Bedtime stories

 My kids have had the very same bedtime routine their WHOLE lives.

It started out when Harmony was a baby and continued until last night.

We do skip on the weekends some times but other than that, it has remained...

Bath, pj''s, teeth and 2-3 stories. Depending on length.

Right now, I have 3 books that I have been reading over and over. And over again. Sometimes I hide them, so that we can read other things. They love them.

These three books are totally and completely 100%  Ivan & Mason approved.

image taken from Google

1.  "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin Jr. is an "oldie but a goodie".
After reading Mason's very first report card, and noticing that he needed to do some work on his letters, I purchased it. Again. My first copy of the book, after being read numerous times to my older children, was toast. My second copy, purchased in late January, is headed the same way! We don't just read this book. We recite the alphabet. We sound out the letters. We think of people's names who start with every letter. And at the end, when "a" gets out of bed? I tickle them like crazy on the "boom-boom".

image taken from walmart.com

2. "Goodnight Ipad by Ann Droyd". It is a cute & contemporary parody of the classic book, "Good Night Moon." The boys love this book. They love when the book talks about You Tube and Facebook. They laugh when, after it is announced that it is time to turn all gadgets off, it is the Dad who replies, "do we have ta'?". It is a fun read!

3. "The Book with no Pictures" by BJ Novak. I bought this book for the boys as a Christmas gift, and have pretty much read it every night since. The book really doesn't have pictures, but it is colorful. This book, has the person reading the book, say funny things, sing silly songs and call themselves a monkey. BJ Novak, who was hilarious in "The Office" is just as funny as an author.

So there you have it. Three books that my boys are totally digging right now! What about you? Do you have these books? Do your kids like them as much as mine?

recharge

I have always believed that, if you really want to do something, you will find the time to do it.

Whether it is blogging, couponing, exercising, reading...whatever it is. If you want to do it, you will find the time or the way.

Mason often takes my Kindle because it is "his". Makes it hard to read the books I have downloaded!

I come from a long line of readers. I have always loved a good book and getting into a story. Basically joining a new and different world for just a little while.

I have a pile of half read books that just keeps getting bigger and bigger. One morning I was perusing my sisters book blog Bloggin' Bout Books on the hunt for a new book. I came across this review but actually read a book, by the same author that she shared a link too, called In the Woods.

** I don't review books because well, I am not that talented. If you want to read her review, you can find it on her page. Along with hundreds of awesome book reviews!**

I downloaded it on my Kindle and then...let it sit. I had a mile long to do list and "just.didn't.have.time." Well, guess what?

I started it...and couldn't put it down. I had plans to get so many things done with my day off. But I read. And read. And read.

I enjoyed that chance to just sit and do nothing and recharge with a good book.

Of course, it is now back to reality but...for one day, it was a nice break!

D.E.A.R.

Amazingly enough, it is almost the end of July!!

enjoying Tom Sawyer

This summer has flown by and I am just not sure what we have even done! I feel like we have played a lot of video games and watched a lot of tv.

Not very good. At all.

There is one thing that we have been doing that has been so nice. It is my favorite part of the day!

It is D.E.A.R!!

I am not sure where we first heard of this, but I know it was through a school.

Drop
Everything
And
Read

My kids always read at night before sleeping but during the day...they are more interested in their video games or the pool or...whatever.

For our D.E.A.R. time the older kids have to read for at least a half an hour. Of course they are always allowed to read more than that (: My youngest reader, couldn't sit still and read for half an hour if I paid him too. So he is required to pick out 5 books to read. He is at an akward age where he can read really well but still wants to stick with stories that have pictures instead of chapter books. He will get there, I know it. But for now he chooses 5 picture books and reads them to me.

I love having that quiet 30 minutes where the kids are feeding their brains!

book love

I have always loved books. My kids love books.

One day, I took some of my kids to a store that rhymes with Smarnes & Bobles. Even after getting some of the books from their value section...we still did not get out of that store without spending...I won't finish that.

So today while we perusing the local Goodwill we hit the book section.

Book after book made it's way to our cart. From cookbooks to kids books, to novels to childrens books. Childrens books are a measley .49 cents each. Love it!!

I had to laugh when the workers pointed out that one of our books was labeled as .99 and "who was tagging books in the kids section?". Seriously it was funny.

Our Harry Potter books are all in sad shape, so for .69 I replaced one of them.

I was also excited to find some great books for homeschooling, plus a book called, "Yes You Can Teach Your Children."



Do you ever shop at thrift stores for books? What was your best find?

giveaway

This time it isn't me giving something away! My friend Jessica, is having a giveaway over on her book blog! I love to read and so I am hoping to win! Seriously she has won a couple of mine so it is only fair right?! So if you are interested in competing entering the giveaway head here!

Book Review

**While I recieved this book for free, I am not being compensated financially for this review**

Being a military wife, I was very excited to be able to review the book

The American Patriot's Almanac by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb

I have to be honest in saying that I have never looked at an almanac before this. So I don't know how they normally work.

The American Patriot's Almanac goes from month to month and shares some of the major events in our country's history. The format is easy to follow with 365 entries. You can read one a day, or just dive in! While at first it may look intimidating ( a hard back book with well over 500 pages) you can never judge a book by its cover right?!

While not a book that I would snuggle up with, I found this to be an interesting read. Lots of interesting stories and facts. Every day (or entry) you can read up on the stories that made our country what it is.

One of the parts that I really enjoyed about the book is the "American History Parade" at the end of each entry. Written in a bullet point format it gives you a quick look at dates and events.

From the Revolutionary War, to when Nascar started, there is something for everyone!

Ever since high school I have loved reading about American history. Thanks to the National Treasure movies, my kids also love history.

I am grateful to have had the chance to read and review this book.

If you have a history lover in your family ( I have a few!) this would make a great gift!

I also just have to say that I appreciate the dedication, " to the families of the American Ssoldier, families who, for love of country, have sacrificed in countless ways." It is dedicated to me (:

Thanks to Book Sneeze for the opportunity to review this book!

Faith Deployed

As many of you know, my husband is currently serving in Afghanistan. We have made it through 1 week with over 29 more to go!

He is very busy and is hardly sleeping. The lines for the galley are long. The comforts of home are seriously lacking.

I am so, so, proud of him. He works so hard and sacrifices for our country.

While he works hard over there, I am here. Being a military wife is one of the hardest jobs you could ever love. I just got an email from a fellow military wife, and she said, " I feel so lonely. Sometimes I would rather be on the front lines than fighting the war at home."

Over at Cooking With Libby, there is a giveaway for military spouses, to win the book Faith Deployed. I would love to win this. We at home need all the encouragement we can get.

If you are a military spouse, and are interested in this book, you can head over and enter yourself. Or you don't have to and then my chances of winning are better! (wink*wink)

As we celebrate Veterans Day tomorrow, I hope that you will keep not only our service members, but their families in your prayers!

12 days

In 12 days, my 4 oldest darlings are headed back to school. They have been out since May 15th. It has been a long, long summer for all of us. I know they are just about as excited as I am to go back!

I have always made my kid's lunches to save money. If you have made a kids' school lunch for over a week, you know that sandwiches get old fast. So when my sister called me to tell me about this book, I looked for it and was happy to find it.

It has tons of great ideas for back to school recipes. I am excited to go through this book. It has quick and easy meals but also great tips, including recipes for freezing.

If you have two upc codes from Ziploc products, you can go their site and get a downloadable version. If you don't have any, email me. I have lots of their products!

I plan to make one recipe a week out of this book and share. If you get it and make a recipe, let me know what you think!