Author: Julie Meyers Pron

It’s the most anticipated question of the night. The one everyone preps for and crosses her fingers that the next book chosen will be one she’s dying to read or one that she’s never heard of but can’t put down. For a little over a year, I’ve been featuring books that I’m hearing book clubs love or books that I’m inspired to read and trying to keep up with reading them. (Links to my book lists are at the end of this post.) Here are the ones that I think your book club should read next! Recently, a few friends…

Hey super readers! Thanks for stopping by Julieverse, where I share lifestyle tips for enjoying life with a heavy focus on ways to make life more simple as a mom. Be sure to subscribe to Julieverse by email, follow my blog with Bloglovin, or like the Facebook Page so you don’t miss any updates, including my upcoming book reviews of books I’ve read this summer. While you’re here, check out Jamie’s book club list (82 books!). It started with a list, a huge list, of 82 books my friend’s book club had read. That post, published in March, quickly became my most popular post of all…

Hey super readers! Thanks for stopping by Julieverse, where I share lifestyle tips for enjoying life with a heavy focus on ways to make life more simple as a mom. Be sure to subscribe to Julieverse by email, follow me on Pinterest, and like the Facebook Page, so you don’t miss any updates, including my upcoming book lists. While you’re here, check out Jamie’s book club list (82 books!). A few years ago, my online book club folded, but I still think back to the spring and summer I read some of my all-time favorite books to recommend for book clubs. If you’re a mom,…

No matter that it takes forever for me to finish a book lately, I’m always adding to my list of books to read. Recently, a friend (thanks, Jamie! Shout out!) shared that she carries her notated book club list with her at all times in her bag so that any chance she has to visit a book store, she has her go-to list with her. Since sharing her list with me last month, I’ve pulled it out at least a half dozen times to share with others. Jamie’s book club list focuses mostly on modern literature but delves a bit into historical…

Update: Thank you to everyone who participated in Thank a Teacher Day. I’m keeping a date open. Will we need to do it again? Let’s hope not. If we continue to say thank you more often, to show appreciation more easily, we won’t need to. We’ll revisit next December, with a tentative date of December 16. In our rushed world, we rarely have an opportunity to show our appreciation for those who spend 6 hours a day with our children. Those who give of their time and brilliant minds to help our own children to stay safe, comfortable, loved, and…

Nearly every child wants his mom or dad to be involved in school. If only it were so easy for nearly every parent. Here are ways to help out beyond lunch duty.* Can you spend some of your day at school? Before volunteering to help in at the school, review your child’s school policy or ask a few questions: Are you permitted to bring siblings?Do you need proof of government-mandated clearances?Are parents permitted to volunteer in their child’s classrooms, or do you have to volunteer in other classrooms?Who oversees parent volunteers? Is it better to offer services through the teacher…

In June, I addressed my frustrations and emotions about raising a little 4-year-old girl in a post that I finally felt strong enough to publish 7 weeks later, 2 days before Little turned 5. I was brought back to that post last week when reading a highly debated article at Yahoo! Parenting, Why 5 May Be the Hardest Age of All. Some say 5 is the hardest age to parent. This article describes a mom’s experience as she and her daughter grow. Almost 6 months later, I vividly remember sitting in the car that day, pulling the car over and crying in frustration. Four,…

As parents, we’re all going to face the ups and downs and challenges of our kids. We’re supposed to be here to guide them in making the right choices. We’re supposed to expect them to respect our wishes and demands. We’re supposed to enforce our beliefs. It’s a lot we’re supposed to do. And while I try hard to be consistent and direct with my expectations, I’ve also learned to pick my battles. There are things to expect, and there are things to expect. After battling with Little all winter and, really, since 2011, about what to wear each morning, a few…

Summers ago, my then-rising second grader spent his first-grade year obsessed with Captain Underpants. Obsessed. He found the ol’ cap’n after first exploring the Super Diaper Baby book series at the school book fair. About two weeks later, I received “thank you” emails from classmates’ moms. The boys were finally reading. And reading. And, to be honest, at that time, it didn’t really matter that the graphic novels were written in phonetics and that every other word was “fart” or “poop.” The boys were reading! But after four months of nothing but underpants, diapers, and cavemen (because they eventually moved on the slightest bit…

The fact that I’m all about the shop (that’s a verb) is no surprise to anyone. And while I love the convenience of kicking it back with no-hassle online shopping 360 days a year, there are those 5 or 6 days when I actually enjoy getting out and into the spirit of live shopping in real life. You know. Touching and scanning and perusing. Okay. Fine. I’ll admit it. I go to Barnes & Noble way more than 5 or 6 days a year. My local B&N? They know me. And this time of year, they call my name. Like, I’m sitting in…