Since we started homeschooling our 3-year-old for Preschool our stack of library books has grown by leaps and bounds and started taking over our living room. I saw the idea to use IKEA spice racks as children's bookshelves that's so popular on pinterest and mentioned it to my husband. "I can make that," he said. He put them together and Benjamin "helped" paint them and now they are lovely and … [Read more...]
Bookshelf Love
We're minimalists. We don't have much "stuff" with one exception: BOOKS. If you want to torture me, just take me into a beautiful bookstore and tell me I can't buy anything. We once rented a house due in large part to one amazing room of wall-to-wall built in bookcases. I use the library often, but if I love a book then I want it for my very own so I can keep it forever, say hello now and then, … [Read more...]
Book Review and Giveaway from Catholic Family Gifts!
I am always trying to find good Catholic children’s books for my kids, but it’s trickier since our local Catholic bookstore recently closed. I was so excited when Catholic Family Gifts contacted me about doing a book review and giveaway! Catholic Family Gifts is the online extension of a family-owned Catholic store located in Illinois and they generously sent me two books to review (one which … [Read more...]
Rainy Day Blues and Books
After a very rough night of teething for Baby Girl and not much sleep for Mama (or Daddy, for that matter), we started Day 2 of all day rain due to Tropical Storm Debby. Daniel got up early with Benjamin and changed and dressed Lucy so that I could have an extra few minutes of sleep. When I did drag myself out of bed, he had bacon, eggs, fresh tomatoes, and toast ready. How would I survive … [Read more...]
Why You Can’t Read Twilight: A Letter to My Daughter
Today my baby girl cut her first tooth. I want to believe that by the time she and her little friends are old enough to read Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, everyone will have forgotten about that embarrassing literary atrocity. But, I’m afraid that might be wishful thinking. I want to have an answer prepared when my daughter says, “My friend Susie gets to read the Twilight books and why can’t … [Read more...]
Why Your Kids Need to Read Harry Potter
Warning: I’ve tried to be vague and keep spoilers at a minimum, but if you don’t want to know ANYTHING about the plot, be warned that this post contains allusions to themes and plot events. Confession: I have loved the Potter series since I was 12 years old. I grew up with Rowling’s books and they continue to delight me. I cannot wait until my children are old enough to delve into the … [Read more...]
May 2012 Reads
April came and went without a post of our reads so I'm catching up now! I always end up reading more than one book at a time. Does anybody else do that? Or do you dutifully finish one before you start the next? I started and finished The Hunger Games Trilogy (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) by Suzanne Collins and I stayed up way too late in the process. I'm honestly not sure what … [Read more...]
March 2012 Reads
For you wonderful new readers, you should know that we are book people. Books are everywhere in our house and I'm constantly trying to figure out more nooks for storing books. I try to post once a month about what we're reading and I love to hear what books my readers are enjoying, too, so let me know in the comments! I recently finished Evelyn Waugh's Helena. I adored it. Waugh is one of my … [Read more...]
The Big Ol’ Catholic Reading List
Ok, so it’s not that big and it’s definitely not in the ballpark of comprehensive (would that even be possible?). But, in response to a reader’s request for resources on Catholic teaching, Catholic motherhood, Catholic blogs, and books that influenced our decision to convert, here’s…well, something. It's off the top of my head with a couple suggestions and notes from Daniel. I would LOVE your … [Read more...]
GIVEAWAY! (NOW CLOSED): Penguin Clothbound Edition of Pride and Prejudice
Well, it's high time for a giveaway! Due to the flu bug hitting our house, Lucy getting pneumonia, and Benjamin having asthma attacks...it's been a pretty lousy past few days. We're still kind of under the weather and Lucy is still coughing, but I think we are at least on the mend. But wow, with two sick kids and a sick mama...mark down yesterday as a big, fat mothering fail that included tears, … [Read more...]
