Proof that "the book really is better than the movie"

The kids are old enough now (4 & 2 - almost 3) that I decided to try out reading to them before bed.  They'll sit still to read picture books but I wanted to try a chapter book.  We started with "The Littles Go Exploring", a book that I picked up cheap at a consignment sale.  They are LOVING it and after the very first night of reading they spent the whole next day playing "the littles" & talking to "the littles" through the vents & the walls in the house.  They've seen The Littles cartoons and movie before but they had never taken it the step further to actually play pretend about it afterwards.  To me, that is proof that the book is better than the movie because it awakened their imaginations!

We'll be done with this books soon & I want to find another one.

I need your recommendations of good chapter books for this age!  Help, please!

Constant Adjusting with a house full of Little Ones

With 4 little kids (including 2 babies), it seems there is a constant adjusting around here.  In the last couple of weeks we have . . .

• Put boxes of baby clothing away in crawl space storage until another baby comes our way (because they're in the nasty crawl space, the boxes had to be sealed up tight in garbage bags and tagged so we could easily see what was inside.
• Sorted & moved all small toys out of the playroom to keep it safe for the babies that are now "on the move"
• Taken additional toys out of the playroom, the ones the older kids like to play with like blocks, train sets, etc. that could be destroyed by a baby on the move so the older kids can play undisturbed
• Changed up the baby food so they are eating some things with their hands and more of table-type foods
• Put away the infant seats into crawl space storage
• Arranged the kitchen for a 2nd high chair
• Sorted out items we won't be needing for any future babies to be sold at a consignment sale in the spring
• Found a new home for the "shoe basket" that was housed in the playroom and had become Alexi's favorite new "chew toy"
• Changed up our exercise schedule since the older kids are being unco-operative (to say it nicely) in the stroller these days

This week I will be . . .

• Putting up baby gates
• Arranging bedrooms to fit a 2nd crib and the toys that have now been moved upstairs

It doesn't sound like much when I put it on paper, but added to our already busy day, it feels like we're in constant adjusting motion around here.