Baby Aspen “Five Little Monkeys” 5-Piece Gift Set

My son’s bedset is monkeys so I *adore* this giveaway!! I just wish I could win it!
 
Baby Aspen “Five Little Monkeys” 5-Piece Gift Set in Keepsake Basket.

“Five little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head!” And he bounced right into this beautifully designed five-piece baby gift basket that takes the art of baby gift-giving to another level! Along with the precious, plush brown-and-tan toy monkey are a bright-yellow, partially peeled, smiling banana rattle, a baby-sized, soft “lovie” blankie and a door hanger, adorned with a long-tailed monkey hugging a pillow, that lets company know “baby’s sleeping.” Holding all these lovely items is a natural-wood, keepsake basket lined with white fabric that cascades over the brim and down the front, where the first part of the rhyme and a smiling monkey face are embroidered. Except for the banana rattle, all the goodies in the gift set feature rich brown, cream and white hues. The gift set measures 10 1/2″ h x 7″ w x 5 1/2″ d, and it’s presented in a white organza bag with a satin drawstring and a “Five Little Monkeys” To-and-From Tag.

 

Promo Code for 15% off is MM581

Visit 4 Your Monkey.com now!

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Kutless Beliver

 

I have had a long standing love for Kutless. As I mentioned certain cds become the soundtracks of my life, and everytime I think of Kutless I'm always brought back to driving around in my little Neon, going to college, and hanging out with my cute boyfriend who introduced me to their music. I've been a fan ever since their very first self titled album Kutless--back when they were a lot grittier sounding. Although my now hubby (he was the cute boyfriend who told me about them!) misses their more hard core rock feel I love the band that they've grown and developed into and Believer is a great example of what they've become. Their lyrics have always been one of the things I really love about them and this album provides those on top of their great sound. The song "Even If" is now one of my new all time favorites--it is SO amazing! Here are just a few lyrics:

Sometimes all we have to hold onto is what we know is true, of who you are. So when the heartache hits like a hurricane, life can never change who You are. And we trust in who you are.

Even if the healing doesn't come
 Life falls apart
 And dreams are still undone. 
 You are God. 
You are good, forever Faithful One, 
Even if the healing, even if the healing doesn't come.

A M A Z I N G!

Hop on over to Amazon to read the rest of the reviews and listen to snippets of the songs (It has 4 stars so far--just because of songs like Even If and All Yours I would give it 5 stars!)


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A Good Girls Guide to Great Sex by Shelia Wray Gregoire

Oh yes...you DID read that title right....and yes--you are on MY blog. See if you know me very well you probably never expected to see the "S" Word (you know....sex) on my blog....ever.

Well to be honest I didn't really think it ever would show up either! But especially after reading this book--I wonder why I thought that. But maybe I should back up a little and explain how exactly we arrived at this point....

If you remember last summer I reviewed Married Mom, Solo Parent. It incredibly blessed me and I've shared it, loaned it, recommended it, and all things in general buzzed about it ever since. I signed up for Carla Anne's blog and have been a huge fan ever since. So when I heard her talking about Shelia's blog To Love Honor and Vacuum naturally I had to check it out--and after reading just a few posts I was hooked! I wrote to her and pretty much begged to pretty please review her new book ( The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: (And You Thought Bad Girls Have All the Fun))on.....yep....sex.

You see growing up in a Christian conservative circle (which I am super blessed and happy I was so don't get me wrong here) the only thing I really had engrained in my head about sex was NOT to have it. While I totally support teaching abstinence I could totally relate to the girl in Shelia's book who said that it was really, really hard to make the switch from "chaste virgin" to "sexual wife". I remember actually feeling embarrassed checking into the hotel on the night of our honeymoon--even though we were married for goodness sake!

As many, MANY polls show Sex is one of the biggest causes of fighting in marriage--and since it's a rather taboo topic in Christian circles pretty much the only information we get on it is the twisted, warped view of it that the secular media projects. As Shelia points out the Devil loves nothing more than to take this beautiful gift that God has provided for within marriage and take and twist it into something that becomes known as bad and shameful. So what's a good girl to do?!

I love how Shelia uses this book to dispel the myths of sex (hint--it's the married good girls who can and DO have all the fun!!!) and it's a great way to get a Godly perspective on this great gift that He gave us for marriage--that's often *so* very off limits for talking about! One thing I found very refreshing is how many couples in the book thought that each other had either "super high" or "super low" drives--when in reality they were all what is exactly normal for men and women--and how is anyone to know unless you read something like this?

Shelia provides great, practical advice and I would recommend this book highly! It's going into my very short list of "my have books for marriage". Although I wouldn't give this to say, my teenage daughter, I would buy it as a gift for a wedding shower! (and am planning on doing so!)

Quickly going back to Carla Anne's blog she's giving away a copy of A Good Girls Guide to Great Sex--so go enter--and hurry it ends tomorrow!!

So far Shelia's book has a full 5 stars so it looks like everyone else agrees with me on how great the book is! Hop over to Amazon and be sure to read the other reviews for yourself and to find out even more about this great and much needed book!

How to Find Affordable and Flexible College Classes

How to Find Affordable and Flexible College Classes

Everyone has interests that they have either never attempted to explore or wish to do so in a structured environment with feedback from an expert. Taking a college class is not only a way to explore your interests, but it also productively shakes up a humdrum and cyclical life.

Despite the obvious pros to furthering one's education, most people looking to do so either do not have the necessary resources, such as time, money, or transportation. Often, a busy workweek leaves no time for a college course. Furthering your education should not represent an unreasonable stressor in your life. Working all day, going straight to class at night, and coming home too late to even say goodnight to your kids is certainly an unreasonable stressor. The solution? Affordable and flexible college classes.

Flexible

The first thing to do when making a decision on a college course is to contact the professor. Professors – especially those who teach to part-time students – understand that people have lives. Explaining your circumstances to your professor is a great way to open up dialogue about tailoring the course to fit your needs. For example, many professors will be willing to work with you in terms of extending an extra amount of absences for times when you need to stay late at work or take care of your kids.

If your local community college is not a realistic option for you, or attending the course is too much of an extra commitment, there are many online colleges that have the same accreditation as four-year public universities. Online college courses offer the most flexibility. Class time can be viewed at any time of the week – day or night – and homework may be turned in whenever you want (before the ultimate deadline of course).

Affordable

Affordability is always a huge plus when it comes to anything, and college courses fall neatly under the "affordability is a pro" umbrella. The first chance to cut costs is the application process. Online colleges do not require the fees and hassles when it comes to getting your foot in its "doors." Second, many college courses require textbooks, the prices for which are well known to cause hunger in months subsequent to purchase. Many times, online courses utilize completely online resources, which cut down on paper and cost. Downloading a packet from an online source is much better than paying $200 for a textbook.

In sum, it seems that online classes are the best bet for finding affordable and flexible classes, but not all online colleges are made equal. Read this for more information on how to choose a good online college.

Written by Featured Writer Leslie Branch

My Own Worst Enemy by Janet Davis

I've said it before, I'm sure I'll say it again, oh how I hate to write a negative review! Especially about books--as a writer I know how awful it is to have people take what you've poured your heart into and rip it to shreds--so although I shall rip--I will *try* to do it gently.

My Own Worst Enemy: How to Stop Holding Yourself Back is written to help women stop self sabotaging themselves and learn to shine. While at it's core and beginning I feel that Janet has some good and valid points I feel like there is some major disconnect somewhere along the way.  She uses Bible verses from The Message quite often which many people, teachers, and preachers are quick to point out is meant to be read as a paraphrase of the Bible and not a literal translation. She then proceeds to read between the lines even more by pulling out thoughts which she then treats like doctrine where I cannot see it to be.

While I agree that we should allow God to shine in and *through* us, the Bible as I read it says that we do this to ultimately glorify HIM. Yes it is our gifts that we should use--the ones that HE gives us. I felt that this was getting lost in this book. No matter how I tried I could never get into this book and felt severely disconnected from it while I was reading. Instead of sympathizing with the author I was like the people in the book who she described looking at her a bit askance. I guess I just don't "get" it. To me it read much, much more as a fluffy "pull yourself up by your bootstraps by living the life YOU deserve" self help book than it was a Biblical based self image perspective book--which is what I was hoping for.

Based on the other Amazon reviews it seems to be a love it or hate it book--so be sure to hop over and read and decide for yourself!





 I received this book from Bethany House for my honest review--as you can see I gave it!

Preparing for Potty Training

As incredibly hard as it is for me to believe--in just 2 short months my "tiny baby" is going to turn 2. All of a sudden he's past the baby stage and things like sleeping through the night, and feeding himself are milestones of the past and the preschool stage ones like ditching the paci and potty training once again loom large.

The fact that I feel that I just did this with Amber only increases my sense of bewilderment! But moving forward and growing up is just a part of this wonderful adventure--so instead of shaking my head I turn to strategy!

With Amber I found that preparing for potty training helped a lot when it actually came time to get serious about it. Buying a potty chair to get her used to seeing and sitting on it and using the Potty Tots video and book helped a lot with her so I knew that they were tricks I'd be using once again.

This time I have a new secret weapon as well! I mentioned with Amber a friend had told me about buying thicker panties so that when you were training and the inevitable accidents happened it didn't make quite such a mess. This was good--but there still was lots of leakage involved! Antsy Pants Pull-Up Cloth Diapers are the perfect blend of cloth underwear and a diaper--like a cloth diaper but more along the lines of a Pull Up. They're the perfect compromise for when you're preparing or beginning Potty Training because they let the toddler feel that they're wet or dirty--without all that gross mess everywhere!

We decided to give them a test run to make sure they stood up to their claims. One thing that I loved is that they're super cute and Tyler was still able to do all of his crazy child maneuvers in them and they stayed put. Of course the stinker pooped in them shortly after I tried them the first time (go figure) but they are designed for that so although it re-enforced that my decision not to cloth diaper was the right one for me (lol) it was not a big deal either.

I can tell that they are going to be invaluable once we start potty training "for real".

Mompact is running another awesome bundle giveaway where you can win products made by moms, for moms. This time it's all about growing up and independence , here are the products you can win!



AqueDuck, Baby Dipper Bowl, 3R Cards Chore Chart, Antsy Pants, Thumbuddy $100 Value a Rafflecopter giveaway

Memorial Day ~ Remembering Robert Romero

This is my Grandpa--Merced Ralph Romero, though he went by Ralph. He served in the Army.

Actually, there were five boys in the Romero family, and every single one of them served in the Army.

Including Robert.

This is my great uncle Robert Romero. He was just a kid from Wyoming, until the Vietnam War that is. Then he was flown far away, far overseas, far from the mountains of home and plunged into the jungles of a strange land. He served as an E-4--about as low on the totem pole as you can get. 

He was a combat medic, and on December 3, 1969, he was killed in action. 

Just a 21 year old kid from Wyoming--who died because he was helping other soldiers. It was the very act of helping them that caused him to give his life--and for this he was awarded the Silver Star Medal--our nation's highest awards for valor in combat given in Vietnam.

Just a Wyoming kid, just my uncle I never met, just a guy who gave his life so that you could live yours.

My Uncle Don died when I was just a tiny girl, then Grandpa passed away last year, so did his brother Roy, now only my Uncle Ren is left. If we don't remember, if we don't pass along these stories, if we don't remember the people behind the names these boys become statistics.

Just numbers of casualties of war.

Just names carved into a big black wall that some people don't even bother to go see in Washington DC when they visit because "it's not a big deal" to them.

But if we remember, if we realize, if the tears come for the sacrifice of those who loved us with the greatest love though never met us.....

Then we honor them, and we honor the day.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13