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Monday, October 6, 2008

Monday, Monday ...

Hi all. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful weekend.

Now we are back into our Monday routines ... and as I update this blog today, I feel as though I have a bunch of "loose ends" to tie up as well as some special "announcements".

* First, congrats to Mitzi over at My Artful Spirit for winning my surprise giveaway from last week. I will be sending her some handmade goodies asap. Thank you all for participating, and please let me know if you win any of the giveaways that I posted from other blogs. I will be posting more again soon ( I hope to make it a weekly habit).

* Secondly, I won a giveaway! Tara, over at Tara's View of the World, hosted a giveaway for the Good for The Kids online shop. The prize was a $50 gift certificate. Not bad, eh? I was so excited, as that shop is full of great wooden toys for my Isaac. I spent the gift certificate right away ... and was able to purchase 5 really nice items because they are having a GREAT sale right now. I encourage everyone to drop by. Enjoy.

* Also, (and perhaps this should have been my first bit of news), we sold our house! In less than 5 days. My realtor rocks. The closing is Nov. 7th ... and then I'm going on a shopping spree. Okay, not really. But I do have my eye on another camera. The new D90. And there is always good use for my money over at Haitian Roots.

* Speaking of Haiti, I haven't forgotten those school bags that I was seeking donations for. They are still very much in the "works". Sadly, Halis was unable to go to Haiti this fall (as we had hoped) so we are looking for someone else to bring them to the children who need them. We are working on it. We are no longer in need of donations --- thank you to all who participated. I will let you know when these goodies make it to Haiti.

* I just got word today that after several chemo treatments, etc ... my uncle is cancer free. Alleluia! (Nic - if you are reading this, please give your Dad a kiss from me :)

* And finally, I am excited to announce that I have opened my own little Amazon.com shop. This store includes many of the books, cds, dvds, and other items that I have reviewed or recommended in the pages of this blog. As I have mentioned before, when you make a purchase from Amazon using a link or links from my blog, my family gets a 4% return in the form of gift certificates that we use for homeschool products. We are so thankful to be able to do this - and honored that some of you have chosen to do your Amazon shopping through us. Thank you.

The link to the store will always be on the right hand side bar of this blog. And there is another link just under that for items you are searching for that may not be in my shop. Using either link will earn our family *much appreciated* credit with Amazon. Thank you, thank you.


I hope you all enjoy your Monday. Don't forget to take a walk outside if/when possible. I hope to be out there too.

Love,
Jodi

Friday, October 3, 2008

The Sisters Grimm.

If you don't know by now, I am a lover of children's literature ... especially the fairy tale variety. And I am a HUGE fan of the "series" ... you know ... books that come out in a chronological order ... tales that build upon one another ... tales where characters are so well constructed that they begin to feel like family. I read every Harry Potter book (who didn't really?), every one of the "A Series of Unfortunate Events" novels, and several in between. Now, I am hooked on "The Sisters Grimm"... and for good reason.

These books are ingenious. Imagine throwing every childhood fairy tale character into their own little town ... where they cannot leave from ... mix in some human neighbors ... force the "everafters" (that's what fairy tale characters are called) to try to lead normal lives (Snow White is a teacher, the Three Pigs are all policeman, etc.) ... and let the chaos ensue. It is hilarious, adventurous, and a trip back into my own childhood fantasies.

The Sisters Grimm ... and their whole Grimm family ... serve as fairy tale detectives in this crazy little town. I don't want to give anything away, so I will just leave it at that. These tales are told from their perspective. Each story unravels a mystery... and perhaps I am a little naive, but I do not see the endings coming. They each have their own little twist that keeps them fresh and exciting.

I highly recommend these books for independant readers ages 8 and up. Or for parent/child bedtime readings for the younger child. Knowledge of basic fairy tales is not totally essential (Jack & the Beanstalk, The Three Bears, Snow White, etc) but will make the stories all the more fun and interesting.

The author gives some great commentary at the end of the books, as well as questions/answers about the reading and offerings of additional information regarding fairy tales around the world. Good stuff.

And - of course - I highly recommend this series for those adults who are young at heart. Just read the reviews on Amazon.com. They are mostly written by adults who have enjoyed these books right along with their kids. Gives you and the kids that much more to chat about ... and to relate to.

At $5.95 each - they are well worth the investment. ENJOY!

Love,
Jodi

P.S. Please remember that if you do wish to purchase these books through Amazon.com, you can do so through the little Amazon.com box to the right of my blog. By using my link, Isaac will earn 4% of your sales in gift certificates that he and I can use toward his homeschooling books. THANK YOU!