I have not watched To Kill A Mockingbird since I was young and was anxious to watch it again as an adult to glean more of a message. I am also inspired to re-read the book, and have put it on my library list.

Mita and I cozied up on an icy day when the rest of the family were on a snow hike. We popped some popcorn and watched the movie together. I love watching old movies with the kids.  Being a black and white film, long beginning credits and the length of the movie itself are a history lesson.

To Kill A Mockingbird is a movie filmed in 1962 and was based on the novel of the same name that was written by Harper Lee. Set in the deep south in the 1930′s  Atticus Fitch, a single father,  is appointed to be the defense attorney for an accused black man.  The story is shown through the prospective of Atticus’ children, and covers far more than the racial divides of the day.  For example the topic of a neighbor with a mental delay/illness shows us how people with special needs were treated and feared in that time.  The poverty of the depression is shown throughout as is the mourning a family without a mother is noted upon.

I will not give away the story as it is such a powerful one, I do recommend watching this movie and reading the book if you have never done so before.  A great movie to watch with your older children.  It was great to watch with Mita and point out how things were just  100 years ago. The jury in the courtroom consisted of twelve, white men. The courtroom only allowed blacks in the balcony and the use of the n word and calling grown black men boy was very noticeable.

To Kill A Mockingbird hits the stores January 31st in DVD and Blu-ray.  The extra features include a conversation with Gregory Peck, and his Academy Award acceptance speech for Best Actor.   I enjoyed watching the Scout Remembers feature and seeing Scout all grown up and learning the story of how she was chosen to act in the film.  The book,To Kill a Mockingbird: 50th Anniversary Edition is now available at Amazon.

(Disclosure: I was provided with a preview copy of To Kill A Mockingbird from Universal Home Entertainment for my honest review. No other compensation was received.  Amazon links are affiliate links.)

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final book in the Stephanie Myers Twilight Saga, just to bring you up to speed if you are not up on the sparkly vampire series.  This book is being split into two different movies (a la Harry Potter 7) and what just came out was part one.  My review is more of a book made into a movie review than a movie review, as the books are usually my first love.  If you have not read the books the rest of this will have spoilers, just to warn you. If you  have read the book, I won’t give away any movie secrets. Though I will tell you they threw something in the beginning that was so book one I was a bit miffed, but I think it was done for the non-readers to catch them up a bit.

The movie begins with the wedding.  This wedding has to be the best movie wedding I have seen in a long time…if not ever. The wooded scene with simple white flowers, the way they said their vows like they were the only people in the world, the silly and sappy wedding speeches were all perfection.  I did not cry by the way, but I did hear some sniffling in the theater.

Of course Isle Esme was as beautiful as I imagined in my mind, though the white room wasn’t as white as it should have been.  The honeymoon went pretty much per the book and I will not go into detail..ahem.

Bella’s pregnancy through the delivery was portrayed quite well.  They really made Bella look sick and emaciated.  The house (which I adore) was a big part of this movie as they spent a long time in it.  It is not set up how I imagine it in the book and my mind kept thinking the rooms could have been more dramatic and kept the family closer, but that’s just my mind playing tricks I guess.

Edward looks better in this movie than the other three. All of the vampires have lost some of the ultra-heavy makeup and don’t have that startled look they once had.  For those of you that don’t know me, I am Team Edward, but the book Edward, not the movie Edward (sorry Robert Pattison, but you will always be more of a Cedric Diggory than an Edward Cullin). In the movie I find Edward to be more human than ever.  His character has grown and he seems less demanding than the first few books/movies.  He seems to be more angry at Bella than himself in the movie, while in the books he is angry more at himself and what he has allowed to happen.

Jacob. Poor, dear Jacob.  The film did well with portraying the book Jacob.  The wolves were more involved in the movie than ever and it was done well.  I won’t go into details but there was some changes from the book, but they were done to make the movie more action packed and the changes didn’t bother me.

I adored this movie. It made me happy.  Yes. I know it seems lame to some, but oh well!  Some people watch reality/tabloid TV and I enjoy sparkling vampires…life goes on for all of us!

I will give you Hubby’s review.  Hubby has seen all the movies now, just because he kinda likes me ;)  He didn’t like this one as much because he said it there was too much time in the house and not as much action.  Then there was the imprinting part… he laughed. Out loud. In the theater.  I think if there was any chance he would ever enjoy the series, it was lost at that moment.  He doesn’t get it!

There is more blood and gore this time around, not horrible, but enough to warn you!

Go and see if you are so inclined and tell me how you liked it!

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Hermione

Years before I read Harry Potter I had had a mom at the hospital name her daughter Hermione and I thought she was a little weird to do that, I must confess.  Then when I started reading the series and actually got to know her character a bit more I became to admire her greatly and totally agreed with the name choice of the mother I had met years before! Who doesn’t want their kid to be Hermione-Amazing?

Hermione is extremely intelligent and she is not apologetic for it in the least. Along with her smarts, she is brave and clever and can always come up with a plan.  She has patience (poly juice potion takes a long time to make you know) and grit and can rock a Yule Ball dress.  Her cause of championing the enslaved house elves showed she is a pure at heart. 

Born a witch she could have gone to Hogwarts and aced the OWLS and NEWTS and become one successful professor. She, however, stood by Harry and Ron and kicked some butt!  It is hard for me to find a criticism about Hermione.  She was a bit precocious in her younger days, but who wouldn’t be with that brain?!

Bella

I first read Twilight after the first movie came out.  I had not heard of the Twilight Saga, nor had I seen the movie, but my friend Julia gave me the book to read and I finally read it.  I fell head over heels with the series and though  I agree the writing could be better, the story was an intriguing one. I liked Bella. She reminded me of me a bit.  Quite, not wanting to bring attention to herself thinking of others.

While I liked Bella, I made Meg wait until the sixth grade to read the first two books. I then let her read Eclipse, the third book, with some pages off-limits.  I did this for a few reasons. One the sex, or I should say the topic of sex was a little too much for her to read. Also I didn’t like how Bella was so intently dependent on Edward, how he was so possessive to the point of controlling of her.  As an adult I can handle this of course, but I didn’t want Meg to think this was a healthy relationship to have.

Through the series, Bella has gained confidence, courage and she has grown in to her character.  Unlike Hermione, she was pure human, a muggle if you will, and got to choose her future.  Bella is steadfast, determined and brave.  Those are good qualities that I would love my girls to model.

She is also unable to be alone and that is not a good trait at all, that scares me a bit actually.  I want my girls to be independent and I want them to find love of course, but not to have to have it.

Katniss

The Hunger Games was a thrilling read for me. My heart immediately went out to Katniss and her plight.  Even before she was put in the spotlight, she was a tough provider for her family. Brave and unwavering  with amazing nerve in a crisis I can only hope I would act as cool as her. 

She does have a sadness about her that goes so deep I don’t think she will ever recovery fully.  I certainly hope my girls can recover from any sadness they have or will encounter. Like Bella, she is totally human with no super powers or magic to aid her in her quests.

Her self-sacrifice is genuine, but unlike Bella it comes from a need to protect her family and not the need to not be alone.

So there you have it. My thoughts on the three most popular young women in young adult fiction.  I know the world was waiting for my synopsis!

What do you  think of the ladies I spoke about.  Do you let your daughters read the books and use them as a jump off point for discussions?

Preschool/Young Readers

Frog and Toad  by Arnold Lobel- You cannot beat these simple stories that stress friendship, kindness as well as having an ease about them that makes reading fun.

Child’s Garden of Verses  by Robert Louis Stevenson- Given to Meg when she turned two from her beloved great-grandpa Pap Pap.  These verses bring out the adventure of being in a child’s imagination as well as build vocabulary skills with the old time language the book has.  Elle is very fond of this book right now.

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel - I started reading this book to Meg when she was about three years old.  She quickly had it memorized and years later can still say his whole name!  This is a favorite to read out loud in the class room as well.  The illustrations are classic and introduce kids to the Asian culture a bit.

Early Elementary Students

The American Girl books are great (for girls!) as they have adventure, good morals and history in them.  I like reading these books with my girls as I can add some historical tidbits and the books promote great discussions.  Reading Addy was hard for me as I cried a few times, but those tears lead to great conversations with Meg.  Kit made me mad when she hopped the train, but I was able to talk with Meg about listening to parents, making good choices and the like. Mita liked reading about Josephina and Enu enjoyed the Kit books best.

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown is a fun and easy to read series that has started a phenomenon with the post office! We created our own Flat Stanley that Grandma and Grandpa took with them across the country and took pictures.  Talk about inter-active! A great way to mix geography and reading.

Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park is Enu’s favorite.  I do enjoy reading about Junie B. and hearing her language miss-haps are great learning tools for Enu.  The way her mind works reminds me of another great series Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish.  I’ve always adored Ameilia Bedelia being read out loud.  Funny.

The Little House On The Prairie  series by Laura Ingalls Wilder is one of my all-time beloved books.  I read them and feel at home.  That said, they are wordy and Laura does love to get into her descriptions so if your child gets distracted easy I would pick the easy reader Little House books as the chapters are shortened a bit.  Meg never really got into these books as I had hoped, but I think she does appreciate that they mean a lot to me.  Meg is my dragon lover when it comes to books and the Prairie doesn’t have enough fire-breathers for her liking!

The Magic TreeHouse  by Mary Pope Osborne books are Elle’s favorites. She loves to read about going back into time.  I really like the non-fiction reference books the series has as well.  This is a fun series to listen to on CD in the car as it takes the kids’ minds of the drive and into history.

Middle School

This is my favorite reading level thus far with my kiddos.  Of course you have Harry Potter (a given) but The Hunger Games Trilogy is my new suggestion as well! With a series plot that could turn people off if they don’t read the book and just hear about the story line (a reality TV show that has kids killing each-other, just doesn’t sit well with most of us) I urge parents to read these books so they can help the kids process what they are reading.

Another set of books with a futuristic 1984ish plot is Shadow Children  by Margerate Peterson Haddox.  Wow.  Heavy stuff, but great ways to get us all thinking, discussing and preventing problems in the future. If your child has anxiety issues I would stay away from these books for a while.  Enu will not be reading them anytime soon!

I just recently finished The 39 Clues Series.  Meg made me read them. I really enjoyed this book set and number 11 made me want more books as the plot is thickening.  The story line hold the older kids interest but the books are at an easier reading level for fourth and fifth graders. Fun.

A few more for middle schoolers:

Shakespeare’s Secret and Masterpiece  by Elise Broach

Mandy and  The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles  by Julie Andrews Edwards (yes, the Julie Andrews!)

Obviously I could go on and on…and I will with books I hope my kids will read as they get older but in another post!  The selections above may be heavy on the girl side, but I am partial and lacking the experience of raising boys!

I hope you will add some suggestions to my comments so I can get cracking at those books as well.

Other reading posts I’ve written:

You Read To Me I’ll Read To You

My 2011 Reading Goals/Adoption Reading Challenge

Getting Your Kids To Love Reading

(Disclosure: I was not asked to review these books nor am I making money from the Amazon links. I just linked them for your convenience. I am a big borrower from the library myself!)

My Dad and I

So dance might not be the best word. More like jumped, shook around and twirled a bit with Def Leppard.  My dad and I went and saw Heart and Def Leppard a week ago. This was my third Def Leppard concert and they keep getting better!

Heart was amazing. Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about watching them. I figured we would miss part of the act due to traffic.  We arrived in record time and saw the entire Heart set. I was so pleased we did.  They were awesome. I didn’t realize how many Heart songs I recognized.  Ann Wilson’s voice was incredibly strong. Nancy Wilson was doing a high kick while headbanging and playing the guitar like a 20 year old and she is 57. Fun and inspiring.

Of course my Sheffield boys were the highlight of my night.  Their show is all about the music with very little ego.  They played all my favorites like Rocket, Hysteria and of course Pour Some Sugar On Me. My favorite live songs from them are Rock On and Photograph.

We were in the fifteenth row and when the guys were on the catwalk they were so close my dad said it was like having them in your own living room and that is just how it felt.

I asked for help on what to wear to the concert on Facebook:  a favorite summer dress or normal concert wear of  jeans and a tee. As it was supposed to rain I went with the jeans.  I did wear big silver hoop earrings, the biggest I have worn in decades and my hair was big as well (big for me). I wish I had worn the dress though. I’m sure if I had worn the dress I would have stood out to the guys and they would have invited me on stage to serenade me with Love Bites. I’m positive that would have happened so next time I will wear a dress.

It was fun. I hope they tour again next year. And the next year. And the next year.

My mom is in the red...she shuns the camera!

When I got back from Blogher 10 last August I tried to convince my mom to start a blog.  She agreed quickly but it took us some time to figure out her theme.  As she has always secretly wanted to be a bartender I suggested that she review and share different drinks, from kids sippy cups to adults’ wine glasses.

I am proud to announce she has launched her blog this 2011.  Please read her and let her know how cool she is.  GrandmaOnTheRocks.com is where you can find her and she is on Twitter @GmaOnTheRocks

Oh and she is coming to BlogHer11 with me in San Diego! Look out world, here we come :)

BlogHer 2010 is a conference for bloggers put on by BlogHer. This is my first time attending and as you may tell, I am a bit excited over it!  The BlogHer website is a great one to read blog post by others all around the country, the world really. There are contests (I won $100 a couple months ago) and many thought-provoking posts as well as light-hearted ones to make you laugh. 

The conference offers several different sessions on how to set up and write your blog as well as improveing your content and getting a following.  I am looking forward to these sessions, but I do have to admit that the parties and gatherings is what I am excited about.  On Saturday I get to have breakfast at the Scholastic offices and there is an HP party that should be a lot of fun.  As a participant of Better For BlogHer I will get to meet with the Healthy Choice people and speak with a nutritionist.

Did I mention that we got chosen to drive a new Chevy Traverse to New York?  Yes!  We get a free rental with On-Star use and a navigator (I am a little nervous about driving in downtown NYC) to help us find our way.  We will be tweeting about our trip along the way.

A few days with friends in the big city.  A perfect summer break for mom right before the crazy get ready for school time begins.  Yes, you read me right.  School is starting in a few weeks.  That means buying of the school supplies and making sure my kids have tennis shoes that still fit is about to rock my world.  I’ll take another month of summer please!

The movie was a lot of fun.  I  will be the first to admit that the Twilight movies can be a bit cheesy, but so are the books and yet so many of us like cheesy! I have to admit that I did cringe at Jasper’s sudden Texas accent. It was a bit overdone, but at least they lightened up on his look a bit and he doesn’t look as freaky as he did in the first two movies.

It  had a lot more action than the first two films and I appreciated the bloodless action.  It was great fun to see Edward rip off the head of Victoria.  I never knew  I was this gore-seeking!

As far as going along with the book, the film did pretty good with that. Of course they cannot ever match the book page by page, but there was one part I wish they had gone word for word with.  After Bella kissed Jacob and she is looking at Edward he says,”You love him.” She then says,”I love you more.”  and that was about it.  I so wanted this:

“…when I left  you, Bella, I left you bleeding.  Jacob was the one to stitch you back up again.  That was bound to leave its mark – on both of you.  I’m not sure those kinds of stitches dissolve on their own. I can’t blame either of you for something  I made necessary. I may gain forgiveness, but that doesn’t let me escape the consequences.”  Stephanie Meyer ~ Eclipse

Maybe some producer will read this and add it to the DVD?  Yeah I  am sure that will happen!

My mommy rant of the day (hour?) goes to Burger King.  On our way to an animal park with the kids we stopped at Burger King for lunch.  The kids meals were giving away TWILIGHT TOYS!  You heard me toys of Edward, Bella and Jacob.  My stomach turned and I was ashamed of being a Twilight fan at that time.  The Twilight series is a young adult series plan and simple. Marketing toys to kids under ten is ridiculous and is one more way were are letting our children grow up to early and be exposed to adult things.

Oh, and I totally agree with FireMom:  The sparkling has got to go.  It just looks so tacky, silly, stupid and more!  FireMom is on the fence at this point with the whole Team Jacob team Edward thing.  MomOutnumbered is a solid Team Jacob. I am team everyone wins-because-I-read-the-books-and-they-have-a-happy-ending!

Like and for-sure!  I’m such a teenager after writing this!

Photos by Mandy W.  2010

A few months ago

I was at the movies with some friends (it feels like years ago!) and we saw the preview for Babies.  I instantly fell in love and wanted to  have a baby right then and there. Hubby didn’t see this preview and did not feel the same. Actually, I think he could have watched the preview and still would have had the same sort of negative thinking!

This movie is about the first year of four infants from different parts of the world:  San Francisco, Mongolia, Namibia, and Tokyo.  The film promises to be beautiful and I hope that Breastfeeding is a big part of this film (fingers crossed).  This film may be a great opportunity for us all to learn from other and come to respect our different ways of parenting.

I have included a few links to share with you with previews and shots from this movie.  Enjoy!

My preditcition is that the birth rate will be rather high come next March.  By then I will be working again in the field of Lactation and be as busy as ever!  Busy with babies..how great is that.  Unfortunately I cannot seem to find a theater in this part of Ohio that is showing Babies this weekend so our birthrate may bounce once it comes out on DVD or On-Demand.  Oh the life of a country bumpkin!  Here are a list of theaters.

(Disclosure: I was provided with these links through the BABIES Ambassador Program. Sharing these can lead to me winning prizes like diapers and baby stuff. As I don’t need these items anymore (boo hoo) in the event of my winning they will be split between our local pregnancy center and my niece Ali!)

Our school age daughters, Meg, Mita and Enu, love to play tether-ball at school and were asking Hubby to get a one set up at the house last week.  His green light-bulb moment happened rather quickly as he remembered that we still have the four poles from our old trampoline!  These poles are from the net enclosure around the trampoline to keep the kids from falling off.  These poles have hooks on them to hold up the net.

Hubby quickly set up two separate tether-ball poles and purchased the balls and ropes at a local sports store.  Having two for us was a must  with the four kids. I didn’t want to hear the whole taking turns battle that would have for sure erupted.  For about $40 and an hour or so of time we were set up for action and the kids have been playing during every free moment is seems!

To Hubby, his idea may have been more about saving money than being green, but as it often is, we win both ways!  I have seen tether-ball sets from $25-$65 online and that is just for one and the trampoline poles seem much sturdier than the poles for sale are.

We gave the other two poles to my brother and sister in law, and the recycling just continues.  So go look for a old trampoline on Craig’s list or a yard sale and make some tether-ball poles!  It is a great way to keep your kids active and busy and OUTSIDE.  Oh yeah, my kids like to bend the rules a bit…here are the rules to tether-ball if you need them!

I would love to hear other ideas about reusing kids toys in creative ways!