It is what it is

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A Book Lovers Dream

It’s no secret that I love books. One of the most important things I am trying to pass on is that love of reading to George.

I am excited to be sharing about Usborne and all the book greatness that it has to offer. They have been part of our journey to make George a reader for over a year now. I was super excited when my sister-in-law became a consultant so we could ride this addiction together! And I love supporting her small business endeavors. So here I am hosting a party to share the goodness!

But books…this is all about them books!

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Are you familiar with Usborne? They are the 2014 Children’s Publisher of the Year – widely respected in the industry, but more importantly, widely loved by KIDS! Their books are also backed by a lifetime half-price replacement guarantee, for whatever reason. If your kids are anything like George, books tend to get well loved (aka destroyed) so I really love that I can replace his favorites easily and cost-effectively.

Did you know that growing up in a home with a large collection of books has a huge impact on educational attainment? A child in a home with 500 books will complete an additional 3.2 years of college and earn nearly $1 million more in their lifetime. Isn’t that crazy? Usborne has really motivated us to have books EVERYWHERE. We have a bag full in the car, he has a reading tent in the living room, a whole bookcase full in his room, and we even have about 10 in his bed. We are well on our way to helping George in that million more earned.

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Did you know that reading imaginative and relatable fiction helps children learn to read for comprehension? Not only that, but by taking an objective look at how characters relate to others, it actually helps children develop empathy. Check out Usborne’s selection of fiction here! (We love the Dirty Dinosaur!)

I love how these books make it fun to LEARN! Peter Usborne, the founder of Usborne Publishing, has said that books should be magnetic, stylish, and promote wondering…and they DO! George has learned body parts and animal sounds and how to say things like “tractor” from these books. I am attempting to collect all the Big Book series!

Want to know the secret to keeping your kids occupied while you make a phone call? These books will keep your kids occupied and happy while they PLAY all day long. We have gotten the Wipe Clean books for our nieces who just started school. Super fun!

Our personal favorite books for George are the “That’s Not My Series” and the “Noisy” sound books. He has learned so much from these books, and I honestly attest his obsession to tractors/construction vehicles to these books. George even sleeps with the “That’s Not My” books. We love the phonics book series-they are fun for me to read with their sing songy rhymes. We use the Muddle Match books in the car because they are more interactive, and they have taken George a lot longer to beat up. We are also going to be going after all the astronaut/space stuff here soon because Tom loves space and that is a great way for them to bond. There is a lot of research out there about the importance of the father reading to their sons, so having a subject that Tom loves encourages that more.

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They do some really cool things with books. I recommend looking at the shine a light books, busy books, and the ones where you build stuff. I am constantly amazed at the ridiculously cool things that they do with books! It is making me relive childhood all over again through George.

If you want to see our wishlist for ideas, here are the books we are interested in.

Ready to shop? I have a party running for the next week so I hope you get as excited about the books as I do! Be sure to think ahead to any upcoming gifts you might need for birthdays, homework helpers, or boredom busters too! I love stocking up on books to save for presents all year round. There is really something for everyone!

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Have you seen stuff that you would love in your kid’s hands? You can shop my party here until August 14th.

Once payment is received, the books will be on their way to you within 48 hours!

Let me know how I can help! I LOVE giving personalized recommendations, and I could speak about Usborne for days!

In addition to these videos, here’s a mini catalog you can flip through to get ideas. Every time I go through the catalog, my wishlist gets longer and longer…

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 Thanks for your interest! If you’d like to host your own party via Facebook to earn FREE BOOKS or would like information about working with Usborne Books & More, contact Emily (my awesome sister-in-law) by clicking here. She’s a teacher so she knows a lot about how to prepare students for reading. She’d be happy to answer any questions you have about specific books or offer recommendations!
Thanks for reading about Usborne and consider supporting my party. You wont be disappointed!
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August Goals

This last month was crazy busy and wonderfully summery. It was a great month filled with memories for us.

But I will be honest, I did not get much done from my goals for the month. However, I think I nailed the one for me which I think dictated not getting anything else done.

But for giggles, let’s see how I ranked up.

  • Fitness-
    • Do BodyPump once a weekend. I didn’t do this one. We had so much going on during the weekends that I just couldn’t find an hour that I was able to do this realistically. In taking my last goal to heart, this took a backseat to reading a book on our patio every weekend. I do want to do this though because I think it will help with my running. 
    • Start 10K training. I did this, and it has been going really well. My weekend workouts were more focused on this than the BodyPump.
  • House Tasks-We did nothing on this list. What can I say, we enjoyed our lives this month.

    • Finish Living Room Wall
    • Fix the flower beds around the trees
    • Clean the craft room
  • Something with George-Introduce him to sidewalk chalk. I honestly forgot about this until this weekend. He had a lot of fun at swim lessons though! And we took him to a tractor pull which I think can replace the chalk experience.

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  • Something with Tom-go to dinner and a movie. We were going to go this last weekend, but the movie times never worked out for us. The downside of living in a small town.
  • Something for me–permission to be lazy. We did have a lot of plans this month, but anytime we had a free afternoon, I spent it out on our porch reading books. Our house is barely clean (I just did laundry and dishes…) but it has been so great to just enjoy myself and give myself some me time that isn’t at 9pm in the evening.

 

 

  • Fitness-
    • Do cross-training a couple times a week.
    • Keep up with my 10K training.
  • House Tasks-

    • Organize George’s toys-its time to go through them again. We just have too many out, and so many that he doesn’t play with. We need to pair it down.
    • Build a new porch-We want to get this done before fall and before we have a pit of leaves in the trench.
    • Stain the deck-Once the porch extension is done, we need to stain the whole thing.
  • Something with George
    • Introduce him to sidewalk chalk. Trying this again…
    • Celebrate him turning TWO!
  • Something with Tom-We had a great month last month, but maybe this will be the month for a dinner and a movie? This rotating schedule is the pits in the way of making plans. When Tom has a free weekend it’s like we are trying to make up all the lost time and pack everything in for George and Tom to bond, which leaves our bonding out on the limb. Not this month! (Right?)
  • Something for me–do some research to purchase more natural make-up. I use a tinted moisturizer right now, and I am wanting something with a little more coverage. I have been super cheap about my facial care. I think it is time for me to splurge a little with what goes on my face. I haven’t purchased foundation in a looonnng time since I have been using just tinted moisturizer for probably the last decade so I don’t even know where to start. I do know that I want a little more than drugstore and something natural, but also easy to do. I am not into any of that contouring business.  Any suggestions?

 

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Saying Goodbye to My Baby

I no longer have a baby. You almost forget how little they were.

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It seems over night, George has grown into a little boy.

Gone are the days where he sits in one spot, now he is like flash across the room.

Gone are the days were he just coos, now he is speaking in sentences.

Gone are the days where I am the one doling out kisses, now he is giving some of his own.

Gone are the days where we lead him on wild adventures, now he takes our hands and pulls us where we need to go.

Gone are the days where his curiosity is just following us with his eyes, now his curiosity gets him in cabinets and on counter tops.

Gone are the days where we laid him in Grace’s lap to sleep, now he tries to ride her like a pony.

Gone are the days where we can complete a task without a shadow, now he attempts to do everything we do (including the dishes and watering flowers).

Gone are the days where I read him books, now he picks out his own and reads to himself.

Gone are the days where I was confident he was getting all his nutrition from me or his formula, now we have to make sure we have a balanced diet for a toddler appetite and he feeds himself with utensils.

Gone are the days of the sweet soft baby skin, now he has scraped knees, bruises, and mosquito bites from exploring the great outdoors.

Gone are the days where he sleeps soundly in my arms, now he climbs all over me expecting a piggy back ride.

Gone are the days of my baby, now he is building his personality and living it up as a toddler.

In a MONTH, George will be two, which he can count to now btw. Every day, I learn a little bit more about being a mom. We are growing together.

I love being his mom, but it is going too fast. However, I need to not spend too much time in the past and enjoy where he is now. Because soon he will be in school, and I will be missing his toddler sticky goodness and unruly hair.

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Feel Good Friday

These past couple weeks have been super stressful around these parts, so I wanted to infuse some positivity into the world.

Here are just a few things that have me feeling good today.

  1. This week I got to be the mascot at work AGAIN! I am going to recap all the joy that this brings me here soon. So. Much. Fun.
  2. I got a free burrito from Moe’s. (So much better than Chipotle) You can get one too if you download their app! Use this code Stepha5522 and we both get extra points when you redeem your free burrito.
  3. George started kissing for real, no more head bumps as kisses. I never thought I would be one of those moms that kisses their kid on the lips, but it is just too darn cute. He grabs your head and makes the noise and everything when he goes in for it.
  4. Tom has been home for dinner every night this week, and it has been super nice after so many things out there right now. His job is very heavy, so it was nice to have a lot of quality family time this week.
  5. Tom kept George home with him today for some guy bonding, but it meant that I could sleep in a little since I didn’t have to take George to the sitter. Now my step tracker can stop judging me for at least one day for not meeting my sleep goal.

And then how can you not smile after seeing this.

What has you feeling good today?

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Where Change Starts

The tension in this country is heartbreaking. It took me time to formulate words instead of speaking purely from emotions-although I would never say that I am completely eloquent. I have gone back and forth for days as to whether I would even say anything after last week. Maybe it is just for me to process my thoughts, but I needed to say something to add to the narrative. So bear with me and my voice.

The first violent act I remember feeling in my gut was Columbine, and I was in 8th grade. I recall thinking as I watched the news, “How could an individual harbor that much hate?” There were times when I said I hated my brother, but really I was just upset he messed with me. I just could not comprehend hate at that massacre level. I still have this mentality as a grown woman. Honestly though, I have mostly watched these violent atrocities through a screen. I recognize that I have been privileged to not have to witness these evil things in my daily life.

My husband, my partner, my love, however, has seen the world very differently from my gumball view.

Watching Tom go into the Army and into Law Enforcement, I have always known there was a risk. I have acknowledged the danger. I have had times where I go the long way home and sob uncontrollably because I am so fearful there is a car waiting at my door to tell me the worst news possible. I have had moments where I lose my breath as I watch him put on all his gear and try to hide the tears welling up in my eyes. There are nights where I hardly sleep because I wait to hear his footsteps in the kitchen after a night shift before I can relax. I have talked on this very blog several times about those feelings.

But most days I try not to give the danger a fleeting thought. I try to push all the fear deep down because I have to seem normal. It’s not that I dismiss it because I do think about it daily. But I ignore the realities of the job because I don’t want to face those dire possibilities 24/7. I have to press forward so I don’t live in that paralyzing fear.

After last week I have this pit in my stomach though that I don’t think will go away for a very long time or if ever. Before I was able to let it go after a while. But when I hear stories like this, this, and this just days after 5 cops were killed in Dallas, as a police wife I just can’t…

Any one of those could be Tom.

This could be our family.

It was just a week ago that I was rolling my eyes at Tom as he debriefed our family of our “escape” plan as we went downtown for holiday festivities. You see, Tom gets threats of bodily harm several times a day and threats on his life a couple times a week from community members he interacts with. He has also been followed home on more than one occasion. He doesn’t wear his wedding ring at work as precaution for us. The debriefing has been a part of our outings for years. Tom walks me through what I need to do with George in the case of disaster and then says, “I will be home.” Up until now, I didn’t want to admit the severity of what he was saying to me. I thought he was being silly and wondered with lots of eye rolling and long sighs why he couldn’t just relax and enjoy our family time.

But with all the stories of cops getting shot (the number of police officer killed by guns has gone up already 75% in comparison to this time last year) and with law enforcement families being targeted at home, I have to listen to Tom being protective. I didn’t see it before, but now I have to. We all have fears with the situations out there. Tom dying is the one closest to my heart. I am not going to apologize for that.

It is heartbreaking to think that I need to take these plans seriously, or that other families are having conversations on how to stay alive during a traffic stop. These are not normal conversations we should be having.

None of this is ok.

So what do we do as a human race?

Personally, I don’t think there is a simple solution, nor do I think that it falls on solely one person. However it has to start somewhere, and I can only control how I react in this world. I am going to choose to armor myself with love. To love my family, to love my friends, to love those who walk in my office, to just love. The root of change needs to be love. Love is big, and it can ripple. I believe each one of us has a responsibility to each other, and we can’t wait for others to show that love first. We all need to step up in our circles.

I have sat quietly this past week moving through my day thinking and hoping we can just move past this.

But we all can’t be quiet. Hate and discontent will only divide us further. This is so much bigger than picking a side. Unity doesn’t mean that we have to agree. It means that we need to give each other grace and lean in and listen to each other’s perspective. We have to put in the time to show up. We have to create relationships to have understanding.

I see my husband going out there every single day to make this world a better place. He is trying to be one of the ones to make positive change. He sees you. He knows that you matter. That’s why he chose this job to serve and protect. He believes in the community values, and does everything he can to make sure people are safe. He wants you to go home just as much as he wants to get home.

When Tom and I were processing these events, I asked him how he was feeling. He said, “It is just another day that I get to do my job. I am going to keep going out there doing what I promised this community I would do…I am going to be kind to everyone I meet.”

For me, my platform is not so grandiose. I keep my community small (introvert problems). However, I see my greatest charge in all of this is how we raise George. I believe the greatest change I can give to the world is what I teach him. I worry every day about what he knows and how he will learn things. I see the innocence, and want to shield him from the evil as long as I can. I know there is going to come a day when I have to talk with George about bullies and sharing and being kind. I pray every day that God gives me the wisdom to lead him on the right path of compassion and caring for others. I hope that we are able to instill in him a curiosity for understanding others stories even if they are not like his. I hope that we raise him to make conscious decisions and understand that with everything there are consequences. I hope that we are models of being respectful citizens and how to give back to those around you. For me the hope lies within George, and I can see that there is a better future through him.

Easier said than done, but if we all take this approach of reaching out in our circles I believe there is so much hope.

 We all have a chance to better this world. We need to be aware of our actions, our words, and be willing to listen to each other’s stories. What decisions are we going to make today that are going to help us move forward? The change has to happen on an individual level to push a change on a global level. We have to continue to carry the cross.

We need to be the light in this dark world.

See those around you. Make people feel like they matter.

Love is still going.

Another blogger wrote this, and I don’t think it could be said any better. “Jesus give me eyes to see people as you do, give me a heart to love them as you do, give me courage to speak and act boldly as you did and give me wisdom to teach my children the same.”

While we may be broken, we can still have hope. I hope for your family, and I hope for mine. I hope for our world.

Love can heal what hurt divides. Mercy’s waiting on the other side.