I don't know what she enjoyed more. Being read to by her Aunt Rachel or wearing (and stretching out) Aunt Anna's french toast tee. They both earned approximately 1,000 points in my book for making my girly feel special on Sunday night!

A Monday with rain included reading and a good game of Sequence for Kids. Plus a visit to the library for a heavy bag full of books for more reading. Reading is kind of the theme around these parts lately... its a good theme.

At night we read, sometimes its Little House (again) or Tikki Tikki Tembo, or Leo the Late Bloomer...or Barbie Princess, who are we kidding? And lately we wrap up with The Jesus Storybook Bible. We used to use the "Sweet Dreams Princess" which was perfect for toddler-hood, but I realized early this year that we needed a bit more detail to the stories, and some illustrations would be nice, too. When I found The Jesus Storybook Bible on sale I decided we'd try it out and now it shall be gifted to every little one I know who needs a good bedtime Bible. The stories are well-written, and I LOVE the illustrations.

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Here's an excerpt from Julia's favorite story (Jonah):
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God had a job for Jonah. But Jonah didn't want it.
"Go to Ninevah," God said, "and tell your worst enemies that I love them."
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"NO!" said Jonah. "Those are bad people doing bad things."
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"Exactly," said God, "They have run far away from me.
But I can't stop loving them.
I will give them a new start. I will forgive them."
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"NO!" said Jonah "They don't deserve it!"
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I'll run away! Jonah said to himself. Far away -
so far away that God won't be able to find me.
Then I won't have to do what God says!
It's a good plan! he said, because as far as he knew, it was a good plan.

But, of course, it wasn't a good plan at all.
It was a silly plan.
(Because you can run away from God, but he will always come and find you).

Jonah went ahead with his not-very-good plan.
"One ticket to NOT Ninevah please!"
he said and boarded a boat sailing in the very opposite direction of Ninevah.

She's memorized the entire thing - I'd get an audio recording and share it with you if the day was 25 hours long, but alas I am short an hour (or twelve) each day and fall short of many of the projects I'd like to accomplish. I fear I will wake up tomorrow and they'll be 18 and think I'm lame and my insisting that they do felt crafts will be met with back-talking and eye-rolling... so I am therefore on a quest to identify a 25th hour for just such a thing as recording a three-year old saying "burped up brussel sprouts" but you'll have to listen carefully as she says the entire narrative at top speeds so as not to forget a bit. And you'll have to wait at least until tomorrow as she's got a vicious-mean ear ache tonight that has kept her from enjoying story-time at all.

Spring Book Ideas...
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Just some ideas on books to welcome spring, if it ever gets up the guts to kick winter out the overdue door. Ahem, I digress.
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Leo the Late Bloomer - one of my absolute favorites from childhood, helping children to appreciate that everything (and everyone) has their season to bloom.
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Play with Me - originally published in 1955, this classic story of a little girl who has gone to the meadow to play in a beautiful hand-sketched world.
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Guess How Much I Love You - an absolute classic, the illustration on the cover alone melts my heart. And of course the whole rabbit theme is popular around this time of year.
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Carrot Seed - Ruth Krause, who also wrote A Hole is to Dig (which I LOVE), has created this beautifully simple story about a little boy waiting for his garden to grow.
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Each Peach Pear Plum - A play on the classic fairy tales, with adorable rhymes and pictures that have secret characters worth searching for (so fun and cute and did I say fun?)
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Little Bunny Foo Foo - The girls insisted this must be included - they love the story and the fact Mommy sings it with a crazy voice.
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The Little Rabbit - A simple story of a little girl and her new rabbit, with great photographs of springtime and of course little white rabbits.
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The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes - The story of a momma bunny who is all worn out with her eleven-plus kiddos. She is shocked when she gets the opportunity to become an official Easter Bunny.
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The Velveteen Rabbit - The Margery Williams classic is such a beautiful story of childlike love, especially for two little girls who just gave up their comfort objects.

Amazingly I managed to walk into the thrift store in search of an old frame and walked out with three bags full of amazing children's books. Above is just a sampling. I was in book-obsessed-mom heaven. I wish I had the next three days to just sit and read and look at awesome illustrations... but alas, I do not.

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And the frame, ah the frame, was not found. However we did paint the curtains with potato stamps tonight and someday the sun will shine enough to allow for an indoor photo of what should be a completely reorganized office very soon!!!

It only took a bath, lotion, combing, cuddling, and reading of Purplicious, Goldlicious and two chapters of Miss Happiness and Miss Flower...during which Carolyn decided that she wants to build a Japanese dollhouse with her Daddy...after which I Googled all things Japanese and found a tutorial for making Japanese paper dolls...that's all it took....for peaceful dreams.

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Image and tutorial from Kimono Reincarnate

Overheard in the bathtub...
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C: Julia! You know we're not REAL people?
J: Huh?
C: No, God is the only REAL person...we're just his dollies
J: Oh.
C: And this isn't a REAL house, it's God's doll house!
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Thank you Big Susan and Barbie Dreamhouse for your mind-bending doll house reality

If you're looking for a bizarre assortment of gifts that would make a mom of two little princesses in your life happy - here you are. Although your recipient may not be as nerd-i-fied as this one. {Making a wish list for one's self feels so incredibly greedy and selfish, but my mom assures me that it is infinitely helpful for a Mom of no-longer-littles.}

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1. Little House on the Prairie DVD set. This is no small prize, a full 60 DVDs highlighting every episode of the series. Me and my girlies could have Little House marathons for days-on-end...we could even dress in our pioneer costumes to set the mood!

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2. World Map. Nerd alert. I really enjoy maps, and have been known to give them as gifts to an unsuspecting father of mine. This is on the top of my list for the simple fact that I want to point to where things are. I am a nerd, and I am visual. I need maps in my house.

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3. More Sleep. Not pictured, because clearly I need more sleep. Totally skipped an entire number. And numbers leads to letters which takes us to...

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4. Alphabeasties: And Other Animal Types. Fonts and graphics combine to create a zebra made of z's. An elephant made of e's. And a mother of littles smiling at pretty pictures that can inspire both art and learning in two princesses.

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5. A Child's Day: An Alphabet of Play. Again with the alphabet, it's just so darn important. And these prints were recently featured on DesignMom. Again the art is beautiful and the fun of learning letters is all the better.

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6. Blender. Otherwise known as Homemade Frap Machine. Yes, yes I have high hopes of blasting my family out of bed in the predawn hours before work as I cunningly defeat the Starbucks addiction wizardry by creating my own frap in the comfort of my once-quiet home.

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7. I'll Be You and You Be Me. From the same author as A Hole is To Dig - this 1950s reproduction is calling my name. These illustrations are precious and the title alone makes this a must-read.

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8. The Little Yellow Leaf. The fact that amazon introduces this book with this sentence is what sold me: "The human capacity for volition and fear of the unknown is central to this tale." I, too, have the capacity for volition and a fear of the unknown - as do my children - and together we shall journey with the little yellow leaf to see what can be done about it.

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9. Big Susan. Another winner from the 1950s - which we have been reading on loan from my friend. The girls are on their second-read-through of this small chapter book. I love when a book resonates with my kiddos while allowing me the courtesy of enjoying the beautiful illustrations. Its a win-win.

photo from Homeschooling in the Rose Garden
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At just the right time in my hoe-hum children literature lull my friend Becky handed me this adorable book - A Hole is to Dig, A First Book of First Definitions. Might be my new favorite of all time. Maybe because its from the 1950s. Maybe because the pen-and-ink illustrations are precious. Or just maybe because it says things like, "Toes are to dance on." "Eyebrows are to go over your eyes." "A mountain is to go to the top." "The sun is to tell you when its everyday." Written just the way C talks.

By far the most incredible part of the evening was so many guests arriving in storybook character costumes (If you look closely in the Where's Waldo shots you'll see the Cat in the Hat even made the party!)! Brandon set up a photo shoot area to capture all the costume cuteness and that...will be...Part Two!

We started reading the Little House series months ago.
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We drove seven hours to the Little House in the Big Woods.
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We have invested time and emotional energy into this story.
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Tonight we closed the last chapter - and there were tears on my cheeks.
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Not because it's over...because its sad.
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Because life is incredibly difficult. And *spoiler alert* the baby dies, the house burns down, the crop doesn't come through for the fourth year in a row, and the debt only piles higher.
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Which was really the lesson I learned from these books - that is - as it turns out debt is not an invention of our generation - neither is the struggle to find your way in life. And in a twisted 'misery loves company' kind of way, this is all very encouraging.

Whatever could I be up to?
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Among the fifteen balls I am trying to keep in the air this fall (figuratively speaking), the one that will be the most blog-worthy is the girl's birthday party. They co-celebrate, they are co-celebrants, they are turning another year older.
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Back to the point, I am scanning images for this quarky idea I have for the invites. I might not sleep tonight actually, so that might be a little dangerous for my drive to work tomorrow. But the invitations will be awesome and that's all that matters. (For those of you who take me way too seriously...I will actually go to bed at a reasonable time because I am a mom and when you have your children the hospital injects you with the 'responsiblility-drug' that makes you think about things like going to bed at a reasonable hour - they usually mix it with a good dose of 'guilt-drug' to keep you from getting too cocky about how responsible you are.)

At long last the true KC summer has made its presence known. A short walk through the Farmer's Market and we were roasted. We didn't brave the pool until the late afternoon shade had set in and we could ensure no tiny feet would be blistered on hot concrete. All the while the last three chapters of the Long Winter were ironically hounding my thoughts, I had to know if the blizzards let up and Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie and Grace would freeze to death! Finally I convinced my own sweltering party of four to listen as I dramatically read the exciting conclusion in which they do not starve, nor freeze - huge sigh of relief all around I'm sure.

I took the girls to the bookstore tonight in search of something I was needing, but we happily left with a book for them instead. Our house is a fan of pink frilly characters and the fact that this girl actually turns pink after eating too many pink cupcakes was extra fun. The girls smiled and listened and paid close attention - at the end Carolyn told me she will never eat too many pink cupcakes.

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In fact, I figured everyone enjoys this book until I read the Amazon reviews. Does anyone else out there always feel the urge to click the one-star ratings just to see what's up? Let me just say there are some mighty uptight moms who take children's literature entirely too seriously. I found the same thing after I bought the girls The Five Chinese Brothers. People are crazy uptight sometimes (said the insanely uptight one).

As Farmer Boy is wrapping up 

and I can tell we'll be done with the Little House series by fall 

I am looking for advise on the next big reading thing at our house. 

Any tips?

I stand inside prepping for dinner. She lays on the patio, duck umbrella shading her from the 74 degree sun. I wonder, what will she do with herself when July comes!?! B has outlined her name so she can fill it in with all the colors of the rainbow, she obliges. Sometimes her feet kick up in little tosses that seem to say 'this is now. It can never be a long time ago'...

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We finished Little House in the Big Woods....

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The last paragraph:

[Laura] was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

[when Laura wrote this book she was in her late 60's]

My friend Becky, who is an incredible cook, taught me how to make bread from this book today. It is knead-less dough that truly is made in a very short amount of time. It is the 'hard crusty bread with a soft middle' that my husband and children love so much. We feasted on a loaf tonight, and will be using the same concept for pizza dough and who knows what else in the very near future, that is as soon as I locate a baking stone (any ideas on where to find a cheap baking stone?) I will photograph our creations for your viewing pleasure, and might even bring by a loaf if you so desire!