What I read: This week I read Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and started 11/22/63. (Yes, I have a very eclectic taste in books) Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library was a fun read. If you mixed together Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (except substituted in books, games, and technology for all of the candy) and added in an escape room that would be a perfect summary of this book. I highly recommend this book for adults and kids alike. *And as a bonus, there are more books in the series as well.
Now, I haven’t made my mind up about 11/22/63 yet. I tend to avoid dark books because I have an overactive imagination and this book has a strong dark element in its core. The main premise of the story is fine. A man basically finds a wormhole in a closet that leads back to 1958 and decides to try and stop the Kennedy assassination. The dark part is that every time he reenters the wormhole he resets history back so he effectively undoes everything he previously accomplishes. For example, an earlier time traveler saves a woman from being paralyzed, but when the next man goes into the wormhole he undoes this accomplishment and has to live with the fact that his actions caused the woman pain. On top of this, “life” does not like the past to be changed so the time traveler and the people around him get punished as he tries to change the future. Soooooo….not sure if its for me, but I will give it a few more chapters before I decide.
Emma (15 years old) is reading The Wish Granter by CJ Redwine and is enjoying it.
Ben (8 years old) is reading Sarah, Plain, and Tall and Junie B. Jones Shipwrecked.
What I watched: My husband and I are currently watching The Tiger King. Not sure how we feel about this yet….
Struggles this week:
-The kids and I have been in a small funk this week. The first couple of weeks of the quarantine have been fine, but this week was rough. I mostly think it is the uncertainty of the future that is so draining on us. Will Emma be able to get her driver’s license or even a summer job? Will we get to have homeschool co-op in the fall? Will the play that my kids plan on auditioning for this week, even be able to take place in August? We just do not know yet, so that causes us to be stuck in a holding pattern…which is not fun…
Blessings this week:
-My in-laws drove up from Auburn to meet us at a Target parking lot in Birmingham this week. Since my mother in law had a bunch of towels and fabric that she wanted to give to me, we decided to have an impromptu meetup (They also brought a lot of goodies for the kids) It was so nice to see them! The only downside was that my son was so sad that he couldn’t give them hugs:(
-We had beautiful weather this week, so we enjoyed many walks and scooter rides at the park.
-We got our stimulus check on Wednesday!
-Our biggest blessing is that we have not been sick and I hope that we keep it that way.
Something I was happy to accomplish this week:
-Finished this beautiful puzzle…its the little things that bring happiness
-I made Korean Beef and cauliflower rice for a fun dinner on Friday. **To make it more special (and authentic), I picked up some sushi, egg rolls, and a pack of fortune cookies to round out the meal at Kroger.
-Ben is down to just two lessons left in science and one lesson in history to complete his 3rd grade year. **We still have a lot of math left though…
Funny things that happened this week:
-After one of my kids crashed their scooter at the park, I told them they better be okay because we can’t go to the emergency room! **I only said this after checking to see if they were fine…I’m not that bad of a mother!
Two of my favorite quotes:
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Gandhi
“Love begins at home.” – Mother Theresa
**I use these regularly when my kids complain about each other….and they love it…..
Stay safe and try to keep on laughing!
The Thrifty Educator 