Encouraging Your Kids to Love Reading

Did you know that January 28th is Family Literacy Day?

Reading has always been a huge part of my life, books were some of my best friends growing up.   

I remember the excitement that would accompany a book fair or a trip to the library and all the possibilities it would offer. 

Would it be Goosebumps or Babysitters Club? 

Or maybe something completely new this time.  

My family didn't have a lot of money and we didn't go on fancy trips, or grand adventures, but I did, immersed in my books I traveled to every corner of the world ( and many other worlds too).  That`s the magic of reading, it can transport or transform you.  It can terrify, uplift, encourage, teach, mystify, hurt and heal you.  To me, the written word is magic.

Giveaway Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms CLOSED

I love to cook, but i find that it is so easy to fall into a rut of uninspired boredom. There once was a time that I could pick up any random cookbook and spend an entire day creating culinary masterpieces. That time however ended with the arrival of Sophia.

The Joy of Cardmaking

What do cooking and card making have in common? Apparently a lot.
The Joy of Cardmaking is written like a cookbook, using "recipe cards" that simplify each layout and featuring tons of extra tips labelled as "secret ingredients" and appetizing ideas.
This is a great book to look at if you, like me, are a newbie. It has over 200 pages of great layouts for all sorts of cards; Christmas, birthday, baby, valentines, even just because. The layouts are all easy to replicate and customise, and are sure to impress.
Available through Leisure Arts

Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth

Using history as her guide, nationally recognized midwife Gaskin explores what she hopes will be a renaissance in natural childbirth, something that she's been advocating since the mid-1970s. By focusing on how women of ancient civilizations and other modern peoples give birth, Gaskin puts our own hypersensitivities in perspective, uncovering a beautiful, sometimes orgasmic experience rather than a dreadful, painful one. Sure, pain is part of childbirth, but preparing for the pain in a realistic rather than sentimental way--whether giving birth at home or in a hospital--can be the key to a woman's ability to deal with it naturally. Within the pages of personal anecdotes, some touching, some startling, from Gaskin's patients and colleagues, every woman is sure to find something to relate to, whether or not she chooses to have a medicine-free labor. The helpful back matter features a glossary, a detailed resource list including advocacy groups and Web sites, and a bibliography that includes periodicals, rounding out an extremely comprehensive and up-to-date guide on the topic.

Have you read this book? Id love to hear what you thought of it.