Three Day Dog

I needed your encouragement to go to the doctor because I was afraid if I explained that I am dizzy (without actual unconsciousness) and nauseous (without throwing up) and my vision is strange (without blindness) that my primary care guy would dismiss my wooginess with a casual wave of his hand and chalk it all up to hysteria. And I would feel like a dummy dope. 

But he did not; largely because my primary care guy was not able to give me an appointment until the week after next so it was the PA I saw Monday who did the hand waving. And she did not say "hysteria" she said "migraine" but when I asked if there was anything I could do about it or if there are possible triggers to avoid or if it would be worthwhile to see a neurologist she said, "No." And when I asked if she would consider testing for Lyme's (per the considered opinion of my secret doctor - Noelle's husband) she said, "No."

To quote Miss Marple she was a bit like the young lady at the boot shop who wants to sell you the black pair because she has them in your size even though you tell her you wanted brown. So the visit was a complete waste of time and I am still feeling gross and I finally did what I should have done in the first place, which is I asked my friend Noelle whether she likes her primary care doctor and I am going to schedule an appointment with her. Nothing against my current doctor; I just never get to see him because he is never there. I assume he has a second home that he visits regularly. In Greenland. Which means that whenever I have something come up (the post-influenza sinus infection that lingered forever; the time last year when half my face went numb) his scheduler despairs of my seeing him before October (unless it is October, in which case he is booked through Thanksgiving) and I wind up in urgent care explaining to some jaded stranger that if my lips were always numb I would not be there.  

In the meantime I have spent every afternoon for a week feeling like I am in the middle of a rough Channel crossing and I have started avoiding my computer because something about the light from the screen makes me feel like the Morning After. Oh, and I am taking your advice and starting a headache (excuse me, a "headache") journal.

I was serious when I said the other week that there have been good things about going without any income for most of the past year. We were fortunate (or prudent, I guess, a little, but it was mostly just luck) that when Steve's business flat-lined we were debt free (except for our mortgage but what are you going to do?) and we had savings. We were unfortunate, true, in that much of these savings were in the form of investments that went belly up at the same time Steve's business started pressing its hands to its temples and saying it... it didn't feel well; but... it was abrupt, you know. Over the course of about three months we went from feeling nicely comfortable to wildly uncomfortable. Like, backseat of a Volkswagen uncomfortable.

*** Digression ***

I was writing this down in the basement where the light is easier on my eyes and Edward and Caroline can frolic in the enormous - and I do mean enormous - toddler habitrail that Patrick constructed for them out of play tunnels and couch cushions and blankets and chairs and a pet carrier.

 

Which is why this little girl spent most of the morning in a cage.

We came back upstairs for lunch and Steve mentioned with modest pride that his first ever eBay sale has a bidder. Oh! Not so much of a digression after all. Our finances are not so dire that we have resorted to selling our pants in desperation but as we have learned to live with less new junk (one might almost say no new junk but then one would be exaggerating to the point of falsehood) we have begun to assess the need to hang on to quite so much of our old junk. Among the items currently littering Steve's various work spaces are something something and something (heavy cable? a blue box full of wires? a weird white cone thing?) that were purchased in an attempt to boost our ability to get cell signals here in the valley of the elves. It did not work. Not only did it not work; it will never work. Not ever. So the cable and the box and the cone that originally cost umpteen hundreds of dollars are sitting on a shelf in anticipation of the last judgment. That seemed like a waste so Steve set up an eBay account and now he has a bidder and he is like a kid with a lemonade stand. When I came upstairs with the twinkles Steve showed me his sale page and I read it for the first time and laughed aloud because it is really witty. Truly. Who knew that Steve could write all funny like that?

I said, "Oh! We should write something together! We should write a romance novel with a wry but tender hero and gamine heroine with wide feet and it will be for men and women and it will sell a hundred billion copies in fifty languages and we'll get our own Wikipedia entry and... "

Steve said, "And we will call it... Butt Rompers."

So much for that idea.

** Digression Sort Of Over **

In the absence of new stuff I have been enjoying the process of taking our old stuff (that which Steve is not selling on Ebay - I hope he doesn't get too into this; we'll have nothing left to sit on or play with or wear) and shuffling it around the house. You know the HGTV shows in which they remove everything from the living room and then the designer finds some pieces by André-Charles Boulle in the homeowners' garage and they swap those for the Ikea TV stand after painting the walls a nice terra cotta and you think, "Oh that really does look better"? It's kinda like that only my sole objective is to get the giant plastic toys out of my bedroom and to hell with a unifying theme. 

We went to visit friends when Patrick was a newborn and they had turned their dining room into a play room for their two-under-two complete with a baby gate to block the entrance (or the exit, depending upon your point of view.) I thought this was very clever and when we moved into this house we did the same thing. In the beginning we used the space to contain Patrick as needed - a sort of jumbo sized playpen - but eventually we took the gate down and it was just his play room. Most of Patrick's project stuff was in there: Legos, Knex, science experiments, my old computer that he inherited... that sort of thing. Years passed, twins were born, Patrick was thoroughly entrenched in play room so when the twins started to become mobile we put the gate back up again; this time to keep the babies away from all the chokables and the breakables and the don't touch that-ables. And it was fine. We had Patrick's play area on one side of the kitchen and Baby Jail on the other and peace reigned. Sure, sometimes Caroline and Edward would stand outside the gate and gnash their gums in impotent fury at being denied their right to swallow 2x2 bricks like Pez but for the most part it was a system of segregation that served us well. But as the twinkles have gotten bigger and their toys have gotten both bigger (kitchen) and smaller (Duplos) it has begun to suck. The house is divided into Patrick play areas and Twinkle play areas with literally nothing in between. Every night Steve and I move the plastic house that has gotten shoved against our bed during the day and pick up the billion little trucks and books and whatnots that are scattered all over the first floor. The living room looks like there was an explosion at the Fisher-Price plant (In Pomato, in Pomato you will find no meat... .)

So I told Patrick that I wanted to make the play room more toddler friendly but I wasn't sure what to do with all the itty-bitty pieces covering every surface in there; not to mention my concern that Caroline and Edward might accidentally smash one of his masterpieces to smithereens. Did he have any ideas? And this is what Jeeves called following the psychology of the individual because Patrick took the need to tear down that wall as a given and focused his attention on how to protect his belongings after the hordes arrived.

He suggested that we move the Legos up to his room and leveraged his agreeableness to gain exclusive bedroom rights to the multicolored bin rack that is currently in the living room full of baby stuff. He has been coveting it for some time. In his rich fantasy world he thinks he is going to use the bins to organize his Legos by color which... ha. Good luck with that project.

To make a long story even longer we all agreed weeks ago that we were going to turn the area off the kitchen into a space that everyone could use and I determined that first we would need to clear out Patrick's room, then we could shift his toys upstairs and finally we could get the xylophone out of my bed. So almost every day since then I have said to Steve or Patrick or Steve and Patrick, "Hey! Who's ready to go upstairs and sort books into piles? Hah? Who's with me? Who's ready for some fun?" 

But somehow both of them have been wildly disinterested no matter how many times I promised that after we finished sorting we could redistribute the books by category and then clean out the closet. 

I am reminded of the Simpsons in which Apu was part of a bachelor auction. When asked to describe himself he says, "I am not much of a talker but I love to listen. I also like to design and build furniture and then to have a discussion about where it could be placed in a room."

All of the women gave a collective sigh of appreciation and started a bidding war.

Steve is no Apu. Not only does he possess the ability to tune me out even when I am holding both of his ears and speaking, very slowly, directly into his face but he seems to have no interest in moving the file cabinets. In fact, you would have thought I was asking him to give up his only kidney when I finally (after many weeks and zero cooperation on the parts of Finks 0 through 3) finished organizing the books and clearing the closet and I asked if he wouldn't mind moving Patrick's bed to a different wall and carrying a couple/four bookcases downstairs. OK. If he wouldn't mind moving Patrick's bed again since I didn't like the first two arrangements.

Did this have a point? No, I guess not. Maybe an answer to the question nobody asked: what have I been doing to entertain myself as winter stretches into its sixth month (damned pomegranate)? Moving furniture and toys around.

Patrick has been lukewarm on the new setup. First, he hates change. Second, he realized after we took all of his Legos upstairs that he had reduced his total Lego play space by about 7000 percent. Bummer. Caroline, however, has more than made up for his lack of enthusiasm by being so! excited! about! the! new! space!

"Welcome in! Welcome in!" she says. Or maybe that is "Well, come in!" I'm not sure. One of her very most adorable habits is to say "um" and "well" and "hmmm" while tapping her chin as if she is thinking things over when I am quite certain she is just giving the audience (me) more time to appreciate how cute she is (very) before completing her thought.

Then she tells me to sit! sit! sit! on the rug while she brings over pretend food.

Edward is happy that they inherited all of Patrick's letter magnets which was sort of like an art enthusiast being told that the Met called and it will be shipping over its entire collection in the morning. Patrick has a staggering assortment of magnetic letters and numbers and Edward likes both letters and numbers and the play room has a bulletin board at just the right height. Edward has spent two days putting up letters in pairs, "Mommy E," he says sticking up an uppercase, "Baby e."

He's cute.

Unlike a similarly aged Patrick, though, his interests (wasn't I just talking about this?) extend far beyond letters and their various serifs. As Daimler said to Chrysler, there are always cars.

 

I was interested to see that so many of you think the accelerated reading program was designed by demons. Since I had never heard of it prior to three weeks ago I cannot say I have put much thought into the subject but it seems harmless enough to me? Are there different ways it is structured? Patrick's class has their in-class group book (they just finished "The Whipping Boy" and are starting "Sign of the Beaver" prior to that they read "The Phantom Tollbooth") and then they have the opportunity to read books for AR points outside the class. I did notice that when I looked them up online there seemed to be AR quizzes for almost every book I could think of (Patrick's favorite Number Devil among them) but when I helped Patrick get setup for his first quiz in the school library I realized that his school only has access to a teeny tiny fraction of them (Number Devil not among them.) I guess schools have to pay for specific quizzes? A few of you mentioned on that post that you thought limiting the kids this way sucked the joy out of reading but, I dunno, isn't all mandatory reading joy-sucking on some level? Or not as the case may be. I once took a class on writing women of the Renaissance and I hated every single word (sorry Aphra Behn it wasn't personal) with the surprise exception of the colloquies of Erasmus which I loved so much I still read them. Not that Erasmus was a woman, of course, but he did have that humanist/feminist thing going on... my point was that you never know what you might like and isn't it nice to have a way to encourage children to look at different things to read by bribing them with a party? This is a sincere question. Patrick started the Order of the Phoenix last night specifically because it is worth a billion AR points; otherwise he would have probably re-read one of the Murderous Maths. I did warn him that book five of Harry Potter gets pretty dark and he stared at me blankly and I said that people start to die rather a lot. He asked if Ron or Harry or Hermione die in the fifth book

*SPOILER*

and I said no and he said well ok then and I thought well yeah but

*NO SPOILER*

------ ----- does die and I am still upset about it.

Speaking of books I always like it when we recommend things so I might as well end with asking whether you and/or any small people you know are reading anything good. I noticed that "Sign of the Beaver" was written by the same person who wrote one of my all-time favorite elementary school books "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" so I'll start with those two, also "Constance" which is another early American historical fiction book that was terrific with the slightest little hint of romance to it. Which doesn't make it a girl book necessarily although... Butt Rompers. Enough said. I think I have now mentioned the Septimus Heap series in every post but it is really such a fun read/listen. We started the fourth book yesterday. I am eying both Percy Jackson and Eragon next; any thoughts on those two? Caroline and Edward are moving beyond board books into a desire for more complicated picture books and their tastes are kind of eclectic. Edward likes the Chicka Chicka books (letters and numbers) and this old book of Patrick's that consists entirely of songs for beginning recorder. He likes the way the music looks ("Note?" he says, "Note note note two note?") and he keeps asking me to read it and I am, like, um, doh doh doot doot doh doh... oh Edward go find Mommy a book with WORDS. Caroline is a crazy obsessed Mo Willems groupie fanatic and vacillates between asking to read Leenard the terrrrrrrrribuh monstuh five hundred million times and sighing and saying, "Ahhhh PUPPIES" and then asking to read one of the pigeon books. Five hundred million times. And me, I just started "The Collected Works of TS Spivet" out of which I am determined to make either a head or tail but I think it is too clever for me and maybe I should just go back to the sweet soothing treacle of the Regency (I read Tessa Dare's debut novel "Goddess of the Hunt" last night when the diagrams became too much for me with Spivet - it was ok.) Speaking of Regency and then I swear I am done (Caroline is just finishing lunch and keeps saying, "Take a naaaaaap pleeease. Take a naaaaaap please") I saw "Secret of the Pink Carnation" at the library and took it home with the idea that I had heard it was good. It was only later that I realized that I had "heard it was good" from an ad on my own sidebar. Word of mouth marketing at work, right there. I seem to be running quite a few ads right now so feel free to be similarly subconsciously influenced; I'm sure my nice bookish advertisers would appreciate it.

Anyway, are any of you (bigs or littles) reading anything good?

Comments

[beth s]

We are LOVING Percy Jackson right now. BugMan has finihsed the 1st three and read them each multiple times since about January. I am working on book 3 right now. Waiting for the movie to hit Redbox so we can watch it and hoping it will be as well made as the Harry Potter films.
Also loved TS Spivet. It took a while but was worth the effort and I learned a bunch fo cool stuff along the way.
And I agree about the AR and very limited lists of quizzes the schools have. Bugman has probably close to 1000 reading hours this school year but very very few of the books have been on the school's list so he has hardly any points at all. Luckily they only count the total hours and not AR points for their party. Plus, for the AR at his school they FORCE them to read on grade level which is insane for a 2nd grader who is reading adult books all the time. Go,Dog,Go/etc just can't hold him anymore.

[beth s]

ooh, forgot the important one. You need to find the Pig and Elephant series by Mo Willems for the twinkles. They are super cute and very easy. They will be reading them to themselves soon. I have bought most of them even though BugMan is way outgrown them but I wnated them for my grandids.

[Kelly]

My 3rd grader is deep into the Alex Rider series. The first is called "Stormbreaker" and according to him it's the worst of the lot, he did tell me that there's "cussing" in them (damn). We also loved Septimus Heap and Percy Jackson around here.

I love the children's book "Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats" as well as "Farmer Duck."

[Genevieve]

So excited that you quoted from The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel). I assume Patrick has read that? Does he hum the Pomato song along with you, and wonder if that's how Caroline got her name? Now I'm picturing her dressed all in purple (purple asterisks, is how I remember the illustrations).

I bet he's ready for A Wrinkle in Time, judging by what he's reading and knowing his scientific bent. And then, next year if not this, When You Reach Me (this year's Newbery winner, a lovely and astounding book, with large hat tips to Wrinkle).

My kiddo (4th grade) is reading and loving The Wednesday Wars - you will love it, Patrick probably in a couple of years.

Go get yourself some Eva Ibbotsen (on?), specifically A Countess Below Stairs.

[Jenny]

Just finished the Bartimeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud -- AWESOME. Probably a little old/dark for Patrick, but I think you'd love it. It features a very snarky, totally hilarious demon. Lots of good laughs, especially for a fantasy read!

[Erin]

For small ones: Skippy Jon Jones ( I third this rec)

for midsize ones:
my Side of the Mountain
Artemis Fowl (if you like Septimus Heap, youwill like)
Percy Jackson

for you:
Hunger Games ( Suzanne Collins)
Serena (Ron Rash - Lady Macbeth set in turn of the century Appalachia)
Written on your Skin ( Meredith Duran)

Can you recommend some of your regencies? Smart Bitches is letting me down.

[Heather]

I have 2 x 5 yr olds with a ridiculously large LEGO collection, and yes, we have it organized, by color, mostly, in one of those multi-colored bin shelf systems. I know it wouldn't be for everybody, but I feel compelled to share. The four large bins hold the gray pieces, the white pieces, platform pieces, and partially built items. The eight smaller bins hold red and oranges, black and browns, long and skinny pieces, the guy pieces, the teensy pieces, green and blue and yellows, and two more I can't remember. Every night they have to clean up the floor and deposit all the unsorted LEGOs into a giant "to be sorted" bin, and then when it gets impossible to find that special piece, they sort it.

[a Random Person]

Did the numbness in your face get explained? I forget. Anyway. The reason I ask is because numbness can be caused by neurological side effects of a migraine. I have had, for example, my hand go numb in a particularly bad migraine, among other symptoms.

That said - if you have migraines, uh, yeah. you should not be told there is nothing you can do by a PA. There is TONS you can do, depending on the migraine, and frankly, if anyone was going to say "nothing you can do" it should be a neurologist. Not a PA. Jeesh! I am annoyed on your behalf.

But, I had dizziness (with nausea) last year, and had an electronystomography (testing the balance nerve in your ear), an MRI and a few tests with an ENT. Hopefully your new doctor will give you at least something more than "no, there is nothing you can do!"

[Helen]

Not much of a reader these days, but I have to say I love that picture of Edward and the cars. What a good boy feeding himself. If only I could introduce my 3 year old to him. They both love wheels, but mine could really use some encouragement in self-feeding. He insists on being fed and having his mouth wiped too. Hey, he's my only one. :)

It's good that you guys are making money off of unneeded items. We on the other hand, tend to throw or give them away. We could certainly use the cash, that's for sure. But we're also lazy, or is it impatient.

[Helen]

Not much of a book reader, I meant. Your blog is fantastic!

[DrSuz]

My kids love "There is a mouse about the House" since it comes with a little mouse that you poke through holes in the pages. Very cute!

[Jacqui]

Books for Patrick:
Anything by Roald Dahl or Paul Jennings (an Australian author - hilarious)
Robin Hobb has several series - I have read The Farseer Trilogy and Tawny Man trilogy which are linked and there are a couple more. Excellent stories set in a fantasy but middle ages like world, kind of cross between Robin Hood, Harry and Lord of the Rings

[jlp]

Butt Rompers! Ha!

[Tara]

Missing May by Cynthia Rylant is one of my favorite children's books ever. But the subject matter is pretty heavy, so I am recommending it to you, not Patrick.

[Pam L]

We had (have?) SRI at our schools, Scholastic Reading Inventory where they had to read and then answer the questions to determine if they were understanding what they were reading etc. I don't remember having to deal with it. It seems that either the teacher reminded them to read the books and take the test, or the more unlikely possibility, my son actually remembered to do this, and there was no party. But, it did get him a Lexile score that determined which books he could take out at the school library to make sure he was reading challenging books. The problem was his score was so high many of the books on the list were not age appropriate for him and were not even at the library, so he had to bring in books from home and have them teacher approved.

[electriclady]

Will pop back in later with book recommendations but I just wanted to say I love you for the Ellen Raskin reference. One of my favorite books growing up.

[cybrbanana]

hmmm...Along the same vein as Sign of the Beaver (with a ragged, well-loved copy to prove it)

My Side of the Mountain
Hatchet
The Cookcamp
anything Roald Dahl - especially Boy: Tales from Childhood
The Gordan Korman series Bruno and Boots books - I Want To Go Home, The War with Mr Wizzle, and Beware the Fish - all boy centered.

All oldies, but goodies.

[Jessica]

Migraines, I unfortunately know little to nothing about, except to say that if you don't feel you are being taken seriously by your provider (and doesn't one have to be seen to be taken seriously?), then a switch is definitely in order.

However....books? That I can do. Starting from the bottom, here's a few suggestions: I heartily second the Skippyjon Jones books. We have several of them, and they are a riot, and so fun to read, too. Both my kids will pretty much read everything they can get their paws on. My 8-year-old read all the Harry Potter books last year, and has loved the Eragon series, and the Percy Jackson books. He also really enjoyed the Charlie Bone series, which are sort of mystery+weird stuff books. Recently he finished Flora Fyrddraaca, by Ysabeau S. Wilce, which was also pretty entertaining. You might even try some Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book and Coraline, specifically. Of course there's the old standbys, like C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, and Tolkien's works (which I've read every year since I was 8). Right now, our whole family is enjoying various volumes of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

[Jessica]

lady you're a fool if you don't link to steve's ebay auctions here. you have a platform, use it! you never know who among us may sincerely need a mystery cable or whatnot.

[Lise]

Ooh! Ooh! If you aren't familiar with Neil Stephenson and his TOMES of historical /alchemical/cryptographical fiction, you really ought to be! They're usually housed under science fiction but the characters are witty and delightful, and usually feature several capable females in addition to dudes enjoying cryptography. Although most of the story involves (very engaging) historical action, there's a lot regarding love, family, and friendship. Recurring characters include Isaac Newton, King Louis XIV, and John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough! His Baroque Cycle series usually comes in three large volumes, the first of which is Quicksilver. I devoured them!

[Dianna]

I will be of absolutely no help whatsoever, mostly because you already have 70 comments and whatever I could add has probably been suggested. BUT! I have never ever heard anyone else mention The Witch of Blackbird Pond and it, along with Summer of My German Soldier, are my favorite childhood books ever. My oldest daugher is 11 and I've just introduced her to both books. After I read them again myself, obviously :)

[Lisa]

Just finished 'Hunger Games' and 'Catching Fire.' SO GOOD! I can't wait for the third book. And then when I finished those I had to go back to page 700 ish of the fifth Outlander book which I swear I will be reading for the next 25 years.

[Beth]

Some days I love, some days I hate, the AR program. It pushes my kids to read, which I love, since reading is my favorite hobby. It limits them to books the school has quizzes for, making some of the books on our shelves off limits. I'm feeling at the moment like the pros far outweigh the cons since my daughter is falling in love with reading and being gently pushed into harder and harder books when she would happily stay at things that are easy to read. She needed it. I suspect Patrick will do very well with it.

[Jennifer LB]

For Patrick to read to Edward:
G is for One Gzonk

For you and Edward:
a music class!

Wish you lived closer so I could teach you.

[jen]

The Percy Jackson series is excellent! Highly, highly recommend it. I would say if Patrick is reading HP, then he could handle the series (i.e. there are some deeper themes, deaths, etc.).

I am reading A Game of Thrones and really liking it. I also read Hunger Games and loved that but can't read the next one in the series until/if they release it on Kindle. Oh, and I just finished the Sookie Stackhouse series a little while back and though I can't say it satisfied my literary tastes, it was certainly entertaining and I would recommend it if you are looking for brain candy.

[jen]

Oh and I forgot to say, regarding the headaches, that is complete crap that the PA did not take you seriously or give you options or even a stupid referral. It is so hard to find a good general practitioner and I've only just now found a fantastic PA (after living in this area for five years) who does this novel thing called LISTENING. Anyway, she should have at least given you a script for a migraine medicine. Hope you have better luck at the new GP.

[HereWeGoAJen]

I just read the first of the Percy Jackson books. I approve. I don't think it is going to make my list of Greatest Books of All Time (and therefore into my bookshelf) but it wasn't a waste of time.

[Terrill]

My 2-year-old's middle name is Katherine, largely after Kit in WoBBP (and because I always wished that I were named after a character in a book!)

For Caroline: The Day the Babies Crawled Away, by Peggy Rathman, and maybe What Does Baby Want, by Phyllis Root. We also really like the Gossie and Gertie books. Also: Anna Shares and Anna's Book.

Patrick: I used to love everything by Gordon Korman. No Coins, Please might be a good first one, or I Want to Go Home.

Have you read The Magicians, by Grossman? Or The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell? I'm sure you would like the latter; I'm not sure about the former.

[Rhonda]

My 8 year old is reading the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull - kind of a fantasy, Harry Potterish type series, although he likes it better than Harry Potter. Same author also wrote "The Candy Shop War", which he is enjoying also. He is also into Roald Dahl and has Percy Jackson on his to-do list as well.

[Sylvia]

I teach middle school, and we participate in the Rebecca Caudill Award, which is definitely worth looking up as a list of recommendations. Basically, librarians pick a bunch of books, then kids read them and vote to pick a winner. A few recent winners include Ella Enchanted, Holes, and Hoot. Recent favorites of my students include The Lightning Thief and The Hunger Games. These are 3rd-6th level, so Patrick should be fine with them.

[Mrs. Schwarzenegger]

Julia, I know this isn't the "dizziness post" but in case nobody else has brought it up, please have your doctor (or your friend's doctor) check for any additional signs of brain tumor? This is NOT meant to be alarmist in any way - except almost a year ago I was feeling nauseous, dizzy, headachey and things just *sounded* a little off kileter... And all of a sudden I had a brain tumor that they very swiftly removed and thankfully has left few lingering effects... but a girl can't be too careful. Plus, you'll feel so good when they tell you it's NOT a tumor, right?

Now that you're not at all worried about anything...

Books for the twinks should include the oeuvre of Simms Taback, whose "There Was and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" is the best of its kind! All his picture books have die-cut pages, which my 2 year old found fascinating.

Books for Patrick: I can't recommend the "Redwall" books strongly enough! Also, please don't underestimate the brilliant work of William Steig - "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" is such an intelligent and feeling book, I think everyone should read it, and re-read it every five years.

Books for you: if you like short stories, pick up any collection by (Canadian darling) Stuart McLean; if you like humorous essay, try "Notes from the Underwire" by (former child actress) Quinn Cummings.

[Kim]

"Anyway, are any of you (bigs or littles) reading anything good?"

Your blog!

[Rayne of Terror]

What about Hoot? Hatchet? Julie of the Wolves? Island of the Blue Dolphins? My side of the mountain?

[bethany actually]

I'm currently on Book 3 of the Percy Jackson series and am quite enjoying it. Also, Witch of Blackbird Pond is one of my all-time favorite books.

[bethany actually]

Also, I laughed out loud at "damned pomegranate." :-)

[Barbara]

I am currently listening to book 3 of the Percy Jackson series. I found them after watching the movie, so I guess it's badness served a purpose. I digress. The books are delightful, and the reader is great!

I would highly recommend the entire series for listening pleasure.

I read the first book of the Gideon trilogy, the Time Thieves. Enjoyed that, but am too cheap to buy the audiobook and my library doesn't have it. I will have to search online and see if I can find it at another library.

[a.]

It's been awhile since me and the AR program tangled, but my hatred for it at the time was borne of the nitpicky, fiddly little questions you had to answer to get the points for the books. I found very frequently that I could go on for days and paragraphs about the themes and ideas and blah, but if I failed to recall the color of caddie woodlawn's dress on page 76: disqualified.

[Lynnette]

Ooooh! OOOOH! Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy and the Tiffany Aching books from the Discworld series would be my recommendations for Patrick. I sent the Bromeliad to my 10-year-old brother for Christmas and he looooooooved it, but not before my dad finished it in a few days. Awesome books for kids and adults.

[Andrea]

My kids (ages 3-9) are all very excited about Percy Jackson. I enjoyed the last one so much I read ahead.

[Shannon]

I really dug the Percy Jackson series. I also am liking the 39 clues series.

I just read "the school of essential ingredients" by Erica bauermeister and loved it. Also loved "the geurnsey literary an potato peel pie society" by Mary Ann shaffers and Annie barrow. Both quick and well written reads.

[I]

My 7 year old son, who is a reluctant reader, LOVES the Bunnicula series by James Howe.
And I LOVE your writing.

[Hetty Fauxvert]

I'm a bit surprised you didn't mention Seuss for the littles, but maybe he is just such a given that you didn't feel the need to mention his works. My twin boys are nearly three, and since they were barely two-ish they have loved Seuss's rhyming works (his other stuff too, but specifically stuff with a lovely rolling rhythm) such as Yertle the Turtle (a HUGE hit at our house!) and Horton the Elephant ("I said what I meant and I meant what I said -- an elephant's faithful, one hundred percent" -- how can you not love that?). But if you haven't gone there yet, be aware the Cat in the Hat truly can be a divisive force, a la' the Butt Rompers issue. My husband p*ssed me off one too many times by calling the poor little Fish in the Pot the "Wet Blanket," so that book has now been retired where he will never find it until I'm ready for it. Hah. ;)

As for books for Patrick, this is incredibly retro but for some reason I think he might like them ... did you ever read the old Bobsey Twins books? The concept is that one family has two sets of twins, older and younger, and they do various extremely retro things like building snow forts. Just a thought, if your library happens to have any copies left.

[Katie]

Nothing to say except that was one hell of a post!

[tgsdmom]

I am not happy with the approach of the doctor you saw. She can tell you that she believes it's just horses, but if you're concerned, she should also check for zebras. And I'm concerned too... Also, when your computer screen becomes uncomfortable, we all suffer!

Good luck with reshuffling the house ;-)

There are so many comments already, that you probably have a long list of books by now. But here are some books for young (in spirit) adults that perhaps were not mentioned:
1. The Wizard of Earthsea / Ursula K. LeGuin (there are also sequels to it that are not too bad).
2. The Book of the Dun Cow / Walter Wangerin
3. The Satanic Mill / Otfried Preussler

P.S. One son loved "The Lightning Thief". Not I...

[tgsdmom]

Also:
4. The Door into Summer / Robert A. Heinlein
5. Confessions of a Homing Pigeon / Nicholas Meyer (if you haven't read it already)
6. Kajtus the Wizard / Janusz Korczak
7. Bartimaeus Trilogy / Jonathan Stroud (I believe you've read those)
...

[crystal]

That depends on your definition of "good".

If you are finally fulfilling your 30 plus year dream of adopting a BLM horse, then yes, I've got some spectacular recs for you regarding behavior, natural horsemanship, barefoot hoof care, care and feeding of a wild mustang, training a wild horse, improving your seat, and so on.

But... ah, well.... no.

John LOVED Eragon nearly as much as the Star Wars series books his Uncle obsesses over and bequeaths to him, and the Harry Potter books. He was enthralled even before reading them though, the idea that a homeschooler wrote a major book series that became a movie... Well. he nearly flipped.

But they are apparently well written, and engaging for those who are of that type, such as my husband and my son and not so much me (I love Harry Potter, but can't seem to really get into Tolkien, or... others. It's a flaw. Flog me now.).

John also loved the Redwall series. I liked the PBS show. John said the books were way better, so I bet they're fantastic.

I'm useless. My favorite books as a kid were anything Marguerite Henry and Walter Farley and Mary O'Hara and books on horses and ponies and ownership and conformation and yeah... my poor kids. We started the therapy fund early.

Actually, they each have their own obsessions equally as strong as mine and while never the twain shall meet, at least I understand and support theirs, while they and their father mock mine, so, it's all good. :)

Glad life is on the upswing. May it continue. I suppose it's the upside of the hell we went through, we don't own a damn thing really, so other than an upside down mortgage, wobbling markets didn't faze us much. But at least we're closer than ever to being less in debt. A mortgage I can live with, especially if we can get un-underwater and get rid of the damn PMI so we could rent the place out if worse came to worst.... At the rate the market is going, we just might be able to buy some land this year....

It's nice to have hope again. Like little shoots peeking out in early spring. Nice. Yes.

Hope the new doc has an all clear and a great and speedy plan for you.

[Sharon]

I'm trying so hard to remember what books are on my childhood bookshelf in my old bedroom. I seem to remember really liking Zilpha Keatley Snyder (The Headless Cupid series, The Egypt Game, and especially the Below the Root series). I too loved the Witch of Blackbird Pond and another by the same author, Calico Captive. Patrick may also like Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series.

Also, I don't think I'm alone in sincerely hoping that you will mock up a sidebar ad for Butt Rompers!

[mandy]

My eight year old just finished the Percy Jackson series. He absolutely loved them as did his 16 year old brother (who read each one in a day) and their fortysomething year old mom. Like Harry Potter they get a bit darker with each book.

[Nan]

Check out The Diamond in the Window (thediamondinthewindow.typepad.com) for ideas for books. Good advice and interesting comments. Katy Boo did a fantastic series on picture books/early readers in January which can be found in her archives at katyboo1.wordpress.com.

[Beth]

I wanna read Butt Rompers. If you two publish it, I will personally buy copies for all my friends, family, and neighbors I don't even know that well.