Word-ly Thinking

Today I am pleased to be blogging about author Justin Matott. I have previously mentioned that we own many of his books, that I recently had the opportunity to work on his blog and now I get to bring everyone a really fun contest!

Justin has written books for all ages (adults included) but his admittedly goofy self loves to write children’s books. In his latest series he is really focusing on an Anti-Bullying message. He does so in such a fun and lighthearted way kids can’t help but get the message. Please take a minute to read some reviews from kids on his book Go Ask Mom –

Justin is offering an incredible chance to not only win one his books that he will personalize and autograph BUT also the winner could could potentially have their poem published in book 4 AS one written by the main character, Gabriel!!!

Poem? You ask what poem?

Well, my friends that is the challenge for this contest and I know with all the creativity flowing in bloggy land you will ALL rise to this challenge! Enlist your kids, Enlist your Students…Bring it on!

The rules are simple – oh so simple – All you have to do is write a 4 to 8 line poem about a gross food combination...

My own example:

Eggs and pickles
taste buds don't tickle
they give me gas
when they're in my glass

And, don't I wish
there were no fish
in the kitchen sink
cuz, they're also in my drink

There is a little catch…fine print if you would – we are really hoping to reach a ton of readers with this contest – you see Justin Matott is very well known and highly respected in our region but his awesomeness has not spread nationwide as of yet and he REALLY wants to get in front of Ellen DeGeneres and hopefully get to guest interview on her show to help spread the word about Anti-Bullying.

I don’t know Ellen…Do you? I didn’t think so…

So what we are asking is that as a part of the contest you post your entry on Your Blog and link back to mine and to Justin’s then come back here and post the URL for your entry in the comments section.

By doing so we are hoping all of your readers will be enticed to come and join in the fun too…our goal? It is lofty! We want 200 entries – on 200 blogs all across the USofA!

The contest will run for 2 weeks and close on Wednesday May 27th at 10pm MST – Justin will hand pick the winner and we will announce the winner, feature them on all our blogs and send the prize on Friday May 29th!

So get thinking – I know you can do this – I can’t wait to read what you write…

There is NO limit to the number of entries you can post…so each of your children can write, you can write, your significant other can write, heck if your dog can write…let him in on it too!

(on a side note, if you are a teacher and want to get your students involved email me and we will tell what we thought of to help facilitate this)

(great resource rhymezone.com)

Big News! (at least to me)

****UPDATED*** ***SEE BOTTOM***

I have some news! Some big big news! (no I am not having any more children)

But seriously...I have started a new blog



and with a little help from some friends we are launching what we hope to be one of the best Book Review sites on the web! I read a lot and will be doing most of the reviewing but I have a few young friends (and maybe some older ones too) that will contribute from time to time to help diversify the site and the reviews! I am hoping to post a minimum of 1 review per week and maybe as many as two! So subscribe in your reader, or via email - tell your friends and stop by when you can! I really hope everyone likes the site as much as I have enjoyed launching it!

Also...Jen over at Tatertots and Jello gave me a lovely award today. Many of you know I am HORIBLE at posting awards and memes. For some reason though, this one kind of touched me. I have not been lurking around Jen's blog for too long, but I can tell that she is a wonderful kind hearted person and a fantastic mom. I appreciate her thinking of me as she passed along this award... The rules were simple - I half to put the logo on myblog or post and nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude! I am supposed to also do the following
Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award (already did that).

So here goes - I can't possibly list all the blogs that I love it would take me too long, I could choose to give it to one of my absolute FAVS (Laura you know who you are) but I don't dare do that to her, not now, not ever...so I choose some of my long time favorites and some new ones too:

Bonnie - The Campbell Family
Alicia - The Adams Family
Kasey - The Krape Family
Becky - Life according to Bec
Shelly - Simply Persnickety
Lindsay - The Whitcomb Family
Cheryl - Twinfatuation
Amy - One Moms Memos
Courtney - Mommie Blogs
Kim - It's a dog and pony show

I sure hope I got all those links right...I got a little dizzy trying to do that.

Thanks Jen! And I hope everyone likes the award...

BUT more importantly...don't forget to visit me over at



***UPDATE*** I am so excited to announce that we will launch the reviews complete with a Book Giveaway direct from the author on Monday! STAY TUNED and make sure you subscribe so you won't miss out!

Your Brain on Joy

I got the opportunity to read this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing and review it for all who love to read and might be interested.

I was a bit hesitant to read Your Brain on Joy when it arrived. It is not something I would have typically picked up from the store. (except the cover is beautiful) - but you can't judge a book by the cover right!!

However very quickly into the first 40 pages I realized that the author writes as if he were talking to you, complete with quick sidebars and witty banter.

The books focus is on the help you can get from SPECT brain scanning and counseling to find more joy in your life. However, the author mentions lifestyle changes and natural vitamins that can help you achieve JOY in your brain.

While, like many self help type books, you will only take away from it what you want to at the time of reading, the easy to understand descriptions and writing style that makes for a fast read sets this book apart from many of its counterparts.

I enjoyed the book and am certain that many people will not only benefit by reading it but also enjoy the authors writing styles! It keeps you smiling, even in the darkest moments of the book.

If you or anyone you know could stand to experience more "Joy" in their life, weather they are suffering from ADD, Depression, anger issues or something else, I would pick the book and give it a read. It is a fast read and will definitely add some insight into the issue.

Marley and Me and her and even her too...

I was not sure if I was going to take Lauren to see Marley and me so I decided I better read the book first. About 100 pages in I quickly decided that I needed to see the movie before I could let Lauren see it. I knew the dog died at the end and I was ok with that but I was a bit concerned with the trip to Italy and my 8 year old. I loved the book by the way. But ultimately decided I needed to pre-screen the movie. I also have a " You have to read the book before you see the movie" rule and I was not prepared to let Lauren read Marley and Me.

So, I was off to the Tattered Cover today to look for more books like Georges Secret Key to the Universe for Lauren and imagine my surprise when I found this


The 100% G rated version of Marley and Me. A bit below Lauren's reading level but she can finish it quick and I know she will love it! Still don't know if she can see the movie or not but I can wait for the DVD to find that out.

Then Hailey and I proceeded into the children's section to find a book for her. She was having a horrible time deciding. It is so overwhelming. I finally had to say pick a book in one minute or we are leaving without a book for you today (because you all know I really don't need anymore books in my house anyway)

At that moment she stomped off, looked around and grabbed a book and came back to me with a huge smile on her face and brought me this:

Ok, so now seriously. What a brilliant concept. Marley and Me for her and her and her too (or him I suppose) and the result of course is that we are now the proud owners of all three...

and soon to be owners of the DVD too I am sure. Way to go John...this is a brilliant way to milk it for all it is worth but for all the love you gave that feisty dog...I suppose you deserve it.

On the 6th day before Christmas

This week Hailey's Preschool has been singing Christmas Politically Correct Holiday Carols each morning from 8:30 to 9:00. There really is nothing better than a group of 2 1/2 to 6 year old children singing holiday songs!

Hailey is in the front row with the red shirt, black pants, hot pink shoes, white socks, green bow (don't ask)

Hailey has also been serenading us in the shower each day and I am quite surprised at how well she knows the words. This morning it was the "you better not pout" song and I laughed (silently, sort of) during the whole song/shower! Over and over and over again, never missed a word. Too cute.

Anyway, I didn't have my camera, but used my phone and my Flip video - Hailey wasn't much for the Holiday Carolling session so I clipped it much like Lauren's and added some written commentary of my own.




********UPDATED PHOTOS***********



One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the books. I love the books. I took some photos of some of our favorites to share with you. Most of these have more of a "winter" theme than a Christmas theme but I still wait till December to break them out each year! We have another favorite not shown here called "Dream Snow" but we couldn't find it when I had the camera out so it did not make the picture show.
















If you don't have some of these they are definitely worth checking out and maybe even buying!

if you have a favorite Christmas book not shown here please jot it down for me! I'll say it again, I love books (and my Kindle of course)

My mom did it again

And the best part, she doesn't even know I know yet!

What did she do?

She MADE MY DAY. yes she did.

UPS delivered a small package from Amazon today, addressed to me. I waited to open it until the house was quiet in case it was a straggling present for the girls.

But, When I opened it I knew immediately it was for ME and it had to be from my mom!

Are you wondering what it was yet? It is a Book! A book with a picture of the most adorable OWL in the world on the cover.

The book is called "Wesley the Owl" by Stacie O'Brian and I can NOT wait to read it. The title, the tagline, the picture...this book was made for me.
Mom, Thank you. You made my day again. I can't wipe the smile off my face as I type this. Thank you, Thank You, Thank You.

Books books...everywhere books

Amending the previous post:

Imagine my dismay when my friend Bonnie mentioned this in her comment "I thought maybe you were going to tell about her "organizing" her books." OH MAN, I totally meant to and I totally didn't. Do I have a brain?

Then, to top it off another blogger commented that she liked our bookshelves because her books are EVERYWHERE...

Well, now it is time to Share the story of Lauren "Organizing the bookshelf" and time for me to come clean about books at our house...

It starts like this: When I clean up the books I arrange them Left to Right, Tallest to Shortest taking great care to make sure they line up width, height etc...so...when Lauren cleaned the playroom she also "organized" the bookshelf. I went to put a book on the shelf and was SHOCKED to see this

As you can see...they are not organized by height or size at all. I stood there silent for a moment and Lauren very proudly announced "I organized the by Alphabetizing them, well only by first letter not all the letters but the A's are together and the B's are together you know what I mean mom"

Mom takes a deep breath and beams a BIG smile and says "That is GREAT Lauren, wow that was a lot of work" I find a place for my book, leave, turn off the light and start to contemplate how long I have to wait before I redo it! Oh Lauren, I love you dear! I love you I love you I love you but...I can't do alphabetized bookshelves for long!


Now for the confession. Books, neatly on the shelf, Well yes...but you have to see it all...

In the play room we have the above now "alphabetized" book shelf as well as these two very cluttered shelves:

This shelf is mostly for Holiday books but also stores some "to do" books!

This shelf is mostly EDU Books (homework helpers!) - Oh shoot I forgot to get a picture of the shelf with the encyclopedias from the 1970's on it...oh well..if you look at the previous post they are at the top of the built in shelves!

In Lauren's Room we also have these shelves with books on them:

Junie B Jones, Beverly Cleary, Box Car Children, Heidi and more

American Girl, Russian Ballet Diaries

Shell Silverstein, Charlottes Web, Giant book of Madeline and more...

Just books, I have no idea - one looks like it is American girl though!

Right across the hall in Hailey's room you will also find these books:

IN A BASKET ON THE FLOOR

IN A BASKET ON THE DRESSER

(ok, think bah bah blacksheep now...)

Ma Ma Dear-est have you anymore? Yes Sir, Yes Sir, Three bags full:

Three big bags stuffed full, tucked in the corner of Hailey's closet

because I can't find anyplace to put them...

Down the hall a little further you can find a some books in my closet (and under the bed but it is too dark down there for pictures:

I think this shelf was meant for Sweaters or some other wonderful item of clothing but instead it houses books, some of my books!

Now, for the grand FINALE - My favorite place in the whole house to keep books. I can't believe I lived 35 years without this awesome book storage spot...

I LOVE MY Kindle 2: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)
! I have read 27 books on it since June and look how much space they take up! You just can't beat that. There are books that I will still buy for me because I want to have hard copies but NOT MANY!

OK - so that is it...for now. Lauren IS amazing - cleaning, organizing, whining, picking fights with her sister, helping mom in her times of need!

My Books are not that organized no matter what my 8 year does...we have books EVERYWHERE and probably always will!

Thanks for reading!

Wishing for a Kindel?

If you have been looming in the background, wishing, wanting, waiting for a Kindle! Now is the time! For 7 days only you can get your Kindle for $50 less than everyone else! Thanks to Oprah!

You all know I love my Kindle. It takes some getting used to ( I call it the 2 week break in period) - there are some things that you will miss about "books" and there are some books that you will likely still want to own in hard copy BUT....Nothing beats the Kindle! I read more, I read faster, I read comfortably I read!

Finish a book at midnight? Can't sleep, click on the Kindle wireless and buy a new one!
Too tired to hold your book but your at the best part? Prop your kindle up and read away!
It is small, it is lite - carry 1 Kindle on the plane rather than packing 2 or 3 books!
You can GOOGLE
You can get EMAIL
You can ask questions via NOW NOW and get answers in 10 minutes
You can listen to music while you read
Subscribe to newspapers, magazines, BLOGS!!!!

I am telling you nothing beats the Kindle!

Ok...sales pitch done. Coupon Code: OPRAHWINFREY - 7 days only!!!!