My Hot Library Dates
Did you know that with your single library card you can check out boat-loads of books at one time? I didn’t either. But my incredibly resourceful friend did and this little fact changed how much I love going to the library with my kiddos.
Before I knew this, I’d walk into the library with my two kids and my purse. My big, not-so-detailed plan would be to have them pick out a couple of books that they would enjoy. In reality, they’d run all over the place while hurling the books they’d want to take home in my general direction. All while begging to play on the computers. And not whispering. And not staying together, or next to me, or near me. Mainly they would get lost in the maze of large bookshelves and plop down on the floor in a corner where inevitably I could not see them. Thus, I would spend my entire library outing looking for my two library bandits on my hands and knees.
I’d end up at the counter with an armful of books, mostly falling to the floor, worrying already that I was going to lose one or five. By the time I’d get to the car, I’d be in a full sweat and on at least one occasion have already lost a book. Plain and simple, it was not fun. The version of “Going to the Library with My Kiddos” that played out in my head was always a great experience. We’d enjoy the book selecting process, go home, get completely engrossed with reading and looking at great illustrations while soaking up happiness and knowledge. And there would be rainbows. While eating kale. And speaking Mandarin.
Realistically, we’d get home and they’d look at 2 or 3 books for 2 or 3 minutes. Those books would without a doubt end up mixed in with all of our other books on our bookshelves at home. If not the bookshelves….in both kids’ closets. Or under my bed. Maybe a few in the bathroom. More in my car. I’m pretty sure I found one in the freezer.
Needless to say, we loved having a few new books to read, but it did become a big hassle to me because I knew we would end up losing a few and having to pay fines. Because of this, for a while I decided it was best for us not to go to the library at all. I know, I know, I am a stellar mother. See here, Bandits of the Books, I give up! No library experiences for you the rest of your entire childhood. See how I fixed that problem!
Well, real problem was, I actually like going to the library and so do my kids. And my mom is a retired librarian, so you can imagine how well that new plan sat with her. And I knew in my heart that giving up the library experience entirely was a completely dumb and irrational idea.
Enter the NEW system! Remember my resourceful friend? It’s her system that we totally stole. But now we enjoy going to the library, rarely misplace books, avoid late fees and I no longer have books hurled in my general direction, or at my face. I called our local library to confirm how many books we can check out at one time. 50. We can bring home 50 books. So, here’s how the system for library dates with my kids works:
Main component: a library book bin or basket. It’s sturdy, has handles and everyone in our house knows that it is the library book basket—this is key. Once at the library, we all peruse the shelves and pick up any book that looks interesting to us and walk it over to the library basket which I strategically place next to a shelf in the corner (AKA not my face). We put in whatever books we pick. We pick and pick and pick. Remember, you can check out 50 per library card (here in Houston anyway, check your city’s library for all your rules).
Once the basket is full, we go check them out. We ask for a printed receipt and tuck it into one of the book jackets. This beautiful receipt lists what books we’ve got, when they are due and a grand total of how many books we have. For you fancy people, yes, you can view all of this information online. But my kids can’t. Our printed receipt, which we treat like gold, is how MY KIDS can keep track of how many books we have and precisely which ones we have.
When we get home, we take the entire library book basket upstairs and place it right next to their bed where they can unload, read, snuggle, whatever they like (well almost) with those books. They know that when they are done reading or looking at a library book, it goes right back into the basket. So every night, the library books sleep with all their library book friends in their little library book basket.
Our new system brought the joy back to our library dates. Since they basically bring home their own personal, mobile library that lands right in their room, they truly enjoy sitting and reading and reading and reading. Granted, no one is speaking Mandarin or eating kale while they read, but I’m pretty sure I have seen rainbows coming out of their ears and mine because we are all so happy about our books and getting to spend a ton of time reading them.
Once 2-3 weeks have gone by, we count the number of books to ensure we still have them all and dutifully take them back to the library. That same day, we load back up with new books. We’ve been doing this for a few years now and it has so many advantages for my family.
First, they get the time-tested true library experience. For zero money, borrow 50 books and read them at your leisure with the promise to return them in a timely manner. Sweet! We also get the experience of community because we always seem to bump into people we know there.
Second, they get to choose books that I normally don’t buy for our home library. By this I mean books about things they may be interested in for a hot minute, but not into the next.
Books they pick:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
FlyGuy
every Marvel Superhero ever created
DK Readers on every TV show they have ever watched
Mo Willems entire library
These differ from the books I buy which include:
Timeless stories without TV characters
Books from authors we love
Books illustrated by artists we love
Caldecott winners
Most of Mo Willems entire library
And hey, don’t get me wrong, I am not the all-knower of great books. Sometimes my kids pick out books I’ve never heard of and they become books we LOVE. When that happens, sometimes they get a little surprise via Mommy and Amazon. We can add books to our home library this way, knowing that we really love them because we’ve checked them out a few times and still enjoy reading them.
Third, they learn a bit of responsibility and autonomy. If we do have a late fee (which we haven’t since we started this system, although I’m sure I’m jinxing it right now while typing this sentence) we all chip in to pay it. It’s not about shaming or placing fault. It’s just that we all got the books, we all said we’d take care of the books, so we all chip in to fix it if we don’t. Live and learn. Together.
So, the next time you’re at the library and a book is being hurled at your face by a 5 year-old book bandit, remember they just haven’t learned how to aim. Then buy a library book basket. It will change your life.
Photography by Rebecca Sanabria, the hippest bookworm I know.
This set-up is in my studio, so I can watch him create while I create, too. And in my studio we don’t worry about paint splats on the floor. The unfinished wood floors were purposely installed for stress free paint splats, spills and smears—all which add to the character of the floor.
PS I’ve written before about the beauty of easy art projects for kids. Ones you can do with minimal prep, minimal supplies and minimal cleanup. See others 
Supplies needed: Large sheets of paper and any type of paint. We used acrylic paint that I mixed with water because I like the drips. And you don’t necessarily need little individual paint cups, but they are extra fun.
Photography by 
It was also during that afternoon sitting with Brae and listening to all his fun comments and ideas that the idea for his party invitation popped into my head. It was so fun to draw, and it will be fun to look at in a few years to remember the things he got a kick out of and some of the things he said as an almost-five-year-old. My friend, 
The night before the party, we grown-ups had a fun time making up the silly comments for each one. We even slipped in one of the birthday boy’s big brother for a laugh. In addition to being fun to make and look at, the lunch boxes were practical for me because with most of the party happening outside, it was too hot during the day to have a table with food sitting in the heat for long hours. So we kept the boxes inside until an hour or so into the party, then brought them out to hungry kids who thought it was pretty special to have their own little box ‘o food. Each box included a PB&J, a fruit skewer, carrots, pretzels and a napkin. I know, I know, super fancy.
All of our kids’ birthday parties we’ve had at our home so far. This was our 11th one! And while each party is somewhat different and might use different colors, most of our party décor is exactly the same for every single one. I like this because we don’t buy new stuff and throw away old stuff every time. It is also sweet because when our kids see this particular décor come out of my studio closet, they know a celebration is about to happen.
Of the things we use year after year, one of my favorites is the party flag bunting. We’ve hung them for every single party (and 
Another thing we use for all our parties are the yellow and white shade banners. It’s crazy hot, humid and sunny in Houston in the summer, so I concocted this idea in my head and our incredibly 
The little low blue tables are perfect for cake and lunching at the party. We had them made from the leftover porch wood when we built our house. We have two sets of legs for them, which can be switched out. The tall legs make for a regular size table, and the short ones are the cute height we use for all the kids to sit around on the grass.
The BB-8 cake was made by me — a self-proclaimed very untalented cake maker. But I love making the kiddos’ birthday cakes. My mom did the same for me when I was little, so I think it’s a combination of the nostalgia and the challenge that keeps me cranking out these cakes every party. I am completely aware that I could order a cake that both looks good and tastes good, but my cakes make me laugh and my kids like to watch me laugh and sweat trying to squirt icing in a straight line on the cake. Which never happens. I even practice first on a napkin. But it still never streams out of that little plastic nozzle how I want it to. So I make a point to over-exaggerate how bad it is, pretend cuss and jump up and down. Then I knife it off and do it again. My kids roll on the floor cracking up at my failure, and I let them lick the icing off the knife. So it is pretty much the best day ever making ugly cakes together.
For this party, I also bought chocolate cupcakes at the last minute because I wasn’t sure BB-8 was big enough for both kids and grown-ups to have a piece. The little candy eyeballs made for perfect poop emoji cupcakes—emojis are another thing that Brae thinks are hilarious right now. Poop also. Hilarious. And talked about by him often. Poop. Poop. Poop.
Other party details come together pretty easily now that we’ve got the process down. We rent the 
My friend, 
