MOMumental (book review and giveaway)

I read a book recently that was worthy of much more than the few snippets of free time that I could give it. I know how important mothering is. I have read all the "how to" books my brain can hold and don't need to be told yet another time how I'm not doing it right. How refreshing to find:

MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family by Jennifer Grant

It is a rare treat to find a book on parenting that doesn't leave you feeling judged, failing, and unworthy. Without demeaning the importance of motherhood, MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family manages to meet you where you are and leave you feeling encouraged, uplifted, spurred on and not alone.

Jennifer Grant encourages you with a sense of camaraderie in this difficult yet beautiful gift of being a mother. With great insight and humor MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family leaves you wanting to be honest about the struggles and accomplishments of motherhood and meet the fellow mom (yes, even the one with tantruming toddler, and spit up stained shirt) with a high five of encouragement. Because we all know what it is like and it can be better.

The irony of the "rough" and lonely times in mothering is that there is no magic wand or trick to make it all right and there is not much time to figure it all out before the children are grown. YET you can't just shrug it off because motherhood really is all as important as you fear.

A reviewer on Amazon summed up my thoughts:
"Motherhood can sometimes be a lonely job and any reminder that you are not alone should be grabbed at. This is one of those reminders."

Honestly, I would love to hand each of you this book. Please enter below and win one or order one for yourself:)

MOMumental is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and wherever books are sold.





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GDA: Sonos Hifi Wireless System (Fathers Day Idea)

Have you heard about the power of Sonos?








•Hear every song you have and discover more with access to over 100,000 free radio stations and shows worldwide.











•Sonos connects directly to the Internet, so you can blast a universe of music in every corner of your home.









•Control from anywhere with your smart phone or tablet - works with Android, iPhone, iPad, and Sonos controller















Very very cool ....allow me to show you rather than tell you:























How cool is that? I *still* have a stack of CDs in my kitchen cupboard and a skipping CD player on my kitchen counter:) When I go into my little boys room to supervise play I have to run back out to the kitchen and search for CDs. My older kids move my CDs and scratch them.









Wow. Didn't even realize this was possible. Sonos is AMAZING! Definitely a Fathers' Day present for the whole family.







If that weren't enough to get you on board--Target has a great promotion going on right now:









Through June 16th Target is offering a$30 Target gift card with purchase of Play:3 unit



and Free $40 Target gift card with purchase of Play:5 unit purchased either in their store or at Target.com.





















*** I was not paid to tell you about this and wont receive anything if you purchase this item. I will however show off about how cool my friend's Sonos system is. I participated in this campaign as a member of One2One Network and I'm eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated in the post are my own.

Educational Planning and CampusBookRentals.com

Ah..Summer sunshine. Kids looking for adventure. In between turning on the sprinklers, refilling bottles of bubbles and cleaning up ice cream, I've been  thinking through our curricilium choices for next year. It may seem a little early, but I have found that it takes me a while to find the best possible deal.

I'm looking into a new resource this year and wanted to share it with you:

Typically, I invest in books for my oldest and they become the curriculum for the next child on down.

There are times however when opportunities present themselves. A once in a lifetime chance at a Biology co-op? Where do I get $80+ for a book that we look at once a week and are done with in 4 months?

Curriculium isn't always one size fits all and needs arise for one child that don't for the other four.

Remember buying used books in college and selling them back? It was a lot of work. CampusBookRentals.com is the answer to each of these situations.

AND for those books that we thought we'd use because everyone else is a huge fan--we can sell them to CampusBookRentals.com. How is that for a great idea? Postage is even prepaid.

The program is PERFECT for college students. However, I see a lot of potential for home educators on a budget.

There are many book rental companies out there right now. The difference I found in CampusBookRentals.com is their longevity (you can work out a lot of kinks in 5 years) and their availability by telephone. Add in free shipping and a huge selection and they are definitely worth looking into. What do you think? Let me know what you find and how it works for you.