Weekend? Update with Jilly

Hi! It's Jilly! Inspired by my sweet sis-in-law's blog, I decided I need to add a bit more day-to-day stuff here on this 'ole blog. I planned to do a Weekend Update, a la SNL. But, in true Jilly form, I am just getting to it now- four days late.

Ah, well. It's my blog and I can do what I want, right?! Whatever the heck I want! Gosh...

So, what happened last week?

On Monday I started this "Feelin' Great in Eight", 8-week fitness challenge. I'm on a team with four twin moms and we get points for eating healthy, working out, drinking our water...all that good stuff. BUT, we have to subtract points when we eat bad things. Eeek! Good thing we get two "freebies" a week, or I'd be sunk!

On Tuesday not much happened. I think I went to Zumba? But, my poor hubby was on call. He left for a surgery around 11 pm and didn't get home till 5 or 5:30 in the morning! Needless to say he was a bit tired!

Wednesday morning I watched my friend Kelli's kids. (The one who gave me this fabulous recipe.) I showed her youngest how to take pictures with my phone, so now I have 5,753,276 pictures on my phone like this:

It's a cute little forehead, though.

On Thursday my Visiting Teacher came over. It was fun to chat with her. That evening my cute friend Jenni did a little "pre-baptism" photo shoot with the kiddos. I can't wait to show you all the pics! Here's a little preview.



Friday we...hmmm...what did we do Friday? It must have been monumental. ;)

On Saturday I co-hosted a baby shower for sweet Jenni who took the kids' pictures on Thursday. I'm excited to show it to you guys! The theme was "Twinkle, twinkle little star". Here I am posing after the shower with the mom-to-be.

Then Sunday was, of course, Mother's Day. That day was full of mixed emotions for me. During church the closing hymn was a difficult one for me. We sang a song that my siblings and I sang at my Dad's funeral five years ago. Most days I'm fine, but hearing that song just brought back a wave of emotion for me, and I was reminded that my Dad won't be there for my kids' baptisms next week. I had to leave near the end of the song and go cry in the bathroom!

After church I was able to take a deliciously long nap, while my hubby whipped up an awesome dinner. He is a much better cook than I am! He is the Grillmaster! We ate outside, even though it was a little chilly.

And that is my exciting week!

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"Where Are The Dinos?" Book Review and GIVEAWAY

Hi! It's Jilly. This week I am celebrating Children's Book Week by participating in the Kid Lit Giveaway Hop!

I had the chance to review this cute e-book, "Where Are The Dinos?". The pictures are colorful, and the story has a nice rhythm to it. The author, Julia Dweck, has a great collection of e-books available. E-books are nice to have for those times you are waiting at the doctor's office and need a little distraction that is better than playing Angry Birds. ;)

The story is about a little boy who goes to the zoo and asks the tour guide "Where are the dinos?" It's really cute. I'll let the kiddos tell you the rest. :) 

"I like how he kept asking the tour guide all these crazy questions, like if dinosaurs go shopping, swimming, or take breaks. Then the tour guide got mad and yelled, 'They're not here! They're extinct!'. That was funny!"

"Yeah. It was really funny."

"I like how the dinosaur winked."

It was a fun book to read. I like that the end of the book includes little facts about dinosaurs, how to draw a dinosaur, and words to unscramble. I know Michael will use the "Learn 2 Draw" page! He loves to create things!

How would you like to WIN a copy of this book?! Julia is giving away FIVE of them!! How nice is that?! 

Enter to win your free copy in the Rafflecopter widget below. 

And, don't forget to check out the other book I'm reviewing and hosting a giveaway for, as well as all the other great books in the Kid Lit Giveaway Hop!

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"Mommy, Tell Me a Story..." Book Review & GIVEAWAY

Hi! It's Jilly. This week is Children's Book Week!! To celebrate I am participating in the Kid Lit Giveaway Hop!

I am SO excited to be sharing this book review today! The author, Kristi Grimm, was inspired to write her stories by her son's simple requests--"Mommy, tell me a story about a ______".

Her latest book is called "Mommy, Tell Me a Story About a Plane". It is a beautiful book, and the illustrations were done by her husband. How cute is that?! The story is about an old biplane named Hugh who is sad because he can't do a lot of the things he used to be able to. He then talks to a bird who tells him about a bird named Trevor that lives in the South Pole and cannot fly. Hugh flies to the South Pole to investigate. Meeting with the penguins he makes new friends and is cheered to learn that everyone has their own special talents and abilities.

There are lots of things I liked about this book. I loved that they have fun facts and questions at the end of the story, sparking more conversation with your kids. I didn't know Gentoo Penguins were only 3 feet tall!

One question asked at the end was, "What makes Hugh happy again?". Katelynn said, "He made friends. You can do things you couldn't do in your past."

That really made me think. Often we focus on the things we can't do anymore, rather than the things we can do now that we're older.

Emma said, "It has 2 coloring pages in the back to color. I like that. I like that it rhymed!". I like that, too. FYI- The coloring pages and facts & questions at the end are only available in the new 2nd edition of the book.

This is the conversation I had with Michael about the book.

Me: "What did you like about the book?"
Michael: "I liked the Guano Penguins."
Me: "You mean Gentoo?"
Michael: "Yeah. You know what guano is?"
Me: "What?"
Michael: "POOP!! Hahahahaha!"

Leave it to the boy to bring up poop...

Kristi's "Mommy, tell me a story" series currently has 3 books, with a new one coming out this summer-- "Mommy, Tell Me a Story About a Fish".

She also has teamed up with celebrity chef Charles Mattocks to produce a colorful children's book called "Diabetes and Healthy Living", which includes recipes, coloring pages, answers to children's frequently asked questions, and tips for children living with diabetes. It will be release July 4th, 2013.

The "Mommy, Tell Me a Story" series (2nd edition) can be found on Barnes & Noble and Amazon for about $13, but is only $10 on her publisher's website, Richer Press!

BUUUUT, you can enter to WIN a copy of your very own!! Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below to get your hands on this sweet book! FIVE of you will be the lucky ones!! Talk about generous!

And, be sure to visit my other book review for another fun book & giveaway! There's also a link to the Kid Lit Giveaway Hop below, with a chance to win lots of great books!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You Might Be A Doctor's Wife If...

Hi! It's Jilly. There are some little things that are kind of...different in your life if you are married to a doctor, especially a resident. I thought it would be fun to point some of these things out.

You might be a doctor's wife if...

• the balance on your student loan statement is large enough to purchase your dream house.
• "call" is a four-letter word.
• you've ever been out-and-about with your family and someone has stopped your husband to ask him to look at his (fill in the blank).
• your husband says excitedly, "I'm going in for surgery!".
• you think whoever decided white coats should be white needs to be hunted down.

• you nonchalantly say to your friend, "Oh, Hubby's at the hospital."
• you've had dinner plans ruined by a case running late or the pager going off. 
• people think you're rich because "your husband is a doctor." (See #1)
• you wish that college had only been 7 years. Shut up, Richard...

• a medical procedure has been done at your kitchen table.
• you only get food from the "nice" restaurants when Hubby brings it home in a doggy bag from one of those drug rep dinners.
• you wake up in the middle of the night to find his side of the bed empty...and it doesn't phase you.
• you zone out when Hubby starts "talking shop" with one of his friends.
• you find pictures of nasty wounds and infections on his phone.
• the kids complain about an ailment and you say, "Just have Dad look at it when he gets home."
• your Hubby takes the kids on a "date" to the hospital cafeteria.

What would you add to the list? ;)

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Might be linking up with: Craft-O-Maniac, C.R.A.F.T, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, More the Merrier Monday, Make the Scene Monday,Serendipity and Spice, Home Stories A to Z, Titus 2 Tuesday, Take It On Tuesday, What We Wore, Read, and Made Wednesdays,  The DIY Dreamer, House of Hepworths, Mom on Timeout,Pinterest Power Party, My Favorite Finds, Weekend Wonders, My Turn For Us, Fancy This Friday, Sew Crafty Angel , Friday Favorites, Sunday FUNday,