Category: Alicia

Why We're Using Habit Trackers

3/27/2020

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With everyone trying to social distance themselves and, in our case, with my husband working from home, everyday can feel like a Saturday. This makes it difficult to keep a routine or even remember what day it is. To help my kids out I decided to make them a daily chart that they can mark off everyday to help them keep track of their days and prevent us from going stir crazy inside.

If you subscribe to our email list you can get this printable for free! Plus any of our other subscriber only printables.

To use our chart I filled in ten things they should do everyday, not chores necessarily but good habits I’d like them to get into doing everyday, like making the bed, brushing teeth, and playing outside. Then I put the chart in sheet protectors and taped them up where the kids can reach them. Whenever they finish something they can use a whiteboard marker to 'x' off what they've done. My son was really excited about the chart when I gave it to him. We'll see how his excitement continues from this point on.

One thing I like about the chart is the kids can choose the order they want to do everything. This will help build autonomy and help them to understand how to prioritize their time eventually. For instance, when my son found it was too early to be playing outside, he turned to the chart to find something else he could do until playing outside was an option. The chart also allows for the kids to feel a sense of accomplishment as they mark off each thing everyday.

But the chart doesn’t have to just be for kids, I tried to design it in a way that it’s pretty enough to be used by adults too to track their habits/goals.

I hope this will help you guys during this time. It’s good to keep a sense of normalcy when things are a bit off kilter in the world. We’re thinking and praying for you all.

Remember if you want a copy of the chart, subscribe to our email list.

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10 Books You Can Read in One Month

2/4/2020

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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

When I wrote my last post on ways to read more in 2020, a common question/request I received was to share recommendations of what I read. I read ten books this month and started two more! My goal is to read two books a week and I feel blessed and happy to say I have exceeded my goal for January. I am especially excited to share the list of books I read with everyone.

The one catch is that some of my reads were Audible Originals. So you will have to have Audible to read them. I will separate those into their own list. And I do highly recommend Audible for many reasons, the originals are just part of that.

I won't rank the books In any particular order but I will write a short blurb for each of what I thought about them.

How to Read 10 Books in a Month

I think the reason I was able to read so much this month boils down to a few things;

Instead of watching YouTube or a TV show at night I opted to lay in bed and read.
I listened while cleaning and making dinner.
I read two books at a time. I always have one book I'm listening to and one book that I'm physically reading. Not simultaneously, but in the same day I will have two different books I'm reading.
Nine of my 'reads' were on Audible. Like I said in my previous post, reading more would be impossible without Audible.
I chose books of differing lengths. Some of the books I listened to were ten hours some were just two. My physical book was 239 pages and it took me about two weeks to read at night (but I didn't read every night).

I feel blessed to have more free time than most to read and listen to books, and I feel like that contributes to my being able to read so many books. But I feel these tips could be applied universally to anyone in order to fit in more reading. That's my hope in sharing at least.

Audible Originals

A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs by Ben Garrod- If you have even I mild interest in dinosaurs I recommend this book. It's science in words we can all understand and I promise you'll learn something new! The author interviews paleontologists and other experts around the globe to bring us the facts about the dinosaurs we know and love.

The Minuteman by Greg Donahue- If you love reading about WWII this is a book for you. It's a very fast listen about how a man affiliated with the Jewish Mob fought back against a growing Nazi movement in Newark the years leading up to the war. It specifically follows the story of Nat Arno, a boxer turned mobster.

Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic by Nick Carr- A coming of age story about a boy genius who fixes the quantum realm. Honestly, it's a very moving story of a thirteen year old boy who's on a journey to fix the irregularities in his Georgia town. And in doing so he finds some answers to other questions he's had about his life. It's a really short listen, but very good. But there is a LOT of swearing so be warned on that.
My Lost Family by Danny Ben-Moshe and Dasha Lisitsina - This Is one of the CRAZIEST stories I've ever heard. It's amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. Basically this women has her two children taken from her when she is 19. Her husband takes the kids to the park and never brings them back! This was in 1957! So this is a story of her other child sho is trying to reunite the family for his mom basically. It's hard for me to explain, you just have to listen and bask in the wonders of this story

The Home Front: Life In America During World War II by Dan Gediman and Martha C Little- Another book I have to recommend if you like to read about WWII. This offers incite into life in America during WWII. It has recordings of Americans from then saying how they feel and what they thought about the war. It's a truly fascinating and worthwhile listen. It's also narrated by Martin Sheen.

Books Available Everywhere

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek by Rhett McLaughlin, Link Neal, and Lance Rubin- This was an excellent book! It was a bit slow in the beginning but once it got going it was hard to put down. It's the story of a small town, Bleak Creek, and the secrets they're hiding. It follows a small group of friends, Rex, Leaf and Alicia, as they get into trouble that gets Alicia sent to the local reform school where everything is not what it seems. It's wild! It would be a great read for preteens and up.

Late Migrations a Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl- I really enjoyed this book. It's a collection of essays focusing on Renkl's life, not exactly a biography or memoir. I loved the way she juxtaposes the things that happened in her life to those things that happen in nature, specifically in her garden. I also really enjoyed how her life is very relatable we all experience love and loss, and the way she puts words to those feelings is very poetic. I especially enjoyed the insights she had in the last few chapters. Bonus is that the cover art is very beautiful!

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley- I did not know It was possible to dislike every character In a book and simultaneously love the book but here is Brave New World and here I am. This book is disturbing, poignant and thought provoking. It takes a look at what the world might look like in the future, and it's a bleak view. And to be fair, it wasn't that I didn't like all the characters, but they mostly just made me sad. I do think you need to read it though, there's some really great debates and philosophical views put forth that are worth mulling over.

Now I Know: The revealing stories behind the world's most interesting facts. by Dan Lewis- This book was interesting, but also like reading a bunch of Wikipedia articles. Still, I found it a fascinating listen.
Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott- If you want a good mystery/thriller, this is the one for you. I will admit I figured out what happened pretty early on but there were still enough twists and turns to keep my interest until the end. A unique thing about this book is the story is told from about 5 different perspectives, including the bad guy's. But you still never really know what's the truth until the end. It has a very film noir type vibe.

So have you read any of these books? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

If you liked this post you may also enjoy...

5 Timeless Book Series for Tweens
Friday Faves- Newbery Award Winners
16 Books for Your Reading List This Year

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5 Timeless Book Series for Tweens

12/11/2019

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This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no extra cost to you. All views expressed are our own.

Today I thought I’d do a What to Read Wednesday gift guide for tweens. And I also wanted to combine it with books that would take you back to your childhood. At least my childhood. These series are timeless classics that will just get better with age.

1. Babysitter’s Club. All about that entrepreneurial spirit and learning important life lessons, Babysitter’s Club will suck your tween into the story. The era may be different but the problems the girls in the books faced are still problems kids face today.

2.Harry Potter. Being a huge Harry Potter fan, how could I NOT mention it? The struggle to find where he fits in the world, starting a new school, making friends, choosing between right and wrong, dealing with grief, fighting a powerful wizard; Harry Potter is one of the most relatable characters in literature. The rereadability is off the charts too so this series will keep giving for life!

3. Goosebumps. I have already written a WTRW post on Goosebumps, which you can check out here. It will suffice me to say that there’s a reason these books are still around. Tweens will love the horror aspect while parents can feel happy it never gets gory just chilling.

4. Anne of Green Gables. Talk about relatability, although Anne grew up in the early 1900’s, her struggles with friends, boys, and family will be familiar to your young reader. She’s also a little over dramatic, a huge plus for me as a child as it gave me one of my favorite phrases of all time “I’m in the depths of despair.”

5. A Series of Unfortunate Events. I loved these books in Junior High. I even got my mom into reading them. The books follow the Baudelaire orphans through a series of unfortunate events while being “chased” by Count Olaf in order to steal their fortune. The kids use their talents and ingenuity to work together and get out of trouble, but things don’t always work out the way you plan. These books have a way of disappointing you without frustrating you at the same time. It’s all very delightful actually, you’ll want to keep reading because you have hope things will get better.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this stroll down memory lane with me. I love these books, and would still reread them all today. I hope you and your tween will enjoy them too. It isn't too late to add them to their Christmas list!

What book series did you enjoy when you were younger? What would you add to the list?