Reading Review!

Well...Yay to me it has been a very good reading month I do have to say! I have enjoyed three very amazing books this month and cannot wait to share them with you!

Mockingjay is the final book on the Hunger Games series and I have to say wow! I am really happy that I waited to read these until all three books were out because I don't think that I could have waited to find out what happened to my favorite characters.This final story follows Katniss Everdeen through her transformation as tribute in the games to the Mockingjay that is going to lead the people of Panem to freedom from the Capital. With a number of surprising twists and turns you wonder if Katniss will make it out of the war alive and who she will be willing to sacrifice to win this new game? This series as a whole was amazing and I really did enjoy the storyline and the characters.

Sarah Jio is a new author to me, but to some of you she may be old news. My sister actually recommended this book to me and I set it aside for a bit because I just wasn't sure I was going to get into this story. I forgot my other book that I was reading at work and so I picked this one up over a weekend and couldn't put it down! Jio is amazing! I described her writing to a friend as such, she is a hybrid of Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult combined, which is great for me because I love those two authors. This story follows a young lady named Emily, who recently finds herself at a crossroads. A recent divorcee finds herself seeking comfort and peace goes to her great aunts house on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. While she's there Emily discovers a diary dated 1943 tucked away in the nightstand of her room. As Emily reads the diary she finds several connections to her own life....will history repeat itself or will Emily be able to write her own story?

As I have said several times I love Emily Giffin! However, it took me forever to read this book. I started Baby Proof a little over a month ago and just couldn't get into it, but like all Giffin's stories I'm not sorry that I finished it. Baby Proof is a story about a woman named Claudia who has everything going for her, she is successful, has a doting husband who she is madly in love with. They have the perfect twosome life together, take trips, go to dinners it's perfect for Claudia. Claudia has never wanted to be a mother and her husband Ben felt the same. (This is where I have a hard time connecting with the characters). However this marriage gets turned upside down when someone changes their mind and does want to be a parent after all. Will these two "soul mates" survive this conflict of views, or was it not meant to be happily ever after for Claudia and Ben?


So that is what I accomplished this month... three really great books that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking for a fun end of summer read. According to goodreads I'm still 6 books behind from my accomplishing my goal, we will see if I make it to 25 books this year! Happy Reading!

Our first 4th of July!

Flashback to the beginning of last month...sorry things have been crazy around here with little man getting over some sort of nasty cold and then well life so we are going to have a FLASHBACK POST! Let me start by saying that I love the 4th of July! I love how a community can come together and have blast with parades and grill outs and of course my favorite part fireworks. I don't know what my deal is, but fireworks and Christmas lights are like two of my favorite things ever!

This 4th of July it was a little different than our usual. There was no huge grill out with friends and family and we didn't drink ourselves silly. Instead it was a huge family day for the three of us. Jackson and I woke up early and got ready in our red, white and blue and headed out to find a spot for the 4th of July parade that they have in town here. Jason wanted to sleep in just a little bit longer so he joined us just before the parade started. We only made it through about half of the parade before Jackson got really tired and wanted to go home for a nap.

After his nap and a little lunch we headed to the park where their was a carnival awaiting us. Jackson was a little to small for any of the rides so we walked around. Not only was there a carnival, but they also had a craft show, a water park, local bands playing and a lot of different food vendors. I think that maybe next year Jackson will be able to enjoy a little more of what was out there, but for this year it was fun just to walk around (he really likes to people watch).

We then came back home and grilled out brats and had corn on the cob...very 'merican! Of course I was able to see some fireworks from my porch and front window, since we couldn't go out to the big show (way past Jack's bedtime). It was a great first 4th of July!

No Way....6 months old

I guess the calendar doesn't lie...my little stinker is 6 months old! This month has been kind of laid back for us, mainly we worked on getting into a routine. Well, as much of a routine as you can get in when you hubby has to do 24 hour call.

Jackson is doing fantastic! He is now sitting up on his own, however I still put the boppy around him because I fear that time that he gets distracted and whips his head around sending him plummeting to my wood floor. Never thought I would say it, but these are the moments I miss carpet. He is also working on rolling from front to back...it's driving me crazy that he hasn't done it yet! Back to front no problem, rolling back again we just cry for mama to help (secretly I think he knows how he just wants me to do it for him).

We still love our jumperoo!

We have also had two teeth on the bottom come through! They are sharp little buggers but they are his new pride and joy. He likes to suck in his mouth now and play around with them. It ends up making him have a soup puss face, but what can you do, they are new and interesting.

Jackson has also started eating two meals a day of baby food. We have made it through all the yellow/orange veggies and today we are going to start on our last fruit peaches! So far we really don't mind any of them but we really like bananas! I think his favorite part of eating so far is when he gets to play with his spoon at the end of the meal.

Still figuring it out

Daycare is going really well. I think towards the end of the weekend he really starts to miss his friends at school so he gets excited to go back. Last week they did their first art project, painted with sand. I couldn't believe it when I picked him up and they told me they had him painting...such brave teachers. At school he spends most of his day babbling with his friends (like his mama), they have also been working with him on sitting up and rolling per my request, and just recently he was up on all fours and rocking like he was going to take off crawling (so not ready for that!). Jackson also really really likes to stare at himself in the mirror, I think it's time for me to stop telling him how good looking he is before he becomes too vain!

Playing with our teeth during our stroller ride

Jackson also went to his first medical dinner this month. We met up with some of the doctors that Jason worked with last rotation and had a nice meal at Kona Grill (if you have one and haven't tried it..go it's amazing!) Jackson stole the show and all the attention from the ladies. I really think a few of them were going to steal him.

6 months old!

Upcoming events: Visits from Grandma Machell, Grandpa Ken and Grandma Kathy, we are going to try green veggies, our six month shots : (  our first time having a sitter (so excited)!

Lessons From a New Mama

I have been very blessed that I am able to work at the same place that my son attends daycare. I was able to walk in and feel confident and comfortable. However, before I got offered a job I still did a lot of research on other places for Jackson to go and this is what I have learned of what to look for when choosing a daycare center.

1) Is it clean? If you walk in and you feel like you are dirty from the get go this is probably not the place that you want to send you child to. Some key places to look are on the counters (especially if they serve meals), by the changing tables, bathrooms and then the cubby area of the classrooms. These are the areas that I found are the most used and sometimes most neglected.

2) How long have the teachers been there? Some places naturally have a high turnover rate, I mean come on lets face it, it's childcare a lot of times they hire summer help and then they get more stable people in the fall for the school year. However, if every person in the facility it new that might be something to worry about.You want to ensure that there is stability for your child in their classroom, so they feel safe and comfortable going to school each day. Also having new teachers all the time could lead to other questions like why is everyone leaving? What is going on around here that causes people to get up and go?

3) Are there projects hanging up? I know for me this was a big one! I didn't want Jackson to go to daycare and have nothing to do and be bored and then grow to hate it! I wanted him to go and have fun, be creative and actually be taught something too! So, check the walls...is there a family communication board that tells what the lessons are going to be for that week? Do you see kids artwork, projects, pictures hanging up on the walls? You could even look at the kids themselves...do they look like they are having fun?

4) Is there good communication between home and school? I don't know if this is because I really like to know everything about Jackson's day, or because I'm a chatty person, but I really appreciate open communication between teachers and home. Currently I talk with all of Jackson's teachers on a daily basis about concerns, questions or they even give me little stories from his day. In addition to that I get a daily sheet of when all of his feedings were, changing, naps, anything they need from me such as diapers/wipes etc. And then there is an additional area on their daily sheet that they tell me about what they did that day. I know it seems a little OCD on our part, but I pour over the daily sheet at the end of the day because I want to know if he ate all of his carrots, how long he napped for and if they did any special activity that day. I feel that I need to know these things because I am not there so it's comforting to me to know that they are attentive to my child and his needs.

5) How much? I don't know about where you live, but up here in the Detroit area if you want a good center it's going to cost you a pretty penny! For me I wanted the best for Jackson and I wanted him in a safe area (Lets face it people I'm in Detroit safety comes first!). However, I also didn't want to work to pay for childcare because that doesn't make sense. Find a center that meets your criteria first and then see if you can work your budget for the tuition. I found that I couldn't find a center based only on my budget, it's not like an apartment/house where you can live with a few quirks, it's your child and like it or not these teachers and that place is where they spend a majority of their week so make it a good one!

So there you have it...my lessons on looking for a daycare! I got very lucky and found a place that met all 5 of these criteria and I get to work there! Score for me! If you need an advice on centers, or if you need a recommendation let me know! Like I said I've done a lot of research!

Reading Review!

I'll admit that I am way better at reading in the summer than in the winter for some reason, but this summer I have not been. I am going to combine June and July this month because well...I only read two books. Yikes! I need to step it up.  Anyway this is what I have read the past two months....

Oh I know what you are going to say...my goodness this girl needs to get with the program these are old books, but I am stubborn and really didn't think I was going to like them, boy was I wrong! The Hunger Games is now probably one of my favorite books. I am completely in love with all the characters Katniss, Peeta and Gale for sure! I had seen the movie for The Hunger Games prior to reading the book (which I very rarely do) and I have to say for once they kept the movie very close to the book. Buy anyway, back to the book. Suzanne Collins did an amazing job developing the characters in the story without turning it into a mushy love story. This was a book that I couldn't put down and read in a matter of days. A very fun summer read if you are looking for a last minute summer book!

Oh yeah folks that's right it's a series. I get very involved in series and can go through them quickly because I need to know what happens next. Catching Fine is a continuation of The Hunger Games. You follow Katniss and Peeta through their life after the games...or is it really ever over?! Again Suzanne Collins does a great job of keeping you on your toes and turning those pages! Catching Fire introduces some new characters some of which you will probably like better than others, but all add to the story in an interesting and exciting way!

I'm currently reading the third book of this series and in the middle of another book at the same time! So hopefully those will be popping up for next months reading review. According to goodreads I'm behind on my goal by 6 books now Yikes! Oh well I'll keep plugging away and enjoying a lot more stories to come! If you have any book recommendations I'm always excited to check out new authors and stories. Happy Reading!