See Mom* Read: New Virtual Book Club

I have recently been able to get back into reading books again – wahoo! I have been reading some books lately that I think many other moms (or parents) might like to read so I thought I would start a virtual book club of sorts in order to share these great books with you.

My goal for this virtual book club is twofold:

1. To share books that I find interesting, moving, funny, or inspiring – and hopefully open your eyes to books or authors you may not have heard about. Since this is a website for parenting tips, the books I read and share will relate to parenting or motherhood in some way, but they won’t necessarily all be non-fiction “how to” type books. 
2. To promote the joy of reading to other adults, who will hopefully then model the joy of reading to their kids. (Hence the name See Mom Read.) I love to read and I hope my kids love to read one day. What better role model for an emergent reader than mom curled up on the couch with a great book!

I plan to keep these monthly book reviews short and sweet; just the basics of what the book is about and what I liked most about it (if I liked it, that is). So let’s get this book party started!

*I mean no offense to other parents or caregivers by using “mom” in the title of this book club. I chose the name for simplicity and since I will be reviewing the books from my role as a mom. I hope other parents and caregivers can find value in these books and book reviews as well.

Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment

I saw Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment on the ”New Books” shelf at my local library this January and decided to give it a try. This is the latest book for author Katrina Kenison.

What’s The Book About?

This memoir encompasses the author’s life around some difficult midlife changes: the death of a friend, children leaving home, physical changes, as well as shifts in her marriage. She tells her story, her challenges, her questions, her process of deciding her own path, her search for “What now?”.

Once her role as a mother to young children at home changes, how will she shape the rest of her life? This question might be hard to answer for many women once children grow up and leave home. I am deep in the “young children at home” stage of my life (kids’ ages are 6 and 1.5) so my immediate thought was that this book might not be for me – yet anyway. But the story of this spiritual journey intrigued me – and I am glad I read it now. It gives me something to think about for the future, for sure, but its message of creating meaning in your life NOW is always of value.

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Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become. ~Barbara Geraci

If you are like me, you are a tired parent who is trying to do too much, with possibly too little help and too little time for yourself. When things get crazy with kids (and they are going to) do you react out of anger? Are you reacting instead of responding? Perhaps you want your interactions with your kids to be different and better, but you just don’t know how to stop being angry or reacting with anger.

Many of us weren’t raised in a way that taught us how to deal calmly with stressful situations, which can come daily or even hourly with children. Instead we react in the same manner our parents reacted. And while that upbringing may have influenced our subconscious gut reaction to situations, it doesn’t have to remain that way forever. We can change. If you want to do better, you can change. But you need tools and some practice.

Ride the Wave: Journey to Peaceful Living

I was fortunate to receive the book Ride the Wave: Journey to Peaceful Living. Written by April O’Leary, Certified Master Life Coach, author, and speaker, Ride the Wave: Journey to Peaceful Living provides great strategies for breaking the cycle of reacting with anger and creating a journey to peaceful living.

April is also the founder of University of Moms, a hub of education, support, and inspiration for women worldwide. Her passion for helping moms is apparent in all her work and especially shows in this book.

Where Are You Now? Angry and Frustrated?

Before any personal growth can happen, you must take an honest look at yourself. If you have a lot of anger and frustration in your life, but haven’t figured out how to deal with it, this might be the book for you. You don’t have to be a mom to read this book; it’s written for women in all walks of life.

What Can You Control? Your Reactions!

I’ve noticed that my big stressor is when I feel out of control in a situation, especially when I am wanting the situation to be different than it is, as is the case many times with the kids. But we can’t always control the outside world or certain circumstances. In Ride the Wave: Journey to Peaceful Living, we are challenged to look inside ourselves and change what we can change: our reaction to situations.

This quote from the Dalai Lama is a great way to state this same information:

When you think everything is someone else´s fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy. ~Dalai Lama

Ride the Wave: Journey to Peaceful Living is written to help you change how you react to situations, thus creating peace.

What’s Inside the Book?

Using the acronym STOP, April shares a strategy that we can use to stop reacting to anger and instead ride the wave to peaceful living. It involves self reflection and some effort, but that is true of any worthwhile outcome. Once you become familiar with the steps in the STOP process, you can be in a calm state in 90 seconds.

S: Slow down

T: Trigger

O: Observation

P: Presence

Journey Inward

April reminds us that the answers are always within. The book goes deeper into each step in this process, helping you discover ways to SLOW down and ride the wave to peace. You are encouraged to:

• Take care of yourself.
• Be aware of your emotions and reactions.
• Identify your triggers.
• Notice and resolve any unresolved past emotional experiences.
• Take ownership.
• Release judgement.
• Practice acceptance.

My Thoughts

Ride the Wave is an easy book to read. The writing style is comfortable and the stories shared were great at illustrating the key points and concepts; it felt like April was talking right to me. The journaling exercises, with self-reflection questions, are key to really getting the most out of the book.

Ride the Wave Tele-Course

As I was reading the book, I also took the corresponding tele-course that April offers. It was an 8-session course by phone, one session per week, and it guides you through the book. I found it very helpful on several areas. First, it kept me accountable and I did more journaling than I might have otherwise. Also, it was great to be able to hear the information directly from the author and to ask her questions as well. The topics in the book are covered in more depth, too. If you are not able to make it to one of the live calls, the sessions are recorded and you can download them later in the day.

You can check her website to see when the next tele-course is scheduled.

April also has a FREE video e-course available at her website University of Moms - check it out!

Where to Buy Ride the Wave?

You can purchase Ride the Wave: Journey to Peaceful Living on Amazon.com in either paperback or Kindle form.
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Have you read the book? If so, share your thoughts in a comment below!

[Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author. With that being said, the comments and opinions above are purely my own.]

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My son is almost 6 years old and just lost his first tooth today! The Tooth Fairy isn’t something I am overly excited about, nor do I plan to spend much effort on it, but we will pass along the fun tradition. Here are a couple ideas I gathered for how the Tooth Fairy might give him money. Notice that they are easy Tooth Fairy ideas. What has worked for you? Or do you skip the Tooth Fairy tradition altogether?

Cute Tooth Holders

Thanks to Pinterest, there is no shortage of cute tooth holder ideas! I will let you do a search yourself to see all the creativity, but here are a couple of my favorites:

• I particularly like these wooden tooth boxes. Cute! And they are afforadable at $5 each. (As an added bonus, they are carved from eco-friendly, chemical free, kiln-dried, sustainable rubber wood and colored with water-based inks or dyes.)
• I also like this idea of dollar bill origami: folding a $1 bill into a basket and then adding a couple coins (and maybe a note) to the basket. (Here is the YouTube video with instructions.)

As for our son’s first lost tooth, well that went into a Ziploc baggie and then under the pillow. Fancy I am not, but practical – yes. (I can just swap out that baggie for a baggie with money in it.)

Notes

Do your kids leave notes for the Tooth Fairy? Does the Tooth Fairy leave notes for your kids? I don’t remember any notes being left when I was a kid, so I skipped this step. Easy is in, my friends.

BUT I did happen to find this idea that the record-keeper in me loves. Check out this very cool Tooth Fairy Receipt! I wonder how it was made? And I wonder if I could make something similar in Photoshop Elements? And I wonder if I will all of a sudden have lots of extra time on my hands for this project? I think not.

Money

Yes, the most well-known aspect of the Great Tooth Swap: Money.

Unique Money

I always thought I would want to give some fun, unique money as a Tooth Fairy gift, something like $2 bills, $1 coins, half dollars, etc. But what happens if you aren’t prepared with a stash of these fun monies for the surprise lost tooth? Luckily, I heard of the easiest, most brilliant idea ever.

Handful of Change

Yes, it’s exactly how it sounds. Reach into your purse, pockets, or under the sofa and fill up your hand with change. Sound too boring? I think this is genius! Think about it. No worrying about having a certain amount or type of bills or special coins, especially when a tooth falls out at night. It also adds an element of surprise for the kids, not knowing or expecting a certain amount. And as a bonus, they get to learn about coins and their values (for the younger) and get some math practice adding up the value of all the coins (for the older).

Besides, it’s fun to watch the strange looks that may follow your child saying they received $1.83 from the Tooth Fairy!

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What other Tooth Fairy traditions do you do for your child? Do you skip the Tooth Fairy altogether? Leave a comment and share!

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Photo Credit: Claudio Jule

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