Here are five things that made me happy this week, in no particular order:
1. ) Finishing Magnolia Wu Unfolds it All by Chanel Miller with my older daughter. I have not read Know My Name by the author but have heard that it is outstanding. It’s on my list, but A and I absolutely loved her debut novel for children. The story follows two best friends: Magnolia and Iris. Magnolia’s parents own a laundromat, and the two girls go on a quest to reunite lost socks with their owners. This book was such a delight, and I highly recommend it for anyone who reads to an elementary school-aged kid. I was inspired after finishing it to look up more chapter books because having a book we both enjoy at bedtime really makes such a cozy end-of-the-day parenting moment.
2.) Watching A do a personalized connections board with her aunt. A is big into trying the NYT games, but I don’t love her on phones, and also the games are not really targeted to a first grader. Joel’s aunt had such a clever idea to make her own connection boards on paper, and I am filing this away as an easy activity. She also sent a few more in the mail, which made A so happy!
3.) Taking a mini-elfing day. I think I heard about this concept from Kelsey and Erica on the Girls Next Door Podcast, but their idea was to take a day off to do various holiday tasks and make it as cozy and festive as possible. I didn’t have a whole day, but I headed to a great coffee shop after dropping M off at preschool. I got a chai, ordered some gifts, and then headed to the bookstore next door to pick up some of the gifts I’d ordered once the shop opened. It was a delightful way to cross off some holiday tasks in a way that felt really luxurious. I’m not all the way done with shopping and wrapping, but I’m most of the way there, and I feel like I can complete the rest in a more relaxed way.
4.) Shining my boots. I have cute boots that were super dirty and scuffed up. I was going to take them to a shoe repair shop, but then I found Joel’s boot care kit. A and I spent some time using saddle soap and boot wax to polish them up, and now I have cute boots to wear for the holidays! There is something very satisfying about repairing or restoring something.
5.) Enjoying some fun holiday events. This week felt like the real kickoff to the holiday season. I finished most of my shopping (minus a few giftcards still to be procured) and displayed holiday cards on the wall with painter’s tape. We went on a family walk to look at holiday lights that included a scavenger hunt with a candy cane prize, and last night I took A to see “The Nutcracker” with the girl scout troop. It was my first time seeing a ballet, and I loved seeing A hanging out with her friends, getting autographs from the dancers, and climbing into my lap and snuggling me during the finale.
How has your week been? Did you do any holiday or seasonal activities? Do you have any random tasks like boot cleaning that bring you disproportionate satisfaction? Also, if you have any other chapter book recommendations for a 1st grader, I’d love to add them to our TBR.
As you know, I can relate to lowering the bar as far as blogging goes right now. But it sure sounds like you had a good week overall. I'm happy to hear M is all better now. :)
ReplyDeleteOooh I should really do that with some of my boots, they could use a shine-up.
ReplyDeleteThe stomach bug! Aieee! The worst!
I (obviously) did not participate in NaBloPoMo, but I post five times a month generally. Once a week and then a Favourites once a month. It's all about finding the rhythm that works for you!
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteMany wonderful things this Friday!
Chapter books: Unicorn academy, Junie B Jones, Judy Moody- my just turned 8 year old loves them all.
I like to post as much as I can- I love writing, I particularly care about the quality and it’s like therapy forme, writing sets my head on straight.
Because both my husband and I work full time, we trimmed the holiday activities. Christmas in itself is already so BIG. They just wrote letters to Santa that we will drop off at his mailbox in town.
Cards for teachers and instructors, of course. Christmas tree. Gifts and stockings. Movies! Just watched Elf yesterday. No major baking extravaganzas. Oh our annual Christmas Eve party but that is catered.
I like to post 5x/week (and I have a Patreon site where I post 2x/week). I like that cadence and really like having weekends "off" but blogging is great in that I can take a break for a week or two and it's all there waiting for me to get back.
ReplyDeleteI am of the firm believer that blogging should be fun and we should stick to a schedule that works for our lives. For me right now, that's 3 times a week (sometimes 5 times if I'm feeling particularly inspired!), but there have been times where I'm lucky to get up one post a week. (Ha - that was October for me!) I'm glad you are scaling back to better fit the rhythm of your life! (Well, I would love more posts from you, but I also don't want you to feel stressed about blogging!)
ReplyDeleteI love your mini-elfing day! I would enjoy all those things, and you got some things accomplished. I'm still waiting for gifts to arrive, and I haven't started any wrapping yet- oof.
ReplyDeleteI did read Know My Name, and didn't know she's written a children's book! The premise of the book sounds really funny, and I wish I had little kids to read it to. Well... I'll tuck it away on my "Someday grandkids TBR" list.
That chapter book sounds so great. I need to check that out. My 7yo hasn’t wanted me to read to him lately as he wants to read on his own. Which is great but I miss having a book going! I am going to try to convince him to let me read once book a quarter or something like that.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried any of Kate Dicamillo’s books? Some of them are heavier, like Because of Winn Dixie. The Tale of Despereax is great! Her mercy Watson series is great for a young reader. I mostly read those outlooks to Paul before he could read but they would be great for a 1st grader I think.