Hi! I’m Bethany.
Welcome to No Twiddle Twaddle where I share my favorite picture books, original activity ideas, and parenting helps.
about me
First, I’m not super mom. We don’t create amazing activities every day nor do I play with my kids all day long (Even bloggers have to clean house!). I’m just a normal mom who loves reading and providing sensory play activities for my children. I hope to inspire you to maybe try some new fun play ideas, read to your kids more, and enjoy this journey called motherhood.
I am a book lover. I love to read classics or Christian non-fiction in my free time. While I haven’t read every book I should read, I do read my favorite books and authors over and over. In particular, I’m a Jane Austen fan (but isn’t everyone?)
I love to create. I’m not very artistic, but I like to pull out all the art supplies and just see what happens. I also love to crochet and work with fiber arts when I can find a free moment. But, I rarely ever make the same project twice.
I allow my children to learn within their natural environments. Rather than stress about learning letters and numbers at age 3, I spend time reading aloud to my children lots and lots of books. We don’t use flashcards and worksheets to work on these early skills but instead I teach them while we are going about our daily life.
I am a Christian and also daily try to teach my children about Christ. I believe in gentle parenting strategies that emphasize grace and mercy.
about my family
I’m married to a PhD student, minister, and banker. Yep, he’s all that, plus my best friend. I didn’t really like him at all when we first met, but he refused to let me get away from him. Now I’m stuck with him for good and loving every minute of it! We are openly nerdy as a couple loving to play Euro board games, watch old mysteries, and just talk.
Our first child is in preschool and hasn’t stopped moving since the day he was born. He keeps me on my toes and is the best exercise program a mom could ever want. When he was little, I never could get him to listen to a book, but now that he’s older he loves for me to read stacks of library books to him.
Our second child was born early due and died shortly after birth. Our family feels his presence each day even though his birthday has passed several years now. He has taught us compassion, hope, and the joy of living each day’s blessings.
My third child almost was almost lost as well, but through excellent medical care and the grace of God she was born at term. She is now a toddler and fills our home with sunshine. Her hobbies consist of trying on shoes, coloring with markers, and copying her brother.
what I write about
Kindle EBook Lists for Kids: Have you ever downloaded a free eBook off of Amazon only to later suspect that the author’s mom must have written the glowing review that sent the book into the top-seller list? After downloading hundreds of eBooks myself, I realized that the top-sellers on Amazon were rarely the best books available while great books were available and slipping by the radar of even the top free Kindle eBook sites’ featured lists. I also found that lists of every free Kindle eBook while great in concept were filled with books that had misspellings, terrible formatting, and offensive topics.
On No Twiddle Twaddle, I read a lot of free Kindle eBooks, talk with authors, and check books for formatting issues. My lists are known for featuring the best books, and as more older works start appearing as self-published books in the Kindle Store. While due to a recent Amazon affiliate program change, I no longer am able to feature daily lists of free eBooks. I still plan to write about free eBooks when a great book is available.
Play Activities: I love to create sensory play activities for children. My activities are typically easy, low-mess, and often educational.
Children’s Books: I review quality picture books for kids, as well as co-host a weekly kid lit link-up on Mondays, The Children’s Bookshelf. I also am the owner of the Google+ community Great Books for Kids.
Parenting: Every now and then I break from my usual routine to share parenting inspirations or thoughts. In particular, I occasionally write about infant loss from my own experience.
join me
I hope that you will join me online so that we can stay in touch. Not only do I have multiple subscription options, but also you can follow me through:
I also am a co-blogger of Kidding Around Greenville SC, a local blog about life with kids in and around Greenville, South Carolina.
If you would like to contact me by email you can reach me at notwiddletwaddle@gmail.com.
