I’ve been catching up with the Real Housewives of New York City Season 1 and Season 2. (This was a while ago, I think we’re up to season 4 now?) Anyway… It struck me time and again how close Alex McCord and Simon van Kempen are, it’s clear they are truly in love and devoted to each other.

Alex was gracious enough to talk to me about her life recently (actually this quite some time ago – sorry)! The first thing I must mention is that she is really down to earth… that doesn’t really come across on the show. Originally from Kansas, Alex now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two kids, Francois and Johan.

Alex doesn’t pretend to have the perfect life, but she does seem to have it all figured out! If you’ve wondered how she keeps her slim figure she attributes good genes and practices. Crediting adulthood as enough impetus to watch what she eats hasn’t hurt much. Motherhood has given her more cause to avoid processed foods and keep things as natural as possible. She viewed her pregnancy as an athletic event, keeping active and in shape. Alex has even made her own ketchup and yogurt to ensure the best possible ingredients! I am impressed AND convinced – I’ve got a lot of work to do!

Beauty tip from Alex…

Alex has also learned that great skin can be less work. Cleansing is really only necessary once a day in her case so she cleanses and moisturizes at night. In the morning she splashes some water and moisturizing if necessary for the day. Drinking lots of water and getting plenty of rest are also important and so I had to ask if it was truly possible to get a full night’s sleep with two young children. The enthusiastic response was YES! The key is not to react to every little sound in the night and let them fall back asleep on their own. She’s been blessed with two great sleepers.

On the topic of urban parenting, the topic of her upcoming book, Alex has a lot to say. Living in a walking community is far different from the minivan lifestyle and affords many advantages. Most obviously – built in exercise! Another aspect is interacting with the neighborhood, people from all walks of life and beliefs. Alex was firm that no matter where people come from they all want what’s best for their children. Children can learn best from being in environments where there is diversity of culture and thought. <applause> As a lover of all things cultural, the family makes trips to the first class resources the city offers, opera, aquariums and museums.

With all of that the importance of family rituals is key to keeping balance and the family takes dinner together every night, playing games and talking with the kids. Keeping the “quality time” high-quality and interactive is the key to their parenting strategy. As for the over-the-top influences of other over indulging city parents? Alex says it’s not an issue, they keep a firm grip on the reality of what a dollar will buy you, Francois recently raided his piggy bank to buy a coveted DVD.

What about those less than perfect kid moments on the show? well no one is perfect and let’s face facts, would we be entertained by 100% perfect kids? nope, the most dramatic bits make the cut. How would your family and life look on the little screen?

The upcoming parenting book It’s out!! by the McCord – van Kempen family will provides stories on raising two young children in the city in a story format. Little Kids, Big City (Amazon.com link)…

and/or check out their family blog: http://www.mccordvankempen.com/

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I always find it interesting to see what people remember from the past.  Each of us defines our own history which makes me think about my own kids, what will they remember? what will be a fond memory and what is making the biggest impression on them?  Only time will tell but this book has me thinking about all that.  My guess is that they’ll remember a lot of the little things and our daily routine.

The author moves to small-town DeGraff, Ohio when he is 4 years old but was never really accepted as a full fledged resident.  I can totally relate because it seems like that in Maine.  If you’re not from Maine you’re “from away” and even my kids, who were all born here are not true Mainers.  One lady told me, “just because a cat has kittens in the oven doesn’t mean they’re biscuits.”  I guess I could have been offended but I’m not, people in small places tend to be close and be all up in eachothers business, as we see in The Side-Yard Superhero.

I loved all the descriptions and especially the relationship between the author and Bernie.  This book has me longing to play non-competitive croquet and possibly a hot chocolate (minus the butter).  

Happy reading! The Side-Yard Superhero @ Amazon

The Side-Yard Superhero favorite quote:

“Mr. Bethel smiled the kind of smile adults do when they think they know more than you know but don’t want to embarass you.” (pg. 36)

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I also haven’t had time to promote the Thumbuddy contest a few posts below.  Exhaustion is not a pretty thing I tell you. 

If you’re in the winning mood, check out Lisa Roe’s amazing giveaway for the BIBLE ILLUMINATED:The Book: New Testament   It is the most amazing book, loving it… there are 5 copies to giveaway so get to entering!

Anywho, nighty night for now.

xoxo

Delphine

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Finally a little mommy TIME!  as an on again off again fan of Sex and the City I was very excited to read One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell.  As a native of Queens, I’ve always been interested in New York society and the upper summits of the lifestyle and this book delivers just that.

While the life NY ladies lead is interesting there are parts that are so repulsive it makes a sane person want to scream.  This is most evident when a socialite vacates a lavish apartment via death and the main characters scramble to acquire the prized real estate.

I can’t help but be turned off by the greed and shallow portrayal but I must agree it is accurate.  As a native New Yorker it always saddenned me to see the way people would come to make it rich at any cost like Lola Fabrikant.

A few years ago this book would have been a fun read for me,  but with the despair all around caused by over the top consumption and entitlement it’s a painful reminder.  Not to mention, I like to think, if this book were put in a time space capsule what would it say about this society?  well, there’s nothing good that comes from this book, it’s all very sad really.

If you’re a die hard Candace Bushnell fan then you may enjoy the many story lines, the writing is pretty good and it’s actually easy to keep track of the various characters.  There is a lot of room for developement and continuity which I suspect is part of the plan for a sequel for more from this group.

Thanks to the Parent Reviewers for the chance to review this book.

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• who wrote the book
• why was this book written
• what happens in this book
• what do we learn about God in this book
• what people are important in this book
• when did this happen
• where did this happen
• what are some of the stories in this book

You can’t go wrong with this item from Zondervan, great content to make the Bible come to life.  I’m so glad I found this book.  We studied from this book together as a family but I think I’m going to gift it to boy2001 now that he’s such a confident reader.  Update coming soon.

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I was perusing the aisles at Borders two weeks ago and found the cutest set of Little Miss Books.  The Little Miss series by Roger Hargreaves is a great compliment to the Mr. Men series.  The girls LOVE the little miss characters… they always find something in the story to relate to!

What I like best about this set is that it came with envelopes to put each book in.  I addressed all the envelopes to the girls and kept them in the side of the car door.  When I checked the mail each afternoon, I shuffled in an envelope and the girls thought they got something in the mail.

They were SO excited!  they loved it!  Little Miss Sunshine, Little Miss Bossy, Little Miss Somersault, Little Miss Naughty, Little Miss Giggles and Little Miss Stubborn.

The set was $18 @ Borders for 6 books and envelopes.  I’d love the entire series set of 39 books but the rates are a little out of control in my opinion. 

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woot! finished reading The Dangerous Days of Daniel X with boy2001 just now.  Let me start off by saying, I LOVE the idea and premise of this book!  Getting boys to read is not the easiest thing to do, stories are often too frilly or just “boring” to them, getting the right mix of substance and adventure is not an easy task.

Boy2001 had a strong reaction as soon as he saw the book, it looks grown up, no cartoony characters on the cover, it looks like a man-book which he loved.  I sent him in his room to start reading and planned to read it at night while he slept so we could discuss.  He wasn’t gone two minutes when he came back and told me he didn’t want to read it.  I was perplexed and asked him why and he explained that the parents are killed.

Keep in mind he’s never flat out refused to read something, so I told him to put it down and I’ll read it to him a little later.  He again had a strong reaction to the parents being killed (chapter 1) but as the pages turned he slowly became more interested.

The unbelievable aliens were a special interest to boy2001 and of course the made up words like “drangs” which means a friendship bond. He became engrossed in battling aliens and talk of mastodons and ticks.  On top of that, which boy doesn’t dream of having secret abilities?

From a mom’s point of view, it was a worthwhile read for boy2001.  I had initially planned on him reading this story alone but there are so many themes that require discussion and his reluctance to explore this big boy book on his own required me to read aloud.  I did like that this character was able to survive the death of his parents, although we never wish it, things do happen.  My son now knows that he can handle anything, even losing us! 

It’s a quick enough read but boy2001 wanted to stop and talk about things so it did take us a week of evenings to get through. I’m keeping it on his bookshelf in the closest for another read when he’s older.  Let me know your thoughts…

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge available @ Amazon

Described as “Spider-Man meets Men in Black in this heart-stopping novel from James Patterson, author of the bestselling books Maximum Ride and When the Wind Blows.  Read an interview on Borders

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Boy2001 has gone through almost all of the Kumon line.  They’ve been fun, sometimes challenging but interesting and most of all educational.    Now that I’m looking for more workbooks for girl2004 I’m getting sticker shock!  I guess that’s why I’ve been hanging out at the dollar store so much, they’ve got some great workbooks there for just a $1.  So the short of it is, I love the Kumon line but they are a bit pricey at $7 each!

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I’m just now getting the newsflash that June is Junie B. Jones month.  After a full school year of seeing these books in boy2001′s hand I’ve come to accept the fact that I may not always understand his reading choices. 

Maybe I should even care if it motivates him to get through a chapter book in a few hours! He thinks they’re funny…  what do you think, is any reading good reading? 

There are some cute activities on Junie’s page.

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