Best Job

For many of you who can relate. Hats off. 

 Happy Friday.

Sweet Dreams

I don't have a sister so the concept of sibling rivalry is totally lost on me.  Since the boys have always been as different as night and day, I  naturally thought  they'd have their own sets of friends and want to do totally different things.  Wrong.  They really dig hanging out with each other.  They both still adore football.   And much as I try to yak on and on that it's not about who wins, my reasoning doesn't always win. 

On many nights right before we doze off I have to deal with bedtime prayers such as this:

Mak:  Thank you, Papa Jesus for letting me beat Tato 4-1.  

Tato:  Thank you for the side tackle on my brother so he couldn't make the last goal.

And I say a little prayer myself asking the Almighty  to stop me from strangling them both in their sleep. 

Summer Reads 2012

Just sharing some of the kids' favorite reads for this summer. Bear has just finished book one of the Harry Potter series. He enjoyed Sorcerer's Stone, but says he liked The Mysterious Benedict Society more. 

I've read the Potter series. Who hasn't? But I've only read parts of Benedict Society. The official blurb reads... "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities? When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. With their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all?" Bear attests that the book has a lot of funny, clever, exciting things in it. So book two of Benedict Society first, before book two of Harry Potter. I'm intrigued because, wasn't Potter pretty exciting?

Now this recommendation comes from Chicha and it is precious. Dr. Seuss's stories published in Redbook and other magazines in the 40s and 50s once forgotten, now found and bound into a lovely compilation. 

This isn't just memorabilia. I think the stories are literary gems that would stand against his classics. The irreverence, silliness, signature rhythm and rhyme are all there. So are the Seuss-style moral underpinnings. The Bippolo Seed is a wonderful  allegory on the pitfalls of greed.

I will read that story again and again to that certain 8-year old boy who has this for his current wish list…!

Back to the topic of books. Here's another fantastic one, from pictures to verse. From the genius who brought us The Phantom Tollbooth. Norton Juster we love you!

It is a hot Manila Easter Sunday as I type all this, so before I go… meet Ester the Easter Tree. Bear and Chicha made her. 

I named her Ester because in one of the hanging tags Chicha wrote, Happy Ester. Heehee. I suppose the lame humor comes from my being in a really good mood. Happy Easter Internet!

We Say the Darndest Things

Medical crisis averted.  Tests show the boys have not been exposed.  I can breathe a little bit more.

Thank you, Nathan, for the laugh I badly needed. Artist Nathan Ripperger finds himself saying the most ridiculous things to his kids then turns around, designs and sells these hilarious posters.  I'm sure you can relate.  Good to know I'm not the only crazy one around here. 

Here are a few from his Things I've Said to My Children series:

Mine should read: STOP TRYING TO SIT ON EACH OTHER'S PENISES!  In Helvetica bold, maybe?