{The Wednesday Hit List}: Top 5 Children's Books (Age 4)

In the past, I've been pretty indifferent to Wednesdays. But now that I have started this new weekly series, I have become pretty fond of them. Wednesdays were made for lists, I tell ya! 
This weeks Wednesday Hit List is Our Favorite Children's Books at age 4. 

Favorite Books by julia-crystal on Polyvore

1. Mouse Cookies and More: A Treasury
 I got the original "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" book at my baby shower and fell in love the first time I read it. It is such a cute concept and Myles still loves and asks for it four years later. I recently found this compilation at a sale and had to pick it up. I didn't even know that she made more of the books, so I was stoked. This set includes the original, "If You Give a Moose a Muffin",  "If You Give a Pig a Pancake", and "If You Take a Mouse to School", plus tons of extras like songs, games, and recipes. It is a super deal!

2. Giraffe's Can't Dance

My mom bought this for Myles last year and we just brought it out. Because he already has so many books, I try to save the new ones until he is really bored of the currents. That way we keep a steady rotation of books and I don't lose my mind reading Pete the Cat for the 100th time in a week. This book is a little longer and more wordy than some of our others, but it really keeps Myles engaged. It is a fun story, but the message is what I really love. The giraffe is made fun of  because he can't dance at the jungle party, only to discover that he really is a great dancer when he finds his own special music. Be different, find your own unique way, and march to the beat of your own drum, kids!

3. Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
 This is our favorite book in the car right now. It is short, simple, catchy, and fun. I think Myles is getting to be too old for it, but it's been a favorite for so long that we just can't let go yet. Usually when that happens, I just add it to our car book stash and let it ride out (no pun intended!) the rest of its life with us in there.

4. Peanut Butter and Cupcake

Myles got on his third birthday from my mom. I was a little skeptical at first. I didn't think it was something that Myles would be interested in, but boy was I wrong! He thinks this book is so funny and gets super involved when we read it. The story line is cute, but the illustrations make this book a top for me. It does get a bit repetitive, but I can 't deny how much Myles loves it.

5. Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You

If you are an emotional person (i.e. a mom), this book will tear you up. My aunt got this for Myles a couple months back. She gave it to him when we were having a get together at the ice-skating rink/playworld. I thought 'oh cute book, let me read it right now'..... cue bawl fest. This book, being about loving someone no matter where they are, really hits a nerve with me. It is so hard living away from all our family and friends; I am so beyond grateful that they continue to show us so much love, even from 2000+ miles away. I know our situation is very common, especially among many of my fellow bloggers (why many start blogging), and it can really be hard for the little ones to understand. This book is a really good way to teach them about love and distance. 

Again, please let me know if you are interested in this becoming a link-up or even better, co-hosting! It would be open for old and new posts alike; the only requirement is that the post contains a list like a ranking or favorites.

Summer Birthday Gift Exchange

If you don't already know, I am crazy about my son's birthdays! Being that he is our only (and probably will always be our only), I like to make his birthday really special. I may or may not be planning two parties (one in California and one in Illinois) right now, and I'm sure we will do something fun on his actual birthday too! So, of course, I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity to celebrate some more with a blogger gift exchange! For the past couple of years now, Liz over at Chasin' Mason has organized a summer birthday gift exchange, and I am so excited to be apart of it this year!

Myles received his present from Sarah and Brantley from Seeing All Sides.

*Please excuse the poor quality of these first few pictures. By the time I realized the lighting was horrible, it was too late to get Myles to move before finishing opening them.

Other than a couple sentences about Myles' likes and dislikes, I never had any conversations with Sarah before we received our gifts. So I am a little inclined to think that some sort of sorcery had to have taken place, because what she picked out could not have been any more perfect! 

In a few weeks we are going back to Illinois to celebrate Myles' 4th birthday, which just so happens to be a superhero party. Of course, Myles (and I) have already been playing dress-up and pretend with his capes and masks, but they will definitely be coming with us as they will be a huge hit at his party! 

He likes Batman the best!

And these On-the-Go Water Wow pads are my secret weapon for airplane rides. The last couple of times we have flown, I brought one with and it kept Myles occupied for like 30 minutes (which is a huge feat when flying)!

I told him he could open and play with one and the other we would save for the plane ride. He said he liked the vehicle one the best, so he would save that one for later (way to exercise self control)!

Thank you Sarah and Brantley so much for your thoughtful gifts! we have been thoroughly enjoying them!

Myles was super excited to send gifts to Arden (Vanessa from Sunflower State of Mind). I told him what she liked and he picked everything out. He is way more decisive than I, so I let him do the choosing. Head over to Vanessa's blog to see if you think he did a good job!

And when your done there, check out the rest of the participants of this exchange!

Ashley and Waverly // Being Brickner

Elizabeth and Mason // Chasin' Mason

Laureen and Tyson // Chateau Deveau

Brittany, Charlie, and Maddie // Just Another Day in Paradise

Desiree and Julia // Macke Monologues

Natasha and Ethan // Schue Love

Sarah and Brantley // Seeing All Sides

Vanessa and Arden // Sunflower State of Mind

Julia and Myles // The Everyday Momma

Traci and Charli // The Hallway Life

Amanda and Lily // Tickled Pink

Laura and Liam // tiny toes, little nose

Whitney and Brielana // Work It Mommy

How do you celebrate your children's birthdays?

Bodega Bay Tide Pools

For as much as I love the ocean, I have never been to a real tide pool before. So when I saw an ad in the local family magazine for a guided tide pool tour, I knew I had to get the family to go!
 If heaven had a heaven, this would be it for me:

I was totally unaware of the 1-mile (pretty steep) hike going into it, but thankfully Myles did so well and walked the whole way there and most of the way back.

The views definitely helped as well.

When we first got to the ocean, they gave us a bit of a break to change shoes, get a drink, check out the water, etc.

We weren't allowed to pick anything up without the guides' assistance, unless it was something that was floating and/or not attached to anything.

We played a little iSpy...

We saw the most of mussels and anemone. Some anemone were almost a foot in diameter!

Have you ever been to a tide pool?

{The Wednesday Hit List}: My Top 5 Most Repinned Pins on Pinterest

As a mother, blogger, and total Type-A personality, I live for lists, particularly those that highlight the best of something! And since I love sharing my favorites here, I thought I would turn them into lists and make a weekly thing of it. So starting today, Wednesdays on The Everyday Momma will be 'The Wednesday Hit List'!

 My first Wednesday Hit List is going to be My Top 5 Most Repinned Pins on Pinterest. If I am being honest, about 90% of the traffic to my blog comes from Pinterest, so I will be sharing the pins that get me most of that traffic. 

1. Under the Sea Birthday Party: Snacks and Food Tent Labels

This is my top repinned pin on Pinterest. These were made for Myles' first birthday party. I put some different snack in sand buckets and made the food tent labels using wedding place cards with stamps and my handwriting. 

2. DIY Plastic Bottle Waterfall

 This DIY was apart of a Summer Fun Series I did with some other blog friends a few summers ago. This particular week we were to come up with a fun activity or craft using old plastic bottles. Myles had too much fun helping us make and then play with this Plastic Bottle Waterfall.

3. Under the Sea Birthday Party: Napkin Wraps

This pin is another DIY from Myles' 1st birthday party. Putting these napkin wraps together was actually pretty fun and you can't go wrong with the convenience of silver wear, napkin, and mint all wrapped into one when it comes to managing a huge party!

4. Mini Turkey Meatloaves

This is one of the first recipes I shared on my blog... and I think it's pretty obvious! Despite the horrendous picture (composition and quality), Mini Turkey Meatloaves still my most popular recipe on Pinterest. It is still a big hit at home too!

5. Under the Sea Birthday Party: Crab Walk Relay Race

My number 5 pin is another one from Myles' 1st birthday party (parties a popular!). This was the sign I made for one of the games we made up to play at the party: Crab Walk Relay. It was a relay race where everyone could only do the crab walk!

I hope you enjoyed the first edition of The Wednesday Hit List and I also hope you'll come back for more!
Also I am thinking about eventually turning this into a link-up if anyone is interested in sharing in the future or even co-hosting with me! Let me know in a comment or email!