bookworm book club

I am so excited about this.

My sister just forwarded an email to me, written by a friend I worked with at summer camp in Montana. Lindsey is one of the funniest people I have ever met...and apparently quite the reader. She has started a website called The Bookworms Book Club where each month she reviews four books and invites you to read one of them too, to write your own review, and join the conversation on her website.

I love this idea because she reviews the books at the beginning of the month, allowing you to read her thoughts before you make your pick. Genius. And it's just her honest opinion, not the perfectly worded back cover that makes every book sound amazing. And not all of the books are new releases...which means I don't have to go and buy every book at Barnes and Nobel. I can check them out at the library. Cha Ching. (That's the sound of money still in my pocket...)

But what I think I love the most is that this sort of book club takes away all the obligation of having to read one particular book by one particular date. I hate assigned reading. I resent it. Reminds me of 6th grade when my reading teacher made our reading assignments into bookmarks, so that I was always keenly aware of how many chapters I was behind. And I was always behind. A procrastinator and a slow reader...reading always felt like a chore.

It's a whole different topic for another day...but just as a side story: I remember when I read Harry Potter while abroad in India. I was on the top bunk of a bed with three other students in an overcrowded train, barreling down the tracks. The train was potent with people and engine and I was totally lost in a game of quidditch taking place on the pages of the book. And when we got to our destination I remember actually thinking, "I think that's what people mean when they say they get sucked into a book." I was 19 years old when I first got sucked into a book! Isn't that crazy to think about?!! I was so late to the reading party.

Anyway, I hope you join in with the Bookworms. This month I am going to read The Giver. I remember student teaching 8th grade and the students going crazy for this book. Should be a fun read.

And just a suggestion to Lindsey: I think The Bookworms Book Club should have buttons with iridescent rainbows on them and a place for five star stickers, one star for every book read. And when your button has five stars you can turn it in for a personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut. Oh man, does anyone remember Book It? I LOVED that program. Food always has been my best motivator...

hot

Well Minnesota is giving us some pretty incredible summer days this week. Hot. Sticky. Muggy. Upper 90's with a dew point that makes the air terribly thick. At 38 weeks pregnant, I have been enjoying the air conditioning, the two sun dresses that still fit me and my endless cups of ice. I love ice so much.

But we've also been trying to get outside too. Last night we set up the sprinkler in the backyard and took turns going through it. Ivar thought it was silly and shockingly cold. Rory got himself entirely soaked and I walked through a few times just enough to get my legs and then went back inside.

Today is the 4th of July and our country is 235 years old. My grandma recently passed away at age 93 and it really blows my mind that she lived for well over 1/3 of our country's entire history. That's a very big chunk of our history to witness! America is just not that old.

We're celebrating today with both families. I am making homemade ice cream sandwiches (fun to go back and read that blog post) and looking forward to a hamburger with extra pickles, watermelon, deviled eggs and an icy glass of lemonade. Oh I love a good all-American picnic!

PS...I'm posting this at 4:30, and I'm actually up right now. I feel confident that little baby and I will be up at 4 pretty regularly together, as we already hang out, wide awake, most early mornings already. While sitting on this couch watching the clock, I came across these pictures from last year and the parade we had at Grandma's family reunion. So much of life has changed in one year.

auntie lu lu

Ivar has a nickname for many in the family.

Rory: Daddo
Becca: MamaDaddo
Grandpa Paul: Used to be called "Bapa" but now he simply calls him "Ball"
Grandma Margaret: MaMa. Straight up. I think it's the ma from grandma and the ma from margaret. I tried to deny this name for a month, but finally gave in. Ivar calls my mom Mama, and I am MamaDaddo.
Grandma Marlene: Mimi and MimiPapa (along the same lines as MamaDaddo...)
Grandpa Madison: Papa
Aunt Annika: Auntie Unka
Svea: Weigh-a
Mara: Mada
Aunt Lisa: Eesa!
Kirby, Toby, Ruby: B!
Josie: Osie
Maddie: Maddie (perfectly pronounced)
Aunt Louie: Auntie Lu Lu
Uncle Jake: Yak

When we look through the pictures from our trip to the farm (which happens daily) Ivar delights in the pictures of him and Jake and Louie by the tractor and the cows. The learning from this is that if you want a kid to adore you, and babble your name repeatedly as they go down for their morning nap, try to get a few snapshots of you by a tractor and cows.

Cici's Pizza Buffet

I have no picture of this moment, but I hope to paint one with words.

Friday night the three of us went to the South Beach at Lake Harriet as we often do. We brought our supper with us, a deep dish frozen pizza that once baked, Rory had put in our lasagna pyrex casserole pan with the plastic lid. The pizza was big, the slices were heaping and it tasted awesome while sitting on the bench that is right on the walking path, overlooking the beach.

Ivar sat in his stroller eating his pizza and I held the casserole on my lap while Rory ran back to the car to grab our waters. I sat there, huge and pregnant with an entire pizza on my lap.

Our longtime family friend Linda walked by with her friend Pam. We talked for a while, sharing our excitement for the move ahead, heard about the conference she was attending this weekend, talked about the baby soon to arrive.

When Rory returned I realized I had been sitting by myself with this huge pizza on my lap. I asked Rory, “Does this look bad?”

Rory laughed and said, “Yeah, sort of. Like the guy at Cici’s Pizza Buffet who just goes through the line filling a tray and never grabs a plate.”

I then saw myself from the outside, nine months pregnant, huge, wolfing pizza on a park bench by myself while my son watched me and Linda approached. And then I laughed so hard it hurt my pizza-and-baby-stuffed belly.

family of three

I was at a garage sale last week and a little girl about Ivar’s age fell off of a tricycle and hit her head really hard. Everyone froze at the sale as the babysitter went to scoop her up explaining, “it’s been a really big day for her…she just met her little sister this morning at the hospital. And she’s wondering where her mom and dad are.”

On the walk home I got weepy (not really hard to do recently) thinking about Ivar and all of the change that is ahead for that little boy. Soon he’ll be the one meeting his little sibling, and then he’ll watch his house be boxed up and then he’ll find himself waking up in a new room.

Dear Ivar,
My sweet baby boy. Soon we are going to add another member to our family and one day we’ll try really hard to remember what life was like before this new sibling joined our clan. We’ll become a strong  family unit and our hearts will grow in size once more (seemingly impossible, but we know it is true.) We are so excited for you to have a playmate, a lifelong friend, someone to share family inside jokes with.

But I want you to know how precious these 20 months have been as a family of three. You are the joy of our hearts and bring us laughter, entertainment and happiness like we have never known. You get all of the attention and this works well for all of us. You love us as much as we love you.

Last night the three of us went to REI and then to Target. And we all shared an icee at Target, taking turns sipping from our different straws. You loved being a part of the sharing, spoke up if we were skipping your turn and screamed excitedly as the icee approached your face. You make our errands actual events, our to-do lists become memorable outings.

In the mornings you yell for Daddo and he will get you out of your crib so you can help him make his coffee. Then the two of you check the garden, set the sprinklers and eat some raspberries. You will also use this time to take petals off of the flowers. Never the dead flowers. Always the thriving ones. You are proud to help.

Some mornings you will join us in bed, but lately this annoys you as it is obvious you believe it is time we all start our day. You want to get down off the bed, but only if we get down too. It is time to be up and moving.

Life is going to change a lot with a new baby. Attention will be split and there will be quite a bit to adjust to. And then we'll move to the new house and settle into new rooms and routines. I have been praying for all of our hearts during this season of transition. It might be rocky for a while. I am sort of bracing for that. But I also know that babies grow quickly and we will find our rhythm in a few months. I have asked Jesus for extra grace and patience as we all adjust to a new home, a new baby, a new sleep routine (or lack-there-of).

But I am so excited that we get to bring you with us. Of course we do, because you’re our son. But in some way I am looking at you to serve as a constant within all of the changes ahead. You’ll still be full of silliness, full of joy for life, full of Ivar-goodness. I like knowing that it is the three of us who are heading on this next adventure together. We’ll adjust together, grow in love together, fall hard for this little baby together and continue to live our days fully alive.

So Ivar Nicholas. I think I got a little off track, but what I really set out to tell you is that these 20 months have been sweet, sweet  months with you. I will always look at the pictures from this season and think of the memories we have as a family of three with fondness, happiness and joy. Because you are our first born, our sweet little boy.