I love Todd Parr

My boys have been surrounded by books their entire lives.  As small toddlers and even now they can be found sitting for hours in front of a bookcase with books surrounding them.  On rainy/cold weather days we will read curled up on the sofa or in one of their beds until I call it quits because my voice goes hoarse.  One of my all time favorite children's authors is Todd Parr.  We have owned almost all of his books, passing along titles to friends only because we had the board book version (also referred to as "baby books" in my house).  Recently we revisited a few at the library and I fell in love all over again with We Belong Together.  It is such a beautiful and simple story about adoption and how there are different types of families, even families with 2 dads and 2 moms!  Another personal favorite is The Family Book.  Todd is an amazing author, his books use simple images with resonating text that tackles issues like race, acceptance of gay and lesbian families, and environmental issues.  The books teach kids that it's natural for there to be more than one way to exist in the world and many ways to feel while existing, the lessons I want my children to learn in life. 
Each book has a message at the end from Todd, like this one:

Peace is being different, feeling good about yourself, and helping others. The world is a better place because of YOU!

Love,

Todd

If you haven't added one of his books to your children's bookcase I highly recommend all of his titles.  Check them out here on Amazon.     

Elf on a Shelf

We are starting a new Christmas tradition this year and I am so excited about it. Meet Happy, our Elf on a Shelf.  You can pick up your very own Elf on a Shelf at any Barnes and Noble. And click here to print a 30% off coupon!  

From their website:
The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is an activity the entire family will enjoy. Based on the tradition Carol Aebersold began with her family in the 1970s, this cleverly rhymed children's book explains that Santa knows who is naughty and/or nice because he sends a scout elf to every home. During the holiday season, the elf watches children by day and reports to Santa each night. When children awake, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be found hiding in a different location. This activity allows The Elf on the Shelf to become a delightful hide-and-seek game.

We read the story last night and as a family we came up with our elf's name, Happy.  The boys went to bed thinking about Happy and in the morning they sprung out of bed ready to look for him. They searched high and low and eventually found him on the dining room chandelier. I will say that they were both disappointed that he wasn't real, which I found extremely surprising that they thought he would be.  While eating breakfast Zane asked "why does Happy have a price tag coming out of his butt?"  Of course I quickly made up a lie saying that that is his name tag and says he is from the north pole.  So make a mental note to remove your elf's care tag.  Find out where Happy appears by following me on twitter. I hope you enjoy your Elf on a Shelf as much as we do!

My love of Self Help Books

I have a love affair with self help books. And I know I am not the only one cause that section in the bookstore is huge. Crazy...scary huge. Every once in a while I feel like I need to recharge, get connected again spiritually with myself.
Pull back and tune in.
Sometimes I start a book and then don't finish it, abandoning it until the need to connect arises again. All summer I've been reading I Will Not Die an Unlived Life and trust me it's not a huge book that it takes all summer, I've just chosen to take my time with it. To honestly think about each chapter and digest it. I like that the author, Dawna Markova, is also asking herself the same questions she asks of the reader. She is on the journey with you, sharing her experience of reconnecting with herself while on a writer's retreat.
If you are feeling the calling to set life aside for a bit and reconnect with your spirit, to reclaim purpose and passion...pick up this book, it will fuel you.

Leo the Late Bloomer- Book Review

We recently checked out this book at the library and I fell in love with it. I love the overall message. The main character is Leo and while all of his friends are writing neatly, reading and talking quietly, Leo has yet to master these skills. Of course while reading it I think of Logan and how he feels as school with everyone around him writing neatly and cutting in straight lines. Eventually when no one is looking Leo blossoms and someday Logan will too.

An Animal Encyclopedia is a MUST HAVE for every house

One of the things I find so fascinating about autism is how obsessed with a subject matter kids on the spectrum become. Logan has gone through many interesting subject matters, and when he is interested in something he dives head first. One of our recent interests was butterflies. He had to know everything there was about the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. Currently he has moved on to spiders. We read books about spiders, watch movies and pretend play we are spiders. While at Borders, in the bargain section, I recently stumbled upon this awesome Animal Encyclopedia. Sadly I can't find it anywhere online but I'm sure this one is just as good though I haven't seen it for myself. An animal encyclopedia is a perfect coffee table book to have out all the time, in our house the boys can look up an animal and we then curl up on the couch and read cool facts. So if you have some kids that you need to buy gifts for, skip the plastic crap made in china and head to the book store. If a child is past reading board books, I would suggest buying an animal encyclopedia book. Any child, boy or girl from ages 3 -10 years old will find something that interests them and it may spark a bit of family time too.