Foto Friday–Books

(It seems that all I’m coming up with these past few weeks has been Foto Friday posts.  I’ll get another post explosion soon I’m sure)

This theme made me think of my time spent at Mommy Retreats.  Every year, ladies from our old kinship (small group) from back in the day (like late 90’s, early 00’s) get together every spring for a Mommy Retreat.  I got to join the last two years and hope to attend every year that I’m not breastfeeding.  Since I’m not pregnant now, looks like I’m all ready to go next spring.

At this retreat, we bring whatever reading materials (and games and even recipe boxes to organize) we want to peruse during the weekend.  Last year’s retreat seemed to be a big reading weekend.  There were so many books that we had to get pictures of them all stacked up. 

I added a Kim Klassen texture called Ugglove (I think) and then a Paint the Moon black and white action that I added a bit of the color back to. I love how the color turned out in this, but I’m not sure if this texture was the best choice.  I do like it, but if I had more time (always the case), I could have tried out more textures to find maybe a better one.

Until next time……

 

Have a great weekend!

Google Reader, I Blame You

I haven’t posted recently, because every time I get on the computer, I check my Google Reader.  (That’s where all my new blogs ready for reading are listed for those of you not familiar with Reader)

That dag-on full Reader!  I went through and deleted a bunch of blogs a while ago.  Maybe I need to do that again.  It doesn’t seem like much, but I have about 30-40 new blog posts to read every day.  You can imagine what happens when I miss even one day of reading.  BACKUP!

So, when I go to post something of my own, I say, “I’ll just take a minute and catch up on all those great blogs I follow. That won’t take long, right?” 

The next thing you know, Jack wakes from his nap, dinner needs started, and I lost my only window to blog during the day.

HRUMPH!!

I have 5 posts in my drafts file just waiting to be written.  I need to get to them!

Oh, and I guess having a sick family for the past 4 weeks hasn’t helped the situation either.  We are anxiously awaiting spring when the winter ‘sickies’ finally LEAVE our house!  Of course, then we’ll be spending so much time outside that there will be no time to post then either. 

Why did I start up blogging? Maybe I should stick to reading them and not writing them.

Oh, I remember now.  It was to show of my cute boy.  Here ya go!

My boys were working on their trucks the other day.

My son loves to draw.  Evidently, he can double his fun by doubling his coloring.

Naps are not popular in this house, so we sneak them in whenever we can.  Sometimes he just crashes. Notice the box of tissues on the couch.  We’ve gone through 8 boxes in just two months.  It’s crazy!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Every so often, the reality that I’m turning into my mother hits me.  I saw it in the way I managed my 6th graders, I see it in the way I raise my son, and I even see it in the mirror sometimes.  There isn’t a week that goes by that my husband doesn’t say (or want to say), “Okay, DONNA!”  It doesn’t always have a negative connotation of course.   We say the same quirky words or phrases, and we respond to situations similarly.  I have always looked like my mother.  One time, at my grandparents’ 50th anniversary celebration, some of their ‘older’ friends came up to me at the guest book and said, “Oh, Donna, it’s been so long!"  Ummmm, I was 12 and my mother was NOT 12 at the time.  I guess I REALLY looked like her! 

My mother has always been an avid reader.  She LOVES to read.  She loves romance, mystery, and who-done-its especially.  She loves big name authors like Nora Roberts and John Grisham.  As far back as I can remember, she has always had numerous books on her nightstand.  I remember as a young girl going in and kissing her goodnight - she was always sitting up in her bed against her headboard reading a book.  I’d go in, sit on her bed and wait for her to finish the sentence or paragraph she was on.  We’d talk for a little bit, I’d kiss her goodnight, and she’d go back to reading.

I have found that I am becoming an avid reader as well. My favorites are Christian romance and mysteries.  When Jack was just a few weeks old, I started reading books while I nursed him.  Since I nursed him a lot, I read through books very quickly.  I still read when I put him down for a nap or bedtime, which sometimes takes more than an hour.  I then go to bed and read while Rick watches TV.  During Jack’s nap, sometimes I’ll pick up a book I’m in the middle of and just sit and read for the two hours.  (yes, my house is a  bit neglected).   Just last night I stayed up past midnight finishing my latest book.  Sometimes, I just can’t put the books down!  I will have two or three books going at once now, too.  One in Jack’s room, one in my room, and then maybe another one downstairs.  It’s crazy!

 

This stack of books was read in three weeks!  (Plus there are two upstairs that I’m in the middle of right now.)  I’m in the middle of four series.  I love it!  I can’t get enough of these stories and characters. 

If you’re interested, here are some authors I’m enjoying right now:

Robin Jones Gunn, Lori Wick , Debra White Smith, James Scott Bell.

Well, I’m off to read!  Just call me Donna!

Story Time at the Library

Every Wednesday at 11:00 am, Boozle and I go to our local library and enjoy Baby Lap Time.  It’s a story time for 0-1 year olds.  Jack used to take a nap right through that hour, so for the longest time, we were always missing it.  At around 10 months, he decided to drop his morning nap, so we were able to wiggle in a trip to the library on Wednesdays. 

It’s usually a very small turnout.  For a long time, there were only about 5 babies (all of them boys) that came regularly.  We got to know the boys very well, and looked forward to seeing them and their mamas each week.  Then, all of a sudden, a few weeks ago, the population of our story time tripled!  There are so many babies now, which makes it SO FUN!

 

Today was our last Wednesday for story time for three weeks.  We are going to miss Miss Chrissy, the babies and their mamas (and a few daddies)!  I couldn’t leave without bringing a treat, so I made my banana nut bread into mini muffins to share with the crowd.  (They were a hit)

 

One of the favorite things all the boys like to do is play with the door stops.  They can’t open the doors, but they love putting the door stops up and down.  Jack had to wait his turn this time.

 

Jack loves books.  He especially loves books with Choo-Choo Trains in them.  We are always reading books around our house.  I had to capture this picture on our way home from story time today (sorry for the poor quality – it was with my cell phone) of Jack reading his new library book. 

 

I can’t wait for the first week in June when story time will start up again.  It will be fun to see how much all the babies have grown!!