News

Saturday

Saturday was another sleeping disorder day. I slept at 7pm the night before, slept through till 5am Saturday, and got up to make split pea soup for this week’s lunches for Aaron and myself. Then I slept till 9:30. Back to sleep at 10:30, and so on with breaks in sleep until about 4:30, when IL5 woke from his super-long nap. I then felt refreshed, and salvaged a bit of productivity at the end of the day.

Sunday

I managed to stay alert all day Sunday, which was a great change from Saturday. I worked, then we cancelled “family day” because D14 was sick.

Monday

Monday, dad had another cardiologist appointment. This one specialized in heart rhythm, and the appointment was made in October when dad was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. He said that what the hospitalists saw in dad’s EKG in October was NOT atrial fibrillation. He was misdiagnosed. He could go off the Eliquis (which is super expensive). So…yay! Good news on dad’s health finally!

Dad had cardiac rehabilitation later in the day. Then I took D14 to get a strep and COVID test, because she was sick (both were negative). I did some housework and then took IL5 to swim lessons.

Tuesday

Tuesday started with a run to Perkins with my dad. Then I took D14 to an appointment, and I got to pace around the building to get my steps in while she was in the appointment.

Following on the heels of that, I took her to a pediatrician appointment for her well-child visit. There, we discussed whether to take her to OT for eating…she says she’s willing to try introducing new food into her diet, but seems to feel anxiety about doing it on her own. I am not sure if I want a third kid in eating therapy, but Aaron and D14’s mom are on board, so I guess that’s three against my waffle. Also, the pediatrician pointed out that D14 has scoliosis. It isn’t very much, but enough that I need to take her for an X-ray so they can measure the bend in the spine and decide if she needs a spine specialist. 😱

Later in the day, I went through some old stuff of my grandpa’s. I found the hospital bill for my dad’s birth and the first letter my grandma sent to my grandpa, as well as the first letter from her sister Alice.

You see, Alice found my grandpa in a Boy Scout (or some such) magazine for pen pals. She started writing him. At some point a couple of years later, she culled her pen pals, and grandpa didn’t make the cut. However, my grandma (Elizabeth) started writing my grandpa (Robert) instead. My grandpa almost didn’t write back, but figured “oh well, might as well.” They fell in love and got married.

I set aside the letters and bill so I could take them to Oregon in case my mother-in-law wanted to scan them and put them in her genealogy stuff for IL5.

My grandma’s letter

Dear Bob,

Before reading this letter you had better turn to the last page and see who it is from. Now that that is over you will want to know why I am writing to you. Well here is my reason. My sister Alice is writing to several boys and decided she would have to stop writing to one of them and as you were the least important (to her, not to me) of them she decided she could no longer waste her time, ink, paper and last but not least her stamps on you. Of course I know that you will be sorely disappointed to get this letter from me instead of her, but I sincerely hope to get an answer from you.

First I suppose you will want to know a little about me. I don’t know how old my sister told you she was and I doubt if she remembers but I am almost two years older, so figure it up. I am five feet three inches tall and weigh 95 pounds. I am neither fair nor dark complected and have dark brown or almost black curly hair. I don’t suppose you can get much out of this description but if you will write real soon I will send you a picture of myself in my next letter. I have the picture now but I will wait and see if you are going to write to me. Also send me a picture of yourself.

I hope my picture will add another to your rogues gallery of which I am sure your own picture heads the collection. If it doesn’t it certainly should.

Last night my sister, my brother, and I gave a watch party and I didn’t go to bed until well after 3 o’clock. I am rather sleepy now so I will close, but will write you a long letter next time. Hoping to hear from you real soon.

Your friend,

Elizabeth M-

PS if I never hear from you I will know that it is because you are in the deep, dark, depths of despair because you didn’t hear from my sister.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning I went straight from my overnight job to ushering dad quickly out the door (actually he ate breakfast and we were late) to cardiac rehab. Then I went to my day job. I had a short break, followed by an evening appointment for D14. Then I took her to Mary Poppins rehearsal and participated in M11’s parent teacher conference via phone while driving home.

Thursday

Thursday, I started a new D&D campaign. I jumped in on the second session, so I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but it was still interesting. I’ll pick it up eventually. In the evening we had parent-teacher conferences for D14 and IL5. Both are doing great. D14 has A’s and A-‘s. (M11 was too, though he was missing more assignments. I forgot to mention that yesterday.) IL5 is ready to end up in a regular classroom, and the teachers agree with me that he can understand what people are saying…he just has difficulty speaking.

Friday

Friday, IL5 had an appointment in the morning. It was his psychologist who is working with him to encourage him to poop in the toilet. It was good timing, because IL5 was claiming he had pooped in the toilet at school and the teacher denied it. The psychologist was able to talk him through the frustration of not being believed.

Then I took D14 to get an x-ray of her back to see if she does, indeed, have scoliosis. As of the end of that day, there was no news. D14 and I also went to Red Lobster. I had intended it as quality time, but she watched a video on her tablet, so I read.

In the evening, IL5 had a playdate in an indoor park. He enjoyed the date for about an hour, then suddenly said “Let’s go!” And he proceeded to push open the exit door. I had to chase after him before he got himself locked out.

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• 1 letter Pennsylvania
• 1 letter Texas

Reading to myself

• The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
• Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston
• Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
• Dopesick, by Beth Macy
• Great World Religions: Christianity, by Luke Timothy Johnson
• Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams

Reading to IL5

• Super Rabbit Boy World, by Thomas Flintham
• The school is Alive!, by Jack Chabert
• Robo-Rabbit Boy, Go!, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy’s Team-up Trouble, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham

M10 reading

• Forest of Wonders, by Linda Sue Park

D14 reading

• A Good Kind of Trouble, by Lisa Moore Ramee
• The Dragon’s Legacy, by Deborah A Wolf

Aaron reading

The Burning God, by R F Kuang

Media Completed

When Sam finds out Eerie Elementary is alive, and wanting to eat people, his friends won’t believe him. But he tries to save everyone anyway. Very cute and funny. My 5 year old and I both loved it.

The Jungle follows Jurgis Rudkis over several years of miserable existence as a working man. This book went into great detail about the horrors that take place in a slaughterhouse and meat packing company. It ends as a lecture on socialism. The middle contained more of a story though.

News

Saturday

Saturday M11 went ice fishing with the Boy Scouts. He seemed to have enjoyed himself, other than falling in one of the ice fishing holes up to his hip.

I went to Olive Garden with IL5 and my friend Liz. We discussed our book club book, and chose a new one. Then dad, IL5, and I went to the Mall of America to walk around. IL5 was awfully disappointed not to ride the rides, but I didn’t think I would fit on those rides and M11 hadn’t wanted to come to the mall with us. We lost dad twice at the mall – once at the elevators for about 15 minutes and once in the parking lot for about 5 minutes. D14 and Aaron went snow tubing for a late birthday present. They had fun, but there was a lot of time waiting in lines.

Finally, Aaron and I walked to a nearby tavern for our date. We were disappointed to find out that our date spot is closing this coming Friday. It was a nice place to go. Now we will have to choose between driving (and not drinking) on Thursdays, walking about 10 minutes to a louder bar on Sundays (they have Vingo on Saturday, and we find that distracting), or walking 15 minutes to a quieter place on our usual Saturday night date. None of these sound as appealing as what we were doing until Saturday.

Sunday

Sunday, after I worked for several hours, we watched Solo as a family. Aaron and D14 worked on the cruel and unusual Micky Mouse puzzle. The thing is insane, I’ll have to get a picture when they’re done. It’s like 100 little Mickey faces all squished together. Dad and I got it for them as a joke, and D14 has accepted the challenge. She dragged Aaron in, against his better judgement.

Monday

Monday started with me cooking some beef stew for Aaron and my lunches this week. Then IL5 and I went on a play date with some triplets from special education. I had a good talk with their mom, and it was a reminder that three kids with “problems” is easier than three five year olds with “problems.” I just can’t imagine.

Then I had my supermom moment. It’s rare that I think I’ve done really well, but I dropped dad off for his cardiac rehab appointment, took IL5 to school, picked up D14 from school, picked up dad from Rehab, and went to D14’s knee PT – all in 1.5 hours. Dad had to come to D14’s PT, and D14 was late to her next appointment (we knew she would be – she was double-booked).

In the evening I tried a new meatloaf recipe, and everyone seemed satisfied with the results.

Tuesday

Tuesday after work, I took dad to his arm PT appointment, then went to my day job. Aaron worked from home due to the plumber coming to clear out the tub pipes. Dad went to the mall on the bus. M11 had jazz band. D14 had a late appointment. We got IL5 to sit on the toilet when he actually needed to go poop, but he couldn’t manage to poop. So, half-win.

Wednesday

Wednesday, after work and an appointment for D14, I worked my day job. Then I went to D14’s second appointment of the day, cooked dinner, and put IL5 to bed.

Thursday

On Thursday, I took dad to his CT scan of his elbow. This is one step further in finding out if he has bone cancer. The follow-up appointment for the scan is in a little over a week, though, so we’ll still have to wait for answers.

Then I took dad to his cardiac rehab appointment. While he was in there, I created a character for a D&D game I’m joining on Thursdays. It’s a squeeze to fit it into my schedule, but I really want the time to entertain myself. The character’s name is Asmirus, and she’s a shifter cleric (level 2) / bard (level 1).

Friday

Friday, IL5 had poop physical therapy, followed by speech therapy. Then I hauled him off to see my surgeon for a follow-up. Apparently, despite the after-care instructions saying that I could take a bath starting 10 days post-surgery, I’m not supposed to take a bath for another 2-3 weeks. Yeah, right.

D15 texted me while I was downtown. Apparently, she wanted a ride home from school because her hip hurt. She proceeded to call up Aaron to ask if some random “office lady” that she didn’t know could give her a ride home. He left work and picked her up.

In the evening, I crashed. I’d had big plans to watch The Two Towers with M11 and then get some reading done, but I fell deeply asleep. Then, when Aaron wanted to go to his videogame with his friends, I woke up for about 30 minutes, but was really struggling to stay awake and watch IL5. So the two of us got in bed, and he watched his phone while I slept.

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• One letter Maine
• One letter Massachusetts
• One letter Michigan

Reading to myself

• The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
• Jesus and the Gospels, Luke Timothy Johnson
• Dopesick, by Beth Macy
• Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston
• St Augustine’s Confessions by William R Cook and Ronald B Herzman
• Great World Religions: Christianity, by Luke Timothy Johnson

Reading to IL4

• Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham
• The Goat Who Chewed Too Much, by Tom Angleberger
• Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off, by Thomas Flintham
• The Super Side-Quest Test, by Thomas Flintham

M10 reading

• Wing and Claw, by Linda Sue Park

D13 reading

• The Dragon’s Legacy, by Deborah A Wolf

Aaron reading

• The Burning God, by R F Kuang

Media Completed

Han Solo starts his adventures in this Star Wars movie. It was interesting and fun. Also easy to follow.

Cross-stitch

News

Saturday

Saturday was a good day. I started the day making sausage stew for the week’s lunches for myself and Aaron. IL5, dad, and I headed to the library for a while. We picked out books, played with toys, and set up dominos. Aaron went to his board game group and D14, IL5, dad, and I went to Olive Garden. Aaron and D14 started a jigsaw puzzle hour at night during the time I sometimes read to her, so we had to compromise and say Aaron gets her 3 days a week and I get her 3 days a week and Aaron and I watch Supernatural one day a week. (The Supernatural was already a thing, but we often don’t get to it.) Anyway, Saturday was puzzle day.

Sunday

Sunday I worked for a bit and Aaron watched IL5 and ran errands. After dinner, we played a game of Cranium – D14 and Aaron against M11 and me. We had lost the board, strangely, so I made one on a piece of paper. In the evening, D14 and Aaron worked on a super hard Mickey Mouse puzzle.

Monday

Monday I took D14 and then dad to an appointment. I got a bit of a disappointment when I found out that my new third job didn’t even have a client, so I can’t work it. I was a little put out, because I was told there were two clients when I was hired. I asked my boss about it, wondering if she had been dishonest with me, but she said that one passed and one “graduated.” I’m not used to this graduation thing, and am disappointed I won’t be able to bring in money steadily with this job. But it’ll be money on and off, at least, and I was wary of taking a third job, anyway.

Tuesday

Tuesday was hard. Dad had an appointment in the morning, and slipped on the ice and hurt his tailbone and hit his head. I worked for a while after that, and that was calm. Then dad had a phone appointment and they never called. I finally called them, and they had it wrong in their computer – it was logged as in-persin with a note saying “by phone.” This was upsetting to me because I had left work early for that appointment. Anyway, the specialist called me back and we had a super-quick appointment so we didn’t have to reschedule. On top of that D14 and I had our first teenager fight. It was huge (for her), but I’m proud of her for finding a coping skill to calm down without her screens. Unfortunately, the fallout of the argument was that I was distracted and didn’t get IL5 or dad their meds for the night.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I took dad to an appointment, went to Perkins, went shopping, and took him to another appointment. Then I trained in for my third job despite not having a client to work with.

Thursday

Thursday I was displeased with my performance, but in retrospect, U kept pretty busy. I guess I have a weid disappointment in myself when I take a nap. Not sure why.

Anyway, I took the car in for maintenance, went to lunch with Aaron, did an appointment with M11, went grocery shopping, and took D14 to a meeting that turned out to be in my calendar wrong (it was on February 29, not January 25). In the evening, I watched an episode of Supernatural with Aaron.

Friday

Friday, I took IL5 to his last feeding therapy with this therapist. That appointment solidified my suspicion that the therapist simply didn’t like IL5. She was always making comments to me that he never did what he was asked, and other kids do. And her facial expressions were sometimes very telling of her distaste.

I feel that if she’s going to work with kids with problems, she should have the decency to LIKE kids with problems. If not, just do adult OT. Right? Plus, IL5 doesn’t necessarily do what he’s told, but he’s not defiant, and tone goes a long way with him. His speech therapist seems to love him. So do his teachers. The problem lies with the feeding therapist.

Later in the day, I had to haul IL5 along on a cardiologist appointment for dad. He behaved pretty well, though. And we found out that dad’s heart monitor from November showed no atrial fibrillation.

Dad, Aaron, and I went to Mall of America, had dinner, and walked around. Dad had wanted to take the kids and get them presents, but all of them decided to stay home.

While Aaron was gaming with friends in the evening, M11, D14, and I watched Umbrella Academy.

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• One letter Maine
• One letter Louisiana
• One letter California
• One letter Oklahoma
• One letter Alberta, Canada

Reading to myself

• Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
• Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix
• Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnson
• Dopesick, by Beth Macy
• The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair

Reading to IL4

• Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham
• Bad Kitty vs Uncle Murray, by Nick Bruel
• Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit All-Stars, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Racers, by Thomas Flintham
• The Shocking Shark Showdown, by David Bowles
• Inspector Flytrap, by Tom Angleberger

M11 reading

• Wing and Claw, by Linda Sue Park (in school)

D13 reading

• Call of the Wild, by Jack London (in school)
• Crown of Midnight, by Sarah J Mass
• Exile, by Shannon Messenger (I’m reading this to her)

Aaron reading

• The Burning God, by R F Kuang

Media Completed

When Uncle Murray comes to look after Puppy and Kitty for a week, Bad Kitty is upset. Funny, as usual. Love the pictures.

When Amy went into work that day, she thought it would be a normal day in retail nightmare. But this time the nightmare was real. This is a hilarious horror satire about a haunted IKEA knockoff superstore. I loved every minute.

Malia, Ivan, and Dante go back to 13th Street to save the Quiet Prince. Cute and funny as usual. I love the frequency of pictures.

Games Played

Weight Loss

Lost 54 pounds total

When Uncle Tom and a little boy George are sold by kind owners to a terrible slave trader, George’s mom takes him and runs, but Uncle Tom goes willingly with the slave trader. The story in turns follows Uncle Tom and the young mother. This was a momentous book at the time it was written, but it certainly did not age well. With the n-word flung liberally around, I was unable to listen to the book on speaker in front of my kids (I don’t like cooking with headphones on). The stereotypes of black people were horrific. However, I tried to listen to it from the perspective that I was not its intended audience, and that helped. Overall, a good effort for the original purpose of the book – to bring light to the horrors of slavery and the blindness of white people. But it should be read knowing it won’t sit well with a modern audience, and with expectation that the denouement is excessively long.

Spoilers abound below.

These questions are adapted from Susan Bauer’s Well-Educated Mind, Chapter 5.

✏️Is this Novel a fable or a chronicle?

Chronicle, as it is set in our universe.

🖍️How does the writer show us reality (if chronicle)?

I’m supposed to say whether it was mainly showing psychologically or physical. This book did not go into vivid detail physically. It mainly alluded to the violence and rape without showing. So it’s hard for me to say it was physical. Psychologically, it showed how the slaves and owners felt, but also not in vivid detail. It was a bit detached in both psychological and physical, but somehow got the point across. Maybe with appealing to the imagination’s ability to read between the lines.

✏️What does the central character want? What is standing in their way? What strategy do they pursue to overcome this block?

Uncle Tom would like his freedom. The law and various slave owners are standing in his way. He puts his faith in God to get his freedom in soul, if not in body.

✏️Who is telling this story?

The book has a semi-omniscient narrator which follows several people’s thoughts, but only one person at a time.

✏️Where is the story set? How does this setting convey the character’s relationship to the world?

It takes place in the Southern states, where slaves are not free. This means Tom’s freedom can be kept from him indefinitely.

✏️Do you sympathize with the characters? Which ones and why?

I don’t sympathize with the white characters at all. Even the nice ones. I just don’t get excusing slavery. As for the black characters, they are too much of caricatures to garner much sympathy, but I do have disgust for their plight.

✏️Does the writer’s technique give you a clue as to her take on the human condition?

Her take is pretty obvious – people are created equal, slavery is cruel, and white people spend a lot of time rationalizing…if they feel guilt at all.

✏️Is the novel self-reflective?

I don’t know. Not unless Stowe was a slave owner.

✏️Did the author’s time affect him?

No kidding, yes. The rampant racism and stereotyping would have seemed kind and well-intentioned at the time.

✏️Is there an argument in this book? Do I agree?

The argument is that slavery is cruel and maybe even evil (in the sense of stemming from temptation and vice). Of course I agree.

News

Saturday

Saturday we played a good D&D session. Then Aaron, dad, M11 and I watched the second half of Fellowship of the Ring. Really, they watched it and I slept, but at least I was in the room.

Sunday

Sunday was a cold day. Aaron ran a bunch of errands and dad and I walked in the below zero weather to the library. D14 had her D&D session. Then we watched Star Wars Revenge of the Sith as a family.

Monday

Monday was supremely unproductive. The night before, I was wide awake staring at the ceiling all night. (This is unusual for me.) I took some anxiety meds at 1am, and another dose at 5am. The second dose knocked me out for 3 hours, but when I woke up I was stumbling around from having taken a second dose so late in the night. Because of that, I just never really bothered to get the day going.

Aaron, however, did a great job of being me for the day. He got my car into the shop, got dad to his appointment, and got D14 to her event and picked her up afterwards. IL5 didn’t get swim lessons, though, because they overlapped with picking up D14…but even I can’t be in two places at once, so I let Aaron off the hook for that one.

In the evening everyone went out to dinner without me and IL5. (IL5 was asleep and I can’t sit.)

Tuesday

Tuesday I made some chickpea curry for Aaron and my own lunches next week, then I watched Supernatural with Aaron and dad while cleaning the livingroom. Aaron had the day off from being me because dad threw up and we cancelled his appointment.

Wednesday

Wednesday was pretty uneventful. Dad, Aaron, and I went to Perkins for breakfast, where I sat for the first time since the car ride home from the surgery. It went pretty well. I made some phone calls and relaxed for the rest of the day. Aaron took D14 to her last weekly knee physical therapy…we’re switching to every other week now. Then he went to another evening appointment with her, while I watched the first couple episodes of Merlin with M11.

Thursday

I got a little stir crazy this week, and due to the nature of IL5’s appointments Thursday, I decided that it was a good idea to go with Aaron to the appointments. I still wouldn’t be driving, but I’d be sitting.

The first appointment was his poop psychologist. We’re going to start working on why IL5 doesn’t want to poop in the toilet. Then, we met with his gastroenterologist and made a plan for how to keep IL5’s gut clear of impaction. Then we met with his poop physical therapist to teach him how to poop. It was a poopy morning. The gastroenterologist appointment was virtual, and instead of going home, we had the appointment in a Perkins.

By the time I got home, my butt was aching from all the sitting, so I lay in bed for a while and took notes from all the appointments. By this time, my accountability buddy was like, “What happened yesterday? Why didn’t you accomplish much? What can you do differently today?” So I felt compelled to meet my task goal for the day. (It was 20. I made it to 21, thanks to her.) No, appointments don’t count as tasks – it only counts as a task if it’s on my to-do list. But I do have some easy stuff like “take meds” on there (because I need reminding to do things like that).

In the evening, M11 had his band concert. He did a great job.

Friday

Friday was really disappointing. Last week, M11 gave a remote control dragon to IL5, but he couldn’t find the charging cable. IL5 was so disappointed, that I bought another one. A few days later, it came as a set of imitation LEGO blocks to assemble, so I took the charging cable to charge the assembled one. But the battery wouldn’t charge. Friday, D14 spent 4 hours and much frustration assembling the dragon, and we charged it, but it fell apart when turned on. So I tried removing the charged battery from the one that didn’t stay together, and put it in the one that was assembled. But I couldn’t do that without taking the well-put-together one apart, so I just broke down and purchased a new dragon that didn’t require assembly. Luckily, I had some Prime points to use, because we don’t have money for this.

On top of that, the day went poorly in other ways, too. I think the surgery impacted my mood – the night after surgery I stayed awake all night long, and thought I was going manic. The next night I slept fine, but the following night I started having deep downward mood swings. The following night, my brain felt like it had entirely shut off (it was like I it was moving through molasses). That was Thursday night. Friday, I felt deep non-motivation; to the point where I slept for an extra few hours, then had to force myself to do even fun things like writing a letter or reading a book.

Somehow, at the end of the day, I managed to clean the kitchen and make dinner. Then Aaron and I watched a couple episodes of Supernatural.

Aaron’s day was much more productive. He took IL5 to feeding therapy and took dad to cardiac rehab. Though I don’t think he places value on a day based on how productive it was, as I do.

Week’s Photos

This is Zorantha, D14’s new D&D character

This is Terian, M11’s new D&D character

Letters Written

• One letter Texas
• One letter Australia
• One letter Pennsylvania
• One letter Washington

Reading to myself

• Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson
• Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
• How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel
• Dopesick, by Beth Macy

Reading to IL4

• Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off, by Thomas Flintham
• Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy, by Thomas Flintham
• Mr Cooper is Super, by Dan Gutman
• The Super Side Quest, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy’s Time-Jump, by Thomas Flintham
• Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol: The Haunted House Next Door, by Andres Miedoso

D13 reading

• Exile, by Shannon Messenger (I’m reading this to her.)
• Crown of Midnight, by Sarah J Mass

Aaron reading

• The Burning God, by R F Kuang

Media Completed

Anakin struggles with fear of loss while the dark side tempts him with what he views as a solution. It was OK. I’m much more a fan of episodes 4-6. But it was good to see the prequels.

When Andres moved into his new normal-boring house (that’s the way he likes it), he meets a cooky neighbor boy. But he ends up needing his new friend’s help when a ghost appears. Pictures on almost any page, easy words. Fun and cute. Good for reading to my 5 year old and for a first or second grader to read alone.

Pauline Dakin grew up a hectic and bizarre life suddenly moving from town to town and watching her mom live in constant fear of she-didn’t-know-what. As an adult, she was told that her estranged father was a mobster who had a hit out on her family’s heads. This is the story of how Ms Dakin dealt with this knowledge. This book was fascinating and bizarre. I really enjoyed it.

Spoilers abound below.

These questions are adapted from Susan Bauer’s Well-Educated Mind, Chapter 6.

✏️Who was the author? (Woman or man or other? Race and ethnicity? Important occupation?)

The author was a white, woman journalist.

✏️What are the central events?

There are three timelines in the book: one when Pauline is a child dealing with her mother’s bizarre antics and having no idea what’s going on; one when Pauline is a young adult, dealing with her mom’s antics when she knows what’s going on; and one as the writer reflecting.

✏️What historical events coincide or merge with personal events?

Pauline was born in 1965, so dealt with a good deal of Cold War era, but I don’t think that much impacted the story she had to tell. I don’t know if organized crime was a particularly huge problem in Canada at that time.

✏️Who is the most important person, or people, in the writer’s life?

Her mother is the most influential person in her life, and she’s very close to her.

✏️What is the theme that ties the narrative together. Is the story spiritual or skeptical?

I’m not sure I agree with Bauer’s claim that memoirs are either spiritual or skeptical. However, there is no religious theme to this memoir.

🖍️Skeptical – What is the theme?

The theme is how mental illness can impact more than just the person with the mental illness.

🖍️Is the story relational (involving relationships with people)?

Yes, it’s mainly about Pauline’s relationship with her mom and Stan.

🖍️Is it oppositional (conflict between two different possible choices)?

There is internal opposition for Pauline between believing her mom and believing her logic.

🖍️Is it heroic, casting the writer in the mold of a mythical hero or heroine, conquering difficulties and overcoming obstacles?

No, she actually seemed rather helpless through a good part of it.

🖍️Is it representational (transforming the writer into a symbol for others who share the same condition)?

No, not many share that condition.

🖍️Is it historical?

It does not cover any mainstream history.

✏️Where is the life’s turning point? Is there a conversion?

There are two turning points in this book. The first is when she’s told about her dad having a hit out on her head, and the second is when she determines that it’s not real. Both had conversions when she had a major paradigm shift.

✏️For what does the writer apologize? In apologizing, how does the writer justify?

She apologized for believing in the story for so long, and for having her childhood and young adulthood so strongly impact her ability to get close to anyone but her mom, brother, and kids.

✏️What is the model – the ideal – for the author’s life?

The ideal she has is to understand reality and understand why her mom deviated from it.

✏️What is the end of life (the place where the writer has arrived, found closure, discovered rest)?

Ms Dakin found closure when she decided Stan wasn’t consciously trying to pull one over on her mother and herself; that, in fact, he was delusional.

✏️Is the author writing for herself or a group?

She obviously thinks the story is interesting to others (it was), but I think it was mainly for herself to help process and get closure

🖍️What parts of the writer’s experience does she assume to be universal?

The positive relationship with her mom may not be assumed to be universal exactly, but she doesn’t think she needs to explain why she’s so close to her mom, even though many adult children would have been bitter.

🖍️Which does she view as unique to herself?

Understandably, she doesn’t seem to think many people have dealt with this level of delusion from their parents. Or at least this complexity of delusion.

🖍️Am I part of the group that would be expected to closely identify with the author’s story?

I don’t know what sort of person would closely identify? People with delusional parents? People who moved around a lot as kids? People who were particularly close to their parents despite mental illness? I am none of those.

🖍️Does it ring true for me? What parts of the story resonate and which do not?

I am not certain Stan was delusional rather than lying. I don’t know how delusions of this nature work, but it seems like he’d have to know that he was, say, paying for flights and hotel rooms with his own money. Right? I mean, basically the assumption is that when he was with his wife he believed one story and when he was with Pauline’s mom he believed a completely different story? That he had a mysterious stash of money and nobody knew where it came from, but that he firmly believed it came from a secret government institution? That he wrote all these letters to Pauline and her mom from fictional people, but then later believed those letters really were from real people? What did he think WHILE he was writing them? Because he had to be holding some sort of at least loosely-formed belief at the time. I am skeptical. Pauline just wanted to think the best of him. It gave her closure, so I guess that’s good, at least. I mean, it hardly matters now that Stan and Pauline’s mom have both passed.

✏️What are the three moments or timeframes of the story? (When it happened, when it was written, when it was read.)

It happened between the mid 1970’s and late 1990’s. It was written in 2017, after her mom and Stan had passed. I read it in 2023.

🖍️What was the author’s reason for writing?

I think she needed closure.

🖍️Was the writer at a high or low point at the time of writing?

I think a high point, since she was getting closure

🖍️How has the biography changed in the years since its publication?

It has only been 6 years. Not much has changed.

✏️Where does the author’s judgement lie? What, or whom, does the author judge? Is this criticism valid?

She judged Stan at first, until she decided he was delusional. I think that judgment is very valid, as I don’t believe delusion makes sense in his case.

🖍️Who do I deem responsible for successes and failures of the author?

Successes – herself and to a lesser extent her mom. Failures – her mom and Stan

✏️What have I brought away from this story? What did I hope to get?

It was a good story that entertained me. That’s all I wanted.

News

Saturday

Saturday was a pretty laid back day. I ran to Barnes and Noble with Aaron and dad and took D14 to a improv show for a late birthday present. It was a fun show, and D14 loved it.

Sunday

Sunday was a mixture of stress and fun. I worked, and at work I stressed about all the stuff I had to do after work even though I wouldn’t have time because I immediately had to leave for a play with the kids. But after some anxiety meds and a bite of reality (and as much help as Aaron could provide), I enjoyed Grinch with the D14 and M11. It was a great play. Though I’m curious about all those people with young kids. There isn’t a snowball’s chance in Hell IL5 would have sat through that. After the play, we went ro Perkins.

Monday

Monday was incredibly busy. I had been awakened in the night by IL5, who wasn’t dealing with this week’s gut cleanout well because he has a sphincter of steel and a will to withhold. Usually he complains of pain when he needs to go, but that night he was squirming, saying it tickled. (Probably gas?) I finally got him back to sleep, but my own sleep was disrupted.

I had an alarm set for 7am, but struggled intensely to get out of bed, and finally managed at 7:38. I had to skip cooking lunches for Aaron and me this week, and suffice with just a few things that needed to be done IMMEDIATELY on the computer. Then, I almost fell asleep during IL5’s virtual psychiatrist appointment – drifting off and drooping every time the psychiatrist started talking and I stopped. And I DID fall asleep during D14’s psychiatrist appointment.

Shortly after those appointments, I took D14 and IL5 to D14’s therapy appointment. I partially lay down on a bench in the waiting area and IL5 curled up on top of me. I don’t know how long I slept, but I awoke when IL5 began to roll off. Then I sat up and literally started snoring when I leaned my head back.

After dropping D14 off at school, I went home and took a Ritalin. This is exactly what the Ritalin is for, but I’m supposed to take it preemptively – before I get dangerously tired. (The danger being driving.) The we immediately hopped back in the car and I drove dad to an ATM. I took his card out of the ATM, and grabbed the money. Then I was so tired, I forgot that I’d dropped the card in the door if the car when I pulled it out, and thought the ATM had not returned the card at all. So later in the day, I called the bank to say his card had been eaten, but they said he had to call. Good thing, too, because I later found the card and remembered putting it there.

Anyway, after the ATM, I took dad to his Cardiac rehab appointment. It was supposed to take 1 hour 45 minutes, so I stayed until the therapist came out, then left to take IL5 to school. I ran some errands, and went back to pick dad up. The appointment went over by 30 minutes. After making a whopping 25 followup appointments (at two a week), I rushed over to get my TB test read (for my new third job). But I got there 3 minutes late, and the computer said it was cancelled. Apparently they cancelled a bunch of appointments because of understaffing, but the PA went ahead and read my test, since it was time sensitive.

Things calmed down after that, and after a quick grocery run, I relaxed for the rest of the evening till 9:30pm when I left for work.

Tuesday

Tuesday I took dad to three appointments. In the evening, my friend Liz came over and we cross-stitched and watched Doctor Who.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I really struggled to remain productive. it started with a disappointment. My client had apparently thought I’d agreed to come in to work on Thursday, and I had been looking forward to hanging out with dad. I had to choose between the two, and ended up choosing work. But it felt like the wrong decision after I’d made it.

D14 needed to come home from school because she threw up, which meant her morning appointment was cancelled. That would normally have felt great (extra time, yay!), but my mood wasn’t up for being cheerful.

At work, I only went through the motions. At home, I  forced myself to get stuff done. IL5 went to sleep the moment he got home, throwing off his bedtime routine. I’d really been looking forward to reading to him, but I only managed to complete the onerous parts of the bedtime routine like brushing his teeth and trying to convince him to sit on the toilet.

I was happy to go to sleep.

Thursday

Thursday held the promise of expense. After work, I went to get my oil changed, and was informed that I needed a new tire (covered under warranty), new shocks, new filters, and new coil springs. I would be suspicious, but we’ve been with these guys for a while, and they’ve always done right by us. The coil springs ($700) needed to be ordered from Japan, but the shocks ($400) and the rest of it only needed to be ordered from Wisconsin.

Then I went to my day job, followed by going with Aaron to a seminar on how to register for high school. All I got out of that hour of my life is that Spanish is the most sensible elective to register for. (Because she can register for level 2 Spanish, having taken two years of it in middle school, and it’s best to do before she forgets all her Spanish.)

Friday

Friday I had my surgery. It went well, and I didn’t have any pain for the rest of the day. Not sitting for a week will be hard, though. M11, Aaron, dad and I watched the last episode of Good Omens Season 2, and then Aaron went downstairs to game with his friends, and the rest of us watched the first half of Fellowship of the Ring.

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• Seven letters against Isolation
• One letter Maryland
• One letter Massachusetts

Reading to myself

• Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett
• How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel
• Dopesick, by Beth Macy
• Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
• Bible
• Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson
• Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix

Reading to IL4

• Robo-Rabbit Boy Go, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham
• Baxter is Missing, by Rebecca Elliot
• Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham
• Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham

D13 reading

• Crown of Midnight, by Sarah J Maas

Aaron reading

• The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman

Media Completed

Baxter disappears and Eva spends the whole book looking for him. Cute.

When an accident renders baby Esk a wizard, Granny Weatherwax, the local witch, has to figure out how to tame the magic – girls are not meant to be wizards. It’s the wrong kind of magic. As always with Pratchett, this book is silly and fun. I loved watching young Esk come into her own.

When the archangel Gabriel shows up at Aziraphale’s shop with no memory, he and Crowley decide to hide him. That turns out to be a big deal. This season was complex and funny, but the ending was a little stressful.

News

Saturday

Saturday felt like a bust by the end of it, but looking back on it the next day I felt better about the number of to-do’s I checked off my list (17, with a goal of 15). So, yay!

Anyway, it started out going to the hospital to pick up dad. But then they told me they weren’t going to release him. Oops. So I visited a while, then played D&D with my friends and Aaron.

I didn’t do anything at the end of the day, but somehow I made my goal, so I must have done more that I thought.

Sunday

Sunday was good. I got some errands run, picked up dad from the hospital, and celebrated New Year’s Eve with my friend Liz and dad by watching the first season of Cobra Kai.

Monday

Monday was tough for the first part. I had 5 important goals for the day (Grocery shopping, cleaning bedroom, putting away laundry, cleaning litter boxes, and cooking some chickpea curry for Aaron’s lunches). My motivation was rivaling that on those days I slept all day. My limbs felt heavy and I could hardly move. Today, as I’m typing this, I probably was just intimidated by that list, leading to low motivation.

Anyway, I went grocery shopping, but only because dad wanted to come. I cleaned one litter box (there are two). Then, dad wanted to go to the mall and walk around. He bought some books for the kids and a puzzle for Aaron. I bought some shoes. Then we headed to the airport.

We went in and met them by the baggage claim. It was SO nice seeing them. IL5 squealed with glee and ran to me with his hands outstretched. I got the longest hug ever.

IL5 and D14 didn’t want to go to Perkins, so I stayed with them while dad, Aaron, and Malcolm went to Perkins. Then we looked at our stockings and opened presents. They were mostly books.

Tuesday

Tuesday wasn’t too exciting. I came home from work and went as quickly as possible to dad’s appointment. Went from there to my second job. Cooked dinner and started a rule that IL5 can’t have screens during family meals. There was a massive temper tantrum, and then he curled up and went to sleep. Then I went back to work.

The good news is that I found a fiber supplement he will drink! I’m hoping it (and a probiotic if I can get him to take one) will help with his poop problems.

Wednesday

Wednesday I took D14 to an appointment, Red Lobster for lunch, to an appointment, and to another appointment. In the Evening, dad, Aaron, and I watched the last several episodes of School Spirits on Netflix. You have got to be kidding me with that end. That series is 6 hours of my life I won’t get back.

Thursday

Thursday was easy. When driving home from work, I missed my turn. I pretended I meant to do that, so I stopped and bought some tuna and salmon up the street. Then, I took IL5 to his poop physical therapy, where he was a champ at making the dolphin jump with his butt. He’s getting good at it! Then I took IL5 to school, ran some errands, got IL5 off the bus and cooked some tuna unsuccessfully (too long in the oven). D14 had an audition for Mary Poppins and dad and I watched the end of season 3 of Stranger Things.

Friday

I tried to make Friday a day for IL5. After feeding therapy, we went to McDonald’s playplace, then speech therapy. After that, we went to an indoor park. In the evening, D14, Aaron and I watched an episode of X-files. Then Aaron went downstairs to game with his friends, and D14 and I watched an episode of His Dark Materials. Then I read to D14 and IL5 before bed.

Letters Written

• 3 Letters Against Isolation
• 1 letter Belgium

Reading to myself

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett
• Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
• How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel
• Bible
• St Augustine’s Confessions, by William R Cook and Ronald B Herzman

Reading to IL4

• Llama Destroys the World, by Jonathan Stutzman
• Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse, by Jonathan Stutzman
• Llama Rocks the Cradle of Chaos, by Jonathan Stutzman
• Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham
• Do-You-Think-He-Saurus, by Aaron Blabey

D13 reading

• Crown of Midnight, by Shannon Messenger
• Exile, by Shannon Messenger (I’m reading this to her)

Media Completed

This was an amusing paradigm shift looking at present day Johnny and Danny from Karate kid from mostly Johnny’s point of view. It was fun and entertaining.

This is about Maddie, who suddenly finds herself a ghost in her high school. She spends the entire show trying to find her murderer. It was a great show until the end, which I hated. I feel like I wasted 6 hours of my and dad’s lives.

The third season of Stranger Things introduces some awesome new characters and has some truly awesome moments. It also has its sad moments.

The Good Guy’s Club are chased by dinosaurs after accidentally zooming back in time. Hilarious, as usual.

Cross-Stitch

News

Saturday

Saturday was very productive. After dropping my family off at the airport for their trip to visit grandma popo, I went grocery shopping, wrote two letters, and did a massive laundry overhaul. I went through all of IL5’s and M11’s clothes and weeded out stuff that was too small. Then, I found all the bags of clothes one size up for IL5. At that time, I realized that there were 4 bags of unlabeled clothes that I had to sort. Plus, I washed some new hand-me-downs from my friend’s nephew. I will sort them on Sunday and bag it all up with proper labels (so there’s another few hours of work left. While I was sorting, dad and I watched a few episodes of Stranger Things, season 3.

I hear there was a mostly uneventful flight after a delay at the beginning. The family was thrilled to make it to Oregon.

Sunday

On Christmas Eve morning, I went to church with dad, and then to work. I wrote 2 letters and discovered two new places to write as a volunteer (I already write to inmates). They are Letters Against Isolation (to elderly people) and Letters Against Depression (to people with mental illnesses). I committed to writing 14 letters to the first and 2 letters to the second. Probably too much commitment, but you know me. At least I have the week “off.” Later, I watched the first 5 episodes of “School Spirits,” with dad. I had meant to finish all the laundry sorting I’d started the day before, but that’s not what happened. I could have done it while watching, but completely forgot.

Monday

Christmas was fun. Almost immediately after arriving home from work, I had a video call with Aaron and the kids so I could watch them open presents. They seemed to like their presents.

Then, I wrote a couple of letters, after which my friend Liz came over to celebrate Christmas. We also sort of celebrated with J19, his girlfriend, and her 3yo son. The last two got stuck here because of a flat tire.

Liz and I chatted, watched Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and ate a steak dinner.

Dad spent Christmas with my sister, and my family went to celebrate with Aaron’s maternal extended family.

Tuesday

Tuesday was weird. I was super tired all morning – so much so that I took a nap for most of it. I then went to my pre-op appointment. I was supposed to hang out with a friend afterwards but was too tired. So I came home and slept till dinner, then again after dinner till 10pm. I got up for an hour, then slept through the night. Not sure what that was about.

Aaron apparently also spent the day sleeping, but he had a fever, so there’s some excuse.

Wednesday

Wednesday I video-visited with one of my inmate pen pals in the morning, then went to Perkins with dad. I worked on D14’s character creation for her new D&D campaign. Then I had a video-call date with Aaron in the afternoon, followed by a D&D oneshot in the evening.

Thursday

Thursday, after going to bed drunk despite knowing I wouldn’t sleep well, I was awakened at 4:30 am to my dad saying he had chest pain – what should we do? So I called 911. Then dad asked me “Should I go in?” Uhhh. It’s my decision? So I said yes. Because that’s what the cardiologist said to do.

So to the ER we go. At 9:00, he was admitted to the hospital, and I went home and slept. And ate. And slept. Took a few (yes, 3) baths. Slept some more. Wrote a letter. Went to work.

Friday

Friday was productive. I cleaned my closet (though now I have a lot of stuff on my bedroom floor that I’ll need to find places for). Now I can move my photo project into the closet for more easy access. I also spent a good amount of time reading, which was nice. I came up 10 pages short of my weekly goal, but that’s ok. Dad’s still in the hospital, but he got his angiogram. They couldn’t put in a stent because of calcification, but they were able to clear out some of the blockage. Aaron helped the kids put the finishing touches on their new D&D characters.

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• 1 letter Michigan
• 1 letter Pennsylvania
• 1 letter Virginia
• 1 letter Maryland
• 1 letter Maine
• 4 Letters Against Isolation
• 2 Letters Against Depression

Reading to myself

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Great Mythologies of the World
• How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel
• Bible
• Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
• St Augustine’s Confessions, by William R Cook and Ronald B Herzman
• Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson

D13 reading

• Crown of Midnight, by Sarah J Mass

Media Completed

A bard thief teams up with a group of adventures to rescue his daughter from a tyrant. Very funny and reasonably interesting plot.

In this Great Course lecture series, Greek/Roman, Asian, African, and Native American mythologies are covered. This was a thorough and interesting course, and I’m glad I listened to it.

Weight Loss

X- 53lbs

News

Saturday

Saturday we attempted a new strategy for emptying IL5’s bowels, as the X-ray showed that he has a large stool load again – an enema. After much refusal on IL5’s part, I managed to get it in against his will. It didn’t work. Nada. I’m beginning to worry we’ll have to hospitalize him again.

Aaron and I played D&D, which was a good stress relief after all the running around to appointments and the hospital for the last month.

I also got some reading done for the first time in a week. So overall it was a stress-relieving day despite the disappointment on another failed gut clean-out.

Sunday

Sunday Aaron, D14, and M11 went to Peter Pan in a major musical theater. They loved it. There was flying and confetti. The tickets were a Christmas present from my dad.

Monday

Monday morning started with an IEP meeting for D14. They decided that her special education would continue through high school, and that she’d be in the special education class in fall. I don’t think she’s excited about that.

Then D14 had an appointment, followed by me sorting a month’s worth of laundry for 5 people. That was an hour and a half of sorting. Yes, it would be nice to sort more frequently, but technically it’s D14’s job. The laundry still needs to be folded and put away. 藍

Hero had a vet appointment. She is horribly overweight and I am wondering if there’s a health issue causing it. We’re waiting for the test results to come back.

Then I picked up D14 for yet another appointment.

We all went out to dinner that night.

Tuesday

Tuesday, after a quick grocery shopping trip, dad and I had a rather pointless phone appointment with a clinical pharmacist. I’m not sure what we were supposed to get out of that appointment.

Next, I took Malcolm to see his eating disorder clinic psychologist. Malcolm has gained 2 pounds! Only 4 more! D14 had to be dropped off at an appointment after that.

In the evening, my friend Liz came over and we watched Doctor Who with Aaron and D14.

Wednesday

Wednesday was mostly a good day. It started with a knee physical therapy appointment for D14. Then I ran errands with dad, including mailing all my Christmas cards. I drove to the AV post office the next suburb over because theirs has drive-through boxes. But I found a long line to get in, and when I finally made it to the boxes, they were jam-packed full. So, the AV post office failed me. I drove back to the R post office, and went in. Their patronage is a lot less voluminous.

Then I drove dad to his hearing aid appointment. Despite his snipping at me for making yet another appointment for him, he was very appreciative to hear again.

Aaron was home early from work, and we had some nice quality time before IL4 and M11 returned home. (D14 was at an appointment with her mom.) Then I had a good time allowing M11 and IL4 mine me with the Minecraft pickaxe. Usually them beating me over the head with a toy would annoy me, but I was in a good mood.

Thursday

Thursday started with IL5’s poop physical therapy. He got to move the dolphin with his butt. I’m proud of him for letting us put the biofeedback stickers on.

Next, I worked. My client just broke her leg and hospice was in and out, so I ended up driving an hour round-trip for an hour of work, but I’m glad I can help as her son was at his wit’s end.

In the evening, before I read to IL5, Aaron and I watched a couple episodes of Supernatural.

Friday

Friday IL5 had speech therapy. Then we did Santa. I immediately proceeded to lose the hard copies of the pictures, but have a digital one, so it’s all good.

Then I worked on J19’s medical insurance fiasco. He went to the doctor a while back, and his insurance didn’t pay. So we were trying to figure out why. Turns out my sister had his insurance under the last name B, which is our maiden name, but not his legal name. After much hold music, I finally got transferred to someone to change the name on the insurance, but he seems to be on vacation, so we’ll have to start all over again after Christmas.

I ended the day with some reading while the others packed, and then Aaron gamed with his friends.

Week’s Photos

Letters Written

• 1 letter Massachusetts

Reading to myself

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston
• Great Mythologies of the World, by various
• Bible
• Mahabharata
• Dopesick, by Beth Macy

Reading to IL4

• Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off!, by Thomas Flintham
• Super Rabbit Boy’s Team-up Trouble, by Thomas Flintham
• A Goblin Problem, by Diane Walker
• Super Rabbit Boy’s Time-Jump, by Thomas Flintham
• Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham
• Llama Destroys the World, by Jonathan Stutzman
• Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse, by Jonathan Stutzman

D13 reading

• Handbook for Dragon Slayers, by Merrie Haskell

Media Completed

Ethan buys an engagement ring, but mixes it up with another man’s package from Tiffany’s. When Rachel receives this ring from her boyfriend, who took the ring despite knowing it wasn’t his, rom com stuff happens. Cute. Worth a watch.

When Sophie gets cursed by The Witch of the Wastes, she leaves her dull life and ventures into the wastes. There she meets Howl and others living in his moving castle. But everything is more complicated than she bargained for. Fantastic movie. I am wondering how the book compares in plot. I enjoyed another book by the author when I was a kid.

Zelli goes to the Dungeon Academy and fights bullies. She finds that friendship is the mightiest ally. Very cute. Great pictures. Meant to be read by a second or third grader, but appealing to my 5yo.