The kids and I showed up at their weekly group meeting as the special guests, delivering juice and bagels for the meeting and handing out the cookie cakes for everyone. I never imagined how well they would be received.

Having been abandoned in a mental hospital as a child for her strange visions, Grace now keeps to herself. Using her premonitions for a greater good, she works as a private investigator, locating missing children. When a strange creature crosses her path, causing her to crash her car during a simple search for a missing little girl, her life begins to take a turn. She suddenly finds herself immersed in old Norse myths with people who claim she is one of them.

Eleri Stone’s Demon Crossings is a lovely paranormal romance with a twist on the typical demons found in the genre. The story line progressed throughout the book, setting up possible subsequent books based on the well developed characters, which in all honesty, make the book what it is.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Haunted and hunted by the man who claims to hold her sister’s life in his hands, Lia doesn’t want to be rescued. Tate has a job to do though, saving the wolf shape-shifters who are now hunted by humans. He is not one to be deterred from his cause, and when the two causes collide, tensions heat up. Dee Tonorio’s Deceiving the Protector is the second book in her Resurrection series. Not having read the previous book didn’t diminish the story, which has no trouble standing on its own. While many paranormal romances tend to be lacking, Tonorio has developed a rich fantasy world with shape shifters which only promises to increase in her future books.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

***


Visit Authentic Parenting and MudpieMama to find out how you can participate in the next Authentic Parenting Blog Carnival!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
(This list will be live and updated by afternoon January 27 with all the carnival links.)

• Becoming Intentional with My Time Valerie at Momma in Progress shares the beginning of her year-long journey toward more intentional living. 
• Alirik’s Birth Story: Sweet Surprise Lauren at Hobo Mama tells the sweet surprise unassisted home water birth story of her second child.
• My Rebirth: An Honest Look Darcel at The Mahogany Way talks a little about some of the fear and insecurity she’s felt over the years since starting her parenting journey and her blog.
• Trusting My Body: Ailia’s Birth Story After a very challenging birth with her son, Dionna at Code Name: Mama was nervous about having another natural birth. But practicing relaxation techniques and birth affirmations proved to be just what she needed to have her perfect, peaceful, unassisted homebirth.
• My Homeschool Philosophy Paige a Bay Dust Diaries shares her new year’s resulution about homeschooling. 
• Yet Another Resolutions Post... Zen mummy‘s resolutions for a better 2012
• Renewing Green Passions in the New Year Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction talks about renewing a passion for green living in the new year
• Birthing and New Beginnings… And Better Mothering Sheila at A Living Family shares her first ever New Year’s resolutions to be a more mindful, compassionate and respectful mother to her two-year old daughter after the recent birth of her son.
• An Open Letter to MTV Regarding 16 and Pregnant Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama delivers a pointed message to MTV about how they misrepresent birth and parenthood on 16 and Pregnant.
• Setting Intentions Megan at The Other Baby Blog shares another way to ring in the New Year.
• Spencer’s Birth Story Momma Jorje shares her family’s story of birthing her son with Down syndrome.
• Looking Forward, Looking Back Erica @ ChildOrganics shares how she is able to look back at the loss of their daughter and yet move forward with her family at the same time. 
• Unique unto Itself. Melissa of Vibrant Wanderings has chosen a word for her second child’s birth: awareness.
• The Unassisted Birth of The LIttle Buddha. Laura at Authentic Parenting shares the birth story of her new baby
• Birthing and Resolutions: Keeping Good Things in Motion. MudpieMama shares her VBAC story and why she skipped making resolutions in the traditional way. 
• The Birth of a New Era by Mandy from Living Peacefully With Children

Quietly working on my laptop as they play under the guise of getting clean

I hear my husband sneaking up the stairs

His quiet commentary begins

“The sexy husband stalks his prey”

He makes it to the top of the stairs behind me

Reaches out his hand to my bum and says in a high-pitched voice, “Goose!”

I kiss him, his face smooth after shaving earlier in the evening

He looks at my kindle sitting next to me and says,

“Oooooo. Is that a time machine?”

I love that man.

Traditionally, my children have grabbed whatever was handy to use as an invisibility cloak – blankets or play silks have been the most popular items. However, they have a distinct disadvantage in that they are opague, leaving the wearer essentially blind and bumping into things. When stealth is your objective, muttering “Ouch!” is contradictive.

I had a couple of 5 yd. pieces of sheer fabric in our declutter pile aournd the time that I was thinking of easy gifts my 4 year old might like to make for his siblings. When I asked him if he would lik eto make invisibility cloaks, he eyes lit up and giggles erupted. All he had to do was cut each piece in half, and we were suddenly the proud owners of four insivibility cloaks.

The kids were all thrilled to receive them. It is understood that if someone is wearing one, no one else can see that person. It gets rather comical when someone wearing an invisbility cloak begins speaking and none of the other people can see him or her. The cloaks have received quite a bit of use to date and are proving to be a popular dress up item for the older (by which I mean ages 8+) kids who come over.

This soup came out amazingly delicious. I want to make bulk amounts to freeze, but I think I may need to only freeze it in parts due to the almond milk.

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup:

• 4 chicken breasts, diced and cooked
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups almond milk (or your choice of thicker milk)
• 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, shredded (I used a vegetable peeler for long, thin slices)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, finely diced
• 1 cup fresh spinach, cut into thin strips
• 1 T. canola oil (or olive oil)
• large pinch of dried thyme
• 1 lb. gluten free gnocchi (or glutenous gnocchi for theose of you who eat it)
• freshly milled salt and pepper

Saute onion, garlic, celery, and carrot in the oil. Add chicken, chicken stock, almond milk, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a gentle boil and add gnocchi. Boil for 4 minutes. Turn heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. Add spinach and cook for 1-2 additional minutes. Enjoy!

Esther has just finished college and moved back in with her parents. Recognizing that her childhood is now over, she realizes that the next stage in her life is ready to begin. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know what that next step is. Pushed into a babysitting job by her mother in an attempt for her to do something other than eat cereal in her pajamas, she spends a good portion of her time imagining that she is the mother of her charge and the lover of her charge’s father. The rest is spent smoking pot with some friends and sleeping with the guy she is attracted to but doesn’t like.

Leigh Stein’s The Fallback Plan is nothing if not consistent. Mirroring the main character’s aimlessness, the book drifts along without any real purpose. Perhaps those in a similar situation would find the book enjoyable, but it is hard to rally for characters who are apathetic about their own selves.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Callum Scott is predominantly a normal boy. He does well enough in school, plays rugby, and keeps a low profile. The only problem is that for as long as he can remember he has seen ghosts. Now his premonitions are growing and he is being chased by a large creature from another place. Life is about to get interesting.

Adam Slater’s The Shadowing: Hunted would be a mediocre paranormal young adult novel with characters who are screaming to be further developed. However, he has managed to weave new aspects into his brand new paranormal series which may just set the foundation for a great story.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Jessi Bloom’s Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard, available at the end of January, is the quintessential book for chicken owners and gardeners alike. Chock full of information for the chicken novice, Bloom’s book makes a compelling argument for allowing chickens to free range in your garden to create a symbiotic environment benefitting plants, chickens, and their human counterparts. With pertinent and practical information, this inspirational book will have the urban or suburban (or even rural) gardener or chicken owner making the cross-over to a mutually beneficial and sustainable free range chicken garden.

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.