We had some really nice reading time this afternoon. The kids ate snack (more on the below) and I read books to them, in an effort not to eat their snack! Eve picked out a big pile of books and we read. I was feeling really good about this reading time because we normally just read before nap and bedtime, but I like reading throughout the day as well. Halfway through her book pile I realized that I was reading a pile of really dumb books. Dora books, and DC comic books (both aimed at early readers, but they feel like they are aimed at babies!), and other silly things. This got me thinking… the kids have lots of high quality, award winning books, but just as often as not they choose really stupid books at story times. I wonder if it’s still beneficial to read to them, even the dumb ones that are below their reading and comprehension levels, or should I start getting rid of these dumb ones? I’ve put away the baby books, and I throw away books I don’t like at all, but these are kind of in-between. What do you think?

As for snack, I’m loving it these past few days. What I’m loving most is hearing Lex say, “Mom, I really like the afternoon snacks you make for us!” Like music to my ears. I got fed up with the make-your-own snack we’ve been doing for years. It started back when they were toddlers and needed easy finger foods and it’s evolved through the years into a mix of crackers, dried fruits, and nuts. Now they like to stand at the counter and make their own “cracker snack” but it drives me crazy. They play at the counter, they eat at the counter, they bounce around, they make a huge mess… it has literally taken them an hour to make a snack. Then, when they finally get down with a full bowl of snack, they barely touch it because they were eating so much at the counter. Drives me crazy! So this week I started putting out a nice snack on the table before meeting Lex at the bus. One day it was peanut butter and crackers. My friend calls them Peanut Butter Smilers. :) I put out little bowls of dried cherries, banana chips, celery smiles, etc. They made faces and loved it! Today it was “yellow snack” which consisted of crackers with cheese cut into heart shapes, dried pineapple, and fresh pineapple. They loved it! Lex even ate the cheese, which has been on his personal do-not-eat list for awhile now. I was thrilled!! Not only did he eat the whole snack and ask for more, but he complimented me again on it and told me how much he loves the snacks I make. Ahh… simple things can make a momma swoon!