Kids Book of the Week: Pete The Cat

Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin and James Dean

We heard this story at storytime at the library this week, and we've been listening to it non-stop. The girls love singing along with Pete, and I've got to admit, it's pretty catchy. We couldn't bring the actual book home, and I think it may be a bit young for P, but both she and L are absolutely mesmerized when the author begins speaking.  Very cute.

One month until...Birthday Time!

In early February, little L will turn 3.  3 years old.  Holy moly!  How did that happen?

Anyway, we were tempted to plan a celebration consisting of a dinner with friends, but that's not really us, is it?  No.

So here is what I am thinking.  A little cereal bar/cartoons/stories/all-while-wearing-pjs party!  Sounds like fun.  Let the planning begin.

rice crispie cake

doesn't even require baking

thanks Martha.

who doesn't love cap'n crunch with crunch berries?

spoons as party favors!

too cute.

more Mer Mag love.

P.S. This morning, P told me that I have to buy some new pajamas for the party.  I guess she doesn't think my XL pregnancy leggings and droopy t-shirt will cut it.  I agree.

The Secret Garden and Incredibly Gorgeous Books!

I am reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett to P, and I just had to show you the incredible clothbound edition that I found:

P is only 5, so I'm not sure the book is age-appropriate, but I couldn't help but buy it when I laid eyes on it.  This is the kind of thing I imagine us keeping and perhaps one day passing down to our children to read with their children.  If they have children which I hope they do...if they want to.  Their happiness if most important, of course.  Getting ahead of myself here.  You know what I mean.

Look at some of the other beautiful books available:

Some of them are available here, and of course you can try your local independent bookstore.  I found mine at BBGB.  Love that place. I may have to get some for me, too.  Check 'em out.

Vacation Part III - NYC

Part II was light on photos, so here are a bunch from our very busy days in NYC.  We drove up - 8 hours in the car and the girls were absolutely fantastic the entire time until they started with piercing screams as we were driving through central park, minutes away from arriving at my parents' apartment. We went to see Rockefeller Center and the gigantic tree, the windows at Saks, the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, the Big Apple Circus, and to tea at The American Girl Doll store.  I'm exhausted just remembering it all.

walking around Rockefeller Center:

 watching the Rockettes:

 The Big Apple Circus (it is Grandma Clown's final year - boo too):

 At American Girl:

waiting to see their dolls with their newly pierced ears

Vacation Part II

After Miami, we came home for a few days for Christmas, and it was just lovely.  Fun times with my gang, dinner on Christmas eve with good friends, way too many presents to open, and just general merriment.

8 Nights of Books

I recently re-discovered the Mer Mag blog and I love it.  When there is a new post, I get a little giddy, like I have a little gift full of inspiration and fun waiting for me.  So, yes, I recommend it.

Merrilee of Mer Mag created a book advent calendar for her boys this year, and with my love of children's picture books, I decided to do the same for my girls for Hanukkah.
Some of the beautiful photos from Mer Mag:

 i love the way she wrapped the books.
each one was slightly different but all related to one another.

see the books lined up on the hearth?
 how did the boys not rip them all open at once?

I scoured Richmond to find good Hanukkah books (which was no easy feat, let me tell you!), and here are the 8 I chose:

 Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel
(A Hanukkah classic, if there is such a thing, that my girls were scared of - P said,"Mommy, you shouldn't have bought this book for us."  Whoops!  Maybe the goblins will be less scary next year?)

 Latkes, Latkes Good to Eat by Naomi Howland
(This is essentially a Jewish version of Strega Nona by Tomie DiPaola.  Instead of a magic pasta pot, there is a magic pan, and instead of pasta, there are latkes.  I was a little annoyed because I love Strega Nona and couldn't believe one author would take another author's story in such an obvious way.  I'm sure it happens all of the time, but it was rather unoriginal to me.

Pocketful of Posies: A Treasure of Nursery Rhymes by Salley Mavor
(A sweet book of rhymes that most of us know, but the art is truly wonderful.  Mavor's attention to such fine detail with the use of beads, nuts, wood, thread, felt, and many other materials is captivating.)

You Will Be My Friend! by Peter Brown

(I love Lucille Beatrice Bear from Children Make Terrible Pets, and here she is back with her wide-eyed enthusiasm in trying to find a new friend.  Don't worry - she succeeds!)

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet

(I love when I learn something from a children's book, and this story told us about the history behind the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Tony Sarg.  Who, you may be wondering, is Tony Sarg?  Read the book!)

Liberty's Voice: The Emma Lazarus Story by Erica Silverman

(This is another true story that taught me about Emma Lazarus and the poem she came to write for the base of the Statue of Liberty.  Again, learned a lot from this book.  Oh, and just this week I read an article about an exhibition on Emma Lazarus in The New York Times.)

Five Little Gefiltes by Dave Horowitz

(A funny book that taught us all some yiddish!  Thank goodness my girls now know what schlep means!)

Chanukah Lights by Michael Rosen and Robert Sabuda

(Sabuda is an incredible pop-up artist and this book is a perfect example of his work.  My girls liked the pop-ups but couldn't have cared less about the text.  Sounds harsh, but it's true.)

Kids Book of the Week: Strega Nona

I saw Strega Nona sitting on P's bedside table last night, and it was like finding a little present sitting there waiting for me.

It is the fantastic story of Strega Nona, or Grandma Witch, and all of her magic, but most importantly her magic pasta pot.  Tomie dePaola is the author/illustrator, and my girls and I just love his drawings.  We like to read all of Strega Nona's lines with an italian accent, and I highly recommend you do the same.  Smiles will shine.

Another one by dePaola that I adore is his book The Art Lesson which tells the great story of dePaola's passion for art as a child and in school.  Clearly dePaola found his calling at a very young age!

If you haven't read Strega Nona or anything else by Tomie dePaola, I highly recommend it!

Gratitude

Did you see this article in yesterday's New York Times?

Ok, so here are five things for which I am grateful:

1)  P, L, and B - my sweet, wonderful, loving, exhausting, funny family.  I could really list each of them separately but I think that would be cheating.
-P is my sweet, sensitive, 5 year old who just wants to please and help, when she isn't being melodramatic or sucking her thumb.  Sweet girl.
-L is my feisty 2 1/2 year old who loves to get a rise out of everyone and be a little trouble-maker at home.  At school, she is a sweet little helper who does nothing wrong.  So she saves it all for us at home.  Lucky us.  No, really, though, she is strong and feisty and wonderful.  And she loves to cuddle and caress my face when I lay in bed with her.
-B is my awesome hubby, my partner, my saving grace when I feel like I am going to rip my hair out.  Our marriage isn't always mushy gushy romance or picture perfect, but we laugh together and love one another, and we are on this incredible journey of marriage and parenthood together.

2) My extremely supportive parents - they would really do anything for me, my girls, and B, and for that I am extremely grateful. My brothers who are so smart and funny - truly unique and wonderful dudes.  I am grateful to have my family.

3) Friends - Where would I be without my friends?  Old friends who know me so well and are always there to support me; new friends who have helped me through the transition of moving to a new place and away from everything I know.

4) Photography and Pottery - my creative outlets that give me so much peace and joy.  I just love creating things, and while I will probably never sew a quilt or paint an oil masterpiece (although my gum balls were pretty awesome), I can capture a great photograph and throw a pot.  Or at least I am working on those two!  I still have to learn Photoshop Elements to make my photos better, but I'm working on it.

5) Time to myself - as I sit here at Starbucks, I am grateful for the time I have to myself right now.  The time to be with myself and my thoughts, and to do exactly as I please.  This also goes back to being grateful for B, who is off, out and about with the girls, while I am here alone.  What a guy!

Thankfulness Tree

A few years ago we started a little Thanksgiving tradition - to make a Thankfulness Tree.  We collect leaves, decorate them with paint pens, and on these beautiful leaves write what we are thankful for.  The girls love drawing all over the leaves, and then when we ask them what they are thankful for they say something like "you" or "my family."  Hey, I can't complain about that!

 last year's tree which we kept on the mantle in our playroom all year long

 something I am thankful for

 one of my hubby's leaves (isn't he an excellent artist!)

 the first step is to head out and collect leaves

(some little ones would rather sit in the middle of the path and not chose a single leaf)

begin a pile of leaves 

find some pretty ones!

begin decorating them

and keep going....

and going...

until you have a nice collection!

Then use a hot glue gun to attach them to branches, and you are done!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've Created a Monster

Uh oh.  She is not even 3.  I am wholly to blame!

What a sweet and feisty gal she is!

Kids Art

When we were designing our daughter's room, we found some cute art online, but I wish we had found these first:




Available from pillowsandthrows.com in many colors, 3 sizes, and ranging from $65 for a 12' x 12' to $175 for a 28' x 28'.

Toys, Toys, Toys!

Here's a post for all the mommies out there (or for people who buy gifts for children)!

Having just celebrated my little one's big 1st birthday, we have some new toys around our apartment that were given to her as gifts. She absolutely loved everything she received, but there was one company that I had never heard of that I wanted to point out to all the moms and dads (and grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) out there: Plan Toys. Their toys are made out of preservative-free wood and non-toxic paints, and they are absolutely adorable. Here are some highlights:

Oval Xylophone


Click Clack Tree


Baby Walker


Geometric Sorting Board


Pounding Bench


Truck Rider


Balancing Cactus


I found that the prices varied widely, so I would recommend searching for them on Google.