Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018

Hey everyone. It's good to be back after a couple weeks off. December was wonderful, but tiring. Emily made a three -d star for art class and finished a short story for entry in the Association of Christian Schools International.

I made way more cookies than any one person should make.

We invited Bobby's family over for a Christmas celebration at our home, and I managed to get a stunning picture of the only grand niece amidst a passel of six grand nephews, the three youngest shown below.

We celebrated at my brother's house with my side of the family where Emily only has three first cousins.

We celebrated, just the three of us, at our house where Emily sported the french braids her cousin styled for her. She also performed a concert for us for Christmas, and I'm not sure, but I think the cat tried to knock her out! Guess he was jealous that she received all the gifts.

We visited Bobby's mother, who missed our celebration because she'd been in the hospital.

And, we had lots and lots of fires which kept us warm while we admired our backyard visitors.

The month of December also brought me an invitation from an author previously unknown to me. He asked if I would read and review his book and took care to learn a little bit about me before asking. This consideration is probably what made the difference between a yes and a no from me, and I'm really glad because his story was fantastic. His name is Edward Dron and his book, The Pillow Parade,is a story of a rabbit who wishes to help children go to sleep. The sheep don't think a rabbit is worthy or capable of helping children slumber, but he doesn't let the nay saying of others keep him from trying. Don's story is quite original and well told. The adorable illustrations also add a layer of depth to the story and the combination is sure to keep children's attention from wandering. The pillow parade is definitely a book worth checking out!

As you can see, we wrapped the year up quite nicely and are now ready to tackle whatever 2018 has to offer. We started off by ringing in the New Year quietly. Well, Bobby and I were quite, but I can't say that Emily and her New Year friend were as there was a lot of giggling going on. Emily spent some time doodling in her sketch books, and we celebrated Bobby's birthday on Sunday. Not a bad way to say hello to a brand new year. I can't wait to see what else 2018 has in store, whatever it is, I'm sure it won't be boring. Wishing you all a very not boring New Year too!

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by Literacy Musings Mondays for more great blogs as well as my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter  @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

Christmas Recycling

Every Christmas Emily and I practice some Christmas recycling by turning our old Christmas cards into gift tags. It is one of her favorite crafts, it saves money, and it adds a bit of whimsy to each gift we give which is a win, win in my book.
 

All it takes for you to make some beautiful recycled gift tags of your own is:

• thin cardboard (from shirt packages, cereal boxes, etc....)
• paste or sticky glue dots
• old cards
• scissors
• twine
• single hole punch
• snowflake or star craft punch and gems (optional)

We buy our gems on clearance or with store coupons, so they are fairly inexpensive. We also use paint chip samples, paper scraps, and leftover bits of cards to make our snowflakes. We then use our imaginations and cut, paste, and rearrange until our hearts are content.

Another thing we recycle is boxes. We reuse them to mail out my Christmas packages. We cover them in wrapping paper (especially those with removable lids) and use them for Christmas gift boxes. W use them for cat boxes. And, anything else we can think of. As a child, my mother would let my brother and I drag refrigerator boxes home to make forts in the back yard.

So, I thought it was quite appropriate to read and enjoy What To Do With A Box by Jane Yolan. The illustrations by Chris Sheban are adorable and quite boxy. The story is simple but enjoyable. And the combination of text and pictures will carry you back to your childhood or will remind you of your own children having fun. And if truth be told, we can all probably agree that kids don't really need expensive gifts when they have a box and an imagination!

Jane and I at the Hudson children's Book Festival 2015

 Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Getting Back In The Swing of Things!

After Emily's and my recent trip, this past week was spent getting back into our home school routine, back to choir, and back to taking Emily to Wednesday church. I caught up on laundry, grocery shopping, and I readied for a weekend book event with one of my besties Deborah Boerema. Together we are known as the Story Sisters. I promote my five books and she promotes her Christmas story, The Innkeepers Dog.

I have always loved the Christmas hymn, The Friendly Beasts, and Deb's book is very similar to that hymn. Her main character, Thaniel the Spaniel, is the only animal that missed the birth of Christ, and he feels like he isn't special. However, the innkeeper's son and the other stable animals soon help him to realize that each of us is special. Deb has been having a bit of trouble with Amazon keeping her book stocked; but if you contact her directly, I'm sure she would be able to send you a copy should you want to purchase one of your own!

 

I finished up my very last batch of apple butter and made a snowman jar jacket for one of the jars I am going to give as a Christmas gift. All it takes is a little felt, a little thread, and some Velcro. First I took two pieces of cream felt and measured how high and how wide the pieces should be to cover a pint jar. Next I cut out an orange carrot shaped piece for the nose and two red circles for the cheeks. I sewed them on with a blanket stitch, stitched on some eyes and a mouth, and then blanket stitched the second piece of cream felt onto the back so the face stitching couldn't be seen. At first I didn't know how to make a blanket stitch, but a video soon had me stitchin' away. lastly, I attached the velcro to the edges and wrapped my jar. A small round piece of Christmas fabric over the lid and under the rim made my snowman look like he was wearing a hat.

I also read a book my library just purchased, and since I know the author Tammi Sauer on social media, I was super excited to find this book. As I began to read, Your Alien, I was reminded quite a bit of Laura Numeroff's writing style. But although similar to the "If You Give Books", Tammi's story was unique as well. It was a beautiful story of the power of hugs and was superbly illustrated. I personally am a super huge fan of hugging, so I would definitely recommend this book for kids of any age.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musing Monday Link Up where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website Fun With Aileen where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own chapter and picture books. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Year End Recap And My Favorite Books of 2015

All of our Christmas celebrations our now over and the year is quickly coming to a close. And of course, that causes reflection of the past year, a reliving of the special moments that made 2015 great. Like the really cool center piece I made for the Falmin' Hot Breakfast.

Or spending the afternoon with the kids in the After School Program in the town where I grew up which was sadly the last time as the program is now shut down.

Hanging out at author fairs and laughing it up on air.

Camping with my family.

 

Having fun at the fair.

Running the Shelby Farm Market and attending Cook Book Club with Emily.

Day trips with the family.

 

Road trippin' with my girl and hangin' with my story sister.

Christmas performances, homemade gifts, cookies, and balloon fun.

 

So many good memories and so many great books as well. And without further ado, here are my favorite reads of 2015 in no particular order.
  

And my all time favorite, number one, brilliant, most incredible, the author was a genious book of the year? Drum roll if you please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me in the New Year for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley,  and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.