Geek Parenting: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family by Stephen H. Segal and Valya Dudycz Lupescu

from goodreads

5 stars

Parenting is a hard gig. Even if you think you know what you are doing or feel like you have a lay of the land, something inevitably comes along to make things seem crazy again. The one thing that never changes with parenting, no matter what the age of your children, is that mom is always wrong. For example, you make tacos because you know your kids love tacos, they ate them up two weeks ago so they will for sure love and eat them tonight right? Wrong!!! Tonight tacos will become the most vilest of foods. How could you even think this would be acceptable to their discerning palates? Are you trying to poison them?

Often times we feel like we are alone in this great struggle. That all the other parents never have issues like this. That they have some secret magic wand that allows them to have children who always eat whatever is served with gusto and children who are always polite and brush their teeth and hair without being reminded. Isn't it a relief when we find out that all the other parents have some sort of struggles, whether they are the same or not. Your fellow parents are the best ones to commiserate with. They get it! No need to hide your parental short comings from them because they have short comings too. If they say they don't have any they are lying. Parenting. We're all in this together.

Synopsis

This is a book of parenting advice. The advice given comes from our favourite sci-fi, fantasy and comic heroes and families.

My Thoughts

I loved it! I am not a complete geek. There were many characters talked about that I had no clue who they were, but, that didn't matter because the advice or situations were so relatable.

This book of mini-essays touched on everything.

• accepting children's differences
• helping them learn for themselves
• knowing when to swoop in and protect them and when to let them be and figure it out themselves
• weird friendships
• allowing them to grow
• and more

This book helps us know that we are not alone in the parenting realm as these themes seem to be universal. The book shows us what sci-fi does best. It looks at the state of humanity, but with an other worldly lense, which allows us to look at situations at an arms length and helps to make connections about society you might not have made otherwise. 

I am really tempted to buy a copy of this book so I can always have their words of wisdom close at hand. This book is like your very own cheerleading section helping you feel like you can do this and you will do great!

Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

from goodreads

3.75 stars

My husband and I are in the middle of deciding whether to grow our family or stay content with the number of children we have. When some hear that we are contemplating a fourth they have this look of horror goes on their face and they say, "are you nuts?!"

It is kind crazy when you think about it, more diapers, more years of devotion, more people to feed and educate, one more voice of complaint! The flip side is that you can to love more, nurture more and have one more person to learn from.

There are lots of things to consider with children, parenthood is one crazy ride. But in the end, you go with your gut, hang on and hope for the best.

Synopsis

Stand-up comedian, Jim Gaffigan, tells his tales of parenting 5 children in a two bedroom apartment in New York City. He will have you laughing and commiserating as he talks about his parenting adventures.

My Thoughts

I really liked this book. I think I would have liked it more if I hadn't seen some of his comedy routines, as much of the book is from his routine. So, when I was reading, it wasn't anything new or exciting.

I like how he keeps it real. I like how even if it seems he is complaining, he lets you know how much he loves his kids while acknowledging that sometimes we just need to vent.

I loved the section where he talked about his wife's birthing experience and giving birth at home. We had home births for our first two children and loved it. But, some people still think we were a bit nuts. I loved some of the things he says about what others say. Classic.

I found that it did get a bit repetitive. It's like, five kids in a two bedroom apartment, we get it already. It seemed to be said all the time. The book also needed to be proofread. While it was well written, there were at least two sentence errors where the words were out of order or a word was missing so it took awhile to figure out the meaning. This was probably not the authors fault at all, but the publisher. While I know the people who work in the book industry are busy and they are publishing lots of books all the time, it would still be considerate to the reader if more care was taken to resolve some of these problems. It seems a shame when they send out so many books with these problems, especially when readers are spending quite a bit of money to purchase the book. Lately I have been noticing a lot of typos or dropped words, so it is not just this book. (End mini-rant.)

This is definitely a book that will be appreciated more by parents. It is light hearted and funny. It definitely gives you something to think about.

Monster, Be Good! by Natalie Marshall (Blue Apple Books)

from goodreads

4 stars

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas. I met with my book club last night and a few were quite excited about gift cards to bookstores they received. I was happy with the time I got to read.

My list of books I want to read this coming year seems long but I am so excited about it. I am ready to get reading. I usually don't try to map out what I want to read over the year. I have my book club books obviously, but other than that I just let the wind take me. So this is new. But as I looked at my to-read shelf get bigger and bigger and bigger on goodreads I knew that I needed to attempt to make a slight dent in it. I chose 25 books from it to be my to-read 2015 books. We will have to see how well I do and if I like this mapping out process. Of course, if a new book catches my eye on the shelf, I will probably through caution to the wind and read it. We'll see.

Synopsis

This book is full of helpful tips for taking care of your very own monster.

My Thoughts

This was a really cute book. The monsters were definitely monsteriffic. You are in charge of monsters and need to manage their behaviour. It is basically a parenting book, but instead of picturing children it is monsters and sometimes that is an apt substitution.

There is a rainbow of colour in each page's illustrations. The pictures help make the monsters look less menacing and more whimsical.

When reading this with the kids they don't see their own bad behaviour in what the monsters are doing. Yet they know exactly how the monster should act. So hopefully some of this learning will sink it. Yet, from the screaming fit that occurred last night, I don't think it has. Though we did provide some birth control to the passing group of older teens passing our van who heard it.

See you in 2015! I hope the beginning of your new year is a great one. Do you have any reading goals, or books on your list to read for 2015?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

from goodreads

4 stars

I hate to admit it, but, there are times when my children are nothing but t.v. zombies. We are not constantly cuddling on the couch with stacks of books around us, and the children smiling and excitedly saying, "read us another one Mommy!" There are days when they merely endure the story so they can watch shows on youTube or a movie on the t.v. (We don't have cable so they are kind of limited to what they can watch. Best decision ever, and way cheaper too!)

So, sometimes they have seen the movie before knowing it was a book. My one friend has a rule for her kids. When they read the book they can watch the movie. I think that is a pretty cool rule. It encourages the habit of reading but still lets them enjoy the movies that their friends are probably watching. The only thing with that rule is that sometimes we aren't always aware that some movies are based on books. Example for that is the movie Rise of the Guardians, I realize it was based on a series of books by William Joyce months after we had seen it.

What do you do to encourage reading in your children? Do they see the movie before they read the books too?

Synopsis

Charlie Bucket is a poor boy from a family that is poor in money but rich in love. There is nothing he loves more in the world than chocolate. When Willy Wonka open's his factory for the first time in years Charlie can't wait to see the marvels that are in store.

My Thoughts

This is a fun and whimsical tale. This is the first chapter book I read aloud to my children, ages 7 and 5, and they loved it. It even held the 5 year-olds' attention. I am not sure if they loved it because they reminded of the movie (the Tim Burton version) or if it is the whimsical nature of the story.

I love the songs the oompa loompa's sing. They are like little mini parenting sessions that remind us of the ills of having greedy children. They gently remind us, sometimes not so gently, that what children need are love, rules and ways that they can help others.

Their is almost a magic quality to the book. How did Willy Wonka know that only one child would make it through his factory? How did he know four greedy children would get tickets and one nice one would get one. And how did he know they would be found before the appointed day? The only answer I can come up with is magic.

Dahl's writing is not always to everyone's taste. I started reading Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator to my kids and quite frankly, I don't know if I will be able to continue. It is not the same or as good as the first one. Dahl writes in a world where anything truly can happen, which is refreshing but also sometimes hard to read. I think you have to be in the right mood for some of his books. One of my friends can't stand his writing and has never read any of his books, her husband on the other hand read them all to their children.

So, if you want to try out Dahl's writing give Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a try. I think it will be a good one to ease your way into his writing. And after reading you want to watch the movie, the Tim Burton movie version of this book is pretty good. I find it more believable than the other one made in the 70s. I feel that Burton gets, Dahl and what he was trying to get across.

The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo Willems

from goodreads

5 stars

Bath time in my household is either awesome or a living nightmare. It varies from week to week. 

My 1 year old either loves splashing in the water and has a grand old time, or she screams like a banshee and is constantly trying to climb out of the tub while you are trying to wash the shampoo out.

My five year old only wants baths, she doesn't like showers and she usually wanst my seven year old to have a bath with her. 

My seven year old, feels that she is too old for baths now and only wants to have showers, which makes my firecracker of a five year old not very happy about the whole situation. Yay! Bath time!!! On the plus side, I usually get my bathroom floor washed with little effort.

Synopsis

Well as the title says, the Pigeon needs a bath, yet he doesn't think so. You need to help this stubborn pigeon realize that he needs a bath.

My Thoughts

Mo Willems, he does it again. I love his Pigeon series. I think they are hilarious. My kids think they are hilarious. That my friend is a winning combination/endorsement. 

Any parent who has to rationalize why their child needs to have a bath will appreciate this book. Willems gets every nuance right, as he does in all his other books. He knows all the excuses children make and personifies it through the pigeon. 

Through this story, and the other pigeon books, the kids get a chance to laugh at how silly the pigeon is being and hopefully that will translate into them realizing how silly they are sometimes when their parents are asking the same thing of them.

My favourite page in this book is when the Pigeon finally decides to take the bath and is trying to get the water just right. It is funny and painful at the same time because it speaks truth.

The Pigeon series is definitely one you should check out and this latest book in the series is the greatest. Happy baths everyone!

Cleaning House: A Mom's 12-month experiment to rid her home of youth entitlement by Kay Wills Wyma

from goodreads

4 stars

I hope you had a very merry Christmas and that Santa left nice things for you under the tree. I had a nice relaxing day, though the baby kept trying to eat paper, the older kids toys and everyone else's chocolates! As the new year approaches my thoughts have been focused on how I can change for the better and become a better person, wife and mother. This book was a great one to read at this time of reflection.

Synopsis

The author realized she was enabling her children to always be dependent on her and her husband. She decided she that she had to teach her children to work and that a magic cleaning fairy did not exist. Over the 12 months she allowed her children to develop skills that they will need in life. The book is based on her blog.

My Thoughts

I loved this book. I think it is one I will buy at some point and refer to often. It is full of ideas on how to make our kids more confident in themselves as well as some simple things we can try to help them along. Parenting can be a daunting task, especially when trying to teach life skills. It takes patience and tenacity to not want to jump in and do it for them. Wills Wyma, is able to inspire me to be more patient and to really teach and empower my kids.

I like how she is a human and shows us her flaws. She is not claiming to be an expert. She makes this a relatable narrative.

What dropped it from a 5 star rating was the overall style of the book. It read more as a blog then a book. It is almost as if they just copied and pasted her blog entries. Sometimes that works, in this case it did not. You were reading it almost as if she was doing the experiment right then, even though she had done it over a year ago. She used to terms like "yesterday" and "this month..." which just made it for a more awkward read. I think it just needed to be edited so it could be read as a book not a blog.

On the whole, this was a great read. I am glad I read it. It is very entertaining. It is great for parents young and old. It has something that anyone can relate to. I look forward to implementing some of her ideas in my household.