Erin - Operations Director

Just a Woman Raising Two Boys and a Husband While Working Full-Time, No Big Deal

One of my most favorite things to do is read with my kiddos (two energetic boys). My goal for my boys is 20 minutes a day of reading. Sometimes we have to get creative to hit that goal, and sometimes we don't hit it at all, but reading is a regular part of our everyday life. I encourage you to make it part of your everyday life as well. I hope you enjoy these books that my boys and I have loved, and let me know if you figure out the trick to having it all.

Kitties Are My Favorite

My youngest son is a big fan of kitties and not a fan of dogs. These books are ones that I'll be taking home to read with him, and they all star his favorite animal.

Go Go Graphic Novels

I've found that the key to keeping my third grade son reading is to feed him full of graphic novels and illustrated series (age-appropriate, of course). In addition to the super-popular "Captain Underpants" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, here is a list of books and series he has enjoyed this year.

My son was lucky enough to have his copy of book eight of this series signed by the author and illustrator at our library earlier this year! We are eagerly awaiting the final book in the series.

This series is an twist on the classic, "Jack and the Beanstalk."

My boys love these comics as much as they love the PVZ video game.

I Like to Read

My youngest son is in kindergarten this year, and I just stumbled upon a series of books that are perfect for him as a new reader. The "I Like to Read" series offers a variety of picture books at the kindergarten reading level. He was so happy to read the books all by himself and then read them to me. I hope you enjoy this series with your new reader as much as we…

This is the book my son was so excited to read all by himself! Such a proud moment for both of us.

Because my son likes cats, I think he'll like this book.

My youngest son is a hugger, so I think he'll like this book. He'll probably hug it.

Yeti, Sasquatch, Bigfoot...

Having recently seen the movie "Smallfoot" with five little boys and one husband, I felt the need to do a little Yeti research. Below are my findings.

Something to Read

As a working mother, I must keep my boys on a somewhat normal schedule during the summer. This includes finding time for those reading minutes! Here is a random assortment of books we have checked out this summer.

My youngest son is heading to kindergarten in the fall, and I'm desperately trying to ensure he doesn't lose the new reader skills he developed in preschool.

A favorite since my oldest was in first grade. We love this eBook that provides both the illustrations and audio!

We love cats, but we don't own any. My life is much easier that way.

My oldest is loving graphic novels, and as long as I keep borrowing them from the library, he keeps reading them. This is the first in a five-book series.

Yoga Yoga

I recently decided to try my hand at yoga. I bought myself a pretty purple mat and decided to find a YouTube yoga instructor pretty much so I don't have to embarass myself in public. My youngest son discovered me practicing yoga one morning and decided he wanted to give it a try as well. His favorite pose is happy baby. I have yet to find a favorite pose myself, but I can…

The first thing I do each moring is my yoga, and I love it! This book is also available as a DVD.

Everything is better with friends!

This book incorporates counting, animals, and yoga with some great illustrations.

Daddy Day!

Boys will be boys, and dads will be dads. Put them together, and it's a bunch of testosterone, which can only lead to chaos. I never know what I'm going to walk in to when it's been a day with just the boys. Enjoy these books about dads today, on Father's Day, or any day.

If you have toddlers that are early birds, you will relate to this sweet book!

A rhyming book story about all kinds of dads. My boys had fun picking out which dad was most like their dad.

I think my husband is an amazing dad. I'm pretty sure our boys think so, too. I wonder what my husband would say if I asked him what kind of dad he is. Just might have to do that.

Dads are pretty super. I think I'm going to have my boys design a superhero costume for their dad just to see what they'd put him in and what gadgets they'd give him.

In the Mood for Food?

Sometimes it seems like life revolves around food. My youngest son is always hungry, and, if we venture out somewhere without a snack bag in tow, I'm going to regret it. My oldest son eats pretty well and at times has two breakfasts but is a skinny kid. My husband is a bit of a picky eater refusing to eat any white condiments and very few fruits and…

There are several books in this series by author Laura Numeroff in case you don't like cookies.

This is a house favorite. My youngest son could challenge this caterpillar to an eating contest any day (minus the pickle).

I'm sure you've heard of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," but have you heard of this sequel?

Sports

Sports and physical fitness are a regular part of my world. My husband and I both played sports in college, and our oldest son has big dreams to play several sports professionally when he grows up. My husband has coached high school basketball for more than a decade as did his father and his grandfather before him. When it's hoops season, you know exactly where to find me and our…

My oldest son is named Michael after the one and only Michael Jordan, one of the best competitors to have played hoops. His mother wrote this book and "Salt in His Shoes" about her son and his dreams of playing ball.

I can't even imagine having enough kids to field an entire baseball team, but my boys think this book is great because of all the kids.

As it turns out, dinosaurs play all sorts of sports. I've put the basketball book on this list, but there are plenty of other books by Lisa Wheeler to choose from.

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

What's a booklist without kitty cats? My youngest son LOVES kitties. We own zero pets, but he sleeps with five stuffed kitties and loves them dearly. His favorite is a small, orange colored stuffed kitty named Baby Orange Kitty.

Another favorite, handed down to him by my oldest son, is a stuffed Hello Kitty. Can you guess what this one is named? If you guessed Hello…

Cats like to cuddle (at least, nice cats like to cuddle), and so does my baby boy.

This book comes from a born and bred Washingtonian!