Cuddle Time

The past couple of days Colton hasn't been feeling well and really it's the first time he's been sick in his whole life. Not a bad track record. Anyways, I feel bad that he's sick and he can't tell me what doesn't feel well and I can't tell him him that it will be ok and that I'm trying my best. But there is one thing that has been totally awesome about Colton being sick - he's CUDDLING with me!

The minute I found out I was pregnant I began dreaming of have a cute little baby and that we would just hang out all day and cuddle with each other. Yeah....that has not happened at all. The best I get is occasional 15 second hugs. He's just too active to ever want to just sit and snuggle with me.

Not anymore! Now that he's sick all he wants to do is be with me. Yay!!! We've been laying in my bed watching cartoons, snuggling on the couch, and for me it's been pure heaven. I don't even care that I running on very low amounts of sleep....my cuddle love tank is being filled.

Here he is with his loveys - (from left to right) Santa, Lamby, Puppy, Doggy, and Sick Puppy

Love you Colton! Don't get well soon! Ha!!

New Home

Apparently many of my friends aren't aware of the fact that I moved! I guess I failed in communicating this because I hadn't properly blogged about it. We are living in Draper and staying in my inlaws basement until next summer. We broke even on our Springville house so we need to save up some money for a down payment on a new home! I've had many requests for pictures of my new home, so here are a few.

You can see our living quarters basically in two shots:

Don't worry, I didn't clean up for y'all. Just keeping it real. =)

You can see our bedroom in the back of the kitchen and to the right of our room is our bathroom. Then to the right of that is Colton's room. That pretty much sums it all up!
This is Colton's favorite area - the Toy Cave
The basement is a walk-out, so this is our view out the back door. That's the Salt Lake valley and way in the distance you can see the Salt Lake.

Obviously I'm not going to post our address on here, but email me if you want it!

Colton is 16 months old!

Colton is turning into such a fun little boy! He is highly active, naughty, and gets into EVERYTHING, but he also is turning into a jokester, is cuddling a little more often, and developing a very outgoing personality.

So here is his current like/dislike list:

LIKES

• Sesame Street - this is his new favorite show...especially Elmo! What is it about Elmo that kids love so much?
• Popcorn and NutriGrain Bars - these would be the only two things he'd ever eat if he had his choice. He's become a pickier eater, especially with the texture of foods, so it's becoming harder to feed him. But for the most part he'll still eat all his fruits and veggies.
  
• Climbing - he's turning into a monkey! I'm amazed at how fast he can climb things and how high he goes. I found him the other day on top of the piano eating chapstick. Didn't think he could ever get up there! His Grandpa has a really big truck and Colton can climb in it and then into his carseat from there. That one amazed us too.
  
• Stuffed animals - namely his Lamby, Sick Puppy, and Puppy. Those are the names of his animals and he loves to give them lots of hugs throughout the day.
  
• Daddy - Dad is definitely the favorite parent in this house! Colton cries when Joe leaves for work in the morning, I get called "Da Da" throughout the day, and then he gets REALLY excited when Joe comes home. I'm apparently old news.
• Slides - he loves going down slides at the park all by himself on his tummy. He doesn't have any fear for the height of the slide, he'll go down anything.
  
• Strangers - he still has no stranger anxiety and loves to jabber to anyone who will look at him. I ask him to wave bye-bye all the time and he won't, but if a stranger waves to him he has no problem waving back. Again, mama is chopped liver.
• When Mom takes a shower - this is Colton's time to get into anything he wants and also throw things into the shower with me. Things that have joined me in the shower include sippy cups, shoes, books, toys, toilet paper, and clothes.
• Electronics of any sort - he's always walking around with a cell phone (has to be a real one, not a fake one), remote control, calculator, mouse from the computer, etc.
  

DISLIKES

• Diaper changes - he still has complete meltdowns when I change his diaper. He tries to roll around too. I hate diaper changes.
  
• Normal sippy cups - he will only drink out of sippy cups that have straws in them. Why exert energy in tipping a cup when you can just drink from a straw?
• The feel of peanut butter - I got out of the shower the other day and Colton had gotten the jar of peanut butter of the counter, unscrewed the lid, and was dipping his hand in the peanut butter while saying "yuck,yuck" and then wiping the peanut butter on the floor. The damage that can occur during a 5 minute shower is unbelievable.
• Saying real words - Colton is behind in communicating which is hard to think because the kid doesn't shut up! He's constantly jabbering but only says maybe 10 words. He can say a few sentences though, which is skipping a few steps. He constantly points to things and says "what's that?" or "what is it?". He will also pick things up and say "this is it".
• Animals - he used to LOVE animals and want to hug and touch them, but ever since the head-butting-goat incident he's been a lot more cautious. I don't blame him.
• Being told "no" - he does one of two things when we say this: 1. He hurry and does whatever he's doing really fast because he knows that we're going to come over and make him stop or 2. Walk away like he's an obedient child and then hurry and go back once we look away.

We love you Colton!!!!!

Book Review - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Summary: January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island--boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society's members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

My Thoughts: This book sealed the deal for me in confirming that my favorite types of books are historical fiction. I loved this book - I was able to learn some great facts about the German occupation of Guernsey Island, the effects of WWII on London, and enjoy a great story! This was a really funny book, the main character was so witty! I kept thinking about I want to be funny like her and should write like she does. I would recommend this book to anyone!

Book Signing 101

Here are some tips that would have been helpful for me to know this evening that I would like to share with those who read my blog.

1. In order to get your book signed, you have to have a ticket. This ticket assigns you a number or letter and when your number or letter gets called you get to enter the bookstore.

2. If you want to receive a ticket you must go EARLY! When you get there right when the book signing begins, there will not be a ticket for you.

3. If you see and have a conversation with the author before the book signing ASK HER TO SIGN YOUR BOOK.

So yes, although I didn't get my book signed, I still got to meet Pioneer Woman!! There were like 3 different lines and I didn't know where to go so I went over to a group of people standing by the employee entrance to ask if they knew what was up. Well, it happened to be Pioneer Woman talking with her people! At first I didn't realize who I was asking which line to get in but then it dawned on me that it was HER. FYI - she's gorgeous! She's taller than I thought she would be...close to my height. And she's really skinny and has beautiful hair. She seems genuinely nice too. So the night wasn't a total loss.

Yelling Is The New Spanking?

I ran across this article in the New York Times that I found to be very interesting. It talks about how parents are increasingly using yelling at their children as discipline and how it's also becoming the #1 reason of guilt as a parent.

I'll admit that I've yelled at Colton once or twice in a sudden moment of surprised pain (he dropped a wrench on my toe) or when he's done something really naughty (thrown a glass cup on the tile floor) instead of other forms of discipline. Did the yelling teach him a lesson? No. But that could have also been due to his age. Nonetheless, I don't want to be a yeller, but is it inevitable? I'm doing well right now of not losing my patience too bad with Colton but I'm sure things will be much crazier once more kids enter the picture.

Anyways, read the article. It's pretty interesting. Read it here.

Happy Halloween!

We had a really fun Halloween this year because Colton was able to somewhat participate. Friday morning we got to be in a costume parade at my mom's elementary school and Colton loved looking at the other kids in their costumes. Then we went and visited Joe at work and later that night went to a Halloween dinner at the church.

One of Joe's coworkers gave Colton some Smarties and after Colton ate half the package he was WIRED. I've never seen Colton so hyper and crazy. He just kept running around in circles yelling "WOW!" over and over. It was hilarious and also worrisome. I made the decision at that moment to skip trick-or-treating. That child did not need anymore candy!

Colton was a puppy and he looked so cute walking in this costume because the tail wagged! I was tempted to paint a black nose on him but thought that could end in disaster. Oh, and he did wear pants once we left the house.

So the night of Halloween, we decided to just stay at home and Colton helped Grandma and Grandpa pass out candy. Colton absolutely LOVED it! Every time the doorbell would ring he would run to the door and get so excited to see the kids. Then he would jabber with them as they walked away and would yell to make sure they heard him. It was hilarious. We also found part of a costume that Joe wore as a kid in Sally and Allen's costume box and Colton wore it all night. He looked pretty cute in it.

Book Signing

Ree Drummond will be here in Salt Lake city on a book tour for her new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl.

Doors to the 15th Street Gallery, south of the bookshop, will open at 6:30. Seating is limited and available on a first come basis. After Ree speaks and takes questions at the gallery, we will return to the bookshop for her book signing. Tickets for the signing line will be handed out at the gallery as you enter to be seated. Purchased books can be held for you.

I'm going - who wants to come with me?!?!

Cornbelly's and Jack-o-Lanterns

Last Saturday I informed Joe that we have to do at least one thing fall-related as a family. Usually it's just Colton and me doing things together during the day and Joe misses out on all the fun. So that day we decided to go to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point and then on Sunday night we carved jack-o-lanterns with Joe's parents.

Farmer Colton

This is a Cow Train that is being pulled at a snail's pace by a tractor. I told Joe to go on the train with Colton but Joe felt that a 15 month old was old enough to ride it by himself. Half-way through the ride we couldn't see Colton anymore because he had gotten out of the harness and was laying on the floor of the train with his eyes closed. Apparently he found it to be a good time to take a nap.

This is the Chicken Show where chickens pop out of a crate and tell corny jokes. Colton was the only one laughing.

Instead of sand this was filled with corn kernels. Colton loved playing in it.

Going down the slides with Dad.

Sitting in the big boy chair.

I learned that the cutting and carving of the pumpkin was a "man's" job, so I just supervised.

I was picking the seeds out of the goop to roast later on and tried to get Colton to play with the goop but he wouldn't.

Joe's first work of art

Joe's second work of art. He spent an hour each on these. Only Joe had the patience and is detail-oriented enough to carve something cool.

Book Review - The Historian

Summary: In this riveting debut of breathtaking scope, a young girl discovers her father's darkest secret and embarks on a harrowing journey across Europe to complete the quest he never could -- to find history's most legendary fiend: Dracula. When a motherless American girl living in Europe finds a medieval book and a package of letters, all addressed ominously to "My dear and unfortunate successor..." she begins to unravel a thread that leads back to her father's past, his mentor's career, and an evil hidden in the depths of history. In those few quiet moments, she unwittingly assumes a quest she will discover is her birthright: a hunt that nearly brought her father to ruin and may have claimed the life of his adviser and dear friend, history professor Bartholomew Rossi. What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler, the historical Dracula, have to do with the 20th century? Is it possible that Dracula has lived on in the modern world? And why have a select few historians risked reputation, sanity, and even their lives to learn the answer? So begins an epic journey to unlock the secrets of the strange medieval book, an adventure that will carry our heroine across Europe and into the past -- not only to the times of Vlad's heinous reign, but to the days when her mother was alive and her father was still a vibrant young scholar. In the end, she uncovers the startling fate of Rossi, and comes face to face with the definition of evil-- to find, ultimately, that good may not always triumph.

My Thoughts: LOVED this book! A friend recommended it to me and I'm so glad I read it - especially since Halloween is coming up. Perfect for the season. This book isn't scary, just suspenseful. It's very historically-based which some people will find boring and slow but I found it all quite fascinating. I also liked learning more about the profession of being a historian - it made me want to be one! I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a vampire book, but more on the intellectual side of vampirism. (Is that a word?)

Book Review - Blue Castle

Summary: At twenty-nine Valancy had never been in love, and it seemed romance had passed her by. Living with her overbearing mother and meddlesome cousin, she found her only consolations in the "forbidden" books of John Foster and her daydreams of the Blue Castle. Then a letter arrived from Dr. Trent -- and Valancy decided to throw caution to the winds. For the first time in her life Valancy did and said exactly what she wanted. Soon she discovered a surprising new world, full of love and adventures far beyond her most secret dreams.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. It's by the same author who wrote Anne of Green Gables, so the story is told in a similar fashion. It's a great story that had a great twist at the end of the story plus really made you think about how you would live your own life if you would "throw caution to the wind". It's an easy read, I read it in a couple of days, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is already an L.M. Montgomery fan.

Pumpkins, Witches, and a Petting Zoo

We live near a great place called Gardner Village that goes all out at Halloween time for families to come and visit (and shop). This place is extra special to me because it's also where I had my wedding reception! My mom had her fall break from school last week so we spent that time going to quilt shops and also taking Colton to see the witches and animals at Gardner Village.

Colton wasn't scared of the witches at all and he LOVED the animals. He went up and hugged all the animals and was actually pretty gentle with them. Despite his lovey-ness he still got head-butted by a goat! It was really funny to watch because one minute Colton was petting the goat and the next he was on the ground with this surprised look on his face. The goat got him in the tummy and luckily there's quite a bit of padding there so it didn't hurt.

Fishing & Frostbite

This past weekend my inlaws wanted to take their boat out for one last fishing excursion before it got too cold so we packed up and headed to Strawberry Reservoir. We knew it was going to be cold so we all wore 3 layers of clothing and I'm soooo glad that I bought some mittens and a snow hat for Colton when they were on sale this past spring because we definitely needed them! The temperatures were in the 30s and it was really windy. It was pretty much miserable. Plus we didn't catch any fish. This was Colton's first fishing trip and despite the cold he had a blast driving the boat with Grandpa and taking a nap with Grandma.

Book Review - Dairy Queen

Summary: When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. can't help admitting, maybe he's right. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn't so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won't even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.

My Thoughts: This was a really good book and an easy read. My favorite part was that she was a kick-butt girl that was a strong athlete. I also loved that she was a farm girl because I'm a wanna-be farm girl. But the book as a whole was great with a great message - you need good communication for relationships to be solid. I wanted to yell at the all the characters to just be honest with each other and TALK! My mom recommended this book to me and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants an entertaining, easy-read.

Farm Country

We're very fortunate to live so close to Thanksgiving Point and get to visit their fun attractions - especially Farm Country! Today we met up with my cousin Melissa and two of her kids. We had a lot of fun!

Here they are watching the ducks and geese. After this picture was taken, the kids got closer to them and a goose bit Colton's hand. A pony had just barely gotten done biting the same hand, so Colton wasn't a happy camper.
Colton got to ride a pony and he loved it!
The baby cows and horses kept licking the kids and strollers to death. This cow even tried taking Colton's shoe off. Colton loves animal slobber.

Book Review - Fifty Acres and a Poodle

Summary: Jeanne Marie Laskas is 37, with a house, garden, dog, cat, flourishing writing career--all of the perfect ingredients, in fact, of a happy city-person's life--when a childhood dream resurfaces. It is a farm dream, this "song I couldn't get out of my head," and it would make more sense, she ruefully admits, if she were "at least the farm dream type. A person with some deep personal longing to churn butter." But not Laskas. She likes malls. She eats Lean Cuisine. She believes "very deeply in the power of air conditioning, microwave ovens, and very many things you plug in." Nonetheless, she spends weekends on make-believe "farm shopping" excursions with her boyfriend, Alex, who is another city person, a shrink and the owner of an honest-to-goodness poodle--a farm dream disqualifier, if ever there were one. Then, one summer afternoon, the perfect place appears, and it's very real: fifty acres, a pond, an Amish barn, and a magnificent view out over the rolling hills of Pennsylvania's Washington County. They fall in love. They buy the farm. Goodbye, city-person life. But the scenery with which they fell in love is not quite like the scenery in postcards. Things need to be done to it, and all of these things involve buying and learning how to use different kinds of tractor attachments. And then there are the neighbors: the sheep farmer who shoots dogs, the curious proliferation of Joe Crowleys, everywhere the hunters. ("Congratulations on your ... dead deer," is all Alex can think to say to them.) Over the year that follows, the two city slickers find out a great deal about livestock, tractor attachments, and themselves; all of which is related in Laskas's funny, warm, conversational style.

My Thoughts: LOVED this book!! The whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking "this is so me!" I have huge dreams of owning a farm one day and have not a clue on how to run one. This book is well written and is so entertaining. If you're addicted to Farmville, Farm Country, etc. on Facebook....you need to read this book! =)

Homemade Christmas

This year I'd like the majority of the gifts for Colton to be homemade for several reasons - he doesn't even know what Christmas is, if what I make him turns out crappy he won't really care because a simple box would entertain him, and we're trying to save moolah. So I've been searching the internet for ideas and here are some that I'm going to attempt in the next coming months:

• Cute hooded towel
  
• Memory Game - I'm going to use pictures of all his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
• Funky Hedgehog - LOVE this one!
• Snake Tie - I'm debating whether to stuff this snake with beans or the poly-fil suggested.
• Denim Bibs - This is such a great idea.
• Card Table Fort - A boy version of this would be so cute. If I'm feeling extra creative and ambitious, I may attempt to make this one.
• Quiet Books - Colton is horrible at church and I'm hoping that he'll want to be reverent and stay put if he has one of these.

That's all I have found so far. I'd love to hear any other ideas of great homemade Christmas gifts that you are making for your children! I may not be able to pull off some of these gifts so I may need more ideas. =)

Book Review - The Help

Summary: Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

My Thoughts: Loved this book! My mom gave it to me to read because she enjoyed this book so much. I liked learning about what it was like for black maids during the civil rights movement in Mississippi and really made me think about human rights and how we treat others. I would highly recommend this book!

Reading Time

Before Colton goes to sleep we have a routine set up where he gets read to. I read to him before naps and Joe reads to him before he goes to bed at night. I love this time with him and I know Joe does too. I was cleaning up the kitchen the other night and could see Joe reading to Colton and thought that I should take a picture of that moment.
This is a picture that Joe took today. I love the backyard of where we are living because it's safe for Colton to just walk out and do whatever he wants. I don't have to worry about snakes, tarantulas, poisonous spiders, etc. here and so he just loves getting to go out on the patio by himself and play with the dirt in the pots. The worst thing he does is eat the dirt and he also enjoys catching rolly pollies (sp?) and eat them. I figure Bear Grylls eats nastier things, so Colton is fine. Plus Colton has eaten dog poo before and nothing is nastier than that. He recently started crawling on all fours like Mowgli (the Jungle Book) and it's really funny to watch.

Cool It!

Ok, I am very ready for fall to be here. We keep getting hints of fall and the calendar states that fall has begun, but I'm not convinced that it's official quite yet. On the random days that it has felt like fall I have been so happy! Fall makes me want to cook and bake all day long and tell Colton to just fend for himself. Here's a list of some of my favorite things to make:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Jalapeno Cheese Bread to eat with Jamie's Chili

Apple Dumplings

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies

Roasted Vegetables

Corn, Bacon and Zucchini Medley

Minestrone Bean Soup

What are your favorite fall foods?

State Fair

I finally unpacked the laptop....back to blogging!

Yesterday I took Colton to the Utah State Fair and I must say that I was disappointed. It was not very kid friendly like the Utah County Fair was and there were lots of delinquent teenagers roaming around. And get this - Colton does NOT like funnel cake! What?!?!? Is it possible that Colton isn't my child? All Colton wanted the whole time we were there was to drink fresh squeezed lemonade from his sippy cup, which you will see in every picture. And yes, he did pee so much on the way home that he filled up his diaper and got all over his clothes.

Colton with the grand prize pumpkin - it was bigger than him.

Playing with the water collected in this tractor wheel. He had a complete meltdown when I removed him from the area - our que to leave.

This was a cool butter sculpture.
They had a bunch of animal hides for people to feel in the wildlife section. This was a bear paw that Colton is petting.

This is just a random picture I took of Colton. His grandma put the bow on his head and he never took it off. Then he found the glasses on a Cabbage Patch doll but thought he pulled the look off better. Can you tell that he loves that sippy cup?

Lisa and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Here's an outline of my day so far:

7am - Colton wakes up an hour early and is crying really hard. He continues to cry while I change him and make his breakfast.

8am - Shower and get ready for the day while Colton whines non-stop. While I'm in the shower he take Joe's toothbrush and puts it somewhere. It's still lost.

9am - Load up the car with heavy boxes by myself. Colton is still whining and now crying because I won't let him in the garage. It's gross in there.

10am - Drive up to unload the car and Colton falls asleep in the car. I was planning on him falling asleep at my inlaws so I could start unpacking boxes. So now I drive around Draper while Colton continues to sleep.

11am - Joe calls and tells me that we're closing on the house at 2pm. I also get to go and visit Traci who just bought a cute new condo. This was pretty much the only good thing that happened all day.

12pm - Go to lunch and right when our food is on the table, Colton throws up everywhere!! It's so gross. Luckily I have some pajamas in the car so Colton doesn't smell like puke.

1pm - Joe calls and tells me that we're not closing because the lender doesn't know how to lend money and the contract is done with.

1pm-5pm - Thinking about what the crap I'm going to do. Half my home is moved out. Do I move everything back in? Do we continue on with the move? Should I call the movers and cancel, thus losing my $100 deposit? I just rented a storage unit, can I move Colton in to that? Do I move in with my inlaws as planned but leave the furniture I'm not using and have the movers come once the house is sold again? Should I give in to my emotional hunger and get that Blizzard I'm craving?

Also during this time Colton's mouth keeps bleeding off and on because his molars are cutting through. 3 of them. And the blood is on him, my furniture, me, the carpet, etc.

5pm - My house is back on the market and I have to be prepared for people to come in and look at it again. My house is trashed. This is not going to be good.

Book Review - Year of Wonders

Summary: When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

My Thoughts: I loved this book! I was fascinated about the effects of the plague on a small town, the new dynamics of the townspeople, and their reactions on dealing with the trauma of so many deaths. Anna is so strong and the author did a wonderful job of describing the emotions felt by her and others. The only negative was the ending for me. I didn't like it and felt it was a bit hurried. But overall, excellent read.

Book Review - The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

Summary: When Truly Plaice's mother was pregnant, the town of Aberdeen joined together in betting how recordbreakingly huge the baby boy would ultimately be. The girl who proved to be Truly paid the price of her enormity; her father blamed her for her mother's death in childbirth, and was totally ill equipped to raise either this giant child or her polar opposite sister Serena Jane, the epitome of femine perfection. When he, too, relinquished his increasingly tenuous grip on life, Truly and Serena Jane are separated--Serena Jane to live a life of privilege as the future May Queen and Truly to live on the outskirts of town on the farm of the town sadsack, the subject of constant abuse and humiliation at the hands of her peers.

Serena Jane's beauty proves to be her greatest blessing and her biggest curse, for it makes her the obsession of classmate Bob Bob Morgan, the youngest in a line of Robert Morgans who have been doctors in Aberdeen for generations. Though they have long been the pillars of the community, the earliest Robert Morgan married the town witch, Tabitha Dyerson, and the location of her fabled shadow book--containing mysterious secrets for healing and darker powers--has been the subject of town gossip ever since. Bob Bob Morgan, one of Truly's biggest tormentors, does the unthinkable to claim the prize of Serena Jane, and changes the destiny of all Aberdeen from there on.

When Serena Jane flees town and a loveless marriage to Bob Bob, it is Truly who must become the woman of a house that she did not choose and mother to her eight-year-old nephew Bobbie. Truly's brother-in-law is relentless and brutal; he criticizes her physique and the limitations of her health as a result, and degrades her more than any one human could bear. It is only when Truly finds her calling--the ability to heal illness with herbs and naturopathic techniques--hidden within the folds of Robert Morgan's family quilt, that she begins to regain control over her life and herself. Unearthed family secrets, however, will lead to the kind of betrayal that eventually break the Morgan family apart forever, but Truly's reckoning with her own demons allows for both an uprooting of Aberdeen County, and the possibility of love in unexpected places.

My Opinion: I really enjoyed this book and didn't want it to end. I thought the author wrote this story in a very compelling and entertaining way. I felt so bad about how everyone was treated in that book though. I just wanted to scoop all the kids up and be their mom! This book was recommended to me by Cassie....thank you!

Stolen Bike

I got this from my friend Sarah and thought it was pretty funny.