Mom Hacks

Thursday, July 22, 2010

The question I hear most often on the mom boards is "What do you DO all day?" Don't misunderstand: this is not the condescending question of someone who thinks that after the champagne brunch and the manicure it must be so difficult to come up with enough leisure activities to fill the rest of the day.

No, it's the question of mothers with young children. Kids who still need close, constant supervision, who have far more mobility than sense. Time spent with them is joyful and fulfilling, but also sometimes long, unbroken, and a bit boring. The Punk right now, for example, requires the kind of watching that doesn't allow a lot of chores to get done. (Mother's curse? Yes, I WAS whammied with it, why do you ask?)

Every family will come up with their own answers, but my life, mind and sanity saver lately has been audiobooks. They don't attract and suck in toddlers like the TV, they allow me to keep my full attention on her, they're entertaining and provide some much needed cerebral stimulation. Moreover, they're good for kiddo's verbal development. While they will never take the place of reading to your child, they similarly expose them to large amounts of vocabulary in this all-important sponge phase. What's not to love? Here are some of my recent favorites.



The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett
Always a favorite author, this YA series read by Stephen Briggs manages to be both funny and profound. It's tangential to the Witches series, and Granny Weatherwax has a recurring role. What's not to love?



The Jane Austen Mysteries, by Stephanie Barron.

Jane Austen has become an industry all her own these days, and there are some truly terrible books coming out of the trend. These are some of the bright points. Painstakingly researched, they feature Miss Austen as a Napolean-era Miss Marple, whose keen insight into human nature make her an ideal detective. While they do not fully retain Austen's sensibilities they manage to never be too lurid.

Forgotten Classics, read by Julie of Happy Catholic
All right, this one is technically a podcast, which will get an entry of their own shortly. But it's mentioned here because Julie is taking on the task of reintroducing listeners to some fantastic books whose time has come again.