DISCLOSURE: I received free books in exchange for my honest review. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own.

The schools closed in our state a little over a month ago. While they have given us packets and some general guidelines on what we should be teaching them, I've struggled with other ways to keep my kids engaged and interested. Sometimes the material in the packets would be too tedious and my kids would get tired or bored.

Recently, I had the chance to review two books from a new series from Happy Fox Books, called Find Me! They were a happy distraction for my kids from their usual math and reading assignments. And it also kept them occupied for a bit, which allowed me to get some work done. That was greatly appreciated, now that the kids are here all the time!

This past weekend, my family and I had a chance to attend the Books In Bloom Book Festival in Columbia, MD. In its third year, the event brings together the country's best and brightest authors for a daylong festival to celebrate the joy of reading and books. The festival features readings, panel discussions, children's activities, live music, curated culinary offerings, rose and beer garden, and a pop-up bookstore by Busboys and Poets.

The Downtown Columbia Partnership proudly announces the third annual Books in Bloom book
festival, Columbia, Maryland’s ultimate celebration of the joys of books and reading. Books in Bloom will bring together some of the country’s best and brightest authors for a daylong festival featuring readings, panel discussions, children’s activities throughout the grounds, Skylawn bars featuring rosé, bubbles and beer, live music and a pop-up bookstore by Busboys & Poets.


The Books In Bloom book festival will be taking place on Sunday, June 2nd, 11:00am - 4:00pm, at the iconic Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. This festival is free and open to the public, with activities to entertain the whole family.

Families can enjoy story time, balloon animals, face painting, glitter tattoos, a puppet show, and interactive outdoor games. A lineup of can’t-miss readings and panel discussions include: 

• Critically-acclaimed young adult author Kathy MacMillan, will read from her newest book, Dagger and Coin;
• DMV-native and young adult author Carmen Rodrigues, will read from her latest novel The Universal Laws of Marco;
• Esteemed chefs Kwame Onwuachi, James Beard award winner and author of Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir and Edward Lee, author of Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting-Pot Cuisine will be in conversation;
• Debut novelist Angie Kim will read from her bestselling book Miracle Creek
• And many more!

Register today!

Each month, my kids look forward to receiving books from the Parragon Book Buddies program. They love to read or have books read to them. And Parragon publishes so many great family favorites. Usually, the books are centered around a particular theme. January's theme was focused on Disney Princesses.


Once my son saw the books were mostly Disney Princess books, though, he got disappointed and left the room. On the other hand, my daughter was happy. She loves Disney Princesses!

DISCLOSURE: As a member of the Parragon Book Buddies Program, I received free books from Parragon Books to review and post my honest opinions. No further compensation was provided. Post may contain affiliate links.

It's hard to believe, but there's only a week until Christmas! Are you ready? I'm still not done with my Christmas shopping. There are still a few people on my list who I'm still shopping for. Luckily, our November Parragon Book Buddies Box came and it was filled with some great gift ideas! Maybe it could help you out if you're still shopping.

As always, my kids were really excited to see what we received from Parragon Books this month. There's usually something that they like in it. Especially, my seven-year-old son. He loves to read and loves getting new books!

DISCLOSURE: I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

I just got the cutest book in the mail last week. It's from one of my favorite publishers, National Geographic Kids. Hey Baby! A Collection of Pictures, Poems and Stories From Nature's Nursery is full of the most adorable baby animals!

DISCLOSURE: As a member of the Parragon Book Buddies Program, I received free books from Parragon Books to review and post my honest opinions. No further compensation was provided. Post may contain affiliate links.

My family and I are big Disney fans. We love watching Disney movies and visiting the Disney Parks. So, we were pretty excited to find out the theme of the October Book Buddies Box from Parragon Books was about the new Disney Pixar movie, Coco!

Coco tells the story about a young boy named Miguel, who finds himself in the Land of the Dead. He sets off on an adventure to learn more about his ancestors. We can't wait to watch this movie when it hits theaters on November 22nd. It'll be a fun family outing and a great start to the Thanksgiving holiday.

DISCLOSURE: As a member of the Book Buddies program, I received free books from Parragon Books to facilitate this post. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own. Post may contain affiliate links.

School has been in session for more than a week now. We had a later start this year than most other families that I know of. This year, school started the day after Labor Day, when usually it starts sometime in mid to late August.

I have an 8th grader, 5th grader, 1st grader and a child in Pre-K this year. They're all super excited about the new school year and so far, things have been going pretty well.

While we were vacationing in the Outer Banks last month, we received our September Book Buddies Box from Parragon Books. Each month, they send us a selection of books that go along with that month's theme. This month, the theme is, appropriately enough, the Back To School season. The box featured Parragon's new Learnalots series of books. The series is designed to be a fun and interactive way for kids to build upon their reading and math skills and are made so kids and parents can play and learn together.

DISCLOSURE: As a member of the Book Buddies program, I received free books from Parragon Books to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own. Post may contain affiliate links.

This is the last week of school. Soon, I'll have four kids here at home that I'll need to keep busy, so they don't get too bored and end up vegging out in front of the TV or playing Minecraft all day. Luckily, our May Book Buddies Box from Parragon Books arrived! The box was filled with fun activity kits and books that should help keep the kids entertained at home or on a road trip.

DISCLOSURE: As a member of the Book Buddies program, I received free books from Parragon Books to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own. Post may contain affiliate links.

It's definitely Spring. The weather has been oscillating between warm and sunny and cold and rainy. On a recent rainy day, we received a package from Parragon Books that helped brighten the day.

My kids look forward to their Book Buddies Box each month. They love getting new books! This month, our Book Buddies Box included three Disney Princess activity books and a Disney Pixar activity book. My 6-year-old son was excited about the Pixar book. He loves Inside Out and Finding Dory. And, of course, my three-year-old daughter loved all the Princess books.

DISCLOSURE: As a member of the Parragon Book Buddies Program, I receive free books in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links may be present.


With March being National Reading Month, it's only fitting that we received another Parragon Book Buddies Box last week. My kids love books and they were super excited to see that the latest box was Disney themed!

As usual, my six-year-old couldn't wait to open the package and see what was inside.

DISCLOSURE: I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own.

March is National Reading Month. Last week we celebrated Dr. Seuss Week and Read Across America Day. My husband even went in to read "Ten Apples Up On Top" to my preschooler's class and he wore the Dr. Seuss hat I crocheted for him.

In addition to Dr. Seuss books, another series of books that my kids love reading and having read to them are the National Geographic Kids Readers books. They're a series of non-fiction books that contain fun facts, great pictures and little jokes and puns that make learning fun.

DISCLOSURE: I received free books as part of the Parragon Book Buddies Program. All opinions are my own.

My kids range from age 3 to 12. Sometimes it's hard to find an activity that all of them can enjoy. So, we were pretty pleased with what came in our December Book Buddies Box from Parragon. As usual, the kids were super excited to open the box and see what was inside.

DISCLOSURE: I received free books from Parragon as part of the Book Buddies Program, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

We returned from a week-long trip to Disney World a little over a week ago. The whole family loves everything Disney and so we were pretty happy with our November box from the Parragon Book Buddies Program. Our box featured three Moana books as well as a couple holiday-themed books!

Excited to see what's in the box!

DISCLOSURE: I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own.

Everyone in the family loves to read. My oldest almost always has her nose buried in a book. My younger two kids are always asking my husband and me to read them a story. Books are definitely a big part of our lives.

So, we were all excited to receive these two books from Moms Meet to review. When I told my six-year-old son that I had books about boy and girl heroes, he wanted to rush home from school so he could take a look at them.

DISCLOSURE: As a member of the Book Buddies program, I received free books from Parragon Books to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own.

Halloween is only 12 short days away! On the days leading up to Halloween, I like to make Halloween-themed treats and do fun activities with the kids. We recently visited a local farm to do a corn maze and pick up pumpkins! Earlier this month, we received our October Book Buddies Box from Parragon and it went perfectly with the Halloween theme!

All the books this month were coloring books. It was nice that they each came with crayons and a place to keep them with the book. As always, my kids were super excited to open the Book Buddies Box!

Always so excited to open their Book Buddy Box!

 DISCLOSURE: I received free books to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own.

The kids are all in school. Even my youngest! I finally have the house to myself in the morning -- at least until it's time to pick up my preschooler from school. Before the school year started, I asked the kids what they were excited about for the new school year. The older two weren't really ready to go back, but my younger two were excited about making new friends and learning new things!

The theme for the September Book Buddies Box from Parragon is Learning! They sent a great box of some fun books and kits that the whole family enjoyed! Even my husband and 12-year-old found something in the box that they liked.

I can't believe it's already August! Summer's almost over! With just a little over three weeks until school starts, we're trying to enjoy the rest of the kids' summer vacation. We recently received the August Book Buddy Box from Parragon. Each month, they send us a box of fun and interesting books and activity kits for my younger kids. This month's theme is Animals.

DISCLOSURE: As a member of the Parragon Book Buddies Program, I received free products in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Summer's here and I'm so ready to hit the beach! We're about 40 days away from our annual trip to the Outer Banks and we can't wait! So, we were pretty excited to see that the theme of our July Box from the Parragon Book Buddies Program was "Summer Fun."

This was our first box from Parragon and my 5-year-old was super excited to be getting a box of goodies just for him.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free copy of Disney Frozen Fever Hairstyles to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

My youngest daughter loves dressing up like a princess. She likes to put on her princess dresses and she uses her older sister's headbands as crowns. Thankfully, she hasn't asked me to do her hair like a princess because I have enough problems trying to get my own hair to do what I want it to do. I wasn't sure how well I could copy the hairstyles of her favorite princesses!

Then this book showed up for me to review! The Disney Frozen Fever Hairstyles book features 28 hairdos inspired by Anna and Elsa from the movie short, Frozen Fever. It includes step-by-step instructions and photos to make it easy to style your hair like Anna and Elsa!

The book is divided into four sections:

• Braidschool - this section includes detailed directions and illustrations on how to create traditional, French, Dutch, rope and fishtail braids
• Twists and Braids - this section includes variations of Elsa's over-the-shoulder braid
• Updos and Buns - this section includes looks inspired by Anna's braided updo
• Waves and Ponytails - this section includes partial updos and ponytails