Kid's Book Recommendations: Home Edition

I just love all the books Nora and I have been discovering lately. Some through friend's recommendations, some from blogs and others just by sweet happenstance. I have a pretty long list of great books I want to pass along, so I thought I'd break them into categories. These are some wonderful titles that seem to center around the theme of Home.

All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan. This is a gorgeous book and one I've put on our "to own" list. Little Eli describes life on his family's farm, from the sweet soil his father plows to the smell of leather in his grandfather's barn and the blueberry flats where he picnics with his mother. It is hard to read this and not daydream about buying a few acres, a barn and a menagerie of animals.

A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman. This book was given to me at a shower before I had Nora and the well-read gift-giver stated that this was her very favorite book as a kid (thanks Kathy!). The illustrations in this book are amazing...always important to me. The pictures are of intricate detail and provide something new to find on each page and with each reading. Reading like poetry, homes are described from ant hills to corn husks, tickling Nora's imagination and helping her see the world just a little bit differently.

I Know a Place by Karen Ackerman. Unfortunately, this little book about the sounds, smells and routines of a little girl's home seems to be out-of-print. This was one that Nora pulled off the library shelf on her own and I'm so glad she did. From the sounds of her father's early morning footsteps as he readies himself for work to family dinners and snuggling under her quilt at night - it highlights the importance of the rhythms of home and the comfort children find in it's familiarities.

Do you have any favorite books about "home"?

Sweet deal on Jesus Storybook Bible

I wanted to let you all know about a sweet deal on an amazing children's Bible. In our opinion, this kids' Bible is the gold standard. Maybe you've heard of it?

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every story whispers His name retells stories from scripture, Genesis through Revelations, showing how each story is a part of one big story...that of Jesus. From the beginning, God the Father in His "never stopping, never giving up always and forever love" has planned to send His Son as the great Rescuer. The stories are written in such a way as to make big concepts understandable to little ones, however, the truths remain profound. Thang and I have been majorly blessed by our time reading to Nora, seeing how God's rescue mission for us has been in place even before time began. I can't tell you how many friends have admitted to being in tears as they've read these stories to their kids.

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every story whispers His name is on sale at the Covenant Seminary online bookstore for $9.34 until the end of February! Good friends of mine from college own the bookstore in St. Louis and clued me into the deal.

If you want a taste, check out these videos:

He's Here

Light of the Whole World

God's Wonderful Surprise

We originally got this book for Nora for her first Easter after it had been recommended to us. We have so enjoyed it, we've given one to all of our nieces and nephews, and our copy has been so loved it is already in tatters.

If you're interested in receiving updates on other book deals from the Covenant Seminary Bookstore, you can "Like" their Facebook page.

Surviving the 1st Trimester, and beyond...

Thang tells me things were pretty rough for me during the 1st trimester with Nora, but I feel like they've been rougher this time around. Not to go into excruciating detail, but with Nora there was a lot of nausea, with this one, things went well beyond nausea (catch my drift?). I seriously have an even greater appreciation for those ladies who are sick throughout their entire pregnancies (I know several) and yet have had multiple children (can't imagine being sick like this for literally years of my life!).

God is so gracious though, and instead of the 16 weeks of yuckiness I had with Nora, things have seemed to settle down for me around 15 weeks this time. Now to enjoy the rest of the pregnancy (well at least until the back pain and swollen ankles begin, but I'll take that any day over the 1st trimester stuff).

I thought I would share a few of the things that seemed to provide me some relief.

Papaya enzymes. These are a great digestive support and helped alot with the burning, acidy feeling I would have sometimes after eating. These were recommended by a natural health practitioner, but I also checked with my nurse midwife to make sure they were safe. She gave the ok and while they were by no means a cure-all, they definitely helped.

Chewable prenatal vitamins. I quickly learned there was no way I could choke down those horse pills they call prenatal vitamins when my gag reflex was already on overdrive. I was so happy to find these...they were like a special treat, tasted like candy. I especially liked that they used natural coloring like blueberry and and carrot juices. I was surprised to see that most prenatal vitamins, including the samples provided by my midwife used artificial coloring.

Sea bands. A friend lent me hers when I was about 12 weeks along. These bands are worn on the wrist and provide a special pressure point to relieve symptoms of motion sickness...and pregnancy blahs. I don't know if it just happened to be the timing and things were starting to get better on their own, but after starting to use these my nausea got much more manageable. They basically look like some sweet, 1980's-style wrist sweatbands. I joked I needed one of these lovelies to match...

Aaaaah, ice cream, a little bowl/cone of heaven. As with my last pregnancy, the be-all, end-all, sure-thing when absolutely nothing else sounded appetizing was ice cream. Thang found an awesome sale on Breyer's and literally stocked our chest freezer. No, probably not the most nutritional meal, but often my dinner, and yes, a couple of times my breakfast. But, hey, there's calcium in ice cream, right?!

Another sure-fire remedy for the yuckies was a decaf Frappuccino. If I was out-and-about and started feeling sick, I was so thankful to know there would be a Starbuck's at the next corner. Can I just say, Target + Starbucks = DANGEROUS, DANGEROUS combination!

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And, last but most certainly not least, PRAYER! Looking back over the past 2 1/2 months, I honestly don't know how I got out-of-bed some days, let alone took care of Nora, but by the grace of God. There were many days, my heart's cry was simply "help me, Father, help me do this next thing". There were many times when I just needed to get out-of-the-house for small group or an appointment and I would pray and ask God to ease my yuckiness and He would take away my symptoms for several hours! It was awesome! I wish I could say this was always my first thought when morning sickness hit hard, but God was so faithful in the times that I did.

Hope some of these ideas are helpful. I know some of these come from the advice of several friends and I always appreciate hearing what other mom's have found to help them through.

So, for those of you who've been through a pregnancy or two, what got you through the worst of it?

(I'm tucking your ideas away for the next time...)

More recommendations

I've had a running list of great kids books and some other recommendations I wanted to share, so I thought I'd better quick write a post before I forget!

A Child's Day: an alphabet of play by Ida Pearle. With each letter, an action like "jump", "dance", "catch" and "swim" is depicted. I absolutely adore the illustrations in this book. They are all cut-paper collages and I especially love that the children are of many ethnicities. I am seriously contemplating buying 2 copies of this book - 1 for reading, and 1 to dismantle and frame and pages for Nora's room or a future playroom.

The reason this book caught my eye at the library was because I had recently purchased this album...

You are my Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell (Ida Pearle did the cover art). I stumbled upon this album listening to a children's station I had created on Pandora. I had found some other children's bands that I could stand, but I was blown away by this music - I mean, I actually listen to this when Nora's napping and love it! Folksy, pared-down and not over-the-top sugary sweet, my kind of music. And, from the smile on Nora's face whenever I turn it on, I think she likes it too!

How do you Wokka-Wokka? by Elizabeth Bluemle. We've been reading this one several times a day for a week, and I'm just not getting tired of it. It makes me smile every time. A couple lines:

How do you wokka-wokka?

I wokka-wokka like a clock go ticka-tocka, pitta-patta, time-no-matta, picka-pocka-ticka-tocka

If only I had a little more rhythm, the lines would probably sound even better, but Nora doesn't seem to mind.

This last one I hesitate to "recommend" since kids under 2 are technically not supposed to watch t.v. But, who among us has not used the glowing screen as a short-term babysitter at some point in our parenting lives? I am so thankful for Netflix "instant play" to be able to quickly pull up a short show for Nora to watch while I make dinner or wash up breakfast dishes. This is Pingu, a claymation-style show about a penguin and his antics. It is originally from Sweden. Not necessarily going to contribute to language development, but Nora is highly entertained!

A love of reading.

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." — Emilie Buchwald

Something we definitely want to be more intentional about in the coming year is reading to Nora. When she was littler and less mobile, reading together was a part of our daily rhythm. She relaxed on my lap as I would read book after book, before naptime, after naptime, before bed. Now that she is an active toddler, reading together has gone to the wayside a bit. We still read together everyday, usually before naps and at night before bed. But, it's often hurried or Nora is already so tired neither of us enjoy our time. Honestly, it's my own fault (duh, I am the mom), because Nora plays so well by herself, I've taken advantage of that time to do my own projects and I've spent less intentional time with Nora.

A good friend recommended reading to Nora while she eats. Since she is strapped down in her high-chair (most of the time), she is a captive audience. This morning we read from the Bible together then read a couple of library books. Nora enjoyed it so much, we read a couple more books after breakfast snuggled up together on the couch. I am also realizing that I need to be more discriminating on the books we check out at the library - there are some real duds out there!

So, I thought I would share some of the good books we've discovered, and you can pass along your favorites to us:

Robert McKloskey is probably more famously known for another great book, Make Way for Ducklings, but I must say, I am partial to Blueberries for Sal. I love that Little Sal is in overalls and Maryjanes. I love that her mother puts her to work helping her pick blueberries and later helps in canning them (although Sal gets into a bit of mischief along the way). Written in the 1940s, Little Sal's mother recognizes that although Sal is small, she can be productive and learn alongside her in the day-to-day business of life.

Nora's Ark, by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock. This one came home from the library with us for obvious reasons, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this story. Based on the true events of a disasterous flood in 1927 Vermont, it is a tale of survival for a little girl and her grandparents. But, even more than that, it is a story of true hospitality and the value of being prepared.

The illustrations of All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant were what initially attracted me to this book. The paper-cut pictures use only 4 colors: black, white, yellow and sky blue, but are stunning. The words are a poetic description of the value of a day. Some of my favorite lines - "The past is sailing off to sea, the future's fast asleep. A day is all you have to be, it's all you get to keep." and "A day can change just everything, given half a chance." Oh, and there's a chicken. Everybody loves chickens. We've been reading this mostly at breakfast time.

The Little House: Her Story by Virginia Lee Burton is a classic, and for this urban planning nerd, will probably become a part of our permanent collection. This is the tale of a little pink house, built to stand the test of time in the countryside. Over time, progress has it's way and soon envelops the little house. But, no worries, there is a happy ending. Watch the subtle way the Little House's "facial" expressions change - it took me 4 or 5 readings before I even noticed this!

These books make me excited to discover even more children's book gems. So, what are some of your favorites? And, I know you have some!

Hold On To Your Kids - Book Review

I first heard about this book while listening to a La Leche League podcast. It was recommended as a good read on issues related to parent/child attachment and greatly intrigued me. To be honest, prior to reading this book, my knowledge of "attachment theory" was limited to practices such as babywearing, breastfeeding and cosleeping. Since becoming a parent I've quickly learned of the different parenting "schools", which can create quite a bit of debate in parenting circles. I was eager to learn more about the "attachment" approach and glean whatever truths I might find there.

The premise of this book is very simple, that today's kids are becoming more and more attached to their peers than their parents. They are looking to their peers as "compass points" to get their bearings in the world, to form their values and to find affirmation. The authors offer that a child's attachment to their parent is the one thing they should not grow up without. However, culture, technology, even parents themselves encourage this "peer-orientation". They posit that this peer-orientation undermines parental authority and has led to modern-day ills such as bullying, hyper-sexualization, eating disorders, etc. They do not just describe the problem, but offer tools to maintain and reestablish parent-attachment:

* Make the relationship the priority.

* Learn how your child attaches (what special way they feel loved).

* Create intimacy - cultivate an intimacy with your child that peers can't compete with.

* Create structures and impose boundaries that protect the relationship - i.e. FAMILY vacations, FAMILY celebrations, FAMILY meals, etc.

One of the most practical recommendations that I feel I can implement even now is to learn how to "collect" my child. The art of collecting, the authors write, is the reconnection that happens when the parent and child have been separated, no matter the length of time. For a mom of a toddler, it may simply be the time after a nap -instead of quickly scooping my daughter up and putting her in the car to run errands or in a highchair for lunch, to hold her for a few moments, snuggle her, tickle her - the important part is to make eye contact and illicit a smile. One of the authors writes that for him, collecting his teenage daughter after several months of feeling disconnected from her took a weekend away at a cabin, playing games, taking walks together, no cell phones, no internet.

As I've meditated on the thesis of this book, I found it's ideas applied so much to our own relationship with our Heavenly Parent. Until we truly understand the deep and gracious love of God, Our Father, and come into an intimate relationship with Him, we are merely looking to our peers, other human beings, as our compass points. It is when we know the Father and His love that we can feel true security and freedom and begin to love others with confidence. As a parent, my ultimate goal is to lead my child to be "Godward-oriented", to look to Him over myself or my husband, peers, culture or anything else on earth. However, I do believe that as parents we are also to be the utmost earthly-authority in our child's life and, especially for a young child, her orientation to us is a form of Godward-orientation (not that I am calling myself or my husband God, but that our authority is a God-ordained one).

While I don't ascribe to all of the authors theories or recommendations, I found this a very valuable resource in my journey as a mom. I would highly recommend this read to you parents out there!