Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from national bestselling author Mary Kubica

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.


My thoughts...I will start with I devoured this book! I had an eye strain headache and still couldn't put it down! So so good. Why was it so good? Ok, well we get to know Heidi Wood at first. She is devoted to helping and care of the less fortunate. She spots Willow out in the rain with a baby. The girl and the baby haunt her. Its not like she sees her and brings her home the next day. Everything about this girl with a baby compels Heidi to reach out and help her. Her husband, Chris is a workaholic who seems oddly detached from his wife. He is in the marriage, but not fully vested. Their daughter Zoe is a preteen struggling to find her own voice with a mother who is very involved. You can see how Heidi is almost looking for something to fill her attention.

The novel is told with three viewpoints. First Heidi, then her husband Chris and last Willow. What I absolutely loved was Heidi and Chris share the story as it is happening though their eyes, but Willow tells the story from the end and from before meeting the Wood family (I know this sounds confusing, but it isn't and it really is what makes for the suspense!)

Now I can't imagine bringing home a young girl off the streets into my home the way Heidi does, but it doesn't take long before we begin to understand Heidi's underlying reasoning. Heidi seems to bask in taking care of Willow's baby. Chris is suspicious and wants the girl out of the house. Then the story begins to spiral! While the story seems to be getting out of control, we are at the same time learning about Willows dark past--still the pieces aren't making any sense...then BAM the story explodes! I will leave it at that. A summer must read! Highly recommending!

Buy your copy of Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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As of December 1, 2009, According to The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), product reviewers on blogs must disclose whether they received products for free or received payment for their review. The books I review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to me by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice. I never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are my own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced.

Colore Chalk Markers

Chalk Markers By Colore - 6mm Bullet and Chisel Tip - 8 Pack Bright Vibrant Colors

(as per Amazon website) 

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I was sent a set of these Colore Chalk Markers by the company to review. I have never used Chalk Markers before, so I was very interested in trying them. I was really excited when I received them and started playing with them right away. You need to really give them a good shake to get started and I had to turn the tip around. I had an old chalkboard, so I used them on that. I LOVE the bright beautiful colors on the black contrast. They really pop! I used a wet cloth to wipe them off and everything wiped off. I also used them on a white board and they wiped off with a wet cloth. I like the option of having both the rounded tip for a thicker line or chiseled tip for writing.

After using these for the first time, I was suspicious of how well they would work a few days later. I just gave them a good shake and they worked great. This time I used them while making flashcards for my daughter on colored paper stock. I wanted to use markers, but they were bleeding through to the other side. I tried the Colore Dry Erase Marker set and they worked perfectly! No bleeding on the other side!I have found the more you use them them better and better they work.

The end of our first year

The kids have completed the last of their workbooks, we are done...

I had meant to post more, but the first year of homeschooling got in the way! I can't believe we are here. We did it. I feel like I should get some major award or something. In all seriousness, it has been an awesome year. I taught my daughter to read. I did that. Me. Wow. I was so afraid to get started this year, I held back from pulling C out of public school earlier, because I was afraid. Yet, I accomplished it. I accomplished what I was most afraid of and I did it well. I taught my kids and they learned.

Has it been a hard year? Yes and no. The actual teaching part was the easiest part. The teacher guides walked me through each lesson. My kids seem to pick up most things pretty fast, so there was only a few times I needed to find ways to get them to understand. Thank-goodness to pinterest for the wealth of ideas and games. The only real stuggles we had were with spelling and handwritting. I learned to give myself permission to go at our own rate. Once I did it was fantastic.

The hard part of homeschooling was dealing with the "I'm bored" my 7yo constantly complained about. It was hard for my kids to turn off cartoons and start focusing on school in the mornings. I thought about no cartoons in the morning. Honestly, it would have helped. The truth is, I need that time to run a load of laundry, throw dinner in the crockpot or to simply say 'hi' to my friends on facebook. I also tried starting a rough morning off with art. This is perfect for M, but C not so much. What has worked best was starting a marble jar. Once they complete a subject they drop a marble into their jar. They each need to reach a certain number of marbles to be allowed to play games on their Kindles for one hour after dinner.


The best part of this year was seeing  C grow as a reader. When we began this journey he didn't love reading. He thought reading was ok, but if he could get out of it he would. Now? He loves to read. I even have a rough estimate of books he has read over this school year. Are you ready? 84 chapter books. Not books I read to him. Not comic books. I am beyond proud of him. Not bad for a second grader!

M loves school. I am able to bend our time learning around her. When she begins to struggle keeping focus, I pull out a puzzle or a coloring book. I've also been buying games for her to sit and play to increase her ability to stay focused. I often wonder how she would have done in a traditional classroom. She likes to move, play, color and draw. She turns in numerous worksheet with drawings on top of her work...it's ok I just have her verbalize what I can no longer see. I feel like she has the freedom to be herself and I get the opportunity to witness it everyday.

I am seeing some areas I'd like to do better about next year. When I first started, I looked at the curriculum guides and wrote everything down in a planner. I realized pretty quick it wasn't helping me, so I stopped. Then towards the end of the year I found I needed to make sure we hit certain goals during our week. I started with a vague outline in my planner. By the end of the year, I was thrilled I had a weekly plan. Its funny how you just find what works for you. I'm excited to start planning out my next year!

I am most excited about pulling out all my new books for next year and getting everything ready! But I'll make sure we have lots of fun in the sun this summer, too!

Next years books!!!!

At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen

In her stunning new novel, Gruen returns to the kind of storytelling she excelled at in Water for Elephants: a historical timeframe in an unusual setting with a moving love story. Think Scottish Downton Abbey.

After embarrassing themselves at the social event of the year in high society Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve of 1942, Maddie and Ellis Hyde are cut off financially by Ellis’s father, a former army Colonel who is already embarrassed by his son’s inability to serve in WWII due to his being colorblind. To Maddie’s horror, Ellis decides that the only way to regain his father’s favor is to succeed in a venture his father attempted and very publicly failed at: he will hunt the famous Loch Ness monster and when he finds it he will restore his father’s name and return to his father’s good graces (and pocketbook). Joined by their friend Hank, a wealthy socialite, the three make their way to Scotland in the midst of war. Each day the two men go off to hunt the monster, while another monster, Hitler, is devastating Europe. And Maddie, now alone in a foreign country, must begin to figure out who she is and what she wants. The novel tells of Maddie’s social awakening: to the harsh realities of life, to the beauties of nature, to a connection with forces larger than herself, to female friendship, and finally, to love.

My thoughts...Love, love, love, loved this book. From the top. Ellis and his wife Maddie, along with his bff, Hank are spoiled, rich and act like fools. Ellis and Hank were unable to serve during WWII dure to unseen 'issues'. Daddy cuts Ellis off, so Ellis decides to go off in search of real proof of Loch Ness monster in hopes of reconciling. I really didn't much care for Ellis from the get go. Hank seemed to have some sort of spark that kept him redeemable in my mind and Maddie...she was all right. I don't want to give too much of the story line away, because it is really interesting and different. I do want to say Maddie grew on me until I was rooting for her!

At The Water's Edge is a novel where you can't be sure where it is going to go, I mean they are chasing a monster while a war is going on all around them! They are in a foreign land they don't know a soul. The story really is a poor little rich girl who for the first time seeing the world from a different station where she suddenly finds herself. I'd love to gush about a few different parts of the novel, but if I do I would ruin the story for you and I hate when people spoil a review with too much detail. Let me say this was fantastic novel, I was completely transported to Scotland! I highly recommend. Definitely my favorite book I've read this year. Seriously, loved this book!

Buy At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Sara Gruen’s recent interview with NPR’s Scott Simon: Hunting Mythical Monsters 'At The Water's Edge'

At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen is an Indie Next Pick and a Top LibraryReads Pick for April


“Maddie Hyde is a Sara Gruen heroine. She's bold, she's warm, and she's been cast out of Philadelphia polite society — in this case the family of her husband Ellis, who is 4F in the middle of World War II. To avoid the glares and scowls, and to earn their own way in the world after being cut off from a family fortune, they cross the Atlantic during a high tide of submarine warfare to try to burnish their family name by hunting down an older kind of monster in a Scottish village.” —NPR Weekend Edition

“Bestselling author Sara Gruen returns with the breathtaking tale of a young Philadelphia socialite who reluctantly follows her husband to a remote town in Scotland in search of the Loch Ness Monster. At the same time another monster, Hitler, threatens to tear their world apart. At The Water's Edge is a daring story of adventure, friendship, and love in the shadow of WWII.” —Harper’s Bazaar
“Monster romance…super steamy love story.” —Good Housekeeping (GH Read of the month)
“A page-turner of a novel that rollicks along with crisp historical detail, waves of deep emotions and a dash of Scottish mystical mythology.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Riveting...Gruen’s beautiful setting and deeply sympathetic characters ensure a memorable read for new and returning fans alike.” —Publishers Weekly
“At The Water’s Edge returns to the kind of storytelling Gruen excelled at in Water for Elephants…a moving love story: think Scottish Downton Abbey.”—Publishers Weekly (pre-pub alert)
"[Gruen's] narrative description is often sublime . . . A natural for the book-club set.—Booklist

“Gruen skillfully weaves in historical reference points, making Maddie’s story seem larger than that individual focus. The author conveys the lure of the Scottish Highlands, and its storied lore and mystery help create her novel’s riveting, ethereal atmosphere. Maddie’s growing self-awareness is presented in stark—and welcome—contrast to her husband’s spiral into conceit and self-deception. At the Water’s Edge captivates with its drama, intrigue and glimpses of both the dark and light of humanity. As Jane Austen once wrote, ‘with due exceptions, woman feels for woman very promptly and compassionately.’ For all her faults, Maddie’s tragic history and her courage in the face of her present predicament will win readers to her side.”—BookPage, Fiction Top Pick

A Kid's Guide to Keeping Chickens: Best Breeds, Creating a Home, Care and Handling, Outdoor Fun, Crafts and Treats by Melissa Caughey

Chickens make wonderful pets, and Melissa Caughey (author of the award-winning blog Tilly’s Nest) provides all the information kids need to raise healthy chickens and have tons of fun doing it! Caughey shares her advice in an engaging way so that kids understand what it means to keep chickens and what kind of housing, food, equipment, and care the chickens will need to thrive. She also suggests lots of creative activities sure to spark enthusiasm and imagination, such as speaking chicken, creating a veggie piñata for the flock, and making a chicken fort in the backyard. She even offers ten egg-centric recipes that kids will love to make and eat, including egg drop soup and Mexican egg pizza.

My thoughts...really enjoyed reading this with my almost eight year old son. I would say the book is more geared toward a slightly older audience (maybe 12), but a really great guide for anyone. Easy to read and so much information. Even though there is a lot of information it is put together in a really user friendly way. From how to set up a coop, ten best breeds for kids (and why), if your chicken gets sick, to even how to set up an incubator.

I loved the fun recipes for making treats for chickens, chicken crafts for kids and egg recipes! We've had chickens for a few years, but I found some great information. I'm excited about making a chicken fort for our backyard and seed rolls for the chickens! I am highly recommending A Kid's Guide to Keeping Chickens (for adults and or kids!).


my kiddos with their chickens.

As of December 1, 2009, According to The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), product reviewers on blogs must disclose whether they received products for free or received payment for their review. The books I review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to me by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice. I never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are my own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced.

What's Up

I haven't posted in some time! My goodness life sure can get busy! We've been busy finishing up basketball season (both kids played), enjoying the finally we can get outside weather, baby chicks and finishing up lessons. We still have a few weeks to go, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

About two weeks ago, I ordered my Abeka school books for next year! All our books arrived the other day plus I ordered a few other things for school next year. I love spending all this time with my
little ones and I have found M is someone I've got to get busy. I went ahead and bought these plastic pattern blocks and got her a book to use them with and she LOVES them. Helps her stay focused while I'm working with C. She is a huge fan (well honestly both my kids and any kid who comes to my house) of Magna-Tiles, but they can become a big mess while I'm doing school. I found these Orb magnetic cubes at the Knowledge Tree store the other day thinking it wouldn't make a mess on the floor. Well again both kids loved them! I went ahead and ordered another set from amazon :) I use some old magnetic boards that came with some Doug & Melissa calendars for them to put the small magnets on. They love building me pictures (they seem to be minecraft themed).

Here are some quick links (if you order through these links I do make a small commission, but I was not asked to review any of these products I just wanted to share).

I need to write up some more posts, we also planted our garden, planted a peach tree (yay! need more fruit trees), and my husband cleared out the black berry bushes gone wild! lol. 

Homeschool Music

Since we began homeschooling in August, my husband has taken over the music education aspect. He has had them on the piano, drums, ukulele, playing bells and xylophone. I love the dedicated time he spends with them teaching them music. M is on the young side, but I do see some natural musical tendencies there. C is really just now at the age to get him started. He really enjoys playing the ukulele.

My husband, loves playing and writing music. He recently wrote a song and had the kids help.

Here is a link to listen to a song he wrote and put together on Garage Band. The kids sang with him and I think it is adorable!

CAN'T YOU SEE THE MONSTER