what we're reading

I think it's been a couple days since my last reading of Ponyella. Matea's new favorite is The One and Only Opal from the Toot & Puddle series by Holly Hobbie. Some of the books about the two little pigs and their friends strike me as a bit random--this one in particular seems to be teaching a lesson about being kind to others, but the ending doesn't offer much of a moral. Ariel is the one who pointed this out to me, though. Matea likes it because the little pig Opal wears a tutu on the cover. I picked this up used because I love the illustration style--soft, slightly realistic watercolors (I think). All in all, a well-loved book.

As for my own bookshelf, I'd like to suggest Essential Exercies for the Childbearing Year by Elizabeth Noble to anyone who is pregnant. I got it after borrowing a copy from the doula I used during my first pregnancy. This crunchy mama of five had also worked as a labor and delivery nurse, taught childbirth classes, and was trained as a lactation consultant--basically, a highly experienced pregnancy/birth/infant care consultant. What I like most about the book is the exercises it gives for re-zippering your abdomen in the early post-partum weeks. I have re-read it after each baby!

~jkg