Knitting Zeal

My summer reading list

After reading a few great books recently, I decided I needed to make a book list for myself for summer reading.  I have several books in a pile that I want to read, but I'm always finding others that I add to me "to-read" list on Goodreads.  So I don't have to buy any books this summer, I made a list of books that I either already own or that are available from the library.  

In no particular order, here is my summer reading list:

• The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe
• The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman
• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (I never read this as a child!)
• The Passage by Justin Cronin
• One Thousand White Women. The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
• The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher
• Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris (#3 of the food trilogy.  I loved the movie Chocolat, and need to read the #2 book, Blackberry Wine too!)
• Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

I've already finished two books last week that I consider to be part of my summer reads.  Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay was a book that I couldn't put down.  It was the tale of what occurred in France during the Holocaust and the Vel’ d’Hiv' roundup, the day when the French police rounded up all the French Jews, including over 4,000 French children, and sent them to their death in Auschwitz. It was horrifying, and I was surprised that with all of the books I've read over the years about the Holocaust that I had never heard of this tragedy.  The other book I read last week was the book selection for the online book club through Great Thoughts.  The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain was the story of three friends, one who mysteriously commits suicide, and the survivors search for why.  Overall I really enjoyed this book, except the mystery was rather predictable.  I definitely would read the other books this author has written.  

What's on your summer reading list?

BlogHer Book Club: Lost and Found

I had the opportunity to participate in the BlogHer Book Club again, this time reading the book by Geneen Roth titled: Lost and Found: One Woman's Story of Losing Her Money and Finding Her Life.  This book appealed to me in that it speaks about the way people in North America think about money, the power it has over us, and the way our society reacts to those with money and those without.  The author, Geneen Roth, was a victim of Bernard Madoff, losing her life savings.  She reveals her reaction to learning about her loss and how she was able to rethink how she views money in her life. 

This story made me evaluate how I think about money and how my views have changed over the years as my life has evolved.  When I was a graduate student and had no money, I had a wish list of things I wanted to buy once I had a real job.  My list included things such as "good" scissors and a Coach bag.  They were completely material items, but were things I felt that if I had them I would feel successful.  I did eventually cross off the items on my wish list.  At the time I suppose those things made me feel good, but now I can only remember two of those things.  I still have the good scissors (important for a crafter!) and that Coach bag is packed in a box in the attic.  Now that I am in another stage of my life, I have wishes for things that aren't as material: experiences with my family, savings for my son to go to college, and savings for retirement.  While when I was younger I thought that having material items meant success.  Now I find that experiencing life events with my family are much more important, as is planning for a successful future.

I am inspired to further explore my relationship with money after reading about Geneen Roth's experience.  I also want to work on teaching my son about money and the value of it.  At age four, his understanding of money is that if we need something we can just go to the bank to get money to buy it.  He also plays with money in his toy cash register, coins that he swiped from his piggy bank! This summer I plan to take him to the US Mint in Philadelphia to tour it and see where money is made.  I'll post more on those lessons with him later!  

Check out the discussions about Lost and Found over on BlogHer to learn more about this book!

 

Disclosure: This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Little Dentist

My son's been to the dentist twice now, most recently about two weeks ago.  I really love his dentist.  He's been in practice for a while and has a very kid-friendly office without being overdone.  Recently he was even listed in Philly magazine on their best pediatric dentist list!  My son has received a good bill of teeth twice now, which was very encouraging to me.  For a while getting him to brush properly was a challenge and he was adamant that I could not help him brush.  At his first dental appointment last summer the dentist told him he had to let me help him.  That made a huge difference and he now lets me help, especially with those back teeth.  This last visit was great with no problems.  I really appreciate that his dentist, Dr. Lloyd, lets me stay in the exam room with my son, who prefers to sit on my lab for his exam.  I know many pediatric dental offices do not allow parents to go into the exam rooms with their children, and I am not comfortable with that practice.  

To prepare for going to the dentist, we read a Bearenstain book about going to the dentist.  In it the bears talk about getting a cavity filled.  The drill fascinates my son.  I have told him that I hope he never had to experience the drill!  My husband has PERFECT teeth and has never had a cavity. (I'm hoping our son's teeth take after dad!)  I, on the other hand, have many filled teeth!  I just found out last week that I may have yet another cavity and have to go back to my dentist next week to get it checked out further.  Grr.  

My son is excited that I get to have my tooth drilled.  See, he saw this play-doh toy about teeth and playing dentist.  He wanted it and talked about it constantly.  I said no more toys for now, since we don't have room for the once we have!  But mommy-guilt got to me.  After realizing on Friday that my son's pink eye was the bacteria version, as opposed to the viral version that we thought it was all week, we had to go pick up a prescription for eye drops at Target.  He was really upset about having to get eye drops.  He asked if we could look at the toys and see if the play-doh dentist was there on the shelf.  I was silently hoping that they didn't have it in stock.  And then he found it, on sale.  I gave in.  He loved it and even cleaned it up all by himself and put it away in the play-doh storage bin we have in the toy closet.  He is still talking about the drill.  I'll rationalize the toy as part of his career training. 

 

Poor little head has a lot of cavities!

 

What we are reading this week: a Sunday library trip

 

 

We had taken a break from our local library.  Partly due to the growing stack of unread books I have here that needs to be tackled, partly due to the kiddo deciding he doesn't like going because he doesn't want to be quiet while there (!) and partly due to our library being closed due to heating issues.  I had found a few books at Target a few weeks ago and resisted the urge to buy them all up!  I actually remembered the name of one when I got home so I looked it up in the library system and put a request in for it.  I finally got an email this past week that my book was in, so today we took a trip over to once again enjoy the library, which has reopened!

 

There are so many great things to discover at the library.  The kiddo decided he wanted to go with me today so he could play Reader Rabbit on the computer in the children's department.  Our library has redone the children's department in the past three years and it is just beautiful.  Besides having so many great books to borrow, the main children's librarian is a man who really gets kids and how they think.  He cracks my son up with his antics in the library and at storytime.  Mr. Jim invited me to bring my son to storytime for babies when my son was only four months old.  He couldn't even sit up yet, but I faithfully brought him because not only was it exposing him to books, but it was a way to get out of the house!  Today we found not only some great picture books to borrow, but also season 2 of the Muppets on DVD.  We also discovered that they added a play kitchen to the children's department. My son had fun there and I love that he enjoys reading so much.  At bedtime tonight we read three of our library books and he really enjoyed them. 

I did get the book I had requested, Moloka'i, which I'm excited to read.  It is historical fiction about the leprosy colonies on the Hawaiian Island of Moloka'i.  We also checked out a Dr. Suess book about money, and Easter themed book about a dinosaur who steps in for the bunny, a book about a nervous cement mixer, and a book I wanted to read, the Man in the Moon.  It has beautiful illustrations as well as an inspirational story.  It is a bit advanced for my four year old, but I'm hoping it piques his interest with the mentions of astronomy and the illustraions. I also found a book with knitting patterns for wild animals!  

Read Across America is on March 2, the end of this week.  While generally we read books every night at bedtime, my goal for this week is to incorporate reading into playtime every day this week too.  I have a few new books put away, so I will bring one out this week, and I also would like to purchase the Lorax, as it wasn't on the library shelves.  My son wants to see the movie, but I would prefer that he read the book first.  As with so many books that become movies, I always find that the book is better than the movie.  I want my son to have a frame of reference for the movie and to read it before seeing it! Target was sold out, so a trip to the bookstore will be on our schedule this week.

I'm linking this post to the bloghop happening over at  Just Precious, where Julie will be posting all reading-related entries all week in celebration of Read Across America day.  Check out all of the posts there!

Reading tonight

Our book list tonight included Good Night Philadelphia in preparation for our trip into the city tomorrow to "surprise" visit daddy at his office. Due to the building's security it won't be an actual surprise, but the kiddo will think it is. He is very concerned that we do not have ID badges, but I'm hoping we get visitor passes that will satisfy him. He loves to pretend that he works in the Philadelphia building, like his daddy. Goodnight Philadelphia is a sweet story that shows different city landmarks.

A Year in a Castle is a fun and detailed book about what goes on in a castle, including an invasion. The kiddo loves it!

Kid's book list: what we are reading this week

 

 

We read usually three books before bed each night to my son.  Often he picks the books, sometimes I do, but they are always different each night.  There was a time when he was tiny that he wanted the same book every night, but now that he is a "big boy" at age four, he likes variety.  There are some books that are mommy-read books and some we save for daddy who does the funny voices.  

One of our favorite authors right now is Mo Willems, of the pigeon and Knuffle bunny fame.  My son received the Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late book for Christmas and it's quickly become a favorite.  That pigeon cracks us up!  Peanut is a sweet story about an old lady who finds a "dog" in the park and adopts him.  She doesn't realize he is an elephant!  I love the illustrations.  The New York City book was a Christmas gift as well.  My son would love to visit NYC where his daddy works sometimes.  We are planning to take him for a day in the spring, and this book will come in handy for picking some destinations.  It's sort of a journal where he can record what he sees on his visits.

The last book is A Day in the City.  It is a very detailed and illustrated book that tells the story of a city and what occurs as the day goes on.  There are different things to find on each page and there are funny stories going on within the pictures. The buildings are cut open so the reader can spy what happens inside.

There are several titles like this style of book and they have become one of my go-to gifts for kids.  My kiddo loves them!

 

The 263 Marketplace, and indoor shopper's village in Warminster

Last Saturday I had the chance to tour a semi-new shopping area nearby on a road I travel on at least weekly.  I still can't believe I never took the time to explore the 263 Marketplace in Warminster, but I'm glad I know about it now.  This indoor market is a cross between a farmer's market and an upscale (temperature controlled!) flea market.  If you've ever been to Rice's Market, it reminded me of a more upscale version that was indoors.  The 263 Marketplace is located in what used to be a Pathmark when I lived in Warminster many moons ago, then became Waterloo Gardens, and now a great place to spend some time on the weekend.

Only open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the 263 Marketplace features about 80 vendors selling everthing from women's apparel, wine, antiques, children's books to sports memorabillia.  There are seveal choices of food vendors for a nice lunch or dinner while shopping, as well as some tasty dessert or treat options, including Chance of Sprinkles, a cute ice cream shop and Dautcher's Farm Market, selling great cookies and baked goods.  The Cupcake Fantasy by the Horsham Bakery display was beautiful! 

(and  yes, I took a photo of cupcakes!)

I had lunch from Bobby G's BBQ, that was a BBQ pulled pork sandwich and some creamy mac n cheese.  The BBQ sauce was really tasty!  I also had the chance to pick up some great cookie cutters at Ivyland Kitchen, who had these graduated star shaped cookie cutters I had been looking for in order to make cookie trees with my son for Christmas.  (They were under $4 too!!) I am amazed at the variety of vendors all in one place.  From home improvements, a locksmith who cuts keys while you wait, to jewelry, they really have all the bases covered at 263 Marketplace.  

Every Friday night they have an all you can eat pasta meal along with musical entertainment.  Sundays they offer a brunch to enjoy before shopping.  There is even a mini movie theater in the back that shows G-rated family movies twice on Sundays.  The 263 Marketplace is having an open house on December 10, 2011 at 5pm.  Participating vendors will be offering light refreshments and complimentary gift wrapping services.  It should be a great night to be introduced to this suburban Philadelphia marketplace. 

While I was there I also purchased some children's books from Lambkins, who sells Barefoot Books.  I love the books published by Barefoot Books.  They are beautifully illustrated and different than what I've seen offered in big box bookstores.  One of our favorite Barefoot Books my son received as a present is The Prince's Bedtime. I was able to pick up three books for gift giving this holiday season.  

Nichole, from Lambkins, was kind enough to set up the tour of the 263 Marketplace and the Marketplace provided lunch, which was appreciated!  I had a great time shopping at these small local businesses in my own community.  If you are in the Montco/Bucks County area, be sure to check out 263 Marketplace, located at 700 York Road (RT 263,) Warminster, PA 18974 (located across the street from Archbishop Wood HS.)

Our family bookshelf: what we are reading this week

I finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird last week and just loved it. I still can't believe I never read it before or even back when I was in high school.  Now I can't wait to see the movie sometime. This week I've started reading a somewhat creepy book, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  The photos in this book are a bit spooky when I read late at night in the dark with just a book light! I'm only at the very beggining, but so far it's a good tale!

My son is reading lots of If you give...books.  We borrowed a treasury of those books from the library that includes recipes to go with the books.  We need to try out a few!  He also owns most of those books too.  They are definitely a favorite.  I've also pulled out his small collection of Thanksgiving themed books, included A Plump and Perky Turkey that just is silly.  I love the illustrations in it.  I discovered a series of books on Amazon a few months back and bought four of them for my son.  I have one left to give for Christmas.  This week we've been reading A Year at the Farm.  It shows one scene of a farm for every month of the year so that the changes that occur as the year passes can be observed.  It also gives little clues to look for on each page. 

I'm continuing to prep for Thanksgiving this week too, and have been catching up on magazine reading.  I love the Food Network magazine!  Great recipes!

What's on your bookshelf this week?

This post is linked up to James & Jax Weekend Reading! 

Our family bookshelf: what we are reading this week

Reading is very important to me.  I can easily get lost in a book and forget to sleep. I've stayed up all night to finish books.  I don't recommend it when you have a child to deal with, but there are books that suck you in.  I am instilling a love of books and reading in my son by making sure that we read together every day, usually at bedtime, and he frequently receives books as gifts.  We also go to our local library often.  So often, the children's librarian knows us well!

I try to keep my book list up to date on Goodreads, which is a great resource for finding new books to read and to keep a history of books read.  I've decided to try writing about some of the books we are reading each week, or as often as they change, on my blog.  It's an important part of my life and it isn't about reviewing a book per se.

This week, and much of the month, we are reading books about Thanksgiving.  This book, 10 Fat Turkeys, was given to my son about two years ago and is always a favorite of his.  He was so excited last week when his teacher at preschool read it to the class.  He came home and asked if we could read it here again.  I had stashed it with a bunch of Christmas books.  The illustrations are colorful and silly and the story is a great rhyme that counts down through the story, which encourages sequencing skills.  We also borrowed a book from the library about a turkey who doesn't want to get eaten, so he flies south.  It's funny, but I'm not sure my son completely gets the connection of the turkey rescuing himself from being eaten on Thanksgiving.

The other book in the photo is one I bought at the Please Touch Museum for my son.  Only One You is a sweet story told to a little fish by his parents describing different values they want to instill in their little fish.  Things like knowing when to stand out in the crowd and when to blend it, how to reflect and feel peace.  It is beautifully illustrated, very colorful, and the message can be received simply for little kids, but can also be more meaningful as the child matures.  My son seems to really enjoy this book.  

On my bookstack are some Thanksgiving cookbooks. I'm hosting the holiday this year and I can't wait!  It's my absolute favorite holiday...just good food, no gifts involved!  I borrowed one book from the library and picked the other one up from the used books table at the library for a quarter.  I'm also looking into planning a Disney trip for next year.  And finally, I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird.  I can't believe I never read this before!  

What's on your family's bookshelf?

"I want to go to New York!" said the four year old

My creative little boy has become somewhat fascinated with New York, the city, specifically.  His dad has an office in Times Square that he visits almost weekly, sometime more, so he hears a lot about "New York days" for daddy.  He doesn't know too much about NYC, except for a bit of exposure from seeing the Smurf movie.  

We, the parents, have discussed taking him for a day or so. I went as far as investigating renting a hotel room for a night or two in December to visit at Christmas time, but there were several factors that turned me off.  With my little knowledge of the city, I decided that if we were to go at Christmas it would be to see Rockerfeller Center, FAO Schwartz, and a meal somewhere.  When I checked out hotels in the Times Square/Rockerfeller Square area I had sticker shock!  The further we discussed it, the more we realized it probably wouldn't be the best time of year to take a four year old to the busy city.  Both of us had been in NYC to see the Radio City Music Show years ago and were shocked at how busy the streets were, even on a Saturday.  With my husband going there fairly regularly, he confirmed for me that it would be too easy for the kid to be overwhelmed with so many people.  So, for now our trip is on hold until the spring.  We are thinking that we might start with a day trip there, via the train, to go explore a bit, maybe check out Central Park and the zoo.  As he gets older, I would love to take him to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, as well as the Empire State Building. 

So, we keep talking about NYC and going there.  My son asked the other day if we could go to the library and get a book about going to New York for the first time for him.  I was so impressed that he thought of that idea and the resource of the library and a book!  We went the next day and talked with our favorite librarian, who promptly found us a cool picture book that was on my son's level.  We borrowed "Wow! City!" by Robert Neubecker.  It is a very detailed illustrated book.  He really enjoyed it.