Although I seem to spend more time reading a screen than I do a book, reading for me is a given. How would I function if I could not read?

In our family, reading happens everywhere…except the bathroom. I am not a book-in-the-bathroom person. Ewww. We have bookcases in every room except the bathroom.

It’s summer so the kids have days when they are voracious readers and days when they are not. My summer reading tips are as follows:

• Buy books. Yes, I know books are expensive, but kids love to reread old classics or new stories. Invest in books.
• Get each child a library card. Make sure you and your husband have library cards. Carry your library card in your purse or wallet.
• Visit the library regularly for storytimes or summer reading programs.
• Join summer reading programs at the library or bookstores.
• Shop consignment stores for books. I picked up 12 of the 13 Lemony Snicket books for about $10. I found The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13) on amazon for $94.50!
• Shop Goodwill for books.
• Go through your book collection at home. Pull out books that are too young for your child. Move books that are too young to a younger child’s bedroom.
• Buy each child a bookcase or shelf for their bedroom.
• Create screen-free areas in your house. Our living room does not a TV. There is a CD player if kids want to listen to books on CD. Our girls have laptops, but each child has reading time where the screens are turned off.
• Read the newspaper, read a book, read a menu, read the phone book — read anything while your little kids are in the room.
• For long car trips or lengthy visits to the doctor, have kids pack a book or a puzzle book to do while they wait.

Are you a blogger with kids? Check out this fabulous I Can Read contest over at Twittermoms!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get an “I Can Read!” book. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

If you are considering taking your children to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C., I would advise that:

You consider the age of your children.

• A baby or toddler in a stroller can get fussy and loud. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial would not be a good place to take your baby/toddler unless he is asleep
• A preschooler will not be able to walk silently past the panels of the Wall. People who visit the Wall might be disturbed by a rowdy preschooler.
• Before arriving at the Wall, tell your early elementary schooler to walk and talk quietly while viewing the Wall. Young children don’t need the gory details of what the Vietnam War was about, but they do need to know the basics. Tell your 5- to 8-year-old that the Wall represents the people who died during a war with Vietnam, a country in Asia.
• The ideal age for children to visit the Wall is tweens (9-12 years of age) and teens (13 and up). Tweens and teens know war memorials are a place where family members come to pay respects to those who died in conflicts.

You explain to your children what your expectations are for your children’s behavior.

• The War Memorials are somber places to visit.
• Kids need to be respectful.
• I explained to my children that people view the memorial like a cemetery or a church. I pointed out a person rubbing the name on the wall, another person leaving flowers and a message, and yet another person doing a pencil rubbing of a loved one’s name.
• Quiet voices at the war memorials.
• Talk to your children about the fact that the names on the wall are people who died in wars. My youngest had a few questions, but the preteen and teen walked somberly without asking many questions.

I remember how excited I was when I got to read the blue airmail letters from my grandmother in England. My family lived in the U.S. — New Jersey to be precise. We returned to England most summers. Staying in contact with my grandmother plus our other relatives was important. Phone calls were prohibitively expensive. Once my English family recorded a message on a cassette tape. We returned the tape to them with a message from our family. I still have that tape.

I want to write a letter to each of my children, so that they know they are loved beyond measure despite the fast, frenetic pace of our family life. In a nod to my blogging and online writing roots, I will write letter on this blog.

I am writing this letter to my children as part of the Baltimore Sun’s Mother’s Day Letters project. Note: For reasons of safety and security, I don’t refer to my children by name on my blog, but rather refer to them as “the teen,” “the preteen,” and the “the kid.”

___

Dear Teen:

You have never been shy about letting me know what you feel.

As a baby you only took a bottle on the 3rd try. You refused to be fed with a spoon to the point where I had to make your oatmeal super thick so that it would stick to your fingers. You insisted on dressing yourself even though putting on pantyhose is impossible for a 2-year-old. You walked out of your preschool classroom because you wanted to go to kindergarten NOW. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Last year when you became a teen, I was secretly worried. You have always been so determined to do what you wanted to do. What would you be like as a teen I wondered?

You emerged in to your teen years as a young lady full of dreams and ambitions for the future. Gone was the petulant and pouty tween. In her place, I found a young woman who was able to have a discussion about an issue even if the outcome was not what you wanted.

You have always done well in school with prodding from us. This past year you have taken the helm with school projects. On a number of occasions you have reminded me of homework assignments!

I am excited about what the future holds for you!

Love, Mommy

___

Dear Preteen:

When you were an infant, I recall that you would scream and fuss at bedtime. I geared up for a battle of wills at bedtime. I fed you and changed you and rocked you — all to no avail. One night it occurred to me to put you in your crib. I stood beside your crib amazed that you fell fast asleep. What?? You let me know in a nonverbal way that you needed an early bedtime. The early bedtime is just one of the gifts you have given this family.

Your sense of humor is a true joy to me. As a child I was a joker…ask Grandma and Grandad! You and I have fun reciting lines from The Simpson’s Movie and Shrek while your Dad, sister, and brother stand by bemused. I know, I know…I laugh at the lines far longer than you do.

As the younger sister to one and the older to another, you have much responsibility. Your older sister can be stand-offish with you or she can be your best buddy — what can I say she’s has an independent streak. Your little brother looks up to you, which I know is both charming and annoying. You handle both of your siblings with grace.

I am thrilled that you have found two sports that you love dearly. While I may not know what a librero does or what your time is in the breaststroke…I love cheering for you on the sidelines or poolside.

I will hang on for the ride to see where life takes you.

Love, Mommy

___

Dear Kid:

You are a bundle of joy wrapped up in a little boy package. You cuddle up for a bear hug or headbutt me — I never know which one I will get! You love your dad and would rather hang out with him. But, from the moment we brought you home from the hospital you have always been my little buddy.

As the only little boy in the family, you are relentless at trying to convert your sisters to the world of Cars and Thomas and Geotrax and Iron Man. You haven’t changed their minds yet, but you never stop trying.

I love that you adore school. From the moment I picked up a book to read to you, your eyes sparkled. Books hold your attention. You love being read to…when persuaded you will read to one of us. I love it when your preteen sister comes in to the room to listen to the Junie B. Jones books Daddy is reading to you. We are a book family!

I am excited to see where life will take you.

Love, Mommy

• Nursery — done
• Diapers — purchased
• Newborn clothes — washed and ready for baby #2
• Toys — washed or I bought a new toy. Someone told me to have two of anything you THINK might be of interest to your oldest child…wise person. The baby loved chewing on her Winnie the Pooh, which was an exact match to my oldest daughter’s Winnie the Pooh…aahhh what a relief to have two identical toys!
• Infant car seat — washed, scrubbed, but still looked a little worn…oh well. Baby #2 only used the infant car seat for a few months as she was a big baby.
• Food!

Food was a big concern for me. My parents graciously volunteered to stay with us for two months. My mother said she would drive the 2-year-old to preschool while I stayed home with the baby. I was grateful for the support. My 2-year-old was thrown for a loop with all the new-ness…new baby, new house guests, and visitors each day. I was glad to have my parents staying with us.

I wanted to make my life go as smoothly as possible with meal preparation once the baby and I got home from the hospital. I shopped at Costco before the baby was born for dinner food and treats. What was a big treat for all of us? Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls! Mmmmm…sorry I was distracted as I can almost the taste the yumminess. After the 2-year-old was in bed, someone would put the Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls in to bake. A nice treat at the end of a long day with an infant and a toddler.

Pillsbury have come out with a new flavor: Orange Sweet Rolls. Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls are warm, fresh, and ready to serve in just minutes. Packed with the love and flavor of a treat made from scratch, but without the time and cleanup, Orange Sweet Rolls are the perfect addition to your family’s Sunday morning traditions.

What a great way to start of your week! Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls are the perfect food for the on-the-go family to enjoy on Sunday. A good way to get ready for another busy week! On Sunday mornings we are up early to get to Sunday School. Once home we enjoy breakfast, which gets us ready for a relaxing day at home or a busy, busy, running all over the place day with three active kids!

Giveaway for Musings from Me readers! The nice folks at MyBlogSpark have a sweet Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls gift pack that includes a VIP coupon for Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls as well as a photo album to help keep your family’s sweet Sunday morning memories close at hand. One comment = one entry!

• What is your Sunday morning tradition?

• 

  Sunday morning shenanigans a year ago. Notice the lack of snow on the ground!

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I was provided with a Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls gift pack as part of my review by Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark. Giveaway ends Friday, March 5, 2010. Giveaway is open to U.S. readers only.

When my girls were toddlers and “itty bitty ones” there were no games available for them to play. Oh, you could buy CD-ROMs “for Toddlers” but the games were not easy to use. The games required use of a mouse AND good hand eye coordination. If you have been around a baby or a toddler for any length of time you know that babies are quite capable of jabbing  a spoonful of food directly in their eye. I have observed my toddler trip on her own sock.

Toddlers love playing on the computer. Why wouldn’t they? Toddlers watch mom and dad play games on the computer…check e-mail…play with their iphones. The keyboard keys and the mouse are enticing…a toddler wants to bang on the keys.

One dad decided to create a game for his toddler to use. He sketched  out the idea for site and the characters on a plane ride home. Wow! Kneebouncers.com is so much fun. Want to see an actual toddler playing on Kneebouncers? Watch >> Kneebouncers.

Want more games? Go to www.kneebouncers,com

My youngest started attending his sister’s sports practices when he was about 2 months old. I took him to t-ball practice on a rainy day in May ‘03. He was a tiny baby — well actually he was a big baby, but compared to all the 5-year-old’s playing t-ball he was a munchkin.

I knew I would have to take him to practices, games, and activities, so I made sure that the stroller I purchased had very large wheels, a seat that reclined all the way back, and a snack tray for him and a coffee cup/water bottle tray for me. I. was. prepared. for. anything. when. I took. my. baby. to. a. sports. practice.

Stroller days are long gone now, but I still have to bring my son to volleyball practices and all-day tournaments. It would be cruel and unusual punishment to make him sit on the sidelines for hours. We usually watch a game then run an errand together. The Nintendo DS Lite is his go-to toy on the sidelines of the game. He could play for hours…I don’t let him, but he would like to!

My tween tested SimAnimals Africa for wii. I have a copy of Sim Animals Africa for the DS…read on. This game allows 1 player to:

• Interact with exotic animals in the wild
• Journey through the jungles and savannas of Africa
• Discover wild animals’ secret abilities
• Solve challenges to unlock items, animals, and levels
• Collect unique items to receive badges

My tween had fun playing with the onscreen safari animals in SimAnimals Africa. She’s an animal lover living in a house with a dad with allergies, a mom who is not fond of animals, and a teen who is a combination of mom and dad. Only her 6-year-old brother would join her on her quest for a pet…any pet…just not a fish. One day when her school had take Your Pet to School Day she said with exasperation “What am I supposed to do? Carry the fish to school in a bucket!”

Giveaway for Musings from Me reader! I have ONE copy of SimAnimals Africa for DS for one lucky reader. One comment = one entry. Enter now!

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I was given the game for review. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends January 31, 2010 at 11:59 p.m.

I posted this comment over at a new site — City Mommy DC. A mom on the site needed advice about napping. I obliged. After 3 kids and 14 years, I have advice to give!

I had three different experiences with naptime.

Child #1 and #2 needed to nap as I freelanced form home. With Child #3 I used naptime to get household tasks done or used the computer.

Child #1 was a supreme nappper. She had a late bedtime ~9:30 p.m. as my husband worked late. She started fighting her nap when Child #2 was born. I got her back napping until about 3.5 yrs. Nap became quiet time. I switched her bedtime to when the baby went to sleep ~7:30 p.m. I did my freelance work in the evenings.

Child #1 watched a short DVD every day. I needed her to be quiet so that Child #2 could sleep plus I could get work done. Due to Child #1 fidgety-ness and Child #2’s early bedtime ~7:30 p.m., child #2 started fighting, then quit napping at 2 yrs. I never succeeded in getting Child #2 to do quiet time. I found crafts, activities, and movies to while away the afternoons while I worked. She would read books for about 20 minutes, but I needed her to be occupied for at least an hour while I edited/returned phone calls. By time the kids were 5 and 3 I quit freelancing as it was too hard to manage kids during the day AND work during quiet time and after kids went to bed.

Child #3 was a great napper. Around 2.5 he was strong enough to hoist himself out of the crib. I fought the good fight but I was too worried about leaving him in his room unattended. I let him play quietly in familyroom. He and I joined playgroups, did classes, visited the library, and he watched a little TV.

Wish I had a tried and true method…but each kid is different as you know!

Scanning old baby photos is top on my list of “I must do this at some point, so that I can post on Facebook or my blog.” The baby photos are still in albums or in boxes. Ask me for a photo from about mid-2005 on and I can find a digital version in a second or two. Not so the photos from 1996 through early 2005. This is a shame because my oldest was 0 though 9, the middle was 0 through 7, and the little guy was 0 through 2 during the nondigital years.

Some photo gems missing from my online photo files…the girls’ first trip to Disney…various outings to either Sesame Place or Hershey Park…the zoo — Baltimore or the National Zoo…playing on the newly built swingset…playing in the old Little Tikes playhouse…my son toddling in the family room… The photos I dearly want to scan are the ones containing our dear friend… Winnie the Pooh!

As a child I was read and then read When We Were Very Young. I loved this book…short poems accompanied by Ernest H. Shepard’s illustrations. I know that when I was pregnant with my oldest child, Winnie the Pooh became our go-to “character.”

Was it the cuddliness of Pooh? The fact that I detested all the bumblebee, clown, and cutesy crib bedding, so fell in love with the Winnie the Pooh bedding set. Seriously, who wants a clown on a baby’s crib bedding? Or, perhaps because family and friends mobilized for with an avalanche of Winnie the Pooh toys, books, blankets, and even a Winnie the Pooh mobile.

Three kids...three Winnie the Pooh crib comforters...the day we dismantled the crib for the last time!

Our daughter’s room became Pooh-themed…wallpaper and mobileand lamp, as well as crib sheets, blankets, stuffed animals, and wall art. She loved Pooh so much that we could not move her out of her nursery when the new baby arrived, so — you guessed it — we decorated a second Winnie the Pooh room with a different crib bedding and wall paper border. Our son had to have a Winnie the Pooh room as well!

In keeping with all that is Winnie the Pooh, I am proud to announce the release Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You Special Edition on DVD! This Valentine themed animated collection features three Winnie the Pooh stories including a new-to-DVD adventure (“My Hero); a fun bonus feature (“Catch the Love Bug” game); Pooh-themed Valentines cards inside each DVD, plus all features from the original movie. As a bonus, each special edition DVD includes Pooh-themed Valentine’s Day Cards! My teen snagged the Winnie the Pooh Valentine cards — teens love Winnie the Pooh!

Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You Special Edition
Suggested retail price: $29.99 US; $35.99 Canada; Rated: TV-Y; Run time: 60 minutes

I was given the DVD for my review. I was not compensated for this post.