Books Read in 2010

Here's a list of books that I've read so far this year and a mini-review of them.  Lest you think I'm reading on a third grade level, we preview most of the books that our six year- old reads and I read aloud to the kids quite a bit, so I'm including those books.  I'm linking to the books on Amazon, but most of these books can be found at your local library.

The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and Women's Work by Kathleen Norris.  If you want to appreciate the little things in life, like laundry, cleaning, and the like, this is a good book.  It also offered some insight for me into how doing daily things can ward off depression (or even just a bad day) . . . getting up, praying, cooking breakfast.  It's a short book and a fairly quick read.  

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher.  Betsy lives with her overprotective aunt in the city until a situation arises that causes her to move to the country with family that she has heard of but never met.  A friend suggested this book for my eldest daughter and I finally got a copy.  It is the sweetest book and it's one of those books that you could read when you're young and then read it over and over and glean new things from it.  I loved Betsy's willingness to learn from others.  I cried three times!  And I'm not a crier over books, really.  

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  A wonderful story of two cousins who find a secret garden that changes their lives.  I'd actually never read this before (I know!  The horror!).  An excellent book.  A classic.  Our library had a copy that was illustrated by Tasha Tudor and I thought it was especially sweet.

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes.  A story about the Pye family and their newly acquired dog, Ginger.  The kids loved this book.  I love how the author writes the book to appeal to children, yet throws a few jokes in there every now and then that only adults or older kids will chuckle at.  

Two Part Invention: the story of a Marriage by Madeleine L'Engle.  This was a wonderful book about the L'Engle's marriage, but I thought of it as a wonderful love story as well.  It was interesting to see how she and her husband loved each other and made their marriage endure over time.  I cried at the end of this one as well.  Maybe I'm am a crier over books?

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss.  We're still reading this one aloud.  This one, also a classic, is more entertaining for my son to listen to, although the girls have been listening almost as closely as him.  It's so fun to see what the father (and the narrator of the story) will contrive next in the book in order to make the family's life better on a deserted island.


I'll be back soon with my favorite children's books.  We LOVE books around here!  My children probably think they live in a library.  :-)

Mommy Blogs that Make Us Happy

Are you getting tired of our "happy" things yet? I am, almost. I'll stop soon on the themey-ness. Yes, that's a word, even though my spellchecker is trying to say that it's not. And just so you know, it did not point out that spellchecker is not a word. Is it really a word?


Here are some links to some blogs that we are fond of (notice I didn't use happy? I'm phasing it out already). These blogs are mostly about mothering, being a wife, and homeschooling. I'll list some other favorites soon (like my favorite craft blogs, cooking blogs, etc...).  Please tell me someone else enjoys reading blogs as much as I do. 

Preschoolers and Peace. This has been a great resource for me and more recently for Danneca. She's got some wonderful tips and ideas. I have put her Circle Time into our homeschooling plan this year and have really loved it.


Life in a Shoe. She's funny, witty, and very down to earth. Her kids are pretty cute too.


In the Heart of My Home. I enjoy her writing style and she often makes me appreciate the little blessings of having children.


Blue Yonder. If you homeschool, she has a fun "Book of Days" that's been a nice change of pace for us when we're ready for a little break from the daily grind but don't want to take a break entirely from learning.




There you go. Go look around, if you have the time, and enjoy.


Tell us in the comments some of your favorite mommy blogs. I love reading new ones.

Accountable Kids

As a stay-at-home/homeschool mama with "active, assertive" children, I have often felt like I was a tattle-tale at the end of the day, as I recounted to my husband all the things I thought he should know about.  I had handled the situations during the day, but as I'm sure you find in your home, the kiddos often respond differently to Dad than Mom and particularly some of those boys who happen to have a strong "dominion sensor."

Anyhow, cutting to the chase here, I wanted to find a way to "report" everything we did during the day, the good, the bad and the.....rest.  Being a homeschool family with lofty goals for our children, my husband has let me take the reins in teaching the kids, but likes to know what the heck we do all day.  He doesn't, however, like to listen to me moan about the kids, etc.

I came up with an incredibly simple way for all of us to be accountable to him in our daily accomplishments and attitudes.  I've attached the little report card that I do for each kid at the end of each day (see below).  Don't be impressed with the quantity of subjects listed on the card....we don't do ALL that everyday.  It's pretty self explanatory and I am quite sure that 99.9% of you are more creative and computer savvy than I, so I'm willing to bet whatever you come up with will be a lot prettier and even handier.  My husband doesn't have time to read a big long list of stuff and I'm reporting on 4 kiddos at this point, so lots of verbiage, etc. on each of them is a bit much.  That's how I came up with this one.  Please, oh, please, let me know what you come up with.  I'd love to keep improving on mine.  This has rid me of my temptation to nag, complain to and lecture the kiddos.  I know none of you ever do this.

By the way, I think this could be effective for non-homeschooling families as well, if Mom is the one who gets them out the door in the morning, oversees homework and chores, etc.

Happy Accounting!

(Click to enlarge)

Exercise Can Make You Happy . . . Really!

In case being trapped in the house with your kids is your excuse for not exercising....

I have a free, comprehensive workout you can do any time of year! This is a perfect way to just keep moving everyday. You can get your kids involved and if they're 6yrs. old and up, you can set goals and earn accolades from the President for achieving them! Want me to hook you up? Thought so.

Do you remember doing the Presidential Fitness test in school? If you're competitive, you remember not being able to sleep the night before. That's me. Nevertheless, this is something the whole family can do together. My family got started a few years ago, because we homeschool and wanted our kids to value physical fitness. The program is available to anyone online at www.presidentschallenge.org. We started by testing everyone (even Dad and Mom) in each criteria. Set up your DAILY workouts however you like. This is perfect if you're a homeschool family looking for daily P.E. You can spend as little or long as you like on it. We do 30min./day focusing on improving in one standard or another. (I should note that we are overall pretty "into" physical fitness, so this is not our only daily workout, but can be if you're focusing your energy in other directions). Today's 30min. session today consisted of working on the "V-Stretch" and "curl-ups" or "sit-ups." We didn't take measurements today, but did both exercises, along with several others that worked our abs and stretched our legs, to fill the 30min. time slot. Anyhow, you should move some way, some how everyday. I promise this will give you more energy and make you feel better overall, no matter how tired you think you are.

You can even order certificates, t-shirts, etc. when your kids reach their goals. Browse the website and enjoy getting moving!


Posted by Danneca