Money Saving Monday: Giving Haircuts

If asked 10 years ago, I never would have thought that I would be cutting hair for my husband and sons. Never. But I guess it only makes sense. You see, my husband is the 2nd in his family of 9 children. Of the 9, there are 8 boys. Including my father-in-law, can you guess who cut all 9 boys' hair growing up? That's right, my mother-in-law, Diane did! And it's a pretty cute story how she started cutting hair during medical school for her friends. Looks like that skill came in handy having 8 sons!

Christopher and I dated from senior year in high school and all through undergrad. Fortunately for him, we went to Newman University, which was local so he could still have Mom cut his hair during undergrad. When we got engaged junior year of undergrad, I knew I had to learn...and fast! I didn't have that much time to learn. We were getting married after undergrad graduation and moving that same week to Kansas City for Christopher to start medical school and for me to start my first RN position. Only a few hours away, we would still be able to travel "home" to Wichita fairly easily, but as his wife, the hair-cutting responsibility would soon be mine. So, basically I started sitting in and asking Diane to teach me as she cut his hair from our engagement on. I was thrilled when the Christmas before we got married, my mom and dad gave me a hair cutting kit! It wasn't a super expensive, big name-brand kit. However, it has been well loved and survived going on 7 years! The only thing we have replaced is the "beard trimmer" (or what I use for trimming side burns, neck hair, etc) because the original wasn't cuttin' it (pun intended). Honestly, it was apparently painful for my boys when I trimmed neck hairs and side-burns. We got a Wahl. It is well worth the money to upgrade and really wasn't too expensive considering all the money hair-cutting has saved us over the last almost 7 years.

My haircutting experience has been overall, pretty good! Luckily, my husband is very forgiving and pretty laid back and my boys are luckily too little to care what their haircuts look like. Christopher has NEVER made me feel bad, guilty or lousy from a bad haircut I've given him. The first solo haircut (without my mother-in-law looking over my shoulder or taking over when I messed up or gave up) was a little scary. I vaguely remember thinking it sort of resembled the bowl haircuts from the 90's.

I promise this isn't one of Christopher's worst ever haircut from me. Look it up. it's stock!

I don't think it was really that bad, but you get the idea. Thankfully, I didn't give up because it really has been a way for us to save some $$$ by the end of the year. I'm not even sure what a men's haircut would cost. But for those of you who do know, the savings only increases the more boys you have! I haven't had to cut Gianna's hair yet because she's only 3 and I'm letting it grow as long as it can for now. And besides trimming bangs, I'm not brave enough for my own hair yet, although I might try it in the future.

This is more likely one of the worst first haircuts ever given by yours truly, and of course it was right before Gabriel's baptism. 

This haircut ties for worst haircut ever given by me...and Gabriel's haircut isn't too wonderful either...

So, I just gave Gabriel a haircut and decided to do a tutorial for my adaptation of a crew cut. I leave the front a little longer, just because I was taught that way and my boys prefer it that way. Cutting a child's, or better yet a baby's hair is MUCH more challenging than cutting an adult's hair. These tips may help when considering cutting your little boy's hair for the first time.

Tips for Child Haircutting:

• Cut their hair when they are in a good mood. Well rested. Well fed.
• Bribe and bribe heavily. Usually, I give my boys a few chocolate chips or candy as a "reward" for sitting still during the haircut. Or I let them paint or do some fun activity afterwards.
• Put some aprons on them or cut their hair while they are wearing underwear or diaper only. I can't stand the little, loose, itchy hairs post-haircuts and I know my boys don't like them either. It just makes things easier afterwards for clean up.
• Distraction, Distraction, Distraction. Get out the iPads, laptops, iPhones, etc. I gave Gabriel a broken clothespin during his last haircut and asked him to fix it for me. It gave him something to fidget with during his haircut and helped him stay still.
• Choose an appropriate location for cutting their hair. I like to sit Gabriel up on a high stool in the kitchen so I don't have to bend over to cut his hair. But when my boys are babies, I cut their hair in the bathtub. That way, they can move around and play. I like to give the babies combs to play with during their haircuts. For some reason, they get so distracted with them and love chewing on them!
• Prepare them well ahead of time for what you will do next while cutting their hair. Gabriel just hates the "buzzer" (trimmer) and he knows it's always the last part of getting his hair cut, but I still warn him and take breaks with it if he is stressing about it too much.

Cutting Hair, the Tutorial

Step 1: Wet their hair and comb it out as flat as you can.

I like to use a wet towel for getting their hair wet. It's more controlled than a spray bottle and I can make it warm so it's not so traumatic. I also use the flat side of the comb (opposite of the teeth part) to get it flat against their forehead. It makes it easier to cut in a straight line.

Step 2: Cut bangs/front.

Remember that it's better to start of cutting only a 1/4 of an inch or so at first and do more if necessary than to cut too short and be stuck. Cut as straight as you can. Cowlicks make things a little more interesting. Gabriel has a cowlick on his right.

Step 3: Cut side-burns and hair around ears.

Again, remember with the side-burns that it's better to cut just a tad at first and then cut more if you like them shorter. I tend to accidently cut them too short right off the bat and then I'm left waiting for them to grow back in. When cutting the hair behind their ears, be sure to comb it over the top of the ear so it doesn't lie flat against their skin and accidently stay longer than the rest.

Just comb out the side-burns and cut it.

This is what I mean about combing the hair out on top of the ear. I usually trim it so it barely touches the tops/outside of their ears and go straight down to the neckline from there.

Step 4: Cut the back of the neck hair.

This is pretty straight forward. Just be sure to cut it as straight as you can.

I usually have them look down while cutting their neck line.

Step 5: Layering

Layering is my favorite part up to this point. You basically pull a strip of hair between your fingers parallel from their head and snip about a 1/4 of an inch (or whatever you cut for the rest of the hair around the front, ears, back of neck). You do the same for the cowlick on the back of their head, the side of their head (by side-burns), back of their head, and top of head towards the back of the neck. The only area to leave alone for now is the bangs and top of their head.

Just snip the hair sticking out on top of my fingers.

Again, cut the hair on top of my fingers, not under my fingers.

This is showing his cowlick at the back of his head and how you still layer around it.

Step 6: Layering the side-burns.

For this part, put your comb vertically between his ear and side-burn and comb out the hair towards his face/nose. Then just cut it vertically close to where the vertical part of the side-burn is.

Comb out the hair towards his nose/eyebrows.

Cut it vertically.

Step 7: Layering the top/bangs.

For this part, I pull the strip of hair between my fingers like I did when layering the rest of his hair, but I pull it in horizontal strips (from ear to ear) instead of from front to back. I do this so I can basically leave the bangs un-layered. I've had too many bad experiences with trying to layer the bangs too close to the front of the hairline and you end up with a super short, un-even haircut!

Pull the hair in horizontal strips (from ear to ear instead of front to back strips) when layering the top. This is also the farthest up towards his bangs I go. Any closer and you start messing up your straight line you cut on Step 1. 

Step 8: Trimmer for side-burns and neck hair.

This is the least favorite part for my boys but probably my most favorite part. Just hold the trimmer and touch it to their skin. Easy peasy. Trim under side-burns, next to side burns, and neck hair.

Using the dreaded trimmer.

I also use the trimmer to go up vertically along the side burns to even out any lines made from cutting the bangs in step 1.

Step 9: Shake off the hair, give rewards, and look at your handsome little guy!

Before....

After!

And after giving the haircut, there is one more trick that my mother-in-law taught me: the person receiving the haircut always sweeps up the hair. I guess I have a couple more years before I can reap the benefits of that one with Gabriel and definitely with Benjamin. But I will say I have never swept up the hair after Christopher's haircuts.

So, I highly recommend considering learning how to cut your loved one's hair. It's really not that hard and it is an investment! Especially if you end up having 8 sons some day. Happy Money-Saving-Monday!

I did all the guys' haircuts here and they don't look too shabby!

More of some better haircuts for my boys.

 

 

Money saving Monday: Homemade Powder Laundry Soap-5 X's cheaper than store bought!

 

I remember the days I despised buying laundry detergent at the store. Literally, I dreaded the day we ran out and I would inevitably go over our budget by at least $20 buying detergent that would maybe last me a couple months. Store bought laundry detergent seemed like the only option: it was convenient and it cleaned my clothes. Honestly, I never knew that people still actually made their own soap. At the time, that sounded like something people did during the Great Depression because there was no other options. And besides that, I was working full time, Christopher was in medical school, we had 2 little ones and there was no way I had time for slaving away making laundry detergent in my spare time. So for the first 4 years of our marriage, I bought Tide Free from Babies R Us, or something similar, with some store ad to save any money I could. I used these all the time.

During my first year as a stay at home mom in Spokane, something magical happened that opened my eyes to a whole world of money-saving, Do-It-Yourself, crafty goodness: Pinterest. After I saw some of my friends pinning "Do-It-Yourself (DIY) homemade laundry detergent", the task didn't seem quite as daunting and I started reading blog after blog of homemade laundry detergent recipes. I finally came across this one and I decided it looked easy enough. 3 incredients. I could handle this. I gave it a try and have never looked back.

I've shared this recipe with anyone who wants it. After my in-laws stayed for a couple weeks, my mother-in-law was asking for the recipe and now she uses it and loves it! That says something because she is a retired pediatrician and her husband is a farmer (she is very educated, as is her husband, but his work clothes are usually very dirty). And I can speak for myself that having 3 little ones, 5 and under including 2 rambunctious boys, we have lots of dirty laundry that stands as proof that this works.

5 Common questions:

1. Does it really work, even on really soiled laundry?  Yes. Yes. . . And, Yes. I've been using this recipe for going on 3 years and it works great. I do pre-treat my really dirty stuff by scrubbing the spot immediately. For example, if the kids get ketchup or something on their shirt, I IMMEDIATELY soak it, scrub it with stain remover, etc by hand and then toss it in the hamper to wash later with the rest of the clothes. My clothes come out smelling great and clean every time.
2. Does it smell bad? No, actually, I prefer the smell of the homemade detergent over store bought. It is more airy and lighter than the majority of soaps I've used. Plus, you can apparently add essential oils to get any desired smell like lavender, though I've never done this.
3. Can you use it on an HE front loading washing machine? Sure. This is taken from This Frugal Life Blog which I sited earlier, "Homemade laundry detergent does not contain sulfates so it will not suds up like ordinary detergent but don’t worry, your clothes are getting clean. Plus, because this formula is low-sudsing, this is safe for you folks with front loading HE washers."
4. Does it take a long time to make? Do I really have time for this? Recipe only takes about 15 or 20 minutes to make and lasts much longer than a store bought box. The only real time consuming task is using a cheese grater to grate the bars of soap.
5. Is it safe for children and babies? What about sensitive skin? Though the Fels-Naptha bar of soap does warn that it is a skin and/or eye irritant if directly touching skin or gets in eyes for a long period of time, I have found the soap is kid-friendly. Gabriel has occasional eczema and this soap does not irritate or cause any flare ups. In fact, I haven't noticed any flare ups while using this soap. I also have sensitive skin and rashes are common and most times come with unknown etiologies. This detergent has not caused me any trouble either. As for newborns and babies, I decided to use store bought (think Dreft or Tide Free) for when my little ones are newborns and switch to the homemade once they hit the 1 year mark. I haven't done enough research to see if is gentle enough for them. But I have no problems with them after the year mark.
6. Will it gunk up my washer? Does the soap really dissolve? Like it says above, it does not suds up like normal store bought soap, but it really does clean your clothes. I have NEVER noticed any undissolved soap in my washer or anything like that.
7. How much do I use per load? 1 Tablespoon for a small load, 2 Tablespoons for a normal - large load, and 3 Tablespoons for a heavy or extra large load.
8. Can you use extra stain remover with your homemade detergent, like bleach, etc? Yes. I add bleach for my towels and whites (I always have) and it's fine. I also sometimes add some Era detergent to especially stinky laundry (like if my kids wet the bed or something), though it isn't necessary. (It's just what my mom always used so it's habit.) 
9. Where can I find Fels-Naptha soap? I've always found it at Wal-Mart, in the laundry detergent aisle. Birmingham people, I've found it off Lakeshore, off Lorna road, and I believe off Highway 150 Walmarts.
10. What's the difference between using Fels-Naptha soap and Zote soap? I honestly can't tell a difference and the last batch I made I mixed both a batch of Fels-Naptha and Zote and used a combination of the two. This blog did a comparasion on the two soaps and she had some helpful insight and noticed a big difference between the two. She recommended Fels-Naptha for heavier, greasier stains and zotes for more sensitive skin, and more everyday laundry. The price is a difference, however. Zote is $0.97 at walmart for more than twice as much (14 oz) soap as Fels-Naptha (5.05) for the same $0.97. It's still super cheap, but you get more than twice as much soap with Zote than with Fels-Naptha. Check out her blog for more details on the differences between these two soaps.

DIY Laundry Detergent-the Tutorial

You will need:

1. 1 cup of Borax (Found in the laundry detergent aisle)
2. 1 cup of Washing Soda (not to be confused with Baking soda-they are NOT the same thing. This is also found in the laundry detergent aisle)
3. 1 bar of Fels-Naptha stain remover soap (the blog above says you can use Ivory bar soap but I've only ever tried Fels-Naptha and Zotes soap). For this particular tutorial, I tried something new by combining 1 bar of zotes soap (also found at Walmart in the laundry section) because it's twice the size of Fels-Naptha and is the same cost. Zote is pink and Fels-Naptha is yellow. You'll notice the pink and yellow in the picture below. If you do the recipe with just Zote soap, it will be pink only. If you do the recipe with Fels-Naptha only, it will be yellow only.
4. Cheese grater and food processor (optional food processor just to mix the powder and the grated soaps to a very fine texture)

This is what the Fels-Naptha looks like. (wrapper on bottom and soap is gold colored)

Step 1:

Grate the Fels-Naptha soap. It doesn't matter large or small chunks, but this is the part that takes awhile. Maybe 15 minutes.

Step 2:

Mix the Borax and the Washing Soda with the grated bar soap.

Step 3: (Completely optional)

Add the grated soap/powder mixture to your food processor until it's all combined and is a fine consistency, sort of like the powder detergent you'd buy at the store. In the picture below, the bowl on the right has the powder and grated soap and the bucket on the left has the finished product. FYI, the first two years or so I made this soap, I always just stopped after mixing the grated bar with the powder. So my detergent looked like the bowl on the right and it worked just fine. I just prefer to use the food processor because I like the consistency better. It's a little easier to scoop up a Tablespoon of the detergent that is more unified rather than trying to make sure you get enough pieces of grated soap and powder.

 

Step 4:

Put your finished product in a handy little container with a measure spoon (1 Tablespoon) and that's it! 1 Tablespoon for a small load, 2 Tablespoons for a normal - large load, and 3 Tablespoons for a heavy or extra large load. Easy, right?

Price Breakdown and Comparison: Homemade Powder Detergent VS. Ultra Tide Original Powder Laundry Detergent

Ultra Tide Original Powder Laundry Detergent:

At Wal-Mart, Ultra Tide Original Powder Laundry Detergent costs $17.97 for 102 loads. See for yourself. That comes out to roughly $0.18/load.

Homemade Powder Detergent, a quadruple batch:

4 bars Fels-Naptha soap-$0.97 a bar, or  $3.88 for 4 bars.
Borax- $3.38 for the entire box, the quadruple batch used about 1/2 the box or $1.69.
Washing Soda-$3.24 for the entire box, the quadruple batch used about 2/3 of the box, or $2.16.

Fels-Naptha      $3.88
Borax               +$1.69
Washing Soda    $2.16

Grand Total:      $7.73 for 220 loads. That comes to roughly $0.04/load.

This means it is 4.5 times cheaper to use homemade laundry detergent than it is to use store bought! It's even more savings if you use Zote soap because you get more than twice as much soap as Fels-Naptha for the same price. That's why I did a combination batch last time I made it with both Fels-Naptha and Zote. Using the combination of 1 Zote bar (I basically substituted 1 zote=2 Fels Naptha)  and 2 Fels Naptha for a quadruple batch, it comes out to $.03/load.

What are you waiting for???

Almost 3 years ago, when I first made this soap, I was really excited and telling my mom how I made my detergent and how much money is has saved us. After telling her the 3 simple ingredients, she said, "So, you're making soap from soap...?" And I guess, in a way she's right. But hey, it works, it's easy, it's safe, and it's CHEAP! So I ask you, "What are you waiting for?"

Happy money-saving Monday!

 

Money Saving Monday: Top 10 favorite things about Aldi

If there is one thing I've realized about grocery shopping while Christopher and I have been married, it is that I love, love, LOVE saving money. The fact that we were basically broke since we've been married, added substantial medical school debt, and basically started having babies as soon as we could has only exaggerated my desire to save money and find a good deal on any and everything! I've decided to do some random "Money Saving Monday" posts about thrifty tricks I've discovered over the last few years. And believe me, there are quite a few!

 I just love me some Aldi.  When we lived in Wichita for the two years Christopher did his 3rd and 4th years of medical school, I started shopping at Aldi frequently, but mostly for those staple food items: bread, milk, eggs, and chicken breasts. I still shopped at Dillons quite a bit for the things I either wasn't brave enough to try at Aldi, preferred over Aldi, or simply Aldi didn't have.  Now, there are some things that Aldi doesn't have and some things Aldi only carries seasonally (for example their cocktail sauce is usually only spring and summer and their "pumpkin" flavored coffee creamer, yogurt, and such is usually only Fall and Winter).  Then, when we moved to Spokane, Washington for Christopher's 1st year of residency, I realized just what we were missing by not shopping at Aldi. We basically had Wal-Mart as our only option for cheaper grocery shopping, so we hit Wal-Mart for EVERYTHING on our shopping list. We had a pretty strict budget of $175 every 2 weeks for groceries and that was for our family of 4 (at the time). Surprisingly, I was able to stay right around our budget, but that was also taking into account the fact that Christopher frequently brought home extra food from the hospital from his meal card money that the hospital gave to him each month (boy, do I wish he still had a hospital meal card. I miss those extra desserts, salads, and wraps.).  Now that we've been living in Alabama for going on our 2nd full year, I've rediscovered my love for Aldi with one that is only about 5 minutes from where we live. Now I buy everything we need at Aldi and the VERY rare, few things that they do not have or actually are cheaper else where (like toothpaste and diapers, for example, which are cheaper at Wal-Mart) and I couldn't be happier about it! Here are my top 10 favorite things about Aldi, and specifically the Aldi here in Homewood, Alabama.

Top 10 Favorite Things About Aldi

1. Best milk, egg, produce, and grocery in general prices around! Milk sells for $2.99, every day, all year round, no kidding. I haven't seen it close to that anywhere else. I've also been known to get Pomegranates for $0.69, Bananas for $0.44 and apples for $1.99/bag. I believe the Eggs I bought last were $1.79/dozen. This week, a 3 pack of green peppers sells for $0.99 and a bag of salad sells for $0.50. They have the "Produce of the Week" deal which highlights a few different ones for extremely cheap. They rotate the produce of the week, so watch the local adds to catch the deals!

 

1. The non-grocery items aren't too shabby on prices either! I bought a set of 2 decorative pillows (that sit on our couch now) for around $10.00 and I hadn't been able to find them that cheap anywhere else except used at a garage sale.
2. Shopping at Aldi forces me to be a little more "green". I bring my own cloth re-usable bags since Aldi doesn't give out plastic or paper bags. If you forget to bring your own bags, no fear; you can either buy some re-usable ones or plastic ones at the counter or you can find extra boxes from the aisle (previously used for food that have all been sold) and use them!
3.  The shopping cart experience. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Aldi shopping carts, let me explain how they work. Lots of people seem to be confused by how the carts work and think you have to spend money on them. The carts are free, don't be fooled, but you have to have a quarter handy; not 2 dimes and a nickel, but an actual quarter. The carts are all at the front of the store and are locked together. When you deposit your quarter, it unlocks the cart and holds your quarter until you return it and lock it up again, at which point your quarter will pop out for you to have again. See, free carts if you return them back and lock them up again. I like to scout out people (especially older people) who are just finishing using their carts at their car, approach them with my quarter and ask to use their cart. It saves both of us the trip to the front of the store (them to get their quarter back and me to get my cart). I love this part because they usually look so grateful and surprised!
   
    
4. I've made money off the cart system before. Let me explain. Like I said on #3, a lot of people seem to be confused on how the cart system works, especially first-timer Aldi customers. If you go to Aldi on a weekday, I can almost guarantee that you'll make money off the cart system, too. Here's why: a lot of first-timers think you have to pay to use the carts and don't realize that if you bring your cart back to the front and lock it up, you will receive your quarter again. I've found stray carts in the parking lot and also found carts at the front and in the cart line, but not locked with the chain (so the quarter was still there). One particular weekday morning, I found about $1.00 in quarters.  Not a huge savings, but it's something!
5. The alcohol selection. Now I have to clarify that the Midwest Aldi chain does NOT sell alcohol in their stores. But here in the south, Aldi has a good selection of wine, beer, margaritas and such. My favorites are the sweet wines so the Winking Owl White Zinfandel is one of our favorites and the best part is that it's only $2.89 a bottle! Can't beat that price! We've also tried the Landshut Sweet Red which is pretty tasty and is also only $4.99.  https://www.aldi.us/en/grocery-items/wine-beer/white-wines/white-wines-detail/ps/p/winking-owl-white-zinfandel/
   
6. The wine has an AWESOME guide on the back of the bottle that sort of acts as a "wine for dummies", or at least has for me. It has a scale that rates the wine from dry to sweet, full to thin, where it's imported from (Italy, Germany, California, etc.), the flavors in the wine (strawberry, cherry, grape, etc.), and what it tastes good with (desserts, chicken, beef, etc.). I really appreciate this as I really know nothing about wine and this has sort of taught me anything I do know. Nothing worse than buying some wine to try and not liking it. Ask Christopher about his first drink on his 21st birthday at Timberline.
7. Close parking every day, every time, no exceptions. I've never had to walk far to get inside Aldi and I LOVE that, especially when I go with the little ones (which I try to make as infrequently as possible because we all know shopping with little ones is a type of insanity; at least it always feels like that for me.)
8. Flowers. Few people realize or know that you can buy a bouquet of roses, wild flowers or seasonal flowers for probably half the price you could anywhere else. I'll also add that they are beautiful and last just as long if not longer. They are usually by the check-out lines.
9. Aldi now carries a lot of healthier, organic and natural foods. I love to get hummus and pita chips there because I can get the hummus for $2.99 and pita chips for $1.99. Also, they have an entire section of organic fruits and veggies including carrots and apples. I've also noticed some goat cheese and other "fancy" cheeses that I don't even know the name for without looking at an Aldi add. I've tried their almond butter which I thought was pretty tasty. I know they have egg beaters and soy milk, too, although I haven't tried the soy milk to vouch for them.

How Aldi Saves You Money                      

I recently came across this blog that does a great job explaining how Aldi saves you more. Another reason is that Aldi cuts most of the overhead so we save the extra money. They only hire as little employees as they need, which is often why you see them working their tails off and busy the entire time you are shopping. They also don't have much shelving. The boxes are stacked on top of each other which gives the store a sort of messy, raw look, but you get used to it very easily. They also don't really have aisles, which makes you zig-zag around the store to get your things, which in turn ensures you see EVERYTHING the store as to offer. The carts and the bagging cut cost which I described above as one of the things I personally love about Aldi. And another thing about Aldi I've heard rumor as true is they sell other big name brand stores overstock, but put an Aldi brand on it. I've heard this about their chicken (overstock from Tyson, I believe), but I think this is one of the reasons I love the groceries so much. Honestly, I can't tell a difference with some of their brands vs. big name brands.

If you've been thinking about trying Aldi but haven't yet, I HIGHLY recommend that you do. Even if you just try out some basics like milk, bread (for $0.89 a loaf), or eggs. Just be forewarned, it's addicting. Especially once you see how full your cart can be for under $200! I shop every 2 weeks and very rarely spend over $190 for the 5 of us and I always have an overflowing cart including 5 gallons of milk and 5 dozen eggs. (Our budget still sits around $175, but sales tax is 9%, so that does make it a little more difficult). I frequently get asked by the price-checker how I fit it all in there. My reply, "Tetris".

Happy Monday and Happy Shopping!

November Library Favorites

This month's visit to the library started out on Halloween morning; okay, technically, it was still October, but we were able to load up on 15 more books for the beginning of November.

Anyway, we went trick-or-treating at our 2 favorite libraries: Hoover and Homewood. Hoover's library is quite a bit bigger and honestly, the kids like it better. After all, it does have an outside play area with huge Lego blocks, a big castle, and mom approved soft turf floor that is completely fenced into the library itself. However, the Homewood library has a certain charm that this momma can't resist. It's much smaller and usually less crowded. The kids are pretty excited about the big fish tank, the chinchilla (looks like a big bunny with a squirrel's bushy tail), tarantula, birds and chalkboard table. I think what I like most is that it's quaintness reminds me of the Spokane, Washington library that was in our backyard for the year we lived up north for Christopher's intern year. Plus, it sort of has a small town community appeal to it that the bigger Hoover library just doesn't have.

So when we went trick-or-treating at Hoover's library, I decided it will now be tradition. The kids had an absolute blast. First of all, every desk in each department was passing out candy, so the kids ended up with quite a bit of candy. Also, the story time that day passed out their own goodie bag. Lastly, who can forget the people watching, or rather cute-costume-wearing kid watching that takes place!

Of course, such a fun event drew in quite a crowd. My book selecting was a little frazzled and fast as my little candy-starved trick-or-treaters persistently were asking, "Can I eat the sucker now, Mommy?...Please Can I have the M&M's?...You said we could eat candy LATER!....Can we eat the candy now, Mommy?!?!"  We walked out with 15 books, all candy uneaten by my little ones, and some random child's sticky candy rejects stuck on Gianna's trick-or-treat basket.

Alright, I'll stop digressing and get to the November favorites from my pickings (and some of their's, too):

1.) I was looking at the spines of books for anything that might involved "dinosaurs" and lucked out with this one. Both Gabriel and Gianna LOVE this one, although it is quite a bit longer than the average book I typically grab. Basically, the little dog, Shadow, is out camping with her owner, a little 10 or so year old boy, Jesse. As they are getting ready for bed, Shadow unburies a big bone. Jesse is talking about how he thinks the bone may have belonged to some dinosaurs from the past before they both fall asleep. Soon, Shadow is awakened by the bone, which is now glowing and humming. The trees turn into big sauropods (long neck dinos) and some boulders turn into some therapods (sharp tooth dinos). There is almost a fight until Shadow buries the bone and the dinos return to the trees and boulders once again. In the morning, Jesse is asking where the bone went and Shadow, exhausted from the night's adventures is sound asleep. Gabriel found a page in the middle that depicts the dinosaurs about ready to fight each other and is just fixated on that page! He asked daddy to draw that page with him and I have to admit, it looked pretty good! The sentence structures are jam-packed with analogies, metaphors, and similes, which I personally love reading. Overall, a great book!

2.) And for Gianna, we were searching for anything "princess", and this board book was found in the baby section under the "P"'s, thank goodness! It is very fitting as Gianna is still mastering her newly acquired skill of potty training! This book is very loved and used to be a flap, tab, pull book (as it says right up there on the cover page). However, most of the flaps are gone. One of the best parts of re-reading this book was when we realized that one of the pages had "potty" in the toilet and you could turn it so it "flushed" and the potty gets hidden! This book is perfect for any princess-loving, pink-and-purple-loving little girl!

3.) This one is a win-win for both my girl and my boy! A dinosaur tooth fairy in a museum is reminiscing about "the good ol' days" of getting big dino teeth once they were lost or pulled and how those days are long gone. She sees a little girl in the museum lose a tooth and just has to have her tooth. She follows the little girl home and is desperately looking for the tooth, all the while, the real tooth fairy has been following the little girl and looking as well. It ends when the real tooth fairy grabs the little girl's tooth and the dino-tooth fairy is just about broken hearted. The two fairies solve the problem by switching a dino tooth for the little girl's tooth and the little girl gets some cash under her pillow-everyone wins! So, I like to look on the inside back cover to read little bio's about the author and illustrator when they are listed. This book had a little nugget of valuable info on the back cover that I almost missed, but totally makes the book more enjoyable: The author, Martha Brockenbrough, has decided to give 10% of her royalties on this book to a dentistry group that does pro bono work for children over seas in impoverished areas. She definitely got some brownie points and more respect from me after reading that.

4.) This one is a favorite of Gabriel's for sure. The author is a mom of (I think) 8 children and the bio on the inside back cover said that her children loved both Westerns and Dinosaurs. She wondered what would happen if she combined them both into a story and this book was born! Rocky is a dinosaur tamer and the townsfolk need his help when the roughest, toughest, rip-roarin'est dinosaur to ever kick dirt comes to town-T-Rex! I found at least one John Wayne reference in this book which made me smile; Rocky held up his hand and said, "Time's a wastin'." Christopher recently introduced me to John Wayne a couple months ago. Being the 2nd boy of a family of 9 with 8 boys, John Wayne classics were common movies for him growing up. Being the youngest of 11 with 7 girls, I didn't even know who John Wayne was growing up. Although this is a little bit of a lengthy read, it is pretty darn cute hearing daddy read it to the kids with the "western slang" that the author throws in there!

 

5.) This book was a favorite of Gianna's. You can't really tell from the picture, but this book has huge googly eyes that have cut outs on the pages, so each page has a different face that fits the googly eyes on them (if that makes sense). This was a fun read because it goes along the rhyming/rhythm of the song "Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed". Also, it goes through 10 different cat breeds and each story has something related to the specific breed. At the end of the book, it lists the 10 cat breeds mentioned and tells some facts about them. I'm am by no means a cat person (actually, I don't really like them at all. They are too snobby for me.), but I will admit, this is a really cute cat book and I learned a thing or two about cats!

6.) This one is by the same author/illustrator as the above book, has the same googly eyes, follows same rhyming/rhythm pattern, and also features 10 different dog breeds. I personally enjoy this one more because I am a dog person. The kids and I really enjoyed picking which dog was our favorite at the very end after reading all the facts about each breed. Gabriel picked the Dachshund and Gianna's varied between the Beagle and the Poodle.

 

7.) Of course, I have to have another "How Do Dinosaurs..." book in this month's collection. This one was in the board book/baby section and of course I had to check it out because of how much Gabriel and Gianna are into dinosaurs, and also because of how much we all love this series. I love the rhyming, but also, there's always a lesson to be learned and this book is all about etiquette with friends: sharing, playing fair, etc. It's a perfect book to use when trying to teach your three year old daughter how to share her toys with your 1 year old son...not that I'm having that problem or anything (*wink*).

 

8.)This one was a favorite for all of us! Christopher loved reading this one because it is a pretty fast read, and at bedtime, those are usually his favorite! I love this author's illustrations and lighthearted stories and I'm pretty sure the kids love the pictures and how it encourages their imagination. This story is about a little rabbit hoping along imagining what it would be like to be green like the green grass, tall like the fur trees, still like a rock, etc. My older sister who is a preschool teacher introduced my family to Kevin Henkes with the book, "Old Bear", by giving it to Gabriel for his 1st Birthday. The illustrations in that book are exceptional and again, we love his sweet stories.

 

9.)This book was also found in the board book/baby section. I love reading this book to the kids for the 1st time and seeing their expressions as we go through the book. The squid is comparing himself to everything in the ocean and saying on each page how he is "bigger than the shrimp," and "bigger than the jellyfish." Eventually, he gets eaten by a whale (this is the part I love looking at my kids expression as his squid legs are hanging out of the whale's mouth)! Fortunately, he notices that he's still the biggest thing in the whale's tummy so it's all good!

10.) This one was suggested by my favorite librarian, Lena, who works with kids! It was a super cute and funny read, just like she promised, and of course, we loved it! I like how after reading this, Gianna learned what rhymes were and now she's been rhyming words like nobody's business. Three of the dust bunnies are rhyming while the fourth, Bob, is trying to warn them of impending doom-the broom and eventually the vacuum!

11.) Surprise! Another Mo Willems book! (He is one of my favorite authors, you know.) This one was a big hit with my kids. Not only does it have dinosaurs, but Goldilocks looks just like Trixie from the Knuffle Bunny Series by Mo Willems. I also love how Mo sticks his little pigeon character from the Pigeon series randomly in his other books. For example, in this book, we found the pigeon in the cookie jar with some chocolate chip cookies and also in a framed picture on an end table. Basically, the dinosaurs are plotting to trick Goldilocks into eating the delicious chocolate pudding and then crashing in one of their beds so they could sneak in and eat a yummy chocolate-filled-little girl bon-bon. Goldilocks comes to her senses and runs out the back door. The moral at the end of the story is if you are in the wrong story, leave. Ironically, the moral of the story for the dinosars is to lock the back door. A really funny twist on an old favorite.

12.) I got this one from the new section in the kids area. (signal new-book-spine sniffing) Surprisingly, Gianna fell in love with this book! But then again, once we started reading the story, it made total sense. The book is about a big sister (dinosaur) learning the ropes of having a baby sibling (dinosaur). Personally, I love how I can apply the lessons to her. For example, one line is how we don't snatch toys away from the dino-baby. Teaching Gianna to share is an everyday lesson lately.

 

 13.) I might have started an addiction with my children and Rosemary Wells; they LOVE her bunny series books. I grabbed this one thinking it would pull both Gabriel and Gianna in; after all, there is a dragon (shirt) and there are bunnies! And of course I was right! Ruby has to take her little brother Max to get a new pair of pants because his favorite pair is "disgusting", but the catch is that they only have enough money, $5, for a pair of pants. Max is insisting on the shirt, no matter how many times Ruby tells him there is only enough money for pants. After Max gets lost in the store, he finds a dragon shirt and puts it on. Ruby finds him enjoying some ice cream with the police and the dragon shirt (unpaid for at this point) is covered in ice cream! It's the perfect ending as Max ends up with both the dragon shirt (she had to pay for it since he got it dirty) AND his favorite pair of pants!

14.) This one is another new book. I seriously check the dates of every book I read, just out of my own weird curiosity on how old the particular book is. This one smells divine. Gianna really loved this one I think partly because she afraid of Big Bad Wolves so this one pulls in ALL of her attention and partly because she is still learning her colors and this book is great practice for her. The gray wolf thinks gray is too dreary and wants to change his color. But every color he tries leaves him feeling unhappy once more. In the end, he decides he's happy being himself and being gray. A great plug-in for telling your little ones how they are perfect just the way they are!

15.) Yep, another Rosemary Wells favorite from my kids (I thought it would be a favorite when I picked it out). This one is a little different from her Max and Ruby series. In fact, neither Max nor Ruby are in this book. This book has 3 separate stories about 3 little bunnies who all are having terrible days. Each bunny escapes to the bunny planet where they see the day that "should have been". She uses imagery and rhymes that I have yet to see in her Ruby and Max series. I really loved the earthy feel from reading this book. It made me want to bite into a warm, juicy, ripe tomato. It made me want to lie on a mossy bank in the forest taking in the afternoon sounds and smells.  Or it made me want to play board games in a lighthouse cottage while our clothes dry next to the crackling fire. I highly recommend this one!

16.) As soon as Gabriel's eyes saw this one, it was an instant favorite! Ironically, Christopher recently did a radiology conference to Chicago where the Field Museum from this book is located! This book is about the T-Rex fossils found, uncovered, shipped, and displayed all from a mouse's perspective who lived under one of the toe bones while buried on the bluff. I like how it gives the kids a behind the scenes look at the work that goes into a dinosaur dig and displaying it at a museum.

Alright! That does it for November.  Don't be surprised if I throw in some of our favorite holiday books for the month of December! Until then, Happy Reading!

Sisterhood of the Jogging Strollers

As a lot of ya'll know (I posted about it on Facebook, so all of you are probably clued in), I am and have been training for my 1st half marathon coming up on November, 23rd-The Magic City Marathon in Birmingham downtown area. It has been good for me in multiple aspects. I have always had this on my bucket-list; well, it has been on my bucket list probably since I have been competitively running since high school. Originally, I thought that there was no way in heck that I could do this with little ones, all the moving around we've done in the last few years, and how incredibly out of shape back-to-back pregnancies has left me. No, this item on my bucket list would come to fruition after all my children (and future children) were grown and gone when I was probably in my 50's and had "time".

However, obviously things change. Now that Facebook keeps me updated on numerous friends and family who are running half and full marathons, it has motivated me even further. Every time I would see in my newsfeed another friend with the exhausted yet victorious look on their face, medal around their neck, standing close to the finish line of their half, I would feel a little twinge of motivation and jealousy combined.  I wanted this...but it seemed so distant. The final straw that did it for me and pushed me into training now was seeing a good girlfriend who at the time had 3 little ones (the youngest at the time was around 9 months old and also breastfeeding like Benjamin is for me) run this with her little sister, also a good friend, last fall. Thank you (you know who you are!)!

Training has been a little difficult at times, I'm not gonna lie. Some of the obstacles I've had to work with are:  My neighborhood doesn't have sidewalks and we live off a busier street with through traffic everyday so neighborhood runs are basically non-existent. I do have a dreadmill, oops, treadmill in the basement; however, now that my runs are mostly 4 and 5 miles and up, it gets old real fast. Christopher's busy schedule also keeps me on my toes with scheduling my runs with friends. I can only go if he's there to watch the kids. Most days, I squeeze in my runs after getting the kids all to sleep, on the treadmill, late at night, and that's assuming I haven't fallen asleep while putting Benjamin to sleep.

A new thing I've started doing recently is going on my runs after dropping Gabriel off at school. This way, I can use our double stroller with Gianna and Benjamin and I don't have to wait until late at night on the treadmill. This whole scene is challenging for me. First of all, I have to have enough distractions for them to keep from crying, whining, trying to get out, etc. My essentials for them on these trips include stickers, drinks, snacks, and a few favorite toys. Secondly, I feel pretty safe since it's pretty heavily traveled by bikers, walkers, joggers, dogs, kids, skateboarders, and even the occasional elderly person pushing their lap dog in an umbrella stroller (seriously). But still, the paranoid momma in me is always looking behind my shoulders for creepers. Thirdly, I have some big kids; Gianna and Benjamin are actually my biggest, percentage wise. When they are both in the stroller, we're talking about pushing 60+ pounds of kids, and that's not even mentioning pushing uphill or against the wind.

Now that I've done a few of these jogging stroller runs with the little ones, I can't help notice a trend with the other jogging stroller mommas and myself. I call it "the Sisterhood of the Jogging Strollers". It is an understanding between the jogging mommas that is unique to any other person on the trail.  Most people I pass on the opposite lane have a pretty focused look on their face, eyes fixed on the path ahead, and with no trace of acknowledging my existence next to them. I get it; I've been there. They're in "the zone". It's a different story when I pass another momma pushing a stroller. First, it's the empathetic smile and look on their face. The "I know what you're dealing with" and the "keep it up, momma" and the "I know you're tired pushing the weight of your kids plus trying to finish your run" look. Then, it's the "Hi" we both muster up in passing. Or a wave to the little ones in the stroller. Or both. And then after we pass, I smile to myself because they've just given me some more motivation to keep going. And we've also shared in the sisterhood of the jogging strollers.

October's Library Favorites

1. First of all, I personally love Eric Carle. His name on a book catches my eye and I just HAVE to bring the book home. I love his artwork and his stories and usually I learn something or there is a tangible lesson I can teach the kids after reading his stories. This one was a board book I found in the little baby area of the library. The kids kept asking for this one over and over again. Mister Seahorse helps Mrs. Seahorse by carrying and protecting their eggs before they hatch in a special pouch in his belly. He keeps swimming along, randomly meeting some of his other "guy" friends who are also carrying the eggs for their wives. The last page was all of our favorite with about 10 little seahorses swimming out of his pouch. It was cool to explain to the kids how all those mommy fishes did NOT have the babies-the daddies did!

2. Okay, I'll admit it: I love pop up books. Like, I seriously love seeing the origami-like, 3-D, folded surprises literally "pop" out of the page. David A. Carter is one of my personal favorites for the 8 year old pop-up-book lover inside of me. I first knew of him from the "Bugs in Boxes" books and have a few in our home book collection. So, when I saw this board book in the baby section, I snatched it up! No surprise, the kids also fell in love with it immediately! This book is, like the title says, about opposites. The first page has a few other colors, but mostly it's in black, white and yellow, which the little ones love.

3. In honor of my sweet Gianna's 3rd birthday in October, on our first October trip to the library earlier this month, I purposely picked some birthday themed books for her. This one happens to be from another series the kids and I love...and the bonus is that it is also dinosaur themed (a win-win since it is about Birthdays for Gianna, and about dinosaurs, which Gabriel loves).  So this author and illustrator have made quite a few in the "How Do Dinosaurs..." series. My first introduction to them was the book, "How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?" which is in our home library. One thing I love about these books is how the illustrator picks really cool and unique dinosaurs for the pictures and then - like a boss- very discretely inscribes the name of the obscurely named dinosaurs alongside their bodies. So, when you read it to your little ones, over and over, you can -like a boss- point out the strange, unique and weird names to your kids. I'd like to think that they then think I am the smartest person on the planet. Anyway, these books in the series start by asking questions about the theme and answering with crazy, wrong answers. Then, the second half of the book tells how dinosaurs answer the question of the book the appropriate ways. Gabriel just loved the dinosaur illustrations and it was fun talking about birthday etiquette with them throughout the story.

4.  This one I picked up from the animal section in the preschool area of the library. We have a bear puzzle that the kids love so I thought that they'd enjoy learning about some bears. This book was asked for a lot and I think it's because it was sing-songy, which my kids love, and most pictures had a baby bear and a mommy bear. Gianna is my baby-doll lover, so I knew that would just hit the spot for her. At the end, it shows a map the world with the locations of the 10 or so bears it talks about, which Gabriel really marveled at since he's been into the planets and solar system lately.

5.  This one I found in the Caldecotte Medal winner section of the preschool section of the library. (The Caldecotte Medal is awarded to illustrators and is very prestigious. Check this Wikipedia link for more info on Caldecotte Medals http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldecott_Medal.) I wanted to grab a few from that section to see if the kids were drawn to the award winning books...and they were definitely drawn to this one! This is an oldie, but a goodie. It was illustrated and written by Lynd Ward and published first in 1952.  Just a little warning, if you are uncomfortable with the idea of guns, you may not like this one or reading it to your little ones. I read it to my kids and told them it happened a long time ago, in a different era. It is also a good time to bring up gun safety since the main character is probably 8 and owns and shoots a big old gun during the story. Anyway, the story is about a little boy who is jealous of all his country neighbors who have hunted, found or otherwise ran into and shot big bears; he was especially embarrassed that their barn had no bear skin hanging on it like all the other barns in the valley did. He is determined to go hunting and find the "biggest bear". He gets in the woods, hears a noise, and finds a little baby bear. He falls in love with it, brings it home and keeps it until it's a big bear that gets into trouble with the neighbors crops, meats, maple syrup, etc. The neighbors want the bear gone, so Johnny tries to take him back but he keeps coming home. Finally, at a loss of what to do, Johnny and his daddy (mostly his daddy) decide it's time to put the bear down and Johnny wanted to be the one to do it. When he takes the bear to the woods to put him down, the bear takes off after a scent of something which leads them to a trap (see the cover page for that illustration). When the men come to the trap, they tell Johnny that they are collecting animals for the zoo. This is the perfect ending to the story and Johnny is happily visiting him at the zoo on the last page. I really did love the illustrations in the book and my kids did, too. They each had their favorite pages and although it was a rather long story, and it sort of revolved around hunting/guns/shooting, I liked it!

6. Speaking of Caldecott Medal winners, here is another one. I was surprised my kids liked this one so much mostly because I think the story line may be a little advanced for them; it is not the typical Three Little Pigs story. In this book, the pigs jump out of the story before the wolf gobbles them up (after huffing and puffing and blowing the houses in). They sort of wonder in and out of a couple other stories, including "Hey Diddle Diddle" and some story with a dragon and a rose. By the end, the jump back in their story and the dragon scares the wolf away when they are in the last pig's brick house. I enjoyed reading it because it was different. I like to be surprised when I pick up a book and this one definitely surprised me!

7.  Gianna picked this one from the baby section and it was a board book. This one quickly became a favorite.  Before we even left the library, I had already read it probably half a dozen times to Gianna and Benjamin (Gabriel was in school that day). First thing I noticed was how new it was; it was copyright 2013, so the pages still had that new book smell that I just love. The second thing we noticed was that the pages all had shapes cut out that led into the next page. It starts out with his yellow eyes, then adds his blue-ish green-ish nose and ears, then adds his little red smile and white tooth, etc. Midway, through it shows a star and says it's time for bed so then the pieces of the face disappear again and ends with stars and a moon shining on the last page. I loved how I could also work on colors with Gianna when I read this one.

8. This one is probably the most unique book I've read to them yet-from this past summer or ever, really- and we all love it...even daddy! This book has no words, except the title, "Chalk". The illustrations are pristine; I stare at them in awe that someone actually created them and that they are not in fact photographs. The detail is insane...like seeing stray hairs on someone's head on one of the pictures. The story is basically about 3 friends walking through a park on a rainy day and they find this bag of magic chalk hanging on the spring rider dinosaur. It's magic because whatever they draw comes to life! The first girl picks yellow and draws a sun and sure enough, the sun comes out and it stops raining! The next girl draws a butterfly and butterflies come out of the pavement and start flying around. Lastly, the boy grabs a green chalk and draws a t-rex (this is the part that Gabriel says the little boy isn't very smart) and of course, the t-rex crawls out of the pavement and the kids are absolutely terrified (the illustrations are so good that you can see the kids' artery in their necks flexing while they are screaming!). The same little boy saves the day by drawing a cloud with raindrops with some blue chalk. Then, miraculously, the dinosaur melts away and it ends with the three kids walking away with the magic chalk bag hanging where they found it. I like letting the kids tell the story with each page. I like hearing what they see on each page.

9.  This is a really sweet bedtime story about this little guy, Sam, who thinks his mommy and daddy are having wild and crazy adventures in his house while he's sleeping. He's bound and determined to find out what's really going on and he's taking his little bear, Petey, along for the ride. The kids and I all love it. I love the rhythmic rhymes and I think we all love the adorable illustrations. There's also some adult humor when he discovers that his parents are doing nothing fun at all: mom's reading a magazine and dad's doing a crossword, with the words "boring" and "bedtime" on the crossword.

10.  I picked this one out of the "new books" section and it's a really cute book about adult eating metaphors in correlation to how adorable a new baby is. Big Brother Tom thinks his family is planning on eating his new little brother (who he calls "the Blob" since he can't do "one single interesting thing") since he keeps hearing them say things like, "I could eat those cheeks," and "Look at those juicy thighs". This makes my kids giggle, and it's also a good way to explain some silly expressions adults say. I'm also impressed that she is the author AND illustrator-brownie points.

11.  Another "new baby" book I grabbed about a big brother who is tired and annoyed with his little sister, the "no-good baby who is good for nothing". He's fed up and telling his mommy all the reasons why she should leave. In doing this, he discovers a few things she is good for, like being louder than him in the library and throwing cheerios on the floor to crunch on and step on. The kids also like this one, but I can't help but wonder if it's because they feel like this about each other sometimes. The books ends with the baby going to grandma's house for a day and big brother spends the day with just mommy. A good reminder to squeeze in that quality time with each little one we have.

12.  Gianna picked this one from the baby board book section. Fascinated by it, she had me read it a few times in the library before we even made it home, and then multiple times a day for days on end after that. This book only has a word on each page (like "huntsman" when showing the huntsman). I liked how I could read the story once, pointing out random things that caught my eye, and then ask her to read it to me the next time. It's always amazing what they notice on the pages compared to what I notice.

13.  Aw, a good old classic. I also love the Berenstain books. After checking out this link, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenstain_Bears, I learned that not only were Stan and Jan married, but they also met in 1941on their first day at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. After being separated during WWII, they were wed in 1946. Have I mentioned that I really like older authors for some reason? They also worked with Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss. This is a quick read (sometimes those are daddy's favorites on a busy night of doing dictations), with a few words on each page. I think it's a favorite because the kids can easily guess the words as the pages go on and it's a little silly. The bear wants to trade in his old hat for a new hat except every hat has something wrong with it. Happily, he finally settles for his old hat in the end.

14.  This is one surprised me when the kids fell in love with it. This little pig (I think it's a girl?) is sledding alone, even though her mommy and daddy don't allow her to sled alone. She keeps almost crashing into other animals on the hill but escapes by using some preposition like "over", "around", "under" or "between" and then keeps on sledding until she meets the next obstacle to overcome. She ends by crashing into her mommy and daddy!

15.  Another birthday book in honor of Gianna and Benjamin's fast approaching November birthday. I just love when my babies start actually paying attention to the stories inside the books instead of trying to savagely rip and eat the pages of every book in sight. This is a board book from the baby section of the library and Benjamin especially loves this book. It is a flap book and like pop-up books, I am a HUGE fan. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree because my kids are addicted to flap books as well. I love how Benjamin has enough fine motor skills now to actually open up the flaps on each page and my kids all love singing the "Happy Birthday" song at the very end when the baby finally finds his birthday cake!

16. This one I also grabbed from the new book section. I generally like to read my kids really silly, happy, sing-songy, rhythmic, moral-of-the-tory, rhyming books. But every once and a while, I'll accidently grab a book that just about leaves me a crying hot mess in middle of story time with my kids. And this one is one of those books. I seriously just randomly grab books most of the time at the library because I'm also keeping track of my three little ones in the process. I read this one at home for the first time with them and was choking back tears the entire time. It's about the little bear's grandpa, who has Alzheimer's (though they never call it that). Sometimes, Grandpa gets lost, acts like a kid, etc. But, this little bear loves him just the way he is. I think this book made me teary-eyed because it reminded me of my sweet grandma who passed away 3 years ago this December. She fought Alzheimer's for years (at least 6 years) in the nursing home and watching her relationships with her children and us grandchildren deteriorate, evolve, and change into something new, different, and simple was an experience that is sometimes difficult to describe. I don't think people truly understand how it affects a family unless it hits your family personally. Surprisingly, I was not prepared for the emotional trigger this book hit for me, but I really did love the story. The simple illustrations captivated both my children and me and again, the author is also illustrator, which wins more admiration from me every time.  



That will probably do it for the month of October. I'll be hitting the library end of October with a backpack full of more books for us to discover! Until next month's favorites appear...happy reading!!