Read Books

I'm dedicating the next few days to activities that you can 
enjoy together with your littles.

Let's begin with: Read Books.

I can imagine you rolling your eyes now. Reading books 
with children sounds simple enough. If this were really so
then we would be raising a generation of readers. Sadly,
the opposite is true. 

No need for statistics. All we need to do is look around. 
Techie toys are everywhere. Rarely will you find a child 
reading a book. And if you find one, you will have 
to ask too, is s/he reading because s/he wants to or 
because s/he has to? I'm sure many educators will agree 
as well.

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."
- Emilie Buchwald

I believe that reading books with one's children is a precious 
gift. When I read books with Tot M and Baby Pea I am not 
just reading with them. In reality, I am spending time that is
FOCUSED on them. Little ones just love and need that.


3 Tips for Reading Books with Your Child:

1. Read books that the children enjoy
Certain books seem to appeal to young children. Goodnight 
Moon, Guess How Much I Love You and Dr. Seuss books
are consistent favorites. These books are part of our little
library. 

Nowadays, we gravitate towards books that involve cars and cooking. I'm sure our book choices will evolve as Tot M 
and Baby Pea develop their interests. 

2. Choose books that are age appropriate and level 
appropriate
I usually scan through the books we borrow. This ensures
that the books we have at home are appropriate for them. 
The kids sometimes go through the books by themselves
when I'm doing chores. In general, I avoid books that have 
heavy themes. There's plenty of time for that when they're
older.

Every so often, I borrow books that I know will challenge 
Tot M's reading skills. It's a way for us to learn new words 
and concepts. 

3. Have fun together
Other moms have said it and I have witnessed it myself --
just read with your kids. Enjoy and have fun. Before you 
know it, you will have a budding reader right in front of you.

Happy Reading!

============================================


Confession time. Yes, there was a noticeable gap in my posts
for 31 Days. I hope to catch up in the next few days. Let's see 
how that goes. Such is life with littles. 

Grocery List (FREE Printable)

Our family fridge + freezer can only hold a week's worth 
of food. It's a year old pre-loved unit previously owned 
by friends. Back then, I couldn't get why they needed to 
upgrade to something bigger. Ahh, the things you learn 
when you actually use something. Let's just say  we can't 
have too much of anything.  Extras just take  up valuable 
shelf space.

If I could only share one home/budget organizing tool 
with you,  it would definitely be our Grocery List. It's
been a lifesaver to us. No second guessing what needs
to be bought. 

The Grocery List I'm sharing has a "classic" design.
It's a no frills black and white item. H can easily use
it as there's no eye candy involved.

The Grocery List is editable. If you can, arrange it
according to the layout of your supermarket. Remove
items that you don't buy. Add items that you can't do

without.

The Grocery List can help you stay on budget. I do
a quick estimate of our total bill before we go shopping.
If I think we've gone over the budget, I put a question
mark or cross out back-ups. We use a calculator or 
mentally compute while shopping. If there's a special,
we can add or remove something to accommodate it.
So far so good, we usually stay within budget +/- $10
when we use the Grocery List.

Click here to download your copy of the Grocery List.

I hope this Grocery List will be as useful to you as it
has been for our family. I'd love to hear how it works
out for you.

* Oops, just caught myself there. This really is a 
Grocery List  LOL :)

Embrace the New You

It takes time to sink in. A year or so into married life and
I still felt like I was single. I was not the party type. And
it wasn't a case of denial. Life just felt the same.

I didn't feel like I was a mom until Tot M turned one??? 

Then there was the "I'm a mom?!?" feeling when I had 
Baby Pea. Yes, it took some TIME for things to sink in.

I love having a family. The wife and mom thing has been 
my new career of sorts. I was a bit of a workaholic in my 
former life. I had no plans of "lowering my standards". 
But for the longest time, we could get away with doing 
things on the fly. H and I could just grab a quick bite. 
We could just rush off to the mall. We could just take 
an impromptu day trip. Life now is more scheduled and
planned.

Breastfeeding. Baby bag fixing. Weaning.
Baby food prepping. Potty training. 
Eating. Bathing.
And the list goes on.
The little things that eat up so much time and energy.
At some point, I had to stop trying to be super mom.
Instead, I decided to be the best mom that I could be.

Giggles. Laughter. Gummy smiles. Cheeky grins.
Tinkering hands and wiggly toes. Hugs and kisses.
Funny moments. Sweet memories.
I love yous.
And the list goes on.
The little things that let you KNOW that it's all worth it.

Work at work mom, work at home mom, stay at home 
mom. A mom is a mom 24/7. There's no turning back.

Enjoy the journey. Embrace the new you.


Image courtesy of Angela