girlymama

twilight: i didn't violently hate it! who'da thunk?

I finally got to see Twilight last night. I've been dying to go, having read all over the blogoshere about what you all thought. Most of you hated it at first, but seemed to come to terms with it after seeing it again.

I liked it!

Let me explain:

• I did not like it anywhere NEAR as much as I loved the book. Not even close. (But that is hardly surprising. I think the only movie I like better than the book is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but thats mainly because I found the books long-winded and confusing and I kept having to start over.)
• I was deeply annoyed that the movie makers seem to think that the audience is incredibly dumb. All sense of mystery was gone. They felt the need to spell everything out as blatantly and obviously as possible. Like when Bella was figuring out Edward was a vampire. She reads "cold-one", flash to when she touches his cold hand, she reads "strong," flash to car accident. WE GET IT. Who seeing the movie doesn't know he's a vampire? You put it in the stupid preview - its not a super secret mystery! Then they exaggerate characters. Like when Carlisle says "I hate the thought of taking life. Even a sadistic, psychopath hunting someone I care about." (or whatever he said.) Whatever! We get that he's all compassionate and stuff. But don't turn him into a total wimp.
• I was prepared for lots of annoying changes that didn't need to be made, thanks to all of you who wrote about it. So while they were irritating, they didn't detract from the movie. Much. Except for the blatant, unnecessary change of the townspeople being attacked by "some kind of animal." What? The arrival of the others was a huge surprise in the book that takes everyone off guard. Clearly they were aware of the others being around - Edward would have never taken Bella to the game if he knew there were others in the area who might find her. Duh.
• I was really disappointed with the ballet studio scene. I thought it was so well written in the book. But by making those unnecessary, annoying little changes, the movie captured approximately none of his anguish and fear over Bella's life. Pity.
• As for the actors, loved Edward, Bella, Emmett, Billy, Angela and Charlie. And Esme. Jacob, Alice and Jasper could grow on me. Rosalie was not nearly as beautiful as she is supposed to be. I would like Carlisle better if he wasn't so wimpy, but I don't think that's the actor's fault.

So, that's my two cents on Twilight. Good. Not great. But enjoyable. I'm still dreamy over Edward ;-) 

But it did not capture my imagination NEARLY as much as the new Harry Potter trailer I saw right before!!! HOLY COW! Now that looks amazing!

wordless wednesday: the highlight of his trip

 

Know where he is? hint: Its in Italy...

last thanksgiving

Last year we didn’t have Thanksgiving because our family went to India. I was really sad, at first. It was my first Thanksgiving without my family, away from home, with no turkey or, more tragically, Mom’s famous sausage stuffing.

Instead, we spent Thanksgiving Day driving 150 miles north from New Delhi. We had just completed a 20-hour plane ride with a three-year-old and four-year-old. (And did I mention I was 5 months pregnant?) I was not looking forward to this final leg of our journey. The drive took 9 hours and took us through many villages and small towns. And what I saw along the way will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Read more here.

Last year we didn’t have Thanksgiving because our family went to India. I was really sad, at first. It was my first Thanksgiving without my family, away from home, with no turkey or, more tragically, Mom’s famous sausage stuffing.

Instead, we spent Thanksgiving Day driving 150 miles north from New Delhi. We had just completed a 20-hour plane ride with a three-year-old and four-year-old. (And did I mention I was 5 months pregnant?) I was not looking forward to this final leg of our journey. The drive took 9 hours and took us through many villages and small towns. And what I saw along the way will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Read more here.

simple pleasures to be thankful for

sipping a steaming hot Starbucks Peppermint Mocha on a cold day

cuddling

finding the perfect gift for someone - that happens to also be an awesome bargain

flipping through the channels and discovering a favorite movie you haven't seen in forever

a home filled to the brim with family

warm, fuzzy socks

when the laundry is done and the house clean

soaking in a hot bath

baby giggles (and kid giggles)

it seemed like a relatively safe winter sport....

Husband was visiting the office in Switzerland and the guys there decided to take them out on the town to do something 'Swiss. Where did they go?

Curling!

Do you remember watching this on the Olympics and saying, "That doesn't look so hard! I could do that! Maybe I could be in the Olympics!" Its like shuffleboard, on ice.  It certainly looks a lot safer than the luge or ski jumping, both of which my husband would gleefully try, probably while not wearing a helmet.

Apparently it was a lot harder than it looks! Particularly the "not falling down" part. And the "not falling down while you're laughing at other people who fell down" part. Not to mention the smart mouth comments they had to endure from their wives when they came home complaining about their butts hurting because they fell down so much. Plus I'm sure those Swiss guys got a good laugh at these crazy Americans ;-)

         

in case you haven't read enough

I have a post or two up this week at the Philadelphia Moms Blog this week.

another topic for his future therapist

Do you think it will cause long-term damage when Colin discovers I have been using him to model girl clothing?

 

In my defense, he doesn't really seem to mind....

fridayyyyyyyy!!!!!!

Husband comes home from Europe today! And he's bringing the camera!

You don't know how much you miss something until its gone!

(Of course I'm talking about my husband and not the camera! Why would you think otherwise?)

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No fabulously frugal friday this week, folks.

Yesterday got a little crazy when I discovered that Ellie's Thanksgiving play required her to have a costume! Whoops! Must have missed that note home. Good thing I overheard some other moms talking!

Anyway, I spent all last night throwing together an Indian costume made out of a brown pillowcase, which I will have to take a picture of. I am pretty darn proud of myself. Thank goodness she didn't want to be a pilgrim, that's all I can say. 

By the way, do not say "Indian" in front of today's elementary school student. You will promptly be reminded that they are "Native Americans, Mom!" Well, ex-cuse me! 

And, having learned my lesson at the Halloween parade, we will be leaving for the play approximately one hour before it starts. I prefer to park in the same zip code as the elementary school.

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Its snowing!! Now our kids are convinced that its Christmas! In a way it is, since now I can no longer see the eleventy jillion leaves covering our yard. Out of sight, out of mind
;-)

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Who saw Twilight? Was it good? I can't wait!! Unfortunately the only movie we will be going to see this weekend will be Bolt or possibly Madagascar 2 since I'm thinking the girls might not be ready for vampires yet!

surviving a traveling husband

Staying at home with three kids by myself while my husband is traveling for work is quite a trip for me as well. Usually by the end of the week, I was exhausted, the house is a disaster and patience had left the building. But, over time,  I've learned a few little tricks and developed a good attitude about his traveling.

Sticker Charts
Each girl gets a piece of paper with their name on it and we hang them up on the wall of the kitchen. At the end of the week when Daddy comes home, the kids are thrilled to show him all of the stickers they earned by quick obedience, being loving, doing chores, etc.

Quick meals

I’m totally not motivated to cook when my husband is gone. And my kids love it. Meals like breakfast for dinner, hot dogs, quesadillas, and grilled cheese are easy, (somewhat) nutritious, and don’t require lots of cooking or clean up. Paper plates are your friends.

Plan, plan, plan

The time between dinner and bedtime can drag like you would not believe. Planning will save your sanity. The first night he is gone, we go to the library to get new books and movies. We have Popcorn Pajama Parties, where the kids and I pile up on the couch in our pjs and watch a movie.  We’ll snuggle up in my bed and read books all evening.  Sometimes when I need to get out of the house we’ll head over to Barnes and Noble or Ikea.

Then have a backup plan

Pick up a movie or toy on sale and save it for when you really, really need it. If your kids love stickers, have a stash of stickers handy. My kids love to color, so I pick up new coloring books at the Dollar Store to pull out on a particularly long night.

Strength in numbers

Send out an SOS email – there is probably another mom who has a traveling husband too! Get together! One mom brings the nuggets, the other brings the french fries, the kids get entertained and you get some adult conversation!

The day of…

I try to make sure Husband does not come home to a disaster. I clean the house during the afternoon on the day he is coming home. My kids like to “help” me, by dusting or cleaning up their room. Then I get the kids bathed and dressed in their pajamas and get dinner made.  That way, when he is home, we can all just relax.

It’s so tempting to make my husband feel guilty when he travels. He’s jetting around Europe, going to amazing restaurants, not to mention sleep in a hotel room with no kids waking him up all night. I’m stuck at home with the kids, eating fish sticks. Again. But he’s not on vacation. He’s super busy on these trips and usually comes home exhausted and jet lagged.

One of my favorite cookbooks is Barefoot Contessa at Home and this quote from the introduction really spoke to me: “Most weeks, Jeffrey has been around the world and back and when he walks in that door, I want him to feel that he's really home. What he doesn't realize is that what feels very casual is, in fact, quite deliberate: the music is playing, all the lights are on, there are flowers everywhere, and chicken and onions are roasting in the oven.” And I realized that is what I wanted for my husband. Do I want him to dread the chaos he is coming home to? Or do I want him to walk in the door wanting to be nowhere else in the world? And a few tricks to save my sanity and one afternoon of cleaning make that possible.

wordless wednesday: sea of leaves