Can You Get Yourself to a Slice of Pie?

A few days ago, my son and I made a chocolate-peanut-butter pie. Little did we know, it would come to life. It taunts us, day and night, “I’m in the fridge. Just take one bite; I won’t hurt you. Just grab a fork and steal a bite, no one will know. I know you’re trying to resist me, but I’m soooo delicious, come on — just take a bite, one little bite...” 👹 DAMN YOU TO HELL, EVIL TALKING PIE!!!

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And then there's BUB!

New, from my friend Beth (Elizabeth Rose) Stanton ❤️ I love the pairing of Beth’s soft, sweet style with a monster book! ❤️ For Bub, it’s not easy being the middle child in his little monster family—especially such a noisy and busy one: Maw and Paw can be very loud, his big sister Bernice is good at everything, and everyone has to pay attention to The Baby. No one has time for Bub. But the day comes when Bub decides to take charge, and suddenly things change in a very magical little monster way! What happens next keeps his family guessing, until Bub sees that it might not be so bad being in the middle, after all.

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Bunny Staycation!

From my fantabulous friend, Lori Richmond! 🐰 Mama's suitcase is packed for an important business trip. But it's Mama's turn to read bedtime stories! Bunny does not like Mama leaving one bit. If he can just figure out how to keep her home... or maybe he can go with her! But Papa and Bunny have a better idea. They set off on a grand adventure... in the living room. And kitchen. And bathtub. Bunny's Staycation is the perfect book for every family with travel-for-work Mamas or Papas. Kids and parents will laugh, cheer, and celebrate the wonders -- and happy challenges -- faced by families who are juggling the joys of stay-at-home fun and business trips.

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Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf!

I made this bacon-wrapped meatloaf last night, and it was a big hit in the house. — I’m not a huge meatloaf fan, but it’s meatloaf, WRAPPED IN BACON - see? 😉❤️ Easy recipe from Genius Kitchen website. (Note: I had to make 2, bc my bacon was center-cut - i.e. too short to cover the whole recipe.)

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Life, Love and Little Free Libraries

I feel such joy when I see books on shelves — at libraries, at schools and at book stores. They feel like endless stacks of hope and potential and adventure, just waiting to be picked and opened and enjoyed.

But here at home, where my boys' old books line miles of shelves in their rooms, their closets and family rec room, it pains me — this sometimes emotional and sentimental mom. It's a daily reminder that they are growing up. 

It's unlikely my almost-17-year-old will decide to pick up Magic Treehouse or Percy Jackson or 39 Clues or Because of Winn Dixie again, but I can remember — I can see — him, full of excitement and wonder, experiencing those stories for the first time. Sometimes, more often than I'd like as college looms near, the memories create a nearly unbearable tightness in my chest.

My 12-year-old has slowly worked his way through every Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, Captain Underpants. The echos of his giggles still resonate for me. And then I see him surprisingly touched by Bud, Not Buddy and Wonder and Ungifted — my tough boy, softened by stories that touched his heart. And, again, it's unlikely that he'll decide to read those books again. He's moved on to other stories, other adventures.

And I know that this is as it should be. 

But, sometimes, as I'm hanging up their shirts or gathering up their laundry, I find myself running an index finger along the spines — remembering. And, I'm sad.

It occurs to me, this mom who personifies everything, from stuffed animals to construction trucks, that these books might feel sad, too: stowed away on shelves, forgotten. All of those stories trapped inside. Those poor books sit, tucked away — dusted, but never opened. Perhaps someday I'll have grandchildren, and I'll read to them. 

Perhaps.

And so, for the sake of this sad mom and those sad books, I've decided that our collection should be free to fly into other young hands, to fill the hearts and minds of other young souls. And, if I must brag — it's an awesome collection, made better all the time by the books I receive as gifts from authors and publishers, books I receive by the armloads at conferences and festivals.

This is my Little Free Library. I wanted it to be beautiful, just like the books inside and just like the kids who will find them.

On top, the weathervane that I had made — a book morphing into a butterfly — reads, "SOAR WITH A BOOK" on the spine. That pretty much sums it up for me.

Now, our books are, indeed, flying away — slowly, but surely — into other hands and other houses.

And this makes me very happy. 

Because I know that this, too, is as it should be.

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