The Kids' Reading Corner: Wonder

The kids and I recently finished the book, Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. I highly recommend this book! It was a great read for being done out loud. My 4^th grader thought it was a wonderful combination of funny and sad. The book has an honest approach to bullying and how we react as a society to difference. I liked the glimpse it provided on how someone being perceived as different understands the situation. I learned with regards to when people want to try and be considerate of the person’s feelings, that can also be painful. Still seeing the reaction.  Kids see/understand way more than adults give them credit for.

I thought it spoke volumes on the book that my son had this as his requested storytime choice. His teacher read this book to their class this year and we went to the movie as a field trip. He enjoyed it so much that he wanted to hear it again. Plus, he thought that I would really enjoy it.

I really like the voice of the characters. It is told by Auggie, his sister (Via), her boyfriend, and Jack (Auggie’s friend). I think another friend may have a section as well. I love when an author will have different characters describe the same situation.  

Keep Reading!

Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
 The B Family

It Happens to the Best of Us

"There are only two kinds of people in the world: the Irish and those who wish they were". - Irish Saying


I am fairly certain that I googled a few weeks ago what day St. Patrick's Day would fall on. I may have failed to look at the year, but it said Sunday. I swear. I am not sure the reasons that occurred to make me not look at my calendar on my phone or computer - but there was one. I am sure of it.

I made plans to have my mom come over on Sunday for a big Irish feast. This is one of my favorite holidays to cook for. We even invited friends over for the occasion. The whole time they were probably thinking we were just planning for a different day due to conflicts, but no I just had the wrong day. The whole week, I was thinking Saturday was the 16th. I am constantly in my work calendar, so it is amazing that I did not notice. I must have been really tired that week and busy.

Colin had a birthday party on the 16th, which I confirmed on the 17th (thinking it was the 16th). So, we missed this poor girl's birthday. I felt horrible. Then at Colin's game on Saturday morning, I noticed a lot of green and jokes of pinching. I turned to Will and said what is the date today. Low and behold it was the 17th.

Now it is not a big deal not to celebrate it on the actual day. The holiday is celebrated the whole weekend and it is not even so much the holiday specifically, but that we love celebrating our heritage and traditions. I imagine people in Ireland think it is overkill and annoying. I will admit we do have the kids plan and set traps for the leprechaun, but it is a good way for them to use their creativity and strategic thinking.

I made sure we did some things on Saturday, after I discovered my goof. We went ahead with our big feast on Sunday. It turned out to be so much fun and delicious! My mom got to meet some of our new friends and I got to make dinner for her. A lot of the time she comes up to babysit and I realized that I do not cook for her very often. I cannot have my family thinking that my cooking skills are the same as when I was a teenager and early 20's when I had no interest in it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating a wonderful culture filled with beautiful traditions.

"A good friend is like a four-leaf clover. Hard to find and lucky to have" Irish Proverb


Cheers to being Irish!

Love, Hugs & Kisses ~ The B Family

Kids' Canvas: A Pot of Gold Watercolors

Usually throughout the month, the kids and I can squeeze in a few different art projects. Most often with Meli. Colin will join for at least one, especially if it has to do with a holiday. This year for St. Patrick's Day, we did a pot of gold.

We were short on time, so I used some big magnets we had to trace the pot of gold and three-leaf clovers. The kids used color crayons to color them in. Then, we went over them with watercolor.

Meli also traced a Fluttershy

Colin also drew a Link from Zelda. He traced the outline from a magnet.

Until next time...Happy Creating!

 Love, Hugs & Kisses ~ The B Family

Charlie's First Year

In February, we celebrated Charlie being in our lives for a year. Our little guy has brought so much change and love to our home. The kids think of Charlie as a younger brother. He provides the typical ups and downs of a younger sibling. He takes their toys and shoes. He repeatedly bugs them when he wants to play.

Will has gone from extremely anti-dogs to a major dog-lover. He even shows the kids puppy videos and likes them! Charlie and Will are buddies. It is adorable to see. This has made me so happy, being a huge dog person. I love the cuteness. I did not think I could fall more in love with him!

I am so glad that Charlie was the one out of the litter that stole my heart. With his diagnoses of Addison’s disease, I am glad that he ended up with a family that could provide for his medical needs. He seems to be doing well and adjusting to the prednisone and monthly shots.

Happy first year in the B Family!

Until Next Time...

Love, Hugs & Kisses ~ The B Family

Reliving My Youth

Colin is playing basketball this year and I could not be more thrilled! Basketball was one of my favorites sports growing up. I forgot how much I enjoyed the sport. I love taking him to his practices and games. We have been trying to make it out to his school to play each weekend. This has been great for me to get in better shape. I am working out without really thinking about it! Bonus!

I did experience my own funny mom moment. Or maybe more of a “I am getting older” one. I was going to show Colin how to do a lay-up. Right before I did it, I realized that I have not done this in probably 15 years. So, I said to myself a quick, “please do not let me fall on my…” Thankfully, I did not. Pride intact.

I am loving this opportunity to bond with Colin. We now have books and basketball. I even created a GoodReads account for him to track his reading. I love my little book nerd and basketball player!

Until next time... Keep Playing!

Love, Hugs &  Kisses ~ The B Family

Charlie's New Love

I think that Char-Char was the biggest fan of all! I did not expect him to enjoy the snow, but he played outside forever!

Happy last days of winter!

 Love, Hugs & Kisses ~ The B Family

We Got Our Snow!!

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." - Dr. Seuss

I am glad the kids had a day of snow this season. It would be a bummer not to have at least one snowfall.

The whole family got out to enjoy the beautiful day! We were beginning to think that snow would not happen this year...but it did!!

Colin's first snowman

Snowman #2 that Colin, Mae, Daddy and I worked on

Mae's kitty. If you look closely you can see the ears, eyes, and nose. It also has a tail.

Happy winter!

       Love, Hugs & Kisses ~ The B Family

Those Quiet Moments

"Enjoy the little things in life for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things" - Kurt Vonnegut

I love when our mornings have a peaceful mood to it. We are not rushed. Everyone is happy. No struggles to get ready for school. Pure smoothness. These seem to be more rare compared to the normal hustle and bustle of the weekdays. Our goal for the weekends (most of the time at least) is a relaxing morning.

I snapped a picture of a recently of Meli just taking the morning in. She is my child that is less likely to wake up on her own on school mornings. Most often, I go in and wake up my little goober. If it can be a slower process, her mood is usually pretty sunshiny. Especially if I wake her up by singing "You are my sunshine" or "Meli had a Little Lamb". Other mornings can be fairly horrific. Similar to me, she likes to do things on her own time. Unfortunately (as I have learned), that is not always possible. I am trying to teach her to pick her battles...In time.

This particular morning was a good one. I loved observing her in her own personal "thoughtful" moment. It reminded me of my title for this blog.  Playing in the Rain: Enjoying Life's moments in the midst of beautiful chaos...This is parenthood. The struggle and frustration that can come with parenting more often than we would like, is all made worth it in these little moments.

I love playing in the rain for the beautiful moments of love, cuddles, and laughter. 

Enjoy the rain!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~ The B Family

Kids' Reading Corner: Intro into Poetry

My love for poetry started when I was in third grade. We were asked to write one for a homework assignment.  I do not remember all of it, but mine was about Snoopy. (I loved Charlie Brown as a kid...well I still do.) I loved the concept of rhyme and the rhythm. I went on a poetry craze from that moment.

After this assignment, I found Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic at our city's library and I was hooked. I loved the goofy and unrealistic lines he would come up with. It seemed like such an area of creativity. In fourth grade, we revisited poetry and I was so excited to try out what I had learned. My teacher's name was Zoover and I was thrilled to find a word to rhyme with that (hoover - as in vacuum). I became a big fan of Shel and have read most of his collections throughout the years. I also wrote poetry from that point on.

Now 20+ years later, I have introduced my kids to his books. We started with Where the Sidewalk Ends and it has been an interesting experience. I think due to having two RNs as parents and an older brother, I was exposed to things earlier than my kids. Plus, we watched scary movies like Pet Semetery and It at a very young age. So, I was surprised that some of the poems bothered Meli. She is only in first grade. She is still processing what is fantasy and what is real.  She tells me which ones she would like to skip (based on the pictures) there was one where a guy is sitting on top of his head (that is not attached to him), that bothered her.

I told her several times that we did not have to read this book, but she asks for it all the time. She loves the poems as long as we avoid the ones with physical harm. Another one we skipped, the guy had a nail in his head. She focuses more on the image. The poems are not gruesome, but just odd and playful. So far, we have only had to skip two.

I was not sure if the kids would really like the book, but they are seriously hooked. Meli is doing better now that she understands that these are not real. She usually will go grab the book to make sure we include it in our story time.


Happy Reading!

Love, Hugs &  Kisses ~ The B Family

Celebrating MLK

There have only been a couple of times that Meli has come home so excited about her school lessons, since she has started. One was the life cycle of a plant. Another was sea turtles. The latest one was Martin Luther King Jr.

Her class was learning about MLK day and why we celebrate. She came home so excited. All through dinner she was telling us facts about Dr. King (as she calls him). The weekend before the holiday, we went to the library. She got so excited when she saw a book about him on top of one of the shelves. She decided that she wanted to ask the librarian to help her find a picture book story about him. The one that was on display was more of a non-fiction reference book for kids.

The librarian was so helpful. She was able to find Meli a few books to choose from. I loved that she sat down right away at one of the library tables and started reading one of the books. It is so nice to see when something catches your child's attention. She wanted to learn more and was so fascinated by his life.

One of the books she got was We March by Shane W. Evans.

There does not seem to be a theme to what will grab her interest. I love seeing it though!




                                                  ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                           The B Family