If you haven’t been to Mojo Mom before, now is a great time to check it out. Amy Tiemann is giving away a free digital copy of her books Courageous Parents, Confident Kids. The paperback is available for purchase at Amazon but you can download a free digital copy through the 21st. Don’t miss it!

Wow! Was it a great week partying at the UBP10 or what? I had such a great time, met alot of new people here on my blog and while hitting the links at 5 Minutes for Mom. Here are a few new blogs that I am now a devoted follower to.

Science Fiction Mommy who is a very talented and fun writer. From what I read on her site, I’m even more interested in reading her work when it gets published.

Frugal Challenge 2009 – What can I say? I have a family of 7 and I need to be frugal when I can. Tracey has some great ideas on how you can save money. Stop in and see her.

Busy Lil Homemaker has a great blog too. Since I’m a bit “homemaker-challenged” I find her blog refreshing and very useful. And please check out this yummy vegetable pizza recipe she has. It looks mahvelous!

I just can’t wait til next years Ultimate Blog Party, so now that my first blog party is complete, I’ll have to find other ones until next year comes….

Til the Next Chapter,

Deanna

I love to read, really, I do. But with trying to work full time, raise 5 children and volunteer my free time to Girl Scouts, I don’t get but a few minutes here and there to read. But last week on Wednesday, I started getting this pain in my upper back and by Thursday morning, I couldn’t get out of bed. Though I am recovering (and actually up and moving around), I had about 3 days of staying in bed. Which, as you all know, means READING TIME!

So I finally finished “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger which I had been slowly working through for about a week. And immediately started a new book on my To Be Read list: “The Sweet By and By” by Sara Evans (co-written with Rachel Hauck). Yes, that’s THE Sara Evans, the country star. Well, last night at about 11pm I finished that one, reading by booklight while my husband, The Rock, slept right next to me.

The great thing about both these books is that the plots take place over a period of time, even generations, skipping around from one time period to another. At first, while reading The Time Traveler’s Wife, I found this to be a bit annoying, but as I got deeper into the book, I actually enjoyed it. It really added to the story. Another theme in both these books is true love. While I’ve never really been a romance reader, (as my Mom is) I do enjoy a romantic storyline if it’s not to gushy….LOL I found both of these books to be good reads. Book reviews coming up in the next week or so. And KUDOS to Sara Evans for her first book. It was a good one!

Now I’m on to a book of another sort. “Confessions of SuperMom” by Melanie Lynne Hauser. It should be at least a little entertaining, seeing as I am a Mom. (though I don’t have those super cleaning powers…) The description at Barnes & Noble says:

“Strange things are happening to divorced mother-of-two Birdie Lee since the Horrible Swiffer Accident. She can sense danger (for example, a carload of speeding teenagers without seatbelts) and spring into action with superhuman speed. She can find out what her daughter is doing on the Internet without even having to snoop. And she’s got cleaning powers ordinary women can only dream of.

Warm, witty, and full of heart, Confessions of Super Mom is the tale of a woman who dares to take a stand against everything from stubborn stains to smug exes to corporate CEOs-and winds up defeating evil in some very unexpected ways.”

So far, I’m having trouble getting into it. I’ll give it a couple more chapters before I decide to finish or put it down.

National Library Week is an annual celebration of the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians. All types of libraries – school, public, academic and special – participate. I know that the library isn’t everyone’s thing, but I gotta tell you, I love the library. Where else can you go to get books, magazines, DVD’s, and music for free? Step into any library and you’ll meet someone who shares an interest with you, whether it’s through a library book club or the toddler program. Not to mention most libraries have many more resources for the community to utilize.

Our local Koelbel Library here in Greenwood Village even has a Book-a-Librarian service where you can meet one on one with a librarian for 30 minutes for help on a variety of topics, including:

Genealogy
Business and marketing
Colleges
Jobs and career
Health and medical
Homework and research papers
Homeschooling
Ideas for professional or personal reading, viewing and listening

So I encourage you all today to stop into your local library and see what they have to offer. (Oh, and did you know many libraries offer services on their website, for your convenience. Look them up and find out!).

In honor of National Library Week, I am giving away a prize to one random commenter on this post. All you have to do is tell me what you like most about your local library and you are entered to win a $20 gift card to Barnes & Noble! I will draw a winner on Sunday, April 18th and post on Monday who the winner is! Good luck!

Wow! The party has finally started. So my first party post will be an introduction to me since I’m fairly new on the blogging scene. I’ve been married to my husband Rob for 15 years this August. He was laid off from his desk job many years ago and decided to become a personal trainer because he loved working out. It has always been a major part of his life. He’s been very successful at it. I am a designer for a sports memorabilia auction house. It’s a small company and I work for a great boss with a bunch of great guys! I do most of my own design work depending on how much time I have on my personal projects.

Our family…..We have 5 amazing children. 4 girls and a boy, and yes, the boy is the last. He came to us when we had just given up on trying for a boy.

Ashley is the oldest. She’ll be 18 years old in July. She’s the athlete in the house, just like her Dad. Samantha is 14 and is a social butterfly who has been getting into a bit too much trouble for that in school lately. Dorothy is 11 years old, the smart, creative one of the family who loves to read, write and draw. (and the one most like her Mom). Madison is 7 years old, a smart independent girl who has lots of friends. And then finally is Brian, who is 2 1/2 and going through potty training. He is “The King” and boy! does he ever know it.

We are a reading family. From the time Ashley was a baby we started weekly trips to the library. I think my kids all know the Dewey Decimal System better than any kids I’ve ever met. When they need a book, they know the right aisle to go down. We love the library. Besides the books, libraries always have great programs for kids. And lately they have alot of programs for adults too! I recently participated in a library fundraiser and was able to donate $100 to my local library. What a great feeling!

There are so many cool prizes to be won at this year’s Ultimate Blog Party, but my top picks would be:

US11 – A $100 gift eCertificate to Restaurant.com, US18 – A Goodie Basket for Mom, or US20 – $50 in Cookie Lee Jewelry, US57 – A beginners yoga kit, US69 – The Itty Bitty Bookworm, US105 Get Fit Pack,
…
So this week, I’ll have a couple more posts and some fun giveaways, so stay tuned and come back soon