This may be one of my favorite kids’ books ever. Rosie Revere Engineer is a book about a little girl who wants to design and create things. It’s witty, smart and has a nice rhythm to it (which makes it more fun to read). It also has this amazing message about not giving up, having a perfect “first flop,” and about working hard to accomplish things. Seriously I want to plaster this book all over Clare’s room to give her inspiration. We have another book by this author, Iggy Peck Architect, that I also love for its wit, message and general style.
Sammy’s not into the fairy tales yet, and his tastes run more towards animals. One of his favorites is the classic Big Red Barn. It’s written by the same author as Good Night Moon (another perennial favorite) and has the same cadence. Sam’s favorite part is pointing to the different animals and bugs.
“Mo Mo Mo” as Sammy calls it is read…. a lot. It’s three little stories about three little babies who are loved, adored and tickled/kissed/put to bed by their caregivers. Sam likes the repetition and the characters. I like who sweet and gentle the book is, and how the babies are loved on by their Moms, Dads and Grandparents.
It was a beautiful fall day full of colorful foliage, sparkling water and shining sun. We took a short hike and then settled into our cabin for the night. It was peaceful, dirty, cozy and… cold. Fortunately the little cabin was warm and we had plenty of hot cocoa and coffee. Due to some illness we all headed back home early the next day, but memories (and s’mores) were made nonetheless.
If I were to rank our Family Values obviously love, communication, relationships with extended family and friends, respect and all those other good things would be listed but pretty high on the list, probably in the top 5 values, would be Food. Obviously food is essential to life, but beyond that we really value good, high quality, delicious food. Eating and making good meals brought J and I together when we were dating, and it’s something that we still enjoy doing. Now it’s taking on extra importance since it’s not just for our enjoyment but it’s also nourishing and sustaining our children.
We cook *all* *the* *time*. Seriously, I spent most of my waking hours planning meals, making grocery lists, shopping for groceries, prepping ingredients, cooking food and washing dishes. Did I mention that I also work in the food industry? Even when I’m at work I’m thinking about food! Oh yeah, and we eat a little bit. Yes it’s a chore, but it’s something that we think is important. Our children know where food comes from, and they will know how to prepare it for themselves.
But it’s also fun. Friday night is Pizza Night at our house. Sometimes, depending on how harried the week has been, it’s pizza that we get delivered. On our best nights, our favorite Fridays, we make our own pizza. J makes the dough in advance, and the kids help him roll it out and put the toppings on. The kids (especially Clare) feel very proud eating food that they prepared. And we all enjoy doing a “project” together with delicious results.
This summer we introduced the kids to Enchanted Forest. Enchanted Forest is a little local theme park that was a favorite place of mine as a child. We brought the kids there back in July and promptly went back two more times. Clare especially loves it, she loves the characters and the kids-oriented activities (the shoe slide! the play! rabbit hole! the crooked house!). Sammy loves the new things to explore and he’s fearless crawling through caves and through holes. I love re-living my favorite activities as a kid with my children. J… doesn’t love it. But he likes the rides (the log ride and the bob sled ride) and he likes seeing the kids happy.
