Giveaway: MOMumental

I recently had an opportunity to review MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family. This was an excellent, uplifting book. Most parents dream of being the "perfect mom" - but when you have four children, as writer Jennifer Grant does (her children are now 15, 13, 12, and 10), you realize that survival is more important than perfection. Quite honestly, with my two kids I feel that survival is more important most of the time!


She describes her parenting style Velveteen Rabbit parenting (like the rabbit in the story who becomes more real, with fur rubbed off and shine gone, but full of love. No matter what your parenting style is, she has tips that apply to all parents:

• Choose your battles.
• Keep your eyes open and look with a critical—and often delighted—eye at what the culture is dishing up to your children. Teach your children to do the same.
• Remind yourself that children are not little adults, but are uniquely suited to grow, learn, and enjoy life in ways that many of us adults don’t remember how to do anymore.
• Ask questions such as, “What do I want our family to be like? What are our individual gifts and perspectives? What connects us as a family and brings us joy?”
• Develop certain priorities in your family’s life, such as treating each other with respect, eating together whenever possible, and attending church together.

The book is written with a humorous, gentle tone. Faith is a big part of her life, and comes out in the book as well, but her storytelling style is entertaining and enlightening without being preachy.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment with the moment you felt you became a "real" mom (or dad). Deadline is May 9th.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book to facilitate this review.

Living Green: Sierra Club Tools

Sierra Club has a variety of tools available for people who want to learn more about protecting the environment. First of all, there's the free Trail Explorer iOS App where you can find, record and share information about 40,000 North American trails quickly and easily. They also organize a variety of Sierra Club Outings - wilderness adventures designed for people of all age, location, and budget.

Sierra Club was founded in 1892 and focuses on reducing reliance on fossil fuels and protecting America's water and natural habitats. They also strive to get a wide range of people involved by promoting diversity in their activities, with programs for inner city youth, students, military families, and more. They also publish Sierra, a magazine that promotes environmental awareness and protection.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Sierra magazine as a thank you for this post.

Winning Green: Puristics Pure Getaway

For beauty-product lovers, what could be better than a skincare line that is effective and safe to use? How about the chance to win a $2,000 spa getaway for two? Puristics Totally Ageless – an anti-aging skincare line that includes no harsh chemicals is giving women a chance to have all three!  

 

Puristics Totally Ageless is hosting their ‘Pure Getaway’ Sweepstakes which will give one grand prize winner a $2,000 spa getaway for two! In addition, 25-first prize winners will take home a $25 gift card to select retailers (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Duane Read or Drugstore.com).  In addition, daily winner drawings will include a full-sized Puristics Totally Ageless Intensive Eye Treatment. Entering is easy – head over to the ‘Pure Getaway’ Sweepstakes tab on the Puristics Facebook page http://on.fb.me/IDo2KN, answer 4 simple questions about your regular skincare routine and voila! You are one step closer to winning great skincare prizes!

 

Don’t forget to check back on July 30^th when the first prize and grand prize winners will be announced!

 

 

More information about Puristics:

The Puristics Totally Ageless anti-aging skincare line was developed without adding potentially harmful ingredients, fragrances or toxins at any step in the process.  Puristics Totally Ageless products are formulated mainly from natural, plant-based ingredients, identified by names that are generally recognizable to the consumer.  Powered by a naturally occurring peptide complex and clinically proven to work, the results are impressive.