The Sunday Spotlight

Every Sunday, I highlight one thing: one book, one idea, one dish, one person, one show, one anything. Today, the spotlight is on:

Carter Lee Dandurand

Weighing in at a bit over 25lbs, Carter is a wonderfully stocky 14 month old with a ready smile and a streak of mischief. He is seriously the most content, happy, cuddly, giggly boy, but no lie that stinker will look right at you while he tips your half-full cup of coffee over onto the carpeting. Then he will giggle.

He can say mama, dada, and a version of mah-mah that stands for Madison. He can also moo and say tractor - which really sounds like ca-ca. He eats everything and clearly has no concept of the term full. At every meal and every snack, we have to logically deduce when the bottomless pit has had enough. He never stops eating and would more than likely eat an entire 32oz steak with an extra large baked potato, a good size helping of corn, and still go for dessert...if we let him, which being good parents, we do not. He protests the ending of a meal, but he's good-natured enough to get over it quickly.

He sleeps like a champ, which is a real treat after Madison who, I think, broke records for least amount of sleep in a newborn, infant, and toddler. We can actually put him into the crib wide awake and he will simply jabber until he falls asleep. Heaven.

He is all smiles

even when wearing, riding in, or playing with his sister's hand-me-downs which are inevitably pink and girly. The boy rides in a brown and pink stroller, just got out of a pink carseat, consistently has tiaras, crowns, and bows in his hair, and even once was forced to sit in an overly large frilly pink dress.

His only other facial expression is his uh-oh face:

which is hilarious. He pulls this face when he drops something, misbehaves, spills his drink, or anything else that is uh-oh-ish. Here it is again for your enjoyment:

We had a little scare with Carter. He has a hard lump on the back of his head, which has been there since birth. The doctor finally ordered an ultrasound which came back inconclusive, and we had to meet with a pediatric surgeon for a second opinion. Luckily, the doctor is pretty positive it is merely a dermoid cyst which is benign. We can't know for sure without removing it, but we are going to wait and see if there are any indications of worry before going to such drastic measures as it is more than likely A-Okay. Thankfully.

Captain Adorable here has a few nicknames: C-Bug, Doofus, and My Good Boy are the most popular. He probably thinks his name is "Carter No" though.

New Vision for the Blog

While I've always thought of eclectic/eccentric as a multi-layered blog, it has primarily functioned as a book blog. Most posts were focused on reviewing books, summarizing and evaluating without spoiling plot and with the ultimate goal of encouraging people to read or not read the book. I loved this, and for over 8 years, that was the focus. I would post thoughts or family updates from time to time, participate in memes (mainly bookish ones), and participate in book tours and book blog events.

The blog changed drastically after the birth of my first child, Madison, four years ago. I went from reading 150 books a year and having quite a bit of free time to reading 50 books a year with almost no free time. The blog became more sporadic. Then, three years after Madison, came Carter, and reading took another dive. While I have read many, many posts about how reading is still possible after children - and I agree for the most part - I would have to make some pretty questionable decisions to maintain my pre-children level of reading and blogging.

Part of my loss of time has to do with other life decisions. I am a full-time college professor serving on multiple committees and presenting at various conferences. Then there's the fact that I also went back to school. In the time right before Carter, I began work towards a second Masters degree, in Literature of course. I actually finished and submitted a 22 page literary analysis while in the hospital after giving birth. Yeah, that happened.

This year I also started coursework towards earning a Master Online Teacher certificate. Taking all of these courses means that the limited reading time I have left is devoted to course readings and homework. Oh and children's books. I read at least four books a day...they're just not exactly War and Peace.  More like Hello, Bugs and more Bubble Guppies books than should rightly exist.

Fingers crossed that my hard work buying and reading children's books will pay off. So far, so good as both of my kids like playing with books. Madison likes to read before bed (well, have books read to her) and Carter will sit still for I Kissed the Baby, but that's the only book that he will listen to for some reason.

eclectic/eccentric will still have the occasional book review, but the focus will shift a bit more towards discussion and analysis than review, and I plan on incorporating a lot more posts on education and instructional technology and more on the family as well. I suppose this makes eclectic/eccentric more of a life blog; it's just that quite a bit of my life is dedicated to books.

So, for the foreseeable future, I will post about literature on Tuesdays and education/online learning on Fridays. Sundays will be for updates and family, and any book reviews will be posted randomly. I'm considering changing the blog name to be more reflective of what will be included in posts, but so for no luck on a creative title...at least not one that's already taken. :)

To those who read this blog in years past, I don't know if any of you are still around. The numerous false starts this blog has had in the last four years is ridiculous, and who knows if this is the start of a new heyday of Trisha blogging or if it is yet another failed attempt to bring blogging back into my life. I know a few of the people I considered friends here in the book blogging world are no longer book bloggers or no longer bloggers at all. Any of you who are still around, I hope to get back in touch. For new readers, welcome! I can't wait to see what's been happening in the blogosphere.

Blogging In Absentia

So I've been gone from the blog for quite some time. My Medieval Monday posts which were pre-planned were rolling out for awhile, but as I was blogging in absentia, that doesn't really count. What, you may ask, have I been doing while gone. First, drumroll please, I've been:

READING

That's right folks, I said reading. Can you freaking believe it? I managed to sneak in some actual time for pleasure reading. Crazy business, as my daughter would say. I managed to read the following books in September FOR NO REASON EXCEPT I WANTED TO:

• The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
• The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• Splintered by A.G. Howard

That's a record my friends. I haven't read four non-essential books in one month since March - and that doesn't really count since the four books were all House of Night installments; those books only require about two hours to read.

I haven't written reviews for any of these books, and who knows when I'll get around to that. After all, I'm in the middle of Jo Walton's Just City and IT FREAKING ROCKS.

And the other books? Well, let me tell you. The Lie Tree was AMAZING. The Girl on the Train was AMAZING. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up was pretty damn good. Splintered was not my thing. Hopefully I will get around to writing actual reviews sometime in the foreseeable future.

In other news, I am kicking educational ass in my Masters in Literature program aka The Thing I Do Instead of Blogging. I'm on a ten week break, and hence the reading for pleasure and the blogging. I am also kicking educational ass in my job as I (along with a bunch of other people) am in the midst of prepping for our Higher Learning Commission peer review for accreditation.

My final ass kickery occurs in the field of Momming these two cuties:

And because you want more pictures of them I'm sure:

Thank you to those who are still around. I promise to read your comments, and if you were wondering what to say I would love any recommendations on ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC BOOKS I SHOULD READ RIGHT NOW WHILE I STILL HAVE TIME.

Currently | 14 June

Reading // Still reading The Happiness Project and just started The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Both are good reads, but as is typical these days, trying to find the time to read is difficult. I may have to write a post on this issue by the way as I got rather testy when someone suggested I just wasn't making reading a priority and that having the time to read was merely a matter of choice. This person obviously does not have two children, a full time job, and a farming husband. Or perhaps she does not need sleep. Anyway, as I said, I may need to write a post.

Blogging // My blogging is really booming currently as I'm pretty far prepped out with Medieval Mondays and Top 10 Tuesdays. I'm feeling pretty good, but I'm thinking I should probably do some reading and maybe review a book or two just to maintain my book blog status.

Watching // Numb3rs. I loved this show the first time around, and I'm still in love with it. I'm watching it every chance I get to the exclusion of every other show. For those not in the know, Numb3rs is a show about two brothers: one an FBI agent and one a math genius. It's action packed. It's geeky. It's awesome.

Learning // Along with my Medieval Lit course, I am taking Foundations of Educational Technology through the University of St. Francis. Designed to familiarize students with various software and online programs suitable for student learning, the course is highly relevant for me as I teach all hybrid and online courses. The only problem I'm running into is that the other students in the class all teach grade school or high school and as such most of their suggestions are not easily adaptable to college level courses. But we are only in week 2 so I do have high hopes for the remaining 6 weeks.

Hating // My bad luck. I bought a Fitbit, and I was loving it, and then I got a rash. Now, no Fitbit.

Avoiding // Writing my final research paper for my Medieval Literature course. I decided to explore the two roles of women - mediator and mischief-maker - but I'm finding my exploration rather tedious as it primarily consists of saying the same thing about multiple female characters. I need to find a hook that gets my juices flowing.

Wishing // I could find some motivation to work out. I was going strong for about three weeks, but I am already in a serious rut.

Loving // Aren't my little lovelies adorable? C-Bug and Goose

Pull Yourself Together

I'm sure most people say that the words they tell their children are "I Love You." I'm not even fooling myself. The phrase I most often say to my children is "Pull yourself together" or "Pull it together".

When Carter's all pukey because of his GERD, when Madison's losing it for an unknown or inappropriate reason, when either child is throwing one of those red-in-the-face, spastic, temper tantrums, I tend to suggest they pull their shit together - but I find a way to say it that does not include the remarkably appropriate term "shit." Apparently cussing at children is unacceptable behavior.

To be clear, I do not yell this phrase at my children; I say it with an amused smile on my face or sometimes a fake stern face.

So what is the phrase you most often direct towards your children?

Currently | 31 May

Time and Place // Who knows? It's summer.

Feeling // Currently, I'm feeling like an idget. I forgot to publish like three posts for Heart of Darkness May, so ladies and gentlemen, I am extending the month through this week. Coming up I have posts applying Psychoanalytic Theory, Queer Theory, and Deconstruction.

Blogging // I am starting a new feature here called Medieval Monday to highlight some of the awesome texts and concepts I am tackling in my Graduate Studies in Medieval Literature course. On deck, I have posts on Anglo-Saxon poetry, one of Marie de France's lais, Beowulf (of course), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Wife of Bath.

Reading // The Happiness Project. I've read two chapters - the first I loved as it was about organizing and decluttering. The second chapter was a bit meh; it was on marriage and family. I'm already getting excited to start applying some of the strategies to my own life. I'm also, obviously, spending a lot of time reading Medieval Literature and journal articles about said Medieval Literature.

Anticipating // I start two new courses tomorrow through the University of St. Francis's online program: Foundations of Educational Technology and Using Tech to Flip Learning. I am very, very excited. I have (shock, shock) never taking an "Education" course. As a college professor, my background is in my subject area, English, not in Education. And what makes these courses even more exciting is the focus on technology. I teach online and hybrid courses almost exclusively, so I'm constantly looking for new idea. In case you don't know what flipped learning looks like:

What's everyone doing these days?

Currently | 25 May

Eating // Teriyaki-Glazed Salmon courtesy of Trish from Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity. It was delicious. I paired it with Toasted Pine Nut Couscous and Roasted Carrots. Excellent dinner for the whole family.

Reading // I'm not really in to anything, but I did read the first handful of pages from The Happiness Project while Madison was watching Odd Squad before bed. The book seems like a good choice for me as I'm already connecting with the author. The show is awesome even for adults.

Watching // Did I mention Odd Squad? It's Madison's new obsession, so we watch one episode every single night before bed. Really though, I don't mind. It's a program that teaches. In particular, it teaches math.

Dominating // My Graduate Studies in Medieval Literature course. I'm kicking its butt and loving it. I believe I currently have a 97% in the class. Go me.

Promoting // My Month of Heart of Darkness posts including a review of the novella, a discussion of imperialism and racism within the text, and a quick intro to my narratological analysis of the story. I'm hoping to get around to a comparison to the film Apocalypse Now (which is based on the book, loosely) but I'm not sure I'll be able to fit it in this month as tv watching doesn't happy very often around these parts, at least not anything which isn't kid friendly.

Apologizing // For being terrible about commenting on your blogs. Lately I've been a real lurker. Reading but not commenting due to time constraints. I shall try to be better! I promise!

Currently | 3 May

Eating and Drinking // Trying to eat healthy, not succeeding every day

Reading // I'm at a bit of a standstill with pleasure reading right now as I delve into medieval literature for my course. Beowulf is up next!

Listening // I'm still listening to Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I love this book, but I'm not exactly sold on the audio. As such, it's taking me more time to finish the book than it should.

Blogging // I'm on some sort of strange blogging kick right now, and I hope the momentum keeps up!

Teaching // We are wrapping up the semester this week; then we have finals week, and then FREEDOM!!!

Loving // This picture of Carter and his girlfriend. He likes 'em young and bald.

Oh, and this picture of me and the other members of my crazy family...

Contemplating // How we rectify the massive disparities in translations of Old English poetry. Seriously, how is one ever to know the truth of the matter?

Promoting // Heart of Darkness May. Yep, I'm dedicating the month to a book I don't very much like. What can I say? I want to share some of what I did in Intro to Lit,and it helps me work through my very contradictory feelings on the novella. I have a review, a narratological discussion, some thoughts on whether it's super awesome or really racist, a look at Apocalypse Now (based on Heart of Darkness, sort of), and a few more odds and ends. I sincerely hope you all join in, show up, and help me out.

Currently | 26 April

Time and Place // All over the place for three days :)

Eating and Drinking // Coffee and then some more coffee

Reading // The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume A, the Middle Ages. Tomorrow I start my Graduate Studies in Medieval Literature course, and I am super excited. Now the big question is: Do I take Victorian Lit or Romantic Lit next?

Listening // Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Blogging // April has been a slow month for me with reading and blogging. This past week I managed to get up four posts, but the week before, nada. If you haven't read them yet, I put up two review posts this week: one on the awesomeness that was The Help on audio and the other on the blahness that was the first four books in the House of Night series. I also posted about the delicious new recipe I tried - Autumn Glazed Pork Chops.

Contemplating // Turning 35. I just celebrated my birthday last Wednesday (April 22). It seems like much more of a turning point than 30 for some reason.

Loving // BABIES! My cousin and a friend at work both had their babies ON MY BIRTHDAY this year. I have two new birthday buddies: Mia and Phoebe. How fun is that?!?!?! I don't have pics of the newbies, but to satisfy the baby fix....

Loving // Jillian Michaels. I recently started her online weight loss program, and so far, so good. She has some excellent recipes on her site, one of which I featured yesterday for Weekend Cooking (Autumn Glazed Pork Chops). The premise is simple: more calories out then in and lots of logging. The exercises are kicking my butt for 30-40 minutes 5 times per week, but they are fun and while I can't make it through the whoooollllee workout doing every exercise perfectly, I also don't feel like I'm a huge failure.

Hating // Jillian Michaels. I mean seriously you can love it and hate it simultaneously right? Also, I hate waiting for results and the 1/2 pound I lost this week is pretty pitiful. I think I need to up my game. In my defense, I did mention it was my birthday this week right?

Adoring //

I finally got a rather beautiful picture of my babies!!!

Currently | 19 April

Time and Place // 9:24pm on the couch

Eating and Drinking // Redd's Apple Ale

Watching // A little bit of everything and as such nothing really stands out right now. I may have to re-watch Sherlock soon. I miss that crazy high functioning sociopath.

Listening // I have Good Omens on audio in the car at present, and I have to admit that while I am loving these books on tape, I do miss my music. I never listen to music anymore.

Blogging // I've been absent lately, but I have two reviews going up this week. One for the most amazing and awesome audio of Kathryn Stockett's The Help; another for the much more mediocre House of Night series.

Contemplating // Did I make the right decision to enroll in a Masters in Literature program? I hope so as it's done, but doubt keeps niggling my brain.

Teaching // Unsure. I was on maternity leave for the first 8 weeks of the semester, and jumping in at that point has been crazy. Typically at this point in the semester, the class is a community, we are friends and colleagues and co-learners. Not so this semester. I still don't know their names for heaven's sake. Things are going well, but I'm working at it pretty hard compared to normal.

Anticipating // I start Graduate Studies in Medieval Literature on April 27, and I am so excited! Oh, and MY BIRTHDAY!!!! Yeah buddy, my birthday is this Wednesday. Go me!

Hating // The excess weight I just can't lose. I shall have to find some willpower and effort soon.

Avoiding // Starting the new diet and exercise program.

Wishing // I could magically melt the fat off my body.

Currently | 22 March

Last Week's Highlights (with Lots of Pictures)

Carter's week started out strong, wearing some actual clothes instead of his typical footed-onesies

Then, he put those comfy pjs back on and went to sleep

He woke up long enough to watch some Odd Squad with the Big Sis...

And he let her push him in his swing

But, then he went back to sleep...

Madison was much more active then her lazy brother. She went to the Dentist for the first time, and things went really, really well. She loved her shiny, clean teeth (of which she has 20).

She made it back to gymnastics after a two week hiatus...

She also went to a Book Fair at Barnes and Noble where she played with Miniature Volcanos, Play-Doh, Therapy Dogs, Story Time, Craft Time, and a huge Panda named Bamboo.

While at Barnes and Noble, she reasserted her status as Queen of the Books and then engaged in some light reading...

After spending 3 hours in the bookstore, Madison and Mommy were all like..

Also this week:

• Madison got a hair cut (3 inches off)
• Mommy got a hair cut (just a trim)
• Carter spent the night at Grandma Lori's TWICE!!!
• Mommy and Madison went out to eat together three times- Panera, IHop, and Barnes and Noble
• I ate a $40 plate of salmon that was absolutely delicious
• I reconnected with a friend I haven't seen since high school
• We had my mom and cousin over for dinner twice (fish fry one night, brat burgers the next)
• I went back to work

So what did everyone else do this past week?

Currently | 15 March

This Sunday I have but one thought: tomorrow I go back to work after 6 weeks of maternity leave. Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. On the one hand, I'm all....

On the other hand, I'm all...

I will enjoy such pleasures as adult conversation, intellectual engagement, and well, teaching. Simultaneously, I will be missing unstructured time off, lollygagging with my beautiful children, and entire days in lazy pants. Ah, lazy pants. How I love thee. How I shall miss thy divine coziness.

You might think that this post is my effort to rectify my contradictory emotions or maybe you are hoping for an insightful look at the controversial issue of working mothers versus stay at home moms (even the terminology used for those two categories is rather revealing, isn't it?). Unfortunately, you would be wrong on both counts.

I don't believe I can be happy or sad, relieved or worried, excited or guilty. I am all emotions. And I definitely don't have any answers on the stay-at-home v. go-to-work moms. To each her own. I am 100% sure I could not be a stay-at-home mom. I would go crazy. I am, however, lucky enough to have a full-time job where my hours are rather whackadoodle and allow a great deal of freedom to spend daytime hours with my kids.

During a normal week, I have the following schedule:

Monday: Work from home 1130-4, kids with family
Tuesday: On Campus 8-115, Work from home 2-4, kids with family
Wednesday: Take Madison to gymnastics, fun with kids,
Thursday: On Campus 8-115, Work from home 2-5, kids with family
Friday: On Campus 10-12, Work from home til 3, kids with family

I do a lot of grading at night after the kids are in bed and I work here and there on the weekends as well. Those times I am working from home are entirely optional and the hours and days can be adjusted as I see fit. Some weeks, my on campus hours are extended for committee meetings, department meetings, or special projects.

Overall, my work ends up as a lot of odd hours, last minute stress, and cramming. People who enjoy a structured life with a set schedule would hate my job (and my life). For me, it's worth it as I manage to be a full-time professor and still spend a great deal of time with my kids. Life is good.

Still, if I could be a part-time professor with a full-time nanny, that would be great...