great bag for BIG books!

Head on over to Love Endures All Things for instructions on how to make this bag. I thought it was so cute and funny! I bet you would get some looks at the library:) Book humor... we love that on this blog!

Click HERE for the tutorial. 

~Mrs. D

These are too cute... I think we all need one:)

Hop on over to Helping Little Hands... for the tutorial on these absolutely adorable freezer paper stencil shirts. Please go HERE! She gives you instructions on how to make the shirts with the stencil and also provides you with the stencil. So cute and perfect for all of our OTL readers!

~ Mrs. Doodle

GIVEAWAY for A Story Before Bed EXTENDED

Yes it is my birthday and I will do what I want... head on over

HERE

to comment and put your name in the hat to win!!! We are giving away a free year subscription to A STORY BEFORE BED so you don't want to miss out on this one!!!

~ Mrs Doodle:)

It will now end on September 23rd at noon. Please help spread the word for us!

ABC Bean Bags

Head over to DancyDoodle to check out the bean bags I made for my oldest daughter not long ago. I made extra bags for all of the vowels so when she starts spelling words we can use them as well. She had really enjoyed playing with them... not only for the letters that are on them but also to make different games with them.

more bookplates

Head on over to We Love to Illustrate for a variety of printable bookplates for kids. They have all kids - girls and boys.

These are my favorites...

Bookplates for the Mommas

Head over to Frecklewonder for some very chic bookplates form Draw! Pilgrim. I think I am going to have to print some of these to put in my sewing books. or maybe some of my cookbooks. oh the possibilities are endless!

I found these initially on How About Orange which is a great resource blog. Love her stuff and wanted to make sure she got some credit as well.

A Story Before Bed Giveaway EXTENDED!!!

We are extending this giveaway - it will now end on September 23rd at noon!!!!

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD:)

Have you guys ever heard of the website and iPhone app A Story Before Bed? You are going to LOVE it. We have really been talking about how important it is to read to your children but what about when you are busy. Yes, we all get busy. What if you have family that doesn't live close but you would like for them to read to your child? What if you have family in the military who would love to record themselves reading a book to your child? What if you have just need a little (learning - shhhh) activity to keep your kids busy? Well A Story Before Bed is your answer!

Here's how it works:

The Read~Aloud Handbook and how it made me a different parent

Hi again. Mrs. Doodle here from DancyDoodle. Aimee is so kind to invite me back. Check here to read my introduction and a little about why I feel reading to your children is so important.

Recently I read The Read~Aloud Handbook? (For short we will call it TRAHB.) This is book about why, how, and when you should read aloud to your children but also has a treasury of wonderful books to read aloud categorized by age group.

I knew that I needed to instill in my girls that reading was fun at an early age. But how? How can I help them to see books as something that can take them to another place, another time, or give them information on a subject that they love. Well, I was reading a blog one day in my RSS feed (sorry I don't remember which one) and she mentioned that she had just finished reading TRAHB. I thought I would add it to my list of books to check out at the library and see if it had something I could use in my quest to teach my girls. OH MY GOODNESS is all I can say when I started reading this book. I didn't even have the updated version either and I thought that. It had so many things that made me say "ah ha!" It had so much useful information in it that I know I will use for the rest of my life with myself, my girls, and way farther down the road my grandchildren.

Guest Post: Dancydoodle

(me, big sister, little sister (poor thing look at that face!) and my husband)

Hi everyone. My name is Stephanie aka Mrs. Doodle from DancyDoodle. I am so excited that Aimee invited me to guest post on this AWESOME blog. A little background on why I think feel this is a valuable blog for every parent. I am a SAHM to two little princesses - ages 2 (almost 3 just ask her! and she is having a princess party you don't have to ask her that she will just tell you:) and a 4 month old (she will just slober all over you and sometimes poop all over you too. She means well though:).

So let's rewind a bit to before I had children or was married... oh heck let's just go ahead and say it when I was YOUNG! I always excelled in school. I didn't really have to try hard, it really came naturally to me. I was never at the top of the class but I was never at the bottom either but somewhere in between. I didn't have to study a lot to make good grades and my parents never really questioned me about school. Yes, they cared but they just "expected" me to do well. However, I was NOT an avid reader or heck a reader at all. I read what I HAD to for school and that was about it. Books were always something that I read so that I could take a test for school. If I really want to be honest with you guys I skimmed sometimes too. So fast forward to later in my life when I had graduated with my master's degree and was at a cross roads in life. I was staying with my aunt who was like my second mom. She invited me to go with her to the Keys one Spring Break and I happily said yes. A free vacation far away from my worries - sign me up. Much to my surprise this trip made me realize something... while sitting on the beach she said you should read this book and handed me the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This book changed me as a person... it made me ENJOY reading. I was bitten by the reading bug and I am so thankful to my aunt for that gift! (On a side note... this aunt is ALWAYS reading something and she has even written an awesome novel that she hopes to get published one day.) I think now how much more enjoyable school would have been for me if I would have just known the enjoyment of reading and not thought of it as a task. Oh to live is to learn!

When my husband and I were dating (we met right after my trip to the Keys that Spring Break) we took a trip to NYC and I was reading Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I remember being in that beautiful city for the first time and loving every minute of it but treasured every night when I got to read that book at the end of the day. I loved that book... I was immersed in it. I will never forget that book, when I read it, and how much I enjoyed it. I had never had a positive experience with a book until this time in my life.

Life now is a lot busier and I don't get much time to read the things I enjoy reading as much as I read children's books with my girls. I am sorry but reading Vera Goes to the Dentist over and over is just not the same as a good book and my quiet time. I will have all of that time back one day so I am enjoying my current "season" - my girls. I love our reading time because they are always so calm and snuggly. It is a special time for us to bond. I am learning that I can choose books that can teach them life lessons, history, how to be the person they want to be, manners, calm their fears (ie. that is why we were reading Vera goes to the Dentist so my daughter would know what the dentist is all about), and so much more. I mean the subjects are endless... there are books on everything you can imagine! I can use our reading time to help them in so many ways. I getting excited just thinking about it. My oldest daughter really enjoys books and reading at such a young age that I hope she always associates reading with a positive feeling. I am passionate about instilling a love for reading in my children because I feel if they learn to love it at an early age then they will always love it.

( Little sister is learning to just enjoy the "love" big sister dishes out)

I recently read a book that further confirmed the importance of reading to my children. Stay tuned for a review of this book. It will be a must read for any parent.

~ Stephanie