Fluttering ButterfliesFluttering ButterfliesRamblings, mostly of books and the adventures of raising a toddler, from a twenty-something American living in England! Articles
Oh, Privacy
2008-06-06 15:33:00 At toddler group this week, I was asked by another mother if I would help her with a feature she writes for a magazine. She wanted to hear the birth stories of mothers in their 20s and I agreed to tell her my experiences in giving birth to Joshua. I didn't think much of it, especially as I'd been mentioned in a different magazine about Elliot's pregnancy. Besides the main description of Joshua's birth, I was asked to write about a funny moment that occurred... what I wished I'd known before labour had started... and to include a sentence about how my husband felt at any of the stages of labour or delivery. I was to include a photograph. Not too difficult. I told N about it, and he was appalled. He said he refused to have his name published and wouldn't agree to have his photo printed in a magazine. I knew N had issues about privacy before, but I didn't realise they were this strong. It's the reason I never post photos of N or even say his real name. Turns out that i... More About: Privacy
Diary of an 18 year old
2008-06-05 22:25:00 I was looking in the garage the other day, looking for something entirely different, and instead found my diary I had kept when I was 18. I'd been keeping diaries off and on since I was 13, but I was excited to find this particular diary. At 18, I had just moved from America to England and gotten married. I thought there'd be more about both of these huge transitions in my life. Some feelings or thoughts on the differences between cultures or how I was settling into married life. But as I read it, everything came back to me. I was so emotional at that age. Every single entry is about some strong feeling I had at the time. Jealousy, trust issues, uncertainty of the future, nervousness about work, struggles with family relationships. I went back and forth for an entire week, debating whether or not I should post some entries from this diary on this blog, but I decided not to. Everything is just too personal, too raw still and what's worse, I wasn't very articulate in any... More About: Diary , Year
On sleep, potty training and rainy day boredom...
2008-06-03 13:44:00 Having a two and a half year old is TIRING. The constant chatter, the 'mommy, he'p me?'s, all the energy... I've been limiting the amount of sleep he gets. I wake him at 7:30 in the morning and only let him sleep for an hour in the afternoon so this is probably why I'm feeling the strain lately. But sleeptimes were getting to be too much for me otherwise. Does anyone else do this? Elliot tried to go a few days without his nap, but towards dinner time he'd get quite whingey and grumpy so I don't feel as though he's ready for a nap-free day. Also, I've been feeling some (self-induced) pressure to start potty training Elliot. Quite a few of his (all younger) friends are already or in the process of potty training. But I'm still not sure how to start and if he'd be ready for it. I'm not sure I'M ready either, but if you have any advice or tips, PLEASE do share. Portable potties or straight onto the toilet? Straight into underwear or Pull-ups? Too many decisions.... More About: Training , Potty Training , Sleep , Boredom
Drinking banned on tubes, thank god.
2008-06-02 12:50:00 As of the 1st of June, the new mayor of London, Boris Johnson has banned alcohol on the tube, London buses, Docklands Light Railway, and tram services and stations across London. In response to this, there was a party organised on the Circle line to celebrate the end of legalised drinking on public transport. Needless to say, it quickly got out of hand. I think this is a clear indication that drinking on the tube IS hazardous and SHOULD be banned. Violence, vandalism, injuries, not to mention the vomit. What (I'm hoping) was meant to be a fun party before the alcohol ban spiralled out of control. According to this article, the organisers of the event advised party-goers to be 'responsible' and considerate. Why does binge-drinking have to be such a cornerstone of British culture? I do worry about the problems that will occur in enforcing such a ban, but as long as it is, I'm all for the drinking ban. What do you think? Drinking on the tube, yes or no? More About: Banned
Banned books
2008-06-02 08:03:00 I saw this list of Banned Books over at Tripping Toward Lucidity and had to have it for my blog. It's an interesting list, but I think the reasons behind why a book is banned would be far more fascinating. Wikipedia has a partial list with a brief reason found here. It's easy to see why books of a political, sexual, or religious nature would be banned, but James and the Giant Peach? Little House of the Prairie? Who knew my 8 year old self was reading such controversial literature...The titles in bold are the books that I have read. #1 The Bible#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes#4 The Koran#5 Arabian Nights#6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain#7 Gulliver?s Travels by Jonathan Swift#8 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer#9 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne#10 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman#11 Prince by Niccolň Machiavelli#12 Uncle Tom?s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe#13 Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank#14 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert#15 Ol...
Britain's Got Talent
2008-06-01 22:27:00 I accidentally caught the final performance of Britain's Got Talent the other night. Oh my god, if I'd known there was bhangra dancing, I'd have watched it from the beginning! Signature made me smile, laugh, clap and want to get up and dance! George Sampson, the winner was also fantastic. Breakdancing along to Singin' in the Rain - does it get any better than that, people?!
Book Binge Results
2008-06-01 08:59:00 Here is my list of books that I read in May. I've never kept track of the books I'd read before, and I may well continue to do so now that the Book Binge has finished. I was hoping to have finished a book that I own myself so I could give it away.. but sadly, only library books so far. Maybe next month. Maybe I'll try and do it every month from now on.. we'll see. On with the list.1. Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot (I heart Meg Cabot)2. Gossip Girl: Because I'm Worth it by Cecily von Ziegesar (I will never read another book in this series)(but I love the TV series)3. After Dark by Haruki Murakami (Murakami is one of my favouritest authors ever)4. Size Doesn't Matter by Meg Cabot (another Meg Cabot!)5. The V Club by Kate Brian (I did a LOT of YA reading this month!)6. Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine (I really want to read her other book)7. Before I Die by Jenny Downham (I ended up bawling at 2am finishing this book)8. Skin by AM Vrettos (a family torn apart by an ea... More About: Books , Results
Bedtime stories
2008-05-30 09:44:00 I don't keep up with a lot of news these days, but I do at least try to read the headlines in google news occasionally. Today, I came across an article about bedtime stories. A survey has shown that more people reach for funny books like Roald Dahl or Dr Seuss as opposed to classics like Beatrix Potter. The Telegraph article also mentions that only 49% of parents surveyed read to their children every day and that 1 in 10 skipped pages to get to the end quicker. What a sad statistic, don't you think? Children's literacy must be a hot topic at the moment, because I also found this article discussing the link between singing and learning to read and also this article, which was quite amusing, also about the bedtime story. It brings up the Children's Laureate, a Reading Aloud Week and a book published called Great Books to Read Aloud. As much as I may complain when N reads I Forgot to Say I Love You at Elliot's bedtime, when he gives Mrs Brown a strong Scottish accent and Billy... More About: Stories
A walk down (bad) memory lane
2008-05-29 09:23:00 When I was 16, I started taking classes at a local community college. I was always the youngest person on campus, and I felt so out of place. I tried taking easy classes to ease myself into the whole scene, but it didn't help. I started feeling scared all the time, uneasy. It was like I lost all of my self-confidence and I started having panic attacks. I'd try to walk into class, and my heart would start beating faster, I'd hyperventilate, start to shake. I felt really claustrophobic. And I'd never make into class. I'd run and bury myself in a safe place. And for me, my safe place was usually the library. Surrounded in books, hiding in someone else's story. Even when I was little, and there were problems at home, I'd dive into a book. I figured any story was better than my own. Like an ostrich sticking his head in the sand. Books can be really therapeutic and helpful ... but they can also be a hindrance. When they're being used as an escape route, when issues a... More About: Memory , Lane , Therapy , Walk
Oh, how appropriate..
2008-05-28 09:47:00 You Act Like You Are 26 Years OldYou are a twentysomething at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life.You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up.The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.What Age Do You Act?(I turn 26 in July!) (and I completely agree with the bit about me still figuring out my place in the world)
How Things Change
2008-05-20 13:39:00 It's funny, how before I was a mother, I had all these ideals about what I would and wouldn't allow when it came to my children. Things like television. I always said I didn't want to use the TV as a babysitter. And for the longest time, Elliot was never very interested in anything on the television. And he was never that child who knew who all the children's cartoon characters were called (like Thomas the Tank Engine or Postman Pat or whatever) Until now. And since Joshua was born, I've been relying on 'Timothy Goes to School' a lot more than I'd like (a TV show probably not widely heard of). He watches it in the morning, after naptime and sometimes before bedtime. And I still feel a little guilty that he watches it so often, but also I feel a little relieved that I get that half an hour break... What do you think? What do your kids watch? And how often? More About: Change
What? Did I forget to mention...
2008-05-17 08:54:00 ...that my car got broken into the other weekend? Oh, it did. But nothing was stolen. No, apparently some teenagers broke the window just for the hell of breaking a window. Two other cars were vandalised in the same way on the same night. A neighbour witnessed it and phoned the police - who didn't show up until much, much later. And as far as we're aware, are not doing anything about the matter. Lucky us. Sadly, this is just the latest in the misfortunes of my poor little car. It was bought brand-new in 2002. Then I decided to learn how to drive in the thing, and put a huge dent in the front bumper trying to reverse out of our garage. Then N decides to leave it outside the house one night (the only night EVER) and the other bumper is dented. Then it's left undriven for awhile, the battery goes dead. We fixed it. Then the battery goes dead. And again... and then finally replace the alternator. Oh dear. I feel a little sorry for it really, it's been so badly mistreated.
Hard
2008-05-16 10:59:00 I've given up fizzy drinks and chocolates during the week. It's for a lot of reasons - mainly my health and losing weight. Partially because of the disastrous checkup I had with the dentist last week. But also I have this tendency to comfort eat. I eat chocolates and sweets when I'm feeling low. When I'm confused, or lonely, tired, irritable, in pain, when I don't fully understand what I'm feeling. I've been without chocolate or Coke for a week (weekdays only, I did have Coke on the weekend!) and yesterday was the first time I really wanted some Coke. And I got through it but it's just getting worse. But I'm going to stick with it. Wish me luck. More About: Hard
ZOODAY
2008-05-15 13:26:00 Zoos are a great place to spend the day. The zoo is set on gorgeous grounds as well as having an amazing view of the downs. It was lots of fun. Elliot did a lot of running around and learned loads of new words (not surprisingly among them were 'lemur' 'chimpanzee' and 'peacock'). My favourite bit: when Elliot and I got splashed by the Californian sealions! Also, here in England, Mothers day was back in March, but I wanted to wish all those American mothers out there a happy belated Mothers Day (and thank you to those who wished the same for me!)!
Me and everyone else in the world, I'm sure
2008-05-14 17:05:00 I hate going to the dentists. I hate the rude receptionists. I hate the smells. The sounds of the drilling. I hate the taste of the injections. I hate the condescending way that dentists speak. I hate the silly little face-masks and the rubber gloves. I hate that it's been four hours since leaving the dentists and half my face is still numb. More About: World , The World
1001 Books to read before you die complete list
2008-05-08 09:29:00 In bold are the books I've read so far.2000sNever Let Me Go ? Kazuo IshiguroSaturday ? Ian McEwanOn Beauty ? Zadie SmithSlow Man ? J.M. CoetzeeAdjunct: An Undigest ? Peter MansonThe Sea ? John BanvilleThe Red Queen ? Margaret DrabbleThe Plot Against America ? Philip RothThe Master ? Colm TóibínVanishing Point ? David MarksonThe Lambs of London ? Peter AckroydDining on Stones ? Iain SinclairCloud Atlas ? David MitchellDrop City ? T. Coraghessan BoyleThe Colour ? Rose TremainThursbitch ? Alan GarnerThe Light of Day ? Graham SwiftWhat I Loved ? Siri HustvedtThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time ? Mark HaddonIslands ? Dan SleighElizabeth Costello ? J.M. CoetzeeLondon Orbital ? Iain SinclairFamily Matters ? Rohinton MistryFingersmith ? Sarah WatersThe Double ? José SaramagoEverything is Illuminated ? Jonathan Safran FoerUnless ? Carol ShieldsKafka on the Shore ? Haruki MurakamiThe Story of Lucy Gault ? William TrevorThat They May Face the Rising Sun ? John McGahernIn the For... More About: Books , Read , List , Complete
Reading Challenges
2008-05-07 17:34:00 Hello! I've decided that I need a little motivation to help me back into reading more.. so I've joined these two reading challenges. The first Book Binge is nice and simple:For simplicity?s sake, and to allow people time to hear about it and sign up if they want, we?ll start on Monday, May 5th. We will all publish our lists on June 1.Other rules:You can include books you re-read, so long as you re-read them in between May 5 and 31.- You may also include books you start but don?t finish, just note the page at which you gave it up. Something like, ?Quit, page 47 of 322?.You may only include books you read aloud to your children if they are at least 125 pages long.Students may include textbooks (if they?re at least 100 pages long).Unless you have a visual impairment which precludes you from reading print books (in which case, it?s unlikely you read blogs), you may not count recorded books.The second, 1% Well Read Challenge will be more .. erm, challenging, I think. The goal of this... More About: Reading
(fat) 600th post
2008-05-06 08:52:00 I had a great bank holiday weekend. We took the boys* out on Saturday and had the best day ever. When we came home, I had a quick flick through the photos we'd taken and was really disappointed. Not with the photos themselves, but with my appearance in them. Sigh. This isn't the best photo that 'shows off' my flabby belly, but it'll do. I've decided that I've had enough of my extra baby fat and am going to start exercising again. Which means joining Christie's Spring Into Summer Slimdown! Once I find replacement batteries to put into my weight scale thingy I'll add my fat ticker and everything. Wish me luck, my ideal weight would be ... erm, 15 pounds lighter than I am.*How great do I feel getting to say things like 'the boys' or 'my boys' More About: Post
I'm clearly a moron and a poor judge of character
2008-05-04 22:06:00 Do you ever think you're good friends with a person only to find out it's all one-sided? And if so, isn't that embarassing? There were quite a few people I knew from toddler groups and my NCT coffee group that was pregnant at the same time as I was with Joshua. We'd all talk about how were doing pregnancy-wise, gripe about problems together and I thought it gave us all this shared-experience that was fairly bonding. It's nice to know other mothers in the area whose children were born within days of each other, right? There was one particular woman who I was friendly with beforehand. We talked about our older children going to pre-school and how we decided which places to put their names down for. We talked about making money without going back to work and the pros and cons of different direct-selling businesses. We talked about the limitations of not being able to drive to name just a few... So our conversations were varied and not solely child-centric. So when her baby ... More About: Judge , Character , Poor
Pulitzer Prize Reading Challenge
2008-05-04 13:44:00 The goal: To read all the Pulitzer Prize Winners for Fiction.Books I?ve read are bolded.Copied this list from Maw Books Blog - decided it was a worthy goal. No time limit.2007 The Road by Cormac McCarthy2006 March by Geraldine Brooks2005 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson2004 The Known World by Edward P. Jones2003 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides2002 Empire Falls by Richard Russo2001 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon2000 Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham1998 American Pastoral by Philip Roth1997 Martin Dressler The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser1996 Independence Day by Richard Ford1995 The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields1994 The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx1993 A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler1992 A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley1991 Rabbit at Rest by John Updike1990 The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos1989 Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler1988 Beloved by Toni... More About: Reading , Challenge
31% pretentious
2008-05-03 09:18:00 The Top 106 Books Most Often Marked As ?Unread? By LibraryThing?s Users.Strike-through books you?ve read before.Italicize books you?ve read before but haven?t finished.Copy and paste on your blog to see how ?pretentious? you are.(Stolen from The Ax for the Frozen Sea)Jonathan Strange & Mr. NorrellAnna KareninaCrime and PunishmentCatch-22One Hundred Years of SolitudeWuthering HeightsThe SilmarillionLife of Pi : a novelThe AeneidThe Name of the RoseDon QuixoteMoby DickUlyssesMadame BovaryThe OdysseyPride and PrejudiceJane EyreThe Tale of Two CitiesThe Brothers KaramazovGuns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societiesWar and PeaceVanity FairThe Time Traveler?s WifeThe IliadEmmaThe Blind AssassinThe Kite RunnerMrs. DallowayGreat ExpectationsAmerican GodsA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering GeniusAtlas ShruggedReading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in booksMemoirs of a GeishaMiddlesexQuicksilverWicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the WestThe Canterbury TalesThe Historia...
Making the most of the sunshine
2008-05-02 12:41:00 Last summer was a total disappointment in terms of hours of sunshine around these parts. And while I didn't complain last year (I'm not a huge fan of the heat), this year I have plans. Which means we've got to be organised and use what little good weather we'll get to good use. We're hoping to not only go to lots of different places - theme parks, zoos, museums, but to tidy up the garden andd barbecue.. go to local parks, get out as much as possible. Here's our official Days Out list:Legoland WindsorWoburn Safari ParkWhipsnade Wild Animal ParkThe Living RainforestBeckonscot Model VillageButterfly WorldLook Out Discovery CentrePooh CountryBeale ParkLondon AquariumKew GardensLondon Transport MuseumNatural History MuseumScience MuseumWhat are your plans for the summer? More About: Sunshine
I'm such a (weekly) geek
2008-05-01 15:25:00 Over at Hidden Side of A Leaf, a new challenge has begun called Weekly Geek s. New challenge every week, sounds like fun and so I've signed up. So should you. This week's challenge is to visit 5 new blogs and post links. Here are mine...Maw Books BlogHidden Side of A Leaf (It's a new blog to ME, so that counts)A Fraternity of DreamersTripping Toward LucidityNaked Without BooksThe Literate KittenThe Blog Jar3 RsBook-a-ramaReading Adventures
6 weeks and a mother's love
2008-04-30 14:27:00 When I was pregnant with Joshua, I had this irrational fear that because I loved Elliot so utterly and completely that maybe I wouldn't have enough love for another child. What a ridiculous thought. I think back on it now and realise what an idiot I was for wasting so much time and energy on such a crazy notion. Because the way I love Joshua is completely separate and different, but no less fierce. I love the way Joshua has blended so naturally into our family, and here we are, already 6 weeks of him in our lives and I can't remember a time without him. More About: Love , Weeks
A little book crazy...
2008-04-29 14:19:00 Remember how I said a book box of books from Amazon arrived the other day? I thought I'd take a picture. They're all children's books. We are a little book crazy around these parts. It's absolutely essential that both my boys love to read. Which is why we buy an insane number of children's books and why I go to the library every single week and take out 10 or so books to read to Elliot (and Joshua) at bedtime. As for me, I haven't been doing much reading lately. Last night, instead of reading, I was asleep by 7:30. I can't remember the last time that's happened. But that isn't to say I haven't read anything. I've recently finished a collected edition of poetry by Maya Angelou, Sula by Toni Morrison, and Incantation by Alice Hoffman. At the library, even though I KNOW I won't finish them all, I picjed up The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster, After Dark by Haruki Murakami and The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing. So, in spite of everything, I am still trying. Who say... More About: Books , Book , Crazy
Bookish meme
2008-04-25 13:18:00 It normally takes me a million years to post memes that I've been tagged with, but this one was easy. Keris tagged me for this book meme, everyone go say hello. Here's how it works:1. Pick up the nearest book.2. Open it to page 1233. Find the fifth sentence.4. Post the next three sentences.5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.All right folks, the nearest book to me is actually the book I'm reading at the moment, and even though I've been reading it for a week, I'm only on page 78 so I hope this won't spoil anything for me. It's Sula by Toni Morrison and I'm really enjoying it at the moment. I love the beauty of her writing. She wept then. Tears for the deaths of the littlest things: the castaway shoes of children; broken stems of marsh grass battered and drowned by the sea; prom photographs of dead women she never knew; wedding rings in pawnshop windows; the tidy bodies of Cornish hens in a nest of rice.When her partner disengaged himself, she looked up at ... More About: Meme , Books
Thankful Thursday
2008-04-24 17:47:00 Everything that made me smile today:Elliot slept in until 7:30 today even after getting disturbed sometime around 5 o'clock.The chcocolate chip cinnamon buns we ate for breakfast.I managed to have a nice long conversation with a friend from toddler group who had her son the day after Joshua.Also started up several conversations with other mothers at toddler group (something which I'm usually too shy to do! go me!)Both boys took their naps at the same time this afternoon which meant I could sleep for a whole hour!In fact, Joshua managed 4 hours between feeds, a first for him.The postman delivered a big box of books from Amazon today.Five Life are finally showing the last few episodes of Dawson's Creek... the only series of Dawson's Creek I have yet to own on DVD, so it was nice to see them again.Elliot's sentences are coming along really nicely and he really impresses me with the length and detail he uses in his sentences.Terry's Chocolate orange segments, which I didn't reali... More About: Thursday
(Insert title here)
More articles from this author:2008-04-23 12:41:00 I started this blog more than two years ago in an attempt to affirm to myself (and others, who am I kidding?) that I wasn't JUST a mother. That I had interests outside of babies (particularly my perfect little boy) and I wanted to write about books, my life, my interests, my thoughts, my childhood. I felt like I needed to make the effort to do this in order to keep what little hold I had on my sanity. Fastforward two years and here we are again. I'm going through another mini-identity crisis. Who am I other than a mother? I've stopped reading, all my activities center around my sons, I have little time to myself to enjoy my own hobbies or interests. Even my memories of childhood lately revolve around my complicated relationship with my own mother. Reading this blog entry captured a lot of what I'm feeling at the moment. I love being a mother, especially a stay at home mother, able to share my children's lives, helping them to learn and grow. I wouldn't want to give tha... More About: Title 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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