Llama llama, MORE BOOKS MAMA!

Dude. I can tell myself over and over that Babystar has ENOUGH STUFF, and I am totally right. But I keep buying her books.

She loves books. She ‘reads’ her books to herself and her friends. (Her friends are stuffed animals.) She reads her books to Tillie the Kitten, who seems oddly into it. She brings her books everywhere and will ask anyone to read to her. Her books ward away toddler meltdowns. Her books are fucking magic.

(Yes, I know about libraries. I love the library. I also know that if my kid likes to lick her books, other kids probably do also. I mean, duh, licking books is SO LIT. So we don’t check out board books or ‘beginning reader’ books from the library. We do check out story books from the library, but those are read TO her by an adult under highly supervised situations.)

Last week, I bought a six-pack of ‘Learn-to-Read’ Little Critter books at Costco for $9.99. We already love Little Critter, and the kid needs practice on NOT RIPPING PAGES of non-board books. At less than two dollars per book, this seems like a nice price point for practice. And — bonus! — maybe she will in fact learn to read.

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Then on Saturday, we bought two new board books from the last of the big box brick and mortar bookstores, Barnes & Noble, for $16.98. We also joined their Kid’s Club, which is totally free! (Their adult version is $25 so free is awesome.) You get $5 off for each cool hundred that you drop in their store (books totally add up quickly tho) and the kids get a free cupcake on their birthday from the cafe. And they probably email you some coupons and stuff, I’m assuming. Since they asked for my email address. Or maybe they just want to sell it to make some money to pay the rent since everyone buys books on Amazon these days. (Which I totally get because I could have saved $3.08 buying them on Amazon. But I like to touch books and I miss bookstores.) Either way, I’m kind of cool with it.

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MAMAS AND PAPAS AND ANYONE WHO HANGS OUT WITH THE LITTLES: How old was your kids when you started checking out library books? And do you prefer Amazon’s prices and convenience or the magical experience of actual bookstores? (I like a good combo platter myself.)

RAISING BABYSTAR: $19,577.70

College Applications.

Just kidding. Babystar is a long way from college. The Teenager has spent the winter meeting application deadlines for school in the fall. Not the baby. That would be ridiculous.

RIGHT?

Apparently not.

We just spent $100 on preschool applications for the fall. One application was $75 and I already know that Babystar is waitlisted. One was $25 but we have not heard back yet.

All the local mamas told me to try for at least three preschools, hoping to get into one. I didn’t listen; I only submitted two applications. But dude. She’s not even two (well, she will be two in the fall). I sort of figure that my ‘Option Three’ will be to not send her to preschool in the fall. Two-year-old classes are only two days a week for like three hours. It’s a big step, but also, it’s totally fine if she doesn’t go. Right?

Did I just BREAK THE BABY OH NO?!

(Just kidding. Probably. Hopefully.)

Btw, that video was taken at the library, which is FREE, although we did buy a Little Critter Numbers board book for fifty cents from the library sale.

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RAISING BABYSTAR: $14,838.88