Between Us Girls

When I went off to college, I was very unprepared both as a college woman and a young Christian. I wish that someone had talked to me about what to expect and how to develop my relationship with God. In an effort to help others avoid the mistakes I made, I wrote a book about my experiences called Between Us Girls: Navigating College Life as a Christian Woman. It is now available as a book and an e-book. If you know someone who may benefit from a book like this, purchasing information is listed below.

The paperback book is available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and WinePressBooks.com. Click the links to go to the book's page.

The e-book is available at all of these sources as well. Kindle version, Nook version, and any E-reader version.

Book Suggestions for Toddlers

As I mentioned in my post last week, my daughter loves to read. We probably read twenty to thirty books each day. And they're not all short books. Have you read Curious George Rides a Bike by H.A. Ray? That takes a good ten minutes to get through. More if you attempt to make a boat out of newspaper like in the story. But we all know it's worth the time to help our children become people who enjoy books. Below is my current list of toddler books and authors my daughter enjoys (and so do I, most of the time).

Books for Toddlers:

Alan Baker (Little Rabbit’s Bedtime, Little Rabbit’s First Word Book, Gray Rabbit’s 1,2,3)

Lorinda Bryan Cauley – Clap Your Hands

Anna Dewdney – Llama Llama Misses Mama, Llama Llama Mad at Mama

Mem Fox – Where Is the Green Sheep?
Laura Vaccaro Seeger – Lemons Are Not Red
Mo Willems (Knuffle Bunny series, Cat the Cat series, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and other Pigeon books, Edwina – pretty much anything he’s written)

Leslie Patricelli (Potty, No No Yes Yes – these are educational/informative board books)

Martin Waddell - Owl Babies

Laura Numeroff (If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake, If You Give a Moose a Muffin)

Remy Charlip - Fortunately

Crockett Johnson - Harold and the Purple Crayon

Amy Sklansky and Art Hoyt - My Daddy and Me

Phyllis Root and Jane Chapman - One Duck Stuck

Amy Hest (Kiss Good Night, You Can Do It Sam)

Matthew Van Fleet - Cat

Lois Elhert – Snowballs

Pop Up Jungle

Dr. Seuss – One Fish Two Fish, Oh The Places You'll Go

Any Mother Goose/Nursery Rhyme book

Al Perkins – Hand Hand Fingers Thumb

Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw - Love You Forever

Sue Hendra and Phil Babb – First Words (Lift the Flap)

Marie Torres Cimarusti - Peek-a-Zoo

Cynthia Cotton - Some Babies Sleep

Michael Grenjniec - What Do You Like?

James Warhola - If You’re Happy and You Know It Jungle Edition

Also check out my list of board books for babies.

Book Suggestions for Babies

My 22 month old loves to read. We have a lot of books at the house but also add variety by checking some out from the library. For those who would like to know some books that your child should enjoy but that you also won’t mind reading, I will give some suggestions. I must add that some books (or nearly all) get old after you read them several times a day for weeks on end. That’s why rotating the books available can be beneficial for your sanity.

I will divide the book suggestions into two posts. One with board books for the younger child (approximately 0 to 15 months) and one with board and regular books (for 15 months +). My daughter is not yet two so I’m sure there will be plenty of other books I will be able to add to the list, not to mention that there are always new books being published. I will try to make a thorough (but not necessarily comprehensive) list to help you find new authors to read to your child.

Board Books (books for infants and young toddlers):

Susan Meyers – Everywhere Babies

Karma Wilson – Baby I Love You

Ole Risom & Richard Scarry - I Am a Bunny

Sandra Boynton (But Not the Hippopotamus, Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs, Moo Baa LaLaLa)

Margaret Wise Brown - Goodnight Moon

Karen Katz - Counting Kisses

Marilyn Janovitz - Baby Baby Baby!

Dorothy Kunhardt - Pat the Bunny

Chris Santoro - Open the Barn Door

Deborah Guarino - Is Your Mama a Llama?

Dawn Sirett: Baby Woof Woof!

Eric Carle - The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Bill Martin Jr & Eric Carle - Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?

Joy Allen – Baby Signs

Beatrix Potter - Peter Rabbit: Show Me Your Ears!

Jane Massey - Let’s Play Peek-a-Boo!

Roger Priddy - B is for Bear

Click here for the toddler book list.

Children's Consignment Sales

As a mom, I am always looking for ways to save money, especially on clothes and toys. As such, I am keenly aware of the semi-annual children's consignment sales in the Cobb County area. To help other moms and dads (and grandparents) I am posting the schedule of quite a few of them in the area. The March sales have spring/summer clothing available. Fall/winter clothes will be for sale in the August sale. Check back in July for the dates of those sales.

Born Again Blessings (548 Marietta Pkwy, Marietta) - Feb 24 9-7, Feb 25 9-12

All 4 Kids West Cobb (2245 Callaway Rd, Marietta) – Mar 1 9:30-7, Mar 2 9-7, Mar 3 9-1 (1/2 price*)

Acworth UMC Pass It On (4340 Collins Cir, Acworth) – Mar 2 9-6:30, Mar 3 9-12 (1/2 price)

North Metro Mothers of Multiples (10495 Woodstock Rd, Roswell) – Mar 3 9-1

All 4 Kids Woodstock/Acworth (5500 Bells Ferry Rd, Acworth) – Mar 8 9:30-7, Mar 9 9-7, Mar 10 9-1 (1/2 price)

The Children’s Garden (5240 Roswell Rd, Marietta) – Mar 9 9-6, Mar 10 9-1 (1/2 price)

Tots to Tweens (2825 Sandy Plains Rd, Marietta) – Mar 10 9-2

All 4 Kids East Cobb (1700 Allgood Rd, Marietta) – Mar 16 9:30-7, Mar 17 9-1 (1/2 price)

Wildwood Kidz Sense (4801 Wade Green Rd, Acworth ) - Mar 16 9-7, March 17 9-12

Kennesaw FBC (2958 N Main St, Kennesaw) - Mar 16 9-7, Mar 17 9-12

Clothing Kids for the Kingdom (4310 Moon Station Ln, Acworth) - Mar 23 9-9, Mar 24 8-12 (1/2 price)

 *1/2 price days mean certain items will be half off (determined by seller's preference and noted on price tag)

Love Is/Not

I have been reading my Bible more lately and the same message seems to be repeating itself to me. Love God. Love others. That sounds so simple, and yet, we all know that real love is not. Real love involves sacrifice. Sacrifice of time, of our desires and wants, our will. It’s giving freely, especially when it’s costly to us. I’ve been trying to wrap my head and heart around this more and more. I find 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 quite helpful and challenging. I think if I can get this down then I’ll be on my way to loving like Jesus.

Love is not…          envious

                                boastful

                                proud

                                rude

                                self-seeking

                                easily angered

                                delighting in evil

                                temporary

               

Love is…                patient

                                kind

                                not keeping a record of wrongs

                                rejoicing with the truth

                                always protecting

                                always hoping

                                always trusting

                                always persevering

Book, CD & DVD Swap

This post is a deviation from my normal, sporadic posts. Though it may become a less random occurrence, we will see. Anywho, here's some info for you.

If you have any old books, cds or dvds and would like to get rid of them (or attempt to trade them in for something you would enjoy more), this weekend you have your chance. Kennesaw Parks & Rec is hosting a swap at the Ben Robertson Community Center (2753 Watts Drive, Kennesaw, GA). Drop off your old (but still in good condition) books, cds and dvds at the community center Thursday and Friday (26th & 27th) from 12-8 p.m. You will receive tickets for your items and can come back Saturday between 8 and 11 a.m. and use them to pick up like items (book for a book, cd for a cd).

Books must have the front and back covers intact and be in good condition. CDs and DVDs must be in their original cases and fully operable. Magazines, software, record albums, VHS or cassette tapes, adult content, unauthorized or illegal material will not be accepted. All items remaining after the swap will be donated to a local charity.

Polar Bear Plunge

I am taking this opportunity to brag about my brother, Drew Ollivant. This past Sunday morning he participated in Make-a-Wish Foundation's annual Polar Bear Plunge, the Boise Idaho chapter. Not only did he raise $2,200 (the most raised by a single participant) but he was also in the water longer than any other participant. If you don't believe me, you can check out the video proof below.

A record 337 people jumped into Lucky Peak Reservoir at 11 a.m. on January 1st. The program's goal of raising $30,000 (enough to grant six wishes) was surpassed by the participants' donors.

This is his third consecutive year participating in the challenge. This year he sought contributions from a variety of sources including people on college sports websites he visits. He promised to promote each donor by Sharpie-ing their user name onto his body. One donor gave him $400 to wear an Alabama hat into the water. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next year!