I’ve been crazy busy since I received my [Disclosure] free review copy, but I did take a few minutes to look through the recipes (I’m a sucker for cookbooks!). The recipes are designed to be truly family-friendly, and are grouped into chapters according to ages—but don’t let that fool you! The “Baby” recipes are absolutely adult-friendly (and vice versa). They’re also packed with vegetables. Woot!

Each page of recipes features quick guides at the top, too, showing off some of the key information about the recipe at a glance, including age-appropriateness, prep time and more. And the beautiful photos don’t hurt, either.

Since Rebecca has become pretty picky in her eating habits, I’m looking forward to trying our these recipes myself! Author Annabel Karmel says that her recipes are designed to make it so that you only have to cook one meal for your family—no more last-minute PB&Js to satisfy a picky eater. There are also lots of fast and inexpensive meals, and I’m getting hungry just thinking about them.

One lucky winner, chosen at random, will be able to try these dishes out too!

Would you like a copy of Top 100 Pasta Dishes? Comment below to enter!

For additional entries:

• Follow this blog (see the sidebar) and leave a comment saying you did.
• Tweet about this post and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the Tweet itself.
• Mention this contest on your blog or Facebook and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the FB or blog post.

Entries (aka comments) must be received by midnight on Saturday, July 30, 2011. Winner to be announced Monday, August 8, 2011.

Giveaway open to residents of the US only.

I’m already using my free review copy of Totally Together by Stephanie O’Dea—and soon I won’t be the only one!

The winner of a copy of Totally Together, chosen at random (I promise, and thank you, Random.org) from the comments, iiiiss……

An Ordinary Mom!

We’ll get your copy of Totally Together on its way to you soon!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Our giveaway this week is a new book designed to help moms get it Totally Together. Subtitled “Shortcuts to an Organized Life,” Totally Together is part homecleaning system, part organizer.

The Amazon page describes it this way:

From a New York Times bestselling author, a planner and organizing system to help women conquer chaos.

This book combines a practical planner with a smart system for women who are feeling frenzied (that is, most of them!). With sets of daily, weekly, monthly, and season to-dos, Totally Together lets women manage their priorities and prevent molehills from turning into mountains.

From keeping the household in order to keeping the in-box clear, this valuable, attractive volume helps women maintain their balance in today’s crazed world.

The first forty or so pages of this little spiral-bound book cover tips for streamlining house cleaning, getting kids involved in chores, and planning for the holidays (and for real, we’re talking starting 8 months out). Some of the advice is fairly standard fare, but personally, I’m really excited to have a calendar-based system written out for me (the other 100+ pages of the book) to make sure the whole house gets cleaned and runs smoothly.

Since I read my [Disclosure] free review copy yesterday, I’ve been working to start implementing the seven habits Ms O’Dea lists as the chores to do every day. It’s not a lot of work, and it can make a big difference—I should know since a few of them are things I’ve been working on for a while (doing a load of laundry a day, timed cleanup sessions). Right now I’m sitting in a 98% clean family room—and it feels good.

I’m excited to start this program soon!

Would you like a copy of Totally Together? Comment below to enter!

For additional entries:

• Follow this blog (see the sidebar) and leave a comment saying you did.
• Tweet about this post and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the Tweet itself.
• Mention this contest on your blog or Facebook and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the FB or blog post.

Entries (aka comments) must be received by midnight on Saturday, July 23, 2011. Winner to be announced Monday, July 25, 2011.

Giveaway open to residents of the US and Canada only.

Make sure I have your address and I’ll get that in the mail!

Thanks to everyone entered.

The Fifth Blogoversaryfestathon continues! WaterBrook Press sent me a review copy of God Gave Us You, and I’m going to pass it along to one lucky winner (even though I really don’t want to).

God Gave Us You is a really cute book to help teach a young child about where they come from. Obviously, it comes from a religious perspective, but it’s not wedded to any particular religion. (It does teach that children were with God before they came to Earth.)

It explains how the child in the story (Little Cub, a polar bear cub) grew in his mother’s tummy and was born in the hospital (no more details than that). It’s a sweet story and a good way to give a small child a simple explanation to the question “Where did I come from?”

I’ve heard they have a similar book to help explain a new sibling, called God Gave Us Two.

Would you like a copy of God Gave Us You? Comment below to enter!

For additional entries:

• Follow this blog (see the sidebar) and leave a comment saying you did.
• Tweet about this post and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the Tweet itself.
• Mention this contest on your blog or Facebook and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the FB or blog post.

Entries (aka comments) must be received by midnight on Friday, July 15, 2011. Winner to be announced Monday, July 18, 2011.

It’s also the last day to enter the Tom & Drew Boys giveaway!

As the mother of a boy, I’ve long lamented how hard it is to find clothes cute enough to rival my daughters’. Tom & Drew Boys is on a mission to change that with little manly clothing for tiny guys.

They sent us a sample of this shark shirt. Hayden was thrilled! The shirt is nice, too—nice fabric, sewn appliques.

You can get a free gift from Tom & Drew Boys, too!

To enter the giveaway (aka rules)
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post!

For additional entries:

• Follow this blog (see the sidebar) and leave a comment saying you did.
• Tweet about this post and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the Tweet itself.
• Mention this contest on your blog or Facebook and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the FB or blog post.

Entries (aka comments) must be received by midnight on Tuesday, July 12, 2011. Winner to be announced Wednesday, July 13, 2011.

Today is also the last day to enter the EnDANGERbles Giveaway!

As the press release says, “the CD features 10 original upbeat songs, all composed by Fred Bogert, the three-time Emmy-nominated musician-performer widely acclaimed for his musical contributions to the popular kids-based folk-rock duo Trout Fishing In America.”

The songs themselves were cute and danceable. They’re geared toward kids, so the message isn’t exactly subtle, but hey, who wants to see more species head for extinction?

You can download the EnDANGERbles’ short theme song, “Extinction for Extinction,” for free—but one lucky winner will get not only the CD but also a free plush toy! You can choose from:

• Ulysses (Eagle)
• Milton (Orangutan)
• Sasha (Baby Seal)
• Bucksnort (Indian Rhino)
• Ms. Scarlet (Scarlet Macaw)
• Khul (Tiger)

To get the freebie
To download the free song, first enter the contest. Then go to the EnDANGERbles website and sign up to be a deputy. Be sure to select SSA for how you heard about them! the song will be delivered via email.

To enter the giveaway (aka rules)
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post!

For additional entries:

• Follow this blog (see the sidebar) and leave a comment saying you did.
• Tweet about this post and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the Tweet itself.
• Mention this contest on your blog or Facebook and leave a comment saying you did with a link to the FB or blog post.

Giveaway open to residents of the US and Canada.

Entries (aka comments) must be received by midnight on Friday, July 8, 2011. Winner to be announced Monday, July 11, 2011.

So today, I’m blogging about acknowledgment.

It’s one of those truths universally acknowledged that mothers work put in long, thankless years of selfless service. Realistically, I think all mothers realize we’re not getting thank you notes for every diaper we change. We’re not going to get a lot of notice for every sandwich we make, every nose or bottom we wipe, or every hour of sleep we sacrifice. We don’t get into motherhood for career advancement or acknowledgment.

But we still need it. And sometimes only other mothers can give that recognition and validation. But we all need something a little different. So, what do you want acknowledged? Let’s talk in the comments!

Completely unrelated, but also beginning with A—our giveaway! Living in a dry environment, we use a prodigious amount of quality lotions, especially for our kids. Our doctor recommends Aquaphor pretty much every time we go in for one skin problem or another. (Last time it was Rachel’s rough, dry knees. What can I say? She’s a crawler!)

And today, I have a tube of Aquaphor® Baby Healing Ointment for one lucky reader! Use this entry form (UPDATE: link fixed!) by midnight, Saturday, 2 April 2011, and I’ll choose one entry at random to win (as long as it’s still Saturday somewhere in the world, you’re in! One entry per person, please). Winners announced Monday. (Probably.)

Aquaphor describes it like this:

MAGIC LOTION

A favorite of both celebrity moms like Kimora Lee Simmons and the mom next door, Aquaphor® Baby Healing Ointment is the one-stop product for all of babies’ skincare needs. From cradle cap to eczema, diaper rash to minor cuts and scrapes, its dermatologist- and pediatrician-recommended formula restores your little one’s smooth, healthy skin.

Aquaphor® Baby Healing Ointment with SPF 15 carries a suggested retail price for $7.99 for a 3oz tube or $16.99 for a 4oz jar. Unless, of course, you win it here.

Consider it an early birthday present from me to you.

Photos by Christine & David Schmitt and Aquaphor

Thanksgiving Point is . . . man, I don’t know how to describe it. They have a kids’ dinosaur museum with an IMAX theater. They have a regular movie theater. They have a barnyard. They have shopping. They have restaurants. They have gardens. They have cooking classes. They have places for conferences and conventions and dinners and weddings.

Hayden and Rebecca enjoyed the light and rainbows exhibit at the museum in August (it’s dark in the room, and this was a cell phone camera):

Thanksgiving Point generously invited me along with a bunch of other bloggers in Utah to a holiday preview. We got to taste some amazing shrimp nachos and butternut squash soup with pepitas (and curry and ginger). Both were fantastic!

Then they showed us some inexpensive neighbor gifts: forced bulbs. We put pea gravel in the bottom of a used tin can, then potting soil to about 1″ from the top. We took paperwhite bulbs and put them basically on top of the soil, then tucked sphagnum (peat) moss around them. Then we decorated the cans with a burlap ribbon and floral embellishments. Neighbor gifts for <$2—and flowers in December!

As you can see, mine has grown well over the last two weeks (haven’t killed it yet!):

We also got to learn about how they stock their Emporium store for Christmas (which is a year-long endeavor) and stay on top of trends. We got to see their basement stock room, too.

Then we got to take a trolley ride through Thanksgiving Point’s holiday lights (with hot chocolate!). I really liked the lights, and the nativity paintings at the end. I think my kids would be completely enthralled. (You can take trolley [or wagon or carriage] rides or drive through with your own car.)

Thanksgiving Point members can get into the holiday lights display for half off—and a whole lot of other stuff:

• Free Admission to Thanksgiving Point Gardens, Museum of Ancient Life and Farm Country
• 10% Discount on Retail & Food Property Wide
• Monthly Thanksgiving Point Gazette
• E-Mail Blast
• Personalized Membership Card
• 50% off Admissions for accompanied guests
• Early Admission to Thanksgiving Point Gardens
• Mammoth Screen Movies $5 per person/per movie

And now you can get all that for a year, for free!

How to enter
There are several ways to enter:

• Leave a comment on this post
• Comment on another post from this week
• Subscribe to my blog! In the feed, there’s a secret code with instructions at the bottom of this post
• Tweet about this contest (post the direct link to your tweet in the comments; only one tweet per day will count)
• Post about this contest on Facebook (post the direct link to your tweet in the comments; only one post per day will count)

Do any/all of the above through Friday, December 17.

How to win
One winner will be selected at random on Saturday, December 18 and posted on this blog.

Thanksgiving Point also gave me a free full year membership. Thank you, Thanksgiving Point!

So today, we have up to three Christmas music CDs to give away! Win a copy of Kidz Bop Christmas Party!

The CD includes, among other Christmas favorites:

• It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
• Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
• Silver Bells
• White Christmas
• Winter Wonderland
• And, according to the press release, “fun ‘Sounds of Christmas!’ music which provides ideal background for baking cookies, decorating the tree, wrapping presents or simply staying warm inside!” And I’m down with all that.

I’ll be receiving a review copy as well, and I’ll let you know what we think!

To enter to win, all you have to do is comment on this post any time through Sunday, December 12. Winners will be chosen at random. Really want to win? Tweet about the contest or mention it on Facebook, and leave me a link in the comments so I can see it for another entry!

Don’t forget about the adorable baby clothes giveaway or the Heber Valley Railroad Discount!