Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

I am sorry to say that I am only half awake this morning. I was up at 3:30 AM with Matthew, who was either teething or feeling sick. Whatever it was, he was not happy and not sleeping. I can’t say that I felt much different at the time. After two hours I was finally able to get him back to sleep so I could catch another 30 minutes before I had to get up with the rest of the kids. It’s times like these I think I should start drinking coffee.

The other day I met an acquaintance I haven’t seen in awhile. She remembered me when I was pregnant with Andrew. When I told her I had four kids now she actually gasped. She stared at me for a minute and said I don’t look like I have four kids, which got me to thinking… What is a mom with four kids supposed to look like?? I don’t know but if she saw me right now she’d be saying, “You look like this and you only have four kids?” Grr. (Okay, let’s think of something more upbeat…)

I am in the last month of our school fundraising and Brian and I were actually able to solicit some nice gifts to be auctioned off. It is surprising that I am on the committee because I am terrible at sales. I like helping people but when it comes to talking them into buying something (or giving me something for free) I can’t bring myself to push it. There is another mom on the committee that has the ability to walk into a business cold turkey and she walks out with a complimentary deluxe package worth $500. I walk into a business and say, “You don’t want to donate something, right? No, I didn’t think so. Okay, thanks anyway.” Every once in awhile I do get a positive response to which I say, “Oh, you do? Are you sure? I’ll understand if you don’t. I know money is tight so don’t worry if you can’t…” Yeah, I’m not a salesman. The other mom said I had a pleasant demeanor so they would donate. “Pleasant”? I don’t know. That sounds an awful lot like the blind date with the “great personality.” Oh, well. I’ll take what I can get.

At least the soliciting of donations has put my “mommy cards” to good use. What’s a mommy card? It’s like a business card but geared towards my business – mommyhood. It’s great for when I need to give people my contact info quickly. Above is the one I use, although my personal info like my last name and phone numbers are edited out. They have a lot of cute ones at Vista Print.com. They have an offer for 250 free cards but the selection is limited. You can also choose the $10 special (with the $5 off savings) and have a large selection. Just search “mommy card.”

Last Friday I was going to tell you about a book I read – Stealing Jenny by Ellen Gable – but I was so preoccupied with the my vomit shower and Matthew’s near death experience (how’s that for an upbeat topic?) that I never got to it. Here’s the summary, “After three heartbreaking miscarriages, Tom and Jenny Callahan are happily anticipating the birth of their sixth child. Their neighbor, however, is secretly hatching a sinister plot which will find Jenny and her unborn baby fighting for their lives.” The story is well written and although the kidnapping is a harrowing tale, the book is also touching as it explores the topics of love, courage, forgiveness and trust in God, both in the main plotline and the flashbacks of Jenny and Tom’s beginning friendship. I may not recommend this book if you are a pregnant woman prone to worry (especially if like me, you recently saw a documentary about real life women who were in similar situations. Scary!) However, to the others, I wholeheartedly recommend the book. You can get it in paperback or download it to your kindle for only $2.99.

After the suspense of that story I was looking for something else that would keep my interest. A number of people I know have been taking about The Hunger Games and there has been so much hype about the movie that I downloaded a free sample chapter onto my kindle. Let’s just say that I read the first chapter and was drawn in immediately and downloaded the rest of the book. That whole day I was sneaking my iPhone out and trying to read pages in between whatever I was doing. Finally after everyone was in bed I read well into the night and breathlessly finished the last page. There is a great Book Review and Parents’ Guide of The Hunger Games Trilogy from a Catholic perspective over at Catholic Lane.com. It begins:

“The Hunger Games is a futuristic, sci-fi series that draws heavily on themes of violence, war and power. It is set in the dystopia created by the Capitol, the ruling class that satiates its own pleasures at the expense and oppression of the 12 Districts. The Districts, which are made up of the working class, provide the Capitol population with everything it needs to continue its own survival and remain in power.
The story commences with Panem, the country that emerged from the civil war ruins of what was once North America, preparing for the annual Hunger Games. The Games are televised live and are mandatory viewing for every citizen in the nation. They were instituted as a punishment for the Districts’ attempted rebellion against the Capitol years ago. Every year each of the 12 Districts must provide one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen who will fight to the death on live television until only one child is still alive. The Games exist to remind the people in the Districts that not even children are beyond the reach of the Capitol’s power…” (Continue reading.)

The guide reviews all three books so Spoiler Alert if you haven’t read them already. There is also a list of topics and discussion starters for those parents with older children who will want to read these books.

To show you how much I loved reading The Hunger Games, Brian suggested that he watch the kids and I take an afternoon off since I’ve been so busy with household stuff and the school fundraiser ect. I told him I’d like to see the Hunger Games movie this weekend. He was surprised since I’ve never gone to the movies alone but he was more that happy to give me some time off. So I’ve bought my ticket and have my handkerchief and a bag of peanut M&M’s in my purse. Tomorrow afternoon this mama will be ready for 2 1/2 hours of action and drama. After that I’ll be ready to come home and kiss my husband and kids and hold them close!
In the meantime, have a great weekend and may the odds ever be in your favor.