Free Kids Books!!!

What is better than a FREE book being sent to you in the mail??? THREE FREE books!

We have moved to an area that is reached by Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program. My friend Shawna previously lived in TN and told me to sign my kids up. So far we have gotten TWO books for each boy since we moved here! They will be enrolled in this program until they are 5 years old. They pick the books based on their age, so my three happen to get three copies of the same book. It's great because they are so excited to get mail with their own names on it!

Check it out and enroll your child today! Start HERE and choose a button under the words "please select the option you prefer" and then choose "go" on the rock.

Enjoy!!!

"Otis"

"Otis" by Loren Long was our second book we received in the mail from the Imagination Library. It is a PERFECT book for little boys (and girls) that love farm equipment and tractors. My boys love tractors, so this was great!

Otis is a little tractor that finds a best friend in a calf. However, he is getting old and his farmer owner replaces him with a much larger yellow tractor. The calf misses his friend and can't find him. He eventually gets himself in trouble. Who can help him without scaring him? You guessed it, his friend Otis.

It is a paperback book, about 12x12 in size. The pages are easy to turn for each of my kids while they sit with it on the floor. If they are in any smaller place, they have a hard time keeping their place in the book without help just because the pages are larger.

My boys like the book. They especially love the pages with the huge, yellow tractor. So far they have enjoyed the books from the Imagination Library! There is just something about getting their OWN book to read, with their OWN names on them!

Bibleman DVD "Combating the Commandment of Confusion"

I have memories of my younger brothers-in-law watching these shows all the time years back. Now that my boys are 4 years old, I thought they would thoroughly enjoy the Combating the Commandment of Confusion (A Bibleman Live Adventure) DVD. We sat down to what seemed like a VERY long time and watched it. This was not the Willie Aames Bibleman that I remember watching years ago. From an adults view, the lip synching is off, the acting is poor, the video is of a live church show, and the story line is very week. However, it had a decent message, and kept drawing my boys back in every couple minutes. They enjoyed the "fight" scenes with the swords. I would rate this one star, except it did get my boys talking about the "good guy" beating the "bad guy" because he obeyed God and made good choices.

I received this DVD free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

"The Story of Easter"

“The Story of Easter” is a children’s book with fun illustrations by Steve Smallman. Each page spread has the title and scripture reference that is covered. The author, Gwen Ellis, has the page spread end with either a probing question or a pondering comment. A bonus DVD comes with the book that includes 6 short narrated stories totaling 18 minutes, and DVD-ROM coloring pages.

For the most part, the book was good and my children liked it. Some of the questions and comments were not worded well enough for my 4 year olds to understand. The page titles made it seem like each layout could stand alone; however, the book needs to be read as a whole. Some re-working of words had to be changed for my children to understand such as “linen” to “cloth”. While the DVD was narrated stories of more than just Easter stories, it kept my kids attention. The coloring pages span all 6 stories on the DVD. All in all it was a good book, and packaged with the DVD it is a great value for the money.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for a completely honest review of the book.

"In Praise of Stay-At-Home-Moms"

Love her or hate her, Dr. Laura Schlessinger does know how to put out successful books and shows. I was recommended to read this book "In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms", since I am a Stay-at-Home-Mom (SAHM).

I have never listened to Dr. Laura, nor have I read any of her books. I think this book is an encouraging book for SAHMs to read. This book is NOT for working moms.

This book is exactly what is says, it's "In Praise Of". Not bashing working mothers, but supporting over and over and over and over again those moms that choose to stay home. She shows many letters from listeners who decided to stay home and the difference it makes.

Personally, I think it was a good book for the praise portion. It would NOT be helpful for working mothers. I feel the target audience is those that just made their decision to be a SAHM and are still very unsure, they are not getting husband support, family or friends support. Then this book would be great for them! It is repeatedly supporting SAHMs.

I agree on many aspects of this book. Being a SAHM is HARD. It does not give you monthly reviews, bonuses, deadlines, raises. All the things that we have been used to our entire working lives. I have the best support from my husband, my family and my friends. Even then it was hard to get used to staying home with three babies after working and doing well at my job.

The rewards of being with your children is outstanding! Seeing all their firsts, knowing them and all their stories, needs, fears and loves, and being the one to hold, cuddle, wake them up, put them to bed - it's irreplaceable. Realistically all that is sandwiched in with household chores, discipline, frustrations, loneliness, and sleeplessness.

I think an interesting fact the book talks about is how little of this second income truly ends up in your bank account. Both incomes are taxed at a higher rate since you will be pushed into a higher income bracket. Then take out childcare expenses. Figure in the gas costs, vehicle maintenance for all the extra miles put on the car, work clothing, lunches out, etc and the take home difference is not much more.

If you want to read it, go ahead! If you know a SAHM that is having a hard time, suggest she check her library for a copy of this book. Working mom? Stay away from this book if you have made your final decisions to continue to work while your kids are little. Not that I don't think working moms could get anything out of this book, but it will only be a discouragement and that is not going to be helpful.

Personally, my husband and I made the decision for me to be a SAHM and I would not trade it for the world!

What are YOUR thoughts about this book? Please comment!

Welcome to the beginning....

I love to read! I grew up reading books all the time. Before any road trips with my family, I always took out a stack of books from the library. I didn't get car sick, so I would just lay down and read the whole trip! My favorite author growing up was Robin Jones Gunn, and she still is a favorite today.

Three weeks shy of four years ago, this reading frenzy stopped abruptly when our triplets came into our lives. However, the reading urge is still in me. So I decided to start reading more books now, and posting my reviews. It's a way to keep me reading more. You might like what I say, or hate what I say, or not care what I say. It's ok! I'm doing this for me.

Please comment your thoughts about the books if you have read or are interested in reading it. Thanks for reading my blog!!!