Potty Training the Not-So-Easy Way

To read all about my adventures in potty training Evan, head on over to The Cloth Diaper Whisperer for my post.

Review: God's Little Explorers Preschool Curriculum

Evan just turned 3 at the end of June, and I've decided I needed to add a little structure to our at-home time.  I found a lot of free preschool curriculums in cyberspace, but I wanted something that was easy-to-follow and, most importantly, had a Christian foundation.  That's when I came upon Stacie of Motherhood On a Dime's curriculum, God's Little Explorers.  Stacie, the author, has a background in elementary education, and she homeschools her girls.  The curriculum is 28 weeks, and covers all the letters of the alphabet (one week per letter), but the unique thing about it is that it doesn't start with A -- it starts with X, because X marks the spot for the treasure, and the treasure is God's Word.  The second week is G for garden -- the creation story, of course -- and so on.

Now, Stacie offers the curriculum for free (just follow the links on her website for each week's lessons), but if you're like me and would like it all gathered in one handy download, with improvements and extras, you can spring for the $14 package.*  And all proceeds will be donated to fund the building of an orphanage in India.

We're only on day 2, but I've already reviewed the curriculum, and I'm really impressed.  It's easy to follow, doesn't require a lot of prep (or supplies), and is good even for the craft-phobic like me.  Plus, I really appreciate the biblical focus.  I'm glad I took the plunge.

*Oh, and through July 31, 2013 at 11:59 PM CT, you can save $2 by using the code SAVE2 at check-out!

 

Two Books About S-E-X

So, reading books with sexually explicit content is totally not my style.  Before I got married, I avoided such books on principle (why spend time thinking about something I was intent on avoiding?), and now that I am married I really don't care to read about other people's sex lives, even if they are fictional.  Then how did I manage to read two in a row?



The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I appreciate Myracle's talent -- and I met her in person once, and she was really gracious and engaging -- so I was glad to get a chance to read this one before its release. I was looking forward to a sweet story of first love. This is realistic fiction, though, so these 18-year-olds think about sex a lot. And have it.  Wren is a good girl, Charlie is a foster kid from "the wrong side of the tracks," and sparks fly the summer after they graduate.  A little too much description for my taste, but I'm sure teenagers will devour it.



Love Overdue by Pamela Morsi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I should have known, this being published by a Harlequin imprint and all, that there would be sex. But how could I pass up the chance to read a book about a librarian? The library details were well-done, but the love story was a little unrealistic, in my opinion (what's with our culture's reversal of what should be love's natural progression?); namely: boy and girl meet at a club on spring break, have a one-night-stand, and then try to forget each other until they meet again years later and, of course, fall in love. I would have enjoyed this a lot more without the focus on the physical aspect of the characters' relationship and without the guy's meddling mother-in-law (the subplot about her desire to commit suicide was kind of annoying).

All my own opinions, of course. Thanks to the publisher for providing e-galleys for review through NetGalley.

Brief Book Review: We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook

We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook: A Mom and Daughter Dish about the Food That Delights Them and the Love That Binds Them by Becky Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this glimpse into a mother-daughter relationship and the food that defines it. I also found the daughter's "conversion" to veganism very interesting. If I had a physical copy of the book I would likely try out a few of the recipes that appear at the end of each chapter. An enjoyable, hunger-inducing read.

* I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: Unveiling Grace

Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of the Mormon Church by Lynn K Wilder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fascinating look at the Mormon church and an inspiring account of how God worked in the lives of the Wilder family. Having been active members of the Mormon church for over 30 years (Lynn Wilder was even a professor at Brigham Young University), it took many events, big and small, to open their eyes to the true Gospel. One of the Wilder sons took it upon himself to actually read through the New Testament, and, one by one, the other members of the family followed, noting all the inconsistencies between the Bible and the Mormon scriptures, and subsequently leaving all that they knew to follow the Biblical Jesus. I am encouraged by their story to spend more time in the Bible, because it is "living and active." A very helpful appendix notes many of the contradictions between Mormon doctrine and Christianity.

* I received a free egalley of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Brief Book Review: Rose Under Fire

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having overdosed on Holocaust literature as a teenager, I was somewhat reluctant to read Wein's latest, a (fictional) Ravensbruck survivor account, even though I thought _Code Name Verity_ was amazing. (As an adult, it seems that such atrocities are harder for me to handle than they were when I was an adolescent.) However, I need not have worried -- Wein is more than capable of taking an old (though important) subject and making it fresh and new through the eyes of 18-year-old Rose, an American, a poet, and a volunteer who ends up in a concentration camp toward the end of the year. The prose and poetry is beautiful, the story harrowing, and the ending uplifting. I am grateful I got to read this.

*I received an egalley from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Brief Book Review: Raising Henry

Raising Henry: A Memoir of Motherhood, Disability, and Discovery by Rachel Adams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting but a little dry for a "memoir." I suppose the fact that the author is a professor and the book is published by a university press should have prepared me, but I wasn't expecting so much exposition on the author's past research (which was on "freaks," so I can't say it was exactly boring), and her current work in disability studies. A lot of the "memoir" part of her son's first three years was about his therapies and education; I didn't get a real feel for her emotions and feelings about Henry himself, only about his education, his opportunities, his future, and how others perceived him. I also didn't get much of a sense of her relationship with her husband or her older son. Perhaps what this book needs is a different subtitle.

* I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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