Wee Readers: Stuart Little

So remember when the boys and I had our first book celebration after reading Charlotte's Web together last summer? Well, shortly after, we completed Stuart Little by E.B. White and we finally got around to celebrating last week.  Obviously we read a lot in our house on a daily basis but my intention for these parties is to make them similar to a children's book club and keep our focus on literary classics and chapter books. As an English major, introducing these stories to the boys is such a thrill!

They recently watched the Stuart Little film so it was a good time to revisit the friendship of Stuart and Margalo as well as Stuart's adventurous and determined personality. Luke also reminded me that we never had our Stuart Little book party so I got on it in a flash!

I admit we didn't love the story near as much as Charlotte's Web and the ending kinda left us wondering, "That's it? Where's the rest of the story?" Nevertheless, we still enjoyed Stuart's mature and thoughtful outlook on life as well as his adventures in little sailboats and fast blue cars.

For our "book club party" I surprised the boys with cheese sandwiches because what mouse doesn't like cheese? 

And as a tribute to Stuart's sailing adventure, these blue Jello cups with whipped cream and a peach sailboat were a huge hit with the boys.

We also enjoyed root beer which was the closest thing I could come to sarsaparilla which Stuart Little orders while passing through "the loveliest of towns."

It was Luke's first time trying root beer and I think he was more excited about the striped straw and vintage bottle than the actual drink. 

As for the rest of the summer, we're making our way through our summer reading list for 1st grade and are almost finished with The Adventures of Robin Hood  .  How about you?  Did your kiddos come home with a summer reading list?  I'd also love to hear your suggestions for our next book !

At Your Service

Buy it here! 

Want to know the best way to unite a group of people?  You gather them.  You cook for them.  You feed them.  Everyone's happy.  See how easy that is?  

The Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton Counties here in Georgia asked me to review their cookbook "At Your Service" and I'm thrilled to share it with you today.  First let me say, this book is full of southern recipes that are tried and true.  The ones our grandmothers loved and kept on scratch paper or better yet, in their heads.  There's something so comforting about these traditional recipes that continually show up at celebrations, holidays and family gatherings.  

In addition to these recipes, the book also contains helpful hints like "the difference between a bundt pan and a tube pan" and "how to make a bread bowl."  It also provides suggestions for stocking your pantry, quick fix appetizers and menu ideas for events like tailgating or a garden brunch.  "At Your Service" is certainly a southern classic that would be a great addition to any cookbook collection.   

To top it all off, "At Your Service" is a hardback cookbook with a gorgeous watercolor cover by Georgia artist, Elaine Jackson.  This book would be a lovely hostess gift or a Christmas gift and can easily be purchased here.  It's currently in its second printing and won't be available forever so hurry over to grab your copy now.  All proceeds help fund local community projects of the Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton Counties!

Thanks ladies for allowing me to review and treasure "At Your Service." I look forward to using it in my own kitchen and handing it down for future generations to enjoy too!

Wee Readers: Charlotte's Web

If you saw my post yesterday, you know that Luke and I finished reading our first chapter book together this summer.  Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White, was an obvious choice for me and while Luke was a little unsure about reading a book with no pictures, he always begged to read more at the end of each chapter.  I promised Luke that at the end of each chapter book, we would have a fun little book party.  Kinda like a kiddie book club! I kept it simple, using kid friendly snacks and decorations from around the house. He absolutely adored it and we're hoping to start our next book soon.  Here's the details for our Charlotte's Web party....

I had these denim and bandana place mats from ages ago and they were perfect for our party.

 I found these small metal pails and pink pigs in the dollar section at target.  My only purchase for this party!

Snack food was popcorn, white chocolate and pretzel spiderwebs and good ol' H20.

He loved the chocolate spider webs, which were super easy to make.  Keep reading for some tips!

Gathered up a few farm animals and a tractor for a quick centerpiece and we were ready for our mini book club.

I admit, I personally loved this book, even though I cried like a baby at the end.  (Luke got a little teary eyed too.)  When we finished, we talked about things like friendship, making judgements, loyalty and ironically, the food chain.  Luke loved how Fern was so loyal to Wilbur and I'm 99.9% sure that he will never eat a piece of bacon again.  We also have an ENORMOUS spider web on our back deck that he refuses to let me destroy.  That spider is really living the high life!

So now that I've started this little "Wee Readers Book Club," do you have any suggestions for our next book?  I'm open to ideas so throw some out to me pretty please!

Wanna read Charlotte's Web too?  Here's a great Charlotte's Web teaching resource for helping your kids get the most out of the novel.  Happy reading!

Tips for spiderwebs:

• line baking sheet with wax paper
• lay out pretzel sticks in a circular pattern
• melt white chocolate (I use Bakers squares) and place in a piping bag with small circular tip
• pipe chocolate in a circular pattern, then in between pretzel sticks and in the center of the circle
• place baking sheets in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and allow chocolate to harden
• when ready, gently peel webs from wax paper and enjoy.

A Change in the Weather

What happened here in Georgia while I was vacationing over Labor Day weekend?  When I left last Friday for the beach, it was warm and sunny and now I've returned to much cooler temps that have me scurrying to find some warmer clothes!

Weather has a funny way of toying with us humans, doesn't it?  While we enjoyed the time spent with family on our beach vacation, I could have done without the visit from Hurricane Lee.  I also could have done without the 24 hour stomach virus, 103.6 temperature and late night goose chase for an urgent care on a holiday weekend for this little guy.

I always say he loves to be the center of attention and he proved he would not be outdone by a measly hurricane!  He totally bounced back the next morning but I swear I gained a few more wrinkles.

Here's the view of the pool that we were able to use the first two days....thank God I brought the Legos!

We also found some other small pleasures to keep us busy....

And of course played around with the camera some too.  There may or may not have been champagne involved in this stunt.

I also gave into all the hype and am now halfway through this book.  Have any of you read it yet or seen the movie?  Thoughts...opinions?

I hope ya'll had a great weekend!

What's on your Bookshelf?

 (Sunset view from my Aunt Marty's porch 6/29/2008)
You can learn a lot about someone just by looking at their bookshelf.  I'm not talking about those bookshelves in tour homes where the literature is all handpicked for staging purposes.  I want to know what you've personally read or what you're hoping to read.  My Aunt Marty has the most extensive personal library I have ever seen.  I'm pretty sure it rivals her local public library.  It's pretty amazing to think that her brain has absorbed much of what sits on those shelves.  That's probably why she's one of the most interesting and witty people I know.  So I got to thinking, what would my bookshelf say about me?  I'll let you decide.  Here's fifteen books sitting on my shelf, not including my Bible, various travel guides and of course my collection of cookbooks.