Check out my review at Steals and Deals...

It's right here. If you love books, or know someone who does, this is a fun way to keep track of all of your favorites, and all of those books you loan out and hope you'll see again.

Plus, they're doing a giveaway, so enter at Steals and Deals! Contest ends on 4/27/09.

It's madness, I tell you...

My kids are funny. I know every mom thinks that, but really, mine are funny. And a little irreverent. I don't know where they get that from, though.

Monkey always has something funny to say. Last night it was just him and I, and we were watching a little TV. The show was very appropriate until the actor said, "Damn, she's good". Which, of course, Monkey repeated. As I opened my mouth to tell him that it wasn't a nice word, etc., etc., he said, "Damn, I farted." How could I not laugh? I know, I should have used it as a teaching moment, but he caught me off guard!

One Sunday, Emily waved me over her in Primary and said, "Monkey has three Books of Mormon that he checked out of the Library. I just wanted you to know so you make sure he gets them all back there."

I sat down next to Monkey and asked him if he checked the extras out for his friends in class. He said, "No, I wanted three so I could have a triple!"

Joe has turned into a real food expert. We were at a potluck dinner at the preschool, and Joe cut a bite from a meatball, then chewed it up, tilted his head and pointed his fork at me and declared, "Homemade!"

Another day, he was helping me make pasta for dinner. We cooked and drained the pasta, then he added the pesto and tossed it around. He then informed me, "Mom, I need to taste the pasta, cuz that's what all of the professional cookers do!"

Watch out for this crazed bunny

Oh, I guess she might be OK.

Looks like trouble just hatched.

She even likes a Monkey.


Got Eggs?

Nauvoo Women's Retreat

This past weekend my mom treated Emily and I to the Nauvoo Women's Retreat. It was really wonderful and uplifting. We did not sign up for the first day's sessions since we travelled in that morning, hitting a couple of thrift stores on different towns on the way up. When we finally arrived, we met up with my sister Monie and my aunt Ramona. They were both involved in the Re-enactment of the first meeting of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo. I took the pictures she put on her blog post, so I'll steal them and add them here with a little more information.


This first picture is of Monie and the actors who portrayed Joseph and Emma Smith. They are married in real life, and were very nice. His name is Stewart Peterson. Does he look at all familiar? He didn't to me, either. But I have see him in movies before and didn't realize it. He was in Where the Red Fern Grows and Seven Alone , along with some others films, when he was young.

This is upstairs in the Red Brick Store, where the original meeting was held 167 years ago. Monie portrayed one of our ancestors, Nancy Naomi Alexander Tracy, and had a small speaking part. They all look funny because they were in the middle of singing a song! Monie is in the middle, and Ramona is on the far right without the bonnet. She took hers off to give to a baby behind her to play with.

I'm going to have to blog about the retreat with several posts, since the presenters were so amazing! For a tiny little conference (about 150 women were there) I was so amazed at the wonderful speakers and talent who participated.

Go visit some others at Talk About Tuesday!

New(ish) books for the youngsters

The kids will be having a week’s worth of testing starting the 30th, and the school is suggesting that each family live TV-free for that week. I think that’s a great idea, but it will take a lot of selling. We don’t watch a lot of TV since we only have an antenna but the kids like to come home from school and do their best couch potato impersonation for a little while. I’m on the lookout for some ideas for activities, especially since summer break is coming up so fast. I want the kids to be reading, working, etc. this summer, not spend those weeks tuned out of life and tuned into the television.

I spent last weekend at a conference for Early Childhood Educators, and a couple of the sessions I attended were on books and literacy. So, when we have the TV turned off, hopefully we’ll be doing a lot of reading.

Here is a list of some new(ish) books that I’ve discovered:

1. Wave by Suzy Lee
This is a wordless book that has beautiful illustrations covering the two-page spread. It’s lovely as a picture book, or the reader can make up a story to go with the pictures.

2. Potato Joe by Keith Baker
A take-off of the rhyme “one potato, two potato”, with simple but cute graphics.

3. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
Don’t babies just love to look at other babies? Even though these babies aren’t photos, they’re illustrated, they are so cute you can’t resist! Mem Fox has a style all her own, and it shows up in this sweet book about those ten little fingers and ten little toes that babies all over the world have in common.

4. Puff, The Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton
Yes, it’s the Peter, Paul and Mary song as a children’s book. (Will this finally dispel the rumor that it’s about smoking weed?) I’ve always loved this song since my Grandpa Hall would play it on the guitar and the rest of us harmonized our way through it. Again, the illustrations are awesome in this book, too!

5. On The Farm by David Elliot
Of course, I can’t resist a farm book! This one consists of short poems about farm life. The woodcut and watercolor double-page illustrations are, not to be redundant, awesome.

6. Playtime Rhymes for Little People compiled by Mary Finch
This book includes classic rhymes, and again, the illustrations are amazing. The artwork was prepared in antique fabric and felt collage, and have to be seen to be appreciated. Have I mentioned that I love fabric?

7. Here’s A Little Poem collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters
Over 60 poems are included in this huge volume. And, of course, great illustrations, too!

8. The Boy Who Wouldn’t Share by Mike Reiss
Edward is stingy with his sister Claire. He hoards toys in a heap so mountainous that he gets stuck under it. Good book for siblings who don’t share. Maybe they’ll get it without having to nag? Would be great to read while eating a plate of fudge. Come to think of it, wouldn’t every book be better with fudge? Funny illustrations done by the same artist who did the great illustrations for I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More.

9. Truck Stuck by Sallie Wolf
When a truck gets stuck under a low-hanging bridge, quite a scene develops as the traffic backs up. This is a rhyming book, and is perfect for truck lovers.

10. The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger
Other leaves turn red and flutter around the little yellow leaf and down to the ground, but he’s not ready to let go of his branch. Love the collage art illustrations!

11. To Be Like the Sun by Susan Marie Swanson
This is a great “Spring” book, and includes a packet of seeds if you buy the book, and not check it out of the library like I usually do.

13. Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

Ramon loves to draw: "Anytime. Anything. Anywhere." When his older brother laughs at one of his pictures and points out that it does not look like a real vase of flowers, a dejected Ramon crumples up all of his efforts. However, he soon learns that his younger sister has hung the discarded papers on her bedroom walls. When he declares that the picture of the vase doesn't look like the real thing, she says that it looks "vase-ISH." The child then begins to produce paintings that look "tree-ish," "afternoon-ish," and "silly-ish." His "ish art" inspires him to look at all creative endeavors differently. I love this book! My kids have always had a hard time accepting that they can't make the "perfect" art, or drawing, or whatever, on the frist try.