Winner, winner

As with most things in my life these days, I'm late. The winner of the book giveaway is . . .

Angie Peterson! I have your address and will be sending that your way!

If you didn't win, you can still buy it here, or keep track of Ann and all of the crazy things people get in trouble for on here blog here. This week Ann's flying to New York to tape a segment about her book for the John Stossel Show on Tuesday! Get it while it's still easy to find!

Technically . . . that's illegal.

Did you see this article last week? A preschool student's lunch of a sandwich, banana, potato chips and apple juice was deemed "unhealthy" because it didn't include a vegetable. So it was taken from her and she was given (and her parents were billed for) the chicken nuggets they were serving in the cafeteria.

I'm not even kidding.

It made me think of the book my friend, Ann, wrote called "Technically, That's Illegal." She sent me a copy back in the fall and I read it while I was on vacation in October. I found myself both laughing and clenching my fists as I read. I couldn't believe how many ridiculous laws there are and how arbitrarily they're enforced. "You may be interested to know that you're probably breaking the law without realizing it," Ann writes. "You're also almost certainly associating with a bad crowd of friends, as they are probably criminals, too."

The book is "A witty commentary on over-legislation in America, with a focus on a city's little-read municipal codes. This stay-at-home mom takes the dull ride through the codes on her own and shares the gems with the reader, while engaging in experiments and commentary along the way."

Whether you're interested in reading about over-legislation in America or not, you'll at the very least be entertained by Ann's writing. Her sense of humor and wit make this book fun to read for anyone!

Along with my copy, Ann also sent a copy for me to give away to one of you! Wasn't that nice of her? If you want to win your very own (signed) copy, just leave a comment here by March 1. I'll announce the winner on March 2. If you can't wait that long to get your hands on it, go ahead and purchase the book for yourself right now!

Favorite Books GIVEAWAY: WINNER!

The winner of the Halloween books left this comment:

Agreed, Megan.

If you didn't win, you can go ahead buy them here:

The Ugly Pumpkin

AND

The Hallo-wiener

The next book I'm giving away won't be released until this TUESDAY, but I am already sure it's going to be one of our favorites, because it's from one of my the boys' favorite series of books! After it arrives next week, and we've read it a few thousand times, I'll post about it and give away another copy.

Thanks to everyone who has been buying the books from the links on my page, and making it possible for me to give away these books!

Favorite Books GIVEAWAY: How I Became a Pirate

How I Became a Pirate is another one of our favorite books. A little boy tells about the day that he was chosen to join a group of pirates. He has lots of fun as a pirate until evening, when he realizes that there are no bedtime stories or goodnight kisses and begins to miss home.

Again, we want one of our favorite books to become one of yours! Leave a comment and I'll choose a winner on Friday, October 1. Only one entry per person.

Giveaway: SEPTEMBER 17 WINNER

Wow . . . I have not written a single post since I posted the giveaway. I need to get on that.

Anyway . . . here's the winning entry:

I have your address Joy . . . it's on its way!

If you didn't win, you can purchase The Remarkable Farkle McBride for yourself! You won't be disappointed!

I'll post another soon, so check back!

Favorite Books GIVEAWAY: The Remarkable Farkle McBride

Jack received The Remarkable Farkle McBride for his birthday in June and it's become a favorite for all of us! It's about a little boy, a prodigy, who starting at 3 years old masters an instrument in every section of the orchestra, but quickly tires of each of them.

The lyrical nature of the text makes it so fun to read! Each instrument's sound is spelled out (the flute went rootle-ee, tootle-ee, tootle-ee too, with all of the winds at his side . . .).

Also, it rhymes. And I love kids' books that rhyme.

Part two of this post is a giveaway. Let me explain . . .

Whenever I've linked to a book from my blog, I've always used my amazon associates account. I get credit for anyone who clicks on the link and actually buys the book. Until a week or two ago, I hadn't checked my account. Ever. And guess what?! You guys were really buying the books I recommended last spring! I'm flattered.

What should I do with that money? It's not a massive amount, but its enough to do something fun! So, I plan on giving away every book that I recommend here until the money runs dry! And because I don't get very many entries for giveaways, you have an excellent chance of winning each time.

This week, I'll be giving one copy of this book (The Remarkable Farkle McBride) to a lucky winner. It'll be shipped from amazon.com directly to your house! Even if you don't have kids, it would make a great gift or something to save for when you do have kids.

Only one entry per person . . . just leave a comment with your name and a way to contact you. I'll draw a name on Friday, September 17 and will contact the winner to get a shipping address.

And if you don't win . . . just come back here and click on the link to buy the book, thus adding to the pot for future book giveaways. It's nice how that works out, huh?

One last thing . . . if you're reading this on facebook, you need to click to my blog to enter. Facebook comments don't count.

There can only be one winner . . .

The winner of Wild Things is fblife!

So, congratulations to you! E-mail your address to sarawiety [at] hotmail.com and I'll get that in the mail to you.

If you have boys and didn't win, go ahead and buy it for yourself.

As a consolation prize, you can visit the design blog to find free downloadable pillow boxes, perfect for Easter treats. They're not that helpful with raising boys, but they sure are cute!

*And I just realized I posted this before the 9 AM deadline. Whoops. My apologies to anyone who shows up to enter in the next hour. Contact me and I'll see if I can make it up to you.

Favorite books: One for the moms (and a giveaway)

You might remember that when my friend Annie guest posted about parenting boys, she mentioned the book Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys.

She gave me a copy as a gift after Ben was born and I tell you the truth - it has become my handbook for raising boys. It doesn't give all the answers and I still have a lot left to read (I've read & re-read the information for the stages that my boys are in), but I find myself sitting there with wide eyes, nodding my head and shouting things like, "YES!" and "EXACTLY!"

One of the most poignant parts is when the author talks about (and explains why) parents of boys so often say to themselves, "WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!" The book has made me feel less alone, and reassured me that Jack dumping full cups of water all over the bathroom floor because he wants puddles to jump in is perfectly normal behavior. Not necessarily acceptable, but normal.

I'm so thrilled with this book that I want to give a copy away to someone. So, that's what I'm going to do. If you have boys, know someone with boys, think that maybe you might have a boy someday, or think that you might know someone who might have a boy someday, you should enter. If you already have it, I'm happy to send it to someone else and include a gift note from you.

Here's how you can enter up to three times:
1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Leave a comment on this post letting me know that you blogged about it.
3. Leave a comment on this post letting me know that you post a twitter or facebook status update with a link to this post.

**If you're reading this on facebook, only comments on the blog count . . . click here to go to the blog.**

I've only done one giveaway before and I had maybe 10 - 15 people enter, so I'd say your chances of winning are good. Don't miss out.

Edited to add: Whoops. Forgot a deadline. Let's say Friday, April 2 by 9 AM.

Whoops

Almost forgot about my giveaway.

I assigned everyone a number and used a random number generator. The winner is the Rudd Family! Hooray for you!

I'll contact you to get your address and find out which video you'd like!

Spur of the moment giveaway . . .

I usually buy the nooma videos as soon as they come out. But, they offer free shipping on 5 or more (though it used to be 3 or more), so I decided last year to hold out until there were five new ones so I could save on shipping. I usually only use them during the summer anyway, so I could hold out until then.

Glad I did, because I feel like I hit the jackpot today. They're all on sale for only $7 each AND free shipping on five or more. Yay! If you've never seen these videos before, and want a recommendation, Rain and Kickball are the most meaningful to me. If you're going to do the free shipping deal, I'd also recommend luggage, dust and hmmm . . . store. Or maybe rich. Shoot, they're all good. And I think they have a deal on a set of all 22.

In fact, here's a spur of the moment giveaway. I literally just decided to do this as I was typing. One person is going to win RAIN (or a different one if you already have that one). I've never done a giveaway before, which means that probably only 10 or so people will enter, thereby vastly increasing YOUR chances of winning. I know most people do giveaways of things other people have donated, or to promote their business, but . . . well, 'tis the season for random gifts I suppose.

Just a minute . . .

Ok, I just went to Nicole's blog to borrow the wording she used for her giveaways. Here are the rules:

1. Leave a comment letting me know . . . um . . . something about yourself. Oh, maybe your favorite color! Or what you had for breakfast. Or just your name. Just make sure I have a way of contacting you if you win.

2. You can only enter once!

3. Winner will be chosen at 9am on Friday, December 12! I'll contact you and ask you for your address and will have it shipped directly to you.

Yay!