Every year, we do a countdown to each child’s birthday 12 days before their special day, as a sort of twist on the 12 days of Christmas. With Parker’s birthday coming up (hers has always been the first of the year until we had Leah this year), it’s time to put the 12 days of Parker together!
I will do the same gifts for both Rylee and Ashtyn’s birthday later in the year. Oliver, being younger and a boy, will get a different item for some of the days. Leah won’t get a countdown until she’s turning three.
Day 1: Cake Mix with sprinkles and frosting
The kids love cooking and helping me in the kitchen, so this is a fun way to let them make something more on their own. We did it last year and it was their favorite thing (especially Oliver)! For Ashtyn, I get her cake flour and she makes an angel food cake because she loves to follow recipes and doesn’t like eating cake mix cake very much.
Day 2: Foldology Book
This is a fun activity book that I heard about from Everyday Reading and I knew when I saw her talking about it that my girls would love it! Oliver is probably not quite old enough for it yet, so I was planning to get a couple matchbox cars for him this day instead.
Day 3: Candy
I always like to throw in a few days of candy because it’s cheap and fun! I also like to have at least one candy day where all the kids can have some and have some days where the candy is just for the birthday kid.
Day 4: Shower bombs and lip gloss
I bought a pack of shower bombs and a pack of lip gloss that I could divide up between all the girls through the year. I think they’re going to especially love the shower bombs. Oliver will get some bath stuff this day instead.
Day 5: Paint Sticks
My kids love all things crafting and these paint sticks seemed like a pretty lowkey item that they can use without my help, but also something a little out of the ordinary of what we have around for them to craft with.
Day 6: Candy
Another candy day!
Day 7: Pokemon Stained Glass Art Book
In addition to loving crafting, my kids are very into Pokemon. I think all four of them (including Oliver) will love this little art book.
Day 8: Kindle Page Turner
Both Ashtyn and Parker have Kindles and love them. I think they will think these page turners are fun and use them a lot, especially when they’re reading in bed at night. Since Rylee and Oliver don’t have Kindles yet, I’m going to do something different for them. I was thinking of trying to find a less expensive telescope for Rylee, because she’s been really wanting one, and doing rock crayons with a notebook for Oliver.
Day 9: Candy
Another candy day! The kids love getting the candy and I always try to find candy that I know they really love but don’t get very often.
Day 10: Modeling Clay
This is another crafting thing that I think the kids are really going to have a lot of fun with.
Day 11: Twinkies
Our kids all love Twinkies, but we basically never buy them (pretty much only for their birthday countdown), so they are always very excited for this day.
Day 12: Special Necklace
The girls (Parker especially) have been really into jewelry lately and I found these cute necklaces that are customizable with the letter of their first name. I think the girls will love it! Oliver obviously won’t be getting a necklace. The thing he is really into is super heroes, so I was planning on getting him some simple super hero masks for this day. I know he’ll love them.
That is what we are doing for our birthday 12 day countdown! This is one of our favorite birthday traditions, even when we keep it simple and get dollar store gifts. What is one of your family’s favorite traditions?
April was quite a month as we enjoyed baby snuggles, got very little sleep, and survived the first month with our newborn. Being trapped under a sleeping baby and up in the night (and having freezer meals so I don’t need to make dinner most nights) has given me lots of time to read. I got through a lot of books and enjoyed most of them!
I read 21 books in April and 6,739 pages (the most pages in a month so far this year by quite a bit), for an average of 320 pages per book. I read 16 books by female authors and 5 books by male authors. I borrowed 7 of the books and owned 14 of them. I read 9 stand alones and 4 books part of a series. I read 2 physical books, 11 ebooks, and 7 audiobooks. I had 5 rereads and 16 new reads. I read 5 middle grade, 4 YA, and 10 adult books. I shared 4 read alouds with my kids and read 5 new releases. I read 13 five star reads, 7 four star reads, 1 three star read, 1 two star read, and no one star reads.
It was fun to read so many books I enjoyed so much. Because I’ve been so tired, it can be hard to focus on reading, so if I wasn’t into the book, I just stopped.
Here are 5 of my favorite 5 star reads in April!
Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee
Kill Her Twice is a historical fiction that takes place in Chinatown in Los Angeles in 1932. I loved the characters and family relationships, the mystery, and the side romance. I also loved learning more about this area in this time period, something I didn’t know anything about. I’ve read a few books now by Stacey Lee and loved all of them!
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
This was an excellent nonfiction book written by an FBI negotiator. The content was super interesting and the author is excellent at using stories to draw the reader through. As a parent, I found a lot of applicable information despite it not being a parenting book. I also listened to it and the audio is excellent (the narrator is Michael Kramer). This is a book I plan on rereading in the future.
A Heart Worth Stealing by Joanna Barker
Regency romance can be hit or miss for me, but I have loved Joanna Barker’s books. This one was no exception! The romance was really cute and went hand in hand with the mystery. I found myself wishing this would become a series where they solved mysteries together.
Making Faces by Amy Harmon
Amy Harmon is another of my favorite authors. Making Faces is a contemporary young adult romance that explores beauty and love. I loved the way the themes were explored and watching the romance develop. My favorite character was Bailey, a side character with muscular dystrophy and a heart of gold.
Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto
I read Vera Wong last year and absolutely loved it. This book by the same author had similar vibes and was so fun! It has (often over the top) humor and ridiculous situations, with lovable characters trying to find their way out of it. I can’t wait to read more in the series!
Bonus:
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping by Jesse Q Sutanto
I had so many great reads in April that I couldn’t keep it down to just five! In April, I treated myself and got the sequel to Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, which I read and loved last year. The sequel just released and I loved it (maybe not quite as much as the first, but it was close!).
These were my favorite reads from April! If you want to see all the books I read and their ratings, I rate each book on my Goodreads page. What did you read in April? What books have you loved recently? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
March was a busy month! I was prepping for the baby for most of it, and I had a LOT to do, because I got to 36 weeks and realized that with everything else going on, I hadn’t done anything to prep and got on it. I got my birthing kit together, prepped the baby station, filled the freezer with meals, and did a lot of deep cleaning all month.
The week before the baby came, I got sick with a cold and couldn’t do as much, and then at the very end of the month, we got to welcome our baby girl! With all that going on, I had less time to read, but lots of time to listen to audiobooks.
I read 17 books in March and 5,133 pages, for an average of 301 pages per book. 13 were written by female authors and 4 by male authors. I borrowed 6 and read 11 books I owned. I read 8 stand alones and 5 books part of a series. I read 1 physical book, 6 ebooks, and 10 audiobooks. I read 7 middle grade, 1 YA, and 5 adult books and shared 2 read alouds with my kids. I read 2 new releases. I had 3 rereads and 14 new reads. I had 10 five star reads, 4 four star reads, 3 three star reads, 1 two star reads, and no one star reads.
Here were my 5 favorite 5 star reads in March!
When My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park
I absolutely loved this WWII historical fiction taking place in Korea. I knew basically nothing about what had happened there leading up to and during the war and learned so much. I loved the characters and was very invested in the family and country’s hardships. This is the second book by Linda Sue Park that I have read and loved.
What Everybody is Saying by Joe Navaro
I loved this nonfiction book! Body language is something I don’t know a lot about but an very interested in learning more. This felt like a very thorough introduction, one I would revisit.
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Refugee is a book that follows several refugee families from different time periods and the struggles they face. It is such an important topic to explore. I loved each of the three stories and I loved the author’s note afteward.
Content: While it is middle grade, I would say it is aimed at older middle grade due to the violence in parts. It’s not unneccessary and adds to the story, but I wouldn’t hand this to my 10 year old currently.
Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Lines of Courage follows many different characters through WWI and circles back to connect many of them in the end. I wasn’t sure at first about following so many different characters, but I ended up really liking it and the way their stories converged. It was also interesting to read a story set in WWI (rather than WWII).
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Casimano
This is the fourth book in the series and my favorite of the series so far! Something about taking all the characters to a casino hotel and throwing them all together, then letting them try to figure everything out was so fun to me. The comedy really worked for me.
Bonus reread:
Framed! by James Ponti
When I pick my favorite reads of the month, I don’t typically include rereads (partially because if I’m rereading it, it’s probably because it’s already one of my favorite books). For my bonus book this month, though, I had to include this one! I read it last year and loved it. I have been trying to talk my older kids into reading it on their own ever since, but they never did. Finally, on a road trip, I decided to start listening to it with them. Like I knew they would, they LOVED it (and the other two books in the series). I loved listening to it with them as well and looked forward to our audiobook time together.
Those were my favorite books from March! I share all the books I read and what I rated them on my Goodreads page. What did you read in March? What was a favorite recent read of yours? Let’s talk about books in the comments!
Looking back at my reading year is one of the best parts of a new year! I’m sure you can relate. I had a great reading year. I read a lot of books (probably more than I have since I was a young teenager!) and enjoyed so many of them. It was hard to narrow it down to my favorites, but this is my attempt to do so.
I read 230 books in 2024 and 71,113 pages, for an average of 309 pages per book, an average of 19 books per month, and 5,926 pages per month. I read 108 five star reads, 76 four star reads, 37 three star reads, and 9 two star reads. I read 66 fantasy books, 47 mystery books, 50 contemporary, 22 historical fiction, 20 nonfiction, and 16 classics. I read 97 middle grade, 25 YA, and 107 adult books. We had 52 read alouds (including books we listened to as a family). I read 84 eBooks, 43 physical books, and listened to 104 audiobooks. I read 170 books by female authors and 68 books by male authors. 163 books were new reads and 62 were rereads. I bought 71 physical books and donated 4, and I bought 206 eBooks, 107 audiobooks, and 49 picture books. It was a great year for reading and buying books!
And now, here are my favorite reads of 2024! I like to use categories to help myself narrow them down.
My Favorite New Release
I read quite a few new releases in 2024 and loved them, but this one was a favorite! It follows Butch Cassidy after he tries to get out of the outlaw life. A lot of the book takes place in Utah, which was fun since that’s where I live. I really loved the romance, the character development, and the ending (especially after being worried that I would hate the ending). Amy Harmon continues as a favorite author!
A Book that Surprised Me
I grew up loving Anne of Green Gables but never read anything else by her (and in fact, haven’t ever read most of the books in the Anne series, something I want to remedy soon!). I did not know what I was missing out on! I had never even heard of The Blue Castle until the eBook was on sale, but I bought it and then promptly devoured it. The characters had so much to them and the romance was adorable and I loved seeing Valancy grow in confidence and find herself. It was a hidden gem, and you can be sure I’m going to read more books by L.M. Montgomery this next year.
Runner Up: A Book that Surprised Me
This might be cheating a little–putting an extra book in this section, but I simply couldn’t narrow it down. I had read another book by Jane Harper a few years ago and liked it, but I kept putting this one off because it didn’t really sound like my kind of book. When I finally read it, I surprisingly couldn’t put it down. It was a character driven thriller, and I loved both the characters and the mystery in it.
Favorite Nonfiction
I didn’t read a lot of nonfiction this year, but I did read some that I really liked (runner up for this one would be The Anxious Generation). This parenting book wasn’t ground breaking for me–I’ve read a lot of parenting books, so I’ve heard everything already that was laid out in this book, but it was a much needed and great reminder. I loved the way the author talked about boundaries, how it’s never too late or too early, emotions in kids, and the way she gave permission to trust your child to learn what they need without a lecture from you.
Favorite Spontaneous Read
I have a big backlog of books to get through and love planning out my TBR, but I do throw in some spontaneous reads every once in a while. This was one of those and I loved it! I tend to enjoy middle grade mysteries, and this was a fun twist–a middle grade kid working with the FBI. The characters and friendships throughout the series are fun and well done as well.
Favorite Agatha Christie Read
Because I read an Agatha Christie book each month (at least one), I started just making this a category until I finish off her books. I loved so many of her books this last year, but The Clocks was my favorite. It’s a Poirot, though he’s actually not as involved in the mystery as most of his books. Despite that, the characters are just brilliant, and the mystery is a very fun one with a satisfying conclusion.
Favorite Book in a Series
I try to keep up with series that I start, so I end up reading a lot of books that are parts of series. This one is the start of an unfinished series, but can work as a stand alone. It was one of my top favorite books of the year! It was a quirky contemporary with a bit of murder mystery thrown in. I absolutely loved the main characters, especially Vera, and the ending was just my cup of tea! I can’t wait for the second one to come out!
Favorite Recommended Book
This book/author was recommended by one of my favorite book bloggers Everyday Reading. I love regency romances, but it can be hard to find ones that are really well written, but this one definitely was! It had a really great hate-to-love relationship with a marriage of convenience during the second half that was really fun to read. I loved the characters and the relationships they had with each other throughout.
Favorite Book That Made Me Cry
I have always cried easily during books or movies, so this gets its own category. The Sugar Queen was a really riveting read for me. The big twist at the end was pretty obvious, but I think it was supposed to be and I actually liked that it was. I loved the way the relationships ended up as well.
Favorite Read Aloud
We had a lot of great read alouds together, but this for sure took the top spot! I loved the book (in fact, I read it on my own first and then listened to it with the girls just a few weeks later). The kids all loved it so much that they wanted to listen to it again as soon as we had finished it. We listened to it together three times total in the year (usually on car trips, because it was a good length for that) and bought a physical copy for them to read on their own or for me to read aloud to them this next year more. It has a fun mystery, great characters, and jokes that even my five-year-old can understand and appreciate.
Favorite Book by a Favorite Author
Some of these categories have overlap, but that’s okay. One of my favorite authors is Katherine Center–I love the way she handles romcoms, with fun and quirky characters while keeping some substance in her books as well. In this one, I loved the “writing a rom com” plot line and the romance really worked for me. This didn’t take the place of my number one favorite Katherine Center, but it’s up there!
Bonus Category-Favorite Reread!
My main rereads in 2024 were Cosmere books by Brandon Sanderson–I talked about my plan in this blog post and managed to reread them all! It was tough to pick just one favorite, but I ended up picking Way of Kings. My favorite in the series is actually Oathbringer, but I just loved rereading Way of Kings this time, even more than Oathbringer. It never dragged for me the way it sometimes has in the past and the ending is just so great. If I got to pick a runner up, I would have picked Mistborn, but I would have had to pick the entire series.
Those were my favorite books this year! I had a great reading year, it was hard to narrow it down. What were your favorite books you read in 2024? I’d love to hear from you!
We’re coming up on two weeks since our baby Leah came and we’re starting to fall into a bit of rhythm (though we are definitely still in survival mode and not trying to do too much). The first week after the baby came, we didn’t try to do much. I was still recovering a lot, Ben and I weren’t getting hardly any sleep, and my mom was here to spend time with the kids.
This week, things started to feel more normal again. I was up and doing a lot more, Leah was sleeping slightly better (though we’re still not getting great sleep or much of it), and I was wanting to get back into our normal routine a little more. I like the structure our routine brings and I feel the kids do better in the afternoon when our mornings are structured.
I thought today I would share what our day looked like.
6:20 am
Leah has woken up around 6:30 pretty much every morning for about a week now to eat and then goes right back to sleep. I can’t usually go back to sleep (even when I’ve tried, Leah is a pretty noisy sleeper at this point and I struggle to go back to sleep in the mornings anyway) so I get up and get things done. It’s nice to have this time without holding a baby, because Leah still has contact naps throughout the day.
Today, she cried out but didn’t wake up, so I didn’t actually feed her. I got up and made my hot chocolate in our hot chocolate maker. While it was mixing and cooling a little, I reset the kitchen (I am way too tired to try to do this at night) and cleared out the dishwasher (Ben loads and starts it every night). When my hot chocolate was ready, I sat and read in my scriptures while I drank it. I heard the kids wake up upstairs, but they know not to come down until 7:30.
7:30 am
I got up from my chair and made hot chocolate for the rest of the family (I do separate batches because I use almond milk in mine and powdered milk in everyone else’s) and did a little more cleaning. Then Ben came out and we did Connections on NYT together. We usually do it at night, but we’ve been trying to do it earlier since having the baby, because we’re so tired at night that it’s hard to think.
8:00 am
Because she didn’t wake up to eat at 6:30 and actually had less feeds in the night (it was nice!), I woke up Leah at 8:00 instead of waiting until 8:30. I fed her while doing the other NYT puzzles on my phone and Duolingo.
The kids ended up not coming downstairs until now, they got caught up in a game in their room. They came down and drank their hot chocolate and started coloring at the table.
After she ate, I changed Leah’s diaper and let her have some floor time and tummy time before putting her in the bouncer while I made eggs and got everyone their supplements. The kids had cereal for breakfast (only one of my kids likes to eat eggs) and I had eggs and toast. Leah was pretty happy in her bouncer for all of this.
9:00 am
I could tell Leah was getting tired, so I swaddled her up and got her to fall asleep in my arms. Then I put her down to see if she would nap out of my arms. She lasted about 30 minutes that way. While she was down, I did the girls hair and the kids and I did our chores (they take turns sorting the kids’ laundry, getting the floor ready to sweep, and cleaning off the table, and I sweep). I also started the laundry and did the breakfast dishes so that our house was ready for school stuff.
9:30 am
Leah started crying, so I got her and let her finish her nap in my arms while the kids practiced their songs for an upcoming concert and did some independent school.
10:30 am
It was time to feed Leah. While I fed her, the kids did an Easter countdown coloring page and an Easter basket craft while listening to their audiobook.
11:30 pm
I got Leah to sleep again and put her down while Ben took a shower. She only lasted 10 minutes this time, but long enough I was able to get some food for myself.
12:00 pm
We turned off our audiobook and the older girls practiced piano while I let Leah finish her nap in my arms again. Then we all got some lunch and Oliver went outside to play in the dirt.
1:00 pm
Leah needed to eat again. The older kids were done with their lists and school, so they got free time. Ashtyn went outside to roller blade and the other girls did more crafts at the table. Oliver played in the dirt for awhile and then he played with magnet blocks.
1:30 pm
Leah was acting fussy, so we spent some time seeing if she needed to burp more and trying some different positions. We ended up putting her in her bouncer and Rylee and Parker sat and talked with her while I got dressed and did my hair.
1:45 pm
Leah was acting tired when I came out from that, so I gave her the binky and bounced her in the bouncer while I did work on my computer. I was really wanting a break from holding her while she slept, but she wasn’t staying asleep well in the bouncer. Ben came out and saw, and he took her. He slept on the chair with her while she slept so I could have a break. I got some things (like laundry) done, got some more food, worked on my computer, and helped the kids with stuff (like cleaning up an accident Oliver had, cutting up apples, etc).
4:00 pm
Because she was sleeping so well, I let her sleep until 4 rather than waking her up at 3:30. I got her and fed her while the kids played.
4:30 pm
I put bean dip (from the freezer) in the oven and tried to keep Leah happy (she tends to get a little fussy as the day gets later). I also had the kids do a quick pick up to get ready for dinner. They were a little resistant, so I promised a surprise treat (some frozen fruit cups we had left in the freezer that someone gifted us awhile ago) when they were finished.
5:00 pm
We ate dinner. I tried to get Leah to take a little nap, but she was wide awake with us at the table. When I was done eating, I turned on Ever After (Parker has been asking to watch it, so we got it from the library) while they ate their fruit cups. Then I worked some more on getting Leah to sleep and succeeded, while snuggling Oliver (he loves to come over and ask me to “make a spot” for him).
6:00 pm
I woke up Leah and fed her. Oliver was still snuggling with me. Before the movie ended, he got up and started playing with magnet blocks. I tried to get Leah to sleep again, but it didn’t work. She wanted to be awake. Then I passed her to Ben because Oliver had an accident.
7:00 pm
The movie ended and we turned off screens. The day was a pretty warm one, so the kids went out in the back and played until bedtime. Ben still had Leah and she was pretty happy still. She stayed happy until closer to 7:30 and the kids were playing really well in the back.
7:30 pm
We usually start bedtime around now, but since the kids were playing so well, we left them and let them just play. I fed Leah on one side and she zonked out while eating.
8:00 pm
We pulled the kids inside and started bedtime. I took them all upstairs to get changed and Ben brought up the toothbrushes and brushed Oliver’s teeth while I started feeding Leah on the other side. Then we did scriptures and prayers and Ben took Oliver into his room to read him a book before bed while I read to the girls out of our book (we’re reading Little House on the Prairie right now) and Leah slept on my chest. It’s always nice when Leah is eating or sleeping during the kids’ bedtime routine rather than being fussy.
8:30 pm
The kids were in bed (Oliver goes right to sleep, the girls can stay up until 9 to read), Leah was still asleep on my chest. Ben and I got out our homemade ice cream. We did the Mini on NYT and talked about his business some before turning on our show.
9:00 pm
I got Leah ready for bed (changed diaper, pajamas, swaddled, etc.). We watched our show together while I fed her. Once she was fed, we laid her down in the office where Ben sleeps (he takes the first shift at night and then I take the second half, though she’s starting to sleep a little better at night) and turned off the show.
9:30 pm
I made sure everything was set up in my room for when Leah woke up to eat and got ready for bed. The hardest part of newborn days is the unpredictability of if and how well the baby will sleep, but going to sleep early and getting at least a couple of hours of sleep in right away while Ben has her has been a lifesaver for me.
Our day was fairly typical of what the last week or so has looked like. I know that as Leah gets older, our routine will change to fit her needs some and things will start to feel a little easier eventually as well. Right now, we’re trying to get the basics in. As she gets older, we can start adding more back in (like working out, date nights, pickleball drills), but for now, I’m happy with how things are going.
What is your routine like right now? What is the biggest challenge you are facing? I would love to hear about it in the comments below!
I loved the Little House books growing up (and the TV show!) but have only vague memories of the later books as an adult. I’ve reread some of the books as I’ve shared them with my kids (namely Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie) but have wanted to revisit the rest for a while now. This year, I decided to do just that and reread the series!
If you would like to read along with me, I’d love to share the journey! I created a PDF printable to track each book!
Here is my plan for the year:
January:
Because I am getting going with this blog post a little late, January has come and gone, and I’ve already reread Little House in the Big Woods. I am actually planning on reading it again, this time aloud with my kids, in December for Christmas, as well!
February:
In February, I am planning on reading Farmer Boy. I’ve recently reread this one and remember not loving it as much, so we’ll see how it goes.
March:
My read in March is going to be Little House on the Prairie. This one is short and sweet, and I love it. I know I won’t have any trouble getting through it and it can count towards Middle Grade March!
April:
I’m planning on reading On the Banks of Plum Creek in April. I have basically no memory of this one and am really excited to revisit it. I will have a new baby, but I usually get extra reading in right after having a baby because of all the late-night feeds, so I’m not worried about getting this one it.
May/June:
My read in May is By the Shores of Silver Lake. This is another one that I have very little memory of and am excited to read. Because I’m not sure how things are going to go with the new baby and adjusting to having five kids, I’m giving myself two months to get this one in, so I don’t feel pressured with my reading.
July:
I’m skipping The Long Winter to save it for a colder month (it didn’t feel right to read it in the middle of summer) and reading Little Town on the Prairie. Other than The Long Winter (which I read a few years ago), I don’t remember a lot about the rest of the books, including this one, which makes me very excited to reread them all.
August:
In August, I plan on reading These Happy Golden Years. I expect to be adjusting by this time to having an extra child and I know I’ll have time while nursing to read, so I’m expecting to be able to get to all of these, especially since they tend to be shorter reads.
September:
In September, I’m going to read The First Four Years. Because it’s shorter, I think it will be a good one to read for 30 Books in 30 Days, which usually takes place in September as well.
November:
I’m planning on taking a break in October to focus on spookier reads and wait for a “winter month” to read The Long Winter. I think it’ll be the perfect read to get me in the mood for the holidays and colder weather.
December:
In December, I’m planning on reading Little House in the Big Woods with my kids. I love the Christmas chapters and feel like it makes the perfect holiday read because of that! I’ve read this with my kids before, but it’s been a while, and I know they’ll enjoy revisiting it as well.
That is my plan for reading The Little House series this year! Are there any related books that would go well with my reread? Are you planning on rereading with me? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
One of my favorite traditions (that encompasses most of our other traditions) is our Book Advent. This is a tradition we have where the girls unwrap one Christmas picture book a day from after Thanksgiving to Christmas. We read the book and do an activity together (I do my best to match the book with the activity). It’s a countdown we have in addition to their countdown chains, and we all have so much fun with it.
I start our countdown the day after Thanksgiving, though I know many people who wait until December 1st to start. This year, there’s only two days before December. I also am very flexible with our countdown, changing days around when needed or even changing the activity for the day.
A note about the books we unwrap: I have spent years collecting the books we use in our countdown. Until I had collected more, I used the books we had already (even when they didn’t match the activity) and used a lot of library books.
Here is my plan for the 2024 Christmas season!
Friday, November 29th Holly Days
Book to unwrap: C is for Christmas by Tonya Skousen Arenaz
Activity: Holly Days
C is for Christmas is a beautiful and poetic Christmas book. It has the most beautiful illustrations. I always pair with our countdown chain activity because it covers so much of Christmas that it feels like the perfect read as we’re anticipating the Christmas season.
Our community has a big event the day after Thanksgiving each year called Holly Days. They have activities going all day, including free bounce houses, popcorn, hot chocolate, hayrides, and train rides. I love to take the kids for a few hours in the afternoon before going home for movie night.
Saturday, November 30th
Book to unwrap: The Mismatched Nativity by Merrilee Boyack
Activity: Make a Countdown Chain
The Mismatched Nativity is a cute book about a boy who moves to a new place and doesn’t have friends. A church teacher helps the class befriend the new boy by sharing different pieces of their nativities with him, until he has a full nativity. I love reading this book as we bring out our own nativity and other decorations.
I love having a visual countdown for the kids. I think it really helps them understand how long until the big day. I usually cut the paper strips in advance (we use red, green, and white paper). Then the kids get to pick what pattern they want with the colors and put their own chain together. We enjoy making the paper chain and then we hang them by our back door as a sort of decoration.
This is a cute little story of the nativity and it comes with a puzzle that pops out and in. My kids love it!I love this story of Christ’s birth. It touches on all the different parts of the nativity and includes a section of what happened in the Americas at Christ’s birth, as told in the Book of Mormon.This cute book spins the 12 Days of Christmas song to go through the nativity. I like reading it to the kids about once a year and then I’m done.
Sunday, December 1
Book to unwrap: The Last Straw by Paula Palangi McDonald
Activity: Draw Names for Secret Service
The Last Straw is a book about a family who brings the Christmas spirit to their home by doing secret acts of service for each other, and when they do an act of service, they get to add a piece of hay to the manger for Christmas Eve. There’s a twist at the end that makes me tear up every time I read it.
A few years ago, my father-in-law helped me make a wooden manger for our own secret service tradition. Before that, we used a cardboard box. For “hay”, we actually use felt cut into strips while our kids are young, and it is so easy to clean up every time the toddler empties it out.
Each family member picks a name out of the hat and does secret acts of service for that person during the week, putting a piece of straw in the manger for each act. At the end of the week, we draw new names. My oldest daughter loves this activity each year and is in charge of helping us pick new names each week. The kids love trying to make the manger as full as possible for baby Jesus (who gets laid in the manger on Christmas Eve).
Monday, December 2nd
Book to unwrap: Little Blue Truck’s Christmas by Alice Shertle
Activity: Decorate Kids’ Tree
We are big Little Blue Truck fans at our house and my kids love the Christmas one! In the book, Little Blue Truck is delivering Christmas trees to his friends, and it finishes with light up Christmas lights.
I love having a tree for kids in their room. It’s mini and cute and they are allowed to move the ornaments around all they want. We pull out a few “kid” ornaments we don’t want on our tree downstairs and then spend the morning making paper ornaments to put on their tree.
Tuesday, December 3rd
Book to unwrap: A World of Cookies for Santa
Activity: Make Christmas Cookies Around the World by M.E. Furman
This is a book we got last year and it is so cute! I love the idea of the book, with Santa visiting many different places around the world and tasting their Christmas treats. It’s a fun way to learn about traditions in different cultures.
In past years, I’ve tried to take a day to set up different traditions from around the world for the kids to experience, but it’s always proved too much for me. What we did instead last year was choose a recipe from the back of this book and try out some new cookies from around the world. The kids loved it and asked if we could do a new recipe each year, so that’s what our “around the world” activity has turned into. It’s much simpler and we all love it!
Wednesday, December 4th
Book to unwrap: Corduroy’s Christmas Surprise by Don Freeman
Activity: Write Letters to Santa
I have to admit that Corduroy’s Christmas Surprise is not my favorite Christmas book, but the kids enjoy it and we’ve read it every year since my oldest was a toddler.
I love to pair the book with writing to Santa because throughout the story, Corduroy writes many different letters to Santa.
I like to try to get letters to Santa in nice and early, so there aren’t any surprises right before Christmas (which has happened to us before!). This year, I’m going to use one of these letters to Santa templates. Then I’ll put them in an envelope that has their name on it to keep in my folders to look at in the future. Then we can do some Santa themed activities together.
Thursday, December 5th
Book to unwrap: Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect by Richard H. Schneider
Activity: Decorate the tree
Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect is a cute little book about a Christmas tree that gives up its perfect shape to serve the creatures in the forest. It’s a heartwarming story that reminds us that Christmas is about more than how perfect our decorations or house might look.
With so many kids, decorating the tree is never a calm activity, but we do try to keep it simple. We turn on Christmas music and let the kids cover the tree with our ornaments while I try to turn off my perfectionism. (Of course, I do come in afterward to even out the decorations)
Friday, December 6th
Book to unwrap: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Activity: Host a Polar Express Party
The Polar Express is a classic that we love reading every year! We purposely do this activity on a Friday so that we can watch the movie for movie night. We invite cousins, wear pajamas, and I prepare our own “train tickets” to punch. Then we have a spread of treats and hot chocolate while we watch the movie. The kids look forward to this party all year and it’s a pretty simple event to put together.
Saturday, December 7th
Book to unwrap: The Broken Ornament by Toni DiTerlizzi
Activity: Make Ornaments as a family
The Broken Ornament is a story about a boy who wants Christmas to be as big as possible, but in the process, he accidentally breaks his mother’s special ornament. To make things right, he has to learn the true meaning of Christmas. I love to pair this one with our tradition of making a new ornament every year.
When I was growing up, my mom bought us all an ornament each year. When Ben and I were newlyweds, we hardly had money for a gift for each other, much less buying things like ornaments. We decided to make an ornament together. My mom gave us the ornaments her grandmothers had made years ago and our tree became covered in beautiful, homemade ornaments. We’ve continued making new ornaments each year with our own children instead of buying ornaments and we’ve made such fun memories together doing so (though I also love other people’s tradition of buying ornaments that have special meaning!).
Sunday, December 8th
Book to unwrap: Mortimer’s Christmas Manger
Activity: Gingerbread Houses
Mortimer’s Christmas Manger is a cute book about a mouse looking for a place to belong. With a focus on the nativity scene, a gingerbread house plays a big part, making it the perfect book for our gingerbread house activity!
We have tried many ways of making gingerbread houses from making our own gingerbread to using premade kits to cutting up graham crackers. For us, graham crackers are by far the easiest method. Ben cuts the same pattern out of the graham cracker each year for me. Then I cut a base from a cardboard box, wrap it in tinfoil, and use my great grandma’s frosting recipe (which makes the houses practically indestructible when it dries) to put the houses together before the kids come. Then we dump candy into bowls, get out store frosting for them to decorate with, and let them at it.
We also like to include an upside-down ice cream cone in the “yard” of each house and green (food-colored) frosting to make Christmas trees as well.
Book to unwrap: A Christmas Dress for Ellen by Thomas S. Monson
Activity: Ninja Elves
If I had to pick one favorite Christmas book, this would be it. I can’t make it through the book without crying several times. The story is about a destitute family and service that is given to them to bring them a Christmas miracle. I love reading this book as an introduction to talking to my kids about the way we give to a family in need.
One year, my husband’s family decided that we didn’t want to exchange gifts and wanted to instead use the money to help a local family in need. After we read the book, we talk about the specifics of the situation of the family we chose to help and the way they were helping them (in giving up extra gifts they didn’t need to give that money to someone who really needed it). Every year, the kids have wanted to add money from their own piggy banks as well, and my heart loves to see the generosity of children. Once we’ve gathered the money from all the families, we let the kids be “ninja elves” and doorbell ditch it to the family. It’s one of my very favorite traditions.
Tuesday, December 10th
Book to unwrap: The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campell Ernst
Activity: Gingerbread Cookies
The Gingerbread Girl is a simple twist on the original story–with a girl instead of a gingerbread man. With three girls, it’s popular at our house!
I am not actually the biggest fan of gingerbread, but my girls love it and we make and decorate them every year. I use my great-grandmother’s recipe and buy special decorating things like icing bags, Christmas M&M’s for buttons, and sprinkles that look like eyes. We are not professional cookie decorators by any means, but we have fun with it.
Wednesday, December 11th
Book to unwrap: Mouse’s Christmas Gift by Mindy Baker
Activity: Deliver Treats and Cards to Firemen and Policemen
Mouse’s Christmas Gift is a beautiful book about how Mouse’s small act of caring brings a community together for Christmas. I love the story, message, and artwork of the book. I like to pair it with making cards for others, because that’s a small act that my kids can do to serve our community.
Thursday, December 12th
Book to unwrap: The Gingerbread Doll by Susan Tews
Activity: Make Cookies for Neighbor Gifts
The Gingerbread Doll is a darling book we ran across at the library last year. It is set in the great depression, when a little girl’s mom can’t afford the doll she wants, so instead she makes one from gingerbread. It’s a cute little story and perfect for when we make cookies.
I love making Christmas cookies and I love doing neighbor gifts, so I love taking a day to make Christmas cookies to gift to neighbors. I take the whole day (and usually mix up some cookie dough to chill overnight) and make several batches of several kinds of cookies and then distribute them to gift bags. I like to get out coloring pages for the kids and watch some Christmas movies while I bake. The next day, the girls help me deliver cookies.
I usually make green cookies with Christmas M&M’s (I use my chocolate chip cookie recipe and just replace the chips with M&M’s), red chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate chips, snickerdoodles, peanut butter kiss cookies (rolled in sprinkles), and homemade Oreos with red and green frosting. I make big batches of all of them so I can do about 50 bags to deliver.
Friday, December 13th
Book to unwrap: How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
Activity: Grinch Day
We read How the Grinch Stole Christmas every year and this is my second year doing a “Grinch Day”. We have some themed activities and food, read the book, and watch both the cartoon and the animated Grinch movie (I am not a fan of the live action, so we never watch that one, but we love both the others).
One activity we do is Grow the Grinch’s Heart science. You put a red heart on a green balloon, put baking soda in the balloon, and then put the balloon over a water bottle with vinegar in it; when it reacts, the balloon fills up and the heart “grows”. We also make grinch pancakes for breakfast and write letters to family members telling them something we love about them (and connect it to the heart growing three sizes). We learn how to draw the Grinch and later in the day, we have Grinch Rice Krispie Treats.
Saturday, December 14th
Book to unwrap: A Birthday Party for Jesus by Susan Jones
Activity: A Birthday Party for Jesus
The book follows a little rabbit who doesn’t know what to give Jesus a gift as all the animals prepare to celebrate his birthday. Along the way, he learns what is truly important to give.
A birthday party for Jesus is a tradition I’ve brought from my own childhood, and I love the chance to focus on Christ. We always have a treat, like cupcakes or pie, to put a candle in while we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Then we each decide on a gift (something we want to change or a way we want to be better) and write them down. I found a present craft, with Jesus in the middle, that I really like and a poem. We end the night with watching The Christ Child on YouTube.
Sunday, December 15th
Book to unwrap: The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Activity: Make Gifts for Extended Family
The Gift of the Magi is such a traditional story and I love it. The one we own has beautiful illustrations and uses the original text, so the old-fashioned language can be a little hard for my kids to follow. I help though, and they always light up when the twist at the end comes. Because of the focus on giving, it feels like the perfect book to pair with making gifts.
When my oldest was four or five, she wanted to make a gift for a lot of her extended family members. The next year, she and her younger sister wanted to, and it’s become a tradition since then. They always have an extensive list of people they want to give to, so in the past, it’s been a job getting all the gifts ready. This year, my plan is to let the kids write a story, illustrate it, and then photocopy it for everyone on their list to make it easier.
Monday, December 16th
Book to unwrap: The Little Drummer Boy by Bernadette Watts
Activity: Cards for the Beehive Home
I really like the story and illustrations of this version of the book, based on the song. I really like pairing the story of the drummer boy, someone who gifted his musical talents to Christ, with caroling. Our girls love to go caroling and we like to do it at the Beehive Home because it is warm and the residents love it.
Tuesday, December 17th
Book to unwrap: The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert
Activity: Visit Santa
The Christmas Wish is such a fun book! The story follows a little girl who is trying to find Santa to be his helper, and she has a lot of animal friends help her along the way. The illustrations are photographs and really bring the book alive.
Our kids always love to visit Santa. This is one of the activities where we have to be flexible. Because I like to plan our Christmas countdown so early, the library and city haven’t announced their dates for free Santa visits yet, but we usually just switch with another activity. We always have a lot of different options, so we can always find a date that works well.
We also have some Santa-themed activities that we can do, and my kids often like to make a little present or note to take to Santa. My two oldest understand about Santa (it happened a lot earlier than I had wanted) and they still love visiting Santa.
Wednesday, December 18th
Book to unwrap: Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck
Activity: Make Sibling Gifts
I remember hearing this story when I was a child and loving it. It’s a sweet story of a boy who learns how to serve and truly show love to his father at Christmas time. I like reading a story about giving and serving on the day that I make neighbor gifts.
Having my kids make gifts, rather than buy them, for each other is a tradition I got from my aunt, and I love it. With four kids, we now have them draw names and make a gift for just on sibling. They love making the gift and get really excited about it, and usually the gifts are the kinds of things that we don’t need to keep forever.
Thursday, December 19th
Book to unwrap: Harold at the North Pole by Crockett Johnson and Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
Activity: Snow Day
This is the only day we’ll open more than one book and it’s because I love both of them so much. I love doing a Christmas-themed snow book for our snow day!
Because I can’t control the snow and I like to plan ahead (and some years, it doesn’t snow where I live until Christmas Eve/Day), our snow day involves indoor activities like making paper snowflakes and playing with fake snow. My favorite thing is to make each person’s name into a snowflake. When we’re done with the snowflakes, we hang them on the ceiling of the kids’ rooms. Some years, like last year, it lines up and we have real snow to play in as well!
Friday, December 20th
Book to unwrap: You Are My Miracle by Maryann Cusimano Love
Activity: Read Poems in Christmas Pajamas
I love the poetic feel of You Are My Miracle, and the way it reminds me to treasure each of these moments with my own kids.
I chose to do this activity on a Friday because we always do breakfast for dinner then. We can all don our pajamas and share some Christmas poems while we eat breakfast foods before movie night.
Saturday, December 21st
Book to unwrap: Llama Llama Jingle Bells by Anna Dewdney
Activity: Look at Christmas Lights
We like the Llama Llama books and this one is pretty cute. We also really like the show on Netflix and they have some cute Christmas episodes. I paired it with this activity because of the title.
Driving around looking at Christmas lights is a tradition my kids all look forward to. I try to look up beforehand some neighborhoods that go all out or houses that have dancing lights. We also often will pair it with dropping off some Christmas gifts farther from our house or stop for a treat somewhere.
Sunday, December 22nd
Book to unwrap: The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
Activity: Candy Cane Hunt
The Legend of the Candy Cane is a cute little story that ends with teaching how the candy cane symbolizes Christ. I love the story and the message of the book.
We always do a “candy cane” activity when we read this book. We start with a candy cane hunt–I hide candy canes around the house and then the kids search for them. Then they can eat one of the candy canes while I read the book to them. Then we do other activities. We’ve done some science experiments, measured candy canes, made paper candy canes, or made butter cookies into the shape of candy canes. This year, I want to be “candy cane bombers”, where we leave a nice note with a candy cane on people’s windshields.
Saturday, December 23rd
Book to unwrap: Christmas Cookie Day by Tara Knudson
Activity: Make Sugar Cookies for Santa!
Christmas Cookie Day is a cute but simple book about a Mama Bear and her son who make sugar cookies together. We always save this for when we make sugar cookies.
We always leave sugar cookies for Santa, and I like to make them the day before Christmas Eve, so we can spend Christmas Eve morning relaxing. I make it manageable to have the kids help me by doing one kid at a time. They take turns rolling out and using cookie cutters with the dough and then I finish up after every child has had a turn. Then I let them decorate their own plate of cookies with store frosting and sprinkles and decorate the rest myself.
Sunday, December 24th
Book to unwrap: The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
Activity: Christmas Eve Traditions
This is my favorite version of this traditional story. I love the illustrations in it, and it follows the traditional poem. Most of the other books we open in the morning or afternoon as we’re doing the activity, but we always save this book for right before bed on Christmas Eve.
Our Christmas Eve traditions start in the morning. We play games in the morning, especially video games like Mario Kart or Mario Party. We love to have the morning relaxing since our evening is busier.
In the afternoon, we go to our in-laws house for an early dinner. Some years we have done a fancy dinner and other years, we’ll do the fancy dinner the Sunday before Christmas and do something like soup for dinner on Christmas Eve. After dinner, we act out the Nativity scene, one of my very favorite Christmas traditions.
Then it’s usually time to go home. At home, we open one present. Right now, our tradition is to each get a new blanket (we get our Christmas pajamas after Thanksgiving so that we can wear them all season long). After getting on pajamas and snuggling in our blankies, we read The Night Before Christmas. Then we set out cookies for Santa and get the kids in bed.
Our Christmas traditions are something that I love and look forward to every year. This sort of countdown is something that my personality as a mom thrives on. I would love to hear some of the traditions you as a mom thrive on and love! Let me know in the comments below!
Every year, I put together a bullet journal to use and fill out during the year. I track the books I read, the stats of my reading, my writing and reading goals, and my monthly TBR.
I love creating it and using it every year.
The first page of my bullet journal is a notes page, where I can write down anything I need to remember for next year’s bullet journal. This includes things like changes I might want to make to pages or the order of pages as well as new releases I want to put in next year’s journal.
I like to have a calendar page at the start of my bullet journal to show big picture events that are happening throughout the year.
Then I have my book log. I write down the title, author, how many stars I rated it, the date I finished reading it, and the number of pages in the book. I leave plenty of empty pages, though this last year I didn’t fill them all up. I’d rather have a few extras than run out of room.
Right after my book log, I have my stats page. I love keeping track of all the stats, just for fun. I use tally marks to keep track as I track books, though a few of the stats I count up at the end of the month.
After my stats page is a place for me to write the number (which is easier to see than the tally marks). I fill this out at the end of each month.
Another stats page I have is a place to color in how many books I’ve read that year. My minimum goal is 180, but I often read more than that, so I include more squares than I think I’ll need, just in case.
Each year, I go through my Goodreads TBR (which has more than a thousand books on it) and try to find 33 books to prioritize that year. I always try to include a variety of genres and include YA, middle grade, and adult books. I choose 33 because that’s 3 books a month (which is a very reasonable number for me) other than December (during which I usually read less and like to be done with my reading goals if I can be).
My Classics TBR includes classics that I want to read in general, not just during that year.
My Reread list, like with classics, includes books that I want to reread in general. Then, I pick one book a month to reread (though with read alouds to my kids and occasional mood reading, it often ends up being more than one a month).
I love keeping track of series that I am in the middle of. I’ve broken up the series into four different categories: series I am actively reading, series I’ve started but am not sure I want to continue (though am also not ready to DNF), series I’ve started that have unwritten books that haven’t come out yet, and series I haven’t started yet but want to.
On my New Releases page, I like to write down the book (sometimes with a prompt to help me remember what the book is) and when it comes out. I color code the month it comes out so I can tell at a glance when it does. I also include books that were released in the year previous (so this year, in 2024).
I like to have a list of books I think would be fun to read aloud with my kids. We do a lot of read alouds, between homeschool, reading at night, and listening to audiobooks together. At the top of the list, I pick one a month that I want to prioritize (I usually actually read 9-10 of the books I pick out with the kids that year).
This page is for authors that I want to read more books by. When I read a book by that author, I color in a square under their name. If I read enough books by an author and love them, I eventually move that author to my Read All page (down below).
This is my page to keep track of authors who I want to read all their books, as well as the books they’ve written. The books that are colored in already are the ones I’ve read before the year starts. Many of the authors are ones that I am just working on over the next few years, but I usually pick one or two that I try to finish off their books that year.
Then I have my Author Collection page–the authors that I have read all their books. If I reread a book by them, I put a dot on the outside of their star. If I read a new release by them, I put a line across their star.
I’ve been working on reading all of Agatha Christie’s books for many years and really loving it. I like to choose one book a month to read by her and I look forward to it so much that I will probably continue rereading a book by her each month even after finishing reading all her books (using The Christie Challenge). I also like to have a page for some of my favorite readathons–including Middle Grade March.
This is my own reading challenge this year–to reread all the Little House on the Prairie books. I read all of them when I was a child, but I don’t remember them very well. I’ve only reread a few as an adult and I’m looking forward to experiencing them all again.
Jane Austen July is another readathon I really enjoy. I’ve also left some blank pages in this area in case I come across another readathon or reading challenge I’d like to participate in.
There are two readathons in September that I love–30 Books in 30 Days and Series September!
I also have always tried to participate in Nonfiction November, though I usually struggle to fit in very many nonfiction books here because I’m so busy trying to finish off my other reading goals. Though it’s not really following the challenge, I decided to use this page to track my nonfiction reading in general this year and choose one book a month that is nonfiction to focus on.
The next few pages are lists of nonfiction books that sound interesting to me and that I’d like to someday get to.
Then I have a cover page to divide my book lists from my section for buying and borrowing books.
This section starts with my library books catalogue. When I borrow the book, I write down the book title, the format, and when it is due. Then I can mark it off if I end up reading it.
Then I have my bookshelves of books that I want to buy. Since taking these pictures, I’ve since added book titles that I want to buy to many of these books. I organize them by author last name.
The final page is for books that I buy that weren’t on my list of books I want to buy and then a section to keep track of my spending on books. The top section is for how much I have budgeted for books and the bottom section is how much I actually spent.
This page is for writing down the book titles of books I’ve bought each month.
This page for writing down book titles of children’s books I’ve bought.
This first page is for writing down books I get rid of from my home library. The second page is where I keep track of books I gift to other people (I like to try to give someone a book each month).
Then I have a page for stats around buying and borrowing books. I like my stats XD
The second page here is my cover page for my movies section.
This page is for movies we watch as a family that aren’t Disney movies.
This is my page for keeping track of Disney movies we watch as a family throughout the year. When we watch one, I color the title in with the month’s corresponding color.
This page is for the holidays–Halloween movies and then Christmas movies!
This page is for movies that Ben and I watch together. We don’t watch a lot of movies (we tend toward TV shows or pickleball matches on YouTube, so we can get to bed at a decent time), but every once in a while, we enjoy a movie together.
The second page is the cover page for my writing section.
My writing section starts with tracking for nonfiction writing projects, blog post (my bookish blog and my personal blog) stats, and tracking writing group meetups. The second page is a monthly tracker of YouTube and my blog.
This page is for tracking my novel writing–on the first page, I keep track of weekly words written and the second page I can keep track of where I am in the writing process, monthly word count, and percentages of how far I am in the project.
This first page is a new one this year, a place for me to keep track of novels I’ve finished writing. The second page is a place for me to write down inspirational quotes related to writing.
This is a place for me to write down some of my favorite quotes from books I read during the year.
And this page is my stats page for social media and writing. I will take any excuse to make a stats page.
Then I have some pages to note my favorite books of the year. The first page here is where I write down my top three favorite reads of each month. I fill this out as I finish off each reading month. The second page is one I fill out at the end, where I pick my top ten books of the year.
The first page here is just for fun and I’m not sure I’ll keep it in future bullet journals, but it’s a bracket to help me narrow down my favorite book of the year.
The second page is a cover page for the final section in my bullet journal that I’ll show down below.
I have four pages for each month in this section. The first page is a place to write down goals, things I want to get done, and look at events that are happening that month (like birthdays, traveling, etc).
The second page is a calendar. The sides are where I can write down ideas of blog post and Instagram post ideas. As I actually create posts for either, I mark them on the calendar. The small section each day is for tracking Instagram posts and the larger square is for blog posts. I love being able to see at a glance how active I’ve been on Instagram and my blog.
The first page here is for tracking my TBR. I pick 10 books that I want to prioritize and then I have the five below that where I can put other books I might like to get to. I use my book lists to decide which books to read.
The second page is where I write down all the books I own (in the three different formats) that I haven’t read yet. I try to keep my lists down to this number, but often I don’t manage it (especially with eBooks, which I love buying on sale). I also try to read all the books I own in January by the end of the year (though last year I didn’t quite manage it).
These pages repeat through each month of the year through December to finish off my bullet journal.
I love my bookish bullet journal! It is so fun for me to create the pages each year and I love using it to track things and fill it out all year long.
Do you have a bullet journal? How do you track your reading and other bookish hobbies? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
I spent a lot of time in the kitchen and make a lot of the food we eat. I love finding appliances that make that easier for me (and getting rid of the ones that don’t!).
Today I am sharing the appliances that get the most use!
Zojirushi Bread Machine
I use my bread machine 5-7 times a week. I often am using it every day and sometimes I will use it more than once. I make bread in it at least 5 times a week (my kids and husband love bread and can go through a loaf very quickly) and I also use it to mix up the dough for things like pizza dough, dinner rolls, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, fry donuts, and scones.
I have a Zojirushi bread machine. I love being able to set the times for kneading, etc. and have always gotten great results from it. I buy mine used on eBay. My mother-in-law (who recommended this bread machine to me) has tried other bread machines but they never worked as well for her bread recipe (which I also use!).
I set my bread machine settings so that it preheats for 10 minutes, kneads the dough for 30 minutes, and then raises for an hour. I use this setting for other dough as well (pizza dough, donut dough, etc.).
Hot Chocolate Maker
I’ve never been a coffee drinker or big on tea, but in the last couple of years, our family has loved starting the day with protein hot chocolate. Because of that, I use my hot chocolate maker pretty much every morning (exceptions would be if we’re fasting for church, traveling, or have to leave really early for some reason).
Air Fryer
We use our air fryer several times a week. We have a small one and would like to upgrade to a bigger one since we use it so often (let me know if you have a bigger one you love!). We use it to grill vegetables (our favorite is wedged zucchini!), cook meat (chicken, chicken wings, steak, hamburger patties), and fry donuts. I also love using it to reheat leftovers that get soggy if heated up in other ways (especially leftover pizza) or to crisp up things like frozen French fries (we’ll heat them up in the oven and then stick them in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes).
Ice Cream Maker
We have the Cuisine Art ice cream maker and love it! We use it 2 to 3 times a week, plus on special occasions. My husband and I love to make our homemade ice cream after the kids are in bed. Then we stick the leftovers in the freezer to enjoy each night until it’s gone and then we make a new batch! We also make ice cream for birthdays or if we have people over for dessert.
Blender
We wanted a budget blender, but I also wanted one that blended really well (our previous blender did not, and it drove me crazy). The one we have now works great for blending and was pretty inexpensive. We use our blender the most for smoothies with the kids, but we also use it for ice cream (we blend it up in the blender before pouring into our ice cream machine) and the occasional other recipe.
Crockpot
My mom got us this crockpot for Christmas and we love it! It has a lot of great setting options, but the one we use the most is the connected thermometer. You set the desired temperature and it automatically turns off once it reaches that temp. It really helps me not dry out my chicken or roast, which is something I always struggled with before. We use it 3-4 Sundays of the month for dinner and then occasionally throughout the week.
I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and these appliances are used so often! We love them. What do you use in the kitchen all the time? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!
August was a fantastic reading month for me, with many books that I know will end up being favorites of the year!
I read 19 books in August and 6,079 pages, for an average of 319 pages per book. I read 15 books by female authors and 4 books by male authors. I borrowed 8 books and owned 11 of the books I read. I had 6 rereads and 11 new reads. I read 2 new releases. I read 5 middle grade, 2 YA, and 12 adult books, with 3 read alouds. I read 6 books that are part of a series, starting 1 series, and finishing 1 series. I read 8 five star reads, 5 four star reads, 4 three star reads, 1 two stars read, and 0 one star reads.
Today I am sharing my favorite reads from last month!
The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon
I wasn’t sure this would be my kind of book. I really love some of Amy Harmon’s books and others are a bit heavy for me. With this one following Butch Cassidy, I wasn’t sure how it would go. I loved it! It is my new favorite book by Amy Harmon. I really loved the love story and the struggle throughout, but then I also really loved the ending.
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
I knew going in that I was going to love it and I did! As an aspiring author, I loved the writing aspect of it and the love story was so cute. I also loved the focus on family and the theme of putting the most important things first in life.
The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
This is one of the most underrated classics, in my opinion. Despite never having heard of it before, I loved it from beginning to end. The main character Valancy is my favorite and the love story is so sweet. It is also so satisfying watching Valancy grow into her own person and stand up for herself against people who put her down her whole life. It is one of my new favorite classics.
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
This is a classic I’d heard of but never read (the only Thomas Hardy book I’d read before was The Return of the Native in high school, which I did like). I ended up really liking this one, it had a lot of drama and I was there for it.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
This historical fiction was beautifully written and was heart wrenching with some great moments of hope. I didn’t love the ending but otherwise, I just loved it.
Rereads:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
This is my favorite book by Jane Austen and always will be. Earlier this year, I read a retelling following Mary and it made me want to read the source material again. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
I know this one is less-well known by Austen and not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it. It’s one of my favorites by her. There is something about Catherine’s character that I love and relate to. I also love Catherine’s love of novels.
Mr. Whiskers and the Shenanigan Sisters by Wendelin Van Draanen
This is a book that released earlier this year and both the kids and I love it! We relistened to it on a road trip we were taking (it’s just the right length to listen to as we drive to visit my family) and I was reminded about how much I love it. It has fun humor (my kids love all the dog jokes) and I love the plot line and the characters. We are all hoping she writes more and makes it into a series.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
It’s been years since I’ve read this one and it was fun to revisit it with my kids. They liked it, though I think they were a little young (9, 8, and 6) to really just love it. They loved the idea of running away and living in a museum though.
Those are the books I read last month that I loved! I would love to hear about the books you’ve read recently that you really enjoyed! Let me know in the comments below.
