PJ Media Parenting's Best of the Web

It’s been a whirlwind of activity, wrapping up July! But, what a sweet month it has been. No doubting it, summer is here with humid, hot Midwestern days, and we love it. School is also starting to break into our thoughts. We are homeschooling our little clan, so we aren’t too disappointed at the prospect of tackling a new year of adventure!

***

Homeschooling allows us not to dread a new school year, but eagerly anticipate it! And I am eager to make these awesome cookies from Ashlee Marie! Hop on over to her blog for some beautiful and unique ideas to stun any crowd you serve dessert to!

***

My kids are always up for a craft, and when I saw this demo making its way around the web I knew we had to try it! So easy to do, yet so much fun to play with and even hang in a window. Such a simple craft to do with your kids this weekend while making a memory.

***

As soon as I read this blog post by one of my favorite moms, Sarah Mackenzie, I knew it was rushing to the top of my book list. The book sounds like an older, experienced mom giving sound and encouraging advice to a younger mom. Who doesn’t need that? In today’s culture of judgement, no matter what you do as a mom, this was a refreshing read .

“When life got so busy that I didn’t have time to read to myself anymore, I began reading aloud to my children. It has been the chief joy of my life, superseded only, perhaps, by the joy I felt when my son came home talking about reading ‘The Princess and the Goblin’ to his little girls, and I got to pull ‘Little House in the Big Woods’ off the shelf and say, ‘I think they are ready for this.’…Deep inside I believe that reading aloud covers a multitude of sins. It is a grace. When we cannot escape ourselves, we can escape to other worlds together. My husband has many regrets about the times he, tired from working long hours, was exacting on the children, but he doesn’t regret the hot summer nights sitting in the back yard reading ‘Treasure Island‘ aloud.”

***

I’m very loyal to my summer recipes. There are just some dishes that scream SUMMER to me! So, I’m hesitant to let something new into my rotation – but folks, make this tonight. And invite me if you do!