I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!
Our neighborhood put on a fun Easter egg Hunt …
which was followed by a petting zoo and ride on the mini train, …
and pictures with the Easter Bunny of course.
Parker informed me later that day that it wasn’t really the Easter bunny – just a human dressed up like one. She then said Santa’s not real either. I responded with “well, you know Santa doesn’t deliver toys to kids who don’t believe in him … anyways …” I’m hoping this was enough to distract her for a bit. She is only 4! Yikes!
We went home, ate too much ham and deviled eggs, and then the kids had ANOTHER egg hunt.
Yep, that’s the third one for Parker if you count her class hunt earlier this week. Maybe that’s why she’s getting a bit skeptical. LOL.
On Sunday, the kids received their Easter baskets and we enjoyed the service at church.
How is it that I get my kids (and husband) to dress nice about twice a year at church and I always forget to take more than a couple selfies with Parker?
Then, it was pure relaxation the rest of the day.
Last week I told you all that I have lots of catch up to do with what I’ve been reading lately, and I will not disappoint you. Get your To Do list out so you can write down these books you need to buy … or just make sure your Amazon information is updated so you can click on the links and buy them. 🙂
If you are looking for other book ideas, you can check out my previous Four Points Mom & Books posts. My last post is here. Also, since these posts are some of my most popular ones, I decided to go ahead and create separate pages for all of my 2018 books and 2017 books. So, if you’re quickly trying to find ideas for books you can go to one page and click directly to the books on Amazon. Hopefully this helps you a bit when you’re in a bind and NEED a good book fast.
Alright, on to my books from January!
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
I’ve followed Rachel Hollis on Instagram for several months and I really like her inspirational posts. One that speaks to me is:
I love that so much. As mothers, aren’t we always the first person we break promises to? Or, at least that rings true to me. She touches on this and many other great mantras in her popular book, Girl, Wash Your Face. It was a great pick-me-up and inspired me to make many changes in my day-to-day life that not only will improve my outlook but also trickle down and empower my kids and improve our family in general. I will say that it got a bit repetitive and, as a result, I haven’t rushed out to buy her latest book, Girl, Stop Apologizing (although I probably will read it at some point). I like her, I like that’s a local Austinite, and I like SO MUCH of what she has to say. I’m just not quite a die-hard fan yet if that makes sense.
One Day in December by Josie Silver
Oh, I just loved this cute book. Imagine if you looked out the bus window and saw someone you knew you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with … and then later discovered him to be your best friend’s new boyfriend. Sigh … Yes, it starts off pretty cheesy but I really enjoyed this book. The author tells the story from the perspective of the guy and the girl, and I love that she digs deeper into these characters than you might think with such a book. If you read this book, though, please reach out to me to discuss the best friend character. We read this book for book club and the night of book club I came down with something that knocked me off my feet. I was so sad I couldn’t vent about this best friend to my friends. So, please email or message me so I can finally get everything off my chest. 🙂
The Blessing of a Skinned Knee by Wendy Mogel
Have I told you guys how much I love the Dax Shepard Armchair Expert podcast? If not, let me tell you: I love the Dax Shepard Armchair Expert Podcast! This is how I first heard about child psychologist, Wendy Mogel. Dax had Wendy on and asked her so many questions about parenting and child development and her answers blew me away. I can remember running in to tell my husband over and over again various nuggets of info. For example, she reminds us that our main goal is to raise children who will become good adults. That sometimes contradicts with what we think our kids need or should have. They need to fail sometimes! Also, I loved how she reminds us that most of us are ordinary. We shouldn’t have these unrealistic expectations on our kids to be the BEST at EVERYTHING. Sure, they will succeed in some ways, but let’s not put unrealistic expectations on them. She does correlate much of her advice with Jewish teachings which I found fascinating. We aren’t Jewish, but many of the Jewish teachings reminded me of what families focused on years ago (when I was a child) such as family dinners, showing respect, and such. I love her no-nonsense approach to parenting as well as the many examples of actual children and families she’s worked with in her career. Her advice is so practical – I just love it.
Last year I wholeheartedly recommended How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. This year I recommend this awesome parenting book by Wendy Mogel! I’ve already finished two of her other books and will be filling you in on those in upcoming posts.
The Best Man by Kristan Higgins
If you’re looking for an easy chick lit read, add The Best Man to your list. I’ve read a few of Kristan Higgins’ books and I’ve really enjoyed all of them, including this one. Faith was left at the altar a few years ago and ran off to San Francisco. She’s drawn back home and just can’t get away from her ex’s best friend, Levi. She kinda blames Levi for her ex’s actions, but at the same time is somewhat drawn to him. Reminiscent of an Elin Hildebrand book, I loved its simplicity, great characters, and the fact that it’s the first book in a series so I’ll get to read more about these characters. I just started the second book in the series and I’m already hooked. This is another one I recommend.
The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor
What is it with amazing stories set during World War II? The Lost Letter is another one that I loved. The author alternates between telling the story of a stamp maker in Austria during World War II and a woman today who is trying to track down the origins of a unique stamp from her grandfather’s stamp collection. Yes, I admit it. A book about stamps doesn’t sound very appealing. However, I loved learning more about this unique process back then and how the resistance used stamps to defy the Germans during the war. Plus, of course, there are a few love stories involved. 🙂 I like this one too.
I love getting you all caught up with my latest reads. Stay tuned – I’ll be back with ANOTHER Four Points Mom & Books post later this week as well as a fun post all about our newest four-year-old, Parker. I love interviewing my kids on their birthdays and can’t wait to share with you her hysterical answers.
As always, don’t forget to follow me on GoodReads to see what else I’m reading! What are your favorite books from 2018? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Comment below and let me know.
See ya later friends!
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