I began last week as the mother of a kindergartner and a third grader. And then I ended the week with a first and fourth grader.

At this time of year, I find it necessary to ignore all the well meaning writing teachers who tell me not to use cliches.

Where does the time go?

It was only yesterday.

Time flies.

But really…

One day last week, as the girls and I were walking home from school, they asked if they could walk the rest of the way on their own. With a big sigh, I acknowledged that they were ready to do just that.

The blurry picture above is of the girls, headed home, without me.

The future walking ahead of me.

And then just as I was getting a bit sad about the whole thing, I was brought back to reality. Before these little girls are truly grown, I will have to make it through ‘tweendom’ and teenage-hood.

Caroline became furious that we ended up walking the last block together. She thought I didn’t trust her. That I didn’t think she was grown up enough. Somehow, my big grown up girl neglected to realize that if you are both going to the same place, the end of your walk will be together.

Perhaps there’s a cliche in that too…

Amanda Ellberry hates her 11th birthday the first  time around.  Her best friend, Stephanie leaves her party to go to Leo Fiztgerald’s party and stays there. Leo is Amanda’s ex-best friend and he and Amanda haven’t spoken in a year. Amanda is too tired to open her presents and she goes straight to bed. As she’s tyring to go to sleep Amanda thinks to herself, well at least I only have to go through this horrible day once. Right? Right? Amanda wakes up in the morning and realizes she does have to go through this horrible day again, in fact she was to go through this day many more times. However, Amanda does find a way to make each and every day intresting and different… Can Amanda find a way to figure out what’s going on and put a stop to all this nonsense??

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading books about characters who start off their day with an everday life and start the next one with a twist of fantasy.

However, I am a person who never reads fantasy and I absolutley loved this book!

I can relate to this book because things don’t always go the way I think they will…

-written by Caroline

Introducing a Summer Series called Caroline’s Reviews.

Our eight (almost nine!) year old, Caroline has been very interested in my blog for a long time. Tonight, I suggested that she could start writing book reviews for me. Wow. She sure jumped at the chance and did an awesome job too. If you are the commenting type, I know she’d love to hear what you have to say…

My Extra Best Friend is the latest of Julie Bowe‘s Friends for Keeps series.

Ida May is going to sleep away camp! She is so excited! All her friends from school are going too! Stacey, Jenna, Brooke, Meeka, and Jolene. Well,you might be wondering, who is the extra best friend? Well, you’re about to find out! Everyone arrives at camp and are trying to figure out who the other girls in their cabin are.  Well, it turns out one girl from her     cabin, CC broke her arm severely and can’t come. However, the other girl is at camp and ready for it! Liz, the other girl from their cabin turns out to be Ida’s old best friend, Elizabeth    Evans. Now sleepover camp for Ida, is not about having fun with her friends, but about dealing with them?? Will Ida find a way to stay friends with Jenna and Stacey and recreate a friendship with Elizabeth?

I can relate to this series of books because I have been through similar situations that Ida has been through.

I would recommend this series of books to people who enjoy  reading books about characters who go through real situations and problems.

– Written by Caroline

So if you are my age or younger or the parent of someone my age or younger or pretty much a whole lot of people, you will remember Reading Rainbow fondly. What an amazingly awesome show it was.

And now it is an amazingly awesome app.

Katherine and I downloaded it this morning and we were able to go on a tour of a submarine and hear an Anansi the Spider book without leaving the couch.

Levar Burton remains the host and he sounds exactly the same. If I closed my eyes I could have been in my childhood home. He reads the books and takes children, via video, on amazing adventures in just the same way that he did when I was young.

The difference is all the coolness happens on the iPad. And it’s more interactive.

There are two downsides that I do have to mention.

One is that all the press claims that the app is free but in order to get more than one book you need to sign up for a subscription. They are running a great special right now though so the cost is very reasonable for what you get.

The other major problem is that the app is crashing on the original iPad. Apparently though the app is so cool that Katherine dealt with all the stopping and starting for quite awhile before she decided she had had enough. Hopefully, this problem is being fixed behind the scenes as I type because I can’t wait to explore more books.

So… if you have a more recent version of the iPad, go immediately to the iTunes store and if your iPad is a bit older, wait a day or two and then go immediately to the iTunes store. The Reading Rainbow app is not to be missed.

is worth a thousand words. This night stand used to be covered with Pokemon cards, dirty socks and a Nintendo DS. Now look at it! Although it is starting to look like a hoarder lives in his room it is still a great sight to see. He has 6-7 books going at one time depending on his “mood” and this morning I literally heard myself say “Andrew, put the book down and eat your breakfast!” Who is this kid???

-Andrew’s Mom

There are so many cool things about this video that I don’t really know where to start… Perhaps a list.

1. Caroline called my attention to it. I love that she knows what I would love.

2. It is timely. Who doesn’t love a video about Lebron James right now.

3. Lebron James is reading. A lot. And talking about it in public. And motivating his team- mates to read. And crediting his time reading with his current domination on the court.

4. I was able to successfully post it to my blog.

Enough said. Please watch.

We had a busy weekend around here. A four soccer game kind of busy weekend. As I sat down to write a blog post, I thought I might take the easy route and post this great picture of Rob and Katherine with a quote about dads and reading.

Instead, I found a super alarming statistic.

One study out of Modesto, California, showed: (1) boys who were read to by their fathers scored significantly higher in reading achievement; and (2) where fathers read recreationally themselves, their sons read more and scored higher than did boys whose fa- thers did little or no recreational reading. When the dads were surveyed, only 10 per- cent reported having fathers who read to them when they were children. 

-www.trelease-on-reading.com

Only 10 percent of dads reported having fathers who read to them as children. Yet boys (and I would assume girls as well) are better readers when their dads read to them.

I know in our house, I do most of the reading. It’s just the way it shakes out. After reading about this study, however, I know it is time to switch up responsibilities for awhile. I bet we will all learn some interesting things along the way…

I’m not sure how a puppy as cute as ours (see above if you think I’m exaggerating) could be driving us nuts but she is. Daisy will turn one next month so I am feeling all my “but she’s a puppy” excuses nearing their expiration date. She is still jumping, still chewing, still eating anything that’s not bolted to the floor.  I am always her staunchest supporter, reminding others of what a love she really is but even my resolve is fading a tad.

If Daisy knew to be grateful she would be thrilled that Homer by Elisha Cooper landed on our doorstep yesterday.

I challenge even the non-dog lovers out there to read this book and not love the next dog they see. Homer sits on his family porch as his family goes about their busy life around him. This book has it all. Simple text for young readers. Gorgeous illustrations. A deeper message about home and family for those who are seeking such.

I will be giving this book as a birthday gift, a hostess gift, a housewarming gift and as a gift to our home. It is one of those books…

And a thank you to Jules of the amazing Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast for introducing me to Homer as she wrote about him on her Kirkus blog.

We’ve had a busy few days around here…

First, Katherine danced in her ballet recital.

Caroline has been in two dance classes and recitals and I really thought I disliked the whole dance thing. Turns out I dislike being the mom of a little girl who is dancing but doesn’t like it. What I love is being the mom of a little girl who adores to dance. Katherine danced beautifully and more importantly had so much fun on stage. Watching her grin throughout her dance was joyful for all around her.

And then there was the kindergarten concert.

Katherine was a narrator and a dancing cherry blossom. Again, she loved every minute of her time performing. Katherine had no problem learning her lines and showed minimal nervousness before taking the stage. And again, she smiled and smiled.

And then, Katherine was a graduate. And this was the best picture I could find. Not enough singing and dancing apparently.

While Katherine went to our public school’s kindergarten this year, their program is half day so she was able to enjoy the last year of her Montessori pre-school as well. And after spending three years in their program, she was a kindergarten graduate. Cap and gown and diploma and all. The graduates even entered the room to Pomp and Circumstance.

Prior to the graduation, the students had been asked to record their future profession. As each graduate came up to accept their diploma, the director of the school shared the children’s wishes with the audience.

“And next up is Katherine Loscalzo. When she grows up, Katherine wants to be a nail salonist.”

Well, maybe it’s ok that Katherine likes ballet recitals and shows more than graduations. This might be her last one until beauty school…

As I read this month’s House Beautiful, I will admit that my eye was initially drawn to the large, round dining table. I love the idea of a round dining table, welcoming and inviting both quiet conversation with those next to you and ‘all play’ conversations with the whole group. But then my eyes drifted up to bookcases. Bookcases that appear to be filling empty space. While I love empty space as much as the next guy, I love book cases more.

And then there’s this one…

They did it in the kitchen too…

Needless to say, each of these pictures will be glued into my sketch book filled with decorating ideas.

And now I’m off to find empty spaces. Perhaps there is room for some more bookcases here after all…