First I'd like to thank the Academy.... Sorry, wrong opening.

What an honor! I came back from vacation to an award!

First of all, I love you, Abby T. Writer. You make me laugh and I adore the way your mind works. Thank you so much for the award! Everyone else - go read her blog. Now. You can come back to this later. She's great.

Now, the details of this award:

1. Display the Award Certificate on your website/blog.
2. Announce your win with a post. Make sure to post a link back to me as a ‘thank you’ for the nomination.
3. Present up to 15 awards to deserving bloggers.
4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you have linked them in the post.
5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

One and two - check and check. Easy peasy.

Award others - Ok here goes! (Numerical order does NOT equal ranking - I just like to keep things neat(ish).)
1. Depression Cookies Blog of author and all-around great lady Tia Bach, author of Depression Cookies and Chasing Memories.
2. View From Down Here Blog by Nain, lawyer, writer, wife, mom of an adorable baby girl. And owner of a shiny new car!
3. Anjali Enjeti Anjali should win an award for most fun name to say, ever. She is another author and blogger, and creator of the wonderful Summer Writing Prompts for Kids (and sometimes adults) that I am in love with. Her most recent post has some fabulous photos from London.
4. MommaSachs This is the blog of a friend of mine, who needs to blog more! Hint, hint.

There are others, but I'm too tired to link them all. But - check out my blogroll list on the right. Visit those blogs.

Ok, seven interesting things. Hm.
This is always the hardest part for me.

1. I'm terrified of heights but not flying.

2. I HATE tomatoes. Hate with a fiery passion. They are so gross and smelly and slimy and disgusting.

Gag.

3. I drink too much caffeine.

Yum!

4. I can't always fall asleep at night.
5. I will forever deny any correlation there.
6. I read a LOT.
7. I adore beautiful high heels and am quite sad that I can't wear them like I used to.

Drool

Another episode of Sophie Says

Sophie spots a seashell thermometer that I've had since I was a kid. "I need that sheshell for my collection!" (I didn't know she had a collection.) "No, sweetie, it's mine." "We can share it, in my room."
That's not how it works, but nice try kiddo.

***
Sitting next to me, taking off her sandals. "My toes are stinky! Smell them, mama!"

***

Tuesday, we went to Garden of the Gods. There is a sign with the park rules, including no alcohol. We are joking about bringing a beer in the car and who would drink it before getting out.
Me: I don't like beer.
Cousin's wife: I don't like American beer.
Sophie: Well, I do!

***

Singing: "Tinkerbell, Tinkerbell, tingle all da way... E I E I O"

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Our trip, in a nutshell

First view of the mountains

Firetruck!

Tired girls

Having fun

Very tired

Look at that view!

And that one!

And that sky!

Playing together

Fun with friends

Feeding a wild(ish) chipmunk!

In the mountains

They almost don't look real!

Moonrise

Family time

Wildlife!

Holding up the rock

Playing in the dirt

Last view of the skyline

Heading home

And we're off!

Vacation time. Family reunion across the country. First flight for Little Bit. Both girls super excited!







More later :)

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Doing my job

Chocolate ice cream = safe :)

I found this blog post through Pinterest today. I was so touched while reading it. I feel a
lot of the same emotions - worry about hidden ingredients in foods, frustration at being forced into the Bad Cop role when it comes to cake, ice creams, cupcakes, drinks, and countless foods and treats. I feel the stress over party invitations and holidays like Halloween and Easter.

But then I feel incredibly guilty. Sophie's allergy to food coloring isn't as severe as the author's son. Eating an unsafe food (or using the fun soaps and bubble baths) cause a rash, not anaphylaxis. I don't have to worry about someone who ate a Snickers bar holding her hand and causing her to have a life-threatening reaction. We are very lucky that way.

However, I still don't know that it won't happen someday. Everything I've been told by professionals, everything I've found in my own research, tells me that since she does have the reaction she does it's
very possible that "the next time" could be that dangerous. And we never know which time is that "next time." It could be literally the next time she is given a lollipop by a bank teller when I'm distracted, or it could be a year from now, or it could be never (my ideal, obviously). There just is no way to know so we have to act like it is literally the very next time. Read every label. Be prepared with a stash of safe candy. Carry dye-free Benadryl. Pack all of her dye-free  medications in case she gets sick while we're away and I can't easily find dye-free versions of what she needs.

And like the mother who wrote that post, I feel so much like I'm judged for being "That Mom" when I say no she can't have just one piece of candy. She can't have a cupcake at the party. She can't drink the fruit punch. She can't have any macaroni and cheese. I'm not being a Sanctimommy, I'm keeping her safe. That's my job.

Library dream

Author and journalist Anjali Enjeti has a series of summer writing prompts geared toward encouraging kids to write. I find that adults can use them, too. This is where today's post comes from.

If you were a librarian, what types of books would you purchase for the library and why? What kinds of books do you think kids need to read more of?

I love this. As soon as I read the post my mind was imagining all the possibilities. First, though, I'd probably anger some library purists: I'd ditch the Dewey Decimal System and arrange the books more like a bookstore. I don't like all fiction shelved together - sometimes I want classics, sometimes I want brain candy, sometimes a mystery, but I don't want to search through all of them every time.

Here is my must-have list for a library, though:

First, I'd have a widely varied children's section. Infant and toddler books, preschoolers, elementary schoolers, and older kids would have their own sections. I would include books from many countries and cultures. Kids of all ages could learn about life all around the planet and across our country.  There would be books about animals and dinosaurs and plants and space. There would be long-established classics and new classics. There would be cozy reading nooks and storytime. 

My library would have a huge reference section with various dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias to expand vocabularies and minds. The religion section would have texts from all the major religions of the world so patrons could read for themselves and find their own truths. I'd host lectures by different religious leaders in the community to discuss the texts. There would be newspapers from the community, the state, the nation's major cities, and major newspapers from around the world. Everyone, but especially the children, need to know that we are not isolated, and know about events happening across the globe.

Nonfiction would be fun, and not just boring dusty shelves of travel guides and cookbooks. Shelves will be filled with biographies from influential people. People in the news and people in our history. Political leaders, religious leaders, activists, and pacifists from different eras and places. The travel guides would still be there, along with a huge map of the planet so readers could see exactly where they are reading about and how the location relates to us. Cookbooks would cover many cuisines. There would be sections for all kinds of improvement and interests.

And fiction - fiction would be an oasis. A place to escape, to learn through stories, to awaken your dreams. Classics. Mysteries. Westerns. Chick lit. Romance. Adventures. Stories of strong women and strong men. If the nonfiction section teaches you how to achieve your dreams, the fiction section breathes your dreams into existence.