The Grass is Always Greener...

Hey, all. I hope everyone had a wonderful week gone by. We've continued to have snow and very cold temperatures here in Ohio, winters that remind me of those from my childhood. Since the school we associate with for our Independent Studies had four snow days, I allowed Emily to have a few extra days off and a lighter schedule than normal on the other days. She was thrilled and it allowed me to have a little play time with my camera.

In addition, my baby girl turned 14 this past week. I look at her and ask my self how did this happen? In a blink of an eye the years seemed to pass by. And although I am proud of the person she is becoming, I do miss the child she was from time to time.

And I read. Of course I read the newspaper, the mail, several recipes, my Bible, the back matter on the book I bought Emily for her birthday, and my emails; but there's something different about reading for pleasure be it a cozy mystery, a novel, poetry, or my favorite picture books. 

This week I read a beautiful book titled Giraffe Problems. A book with a subtle but wonderful message that we are wonderfully made and should appreciate who and what we are. Edward Giraffe bemoans his long neck and does everything in his power to hide it from others. Until one day when he meets, Cyrus Turtle who admires his long neck and despises his own short neck. In the end, they come to realize each neck is just right.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by 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 if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

A Birthday Celebration and A Mustard Seed

This past Friday, Bobby, Emily, and I traveled to Kentucky to celebrate his aunt's 85th birthday. His sister also drove his mother down from Ohio, so she too could share in her sister's mile stone. It started out as a lovely weekend. Bobby's cousin put us up, his aunt was pleasantly surprised at all the unexpected guests, and his cousin went all out cooking us a fabulous dinner. Saturday was to be the bigger party with family and friends, but part way through the day, my mother-in-law had a stroke.

Thankfully, the Good Lord had a plan, and my sister-in-law noticed right away and took her to the emergency room. Bobby, who had been on his way home from a car show with his cousin's husband, were able to meet them at the hospital, and the rest of us showed up shortly after sending the party guests home.

As we sat in the waiting room, I prayed that the Lord would have mercy on us and not take Emily's only remaining grandparent home. Finally, after what seemed like an infinitely long time, they told us that it had been a mild stroke, and she was already recovering.

And wouldn't you know that when we arrived home and I checked my book pile for something to review, I found a beautiful book titled The Marvelous Mustard Seed which described how God's Kingdom is like a tiny mustard seed that is barely noticeable at first but with a little watering turns into a huge mustard tree that is unable to be missed.

So as I sit here thinking about God's plan for us, I can see that the small and unnoticeable fact that my mother-in-law decided to travel, a woman who hasn't traveled to see her sister in over three years because of other health issues and would normally have been sitting home alone on a Saturday, was put in motion by him. Because she chose to make the trip, she was with family who helped her get immediate attention, and she is still here with us!

P. S. We did manage to still celebrate with Bobby's Aunt even though it turned out to be just family.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week, 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 if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

Mixed Emotions And A Knowledge of Earmuffs

This past week I wasn't sure if I should cry or jump for joy. "Why the  mixed emotions?" you ask. The answer is simple, I now have a teen. Yes, that beautiful little girl I gave birth to is now thirteen. Her father and I have watched her grow over the years, and I can tell  you it has all gone by way too fast.

Some of her good friends helped us celebrate! 

Games like pass the stuffed peep, unwrap the candy kiss with oven mitts, a roll the dice game involving candy, and Twister were played.

 I have no clue exactly how her story will turn out, but I am confident her transition to adulthood will be even more exciting! 

So while I have no idea what will unfold in our days living with a teen, I do have a new found knowledge about earmuffs due to a book titled Earmuffs for Everyone. This book, written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy, tells the story of how Chester Greenwood became known as the inventor of earmuffs. I learned that many credited inventors did not actually invent the items they were credited with, but in actuality, merely improve them. This book is treasure trove of information with funny complimentary illustrations. It also included mentions of other inventions, famous improvers, and even women's rights.

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.

Birthday's, Bunnies, and Bargains

May is a beautiful month, and I'm not just saying that because I was born in May. May is when Bobby starts searching for and planting wonderful things in our vegetable garden. May means school is almost over. And May means lots of wildlife activity in our yard.

Sunday morning I woke up early before anyone else in the house; and when I opened the living room blind, I saw two baby bunnies snuggled together near my flower bed.

 

Sunday afternoon, Bobby and Emily took me out to lunch for an early birthday treat. We went to Applebee's, and I used my Christmas gift cards. I usually style my hair in braids when I go out and was pleasantly surprised when Emily came down sporting braids as well.

And Sunday evening when I sat down to write this post, I remembered the great book bargain Emily and I found at the thrift store recently. We found the first five hardback Nancy Drew books. Emily is a great lover of mysteries and has loved Nancy Drew ever since her aunt gave her two Nancy Drew paper backs last year. Nancy Drew books are the kind that never go out of style. She has read the first one already, so I'm going to keep my eyes pealed for books 6 through 12.

 

And while I normally don't read anything but children's books for time reasons, I did start reading A Good Creek Christmas (Kindle Version) written by my friend Virginia Smith. I've only had the chance to read three chapters, but the story is definitely pulling me in. With a myriad of interesting characters and descriptions that really create mental pictures, Virginia has created a top notch cozy mystery that I can't wait to finish. And like me, Virginia has a love of baking and has included a great recipe.

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.

January Flurries

The past few months here in Ohio have been a little out of the ordinary. November and December usually find us knee deep in snow and cold, but this winter has been exceptionally warm. January, however, is about to bring us some cold weather and flurries, so I am  breaking out the woolly socks. January also brings a flurry of activity since we have lots of family birthdays including my daughter Emily's. Through the years I have hosted themed birthday parties for her as well as having made a parcel of fun cakes. January, it turns out is also a great time to take a trip down memory lane.

For her first birthday I used a picture from a coloring book to copy for the cake.

Then There was the Dora The Explorer year where I glued wiggly eyes on star candles I found and used a little cut out of Dora that came off of something we must have purchased Emily.

The Strawberry Shortcake year. Where as you can see my cake is a little lopsided because my writing skills are much better then my cake cutting skills.

The Jungle Theme which turned out to be my most ambitious year. The hubby brought me home lots of large cardboard and paper from work and I transformed out living room into the jungle/savanna. It's amazing what you can do with a little paint, paper, and cardboard. I hid fake diamond rings in the diamond mine and I gave the kids flashlights to find them. They also had to dig for crocodiles in the stream at the bottom of the waterfall. And of course we can forget the little red bean bags I made to feed the lion.

Next came the Barbie year followed by the spring themed year where I again made use of cardboard and paint.

The dog year was more fun with cardboard. Now that I look back, I think I have a thing for using cardboard.

And then there was the beach party year. 

Birthday number nine was a Lisa Frank Birthday, and by birthday number nine I was starting to get a little tired and I__ dare I say it? I purchase cupcakes.

Last year we didn't have a party because Bobby had to travel to Japan for work. Instead, Emily and I had a birthday celebration at her favorite restaurant, The Olive Garden. 

So many great birthday celebrations, but I'm not sure how ambitious I will be this year. Time will tell.

January also brought me a new book to review called Little Miss Grubby Toes Steps On A Bee. I received a copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review, and I had mixed feelings about it. I love the illustrations by Mark Wayne Adams who happens to be one of my favorite illustrators, I love the concept of letting children know that parents make rules to keep their children safe and not to spoil their fun, and I love the character who has been nick-named by her father. But what I'm not sure about is the way the author "breaks the fourth wall". I have always been told by my editors that breaking the fourth wall (otherwise known as speaking directly to the reader or audience) is to be avoided. Not everyone in the industry shares this opinion, so I guess it boils down to how well it is done and if the reader thinks the story flows smoothly or not. For me personally, when the author asked the reader things like do we think Little Miss Grubby Toes should take her shoes off when her feet are hot, seems pushy. Messages in children's books are wonderful, but they should be subtle allowing the child reading to think about what is going on in the story and to form an opinion.

Despite the breaking of the fourth wall, I was happy to see the author generate excitement at the end of the story where he gives a clue about Little Miss Grubby Toes' real name which is never mentioned in the book. How he leaves the reader with one letter of the name and promises a new clue and new letter in each forthcoming book in the series is brilliant marketing and gives the reader something to look forward to.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me 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.