spring-tivities

It's been a lovely spring thus far.  Can I say it enough how wonderful it is to be able to pile out the door without even putting on shoes and socks?  {Well -- until last week when it was just plain rainy...  But it seems the sun is back!}

Some of what we've been up to since spring has sprung...

01 ... a quick stop for three rides at the carnival

02 ... whitney's farm is a favorite for spring, summer and fall alike

03 ... owen was surprisingly brave!  (and bob was unsurprisingly brave)

04 ... first ice cream outing of the season, and owen's first solo cone!

05 ... when bob sees a kid on the circle riding or scooting he's sure to rush out and tag along

06 ... i dare you to bounce on a trampoline and not laugh

07 ... after much begging from bob - a family trip to the golf course

08 ... these boys love helmets and anything with wheels

09 ... hard to watch your baby sit in a mud puddle, but boys need to be boys

10 ... i've been known to disappear outside to be found blowing giant bubbles alone.  so relaxing.

11 ... boys and their balls.  enough said.

12 ... any park, every park.

13 ... bob will say, "mom, there's still a little bit of pretty light left.  want to go outside?"  yeppers.

14 ... exploring everywhere.  climbing everything.  talking to everybody.

15 ... third thursdays - a fun way to get out and grab a treat, hear some live music, and meet some interesting pittsfield characters.

why angie's boblog?

I was here at aka Bailey thirty seconds ago (B's a high school friend of mine).  Bailey asks, how'd you come up with your blog name?  Well, Bailey -- that there's a timely question.  Because Sunday is the Netflix release of the new season of Arrested Development!!  We've been waiting for this for -- literally -- three years or something.  What the heck does that have to do with my blog, you ask?

For those who may not have been cool enough to pick up on this, here you go:



That there plus the name of my firstborn and his being the whole point of my writings equaled "angie's boblog."  Funny though -- I thought the pronunciation "bob-log" was obvious, but when I first started about three years ago {first post ever here} our families would say, Oh, I love your bo-blog!  Which made Ben and me laugh because our son's name is Bob for goodnessake!

But anyway... that's that.  So tell me -- are you looking forward to the new AD season as much as we are?!

reading lately

some of what we've been reading lately...

for the pups:

Global Babies -- a favorite of Owen's, a favorite of Bob's at this age.  babies love babies, simple as that.  and what a beautiful way to introduce our littlest ones to different cultures.

One Year Devotions for Preschoolers -- we read these most days at lunch.  bob loves them and usually begs me to read a few extras each day.  every entry has a brief vignette, a Bible verse, and a two-line rhyming prayer.  all very simple and sweet, with focus on loving Jesus, being a good friend, beginning to understand God.  no scary stories or frightening illustrations, just good points for preschoolers to think about.

The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy -- picked this one up at the library last week and we've read it a hundred times since.  a great story about (not) playing with a younger sibling, whose name happens to be owen!  bob loves all things superhero, so of course he loves it.  he reads owen's lines in his Owie voice; cutest thing ever -- except when Owie grins and points at "himself" on the pages.

for me:

The Alchemist -- okay, I can't believe I just finally got around to reading this (and only because ben picked it off the shelf first!)  at jasmine's bequesting (I know that's not a word but i think it is) I borrowed it from kara approximately 8-10 years ago.  and i wish i had read it way back then because it is amazing.  so good.  i could provide you with a hundred quotations to go along with my assessment, but i'll refrain.  if you're the only person besides me who hasn't read this yet, you need to.

Letters to a Young Poet -- as soon as i finished the alchemist i needed to read this one.  i've read it several times already and each time it speaks to me.  another must, as far as i'm concerned -- and not just for poets.  rilke's words on sadness, on solitude, on God: profound.

The Mister Rogers Parenting Resource Book -- it's actually two books in one: The Mister Rogers Parenting Book (Helping to Understand Your Young Child) and Mister Rogers' Playtime (Encourage Your Child to Create, Explore, and Pretend with Dozens of Easy to Do Activities).  I picked this up at a library book sale when Bob was a baby and recently pulled it off the shelf to read.  The first half is great -- with an emphasis on understanding and appreciating and working with your child instead of just getting them to comply with your demands.  While Rogers' words are clearly rooted in the soil of unconditional parenting, he is much less confrontational about it than say, Alfie Kohn.  It's a very reader friendly book, with short digestible chapters.  The second half is filled with simple activities -- some are great ideas and some I know my son in particular has no interest in whatsoever.

so that's that.  any good reads lately?