Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker

"Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site"  is a wonderful picture book for boys and girls who love big machinery. The author tells a story of how after a long hard day of "rough and tough construction play" it is time for the machines to "end their fun" and go to bed. As each machine ends their day and prepares for bed; readers get to say goodnight creating just the right atmosphere for bedtime.

The illustrations are fantastic. Using a muted color palette, the illustrator created a world with a classic old fashion feel. I love the attention to detail - from the crane with a nightlight to the cement truck getting a bedtime bath.

Between the cute story, and beautiful illustrations this book has it all!

I did something this morning that said that I'd never do...

...rescue kittens...

I'm not a cat person. Growing up we had several indoor house cats. That experience cured me of ever wanting a cat for my own. I don't like the smell of cats, kitty litter, kitty food and or claw marks on furniture!

While walking this morning, Lucas and I heard tiny pitiful mewing sounds coming from an orange tree that we were passing by. Looking up, I saw two kittens about six to eight weeks old clinging to the thin branches of the tree. As much as I don't like cats, I couldn't leave the kittens. I stopped the stroller, reached up in the tree and pulled the kittens free. Lucas was thrilled to be rescuing kittens! He firmly believes that firefighters have two jobs - to fight fires and to rescue kittens.

As the kittens follow us home all I could think about was...

"What am I doing!?"
"What is Richard going to say"
"Am I crazy?"
"I wonder if my sister will want some kittens?"

Now I'm stuck trying to figure out what to do with two adorable kittens. Our neighbor gave me a list of places that might shelter the kittens. However, currently they have made my backyard their home. Our dog is curious, but cautious. Full size cats scare him.

I'm hoping my post on facebook will entice a kitty friendly family or individual  to adopt the kittens.

Any takers? They are cuties! 

Alara's birth story

Our home has grown by two feet. I'm excited to announce the birth of our daughter - Alara Elizabeth Harrison. She was born June 6th, at 12:24 am. She weighted 6 lbs 9 oz. She is beautiful, with ten perfect little fingers and ten perfect little toes.

In my last week of pregnancy, I honestly didn't think Alara would ever come! I was overdue by five days and getting anxious. At my weekly appointments, I remained consistently dilated between one to two centimeters, never progressing more than that. I started taking extra long walks hoping to speed things up. 

Friday evening I started getting contractions about 20-30 minutes apart. I causally mentioned this to my husband, and we both agreed not to panic and wait to see if the contractions get closer and stronger. About an hour later, I was having contractions about 10-15 minutes apart. By then I knew that this was the real deal, but we waited until my contractions were about 5 minutes apart before heading to the hospital at 11 pm. 

The plan was to have an epidural. However, Alara had other plans. By the time I was hooked up to the monitors, administered IV's and had my blood drawn it was to late for an epidural. My water finally broke and Alara was born. 

After Alara was born, the midwife immediately placed her skin to skin on my chest. I had completely forgotten how wonderful it is to snuggle with a newborn. She nursed for the first time and latched like a champ, which was a big relief after my experience with nursing Lucas as a newborn. 

The next morning, Dadi and Dada brought Lucas to meet his new baby sister. So far his transition from only child to big brother has been smooth. 

I don't want to jinks it, but Alara has been such a good natured baby.

I know that the next couple of weeks will be challenging.   We are adjusting from being a family of three to a family of four. However, I wouldn't change it for anything. Welcome to our family Alara, we are blessed to have you and can't wait to see what the future holds. 

Updated Nursery Tour

Updated Nursery Tour

Just before Alara's baby shower I posted pictures of the nursery. Since then I've update her room. I've added frames above the dresser, covered an old bulletin board with coordinating fabric, and moved in the new changing table. 

Now I'm so excited to share it with you - I love how everything turned out! 

the waiting game...or confessions of a venting pregnant mamma...

I've made it to the end of 38 weeks and still no sign of baby Alara's grand arrival. I'd post a picture of my pregnant self, but honestly I'm not in the mood to photograph my large protruding stomach, round face, swollen hands and feet and out of shape thighs. I'm not a fan of being pregnant and I'm looking forward to putting these days behind me.

I'm not trying to sound ungrateful about the little one growing inside of me. I'm beyond thankful that I have a healthy baby girl on the way. However, I'm tired, my back is sore, my hips are sore, and if I have to hear my husband make beeping sounds (the kind that semi trucks make when backing up) I might just loose it!

...And I've been having nightmares of my water breaking somewhere public! For an example...in the middle of the grocery store...or maybe at Target...

I'm ready to hold my baby girl.

I'm ready to kiss her cheeks.

 I'm ready to rock her to sleep.

I'm ready.

To keep myself busy, I've been nesting like crazy! I've done more Goodwill runs this past week then I've done in the last several months. I've been trying to think projects that I should try and finish before Alara's arrival. I've put the finishing touches on Alara's nursery, I've cleaned up the front yard, trimmed wayward plants, pulled weeds, walked the dog, cleaned out the closets and worked on reorganizing several of our random cupboards.

I'm ready.

The Day the Crayons Quit written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Lucas received this cute quirky picture book for his 3rd birthday. It's now one of his favorite bedtime/nap time books. By the end of the last page, he is already asking for more. He enjoys the bright colorful illustrations and short text. It takes about seven to ten minutes to read this book - depending on how long he wants to look/talk about each page. Perfect for our bedtime routine and my 3 year old's short attention span.

While googling information on the author and illustrator, I found that this book had many negative reviews. Everything from whiny crayons, racist intentions on the authors part (in particular with the Peach and Beige crayons), and a possible plagiarism charge.

How much of this is simply adults reading into/over-analyzing The Day the Crayons Quit?  I'm not sure?

I have enjoyed reading this book. The illustrations are fantastic. I love the details Jeffers puts into his artwork. I think half of this book's success comes from the illustrations. The letters to Duncan are hysterical. Each crayon has something to say - some are upset, some have been used to much or too little, some some are in disputes with one another, and some just want to let Duncan know that he is doing a fantastic job. 

Wordless Wednesday