Traveling

We had an amazing trip to Madison, WI for Memorial weekend. We explored the large Madison farmer's market Saturday morning, which was amazing-so much local food in one place!! I was in some kind of shopper heaven yet I couldn't really make any grand purchases because i didn't have a portable ice box with me. We had a great brunch at an Irish pub with Sean. We shopped on State St. and found a lot of hippie stores. We met up with Sean and Jared for dinner also and had a fantastic Indian meal. And that was all in one day!! We did spend some quiet time in our cozy super 8 motel, which had a heated and open outdoor pool. We spent Sunday in the famous and very campy "WI Dells" and were blown away by the size of the hotels and water parks!! We did play a fun game of miniature golf.
Tristan and I both really loved Madison and will be excited to go back.

Parenting

It is really difficult to be a parent today. It is a wonderful experience and I cherish my children but they really can drive me crazy!! We seem to be in a negative, cranky mode right now and I need to find a way to lift us all out of it. I wish there was a magic food for that. Maybe it is time to put quiet meditation into practice. Last night before I feel asleep I visualized turning cable off for the summer so we could build with legos and dance outside.

Very first post

I'm excited to begin this blog...something I have been wanting to create for two years and haven't done!! Tina's blog today was the catalyst for just doing it!! It also makes me feel behind...time to catch up! The latest adult book I read and loved was The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood! It was amazing to love it so much because it is such a sad book and made me shed tears, really cry, cry, cry!! The book made me focus a bit more on appreciating my wonderful children. I finished Briar Rose by Jane Yolen, which has been on my "to read" list for a year. I finally read it and thought it combined fairy tale themes with the Holocaust very well. I am excited to take home the Iowa Children's Choice books for the summer and read those. My after-school student book club is reading The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I didn't think this book was going to capture my attention as much as it does. It brings up many themes for our girl's group to discuss, such as forced marriages, the desire to learn, money and how it makes the world go 'round and prejudices on many levels.
That's all for now-