What We're Reading

Happy May!  I have some fun books and blog posts to share with you this month.  I hope you find a new blog to follow and enjoy these posts as much as I did.

Your Child is Human, too.  Am I guilty of expecting my kids to be perfectly well behaved all the time??  Do I give them grace for hard days, on sick days and days when things don't go as they have planned?  We all have ups and downs, but I think I need to do a better job of allowing my kids to have ups and downs.  Being little is hard work.  Learning new things all day every day is hard work and I know I could be more compassionate to that.

These Maple Pecan Sticky Buns from Sally's Baking Addiction look heavenly.  How can you go wrong with a cinnamon roll topped with maple pecan goodness??

The Invisible Work of Stay at Home Moms really rang true for me.  I'll often measure my days based on productivity and things that I factored in during my days working outside of the home.  It's not really possible and I often fail to take into account the intangibles.  I think this article would ring true with ALL moms because motherhood requires a lot of work.

My friend Justine is the Wal-Mart Queen!  She finds THE BEST things at Wal-Mart in store and on-line.  I loved her most recent Weekly WalMart Finds.  You've got to see the summer items, party decor and great deals on workout gear.

Gardening 101 the three part series gave me lots to think about.  I'd love to be a great gardener one day.  For now, I'll just settle for learning to keep pots of plants alive along with my indoor plants.  I love Lara's style and appreciate the fact that she has not always been a great gardener.

I've heard of teacher burn out, senioritis, athletes who burn out and leave their sport, but this was the first time I'd ever read about parenting burn out.  Just Like at Work, It's Possible to Burn Out on Parenting.  I never thought of it before so this article reminded me the importance in doing adult activities, keeping your hobbies a priority, investing in yourself, self care, doing things you love, thinking of your profession all while parenting your little people.

I wish we had a Trader Joe's in my city, but we don't.  So I'm saving Momfessional's list of Trader Joe's Favorites for the next time I'm near one.

My dream meal.  Pulled Pork Stuffed Potatoes from Shay could easily be on my menu every single week.  Unfortunately, my husband doesn't feel the same way that I do.

I'm loving reading Jesus Calling most mornings.  I keep it on my desk and love starting my day with this devotion.  I have read through it before so I picked a new ink color to read through it this year.  I'm underlining, taking notes and writing special connections in blue this year.  It's fun to compare my notes from the last time I read it.  Do you have a devotion you're working through right now?

KIDS:

We check out books in sets of 10 each time we go to the library. Check out instagram (@polkadottyplace) today to see our current favorites.

We also enjoyed reading God Loves Mommy and Me by Bonnie Rickner Jensen.  It was a sweet story filled with animals that would be perfect for your kids to read around Mother's Day.  It would be a great gift for little ones to help teach them about God's love for them and for their mommy.  This book is a great addition to any library and kids enjoy flipping through the book on their own.  The board book version is perfect for little hands.
*I was gifted this book from BookLook in exchange for an honest review of it.

I can't wait to see what everyone has been reading!

Johannah: https://johannahsirois.blogspot.com/

Crystal: http://www.masonsmama.com/

Justine: http://www.littledoveblog.com/

Whitney: https://polka-dottyplace.blogspot.com/

Heather: http://www.myglitteryheart.com/

Keri: https://www.kerilynnsnyder.com/

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