Congratulations to “Amy!”  – We have sent you an email with details on how to claim your prize!

Thank you to First Toddle and everyone who entered, it is such a great prize!

Because of the tremendous response we received, we want to show our appreciation to all the other Giveaway entrants and all Bosssanders.com followers by temporarily increasing the discount to 25% off!

Welcome back!

We’re having a giveaway worth over $149.95!

What you can win:

An entire First – Toddle Set which includes (valued at $149.95):

• Primary Walker
• Play Floor Mat
• End Activity Table
• Net Mesh Tent/Crawl-Thru (Below)
• Sports Ball Set
• Mini-Basketball Backboard/Hoop/Net
• Mini-Soccer/Hockey Goal
• Mini-Hockey Stick/Golf Club
• Large Soccer/Hockey Net (Below)
• Carry-All Box
• Soft Stuffed Toys (2)
• Soft Velcro Straps (6) to Attach Other Toys
• The First Toddle^® Child Development Guide

The winner chooses whether they’d like the Boy or Girls set.

For more information, check out my review and what we thought:  HERE.

How To WIN:

Entering is easy!

To enter, simply leave a comment* on THIS post.

But, why stop there?  For more entries, simply do any (or all) of the following and coming back here to tell me you’ve done it:

• Tweet about this giveaway and include the link back to this post.  Be sure to use the hashtag #firsttoddle in your tweet.
• Facebook about this giveaway and include the link back to this post.
• Write a blog post about this giveaway and link back.
• Check out their website and answer this bit of trivia in a comment to this post:  Can you name ONE of the many awards First Toddle has received

Deadlines and other important information:

A winner will be RANDOMLY drawn April 4, 2010.  Although the drawing will be random, you can improve your chances (see How To Win).

**In your comments, please be sure I have a way to contact you (email, etc.)

There’s some new excitement in our home…

And, it’s something easily (and willingly) shared…

It lets us play indoors as we wait for the sun to shine a little brighter…

It takes many, many shapes – including a soccer goal, basketball goal, play tent, and jungle gym/walker.

Who needs the ball, really?  It’s so much fun without it!

“Mom, can we both me (g)oalies? Pwease?” – Lorelei (age 2)

We recently received a new “toy” on the market called FirstToddle.  Beyond hitting her sister upside the head with the doll she didn’t want to share, I wasn’t sure how well a toy – any toy – would span their ages and attention (without being used as a weapon).  FirstToddle EXCEEDED my expectations.

This “jungle gym” of sorts assembled easily and needed no tools, whatsoever.  It clicks into place, making setup a breeze.

Although the age range calls for 3 months to 3 + years, I really think it could even go beyond – infants would love to lay on the mat (with the overhead bars shortened) and the included dangling animals swaying overhead.  And, children will surely grow with a “fort” that transforms into  a “soccer goal” or “basketball goal” in the matter of seconds!  My 10 month old absolutely adored every possible configuration and broke out into a contagious grin every time we put it in the center of the room.  Lorelei, who will be 3 in a few weeks, had fun playing beside Aurora.  Every new position I arranged the pieces in was her “new favorite.”  They nursed their “babies” back to health in a “fort,” played basketball, played goalie, became gymnasts, and practiced walking.

As a mother, MY favorite thing about this toy is how simple it is to put together, but also that it’s limited ONLY by our imagination.  I also appreciated that everything I needed came INCLUDED!

Also, FirstToddle has a special mat, which is just genius!  The corners of the play center fit snugly into the mat, keeping the pieces from sliding around, which means that even the most unsteady 10 month old (mine) won’t slide head first as she reaches forward, trying to grasp the bar.

FirstToddle was not only entertaining for both of my children – but, it made my daughter (Aurora) feel secure enough to practice standing and “cruising,” and provided me with the relief that there were no sharp edges and everything was easy to hold on to and grasp, preventing so many falls!

If you ask us, this toy was a SLAM DUNK!

Potluck Survival Guide by Cherie Kimmons

Price: $18.96, regularly $24.95

Put out by: Five Star Publications

At first glance, this book would normally never appeal to me – it’s subtitle reads:  “The Care & Feeding of the Athletic Supporter.”  As much as I look forward to my daughters being immersed in ballet and soccer and whatever else, the fact is that they are 7 months  and two.  But, then I read further and decided that this book would be the perfect fit for someone who goes to many church potlucks – not to mention the non-church functions that may require a hot segmented meal pieced together in moments.

I can bake a brilliant casserole dish, right up there with Martha Stewart, but I’ve never really learned how to store such goods when neither a cooler or refrigerator is handy and the goods would have to wait an hour (while you are busy doing other things) before being consumed.  Thus, I thought this book would be a great source of information…not to mention the possible recipes that could cheaply feed a small army.

When I received the book, I was impressed by the tidbits of information about nutrition for athletes and the types of foods to prepare before a game vs. after a practice.  I was not impressed, however, by the recipes themselves.  Most of them were the typical dishes usually presented at a potluck, and the others were suited for smaller crowds of 6-8 people.  I realize that I could easily multiply the ingredients, thus feed more people but I very much expected a book about potluck recipes to include recipes with inexpensive ingredients that feed lots of people.

The Potluck Survival Guide by Cherie Kimmons features fun illustrations and artwork throughout and is very easy to read.  I’d recommend it to a very new “soccer mom” who possibly missed out on the “Martha gene,” but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who is willing to do a little research about what their athlete should and shouldn’t eat before a big game or to anyone willing to do a quick search on cooks.com for a great recipe.

Links: http://www.fivestarpublications.com/book_detail.php?recordid=95

http://www.fivestarpublications.com/potluck/book.html

Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth N. Taylor

Ages 3-7

Hardcover retails for $14.99

Big Thoughts for Little People is an illustrated book that uses the ABCs to teach children morals and valuable Christian answers. Each letter corresponds with a lesson/word that most of us would love for our children to learn. I really expected for this book to be a great fit for Lala as she is becoming more familiar with her ABCs, however I’m afraid the “lessons” in this book are a little too much for her since she falls at the lower end of the age range.

HOWEVER, for older children, I think this book could be invaluable. Along with each new letter and lesson is a darling illustration and a short lesson (less than a paragraph long) – as well as a discussion paragraph and questions to share with your children. Some of the questions ask about the lesson in general, while some ask about the illustration – all of which urge the children to think a little deeper.

I would not rate this as a good “bedtime” book, but I would rate this as a great “devotional” sort of book for younger kids. With that said, I wouldn’t plan on reading the entire book with your little one all in one sitting – but, perhaps using it as the center of a study where the ideas and concepts could be explored further that day/week.

Happy Reading! (You can buy it

show details 5:34 PM (22 minutes ago)

(You can buy it HERE!)

*Per new disclosure laws, i have to tell you that I indeed did receive a copy of this book from the publisher to review and did not just totally make this review up. Although I DID receive a copy of this book to review, i am not employed by the author or publishing company (as cool as that would be). As always, these are my real thoughts and opinions – Trust me, you couldn’t shut me up if you tried.

The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado

Ages 4-7



Retails for $16.99

My toddler goes through books like some kids go through candy. Okay, so maybe that’s not an entirely fair statement. To be completely honest, some of it’s my fault. Lala ADORES books (as do I), but as new ones find their way to us, I tend to shuffle through them, pulling out the ones I think she can most relate to…or, ones that I simply fall in love with.

We read every toddler book that comes our way. Some, we read once and then pass it on to a new home, and some, we read over and over and over again. Tallest Of The Smalls by Max Lucado was one of the latter sort of books. Imagine a cute story line with vibrant illustrations and a wonderful story and message filled with hope and love and GOD and you’ll be imagining this book.

Max Lucado is one of my favorite authors and I’m thrilled that he writes books for little ones, too. I’m amazed at some of the storybooks we’ve flipped through, stories that despite their childish illustrations, seem like they were written more for the parents than the child. But, with this book, Lucado hits it spot-on. He describes a big concept – FITTING IN – with great imagination and in a way that little ones can understand.

Four thumbs up (mine plus Lala’s).

Get your copy HERE.

*Per new disclosure laws, i have to tell you that I indeed did receive a copy of this book from the publisher to review and did not just totally make this review up. Although I DID receive a copy of this book to review, i am not employed by the author or publishing company (as cool as that would be). As always, these are my real thoughts and opinions – Trust me, you couldn’t shut me up if you tried.

Recently, I received a wonderful new book in the mail – Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg MD and Zoe Franois. I had had my eye on it for a while, and I was eager to try it out. Unfortunately, life happened and my kitchen and I were separated for a while – making baking bread a bit of a difficult task.

This past week, however, Lala and I had the opportunity to try one of the basic breads from the book.

And…I love it! If you’re thinking that you can’t bake bread in just 5 minutes a day, you’re correct in that…this isn’t some microwave bread BUT it’s recipes that don’t involve kneading or punching down bread or long rising periods. You simply mix up the ingredients, let them rise, refrigerate it and pull out what you need, when you need it! Once you’ve mixed up the dough and let it rise/refrigerate, the actual ACTIVE time you spend with making of this bread is about 5 minutes…and that’s if you lost your pizza peel!

I adore carbs (in taste and theory, not particularly how they make my jeans shrink) and this book is a treasure chest full of “bread” recipes – including pizza dough, pastries, cinnamon rolls, and ….YOU GUESSED IT! Artisan Bread!

You can buy the book for $17.83 on Amazon – which is about what it’d cost to go to the bakery and buy 4 tiny loaves of Artisan Bread. My only complaint is that the recipe I used requested I have a broiler pan and … WHAT THE HECK IS A BROILER PAN? We don’t like using the “broil” option on the oven because we tend to catch things on fire, so having a special pan for it was a little new to me. Once I figured out what that was, it made things a lot easier, especially since mom had one to let me “borrow”. So, my one complaint is really just me admitting that I didn’t know what an apparently very important kitchen item was….

We’ve already made several loaves of yummy bread and are excited about trying some cinnamon rolls next week! MMM!

Buy it here: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

The fresh arrangement of violets and blues spill over the vase, creating a rainbow of soft indigo petals lusciously grouped together.  A small tag, attached with silver ribbon flutters in the breeze of the open window.  As you read it, you smile.  He’s quoted a lyric of your favorite song and in one line made you feel like the most special girl on Earth.  Your fingers brush against the new lacy camisole you bought and your thoughts drift to the plans you’ve made for him once he gets home for work.

You can almost smell the seductive scent as if you were there now.  You can almost touch his muscles as they flex, and you can’t help but smile at him  as wraps his arms…

around the big box of his crap that you just asked him to move upstairs for the umpteenth time.

****

When the wedding dress goes on and the rings and vows are exchanged, you are automatically (whether you like it or not) entering into a very special club.  It’s a club with all sorts of perks, and the waiting list is long to join, so it seems.  And, once you have, a special message arrives:

“Congratulations!  You’re married!   Hope you enjoyed the sex while you had it, because it’s OVER!  SUCKA!”

That, at least, seems to be the popular view on the subject.

It seems like before a marriage even begins, it’s cursed with negativity.  Not only is it assumed to be the Christian American way that sex in marriage must be rare, but it also must be B-O-R-I-N-G!  Yet, on the big screens, unwed teenagers are having the sex of their lives (supposedly) … often.

It’s kind of funny (except not really).  After some extensive conversations with some of my girlfriends, it’s clear that it seems to be pretty par for the course for a couple to date…have sex…get married…and, then Pbbttt.  It comes to a screeching halt.  Not because she doesn’t like sex.  Not because he doesn’t want it.  Just because…they’re married?  What?

HE wants to know how often he can get it and SHE wants to know how much she MUST put out.  HE doesn’t understand what the problem is – after all, they used to do it with no complaint before marriage and SHE doesn’t understand how she went from being his beloved and cherished to something more akin to something that merely belonged to him.  He doesn’t understand what her problem is, and she misses the sweet gestures and feel under-appreciated and used.

There are no longer attempts to impress and woo, just silent expectations coming from both sides.

No wonder marriages are failing left and right.  Actually, I’m a bit surprised that more marriages aren’t having an even greater decline.

As young couples, many of us go through marriage preparation courses – courses that edge close into the topic of sex within marriage but then STOP.  Abruptly.  Pulling back quickly as if a diseased monster just rared it’s head back.  We’re not taught what to expect or how to handle the upcoming challenges in or having to do with the bedroom.  Instead, we’re supplied with a vast array of negative remarks having to do with sex (or the lack thereof) in the marriage bed.

So, does this bring us to the conclusion that SEX IN MARRIAGE IS NOT OKAY?

Phyllis and Glenn Hill think so.  Because, they believe it’s AMAZING!  In their recent book, Sex In Marriage Is Not Okay – It’s Amazing, Phyllis and Glenn Hill explore sexuality in the Christian marriage and what it has become and what it was meant to be – and the stark differences between them.  They venture to say the things we’ve all been thinking but so afraid to say and answer some of the toughest questions that even our own churches refuse to answer for us.  In one book, they manage to cover a sticky topic with great advice and guidance that is enough to change lives and bedroom…activities.  Ahem.

This book?  Is the awesomeness.  And, there’s no way I’m going to spoil it on here.  You’re going to have to read it for yourself.  Learn what others have taken a lifetime to learn.  Allow yourself to fast-forward the mistakes and negativity and get straight to the happy ending.  Heh.

Right now, they’re actually offering a limited special … you can buy a book for yourself and then bless a friend…for the price of one.

Because, dude.  Just because you’re married and a Christian, you aren’t entitled to monotonous vanilla sex.  It’s because you are married Christians that you are entitled to some of the best sex of your lives.  Because, that’s the gift that God meant it to be.

Sex In Marriage Is Not Okay – It’s Amazing! (Or, should be.  Is yours?)

Despite the excitement I felt while pregnant with Aurora, the truth is that I rarely had the energy to pick up the high-energy dvd workouts I’d accumulated once I saw the first pregnancy test. Somehow, it seems like chasing a toddler around the house and cleaning up after both inside pets and said toddler just begins to take a lot out of you. Or, that’s my excuse.

By the end of the day, I was ready to rest, to relax.

Actually, by the beginning of the day, I wanted to relax, too!

Keeping your body active while pregnant IS good, but not every workout is designed for every woman’s pregnant body. Some women have a lot of energy and can go, go, go! -While others of us wonder what exactly hit us! Prenatal Yoga is great for those wanting to strengthen their bodies gently and peacefully, as well as providing a way to connect with your unborn baby.

In Prenatal Yoga with Desi Bartlett, Desi leads you through meditation and breathing techniques, as well as some body strengthening to increase your strength and stamina for the up-coming big day!

This video can be used through all 3 trimesters and is great for even beginners!

Buy yours HERE.