Storytime ♥ Guest Blogger - Heidi Rosenburg

Welcome again, Heidi Rosenburg with
Barefoot Books.

Too Many Books?

One sentence that drives me mad is when some one comes to my book stall and says "they have too many books". I don't mind if they don't want to buy books. I am a big believer in libraries and visit them often with my two little one (yes I sell books that we absolutely love, but I will not deprive them of a even broader spectrum of books to love). I do mind when they say "they have too many books as their children don't read the ones they have."

Shouldn't they ask themselves why their children don't read the books they have. Thinking of a lot of my friends houses, many of their books are no longer age appropriate for their children. These books should be removed (stored, sold, given away, what ever they want to do with them). This probably gets rid of the majority of the books. Next they should take a critical look at the books they have left. Are they on a topic the child actually enjoys?

For example, if a child likes princesses, feed their imagination with good old fashioned princess stories. Steer clear of the new modern day commercialism. Every child, every age has a passion, whether its animals, dinosaurs , princesses, pirates, insects, cars, planes, I could go on. What ever subject it is, if they like the subject they will be interested in reading and looking at pictures about that subject.

Research has actually shown that children improve their reading ability by reading a lot. Independent reading increases both vocabulary and reading fluency.

Children who choose their own books usually reads more books and spends more time reading. If they start reading young (or have books read to them from an early age) they are more motivated to continue reading as they advance though the grade levels.

So can a child have too many books? The answer is they can have too many wrong books but if if they only have books that are appropriate for them they can never have too many books! So the next time you are walking pass a book stall with your child, have them browse and see what interests them or talk to your child find out what type of book they would like to own. The better books they will want to read again and again,

To help you purchase the right books for your children, Barefoot Books are running a free shipping campaign until Mother's day May 10th. Please feel free to combine this with my 10% off coupon.

May is an exciting month, I recommend "off we go to Mexico" for Cinco de Mayo, Motherbridge of Love for Mothers day and for anyone planning a long car journey I recommend our books with CDs such as "we all go traveling by, Creepy Crawly Calypso or Portside Pirates, Jack and The Beanstalk, House that Jack Built".

Thank you Heidi!! Great recommendations for books! We have a few of those she mentioned and my kids LOVE THEM!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Anytime, anywhere, any place....

For more Wordless Wednesday visit www.5minutesformom.com

9-12 Project: Thrift

Week 4 - Thrift

Highlighting the 12 Values from Glenn Beck's 9-12 Project

Thrift: The characteristic of using a minimum of something (especially money) - Wikipedia.

The word "thrift" gets a bad wrap...maybe because it gets mixed up with the concept of "cheap"?? But that's not the case. Being "thrift" is about being smart. It's about being responsible. It's about living life with freedom. It's about being in control of your life, your resources, your money, your time, your energy. Thrift is about frugality, not extravagance.

Being thrifty is about being mindful with monetary expenditures, even if that sometimes means spending a little bit more. Being thrifty is about valuing what you already have, and then treating it well, and then repairing instead of replacing when necessary. Being thrifty is not about not coveting the bigger, better, brighter, shinier things in life. -Non-consumer Advocate

Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

-Haggai 1:6

9-12 Project Journals will be arriving soon!!!

Family Yearbook Challenge 2009 - Week 14

If you're new to the Family Yearbook Challenge click HERE & then HERE

Don't forget to leave a comment and check in...I'm keeping track of all the comments posted in the Family YB Challenge for a big giveaway at the end of the year....so go back and check in each of the FYBC posts if you haven't done so.

Homework April 27 - May 3:

Today, April 27th, is National Tell a Story Day....quite fitting for our project! Tell a Story Day celebrates story-telling of all kinds. It doesn't matter if its fiction or non-fiction, a tall tale, or folk lore. Stories can be from a book, other written material, or from memory. So homework this week:

Have each member of your family share their FAVORITE story of all time. It can be real, made-up, from a book, a story from a grandparent and even the scriptures. Try and capture an image of the book or a picture from the event or place this story happened....even better, if you have children they can draw the pictures.

Our Favorites change over the years, but they also help define us and tell so much about a person. So make sure you capture the favorites of '09. When you look back on this in about 10 years every one's favorites will probably be different. One of my most favorite Cherish Bound products is the Favorites Journall!! I've given them to my children and spent time "interviewing" them and letting them tell me all about their favorites! I even had a great time doing my own Favorites Journal. Click HERE to purchase the journal and for this week ONLY, all FYBC participants can get 30% off the journal!!

Now COPY and paste any photos that you have that go with these events and questions into a new folder titled April and create another folder for May. If you'd like to rename the photos you can with Apr 1, Apr 2, Apr 3, or May 1, May 2, and so on and so on. If you have any memorabilia that is NOT digital, scan and save as a jpg. minimum 300 dpi to your April folder, named and labeled. If you have a "story" you can hand write it or "type" it into a document and save in the same folder.

Confessions of an Ex-Scrapbooker #32: My First Video!

Finally....my first Cherish Bound video is done! This video is a little glimpse into my Cherish Bound world...What it is, the process, and how you start! It's my first video EVER so don't laugh! Stay tuned for the next video where I show you my favorite books and what the final product looks like!!!

Also, Click here to go to my new Cherish Bound Story Store!!!

Take Our Kids To Work Day...

Did you know that today is the NATIONAL day of "Take our daughters and sons to work day"? Indeed it is! The 4th Thursday in April has been set aside for this event...

I had never heard of it until we moved to Florida. Our school district actively promotes it and encourages it.

The first year we moved here, I laughed at my daughters and sent them to school. I later found out they were the only 2 kids at school.

The second year I felt a little guilty, but I didn't let them "stay home" and have a free day...which unfortunately is what some kids do. But I caved and told them they could stay home. My oldest stayed home, slept in, and did NOTHING. (Waste of a day) My other daughter actually went with one of her friends and her friend's dad who is an attorney to court! She was able to sit in trial all day, go to the jail, meet a judge...she said it was an incredible experience and just confirmed why she wants to be an attorney...way to many weirdos out there.

Third year, they both wanted to just "stay home". My husband said they could go to work with him, but they just laughed...hysterically laughed! NO WAY!! No! So I told them, "You're not staying home and doing nothing this year. This is a great chance to learn about how real life works...." So they both sarcastically said, "Well, we'll do your job! We'll be YOU for a day...."

{Evil grin}

Need I say more....YOU KNOW how that day went. Oh, yeah, they stayed home and played mommy and wife. They got to do laundry, clean the floors, dust, take care of twins, go with me through the carpool, take the 3 little ones grocery shopping, cleaned out the car, ironing...and the list of daily events went on. And they didn't even get to do my "WORK" with Cherish Bound....just mommy and wife work. Needless to say, at the end of their "go to work with mom day"...they were exhausted and not in the best mood.

So today is year four. Where are they? Hummm....They're on the 12th floor of a large corporate building in Tampa...Sitting in a conference room, taking notes for their dad and his co-workers while they're in meetings discussing doors.

Could be worse....Dad could be a pilot.

Wordless Wednesday

Little Hurricane Princess (AKA: Punky Brewster) danced herself into a somber...
For more Wordless Wednesday Visit www.5minutesformom.com

Family Yearbook Challenge 2009 - Week 13 - Tells From The Front Door

If you're new to the Family Yearbook Challenge click HERE & then HERE

Don't forget to leave a comment and check in...I'm keeping track of all the comments posted in the Family YB Challenge for a big giveaway at the end of the year....so go back and check in each of the FYBC posts if you haven't done so.

Homework April 20 - April 26:

Tell the stories that come and go through your front door. Take a picture of your front door from the inside of the house and/or the outside of the house. What are the first 3 stories that come to your mind that have ANYTHING to with your front door? Is this the place your children rush home to everyday after school? Is this the place you said goodbye to a loved one? Or maybe it represents your freedom and the moment you walked through that door as a home buyer?

Now COPY and paste any photos that you have that go with these events and questions into a new folder titled April. If you'd like to rename the photos you can with Apr 1, Apr 2, Apr 3, and so on and so on. If you have any memorabilia that is NOT digital, scan and save as a jpg. minimum 300 dpi to your April folder, named and labeled. If you have a "story" you can hand write it or "type" it into a document and save in the same folder.

So Maybe They Aren't ALL Stupid...

I'm not one to get my news, motivation, or current events from celebrities. I don't even get excited when I get in the checkout line and the brand new US mag is sitting there...not sure why I don't and maybe it's a bad thing...or could be a good thing. I've got some friends that scour those mags for info and stories and know every break-up, affair, get-together, fashion flop, and funky baby names. And you know what...Good for them...really. I mean, look Paris...wouldn't you want some advice from her??

So...somehow I stumbled on one of the Best/Worst People magazines the other day...I think my hubby brought it home for me... It's an old one, but it was sitting around and I happened to grab it and I opened to a page where some celebs were giving their two-cents on "Reasons To Look Forward to 2009..." There were 4 quotes that sorta stood out... Of course there were a few that got Sharpie mustaches....you know, the stupid people that say things and it leaves you shaking your head almost feeling sorry for them....

But I wanted to share with you 4 of them that I connected with...

Deepak Chopra: "For 2009, your first resolution should be - I will make relationships the first priority and consumption the last. That's the most important thing you can do."

Not bad...relationships are high priority and include EVERYONE...husbands, wives, children, even the, Savior, Jesus Christ. So to me that is important...and I never thought "Consumption" to be a priority, but think about it...consumption/overindulgence...big problems for people right now.

Martha Stewart: "People will be interested in cooking and entertaining at home...looking for ways to live richly without spending a lot."

Now I like this..."Live Richly" without spending a lot of money...humm...that's something to think about right there.

Dr. Mehmet Oz: "What's really happening is we're simplifying life. Less financial freedom will result in things like fewer nannies, so you'll spend more time with your kids which will lead to more connected families."

Hell-o! That one is right on Dr. Oz. If you read my post yesterday... you know how I'm feeling about "nannies" today.... Nothing against nannies, but I can see how spending time with your own kids could lead to a con-nec-ted-fam-i-ly....Just a thought....

Suze Orman: "We are entering a time where it is a must to always do what's right versus what's easy. Never forget: People first, then money, then things."

Now this one...I 100% agree with the first line....and this is such good advice for our youth. Gosh and adults too....I find I'm still running into the good ol' peer pressure at the ripe age of 33. Not real sure about her "never forget" concept... I'm more of a Faith first, family, and then Cherish Bound ;o)

Are You Serious?

Oh, yeah...I am.

20 second phone call...here's the best part...

Certain "person": Well, it must be nice to stay at home all day...I wish I could just stay at home all day and do whatever I wanted.

{GASP}

Me: {SILENCE}

Certain "person": I mean, I'm just exhausted from working out and my kid was so bad in Starbucks...I couldn't even enjoy myself or have a conversation. And I had to run errands...you know...dry cleaning....why am I still dropping that off. Don't they offer delivery?

Me: {SILENCE...cracking knuckles}

Certain "person": It's really tough working outside the home 1 or 2 days a week for your family. I mean, seriously, do they have to be strict about the hours I work? We're family! I have things to do... It's tough having 2 kids. I could really use a break.

Me: {Sharpening Knife and looking for rope}

Certain "person": Honestly, I don't know how you do it. But I can totally see why it's tough to get laundry done, keep a clean house...why do you even attempt? Why don't you just get a house keeper?? And maybe a nanny 2 days a week or something...I'll email you my nanny's number...

Me: {Cracking open another Diet Coke}

Certain "person": Okay...I've gotta run. But if you could please do me that favor I'd appreciate it. I'm sure you have plenty of time...I'm just so swamped. Okay...I really gotta go...chipped my darn nail... Oh, yeah, hope you feel better. You're awfully quiet today. Okay...bye-bye...

Yeah, okay...Seriously...On NO she didn't!

I don't have 5 kids, work from home, have a husband who travels, sporting events every night, cook for my family, clean my own house, wash my own car, do laundry for 7 people, serve in my church, play with my kids, teach my daughters how to scrub a toilet, hang out with my BF's and make homemade pizza for our kids, return phone calls, make appointments for everyone who has got something wrong with them, check in on my mom and grandma daily/weekly, get to the bus stops 4 times a day, out of bed at 4:50 am with first kid, go to bed at midnight, make lunches, wipe butts and noses...with my own shirt, retrieve stuck children from closets, clean up ketchup and mustard that were squirted all over the carpet, repair a broken window, discover son can write his name on my car, read 3 books at bed time, give away 74 kisses a day and 30 hugs, save a lizard from boiling in a jar with no holes...should I go on??

Cuz I've got more....that was my last 38 hours.... and

I. LOVE. IT.

Yee-haw! Bring it on....

Storytime ♥ Guest Blogger - Heidi Rosenburg

Welcome again, Heidi Rosenburg with Barefoot Books.

Today she highlights a great book and CD!!

The first Barefoot Book I ever read was the Animal Boogie and music CD, this is still my favorite and my best selling book. I play this book in every public story time I ever do, all the kids love it and its easy to see why. My last public story time was on a huge stage with a microphone, the kids absolutely loved dancing round and making all the animal noises.

The tune is wonderful, its has a great beat. There is a lot of repeats and rhymes in the words so the children quickly learns the words. The best thing about the tune is there are obvious actions the children have to do. Each animal has its own version of the boogie woogie song, such as shake like the bear, swing like money, stomp like the elephant, flap like the bird, leap like the leopard and slither like the snake. Finally you have to sway.

The illustrations in the book are bold and colorful. There are children in the book hiding and dancing with the jungle animals. The children represent different cultures which encourages children to be friends with everyone.

This is my number one recommendation when ever a preschool or kindergarten teachers visits my stall. If you know a little one who likes dancing this is the book for them. Every time I have playgroup for my 3 going on 4 year old all her friends ask for the music.

The book and CD is just $9.99 in paperback (also available in hardback). There is an accompanying jigsaw puzzle also available. The book is also available in Spanish Cha-cha-cha en la selva. Please look at the product page of the animal boogie, there are 3 free down loadable
activities associated with the book including masks to make and party ideas.

Wordless Wednesday ♥ Learning to Kayak

I'm Giving another Cherish Bound business away!! Click here to enter at Skip To My Lou
For More Wordless Wednesday Visit www.5minutesformom.com

Another Business Giveaway & a few others...

Did you miss out on the last Cherish Bound Business Giveaway??

Well, the amazing Cindy over at Skip To My Lou is doing another one!!

Click here to check it out!

And 2 other giveaways I stumbled on today....

My favorite-favorite-favorite quote in vinyl lettering on tile....I really want this! Over at Hannah's Blog.

And a fanatic opportunity over at Not Entirely British to win free publicity in a new Internet magazine called MultipliCitymag.com That would be so awesome!

9-12 Project : Hope

Week 3 - Hope

Highlighting the 12 Values from Glenn Beck's 9-12 Project


“Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself... 'How did I get through all of that?”
-Author Unknown

Hope. Hope is believing and feeling that everything will be okay. To have hope is to have an expectation that all will be well. Many have lost hope. Look around. The idea of hope is becoming a rare commodity these days.

Lost hope in the eyes of a father who is desperate to find security for his waiting family. Lost hope in a mother's heart who tries to help her teen find their way home. Lost hope in a child who is longing for attention and love. Lost hope in the woman who waits for her life's calling. Lost hope in a generation that has become numb to the values and traditions that were practiced before them.

Hope is a value because life...quality living, cannot continue without it. Hope needs to be restored to bring back a sense of peace to our lives, our communities and our country. To hope for things is to not despair and to not give up. To hope means faith exists and where faith exists so does charity. And to embrace faith, hope and charity will ultimately bring happiness.

"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul-
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—

I've heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.

Emily Dickinson

COMING SOON... 9-12 Personal Project Journal!

Blog Makeover Giveaway WINNER!!

After compiling all the entries and extra entries for the Blog Makeover Giveaway #35 was picked by random.org and the winner is

Katie, Kevin and kids

Woo-hoo! Congrats Katie!! You're going to love working with Jen!

For those of you that didn't win, if you're interested in getting a blog makeover, visit Jen over at The Trendy Mommy Blog Designs. She'll fix your blog up beautifully for a very reasonable price! Check her out!

Family Yearbook Challenge 2009 - Week 12

If you're new to the Family Yearbook Challenge click HERE & then HERE

Don't forget to leave a comment and check in...I'm keeping track of all the comments posted in the Family YB Challenge for a big giveaway at the end of the year....so go back and check in each of the FYBC posts if you haven't done so.

Well, Spring Break in our home was filled with LOTS of adventure! Seems we were busy doing something the entire week...everyone in our family has great stories to share and captured photos to show the beautiful places that were visited!

If you noticed, I didn't post for FYC last week....I decided to give us the week off...you know, since the kids were off too ;O) So we have some catching up to do this week.

This weeks homework touches upon the Easter Holiday your Spring Break adventures.

Homework April 6 - April 19:

Easter: Whether you celebrate Easter as a religious holiday or as an excuse to get together with family, record your thoughts about what Easter means to you. Tell about your favorite Easter stories from the scriptures and how they've influenced your life. Record your sincere testimony of the Savior, and your love of family.

Spring Break: So.....what did you do? What places did you go? What people did you see? Did you enjoy the lack of schedule or just being lazy? Catch any get photos of your kids or the places you visited?

Now COPY and paste any photos that you have that go with these events and questions into a new folder titled April. If you'd like to rename the photos you can with Apr 1, Apr 2, Apr 3, and so on and so on. If you have any memorabilia that is NOT digital, scan and save as a jpg. minimum 300 dpi to your April folder, named and labeled. If you have "story" you can hand write it or "type" it into a document and save in the same folder.

Kingdom Chaos - Weekend Edition 4

Spring Break was full of adventure! The best part...everything was right here, close to home! As a family, we were only together on Easter Sunday; however, that didn't stop us from having a wonderful (much needed) break!

Break for us...started on the Gulf of Mexico...

T-Rex and Coop were there...somewhere...but they have their own cameras and took their own pictures...so haven't seen those yet...I'll post those soon.

Z-Man and Shrek took a boys only camping trip to the Little Manatee River

Me and the girls headed off to see Legally Blonde...the Musical! It was amazing!

Easter was wonderful...

We spent the morning at church and the afternoon celebrating this wonderful season and remembering our Savior. Z-man and Tornado were sportin' their ties...that I made! Yes, I pulled out the 2 ties the night before, and Hurricane's dress the week before. Mr. Bunny happened to show up...again, the pictures are missing the teens. They got some stylish purses and were off to fill them with their junk! I realized after I downloaded all the Bunny Festivities that my little ones were all in their underwear and diapers...practically naked....so there's only a few pictures of those. And we started a new tradition...instead of the ham and scalloped potato thing...again, we decided to do Brunch. We did a LATE brunch...around 5pm. What would we call that? I made Creme Brulee French Toast, Hash brown Quiche and Eggs Benedict. YUMMY! We're paying for it though...lots of full tummies.

2 shots of the kids...can never get them all looking at once.

Coop and T-Rex also attended their annual Girls Camp for church...again, no pictures for me yet. I went up and saw them on Friday. I had dinner with them and all the girls that I teach at church and then stayed for the devotionals. It was a beautiful place out in Apopka, Florida...just beautiful! The spirit their was amazing, the girls were having the best time ever...and to make it even more exciting... BEARS! Yes, the Florida Black Bear was having a heyday tormenting these girls....slightly dangerous...but to hear 120 teen girls screaming...the Bears never had a chance. And I did get to see one! He was grubb'n down on the trash that SOMEONE left on the steps near the gathering hall.... CRAZY! Pictures to follow of their camp adventures.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend and Spring Break!