susiej/reviews

Frank Lloyd Wright. Did you know the illustrious architect had an affair? If you did, then you probably know whatever it was “that happened.” I didn’t know he had the affair, so I’m unaware of what happened… and so the ending of Loving Frank: A Novel, a work of historical fiction by Nancy Horan, is still a surprise to me.

Without thinking, I find myself in conversations with others about the book that I have not yet completed. As soon as my words I uttered, I then I find myself caught up in this precarious little dance, where I must let the other person know, (who usually does know about the affair and what Frank did), in no uncertain terms, that I do not know Frank had the affair, and I prefer to have what he did kept a surprise, revealed only by Horan herself; under her own timing.

I have it on good authority that whatever happens is pretty dramatic, because the friend who lent me the book screamed when she got to the part.  Fueled by my insatiable desire to find out what he did, I found myself devouring pages whenever I could; over breakfast, waiting on firefox to load before I wrote my daily post. Now, I’m at the 2/3 mark… almost to the end. This is the point where I stop reading the book. I’m satiated enough to put the book down, but no longer eager to see the book end, and say goodbye to Horan, Frank and Mamah. I do this all the time with books that I love.

So, if I want the ending to remain a secret, I must be careful to no longer talk about Frank, and let the long, leisurely ending unfold itself over the next week, when I will finish the book at my typically, long leisurely pace.

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One rare day, both of my boys (when I only had two) headed down to the basement playroom to actually play. Even more shocking, it was dinner time, the witching hour, and I was free to cook.

While I relished in this kid-free moment, when I was actually free to boil the water for the pasta without stepping over puzzle pieces scattered all over the floor in the kitchen, my youngest son, 2 1/2, declared that there was a squirrel in the basement.

“Ha,” I thought. What an imagination that boy has. We had large basement windows with deep window wells, and the house sat in a woods; so I assumed he meant he saw a squirrel in the window well… on the outside of the house. Now, don’t laugh — it could have happened; just a week before the boys did see a frog staring at them from the outside through the very same window. It could happen again, I thought. This time, with a squirrel.

I kept stirring and chopping, while he talked about the colors on the squirrel, what he should name the squirrel, and what he would like to eat.

Then, my son asked suspiciously, “Mom, is this squirrel gonna’ bite me?” At that, I quickly laid down my spoon, and ventured down into the basement steps to see my beautiful son sitting on the rug in the basement, face to face with a squirel. Inside, not outside, as I assumed.

I stood speechless, unable to think what to do. I calmly asked both boys to come upstairs to play with me while I cooked, while dialing Dad on the phone, asking “There’s a squirrel in the basement, and what do I do now?”

While I paced around and gabbed on the phone about options, my four-year-old simply grabbed a broom from the closet, and crept back down stairs and started chasing the squirrel with the broom. Stunned, I stopped talking and simply stared at him. Soon, my son had the squirrel cornered, and the squirrel scampered up the steps, where my two year old opened the door, and away the squirrel ran.

Not only do I live in a zoo, but my kids are the zoo keepers.

This story was inspired by the Parent Bloggers Network and Generation Next, announcing their brand-new product – iKnow Animals, Letters & Sounds. Created in partnership with the world-famous San Diego Zoo (where you’ll find Generation Next highlighted on the San Diego Zoo website as a featured partner!), this collection of media uses eye-popping graphics, beautiful music, and engaging video to not only help teach children to read, but actively involve them in helping the animals and the planet.

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I needed something to keep his toes warm and dry this winter through those long hours he spends away at school. As a bonus, the boots would also give him enough traction to run up the snowy hill this winter during the snow days we plan to spend at the lake. After studying all the options on the Vincent Shoes Web site, the same place I found the “climbing shoes” this past spring, I settled on this one: Lorenz. “our winter “diving” boot that helps combat that type of weather. It’s made of a neoprene-type material and covered with heavy duty rubber. Lorenz feels like a diving suit, and it really protects.” I couldn’t miss with a boot made like that.

I settled the shoes in their proper spot in the mudroom, where they’d be ready for their first wet, cold day — aI day I still hope is a long way off in the future. After careful consideration, the boy selected the boots on a day when it is still warm and dry.

To my surprise the boots are already getting some tough use while the weather is still warm. The boots just happen to be the perfect accessory for a good day of light saber action.

These boots; with their waterproof construction, and drawstrings tops are irresistible to any Mom; thankfully, they’re irresistible to little boys too. Special thanks to Vincent Shoes for the boots.

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Instead of watching the football game like the rest of the town; my girlfriend and I escaped to a quiet room upstairs and plugged the DVD that Victor Lu from Special Ops Media graciously sent me; and we’re so glad that we’re smart enough to make good choices with what little time we have.

The movie, Then She Found Me, (now available on DVD) is based on the novel by Elinor Lipman, stars Helen Hunt (Best Actress, As Good As It Gets, 1998) and Colin Firth (Mamma Mia!, Bridget Jones’s Diary). The film starts off with laughs and giggles; but soon develops into a complex tangled weave as Alice April (Helen Hunt) hungers for a baby; her husband (Matthew Broderick) leaves her for another woman and her mother dies. Then, two-time Oscar® nominee Bette Midler, steps into Alice’s life as her real mother.

Bette was full of enough half-truths to keep us giggling, and ultimately, temporarily kept April side-tracked enough to see the options, some she was still unaware of, in her life.

When you watch the film; be sure to take note of the chocolate-colored evening dress April wears to the gala with Colin; in that dress, she looked her lovely, graceful best; even though we agreed through most of the movie that Helen is just too thin; she looked worn-out.

The movie is beautifully done; the scene of April in the bath tub, while her mother washes her hair was especially poignant. While the love story runs in the foreground; the real story in this movie runs underneath; this is a story about a mother’s love.

Then She Found Me was directed by Helen Hunt and screenplay by Alice Arlen and Victor Levin & Helen Hunt. The film was executive produced by John Wells, Chip Signore, Louise Goodsell, Ralph Kamp, Victor Levin, Walter Josten, Jeff Geoffray and Howard Behar; associate produced by Moon Blauner; co-produced by Matthew Myers; produced by Pamela Koffler, Katie Roumel and Christine Vachon; and produced by Helen Hunt and Connie Tavel.

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So, don’t even think about taking it for yourself, kids. I’m talking about that last bottle of IBC Root Beer in the fridge. I don’t have a root beer everyday, I reserve it for special times.

There is an art to drinking and enjoying a tall glass of root beer. I stick the refrigerated, cold bottle in the freezer for 15 minutes to get it really cold. It must be cold enough. Fill a glass with ice, and pour.

Root beer doesn’t do a thing to help my low iron levels, it isn’t full of antioxidants, and it’s not low in calories. But root beer does make a great day better.

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as an entry for a contest sponsored by Brothers-All-Natural.

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