Bird and Little Bird

Library Monday Giveaway: Sparkle Stories

Edit to add: I've closed comments and picked a winner.  Lee, can you please send me your email at birdmail@gmail.com.  Thanks!

Greetings from the land of post-holiday food coma!  Mariam has been up since about four-thirty this morning and we are getting ready for a busy, busy day of visiting with family, but I did want to pop in for a moment as promised to share something very special with you all.

A few weeks ago, Mariam and I went with my friend Sarah and her boys to the winter festival at the local Waldorf school.  While we were there, I happened upon a postcard advertising Sparkle Stories, a brand new and entirely wonderful subscription service sharing audio stories for children and families.  Sparkle Stories offers stories from three different storylines, each with unique characters that children will instantly adore.  Friendly junkyard animals, a magical backyard landscape filled with fairies, a brother and sister learning to show one another friendship and love in small ways; Sparkle Stories are sweet and whimsical stories that make connections to the common themes of childhood while also encouraging imaginative thinking.  A new favorite activity at our house is settling down at the dining room table with a cup of tea, some paper for drawing, and listening to a new Sparkle Story. 

One thing that I especially love about Sparkle Stories is the fact that they are intended to be stories for listening.  There are no associated picture books or written artifacts to hold in hand as you listen to these stories; something that is rare in our society these days. Storytelling without visual accompaniment is not so common in the online, hi-def age, but I think that it holds and important place in how we, as people, share our experiences and ideas with one another.  Encouragement of oral traditions is really a lovely and unusual thing, and introducing this to the children in my life feels truly special.

Sparkle Stories is subscription based, which basically means that you can subscribe to one, two or three of the storylines for a month and receive new stories to listen to each week. The stories are timed to coincide with the shift of the seasons, so last week's stories included themes of winter, holidays and solstice.  There is also the Saturday Sparkle, a weekly special feature which includes an additional story as well as poems, songs and listening games.  You can listen to sample stories from each of the collections here.

So, on to the good bit: Sparkle Stories is offering a free one-month subscription to all three story lines (plus Saturday Sparkle) for one lucky Bird and Little Bird reader.  Leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a winner on Friday via random number.  If you'd like, you can use your comment to tell me about a favorite story that you like to tell.  

I'll go first: I have much fondness for telling a story about what I call The Summer of Bears.  It's about the last summer of college when I lived on Lake Tahoe in a house with a broken door jam and some very, very bold black bears as neighbors (and aspiring roommates).  I should tell it to you sometime.

Slower Days.

It took some doing, but as of this afternoon we have officially reached the much anticipated Winter Vacation.  I love vacation.  Really, I do.  We are headed for San Francisco in a few days time, and I will then have not only vacation, but also lots of time with my family and access to good ethnic food.  Sigh.

A few other things:

-- I used to be on the side of those who thought e-readers were ridiculous, and I always swore up and down that I liked the feel of a real book in my hands far too much to go electronic.  Still true to some extent, but now that my birthday Kindle is loaded up with back issues of The New Yorker, I'm kind of feeling the e-reader love.  I enjoy reading magazines, but hate all the waste that they produce.  Piles of nebulously recyclable shiny paper.  Ew.  So, the Kindle.  No piles of paper, lots of good reading.  

-- The New York Times Crossword is really hard.

-- Dan and Mariam picked up this DVD at the library yesterday afternoon.  Essentially, it is an early 1970's production of the British Royal Ballet doing their interpretation of Beatrix Potter tales, complete with animal costumes that look exactly like the original illustrations from the stories.  Mariam was riveted.  It is wordless, very slow-paced and way mellow.  And, I don't think she has ever been so interested in anything.  Ever.  

-- The first vacation project is likely to be these cookies.  Except I'm sure Mariam will insist on using the hippopotamus cookie cutters.  Like always.  

I'll be in and out for the next week or so, but do promise to be here on Monday of next week with a very special giveaway to share!  

Library Monday: The Purple Kangaroo.

This book arrived at our house through perhaps unusual means.  It came in a box of cereal. Cheerios, actually.  That we happened to get for free.  Which makes The Purple Kangaroo by Michael Ian Black an all around good deal, because it is a fantastic book and I would have happily paid good money for a copy.  In fact, I still might because the cereal box copy is kind of on the small side. 

Anyway, let's talk Purple Kangaroo, shall we?  The book is actually about a monkey who claims to be a mind-reader.  To demonstrate his singular skill in the area of telepathy, the monkey does a thought experiment of sorts on the reader, through the telling of a very, very silly story about an imaginary purple kangaroo and his hunt for "his best friend, a wild-eyed chinchilla named Senor Ernesto de Pantalones."  Yes, this book is utterly and totally ridiculous and we therefore cannot get enough.  

When you read piles upon piles of picture books, as we so often do, it does sometimes seem as though the common themes among them are very, very common.  Many a good picture book is beautifully illustrated and well-written, but still a little predictable too.  I think kids actually like it that way.  However, The Purple Kangaroo is a completely unique picture book; funny and clever in a way that feels as though the ideas are totally fresh and new and really haven't been presented in quite this way before.  This makes it a truly enjoyable read, not to mention a book that holds up well to the repeated readings that your small people are likely to demand.

What I mean to say is this: if someone offers you a free box of Cheerios, you should take it.  There might be an unexpectedly awesome book inside.  

Thirty-Three.

Well, hello!  I didn't mean to become the absent blogger this week, but somehow it happened just the same. Violin concerts, school performances and end of semester assessments.  Oh, my! 

Anyway, I did manage to get out snowshoeing again yesterday, something which I suspect is going to become my Saturday ritual.  I had ambitions of spending the time snowboarding instead this winter, but I think maybe I'm getting too old lady for that.  In the pre-parenting era I had good enthusiasm for the whole enterprise, but now I find that I would rather tromp around in the woods all by my lonesome than squish onto a chairlift with fifteen year olds.  I turned thirty-three last weekend, so it's probably that.  

Thirty-two maybe wasn't quite my year.  Is it okay to say that?  Maybe it's more accurate to say that it was a year of extremes.  We had some really, really great moments around here, but also some really, very hard ones.  More than any year that I can remember in quite some time.  I was therefore pretty happy to roll out the welcome mat for the arrival of thirty-three. 

Oh, and I did get myself a little birthday present this afternoon.  I finally got my hot little hands on a Herriott Grace cloud cookie cutter.  I've wanted one for about forever and had a little balance in my PayPal account, so what was a girl to do?  

Oven-Baked.

We are having, thus far, a Busy Week.  You know, the sort where it has to be at least half over before you have a chance to catch your breath or search for the vacuum cleaner?  Anyway, managing a sane and simple dinner each evening seems to be key to our ability to keep morale high during crazy weeks like this one, and lentils and rice tend to be a pretty reliable standby.  Really easy and able to cook mostly unattended, lentils also have the added benefit of being on Mariam's short list of edible things.  This afternoon I did get a little bit more ambitious than usual, however, and decided to make up a batch of homemade garam masala for the spicing.  I toasted the spices on a baking sheet in the oven and then ground them into a fine powder using an old coffee grinder that we keep around for this sort of thing.  I used the garam masala recipe from Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant.  It's actually a really simple and satisfying process and yields enough spice mixture for multiple, multiple uses if stored in an airtight container.  Oh, and how cool is it that you can access most of Sundays at the Moosewood on Google Books? Pretty cool, I say.  

Snowshoes, Saturdays and Very Small Skis.

 

Today was the first day of Mariam's Saturday ski school.  Six year olds on skis is a seriously hilarious sight.  They are like little balls of waterproof fabric and fleece, indistinguishable from one another except for the color of their pants. With a helmet on top?  Ridiculous. 

Anyway, with the kiddo busy all day long, I found myself suddenly gifted with the extremely rare gift of actual free time that I could use to do whatever I wanted.  This pretty much never happens.  Ever.  I don't really consider myself to be a winter sports aficionado, but my idea of summer sports pretty much extends to picking tomatoes and standing ankle-deep in lake water, so I suppose winter sports win by default.  I decided to hit the snowshoe trails for a couple of hours this morning and was really pleased to find that they were nearly empty.  Other than the occasional glimpse of a cross country skier in the distance, I was pretty much alone.  And, I only ended up knee deep in snow a sum total of one time.  Well done, I say.

I did, however, keep hearing this mysterious rumbling sound in the distance that I suspect was somehow associated with small avalanches at the higher elevations.  Or maybe mini-van doors closing in the distance.  Either way, it did make me just a little nervous.  I find that I like to be able to identify the sounds around me when I'm alone in the semi-wilderness.  Good for morale.

Oh, and lest I give you the impression that my day was all peaceful tromps through snowy forests, I'll go ahead and tell you that Mariam was so tired after her day of skiing that she came home and threw an insane and massive tantrum at bedtime.  As in, possibly the best work she's ever done, tantrum-wise.  It was truly spectacular.  And, since it is something that she doesn't do often, she had the element of surprise well in hand.  Her poor parents never saw it coming.  

Pinecone Elves.

Last weekend Mariam and I met my friend Sarah and her boys out at the local Waldorf school for their annual winter festival.  They usually set out tables with various craft projects for children at each of their events, and this year there were some particularly fun ones.  Our favorite project was the little pinecone elves.  There is a bit of handstitiching involved, but not too very much, and the end result is pretty cute.  I especially love the tiny hat on the acorn head.  Too sweet.  Anyway, you can find the instructions here. 

The End of Autumn.

I think that I actually took this picture a few weeks ago, when my friends Natalie and Ed were here visiting.  I had forgotten about it, most likely because I obviously didn't quite get the shot that I was originally going for.  I stumbled upon it again this afternoon, wholly by accident, and I was so surprised by how much has changed in just a few weeks time.  A soft but steady snow has now covered most of the landscape here and the idea of bright sun and green grass already seems very, very far away.  This is probably the last of the sunny day photos for a little while.  December 21st may not have arrived yet, but winter sure has.  

Library Monday: Favorite Reads for the First Snow.

Okay, so it isn't actually Monday anymore.  But between my actual job and the seasonal upswing in business in the shop, yesterday turned into a much busier Monday than I had planned for or can generally manage to enjoy.  I pretty much stumbled into bed last night without thoughts of blogging.  Probably like normal people do.

Anyway, this week marks the arrival of our first real snow of the season and I must say, I find myself much more enthusiastic than expected.  It's just so very pretty and I love how it makes the whole world seem a little more still and makes everything quiet.  Especially in the evenings.  I had wanted to share some of our favorite reads for snowy weather this week, so how about we pretend it's still Monday?  Just for a few minutes.

 

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin with pictures by Mary Azarian.

This one is a very popular title in the local schools.  Bentley was a Vermonter, born and raised in a small town not far from Burlington.  He was also singularly obsessed with the beauty of the snowflake, and spent his entire life and all of his creative energy trying to figure out how to take a perfect picture of a perfect snowflake.  A professor of Dan's from the medical school has some Snowflake Bentley originals which I had a chance to take a peek at awhile back.  They are amazing and certainly a reminder of just how remarkable snowflakes are, even when you are needing to leave the house fifteen minutes early each morning to move them out of your driveway. 

 

Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and  Richard G. Van Gelder with pictures by Helen K. Davie. A

Animals in Winter seems to be that book that always pops up in blog posts around this time of year when parents and teachers start sharing what they are reading to their small people.  With good reason.  What animals manage to do all winter long is a topic of great interest to kids and grown-ups alike, especially when you've watched squirrels, chipmunks, mice and others have such busy, busy fall seasons only to have them entirely disappear at the first sign of snow.  This book is a solid example of non-fiction for children. Informative, easy to understand, beautifully illustrated.  A great staple for the winter book basket.  

 

The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren

In mentioning the incredible classic of winter, snow and cold, The Tomten, I should also note that this one gets a funny reception at our house.  I love it, and Mariam likes to talk about it, but she won't let me read it to her.  For some reason, she finds The Tomten to be a little creepy.  I think I may have ruined her with an audiobook version where he has a weird voice.  Anyway, I certainly wish that I got to read this one more often, so you should do it for me!  The story of an elf man who wanders the farm he calls home during the snowy nights, protecting the animals and people who live there, The Tomten is one of those books that manages to make you feel as though you have suddenly landed inside of it.  

 

Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book by Cynthia Rylant.

This one has had longstanding popularity and staying power around our house.  Mariam loves pretty much anything Cynthia Rylant has ever written, and Mr. Putter and Tabby books are particular favorites.  In this volume, the first big snow of the winter arrives and Mr. Putter has big plans to use his indoor hours to become a writer of mystery novels.  Instead, he ends up cooking a lot of food, taking more than a few naps and deciding that what he really likes best is just to use his quiet time thinking about what he really likes best.  This is a sweet and funny book and definitely worth a read or two.  

 

Brave Irene by William Steig.

Brave Irene might well be in a class all of its own.  An incredible book about bravery, love and determination, this one is on my list of books never to be missed.  This book has been much loved at our house for many years now, and did get a proper Library Monday treatment nearly two years (!) ago.  You can read it here.  

I feel like I could keep going here, but I think that there is also some sort of idea about getting dressed and going to work.  Oh, and I should probably wake up my girl and get her ready for school.  Also, I can't find that handy tool that scrapes all the snow off my windshield so I've got to do something about that.  Hmn.  Perhaps you all can help expand my winter reading list for me.  What are your favorite reads when the weather turns cold where you are?

 

The Part That I Didn't Tell You.

 

During the months of autumn, things in this space got a little strange for awhile.  Sporadic posting.  Lots of posts that lacked my usual optimism and general cheerfulness (or at least the sarcasm that passes for cheerfulness around here).  I blamed most of it on the things that were happening with the move at school, but astute or longtime readers may have guessed that there was something else beneath the surface.  And there was.

I was pregnant.  I say "was" because I had a miscarriage in early October.  And, unfortunately, it was a bit medically complicated and required two surgical procedures in the course of a week, one of them at the hospital and under general anesthesia.  But even before I found out that I was losing the pregnancy, things weren't going well at all.  I was incredibly, horribly sick from about four weeks on, and by eight weeks or so I had reached a point where I was waking up in the night and throwing up for hours at a time.  I could no longer make the thirty minute drive from Mariam's school to mine in the morning; I would have to stop as many as six times along the way to throw up.  I was put on anti-nausea drugs, something that I had a lot of hesitation about, but things had reached a point where my other choice was hospitalization.  In retrospect, I probably should have been hospitalized for severe dehydration, and that is certainly a point of contention that I have with my doctor's office.  

I should say that this isn't my first experience with loss of this type.  I have been pregnant four times in the last eight years, and have just the one kiddo.  The math isn't all that complicated.  So far, any actual medical reasons for this are not forthcoming.  We've been going through some testing at a local specialty practice and so far they've turned up nothing.  This is technically a good thing; it means that there isn't anything obviously wrong that would require surgery or that would make it difficult to have another successful pregnancy.  There is a whole lot of bloodwork still not back, so we'll know more in a couple of weeks, but I think it's considered doubtful that the blood tests will turn up much of anything.  

So, we continue on as a family of three for now.  When I found out that we were losing another pregnancy, I think I probably felt all of the expected emotions.  More than anything, disappointment and worry probably topped the list of what I was feeling.  But I also felt a lot that I wasn't expecting, and I think that my strongest emotion was probably my least anticipated: gratitude. 

I felt immediately and deeply grateful for the fact that I was able to have at least one healthy and beautiful child.  Do I want another? I absolutely do.  But I also know that I have been gifted with an incredible child already and it almost doesn't feel right to me to say that it isn't enough.  I think that six has a lot to do with how I'm feeling about everything.  Mariam at six is kind of spectacular.  She is funny, smart and wonderful to be near.  We have an amazing time together, doing all the things that I've always wanted to share with her.  I knew by about five and a half that six was likely to be a banner year for us, but really, I had no idea.  I love six.  And, despite everything, I find that no amount of sadness or disappointment can diminish the joy that a really good year of mothering brings.

I'm not sure why it took me two months to write this post, or why I'm even writing it at all. I certainly could get away with keeping this all under wraps, considering that I never shared my pregnancy here in the first place.  But somehow, I felt like there wasn't any reason not to share.  People are so funny about talking about loss in general and pregnancy loss in particular.  I think part of me felt hesitant to share because this is such a personal thing and women who have been through it have such individual reactions to their experiences.  Many find themselves devastated and truly need time to mourn their loss. This isn't the case for me, and I both wanted to avoid devaluing anyone else's feelings about their own losses (because I'm learning that so many of us have had at least one) and to avoid presenting myself as some kind of emotional weirdo with a denial problem.  I do, of course, feel a sense of loss and of sadness.  But my sense of having been truly blessed with what I already have is that much stronger for it all.  Our little family is good.  Really, really good.  And when the time is right, I hope that it will grow to be a little bit bigger.

So, I thought I'd just get on with it and tell you what's really been going on.  I may not know many of you in the non-web based sense of the word, but you have all been incredibly supportive of me over the years just the same.  So, thanks for that.