There isn't much that I enjoy more than curling up to a good book. Ever since I can remember, I've been a bookworm. Obviously, with kiddos, I don't get to read near as much as I used to. Once I start a book, I have a hard time putting it down, which means everything else gets neglected. Not so hot when you have babes to care for. But when J travels, I often spend my evenings reading. Since he has been MIA 80% of the time since baby B has been born, I've gotten to read a bit more than usual.
But I digress...Miss H has definitely inherited my bookworm gene. I think baby B has, too. All ready he will sit, fascinated, as I read books to him, over and over again. Nothing excites Miss H more than reading a book or taking a trip to the library or bookstore.
This morning she ran around the house screaming, "Storytime today! Momma, storytime!" That girl loves her books.
Barnes and Noble is pretty much brilliant. They offer a free storytime, complete with a cookie or other treat, once a month for our local moms group (I'm fairly certain they offer it to the public at a different time as well...but I can't afford to go more than once a month, ha!). Yes, it's "free." But, as I vividly remember from Economics class, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
We always arrive early, Miss H making a mad dash to Starbucks where she gets "my own, Momma. My very own!" cup of tea or, when I'm feeling daring, chocolate milk (but if she actually drinks it all she ends up with diarrhea, yeah, you wanted to know that, so we steer clear of it most of the time). I get whatever, and typically Miss H cons me into a cookie or scone or quiche or whatever she so fancies that day, regardless of the fact that they are going to give her a free treat in just a bit. So all ready, our "free" storytime has cost me a good $10.
Miss H plays with the train table, listens to the story at story time, enjoys her snack, makes her crafts, and plays until she's finally a bit worn out. Fantastic! But no one can leave a book store without a book. That's totally my fault, but denying my child books is like denying her broccoli. I just can't fathom it. Mostly because I am a book addict and can fully appreciate the excitement of a brand new, crisp book, all of your own. The thrill of reading the words the first time. The joy of reading them another 2 millioin times, still as exciting as the first time.
And although she has a bookcase full of books, she really does read them. All of them. Regularly. In the span of one week I can easily say we've read each book she owns at least once - and anyone who has seen her collection knows it's extensive for a 2 year old (though she just told me a few days ago, "I need more books, Momma! See, see! I need more." Oh, the problems of first world children!). But since she reads them, I don't have a problem with having a few gazillion. And sometimes I agree with her, maybe she does need more...
I get it. I really, really do. So I always buy her a book. Sometimes 2. One time like 6, but we will pretend that time didn't happen.
So there I'm out another $5 if it was a cheap book. So, on a good story time day, the "free" event costs me $15. It's a good thing I never really anticipated it to be free.
And I can say that I retained something from my high school Economics class too.
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