This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support. I love reading with my kids. I love sharing my love of books and reading with them. My son recently got his first library card and he was so excited. I was excited too because, as Arthur says, “Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card!” (He checked out EVERY Pokémon book that library had in stock. Literally.) So I thought today I would share some of my favorite Children’s books we’ve been reading lately. Ok the first one is actually a bonus because Ms Messner has actually written 6 of these books now (the sixth is being released in September and it’s about the ocean). I love all of them. The art is beautiful! The science is easy for the kids to understand. It’s a great way to learn about ecosystems! And at the end she always writes about what inspired her book and includes a glossary of the organisms in the book. You’ll for sure want to check these out! I ordered this for my fact loving son and didn’t expect it to be as thorough as it is. It’s actually a pretty hefty book with timelines on so many different subjects. It includes your typical historical things like the Ottoman Empire and the Civil Rights Movement. But it also includes a timeline on games played throughout history and spy work through time. Of course I also love the inclusion of science with timelines on our understanding of physics and chemistry. A super cool book!! Little Critter Books By Mercer Mayer Another bonus as there’s so many of these books! I used to enjoy them as a kid too. My son randomly said to me, “I love Little Critter books mom. They’re just so fun!” And I have to agree. The cute pictures help to tell the story. Plus looking for the other critters like the spider or mouse on every page is another way to enjoy these books. Ok I know I’m decades behind but I hadn’t ever read this book until this year! My mom and sister have read the whole series, but I never had. I am in love with Anne Shirley. It’s an insanely wonderful book. I regret not reading it sooner. I did watch the PBS series when I was younger though and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you haven’t read this yet, do yourself a favor and read it. Fun, creative and funny! That’s how I would describe this book. It’s my son’s favorite so we do end up reading it quite often. But it doesn’t get old because the pictures are great and it’s fun to get into the character of the narrator. There’s also a sequel that I haven’t read but my son has and says he loves it just as much. So if you’ve got a dragon loving kid, a taco loving kid, or just a fun loving kid this is a great choice for you! So what about you, any kids book recommendations? Let us know in the comments below. Other Kid's Book Recommendations:
0 Comments
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support. St. Paddy's Day is only a couple days away! Our family traditionally loves Corned Beef and Cabbage to celebrate this day, but sometimes different options can be fun. Surprisingly, some people don't love Corned Beef like we do. For these reasons, I've rounded up a few recipes that would each be fun to try for your St. Patrick's Day celebration!
This post was originally posted in July of 2018! Although Independence Day was yesterday, many people will still have the day off today. So, there is no reason not to keep the celebration going with a great American traditional meal! This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support. Hey guys! Alicia here with more recipes from my ancestry. This month I decided to do American food, as in The United States of America. My ancestors have been here for a long time from many other countries throughout Europe. It's been difficult to find purely American foods, because the great thing about this country is it's a melting pot of people and cultures. And in fact today we have a meal that is an blend of foods from other countries, that when together makes a quintessential American meal. Hamburgers, Fries, and a MilkshakeHamburgers, wereminced Hamburg beef steaks made in Hamburg, Germany. They were usually very expensive. When Germans came to the USA, they made a version of the Hamburg steak here. These steaks were passed out to factory workers during the Industrial revolution, but proved difficult to eat standing up. This was until one chef put the patty between to slices of bread. This popularized the hamburger across the country. And I'm so glad! I love hamburgers. To make mine, I usually just make a patty with ground beef (80/20 or higher). Sometimes I mix in spices like pepper, garlic, thyme, or onion powder. Then as I put them on the charcoal grill, I salt them. When they're cooked through, and just about done, I add a slice of cheese. Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Swiss...to me all cheese has a place on a burger, it just depends on what else you're topping it with. For our burgers this time we used cheddar cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and onion. All on a lightly grilled sesame seed bun. It was so delicious. I don't have a recipe for you because hamburgers are the perfect food to experiment with. There are so many delicious combinations. The bacon cheeseburger like we made is an American classic, But I also love Swiss cheese and sautéed onions. To go with hamburgers, the classic way here in the USA is with French Fries. While named French fries, they're actually from Belgium! During World War I, American soldiers in Belgium tried these delicious fried potatoes (that date back to the 1600's in Belgium). Because of the language spoken in that part of the country, the soldiers called them French Fries and the name has stuck (except for that very brief moment in time where we changed it to Freedom Fries in one of the most hilarious forms of animosity between countries). Fries are eaten all over the world now and in different ways. In Canada they use them to make Poutine. In the UK they're called chips and eaten with fried fish. No matter how you eat them, they are delicious. To make my fries I peel russet potatoes, and then slice them into long thin rectangular prisms (not exactly since the potatoes are round). Then I soak them in water or blanch them. I feel like this helps them to get plump up and be crispy when they are done frying (instead of soggy). I fry them in my 10 inch frying pan with about an inch of oil. As soon as they come out of the oil I put them on a plate with a paper towel and salt them. You can also bake them, just coat them in oil and salt first. To finish off the meal, is a milkshake! From my research it seems milkshakes are an American invention. Now we don't always have milkshakes with fries and burgers or even for dinner. Usually it's an after dinner treat! But we made an exception for this meal. Milkshakes are easy to make. Get your favorite ice cream, put it in a blender, add some milk and blend it up. It's so so simple and so delicious! You can make it as liquid as you want. We like to be able to drink ours through a straw but many people eat theirs with a spoon. Sorry I don't have a good picture of our milkshake. We drank it too fast. This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support! It's June and that means Father's Day is coming up! We're excited to celebrate with the men in our life. That's why we decided to create these fun Father's Day cards that you can give out. They're all donut themed so they'd be perfect to deliver with a donut on Sunday morning. Donut Pun CardsWhen I first started making the cards I was at a loss of what to do but then I saw a picture of a donut and the puns just started coming to me and I decided to make 6 cards in a pack to sell on Etsy. I like the pack of cards because it's enough to give one to all the father's in my life. Plus I can buy a dozen donuts and give each guy 2 donuts! Just press the button below to go to our listing on Etsy to get them for yourself! The cards are postcard style and print 2 to a page. There are crop marks and bleed so cutting them out will be easy. I recommend printing on white card stock. I printed mine at home but you could also take them to a print shop and have them professionally printed and cut. I'm so excited to share these with y'all and hope you enjoy the puns as much as I do! I love dad jokes and I think you'll like them too on these cards.
|
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
July 2024
|