A Few of My Favorite Reads

FAVORITE MAGAZINE
One of the downsides of being a writer is that I rarely read magazines for pleasure anymore. I subscribe to many magazines and flipping through these used to be one of my favorite ways to relax. Now, no matter how hard I try, I always end up analyzing the magazines the way writers are taught to and it’s hard to just enjoy them as a consumer. But…there is one magazine that arrives in my mailbox that causes me to pause and “pet” the beautiful cover. It is Wondertime magazine. It’s just one of those magazines that reminds me to enjoy the simple pleasures of parenting.

FAVORITE BLOGS
Again, there really are so many out there that I enjoy (and I find new favorites all
of the time), but if I have top pick a few here they are:

The Smart Woman’s Guide to a Simple Life-this is an informative and inspiring blog that really makes you think about the importance of living a simple(r) life (something all of us with large families can benefit from). Gretchen does a great job researching her topics and includes a thoughtful personal perspective. In keeping with the “simple” theme she only updates her blog on Mondays and you can subscribe to receive it in your inbox. It really is one of the few e-mails I look forward to reading on Monday mornings.

Don’t hate me, but I actually love to organize! When I worked in a hospital I was one of those people who instead of chatting with the rest of the nursing staff when I was caught up with my patients, I could be found organzing the supply room. Therefore I’m a big fan of organizing blogs and The Lazy Organizer and I’m an Organizing Junkie are two of my favorites. I love the before and after project pictures and their organizing product reviews.

Parentdish is one of the newsy blogs that has many new posts a day. Initially I didn’t think I’d like trying to keep up with it, but I find myself clicking on it every time I open bloglines. It’s a group blog and I don’t necessarily agree with the reporting angle of all of the bloggers, but I love reading the highlights of the latest news that may be of interest to parents. Oh, okay, and if I’m totally honest I have to admit that I do read the latest celebrity parenting gossip as well ;-)

FAVORITE BOOKS
Wanna give me a gift card I’d LOVE to spend? Forget clothes, forget shoes, you can even forget the movies. The answer is book store-all the way! I love buying books, especially nonfiction. Here are some of my latest purchases:

Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely-this book is full of menus, recipes, and shopping lists to bring your family back to the dinner table. I really like how the book is divided by seasons and offers eight weeks of menus for each. A must-have for busy families who still want to take the time to connect around the dinner table.

10-Minute Life Lessons for Kids by Jamie Miller-I’ll admit that sometimes my day gets so consumed with meeting the physical needs of four little ones that I fail to focus on my responsibility of raising good, decent human beings. This book offers 52 fun and simple games and activities to teach children important values including honesty, integrity, courage, trust, gratitutde, and cooperation. I like that at the beginning of each new game/activity it lists the specifics like group size, age, and materials needed (usually simple items around the house).


Jennifer Applin is a freelance writer, wife, and mother of four. She also blogs at Managing the MotherLoad.