Rewind to April: Part 1 :)

I'm trying to get caught up cuz there's lots going on around here that I'd like to post about daily, but feel like I'm so far behind...

April did not start out real well for us - Tim got a dreaded call from work... there were 5 more pilots laid off and those that are left were getting a $15k pay cut (this on top of the other pay cut from a month ago). He is now at a salary lower than he started at with the company 2.5 years ago. Scary. Things are not looking good at his company and although he is trying to hang in there, the future does not look bright. On top of all these pay cuts, Tim has also acquired additional duties and positions within th company (good for job security, horrible for quality of life). Therefore, he is gone even more, and rarely gets his whole week off once per month.

Mommom, Poppop & I took the girls to see Monsters vs. Aliens 3D which was SO much fun! Cool movie with fun 3D effects :)



Spring Fun playing outside:





EASTER
Easter was nice -- We all made the best of it, although Tim was gone (as usual) and missed all the fun. Our town had their local Egg Hunt which the girls enjoyed. It was windy and FREEZING, so we came home like ice cubes, but it was well worth it!





Poppop bought us some beautiful hyacinths - probably my all time favorite smell and definitely my favorite flower! Of course I couldnt resist taking pics of those:



The girls and I and Poppop dyed Easter Eggs with Carl, Anita & Ry Guy:







Tommy & Kim came down Saturday morning (April 11) so we all spent the day together. Carl & Anita left that evening and Tommy & Kim slept over to spend Easter morning with us...
We were so lucky the Easter Bunny came on Sunday morning with lots of goodies for the girls!

He even hid the real eggs that we dyed all over the front yard!






Then we went to church... we tried a new church in Ocean City which we all really enjoyed!



We even baked a special bunny cake (got directions from a girl at work)...I think it came out adorable!! Especially with the girls help :)




And a yummy meal to wrap up a beautiful day!

Testing new website...Cute?

Click the play icon in lower right to 'turn pages'...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Middle Place

The Middle Place

by Kelly Corrigan

Published in 2008. 288 pages.

Amazon link

Author's website

Genre: Non-Fiction, Health Mind & Body

My Overall Score: 4.75/5

What its about (taken from amazon.com): Newspaper columnist Corrigan was a happily married mother of two young daughters when she discovered a cancerous lump in her breast. She was still undergoing treatment when she learned that her beloved father, who'd already survived prostate cancer, now had bladder cancer. Corrigan's story could have been unbearably depressing had she not made it clear from the start that she came from sturdy stock. Growing up, she loved hearing her father boom out his morning HELLO WORLD dialogue with the universe, so his kids would feel like the world wasn't just a safe place but was even rooting for you. As Corrigan reports on her cancer treatment—the chemo, the surgery, the radiation—she weaves in the story of how it felt growing up in a big, suburban Philadelphia family with her larger-than-life father and her steady-loving mother and brothers. She tells how she met her husband, how she gave birth to her daughters. All these stories lead up to where she is now, in that middle place, being someone's child, but also having children of her own. Those learning to accept their own adulthood might find strength—and humor—in Corrigan's feisty memoir

What I thought: This was definitely one of the most uplifting inspirational stories I have ever read. Well written. Encouraging. Engaging. I enjoyed reading about local spots in the Philadelphia area, including the King of Prussia mall. The relationship between Kelly and her father was extraordinary. Perhaps the most inspiring part was the essay at the end of the book, which Kelly wrote during her treatments entitled 'Transcending'. I wish I could find the text online, but trust me, it is beautiful!

You Tube video of author reading Transcending - CLICK HERE

A few passages I really enjoyed were:
p 215 "The way I see it, if you have four kids, you don't really have to do anything else, ever...Four kids gives you a pass for every forgotten birthday, overlooked appointment, and missing form....It's like having nonthreatening cancer, forever." - funny!!
p 216 talking about why she wants a big family: "...every kid I've ever met from a big family doesn't take himself too seriously and has learned things you cant teach...they make do. They roll with it." --Helped to put my mind at ease about having a large family

Why I read it & where I got it: Once again, I heard some wonderful things about this book so I ordered it on amazon.

Date finished: May 21, 2009

Currently reading: Body Surfing by Anita Shreve

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by Mark Haddon

Published in 2004. 240 pages.

Amazon link

Genre: Fiction

My Overall Score: 4.5/5

What its about (taken from amazon.com): Christopher Boone, the autistic 15-year-old narrator relaxes by groaning and doing math problems in his head, eats red-but not yellow or brown-foods and screams when he is touched. Strange as he may seem, other people are far more of a conundrum to him, for he lacks the intuitive "theory of mind" by which most of us sense what's going on in other people's heads. When his neighbor's poodle is killed and Christopher is falsely accused of the crime, he decides that he will take a page from Sherlock Holmes (one of his favorite characters) and track down the killer. As the mystery leads him to the secrets of his parents' broken marriage and then into an odyssey to find his place in the world, he must fall back on deductive logic to navigate the emotional complexities of a social world that remains a closed book to him. Christopher can only make sense of the chaos of stimuli by imposing arbitrary patterns. His literal-minded observations make for a kind of poetic sensibility and a poignant evocation of character. Though Christopher insists, "This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them," the novel brims with touching, ironic humor. The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice.

What I thought: I really liked this book! It was written from the perspective of a teenage boy with Aspergers (on the Autism spectrum) and was such an eye-opening reality check of what life can be like for these people. The chapters were numbered by prime numbers because thats what Christopher feels comfortable with. Although it is a work of fiction, it really feels like a true story - very real and true-to-life characters. I highly recommend this book - whether you go into it with zero knowledge about Aspergers or if you live/work with someone with the syndrome - either way, there is much to learn about this charming boy named Christopher!

Why I read it & where I got it: I got this book from the library. Although I never heard of it before, when I read the back, I was instantly drawn because I am fascinated by this topic. And due to my line of work, I was eager to enter the mind of a boy with a similar disorder to what many of those kids live with every day.

Date finished: May 15, 2009

Currently reading: The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan