Winning words of comfort...

Sorry I'm a little late posting this. I just put all the names on little pieces of paper, and I am having Noah pick one out of a bowl right at this moment....He's looking at me like "What are you doing, Mama?" haha :)

And the winner of A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers IS......

Rachel!!! And I just clicked on her comment to get her URL and saw this!

How awesome!!! Congratulations, Rachel and soon-to-be big sister, Riley! (and the dad-to-be too, of course.) That is so exciting!

Rachel left these words of comfort for new moms:

Hmmmm......I think treasuring the small moments of happiness. The fun things the kiddos say, the unexpected hugs, the times of snuggles, even the midnight feedings because there comes a time when these don't happen anymore and you'll be sad that they are gone!

I'm sure she'll be taking her own advice when her new baby girl arrives and the sleep deprivation sets in. :)

Thank you, Rachel and everyone else for all of words of comfort and encouragement. (Click here to read them all!)

That is the whole purpose of A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers. The stories are told from the perspective of first time moms (like I was at the time) to a mother of four having a fifth! (I can't even imagine.)

In the words of one of the essay titles, there really is a "sisterhood of motherhood", and these stories illustrate that bond with love, humor, and reassurance. All of which are very important when those post-pregnancy hormones are raging! :)

I hope you enjoy the book, Rachel!

And to the rest of you - I'm planning to give away another copy around Mother's Day. Of course, if you just can't wait until then, you can always click here OR mosey on by your local bookstore...hint! hint!

WW - Luck of the Irish to ya!

We had such fun St. Patrick's Day! Click the smilebox to check out our last minute leprechaun festivities!

Make a Smilebox greeting

As for the green toilet water...it was a hit!

For more (somewhat) Wordless Wednesdays, hop on over to 5 Minutes for Mom!

And don't forget to ENTER MY GIVEAWAY by Friday if you haven't already! :)

Last Minute Leprechaun

In an effort to redeem myself from last year's lack of creativity and to somewhat ease my guilt/make up for Abby missing her preschool St. Patty's Day party, (I know she misses being there, but she's been such a little trooper dealing with all this moving mumbo jumbo.), I want to do some fun stuff with the kiddos tomorrow.

So being that it is 9 o'clock at night and I am totally brain dead, I knew I could count on the Family Fun website to give me some great ideas! If you don't have something up your sleeve already, you've got to check these out!

I've already printed out three different coloring/activity sheets, some shamrock patterns, and sent Pat to the store (yes, he is finally home from FL!!!) to get some Lucky Charms for breakfast, Rolos for a treasure hunt(instead of gold coins), and lemon jello to make our very own pot of gold!My sister-in-law and little nephew are coming to party with us so it should be lots of fun!

Well, I'm off to add some green food coloring to the toilet water before I go to bed. Definitely not something I would have ever thought to do, but I think the kids will think it's hilarious....or it could totally freak Noah out and cause a potty training set back. Geez...Let's hope not!

It's a ..... Book!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

After almost nine months of anticipation, my contributor's copy of A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers finally arrived!

Essay's name: Welcome Home
Delivery Date: March 4, 2009
Weight: @ 11 oz.
Length: 7.5 inches

(I know...a "book" announcement? A little cheesy, but just humor me.)

Our first photos...
(Disclaimer: Excitement over seeing your first story in print makes a person do crazy things...like letting your two and four year old use your digital camera.)
Noah took this one...

and this one...

Abby took a few too...

Then I remembered the camera has a timer so I could get one of ALL THREE of us...

Yes, we were a little camera happy. :)

To further celebrate this new arrival, I am giving away a copy of A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers. I am almost finished reading it, and I have to say, every essay I have read has made me laugh, smile, or get a little teary-eyed. I've really enjoyed it.

So you have until Friday, March 20th to leave a bit of comfort/advice you might share with a new mom, whether it's her first or her fourth!
I will randomly choose a number and announce the winner on Saturday, March 21st.

And speaking of new moms, CONGRATS to Diary of a New Mom! Mom2Miles is now Mom2Miles AND Riley! (Her personal essay is also featured in A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers. Talk about great timing - Riley arrived on the same day as our contributor's copies!)

"How low can you go?"

I cannot get this song out of my head.

Yes, the Limbo.

Why, you ask?

'Cause that's pretty much where we've been sitting for the past six months...

In limbo.

Waiting...worrying...anticipating...hoping...

Just like so many other people right now.

Maybe we all need to get together and have a great big limbo party!!!

I'll bring the stick.

Wow!!! You've gotta watch this!

I was over at lifelong playdate the other day and watched this You Tube clip. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since! (Thanks again for posting it, Amanda.) I left her a mammoth comment which I joked was more like a post. haha! What can I say? It's the teacher in me. The teacher in me who has been on "hiatus" for almost five years raising my kiddos. I'm actually getting back in the saddle a little earlier than expected due to these "crazy economic times". I put in a sub application this past week. I know...I'm brave! But I figured it's a good way to get my foot back in the door and hopefully secure a full time position for next year IF we end up staying here. (And that is a BIG IF.)

SO if you have 20 minutes, you've gotta watch this clip. It reminded me of why I wanted to go into education...to make a difference, encourage students, help them to reach their full potential, discover their talents. It's heartbreaking that our education system has become so focused on test scores that imagination and creativity are often stifled. I loved when he said "Creativity and literacy should have the same status." They really should.

I grew up singing and dancing and acting - I can't help but incorporate those things into my teaching style. That's just part of who I am. I think more teachers would love to integrate the arts into their classroom if they were encouraged to do so.

In the clip, Sir Ken Robinson tells a a story about Gillian Lynne, a famous Broadway choreographer, that really struck me. Must be the dance teacher in me...

I think I'm going to cry!

I just found this in my inbox! The Cup of Comfort publicist forwarded the new book cover image to all of the contributors.



How awesome is that? :)

Only 8 more days!!!