Little Elephant's Listening Ears by Susan Hood [Children's Book REVIEW]

Children's Book REVIEW of "Little Elephant's Listening Ears" by Susan Hood.

PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: "A young elephant has big ears, but he also has a big problem -- he doesn't listen! So when Mom tells him to bundle up for the weather outside, he puts on his favorite pair of shorts. When he's reminded not to blow too hard on his soup, he forgets and ends up with noodles everywhere. Featuring pull-tabs, touch-and-feel elements, fun flaps, and more, this story will have kids giggling -- and recognizing themselves -- on every spread."
MY REVIEW: This book is terrible! My MIL picked it up for the kids and of course I was not smart about previewing it before I sat right down to read it to them. The little elephant in the story, Elliot, is a disobedient little brat with selective hearing. Every time his mother tells him to do something, he does not do it. She tells him to dress warmly so he dresses in shorts. She tells him to clean up his toys so they can go to the store, so he totally ignores her and keeps playing. She tells him not to play with the cart, so he piles it high with groceries until it avalanches and gleefully shouts "Earthquake!" She tells him not to play with his soup and not to splash in the tub, both of which end up with liquids purposely sloshed far and wide. The whole book I was holding out hope for a lesson learned in the end to sort of redeem all the bad. Well I was dissappointed in the end when not only was there no consequences for Elliot's day of willful disobedience, but worse, his mother simply took...
 
(To read the rest of my review of this blog, please click HERE to go to my book review blog.)

Halloween - Part 2: All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day...

If you have not yet read Part 1: Jack-O-Lantern, Stingy Jack, Jack the Smith, then now would be a good time to get caught up! *wink*

All Saints Day/All Hallows/Hallowmas/Lemuria/Samhain
Now, I'm not Catholic, but as explained to me by a friend, this day seems to be currently thought of as a day to remember loved ones who have died.
More specifically, it has been thought of as a day to commemorate those who have died and now reside in heaven.
Previous to that it was a day dedicated specifically to martyrs, but later came to be commemorative of all souls ("saints") who have gone to heaven, as stated above. Byzantine Emperor Leo VI "the Wise" supposedly built a church which he intended to dedicate to his deceased wife, Empress Theophano. When he was forbidden to dedicate it to her specifically, he decided to dedicate it to "All Saints," so that if his wife were in fact one of the righteous, she would also be honored whenever the feast of the Solemnity of All Saints was celebrated. According to Eastern tradition, it was Leo who expanded the feast from a commemoration of All Martyrs to a general commemoration of All Saints, whether martyrs or not.
The Wikipedia articles on these might give you a bit more insight if you'd like to look them up. Alot of my info is paraphrased and excerpted from there and other places. It's a bit confusing so I tried to compile it and simplify it a bit for clarity.
In Roman religion, the Lemuralia or Lemuria (the Feast of the Lemures) was a feast during which the ancient Romans performed rites to exorcise the malevolent and fearful ghosts of the dead from their homes. The unwholesome spectres of the restless dead, the lemures or larvae were appeased with offerings of beans. On those days, the Vestals would prepare sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season. In the Julian calendar the three days of the feast were the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May. According to Ovid, at this festival it was the custom to appease or expel the evil spirits by walking barefoot and throwing black beans over the shoulder at night. It was the head of the household who was responsible for getting up at midnight and walking around the house with bare feet throwing out black beans and repeating the incantation, "I send these; with these beans I redeem me and mine (haec ego mitto; his redimo meque meosque fabis.)." nine times. The household would then clash bronze pots while repeating, "Ghosts of my fathers and ancestors, be gone!" nine times. According to cultural historians, this ancient custom was Christianized in the feast of All Saints' Day, established in Rome first on May 13, in order to de-paganize the Roman Lemuria. In the eighth century, as the popular observance of the Lemuria had faded over time, the feast of All Saints was shifted to November 1, coinciding with the similar Celtic harvest festival Samhain.

The Ulster Cycle (book of Irish mythology) is peppered with references to Samhain. Many of the adventures and campaigns undertaken by the characters therein begin at the Samhain Night feast. One such tale is Echtra Nerai ('The Adventure of Nera') concerning one Nera from Connacht who undergoes a test of bravery put forth by King Ailill. The prize is the king's own gold-hilted sword. The terms hold that a man must leave the warmth and safety of the hall and pass through the night to a gallows where two prisoners had been hanged the day before, tie a twig around one man's ankle, and return. Others had been thwarted by the demons and spirits that harassed them as they attempted the task, quickly coming back to Ailill's hall in shame. Nera goes on to complete the task and eventually infiltrates the sídhe (ghostly beings believed to be ancestors, spirits of nature, gods and godesses, or faeries) where he remains trapped until next Samhain. The sluagh sídhe - "the fairy host" are sometimes depicted in Irish and Scottish lore as airborne spirits of an unpleasant nature, and perhaps the cursed, evil or restless dead. The Banshee or bean sídhe, which simply means "woman of the sídhe", has come to specifically indicate the supernatural women of Ireland who announce an oncoming death by their wailing and keening. Her counterpart in Scottish mythology is the bean shìth. Other varieties of aos sí and daoine sìth include the Scottish bean nighe - the washerwoman who is seen washing the bloody clothing or armour of the person who is doomed to die.

"Thwarted by demons and spirits" eh? Banshees? Spirits appearing as portents of death? Gettin' a wee bit creeped out yet? It's not over. Here's more on the rituals of Samhain...

 In parts of western Brittany, Samhain is still heralded by the baking of kornigou, cakes baked in the shape of antlers to commemorate the god of winter shedding his 'cuckold' horns as he returns to his kingdom in the Otherworld. The Romans identified Samhain with their own feast of the dead, the Lemuria. This, however, was observed in the days leading up to May 13. With Christianization, the festival in November (not the Roman festival in May) became All Hallows' Day on November 1 followed by All Souls' Day, on November 2. Over time, the night of October 31 came to be called All Hallow's Eve, and the remnants festival dedicated to the dead eventually morphed into the secular holiday known as Halloween.

Traditionally, Manx children dress as scary beings, carry turnips (ringing any bells from part 1?) and sing an Anglicized version of Jinnie the Witch. They go from house to house asking for sweets or money.


Celtic Reconstructionists place emphasis on historical accuracy, and base their celebrations and rituals on traditional lore from the living Celtic cultures, as well as research into the older beliefs of the polytheistic Celts. At bonfire rituals, some observe the old tradition of building two bonfires, which celebrants and livestock then walk or dance between as a ritual of purification.
According to Celtic lore, Samhain is a time when the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead become thinner, allowing spirits and other supernatural entities to pass between the worlds to socialize with humans. It is the time of the year when ancestors and other departed souls are especially honored or feared.
Though Celtic Reconstructionists make offerings to the spirits at all times of the year, Samhain in particular is a time when more elaborate offerings are made to specific ancestors. Often a meal will be prepared of favorite foods of the family's and community's beloved dead, a place set for them at the table, and traditional songs, poetry and dances performed to entertain them. A door or window may be opened to the west and the beloved dead specifically invited to attend. Many leave a candle or other light burning in a western window to guide the dead home. Divination for the coming year is often done, whether in all solemnity or as games for the children. The more mystically inclined may also see this as a time for deeply communing with the deities, especially those whom the lore mentions as being particularly connected with this festival.

Divination games for the children? Inviting the dead into your home? Walking and driving livestock between fires to "purify?" Offerings of appeasement to spirits? Some creepy stuff there, eh?

Samhain is considered by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which Wiccans celebrate as a festival of light and fertility.

So there you have the origins tracing back to before the holliday was "Christianized." And wow I can see why they thought it needed Christianized. Eek! Some nasty stuff in there, yes?


READ MORE...
Part 3: How it all ties in, Christian response
Part 4: My Personal Beliefs

Cancer

God is bigger than cancer. I remember when I was little, 9 maybe, and my sister who was 3 years younger would wake up screaming in the middle of the night that her legs hurt. She said it felt like little men picking at her bones. It scared me when this happened. It started happening alot. She was diagnosed with leukemia. My parents opted to go a natural route (and lots of prayer of course!) rather than chemo and my sis was cured and is now a healthy 23 year old mother of 2. When my sis was first diagnosed with cancer my mother had all of us tested. My mom had ulcerative colitis and was bedridden all winter every year. Turns out she had pancreatic cancer as well. I used to get these weird shooting headaches that felt like searing hot lightning shooting up the back of my neck and skull. Turns out I had a sarcoma of the brain. It's a good thing mom wanted us all tested. My dad and little brother were fine. Well my mom and I were healed like my sister was and live to tell the tale. We could have easily all lost the battle or it could have been overlooked until it was too late.
Now my mother has cancer again. She has breast cancer and has been fighting it for about 8 years. The thing I have to remind myself of when thinking about my mom dying and what if my sister's cancer comes back or mine does or my children get cancer... I remind myself that God is bigger than cancer. If He wants to take my mother home then I can't do anything about it and no doctor or treatment in the world can either. And if he wants her to be healed then the fact that she has a hole eaten out of her chest by cancer and tumors all over inside her does not matter. GOD is BIGGER than cancer. God can take my mother and make her whole and new again. Or he can take her HOME to heaven where she will never cry, never be afraid, never be in pain again. She will bask in Jesus' love and live forever whole and healed in paradise.
I'm not going to lie to you. It's not OKAY with me if God takes my mom home. I won't be okay and I definately will have some serious issues with accepting it. In my mind He needs to heal her HERE and NOW. I need her. We all need her. I want my children to know Grammie. I want them to remember her. I want to spend many more happy Christmases with her. I don't want to lose her and when I think about that possibility I have a hard time keeping myself together. If I'm still blogging when I lose someone dear to me, you're probably going to see a side of me you don't want to know. Or I will go missing because I'm too brokenhearted to blog. But I have to keep on reminding myself that God is bigger. God can heal her and if He does not then I need to remember that she is in paradise and that she IS healed. It may not be the healing we all want, but we all die someday, and when we do, if we have a personal relationship with our creator, then we will live forever in heaven with no more tears and no more pain. And I WILL see her again, someday my own children will meet her, and we will all be together celebrating CHRISTmas for eternity.
Only God knows the future. In the meantime, I will continue to ask God for a miracle, for an earthly healing for my mother. Because God is bigger than cancer, and He can do anything.

Tag! I'm It!

http://www.mamadweeb.com/ just tagged me in a super fun Q&A about Love and Marriage!
So without further ado, the fun little answers!

♥What are your middle names?
Marie and Gaylon

♥How long have you been together?
Since June 2001 when he FINALLY asked me out. ;)

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
I met him when I was 13 and he'd just turned 15. He didn't ask me out until we were 18 and 19. I met him at the county fair. My friend's friend introduced me to a group of kids from her Church and he was among them. He doesn't remember this. ;) I later met him again in Sunday School. We'd been going to one Church for a year, since we'd moved to town, but we switched Churches and started going to the one my now-hubby attended. I admired alot of his qualities but didn't really think of him like THAT. He was just some guy. Then one wintery night when I was about 14 I brought a newborn cashmere goat to youth group to show it off. There was one guy I'd been watching and praying about because he had alot of the qualities I was looking for in a husband, but when I offered to let him hold the goat he got grossed out, said animals grossed him out, and he was acting like a showoff refusing to touch the kid like it was diseased or something. So that crossed him off my list loud and clear. There was only one other guy in whom I'd noticed the qualities that I was looking for... my now-hubby. I didn't have any *special* attraction to anyone there though before this point, just an observant interest in seeing if anyone matched up with my Perfect Man list. Like I said, only 2 guys seemed to have enough of those qualities to attract my notice and the one just snubbed my favorite animal in a most rude manner and therefore was transferred to my Perfect Jerk list. Lol! So I was walking around letting everyone hold the goat and there was shy future-hubby on the edge of the crowd watching the goat intently. I walked up to him and offered to let him hold it and his eyes lit up! He was I think 16 at the time. He took the goat and I showed him how to hold it. The goat was just a day old and only about 6 pounds. A tiny little baby goat it was. Well someone asked me a question and I got to chatting and then realized Mom was waiting in the car for me to bring back the goat so she could take it home to it's mother! Whoops! So I looked around to see who had the goat, and I didn't see it anywhere! I was like, "Where's my goat?!" and the youth leader pointed to the other end of the basement where future-hubby was standing and rocking the goat with an adoring look on his face, his cheek on the top of it's head, and the newborn kid was sound asleep in his arms!!!! Yeah I know, total Awwwww, right? And I fell head over heels crazy in love with him in that instant. I said to myself, "I'm gonna marry him!"

♥ Who made the first move?
I made him. Haha. I knew he was THE ONE when I saw him cuddling my goat but it was over 3 more years before he came to the same conclusion! :p It was the longest 3 years of my life, waiting and praying and lots more happened but if I got into all that, this post would take a week to write.

♥ Who asked who out?
He asked me. Lots more to this story but I could fill a book...

♥ How old are each of you?
I'm 26. He's a year and a half older than me.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
I was homeschooled and he was not. So no.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
I moved to his town just before my 13th birthday.

♥ Who is the smartest?
We are both smart in different ways.

♥ Who majored in what?
Neither of us went to college. He joined the Navy at 17 and I got a job while I waited for him to realize I was the one. Lol!

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
Sensitive could have alot of meanings. He's super sweet and compassionate for a guy! :) And me... I'm sensitive in the extreme. Like in both the good way and the bad way. I'm compassionate but I'm also easily hurt.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Ummmm... We only go out on our anniversary really now that we have kids. We like Olive Garden and Outback Steakhouse for special occasions. With the kids though we go to McDonald's sometimes and occasionally IHOP.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
We lived in Hawaii for the first 3 years of marriage, but were only actually there and together for less than half that. Due to deployments. :p One deployment his ship was in Florida so I flew out there to see him. I've never been out of the country.

♥ Who has the worst temper?
Both of us about different things.

♥ How many children do you want?
*I* want as many as God gives me. He however is more than content with the 2 we have. We shall see what the future holds.

♥ Who does the cooking?
I do. Except on rare occasion when he makes a concoction of Mac & Cheese and hotdogs when I'm sick or gone. Icky.

♥ Who is more social?
He would be content to live out life as a hermit in the woods speaking only with me and the kids. I am SUPER SHY in person but I love to interact on the internet and am quite social online, so I would have to say me. I would be so sad without online interaction.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
I used to be. I would have to say each of us has our things we're obsessive about.

♥ Who is the most stubborn?
Oh man both of us have a stubborn streak a mile wide! But I'd say probably him... ;)

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Him.

♥ Where was your first date?
The phone. He was home on leave when he asked me out. He was only home on leave 1 time that I recall between asking me out and marrying me. ;)

♥ Who has the bigger family?
Oddly enough they are the same. He has 2 siblings and I have a have 2 siblings.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
Yes. :) About once a month, sometimes more or less. But he brings me something chocolate every week and that's at least as good as flowers!

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
His fam has a reunion every Thanksgiving so we spend Thanksgiving with his family.
Christmas is a big deal with my fam so we spend it with them. Both our families live 6 hours drive from here.

♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither of us? He used to get jealous of time I spent with my internet friends and I get jealous of time he spends with his work friends.

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
Welll... He asked me out one night and I told him I'd think about it! Lol! Like I said, alot of story is missing but it's long. ;) Anyway, the next night I said yes, he asked if he could kiss me. I said yes to that too. I'd had guys try to kiss me before and I freaked out. It wasn't right. I couldn't give my first kiss away to someone I was not going to marry. When now-hubby asked me if he could kiss me, I'd been praying about him for 3 years and knew 100% without a doubt he was the one. So I said yes. And when we kissed I could have sworn I heard angels singing. It was perfect. It was serious from the get-go. It had been serious through the preceeding 3 years of fervent prayers. And 3 months later, September 11th, when we realized the country would be going to war and things could be shattered in an instant, he finally told me he loved me. I waited for him to tell me first but I loved him too. And after that, I have no idea how it happened but when we would talk on the phone we would always just talk like we were getting married. Then in February he called me up and said that he could get leave in May if I thought that would be a good time to tie the knot. Which I did of course. So my family went wild preparing a dream wedding in 3 months and I had my fairy-tale wedding. We went ring shopping together one day, he officially proposed, and the following day was the wedding. :D

♥ Who eats more?
We both eat alot. We like food. Food tastes yummy. Plus I'm a good cook, so that helps.

♥ What do you do for a living?
I chase my kids around all day. Hubby works in HVAC control systems now that he's out of the military.

♥ Who does the laundry?
ME. He's not allowed to touch it. He would dry in stains or wash socks with towels and jeans or something. *shudders* Yes I do have laundry OCD. Haha!

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Him. I know a little bit about a few things that he doesn't know, but overall he knows more than I do.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Him. I think it's kind of symbolic. Then there's the fact that I am intimidated by driving. ;)

♥ What is "your" song?
It being 3am right now I can't think of the name of it. It's the one by Brian Adams that is on the Kevin Costner Robin Hood movie.


Now to tag some people. Hmmm who shall my victims be? ;)
I pick.... Georgiann, Amy, and Cat!

It's finally happened: Toddler Tales Tuesday

Wednesday September 30th it finally happened. What I've been waiting for. Bug (13.5 months old) started WALKING!!! He just stood up about 2 feet in front of me and wobbled two steps toward me before falling into my arms giggling. He was so proud of himself! Hooray for my sweet Buggie walking! I'm just so proud of my sweet boy! :) He's been practicing ever since.

-+-+-


If you have a sweet, cute, or funny Toddler (or kid) story, I'd love it if you'd share it here in the comments! :)

If you would like to post a Toddler Tales Tuesday on your blog, please just leave a link back to my blog in your post so people can see where you got the idea. You may leave a link to your post in my comments on the condition that you also post a comment! No link-and-runs please! ;) (I am still figuring out basic blogging so this will have to do until I am experienced enough to attempt a Mr. Linky or something.)

My Failings and His Grace

My husband was away on business last week 9/29 through 10/1 and I was here with the kids during that time. They were acting out terribly because Daddy was gone. I had that burn accident and was in alot of pain and I found myself yelling at the kids a few of the many times when they were being difficult. Then I would be so angry at myself for yelling at the kids in my anger! It feels terrible to lose your temper doesn't it? And of course it doesn't help the kids at all when I yell at them. I did not cuss at them or degrade them with my words, but the volume and tone of my voice was plenty to cause damage.
When I'm at the end of my rope, there is only one thing that can get me through without losing my temper. Even the best laid parenting intentions can fail without the Rock to lean on. When I started praying my way through, I found that He gave me the strength to control my temper so I could correct and redirect my sweet babies with a gentle tongue. Sometimes I was praying nonstop literally and then would go have a private cry during naptime, but He got me through it. I don't want to fail Him either.
Do you feel like you're about to lose it some days? Want to pull out your hair and scream? Feel guilty for yelling or snapping at your family? Take your overburdened heart to the Creator and get a refill of peace and love! Corrections made in love teach lasting lessons, corrections made in anger create lasting hurt. Jesus wants to give you the grace to correct in love. After all, your children were a gift from Him and He loves them even more than you do.

Halloween - Part 1: Jack-O-Lantern, Jack the Smith, Stingy Jack

Today in Halloween history we will be studying the origins of the Jack-O-Lantern.

The Jack-O-Lantern began with an Irish legend. So goes the legend there was a man named Jack who was a blacksmith. He was a stingy drunkard and a con-artist. Smooth and silver-tongued it was said he could talk anyone into anything. (For more information, Wikipedia "Stingy Jack".) The Devil heard about Jack and was curious and jealous of his reputation so the Devil went to find him. Some versions say the Devil came to Jack in a bar. Some say Jack met the Devil along a deserted road, and some say Jack came across a body with an evil grin in the path at night on his way home and from there took Jack to the bar to get him drunk enough to kill him. All agree that they were at one point in the pub. Jack requested to have one more drink, or several, or the Devil convinced him to drink more. Jack asked the Devil to pay his tab in exchange for his soul and the devil turned himself into a coin to pay the tab, assuming once it was paid he would turn back into himself and walk out of the bar, but instead of paying with the coin, Jack put it in his pocket with a crucifix to prevent the Devil from returning to his natural form. Jack made a bargain with the Devil to release him if he promised not to come for Jack's soul for another ten years.
Ten years after that the Devil found Jack out walking and informed him it had been 10 years and it was now time to relinquish his soul. Jack was like, 'Oh okay. But could I have an apple first? I'm starving and since I'll be starving through eternity in Hell, at least let me have one last apple before I go!' So the devil climbed up a tree by the road to get Jack his last apple and Jack carved a cross in the tree trunk or laid crosses around the tree so that the Devil would be trapped in the tree. He made the Devil promise never to take his soul to hell.
Jack's lifestyle caught up with him and Jack found himself dead at the Pearly Gates where he was refused entrance to Heaven due to his wicked life. So Jack's soul wandered down to Hell where the Devil reminded him he cannot enter there either. Jack asked, "Then where am I to go?" and the Devil replied, "Back where you came from!" The Devil sent him on his way with a coal from Hell to light his way, which Jack held in a hollowed out turnip. Jack's homeless soul wanders the earth with his coal-in-a-turnip lantern, looking for a home.

Due to this legend, Jack's Lantern or Jack O' Lantern came to be used to describe a strange light flickering over the marshes of Ireland. If approached, the light was always just out of reach. The mysterious occurrence is also known as will o' the wisp and ignis fatuus, Gaelic for 'foolish fire.' It was said that it was Jack's soul wandering, looking for a home.


READ MORE...
Part 2: Origins - All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day
Part 3: How it all ties in, Christian response
Part 4: My Personal Beliefs

"Little Mommy" Children's Book by Sharon Kane - Review

This is the most adorable children's book I have stumbled across in a very long time. Maybe in my life... Seriously I adore it! It has a lovely innocent childlike tone and is written in sing-song rhyme that is engaging. If that weren't enough the precious illustrations call up nostalgia and the beauty of a time when little girls were actually allowed and encouraged to be little girls rather than made to feel like such things were a prison and mind control and taught instead that perpetual dress-up and rowdiness equal true femininity. The child in the story narrates her day with her three dollies; "This is my house and I am the mommy. My children are Annabelle, Betsy, and Bonny (Bonnie)..." the book begins. Throughout the 22 page story we see the child and her dolls playing house, baking, laundering doll clothes, and cleaning. She interacts with other children, having a tea party with the neighbor and cooking supper for a little boy who appears briefly playing the role of daddy to the dollies. The little girl must call Dr. Dan (another little boy) when one of the dollies takes ill. A precious book that exhudes the sweet, busy, innocent, feminine spirit that I want my daughter to emulate! And what does my 3 year old daughter think? It's one of her favorite books to read at bedtime. :)

 
To read more about this book, CLICK HERE!