Take A Chance Challenge- Random Word

My random word was "above". The book I read was Above The Thunder by Renee Manfredi. It was the story of four people whose lives become intertwined, resulting in changes for all of them-both good and bad.

I think that what intrigued me right away was that the way in which the characters all meet is through an HIV support group that one of the characters runs. (I used to work in an AIDS facility). I do have to admit I had a hard time getting into the story at first because it seemed like it took awhile for the characters to actually meet. But once they did, I enjoyed the interaction between them and the relationships that they formed. It ended up being one of those books I couldn't put it down and it was one of those books I wanted to keep going, if that makes any sense!

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today, Sunday, June 28, 2009 (my mom's 62nd birthday!)

Outside my window...the sun has been out ALL day which is certainly noteworthy, I think!! It will be getting dark in another half hour or so.

I am thinking...about what a crazy week it was in terms of celebrity deaths

I am thankful for...Tucker's fever finally went down-it scares me when it gets high!

From the kitchen...we had steak, baked potatoes, and corn-perfect weather for it! Not sure about the rest of the week but I did buy chicken so maybe chicken pot pie and barbequed chicken.

I am creating...Tucker will probably make something for my mom's birthday (we celebrate it on the 4th)

I am wearing...navy blue and gray striped capris with a navy blue shirt

I am reading...Still reading Love Is Eternal, it's almost 500 pages and I'm now halfway through! With Tucker we are still reading Charlie and The Chocolate Factory with a break the last few days while Tucker has been sick. We also read Cowboy and Octopus by Jon Scieszka, Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel, Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black, and Don't Let The Peas Touch! and other stories by Deborah Blumenthal

I am hoping...the weather continues to be nice for the rest of the week

I am hearing...Tucker trying to convince me to come upstairs with him...Curious George on DVD

Around the house...pretty clean...laundry to be folded

One of my favorite things...corn on the cob with lots of butter

A few plans for the rest of the week...2 home visits...tucker will be going over Isaiah's house tomorrow for a few hours...Tucker starts swimming lessons this week, Tues and Thurs...the start of the reading program at the library Wed night...Tucker will be spending the day with my mom on Friday because Angela is off...4th of July parade and celebrating my mom's birthday on Sat.

A picture thought...

I took this at Salmon river Park Wed night when we got together with Julie and her family. He looks so serious staring out over the water!

Getting Together with Friends (old and "new")

It was a busy week of fun for us getting together with friends!

Monday night Tucker and I met Kim and her daughters and Dawn and her son at a McDonalds where the kids could play. Kim and I have recently reconnected via Facebook and turns out she lives down the street from me! We were really good friends in our junior year of high school and I even went to Lake George with her and her family for a week! She's now married and has two beautiful little girls: Lyndall (age 4) and Mia (age 9 mos). Dawn and I grew up together in the same small town but she's two years younger than me. We didn't become friends until I was a senior dating a freshman who was a friend of hers (alright, we aren't going there...the only good thing that came out of that is my friendship with Dawn, enough said!) Dawn and I are more like sisters than anything else, something we have acknowledged many times over the years! She's now married to a wonderful guy named Sam and they live in VA with 2 yo Caleb!

A picture of the kids (I took a couple and for some reason Tucker didn't look forward in either of them!!)

Next a picture of the three of us with Mia. L-R Kim (holding Mia), Dawn, and me


On Wednesday night, we ventured to Salmon River State Park to meet up with Julie and her family who were here visiting from FL. Julie and I were friends in first grade and can even remember going to each other's houses. She then moved to Voluntown and then FL and came back in our sophomore year of high school when we "met again" and have been friends ever since! She now lives in FL (as do her parents) but her brother Rob still lives up here and we have gotten together before with them (his boys are 8 and 6 so Tucker fits in perfectly!) This gathering was for John's sixth birthday and I was surprised to see Julie's parents here too! I've seen them over the years, unfortunately at funerals, but they had never met Tucker! We had a good time catching up with everyone and Tucker had a blast playing with John, Zack, Jul's kids, and all the others there!

Carl and Madi cook the hot dogs


Rob entertains the boys with a fishing pole


A group shot of Tucker, Jake, Jonathan and Madi (the last time we had a group picture of them, Jake and Tucker were 2 and Jonathan and Madi had to hold them so they wouldn't run away!)

Zach and John got in the picture and it all went crazy!


A picture of me and Julie

The final get-together (of which I don't have pictures) consisted of me and Dawn getting together with Maria from work! Maria and I got to talking one day at lunch back when I first started and it turned out we both grew up in Columbia but she went to a different high school. She told me what year she graduated so I asked if she knew Dawn and it turns out they were best friends through grade school but lost touch once they went to different high schools! Once I knew her name, I remembered her, mostly from girl scouts and it's funny to share all these memories with someone you just 'met'! We met Dawn for dinner and then walked over to Dairy Queen for blizzards and just had a great time laughing and catching up!

Overheard in Target...

I was in Target today checking out their dollar section when I heard a baby crying from the men's room, kind of a little 'ehh' every couple of seconds. I didn't think much of it until I heard a falsetto voice singing, "push it out push it out, yeah go poopy!" over and over!!!!!

I had to get out of there fast before I laughed out loud!!!

What a good daddy, though, huh?!

My 1st Blogging Anniversary

One year ago today, I finally gave in to Julie and started my blog! And I am so glad I did! I have enjoyed having a place to share my thoughts, our adventures with Tucker, as well as meet some great fellow bloggers along the way!

Thursday Thirteen-80s Shows

This week, I'm thinking about my favorite TV Shows from the 80s!

1. Golden Girls

2. Wonder Years

3. Growing Pains

4. Family Ties

5. Kate & Allie

6. Facts of Life

7. Square Pegs

8. Solid Gold

9. One Day At A Time

10. Mork & Mindy

11. Laverne & Shirley

12. Silver Spoons

13. Moonlighting

To participate, go here.

What's On My Nightstand?

This month's pile of books are for the Take A Chance Challenge!

-Love Is Eternal by Irving Stone (my current read)
-White Ghost Girls by Alice Greenway
-Weaver's Daughter by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley

These are Tucker's books:
-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (his current read)
-Don't Let the Peas Touch! and Other Stories by Deborah Blumenthal
-Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black and Kevin Hawkes
-Cowboy and Octopus by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
-Cat Power! by Daniel Kirk
-Cranberry Summer by Wende and Harry Devlin
-In 1776 by Jean Marzollo
-O, Say Can You See? America's Symbols, Landmarks, and Inspiring Words by Sheila Keenan

(Obviously I'm gearing up for the Fourth of July!!!)

Take A Chance Challenge- More Choices Made

Random Selection I followed my directions (three shelves down, 10 books to the right, back 3 books to the left) and came up with White Doves In Morning by James Lee Burke. According to the book jacket, it is "an epic story of love, hate, and survival set against the tumultuous background of the Civil War and Reconstruction".

Judge A Book By Its Cover: I really liked the beach scene with two girls playing on the cover of White Ghost Girls by Alice Greenway. According to the book jacket, it take place in the "summer of 1967 when the turmoil of Mao's Cultural Revolution is spilling over into Hong Kong as war rages in nearby Vietnam...the story of Frankie and Kate, two American sisters living in a foreign land in a chaotic time".

Poetic Review: I am going to attempt this with Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg.

Last Day of School and Pizza Party

Thursday was Tucker's last day of school! Here he receives the Comstock Book award for most improved


A picture of him and his teacher Mrs McAdams. We will definitely miss her!


Our school does a fun activity called Moving Up where the kids get to spend time with their teacher for next year. A few of his friends from his class this year will be in his class as well as two good friends from kindergarten!

We had a pizza party to celebrate a great T-ball season! Thankfully we had it at our town pavilion because it poured!!! Here's Tucker with his trophy


A team picture-all holding their trophies


We played a fun game of Wiffle ball, parents against the kids! Here Michael shows where he's going to hit the ball


Tucker takes a turn at bat


It was a fun season and great group of kids! Tucker will be moving up to the Farm league next year!

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today, Sunday, June 21, 2009, Father's Day

Outside my window...as usual, it is just starting to get dark.

I am thinking...I need to go to bed, not be on the computer

I am thankful...for family

I am hoping...to sleep good tonight and that it really does stop raining by Wed like the weatherman said it's supposed to!

From the kitchen...out to eat Mon, Wed, and Thurs...haven't thought much beyond that!

I am creating...busy week, not too much creating!

I am wearing...jean capris and a pink and tan striped shirt

I am hearing... Tucker playing the Wii (I know...he needs to go to bed!) and the dryer

I am reading...Still reading Love Is Eternal. Finished listening to The Divide and really liked it! Will be starting Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg tomorrow. With Tucker we took a break from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and read an Arthur chapter book Arthur and the 1,001 Dads, in honor of Father's Day. We also read The Night Before Summer Vacation by Natasha Wing, Carl's Summer Vacation by Alexandra Day and There Was A Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello by Barabra S. Garriel. The plan for summer reading is he will read a picture book (to take the place of the reading he was doing nightly for Reading Lab) and we will read 1-2 chapters to him every night. He's doing three different summer reading challenges: one for school, one for the library, and one for Borders.

Around the house...very clean because I cleaned good for having everyone here today!

A few plans for the week...getting together with my friend Dawn and a friend from high school and their kids Mon night( I reconnected with Kim via Facebook and she coincidentally lives down the road!!)...getting together with Julie and her family visiting from FL on Wed...getting together with Dawn and Maria Thurs(we didn't make it last week)...my cousin's daughter's birthday party on Sat...Tucker and Michael are going to both his friend Andrew's and his friend Chase's birthday parties Sat...possibly Sturbridge Village on Sun or maybe go see Ice Age 2: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

One of my favorite things...ice cream cake

A picture thought...

In honor of Father's Day-a favorite picture of me and my dad, circa 1972...

Happy Father's Day!

The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.

Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father's Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like we honor our mothers on Mother's Day.

source: morning-glow.com

Author's Tea

Yesterday was the Author's Tea at Tucker's school. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was really nice!

It started out with the whole class welcoming us

Then they each read their whole book of stories, poems, etc they had written over the year (to whomever had come to be with them)

One by one, they went up to read a selection of their work (His teacher, Mrs McAdams, looks on...)

We then enjoyed lemonade from tea cups and muffins made by Mrs McAdams

To finish, Mrs McAdams presented each of then with a special certificate for completing first grade and said a little about each of them. With Tucker she said that "it is difficult to make this friend smile" the whole class knew right away it was Tucker. Also that he is her rule-follower, if she tells them to bend over and touch their toes and forgets to tell them to stand back up, Tucker will still be touching his toes 10 minutes later! (I wasn't quick enough to get his picture getting the certificate!)!)

I'll also let you all in on a little secret...he is receiving an award at the end-of-the-year ceremony tomorrow! We got a notice in the mail; he doesn't know about it. They send notices to the parents so we can attend if we want to!

Thursday Thirteen-Plans for the Summer

With today being Tucker's last day of school and with the official start of summer this weekend, my focus this week is on summer plans! So here are thirteen things we are planning to do this summer:
I included some llinks for things you may not be familiar with...)

1. Play in the sprinkler

2. Go to the beach
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3. Go to New York City in August

4. Go to Old Sturbridge Village


5. Read

6. Relax

7. Go letterboxing

8. Cook-outs (with Smores, of course!)

9. Go hiking

10. See fireworks for the 4th of July

11. Go to Six Flags


12. Spend time in my mom's pool

13. Hope the sun comes out (LOL---it's been a dreary month of June here in CT!)


To participate, click here.