Wildwood Cottage

A New Year

Hello Again! I've decided to try and take up blogging again after my long hiatus. I miss my blog friends and I only recently realized what a great way blogging is to document our day-to-day lives. As Carly's first birthday approaches, it dawned on my that I remember very little of Claire when she was that age, and it mad me sad to think of this part of Carly's life just slipping away in my memory. So, to anyone left who used to read this blog, there will be less lengthy book posts and more "life" posts. That also works better for me- book posts are great to read but a lot of work to compose! I'm changing things around a bit on the blog too, hopefully for the better. I'm looking forward to a fresh start for the new year- better blogging, better eating, better parenting- me, only better. :o)

Chipmunk's ABC

And the winner of the giveaway is...Bunny B! Bunny, send me an email with your address and I'll mail the book to you this week!

Thanks to everyone who entered- I think that I will be having a lot more giveaways in the future. They're so much fun!

And as a consolation prize to those of you who didn't win, check out this post from Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup about Beatrix Potter- I thought it was fantastic.

Book Giveaway

I had so much fun during my last giveaway, I've decided to start giving away children's books that catch my eye. For my first one, I've chosen a classic-

Richard Scarry's Chipmunk's ABC . This is a darling book filled with classic Richard Scarry illustrations and simple lines like, "D is for Donkey. Chipmunk and Donkey have been out  picking daffodils."

To enter, leave a comment any time between now and Monday. I'll draw the winner's name at random first thing Tuesday morning and post about it that afternoon. Have fun!

Award Time!

When I finally started to get caught up on my blogging earlier this week, it didn't feel like I'd ever get back on track, so when I saw that Mom Unplugged gave me this "You Make My Day Award", the timing couldn't have been better. It means a lot coming from her, too, because I admire all of the hard work she's put into her blog to make such a great resource for unplugging your children. I will always be grateful to her for starting up the Unplugged Projects (next week's theme is books - I can't wait!), and perhaps most importantly, she just seems like a cool person to hang out with. :o)

And now it's my turn!  I'd like to give this to a few new friends-

Mom and Kiddo because I love reading about what they're up to in Brooklyn. They do so many fun activities that are right up our alley, and I've found a lot of great links on her sidebar! One of them was...

Montessori Free Fall, a great blog full of ideas about using Montessori in her house. Steph has renewed my interest in using some Montessori here, and I really enjoy reading about all of the activities she does with her daughter.

And one more for an older friend who's back to blogging after a break-

Ami of Forest Cottage because she has given me so many wonderful ideas over the past several months. I don't know how she does so much with four young children, but she does! I could spend hours just going through the links on her sidebar, so be sure and take a look.

I know some people are uncomfortable with awards like this for one reason or another, so please don't feel obligated to post about it on your own blog or tag anyone else on my account- this is a "no-strings-attached award". :o)

Stay tuned tomorrow when I post about a small giveaway!

We Have a Winner!!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a comment last week. I've enjoyed this giveaway so much, I'm thinking of having some more often. Early this morning, I drew the winner's name...Suzanne from 3-foot-tall D*I*V*A!

I'd also like to say a quick thanks to Mom Unplugged for bringing these great books to my attention, and Bubblegum Books for providing me with the book to give away.

Have a good weekend everyone!

My First Giveaway!

I first learned about Bubblegum Books from this post at Mom Unplugged. Bubblegum Books is an independent children's book publisher "dedicated to stretching the imagination". How cool is that? And I have a signed copy of their latest book, Something Shiny, Something Round to give away! Better yet, Mom Unplugged also has a copy of the book, so you have two chances to win! Leave each of us a comment to be entered in the giveaway, and two random names will be drawn (one from here, one from Unplug Your Kids) and the winner will be announced on Saturday, March 15.

And now for a little about the book- it's dedicated to the world of make-believe, so I knew that I would love it before I even got to the first page. The rhyming text tells what happens when Sam and his friends go out to play on a snowy day. They find something shiny and round in the snow and wonder, "Oh what, oh what could it be?". The kids then imagine it's all kinds of different things, such as a cymbal, a shield, a serving tray, and a fancy hat among other things! It dawns on them at the end of the story that it's a hub cap, and they even return it to its rightful owner. One of the best parts of the book are the activities at the end. Each activity coordinates with one of the imagined uses of the hub cap, and covers such diverse topics as the planets, making music, and newspaper hats! I love this book so much I wish I didn't have to give it away. I will definitely be getting all three for CJ- what a fun way to encourage children to think creatively!

Please leave me a comment so I can give this wonderful book a new home, and be sure and check out the contest at Bubblegum Books while you're at it!

I'm Excellent!

I got a wonderful surprise earlier this week when both Mom Unplugged and Kate awarded me an "E for Excellent" blog award!

There's so much I admire about Mom Unplugged - her devotion to such an important cause, her consistently wonderful ideas for the Unplugged Projects, and her love for books and music. Her new website is truly amazing, and such a fabulous resource for so many people.

I love that Kate and I have gotten to be such good friends. Our daughters are a bit far apart in age, so on the surface it appears we don't have much in common. The more I get to know about her, the more it has made me realize how much alike we are, especially our love of books and science-crazed husbands. And I think we both have birthdays in April, too!

And now it's my turn to spread the love!

I love everything about The Rowdy Pea. Amanda is so creative- I just love to see what she and Ivo are up to from day to day. She also has the courage to write about some of their not-so-great days, which I for one really appreciate!

Nina is taking a break from her blog, but I may never have started mine without hers for inspiration. Her love of books shines through her posts, and I will be forever grateful to her for opening my eyes to reading picture books for myself.

Ami is also busy with life right now, but I've gotten so many good idea from her blog that I had to include her. She is way craftier than I am, but we share a love of books and I admire the wonderful things she does with her four little ones.

Last, Rowan at Circle of the Year. Her posts about life and the many places she travels to England and beyond never fail to fascinate me. She's going through a tough time right now so I hope you'll join me in sending some healing thoughts her way.

And that's it! Thank you so much to Kate and Mom Unplugged for my awards!

A Bloggy Card Exchange

One of my favorite parts about this time of year is getting cards in the mail. They're such a welcome respite from the usual wad of bills and catalogs for things I don't want. As I started thinking about cards in the mail, I realized that I'm much closer to you all than to extended relatives I literally only communicate with once a year. So, how about a card exchange? Does that interest anyone, or is it just one more thing to do before Christmas?

I'm more than open for suggestions, but my initial thoughts are to send me an email through the link under my picture with your name and address. I'll accept emails through Thanksgiving Day, and the day after, I'll compile a list and email it to everyone.

Let me know what you think!

Book Meme

Amanda of The Rowdy Pea tagged me for a book meme. I've had fun thinking about my answers over the past couple of days. I wish I had a picture to start off with like she did, because I could stand to reorganize CJ's books myself. Anyway, here are my answers!

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why? I can go either way on this. Usually, a hardcover is better for me because I can be rough on things in general. There's something about a new paperback that I just love though!

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it… I think I'd call mine The Secret Garden, after one of my favorite books. I think it evokes a sense of "specialness". To go along with my theme, I'd have lots of plants around, and maybe even sell some that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Like Amanda, I'd want lots of comfortable chairs. And to serve tea and scones and things like that, so it could be somewhere you could nearly spend the day at.

3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is… I could spend a month thinking about this, but I found this in the first Anne of Green Gables book, "Dear old world, you are very lovely, and I'm glad to be alive in you." I chose it because I think it's amazing that Anne can say that after all her hardships, and it's something I need to be reminded of on occasion!

4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be … This is a hard one! I can't just pick one, and since there aren't any meme police, I'm going to list four: Beatrix Potter, who led an incredible life, especially in her day and age; Mildred Armstrong Kalish, who wrote Little Heathens, because I loved her book so much and i know she has a lot more stories to tell; Tasha Tudor, because she is utterly fascinating; and Susan Albert, the author of the Cottage Tales I just wrote about (along with MANY other books) because she also knows a lot about herbs and gardening and she just seems like a genuinely nice person. She also knits, so maybe she could teach me how...I'm not having much luck learning from a book! Now, wouldn't that be an interesting tea party to attend? :o)

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except from the SAS survival guide, it would be ... I had the hardest time coming up with an answer for this one. I can think of a few sets of books I'd like to bring, but since I've already broken one rule, I'd just grab one of the Trixie Belden books. Does anyone else remember those? They're mysteries I read as a girl, and there are maybe 30 of them, all of which I've read 3-4 times.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that… This is more of an accessory, for me at least, but I like to have something to drink while I'm reading. And at this time of year (and cloudy days year round), I like to have hot tea. I like my tea to stay warm though, because I frequently forget it's there when I get really engrossed, so I'd like a battery-operated cup warmer!

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of… libraries and all the people who have ever held the book.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be… I tried to come up with a really cool heroine, but I decided to be Toot from Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie. My sister gave me the first book several years ago. Toot is a pig who loves to travel, and Puddle is homebody (not unlike my sister and I). I have nearly all the books in the series, and CJ is getting interested in them now- what a treat to read them to her!

9. The most overestimated book of all times is… I've never cared much for Shakespeare.

10. I hate it when a book… doesn't end the way I think it should!

What fun that was! Like Amanda said, it sure beats folding laundry and putting clean sheets on the bed! I'm going to tag Mom Unplugged and anyone else who reads this and wants to play.

My First Award

Well, I've truly arrived in blogland now. Kate has given me a Nice Matters Award! Kate is one of my newer blog buddies, so it was a lovely surprise to get this award from her. I love reading about what she and Princess have been up to from day to day- it gives me a good idea of what's to come in the next few years! She takes wonderful pictures too, and their garden is to die for. Thanks, Kate!

Now, it's my job to pass the award along to five people that I think are nice. I've thought of some new friends and some old friends too. In honor of my nominator, I'm going to start with a couple new friends-

Mom Unplugged has an incredible blog with so many ideas of what do with your kids that don't involve the TV. Her posts are always useful or informative...or sometimes just plain funny, like yesterday's! Ever since she stopped by my blog, I've felt more and more that we are "kindred spirits".
 
Ami at Forest Cottage has a beautiful blog. Be sure and check out her posts over the past couple days, because I've already gotten a lot of great ideas from them. I love stopping by and just checking out what links she has up- I could probably spend most of the day there!

And now for some "old" friends-

I mentioned Jen Robinson's Book Page in my very first post because her blog is where my whole introduction into blogland started. And she couldn't be a nicer person- Jen encouraged me to start my blog long before I ever did, left me my first comment, and even tagged me for my first meme. And the books she's introduced me to- I'll be forever grateful to her for that reason alone!

I "met" Chanal of 3-foot-tall D*I*V*A shortly after I started my blog. We have so many things in common, and I've lost track of how many emails we've sent each other. I don't have any mom friends in real life, so it was such a relief to find someone else with a child close to CJ's age that also loves to read and talk about homeschooling (and so many other things!).

And finally, Amanda of The Rowdy Pea. I was hooked on her blog from the moment I read the title! She is truly one of the nicest people I've "met", and I love reading about what Ivo is up to (how can you resist a little boy who asks to go to an antique car museum for his birthday?!), and what amazing things she's created.

A note to my nominees- I know you're all busy, so please don't feel like you "have" to tag anyone else. If you'd like to, that's great! These are guilt-free nominations though, so just know that you all brighten my day...and that you're nice! :o)