This:

And this:

the show must go on...

(thanks to 'Lemon' for this video)

some photos of charlotte

(Thanks to Bella for some great shots)

some photos of jem

recommended reading

I recently put together a list of children's picture books for a friend who just had a baby.  The list is hardly exhaustive.  It's possible that I've even left out some of my favorites...  but this list is what I came up with. 

These are books I like - some for wonderful storytelling, others for captivating illustrations, and others just because I remember them fondly from when I was a kid.  (There are a few that Jemma threw in, too.)

 I'm not going to say "these are good books."  Taste is so subjective...  and I'm sure there are people who will be horrified that "Pinkalicious" didn't make the cut - and there may even be someone out there who hates "Slinky Malinky", which made it to the list.  These are just what I'd recommend at the moment (in no particular order):

Llama llama mad at Mama – Anna Dewdney

The Lorax – Dr. Seuss

Ladybug Girl – Dadi Soman and Jacky Davis

Frog goes to Dinner- Mercer Mayer

What do you do with a Kangaroo – Mercer Mayer

Goodnight Gorilla – Peggy Rathman

Fine as we are – Algy Craig Hall

Room on the Broom – Julia Donaldson

The Kissing Hand – Audry Penn

So Many Bunnies – Rick Walton

Where’s my Hug – James Mahew

When Stella was very very small – Mary Louise Day

I love you, little one – Nancy Trafuri

Goodnight my duckling – Nancy Trafuri

Daddy Hug – Tim Wames

Where the Wild things Are – Maurice Sendak

Stella Luna – Janell Cannon

Verdi – Janell Cannon

Pinduli – Janell Cannon

The princess knight – Cornelia Funke

Big Red Tub – Julia Jarman

I love you the puplest – Barbara M. Joosse

Twilight – Holly Young Huth

No Matter What – Debi Gliori

We’re going on a bear hunt – Michael Rosa

No one but you – Douglas Wood

Grumpy Cat – Britta Teckentrup

Bark, George – Jules Feiffer

Martha doesn’t say sorry – Samantha Berger

Martha doesn’t share – Samantha Berger

Magic Box – Katie Cleminson

Move over Rover – Karen Beaumont

Is your mama a llama – Deborah Guarino

No no yes yes – Leslie Patricelli

The giving tree – Shel Silverstein

A bargain for Frances – Russell Hoban

Lilly’s big day – Kevin Henkes

Lilly’s purple plastic purse – Kevin Henkes

Chester’s Way – Kevin Henkes

Chrysanthemum – Kevin Henkes

Sheila Rae’s peppermint stick – Kevin Henkes

Walter the wolf – Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

The little Brute family – Russell Hoban

A stone doll for sister brute – Russell Hoban

George and Martha – James Marshall

The Mole sisters and the moonlit night – Rosalyn Schwartz

An Extraordinary Egg – Leo Lioni

10 Minutes ‘til Bedtime – Peggy Rathman

4 Valentines in a Rainstorm – Felicia Bond

Swim, Little Wombat, Swim! – Charles Fuge

Belinda the Ballerina – Amy Young

Fritz and the Beautiful Horses – Jan Brett

The Sleep Ponies – Gudrun Ongman

Kiss Kiss – Margaret Wild

Brown Bear – Bill Martin

The paper bag princess – Robert Munsch

Mr. Rabbit and the lovely present – Charlotte Zolotow

Just for you – Mercer Mayer

Slinky Malinky – Lynley Dodd

Harry Maclary and Zachary Quack – Lynley Dodd

Is there room on the featherbead – Libba Moore Gray

No fighting no biting – Else Holmelund Minarik

Guess what I found in Dragon Wood – Timothy Knapman

The sun egg – Elsa Beskow

The quiet book – Deborah Underwood

Red sings from the treetops – Joyce Sidmon

Little by little – Amber Stewart and Layn Marlow

Kikis blankie – Janie Bynn

Max cleans up – Rosemary Wells

Noisy Nora – Rosemary Wells

Max’s chocolate chicken – Rosemary Wells

Sam who never forgets- Eve Rice

Monkey and Me – Emily Gravett

DW the picky eater – Marc Brown

DW’s guide to preschool - Marc Brown

Mr. Large in charge – Jill Murphy

The Gruffalo – Julia Donalson

Rose meets Mr. Wintergarten – Bob Graham

If I were a Lion – Sarah Weeks

Library Lion – Michelle Knudsen

Little Fox goes to the End of the World – Ann Tompert

Mouse Tales – Arnold Lobel

Another Mouse to Feed – Robert Kraus

Me and my Amazing Body – Joan Sweeny

Bread and Jam for Frances – Russell Hoban

Falling for Rapunzel – Leah Wilcox

Farfallina and Marcel – Holly Keller

The three little wolves and the big bad pig – Eugene Trivizas

A kiss for little bear – Else Holmelund Minarik

Imogene’s Antlers – David Small

The country bunny and the little gold shoes – Du Bos Heyward

The mysterious tadpole – Steven Kellogg

Dr. Desoto – William Steig

Many Moons – James Thurber

10 Hungry Monsters – Susan Heyboer O’Keefe

A porcupine named fluffy – Helen Lester

Otis – Janie Bynum

Mortimer Mooner Stopped taking a bath – Frank B. Edwards and John Bianchini

Angels Watching over me – Julia Durango

Sleepy Places – Judy Hindley

When I’m sleepy – Lynne Cherry

Everyone Poops – Taro Gomi

Friends Forever: The adventures of Melrose and Croc – Ema Chichester Clark

Crictor – Tomy Ungerer

The Empty Pot – Demi

Herbert the Lion – Clare Turlay Newberry

my flu shot

I hate needles. I don't mean that I don't like them...   I hate them.  To give you an idea, before I had my eldest daughter I was more concerned about the fact that I'd be getting an i.v. than about the fact that I was about to give birth.  (Admittedly, that was before I actually went into labor...)

The point is, I don't let somebody stick me without a damn good reason.  So when I was recently in the hospital for a medical procedure and the nurse asked me - totally randomly - whether I'd already had 'my flu shot' my answer was, not surprisingly, 'no'.  But then she went on to inquire whether I'd like my flu shot now...  At that point I started to wonder what the heck was going on.  Was this an 'upsell' - like at McDonalds when they try to get you to buy the super-sized meal? Was she going to offer to remove my tonsils next?

I didn't want my flu shot.  And why was it supposed to be mine, anyway?   That's the way you talk about something that's assumed - like your period.  You get it.  Everyone gets it.  There's no way around it.  But when there's a choice involved people don't use that terminology.  No one asks you whether you're considering getting your braces or your face-lift.

It seems that there's a really hard push to get everyone on board with this whole flu shot thing.  People are led to believe that they need to get a flu shot to be healthy.  But while some obedient patients who get their flu shot every year don't get the flu...  others do.

Don't get me wrong.  When I went to Ethiopia to adopt my youngest daughter I got the recommended vaccines. I thought that was the right choice.

But I don't like being bullied.  And I don't appreciate the omnipresent and subtle coercion involved in the decision whether or not to get a flu shot.

The way I see it, it comes down to drug companies trying to force me to do something that may or may not prevent me from getting a particular strain of flu, but that will most certainly line their pockets.

So I say - No thank you.  You can keep your flu shot.  And I'll take my chances...   Worst case scenario, I get a cold.

new word

I made up a new word. It's 'ridoxious'.

It means: ridiculous and obnoxious. I've found it to be pretty useful...

and this too...

love this

happy feet

This video makes me happy. Don't know which I like more, the song or the effortless and joyful way these dancers do their thing...