Pandas’ Earthquake Escape, written by Phyllis Perry and with stunning illustrations by Susan Detwiler, follows the adventures of a mother panda, LiLing, and her cub, Tengfei, for several days after the devastating earthquake that hit China two years ago. Perry’s story follows the two pandas’ quest to survive outside the comfort of their reserve.

The eBook features read-aloud, auto page flip, and selectable English and Spanish text and audio. This title is also available in hardcover and paperback. We hope this book is enjoyed and helps children understand world events around them.

I don’t know if it’s having to prepare 80+ Valentines for school parties, washing a minimum of 3 outfits per day for my 3-year-old, or the not-so-simple act of just getting through the day sometimes  that makes me so completely tired.  I become lazy.

So every now and then, I have to try to outsmart myself so that things actually get done.  Without the intervention of others.   I’m lazy about my soap.  You know, you’re washing your hands and the soft soap squirter just kinda “farts” in your hand with that last little bit?  Well, I don’t have time to do anything about it now, so I’ll do it later (there’s that lazy side of me).  When, exactly, does later arrive?  I’ll let that soap dispenser “fart” in my hand several more times before I actually GO TO THE OTHER END OF THE HOUSE AND GET THE SOAP REFILL BOTTLE AND FILL THE THING UP!!!!!

So, I’ve purchased soap refills and placed under each sink in the house.    Whenever I clean a sink, guess what?  I go ahead and refill the soap dispenser.  I mean, I have the time right?   Not to mention saving a trip ALL THE WAY TO THE OTHER END OF THE HOUSE  (a whole 25 feet away, mind you).

Like I said, I’m lazy.    But having the soap on hand with an easy refill system, means I can keep on being lazy and everyone can still wash their hands. Now, you don’t be lazy and head over here to find other great Works for Me Wednesday ideas!

MOVE OVER KINDLE

Sylvan Dell’s innovative eBook format promises
to improve reading speeds, comprehension, and language learning skills

MT PLEASANT, SC - Sylvan Dell Publishing goes LIVE this week with its next generation eBook, proving the company represents “so much more than a picture book;” it represents a full-fledged campaign for literacy in America.

From Sylvan Dell publisher and co-founder Lee German: “These are the most technologically advanced eBooks in the world today, featuring Auto-Flip, Auto-Read, and Selectable Language. There is nothing even close to this on the market. Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Noble eBooks are not even in the same category. I encourage parents and teachers to take a test-drive and see for themselves. Let the children play with these for a few weeks, and you’ll be amazed at their excitement and improved reading performance. For children wanting to learn a foreign language or ESOL families learning English, these are phenomenal tools.”

Below is a link to a trial of all 45 Sylvan Dell eBooks:

http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/ebooktrials.php?e=MSBL9J

Code expiration date: 10/31/2009

For guided directions: http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/documents/eBookOperatingInstructions.pdf

“Whether in Auto-Flip or Manual Mode, switch back and forth between English and Spanish text and audio (more language choices on the way) and remain on the same page,” said German. “With the addition of Auto-Flip and Auto-Read features, our Sylvan Dell eBooks are powerful literacy and language learning tools to complement our mission of teaching ‘Science and Math Through Literature.’”

Sylvan Dell is no newcomer to literacy education and no stranger to technological advances. Since the company’s founding in 2004, co-founders Lee and Donna German have been ahead of the picture book publishing curve. Last year, Sylvan Dell awarded free eBook site licenses to over 2600 elementary and Title I/III schools nationwide through their School Resource Grant Program.

What’s next? According to German, “We want moms, dads, and grandparents to be able to record a reading of our books and add that audio to the language selection list. This is especially important for military families with a parent overseas. We are also developing an iPhone, iPod, and iPod touch application so that our eBooks will be available on handhelds and an online data capture system to allow teachers to track student reading and quiz performance.”

Sylvan Dell eBooks are available on the company website, http://SylvanDellPublishing.com, as are an array of free educational resources, which include Teaching Activities and Interactive Math and Reading Comprehension Quizzes. For more information about the eBooks, visit http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/ebooks.php. For more about the eBook Resource Grants: http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/ResourceGrant.htm.

So when MotherTalk sent out information about a second Daniel X book, I was quite ecstatic. I signed up, all giggly that I could surprise my 9 year-old with the next book. (He was quite disappointed upon finishing the first book that the second book wasn’t available yet.) He was so excited when the book arrived, but he refused to wait for me to read it to him aloud. He wanted to devour it for himself.

Of course, the stipulation was that he would have to help me blog my review. You know, 9 year-olds really can’t be trusted. He’s sitting right here pouting about having to help me blog about the book. He’d much rather be out raking leaves (which normally I wouldn’t complain about, but I’ve got this deadline hanging over my head). I don’t know what the real issue is, except it’s something I’ve asked him to do. He thinks I should have read the book myself. Heck! It took me three months to read the 6th Harry Potter to myself; the window to read Daniel X: Watch the Skies was about three weeks. I didn’t stand a chance. Besides, I’d rather have the perspective of the 9 year-old to share with you.

He’s tired of pouting and now seems a bit more willing to cooperate . . . . offering to pay him for his time in screen-time dollars didn’t hurt . . . so, here’s the 9 year-old perspective on Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson and Ned Rust:

Daniel X is basically the same character as he was in the first book,
except he learns from his dad how to tele-port. So I ask a stupid question, “Isn’t his dad dead?” I am reminded (rather sarcastically) that in the first book, Daniel X figured out how to “be” with his parents by thinking about them real hard. How did I forget that? Anyway, this tele-porting talent comes in handy when he finds himself in the midst of a fight with an alien and needs to “run” home to get something important (he just can’t remember what right now and I’m distracted just thinking about how much good use I could make of this tele-porting ability . . .).

But I digress . . . still loved the short chapter format of the book and loved the science fiction story line with good guys vs. bad guys. Daniel X’s friends (also conjured up by thinking about them) fought about 3000 aliens while Daniel X went after Alien #3 in a really intense part of the book. Daniel X was going after Alien #6 in the first book, which you really have to read to “get” the second book. My son (the smart aleck) won’t tell me who won the battle - he says I’ve got to read the book for myself (and so do you if you want to know).

One of his favorite parts of the book was when Alien #3 appeared on a TV screen and could see Daniel X and his friends about to attack some of the alien’s henchmen. He thought that was a pretty cool power for a bad alien to have. I’m thinking that’d be a pretty handy ability for a mom to have . . . kinda like having eyes in the back of your head :).

All in all, we give both Daniel X books a big thumbs up! Can’t wait for Demons & Druids - the next in the Daniel X series (this book had a sneak preview which makes it doubly hard to wait for it!). Also coming in December 2009 is another book by James Patterson called Witch and Wizard. The preview included makes this sound like an awesome read too! You can find out more about James Patterson by visiting his website at www.jamespatterson.com. Happy reading!

Yes, we get weird looks and see people counting and wondering if they are all ours. Lots of comments about “how do you do it?” and “I can barely manage the two we have” and “do you know how this keeps happening?” Yes. We’re freaks, but we’re happy freaks.

Fortunately, I haven’t had anyone tease us about our choices in extracurricular activities - for example, not signing our kids up for soccer or t-ball. We pretty much stick to TaeKwonDo, ballet, scouts, and church. Many days, I think that’s too much. Poor Jane (not her real name) apparently gets mocked more than we do because she can’t even use her real name in a blog about their family’s choice to limit their activities!

We’ve opted out of sports because they require practice during the week and a game on Saturday (and God forbid, you sign up for traveling soccer and have to drive two hours just to get to a game!). We love TaeKwonDo for the self control and discipline emphasis, ballet because . . . . well because we have girly girls, scouts for all the God and country emphasis along with all the neat stuff you learn, and church to keep us a little grounded. I mean, really, that’s enough - isn’t it?

So for all of you families out there that are running around from one activity to the next and wondering why you can’t finish your homework, and think we’re weird? I think you’re crazy! And Jane probably does too :).

‘Course I didn’t figure that out until MUCH later! Later, as in after you’ve run up all your credit cards buying “new” stuff ’cause you’re out on your own and have the freedom to go do stupid things like buy everything you want . . . on credit.

So thanks to credit card debt, I’m now frugal (that’s my silver lining and I’m stickin’ to it!). So my frugal tip for this week is to stay home and rearrange your stuff, re-purpose something you already have, or use paint to freshen up a space.

Maybe you remember from this post where I mentioned re-sizing and painting an unused drapery rod to hang the odd-sized valance in my daughters’ room? That same weekend, I was on a high rearranging items and finding things around the house to use in spaces where I thought I needed to buy something new. It’s really that “high” feeling I get from seeing things look different - making it look new - that I crave. It’s really not the purchasing (well, I like buying new stuff, but this is supposed to be a post about frugality, for heaven’s sake).

To get some good ideas about rearranging and re-purposing items, check out the Decorating Cents show on the HGTV network. They have a whole segment on the show dedicated to a free room makeover - just rearranging and using stuff you already have! Very inspirational!

So that’s my Frugal Friday . . . what’s yours? Check out LifeasMom for more frugal ideas!

As I was sitting at the dining room table this evening, the rod over the bay window in the living room caught my eye.  I stopped talking mid-sentence as my wheels starting turning . . . yes, I could saw off a couple of feet, paint it white, and VOILA!  I have a ball rod set that will be PERFECT!

Now, you may be asking what I’ll do about the window treatment for the bay window.  Well, I’m embarrassed to say that the rod is empty and has been for the two four six years that we’ve been living here!  I knew I didn’t want to hang a curtain there, but I didn’t know what I’d do with the rod and accessories if I took it down.  Plus, it’s been great to tape party streamers to, hang kids artwork from,  etc..   Besides, I figured I’d deal with it when I painted the room.  Here we are  six years later . . . . that’s another story.

So that’s when I had another great idea.  I decided to blog about a frugal idea (not the curtain rod, something else entirely) and thought about starting a “Frugal Friday” meme!  Google led me straight to HER site which popped my balloon completely!  She has some great posts and quite a following for Frugal Friday. . . so if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

So what is my other frugal idea (in case you don’t have an empty drapery rod mocking you each time you pass by)?   You’ll have to come back Friday to find out :)  I’m such a tease!

Today it was the garage. Our garage, like most, lacks air conditioning. When the sun is out and it’s 90^o, the mood is not likely to strike to go clean it. Today, however, it rained most of the day - thereby keeping out the mosquitoes and lowering the heat (the humidity, however, is another issue).

Working through some of the kids stuff, I found myself sorting the Play-Doh (tossing the old stuff while they weren’t looking), putting the right color Play-Doh back in the “can” with the coordinating lid - thanks to my OCD. I gathered all the cap gun stuff back in it’s box, put all the propellers back with their respective shooters, and put all the paint supplies back in the paint drawer. It’s a very cleansing feeling - getting everything sorted and back in it’s proper place . . . of course it’ll all be undone by this time tomorrow.

See, when things are cleaned and in their proper places, the kids can find them - it’s like having Christmas all over again! Including the fallout afterwards. Now, I do have my kids clean up after themselves like any self-respecting parent would, but they aren’t as good at putting everything in it’s proper place - their method is more a cram it somewhere and run off to get something else out.

I’m hoping Packy the pack rat can help us a bit with our sorting. Sort it Out! is a wonderful tale about a pack rat who collects things. When his mother has enough and instructs him to sort it out and put it all away, that’s just what he does. This rhyming story by Sylvan Dell Publishing is such a fun read, but I think I love the pictures by Sherry Rogers the most. The fun, bright animations remind me of “I Spy” books - there are so many fun things to find on each and every page. On the first page, for example, the fence is made of paper clips; the wagon wheels are tinker toys; the doormat is made of dominoes - LOTS of fun things to find.

As the pages go by, Packy, discovers lots of different ways to sort out his treasures. I love the way the sorted items are put into one succinct rhyming word that is to be found on the adjoining page . . .

“The turtle, the clover, the skinny string bean,
he placed in a pile made of things that are . . . green.”

This has been great for my almost five-year-old who is learning to read.  She has just enough clues to find the word on the adjoining page and shout out, “Green!”  Now, if I could just get her to carry that enthusiasm over into sorting out her stuffed animals into a pile that we could find a new home for, I’d be excited too!

As with all the Sylvan Dell Publishing books, there are activities at the end of the book to keep you talking with your kids about the story.  There are hidden picture challenges, a scientist’s sorting chart, Packy’s sorting cards (which we’ll copy and cut out to “practice” our sorting), and a writing project to stimulate kids’ creativity.

I think I’m gonna head over to their store and buy me a cuddly packrat . . . just to remind me to sort out my own stuff and keep it in it’s place (and toss anything that doesn’t have a place as I’m sure Packy’s mom will do when he’s not looking :-)       ).

So what is my problem? If it feels so good to get rid of the clutter, why do I have so much of it!????? The problem lies in that few short 15 minutes that Ellen Gaver was talking about. I’m so eager every morning to get to my computer to see what wondrous revelations await me there, that I’m immediately sucked into the laptop time warp zone. Next thing ya’ know, it’s time to go pick up kids from preschool, have lunch, take naps, pick up big kids from school, eat snacks, and rush off to after-school activities. I’m sorry, WHERE was the time for decluttering?

By spending just a few minutes in the morning BEFORE heading out to the World Wide Web, I’ve found that I can actually accomplish quite a bit - I mean, enough to notice, ya’ know? Though the house could use more than 15 minutes of my attention each day, giving just that little bit might save my sanity one day. Now, if I could just find the rest of those Easter eggs . . .

These little packages simply don’t provide any snack-worthy benefits, and the dentist says they are awful because these little sugary “snacks” stick to kids’ teeth. So, we only enjoy these “fruit snacks” when they are included in a birthday goody bag or the kids go to grandma’s house. I wish there were a REAL fruit snack that the kids enjoyed as much . . .

Ta da! Here enters Doug with Jerky.com. Doug contacted me about trying some of his products and reviewing them, and you know how I’m all about FREEBIES! He sent me some pineapple jerky for us to sample. The kids quickly devoured it, and my husband almost didn’t get to try it. I salvaged a package for him so he could share his thoughts on it too.

With four children, we’re on a pretty tight budget these days and I was disappointed to find that the pineapple jerky wasn’t $1/box like at the grocery store. Of course, it’s much better for you - why is it that it costs so much to eat healthy?? Well, that’s my soap box for another time. Anyhoo, where was I . . . oh yes, my budget. We buy pineapple every week, have a food dehydrator and decided we could duplicate Doug’s creation - I mean, the label says the only two ingredients are pineapple and honey. How hard could it be?

Apparently they have a magical brew there at Jerky.com. Our jerky just didn’t measure up . . . it fell flat. So, guess we’ll splurge every now and then . . . ‘course with Father’s Day coming up, I should have already ordered one of their Beef Jerky Gift Baskets. You have to splurge a little on fabulous fathers, right? I’m really eyeballing this one. Reckon’ they could get it here in time? I’m off to order!

A) A turtle that died eating Easter basket grass
B) A collection of rocks and trash found in my yard
C) Evidence to clear my name

The correct answer is C - this is really gross. Just looking at this picture, I doubt your first guess would have been dried dog poop. Great Dane dog poop. Great Dane-that-finished-my-youngest-child’s-chocolate-Easter- bunny-out-of-her-Easter-basket poop.

The kids thought I ate the last bit of it (which I was tempted because she just wasn’t eating it fast enough!), but I didn’t - I really didn’t. Here in the yard, amongst the weeds and pine needles, I found the evidence. Aren’t you glad I shared it with you?

So plan ahead and ask for waterpark passes so you can splash down all summer when everyone is bored. Read my original waterpark post for tips on how we manage the waterpark with 4 kids, and read on for more summer boredom busters:

1) You just gotta have a Wii - wii love the Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Wii Fit! Great during a sudden afternoon thunderstorm or when it’s just too stinkin’ hot. But THIS is the game going on my Christmas list this year!

2) We plant things in the garden - it provides ongoing entertainment (weeding, watering, harvesting, and finding creative ways to keep the critters away from your crops). We’re currently anticipating blueberries . . .

3) I take the badminton set and put it up in the backyard. A little extra physical activity usually ensures good naps!

4) This year we’re heading to the bowling alley more often - they have a great deal during the summer you’ll definitely want to check out!

5) Wash the car - a little extra water play that makes the car look good is a definite win-win in my book! You can even wash the dog (which are known to turn in to automatic sprinklers :-)).

6) We participate in the library summer reading programs - every day during quiet time, I have the two oldest read while the two youngest nap. They record the books they’ve read and turn it in to the library to choose a prize.

Typically, my kids don’t complain to me too much about being bored. I think they know I’ll come up with something for them to do - like organize a bookshelf, scrub the baseboards, file paperwork, de-clutter a closet, or take a nap!

I had plans to go out and chop through all the undergrowth and restore order from chaos, but the kids don’t want me to disturb the blackberries. They’ve read “Blackberry Banquet” by Terry Pierce, one of the books in our Sylvan Dell library, and they want to try the “juiciest berries any critter could eat.” I’ve tried to explain they are not critters and probably won’t be nearly as fond of the blackberries as the mouse, bluebird, and squirrel in the story. After all, we’ve seen plenty of these critters stealing our blueberries (despite the net)!

And while I doubt that a bear is going to tromp through the yard looking for our delectable blackberries, I”ve tried to convince the kids that by “flaunting” these berries outside the net, we might be at risk for just that! Apparently, they are all FEARLESS, as the blackberry bush remains. Heck, I might as well just clean out around it and integrate it into the garden. That’s my best hope for getting rid of it, ’cause it’s sure to wither and die once it’s a part of the garden!

**Find out more about the educational books at Sylvan Dell Publishing. Each one of their books has a wonderful section for learning more after each story. There are questions to discuss, recipes to try, and things to think about.**

With one child, it’s not so bad to eat their “leftovers” . . . but by the time I got to three kids, I was afraid that I’d be as big as the side of a barn just trying to keep from wasting food. I tried cutting back on my own meal so I could eat their remnants . . . still it was hard trying to balance what I ate with what I THOUGHT they would eat. Sometimes when they ate more than I expected, I just “fixed” my hunger with an extra bowl of ice cream (after they’d gone to bed, of course :-).

So, I was back to scraping food into the sink for the disposal to handle.  Then it hit me!  There was at LEAST another meal sitting there for someone (of course, it was a bit unappetizing there in the sink).  Instead of dumping this food in the sink, I put all the extra food into a divided Tupperware-style plate and put it in the fridge.  Now when the girls want PBJ’s, I just pop this one-person meal in the microwave (killing any little-people germs) and I’m set!

No wasted food, no extra wasteline, and one less PBJ sandwich I have to endure :-)  It works for me!

We’ve always called them suckers. In fact, when they are chomping away at these sweet delights (breaking away bits and pieces of baby teeth as they go), I remind them that they are called SUCKERS - you’re supposed to just SUCK on them!

Today, as my 4- and 6-year olds are singing the “Hannah, Hannah, Fo Fannah, Banana, Nana” rhyme in the back seat (suckers in hand), I realized I should have called the treats from the bank lollipops from day one. There are a lot fewer words that rhyme with”lollipop,” and you won’t have to worry about the “F” word being one of them!

I’m not so sure we’ll be so lucky to escape a bad case of stripes; I can already see the early symptoms in at least two of my children - the two who care what other people think. What? You’ve never heard of this dreaded disease? I hadn’t either until we found it at the library - a book, that is, by David Shannon.

A Bad Case of Stripes is a delightful story about a young girl who loves lima beans. Now, she didn’t tell her friends this, of course, because no kid likes lima beans and she wanted to fit in. She cared a lot about what other people thought of her, so much so that she had a terrible time choosing her outfit for the first day of school.

Of course, who cares about what clothes you’re wearing when your body is covered in bright, bold, rainbow stripes? This is exactly what happens to Camilla Cream as she’s trying to get dressed for that first day of school. Her mother sends her to bed and calls the doctor, but Dr. Bumble can’t seem to find a reason to keep her home from school.

At school the next day, Camilla is laughed at by everyone. Of course, when her stripes changed to red, white, and blue with stars during the Pledge of Allegiance, her classmates began shouting out different designs. Sure enough, her skin changed to match the polka dots, chekerboard, and camouflage patterns that were being called out.

The specialists are called in; the experts are called in; even an Environmental Therapist is called, but Camilla’s condition only seems to worsen. No one can determine a cure for this odd skin condition that seems to take on the colors and shapes ofwhatever they mention (especially yucky when the experts talk about viruses and fungi).

Only when a sweet, plump, old woman stops by and offers to help, does Camilla seem to have a chance. The woman offers Camilla some lima beans. “”Are those magic beans?” asked Mrs. Cream. “Oh my, no,” replied the kind old woman. “There’s no such thing. These are just plain old lima beans. I’ll bet you’d like some, wouldn’t you?” she asked Camilla.”

Just after refusing the lima beans, Camilla finally admits that she really does like lima beans. As she eats the beans, Camilla is cured.

Oh, if only the stripes were really that easy to get rid of. But aren’t they? Maybe not after one dose of being ourselves, but after regularly practicing being ourselves - you know, on a daily basis. Getting dressed in the morning with no one else in mind but ourselves - not what others will think, but what do I think of the clothes I’m putting on?

I’m so glad that my oldest daughter (who currently cares quite a bit about what others think - and she’s only FOUR!) absolutely loves this book - don’t tell her, but she’s getting it for Christmas (the library wants their copy back :). Hopefully, she’ll see the hidden message amongst the pages and learn to make choices for herself and not for others.

Happy Reading!

I was a little nervous when the book arrived - the back cover read, “They killed my mother and father - and I will hunt them to the ends of the earth.” Not quite your garden variety “Magic Tree House” adventure series . . . Mmmmmm. I figured I was going to just have to read this to myself and let the eight-year-old wait until his 21st birthday to take this one off the shelf.

Instead, I began reading it aloud to him with the stipulation that I might have to stop sharing it with him at any moment that it became inappropriate. He warily agreed, curious to step into the pages of this seemingly “inappropriate” book!

This adventure/science fiction story is told by Daniel X himself. The first-person dialogue pulls readers in from Daniel’s introducing himself as an alien hunter. Even more of a connection is made when his parents die (no spoiler - remember the back cover?) and he is left alone with just you, the reader.

I have had to be on guard reading this aloud to my son, making corrections - like “smart-alec” and “darn” along the way. I was a little disturbed that a book being marketed to the 10-15 year old demographic would include profanity. Ah well, guess that’s my conservatism showing again :).

As the vocabulary is sometimes a bit over his head and the action often moves very quickly, we have had lots of opportunities for discussion about what is actually taking place in the story and why. There is a scuzzy scene with kids dealing drugs . . . that led to some interesting conversations which made my husband want to toss the book (I didn’t bother to mention the profanity to him . . . ). I just took it in stride as the opportunity to have one of those “Just Say No” conversations.

My son and I have read several “Fantasy” books together - our recent favorite is the Deltora Quest series. To me, that’s a lot of very realistic stuff happening with a few twists of fantasy. Daniel X is LOTS of fantasy taking place on our very realistic planet. While it’s not my most favorite, my son is LOVING it. He loves the good guy vs. bad guy stuff (very super hero-oriented) and can’t wait to find out how Daniel X rids the world of all the bad aliens living here.

Oh, did I mention, we haven’t finished the book yet? Sorry, MotherTalk. Reading aloud is very slow, and of course all the discussion about what’s happening and why . . . then there was our week-long trip to Disney, my sore throat, homework, laundry . . . do I really need more excuses??? We’ve done quite well to get more than half way - don’t get me wrong - we are enjoying the book. There’s plenty of suspense such that we’re both disappointed when our schedule doesn’t give us ample time to read several chapters each night (BTW - I LOVE the super-short-chapter format of the book - we’re on page 155 and chapter 59!).

At the point we’ve reached in the book, we have absolutely no idea where the story will go from here or what the ending could possibly entail . . . but we can’t wait to find out! Be on the look-out for a follow-up post with the final “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” - so far it’s definitely a “thumbs up!”

While I was pregnant with our first child, my husband and I read aloud to each other from The Runaway Jury, by John Grisham. Shortly after he was born, we finished reading it to him. Now, I’m not suggesting that you read John Grisham or Stephen King to your children; but I am saying that when children are very young, it doesn’t matter what you read to them as much as THAT you read to them. So if you aren’t into children’s books, you can get away with reading them something you like when they’re really really young (unfortunately that changes as they grow, and they are likely to choose your least favorite book as their all-time-have-to-read-it-every-night favorite!)

As they get a bit older and you want to begin drawing them into the world of books, a popular choice for years has been Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt. When I received this book at our first baby shower, everyone else seemed to recognize it as THE children’s book to have. I felt like I’d been living under a rock somewhere for the last decade - “what kind of mother is she going to make if she doesn’t even know about Pat the Bunny???” Well, that’s what they said in their minds . . . if nothing else, perhaps this review will save you from that embarrassment.

Pat the Bunny is an enjoyable little interactive “touch and feel” book, there are several others in the Pat the Bunny series that I enjoy more (for varying reasons). I think one of my favorites is Five Red Apples. There are five plastic apples across the top of the book that slide back and forth. Presumably for counting, but I love how they entertain my youngest in the car! Another in the series, called Butterfly Roundup, is also great for entertainment value - there is a plastic bunny that swirls around up and down a little pole, so the butterfly seems to be fluttering around.

Another Pat the Bunny series favorite is Sweet Dreams. This little book has a extension attached to the book that has a plastic bunny with a push button. When you push the button, the bunny lights up! One of our children enjoyed sleeping with this book in their bed - if she got scared, she had control of her own nightlight (in addition to the three that were already on, of course!).

Within this same series, we also received a fabric book, called Sleepy Bunny. It has a stuffed bunny on a string that you can slip into a pocket so he looks like he’s “in” some of the pictures in the book - all of course while working his way to bed! Several of my children like to sleep with books, and soft ones like this make it easy to say, “yes!”

If you’re looking for more books with textures, we really like DK Publishing’s “Touch and Feel” series. We have the Baby Animals book, but I’ve seen others that are equally good. The bunny fur feels so real to me, and I love the leather for the baby elephant’s ears. And of course you can tell your little one, “They are all babies, just like you!”

My favorite tactile book is That’s Not My Puppy by Fiona Watt (Usborne books). This book goes through all these different dogs with, “That’s not my puppy!” and then says why it’s not (its coat is too hairy, or its collar is too shiny, etc.). The various textures presented combined with the repetitive nature of the story, makes this such a fun read for children AND adults!

Enjoy these and may others and snuggle up and read tonight!

He began by asking if he was going to die. Well, we didn’t want to lie to him, so we explained that everyone, every living thing, would die at some time. That led to specific questions about rocks, Lego’s, trees, flowers, and even his teddy bear. So we launched our explanations about the difference between the living and the non-living (which led to LOTS more questions . Flowers and trees were tricky - annuals, perennials, the flower itself, the plants, etc. - you get the picture.

Even though we thought the matter was somewhat resolved for him, we found him in tears the next day because he didn’t want to die. I thought it would make him feel better to explain that it’s just our bodies that die - our soul/spirit/personality lives on with God. Well, that just opened the door to the conversation about Jesus and God - are they alive? have they ever been alive? when did they die? where are they now? Once the conversation wraps up, we think we’ve made some headway on the subject.

Another incident in tears left us knowing the subject may never be resolved to his satisfaction. Not only did he want to know how he was going to die, he’d also like to know how we’re all going to die and WHERE! Without making life too scary, we tried to explain that there are lots of different ways a person can die (sudden plane wreck, drowning, cancer, just plain getting old and your body gives out - you better believe I played this one up!). You never really know when or where - it’s a mystery.

Even though each conversation has it’s seeming resolution, the “wheels” spin some more and another conversation emerges. Since many of these are redundant, I’ve decided to focus on and include in all of our “death conversations” that we need to enjoy every day that we have. We should not focus on death - when or where it will occur - we have little control over that (although we’ve already pushed the idea of making healthy choices - eating right and not smoking - to get the most out of our lives). What we do have control of is finding the joys and pleasures of every day.

I know for me, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the drama of all the bad things going on - the sudden need to replace a sewer line in the front flower bed, the shingles that are sliding off the roof, the A/C unit that reminds you it’s on it’s last leg by requiring $100 worth of freon - AGAIN, not to mention the temper tantrums and sibling rivalry amongst the children!

What was I saying??? Oh yes, the joys and pleasures of every day life. I think sometimes we have to force ourselves to look for them; they are often found in the mundane - a husband that cooks breakfast 5 days a week, the first grade teachers agreeing not to give homework for the rest of the year, the temperature NOT getting over 85 degrees, the best game of Battleship I’ve played with my 7-year-old.

Despite my complaining, there is pleasure in these “death conversations.” I’m getting to think more about my own faith and what I believe about death, and I’m getting to share that with my 4-year-old to help him shape his own beliefs. I’m also really glad that he’s asking me questions (other than “why,” which is where my 2-year-old seems to be stuck for now :-). Not too long from now, he may not be willing to talk to me about anything important. You better believe I’m going to try to enjoy every conversation I can have with him between now and the teenage rebellion!

**I wrote this several months ago . . . not sure why I never published it. The death conversations stemmed from the Easter season at his preschool - his OLD preschool. We realized (a bit too late, I’m afraid) that their idea of “age appropriate teaching” was not the same as ours. We’ve been at a different preschool this last year that’s much more on the same page as we are - we’ve loved it and haven’t had any more tearful discussions about death or dying. Now we’re trying to explain why things break when he stretches/bends/pulls/pushes things beyond their limits - much simpler, but no less repetitive!

But there were no surprises in the book, Animals are Sleeping, from Sylvan Dell Publishing. The story begins with, “Shhh . . . shhh . . . the animals are sleeping . . . ,” and proceeds to show a wide variety of animals asleep in different positions in their habitats. The short and simple text on each page allows children to soak in the rich illustrations, and the illustrations lend themselves to mini-nature explorations. For example, on the page with the groundhog, my 3-year-old loved pointing out the dandelions above ground - she calls these “blowing flowers.” Another picture with birds perched in a tree lent itself to a discussion about what kind of birds we were seeing, the fact that one of the birds is facing opposite of all the others, and how many colors we could count on the birds.

Because the book is not FULL of text, it’s easy to increase or decrease your discussion based on how much time you have before bedtime! And, of course, all the discussion opportunities within the story are in addition to the activities available at the back of the book. There are also “Learning Links” and “Teaching Activities” available on ’s Web site.

So, if your kids are sleepy (and even if they’re not), this might be just the story for you to send them off to dreamland with! Happy reading!

We started off talking about some of the struggles we’ve experienced with helping our kids get enough sleep. There was a great interview that we heard on a Jumping Monkeys podcast that gave us lots of fascinating facts about how our bodies react to not getting enough sleep. It certainly gave me a lot to think about (especially after I put our podcast intro at both the beginning AND end of today’s podcast! Not to worry, Rylan pointed out my error and it’s been fixed!).

We went on to discuss our kids’ latest idea to manage their screen time. We touched on the subject in a previous podcast when the topic was a fantastic family meeting we’d had. It’s a great system that’s been working beautifully during the school year. We may really put it to the test here in the first few weeks of summer, so we’ll be reporting back on modifications and improvements we make along the way!

Finally we talked about some of our favorite toy companies that stand behind their products (Tonka, Air Hogs, and Melissa & Doug, to name a few). Of course, what we found that we REALLY love are the kinds of toys that you can “add on to.” You know, something you can add to an existing toy to revive it - like a new Playdoh mold or a blender for the toy kitchen. We’ve added a couple of cool pirate accessories to our backyard play set, and the kids haven’t been able to resist playing on it - even though it’s been 90+ degrees!!! It’s been quite a treasure!

We hope you enjoy the show, and we’d love to hear your feedback. We might even build a future show around your comments or questions! If you’d like to subscribe to our show, you should be able to find us at iTunes by searching for “FamilyBriefs.”

Of course, I had already shared some information about surviving the parks in posts like this one on snacks and this one on some of our favorite rides. And, I know I’ve talked about our trusty stroller that makes managing getting to and around in the parks SO much easier in at least one or two posts!

The information we got from using the TourGuideMike.com website proved invaluable, and we will definitely be using his site again, and again! Anything that adds to the enjoyment of the Disney parks is a winner in my book.

I hope our conversations provide inspiration for your family travels this summer!

The podcast begins with our latest tip - setting a timer at bedtime to make sure we get kids to bed on time when we might be otherwise distracted. Rylan mentioned an alarm he has installed on his computer to make sure we get kids to Tae Kwon Do (and then again so we don’t forget to pick them up ). Here’s a link for the clock he uses, and I’m sure there are lots of others available: http://www.clocx.net/

We then talk about the teleclasses that I’ve participated in with Toni Schutta (http://getparentinghelpnow.com/ and http://familiesfirstcoaching.com/). I’ve really enjoyed the three classes I have been involved in, and I love being able to re-listen to the information on the audio files she sends after the class. She has so many great ideas for parents!

Pinewood Derby racing was our next topic, including some of the the good conversations Rylan had with the kids about winning and losing. It’s hard to be a good loser, especially when you came in second place! If you’re in scouting, you might find some great ideas from our experience this year.

We talked about the scare we had in the parking lot. One day the kids were racing ahead of me a bit, until we realized we were behind a car with it’s back-up lights on. Although frightening, the incident prompted me to discuss some parking lot safety ideas I had never considered before.

Thanks for listening - send us your ideas for podcast topics and be sure to let us know what you like about the show!

Yes, my 5-year-old kept two other children awake until 9 p.m. last night talking about scary green-eyed wolves (his newest fear). 9 p.m. may not sound late to you, but it’s 1 1/2 hours AFTER bedtime!

To make matters worse, our almost-2-year-old daughter starts crying at 4 a.m. and wants to get in our bed. Now, our belief has been that if a child is scared or needs us during the night, we are more than happy (well, maybe less-than-happy, but at least willing) to provide the comfort and security of sharing our bed.

So at 4 a.m., I find myself making room for the baby, her blanket, and her two cuddly bunnies she likes to sleep with. Well, this would have been fine, if at 5 a.m. my 3 1/2-year-old daughter hadn’t come running into our room, climbing into our bed, stepping on her sister (who was in the middle), and then proceeding to cry because “her spot” wasn’t available.

Ask me why I just didn’t go ahead and get up at 5 a.m. I foolishly thought I might actually get back to sleep! And I think the thing that pisses me off quicker than anything is to be trying (desperately) to get back to sleep and to have a child (or two, as the case may be) sitting up/laying down/kicking me in the back/tossing their bunny around/sniffing loudly/etc. To which I, of course, respond “Lay down. It’s time to sleep. It’s too early to get up. Be still,” and so forth.

I gave up when my oldest daughter told me I was keeping her awake. My husband laughed (he has a better sense of humor at 5 a.m. than I do), and I got so mad I just got up. I’ve already gotten two loads of laundry done. But I’m still REALLY annoyed. It’ll annoy me even more when the whinies and crankies catch up with them, and I’ll be the one expected to be patient with them (yes, the two that woke me up).

Can you hear the irritation - the knowing how their lack of sleep and my lack of sleep will ultimately affect the rest of our day? The 3 1/2-year-old is already having her first fit. Oh, I am SO ANNOYED!!!!!

Less is more I’ve decided, so I’m going to make a renewed effort at de-cluttering to try to get more time playing instead of cleaning up and more fun with toys that we can find and find all the pieces for. I do want the kids’ input, but I think it will be virtually impossible for me to get agreement from all four kids on what should stay and what should go! I may just have to use the precious time while they are at school to clean out, instead of doing my “brain work” during that quiet time (so much for having a balanced checkbook ).

So, do any of you have any suggestions on how to decide what stays and what goes? Any great toy-removal stories? I need some encouragement and would love to hear from you!

Oh, and let me answer the question in case you’ve been wondering where I’ve been. I’ve had several major projects going on (unfortunately, none have had anything to do with de-cluttering ). One of my projects has been a new website that I’m very excited about - I hope to be unveiling it in the next week or so. I’ll give you a hint - if you hate menu planning and struggle with what to fix to eat, you’ll LOVE this new site!

Stay tuned for more details . . .

As we have been watching the backyard become more and more green, losing the drab brown of winter, we’ve also noticed all the extra activity - the squirrels, chipmunks, and birds are busy, busy, busy! Just last week, there were more Robins in our yard than we could even count (of course the children banging on the glass, making them fly, added to the difficulty of counting ).

All those Robins prompted this week’s Storytime Saturday choice: The Best Nest, by Doris L. Mueller. This is another book I received from Sylvan Dell Publishing - anyone who’s willing to send me a free book, I’m more than happy to review it!

The story begins with a single magpie (that’s a bird, which I had forgotten) building a large strong nest, and a comparison is made to other birds that haphazardly lay their eggs anywhere. Of course, those birds have fewer eggs to hatch than the careful and diligent magpie. The other birds get together and decide to have the magpie teach them how to build nests like her.

As the story progresses, some birds take only a bit of the magpie’s wisdom and fly off to build a nest with the limited knowledge they’ve gained - not enough to build a better nest. Despite the magpie’s annoyance, she continues trying to teach the other birds. Although more birds continue leaving before the lesson is finished. Only the oriole stayed to hear all of the lesson, producing the only other bird that has a nest as strong and beautiful as the magpie’s.

This is a great lesson about all the many different ways that birds build their nests. The illustrations by Sherry Neidigh are so beautiful and colorful, and she does a great job of depicting each bird’s coloring, eggs, and nests. What a fun way to learn about this part of nature that many of us never even think about. I mean - when was the last time you thought about how a Robin builds her nest compared to how a Grackle builds hers?

One of the wonderful parts of the Sylvan Dell Publishing books is the activity section at the back of the book. This particular book has a page with “Bird Fun Facts;” another page has “Bird Math” where you try to calculate how many eggs a bird might produce in a year; there is also a two-page spread “Match the Nest Activity,” where you read the description of a nest and match it to the correct bird.

My three oldest children (8, 5, and 3) thorough enjoyed this story, and have been looking for the birds mentioned throughout the book in our backyard. Next thing you know, they’ll be out there trying to catch them and teach them how to build a nest the RIGHT way!

Sylvan Dell Publishing has a vast assortment of educational, fun books just like this one at their website. They also have a plethora of activities you can do online, resources for parents and teachers, free audio books, and even stuffed animals that correspond to some of their books. Click here to check it out!

I’ll be out of pocket the next couple of Saturdays, so I encourage you to check out my Children’s Picture Book Reviews archives to find some great stories to share with your kids. I’d love to hear what some of your favorite stories are, so leave me a comment!

During the family meeting segment, we mention Jane Nelson (Positive Discipline) and Toni Schutta (parenting coach), along with Steven Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People).

Our new book segment was full of book series this time. We mention Jim Trelease (which I don’t think I said enough about what a FABULOUS speaker he is!), Cynthia Rylant (author of so many children’s books like Poppleton and Henry and Mudge). I also mention two new series that I’ve found: Deltora Quest and Deltora Shadowlands.

I do want to give some additional credit to Adrina Thorpe, the artist who wrote the music we use on our podcast. I’ve used snippets from another one of her songs, Did You Know, for the interludes between our segments. You can hear the song in its entirety, here. I like so many of her songs - thanks Adrina!

I’m not tired at the “right” time, and I’d really like to sleep until 7 on the weekends. But my 19-month-old has other plans. Despite my thinking that her internal alarm that was waking her at 5-ish would be corrected with the time change, I was wrong. We were up again today at 5.

The older kids are having trouble too - they aren’t sleepy at the “new” bedtime. I’m sure it has nothing to do with their hour-long discussions plotting to catch a Leprechaun! And of course, they don’t sleep late the next morning. Unless they have school.

A friend of mine told me just today she was having trouble sleeping, so I know it’s not just me. Are you having trouble getting to sleep? Staying asleep? Getting your kids to LET you sleep?

All this reminds me of a book that always makes me a bit sleepy: Good Night, Mr. Night, by Dan Yacarino. He is a very talented author and writer, and you can find lots more of his work here.

Good Night, Mr. Night is a slow-paced, even-toned read that gives us a different perspective on the falling of night and the dawning of day.

“When the sun slowly falls

just over the hill, Mr. Night wakes.”

Thus begins our journey into night. We hear Mr. Night, we see all the things that Mr. Night does to “close down” all of creation for the night. He even closes a child’s eyes ever so gently as he drifts off to dreamland, where Mr. Night might whisper dreams and play music to him.

As the sun comes up, Mr. Night stretches and yawns to prepare himself for his time of rest (which we ALL need, right?). “And when I wake, I whisper, “Good night, Mr. Night.”" What a perfect read to send your little ones off to bed (to plot against the Leprechauns, if nothing else)!
Now that I’ve re-read this book *yawn*, I think I might be ready for bed myself. Good night!

At least I’m stuck with my favorite little dish scrubber. Surely you’ve seen these at Wal-mart or Target or some such. There’s a “wand” you fill with dish detergent and a scrubby or sponge head that does the work for you. I use it after EVERY meal to scrape stuff off plates, scrub food out of my sink, and scrub any dish that didn’t quite come clean in the last dishwasher load. When I’m done, I squish the water out and set it aside until next time.

I love it when a tool does the work for me - now if I could just find a tool to fill the dishwasher every time!!

This week, Skittles’ Heads or Tails theme is anything green.

So in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m listing some craft and activity sites you can check out for all kinds of ideas to help you and your family celebrate this Irish holiday. You might even find some Easter ideas - that’s a pretty green holiday too! Enjoy!

Kaboose

Betty Crocker

Family Fun

Parents.com

HP Activity Site

MeckMom Blog

Head over to Skittle’s Place and see what everyone else is finding that’s green this week!

MONDAY
Lunch - 15 Minutes Red Bean & Rice (see recipe below), smoked beef sausage, cornbread, grapes
Dinner - Eat with Grandaddy at our favorite BBQ joint

TUESDAY
Lunch - leftover buffet
Dinner - Tex-Mex Shells & Cheese, sliced apples, raw carrots/dip, salsa & chips

WEDNESDAY
Lunch - ham sandwiches, fruit, chips
Dinner - Taco night (hard and soft tacos), refried beans, Knorr Sides Taco Rice, Mandarin oranges

THURSDAY
Lunch - Kids Cuisine entrees for the youngins and leftovers from Logan’s (mom’s night last week) for me and hubby
Dinner - Tyson Meat Entree from the freezer, Green Giant baby lima beans in butter sauce, Knorr rice side, cooked baby carrots

FRIDAY
Lunch - PB&J and turkey checkerboard sandwiches, cubed cheese, grape tomatoes, sliced apples
Dinner - Blue & Gold Banquet for our Cub Scout Pack - we had salad, pasta, toast, and dessert - I didn’t have to cook OR clean up!

SATURDAY
Lunch - chicken fillet sandwiches, fruit, chips, pickle
Dinner - Movie Nite!! frozen pizza, popcorn, orange slices, grape tomatoes

SUNDAY
Lunch - out after church to our favorite Chinese buffet
Dinner - leftover buffet

15 Minute Red Beans & Rice

1/2 of a medium green pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 can (15.5 oz) red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (optional)
2 cups Minute White Rice, uncooked

Cook and stir green pepper and onion in butter in large skillet on medium heat until crisp-tender.

Add broth, beans, and hot pepper sauce; stir. Bring to a boil.

Stir in rice; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 min. Fluff with fork.

Head over to The Organizing Junkie for more Menu Plan Monday ideas! Y’all have a great week!

Now John Grisham and Harry Potter books keep me on the edge of my seat, turning page after page with suspense. The two Deltora Quest books we’ve read thus far give these page turners competition! “I don’t care if it IS your bedtime, we’re going to read the next chapter to find out if they get out of the quicksand or not! ” Yes, I actually said that to my child this week. I started to tell him that he could go on to bed if he wanted to, but I was going to keep reading to find out what happens next. Of course, that would break our “pinky promise” of not reading ahead when the other person isn’t around!

The basic storyline is that a kingdom (Deltora) has been taken over by a “Shadow Lord” and two people begin a quest to restore the lost gems to Deltora’s Belt that wields great power for its ruler. That’s all I’m going to tell you because I really don’t want to give anything away.

I lied. I am going to tell you a little more. I checked out the first book, The Forests of Silence, for him several months ago. He snubbed his nose at it saying, “It’s not really instrusting.” (yes, that’s how he says interesting - he’ll probably spell it wrong on his spelling test, too). But when I sat down to read it aloud to him, he didn’t want me to stop (and neither did I). Some of the plot is a little confusing for him at times, even though he is an advanced reader. Of course, we stop and “review” what is happening in the story, and he surprises me by how much he is following it. However, sometimes he misses a little detail that turns out to be important later.

If my 8-year-old were reading this alone, it would scare the bejeebers out of him. There are some really scary, yucky, mean creatures in the story. Some of the descriptions of the creatures would lead ME to have nightmares if I didn’t have half-a-dozen other things on my mind by the time I went to sleep. We don’t watch much T.V., so his exposure to scary creatures is quite limited. As a result, his imagination runs away with this kind of stuff and scares him quite easily. So far, he hasn’t migrated into our bed during the night or complained of nightmares in the morning.

That’s my disclaimer, so don’t come crying to me if your child gets in bed with you every night while you work your way through this series of 8 books - the books are quite scary in places BUT THEY ARE REALLY GOOD!

I can’t wait for the library to get the third book in the series, The City of Rats. Some “rat” ate it so we’re just biding our time until the next adventure begins. Happy reading!

The warmer weather put me in cleaning and purging mode (too bad my four children kept interrupting, or I actually might have made some progress!). I worked on cleaning out the minivan some this week since Honda FINALLY got the new seat cover in and installed it. I asked them to provide a complimentary vacuum, wash, and wax to keep me as a satisfied customer (I’m such a stickler ). I threw away all kinds of trash and unknown items in my 5-year-olds booster seat slide-out drink holder compartments. I even spent a few minutes organizing all the travel toys that keep my kids occupied while we sit in the car line or run errands.

It looks much better, but I still have my double stroller and a big bulky blanket that I’m lugging around in the back. I rarely use my stroller around town, but I like to have it there just in case, and I REALLY don’t want to lug it back up to the attic (because then I’ll need it, right?). So yes, I STORE my stroller in the minivan. I admit it. And if didn’t help keep the groceries from sliding around, it might annoy me.

The blanket annoys me. It’s this old quilt-like thing that really didn’t hold it’s shape after I ran it through the washing machine. Since no one wants to sleep under it, I don’t mind using it on the ground at the park or on picnics. However, it’s very bulky and does get in my way. Not to mention that it just looks junkie (unlike the stylish red stroller!). But, I like to keep it in the van so that I’ll have it when I need it.

Once upon a blog, I came across this idea, and DOGGONIT! I should have ordered the compact blanket right then and there while it was on sale! Alas, I hesitated and now is lost. But just this week, I stumbled across some other neat ideas for outings to the park at Picnic Time picnic basket. I was very pleased to see that they had some choices for picnic blankets that fold up quite compactly. There’s hope for the unsightly cargo space in the minivan after all! Happy spring cleaning!

I’m frugal in many ways, and I don’t apologize for using “off brand” diapers.” I did a comparison between name brands and off brands somewhere along the way (using coupons, of course!), and I determined that the off brand was just as good (and sometimes better) as the name brand diapers (obviously, they aren’t paying me to tell you this).

But when it comes to baby wipes - frugality be gone! I have used the off brands. They were manageable with child #1. Child #2 had more sensitive skin, and I had to start searching . . . through the billions of baby wipe possibilities. When I tried Huggies Supreme, I fell in love. First of all, the red bottom I had been battling was suddenly the right color again. Secondly, I like the weight of the wipes, I like the size of the wipes, and I REALLY like the texture of the wipes (gives you a little “scrubbing” action for those sticky diapers). And of course I love the way they smell, but don’t ALL baby wipes smell good?

They are not in any way paying me to say this - but I certainly wouldn’t turn down coupons or freebies from them (*hint* *hint*). I frequently do get excited when I get to purchase their wipes using a coupon, but I’d pay full price for them because they are my FAVORITE!

Y’all - we walked the streets for days selling this stuff and sold over $1350 worth of popcorn! I was happy just to achieve the $250 goal the pack set, but my son wanted the cool bow-and-arrow prize at a MUCH HIGHER prize level. I’m such an under-achiever .

Anyhoo, we get this email TODAY from the scout master that they’d like to award my son with something special in the $50 price range at the Blue and Gold Awards Banquet THIS Friday night! Any ideas????

I asked my son, hypothetically, “If someone gave you $50 to go out and buy ANYTHING you wanted, what would you get?” He started describing this really cool remote-controlled helicopter he saw advertised on Nickelodeon or Noggin. Anybody have any idea what he’s talking about?

My hubby suggested a $50 gift card to Home Depot to help my son with all his upcoming projects. Yeah, right!

Solve this dilemma, and then head over to Rocks In My Dryer to help other poor souls on this BACKWARDS Works for Me Wednesday!

1. His favorite soup is Campbell’s Select Italian Wedding. I heat up a can & put some in his thermos (we, at home eat the rest), cut up some apple slices, a few baby carrots and some Ranch dressing dip (in a disposable plastic container, no less); add a cookie, and he’s all set!

2. We occasionally eat frozen pizza (the REALLY cheap kind) on Friday nights for our movie night. I usually cook a little extra, so I can send him to school with cold pizza, grape tomatoes, a banana, and some chocolate pudding.

3. In the winter time, I frequently make a big pot of chili. A couple of days later, I heat some up for him and put it in the thermos. Put in some Frito or tortilla chips, a couple of orange slices, and 3 pieces of leftover valentine candy - Voila!

4. One of his favorite dishes is Confetti Beans & Rice, so I usually make it on Saturday when he’s home. We usually have leftovers, so they go to school with him. I send along some corn chips, grape tomatoes, and a Go-Gurt too.

5. “Hamburger Helper makes a great meal.” Well, it makes a great lunch, too! Heat up your hamburger helper leftovers and put them in a thermos. Send along with a variety of raw veggies and dip and a pudding cup for dessert.

6. We found this neat little checkerboard sandwich, which we just put mayo and mustard on instead of cream cheese. He loves it! We put in some potato chips, cucumber slices, and a Little Debbie Oatmeal cream cookie for dessert!

7. Of course, my favorite requires the least from me - the Lunchables Line! If I’m running late, I tell him just to grab one of these, throw in an apple, and a Capri-Sun Roarin’ Waters from the fridge, and some candy from the candy basket! If I stock up on these when they are on sale (bonus if I have a coupon), these are cheaper than the school lunches!

What do you send with your kids for their lunch at school?

So that’s my SEVEN for Heads or Tails this week. Head over to Skittles place to see who else is posting about SEVEN.

This week, however, we’re back to the grind of actually having to cook! (Well, if that’s what you can call my quick and easy menus ):

MONDAY
Lunch - leftovers STILL from last weekend!
Dinner - Out with Grandaddy to Cici’s (everyone’s favorite!)

TUESDAY
Lunch - Potato bar - broccoli & cheese (Green Giant), baco’s, sour cream, shredded cheddar, Ranch dressing, a can of soup and a salad
Dinner - Barber’s Stuffed Chicken Dijon Bleu, Green Giant green beans with almonds, Lipton broccoli/cheese rice side dish

WEDNESDAY
Lunch - ham sandwiches, chips, apple slices (our car “picnic” that helps get the 3-year-old to ballet on time)
Dinner - Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin, sweet potatoes, canned asparagus, Green Giant corn in butter sauce

THURSDAY
Lunch - Ham ‘n cheese Hot Pockets (I found a new Multi-grain variety!), Progresso Chicken & Wild Rice soup (never tried it & it was DELICIOUS!), grapes
Dinner - Spaghetti (ground beef & Ragu over whole grain noodles), Texas Toast, salad

FRIDAY
Lunch - a few leftovers pieced together (what? are they multiplying in the fridge again?)
Dinner - Leftover Banquet slow cooker kit from last week, Green Giant brussel sprouts in butter sauce, cooked baby carrots

SATURDAY
Lunch - one child had pizza at a birthday party, the rest of us survived on bits of leftover soup and potato bar
Dinner - hot dogs, chips, fruit, popcorn, and birthday cake at our second birthday party of the weekend!

SUNDAY
Lunch - oven baked herb chicken (on sale for $3.99 for 8 pieces ) , Kraft pasta salad, crackers, grape tomatoes, grapes (before heading over to our third birthday party of the weekend!)
Dinner - Leftovers from Wednesday night

Hope everyone has a great week - head over to The Organizing Junkie for more menu madness!

We had a new library built just a few years ago, and this year construction of a new addition for the youth services division has begun. I’m so excited - I go to the library just to get updates on the construction progress (of course, my children tug at my sleeve and remind me that I promised we could get some books this time ).

Our wonderful youth services librarian asked me to help spread the word about a project she is working on. “My Hometown Helper” is a grant program sponsored by Hamburger Helper of the General Mills Company. The library has submitted a proposal for a grant to purchase an Ellison Die-Cut Machine. In order for the grant to get approval, the grant committee must see support and a need for the grant. Would you please follow these instructions to help our library?

1. Log on to this web site: http://www.myhometownhelper.com/
2. Click the “Find a Project” button at the top of the page
3. Type in Alabama and Auburn in the two boxes

4. Click search.
5. Click on “An Ellison Die Cut Machine for Our Library”
6. Read the grant, read comments already submitted, and post your comment in support of the grant.
You must be 18 in order to post.

Thanks for your support!

I ordered it from Abebooks.com because I couldn’t find it anywhere else! They are a wonderful resource for hard-to-find books, so click on their ad above to head over to their site and search for a book YOU’VE been looking for.

Moon Glows is a great bedtime story for children in a wide age-range. The simple, repetitive story takes you all around different scenic settings, describing them at bedtime, and following up with a part of nature going to sleep:

“Moon glows, and city lights sparkle in the city night.
People rush through the night, to and fro in the night;
but sleepy cat curls up at the window.”

In the book, you travel from city, to harbor, to highway, to farmyard, and on and on, all the way into the bedroom of one little girl who is going to sleep in the city (where the book began). The rhythm and the repetitive nature of the words, provide a soothing story that will likely lull the most wound-up child right to dreamland.

The rich illustrations by Thomas Graham so neatly foreshadow the next setting the reader will visit. For example, in the city setting, you can just see the buildings around the harbor off in the distance; likewise, in the harbor setting, you can see the highway. You are led right through the story through the detailed illustrations, making it an interesting find for older children as well.

And the sleepy cat from the beginning of the book? It’s curled up sweetly behind the girl at the end of the book - a nice warm ending to a great bedtime story.

I’d love to hear about your favorite bedtime stories!