Bink & Gollie: Book Review

My son is an avid reader. He'll gobble up any book he can get his hands on. My niece on the other hand, couldn't be more different. She is definitely the reluctant reader, the one who needs a little incentive, needs books she can fall in love with.

Bink & Gollie, by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee, is one of those books. Following two little girls, "one tiny, one tall, and both utterly irrepressible," the book takes you along on three of their adventures. In the first story, Bink has to have a new, outrageously colorful pair of socks. Gollie, however, is not a fan. They eventually have to find a way to compromise with one another. The second story follows Gollie's adventure hiking up the Andes, even with Bink's constant interruptions. And finally, the third story introduces us to Fred the goldfish and takes us along on his interesting journey with Bink.

The second I started reading the book, I couldn't believe how much the girls reminded me of my niece and nephew. They get along one second and are stomping off the next. They struggle to compromise, but always do in the end. They are silly and sweet and imaginative. They are the best of friends.

Written for ages 6-8, the book is captivating. The illustrations by Tony Fucile are beautiful and make the girls that much more lovable. I would highly recommend Bink & Gollie to any young reluctant readers.

Buy It: Bink & Gollie is available in hard cover for $15.99

A copy of the book was provided for review. All opinions are my own.

Free Movie Night on General Mills: Giveaway

***Closed: Congrats to katychick***

Going to the movies is a big event in our house. Little Man is always ecstatic to hear that we're heading out to the theater. He loves the excitement of the big screen, the overly buttery theater popcorn, and hanging out as a family. (Thank goodness he's still young enough to want to hang out with his parents.)

The only problem with family movies out? The cost. It seems that ticket prices keep going up. Add in the cost of popcorn, a soda, and the mandatory box of gummy bears and it feels like you're breaking the bank for two hours of fun.
General Mills understands that family movies are a great way to spend a night together. So they are offering consumers a movie night on them. Starting now, you can receive a free movie ticket when you purchase two specially marked packages of Big G cereals including:

• Honey Nut Cheerios (17 oz.)
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch (17 oz.)
• Lucky Charms (16 oz.)
• Trix (14.8 oz)
• Reese´s Puffs cereal (18 oz.)

After purchasing two of the participating cereals, visit the General Mills e-Movie Cash site to enter the unique code found inside each box of cereal. Then print your free Movie Cash certificate (good for one admission of up to a $12 value at participating theatres). To find a participating theater in your area check out the theater locator tool.

Win It: Win a "Family Flick Night" gift pack which will include two boxes of the participating Big G cereals and four Movie Cash certificates.

Mandatory entry: Which Big G cereals are you looking forward to purchasing to earn e-movie cash?

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Giveaway ends 12/7 at 11:59 pm EST. Winner will be notified via email. Open to US only.

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and General Mills for providing the information and giveaway in this post. All opinions are my own.

The Numbers of Miscarriage

Studies say that 1 in 4 women will bleed in early pregnancy. But 85% of them will go on to have a healthy baby.

Sometimes I wonder why I have to be the minority.

5 1/2 The number of years we've tried for baby #2.
6 The day of October our dreams looked like they were finally coming true again.
2 The number of tests I took. Just to be sure.
6.11 The day I should have been due.
7 The week the bleeding started.
5 The number of blood tests I've had to take.
5 Also the number of times someone's called with results that broke my heart.
314 The number of times I've questioned what I did wrong, what I could have done differently.
6432 A rough estimate of the number of tears I've cried.
16 The number of blow ups I've had at my husband in the last few weeks.
25 The number of pregnant women I've caught glimpse of in the last few days.
3 The number of times seeing said pregnant women have made me bawl. In public.
4 The number of my last hcg quant.
0-5 The hcg level that means I'm absolutely no longer pregnant.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away.

Wordless Wednesday: My Soccer Star

DOLE in the 2011 Rose Parade

I've mentioned before just how much our family loves DOLE fruit products. They are healthy and convenient, and being constantly on the run, I love that they offer a simple way to get in our servings of fruit.

DOLE is proud to be the first major brand to pack its Fruit Bowls and multi-serve Jarred Fruit in 100% fruit juice. There's no syrup, no refined sugars, and no artificial sweeteners.

To celebrate, DOLE will be joining in the 2011 Rose Parade with a Living Well in Paradise float. And, they are offering one lucky DOLE fan and their guest the chance to attend the 2011 Rose Parade!Entering is easy, simply “Like” DOLE on Facebook and fill out the sweepstakes entry form. One lucky Dole fan, plus one guest, will win a four day and three night trip to Los Angeles from December 30, 2010 to January 2, 2011 to attend the 2011 Rose Parade with premium VIP seats in the grandstands during the parade. The sweepstakes will also randomly award 100 DOLE Rose Parade Limited Edition Commemorative Pins each week between Nov. 4, 2010 to Dec. 23, 2010.

Good luck!

Information was provided for this post by DOLE. All opinions are my own.

The Last Ornament: Holiday Gift Idea

One of my favorite parts of the holidays are all the wonderful books that go along with the season. Every year, I pull out a huge bin of Christmas books the last weekend of November, and Little Man is so excited to read the books over and over.

We recently added a new story to our holiday collection, The Last Ornament by Judith Vicary Swisher. The book tells the tale of one family's tree and adorning ornaments. After the excitement of decorating and celebrating, it's time for the ornaments to be put away for the next year. Unfortunately, one ornament doesn't make it back to into it's box. All the other decorations are so sad when the find that Little Blue Engine is missing!

The story is a very sweet holiday tale. It also encourages a fun tradition, searching for the last ornament on the tree. I can't tell you the number of times we see a missed ornament as the tree is on it's way out the door. So I think we may start a "last ornament" search in our house this year.

The Last Ornament is filled with bright, fun illustrations and personifying the ornaments gives the story a new perspective on the holiday celebration. I'm sure we'll be reading the story of Little Blue Engine several more times before the Christmas season is over.

A copy of the book was provided for our review. All opinions are our own.

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween

Lost.

My Name

It’s cold in here feels like everything’s upside down
I can feel you talking but I can barely make out the sound
I been kicking around these parts, feels like a year
I’m gonna change this world if I ever get out of here
She wants to dress me in pink, paint’s my bedroom blue
And I just laugh to myself, because only I know the truth
This love is my only emotion
Haven’t learned any fear any pain
It’s kind of funny with all this commotion
I guess they’ve got me, to blame
And they don’t even know my name
And they don’t even know my name

Well I’ve never felt so ready, think it’s finally time
Cause that big old world is waiting, and it’s mine all mine
Just then everything got real quiet, it got real bright
And a man took my hand said don’t worry, your momma's gonna be alright
Then he opened the gate & I followed him in
Said you can wait right, here till it’s your turn again
And his love is the one true emotion
Heaven knows no fear no pain
I never got to set my wheels in motion
But they loved me just the same
And they never even knew name
Didn’t even know my name
You loved me just the same
And you didn’t even know my name

-George Canyon