February has flown by and I have a long list of fun things for you to read. I finished a couple of books, the kids read some great books and here are our favorites:
1. I flew through The Magnolia Story! It was such a great read. It was interesting, inspiring and I think I love Chip and Jo even more now after knowing more details about their story. I love that they include their kids in their work, they invest in their community and they build/design some really beautiful homes. I'd love to road trip down to Waco to see all of their hard work in person. Have you read their story yet? My favorite quote "We function better together than we do apart." (page 19) #relationshipgoals and I loved the chapter on thriving not surviving motherhood. Looking for teachable moments, enjoying the moments with your family, making a home comfortable for everyone and embracing the laughter and messiness that comes with kids. It's a great read!
2. Everyone has family gatherings and some are more fun than others - right? I feel the same way. I love going to a gathering when people are interested in me, curious about my life and we have real conversations. Who doesn't? I have attended gatherings where I ask everyone questions about their lives and no one asks about me. I end up just sharing current events and such about my family. It's kind of discouraging, but I keep asking questions in the hopes that there will eventually be more back and forth. I LOVED Whitney from Come Home for Comfort's post filled with tips about having great conversations at family gatherings. EVERYONE would benefit from reading this The Best Kind of Family Reunion
3. Every day of mothering feels like a bit of an adventure. Unexpected things at every turn, routines, smiles, tears and exhaustion at the end of the day. I loved this list of 20 mom things to make time for - especially 2, 3, 9 and 13. 20 Mom Things I Wish I Had Done More Of
4. I thought this was a fascinating article about family heirlooms and the problem people are facing as loved ones pass away. I never really thought about it before. Nobody Wants Your Parent's Stuff
5. Are your kids or students working on learning the alphabet? I'm excited to print out these Alphabet Fun Pages for a sneaky way to practice letters with my preschooler!
6. I'm always trying to find a good balance with screen time. I like to stay connected to family and friends, keep up with my blog and social media, but don't want to look back and wish I'd been on my phone less. This was an interesting read about the risks of parenting while plugged in.
Do Wired Parents Need Time Out or Less Guilt?
7. These Long Reclaimed Shelves would be pretty in my kitchen
2. Everyone has family gatherings and some are more fun than others - right? I feel the same way. I love going to a gathering when people are interested in me, curious about my life and we have real conversations. Who doesn't? I have attended gatherings where I ask everyone questions about their lives and no one asks about me. I end up just sharing current events and such about my family. It's kind of discouraging, but I keep asking questions in the hopes that there will eventually be more back and forth. I LOVED Whitney from Come Home for Comfort's post filled with tips about having great conversations at family gatherings. EVERYONE would benefit from reading this The Best Kind of Family Reunion
3. Every day of mothering feels like a bit of an adventure. Unexpected things at every turn, routines, smiles, tears and exhaustion at the end of the day. I loved this list of 20 mom things to make time for - especially 2, 3, 9 and 13. 20 Mom Things I Wish I Had Done More Of
4. I thought this was a fascinating article about family heirlooms and the problem people are facing as loved ones pass away. I never really thought about it before. Nobody Wants Your Parent's Stuff
5. Are your kids or students working on learning the alphabet? I'm excited to print out these Alphabet Fun Pages for a sneaky way to practice letters with my preschooler!
6. I'm always trying to find a good balance with screen time. I like to stay connected to family and friends, keep up with my blog and social media, but don't want to look back and wish I'd been on my phone less. This was an interesting read about the risks of parenting while plugged in.
Do Wired Parents Need Time Out or Less Guilt?
7. These Long Reclaimed Shelves would be pretty in my kitchen
8. I love traveling with my family and think it's important to learn about new places, experience new things and go on adventures together. I really appreciated Mix and Match Mama's tips for Traveling with Kids since her kids are older than mine.
9. I'd really like to find a spot in our house to do a floor to do a GIANT gallery wall like this one.
10. Who doesn't love feeling Validated & Valued?? It's great at home, work and school. I love this idea for kids and think I'd like to implement things for my husband, kids and friends. What a sweet idea for the classroom or your house.
11. Library Loves: We check out 6-10 new books every week and I have been sharing our favorites over on instagram (@polkadottyplace). Here's a review of our best reads this month. I'm only showing our favorites so add them to your library wish lists :)
I try to get some board books for the baby and then some high interest picture books for Olive. It's amazing how interested she is in the new books, we read them all week long and then she's started referencing them in our everyday conversations. Do you go to the library with your kids?? It's been a really fun FREE learning opportunity for us.
10. Who doesn't love feeling Validated & Valued?? It's great at home, work and school. I love this idea for kids and think I'd like to implement things for my husband, kids and friends. What a sweet idea for the classroom or your house.
11. Library Loves: We check out 6-10 new books every week and I have been sharing our favorites over on instagram (@polkadottyplace). Here's a review of our best reads this month. I'm only showing our favorites so add them to your library wish lists :)
I try to get some board books for the baby and then some high interest picture books for Olive. It's amazing how interested she is in the new books, we read them all week long and then she's started referencing them in our everyday conversations. Do you go to the library with your kids?? It's been a really fun FREE learning opportunity for us.
12. We are headed to the beach in a few weeks so I've been trying to read beachy/vacation kind of books to get the kids excited. We received The Legend of the Sand Dollar by Chris Auer to review. I had high hopes of teaching my kids about the meaning behind sand dollars, the Easter story and the beach, but this book was disappointing. It was written for older kids and I'd say it would be best for kids over age 8. The story was confusing, hard to follow and there were lots of extra details that distracted from the purpose of the book. It was hard to make it through the book to find the real Easter story. The illustrations were beautiful and we found lots to talk about for each page. I modified the story for younger kids and just flipped through the pages of the story. I would not recommend purchasing this book for younger kids or as a book to tell the Easter Story.
*I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review of it.
Have you read anything great lately??
Be sure to share in the comments!!
I'm linking up with some sweet ladies for
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/
Heather: http://www.myglitteryheart.com/
Whitney: http://work-it-mommy.blogspot.com/
I still need to read Chip & Jo's book. Glad to hear another glowing review!
ReplyDeleteSo many great books!! We love the library!! We actually have plans to head there on Friday after school and my girls are so excited! Hope you have a great day friend!
ReplyDeleteI guess after I binge on the show I may HAVE to read the book too, right? Everyone seems to love it.
ReplyDeleteI confess I haven't read for fun in awhile. I'm on a waiting list for a book called Teaching from Rest and I just requested the Magnolia Story. Can't wait! I'm usually reading school books or previewing books my kids want to read (I always try to at lest skim through every book). A great fiction book my daughter recommended is called Nooks and Crannies - that was a fun read! My son loves the Warrior Cat series.
ReplyDeleteI loved Chip and Joanna's book, too! I listened to them read it on audiobook which made it even better for me!
ReplyDeleteI love your list - that it includes both books and fun links to read! I checked out the Magnolia book, but then had to return it before I got to it. I'll have to recheck it. I had seen that article about your parent's "stuff" earlier and how true it is. The furnishing styles have changed so much and it's really hard to go through things when someone passes away. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteGoing to check out these links! Thanks for sharing! I have read Chip and Jo's book and I totally finished feeling more in love with them and their family. It was a really fun read! Going to their store is a bucket list item for me too. Maybe in a couple of years I will get a chance to go and maybe there will be even more things to do there by then.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Nobody Wants Your Parents Stuff read too. I feel like I have "inherited" every thing from my grandparents and feel so guilty about throwing it away.
ReplyDeleteI love Chip and Jo's story!! Great read!
ReplyDeleteI think I read Chip & Joanna'a book in 2 days. It was that good!!! It was interesting to hear how their story began from their view. I'm currently reading Rory Feek's book. It is really good as well.
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