Busy, Busy, But Finally Done!

Some weeks are busier then others and this week was one of those weeks. Since we home school through our former private school, Emily was able to join choir this year and that means that every Monday and Wednesday I have drive her to the school which is thirty minutes away, wait an hour for her, and then drive her home. Normally this isn't so bad, but this week we also had our monthly Cookbook Club meeting on Tuesday. It is a delicious pastime, but it usually has us baking all morning and rushing to get there on time.

Cookbook Club is themed and this month our theme was ethnic foods. Emily opted to make chicken curry which is one of her favorite dinner dishes, while I decided to make homemade rolls to go with her choice. You just have to love a club where everyone brings a dish, a recipe, and an appetite.

Then, I had to get my tires rotated and get the slow leak in my right rear tire fixed. And you can beleive me when I tell you that Cookbook Club is a much more enjoyable way to spend the morning then waiting in the automotive department of Sam's Club. Especially since I discovered the next day that the repair hadn't taken and my tire was almost flat to the rim. Can you guess where I will be again on Monday Morning (sigh).

The week got even busier as the weekend approached since Emily had not one, but two overnight invites. The first was for Friday night and included a cook out and a bonfire at the home of some family friends. The second was for Saturday night and was at her besties house. Since that left Bobby and I with a free evening, we decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary a day early and went out to dinner at a local steakhouse. One of those fun places where you get to throw all your peanut shells on the floor!
 

But the best part of my week, besides my anniversary, was when Emily finished reading Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library to me. This book by Chris Grabenstein is nothing less then sheer brilliance. Every day as Emily read to  me, I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. As the children in the book learned to work together to solve clues in the library and to find the secret way out, both Emily and I marveled at the mixture of futuristic high tech, the mention of classic books of every kind, and the general mystery. We were equally surprised at the end of the book to find that Chris had a clue for us to figure out. Emily and I got out the dry erase board and went to town deciphering. Once we had figured out the clue, Emily emailed Chris with our findings and was thrilled beyond belief when he emailed her back.

Yep, it was a busy week, but it was a great week!

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

A Family Trip and Books About Friends

This past weekend we took a mini vacation. After running the farm market all summer, it was nice to have a small break. Bobby, Emily, and I took my mom and sister along with us as we headed to Hocking Hills where we road on the Hocking Valley Railway. We saw some beautiful scenery along the way, but what made the ride special was sharing it with family.

 

The next day we headed to the farm__the Bob Evans Farm where we attended the 45th Annual Bob Evans Festival. We saw sorghum being pressed, we saw a lumberjack show, we saw the pig races, and so much more. The weather was perfect, the entertainment lively, and the company sublime. The broasted chicken wasn't bad either.

Although just a couple of days, it was quite a wonderful vacation. And upon arriving home, I found a couple more great surprises. The first was an invitation to next April's Southern Kentucky Book Festival which happens to be one of my favorite events. The next was an indie children's book that arrived in the mail. It was a book by Donna Abbott called Mazey's Dandelion - A Mississippi Puppy Tale.

It was the story of a dog named Mazey and her pet rabbit, Dandelion. In the book, Mazey is happy taking good care of her pet rabbit until a problem crops up. Mazey runs out of rabbit food. She despairs until a friendly neighbor helps her find a solution to feed Dandelion. This story would be great for four to six year olds and possibly a bit older depending on the child, and the bright and adorable illustrations will entertain children as well as the text. With Christmas just around the corner, this book might make a great stocking stuffer. 

I also read a book a bout friends called Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry. I liked this book because it reminded me of the above mentioned vacation with my family because as the book says, "Alone is no fun!" It is also the story about not letting others be bullied and sticking up for friends.

This book consists of simple sentences and simple illustrations, but is anything but boring.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week 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 sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

The End of A Season

This past Saturday was the end of a season__ the end of the farmer's market. I had an amazing time managing the market this year. I met some great new people I would never have met otherwise, I sold lots of baked goods and earned enough money to have my 1940's glider refinished, and Emily had a blast selling magnets and hanging out with her friend Katie.

Unfortunately, our last day was cold, rainy, and very, very windy. But I can't complain because despite all of that, I had a great sales day, the dj was fabulous and added a dimension of excitement, and we shared our venue with the chili cook-off which turned out to be a tasty addition. It was anything but boring!

And although the title of the first book I read was Meet the Dullards (Extra Boring Edition), the book was like my last market day and was anything but dull. The Dullard parents are dull and want their children to be dull, but page after page shows the Dullard children breaking the dull tradition in the most thrilling ways. They read books, they play outside, and they even join the circus. No matter how hard the parents try to keep their children dull,  like when they order vanilla ice cream without a cone and without the vanilla, the children always manage to have some fun when their parents aren't looking. This is the type of book that is so ridiculous you just have to laugh. You might even laugh out loud.  

The second book I read was Meanwhile Back at the Ranch and it too was anything but dull. It was a hilarious tall tale about a rich widow who inherited a ranch in Texas where everything is bigger. Even the widow's problems were bigger when every unmarried man for  miles around showed up in order to propose marriage. Some creative solutions and a wonderful chef named Charlie eventually lead to a very happy wedding.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week 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 sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.

Autumn's Arrival

Autumn has officially arrived and with it fall festivals. This weekend we attended the Heritage Festival at Malabar Farms State Park. We saw a broom maker...

A blacksmith who let Emily blow the bellows.

 

 

Civil War Soldiers firing the cannons.

 

A log cabin and the Big House where Charles Bromfield lived.

 

 

 

And a bit of movie history.

 

 

 

We even took a horse-drawn wagon ride.

 

 

And all of this fun autumn entertainment made me want o read an autumn book. The book I chose was a super beginning science book called The Autumn Leaf. It is the story of a big oak tree who has arrived at the season of change and is loosing her leaves until only one leaf is left. Try as hard as she could, she just could not get that one last leaf to drop. The last leaf was scared to drop. That is until some friendly children came up with a plan to help the little leaf overcome his fear and drop gently to the ground.

 

 

I also read a fun book called Acoustic Rooster which is the story of a musical chicken who starts his own jazz band in order to enter the farmers talent contest. He's the rockinest chicken around and even though he doesn't win first place, he has a great time. There are lots of references to past musical legends and in the back of the book there is a great glossary of musical terms, a page of the musical legends mentioned, and a musical timeline.

 

 

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week 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 sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

 

 

So Many Good Things, And A Give-Away!

It's always an exiting week when books arrive on my doorstep. This week was no exception when my friend Debbie Dadey's latest mermaid tale, Wish Upon A Starfish, arrived. This particular story is the tale of one mergirl's dream to become a star and the rocky road leading to stardom. I loved the characters, the oceany references to things familiar in the human world, and the homework the teacher gave the students to compare and contrast two sea stars. The homework part gave me a particular giggle because  comparing and contrasting is exactly what we just covered in last week's English class. Debbie's colorful descriptions made me wish there really was such a place as trident academy. So if y ou have a little mermaid lover of your own, be sure to check out the whole Mermaid Tales Series!

And as if that wasn't exciting enough, the twitter launch party for my new picture book, Quack and Daisy, started off with a splash and several fantastic reviews. Mom bloggers from Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and all parts of the United States shared their opinions of my story. Blessedly, Quack and Daisy seems to be a hit so far. And for those of you who are fond of picture books, please join the fun and enter the party contest for a chance to win a copy of your very own! You can enter at my book launch coordinators site or anyone of the mom blogger sites hosting me.

The excitement doesn't even end there. Today as  you are reading this, I will probably be making my way to The Learned Owl Bookstore in Hudson, Ohio to meet the fantastic Drew Daywalt in person and to pick up an autographed copy of his new book, The Day The Crayons Came Home.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week 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 sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

A Scavenger Hunt, A Field Trip,and Some Good Books!

This past week was another one of those really busy but fabulous weeks. Emily and I started the week with our normal home school lessons, but on Tuesday, we attended Cookbook Club. The theme was salads; but I don't have many salad recipes, so I made Creamy Broccoli Noodle Soup, and Emily made Cheesecake Cups. On Friday, we took another break from normal lessons and took a field trip to the Gorman Nature Center where we had a picnic and a scavenger hunt that we printed off from the Discover The Forest Book of Stuff to Do. Our most recent science lesson of the week had been about soil, so it was also great fun to see first hand decaying organic matter in the form of a rotten log turning into humus. We felt it. We smelled it. It did indeed feel and smell like a pile of dirt.

 

Saturday found us at the Farm Market as usual where it was a bit slow and a bit nippy. So in between sales, we watched as they prepared to tear down a historical building on the corner that had recently shifted and posed a threat. And I rounded the week off by testing my new vacuum. It is my first ever bag-less pet pro vacuum, and it worked so well that after vacuuming only one room and the back of the couch, I had to empty the canister. I am so excited to finally be able to keep up with the daily shedding of three cats!

So, in honor a very good week full of great lessons and filed trips, I read three book that are super for the pre-k youngsters. The first two are shape books by Kay Robertson, who if I am correct is the same Kay Roberson of the Duck Dynasty. They are: Circles and Rectangles and Squares and Triangles. Each book describes the two shapes contained on the pages and then goes on to describe things that can be made from different combinations of those shapes. These books seem to me to be perfect for teaching youngsters about shapes in a fun and engaging way.

The third book I read was called, I'll Never Share You, Blackboard Bear. It is a fun story about a boy with a bear drawn on a blackboard. His bear comes to life and two other children see the bear and want one of their own. The young boy does not want to share his bear, but the bear convinces  him that sharing can be awesome! This book contains a great non-preachy lesson for the very young. It seems to be out of print, but perhaps you can find a copy at your library like I did.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week 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 sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Keep Dreaming!

This past week was exciting in more ways then one. First of all, we started our second year of homeschooling. We are a bit busier this year since we home school through our former school's Independent Studies Program which allows Emily to participate in the fifth grade choir. We also fulfilled a longtime dream of Emily's which was to own a piano.

Some friends of ours were getting rid of a small spinet piano, and we were able to purchase it fairly inexpensively. Her aunt has agreed to teach her the basics, and she is very excited. I'm not sure yet if she grasps the concept of how much hard work learning to play the piano is going to entail, but for now we are just enjoying the new piano euphoria.

And speaking of dreams, Brown Bear had a dream too. In Brown Bear's Dream, Brown Bear Dreams of visiting the sea. However, an injury to his leg keeps him from being able to walk to the ocean. So Brown Bear thinks perhaps he can learn to swim and can make his way to the ocean in that manner. His good friend, Grandfather Beaver, helps him set goals, encourages him to continue working at accomplishing those goals even when they become difficult, and shares part of Brown Bear's journey with him. And although the journey was long and difficult, Brown Bear actually accomplished what he set out to do.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this book. I saw myself in Brown Bear where my writing is concerned. I have a dream of where I want to end up on my writing journey, and although I haven't yet achieved my dream, I am bolstered by wise Grandfather Beaver's words, "This is your dream! Keep working at it. It is never easy to realize a dream. If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth having."

The second book I read was about what to do if a dream doesn't work out quite the way you plan. The book is the new wordless picture book, Float, by Daniel Miyares. A young boy takes a paper boat out for an adventure on a rainy day. What happens to his boat isn't what he had in mind when he started on his journey, but when things don't go as he hoped, he learns that there is always a plan b.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week 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 sequel, Return To Fern Valley, the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)and my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.