In This House We Will Giggle

Life seems to get in the way of fun most times. Being a mom is hard and sometimes it's just too easy to get bogged down by all the work and not have enough play.

I knew I needed In This House We Will Giggle by Courtney DeFeo. "Making virtues, love & laughter a daily part of your family life." A reminder to make every moment count is often needed.

What I like best about this book is that it is broken down into 12 different parts...one chapter for each month. Instead of reading through a book and forgetting half of what is said this book can be gone back to time and time again throughout the year to bring a little more happiness into your home.

Each chapter focuses on one virtue. I will use November as an example. The theme this month is Gratitude. There is a memory verse, definition of the verse, Bible verses to read, questions for family discussion (such as "What are some signs that someone has an ungrateful heart?"), a pray to say aloud, an activity to do together, and several helpful hints on how to teach gratitude to the family throughout the month. It really is a month long project that should end up bring happiness, joy, and fun into your home.

Other topics include:  joy, love, forgiveness, faith, patience, perseverance, respect, responsibility, service, humility, and generosity. 

I also like that this book applies to all age ranges. Some projects are good for teens, some for elementary age, and some for toddlers. The whole family can learn and grow together.

Disclaimer: This book was given to me in exchange for my honest opinion by Blogging for Books.
 

Bookies

It's getting colder here. Which means little outside time and hunkering down indoors.

Creative play.

Pots full of soup.

Cups of hot tea.

Bubble baths.

Pumpkin bars baking.

Fall scented candles.

Warm sweaters.

And best of all. BOOKS! We don't get nearly enough reading done in the summer months but nothing screams READ ME! like a warm quilt, fuzzy socks, and a cup of tea at hand.

I have piles of books around my house. It doesn't help that the library recently had their fall book sale and I came away with a huge box full of books (Becca had another box just of her own!).

I have books coming in the mail for review.

And I now have a book to read monthly for the new book club at our library.

Last month we read The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

I enjoyed reading it, though I ended up disliking the characters. The discussion at the book club was fun...tearing the book apart to the bare bones showed how very unrealistic it all was. How things didn't vibe or flow smoothly. And yet, it was a fun book to read, I think, whether we loved it or hated it.

Next up is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields which should prove to be interesting.

What are you reading at the moment?

Dandelion Jelly

As I opened up another jar of jelly today I realized that I never shared with you my new discovery this past spring! As dandelions popped up all over my yard in early spring I googled Dandelion Wine (something my Grandma had talked about) and saw that I wouldn't have enough to make that, but stumbled upon dandelion jelly instead.

I was intriqued. It sounded like it would be gross. Yet, all reports I read made it clear that it tastes like honey. I figured I would give it a try.

We picked a huge mixing bowl full of dandelion blossoms (no stems) in an area that is not sprayed or used by animals. I rinsed them and spread them out on a towel on the kitchen counter. Several hours later I separated the yellow petals from the green part (I started by cutting off the base but finally just started to pull the middle out with my fingers which was much faster). Discard all green parts.

Pour enough boiling water over the petals to cover and let sit several hours or overnight. After brewing you will have a yellow colored "dandelion tea". Pour through a strainer lined with a coffee filter into a bowl. Discard the petals as all you are using is the "tea liquid".

You will need: 3 cups dandelion tea, 4 1/2 c. sugar, 2 T. lemon juice, 1 box powdered pectin

Add dandelion tea, lemon juice, 1 box of pectin into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil.  Add your sugar and bring back to a boil.  Continue boiling 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and fill jars. Process in a hot water bath canner for 10-15 minutes.

 

I think this made about six jars. I am hoarding the last few in the cabinet because it seriously is very delicious! It does taste similar to honey and is great on toast, biscuits, and English Muffins.

S.O.S Challenge

I haven't done a good job taking photos of the items I have purged, but I have continued on with my challenge (rid the house of at least 5 items a day).

I have a reuseable bag that I keep in my closet and as I find items to sell I stick them in there. I have managed to fill it three times in the past two weeks to take to my aunt's consignment shop. 

I also dropped a box of toys off at the charity shop in town before they closed for the winter and another stuffed garbage bag of clothes to the clothes closet at the church (where they give out clothing for free to families in need). I didn't count each item but guesstimate that it is well over 100 items total. 100 things. Out. Of. The. House.

It feels good. As I mentioned before, we hope to buy a house with some land in the future and pairing down now will help us in the long run when we want to put the house on the market and when we get to the actual point of packing and moving. 

35 items a week. Donated, thrown away, or sold. It's really not a hard challenge, and I want to continue this trend until I've paired down to an organized, simplified house. Still a long way to go! :)
 

Rude Dude's Book of Food

Fun, crazy, comic-like books are all the rage with kids these days. Our house is filled with Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Baby Mouse, and the like so I figured that the Rude Dude's Book of Food by Tim J. Myers would be a bit hit as well. I was not disappointed.

Rebecca read this within 24 hours and said "Did he write any other books?" Yep, she enjoyed it!

What I like best about this book is not only is it funny and interesting but it also teaches you A LOT about food! Everything from food advertising, where chocolate comes from and how it evolved to the yummy treat we know it for today, and so much more.

For an adult it's a little like reading a book written by someone with ADD...it jumps around a lot. But, I think that is why kids like these types of books, especially boys. It follows their line of thinking. Fun and educational is always welcome in our house!

Disclaimer: This book was sent by Familius in exchange for my honest review.  
 

Tables in the Wilderness

I had high hopes for this book, by Preston Yancey, but just couldn't get into it. In fact, I stopped reading about 1/4 way into it as I was muddling my way through the pages and then just realized "I don't care about reading any more!".

I hate to give a book a bad review, because something I dislike may be another person's favorite book. The fact is, maybe I just didn't need a book like this in my point in life. This book is about growing up in a religious family, then loosing the sense of God in early adulthood, and finally finding Him again. This would be a good book for someone who is feeling that silence from God and having doubts. 

The issue for me is that the book reads more like a blog than a book, which isn't a problem except for the fact that it was so disjointed that I couldn't follow along. Good for blog posts, maybe, but not a book where one wants to read a continual story.

Also, while Preston is a good writer he tries to be too poetic, describing things in too much detail. I wanted to scream "Just get to the point already!". Sometimes less really is more.

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.

Shark Tank Meets Main Street

Whenever I've caught an episode of Shark Tank I am always enthralled by it. I love seeing the business ideas people come up with - some are laughable and some are awesome! It helps you get into the minds behind products and also helps you see things from a business perspective.

U.S. Cellular has partnered with Shark Tank to create "Shark Tank Meets Main Street" to support small businesses. U.S. Cellular brought casting calls to three major cities in America and are now hosting a contest called Shadow Shark Tank, where one lucky winner will be able to "look into the shark tank" (fly to LA to sit in a VIP seat to watch the pitch process, eat dinner with the cast, and pick their brains about business).

For those Shark Tank fans, you can also visit here to learn more about behind the scenes casting process, what happens to the businesses that have been funded, and more! 

And don't forget, if you haven't spoken to your children/teens about cell phone usage, safety, and etiquette, now is the perfect time to print out the parent/child agreement and have a heart to heart talk with them.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by U.S. Cellular Blogger Brigade. All opinions are my own.