Boy I'm so glad it's Friday, it's been a heck of a week and it was a short week because of the holiday but it was a LONG and STRESSFUL week.  Needless to say I have plenty of material for next week's Dear So and So.
Today's For You Friday is tips for raising readers.


Now if you're new here or stopping in from one of the awesome Friday Follow Blog Hops like New Friend Friday or Friday Follow or Blog Frog Hop or Social Parade then let me tell you Friday's here are fun.  It's all about you and what's more fun that you?  Well maybe some giveaways, tips, things I think you will enjoy, advice, and more.  I'd love to have you as a new follower but only if you are interested in crafts, DIY projects, humor, honesty, tutorials, and fun. 
The only thing I request is to let me know why you've decided to follow me, that lets me know you read my posts, looked around and made a decision, not just clicked follow to add numbers, it also encourages me to come visit your blog, follow back and come back often. 

I am wanting to develop friendships and more interested in relationships with my readers and not just numbers.  Deal?!  Good now on to For You Friday.  This post comes straight from my article that I publish with Macaroni Kid.  It's filled to the brim with awesome stuff so if you like this post, check out the rest of the articles and because I have no shame, I'd love to beg you to sign up for my weekly newsletter.  It's for moms and dads filled with activities and ideas to do together to build family bonding.  PLLLEEEASSE!  Just click HERE to read more articles and click HERE to sign up. Oh did I mention it's free? :)

In my newsletter you will  notice I included a summer reading program article to help you and your kids earn free items and encourage the use of the brain throughout the summer months.  So to add to that I thought some good tips on getting a child to read would be fitting and beneficial so that the excitement of reading throughout the summer will last for years to come.

From the time I was a child I've been told or heard that reading is so important and honestly I never second guess my mom on this. Now other stuff I did second guess but we'll leave that for a different article, called, teenagers be nice to your parents. :) Back to reading, I too tell my toddler this and I've never stopped to consider WHY is it so important. I'm not questioning it's importance, just curious as to the many benefits it has. Here are 5 reasons reading is so vital.

1. Books help children develop vital language skills.
2. Reading can open up new worlds and enrich children's lives.
3. Reading can enhance children's social skills.
4. Reading can improve hand-eye coordination.
5. Reading can provide children with plenty of good, clean fun!

So we all probably agree that reading is important, reading is vital, reading is even fun, but how can we motivate our children to want to do it? How can we raise readers?
I have many many parent friends and to me, you as a mom or dad are the best resource for finding out what works best. So that's just what I did, I polled parents and asked them what they did to help raise a reader. 

1. Visit your local library often. Get your children their own library cards. Try a story hour or other free event at the library.
2. Check out the local bookstore. A book or gift certificate always makes a terrific gift.
3. At the library, let your child choose some of the books.
4. Let your child see you reading, whether it's the newspaper, a magazine, or the latest bestseller.
5. Encourage older children to read to their younger brothers and sisters. Or have the whole family set aside some time to read together!
6. Show your child how people use reading all the time. Read aloud street and store signs, maps, billboards, menus, and labels on packages.
7. Create a library for your child of new or used books. Try looking for affordable books at yard sales, second hand book stores, and library book sales.
8. Set up an area in your home where a variety of reading materials are within easy reach. Encourage writing by including paper, crayons, pens and pencils.
9. Subscribe to a children's magazine. Read it with your child every month.
10. Carry books to read to your child wherever you go - at the doctor's office, in line at the store, or on a long car ride. (You can also listen to stories on tape.)
11. Encourage a love of words by playing rhyming and word games, singing silly songs, or writing poems and stories together.
12. Talk about daily activities or tell stories about your family or culture to help children develop their language skills.
13. As a baby start a nightly routine of bath, reading a book, then bed.

One of the ways listed above is to set up an area in your home where reading materials are within easy reach. This is one of the first things we did in our home when our baby was no more a baby. We built bookshelves ourselves since I wasn't interested in paying around $40 a shelf. Instead I paid $20 for materials and had a wonderful building session with my husband. You can read all about it HERE.  
Since then our child goes to it many times a day to pick out a book and sit and read. These tips really do work and I know together we can raise tremendous readers!




So what are your tips for raising a reader or to get your kids excited about reading?  I'd love to hear them.

Happy Friday Ya'll.

This week's For You Friday are tips and ideas for you moms or soon to be brides who are having wee members of the wedding party.  Love is in the air this Spring so this may help you to avoid mid-nuptial bloopers or meltdowns with I Do's for the kids.

Monkey made her debut as flower girl in my cousin's wedding last September.  She was 13 months old and had yet to meet a stranger so I was pretty confident she would do ok in front of a lot of people but I still realized that she's 13 months old and unpredictible so it was mine and my cousin (the bride) to take steps to help Monkey be successful. 

1st: - Do Have a Dress Rehearsal:
Not the actual wedding rehearsal but a dress rehearsal for your child.  About a month before the wedding we started having Monkey wear her dress which was a tutu dress that I made, usually you probably will only need to do this a week or two before the wedding but because kids act differently to tulle I knew to start earlier than that.  You want the child to feel comfortable on the big day so having her wear the outfit for a little bit of time ahead of time will help ensure this.  You just may want to be sure to keep markers and grape juice far far far away from any white dresses or any color for that matter. 



2nd - Use Book, Pictures, and Stories
Reading books, showing pictures, or sharing stories to psych your child up for any event will help build the excitement and know how.  Some books your child may enjoy are "Angelina and the Royal Wedding," "The Flower Girl/The Ring Bear," or "Alligator Wedding."

3rd - Ask For Help
You may be concerned about a toddler freezing up in the middle of the aisle when walking down.  But there are many ways around this scenario. 

• A bridesmaid could walk with her or even carry her down the aisle.
• Have the mom or dad or grandparent of the toddler/child seated near the front so she/he can see them and walk towards them.  
• Decorate a little wagon to have the ring bearer or a bridesmaid pull her down the aisle in.  You can even have a sign on the back of the wagon that says Here Comes the Bride.

For Monkey we had all 3 of these planned.  On the night of the rehearsal we would get a feel what we thought she would do best with.  If she wasn't into walking with the ring bearer then since I was the matron of honor she would walk down with me.  But we found that she would walk with the ring bearer and he was so good with her and patient. We had my mom, Grams at the front encouraging her along so she walked straight down towards her.  For a back up on the day of we had a wagon ready in case she wasn't willing to walk.



4th - Keep It Simple
A young ring bearer may want to toss the pillow around like it's a toy, so have him carry fake bands in case of a football toss.  A young flower girl may not be ready to stand still through the ceremony so have a family member near the front to have her sit with them. 


Again we had Grams sitting at the front so once she walked down the aisle, the ring bearer just sort of dropped her off with Grams and he contined onto his spot.

5th - Remember that it's Ok if all doesn't go according to Plan:
Even if you practice and plan and think things through, a child is a child and something still may go wrong, like a missed nap or being hungry BUT it makes for funny stories to share with them when they get older and it does not take away from the most important part and that's the bride and groom becoming one! 

We thought we had it all planned out, we had practiced, Monkey walked down with ease, (although she's a little OCD with cleaning and messes so we taught her how to drop the flower petals from her basket which she did beautifully but then she'd stop to pick them all back up too so we opted for no flower petals).  We were feeling confident and she seemed to be ready but one thing we did not rehearse or think of was the dim lighting in the church for the ceremony.  During rehearsal it was bright with every light on so Monkey could see with no problem, but the ceremony was different and she could not see Grams and got a little spooked walking down.  The ring bearer was great and she went with him and finally saw Grams and all was well.  So keep in mind mishaps happen but even though she whimpered a bit she was still adorable and the bride was still beautiful. 


Hope you enjoyed the tips and would love to hear your tips or suggestions or even funny flower girl/ring bearer mishaps stories.

Happy Friday Ya'll. 

I have been thinking a lot lately about how many preconcieved ideas I had about how it would be to become a mom. You know, I was one of those pregnant women that thought she knew everything, had it figured out already, and just smiled and nodded at unsolicted advice from know it alls. Ha man was my head screwed on wrong. Things I thought would be easy turned out not so easy, and things I knew would be hard turned out to be faily easy. AND that just keeps on proving to be the case nearly 2 years later. OH how I hate admiting when I am wrong or don't know everything I think I know. So I compied a little list, maybe you have a similar list. I also have a list going that I'll post next week of things I've learned along the way from being pregnant to becoming a mom, you know the list, the one where you thought you aleady knew but found out the hard way you needed to learn it. Oh yeah that one! Fun uh!

Easier Than I Thought It Would Be:

• Going on trips and out of town with an infant. She's a good traveler and adjusts well to her surroundings.
• Letting family watch her so Poppa and I can have alone time, date night, or a free weekend. When I saw how much her extended family loves her and respects our "rules" and ways, then we were very much at peace with them keeping her. Plus they love it too.
• Changing diapers
• Getting her dressed up and keeping her clean.
• Co-Sleeping, I was scared I'd roll over her, or hurt her, but knew it was imporant to us to do and not once did we ever come close to rolling on her.
• Keeping myself clean and spit up free, love those burp cloths.
• Taking care of her every need. What if I missed something or she got hurt because of my not paying attention or not knowing? But so far I'd like to think I've been on the money in this category. She has her every need met.
• Falling in love at 1st sight. I was conditioned to believe love was a gradual thing, boy was I wrong. I know for everyone it's different but for me, love at first sight!
• Saving money, still going out, finding good deals. I thought once we had a child, we'd never have money to do anything fun again, and while it's been tight, I've found countless ways to not only do fun things but continue to save money.
• Enjoy being a mom. I was concerned that my need to protect her from harm would overshadow the enjoyment of being a mom. Even though I still protect, every day is nothing but joyful and enjoying.

Harder Than I Thought It Would Be

• Giving Birth. I was determined to have a natural drug free birth. I believe God created a woman's body to do so without the need of drugs (in most cases). I transferred from my OB and hospital to a mid wife in my 30th week. I wanted a home birth but settled for a birthing center. When I was finally 2 weeks late, a natural alternative was given to me to start labor which I did for 3 days, in the most intense pain I've ever been in but I hadn't gone in labor on my own and she hadn't dropped down, I was not dialted past a 2 for 3 days when the decision was made that I would need to go to the hospital. I went from this dream of birthing naturally and drug free to having every drug known to man given to me and not only did I not have a drug free birth but I didn't have a natural birth, I had to have a c-section. She weighed 10.8 pounds. I had a bad case of the blues due to this. I was devestated but we're good now and will try for a drug free natural birth again.
• Breastfeeding. I did not get the support we needed up front to show me how to do it correctly. I gave in and listened to the dr and nurses at the hospital that because of her size she was needing more than what I was giving, she ate every 45 minutes until we gave in and supplemented with formula. I was raw, cracked and bleeding for weeks due to not having a good latch and she wasn't getting much. I pumped and pumped to help but by month 3 she was on formula only. I have a lot of guilt to this day but know what to do differently next time.
• Going back to work. I thought I'd always want to work, that I would need that outlet and time with adults. I was so wrong. I deal with enough guilt on my own but the comments from others of how someone else is raising my child or children in day cares have behavior problems, or if it really was important to me I'd find a way to stay home, do not help.
• Keeping my house clean. I need a maid. Thankfully my husband has really pitched in but I take pride in a clean home and the fact that I did it and I don't have that now. I don't like needing help. I want to be able to work full time, take care of her, cook, clean, exercise, and still feel sexy enough for Popps. HA.
• Losing the weight and exercising. I have no energy to do this and I know if I would just do it then I would have more energy but getting up earlier than 5:00am is not happening and at night when I get home, after cooking, getting her bag ready for the next day, making lunch for all 3 of us for the next day, bath, bow orders, put to bed, all I want to do is go to bed myself.
• Making friends. I thought that having CM would open a door to meet other couples with children that we could do stuff with but most moms don't work and only do play dates during the day and the rest already have set friends and getting into a new group has proven very hard. I miss friends, having them, doing stuff with them, etc.
• The lack of sleep. Monkey didn't sleep throught the night until 13 months and we tried everything and every book. That means we went a whole year of not sleeping a full 6 or more hours unless she was with Grams. And if you don't know me or haven't read THIS POST then you don't know that sleep to me is better than chocolate. That can take it's tole on the body and mind. It was very frustrating and stressful. We knew she was capable of it, just didn't go about making it happen until it was too late to make it easy.

So this is my Easy Vs Hard list, I'm sure I could come up with way more but instead, what's yours?

 It's Friday and that means it's New Friend Friday and Friday Follower  and Follow Me Friday Day so join up over there with the fun and make some new friends.

My baby is one and isn't in school yet but she did start a new daycare school on Monday and I don't want to forget this week or that 1st day


It's a great little day care program that has a school structure with set schedules, activities, meal times, nap times, all the things that are important in my opinion to help a child flourish under a schedule. I know what she's doing at each time of the day and that is comforting to my heart since I can not be with her at this time.

She is in the toddler group since she can walk and is already making friends and gotten familiar with her new teacher's faces. She does cry when I drop her off but by the time I'm leaving she has stopped and when I pick her up she's always playing and smiling and shows me what she's doing and that is just what I need at the end of a long day.

Don't you know I'd give my right arm to be at home with this child of mine but for now my heart is at peace knowing she is happy and healthy and learning new things daily. And I know that she and I will grow and learn together and prevail through this and God will give me the strength I need to be an excellent mother to Casey Marilyn teaching her the ways that are right in the eyes of our Lord and to be an excellent worker giving praise to God in all of my works.

Psalm 18 is one of my favorite chapters of the whole Bible and it is stocked full with promises and encouragement to face anyting Satan and this world may throw your way.

Psalm 18 :29 and 30

29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

So clinging to this I know that each morning will get easier for both of us and each afternoon will be sweeter every day and my working does not make me a bad mother but my teaching my child to love and serve God all the days of her life makes me an excellent mother. (Thanks Janelle)

So my trip down memory lane is just more of a reminder to myself that with God all things are possible and I can be comforted daily even if I'm not at home with my monkey.

So yes I'm still having to work right now but we have changed up the budget and spending to accomodate the idea of me staying at home. It will mean a lot of sacrafices, no new shoes, new clothes, no vacations, etc until Casey graduates but I think it would be worth every bit of sacrafice we can make. She is so worth it.

So today I feel much better, all thanks to God and Casey.