Springy Things

It’s Spring Break and, miracle of miracles, it actually feels like spring! We weren’t taking any chances, though, so I booked us tickets to see my sister in Dallas for a few days. I wasn’t about to spend Spring Break shivering this year. It’s been three years since we last made the trek to the Big D. We’ve got lots of fun things planned, including a tour of Blue Bell Ice Cream in Brenham, Elena’s first In-n-Out burger, and rolling around in the bluebonnets. We can’t wait!

I’ve had requests to review the books I’ve read more frequently than just once a year, and I’m on it! I’m well on my way to my goal of reading 35 books this year. So far I’ve read 17! I’ll recap the books I read from January through March in the next couple of weeks. It’s been a good first quarter of reading, that’s for sure!

Two books, in particular, have been what I would call “lightening bolt” books for me. That means they’ve jolted me into thinking about something in a completely different way. The first book is Bruce Feiler’s The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Tell Your Family History, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More. The entire book was wonderful, and so different from any parenting-type book I’ve ever read – so honest, hopeful and not the least bit condescending. Thanks to some things I read about in the book, we’ve implemented a weekly family meeting and have tackled some big, tricky issues in our home that tends to make us not so happy: personal responsibilities and screen time. We’re coming up on a month of family meetings and I’ve been awestruck at how something so simple is improving our daily life. After we get another month or so of these changes under our belt, I’ll be sure to fill you in.

The second book is Gretchen Rubin’s Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives. I’ve really enjoyed Gretchen’s other books about happiness. Her nerdy and relentless pursuit of happiness and order speak to my soul! I’m about 2/3 of the way through this one and I can already tell it’s going to change my life. If you’ve ever struggled to make and keep a habit, and wonder what exactly is wrong with you when you fail, this book is for you. Or if you’re awesome at making and keeping good habits, but the people around you at work and home utterly frustrate you with their inability to do the same? This book is also for you. I alternate between laughing out loud and gasping out loud at “aha” moments.

It’s a big weekend here in Indy, with the Final Four rolling in town. On Sunday Eli is participating in the Dribble. I’m looking forward to seeing my lovely city decked out in its NCAA finest. Speaking of NCAA finest, we did our first ever Six Family NCAA Bracket Challenge. Guess who has already been declared the winner? Me! The winner had the choice of $20 or being King/Queen for a day. I was relentlessly bullied into taking the $20, as the general consensus was that I was already the Queen of the family. In her defense, Elena stuck up for my right to be the Queen, and agreed that I’d be much easier to deal with than if Mike won. She said all I would want is to drink my coffee and take a nap. That girl knows her momma.

One last fun spring thing … the National Wildlife Federation is looking for Butterfly Heroes. The Monarch butterfly population in the US has dropped be more than 90%, mostly due to agricultural and gardening practices. But your kids can help save the Monarchs! Just upload a photo of you or your kids making the ASL sign for butterfly, and they’ll send you a free Butterfly Garden Starter Kit. In case you didn’t know, Gus is a fan of butterflies.

What are you guys up to for Spring Break? And is there anything really great that you’ve read I should add to my reading list?