345th Friday Blog Roundup
We are currently having a Harry Potter lovefest (which I refer to as a verb: Pottering) because I’ve let them watch the first film. My rule is that we can only watch the films for the books we’ve read and since I’ll only let them near the first two books right now, our pickings are fairly limited.
But I loved watching their mouths fall open when the brick wall moves to reveal Diagon Alley. I remember crying in the movie theater when I saw that, wishing so badly that I could actually be there. (To be fair, it was also the day before my wedding so I was on an emotional hair trigger.)
On Wednesday night, right before bed, I caught the Wolvog standing in front of the mirror, pushing his hair off his forehead. The Wolvog was born with a red scar on his forehead, a scar the neonatologist swore would probably fade within weeks. We are now nearing on seven years and it is still visible. It looks like a crooked V and we all absolutely love his scar (including him), especially because we’ve always called him “the boy who lived” since he was born prematurely at 2 pounds.
So he was staring in the mirror with this hopeful expression on his face and the ChickieNob was whispering something to him. Afterward he climbed into bed and he finally burst out with: “I really think I might be magical, and I can’t wait until I’m 11 and find out!”
I did nothing to help matters. I just encouraged it, somehow forgetting that Hogwarts isn’t real. We spent an extra half hour dreaming up what life would be like when their letter arrived. When I became the parent of a little witch and wizard (oh, because I assured them that with twins, if one is magical, the other is definitely magical too).
And seriously, somewhere in that conversation, it was like seeing Diagon Alley on the screen all over again. My heart just exploded over the idea of it all being real.
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As part of our Harry Potter lovefest, we watched clips from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on YouTube before dinner. We are trying very hard to convince Josh to take us to this. So far, he has not budged.
But isn’t Daniel Radcliffe a great dancer?
Help me convince Josh to take us.
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Somehow, Life from Scratch made a special list on Amazon for top rated humour writing. The list is Jimmy Fallon, Adam Carolla, Christopher Moore, and… me. I have been told many times in my life that I’m just not funny, so this was great vindication — to have a book powerhouse like Amazon knight me amusing. It made me want to call up everyone from high school who told me that I wasn’t funny and rub it in their face. And then I realized that no one in high school told me that I wasn’t funny because I was completely invisible in high school. Then I went back to eating candied pecans.
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And now the blogs…
But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:
- “Right Where I Am Project: Two Years and Five Months” (Still Life with Circles)
- “Right Where I Am: Two Months, Twenty Days” (Here We Go Again)
- “Sex, Infertility, and Where to Shove the 40 Beads” (Stirrup Queens)
- “First Time Being Called Twins” (Three Times the Fun)
- “Mommy’s Garden” (Hannah Wept, Sarah Laughed)
- “Barometers” (Two Kayaks)
- “One Year Ago Today” (Stumbling Gracefully)
- “One of Those Days” (Taking the Statistical Bullet)
- “2011 Has Turned, Finally” (Just Two Lines Away)
- “Who is this Person?” (The Elusive Embryo)
- “The Pink” ((In)fertile Mrytle)
- “Unintentional Rant” (My Little Blessing in Disguise)
- “On the Subject of Staying Home” (Three is a Magic Number)
- “Two Solitudes” (Mrs. Spit… Still Spouting Off)
- “The Day We Said Goodbye and She Rode Around the City Alone” (Jack at Random)
Okay, now my choices this week.
Eggs in a Row has a post about her guilty pleasure — reading mommy blogs. She reads them because they present a world so different from the one she grew up in, but she also admits: “Sometimes, I let myself dream. I read these blogs, and let myself imagine a future where I am a good mom, instead of a wishful, waiting infertile. And you know what? I can’t wait.” Do you also read those blogs, letting yourself dream? Or do you avoid them like a plague? Or somewhere in between?
Just Us and the Cat explains why she can’t watch Glee. The show is like a location casualty, bringing with it memories of her loss. She writes, “I never did finish watching that episode of Glee. For a while, Glee episodes became a marker for how long it had been since I’d discovered that the pregnancy was going badly wrong.”
Lastly, Raising Kvell has a beautiful post about a loss (thank you, Jendeis, for sending it my way!). The line that made me pause comes towards the end: “I’m not going to be a Mama again after all and I went through almost an entire trimester pregnant, with nothing.” It’s a post that is ultimately filled with a lot of hope, but that line just got to me.
The roundup to the Roundup: We very well may have a witch and wizard in our house. Help me convince Josh to blow through our savings to see How to Succeed in Business. Someone thinks I’m funny. And lots of great blog posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between June 10 and June 17) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week? Read the original open thread post here.
And I’d like to thank you for such a robust list of posts last week in the comment section. Can we do it again? Plus, revisit the posts above and give them a little extra love if you didn’t last week.
17 comments
We are in a Harry Potter love fest too. Must be the age. I made Michael read the book first, with us of course, and now we are on book two. We watched the movie last week and now have lego Harry Potter for the wii. It’s all Harry, all the time.
Of course, twins might not both be in Gryffindor. Look at the patil girls.. !
Oh Mel, you have to go. That YouTube clip is amazing. Business was never so lively. (Don’t tell my kids that Daniel Radcliff is in NY and we could, theoretically, go and see him. I’ll never hear the end of it.)
We just re-watched Deathly Hallows P1 last weekend. Fortunately Eight fell asleep before the end, which makes him bawl.
josh!! take them to how to succeed!! quite possibly one of the best musicals ever!!
Tell Josh he can just buy the tickets, I could go with you in his place… 😉
Why should you have helped matters? Maybe they are magical. And are you planning on going to Hogwarts at Universal? Because it is really pretty spectacular. Crowded, but awesome.
Boy, you’re all worried about sending them off to college, but it’s OK for them to go to magical boarding school at 11?
I was watching the beginning of the Tony Awards the other night and saw Daniel Radcliffe singing and dancing – it was pretty awesome! Josh should definitely take you to see it.
I foresee no problems with the Chickie Nob and Wolfvog going to Hogwart’s. Mel will simply become one of the professors! Mel is my in-real-life domestic goddess and Molly Weasley must have learned her skills from somebody, so it must have been from Professor Lollipop Goldstein. Ta Da!
Thanks for the menchie. And, I can’t wait until the last Harry Potter comes out either, although I guess it will be a while before Wolvog and ChickNob are allowed to watch them!
Just not funny???????? Your blog is SO funny – that’s why I read it!!!
We have the same book before movie rule for the Harry Potter books (and most movies that have been adapted from books) in our house. 🙂
I am pulling for you and the kids to convince Josh to take you all to see the musical! I think family musical outings are so fun and worthwhile! Good luck! 🙂
Here is one of my favorite posts from this week:
http://theroadlesstravelledlb.blogspot.com/2011/06/your-dream-will-change-and-thats-okay.html
Loribeth from The Road Less Traveled wrote it after watching a recent commencement address that Conan O’Brien gave at an Ivy League school. Conan talks about how our dreams in life can and will change and how that is okay. I really appreciate what Loribeth wrote and found a lot to chew on in both what Conan and she had to say.
I love the Harry Potter love fest! How much fun to imagine receiving that letter and going off to join a secret life of wizards and witches. I always longed to discover a “super” power while I was growing up. We are also having a Potter fest at our house, although my daughter is still too young to participate. In anticipation for the final movie, my husband and I are re-reading all 7 books. It has been so many years since I read them the first time, I forgot how amazing they were. I can’t wait to share them with my kids some day.
Wow. Thank you so much for referencing me! WOW! Big day…seriously. Also…”Life From Scratch” was amazing, I’m so in love with Rachel and loved the ending! Can’t wait for the sequel!
What do you mean Hogwarts isn’t real?
Oh my gosh, I love this website! As a woman struggeling with infertility as well I love to read everyone’s story’s. I’m so thankful I found this, keep up the good work!
~ Jill
http://www.highheelsandhuggies.blogspot.com
You really do need to go see How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Tell Josh it’s one of the funniest plays I’ve ever seen–and I grew up seeing a lot of really good plays! I wish I lived near you, so I could come too!
Congrats on making the humor list! I can’t wait to read your book. I was super excited to see it on a summer sale list for kindle so I got it for $2.99. Yay! But then… I felt bad for not paying full price for it since I was going to buy it anyway.