Reading

Five Fun Halloween Books for Toddlers

September 19, 2018

In the beginning of September, I brought out all Rosebud’s fall and Halloween themed books. She has been wanting to read them every night, so I thought I’d share the ones she really enjoys.

1. Five Little Pumpkins.

I’ve had this book since her first Halloween and she loves it. It’s a simple rhyme about pumpkins. They have finger plays and songs for it as well. She loves to read along and his it memorized now.

2. Who’s There on Halloween.

This is another cute Halloween book. It has hints for different Halloween related characters like the witch, ghost and spider. She has this book memorized too, but she hasn’t figured out that the point is to guess by the clues before you turn the page.

3. Boo! A Halloween Peek-a-boo.

This is a short, but silly Halloween book. A dog chases different Halloween characters in costume who say different things. Rosebud likes when I do silly voices with this book. I just introduced this one to her this year because it has paper pages, but she always asks to read this first.

4. Scratch and Sniff Halloween.

Who doesn’t like scratch and sniff books? They are fun until they lose their scent, but Rosebud has been having fun reading this one regardless. You can smell the minty witches brew, the spooky pumpkin or the sweet lollypop.

5. Big Pumpkin

I just ordered the paper copy of this one, but we like to listen to the audio version I found on Youtube because it’s sung to a song. If you’ve never read this book, the witch wants to make pumpkin pie, but the pumpkin is too big to take off the vine. The witch, ghost, vampire and others try to remove it, but it doesn’t work until a bat comes along with the solution. This book is good because it’s an actual story, but it is not too long that an older toddler won’t sit through it. Rosebud is growing out of the simple board books. Although she still loves them, I think she’s ready for longer stories.

What are your favorite Halloween books? Tell me in the comments.

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Parenting, Shopping

Prime Day 2018: Bargains for Busy Moms

July 15, 2018

If you are a busy multitasking mom, there are never enough hours in the day so finding time and money saving apps, products or services can be a life saver. Anything that makes life less stressful or reduces the amount of rushing around is fantastic!

A busy mom working while playing with her daughter. For those who don’t know, Prime Day starts tomorrow, July 16th at 3 p.m. ET. I have been an Amazon Prime subscriber for years. You can find just about anything on Amazon and the best thing about Prime is that you can have these items shipped to your door. If you’re a Prime subscriber, two day shipping is free and one day shipping is only $3.99. They are offering a 30 day free trial for new subscribers. There is no better time to take advantage of this than on Prime day when you have access to tons of deals. Prime Day – Prime Membership $3 bounty

Some of the other Prime benefits include access to a large library of kindle books, access to their music streaming service and having clothing shipped right to your door. You can try the clothes on in the privacy of your own home and if you don’t like the clothing, you can return the package with no hassle. It’s already labeled so just drop it in the mailbox. I have yet to take advantage of the Amazon Fresh program as it’s not available in my area, but I am a huge fan of having groceries delivered to your door. If you are a busy mom, this can save you time and money so why not give it a try if it is available in your area?
Prime Day – Amazon Fresh $5 bounty

Another time saver is the Instant Pot. Moms on the message boards are crazy about these. On Prime Day, they usually have great deals on the Instant Pot. I love things that help me save time with meal prep so I really want to see what all the hype is about.
 A weekly schedule on a white board next to a cup of coffee.
It’s important that we do things for ourselves too, even when we are multitasking. Are there books that you have been dying to read? I joined Audible several years ago and have been addicted ever since. I can listen while I clean, sit outside and Audible books were a life saver during my nursing and pumping days. Audible is great for busy parents on the go as you can listen during your commute. for Prime day, Amazon is offering a 60% discount on an Audible subscription. Normally a membership is $14.95 per month, but for Prime day, it is $4.95 per month for new subscribers. If you enjoy audio books, this is worth taking advantage of.
Prime Day – Audible $10 bounty
If you prefer reading, Amazon offers a Kindle Unlimited subscription where you have access to millions of books for a monthly fee. Think of it as a library, but in digital form. You also get access to audio books and magazines with this subscription. For Prime Day, new subscribers get a three month subscription for 99 cents. I’ve been wanting to try Kindle Unlimited and this would be a great way to try it at very little cost. the great thing is you can access your books from the kindle app on any device. When I read kindle books, I use the app on my iPhone.

Prime Day – Kindle Unlimited $3 bounty
I’ve used Amazon’s subscribe and save feature on everything from diapers, to cat food and even batteries. If you have five items in your delivery, you save an additional 20% off your purchase. I love that essential items will arrive at my door each month and I don’t even have to think about them. I don’t have to make late night runs to the store for diapers. I don’t have to worry that the cats will run out of food. I can get great deals on essentials like soap and toothpaste. Also, I can try new products or find products that they have stopped carrying in the local stores. You can stop or modify subscriptions at any time. My only complaint is that you can’t pick the shipping date. there are times when I want my shipment to arrive sooner. Overall, it’s a great service. Here are some of the products you can subscribe to get each month.
I’ve been using these diapers since Rosebud was a newborn and they’ve worked wonderfully.
 
With a deal like this, you’ll have plenty of batteries. I was always in search of batteries before finding these because it seems every toy under the sun is battery operated.
 I can’t find these dryer sheets locally anymore, but I love the scent. Luckily they are apart of the Subscribe and Save program.
 
Since Rosebud isn’t potty trained yet, I’m still using these. They can ship right with the diapers or you can change the frequency of deliveries for each item.
 
I usually buy Sparkle paper towels, but you can find the brand of your choice.
 
I hope you have found this helpful. Enjoy Prime Day and happy shopping!

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Education, Parenting

Rosebud’s Top 5 Books

April 27, 2018

I've been reading to Rosebud since she was born and it has paid off. She now loves books and will often sit either with me or off by herself looking at them and pretending to read. She loves looking at the pictures and pointing out the objects she knows. It has become a game to her. I'll ask her what each picture is and she excitedly says the words. Sometimes, she'll purposely tell me the wrong word and bursts into giggles because she knows she's messing with me. I buy a lot of books with interactive features like touch and feel, scratch and sniff and lift the flap to make things more interesting.

When I was a kid, I hated reading. Since I couldn’t read many of the books other kids were reading, I wasn’t interested. Reading back then was a slow process for me and I hated every minute of it. To this day, I can’t remember most of the books I read throughout my childhood because I’d forget much of the story. I didn’t like reading until a few years ago when I started listening to Audible books and discovered the Kindle app for the iPhone. Now almost any book I want is at my fingertips. It was like a whole new world opened up for me and it was exciting. I want Rosebud to be excited about reading from the beginning and for now I have achieved that. She looks forward to our, “book time” every night before she goes to bed. She tells me, “book time before bed” and run to her bookshelf. Here are some of her favorite books right now.

Bathtime Peekaboo
 This is one of her all time favorites. She loves lifting the flaps in the peekaboo books and the bath time version has been her favorite forever. She hasn’t been looking at it as much lately because she’s getting into stories more, but this was one of the first books she was really interested in. In this book, you lift the flaps to find the bathtime toys. Her favorite page is the one with the penguin because he has a squishy belly.

Bunny and Bee
 She loves this simple story and has started to memorize the words. Bunny and Bee live in the forest and come across many animal friends.

C is For Coco
 She has been asking me to read this one to her since before she turned a year old and it is still one of her favorites. It’s a cute book that features Coco the chick who does something for each letter of the alphabet. She has memorized the words to this and reads aloud with me.

First 100 Words
 Rosebud is obsessed with this series of books. She looks at this book every night. On each page, she points out all the pictures she knows the words for. If it’s animals she’s looking at, she’ll say the name of the animal and then make the sound. If she’s looking at bedtime related objects, she’ll point out objects in the room that match the objects in the book. We use these books to talk about shapes, colors, counting etc.

Quiet Loud
 Rosebud has recently become interested in this book and learning about opposites. She has been doing a lot of screaming and banging on things to test how loud it will be so it is fitting that we’ve been reading this book. Just last week, she picked it up and started reciting the words. She has memorized what is on each page since the text is so short and repetitive. Yummy Yucky is another book by this author written in the same style.
 The Very Hungry Caterpillar
 
This classic book by Eric Carle is a must have. Rosebud loves looking at all the food the caterpillar eats and of course the end when he emerges as a butterfly. there is a Very Hungry Caterpillar video on Netflicks that she likes watching too. It’s a reenactment of the story, but Rosebud loves seeing stories from the books she loves on tv.

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