Into a Burning Building

I know that I would run into a burning building to save my child.

I know this with utter certainty. 

Before I became a mom - saving someone's life was always something I thought I would do if I were in a life or death situation. Logically I could say "yes" I would put my life on the line for someone else's. I would hope that I would have. 

Now, as a mother, I know it. I don't even know how I can explain the change in certainty. 

My son is a part of me. He is my breath, my life, my hope for the future. 

My heart would break into a million little pieces if anything ever happened to him. I would have to be held back forcefully for me not to risk my life to save his. 

I love him fiercely.

I hope I never have to be in this situation, but I know what I would do if it came to it, there would be no doubt in my mind.



This post was inspired by the novel Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton. After witnessing her children's school set ablaze, Grace attempts to find the arson as her teenage daughter lies in a coma in Lupton's suspense thriller. Join From Left to Write on April 11 as we discuss Afterwards. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

Brought to you by the letter "I"

Part of the A-Z blog challenge.

Working Mom ~ Book Review

Working Mom: Survival Guide
by Suzanne Riss & Teresa Palagano
144 pp.

To a certain extent, this book is perfect for a working mom. It has great "sound bites." Lists, statistics, short and sweet bits of information to make you think. It starts with advice on being a pregnant working woman, how to tell your boss you are pregnant, how to deal with going back to work, successfully pumping at work and even handles what to do with teenagers. It gives many, many lists on how to deal with being a parent in relation to our lives in the "office."

As a working mom, it definitely made me feel like I wasn't alone! In 2011 women outnumbered men in the workplace for the first time ever. There are a lot of us out there navigating working and being a mom. The best advice I took from the book? Be in the moment, Be happy, make lots of mom connections, navigate the best balance of work and home that you can - and then enjoy life as it happens, find time for yourself, multi-task less when you are with your kids, good enough is ok, make peace with change.

On a side note, I also discovered that only 13% of working moms surveyed for this book still nursed between 1-2 years of age. I was feeling a bit guilty for only making it to 15 months - but this made me feel a bit better :) Pumping is hard work!

It's a fast read, great tips, nothing earth shattering, but it is nice to know there are other moms out there just like you! You will make it - it may not be easy, but you aren't alone!

Spring Into Green - Mother's Organic Giveaway

Welcome to the Spring Into Green Mothers Organic Giveaway!

I've teamed up with Eco-Crazy Mom and an amazing group of bloggers to celebrate the grand opening of the Mothers Organic store, and bring you the chance to win a fantastic prize pack valued at $375.00!

Come check out the Mothers Organic Grand Opening March 25, 2013!

The Mothers Organic motto is simple: happy shopping for the everyday eco-mama. Why? Because we've all been there before. Confused by labels and not knowing which products were safe for our kids. Overwhelmed with information. That's why eco mama Kelly McKnight and her husband created Mothers Organic. They wanted to make it easy for moms to find a variety of safe, tried and true eco-friendly products in one convenient place. Every product at Mothers Organic has been hand picked and carefully reviewed by Kelly and her team of eco mamas with the belief that if it's not good enough for their family, it's certainly not good enough for yours. Finally, a place where moms can shop with confidence - we invite you to give it a try!

Shop their amazing selection of stainless steel baby bottles and sippy cups. Check out their line of Melissa & Doug puzzles and toys for babies and toddlers. Stock up on your nursery layette - complete with swaddle blankets and bunting. At Mothers Organic you'll find a great selection of natural bath and skin care, organic apparel, health care essentials and much more.

Shop now and save with free shipping on all orders over $75!

Celebrate with us and enter to win!

One lucky eco mama will win this awesome Mothers Organic prize pack worth $375.00:

Boba Carrier ($120.00 RV) Green Toys bundle ($70.00 RV) Kid Basix Safe Sippy 2 ($15.00 RV) In2green Eco friendly baby & kids blanket ($70.00 RV) Seventh Generation bundle ($100.00 RV) a Rafflecopter giveaway

Two Kisses for Maddy

Two Kisses for Maddy
by Matthew Logelin
Grand Central Publishing, 2012


Though not a parenting book - I added it to my list this year as I think that there is always something to learn from memoirs. I am amazed at the strength of the author.  It's taken me awhile to write about this book, it's not an easy one to review! Only read if you are prepared to cry, a lot. I also laughed and smiled and was moved. It is an amazing story - one I hope no one has to go through.

It's the story of a man, who loses his wife and become a father within the span of just over a day. It is the story of a normal person - though a moving write - which makes it all the more heartbreaking, it could happen to anyone. His voice is real, he doesn't cover up his faults, his emotions, his pain. It is all the better for being so real.

I actually started this book a few chapters in because I didn't want to read the beginning. It made me too sad. I know, weird, but true. I went back and read them later, but for some reason I couldn't start at the happy beginning, knowing what was to come. Too emotional, I didn't want to know that happy part that was just going to lead to pain.

It was amazing to me that he took a step each day, he reached out, he started a blog, he supported others, he took his daughter to Paris, India, Nepal. He showed his daughter the world and tried to capture his wife's spirit. This book captured my heart, I hope you'll take the time to read it.

You are Your Child's First Teacher

You are Your Child's First Teacher: What Parents Can Do with and for Their Children from Birth to Age Six, 3rd edition
by Rahima Bladwin Dancy
322 pp., Ten Speed Press, 2012

Somehow, when I starting my "Parenting Book" challenge - I didn't realize how much I would get out of each book. I know, that sounds absurd - why else would I read books except if I thought they were worth reading. But I didn't realize how intriguing and valuable the information would turn out to be.

The book I've been reading - for quite some time now - is "You Are Your Child's First Teacher" by Rahima Baldwin Dancy. I bought it thinking it would be another perspective to help me understand some of the educational philosophies I was interested in, such as Waldorf and Montessori, and it was, but it is also so much more. Every chapter has references to even more books to read - help me now!

Some of the ideas were perhaps a little out there for me, but in general, it really clicked!

My takeaways from the book:
1. Let your child be a child! Keep it unstructured until they are more mature.
2. Pay attention to your own emotions - the environment we create emotionally is of utmost importance.
3. Work toward a daily rhythm that works for the whole family.
4. Allow plenty of time for creative free play as well as musical and artistic play.
5. It's OK to have unstructured play time - good, in fact!
6. Limit over stimulation - read Simplicity Parenting (check) and Failure to Connect (on the list!)
7. Encourage the use of childlike toys that encourage imaginative play.
8. The keys to discipline are imitation and repetition - set limits and enforce them consistently.
9. Bring up your child in a warm, loving environment, this is the best thing we can do.
10. Love your child - they have a basic goodness that we should celebrate, enjoy it now!

There is so much more to this book - it goes in depth into so many ideas, down to the detail of toys and books that might be good for your child. I will definitely keep it as a reference - there are so many great ideas and suggestions. 4/5 stars!

The Hour that Matters Most

The Hour that Matters Most
By Les & Leslie Parrot, Stephanie Allen & Tina Kuna
208 pp. Tyndale House Books

I have to admit, I did not have high hopes for this book - but I really, really liked it! I was at Dream Dinners making some meals to go and saw a stack of them in the corner ~ I figured it would be sort of an interesting book/advertisement for Dream Dinners (founders are contributers). However, it is so much more than that! 

The core message of the book is why eating meals together as a family, especially dinner, is so important to a family. As the mother of a 2 year old, much of the content isn't quite relevant to me yet! I know, however, that I will be facing some of these issues in the future.

I come from a family where we ate meals together every night. I can't tell you how important that was to me growing up. I think it's so important to be together as a family every day. Now that my little guy is starting to eat at the table (cue tears, he's getting so big!!), I want to make sure that we set good habits now, ones that will last his whole life. He is SO very excited this week when we took the tray off of his booster chair and let him eat at the table with us.

This book not only shared some easy family recipes, but it also had great advice on improving your conversations with your kids and spouse as well as improving your family relationships (even seems relevant to work relationships!).

This was one of those books that had me constantly marking pages and vowing to try out ideas when I can! I recommend it to anyone trying to make time for family dinner - or just for families looking for tips on how to make dinner the best hour of the day. I particularly love the conversation prompts! Definitely a 4/5 stars! I can't wait to implement some of the really great ideas!

Montessori from the Start

I checked out the book "Montessori From the Start" from the library. Then I had to renew it, and renew it again. This book is so dense with great ideas that it takes time to process. If I could go back in time, I'd buy this one, not borrow it, so that I had it as a great reference. I still might go buy it!

It is full, almost too full, with ideas. It sometimes gets a little off-putting, the way they present the information - it presents information as if there is only one way to do things. But if you get past the tone and see it for the great ideas that it includes, it's a treasure of ideas.

Everything from how to set up the best home environment for learning, potty training, language acquisition to developing personal will. I've already instituted many ideas from the book and love the sense of calm and order that it encourages. He loves "helping" mom and dad with real work!

I do wish that I had started reading it when A was an infant. It is for children age 0-3 and A is now almost two. I feel like I'm already behind! But I still feel like there were tons and tons of great ideas. There just needs to be better organization of the ideas so I can go back and find them again! Definitely worth a read - and an add to the collection.

Simplicity Parenting

A few weeks ago I wrote about reading "How to Raise and Amazing Child" - and how much it resonated with me. One of the things I've already started to think about is what aspects of the book I can incorporate easily into our lives. One of the concepts that it touches on is simplifying life. So in order to follow-up on that I decided to read a book called "Simplicity Parenting" by Kim John Payne, M.ED. - an inspiring book!

My husband is always trying to simplify our lives - mostly by getting rid of "stuff." So as I read this book, I kept him in mind :) The very first action tackled in this book is to "Streamline your Home Environment" - reducing the amount of toys, books and clutter, as well as general sensory overload. It also delves into establishing rhythms and rituals, inviting down-time into our schedules and scaling back on media and information. It's about simplifying every aspect of our kid's lives - from "stuff" to noise to extra-curricular activities to time online.

I know my little guy is only a toddler, but this book gave me a moment to breathe and think about how I can build the scaffolding of his life. We, as parents, should take the time to protect their childhood and let them be kids, to play, to breathe fresh air, to get dirty playing in the dirt, to sleep in the sunshine. This book gives inspiring words, examples of what other parents have done and suggestions on how to simplify your kid's (and your own) lives. While it may seem insanely scary to take all your kids toys - and halve them, then halve  them again - and then one more time...it is also incredibly intriguing. It might even be cathartic!

I highly recommend this book for new parents, parents of older kids, anyone searching for a way to make our kids lives easier, calmer and better...

Parenting Book Challenge

I have to admit that I am a bit of a book addict. I love reading them, I love having them, I love the smell of books. I just love books.

I also realize that recently I have not been so good at reading all the books that come into my home - either bought or borrowed books. This weekend I counted the parenting books that I have in my home. I am a little hesitant to share this overwhelming number.

Currently, I have 42 books on parenting/children/education in my house.

Some of this many, many books

I know, I know - too many. One would think I'm an expert by now (haha). Now, some of these are library books and will only remain here for a few weeks, but most of them are permanent residents on my bookshelf. I have therefore decided that I need to do something about these books.

I am going to start a series on Wednesdays reviewing these books. I actually already started with How to Raise an Amazing Child and Simplicity Parenting :) But I decided I needed to keep myself accountable, so I'm doing the equivalent of shouting from the rooftops - letting you know my intentions!

I hope you find something interesting! Let me know if I'm missing any important books...so I can add them to my list :)

Celebrating Birthdays as Parents

When you are a little kid, birthday parties are pretty standard. Lots of kids, cake, presents. My mom always threw the best parties, great games and even prizes :) When you get a bit older, maybe you go to an amusement park, the beach...or maybe you took your significant other out for dinner or drinks. We still usually work in a nice breakfast!

Celebrating Before Becoming a Parent!

Now, as a parent, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to celebrate birthdays. Mine is just a few weeks after A's - so it ends of being an after thought. I also want to do something to celebrate my husband's, but all of the sudden a dinner and a movie becomes very expensive once you include the babysitter :)

Occasionally I can ask the grandparents to stay with the little guy...so maybe a weekend away might be good too. On the one hand, I like to celebrate important occasions with the whole family, on the other hand, adult time is important too. At this age, it's not like A will remember that we ditched him, right?

So for planning for my husband's birthday (dear husband, stop reading now!), what should I do? Take him to a sporting event? A nice dinner out? Go away for the weekend? Wine country, the beach, the city?

Taking any and all suggestions!

Toddler Guilt...

Sometimes I think that the moment you become a mother, guilt lands on your shoulders. There is always something that you can be doing better. Always something more that you can be doing.

When A was an infant, a lot of guilt surrounded breast feeding, making baby-food, cloth diapering, weight gain, tummy time, and sleeping!

Now that he is a toddler, the guilt is about what he is learning and doing. Is he in enough classes? Is he socialized enough? Do I talk to him enough, is he learning enough words? Is he being introduced to new people, places and things? Am I exposing him to a wide enough variety of foods? Are we giving him the headstart he needs to excel in life? school? art? sports?

Clearly I over think things a bit :) It's hard being a working mom! I love my job, but I feel guilty leaving him every day. Finding balance between working, teaching A everything I want him to know (!), and actually having some fun...not easy!

What I do know, however, is that he absolutely gets enough love. This is the most important thing, right? He gets enough hugs and kisses and squeezes! I have no guilt over the amount of time he plays outside and how many books we read to him every day. I know that his exposure to bubbles is exceptional and that he gets a wide variety of music to inspire him every day :)

Future Golf Pro? Are Golf lessons next?

For more ways to find balance in our crazy lives with children (or to commiserate about having none!)...head on over to Growing Up Geeky!