my immersion blender is not the same as the whisk attachment for the Kitchenaid.  Um, I'll leave it at that.  Okay okay, it made a huge mess but it didn't make a glaze!  Lesson learned.  *scrubs counter*

Pumpkin Pancakes with Apple Cider Syrup
I've mentioned this recipe before, and it's worth mentioning again.  The pancakes could be more pumpkin-y, but they are tasty nonetheless.  Also, the syrup!  You gots to make the syrup. 

Apple Cider Caramels 
I know, not a pumpkin recipe, but in my mind, cider and pumpkin are cousins.  True story: I made these last fall, without a candy thermometer.  Take my advice, Internet, and just buy a dang thermometer!  My first attempt, while not wholly inedible, had a burnt taste and a tough texture.  I say "not wholly" because Drew ate them.  He ate them all.  Every single one, aside from the two or so I ate.  He's just a trooper!  And a not-waster.  ANYway, the second batch came out perfectly--soft and cider-y, as a caramel should.  I think Drew was secretly relieved at not having to eat them all again.

Well, October is speeding past, but there are still lots of recipes to try!  Where am I going from here?  This granola is in the oven at the moment.  These waffles are on the horizon.  These cupcakes are imminent.  And of course, let's not forget the old favorites like the inevitable pumpkin pie and the most delicious of things, Pumpkin Whoopee.  Ah, fall.  How I love to eat my way through it.  

The Graveyard Book (Book Review)

Author: Neil Gaiman
Year: 2008
Genre: Fantasy/Coming of age
Reading Level: I've seen this called intermediate and young adult--I personally would call it more YA, just because of content that I think would scare a lot of younger readers

Literary Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (2009), Newbery Medal (2009), Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel (2009), World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (2009), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children's Literature (2009) Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fantasy & Science Fiction (2008), Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year (2009), An ALA Notable Children's Book for Middle Readers (2009), ALA Teens' Top Ten (2009), Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2009), Indies Choice Book Award for Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book (Fiction): (2009), Carnegie Medal in Literature (2010), British Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (2009) 

Plot Summary: Nobody Owens escapes death as a toddler and finds sanctuary from his would-be murderer in a nearby graveyard.  The resident ghosts agree to raise him in the safety of the graveyard, and Bod grows up surrounded by the dead, who become his family, friends, guardians and educators.  But with the killer still hunting for him, will Bod ever be able to live amongst the living?

Red Flags: Scary scenes, off-screen murder, some spookiness, ghoulies and ghosties
 
My Rating: A
I first read this several years ago, and then, with one thing or another, I had the urge to pick it up again.  I'm so glad I did!  I remembered liking it a lot, but I'd forgotten a lot of the details and this book is really, truly excellent.  The atmosphere, the writing, the way death is treated--so good.  I love the progression of Bod's character as he grows, I love the side characters (Liza Hempstock, eh?) and I love how everything comes together at the exciting and ultimately bittersweet end.   

I feel like there is so much more that could be said about this, but...I loved it.  Isn't that enough?  This is surely one of Neil Gaiman's very best books (the Newbery was well deserved), and one that I must add to my bookshelf, where it will sit alongside his also excellent Coraline.    

(Wouldn't Coraline and Bod be such great friends?) 

Memorable lines:
"'And there are always people who find their lives have become so unsupportable they believe the best thing they could do would be to hasten their transition to another plane of existence.'
'...Are they happier dead?'
'Sometimes.  Mostly, no.  It's like the people who believe they'll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn't work that way.  Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.  If you see what I mean.'"--ch. 4

"You're always you, and that don't change, and you're always changing, and there's nothing you can do about it."--ch. 8

Doppelganger, pt. 2

Like father like son!  Or in this case, it was actually like son like father.  Either way, it's a good looking pair.

 

Can I just add that this month has included so many really cute pictures??  I don't know how much longer I can go before I just plaster the internet with all of them.  Brace yourself, internet!  You're about to get a whole lot cuter.

Keeping the Moon (Book Review)

Author: Sarah Dessen
Year: 1999
Genre: Novel
Reading Level: Young Adult

Literary Awards: Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2000)

Plot Summary: When Colie's* weight-loss guru mother leaves for a European tour, she's dropped off in the small beach town of Colby to spend the summer with her oddball aunt.  Colie's tried to lose her old, overweight self with a newly fit frame, a lip piercing and a bad dye job, but the past keeps coming back to haunt her, even in Colby.  But with the help of some new friends, she might just find the real Colie again.
 
Red Flags: Some language, teen bullying, (legal) drinking and smoking
 
My Rating: B
Well.  I think I've officially overdosed on Sarah Dessen novels.  I laughed and rolled my eyes through most of this book.  I mean, it was okay and it kind of pulled it off at the end, but overall it seemed like a rather lazy effort.  The resolutions were either weak or not even there, and the whole thing felt unfinished (what about her relationship with her Mom?  And Mira?).  Plus I am kind of over chapters ending with a poetic insight into life and its troubles.  It's not a bad book and had I read it earlier, I might have liked it better, but at this point I think it's best that I leave her books on the library shelf for a bit.  

Also, side note, it was published in 1999 but there were some really out of date references to Super Nintendo, cassette tapes and stuff.  What's up with that?  

Also also the love interest was named Norman and I just can't accept that. 

Memorable lines:
"There's something about dancing that's like being stripped naked; you have to be very self-confident to thrash around in public, deliberately attracting attention."

*Is it pronounced like Collie dog or like cola (and like Nicole)??  I couldn't decide and both sounded kind of dumb to me.

Doppelganger

I have this really cute and smart nephew who is about 9 years older than Babycakes.  Boo Boo has a lot of hand-me-downs from this nephew's baby days and it is fun to compare the pictures.  Sometimes I try to recreate certain pictures of my nephew to make it extra fun, like this picture of him with my brother:

Here's our version:

Nailed it!

My Cousin Rachel: The Movie in my Head

I am currently reading Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel for the manyth time.  I love this book!  But I digress.  Sort of.  Anyway, for many years now I have had a movie cast in my head for this book.  It is not a practical sort of cast by any means, but I invariably picture the characters like so when I read it.

Philip: I have always dearly, dearly loved the idea of Ioan Gruffudd as Philip.  Maybe because he played another Philip (in Great Expectations) but mostly because in his younger days he was just perfect for the part!

(Also, remember how great Horatio Hornblower was?  Remember when A&E did awesome miniseries instead of a million reality shows ending with the word "wars"?)

As for Ambrose, I could never quite picture him for some reason.  Or maybe I never bothered to, since Philip was his doppelganger.  So hey, maybe Ioan Gruffudd could play him now that he's older!

(Even though he totally looks the same.  Did anyone else watch Ringer?  No? Just me?  Okay.)

As for Rachel, I always pictured Olivia de Havilland.  I'm not sure why, since I really only knew her from my one viewing of Gone with the Wind, but she just had the right look.  And here I must say my casting was spot on because I found out later she did play Rachel in the 1952 (so so) movie.  In fact, here she is as Rachel:

No imagination required!

As for Philip's godfather/guardian Nick Kendall, well, I cannot explain this, but here is who I have always pictured:

No, not Sandra Bullock, but Saul from While You Were Sleeping.  Not the actor, Jack Warden, but Saul.  I guess godfathers=Saul, always.  Sometimes I even read his dialogue with his voice, which is...interesting.

Here my casting kind of veers off the rails of feasibility, but they are great picks nonetheless!  Like Rainaldi:

Yes, the asylum owner in Beauty and the Beast.  Did you know he has a name?  It's Monsieur D'Arque.  Yuk yuk yuk. 

(I also sometimes picture the Vulture, from Spiderman, which makes...more...sense?

Or less.  Maybe less.)

And Seecombe, the faithful steward?  How about Edgar from The Aristocats:
 

In looks only of course!

Also, I imagine Louise like Suzanne from The Scarlet Pimpernel but alas, no picture was to be found.  You would think I might picture Louise from that movie, but I always liked Suzanne better.  So there!

Maybe one day when reality and time fold in on themselves it will be possible to make a movie with all of these players.  Until that day I will keep reading and writing rambling blogposts about it. 

(PS: It goes without saying that I heartily recommend this book to everyone, regardless of whether it is their taste or not [Sarah].  So read it [Marcue]!  And love it, as I love it.)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Book Review)

Author: Neil Gaiman
Year: 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: Adult

Plot Summary: When he was a small boy, Lettie Hempstock told him the pond was an ocean.  Now a middle-aged man, he's returned to his old neighborhood and the farm where Lettie lived.  There, sitting by the pond, he remembers the darkness of his childhood days and Lettie's place in it.  

Red Flags: Scary scenes and imagery, some sexual content very ambiguously described, death, menacing adults, a scene of attempted child murder  (Disclaimer: this list makes the book sound quite dark--and it is dark--but in execution the effect is intense and gripping but not nauseating or just plain old terrible to read.)

My Rating: A
I loved this book.  When Neil Gaiman is good, he is excellent and truly gifted.  While this has many of the plot elements in his other books (it reminded me most of Coraline), he executes it so well the similarities didn't matter to me.  I don't even know how to describe what I liked about this book without word vomiting all over the place.  Will a barrage of little sentences suffice?  Let's do.

The story was gripping--I couldn't stop turning pages.  The setting was so vivid, I could feel the dirt between my toes and see the lightning in the spooky night sky.  The spookiness!  Oh the spookiness.  It was so deliciously spooky and scary, BUT it didn't freak me out to think of it in the middle of the night later.  I appreciate that, as I always up in the middle of the night these days.  That's not to say it's not scary--it just wasn't that kind of scary.  Does that even make sense?  

Anyway, I loved reading it, and it was a bit sad when it was over, though I think it is the perfect length and missing nothing.  The story moves along, there are no drags or boring bits.  Also I liked that even though it is technically for adults, it's not nearly as adult in content as some of his other adult books.  The characters, half without any names, are unique and there are just the right number of them.  The narrator was endearing in his little boyness.  Also, one thing Neil Gaiman does so well in this book and in his others is not explaining things.  He doesn't spell out the supernatural elements or the mystical otherworlds, and he doesn't need to because he doesn't describe them so well.  (That was a lot of "doesn't"s, I know)  You don't need the long-winded explanations or back story, and yet you understand them anyway.  I'm not sure how he pulls this off exactly, but I think part of it is that he writes so confidently.  

My hat is off to you, Mr. Gaiman.  

Four Leaf Baby

My scrumptious little Babycakes turned an illustrious four months old on Saturday.  He is getting more fun all the time (though I will confess to missing his tiny, fresh baby stage sometimes).  *sigh*

He also had his doctor's visit today, which confirmed the fact that he is growing like a weed and is very healthy.  It also confirmed the fact that he does not like shots.  But we learned from last time and gave him some medicine before the appointment and hopefully by keeping him dosed up the rest of the day we can avoid the evening meltdown this time.  Anyway, back to weed growing, he is currently 27 inches long (97%!), 16.27 lbs (76%) and his head percentile is 56%.  So he's about doubled his birth weight, and I think the only reason he doesn't look like a big ball of baby fat is because he is so long.

Here are some things he has been up to over the last month:

More Seven Peaks time!  Now that he's big enough for swim diapers, I think pool time is going to be even more fun.

Sleeping on his binky.  Ah, so comfy.

He loves to survey the land from atop my legs.

 Still loving his caterpillar friend.

 He's GENERALLY happy.

He does his best to squish his Pops.

 He wears out-of-season jammies...

...and does not approve.

He sits on his throne with his Sovereign's Orb.

He always sleeps at night in his crib and takes most of his naps there too, but I can't resist a snuggle nap sometimes...

...especially because it means I get to see expressions like this.  Hello, little old turtle face.

Step 1: Get something in hands.  Step 2: Put in mouth.  Step 3: Repeat.

Sometimes he and his wee-er cousin have the same outfits.  They also share an interest in the Sovereign's Orb.  

Sometimes no one smiles for the camera.

Sometimes he folds himself in half AND eats my finger at the same time.

Here are just some cute pictures, no additional explanation necessary:

Other tidbits from this month: He puts everything in his mouth.  He had his first sniffles but was happy throughout.  He gets a bit overstimulated sometimes and doesn't always like to be held by anyone but me or Drew (it's flattering to me, but a bummer for other wannabe holders).  He giggles a lot, sometimes for no apparent reason.  He still really loves bath time (see also: giggling).  He grew out of size 1 diapers.  We started going to the baby storytime at the library and he enjoys it?  I dunno, he's there and that's about the extent of his reaction.  Over the last few weeks he has really settled into a routine of: three or four naps a day, asleep in bed by 8:00, dream feed around 11:00 and then waking up once around 4-5:00 to eat, then back asleep until 7:30 or so.  I can dig it, baby.  

Anyway, the gist of this is that he is more fun all the time and is getting more aware of the world every day.  He recognizes things, chats and sings and is generally very happy most of the time.  Our battle with cradle cap continues and after a long hiatus, he started rolling again on Saturday.  Hey baby, you grow so good, baby.

  
Whew.  Well, that was a long update.  Maybe I should blog about him more than once a month??  Oh all right, if I insist.  

(Yes!  I do.) 

(Okay, one more.)

 

(Fine, two.)

(The end.)

Someday, Someday, Maybe (Book Review)

Author: Lauren Graham
Year: 2013
Genre: Novel
Reading Level: Adult

Plot Summary: Franny Banks gave herself three years to succeed as an actress when she moved to New York City.  Now it's 1995 and she's got six months left to make it or give it up.  Besides her acting worries, Franny's steady job is shaky, her bank account is lower by the day and she REALLY needs to call her Dad back.

Red Flags: Some language, some subtle sexual content, foot holding 

My Rating: B+
This was better than I thought it would be, but I didn't love it.  Here are some good things about it: Lauren Graham is a decent writer. Franny is a pretty endearing, well-rounded character.  It's not as stupid as most chick lit.  It has genuinely funny moments.  The Filofax pages were a great addition.  The story is engaging, and it's easy to relate to Franny's dream of making it in her dream career.

Here are some things I liked less about it: It dragged a bit for me in the middle.  I also felt like Franny's character and charm got a little obscured in the middle too--she didn't sound quite the same.  Some of the side characters blurred together (I did really like Jane) and some were just sort of bland.  The story is predictable (not painfully so but still), and the romance is pretty cliche.  At one point Franny herself even points out the cliches of the romance, which perplexed me.  If you KNOW it's cliche, why not make it less so?  

Overall, I did enjoy it.  It didn't blow my mind, and the end seemed to fall into the trap of deep, personal understandings conveniently coming all at once with descriptions like "Suddenly I realized..." and "It was all clear now that..."  Still, it was a fun read and it was fun to read about things like TV shows and acting when the author obviously knows what they're talking about.  

The book did leave me with some questions though:
--I'm curious about how much of this is based on Lauren Graham's own experiences in the acting world.  I don't know much about her or her career, but it would make sense for her to draw on her own life.  Write what you know, right?

--What was the purpose of setting this in 1995?  Are the 90s the new 80s for nostalgia?  Or was the story easier to tell without cell phones?  There was just no obvious reason for it to be set in 1995.  Unless you count being able to have little wink wink moments, like "[Phantom of the Opera has] been running for six or seven years already.  Who knows how much longer we'll have the chance to see it?"

--Does Lauren Graham know any musicals not by Andrew Lloyd Webber?  She mentioned no less than four of his but no others that I recall.

--Was she making a statement about certain actors who do cookbooks and sell perfumes?  Maybe she's not a fan of GOOP...

Baby in White

Babycakes had his blessing day on August 4th.  He was a perfect little gentleman and didn't make a peep during it--well done, baby.  Anyway, Drew did more of a play by play on his blog so I won't get into it too much.  Suffice it to say that Drew did a great job, just like I knew he would, and said many good things.  It was also nice that my Dad happened to be in town for it so he could join in and represent our side of the family.  

We changed Boo Boo soon after, to avoid the risk of ruining his little outfit and then I realized later that, duh, I didn't take any pictures of him in it!  So we fixed that the next day.  It was a team effort to get smiles AND pictures (he is often distracted out of smiles by the camera), but we got some great shots.  Here are our favorites:

 Way to be cute, Babyface!