book Archives - The Mom Maven

Bedtime with Mommy Book Review

cindy — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 18:00:00 +0000

I’m so excited! I finally get to do a review with my granddaughter, Harmony. She is a smart 16 month old beauty. Books are her favorite thing right now and she always wants to read with us, so this is a perfect fit. She carries her books around like they are her prized possessions and we hope and pray she will be a lifelong reader because readers are thinkers! We both enjoy reading Bedtime with Mommy.

About Bedtime with Mommy

All around the world, it’s bedtime, and Mommies are tucking little ones into bed. From the elephants on the grasslands to the camels in the desert to the polar bears in the Arctic, it’s time for snuggles, prayers, and bedtime kisses.
This adorable board book features a Mommy and baby animal in eight different habitats getting ready for bed. The final spread features Mommy tucking a child into bed.

The book is written by Nancy I. Sanders and illustrated by Felia Hanakata. You can purchase the book here.

Nancy I. Sanders is the children’s author of over 100 books, published with houses both big and small.
Nancy’s nonfiction picture book, D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet, (Sleeping Bear Press) won various awards and sold over 80,000copies upon initial publication.
Her delightful classroom bestseller with Scholastic Teaching Resources, 25 Read and Write Mini-Books That Teach Word Families, has sold over 300,000 copies and is still selling strong.

Mom Maven’s Thoughts

Harmony and I love this book. She brings it to me to read every time she visits! She is learning about animals right now so we have expanded her animals to include the eight animals in this book. We love that the book comes from a Christian worldview and includes bedtime prayers, Bible reading, and hymn singing as regular parts of life. Not a lot of books for young children include these important daily activities.

Bedtime with Mommy would make a wonderful Christmas book for the young child in your life. You can purchase the book here, or you can enter to win a copy here. Either way, we know you will enjoy this book.

The post Bedtime with Mommy Book Review appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Thanks Dad Giveaway

cindy — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:28:46 +0000

Father’s Day is just a few days away, why don’t you enter to win dad a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Dad: 101 Stories of Gratitude, Love, and Good Times. This compilation of essays and short stories reflect on fathers & sons, fathers & daughters, raising teens, how dads say “I love you” and more.

Mandatory 1st entry leave me a comment telling me a brief favorite memory of your dad.
Bonus Entries:

Blog subscribers get 1 entry
GFC friends get 1 entry
Networked Blogs followers get 1 entry
Facebook likers get 1 entry
Tweet about this giveaway. You must use @mommaven and link to this giveaway in your tweet. Leave the tweet URL in your comment. (you may do this 3x a day)

This giveaway ends Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 10pm. The winner will be chosen by Random.org

The post Thanks Dad Giveaway appeared first on The Mom Maven.

4 New Winners

cindy — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:48:39 +0000

I never got last night’s winner post up (darn Olympics) so I have 4 giveaway winners to announce tonight.

1. The winner of Chicken Soup for the Soul:Teacher Tales the winner is Nancye! Congratulations!!

2. The winner of Chicken Soup for the Soul:Count Your Blessings is…. also Nancye! How’s that for luck?

The two winners of the bareMinerals blush are: Shelly and Kim!

Congratulations to all of the winners!

Don’t forget to enter the other giveaways.

Devotional Stories for Women ends Thursday 3/25

Power Moms ends Friday 3/26

The post 4 New Winners appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings

cindy — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:56:42 +0000

The next book in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series that I am giving away is Count Your Blessings. This follow-on book to Tough Times, Tough People continues Chicken Soup for the Soul’s focus on inspiration and hope in these difficult times. These inspirational stories remind us that each day holds something to be thankful for – whether it is having the sun shine or having food on the table. Power outages and storms, health scares and illnesses, job woes and financial insecurities, housing challenges and family worries test us all. But there is always a silver lining. These stories of optimism, faith, and strength remind us of the simple pleasures of family, home, health, and inexpensive good times.

I love reading books that challenge me and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings did just that. It challenged me to stay positive and it encouraged me to remember that even when I am down, if I count my blessings my attitude will improve even when my circumstances don’t change.

The 101 stories of Gratitude, Fortitude, and Silver Linings are broken down into several categories including:

Expressing Gratitude
Recovering from Adversity
The Joy of Giving
I’ve Got What I Need
A New Perspective
and many more

One of my favorite stories in this collection is “Hurricane Hummers” not because I too survived the 2004 Florida hurricane season but because the story’s deeper meaning shows how God is in the details and He wants to give us the desires of our hearts.

I have a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings to give away. The giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday February 24, 2010 at 10:00pm by random.org.

Mandatory 1st entry

Leave me a comment telling me some of your blessings.

Bonus Entries Leave a separate comment for each one

Subscribers get 1 entry
Public Followers get 1 entry
Facebook Fans get one entry http://bit.ly/bq7iMs
Tweet this ” Count Your Blessings and win with @MomMaven http://bit.ly/dj94uN #giveaway” (you may do this 1x a day)

Good Luck!

The post Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Creation Inspirations-Book Review

cindy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:44:00 +0000

A few months ago I was asked by an author if I would preview a children’s devotional and, if I felt led, to write a “blurb” for the cover. Well to say I was honored is an understatement. When the manuscript arrived I went right to work and I was impressed with the book and I submitted the “blurb”. I am happy to say that my autographed copy of that published book is now in my hands and it is even better now that it has all of the illustrations and photographs in it!

Creation Inspirations by Cheryl Pickett is a children’s devotional book that gives you a new view of the world around you. Each section of the book is based on a different animal everything from the arctic fox to a prairie dog to a wood duck. First she teaches the children about the animal-where it lives what it eats and what they are like. Next is the “new view” where by utilizing the animal’s God-given behaviors and tendencies she teaches a Biblical character lesson complete with verses to copy and/or memorize. The last part of each section is an activity based on the animal.

This book is geared towards 6-10 year olds and would make a great addition to any church or family’s library. It is perfect for family or homeschool devotions as it can be used for 25 weeks of activities. You could use it for an entire school year’s worth of devotions if you add in some Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter devotions to round out the year. Creation Inspirations is an affordable curriculum too, at only $12.99 + shipping and handling this is a book that every family with young children can use to learn more about God and His amazing creations.

The post Creation Inspirations-Book Review appeared first on The Mom Maven.

PUR and Extraordinary Teens Winners

cindy — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:56:38 +0000

Congratulations to tonight’s winners which were chosen by Random.org. The winner of the PUR Flavor Options Pitcher is #138 out of 253 entries @elkaye from Twitter! Stop by and congratulate her.

The winners of the Chicken Soup for the Soul: Extraordinary Teens are #9 Bethany and #29 LilyK! Congratulations to all of tonight’s winners.

The post PUR and Extraordinary Teens Winners appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Book & Yoplait Winners

cindy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:46:21 +0000

The winner of the book “The Unexpected Gift is #8, @LoveMy2Doggies make sure you stop by Twitter and congratulate her. The winner of the Yoplait Summer Cool Down Pack is #19 Kay! Congratulations to both of our winners.

Don’t forget to check out my other giveaways PUR Flavor Options Pitcher, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Extraordinary Teens, and Zhu Zhu Pets.

The post Book & Yoplait Winners appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Extraordinary Teens

cindy — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:27:16 +0000

I have worked with teens for almost 30 years. I have been a youth leader, mentor, teacher, friend and a lot of other things to the teens in my life every since I graduated high school. 14-18 year olds are my favorite ages to work with. At that age the kids are really figuring out who they are and what God created them to do. They aren’t afraid to dream to big and try new things.

Chicken Soup for the Soul recently published “Extraordinary Teens” which is filled with stories from over 50 amazing teenagers and young adults. Some of them are famous like Brenda Song, Donald Trump, Jr. and Anna Kournikova. Many are names you have never heard of like Desiree Amadeo, Margaret Lewis and Trevor Schulte. Each story is inspiring in its own way and no two stories are the same. There is even the story on page 221 of someone I follow on Twitter @PencilBugs. He is an amazing young entrepreneur who started his business at age 9!

I am thinking about requiring my teenaged sons to read this book. I’m sure it will challenge them to overcome obstacles, think outside of the box and take a stand for what they feel is important. If you would like a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Extraordinary Teens you can click on the link to order or you can enter to win a copy! I will be giving away 2 copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Extraordinary Teens.

Mandatory 1st Entry Leave me a comment telling me about an inspirational teen that you know.

Bonus Entries

Leave a comment on another (non-giveaway) post on my blog and tell me where you commented. You can do this up to 5 times on 5 different posts.
Tweet this “@MomMaven is giving away Chicken Soup For the Soul:Extraordinary Teens. You can enter to win it too! http://bit.ly/hsr9g #giveaway” you can do this 3 times a day. Leave the tweet URL in the comment.
If you haven’t done so already check out the new Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets, and leave me a comment that you did this. This link is trackable so I will know if you really did it or not.

Good Luck! This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end 9/2/09 at 10:15pm.

The post Extraordinary Teens appeared first on The Mom Maven.

The Winner of the Worst-Case Scenario Book is…

cindy — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:26:12 +0000

The winner of the Wort-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Parenting is comment #9, April who said, “Well, worst would have to be going through my babies’ three surgeries. Awful stuff, no mother should ever have to deal with – regardless of how minor the surgery! BUT… out and about? A baby with diarrhea in the middle of a high class fashion mall with NO extra diapers, clothes or money on me. fortunately i had a baby carrier and paper towels from the bathroom. far from ideal, but it got us out alive! LOL.” I agree April, I have never had a child need surgery but that would be traumatic for me. As far as the diarrhea goes, my 2nd son was equally talented in that area! Congratulations April!

Make sure you have entered all of the other giveaways going on right now!
Carolina Pad school supplies

GoPicnic lunches

Mitchel Musso concert tickets

The post The Winner of the Worst-Case Scenario Book is… appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Day 10 of 10 Days of Celebrating Moms-Giveaway for Moms with Sons

cindy — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:09:13 +0000

As a mom of 2 sons, the final giveaway in my 10 Days of Celebrating Moms is especially poignant to me. Today’s giveaway is “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Moms and Sons”, a collection of stories from mothers, grandmothers, and sons about their special relationship. With topics ranging from “Being a Sport” to “Raising Wonderful Men,” Chicken Soup for the Soul: Moms and Sons offers glimpses into the touching – and often funny – interactions between mothers and their boys. Grateful sons, single moms, and loving grandmothers all chime in to add their voices to this new collection.

“What more could a son ask from his mother than her continued support and love?” writes Chicken Soup for the Soul: Moms and Sons contributor Johnny N. Ortez. “Nothing can compare to a mother’s love, and being a mama’s boy is a good thing. My mom has been the rock of my life.”

Inside Chicken Soup for the Soul: Moms and Sons, you’ll also read about:

How Connie Hill’s son honored her for being a working mom

The meaning behind Cheryl Costello-Forshey’s “no hug” rule – and how a son decided to break it

Why Kirk Hill took his mom out on a date

Why dinnertime is the favorite time of day for Lynn Fredericks, single mom of two sons

You can buy the book here or you can enter to win it from The Mom Maven.
How to Enter Since today is Mother’s Day I’m not going to ask you to jump through any hoops. Just leave me a comment telling me how many years you have been a mother and the ages of your sons. That’s it, no bonus entries either.

This giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be drawn on Friday, May 15th at 10pm. Good Luck

The post Day 10 of 10 Days of Celebrating Moms-Giveaway for Moms with Sons appeared first on The Mom Maven.