I'm excited to say that B completed all three of her Summer Reading Programs as of yesterday. All together, she read THIRTY-TWO books this summer, of varying lengths. We did read Lewis Carroll's ALICE IN WONDERLAND together - I read it aloud, chapter by chapter - but I made her read me the remainder aloud, and she did remarkably. We had her first official Meet the Teacher night last week, and I told both her teachers she can read independently and they both just sort of nodded. All of her teachers have been like that at first - the "yes, everyone thinks their child is a genius" sort of brush off - but give it two weeks and they'll change their tune.
Anyway, photos of my B and her rewards:
1) Reading Challenge #1: Austin Public Library's Summer Reading Program
2) Reading Challenge #2: Barnes & Noble's Imagination Destination Program
3) Reading Challenge #3: Book People's Give Me Summer, Give Me Books Program
It makes me happy to no end to know that this focus we've helped her grow, regarding reading and words and art, will be a lifelong one.
I'm so very proud of my little reader.
Showing posts with label B. Show all posts
Showing posts with label B. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 August 2013
Monday, 5 August 2013
15. Throw Bella a crazy awesome 5th birthday bash - DONE!
Bella's fifth birthday was the biggest party we've ever had for her, and it was Alice in Wonderland themed. It was really simple to put together, though, and she was so excited all day. All of our People were there, and there were tons of kids. We had cupcakes, Eat Me cookies, sandwiches, unexpected barbecue, perfect weather, and an amazing array of gifts, when all was said and done.
I was also able to take off work for her actual birthday, and we spent the day together, just relaxing and wandering around town. It was an all-around great day.
(all photos are mine. do not take them without permission, please.)
I'm so glad I was able to put this together, and that it went off (mostly) without a hitch. Thanks to everyone who came out, and to Erin for allowing us to take over her house for the afternoon.
Til next time,
Ang
I was also able to take off work for her actual birthday, and we spent the day together, just relaxing and wandering around town. It was an all-around great day.
(all photos are mine. do not take them without permission, please.)
| Big Top Candy Shop! :) |
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| We so rarely allow her to eat candy, this was a big thrill for her. |
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| DIY goodie bags at the party. |
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| I put up quotes around the space the party was held in. |
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| NOMZ. |
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| My little archery fiend. ;) |
I'm so glad I was able to put this together, and that it went off (mostly) without a hitch. Thanks to everyone who came out, and to Erin for allowing us to take over her house for the afternoon.
Til next time,
Ang
Saturday, 3 August 2013
Update: Summer Reading Challenges!
Well, hi there.
At this point, with 23 days before Kindergarten is slated to start (OMG WHAT), Bella has made great strides in all of the reading challenges she entered this summer.
1) Reading Challenge #1: Austin Public Library's Summer Reading Program
As of right now, we are on book 22 of 32. The deadline for this program is 8/24. She'll reach this goal, no problem.
2) Reading Challenge #2: Barnes & Noble's Imagination Destination Program - DONE!
3) Reading Challenge #3: Book People's Give Me Summer, Give Me Books Program
As of today, this is DONE, too! We'll probably take her to Book People tomorrow to pick up her gift card and let her pick out a book to buy. So exciting!
I plan on taking a photo of all her spoils once she's done with all three challenges - should be three brand new books - and posting it here. It's so cool and so great for me to see her excelling as a reader. I simply love it. And her, of course. To the moon and back.
As for me and my Goodreads Challenge, here are my current stats (I won't hit this goal til probably November/December, but still, I'm working on it throughout this summer, so here we are):
Thanks for reading this! ;)
At this point, with 23 days before Kindergarten is slated to start (OMG WHAT), Bella has made great strides in all of the reading challenges she entered this summer.
1) Reading Challenge #1: Austin Public Library's Summer Reading Program
As of right now, we are on book 22 of 32. The deadline for this program is 8/24. She'll reach this goal, no problem.
2) Reading Challenge #2: Barnes & Noble's Imagination Destination Program - DONE!
3) Reading Challenge #3: Book People's Give Me Summer, Give Me Books Program
As of today, this is DONE, too! We'll probably take her to Book People tomorrow to pick up her gift card and let her pick out a book to buy. So exciting!
I plan on taking a photo of all her spoils once she's done with all three challenges - should be three brand new books - and posting it here. It's so cool and so great for me to see her excelling as a reader. I simply love it. And her, of course. To the moon and back.
As for me and my Goodreads Challenge, here are my current stats (I won't hit this goal til probably November/December, but still, I'm working on it throughout this summer, so here we are):
Books read: 61 of 85
Pages read thus far: 23029
Thanks for reading this! ;)
| via |
Sunday, 21 July 2013
A Beachbody Update, Clean Eating, Books, Joss Whedon, and Bella B.
Hey-o.
Well, we're 9 days away from my first official "measure in," and I haven't lost any weight. I won't lie, that's really disappointing, but I did take some preemptive measurements last week in an attempt assuage said disappointment, and inches are gone from my waist, arms, and legs, so obviously, my body is changing. I just wonder what this is going to mean, weight-wise. I'm eating within a calorie allotment and replacing a meal every day with Shakeology, but still not seeing loss. Yes, there have been a few moderate cheats - like last night, I had Torchy's Tacos for dinner (and it was deeee-lish), but I am still more mindful of what I'm eating now than I have probably ever been before.
So anyway, it's upsetting (to a degree), but I have tone in my arms and legs where there was none before, and my shoulders and upper body are also changing - so much that a girl in my apartment office said something about me being "pretty cut" through my shoulders, so I'm trying to focus on that. She also said that, in her experience, the first month of her Insanity workout, she only lost 4 pounds, and then she dropped the weight during month two, so I'm hoping I see a similar trend. The goal for me has never been to be skinny, per say, but to the fit and strong. I'm on my way.
It's a goal of mine to have my household move to clean eating by year end. It's hard, especially in this
day and age of GMOs. God only knows what other science projects are offered to people in the grocery store, but it's a goal, and I hope we can do it, expensive or not. It's probably going to be a step-by-step process for us - move meats, then veg, etc etc, but I think it's a worthwhile goal for a million reasons. Though it was a bit of an unwieldy and overly verbose read for me, I'm glad to have read THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA, because it really did enhance my perspective on food and where it comes from. For now, we try to avoid processed foods as much as possible. We'll see how this goes.
In other book news, I've been reading THE INTERESTINGS for the last week and I'm having a sort of difficult time with it, not because it isn't...well, interesting, but because the narrative itself seems overly dense in all the wrong places. I'd rather sparse but intentional writing (like what's used throughout THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS, which I adored) than needless blathering, and I really feel like this book goes on and on about some of the most inane things. But: I will finish it. I have about 150 pages left, I think. We'll also see how this goes.
Obligatory Interjection: I'm currently enjoying the first cup of coffee I've had in about 3 weeks. It is rather divine.
While I've been sipping on this Cup of Deliciousness, I finished watching Serenity this morning, the 2005 Joss Whedon film, and I'm (as usual) kicking myself for not watching it sooner. Buffy was fabulous, and so was Angel, but my real point here is that I love that Whedon isn't afraid to make brave, bold, kick ass female characters, and for this, Serenity did not disappoint. Also, Nathan Fillion, shirtless and sporting bedhead isn't so terrible on the eyes. I also really want to see his version of
Much Ado About Nothing because I am a Shakespeare girl at heart - have been since I was about 17 and begged for a leatherbound, embossed copy of his complete works. I'm sure it will blow my mind.
And speaking of strong female leads, my wee one will be 5 on Thursday, and she's becoming quite the kick butt girl herself. Thursday will be spent doing whatever she wants.
Til next time,
Ang
Well, we're 9 days away from my first official "measure in," and I haven't lost any weight. I won't lie, that's really disappointing, but I did take some preemptive measurements last week in an attempt assuage said disappointment, and inches are gone from my waist, arms, and legs, so obviously, my body is changing. I just wonder what this is going to mean, weight-wise. I'm eating within a calorie allotment and replacing a meal every day with Shakeology, but still not seeing loss. Yes, there have been a few moderate cheats - like last night, I had Torchy's Tacos for dinner (and it was deeee-lish), but I am still more mindful of what I'm eating now than I have probably ever been before.
| via |
So anyway, it's upsetting (to a degree), but I have tone in my arms and legs where there was none before, and my shoulders and upper body are also changing - so much that a girl in my apartment office said something about me being "pretty cut" through my shoulders, so I'm trying to focus on that. She also said that, in her experience, the first month of her Insanity workout, she only lost 4 pounds, and then she dropped the weight during month two, so I'm hoping I see a similar trend. The goal for me has never been to be skinny, per say, but to the fit and strong. I'm on my way.
| via |
day and age of GMOs. God only knows what other science projects are offered to people in the grocery store, but it's a goal, and I hope we can do it, expensive or not. It's probably going to be a step-by-step process for us - move meats, then veg, etc etc, but I think it's a worthwhile goal for a million reasons. Though it was a bit of an unwieldy and overly verbose read for me, I'm glad to have read THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA, because it really did enhance my perspective on food and where it comes from. For now, we try to avoid processed foods as much as possible. We'll see how this goes.
In other book news, I've been reading THE INTERESTINGS for the last week and I'm having a sort of difficult time with it, not because it isn't...well, interesting, but because the narrative itself seems overly dense in all the wrong places. I'd rather sparse but intentional writing (like what's used throughout THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS, which I adored) than needless blathering, and I really feel like this book goes on and on about some of the most inane things. But: I will finish it. I have about 150 pages left, I think. We'll also see how this goes.
Obligatory Interjection: I'm currently enjoying the first cup of coffee I've had in about 3 weeks. It is rather divine.
| via |
Much Ado About Nothing because I am a Shakespeare girl at heart - have been since I was about 17 and begged for a leatherbound, embossed copy of his complete works. I'm sure it will blow my mind.
And speaking of strong female leads, my wee one will be 5 on Thursday, and she's becoming quite the kick butt girl herself. Thursday will be spent doing whatever she wants.
Til next time,
Ang
Labels:
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beachbody,
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books,
clean eating,
fitness,
food,
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Serenity,
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Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Reading the Summer Away
This blog? It's really just a glorified Mama Brag, so prepare yo'self.
This summer, my Beautiful B agreed to be a part of not one, not two, but three reading challenges. Yes, some of the books will overlap, but the point is that she's agreed to read just under 40 books this summer, most of them by herself.
Reading Challenge #1: Austin Public Library's Summer Reading Program
For this challenge, she's got to keep a log of which books she's read and once she meets her goal, she can turn in her completed list and she'll get a free paperback book from the Library to keep! I asked her how many books she wanted to read per week, and she said 4. I multiplied that by 8, to cover two months of time, so her goal for APL's SRP is 32 books of her choosing. I'm making her read most of them, but I've also read one or two with her.
Reading Challenge #2: Barnes & Noble's Imagination Destination Program
For this challenge, she had to read 8 books of her choosing and keep a log of them. Additionally, she had to make recommendations on who should read each book. Once the list was complete, her "prize" was free book, based on her age group.
This challenge is actually done already! B chose the classic RAMONA QUIMBY, AGE 8 for her free book. I can't wait to read it with her.
Reading Challenge #3: Book People's Give Me Summer, Give Me Books Program
This program is a bit more structured than the other two, in that Book People has a list of recommended books according to the child's age. Granted, B's skillset is a bit more advanced than some of the books for K-2, but it's good practice for her, so I don't mind. I've gotten 4 of the recommended 6 books on their way to us from the Library and I'll let her read two other books of her choosing. Once she finishes this challenge, the reward is a $5 gift card to Book People, which we'll let her use on a book of her choosing.
We'll get our girl a library of her own yet. ;)
For the record, I, too, and part of a reading challenge for the summer. It's hosted through the APL as well, and for every 5 books I read, I am entered into a drawing for some pretty sweet prizes. I'm also still trucking along on my Goodreads Challenge.
What are you reading this summer?
MWAH,
Ang
This summer, my Beautiful B agreed to be a part of not one, not two, but three reading challenges. Yes, some of the books will overlap, but the point is that she's agreed to read just under 40 books this summer, most of them by herself.
| via |
Reading Challenge #1: Austin Public Library's Summer Reading Program
For this challenge, she's got to keep a log of which books she's read and once she meets her goal, she can turn in her completed list and she'll get a free paperback book from the Library to keep! I asked her how many books she wanted to read per week, and she said 4. I multiplied that by 8, to cover two months of time, so her goal for APL's SRP is 32 books of her choosing. I'm making her read most of them, but I've also read one or two with her.
Reading Challenge #2: Barnes & Noble's Imagination Destination Program
For this challenge, she had to read 8 books of her choosing and keep a log of them. Additionally, she had to make recommendations on who should read each book. Once the list was complete, her "prize" was free book, based on her age group.
This challenge is actually done already! B chose the classic RAMONA QUIMBY, AGE 8 for her free book. I can't wait to read it with her.
Reading Challenge #3: Book People's Give Me Summer, Give Me Books Program
This program is a bit more structured than the other two, in that Book People has a list of recommended books according to the child's age. Granted, B's skillset is a bit more advanced than some of the books for K-2, but it's good practice for her, so I don't mind. I've gotten 4 of the recommended 6 books on their way to us from the Library and I'll let her read two other books of her choosing. Once she finishes this challenge, the reward is a $5 gift card to Book People, which we'll let her use on a book of her choosing.
We'll get our girl a library of her own yet. ;)
For the record, I, too, and part of a reading challenge for the summer. It's hosted through the APL as well, and for every 5 books I read, I am entered into a drawing for some pretty sweet prizes. I'm also still trucking along on my Goodreads Challenge.
What are you reading this summer?
MWAH,
Ang
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