Taking Care of Lil' Man

I don't usually do book reviews. I read books and sometimes I like 'em and sometimes I don't. Then I move on to the next one. But blogging buddy Jeremy Bell from We Took the Bait, recently asked me if I'd read and review his book. And in a moment of weakness, I said yes.

Jeremy and his wife Jessica became new and foster parents last summer. And they took time off from their blog to raise the new addition to their family. Jeremy even wrote about the experience. And the result is the humorous Taking Care of Lil' Man.

In a series of funny vignettes and accompanying drawings by Dennis Cobourn one gets a quick idea of how challenging, yet rewarding Jeremy's experience as a new dad has been. For example, let me share one of my favourite vignettes by means of illustration:

Day 10 -- We were driving along with Lil' Man, and came to a stoplight

facing a gas station displaying the time and temperature on digital readout.

96 degrees. From the backseat we heard the sound of wind breaking,

followed by a burst of giggles. Looked up at the temperature readout. 97 degrees.

Way to destroy the ozone layer, Big Guy...

Funny, how in a series of short, succinct and funny vignettes we get an excellent idea of how Jeremy's life has changed after having a two year-old thrown at him. Well, not literally. That'd be cruel and probably grounds for charges being brought against him.

Another vignette I really like, goes like this:

Day Twenty-three -- Part of my breakfast this morning was a

Boston cream doughnut with all the chocolate frosting strategically removed

and replaced with Lil' Man saliva.

All in all not bad... Though I'd have preferred chocolate.

Jeremy must have listened to his mother growing up when she said "waste not want not".

This little gem is a great quick read. It's quite funny the way Jeremy lets us in on his world and his new adventure with an adopted son. I can't wait for volume two when the little guy can talk!

So, Jeremy, I enjoyed your book. You made me laugh at your predicaments. And if others want a good snicker at your expense they should hunt down your collection of vignettes where it's exclusively available at Amazon.com.

This is not a paid endorsement.

Unfortunately.

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! You know what happens on Imagination D

My Back Pages - November

I know, I know, I know I should have reported in before now. But sometimes real life just gets in the way. I attempted 5 books in November. I say attempted because I slapped a big DNF (did not finish) on Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. I just can't seem to get into this guy. It's the second or third of his I've given up on, Not so the other four, starting with a biography of Stephen Stills called Change Partners. This followed by a hilarious biography of the guy responsible for National Lampoon called A Stupid and Futile Gesture - How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever. I ended the month reading yet another biography, this one of the man behind Rolling Stone magazine,. It was called Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine. A fascinating read. So last month I hit the magic number 50 I'd imagined for myself back in January. If I roll this month into my yearly total I'm at 54 books. And I still hav

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

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