Tuesday, October 5, 2010

In the Meantime...

I'm generally pretty at peace about our infertility and I'm pretty confident that some way, some how I will be a mom. And though I have my days in which I want to trip the pregnant women who pass me by in the mall (not that I would), I've really learned to accept this for what it is - just a bump in the road. A bump, it's worth mentioning, that has provided me with a whole lot of time to just be a wife. And the more I hang out with that guy I married, the more I like him.

But the waiting is HARD some times. Some days I see my friends with their kids, or strangers pushing a stroller and I think, When is it going to be our turn?

One of the ways I've found to deal with the frustration of waiting is to keep a notebook of parenting ideas. That way when I hear something cool, instead of thinking, I hope I remember that years from now! I get excited about going home and writing it down. My notebook is broken into months with several pages for each month. In it I've written cool ideas for holiday traditions and seasonal traditions. The back section is not labeled with a month and is a place for me to write down fun things that have no specific date. Included in this section is a list I titled, "Books to Read Together".



I love to read, and when I was a kid I LOVED to read, so I have a lot of favorite children's books. Here's my list so far:

1. Maniac Magee
2. Anne of Green Gables
3. Little House on the Prairie (and the whole Little House series)
4. The Boxcar Children series
5. A Little Princess
6. The Secret Garden
7. Harriet the Spy
8. James and the Giant Peach (random fact you didn't know before - Jamie, when he was just an adorable little 5th grader starred in his schools production of James and the Giant Peach as James himself.)
9. The Chronicles of Narnia series
10.Number the Stars
11.Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
12.Little Women

It's a short list right now and I know I'll think of others long before my children reach the appropriate ages for these books. Also you may have noticed they're all chapter books. I'm sure we will read LOTS of great picture books when they're little (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day anyone??) and my goal is to have a pretty substantial library for my kiddos. But the books on my list are more for when they're a little older and we're reading something "meatier".

What books do you think I'm missing? Any greats from your childhood you think I should add? You may notice, since I am a girl and these are my favorite books there are only a few that aren't very girly. Anyone have any less frilly books for our future boys?

6 comments:

Shannon said...

We loved The Mouse and the Motorcycle and A Cricket in Times Square, oh and also Charlottes Web. Right now we are in the Little House Series. I'll let you know what comes next!

Joel said...

Books like "My Side of the Mountain," "Sign of the Beaver," "Hatchett," and the Hardy Boys. Oh, and "White Fang."

Also "The Book Thief" is a really good book. It's like a teen novel, but I just read it recently, and it's really good. You should give it a read.

Cyndee said...

My lovely Tara, I could send you an extensive list of books that your children absolutely MUST have, but since I'm sure I will be buying them all, that would be completely unnecessary! ;-)

Rebecca said...

Oh there are so many good books! My top recommendation is Elsie Dinsmore, but the Nancy Drew books, Treasure Island, The Frencolian Chronicles, Caddie Woodlawn, a Little Princess, the Secret Garden, Jane Eyre, The Prairie River Series, Anne of Green Gables, The Cooper Kids series, and the Elizabeth Gail Dobbs series are all really good too. I've also heard that Wind in the Willows is a really good children's book but I've never read the whole thing.
Love you!

Rebecca said...

oops. sorry for the repeats! I thought I couldn't look at the post while commented...then I figured it out :)

grandpa said...

Don't hurry home to write down some new idea or what ever. Pull out your IPOD touch the note app and write it down, take your time getting home and translate any- time into your book of ideas.

Don't want you in an accident hurrying home.