Little Star--A Review

I love books.

Oh, how I love books!

(And, yes, I really like kids' books, too. Shh! Don't tell.)

I also really like Christmas books, but it's so hard to find good Christmas books, especially books that follow the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus.

Enter Little Star by Anthony DeStefano.

I just received Little Star in the mail today, and although I have a semi-strict rule of no Christmas until after Thanksgiving, this book was just too cute to wait for another month.

Synopsis (from the back of the book)

A king is about to be born! The stars in the heavens are competing to shine the brightest to celebrate his birth. But when they see the poor family, the donkey, the shabby stable, the stars all think, That can't possibly be a king. We've been fooled.

All except one. The smallest, loneliest star in the sky, Little Star, is the only one to understand what the king is about to bring to the world. But what can Little Star do for him?

My Review

First off, Little Star is beautifully illustrated! The pictures are definitely geared towards children, but without being cartoony or comical. A big plus with me (and my kids) when dealing with the Christmas story.

While the main theme of this book isn't just Jesus' birth, but rather Little Star's participation in Jesus' birth, the theology is sound. The story of Jesus' birth (minus the stars, obviously) is neither embellished nor detracted from. It is woven into Little Star seamlessly, being neither prominent nor shoved aside.

My two girls seemed captivated by the story, and stayed quiet through most of it (which is huge!). Six year-old E refused to tell me her opinion (she's a grumpy girl tonight), but asked quite a few questions about stars after listening to the story. That's as much as I got from them tonight. Sorry! I'll update later if I can glean any more from either of them.

Over all, Little Star by Anthony DeStefano is a wonderful Christmas book! It is definitely written for children, with both language and themes easily understood by them.

It has put me into the Christmas spirit a month early. Which I suppose isn't a bad thing; however, I still refuse to play my Christmas music yet!

This post was written for Family Review Network. I received a complimentary copy of Little Star from Anthony DeStefano in exchange for my honest review.

Footed

A couple of years ago, we started the tradition of giving our kids new winter pajamas at Thanksgiving. We buy them at the Carter's outlet towards the end of summer, and each kid gets to pick out the pair he or she wants. (Okay, he doesn't get to choose; he's too little.)

This year, both girls chose footed pajamas, so M got a footed pair as well.

Since it's been so cold already this year, we broke out the Thanksgiving pajamas on Halloween.

They were so excited!

Super Kids

Our town celebrated Halloween on Saturday instead of Sunday.

Weird, I know, but it's a small town with small town mentalities. Most stores are closed Sundays, and Sundays are typically family days.

Whatever. It is what it is. I just follow the rules. :)

Halloween in the Einstein house isn't really a big deal. We have yet to actually go out and buy costumes for the kids, instead mostly choosing to dig through the dress-up trunk or use hand-me-downs.

This year was no different.

Last year for Christmas each of the kids got a personalized cape from Baby Pop on Etsy. So I thought, Perfect! They can be super heroes!

And so they were.

I made them each a mask that coordinated with their capes, and Presto! Instant super heroes!

I think E has her mask on upside down. Oh, well.

See! Personalized! And each of the cape combinations totally matches the corresponding child's personality. It's uncanny.

Love it!

This one wasn't very cooperative during picture time. This is as good as it got.

We ended up going downtown to trick-or-treat at the businesses. All three kids were wonderful, even M! It was fun, but crowded. And too many teenagers/adults. And infants. Why would an infant need to go trick-or-treating? Free candy for the parents? Puh-lease.

Anyway, after an hour, we were all freezing, so we went home, took warm baths, ate pizza and watched a movie, just like any other Saturday.

How was your Halloween?

Oh, yeah! The disclaimer. Baby Pop has no idea I even exist, except as a former customer. There was no compensation. At all. The end.

So Big

C turned three last May.

In March, I switched out her 2T clothes for her 3T. She was then measuring a little smaller than her big sister E did at almost-three, and didn't need her 3T's as soon as E had needed them.

By August, her shirts barely covered her belly button. Her long pants high-watered. And although she finally potty trained over the summer (thank God!) and was wearing underwear instead of bulky diapers, the waistbands on her pants were pinching.

So, I broke out the 4T's.

4T clothes, people. In five months, the girl had grown an entire clothing size!!!

!

I know!

I ended up supplementing her winter wardrobe by buying her some new jeans in a size 4, not 4T. At the beginning of September, those size 4 jeans needed to be rolled up two inches at the hems.

Now? At the end of October? Those same size 4 jeans don't need to be rolled up at all!

C is so big! Too big! The middle child we thought would be our shorty?

Well, guess again!

Wordless Wednesday--Glow

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Squished

Ah ha!

I squished the last one this morning.

Victory is mine!

It's the small things, people; the small things.

Bugged

I am irritated with,

frustrated by,

plagued with,

bugged by

fruit flies.

They are everywhere!

Seriously! Where do these little buggers come from? (I mean, obviously, they come from fruit.) But how can my house be clear, my fruit be freshly bought and washed, and two days later, there are swarms?

And as much as I dislike fruit flies, in my kitchen I can at least tolerate them. To a point. I expect them to be in my kitchen. That's natural. That's where my fruit is.

But fruit flies in my bathroom? Gross.

Why, oh why do the fruit flies like my bathroom? I could understand it if I saw them in the sinks or in the shower. Swarming around a source of water would at least make sense.

But the fruit flies in my house? Must be narcissistic or something. Because in my bathroom I see them

on the mirror,

flying in front of the mirror,

walking on the mirror.

And while they are much easier to squish on the mirror, um, gross.

So, yeah. I'm feeling bugged today. How are you feeling?

Wordless Wednesday--Reflection

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Wordless Wednesday--Splash

Oktoberfest 2010

We've decided to make visiting Leavenworth an October tradition in our family.

Straight out of the camera. Unedited. I swear! Look at those trees changing colors!

Yes, we know it's Oktoberfest. No, we don't go for the beer.

But we would, if we didn't insist on bringing our kids with us.

Which we do. So we don't.

We walked and walked and walked. And somewhere along a trail, the girls managed to find walking sticks.

And somehow, M never even noticed. That's how excited he was with all of his unexpected, longed-for, outdoor freedom.

He usually gets carried/worn a lot. He tends to wander.

E in the baby swing. What a goof! And yes, that is yet another missing tooth. That makes seven total. With one more loose.

Good grief!

Let's all just pause here and revel in my son's cuteness. Go ahead. He's cute, I know (and dirty, but that's beside the point). But you can tell me again, if you want to.

And just because I'm not convinced you really stopped to gaze adoringly at him long enough, here's another one:

You're welcome. :)

We stopped to throw rocks in the river.

And by "we" I mean C and M.

We climbed rocks and logs down by the river.

And by "we" I mean E and C.

I love this last photo. He's just a boy being a boy.

Oktoberfest 2011, here we come!

Fog

I miss normal.

I miss my old life.

I feel like I'm living in a haze, a fog that has crept in on little cat feet, slowly, catching me unawares. I wake up each day, realizing something is different, something is not quite right.

My life has been shrouded, covered, and I want it back.

I want my mom to be okay.

I want to stop being constantly annoyed by my children.

I want to want to tackle responsibilities rather than escape them.

I want to feel in control, well-rested, and healthy.

I want an actual conversation with my husband, not just a one-sided run-down of the day's happenings. I want to spend time with my husband, not just pass by each other between one meeting or event and another.

I want the fog to lift, to reveal my life again.

I know everything will look different, be different, but still I want to see it, to know it's there, safe and secure.

Even if "normal" is now changed, altered.

At least that way I'd feel grounded, clear-sighted, purposeful.

At least I'd feel like me again.

Sunday Sunset

I've Been Busy

If I could marry this wedding, I would.

Okay. Well, not really, but it almost makes one wish one could when one actually captures a photo like this:

Inheritance

If I could

but inherit

my father's tenderness,

my mother's determination,

I will be

rich

indeed.

Not Quite Right

My mom is in surgery right now.

And my life is continuing just like normal. Just like every other Thursday. Just like nothing else is happening 180 miles away. Just like her life isn't altering in the least.

Weird.

And not quite right.