Brief Book Review: Better to Wish (Family Tree, #1)

Better to Wish by Ann M. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This first in a quartet of stories about different generations of the same family begins with Abby, growing up in the 30s. A rather short book intended for middle-graders, it begins when Abby is eight and ends when she is eighteen, so there is a lot that happens offstage between chapters. For a middle-grade book, there is also a lot of tragedy and some rather weighty issues (prejudice, depression, the institutionalization of a disabled sibling, and two significant deaths), but there are also a lot of lighter moments and interesting historical details. The book ends on an abrupt cliffhanger, an event that always annoys me, but I do plan to read the next in the series, so perhaps the desired result was achieved.

*The publisher provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Brief Book Review: Someday, Someday, Maybe

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a fun, entertaining, and surprisingly literary read. Who knew Lauren Graham could write? (Apparently she has a B.A. in English.) It doesn't hurt that she wrote about a world she probably knows quite well -- trying to "make it" as an actress in 1995 New York City -- but her prose is witty and her characters are entirely believable. I enjoyed every minute I spent with aspiring actress Franny, and I hope a sequel is forthcoming!

*Thanks to the publisher for providing an e-galley (through NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

I'm on the Cloth Diaper Whisperer!

Check it out! They published a blog post of mine!

Breakfast for Dinner

We have a new tradition on Sunday nights: breakfast for dinner.  Mike wasn't too crazy about the idea at first, but since I do most of the cooking, he can't really complain.  Breakfast is something I know my picky toddler will eat, too.  And so far, we've had two hits, both from Weelicious. 

The first is cottage cheese pancakes, which Mike declared the best he's ever had.  I like that they have extra protein, especially when they are for dinner! (The first time I made them, we had no leftovers, so now I double the recipe.  Believe it or not, Ben eats a lot -- more than Evan sometimes!)

The second recipe, which I tried for the first time tonight, is for whole wheat waffles.  I modified the recipe some to 1. make them acceptable to my wheat-flour-averse husband, and 2. give them a hit of healthy fat for my boys.  For 1., I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the plain whole wheat flour -- the whole wheat pastry flour is lighter and milder-tasting than regular whole wheat flour, and Mike wouldn't have even noticed unless I'd told him. (You can use this in most baked goods instead of wheat flour; I've read that the only exception is yeast breads.)  For 2., I substituted coconut oil for the canola.  And I used buttermilk instead of plain milk and added some blueberries, too.  Yum.

Just wanted to share two easy, healthy recipes that everyone in my family will eat any time of day!

I Could Have Written This

This is an article from the her*meneutics blog on Christianity Today's website that I could have written myself: Gosnell and My Heart for Tiny Babies.

March For Babies

Tomorrow my mom and dad and I are taking Ben and marching for babies with the March of Dimes!  I am so thankful for all the work March of Dimes has done.  I know their research is one thing that enabled Ben to do as well as he did.  To learn more, go  here.

School of Cloth Twitter Party -- TONIGHT!

You probably haven't noticed, but I am now on Twitter.  I wouldn't call myself a Tweeter, but I tweet occasionally at Twitter parties.  Basically, I joined Twitter so I could win things.  I've participated in 4 or 5 Twitter parties, and won a prize twice, so I feel like it has been worth it.

There's a great Twitter party tonight, hosted by the Cloth Diaper Geek. Go here to learn all about it!