Are you working from home with a small child at home? Does your child like to "help" you work? Today's book is for you! It is Help Mom Work from Home by Diana Murray and illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Help Mom Work from Home! -- a sweet new picture book
The Giving Manger -- the Perfect Family Activity/Gift for Advent Bringing Christ into Your Holiday Season
One of my goals this November is to share amazing Christmas products, so you will have time to purchase them to enjoy during the season. Today I begin my reviews with The Giving Manger by Allison Hottinger and Lisa Kalberer.
Losing a Beloved Pet -- RIP Pumpkin Girl
Today my heart is heavy and my home is a bit emptier. Last night Steve and I had to make the difficult decision to put our sweet Pumpkin girl down. We noticed she was losing weight and not eating or drinking water like she usually did. She also had changed her spot to spend most of the day. She wasn't being her normal self. I moved her vet appointment up a week because we were growing increasingly worried. She was due for a well visit next week. When our vet saw her she knew something was wrong. After a quick examination she told us she needed to get an x-ray, bloodwork and some liquids into her. She was very dehydrated. She asked us to give her about 20 minutes. We sat on the porch of the vet clinic and waited. When she got all the results she called us in and brought Pumpkin to us. She was fighting tears as she told us that Pumpkin definitely had cancer. She had liquid in her chest and abdomen. We had two options. Take her to a vet hospital ER and let them try to remove the liquid and start chemotherapy or put her down. We couldn't imagine having our sweet Pumpkin girl spend nights in a cage away from us while the poked and examined her, so our decision was clear. It broke our hearts to say goodbye.
Violets Are Blue -- New Middle School Novel about Friends, Family, Divorce and More!
Today I am sharing Barbara Dee's newest novel. Barbara's novel seem to always capture the emotions and actions of middle school students. This one is no different. It is Violets Are Blue. It is recommended for grades 4 to 8.
NEW this week--Middle grade books Plus a GIVEAWAY!
Yesterday I shared two new this week picture books and today I have two new this week middle grade novels to share. Middle grade novels have a recommendation for ages 7 to 12. One of the books is a mystery having to do with sports and the other is a multicultural book about family, friends, and math. Plus there is a giveaway for one of them. We are going to start with Danny Chung Sums It Up by Maisie Chan and illustrated by Natelle Quek. This book is recommended for ages 8-12.
Family Vacation Time During the Pandemic
It has been a tough year for everyone. Our world shut down during Hazel's new school's spring break last year. It was such a strange time. We didn't know what was coming. Here in Massachusetts at least things are far from normal. Businesses are opening up again but masks are mandatory in public. We have been lucky. Hazel's school has been open this school year. We have the choice to keep her remote whenever we want to but can send her in most of the time. The school goes remote after vacation weeks so it enforces self quarantines for people who have traveled. It truly amazes me when I look on Facebook and see friends all across the country traveling and going out socially. The idea of stepping on an airplane right now or eating in a restaurant scares me. Yet I know there are people who do it all the time and I'm friends and/or related to some of them. We have not left Massachusetts since our trip to Disney in February 2020. We are very lucky though that my family has a house on Cape Cod and we have gotten away there including this spring break. Hazel has been off the past two weeks for spring break and this past week we headed to Cape Cod to spend time as a family, get a change of scenery and see my parents. Since Steve is working from home he needed a change of scenery as well as some time off. Have you traveled during this pandemic?
One Jar of Magic -- new middle school novel about disappointment, dreams, friends, family and more
Today I get to share with you an amazing new middle grades novel. This post is part of the Awareness Tour hosted by The Children's Book Review which includes a giveaway!! I will start with the publishers information about the book. The book is One Jar of Magic by Corey Ann Haydu.
A Book to Help Teens Relate to a Loved One with Dementia
Does someone in your life have dementia? My father has Alzheimer's disease. This year has been even harder because of it. When the pandemic hit and everything shut down our lives all changed but especially my father's. His schedule was gone. The bus didn't come to pick him up for his day program three times a week. He didn't have his volunteer job at the Alzheimer's center anymore. He and my mother were home alone basically all the time. They are both 80 or older now. It was too dangerous to let them run their errands. My sister went to see them every weekend to run errands and give my mom a break. This summer while staying at the family house near them my family experienced the first time we knew my father had no idea who we were. He was spending the day with us and woke up from a nap and kept talking about wanting to see my mother by her first name. I couldn't calm him until I called my mother to come get him. It was heartbreaking for me. I was use to being called by one of my sisters' name--he has been doing that my whole life--but this time it was obvious he had no idea I was his daughter or that Hazel was his granddaughter. It is so hard to deal with for me and I can only imagine what it is like for Hazel. Today's book is to help teens and even tweens understand dementia and find ways to relate to the loved one with dementia. It is A Loved One with Dementia by Jean Rawitt. It is part of the Empowering You series.
It's All Love -- A book of reflections for teens about love for selves, others, life and more
February is the month for love! It has Valentine's Day (14th) and Random Acts of Kindness Day (17th) in it. Yet in this world of ours love can be hard and hurtful. How do we teach our kids about love? Who should they love? Well for one thing they need to love themselves. Today I am sharing a book by teen actress Jenna Ortega. The book is It's All Love: Reflections for Your Heart & Soul. It is a book written for teens and will also be good for people in their 20's.
Two Beautiful Picture Books about Growing Up and Mindfulness
Today I am going to share with you two absolutely beautiful picture books. The books are recommended for pre-K through grade 3. One is about becoming a big girl and putting away toys and the other is about learning to meditate. The first book is Nasla's Dream by Cecile Roumiguiere and illustrated by Simone Rea.
The Stepmom Shake-Up -- a new middle grade novel about family and change
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This week I am back to work and going to start by sharing a new middle grade novel. Even on my stay-cation I did the Black Lives Matter Series and Who's In the Backyard? Series, but today I will bring back my book reviews. We will start with The Stepmom Shake-up by Niki Lenz.
Winnie's Picks Paint-By-Number -- Crafty Sundays Review
Do you remember color-by-numbers and paint-by-numbers from your childhood? I do. I use to love them. Recently I was asked to review an adult paint-by-number from Winnie's Pick. They said I could pick whichever one I wanted and I was excited to see the Photo to Custom Paint-By-Number option. I thought it would be neat to paint a family portrait. A childhood friend, who is a professional photographer, took a photo of us at another childhood friend's daughter's wedding last summer that we love. I sent it along.
New Picture Books About Dad's Love
Today I am going to share two new picture books about dads. They would have been perfect for Father's Day but alas I got them after Father's Day. They are however wonderful books and it is great to see some books with dads in them that have some substance.
Foreverland -- a middle grade novel about friendship, courage & dealing with loss
Middle school is hard for everyone. Often friendships change. There are new people to meet and new ideas or perhaps new and different schools. Add in the stress of your sister finding a new passion and new boyfriend and not having time for you plus your parents are getting divorced. Yup, life can be tough. What is an intelligent, germaphobic girl to do? Well runaway to the last place she remembers a happy family memory--the amusement park. That is the setting of today's book, Foreverland by Nicole C. Kear. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12 and is being released today!
Surviving through our new normal--Toilet Paper Roll Craft Round Up & More!
Surviving Flu Season
Books for Younger Readers
Today I am giving you a round-up of books for your younger readers. These books range in ages from 4 to 12 although one is suggested for 0 months and above. One book is about fears and seems perfect for this week with Halloween. Hazel has had high fears in the month of October especially when she was younger. She still does not like to see the Halloween decorations in the stores or on people's yards. Do you know any child like this? If you do this first book is perfect for him or her. It is Frankie's Scared of EVERYTHING by tattoo artist, Mathew Franklin. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
Summer's Promise -- a Mommy Time Christian Book Review
Today I am participating in the blog tour for Summer's Promise by Barbara Cameron. As Hazel has gotten older I decided to spend some time with adult books and have enjoyed the Christian themed novels. This is one of those kind of novels. It is the third book in the Harvest of Hope Series, but is the only one I have read in the series.
Where are you from? A Diversity Discussion & Activities
I have to admit I have been disgusted reading much of my Facebook feed lately. I have friends on both sides of the political view and to be quite honest I can't stand posts from either side. I identify myself as a liberal but I also can see some of the conservative side--after all I'm married to a conservative. Awhile ago the discussion turned to President Trump's comment about the four female senators going back to where they came from. As a woman most of the president's comments bother me. As a Christian woman, they really bother me. But truth be told, the man bothered me long before he became our president. That said he is our president so I pray for him and our country and wish him well. But when he says things that insult other leaders of our country I do think he needs to be called out. But this is getting away from where I want this post to go. After that comment a friend from middle and high school posted on her Facebook page her own feelings about being asked "Where are you from?" She is a woman of color. She expressed how hurtful that question can be. After brewing over it all and seeing more than I wanted about politics on both sides in my newsfeed I started thinking about the question.
Keeping Memories from a Family Vacation Alive -- Canvas Print Review & Giveaway
Where are you going this summer? Our family took a vacation to Cape Cod. Now we often go to Cape Cod because my parents live there. This year we got to stay at the house my grandparents built for a week by ourselves. We made the mistake of inviting one of Steve's friends with us, but that is another story. I still took lots of photos and wanted to get a good family shot since the last one we have (which I love) is from a few years ago and Hazel has grown and changed quite a bit in those years. I looked at all the different family pictures we got and found one we mostly liked. It was taken when we were at the National Seashore Visitor Center.
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