ToT: What are you reading?

This week we are talking about what we are reading at the moment.  Since this group is composed of busy, busy women (still waiting for our first male member to join), you may see all sorts of things being read in these posts.  It can be children's books, magazines, newspaper articles, blog entries, facebook posts, or even a podcast. I have to say that normally, I would be all over this with some wonderful books, but my reading has kind of been put on the back burner lately, so I'm going to have to be creative with this topic.

I've been reading a lot of children's books lately.  My kids received some books for Christmas, so we've been reading those every night before bedtime.  We have decided to introduce them to some classics that my husband and I loved growing up.  The first one we introduced was, "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter Yarrow and Eric Puybaret.  My daughter was not that taken with it, but my son loves it.  He loves to sing the words. We also gave him, "Where the Wild Things Are"by Maurice Sendak.  That was was not so much a hit with either kid.  I think they may not be old enough for this book, yet.  It scares them a little bit.  Finally, my daughter loves the "Pinkalicious" books written by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann.  She received Pinkalicious, Silverlicious, Purplicious, and Goldilicious for Christmas.  I have to say her favorite is the first book, "Pinkalicious" with "Silverlicious" being a close second.  My son even finds "Silverlicious" entertaining.  We've read the "Pinkalicious" book so many times that Mia has it memorized. I can not forget to mention, my son received the "Lego Star Wars Minifigures Ultimate Sticker Collection" for Christmas.  It's a book with over 1000 reusable stickers.  There are pages with the outline of a Lego minifigure, and you have to find the sticker that matches the outline. My kids both love this book.  They do very well at taking turns finding and matching stickers.  Sam just recently got another copy for his birthday, so he very kindly passed down the old one to Mia.  I just thought that was so nice.

Although I have not had time to read many books lately, there are a few other things that I read on a weekly or daily basis.  I enjoy reading our local paper, "The Current in Fishers,"  and the Indy Living section of "The Indianapolis Star."  Sometimes I will also read the Metro/State section of the star, if it has an article that looks interesting.  We also receive "The Catholic Moment," which is the newspaper for our diocese. I usually have these three items sitting on the kitchen table by my seat.  I read them while I eat breakfast and lunch.  I find they are easy to read when the kids are around because I can pause mid-story and come back to it if need be.  I can also usually finish the Current or the Catholic Moment in a day.  I look forward to these papers coming in the mail each week to help me keep up to date with what's going on in my community.  I also like that the majority of the stories in these papers have a positive spin, as opposed to watching the local or national news where nearly every story leaves you wondering what's wrong with the world we live in?

Another book that I read on a weekly basis is called, "Real Moms...Real Jesus:Meet the Friend Who Understands" by Jill Savage.  We are reading this book in my mom's group.  The title might turn people away, but I find it's a great resource to have as a mother.  I enjoy reading it because of how the book is structured. Each chapter has a "perspective" section that sort of sets the stage as to what topic the chapter will cover. It gives you time to think on the topic before diving in.  The chapter itself usually contains antidotes from the author's life, stories from the bible, and excerpts from other books.  I find that I get a lot of reassurance about the tough feelings or situations that moms can be faced with.  It makes me feel sane to know that other women experience a lot of the same feelings, emotions, and struggles that I go through, and gives me some helpful tools and tidbits to use when these feelings or struggles happen. While writing this post, I just learned that the author graduated from Butler, which is kind of cool.

I do have some blogs that I follow on a regular basis. I don't get to read them everyday, but if I have a spare (ha ha ha!!) minute, I'll check in on the following blogs. (I won't list the other ToT ladies' blogs because it goes without saying that I read those.)

http://allthechicthings.blogspot.com/ : This blog, All The Chic Things, is written by one of my close friends.  She talks about fashion, vacations, food, home decor, all kinds of great things.  I love the images that she posts, and enjoy reading what she has to say. She also links up with a few other bloggers, and I enjoy reading those posts as well.

http://thedaintydaisyblog.blogspot.com/ The Dainty Daisy is a blog written by a woman that writes her own crochet patterns. You can find her on facebook and check out her store on Etsy.  I'm not sure how I stumbled on to this blog, but I love to crochet, and I found her story inspiring. She runs a nonprofit that makes hats for her local hospital's NICU.  She makes mostly preemie hats, but others as well.  She donates the hats. She has also received a ton of support from her readers, and they in turn have donated hats as well.  The nonprofit is Rosie's Cozies. Right now she is asking for volunteers to make and donate hats that look like animals.  She has some adorable patterns up. Visit her blog to learn more. 

Finally, the last blog I will mention is called The Pleated Poppy. I think I found this blog when I was trying to sew something, and I googled easy sewing projects, or something like that. I found a tutorial on how to create a crayon roll for kids to use to carry their crayons around. I really liked the tutorial, and have also enjoyed reading the blog. She has a post that she does every Wednesday called, "What I'm Wearing Wednesday." I've debated on linking up with her because it's such a cool idea. You take a pic of what you are wearing that day to sort of hold you accountable for not dressing like a slob, or more nicley put, for taking pride in what you look like. We will see if I ever get the drive to join.  The Pleated Poppy also has a store where she sells scarves, sunglasses cases, purses, and of course pleated poppies (flower shaped pins). I wish I had as much talent and drive as this lady. I just saw a recent post when she had a craft weekend with some of her girlfriends, and it looked so much fun. She's also on Facebook.

So, there you have it. A snapshot of some of the things that I'm reading.  I do have two books that have been sitting in my room since this summer, just begging to be read.  They are, "Those Who Save Us" by Jenna Blume and "Bridge of Scarlet Leaves" by Kristina McMorris. Hopefully I can get to them soon.  So, what do you find yourself reading these days? If you are looking for a good read, check out what the other ToT bloggers have to say this week.