Also I started reading some great books and so when I had a few minutes free time I was devouring them. Have you read the Septimus Heap books yet? They are really entertaining. I really like how they flow so smoothly between each character’s perspective.

I also started working on a Christmas present for my kids. It is more work then I thought it would be but I think they will really like it. I have been using ideas from these sites.

http://laurathoughts81.blogspot.com/2011/06/quiet-book-week-summary-template.html

http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/09/quiet-book-makes-its-debut.html

So far  I made pages for the night and day, an ice cream scoop page, a road page, a clock and an abacus. I am hoping to also make a dress the doll page, a name page for each kid, and some Bible stories scenes.

Have you started making any Christmas gifts this year?

Arora's rainbow phoenix

We checked a book out from the library called  1 2 3 draw mythical creatures . Arora loved it. We generally ask arora what she wants to do with a piece of art when she is done with it. Trash it, or hang it up. Most of the time it is hang it up.

our gallery

The other day Ender was coloring next to us as I was showing Arora how to draw a zebra.

Arora's zebra

After we were finished we hung up the zebra, and then I  hung up Ender’s picture too. He was beaming! Pointing at it and smiling. Now I make a point to hang up Ender’s art work regularly.

Ender's zebra

The points plus program is easy to use, and easy to follow. I started the program on Friday and I have already lost 3, yup 3 pounds. I think starting the program right when I stopped nursing was the right time. (more on weaning later this week) I am motivated, and happy to be take care of my body.

I have had an unhealthy body image since childhood. My mother was always telling me I was fat. She was always unhappy with her own body, and if rubbed off on me.  I was average sized as a kid and young teen. Then I had some major stress hit me, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at 14, my entire social circle changed over the course of one summer, and my parents divorced.

I coped with the stress with insomnia and overeating.  I gain around 50 pounds in 2 years. Since then I have dieted, lost and gained, tried LA weight loss,  joined a number of gyms,  didn’t go to the gym, dieted, had 2 kids, lost and gained.

I’m ready to take charge of my own habits, my own choices. I’m ready to free myself from the bad habits that were formed long ago and sustained by my pride and self-consciousness. I know I have the potential to have a healthy body. I have the will- power, support system, cheerleaders, and reasons to succeed.

I probably will not post here regularly about losing weight but do look for ideas to incorporate exercise into raising children, and places to exercise indoors in the Portland Or area.

Do your kids get messed up with the time change?

We have made some good friends the past few week with our ramped up reading. Here are some of our favorites:

The Francis books by Russel Hoban: I remember reading these when I was a little girl. These are at the long end for Arora’s attention span. But the messages are so sweet and  I love how Francis is always singing.

Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor: Easy enough for Arora to read alone but with fancy words through out. Arora’s favorite part is the fancy word list at the end.

The Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain: On the harder end for Arora but we love to get the videos that match the books and read the books first then watch the short cartoon.

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans: We often get Madeline as “stories” as Arora calls them. A book with a CD in it. We listen to them in the car. They often have songs and little stories in french after the book.

Do your kids have favorite book characters?

We decided we would read 100 books before her birthday and each time we would write the title of the book on the poster. I thought we would read about one book per day and finish on her birthday. But I was wrong. Arora was so excited to record the books on the poster we finished in under 3 weeks. Some times arora would sit and read 10 book at a time. We started checking out our max, 50 items, from the library each week.

In the beginning I would write the title down. Then Arora started spelling each word for me. The last three books she wrote down herself. She is so proud of having her writing on the poster.

Even though we are over 100 books Arora still wants to read and right down more books. Maybe we should get her a little journal?

One funny down side to the project was Ender wanted to help and took the pencil one day and wrote all over the wall under the poster. Smart boy. Luckily it erased fairly easily.

How do you encourage your kids to read? Have you ever made a reading poster? How often do you visit your local library?