Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

From authors website:
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.


A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.     

I really liked this book. Silly as it is, I usually pick books with a girl for the main character. I didn't read anything about this book before I bought it so I didn't know that the main character was a boy. Honestly I might not have bought it if I had known. I'm glad I didn't know.  It was a pretty good book.

10 things on the 10th - February

In honor of Valentine's Day...
10 things I love
1. my husband, J (obviously)
2. my kids (again, obviously)
3. my family (sisters, parents, in-laws, nieces, nephews...)
4. reading
5. photography
6. chocolate
7. living in the quiet mountains
8. staying up late - sleeping in
9. my instax camera - I love every picture I have taken
10. being able to stay home with the kids

there are a million other things that could go on this list. I'm sure tomorrow, or a week from now I will think why didn't I put (insert that thought). these are 10 random thing I just thought of right now.

34

Today I turned 34. It was a great day. My youngest was home sick, but not really sick, just a bad cough that kept her up last night. Good excuse to keep her home and spend the day with her. My oldest, I did send to school. I would have loved to have him home too, but it's hard for him to miss a day of school.
I love the instax mini that J got me. I am almost thru one of the things of film and I love each and every picture. I will so easily become my new obsession. I love it! I love it!

Discovery of Witches

I finished reading A Discovery of Witches today. This is the book I was excited to read. I thought is was very similar to the Twilight series, but still really good. I can not wait for the next book to come out. July 10 2012. (I should put a count down on my sidebar:)

here's a good book review I found online:
A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.
Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the "Twilight" series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

Just finished...

It was pretty good. Again not a favorite, but it was a good story.

I'm super excited about my next book. I've heard it's really good. Hopefully it will make my good books list.

10 things on the 10th

10 favorite TV shows:
(no particular order)

1. American Horror Story
2. The Walking Dead
3. Mad Men
4. Sons of Anarchy
5. The Killing
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. Weeds
8. Breaking Bad
9. Army Wives
10. Days of Our Lives

Old-Fashion Soft Pumpkin Cookies

My sister Jennifer made these cookies while me and the kids were visiting my family in December. This is the second time I've made them, they are so good.

The recipe:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (one stick), softened
1 cup LIBBY'S 100% pure pumpkin
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased (or I use parchment paper) baking sheet.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Optional - Drizzle glaze over cookies.

Glaze:
Combine 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, 1 tablespoon of melted butter, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth.

I double this recipe and make half with walnuts and the other half with chocolate chips (to make J and the kids happy).

Enjoy!

Scrapbooking

my best girl
one of our (mine and madison's) saying
i ask her if she is my girl, my best girl
of course she always says yes

the pictures are from november 5
our first snow
i guess i should say real snow,
we had a dusting before but this was our first snow that the kids could play in
about an hour into the kids playing we had to take a trip to target
to get snow gear for the kids
they spent most of the rest of the day outside
having snowball fights and building a snowman

Back in Session

Madison is back in guitar lessons, with her new guitar. Her guitar instructor was impressed that after a month of missing lessons she remembered her strings. But really, Eddy Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddy (E.A.D.G.B.E.) is really hard to forget. The kids think that is super funny. Practice for this week is to learn E minor. Good thing Austin is also taking guitar. I have no clue what E minor is.

Bedtime Story

When did the rolls of book reader and listener get reversed? I'm sure before I know it she won't even want to read to me anymore. I guess I will enjoy this new bed time routine while I have it.

3 minutes

Madison went to the ENT today. She has had a rotting smell coming from her mouth/nose. We have been to the dentist, and had her MRI and everything there was great. However her MRI was of her spine and did not cover her head, so we were not able to see her sinus or anything in the head. Her neurosurgeon suggested we take Madison to an ENT. ENT - Dr A checked Madison out, and took a complete medical history, and said that he would feel better having a CT (glad he didn't say "to rule some things out" - those words, over 5 years later, still sting). It took insurance about an hour to approve the CT because Madison just had a scan and they felt another round of antibotics would do. With a little (or a lot) of convincing from Dr A's staff, her CT was approved and was done there in the office. Madison did great. And the results... 3 minute pause, 3 minutes of silence while Dr A scrolled thru her scans, 3 minutes is a really long time. Try it, watch your computer clock tick away 3 minutes. That is what I did. I couldn't bring my self to look at scans I know nothing about. So I watch the clock tick away 3 minutes. It felt like a lifetime. Then Dr A said NED - no evidence of disease, no tumors, no cancer. I cried happy tears. I wasn't prepared, going into this appointment, for the threat of cancer to be so prominent. I hate that this is our, wait that is selfish, this is her life. I'm so happy that the CT today and her MRI on December 8th were NED, but over 5 years later I still worry about everything. It's really hard. I want to not have to worry about one day hearing the words your daughter has cancer again. I don't want to ever worry about Madison not being a part of our life. If this is her last (fill in the blank - birthday, christmas...). She is amazing, beautiful, smart... I could go on and on, little girl. I love her so much. I want her to have a normal, beautiful, long life.    

Jam Session

A rare moment of sibiling bonding. Usually these 2 are arguing and fighting, so to see Austin take the time to teach Madison a song, and to see Madison willing to listen and learn from Austin was such a nice change of pace. Hopefully both of them playing the guitar will be a way for them to interact kindly with each other. I really enjoyed watching them get along. Hopefully one day they make beautiful music together :)   

Christmas WipeOut

Disclaimer: no child was seriously injured. The only fatality - our large sledding tube.

This is Madison sledding down from the top of the hill. Actually it is her last run from the top. After this one J started her half way down the hill. Much better/safer/less scary for both Madison and me.

This is the oldest cousin. She, I think, learned that it was better to go down in pairs after this flip.

This is little man. He loved sledding, even after this. He flew down the hill every time, and wanted to go faster and higher.

And this is Uncle A, first (and last) attempt at sledding this hill. He hit a stick and the tube ripped. Pretty Funny.

And just for fun, and because they are so cute. Here is Austin and Madison sledding together.

Also just for fun, and because she is so cute, (and because I didn't get her crash recorded) here is the middle cousin flying down the hill from the top. She loved it.

5 commitments to myself

1. 5 posts a week. I love looking back at old posts, next year i will make a blog book.

2. 365 photo challenge - a photo a day. this will be fun! not just another thing i have to do. ( i will keep telling myself this when I start wearing out, or remember that I will appreciate them at the end of the year - j will understand this) - if when I complete this I will also turn this into a photo book.

3. my own version of project life - at the moment I can not afford the kit but I can make my own version with all the scrap stuff I have sitting in the garage.

4. one little word - still thinking about it but this year I am leaning towards appreciate. I really need to work on that. I have a good life, great kids, wonderful husband, loving sisters (and their families) and parents -  I need to learn to appreciate what I have and not think about the material things I don't/can't have.

5. a clean house - i am not good at keeping the house clean. I have no excuse. No little ones at home during the day, no work, really i have just been stuck in a rut of. Time to get out.

our first snow day

we have know all week that today it would snow. really snow. not just the light dusting we got earlier this month. the kids have been so excited. last night they checked outside several times. it was either raining or hailing, no snow. this morning we woke up to this...