Happy Mother's Day

Just wanting to wish all the moms out there a very

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Chicken Soup for the Soul - Thanks Mom *Giveaway*

My mother enjoys cooking.  She's not "a chef" per se.  BUT, I never remember as a child, not having a good meal on the table for supper.  Until we were old enough to value sleep more than food, there was a good breakfast before school.  Sometimes money was tight, one year in particular, we didn't have enough for store bought birthday cakes, and my brother's birthday and mine are but a week apart.  Handmade cakes were not "cool" to have in my social circle (I was like 6!  What did I know, really!), but my Mom made an event of it, where I helped along and looking back over the years now, I think it was my favorite cake ever.  Thanks Mom.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom, is a tribute to mothers everywhere, through all times, from their children.  Biological or not, moms of all kinds are a vital part of our lives.  Most of us, if we're fortunate enough to still have our moms with us can't imagine them not being there.

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Calendars for Moms and a Giveaway!

Moms are busy.  Really busy.  It's so nice to have a variety of options to choose from when trying to organize the daily "busy"ness that we encounter.

Andrews McMeel Publishing has come out with a number of different calendars to help moms stay organized and inspired in 2010, and I want to highlight some of them.

This first is a delightful Mary Engelbreit design. The Mom's Can Do Anything Calendar, is a weekly wall organizer for 2010.  It has 54 weekly pages and 12 monthly pages.  With 6 different organizing lines, this will get you set to organize pretty much anything!

Each weekly page has an inspiring quote, which just might set your tone for the week!  This would make a great gift for any mom who likes to have a large surface area to organize her family's activities.

Then there is the Mom's Grab-N-Go 2010 Calendar.  If you don't want to have a wall calendar,  a desk calendar and a planning journal, this is the organizing calendar for you!  With weekly and monthly pages, this calendar has sections to keep track of appointments and kids activities.  It has extra space for lists and errands.  Plus it has a family reference guide in the back for  names, numbers and services.

The exceptional thing about this calendar is that it does double duty as a desk calendar and a planner.  Simply "button" it up and throw it in your bag, when you get home it easily props back up to sit on your desk or countertop.

The Moms Funny and True Tales of Motherhood 2010 Calendar, also makes a great gift.   This day to day calendar , will help mom get through the day with grace and wit.  Each page features an amusing anecdote, inspiring quote, or a fresh new tip.

There is also a Daily Extra, on the back of each page, featuring puzzles, jokes, lists, quotes tips and trivia.

All of these calendars and more are available at Andrews McMeel's online website.

Enter for your chance to win a Moms Funny and True Tales of Motherhood 2010 Calendar.

To enter visit Andrews McMeel and tell me another calendar you think is neat, besides the ones mentioned in this post.

For extra entries you can (the above must be done first before you are eligible for any additional entries)

* Blog about this giveaway linking back to Three Different Directions

* Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (leave the link to your tweet in the comments, this can be done daily)

This giveaway will end on December 9, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst and open to U.S. Residents ages 18+. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be e-mailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail or an alternate winner will be chosen. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and Privacy/Rules declaration and agree to them.

I received complimentary calendars from Andrews McMeel prior to writing this post.

The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut Giveaway

Based on the Life and Works of G.K. Chesterton

I have always loved reading. Since the time I was old enough to sound out words on my own, I've had a book at my side. As a child I often read works of author's well ahead of my years, including those of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Leis and H.G. Wells. Some how or other I missed the works of G.K. Chesterton. Who? Exactly.

Interestingly enough, this man was one who inspired those of whose books I have enjoyed so much, yet I have never read his works before. However, I was introduced to him in a quaint and charming way with a review book of The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut by Paul Nowak.

Written primarily to introduce children to the writings and life of G.K. Chesterton in an up to date language, adults will appreciate the lessons and wisdom imparted to their charges, in the four short stories contained within this book.

These stories are written from the perspective of Jack, Uncle Chestnut's fictional nephew. Jack, whose parents are anthropologists travel due to their careers, is homeschooled and when Dad and Mom are traveling and Jack can't be with them, Uncle Chestnut takes over Jack's education. Jack "considers his 'lessons' from Uncle Chestnut to be more important than the lessons he would teach me from books". Music to a homeschoolers heart, no?

Another one of G.K. Chesterton's writings that Nowak chose to include among these short stories, is Uncle Chestnut's lesson on why stay at home moms are incredibly valuable. A story sure to grab the heartstrings of those of use who are (or want to be), yet are often pegged as inferior by our culture.

Closing off the book are pages of some of Chesterton's quotes, most of which will have you thinking, laughing or both!

I believe this is a book you would love to own, and have on your bookshelf. A perfect read aloud to engage all the ages of your family with, it's a keeper for generations. And no I have to scan my local library shelves to find some works by G.K. Chesterton to read for myself!

Please read **About Reviews at the bottom of the page.

The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut is available at Amazon.com for $7.88.

Paul Nowak is giving away a copy of The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut to one of my readers.

To enter this giveaway visit UncleChestnut.com and tell me something that you learned. (This must be completed for extra entries)

For extra entries (leave a separate comment for each completed):

1. Become a fan of Uncle Chestnut on Facebook.
2. Blog about this giveaway leaving a link back to me and to UncleChestnut.com
3. Follow me on twitter and Tweet this giveaway (can be done daily).
4. Follow my blog publicly.
5. Subscribe to my feed via e-mail or reader.
6. Add my button to your site.

This giveaway will end on July 23, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst, and is open to US residents ages 13+.

The Scrunch Bottle Bib Giveaway & Review

Catch My ...Drip!

You've heard the saying "Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk". But babies can and moms do, especially if it's dripping from baby's bottle and is trapped in those little folds on baby's neck. One very smart auntie has come to the rescue of babies and parents. She invented the Scrunch Bottle Bib.

Watch it in action.

This creative invention has testimonial approvals by pediatricians on its effects of eliminating rashes and keeping tiny necks clean from sour milk.

So this all sounds wonderful, but does it work? I thought a good place to try it would be in our church nursery, which I am a coordinator of. All those hungry babies with those cute adorable outfits on, no mom wants those to get soiled with sour milk! You know what, the Scrunch Bottle Bib worked great! I only wish I had a product like this when Amber was little.

Another really nice thing about the Scrunch Bottle Bib is that because of its Velcro closure, it fits virtually every bottle size. It's made of 100% cotton and is reversible so you can get double duty out of it and is machine washable (which we know is very important for moms!)

You can use this with newborn infants and up, it comes in a variety of colors and at $7.99 retail price it's affordable and a great gift for a baby shower!

You can purchase them at www.ScrunchBottleBib.com and until August 1, 2009 they are offering a 10% discount off your entire order with Coupon Code BOSPR616

So pick a few up if you are expecting or know someone who is and you want to surprise them with a unique and practical gift.

Please read **About Reviews at the bottom of this page.

Jennifer Edison the "auntie-preneur" who invented the Scrunch Bottle Bib is giving one of my readers a Scrunch Bottle Bib. (In a Green/Yellow color)

To enter the givewaway:

Visit Scrunch Bottle Bib and comment with what your favorite feature of the product is.

This entry must be completed for all extra entries to count.

For extra entries you can:

1. Sign up for my RSS feed via e-mail or reader
2. Place my button on your blog
3. Follow me on twitter and tweet this giveaway (this can be done daily)
4. Blog about this giveaway leaving a link back to me and ScrunchBottleBib.com

Contest is open to U.S. and Canadian residents ages 18+ and will end at 11:59 pm cst July 7, 2009. Winner will be contacted by e-mail.

Look Good...Feel Better

At the beginning of the year my mom had some spotting and when it didn't go away she scheduled an appointment with her doctor. After tests were complete, the doctor thought it a good idea she have a hysterectomy. At almost 64, having her reproductive system taken apart was not nearly as troubling as the fact that indeed there was a cancerous tumor present within her system. She is currently having radiation treatment to hopefully keep those nasty cells at bay.

When Mom Central alerted me to the Look Good....Feel Better website, I knew instantly that this was something I wanted to write about on my blog. Since one in three American women will receive a cancer diagnosis in her lifetime, chances are almost every one of the people who visit Three Different Directions has encountered cancer in a close family member, friend or has been diagnosed themselves. I have one really good blog buddy who is a 3x cancer survivor, and is a personal inspiration! (Waves at Nikowa!) There is information for everyone here, it is not just for women diagnosed with cancer, men & teens battling cancer and family and friends of loved ones diagnosed will find information too.

Look Good…Feel Better is a free, non-medical, brand-neutral, national public service program created to help individuals with cancer look good, improve their self-esteem, and manage their treatment and recovery with greater confidence.

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Look Good...Feel Better program. Lots of great things are happening this year, go and take a look. There is a Women of Hope is Beautiful contest. Women cancer survivors can submit their stories of how the program helped them cope with cancer as a way to inspire others who may currently be undergoing cancer treatment. Entries will be featured on the Women of Hope is Beautiful blog to help educate others. Anyone can visit the site to view entries, make comments and show their support. In August, Look Good…Feel Better will choose five women with the most-compelling stories to receive a trip to New York City for a makeover and a trip to the DreamBall, a black-tie gala and the program's largest annual fundraiser, held each year in New York City.

And if you're reading my blog....I know you read others! Take some time and go to the Women of Hope blog! With the stories of the contest entrants and before and after photos, this site is truly what it claims to be...a site filled with women of hope.

I encourage you to check Look Good....Feel Better out. And then spread the word about it to people you know. Cancer is life changing and this program can be too!

Six Word Saturday

I am taking a break from posting a review today, and am joining in a meme that I found at Momma D and Da Boyz. It's called Six Word Saturday and it's hosted at Show My Face.

Here's what you do:: Describe your life (or something) in just six words.

So here's mine:

I am a very proud mother.

To explain that, see the post I made on Monday, located here.

Visit more Six Word Saturday posts, or go all nuts and post your own and link up at:

Wishing All My Mom Readers A Happy Mother's Day

The past 10 years I have not been able to spend Mother's Day with my mom but once. That occasion was last year, and it was bittersweet, because we went home to say our last goodbyes to Hubby's mother, who we laid to rest the day after Mother's Day.

Like so many of you, I love my mom, think about her a lot and appreciate her for too many things to count, but often we don't realize just how much they mean to us until they are gone from this physical existence.

To all my Mom readers out there -- HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Here's a picture of me, my sister and my mom last Mother's Day.

Easter Nostalgia

I was surfing all my favorite sites the other day, and came across these cute, cute Easter templates from Christina Brown Designs.

So I pulled up some pictures from Easter past and digi-scrapped them.

Overwhelmed

Besides Church, I'm not going to go anywhere today. I need some down time to get myself together.

We left on Monday to go north to visit family. We arrived home on Friday. We drove through the Red River Valley corridor. Fortunately for us, the river had not crested yet. There was some water encroaching the interstate, but it was cold enough that it was frozen, and the lanes were blocked off.

It was great to see family though. I haven't seen my dad since January 2008, and my mom since last October. I only get to see my niece's when we visit, and my sister's little guy I haven't seen since last summer.

Then on Saturday Genius and I, Smart Girl and her mom, drove out of town again to take the girls to a Science & Engineering day at the university.

And now I have to go through all my e-mail, do laundry, read all the blogs I missed last week :) Whenever we come back from being away, the first week is always a bit overwhelming!

I have recently found myself drawn to the craft of digital scrapbooking. I was doing paper scrapbooking for the last couple of months, but have run across so many photos in our digital archives that I have wanted to scrap, but found it too much work to pick out the particular ones I wanted, have them printed and then make pages. After much perusing online, I have found that digital scrapbooking can be just as (if not more) creative and satisfying than traditional scrapbooking.

I stumbled across Diamante Designs where they have what is called a "scraplift challenge". Basically you take the idea of the original scrapbooker and make a page of your own, based on their design.

I decided to participate in this one, keep in mind I have never done this before! It's a page of Genius when we were visiting family, and her and my mom swimming in the pool.

It is considered good etiquette to give credit where it is due in the digital scrapbooking world. The paper elements on the page were a free item from Mandy Mystiques.

Greeting Cards

Genius and my mother share a passion. Greeting Cards. The two of them can spend hours in the Hallmark store whiling away the time. When I go to Walgreens to pick up the weekly specials, I drop Genius off in the greeting card section, knowing she'll be safe and happy until I'm done! Laura Williams' and Hallmark are giving away some cards to three readers of Laura's blog. Check out their new line of cards YourPets and YourFunniness. There is a contest to vote for your favorite. Cards made by people just like you and me, which means, we think most of them are funny!

My Mother-In-Law

How does the week go by so fast? About a week ago, we got a devastating phone call, that my mother-in-law (who was waaay more Mother than she was in-law), had passed away. The emotions were mixed, thankfulness that she was ready, as she was a child of God. Sadness for the loss of a wonderful woman. Heartbreak for my husband. We laid her to rest on Monday May 12th, and now our fatigued bodies are beginning to exhale the pent up sorrow. My husband is now an orphan, as strange as that may sound, it's true. I was privileged enough to receive all of her crocheting things. (I don't crochet though! I knit.) So now I have the endeavor to learn new things, as crocheting, and making Hubby's favorite "Mom" dishes, that I have up till now, decided there was no reason to cook, or bake. Mom sparkled life to all those around her during her 77 years, and on Wednesday May the 7th, she walked through the Gates of Heaven to a pure and faultless body. Thank you Mom for all you did for us, the legacy you left us. We hope we can carry on in your footsteps and we will miss you.