Tale of the Multi-Tasking, Craft-and-Design-Loving, Mother-of-Two, Singaporean-Living-in-US, Corporate-Working Mom Named Grace Hester

My Little Reader II

Two "Clever" Blogs

There are a handful of blogs on my Google Reader feed that make me smile because they are just clever.  And not in that pompous-me-me-me way.  More subtle like a casual scarf on a Parisienne but which in its nonchalance, just makes it so much more appealing.  Here are two of my current favourites,

Paris vs. New York
Blog:  http://parisvsnyc.blogspot.com/ | Twitter | Facebook 

(All photos are from the blog, please click on photo to view original blog post and to view graphic in higher resolution)

 
 
 
  
 
 

Indexed
Blog:  http://thisisindexed.com | Twitter | Facebook 

(All photos are from the blog, please click on photo to view original blog post and to view graphic in higher resolution)

 

 

 

Pioneer Woman's (Ree Drummond) Book Now Available for Pre-Order!

 

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels is on my Christmas wishlist if I don't preorder it myself.  You can also download these cool printable gift cards to gift to someone to let them know you purchased this for them and that it will arrive shortly.

 
Anyone else planning to purchase this?

For those of you who are thinking, "Who is Ree Drummond?  Who is this Pioneer Woman?" . . .

GO READ HER BLOG - You will laugh out loud at her self-deprecating (but not to the point of being annoying) humour, her beautiful photography, her hilarious family, and her scrumptious cooking.

 

Mod Fam Find: Friends and Family Sale at Chronicle Books

I heart Chronicle Books - their books are the perfect blend of visual candy and quality content and I often find myself browsing through their website for interesting reads for our girls and for myself.

Check them out yourself and take advantage of their Friends and Family Holiday Sale where you can enjoy 35% off PLUS FREE ground shipping!  Just use promo code FRIENDS at checkout. (Good till December 5th.)

Here's what I've added to my shopping cart so far:

Just Between Us:  A No-Stress, No-Rules Journal for Girls and Their Mothers. (Was $15.95, sale price $10.40)

 
With the approaching holidays, I find myself getting more and more reflective of how time has flown and wanting to look at old photo and scrapbook albums.  I had a sneak peak into this book and really liked the prompts listed in this book.  I would get ALOT of use out of this as journaling prompts not just for one child but for both, and not just once, but over time as it will be interesting to also note how our responses change over time.

Mini Lunch Notes (Was $9.95, sale price $6.50)

 
I am super excited to get these!  We have officially made it through a quarter of lunch-packing and daily lunch notes.  (I would make/print the lunch notes in batches on a weekend and pull one out to write on for the day.)  These would be such a great way to mix things up and I am tickled pink by the illustrations too.

Heroes of the Environment (Was $16.99, Sale Price $11.05)

 

This book features 12 people who have in their own way, have done great things for the environment.  I like the theme of relating the story to a child by describing the experiences these heroes had as children, witnessing some of the ecological issues, that gradually fueled their passion for finding a solution.  I think that for Naia (5-year-old), this could be a great way to tie into why we do some of the things we ask her to do like turning off the lights, not littering, and recycling.

The Ivy and Bean Secret Treasure Box (Was $19.95, Sale Price $13)

Naia LOVES to read and as my husband would say, It's time to graduate to "Chapter Books". So I have been looking around for age-appropriate and values-appropriate books for her and came across Ivy+Bean.  It's touted as a good "transition read" for those who are past easy reader books but not quite ready for middle school books.  Also the baseline themes of friendship and siblings and family will really appeal to Lil' Ms Social Butterfly.  Honestly, I am a little intrigued by what Ivy+Bean get up to as well! 

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated directly by Chronicle Books for this post however I am a member of their affiliate program.

Why I am Buying, "Of Thee I Sing" by Barack Obama

This evening, I preordered three copies of "Of Thee I Sing" by President Barack Obama that is slated to be out in November of this year.

The book summary from Amazon:

In this tender, beautiful letter to his daughters, President Barack Obama has written a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation. From the artistry of Georgia O'Keeffe, to the courage of Jackie Robinson, to the patriotism of George Washington, President Obama sees the traits of these heroes within his own children, and within all of America's children.

My husband was an only child and was raised by his mom.  There was no father figure around in his life and although he did not have a model to look up to, and has never cared for young kids in his life, he has done well as a father to our two young girls.  I think the fact that the author is the first African American president, whose father was not around as he was growing up, yet whose values are so grounded in family and his two daughters, offers many opportunities for our girls to draw positive parallels, especially between their daddy's love for them, and President Obama's love for his daughters.

I am also intrigued by the list of groundbreaking Americans referenced and love the idea of tying in the positive traits of these historically-significant Americans to his daughters.

But why three copies?  Well two will be for our girls, 1 each.  Ordinarily, they share one copy of a book but in this case, I thought it might be great for Noah to write a special note in each book for each of our girls for them to keep a copy each and take with them as they grow.  And as for the third, Naia's school has a great (not compulsory) tradition of having the birthday child donate a book to the school library on their birthday and I think this would be a splendid choice for Naia's 6th birthday.

On a more practical (than the reasons listed) note, there is an unbeatable price for pre-ordering the book now.  I think this is just cherry on top of a rum & raisin sundae.

For the Little Reader

While reading with Naia and Gianna one evening in Naia's room, my eyes settled on Naia's bookshelf of books with some of her current favourite reads and I made a mental note to scrapbook about it.  Then a brighter lightbulb came on and I thought, why not create a poster of both girls' favourite reads!

So here it, available as a standard print (in Turquoise, Orange, Periwinkle, and Ochre), or as a custom print with all of YOUR or your child's favourite reads,

 

The Books Listed,

Litany by Billy Collins

Joanna Goddard blogged about a 3-yr-old charmer who memorized The Litany from Billy Collins.  I will share a link to that video at the end of this post but I felt it was right to provide the context of this poem by starting with the original as intro-ed and read by the author,

The poem itself is lovely.  But to hear Billy Collins talk about the background just makes the poem that much more endearing.  But this version might just take the cake.  Listen to this 3-year-old reciting the very same poem.  Too adorable.

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Here's the poem's text:

You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine...
-Jacques Crickillon

You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.

It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.

And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.

It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.

I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.

I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine.

I Am Nujood - The Face of Yemeni Child Brides

It's been awhile since I have had a chance to read a book from front to back but it had been a nagging thought in my mind to get back into it.  So when I joined SV Moms and found out that they had a Monthly Book Club, I thought that committing to the monthly book club would kill two birds with one stone - I would add the blog post to the post goal I set for myself, and the activity would help me get back into reading, hopefully increasing the number of books once I find my groove again.

So I was excited to receive I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced (you can read the synopsis here) and planned for pockets of time to dive into the book.  I mean, her gentle face on the cover, the striking title, and the engaging synopsis released by the Publisher, seemed to hint of the promise for a life-altering read.  But after just 3 bedtime readings, I finished the book and am sorry to say that I was really disappointed.  The story had such a strong premise but I was left thirsty for more context, for more background, and for a stronger journalistic perspective.  Nujood is listed as one of the authors as well as Delphine Minoui, a French reporter for Le Figaro.  So perhaps it is because the words had to come from Nujood and probably through a translator, that the book felt thin and lacked the insights of a knowledgeable player who can provide more details behind the autobiography.  I also found some commentaries online that suggested that this book was written for Young Adults or Teens audience so the language was deliberately simplistic but I could not substantiate this though it would make a lot of sense.

Still, to credit the book for being one of the first to address this topic from the first-person's perspective, it did motivate me to look up more into the practice of child brides in Yemen.  Although the book was written in 2008, US reports on the effects of the practice have continued even till April this year when CNN.com reported that a 12-year-old child bride died of internal bleeding following intercourse three days after she was married off to an older man.  However, the research also brought insight into how and why the Islamic marriage laws differ from Western laws and that really, the honorable intentions of the marriage and the terms behind them were all broken in the case of Nujood.  (She was not supposed to be raped, her marriage was to be consummated only when she was "mature", her marriage was supposed to have saved her from being raped by random strangers, and from hunger as her family was facing financial hardships.)  These real circumstances a Yemeni child faces - the poverty, the lack of education, the oppression, extends beyond the practice of child marriages, and the brokenness of their realities (not by Western standards but by the ability to have your basic needs met) contributes to these drastic measures taken by families of child brides day after day.  I am not condoning the practice but it begins to feel like the circumstances Nujood found herself in could have been the lesser of two evils. 

I was also surprised by how sympathetic I felt to Nujood's parents, I wonder if they even understand what all of the fuss is about.  After all, what they did have been the way of life for so long.  Or how strained things must be for Nujood's father and his extended family, and how much more difficult things are now that the family honor has been sullied.  And certainly, how scary it can be for them to fear an attack on a daily basis.

All in all, I would say that as a literary piece, it did not impress me.  But if its purpose was to bring awareness or tease the reader into exploring more into an issue that has long gone unaddressed through Nujood's triumph over one of the unspoken-but-still-prevalent oppressive systems against women of modern times, then it has obviously worked its charm on me.  But I'd love to see a follow-up book that provides a less one-sided perspective on the issue.

I also strongly suggestion that you read through some of the questions in the reader's guide on Random House's page for I Am Nujood.  I felt that it provided a much more open-minded line of questions for the reader to think about.

Note:  I was sent this book from the publisher for review purposes through the SV Moms Book Club.

Grace Hester Designs Mention in Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine

I just got word today that my Days of the Week in French was mentioned on Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine's March issue.  This is insane, I have a headache because I am going through a stressful and demanding schedule right now and am out-of-this-world elated at the same time.  It's like chasing alcohol with two shots of espresso - high high high adrenaline. 

Going to go get a copy (or more!) on my way to the girls' school.  Then I am going to go home and hide in a corner until this craziness if over.  (Needless to say, the hiding will be done after the girls have gone to bed.  Or they might think it's a game.)

 

P/S, I am also less than 20 shop hearts away from 1000 etsy shop hearts.  So I will be hiding in the corner with a bottle of Jack Daniels.

We Heart Pad Thai (Thank You Pim Techamuanvivit!)

One of the best things I took out of the Martha Stewart show experience, was being introduced to Pim Techamuanvivit, author of The Foodie Handbook, and aka @chezpim on twitter. 

Photo from MarthaStewart.com

Noah and I LOVE Pad Thai but since we moved away from our favourite Thai Kitchen in Lakewood, Ohio, we've had to "make do" with the offerings in Columbus.  But we have never thought to venture into making it ourselves because we had convinced ourselves that we would not be able to maneuver around ingredients such as fish sauce, and tamarind, and palm sugar.

So when I sat in that audience and witness the "self-help" segment titled, "Pad Thai 101" at the Martha Stewart The Blog Show, which made it all look so do-able, I made a mental note to rope Noah in and try it at home.

So we got all the ingredients at Columbus Asian Market(817 Bethel Road, Columbus, OH), soaked the noodles, picked the ends off the beansprouts (if I could pay someone to do this, I would), prepped the shrimp, and all that good stuff.  I had read pages 66 - 71 of The Foodie Handbook a couple of times, but I did make Noah watch the video snippet with me - yes, I can laugh at myself for making him watch it with me but we needed to start from the same reference point! Then we rolled up our sleeves and began our virgin attempt at the dish.  The results of which you can witness above.  It tasted divine (more fish sauce for us next time) and it was so easy, I cannot imagine why we felt so intimidated by it.

So thank you Pim for a great segment, and a fun and insightful book, and for enabling us to become self-sufficient Pad Thai fans!

Note:  The referenced Pad Thai segment can be found here.  Click on the video labelled "Pad Thai".