I knew you’d understand.

So, anyways, here are two books for the last two days of Read Me Week:

This book is intended for ages a bit older than my girls, but they love it nonetheless. Kai, in particular, is fascinated by science and biology so this book has been great to explain some of the answers to the questions she comes up with. I love Usborne books because they are so educational but in an interactive way that really engages my kids. It’s been a great addition to our homeschool library and I highly recommend it for kids as young as 3 since even Ivy can now recognize some of the body systems and what they do!

For the last book, I asked Kai to pick out her favorite book so I could recommend it and this one is all her choice.

This is another great book we picked up on a trip to Hawaii and bought pretty much solely because it had Kai’s name in the title. It turns out it is a great book about being brave in scary situations and recognizing when some things just seem scary because of your imagination. I like the little honu (turtle), Kai, because he is a nervous guy in the beginning who finds that he isn’t such a scaredy-honu after all and saves his friends by being courageous. It’s a great bedtime book for kids of all ages.

So, there you have it 5 of our favorite books to read lately. Here’s your last chance to give your recommendations for your favorites kids books! What’s next in your kids reading pile?

But, given the success we’ve had reading these books I think it possible I could have started this much earlier with them. They LOVE listening to these books before bedtime.

For Christmas our good friends, Dewde & Dewdette, gave our girls their new favorite book:

Do yourself (and your kids) a favor and skip the junior novelization of this book. Our friends gave us the original version and not the “film” version and I’m so glad they did! The vocabulary is a little more complex and it doesn’t exactly read like a little kids book but I think that is one of the best things about reading it to little ones. It stretches their understanding of the written word and gives them new words that they might not encounter on a daily basis.

And, oh, the story. We are loving it. Of course, it is another one of those stories that celebrate being unique & reaching for the seemingly impossible and I just think kids can’t hear enough that it is okay to be themselves so I loved that. But, other than that, it is just a beautifully written and romantically told story that will be as enjoyable for adults as it is for kids.

We haven’t seen the movie yet because we’re waiting until we finish the book, but it gives the girls something to look forward to when we’re finished reading it.

What literary or children’s classic were you thrilled to see your kids enjoy? What are some book selections you’ve found that can be enjoyed by adults and kids, alike?

Despite the drama, I’m continuing on with Read Me week and my promise to blog my family’s favorite kids books.

Book #2 is:

(image from JacketFlap)

Most people know how I feel about the Rainbow Fish book. I’m not a big fan of encouraging kids to give up what makes them unique and special so they can have more friends. Call me crazy, but I think we need to do more celebrating of the things that make us different. Not more compromising of those unique traits.

So since I have such strong opinions on the topic of celebrating our differences, the story of Humu is right up my alley. We originally bought this book on one of our trips home to Hawaii to see Thomas’ family. I’ve never seen it in a bookstore on the mainland though the link in the title takes you to the Amazon page and I’m sure most bookstores can order it for you.

It is a great kids book about Hawaii’s state fish the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a (yeah, that’s really the name and I swear I double checked the spelling!). In the book the little fish, Humu, realizes he is more colorful than all of his other friends. He is upset that he doesn’t look like everyone else and makes a wish to be the color of sand so he isn’t different any more.

But, he does so without telling anyone and when his friends find out they are sad because they know his colors are part of what make him such a special fish. They tell him that it was those crazy colors that made him special because they made him unique. Realizing he made a mistake, he wishes for his colors back and with the help of his friends he gets back the beautiful colors that made him so different. In the process Humu realizes that it is those things that are uniquely individual about someone that make them who they are and they should never be wished away.

The illustrations are beautiful and the story is such a great celebration of individuality that it has instantly become a family favorite. I highly recommend picking it up and reading it with your kids!

Your turn, what books celebrating individuality and uniqueness does your family love?

Yesterday I tried to have a baby.

I woke up feeling just a bit off. By 10 am I was having cramping. By 1:00 I was having stabbing pains and contractions. But I waited. Because I didn’t want to be one of those crazy preggo moms (a.k.a. me in both previous pregnancies) who went to the hospital for every little thing. Plus this one is on me, folks, so when I’m paying I want to make sure I’m paying for the baby and not false labor.

So I took a bath and waited. And they got worse. MUCH WORSE. And then they were 15 minutes a part. And then 10. At which point I went to the doctor. Because something was clearly up. From there they went to 7, 5, 3 and that is when they wheeled me into L&D. Because I was clearly having a baby.

The doctor told me they’d have the C-section that night because it was more dangerous to stop labor at this point than it was to continue. I, of course, called all my family. But, the doctor on call that night had different ideas. And she gave me two shots of terbutaline and stopped the contractions.

But the pain just wouldn’t stop. And oh. my. Lord. did I want to punch the nurse when she asked if I thought it was a pinched nerve. A PINCHED NERVE??? No. It wasn’t a pinched nerve.

Once the contractions stopped, though, it became very obvious what was causing the pain because it was (unfortunately) a very familiar pain when separated from the pain of contractions. Kidney stones. No, that just doesn’t do it justice. It was FREAKING KIDNEY STONES!!!

Oh this cruel, cruel body of mine.

They sent me home with one measly percocet and instructions to stay hydrated. And within 5 minutes of getting home I passed the stupid thing.

Thomas dared me to take a pic and blog it, but the truth is I like you guys too much and I want you to actually come back here again in the near future and pictures of kidney stones probably wouldn’t guarantee the future of our relationship, right? I didn’t think so.

This week is apparently Read Me week here in the South which as far as I can tell is one whole week dedicated to reading books to your kids and helping them learn that reading is cool.

And since we’re all about reading being cool here in the Land of Lovings I thought I’d spend the week reviewing a few of our favorite books for kids. Come by throughout the week and check out which books we’re enjoying and leave suggestions of your own favorites!

So, without further ado, our first selection for Read Me week is:

Here’s what no one ever told me about the “Birds & the Bees.”

No one ever told me that I should pay close, close attention to what my parents said about this because someday as a result of the Birds and the Bees, I’d have a daughter of my own to explain it to and no freaking clue how to do it.

No one ever told me that said daughter would start asking about these important things before she even reached her 5th birthday.

No one ever told me that it would be so hard to answer questions like, “Why is our Rooster riding piggy back on our hen?” and “If they’re going to have babies, which one of our (8) hens is our Rooster married to?”

And, most importantly, no one ever told me that these issues would come up at the most mundane times and render me completely speechless in 5 o’clock traffic.

So, now what? With a baby on the way and a barnyard harem in the backyard how on Earth do I explain to my 4-year-old exactly what is going on with the whole reproductive process in a way that doesn’t guarantee her a spot on a therapist’s couch in 10 years?

Here’s where I come to you for some help. Because somehow I woke up one morning to find myself swimming in the deep end of the parenting pool completely unprepared!

What went fantastically right and/or horribly wrong in the Birds and Bees discussions in your own life? Did your parents shove a book at you to read or scar your for life with an overshare? With your own kids, when did you get into the whole thing and how did you explain it in a way that answered questions without giving them more than they were ready to hear?

This is my husband falling out of the boat at the scariest part of the river. (Notice his foot in the water right beside his oar?)

This is what my face looks like when I sense immediate danger for myself my beloved husband.

I’ve never claimed to be a brave woman.

For more Wordless Wednesday, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom!

Today instead of spending my time on a tropical beach drinking fruity cocktails and watching my children frolic in the sun, I am tackling my least favorite household project:

I can’t tell you how much I loathe this job. It will include (but not be limited to):

• Picking up at least 1200 kids books and arranging them on the bookshelf by classification (soft cover vs. board book) and size only to have them all end up on the floor by 5pm.

• Finding at least one discarded pull-up under the bunk beds after ranting (yet again) that all diapers go in the trash every single time with no exceptions thankyouverymuch!

• Discovering that Barbie and her stylish friends own more shoes than everyone in my house combined. And that none of them are a complete pair.

• Throwing away no less than 3 dismembered Dollar store “Barbie” bodies and worrying about why it is my children insist on murdering their dolls in this cruel way.

So, what I could use now is your tips for cleaning playrooms and keeping them clean. Got any nuggets of wisdom to make my job easier when I tackle this in the future??

To see what other folks are tackling this Tuesday head over to 5 Minutes for Mom!

Okay, so I know that I don’t have to spill any dirty truths until tomorrow. But, I just have the need to get something off my chest. And, so, if you are a male and/or you know me IRL you may want to stop reading now. Really. Unless you want to know more about me than you probably should.

Here’s what I want to know today. Ladies who are pregnant or who have ever in your life been pregnant could you do me a favor? Could you raise your hand if your pregnancy hormones ever made you have the libido of hormonal 18-year-old boy? Because everywhere I turn I see that stereotype in the media and I’m starting to feel like maybe I’m missing out on an important benefit of pregnancy.

Actually, to be more accurate, my poor husband seems to think he is missing out on a major benefit of pregnancy.

Though my theory is that finding a pregnant woman with this particular pregnant symptom is kind of like finding a unicorn please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

Valentine’s Day, as a result, is a day of undue pressure on those of us preggo chicks who are not hormonally crazed in a good way. It’s just not fair.

To make things worse, did you know that they make things like this? Talk about pressure!

So, can you guess how Valentine’s Day went down at our house?

Here’s a synopsis:

Scene: Valentine’s Day night. Living room sofa, 11:00 pm.

My sweet husband, snuggling up to me on sofa: “Hey, baby. Happy Valentine’s Day. Did you like your flowers?”

**kissy-kissy-kissy**

Me: “Speaking of babies, when are you going to paint the baby’s room? And I’m starving. Could you grill me a steak? Also, is it like 150 degrees in our house or what? Crap my left butt cheek has fallen asleep again. Could you move over? Is our couch made out of cotton balls or something ’cause suddenly it is all lumpy and out of shape. It’s probably the fact that I’m huge, huh? I’m ruining the sofa from sitting on it. Do you think I look huge? Don’t lie. I can see it in your face. It’s not really fair to judge me right now, okay? I am, after all, growing the son you’ve never had. Just get off my case already.”

My sweet husband: “Huh? Um…your hair looked really pretty tonight at dinner. I love you.”

Me: “Yeah, well I guess that is what happens when you get a chance to take more than a 30 second shower and actually wash your hair. I know I’ve let myself go, alright? It’s just hard to take time to get ready during the week when I’m constantly getting the girls ready and taken care of. Can’t you just pretend not to notice?”

My sweet husband: “Um…I think I’m gonna go to bed. I love you, though. Okay? I really do. I mean, if that’s alright with you.”

Me: “Fine. Lay the guilt trip on. I wish for just one moment you could feel how I feel so you would understand why I’m not all lovey-dovey at the drop of a hat. I know what married couples are supposed to be doing on Valentine’s Day and I’m sorry. But, you know, I’m not some Stepford Robot Wife so just cut me a little bit of slack.”

At which point my sweet husband slinks away to the safety of another room.

End Scene.

–

Yeah, I’m a heartless wench. Really. And feeling hideously guilty for not being a better wife lately. And also I’m kinda not into, well, you know, marital congress at the moment what with all the pressure of a 6 lb. baby simultaneously sitting low in my belly and kicking me in the ribs. Thank God my husband has the patience of Job.

We had a big night at the Loving house.

Last night, for the first time, Thomas pulled a tooth. I mean, he actually pulled the tooth out. Oh, we’ve lost teeth before. We lost two in July. But this tooth? This tooth was stubborn. And hanging on by a thread. And giving mom the heebie-jeebies with every wiggle it got.

Thankfully, Kai is easily bought off. All it took was the promise of Tooth Fairy loot and a Popsicle and she was on board.

There was plenty of cringing and freaking out and wincing and Kai was actually a little bit nervous, too. But a bit of embroidery floss (purple - of course!) and a few good yanks on the thread and we had lift-off. Literally. It flew across the room and caused a bit of drama, but it was out.

Thank the Lord.

It’s next door neighbor is pretty darn loose, too, so I’m imagining we’ll be seeing him come out this weekend though hopefully he’ll pop out the old-fashioned way. In an apple. Or, better yet, a Sugar Daddy candy bar.

The very best part of all this?

The Tooth Fairy actually remembered to come this time! I must be getting the hang of this mom thing after all…

(Head over to Life is Sweet to see other “Best Shots” of the week!)

**Updated**

So, it turns out we didn’t have to wait long at all. Last night after a poorly planned leap from bunk bed ladder to “thinking chair” Kai managed to actually knock her other tooth right out. Let me just say, there was LOTS more blood than the first time but the tears disappeared as soon as her dad reminded her that it meant she’d get more $$ from the Tooth Fairy.

Now, she’s got the adorable lisp of a kid who has no front teeth. Which means her dad and I have to try our best not to giggle everytime she exclaims, “Theriothly Guyth!” I need to capture that on video for posterity…