#wdncw Holiday edition. When in doubt add a dinosaur because let‘s be honest gingerbread houses never stay up. About 2 weeks till Christmas & I‘m no where near ready. Luckily we had already planned to do less this Christmas.

It was snowing this morning (we didn‘t get much). On the right is the 10 year old complaining that she has to go to school & can‘t go outside to play. On the left is Oliver as nosy Ned. He likes to watch everyone outside.

#wdncw when we say we don‘t overly love the Yuletide season. I like certain things about the holidays: lights, my holiday records, holiday movies. But I‘m so over all the work the holidays involve. I really haven‘t even figured out what I‘m getting anyone for Christmas. There has been so much going on with one kid getting a colonoscopy right before Christmas, one coming home from college in 2 weeks (plus applying to grad school & being a joyous

@Deblovestoread I‘m excited about your recommendations for #AuldLangSpine. I have only read one on your list- King, which was excellent. The Correspondent & Things in Nature Merely Grow were on my radar but haven‘t gotten to them this year. Now time to track down some books.

I am very critical of stories that include autistic characters…but so far this author has captured what it‘s like to be a caregiver of an Autistic child. “Poesy couldn‘t fathom an obstacle like personal safety...there is a thing I want so I will go get that thing.” “Posey is not trying to be difficult or defiant, nobody else seems to see it that way.” Others saying- she has peculiar habits, you coddle her, that child has no idea how to behave

In some good science news…one of my husband‘s close friend from grad school just had a huge publication in Nature Neuroscience recently. He‘s a researcher at the University of Kentucky focusing on Alzheimer‘s. It‘s pretty exciting to see. My husband said it‘s still years away from being used in humans but it‘s a huge development. After all the hurt that has been done in science this last year it makes me happy to see a friend have great success

#wdncw or any day of the week when we say F this man. The hurt that he is doing to so many is unconscionable. Not to mention the harm that he is doing to Autistic individuals & their families. For the millionth time vaccines do not cause Autism. He is continuing to sow distrust between the public & the scientific/medical community. I will never forgive all the people that voted to confirm this man & let him do what he‘s doing. As a 3rd baby died

A heartbreaking & emotional. There are 4 different stories from different time points in history. Each girl has a doll that helps them through traumatic times in their lives. “There is no true healing without remembering.” “Agony is a dreadful companion but at least it keeps her sharp, keeps her from surrendering to oblivion, where there‘s no memory of the time before pain.”

This is a book that every American should read. It‘s so heartbreaking & infuriating. When one reflects on what was done to the Indigenous people at the start of this country (Ken Burns‘ American Revolution does an amazing job at highlighting so much of early American & Native Americans). It‘s just frustrating to learn how American law & politics still hurt Native communities. How businesses still influence the law & their greed supersedes

I listened to this one over audio. It was a fun, easy listen. The mystery of as fun. It was a good book to get into the holiday spirit. Favorite quote/statement “she wanted to find a corner to hide & read her purse book.”

I loved Somebody Somewhere (one of my favorite shows, still sad it was cancelled). I loved this book narrated by Hiller. It was funny & laughed plenty of times out loud. It was also sad & emotional as he talked about his parents. He discussed the relentless bullying he faced growing up. He also talked about how supportive & caring his parents were. Overall just a fun but introspective memoir. A must if you‘re a fan of Hiller.

Between the current chaos of the attempted decimation of democracy & life, it‘s been a rough week. My 10 year old was diagnosed with IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease) this week. I‘m happy we have answers but on the other hand it‘s a whole new world of learning about this incurable disease & autoimmune disorder. I know we‘re with a good provider & she‘ll have great care. It‘s just a lot to mentally take in. Life likes to keep me on my toes, I‘ve

#wdncw when we say we‘re here for the power of Miss Piggy. Can we all agree that insecure men should be relics of the past? And can women stop defending them too? Happy to see journalists like Mary Bruce & Jennifer Jacobs standing up to insecure men & asking them tough questions (hopefully the rest of the journalism pools will also grow a backbone). Bring on the matriarchy & down with the patriarchy.

Oliver recommends sinking your teeth into a good book. I tried to explain the difference between literal & figurative but he wasn‘t interested. So we found a more appropriate toy than trying to eat a book (no books were harmed).

Oliver says, “Happy Friday!” We made it through another week, an interesting one. Hopefully the next few weeks can only become more enlightening. He also says, “bark, bark…which means feed me or be a good person & don‘t defend people who do bad things.”

Yup that‘s me. I do not watch the news but do read the news from reputable sources. A few years ago my husband was saying that we don‘t watch the news. My MIL was aghast. She asked how we knew what was happening. My husband said that we read the news from places like the AP. This is the woman that watches Fox News all the time & calls it “news.”

“An erasure of history was an erasure of personhood.” This is one of those books that just takes your breath away. The story is loosely based on real transgender people living in Germany during WWII. It wasn‘t a lighthearted book since it dealt with the many atrocities that trans people faced (trigger warnings about assault & Dachau). Learned that the Allied forces after WWII were rounding up & imprisoning trans persons. Eye opening book about

#wdncw when we say bring on the season of watching The Holiday where Jude Law wears glasses, is a book editor & his bookshelves are full of interesting books. I‘m ready for some good holiday movies.

#wdncw I said what I said & don‘t care….I miss him. And the other day greeting the plane full of veterans 🥹. I miss uneventful news days & days not filled with scandals. It‘s been an exhausting year

💔 it‘s so sad that this is happening today. The war on trans people is despicable, then & now. It‘s sad that there has to be a war on people just wanting to live their authentic lives. It doesn‘t take anything away from my life if other people are happy.

Last week was a week full of emotions. My 10 year old daughter has been dealing with stomach pain & nausea for the last 2 years. Initially it was thought that it was celiac, but the tests came back negative. An ultrasound of her abdominal area was also negative. The GI dr we saw in Boston chalked it up to anxiety. When we moved to MD last year the pediatric group we‘re with also chalked it anxiety also. On a recent visit for another reason we‘d

I‘m happy I finally took the time to read this one (definitely would like to read her new book). I learned a lot about that part of the world. I am sad to say I do not know a lot about the area & haven‘t read enough books about either. Sad but inspiring story.

My 16 year old wanted to listen to an audiobook when we went to Ohio last month. We listened to it for about 2 hours & didn‘t get back to it, I of course had to finish it. It‘s been a while since I‘ve read a Dan Brown book. I love the combination of different parts of history & art history (symbology was always my favorite part of art history). It was a decent listen but it is also a reminder of how far technology has come since this book was

Really liked this one, easy & relatable. Can I also say how much better info is for young girls today. I remember that horrible pamphlet that I was given about my changing body in the 80s & I don‘t think I learned a thing. Not to mention I grew up in a conservative Catholic household where sex & your body were not discussed (I love my mom dearly but she failed miserably in this portion of my life). This one is very body positive & does say

My youngest is 10, so bought this & another book to get her ready. She‘s an avid reader & I want her to feel empowered about her body & the changes she‘s about to go through. I know it‘s hard to discuss these things with your parents (we do have open dialogues in our house but still kids are kids). I would much rather her have books that provide accurate info, than the internet. It‘s a good comprehensive view of what‘s to come. Easy & relatable.

#wdncw when we say that Mamdani‘s win last night was amazing to see. My 21 year old & I had talked about him a few months ago. Mamdani & candidates like him are the future. The younger generation like my son are excited about candidates like Mamdani. They want to see someone who addresses their concerns: affordability, supporting immigrant & LGBTQ+ communities, supporting women, taxing the rich, protecting the environment. They believe in social

#truth I slept decently last night because I felt so much relief from the last few months of turmoil. It was joy to see the pushback against hate & repudiation of all the horrors of the last few months. It‘s still a long road & lots of work to be done but it was a start. So happy to see massive voter turnout & saying no we‘re not ok with this whether it was a small local election or big state election. Thank you to all the voters & poll workers.

Trick or treating is done, puppy is tired. Winding down with a puzzle & a snack of pretzel chips with quinoa crisps (my favorite sweet treat since they are allergy friendly, I have several food allergies which always made Halloween not fun as a kid). #FridayHappyReadingHour

Happy Halloween from this little devil. I‘m surprised he actually sat there long enough for me to take a photo. It‘s extremely windy here today & he isn‘t sure what to make of it. Besides trying to try & chase every leaf that flies by.

#wdncw nothing else, just this (I just can‘t some days with the current state of the US & what is happening to so many people). I‘m a Jersey girl & my father‘s daughter, so I swear a lot.

Tonight my daughter & I went to the RL Stine event sponsored by our local library. We weren‘t lucky enough to be chosen to get a book signed. It was a great event. RL Stine was really funny & had some great stories. My daughter did buy a new book & the library gave out bookmarks.

Effin‘ Birds is my mood. #MondayMood

#wdncw Daily mood #fthepatriarchy

Mood every day. Not measurable. Somehow every day I can‘t imagine it getting worse…somehow the day before is topped by something more outlandish.

A win yesterday! #readbannedbooks #readingispolitical #resist

Happy Diwali! Our neighborhood goes all out for Diwali, fireworks have been going off for over an hour. Oliver is not a fan at all. Our kind neighbors shared sparklers with my youngest. I also love that my daughter was telling me all about Diwali because they learned about it at school. She was saying that tonight is the best night because of all the fireworks & that it‘s light driving out darkness. We had one rude neighbor who came out &

#resist #NoKings #readingispolitical

Oliver has discovered sticks. Kids in our neighborhood have been playing with them & leaving them outside, so Oliver naturally wanted to join them. I had texted my oldest some photos of the dog since he‘s in college. He said it looks like the dog is giving you the side eye. I texted him the 2nd photo & said he‘s always giving me the side eye. Oliver has also tried peanut butter & he‘s in love. He has some days where you think wow this dog is so

This was a meh for me, the 10 year old really liked it. I don‘t know what it was but I didn‘t really like reading it. I don‘t know if he was to make the next hero of a series be a female (like the next Percy Jackson). Or that the female character had her period during the story & it was written exactly how a man would right about a girl going through her period (although I think it‘s important to highlight what girls go through I think that

Listened to this over audio & loved the narrator. Such a sweet, cozy story perfect for this time of year. Similar to House in the Cerulean Sea. Are there really too many stories about finding your family/the ones you call family, keeping each other safe, understanding past traumas & having the room to heal? Especially since we know that there are too many people in our society that have been hurt by being told they were too different.

That & OMG WTF is going on around here, some days hourly.

#wdncw it finally feels like fall in northwest MD. That means time to bring on soup season & cozy, comforting meals. I am also learning how to make bread from scratch (have you seen the cost for a loaf of French bread, at Wegmans it‘s almost $4).

Per Janet from “The Bad Place.” Reminder on Indigenous People‘s Day that Columbus was not a good guy. He killed & exploited people, not to mention he didn‘t discover America. #realhistory #honesthistory

This is beyond frustrating/devastating/inexcusable. It has been bad enough that they have pretty much dismantled the civil rights division for the OSE. This is just another FU to parents of disabled children. You can‘t administer the law that abides IEPs & 504 Plans if you‘ve fired everyone. I know that this is a developing story but wanted to put it out there to call your reps please. This is Eugenics. #ranttime

This book is more relevant than ever. Reading this is like reliving every day of the current administration. It‘s horrifying to know we‘re watching Facism unfold in real time. This is the book for you if you want to learn how to combat against Facism, know what we‘re up against, & continue to push back on this new unsettling reality. “Facist politics preys on the human fragility that makes our own suffering seem bearable if we know that those we

Southern Poverty Law Center‘s Learning for Justice program has lots of great resources. Especially about teaching what can be hard history subjects. The FBI has also recently cut ties with the SPLC. Which is a bit sad & scary since the SPLC monitors hate groups in the US. Just wanted to share additional info that could be beneficial: https://www.learningforjustice.org/

Since it‘s been another long week & it being Nobel Prize week. I thought I‘d share some cute puppy photos. Oliver is now 20 pounds & growing quick. He has his good moments: sleeps in his crate thru the night, lets us know that he has to go out. The other exhausting moments: he‘s in full teething mode, he tries to eat everything off the ground when he outside (mulch, rocks, flowers, dead worms, dead baby snakes, leaves). He‘s a great dog, just

#wdncw about sums up 2025 so far.

#wdncw It‘s been a long week & again it‘s only Wednesday. I feel this way everyday but also it‘s like a train wreck you can‘t look away from.

Another Banned Book, reason- it shows the elf‘s butt. My daughter absolutely loved this book when she was little. She thought it was hilarious & silly that you could see the elf‘s backside. How people get from something like a part of anatomy that we all have to the point that it‘s pornographic is beyond my level of comprehension. It‘s a silly story & when read in silly voices that‘s all it is. I feel bad for kids who are denied the silliness of