madameblogalot

I must begin my hit or miss list for April by going back to March. I actually read a book in March that I forgot to add to my list!

The Hobbit-This book was a big HIT for me. I had never read it before (though I have seen the cartoon.) I assigned it for my daughter to read and so I read it too. I like the easy way the story is told. It is not hard to read and I think an older elementary child would be able to read it easily. I love the quest adventure and how it fits nicely with the Hero’s Journey. It really reminded me of much that I learned when studying Star Wars with my son. The book was also a HIT with my daughter. Though she complained about many of her assignments with the book, she did a nice job and put together a nice lapbook project folder on it.

Losing Control and Liking It-This book on raising (and letting go of) teens was actually a HIT with me. Sometimes I get frustrated with parenting books. This one though was easy to read and easy to digest. I was especially pleased to find that I have not done everything wrong!

Wizard of Oz-My daughter and I saw the Broadway Across America presentation of the famous show. It was a great production. I even liked the use of video in the play. The actors were great! We both enjoyed the show. I think it was better than Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This show was a HIT.

Henry V-This was my first live Shakespearean performance. My daughter’s too. We went to see a local college’s presentation. A man we go to church with was in the show, as well as a college grad and choreographer my daughter has acted with previously. We enjoyed parts of the show. It was not easy to follow and my daughter was lost by most of it, though when I asked her at intermission, she could tell me generally what was going on. This was neither a HIT or MISS with me. It was not great. But there were a couple of scenes I really enjoyed. I liked the scene where Princess Katherine only speaks French. I also enjoyed the choreography of the battle scene. It was really nicely done.

Living in South Texas means we deal with mosquitoes nearly year round. (There is even a local Mosquito Festival!) After all the heavy rain we have experienced the last couple of weeks the problem is already looming large. Because of the large amounts of rain in such a short time, there are many areas of standing water. This is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. I have never had very good luck with controlling a mosquito population in our yard. I just learned about a new mosquito trap that might be worth looking in to.

The Mosquito Magnet is a way to lure mosquitoes eventually eliminating the population in your yard. I found out some interesting facts about mosquitoes. Only the females bite. They can lay up to four hundred eggs in as little as one drop of water! They use the protein from our blood to produce their eggs. They breed in the water but live in the bushes, shrubs and tall grass. The Mosquito Magnet trap can be used in areas where the mosquitoes breed and live and about thirty feet from where people will be. The trap mimics humans by releasing a continuous stream of carbon dioxide. The mosquitoes will become trapped and then dehydrate and die.

There is also a secondary attractant to help eliminate more mosquitoes faster. Using lurex and Octenol the trap furthers the impersonation of humans. The Lurex mimics skin odors while the Ocetenol mimics breathing. The proper chemical to be used is determined by what region you reside in. For me, I think either would be effective since I live on the Gulf Coast of a Southern state. The Lurex is even effective in killing the Asian Tiger mosquito.

As mosquitoes are a big problem in our area, I think there are likely many folks who would be interested in keeping a mosquito trap in their yard.

A few weeks ago, Merry tagged me to write a post on what being a mother means to me. I could not address it at the time. Going through the teenage years with my son has been a struggle for both of us. We had so much fun when he was young and I miss those fun times. Things just aren’t the same. And I have to be ok with that.

Today on my daughter’s thirteenth birthday I could spend the day lamenting the fact that I have no more children in my house, only teenagers. But I chose this morning not to face the day that way. I am celebrating the young woman she is becoming. And my son remembered how important thirteen is and how he felt about it, so he decided to take little sister out to lunch/brunch, all on his own and all on his own dime too!

That made me think more about what it means to be a mother…

Of course, those first stirrings of life living and growing inside of me made me wondrously aware of what it feels like to be a mom. I cannot explain it. It is a bond, a connection so strong that at times it still overwhelms me.

Upon the birth of my children, my actual job of having them outgrow me began, the first step being the cutting of the umbilical cord (I guess technically they began outgrowing me starting at conception!) And every step since then has been a quest to move them toward their own adulthood. It is a feeling so strong at times it still overwhelms me.

Learning about the world around me through a child’s eyes has been an amazing adventure. What wonder and beauty and magic lies right before me if I only take the moment to behold it, to recognize it, to ponder it, to treasure it. Learning from my kids has been as important as the things I’ve had to teach them. It is a feeling so strong that at times it still overwhelms me.

Learning about love from my children has been an eye-opening, heart-wrenching experience. Love is an amazingly strong emotion. The unconditional love I give to them just because they are mine. And the engulfing unconditional love they give back just because I am theirs. Learning about love and bonds between mother and child, between my own mother and myself, between God the perfect parent and myself is yet another feeling so strong that I am nearly overwhelmed.

As the children are now no longer children but have moved into teenage years, the feelings are so strong that I am nearly overwhelmed on a daily basis. My time with them is so short. There is still so much to do, to see, to say, to teach, to learn…

Being a mother is an adventure in itself. It is a stretching, a growing, a learning, an all consuming passion that I would otherwise not have known if I had never become a mother.