tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37719146996345731292024-03-14T00:17:03.748-04:00 I was promised more naps... My adventures as a stay-at-home momBethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-3126804110361319602019-12-01T16:03:00.000-05:002019-12-01T16:57:11.866-05:00Disney on Ice presents Dream Big in Toledo - Tickets Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
If your kids are anything like mine, they start asking to open "just one" early Christmas present starting around November 10. And also if they're anything like mine, they have about 18 million toys and don't *really* need more for Christmas. Which is why an excellent early Christmas gift is...</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TgDJmO12VIc/XeQh4ccT2JI/AAAAAAAB56I/wIPYaWjhFI0oFSxqNSHxjqbswcADq3HwwCEwYBhgL/s1600/D27C_Show%2BLogo_Low%2BRes.png" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TgDJmO12VIc/XeQh4ccT2JI/AAAAAAAB56I/wIPYaWjhFI0oFSxqNSHxjqbswcADq3HwwCEwYBhgL/s1600/D27C_Show%2BLogo_Low%2BRes.png" /></a></div>
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Tickets to <a href="http://www.disneyonice.com/" target="_blank">Disney on Ice</a>! Tickets start at just $15 each on <a href="http://ticketmaster.com/">Ticketmaster</a> OR you can enter to win a family four pack of tickets right here on this very blog!!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-7x5w1IVSg/XeQju2wBaCI/AAAAAAAB56U/-VIpv4bRvP0B69G4RguTldXkJOFj8emOQCEwYBhgL/s1600/D27c_20180920_00343-_Edit.jpg"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-7x5w1IVSg/XeQju2wBaCI/AAAAAAAB56U/-VIpv4bRvP0B69G4RguTldXkJOFj8emOQCEwYBhgL/s640/D27c_20180920_00343-_Edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">About the show: </span></b><br />
Courage leads the way for Disney's most adventurous heroes when Disney on Ice presents Dream Big comes to Toledo Thursday, December 19- Saturday, December 22. Join the wayfinder Moana and the greatest demigod that ever lived, Maui, on an action-packed voyage to restore the stolen heart of Te Fiti.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JFEcdZOQnGY/XeQjvCwSzoI/AAAAAAAB56g/ggBdAadKPgk7SQXOU4PKVotglvsl3cuuACEwYBhgL/s1600/D27c_20180922_04810_Edit.jpg"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JFEcdZOQnGY/XeQjvCwSzoI/AAAAAAAB56g/ggBdAadKPgk7SQXOU4PKVotglvsl3cuuACEwYBhgL/s640/D27c_20180922_04810_Edit.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Explore the Land of the Dead as Miguel from Disney Pixar's Coco brings the festivities of Dia de los Muertos to the ice. Get tangled up in Rapunzel's hair-raising quest to see the floating lights. Travel to the kingdom of Arendelle with Anna, Elsa and Olaf in a dramatic retelling of the sisterly love that saved a kingdom. And discover the strength, bravery and kindness that inspired generation after generation with Jasmine, Ariel, Aurora, Belle and Cinderella. <br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-ab74899a-7fff-301c-4cf8-536aef515875"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dream Big</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> captures all the magic and adventure of Disney’s immortal tales through cutting edge figure skating, glamourous costumes and stunning set designs. Through innovative lighting and thrilling special effects, audiences are transported to a world of imagination, where heroes of every kind seek to fulfill their dreams. High-flying jumps, breathtaking skating and lovable Disney friends make </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Disney On Ice presents Dream Big</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> an experience families will never forget!</span></span><br />
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Want to go? Of course you do! So here are the details:</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">When</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday, Dec. 19 at 7 pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday, Dec. 20 at 7 pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 am, 3 pm and 7 pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sunday, Dec. 22 at 1 pm and 5 pm</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Where</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Huntington Center,</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">500 Jefferson Ave., Toledo, OH 43604</span></div>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy Tickets</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-9264ce8c-7fff-02a7-481a-0de19e3ad13d"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Tickets start at $15 and can be ordered online at </span><a href="http://www.ticketmaster.com/" style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">www.ticketmaster.com</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Note: ticket pricing is subject to change based on market demand.
</span><b><span style="font-size: large;">WIN Tickets
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One randomly selected person will win four tickets to see Disney on Ice: Dream Big on opening night, Thursday, December 19 at 7pm!
To be entered to win the tickets, all you have to do is:
1. Share this post on Facebook and/or tag a friend who would love to go see Disney on Ice in the comments of the Facebook post.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Comment below and tell me which Disney </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">character</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> you would most love to see on ice! (Make sure to include your first and last name in case you win!)
(And please like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps/" target="_blank">I was promised more naps</a> on Facebook if you don't already!)
The winner will be randomly selected and announced on December 10, 2019!</span></span></span></div>
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Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com80tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-28989736284815683732019-02-16T16:05:00.002-05:002019-02-16T16:11:13.378-05:00DIY Dormer Window Reading Nook for Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nPWNN4AX00/XGh8XvqLVsI/AAAAAAABr0w/NGpzdNpOA9YEmfcP85pVfV4sCL1P5CXVgCLcBGAs/s1600/Kids%2BReading%2BNook.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nPWNN4AX00/XGh8XvqLVsI/AAAAAAABr0w/NGpzdNpOA9YEmfcP85pVfV4sCL1P5CXVgCLcBGAs/s320/Kids%2BReading%2BNook.png" width="155" /></a></div>
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We have dormer windows on our second floor, and while they look super cute from the outside, the insides typically ended up looking like this:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-osGPFGWemm0/XDVbbSGL-oI/AAAAAAABovg/teu7cHoJdHojDIr6aEGlf3YDbn3wEZxLgCKgBGAs/s1600/20180823_132124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-osGPFGWemm0/XDVbbSGL-oI/AAAAAAABovg/teu7cHoJdHojDIr6aEGlf3YDbn3wEZxLgCKgBGAs/s400/20180823_132124.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fancy, I know.</i></td></tr>
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They aren't really large enough for most furniture, and the awkward placement of the heating vents meant that my initial dream of having window seats built in would have required re-routing a bunch of duct work. Which didn't seem worth it. So they just ended up being places where we put things that didn't have any other place to go.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3GC4HUw9T2I/XDVcPFasATI/AAAAAAABoxs/MHEuD_6VqfMoAWQvt7Xjr5V-vnGcIUMxQCKgBGAs/s1600/20180920_184827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3GC4HUw9T2I/XDVcPFasATI/AAAAAAABoxs/MHEuD_6VqfMoAWQvt7Xjr5V-vnGcIUMxQCKgBGAs/s400/20180920_184827.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>See? Heating vent directly under the window. (And not centered. WHY IS IT NOT CENTERED?) Note to anyone building a house with dormer windows: don't put the heating vents there, or this space becomes even less usable than it already is by virtue of being a short, thin hallway leading nowhere.</i></td></tr>
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<i>Anyway</i>, a few months ago, I suddenly had a great idea to turn them into little hangout spots for the kids, and then I had an even<i> better</i> idea to make them into reading nooks! I would have loved a spot like this as a kid, and it's also a great way to encourage my first grader to read!</div>
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I spent months assembling a bunch of stuff for the nooks (mostly from Ikea, Amazon and Sam's Club), and then a few days after Christmas, my mom watched the kids for a few hours while my husband Dan and I assembled everything. He was the power tools guy, and I was the design and wall decals woman. So without further ado... here are a ton of pictures!!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ri3wF46Spn8/XDVlZ-3OtnI/AAAAAAABpHw/HovaLRyX3koNhMrcgBFk3_x14OYT4dd1wCLcBGAs/s1600/Reading%2BNooks2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="456" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ri3wF46Spn8/XDVlZ-3OtnI/AAAAAAABpHw/HovaLRyX3koNhMrcgBFk3_x14OYT4dd1wCLcBGAs/s640/Reading%2BNooks2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ta da!!</i></td></tr>
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They turned out every bit as wonderfully as I hoped, which is saying something, because I had really high hopes!</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ccDiL690LnQ/XDVo7pU3LRI/AAAAAAABpTE/bYVcdFbJg1I9JInvLAZXxw_sPBBj6pmJwCKgBGAs/s1600/20181227_190817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ccDiL690LnQ/XDVo7pU3LRI/AAAAAAABpTE/bYVcdFbJg1I9JInvLAZXxw_sPBBj6pmJwCKgBGAs/s400/20181227_190817.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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The bookshelves are Ikea photo ledges, and the curtains, lion and fairy pillows and giraffe lamps are from Ikea, too.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZITjToFcsA8/XGhwP4OZ1FI/AAAAAAABrzo/QdJU9NMk3twHQn-3rNs1eVx-fYqEg9EMwCKgBGAs/s1600/20181227_190827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZITjToFcsA8/XGhwP4OZ1FI/AAAAAAABrzo/QdJU9NMk3twHQn-3rNs1eVx-fYqEg9EMwCKgBGAs/s400/20181227_190827.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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The unicorn and dinosaur chairs came from Sam's Club, and they're perfect because they allow room for the air from the poorly placed heating vents to come out underneath.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GY6OYUWp6UY/XGhyKF-SwqI/AAAAAAABrz8/EqUSjIedpYge0sOZwKAOuzJnazfbhi4ewCKgBGAs/s1600/20181227_194401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GY6OYUWp6UY/XGhyKF-SwqI/AAAAAAABrz8/EqUSjIedpYge0sOZwKAOuzJnazfbhi4ewCKgBGAs/s320/20181227_194401.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NxN78FVL9CI/XGhyKPOxVUI/AAAAAAABrz8/D5yoyMbQu18RcucP-g8U4XDC89PGonlpgCKgBGAs/s1600/20181227_194335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NxN78FVL9CI/XGhyKPOxVUI/AAAAAAABrz8/D5yoyMbQu18RcucP-g8U4XDC89PGonlpgCKgBGAs/s320/20181227_194335.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></div>
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The wall decals and little circle rugs came from Amazon.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OyaLfTW_sAQ/XGh3_e-J_mI/AAAAAAABr0I/-nKC9N5-Ih8eozA3h22giCNmCEdWH0k1wCKgBGAs/s1600/20181227_194630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OyaLfTW_sAQ/XGh3_e-J_mI/AAAAAAABr0I/-nKC9N5-Ih8eozA3h22giCNmCEdWH0k1wCKgBGAs/s320/20181227_194630.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kGF0pyyJ980/XGh3_XRh2RI/AAAAAAABr0I/GEto1jA36hYCZEoK36Z1aE__nT3xgL5HQCKgBGAs/s1600/20181227_194929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kGF0pyyJ980/XGh3_XRh2RI/AAAAAAABr0I/GEto1jA36hYCZEoK36Z1aE__nT3xgL5HQCKgBGAs/s320/20181227_194929.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I sewed the Pokemon and mermaid blankets with fabric I found at Joann Fabrics.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nl-9RY5fdS0/XGh5UmDZgaI/AAAAAAABr0U/buENmhkZBTAiKKSYSHKkkP5ckSy1N9FCwCKgBGAs/s1600/20181228_122125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nl-9RY5fdS0/XGh5UmDZgaI/AAAAAAABr0U/buENmhkZBTAiKKSYSHKkkP5ckSy1N9FCwCKgBGAs/s320/20181228_122125.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QJcDa4b-KR4/XGh5UvT3FkI/AAAAAAABr0U/HnBfAKjOnTMjMKnPjzzM9TZDz56iUjZ9ACKgBGAs/s1600/20181228_134607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QJcDa4b-KR4/XGh5UvT3FkI/AAAAAAABr0U/HnBfAKjOnTMjMKnPjzzM9TZDz56iUjZ9ACKgBGAs/s320/20181228_134607.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Overall, the reading nooks have been very popular with our kiddos (our four-year-old has even camped out in hers a few times).<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04bGnfBgPH8/XGh6bFDHUVI/AAAAAAABr0c/T0uOllcr1L8Udf7zNWlB33a9RnS2X16UwCKgBGAs/s1600/20181227_231206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04bGnfBgPH8/XGh6bFDHUVI/AAAAAAABr0c/T0uOllcr1L8Udf7zNWlB33a9RnS2X16UwCKgBGAs/s400/20181227_231206.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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So there you have it. I'm super proud of these, and I love not looking at a random collection of items collecting in useless dormer windows anymore!</div>
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Have you found a good use for dormer window areas in your house? Do your kids have a special spot to read? Let me know in the comments!<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" target="_TOP" title="I was promised more naps"><img alt="" class="img" src="https://badge.facebook.com/badge/190423744475827.299.1907059296.png" style="border: 0px;" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-1260084759044883842018-11-27T16:02:00.000-05:002018-11-27T21:44:48.747-05:00Slacker-Friendly Christmas Advent Calendar Activity ListFor several years now, I've been doing an activity advent calendar with my kids. The idea is that each morning they open a little door to find a slip of paper that says what Christmas activity we'll be doing that day. My kids love it, and I really love it too. (I got our advent calendar at a craft store, but you can find them on Amazon, too.)<br />
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When I started out the first year, I had big, BIG plans of doing something amazing and festive and meaningful with my then-three-year-old son every day from December 1-24. It started out well. We decorated! We saw Santa! We went to the zoo to see the Christmas lights! Then a week or two in, I realized that I didn't necessarily feel like doing super-involved Christmas activities with a toddler <i>every day</i> for 24 consecutive days. It's not that I didn't want to do it <i>at all</i> anymore: I did and still do! But I wanted to be able to do the super fun stuff some days, and not leave the house or change out of our pajamas other days. Except that you can't tell a kid "We're going to do something fun and Christmassy every day!" and then not do something fun and Christmassy every day...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TqB4k1Mv89c/W_2s0Qo5DDI/AAAAAAABlvc/aejobpte3hsol5r5iBnfrNz7CYVEcxf-wCLcBGAs/s1600/Advent2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TqB4k1Mv89c/W_2s0Qo5DDI/AAAAAAABlvc/aejobpte3hsol5r5iBnfrNz7CYVEcxf-wCLcBGAs/s320/Advent2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was supposed to have a picture of our advent calendar in the background,<br />
but I appear to have somehow LOST it. True story.</td></tr>
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Enter the "Slacker-Friendly Advent Calendar Activity List". On days where you want to do something super fun and exciting ("March in a Christmas Parade!" "Horse-pulled sleigh ride in the park!" "Build a life-sized igloo out of milk cartons!"), do it. But if you have a day or two (or ten) where you still want to do something fun and Christmassy with your kids, but you don't want it to be a lot of work, this list should help you. (And even if you don't do an actual advent calendar, you can use this list for ideas of things to do when your kids start to declare themselves to be "bored" when they're stuck inside on cold winter days.) Whenever I mention buying something, I've tried to include helpful links - Amazon will pay me a few cents if you buy something using one of the the links I've included here, but none of the other links will. Just fyi.<br />
<br />
I've divided the list into 5 sections:<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Super-slacker activities</span></b> that require literally no advance planning or preparation<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Plan-ahead slacker activities</span></b> that require you to prepare in advance but need little or no extra effort on your part on the days you actually do them<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Stuff you were (maybe) going to do anyway</span></b> activities that help you to incorporate your normal holiday preparations into an advent calendar activity<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Things to do for others</span></b> that help your kids celebrate the season by helping other people, and<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Everything else</span></b>, which is probably self explanatory.<br />
<br />
Rather than pre-filling every box in our calendar with activities, I decide the night before (or even the morning of) which activity I'm up for doing each day, then just write it down and stick it in for the kids to find. That way our schedule can change or we can have an unplanned lazy day without it messing up our calendar.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Super-Slacker Activities</span></b> </span><br />
These require either no prep at all or prep that you can do at home in a few minutes or less at the beginning of the activity. So if you forgot to plan ahead for an activity or just don't really feel like doing anything on a particular day, this is your go-to list. Some of these can even be used more than once. (Who's going to complain if they <i>have</i> to watch more than one Christmas movie in December?)<br />
<br />
<b>1.</b> <b>Watch a Christmas movie in your pajamas</b><br />
Here are some available on <a href="https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Christmas-Movies-Netflix-2018-44543951" target="_blank">Netflix</a>, <a href="https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/christmas/269597/best-christmas-movies-hulu" target="_blank">Hulu</a>, and <a href="https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Christmas-Movies-Amazon-Prime-Video-2018-45483786" target="_blank">Amazon Prime</a>. If you don't have any of those, just schedule this for a night when you know there's a Christmas movie playing on TV, or watch a movie you already own. Combine with snacks, hot cocoa or candy canes if you want to make it even more fun.<br />
<br />
<b>2.</b> <b>Color a Christmas picture</b> <b>(or for older kids, do a Christmas word search or maze)</b><br />
Just do a Google search for "printable Christmas coloring page/word search/ maze", then let your kids pick their favorite(s), print, and you're done. And if you're worried about accidentally going to a page with a computer virus or malware, Oriental Trading is a reputable online store that has <a href="https://www.orientaltrading.com/web/search/searchMain?keyword=printable+Christmas" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">free coloring pages here</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Make a video of the kids singing a Christmas song and share it on Facebook for friends and family to enjoy</b><br />
Your kids get to be the star, and as an added bonus, friends and family get to see your cuties.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Eat a picnic breakfast/lunch/dinner next to the Christmas tree</b><br />
You've got to feed them at some point anyway. Just spread out a blanket next to the Christmas tree, maybe turn on some Christmas carols, and ta da! "Christmas tree picnic" sounds way more fun than "The same meal I was going to serve you anyway, but on the floor", but it requires no extra planning or work.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C8Vd7vxV1DQ/W_2wTmhv5hI/AAAAAAABlw4/WLs6Oy8Mh2MyYxYcavaVyOKew0KlPs-EQCKgBGAs/s1600/20141205_115644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C8Vd7vxV1DQ/W_2wTmhv5hI/AAAAAAABlw4/WLs6Oy8Mh2MyYxYcavaVyOKew0KlPs-EQCKgBGAs/s320/20141205_115644.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This isn't a picnic. I just wanted an excuse to show you guys this picture<br />
of my daughter sleeping by the Christmas tree four years ago.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>5. Have a Christmas music dance party</b><br />
Turn on some Christmas music on Pandora, and dance around the kitchen until everyone's tired. Santa hats optional. Older kids might enjoy learning a Christmas dance routine to a Christmas song by watching a video on YouTube instead.<br />
<br />
<b>6. Learn to make Christmas origami</b><br />
A quick Google search turns up pages of Christmas origami tutorials like <a href="https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/christmas-origami-projects-4147453" target="_blank">this</a> and <a href="https://www.easypeasyandfun.com/christmas-origami-kids/" target="_blank">this</a>. Use whatever paper you have lying around, or have the kids help cut squares out of Christmas wrapping paper to use.<br />
<br />
<b>7. Do Christmas yoga</b><br />
(Yes, it's a real thing.) In case you haven't yet heard of Cosmic Kids Yoga, here's the scoop: Jamie is a yoga instructor with a fabulous British accent who tells kids a story while having them act it out by doing yoga poses. All of her videos are available for free on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga" target="_blank">her YouTube channel</a>, and she has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMeKIAEpWxw" target="_blank">a Christmas one available here.</a> (And if they want to keep going after that one's done, she also does <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlg052EKMtk" target="_blank">this one based on the movie Frozen</a>, which could be vaguely Christmassy, because: snow.)<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Plan-Ahead Slacker Activities </span></b><br />
For these activities, I buy the necessary supplies ahead of time (mostly from Amazon, Oriental Trading, and the Dollar Tree), and then pull them out as needed. The added bonus is that most of these require little to no extra work or participation on your part, beyond buying the stuff ahead of time. My advice: save at least some of these for the week before Christmas when you're out of other ideas.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Take a Christmas bath </b><br />
Since I bathe my kids anyway (hopefully you all assumed that about me), I just make their regular bath time a Christmas activity one night. Use bath color tablets for kids or food coloring to turn the water a festive color (I buy the color tablets at Wal-Mart, but <a href="https://amzn.to/2Sivv8b" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon has them</a>, too), throw in some <a href="https://www.orientaltrading.com/toys-games-and-novelties/novelty-toys/rubber-duckies/christmas-a1-550222+1240-1.fltr?categoryFromSearch=true&rd=christmas%20rubber%20duck" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Christmas bath toys</a>, buy Christmas soap on Etsy or in a store, and/or use a themed bath bomb (last year my kids loved these <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/476222800/set-of-3-snowman-mini-bath-bombs?ref=shop_home_active_7" target="_blank">snowman bath bombs I found on Etsy</a>). When there's snow on the ground outside, I've even handed the kids a big bowl full of snow to play with while they're in the bath.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Decorate with Christmas window clings</b><br />
The Dollar Tree *almost* always has a pretty good selection of holiday themed window clings for every holiday. (You can also find some on <a href="https://amzn.to/2E2a0p3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> or <a href="https://www.orientaltrading.com/web/search/searchMain?keyword=christmas+windo+cling" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Oriental Trading</a>.) I just go and pick up a bunch of them for a few dollars, and then when I'm ready, I give them to the kids and have them decorate our sliding glass door.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6tLZYhRZvNw/W_2tg70uawI/AAAAAAABlvs/87K5WIvqY6guKtSOj055cUjtFcCoKUt1QCKgBGAs/s1600/20171203_095253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6tLZYhRZvNw/W_2tg70uawI/AAAAAAABlvs/87K5WIvqY6guKtSOj055cUjtFcCoKUt1QCKgBGAs/s320/20171203_095253.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Read a Christmas story by the Christmas tree. </b><br />
I read to my kids every night at bedtime anyway, so each year I buy a new Christmas book or two, then at least one of our advent calendar activities is to read a new Christmas book by the tree before bedtime. For the past month or so, my kids have been super into Berenstain Bears, so I already bought <a href="https://amzn.to/2ShqmNz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this book</a> on Amazon and have it waiting in a closet for one of my slacker advent activities.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Make Christmas ornaments</b><br />
Oriental Trading has tons of <a href="https://www.orientaltrading.com/craft-and-hobby-supplies/crafts-for-kids/ornament-crafts/christmas-a1-550186+1240-1.fltr?categoryFromSearch=true&rd=christmas%20ornament%20craft" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ornament craft kits</a> you can buy ahead of time, as do Amazon and most craft stores, or you could do the ever-popular glue popsicle sticks in the shape of a snowflake and then put glitter on them.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FM8ZzQR3Z_k/W_2tq31NC6I/AAAAAAABlvw/o_Vq0dAAhhscQ_vKH5CCwPNpp24KXiK8QCKgBGAs/s1600/PC080167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="1600" height="215" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FM8ZzQR3Z_k/W_2tq31NC6I/AAAAAAABlvw/o_Vq0dAAhhscQ_vKH5CCwPNpp24KXiK8QCKgBGAs/s320/PC080167.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty sure we got these from Michael's.</td></tr>
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<b>5. Do a Christmas puzzle</b><br />
In the past, I've found Christmas puzzles at Wal-Mart (there was one that came with a kids Christmas music CD in the $5 CD/DVD bin) and in the Dollar Spot at Target. But if you can't find one in a store, there's always Amazon and <a href="https://www.orientaltrading.com/nordic-noel-christmas-floor-puzzle-a2-13780549.fltr?keyword=christmas+puzzle" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Oriental Trading</a>.<br />
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<b>6. Make a Christmas garland or paper chain</b><br />
If you want to have your kids use popcorn or construction paper and already have some on hand, this might be able to work as a super-slacker activity. But you can also buy pre-cut, self adhesive pieces of paper for a paper chain <a href="https://www.orientaltrading.com/candy-striped-paper-chains-a2-48_5962.fltr?keyword=christmas+paper+chain" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Stuff you were (maybe) going to do anyway</span></b><br />
Let's face it: Christmas is a lot of work for parents. Instead of making the activity advent calendar an extra thing you have to do on days when you're already crazy busy, just make your normal holiday activities part of the advent calendar by writing them down and putting them in the calendar when you were planning to do that stuff anyway.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Start another advent calendar</b><br />
No joke, this is always day one of my advent activity calendar. I usually get my son the <a href="https://amzn.to/2FLEXzo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lego Advent Calendar</a>, and I've gotten my four-year-old daughter a <a href="https://amzn.to/2RkhJBB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Little People</a> one and a <a href="https://amzn.to/2r7gXwj" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Playmobil</a> one (all available on Amazon. Target also usually has a really good selection of advent calendars.) If you want to do one of those or a chocolate advent calendar, there's your activity for day one: finding out they get a present/piece of candy every day for 24 days. You don't really get much more exciting than that, and this way, you don't have to try!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FT3tRoxZT88/W_2uB-TC8RI/AAAAAAABlv4/9OEL__kZlRMKcTNr7oq8ehTzOnhPIvwHgCKgBGAs/s1600/20161201_091942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FT3tRoxZT88/W_2uB-TC8RI/AAAAAAABlv4/9OEL__kZlRMKcTNr7oq8ehTzOnhPIvwHgCKgBGAs/s320/20161201_091942.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay Legos!</td></tr>
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<b>2-3ish. Put up/decorate the Christmas tree and/or other Christmas decorations.</b><br />
This one can be broken up into multiple days. If you go to a Christmas tree farm or store to pick out a tree, and you haven't done it yet, "Buy a Christmas tree" can be one day's activity. "Decorate the tree", "Hang up the stockings", "Put Christmas lights up outdoors", etc can all be their own activity if you want. Our tree is already up and decorated this year (I couldn't wait any longer!) but one of our activities is going to be "put up more decorations", and we'll set up the nativity scene (which my kids love helping with), hang up wreaths, and get out some odds and ends like snow globes that we usually put out for Christmas.<br />
<br />
<b>4-5ish. Buy/wrap Christmas presents. </b><br />
We break this one into multiple days as well. One day my husband takes them to get a gift for me, another day I take them to get a gift for him, and still another day, we buy gifts for grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc. And wrapping can take place on a separate day, too.<br />
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<b>6. Mail out Christmas cards</b><br />
If you weren't planning to do this anyway, feel free to skip this one. But if you WERE, older kids can sign their names to cards, put on stamps and address labels, or stuff envelopes. For at least two years, I've had both kids color/draw on the backs of some of the envelopes with red and green crayons until they got bored of it.<br />
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<b>7. Play together in the snow and then drink hot cocoa</b><br />
Confession: I hate going out in the snow. But if we get a lot of snow, I pretty much know that I'm going to have to take the kids out to play in it at some point. At least this way, it doubles as an advent calendar activity, and the lure of hot chocolate is usually enough to keep them from wanting to stay out (and keep me out) in it for hours. And if you love the snow, this is your chance to shine! Plan a snowball fight or snowman building competition with your neighbors, build a snow igloo, or do whatever else it is that people who like snow do while they're out there. Then invite me over for the hot cocoa part at the end.<br />
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<b>8. (Insert your Christmas Eve tradition here)</b><br />
Before our oldest was even born, I decided that I wanted to start a Christmas Eve tradition with our kids where the night before Christmas, they get a new pair of Christmas pajamas and a Christmas ornament. Some people go somewhere special on Christmas Eve, exchange certain gifts, or get a new book or movie. Whatever you already do, just put it in the activity calendar. It's the last day, you made it to the finish line, just stick with whatever it is you were going to do anyway, and congratulate yourself on finishing strong (or finishing at all).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hvGw-ZPyI4g/W_2ugpWDydI/AAAAAAABlwE/wxxj0EoVS_owFianjEXnagOyIQvenbUWACKgBGAs/s1600/20141224_212751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hvGw-ZPyI4g/W_2ugpWDydI/AAAAAAABlwE/wxxj0EoVS_owFianjEXnagOyIQvenbUWACKgBGAs/s320/20141224_212751.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Eve jammies!</td></tr>
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<b>9. Drive around and look at Christmas lights.</b><br />
This one can be done alone or tacked on to anything else you have to do anyway. (Ie, "We're going to go return these socks to Kohls, and then on the way home, we'll do our advent calendar activity of driving around to look at Christmas lights!!") Ask around ahead of time to find out some good neighborhoods for looking at lights, and then do it either on its own or on the way to/from something else you have to do. Turn on a Christmas station on the radio, and enjoy!<br />
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<b>10. Special Christmas lunchbox lunch</b><br />
If you regularly (or ever) pack lunch for your kids for school, make a Christmas lunch one day instead of a "regular" lunch. Interpret this however you want: wrap each item of their lunch in Christmas wrapping paper, use a cookie cutter to cut out a sandwich into a Christmas tree shape, include mostly red and green foods (red and green bell pepper strips with hummus, red and green grapes, red and green apple slices, etc). If your kids aren't in school, make a Christmas lunch at home.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Things to do for other people</span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>1. Go Caroling</b><br />
Last year we went caroling around a neighborhood with a group from our church, and the kids (and neighbors) loved it! You can also ask a local nursing home if they would mind you bringing your kids to go caroling from room to room and spread some holiday cheer.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>2. "Elf" your neighbors</b><br />
This year before Halloween, we got "<a href="http://www.beenbooed.com/" target="_blank">Booed</a>" for the first time! Some neighbors filled a bucket with Halloween goodies, put it on our doorstep, rang our doorbell and ran. My kids were thrilled, and we then excitedly booed some other neighbors the next day. And apparently, there's an elf version for Christmas! Buy some goodies, <a href="http://christmas.organizedhome.com/celebrate/youve-been-elfed-poem-signs" target="_blank">print up a note here</a> or make your own, sneak over to a neighbor's house and leave it on the doorstep, ring the doorbell, then run! It's like ding dong ditch, but your neighbors probably won't be mad about it.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>3. Send a care package to a military service member who is deployed</b><br />
I have a cousin who is currently deployed to whom we're going to send a Christmas care package, but if you don't personally know anyone who is deployed, organizations like <a href="http://www.operationcarepackages.org/Christmas/SendSantaToTheTroops.html" target="_blank">Operation Care Package</a> or <a href="https://www.supportourtroops.org/care-packages" target="_blank">Support our Troops</a> have information on how to send care packages to US service members overseas who would like to receive some mail.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>4. Make and hide kindness rocks</b><br />
Making <a href="https://www.thekindnessrocksproject.com/" target="_blank">kindness rocks</a> is a trend where people paint, draw on or otherwise decorate rocks and then hide them in pubic for other people to find and enjoy as a random act of kindness. Put a Christmas spin on the trend by painting a Christmassy picture or writing words to Christmas carols.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>5. Take toys/clothes to a charity</b><br />
Get your kids involved in giving to others by having them help to pick out a toy for a child who might not get many Christmas gifts otherwise and then donating it to a local charity. In the Toledo area, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mosaicministriesofsouthtoledo/" target="_blank">Mosaic Ministries</a> collects new toys and gifts for kids. If you're not near Toledo, check to see if there's a <a href="https://www.toysfortots.org/" target="_blank">Toys for Tots</a> or <a href="https://www.prisonfellowship.org/about/angel-tree/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Angel Tree</a> collection site near you.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>6. Pick out a birthday gift for Jesus</b><br />
Every year, I explain to my kids that - since Christmas celebrates Jesus' birthday - it would be nice to give him a present. But since we can't actually hand him something, we read Matthew 25:34-40 in the Bible, and I explain that whenever we do something for "the least of these", we're really doing it for Jesus. Then we go to <a href="https://www.compassion.com/charitable-gift-catalog.htm" target="_blank">Compassion International's Gift Catalog</a> online (they'll also <a href="https://forms.compassion.com/ordercatalog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mail you a hard copy</a> if you want) and pick out a birthday gift for Jesus by buying income-generating and/or life-improving gifts for people living in poverty. In the past we've "given Jesus" livestock, vegetable seeds, hygiene kits, a trained birth attendant for a pregnant mom, a playground, and medical care for a baby or child. Happy Birthday, Jesus! Hope you liked your goat! (Even if you don't celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas time, this is still a great way to help care for people in need and teach your kids about helping others who are less fortunate.)<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>7. Bring cookies or other goodies to your local fire or police station</b><br />
Just check to make sure they're ok with it first. Some might only be able to accept packaged foods or delivery from a restaurant for safety/health reasons. But if nothing else, you could always bring them handmade Christmas cards and a big thank you.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>8. Make a card or gift for your mail carrier</b><br />
If you do as much of your Christmas shopping online as I do, you've probably gotten to know your USPS mail carrier, UPS driver and/or FedEx delivery person pretty well. So why not have your kids help thank them for delivering all of your Christmas gifts to you? Make a card, decorate some cookies, or give them another small gift to show your appreciation. (Keep in mind that since USPS mail carriers are federal employees, there are <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/the-right-gift-for-the-mailman-3321106" target="_blank">specific guidelines</a> regarding what types of gifts they can accept.)<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Everything Else</span></b><br />
Activities on this list are going to require some effort. (But if you didn't want to make at least a little effort, you probably would't be doing an activity advent calendar in the first place.) I'll be including links to places local to me (we live in the Toledo, Ohio area) in some of these, but if you're not nearby, look around to see if something similar is available near you.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Visit Santa</b><br />
If you live anywhere near a <a href="https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/santas-wonderland?cm_sp=SntWndNov2018_VOS" target="_blank">Bass Pro Shop</a>, that's totally the place to go. Free pictures with Santa (for the past few years, they've also given out a free picture frame with the pictures on certain days), along with free crafts, activities and games. If you're not near Bass Pro, let me know in the comments where the best place to see Santa is near you.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e96PJov1pj4/W_2vSi48quI/AAAAAAABlwc/XKi8EFDJKU0W_pteOaNHR18Pw-fXs1CjwCKgBGAs/s1600/20171212_174610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e96PJov1pj4/W_2vSi48quI/AAAAAAABlwc/XKi8EFDJKU0W_pteOaNHR18Pw-fXs1CjwCKgBGAs/s320/20171212_174610.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This frame was totally free!</td></tr>
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<b><br />2. Go to the zoo</b><br />
The Toledo Zoo does its annual "<a href="https://www.toledozoo.org/lights?gclid=CjwKCAiAlb_fBRBHEiwAzMeEdv61HfirdSdpAzB40JLBJQwVFbr3awoJQLn-TzgOkwtMyb4fNv7rfxoCLmEQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Lights Before Christmas</a>" which is beautiful and amazing, with over a million lights, rides, interactive displays, and a giant Christmas tree that is regularly voted one of the best in the country. If you're not near Toledo, check to see if the zoo closest to you does something similar. Even if they don't decorate with lights, a lot of zoos do <i>something</i> Christmassy that might be worth checking out.<br />
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<b>3. Make/decorate a gingerbread house</b><br />
Last year we bought a pre-assembled Wilton brand gingerbread house at the grocery store for under $10. This year we're going to be trying <a href="https://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/40374295/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this one</a> from Ikea. And if your kids are really young and not quite ready for a gingerbread house, get an ice cream cone, turn it upside down, cover it with green frosting, and let them decorate a "Christmas tree" with M&Ms or other small candies instead.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ta da!</td></tr>
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<b>4. Make Christmas art at a local art studio</b><br />
This year I'm super excited to take my kids to <a href="https://www.coppermstudio.com/" target="_blank">Copper Moon Studios</a> - a create your own glass studio and gallery - to make glass Christmas ornaments! If you're not in the Toledo area (or even if you are) check out local point-your-own-pottery places or canvas painting studios to see if they offer any Christmas art classes for families.<br />
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<b>5. Attend a Christmas show or play</b><br />
Check around to local<b> </b>churches, schools and theaters to see who's offering Christmas shows and performances. In Toledo, the <a href="http://stranahantheater.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stranahan</a> will have live performances of the Broadway musical Elf and The Nutcracker. The new Grinch movie currently in theaters is another good option.<br />
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<b>6. Make and decorate Christmas cookies</b><br />
Pretty self-explanatory. (But if you want to make Christmas cookies without buying ingredients or any cleanup, check out <a href="http://www.foodologytoledo.com/home.html" target="_blank">Foodology</a> or another place that offers recreational cooking classes to try a <a href="https://app.getoccasion.com/p/n/wRvcrDJx?utm_medium=events&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1gQTDc8oMb6l4d3wESY2ws_hzC7oFMbf1GYmEjwvulrXpjwIXNhWCL2yA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">decorated Christmas cookie class</a> where you get to make and take home your own cookies.)<br />
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So there's the list! If you have more advent calendar activity ideas, PLEASE share them in the comments! And as I think of more, I'll be adding them to the list above. Merry Christmas!!<br />
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Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-32131805822895338242018-03-04T11:23:00.002-05:002018-03-10T21:42:16.902-05:00Win a Family Four-Pack of Tickets to Monster Jam at the Toledo Huntington Center!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>The contest has ended, and the winner is Cheryl Lehsten!</b></div>
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My son has been kind of into monster trucks lately, so imagine how excited I was when I found out that Monster Jam is coming to the Huntington Center in Toledo, AND that I get to give away four tickets to the opening night performance on March 17 to one of my lovely, lovely fans!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vH90GqndBxc/WpwYgDWk--I/AAAAAAABS3E/OdO970Fi1pQoLDjYBTEslz6eWIMruHbFQCEwYBhgL/s1600/MJ_Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="245" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vH90GqndBxc/WpwYgDWk--I/AAAAAAABS3E/OdO970Fi1pQoLDjYBTEslz6eWIMruHbFQCEwYBhgL/s320/MJ_Logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Here's the scoop:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Metro PCS Presents Monster Jam®, which features larger-than-life Monster Jam trucks driven by world class athletes, returns to Toledo’s Huntington Center <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1733575363" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">March 16-18</span></span> with four shows. In addition, this year’s lineup includes two Pit Parties. The new season will bring motorsport fans to the edge of their seats with adrenaline-charged, high-flying, four-wheel excitement that is fun for the entire family.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Tickets start at $15 and are available at the Huntington Center Box Office or at </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.monsterjam.com&source=gmail&ust=1520051466524000&usg=AFQjCNEf0DLEvGWXJznxsVtlSbXGqewlUA" href="http://www.monsterjam.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">www.monsterjam.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">. Show times are:</span><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1733575364" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Friday, March 16, 7 p.m.</span></span>;</span><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1733575365" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday, March 17, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.</span></span>; and <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1733575366" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday, March 18, 2 p.m.</span></span></span><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Pit Parties are:<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1733575367" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday, March 17, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.</span></span>; and <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1733575368" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Sunday, March 18, 11:30 to 1 p.m.</span></span><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Metro PCS is offering fans ticket vouchers for the pit parties. Pit Party tickets are also available at the Huntington Center Box Office and <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.monsterjam.com&source=gmail&ust=1520051466524000&usg=AFQjCNEf0DLEvGWXJznxsVtlSbXGqewlUA" href="http://www.monsterjam.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.monsterjam.com</a>.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Unexpected, unscripted and unforgettable, Monster Jam takes center stage in the world’s most iconic venues like the Huntington Center<i>,</i> sporting meticulously manicured dirt tracks created with the sole purpose of pushing these perfectly engineered, larger-than-life trucks to the limit.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Monster Jam is one of the only sports where male and female world-class drivers, some generational rivals, are equals competing for the same championship on the same track. Following racing, new in 2018 across all Monster Jam events, fans in every city will have the chance to vote for the truck winner in the freestyle competition by real-time, in-arena fan voting on their smartphones. For more information, visit <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.monsterjam.com&source=gmail&ust=1520051466524000&usg=AFQjCNEf0DLEvGWXJznxsVtlSbXGqewlUA" href="http://www.monsterjam.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.monsterjam.com</a>.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">And here's how to enter to win four tickets to the opening night performance on March 16 at 7pm:</span></b><br />
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1. Comment on this blog post (click comment below) and let me know who would love to go to Monster Jam with you!<br />
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2. Share this post on Facebook. (You can do that by clicking the little Facebook icon in the bottom corner of this post, or just copy and paste the link to this post on your Facebook page.)<br />
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The contest is open until 11:59pm on March 9, and I'll randomly select a winner and announce the name here and on Facebook on March 10! (Make sure to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" target="_blank">like my Facebook page</a> so that you don't miss the announcement!) Good luck!<br />
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<br />Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-56780688417739541802017-11-17T22:03:00.000-05:002017-11-17T22:29:59.240-05:00Great Gift Review - Color Huey and the Four SeasonsMy kids really like playing board games, but if I'm being honest... I don't find it quite as enjoyable as they do. For one thing, my oldest will be six in three months and my youngest turned three two months ago. In case you've never tried playing a board game with a three year old - it can be tricky. And since my son can handle more complicated games while my daughter doesn't want to be left out, trying to play a game that both of them can enjoy without me going insane is not easy. Plus, a lot of the games that are made for young kids are mind-numbingly boring for adults.<br />
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But my friend Sara recently started selling games through <a href="https://www.simplyfun.com/pws/saraaltman/tabs/home.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SimplyFun</a>, and she asked if I'd like to try one out and review it. I wasn't totally sure until I looked through their catalog and saw that there were quite a lot of games that didn't look horrendously awful. (Actually, they looked so non-awful that I ended up buying three more games to give to my kids for Christmas.)<br />
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We picked the game Color Huey and the Four Seasons. Each player chooses a card with a picture of Huey (a caterpillar, worm-type-thingy) on it. For each turn, the player reaches into a bag full of colored circles and pulls one out, hoping to pull out a color he/she needs to fill in all of the circles.<br />
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The beauty of the game is that it's a challenge (and fun) for both my three-year-old and five-year-old. One side of each board shows Huey wearing a different-colored pair of shoes on each segment of his body, while on the other side, each segment has a color word spelled out on it (and no colored shoes) so that players have to match the color to the word. In kindergarten, colors are some of the sight words that my son has been learning, so it's great practice! My daughter, on the other hand, can practice matching colors. (The color words and the colored shoes are in a different order on every card, so the kids can't just memorize where the pieces go, they have to actually read/match the colors.)<br />
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There's also an element of cooperation. If you pull a color circle that you already have on your own card, you have to pass that color to another person who needs it. So players can strategize together and maybe decide to team up to ensure that one of them wins and their mom loses, for example. Not that MY children would do that (they totally did).<br />
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The game itself is well made. Each card is made out of a thick cardboard, and there's a cloth bag to store the colored circles in. I was happy that it wasn't flimsy, especially since my kids aren't exactly gentle with games. (As you'll see in the video. Yikes!)<br />
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My kids LOVED the game, and it's simple enough that after they learned the rules, they could play together without me (which was beautiful after I played it with them five times in a row and they wanted to keep going).<br />
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<a href="https://www.simplyfun.com/pws/saraaltman/tabs/advanced-product-search.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Simply Fun</a> has a ton of games that are actually educational but kids just think they're fun. You can search for games by subject matter so that they can work on specific skills like reading or math, or you can search by age. (I bought my five-year-old the game <a href="https://www.simplyfun.com/pws/saraaltman/tabs/advanced-product-search.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Math Room</a> for Christmas so he can practice addition.)<br />
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You can follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/simplyfun.saraaltman/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sara's Facebook page here</a>. And only until Sunday (11/19), they're having their biggest sale of the year on games! So if you need a good gift for a kid in your life and you DON'T want to give them a cartoon-themed toy (which, let's be honest, I'm also giving my kids for Christmas), now's the time to stock up on some fun games!<br />
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(Also, I tried to have my kids make a review video of it, and it was hilariously bad! So naturally I'm sharing it.)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzQM4Mm0sT7MiDuc_Lymw2TZRRbZr3TgtIvjcHyNcStOZPjvh_t230VjpC3uLWAkAR5j-b1UC7XRSCMg6fwlw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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*Disclosure - I was given this game for free in exchange for my honest opinion.*<br />
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<br />Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-66599435960517428822017-06-13T11:53:00.000-04:002017-06-13T11:59:48.815-04:00Please Don't Tell Me to "Just Wait"<div class="MsoNormal">
It happens at least once a month. I’m in the grocery store
with my two kids. They are riding together in the much-loved race car shopping
cart, holding hands or hugging or snuggling with arms draped over one another’s
shoulders. They are both giggling over something: a game they made up, maybe. The
one that just involves shaking each other’s arms up and down while you laugh. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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An older parent sees them: my two little love bugs who bicker
just like any other siblings but who are best friends and utterly inseparable.
The parent smiles and approaches. “They’re so sweet together!” And this is the
point where I wish they would stop. Smile and let me smile back and then we can
each happily go our separate ways. But they don’t stop there. They never do.
“Just wait. They’ll be at each other’s throats before you know it.” Sometimes
I’m given a timeframe: “Just wait, they’ll hate each other when they’re
teenagers” if the parent is feeling generous. “Just wait, in six weeks they’ll
be fighting nonstop” if they’re not.<br />
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Honestly, I don’t think they’re trying to be mean when they
say it. Perhaps they’re trying to warn me, to help me brace myself for the
inevitable. Maybe they’re remembering when their own kids were little and
wishing that this kind of sibling relationship had lasted just a little longer.
But however it’s meant, whatever the motivation behind it, it always sounds the
same in my ears: "I can see that your kids are getting along right now. That for
one, brief, beautiful moment, parenting feels easy and you think you’re
actually doing a reasonably good job at this whole mom thing. So I feel that it
is my job as a complete stranger to let you know that soon your kids will be
crying and you’ll be crying and everyone will be crying and life will be
terrible. Just wait."<br />
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But this minute of peace in the shopping cart is all I’m
clinging to some days. The holding hands in the grocery store is what my one
last shred of sanity is hanging on. Because last week I was wiping endless snot
from both noses, and the week before that I cleaned up a whole lot of puke.
There was a temper tantrum as we were getting ready to leave the house this
morning because my two-year-old hates pants and another one because I had the
audacity to try to help my five-year-old buckle himself into his car seat, and
then as soon as we were finally all dressed and buckled and actually in the
minivan ready to go, somebody needed to poop. I’m tired, and I have a nagging
fear that I am screwing everything up. But at least my kids love to hold hands
in the grocery store. Yet it seems like every time my kids openly get along
with each other in public, someone feels the need to come over and stomp on the
moment.<br />
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I know that things change, parents of older children. I’m
only five years into this parenting gig, but I’ve learned a few things about
change here and there. The baby who was my “good sleeper” gave up naps completely
when she turned two, and my “good eater” recently declared that a dinner he has
always loved “tastes like bleh.” I realize that nothing stays the same and that
kids change overnight. I grew up as the middle child in a family with three
children, and believe me, I know first-hand how much siblings fight. I’m not
under some weird delusion that my children will be the first brother and sister
in the history of the universe who get along every second of their lives,
spending their twilight years sitting side-by-side in a retirement home,
reminiscing about how they never once fought, not one single time in 85 years. </div>
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But right now, they really like each other. Right now, they are best friends. <i>Right now</i>, they are holding hands in the
shopping cart. Please just let me enjoy that.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xNU58jh6_e4/WUAJ5JJGm6I/AAAAAAAA9yY/q6LG97GS7BMQWQssqIRhJ5wqr6sOpLhsgCKgB/s1600/20170414_113913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xNU58jh6_e4/WUAJ5JJGm6I/AAAAAAAA9yY/q6LG97GS7BMQWQssqIRhJ5wqr6sOpLhsgCKgB/s400/20170414_113913.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
It’s not just good moments that elicit a “just wait”
response, either. Heaven help the pregnant mother who declares herself to be
tired. “You think you’re tired <i>now</i>???
Just wait until you have a newborn waking you up every thirty-five seconds all
night long!!” Don’t dare complain about the terrible twos, because – just wait
– age three is so much harder. If things are going well, just wait, they’ll be
bad soon, and if things are <i>already</i>
bad, well – just wait, they’ll get worse. I’m not saying these things aren’t
true, I’m just saying they’re not helpful.</div>
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<br /><o:p></o:p>
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Parents who’ve had more experience than I have: I love
talking to you. It’s reassuring to know that my kids won’t still be begging to
sleep in my bed when they’re 16 or going to college in diapers. Your “been
there, done that” attitude can be so helpful in reminding me that no stage of
childhood lasts forever. Last month, a mom at an indoor water park watched my
kids playing happily in the shallow end of the wave pool. We smiled at each
other, and I said hello. She told me that she’d taken her daughter to the water
park every year when she was little, and that she’d brought her back again this
year for her sixteenth birthday. The daughter and her friends were off riding slides together, and the mom was reminiscing as she watched my little ones
splash around. We chatted for a few minutes, both watching my kids play with
their daddy, then went our separate ways. And I loved the reminder to enjoy the
moments when my kids are always nearby, when I am their favorite person in the
world. Keep reminding me of that, experienced parents. Tell me your stories.
Share your wisdom.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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But please – don’t tell me to just wait. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-41064273944445990612017-05-30T15:18:00.001-04:002017-05-30T15:20:58.169-04:00"So Glad They Told Me" Book Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jrJc-6xELNg/WS2_MqPlLzI/AAAAAAAA9AY/0MIq8xb0xQcRC5sFQNUa0i_gqpe_LFNCgCLcB/s1600/giveaway%2Bso%2Bglad%2Bthey%2Btold%2Bme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="1600" height="444" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jrJc-6xELNg/WS2_MqPlLzI/AAAAAAAA9AY/0MIq8xb0xQcRC5sFQNUa0i_gqpe_LFNCgCLcB/s640/giveaway%2Bso%2Bglad%2Bthey%2Btold%2Bme.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
As some of you may remember, last year <a href="http://morenaps.blogspot.com/2016/08/so-glad-they-told-me-book-release-day.html" target="_blank">I had an essay published in an awesome book</a> about motherhood called "So Glad They Told Me: Women Get Real About Motherhood". I was so excited then, and frankly I'm still so excited now! I have at least three copies in my house, and sometimes I think "I should totally autograph this book for myself" and then I don't because that's weird. Right? Is that weird??<br />
<br />
Anyway, since I have more copies of the book than I actually need, I figured I might as well give a copy to one of you! Want to win it? <b>Here's how to enter:</b><br />
<br />
1. Like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps/" target="_blank">my blog's Facebook page</a>. (If you already like my Facebook page, ta da, you're already halfway done!)<br />
<br />
2. Comment on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps/photos/a.191668957684639.1073741829.190423744475827/666794530172077/" target="_blank">this post</a> on my blog's Facebook page with your own "Get Real About Motherhood" moment. It could be anything - a photo of your giant pile of laundry or the Legos taking over your living room, a description of what you fed your kids for dinner (frozen pizza, anyone??), your most embarrassing or awesome or terrifying motherhood experience - whatever! Just get real about motherhood with me.<br />
<br />
3. That's it. Seriously, those are all the steps. We're parents; we don't have time for some long, ridiculously involved contest entry form. There's probably a kid asking you for a snack RIGHT NOW.<br />
<br />
(If you want to share the post on your timeline so your friends can participate, too, that would be awesome and I will be eternally grateful, but Facebook says I can't make that an entry criteria, so it's not!)<br />
<br />
And because I have to, here are the <b>Complete Terms and Conditions</b>:<br />
Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada 18 years old and older, except where prohibited by law. (But if you live in a place that has a law that says you can't win a free book, maybe you should move.)<br />
One entrant will win a free copy of the book So Glad They Told Me: Women Get Real About Motherhood, ARV $11.99<br />
Contest runs from May 30, 2017 through Friday, June 9, 2017 and ends at 11:59pm EST.<br />
This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, and if you enter the contest, you agree to release them from any liability, though I'm not sure how there could be liability with giving away a free book, but it's important to them that you release them from it anyway, so RELEASE.<br />
Winner will be chosen at random on or before Sunday, June 11, 2017 and will be notified via Facebook. If the winner doesn't respond with an address for me to send the book to by Sunday, June 18, 2017, they forfeit their prize, and I will choose another winner at random.<br />
<br />
So go ahead, what are you waiting for?? Enter!!<br />
<br />
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Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-73249985827641875982017-02-11T16:01:00.000-05:002017-02-11T16:03:02.172-05:00My Social Book Review - It's all of your Facebook posts, in book form!<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="30fb6" data-offset-key="dfhd2-0-0" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="dfhd2-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Ok, so I've held off on recommending <a href="http://mysocialbook.refr.cc/bethanyn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">My Social Book</a> </span></span><span data-offset-key="dfhd2-2-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">for... years, even though I've ordered five of them. But every time someone sees them in my house, they LOVE them and exclaim how they never knew such a product existed: it's a website that turns your Facebook posts into an actual book, kind of like a year book. And since I clearly love them, too, AND since I have a link that will give YOU $15 off of one and ME $15 off of one, whatever, I'm just going to share this. (For the record, I think this is just a link they give everyone who orders one. I didn't contact them or tell them I was a blogger or anything. It just came in my order confirmation email. They didn't ask me to write a review, and I didn't tell them I was going to.)</span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="3h4pa-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">First, the bad (and the reason I've never recommended them before now): they're kind of... glitchy. (If books can be glitchy.) Sometimes the page numbers are wrong. Often the posts in the book are slightly out of order for some reason, and a few of mine have been left out altogether. You don't get to pick the sizes of each picture or the layout, so a picture you don't particularly love might be huge while an adorable photo might be small. My books from past years have an annoying amount of white space on the pages (which is mostly annoying because you pay for the books by page, so it's frustrating to pay for half-empty pages,) but that seems to be a lot better in this year's book. If you want to choose your layout, sizes, etc for professional photos or a special vacation or something, order a book from Shutterfly. (I also have a bunch of those.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-avjv3LYTR6k/WJ92m59hB9I/AAAAAAAA2Ho/m6gdtN4vJ5cToQKph0oCE5UAFTqyX9t-QCKgB/s1600/20170211_151408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-avjv3LYTR6k/WJ92m59hB9I/AAAAAAAA2Ho/m6gdtN4vJ5cToQKph0oCE5UAFTqyX9t-QCKgB/s400/20170211_151408.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But, the good: every picture of my children that I've put on Facebook, every time I've posted something hilarious they said, is now IN A BOOK. You know how people always talk about how nobody actually prints pictures anymore and how someday our kids will have no photos of themselves?? I have a book of big events and small, everyday moments for EVERY YEAR OF MY KIDS' LIVES. Not just pictures, but funny things they've said and photo captions, too. And it's SO much easier than designing a book on your own, because you literally just log into your Facebook account through their site, tell it which types of things you want to include (photos only, photos and status updates, comments left by other people, etc,) and order it. It can be done in under 10 minutes. (Though if you want to, you can also go through and remove individual posts that you don't want to include in your book.)</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="c6nj-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">To me, the glitches are worth it, because I know I would literally never print all of these pictures and put them in an album otherwise. Plus if you're like me and forget to write things in your kids' baby books but DO remember to post milestones on Facebook, ta da, you suddenly have all of your kids' major moments in a book and look like a rock star instead of a slacker. Since discovering My Social Book, I make even more of an effort to post pictures of my kids on Facebook regularly, because I know I'm just adding to the book I'll order at the end of the year. Bottom line: I recommend these books, with the caveat that you shouldn't expect to be 100% thrilled with the formatting.
If you want $15 off of your first order, <a href="http://mysocialbook.refr.cc/bethanyn" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">click here!</a> (And full disclosure, I also get $15 off if you do that.) They almost always offer a percentage off your order (I've seen anywhere from 15%-40%) so search on a site like Retail Me Not first to see if you can get a discount, too.</span><br />
<span data-offset-key="c6nj-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Have any of you tried My Social Book? Are there other sites that make a similar product? Let me know in the comments!</span></div>
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Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-43851461283439857442016-08-31T08:49:00.002-04:002016-08-31T08:49:24.692-04:00So Glad They Told Me - Book Release Day!I've always tried to be real about both the great and the really hard parts of motherhood on this blog and on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" target="_blank">my Facebook page</a> (shameless plug, follow it if you don't already. That's where I share the really juicy stuff. Also ridiculous pictures of myself for some reason.) I try to tell the truth about parenthood, to laugh (and make you guys laugh, too) and to cry, and to be honest about it all.<br />
<br />
Last year, an awesome blogger named <a href="http://www.stephaniesprenger.com/" target="_blank">Stephanie Sprenger</a> launched a campaign called <a href="http://www.stephaniesprenger.com/sogladtheytoldme/" target="_blank">So Glad They Told Me</a> and asked other moms to share honest, real and helpful advice that other people had given them about motherhood (or the advice they <i>wish</i> they'd gotten.) And since I try to be real to the point of embarrassing myself, I shared this picture of myself sitting on an embarrassing pile of laundry along with some helpful advice that my dad gave me about housework when you've got an infant.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hncVfpGkfYs/V8S1wf7mH1I/AAAAAAAAsNE/ah29iaCdEpEXqaLlkGJLoqC4f7C4whF6wCLcB/s1600/so%2Bglad%2Bthey%2Btold%2Bme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="515" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hncVfpGkfYs/V8S1wf7mH1I/AAAAAAAAsNE/ah29iaCdEpEXqaLlkGJLoqC4f7C4whF6wCLcB/s640/so%2Bglad%2Bthey%2Btold%2Bme.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spoiler alert: I no longer have an infant, and my laundry situation is still this embarrassing. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The campaign went viral, and the above photo of me, my baby and my ridiculous pile of laundry appeared on television and on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/30/new-mom-advice-sogladtheytoldme_n_6572832.html?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents" target="_blank">The Huffington Post</a>. I'm so proud.<br />
<br />
Then a while later on Facebook, Stephanie posted a call for submissions for a book, also to be called So Glad They Told Me. Guys, I wanted to be in the book<i> so</i> badly! I ended up submitting two essays on the very last day they were accepting submissions, and then I waited. And waited some more, because it turns out that I was wrong about it being the last day to submit. So then I waited some more.<br />
<br />
And then I got an email telling me that <b>ONE OF MY ESSAYS HAD BEEN ACCEPTED FOR INCLUSION IN THE BOOK!!! AAAHHHH!! </b>The essay they accepted was about my parents - two amazing people who I'm proud to know - and about the only time I can ever remember my mom refusing to talk to me.<br />
<b><br /></b>
And today, that book is available for sale!! With my essay in it!! And my name!!! And a little bio about me that was somehow harder for me to write than the essay itself!!!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jUt1zWGpe2s/V8S6a63O7OI/AAAAAAAAsNQ/LnTh5a8bq5ge5XZs4gAk1Z5Pt3KpxKunACLcB/s1600/7282016134216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jUt1zWGpe2s/V8S6a63O7OI/AAAAAAAAsNQ/LnTh5a8bq5ge5XZs4gAk1Z5Pt3KpxKunACLcB/s400/7282016134216.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Honestly, since I just got my copy of the book three days ago, I haven't even had a chance to finish reading all of the other essays in the book yet (shocking, I know, with two young kids at home,) but I've loved the ones I've read! The book is a refreshing and honest look at parenting - both the amazing parts and somewhat less than amazing part. And it HAS MY NAME IN IT!!!<br />
<br />
If you want to buy <a href="http://amzn.to/2bBUeBN" target="_blank"><i>So Glad They Told Me: Women Get Real About Motherhood</i>, you can do so here</a>!! (Full disclosure, if you buy it through that link, it will cost the same for you, but I'll get a small percentage of the sale. Like literally a few cents. But if you don't want me to get a few cents, you can just type the name of the book into Amazon and buy it that way.)<br />
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So, to summarize, <b>I JUST GOT PUBLISHED IN A REAL LIVE BOOK!!!! And so did some other amazing women!! </b>And you can read it if you want to.<br />
<br />
<!-- Facebook Badge START --><a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;" target="_TOP" title="I was promised more naps">I was promised more naps</a><span style="color: #555555; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> | </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/advertising" style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;" target="_TOP" title="Make your own badge!">Promote Your Page Too</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" target="_TOP" title="I was promised more naps"><img alt="" class="img" src="https://badge.facebook.com/badge/190423744475827.299.1907059296.png" style="border: 0px;" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-54946499463281816982016-03-11T16:50:00.002-05:002016-03-11T16:50:51.836-05:00Four Reasons Having a Messy Car is Actually a Good Thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VkMKDawC8m0/VuM9fZSbUbI/AAAAAAAApH0/gFwj8g4HlzMD2_aWHK84gglfplEubtfwQ/s1600/Messy%2Bcar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VkMKDawC8m0/VuM9fZSbUbI/AAAAAAAApH0/gFwj8g4HlzMD2_aWHK84gglfplEubtfwQ/s320/Messy%2Bcar.JPG" width="318" /></a></div>
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I'll be honest: I've never really been great at keeping the inside of my car clean. Once when I was in college, my car broke down in the middle of an intersection, and I made my roommate help me shove all of the stuff from the seats and floor into the trunk so that the tow truck driver and mechanic wouldn't see how messy my car was. It took us at least ten minutes to move everything.</div>
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Now that I have kids, the mess has multiplied. Plus, since I'm carting around two kids and all of their stuff, we've had to upgrade to a vehicle that's a bit bigger than the '94 Nissan Sentra I was driving in college, so there's more floor space that seems to magically attract junk. I've been meaning to clean my minivan out for a while now, but then I started thinking about all of the benefits of having my vehicle piled high with crap. So in case you're like me and are putting off emptying out your car, check out this list of reasons that having a messy car can actually be a good thing!</div>
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<b>1. You're prepared in case of emergency.</b></div>
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When I was a new driver, my dad used to tell me that I should always keep a blanket and some water in my car, especially during the winter. That way if I got stranded somewhere during a blizzard or because my car broke down, I'd be warm and hydrated until help could reach me. And now that I drive my mom-mobile, I've always got blankets and water. And Cheerios. And apple sauce pouches. And toy cars. And stuffed animals. And empty plastic bags. And seven mittens that don't match each other. Sure, the water is mostly contained in 14 half-empty sippy cups, the blankets are baby-sized, and the Cheerios are as old as the minivan. But the point is, if we got stranded in the middle of a snow storm, my family and I would be set for at least a week.</div>
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<b>2. No more last-minute stops at the store on the way to events.</b></div>
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Have you ever been on your way to dinner at a friend's house or a work gathering when you suddenly remember that you were supposed to bring something? If your car is full of stuff, you've almost definitely got items that will work in a pinch for just about any situation. Forgot to bring a potluck dish? Here are six packs of sandwich crackers! Will the party have a white elephant gift exchange? A book about going to the potty will be a great conversation starter! Need a hostess gift? Everyone loves juice boxes and a handful of fast food napkins!</div>
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<b>3. You can eliminate the need for a diaper bag or purse. </b></div>
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When my son was a newborn, a well-stocked diaper bag was a must on any excursion. If I forgot to refill it or - even worse - forgot to bring it altogether, I was in big trouble. One time we ate dinner in a restaurant with my son wearing only a diaper and a windbreaker because he had a diaper blowout right after we were seated, and I'd forgotten to put spare clothes in his diaper bag. But now my son is nearly four years old, his sister is one, and there are enough clothes and diapers in our vehicle to dress at least half of the children in any given neighborhood. My van also contains approximately 17 partially empty containers of wipes, no less than four boxes of tissues, and enough change in the center console to buy each of my kids at least one meal at a restaurant (assuming, of course, that the restaurant has a dollar menu.) I can leave my diaper bag and purse at home, since the contents of both are strewn throughout the back seat.</div>
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<b>4. You're less likely to be detained for suspicion of car theft.</b></div>
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Let's say that someone in my town has their minivan stolen, and it's the same model and color as mine. I might get pulled over just to make sure that I wasn't driving said stolen vehicle. But just by showing the cop the things that were on the floor and shoved under the seats, it would only take about 15 seconds for me to prove that the vehicle was actually mine. Look - here's a picture of me with my grandpa! And fourteen pieces of junk mail addressed to me! And some Christmas cards with pictures of my family on them that I forgot to mail last year! I mean, yes...my license and insurance card would probably clear it up pretty quickly, too, but you can never be too careful.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">By cleaning out your car, you could be doing yourself more harm than good, so it's probably best to leave it the way it is. And then you can use the time you saved by not cleaning your car out to help me come up with a list of reasons that I shouldn't clean the closets either. I'd really appreciate it.</span><br />
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<i>Want to feel better about your own parenting? Follow me on Facebook!</i><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" style="color: #3b5998; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none;" target="_TOP" title="I was promised more naps">I was promised more naps</a><span style="color: #555555; font-family: "lucida grande" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"> | </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/advertising" style="color: #3b5998; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none;" target="_TOP" title="Make your own badge!">Promote Your Page Too</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" target="_TOP" title="I was promised more naps"><img alt="" class="img" src="https://badge.facebook.com/badge/190423744475827.299.1907059296.png" style="border: 0px;" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-56304748281067520432015-09-25T17:08:00.000-04:002015-09-25T17:30:32.652-04:00Fantasies for Moms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MefvdWJxhzQ/VgW86jzd6zI/AAAAAAAAoMo/0o86O6FEiEI/s1600/Fantasies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MefvdWJxhzQ/VgW86jzd6zI/AAAAAAAAoMo/0o86O6FEiEI/s400/Fantasies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>As moms, we can often find ourselves being so caught up in the daily tasks of taking care of our kids that we forget to find time for pleasure that's just for us. But as moms, we have a unique set of physical and mental desires and needs, and engaging in some harmless fantasy can not only help us relax, it can also allow us to be better wives, mothers, and women. After you put the kids to bed tonight, slip into something more comfortable (or something that's at least not covered in spit-up,) and try role-playing one of these exciting fantasies crafted especially for moms.</i><br />
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1. You are a beautiful young college student. Your roommate is gone for the weekend, and you have the dorm room to yourself. It is 11am on a Saturday, and you are asleep in your bed.<br />
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That's it. That's the whole fantasy. You're sleeping. At 11:00am. You have not been awake for 5 hours. No one is demanding lunch. You don't have Cheerios stuck to the back of your arm for some reason. You're just asleep. The end.<br />
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2. You are walking along a beautiful, moonlit beach with the man you love. The warm sand gently gives way beneath each step of your perfectly pedicured toes. He slips his arm around your waist and lightly brushes his lips against your cheek. "Tell me what you're thinking," he whispers softly in your ear. "I just read a really good book," you answer. And then the two of you discuss it. For like 45 minutes. With no interruptions.<br />
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3. You awake early one morning to a knock on the door. Pulling your pink robe loosely around your shoulders, you tiptoe down the stairs and slowly open the door. On your front porch is a tall, handsome man wearing a green apron. He stretches out one hand to you, and in it is a white cup. "Starbucks delivers now," he says. You drink the entire cup of coffee while it is still hot.<br />
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4. Your husband arrives home from work early one afternoon with a mischievous look in his eye and the signature pink striped Victoria's Secret shopping bag dangling from one finger. He smiles and hands the bag to you. "I stopped by the mall on my way home and bought you a little something. Why don't you try it on?" he asks with a wink. "They were having a great sale on yoga pants."<br />
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5. In the darkened room of the spa, you slip under the sheet draped across the massage table and allow yourself to relax to the sound of the music playing softly from the overhead speakers. There's a soft knock, and then the massage therapist enters, rubbing scented oil between her hands. "My next client just called to cancel, so I have a free hour after your appointment," she says with a smile. "Would you like to double the length of your massage? No extra charge for my favorite client."<br />
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Two. Hour. Massage.<br />
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<i>Test out one of these mom fantasies tonight; any one of them should have you asleep in no time!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<!-- Facebook Badge START --><a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "lucida grande",tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;" target="_TOP" title="I was promised more naps">I was promised more naps</a><span style="color: #555555; font-family: 'lucida grande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;"> | </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/advertising" style="color: #3b5998; font-family: "lucida grande",tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;" target="_TOP" title="Make your own badge!">Promote Your Page Too</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-83457957212421884302015-06-20T11:36:00.000-04:002015-06-26T09:36:06.742-04:00On Why Sleeping Babies Are Like Fight Club<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Attention Zipadee-Zip fans: Welcome!! Make sure to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" target="_blank">like "I Was Promised More Naps" on Facebook</a>, and stay tuned for a chance to win a Zipadee-Zip! </i><br />
<br />
The first rule of Fight Club, as everyone knows, is that you
don’t talk about Fight Club, which on the surface has nothing to do with
babies, (and also, under the surface, it still pretty much has nothing to do with
babies,) except that, if your baby is a good sleeper, you should never, ever
talk about the fact that your baby is a good sleeper. (There are a lot of
commas in that sentence, but I have a strong emotional attachment to each and
every one of them.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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I forget the reason that you can’t talk about Fight Club
because it’s been a long time since I saw that movie, but the reason that you
should not talk about how well your baby is sleeping is that the second you
mention it, your baby will stop sleeping. It doesn’t matter whether or not your
baby hears you. You could whisper it to yourself in the locked bathroom while
the shower is running – “My baby is sleeping reasonably well,” you might say –
and your baby will sense it and decide to mix things up by not sleeping
anymore, ever again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve actually had a lot of chances to learn this valuable
lesson, but apparently I’m a slow and sleep-deprived learner, so I just had to
learn it again. I waited much too long to transition Calista from her infant
sleeper to her crib. Dan was working a lot of nights and it was really hard to
get both kids to bed at the same time by myself, and I had this theory that she
slept better in the infant sleeper, except that she wasn’t really sleeping all
that well. But she is finally, finally sleeping in her crib 100%, (and I bought
this nifty little contraption called a <a href="https://zipadeezip.com/" target="_blank">Zipadee-Zip</a> which is basically pajamas
but with no holes for the hands or feet to stick out through, and it helps babies transition from swaddling and having that feeling of being held
tightly that she was getting in her infant sleeper, and anyway, it’s wonderful,)
and Calista figured out that she loves rolling over and sleeping on her belly,
and she is finally sleeping well. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9n7vx7lAvnE/VYWIF-GAUGI/AAAAAAAAkKI/SkiDThfaseY/s1600/zipadeezip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9n7vx7lAvnE/VYWIF-GAUGI/AAAAAAAAkKI/SkiDThfaseY/s400/zipadeezip.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zipadee-Zip!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Or, at least, she was. She was still usually
waking up once a night to nurse, but it was at 1 or 2am, and then she’d go
right back to sleep until 7:30ish, so I was getting five or six glorious hours
of uninterrupted sleep, which is HUGE. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So then the other day, Dan and I took the kids for a walk,
and as we were talking and pushing the kids along in our double jogging
stroller that is approximately the size of a charter bus, I stupidly said to
Dan, “Oh, I am SO glad that Calista is finally sleeping well. I got six
consecutive hours of sleep last night. It was glorious.” And I said it right
where nine-month-old Calista could hear me. Rookie mistake.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That night I put her to bed at 8pm. And she woke up at 8:30.
And 9. And 11. And 1. And 3:30. And 6. And Lucas crawled into bed with me at
midnight and kicked me in the ribs at about 4:15, so basically I got NO SLEEP
WHATSOEVER.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And as I was rocking Calista in a desperate attempt to get
her to go back to sleep at 6am (which didn’t work, for the record,) I thought
to myself, “You just <i>had</i> to talk
about it, didn’t you? You couldn’t have made conversation about the weather??” Turns out she has a cold, and it’s been three nights with very little sleep, and I am
about 99% sure that the only reason she got a cold is that I said she was
sleeping well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am not the only mom who has experienced this phenomenon.
It’s very common. I have a friend who had three kids who were excellent
sleepers and slept through the night early and often. She gave me advice on
helping Lucas (who despised sleeping when he was a baby) to sleep longer, and
she mentioned that her three kids were great sleepers, and then her fourth kid <i>who wasn’t even born yet at the time of this
conversation </i>was an awful sleeper. This is not a coincidence. It is a
direct result of her having talked. This is a scientific fact*.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So the thing to remember is that if your kids sleep well,
you should never, ever talk about it. People might try to get you to talk about
it. They might say things like, “Does your baby sleep well?” And if your baby
doesn’t sleep well, by all means, feel free to answer them. But if you’re lucky
enough to have a baby who loves to sleep, do not answer this question. Instead
wink at the person who asked and say “Fight Club.” They will have absolutely no
idea what you’re talking about, but hopefully you can confuse them enough that they
forget what their original question was. Then while they’re still trying to
process what you said, quickly walk your well-rested self away from the
conversation. And maybe keep walking until you reach my house so that you can
entertain my kids while I nap. Because I’m pretty sure the third rule of Fight
Club says something about the fight being over when someone goes limp, and I’m
about ten seconds away from passing out from exhaustion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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*<i>Not a scientific fact</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-50050208839484599332015-05-25T12:05:00.004-04:002015-05-25T12:05:49.958-04:00Memorial Day 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GcdbB35ktsY/VWNIFTMlrSI/AAAAAAAAiDM/6dh6J6Mxy8Q/s1600/Memorial%2BDay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GcdbB35ktsY/VWNIFTMlrSI/AAAAAAAAiDM/6dh6J6Mxy8Q/s640/Memorial%2BDay.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-29498365254486858572015-05-20T12:02:00.000-04:002015-05-20T12:02:40.011-04:00Easy Father's Day Craft for Toddlers and Young Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bT8-ZM5plfk/VVyn9_5g4VI/AAAAAAAAhTc/04G3h1ROvss/s1600/Father%2527s%2BDay%2BCraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bT8-ZM5plfk/VVyn9_5g4VI/AAAAAAAAhTc/04G3h1ROvss/s320/Father%2527s%2BDay%2BCraft.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
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Last year I had Lucas make a cute craft for Dan for Father's Day. (I'm going to assume that you all know that "had Lucas make a craft" actually translates to "I mostly made the craft with Lucas doing a few elements of it with lots of help because, come on people, he was two years old last year. I mean, he's smart, but he doesn't know how to do woodworking yet or anything. Though, to be fair, I don't know how to do woodworking either. And I'm 32.")<br />
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Moving on... I was going to post this craft last year, but I wanted to wait until I (I mean Lucas) had actually given it to Dan first, which wasn't until Father's Day evening. And then I kind of forgot to post it. Then I remembered to post it this year because my phone started blowing up with Pinterest notifications that people were pinning <a href="http://morenaps.blogspot.com/2013/06/fathers-day-finger-painting_16.html" target="_blank">this Father's Day craft</a> from two years ago, and I was like, "Oh, shoot! Is it that time already??" (What are the chances that I could just repeat one of the two crafts that Lucas already did and Dan wouldn't notice??)<br />
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Anyway, here it is:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-voiDT6z8Q/VVyomisG-dI/AAAAAAAAhT4/jbioQr2yXX0/s1600/Father%2527s%2BDay%2B2%2Bwatermark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-voiDT6z8Q/VVyomisG-dI/AAAAAAAAhT4/jbioQr2yXX0/s640/Father%2527s%2BDay%2B2%2Bwatermark.jpg" width="531" /></a></div>
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Ta DA!! Like that clever "hands down" phrase with the hands actually pointing down?? Well, I did not even think of that at all. I told my friend Courtney what Lucas was making Dan for Father's Day, and I was like, "It will say 'Best Daddy Ever, Hands Down' and it will have his hand prints on it! Cute, right?" And she was like, "So cute! And the hand prints will be pointing down?" And I was like, "....huh. That kind of makes more sense than the way I was going to do it." (Also, this is why you cannot feel intimidated by projects that you see on Pinterest where they look all amazing and you think, "These people are more creative than I could ever be in my entire life." Because it's entirely possible that originally they were going to accompany the phrase "hands down" with a picture of hands facing up before someone else pointed out that it didn't make any sense that way.)<br />
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I had Lucas paint several pages (<i>I like using Crayola Color Wonder <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004UE4F/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00004UE4F&linkCode=as2&tag=morenaps-20&linkId=MJ7EQPU2YF3CHSUS" target="_blank">paper</a>* and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CI4QBR2/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00CI4QBR2&linkCode=as2&tag=morenaps-20&linkId=27276OZ6TQVQZNT2" target="_blank">paints</a>* because they don't change colors until the paint is on the special paper. Which majorly cuts down on mess</i>. <i>That's what I used here</i>.) Then we picked the best one, and used it as a background. For the hand prints, we used a washable ink pad and some card stock, and Lucas made about 50 prints (it's a pretty good time-waster.)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kqZy5oA3170/VVysMmum77I/AAAAAAAAhUI/Y5WmuguMv90/s1600/Father%2527s%2BDay%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kqZy5oA3170/VVysMmum77I/AAAAAAAAhUI/Y5WmuguMv90/s400/Father%2527s%2BDay%2B3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then I cut two out, glued them on the paper, mounted the whole thing on a larger piece of card stock with some decorative tape, and added letter stickers. I was going to frame it, but I realized that if I have both kids make wall art for Dan every year for Father's Day, we will very rapidly run out of wall space. So we gave it to him as a card, and then put it in a book I made to store Lucas's art.<br />
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The beauty of this craft is that you can even do it with a baby, assuming you can get a fairly recognizable hand print from them. (Good luck. It's hard. But possible.)<br />
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So there you have it, an easy Father's Day craft your kids can do by themselves (maybe)! Hopefully I'll think of another cute one for this year. If I do, I'll be sure to share it with you all... a year from now. I'm sure you'll all be on the edge of your seats until then.<br />
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<i>*Affiliate links - If you buy these after clicking the link, I'll get something awesome like 4% of the $6 you spend. I'll try not to spend my 24 cents all in one place. For more info on affiliate links, click <a href="http://morenaps.blogspot.com/p/disclosures.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </i><br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-38174030360393117472015-04-19T15:15:00.001-04:002015-04-20T16:16:35.855-04:00The one in which I GOT PUBLISHED ON THE HUFFINGTON POST!!!!!! (Part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtaluRazfrk/VSArbgwxHVI/AAAAAAAAd08/jbG5_fqXf44/s1600/HuffPost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtaluRazfrk/VSArbgwxHVI/AAAAAAAAd08/jbG5_fqXf44/s1600/HuffPost.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>If you haven't yet read part 1, you should <a href="http://morenaps.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-one-in-which-i-got-published-on.html" target="_blank">read it here</a>.</i><br />
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As I was waiting to see if my post was actually going to be published on HuffPost, (and by "waiting," I obviously mean "alternating between staring obsessively at my phone and staring obsessively at my laptop to see if I'd gotten an email saying that it had been posted") I happened to notice an article from a local news station about a pregnant meteorologist who had been getting nasty comments and letters about her appearance from viewers. And I thought, "well that's just mean! Why do people feel like it's... <i>AUGH! A NEW EMAIL!! MY POST MUST BE UP!! Oh, shoot, nevermind...</i> appropriate to make rude comments about pregnant women's bodies??"<br />
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When I got my HuffPost Blogger log in information, the guidelines said "Post if and when you want; you are the boss," so I wrote a post about how it would be nice if people would maybe stop criticizing the bodies of pregnant women who they don't even know, and I uploaded that one to HuffPost, too. (Which meant that then I was freaking out about whether two posts would be published, instead of just one. So that was maybe not so bright.)<br />
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Then finally, I got the email. My first post was live!! (You can <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bethany-neumeyer/the-4-stages-of-being-woken-up-too-early-by-your-kids_b_6978986.html" target="_blank">read it here</a>. It's pretty much identical to how I submitted it to them, except for that they edited out the phrase "bodily fluids." Which was probably a smart move, but which also cracked me up for some reason.) I literally jumped up and down screaming in my kitchen, which my three-year-old thought was awesome, so he kept asking me to do it again. (He and I spent a good fifteen minutes jumping up and down and screaming; me because I was excited to be on HuffPost, him because he likes screaming.) And then I posted it on Facebook, and screamed some more. It got 18 comments (17 of which were from people I knew) and was visible towards the bottom of the main <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parents/" target="_blank">HuffPost Parents page</a>, so I was pretty pleased.<br />
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Then two days later, they published<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bethany-neumeyer/can-we-please-stop-critiquing-pregnant-womens-bodies_b_6986612.html" target="_blank"> the piece I wrote about critiquing pregnant women's bodies</a>. And started promoting it at the bottom of their other pieces. And it got 30-something comments in like 30 minutes. And I FREAKED OUT. Then they posted it on the HuffPost Parents Facebook page. (It ultimately got over 4,500 likes.) And I freaked out some more! (Although, side note, I meant for that picture to be a stock photo of a pregnant woman's belly, not my face. But technology is hard.)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6NunsBF65NQ/VTAhgUyRxdI/AAAAAAAAej8/DuE7WNC1vFo/s1600/Pregnant%2BHuffPost.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6NunsBF65NQ/VTAhgUyRxdI/AAAAAAAAej8/DuE7WNC1vFo/s1600/Pregnant%2BHuffPost.png" height="640" width="434" /></a></div>
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Then half an hour after they posted my post on their Facebook page, they posted a piece by Nigel Barker.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vvSHTSXLITo/VTAhzlSGfNI/AAAAAAAAekE/XNDlHeZX8eQ/s1600/Barker%2BHuffPost.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vvSHTSXLITo/VTAhzlSGfNI/AAAAAAAAekE/XNDlHeZX8eQ/s1600/Barker%2BHuffPost.png" height="640" width="468" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HuffPostParents" target="_blank">HuffPost Parents Facebook Page</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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And I was like, OH MY GOSH, NIGEL BARKER AND I WRITE FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST TOGETHER!! (Except, disclaimer, Nigel Barker has no idea who I am. But Nigel, if you're reading this, and you want to collaborate on a piece on, say, the art of the diaper change, give me a call. Loved you on America's Next Top Model. I used to watch it while eating cheese dip from Sam's Club, so as you can see, our lives are equally glamorous.)<br />
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I've published three posts on HuffPost, and the excitement still hasn't gone away. Some of you have asked how much new traffic I've gotten for my blog: so far, I've gotten 45 new likes for my blog's page and a spike in traffic each time I post (the biggest spike came after my pregnancy post.) I've also gotten one whole mean Tweet! The guy told me I should've "learned to use logic and reasoning before becoming a writer," which really made no sense in context of any of my posts, but I was like, "Sweet! Some guy called me a writer!!" Plus now when people ask me my hobbies, I can be like, "Oh, you know, I write for The Huffington Post. No big deal." Then they'll be like "Oh, cool! How much do they pay you?" And I'll be like, "Um, nothing." And then they'll be like "Can I have some of your cheese dip?" And that's when I'll know I've arrived.<br />
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<i>If you want to follow me on HuffPost to be notified any time I post something new there, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bethany-neumeyer/" target="_blank">go here</a>. And if you're not already following me on Facebook, you should <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" target="_blank">do it here</a>. Sometimes I say funny things.</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-15406277445055609242015-04-05T18:51:00.000-04:002015-04-19T15:18:47.039-04:00The one in which I GOT PUBLISHED ON THE HUFFINGTON POST!!!!!!!!! (Part 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dtaluRazfrk/VSArbgwxHVI/AAAAAAAAd04/Tv5esGrYkBQ/s1600/HuffPost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dtaluRazfrk/VSArbgwxHVI/AAAAAAAAd04/Tv5esGrYkBQ/s1600/HuffPost.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ok, so...<br />
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A while back, I read <a href="http://piganddac.com/how-i-got-on-the-huffington-post/" target="_blank">this blog post</a> about how to submit things for publication on The Huffington Post, and she referred her readers to <a href="http://www.beyondyourblog.com/beyond-your-blog-podcast-023-emma-mustich-senior-editor-huffpost-parents/" target="_blank">this podcast</a>, which I listened to. (Side note, I think that's the only podcast I've ever listened to in its entirety. Because I'm behind the times.) Anyway, I read, and I listened, and then I thought to myself, "Self, wouldn't it be cool to be on The Huffington Post???" And myself said yes.<br />
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In the podcast, the editor said to look through your posts and submit one that had gotten a lot of attention or shares or positive feedback, so I submitted this <a href="http://morenaps.blogspot.com/2013/12/10-things-your-best-friend-would-tell.html" target="_blank">one about my tips for recovering from a c-section</a>, because it has more comments than any of my other posts and also has been shared a lot on Pinterest. So I submitted it, and then I waited. And waited. And... crickets. So the post and the podcast said to follow up if you hadn't heard anything, so I waited a week and then followed up, and a very nice editor said they'd get back to me in a few weeks. And then... crickets. (But to be totally fair to HuffPost, which I can totally call it now, because we're BFFs, everything I read said they liked their posts to be under 1,000 words, and the post I submitted was like... 1,800 words. So, you know, clearly I don't follow directions well.)<br />
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So then I wrote this piece the other day in a state of massive sleep deprivation called "<a href="http://morenaps.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-five-stages-of-being-woken-up-too.html" target="_blank">The Five Stages of Being Woken Up Too Early by Your Kids</a>." And a lot of my friends liked it and shared it and people thought it was funny, and I was like, oh, this one is kind of cute and less than 1,000 words, maybe I'll try this one with HuffPost (hi, best friend!) So I submitted it and then I took a shower, which is not relevant except that when I got out of the shower, I had an email. And the email said, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Welcome! You've been invited to join the HuffPost blogger community." </span> and I was like, "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Wait, what does that even mean?? AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"<br />
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So the email told me to set up my bio, and I did, and then I had to wait for log-in info, and I told Dan, "maybe I just won't tell anyone about this, just in case it's like all the other times I ended up disappointed" (which you can read about in my post, <a href="http://morenaps.blogspot.com/2014/05/all-times-i-was-never-famous.html" target="_blank">All the Times I Was Never Famous</a>,) and then of course, I posted it on Facebook anyway. So then I got the log-in info, and I needed to submit the post, but the original photo I had used was this one:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k0iMDmIVG6o/VSAFMoiaMQI/AAAAAAAAdwk/h1Mr6s1yGJ4/s1600/PART_1427389073612_20150121_074815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k0iMDmIVG6o/VSAFMoiaMQI/AAAAAAAAdwk/h1Mr6s1yGJ4/s1600/PART_1427389073612_20150121_074815.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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and I was like, "Dan, I can't use this picture because it was blurry and taken with the selfie camera on my phone at like 6am so it's too dark and it's awful and The Huffington Post" (<i>we weren't best friends at this point</i>) "will laugh me right off the internet!!"<br />
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So it was naptime for our kids (who were both still in their jammies at 1:30pm,) but I begged Dan to just take one picture that was a do-over of the first one but with better lighting. And I made him stand on the bed (no joke) and take a bunch of pictures, and then I looked at them and was like "Why is Lucas eight feet away from me?? This is supposed to look like the other picture!" And Dan said, "You never showed me the picture I was supposed to be imitating," and I was like "THAT'S NO EXCUSE!!"<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZGMXPnGWkM/VSARz4LzpeI/AAAAAAAAdy4/L9OSKBPWzx0/s1600/Re%2BCreate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oZGMXPnGWkM/VSARz4LzpeI/AAAAAAAAdy4/L9OSKBPWzx0/s1600/Re%2BCreate.jpg" height="197" width="400" /></a></div>
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So then I took the camera and got this picture:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fOBuqr3pVIU/VSBMKimz2PI/AAAAAAAAd1Q/lWp4Wb7velQ/s1600/P3313803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fOBuqr3pVIU/VSBMKimz2PI/AAAAAAAAd1Q/lWp4Wb7velQ/s1600/P3313803.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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And I was like, fine, whatever, that works, let's put the kids to bed. And then, of course, they both napped for about ten minutes.<br />
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I submitted the post and then I waited for a day... Then I started freaking out, because naturally. And I was like, "Dan, I just told everyone I know that I'm going to be on The Huffington Post and now I'm not going to be on The Huffington Post!!!" And Dan was like, you're going to be on it, don't worry, but also we have company coming for Easter and this house is a disaster, except he said it much nicer than that and also while he was scrubbing spit-up out of the carpet, so, you know, it wasn't hurtful.<br />
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<i>(I started typing this whole story as one post, but it was going to be a novel. So now it's two posts. <a href="http://morenaps.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-one-in-which-i-got-published-on_19.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to find out if I ever made it on HuffPost. Spoiler alert: I did.)</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-91255535133511283052015-03-30T19:39:00.001-04:002015-03-31T08:52:19.909-04:00The Five Stages of Being Woken Up Too Early by Your Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5OIDzhXbdGw/VRQ7E3GPJfI/AAAAAAAAcL0/seRUiR8kGk0/s1600/PART_1427389073612_20150121_074815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5OIDzhXbdGw/VRQ7E3GPJfI/AAAAAAAAcL0/seRUiR8kGk0/s1600/PART_1427389073612_20150121_074815.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>1. Denial/Isolation</b><br />
This isn't happening. This IS. NOT. HAPPENING. This is just a horrible dream. It is way too early for them to be awake. The baby doesn't really need milk. She'll probably go right back to sleep in like a minute... maybe five minutes. Ten minutes, tops. Maybe if I pull my covers over my head, they'll go away. There. I'm invisible. He'll never find me. I'm in my fortress of solitude. I'm ensconced in an impenetrable layer of...<br />
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Oh. He found me. But three year olds are reasonable people. He'll understand that I'm just too tired to get up. After he finishes climbing over me and tapping me repeatedly on the eyelid, he'll get back in his own bed and sleep until 9.<br />
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<b>2. Anger</b><br />
WHY ARE YOU STILL TAPPING ME??? GO BACK TO BED!! IT'S TOO EARLY!!! IF YOU DON'T GO TO SLEEP RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL BE IN TIME OUT UNTIL YOU'RE THIRTY-EIGHT!! STOP TAPPING ME!!!!!!!!!<br />
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<b>3. Bargaining</b><br />
Ok, listen. If you just let me go back to sleep for ten minutes, you can watch Daniel Tiger for an hour. Two hours. The entire day. I will personally call Daniel Tiger and invite him to our house and he will play make believe with you and teach you a catchy little song about letting mommy sleep until 10. And if you can get your baby sister to go back to sleep, I will turn our SUV into a life-sized replica of Trolley. You have my word.<br />
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<b>4. Depression</b><br />
I am never going to feel well rested, ever again. I'm going to be forever sleep deprived until I die a slow, sleep-deprived death, curled up in a ball on the floor, covered in my children's bodily fluids while trying to buy a five-minute nap by bribing them with candy.<br />
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<b>5. Acceptance</b><br />
This is my life right now - two adorable kids and no sleep. Time to go make coffee and then drink it after it gets cold because both kids will poop as soon as I fill my mug.<br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-33751685544209841582015-03-03T20:10:00.001-05:002015-03-03T20:10:25.844-05:00Six Advice Books I'm Pretty Sure My Kids Are Reading When I'm Not LookingAs the mom of a preschooler and a baby, I've read lots of advice books and blog posts on how to get your child to do - and not do - certain things. Sleep, use the potty, pay attention, learn the alphabet - if someone has written advice on it, I've probably read it. The problem is that, not only have my children NOT read those same books to see what their response is supposed to be to my awesome parenting techniques, I'm pretty sure that they're secretly reading advice books that tell them to do the exact opposite of what my advice books are trying to get them to do. A thorough search of the house has still failed to turn up any of these books, but we're also missing one of every single pair of socks my son has ever owned from birth through age three, so there's almost definitely a secret hiding spot somewhere that I haven't discovered yet.<br />
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<b>1. Mommy and Daddy Sneak Away at Night, and Other Bedtime Truths</b><br />
From the author of self-help book "Sleep is for Suckers" comes this behind-the scenes guidebook explaining what happens when you sleep and why you should avoid it as much as possible. Are you full, dry, warm and generally comfortable enough to sleep? You won't be after you explore eye-opening secrets such as "Everybody Does Fun Things Without You at Night" and "Someone Else is Drinking Your Milk When You're Not Watching." It's time to wake up to the truth... literally. Better wake everyone else up, too, while you're at it.<br />
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<b>2. The Baby's Guide to Marking Your Territory</b><br />
This quick read explores the basics of spitting up, diaper blow-outs, drooling and peeing while being changed as methods of letting everyone know what things - and people - belong to you. The newest edition of this book comes with a sneak peak of the next book in the series, "The Toddler's Guide to Marking Your Territory," including a preview of the first chapter - "Permanent Markers and You."<br />
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<b>3. The Art of the Tantrum</b><br />
Perfect the basics of the tantrum, then learn to build on them with advanced techniques such as the "Foot Stomp," the "High-Pitched Shriek," and the "Get Everyone in the Store to Look at You."<br />
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<b>4. Eat This, Not That: Baby and Toddler Edition</b><br />
Green beans? Bad. Pennies and pieces of fuzz? Good! Learn which foods you should reject without even tasting them and which food-like items will guarantee you a fun trip to the hospital where they'll give you stickers!<br />
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<b>5. How to Watch as Much TV as You Want</b><br />
Written by several experts in the field of parental control, this ground-breaking new book teaches you how to wear down even the toughest of parents to the point that they will let you watch cartoons all day just to get a break. Using the scientifically proven five-step process - sleep deprivation, incessant whining, excessive mess-making, interrupting all adult conversations, and asking difficult questions - you can be well on your way to watching 8+ hours of television a day!<br />
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<b>6. Too Cute for "No!"</b><br />
In this motivational and affirming self-help book, you'll learn to harness all of your cuteness potential to get whatever you want! Through the power of positive thinking, your parents' unconditional love for you, and that adorable little lip quiver you do when you don't get your way, discover how you too can be "Too cute for 'No!'" (Foreword written by that kid in the commercial whose mom just laughs when he makes a gigantic mess.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-67613980607366147082015-02-21T09:16:00.000-05:002015-02-24T08:18:50.756-05:00So what do you do all day??<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometime last year, Dan, Lucas and I were at a restaurant where you stand in a buffet-type line, load up your bowl with proteins and veggies, and then they are cooked in front of you and served over rice. The line was kind of long, so Dan and I thought it would be best if we went up one at a time so Lucas didn't have to wait in line for a long time (which, for the record, was a terrible idea, because Lucas and I were pretty much done eating before Dan even sat down with his food. Anyway...) I was waiting in line with my bowl and Lucas's, and I was in front of a twenty-something-year-old couple that sounded like they were on their first date. They were doing the whole awkward get-to-know-you conversation, and I was eavesdropping because A- the girl was about six inches away from me, and B- I don't get to listen to adult conversation all that often. It was pretty much standard first date conversation, and then the female started talking about someone she knew (her sister, I think.) And she said, "She's a stay-at-home mom. Her husband works, and she gets to stay home all day and do whatever she wants."<br />
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I couldn't help it. I laughed. Really, really loudly. Because, while I'm really thankful that I'm able to stay home with my kids, I have never, ever, EVER wanted to clean up vomit. But I do it. Sometimes several days in a row. Sometimes several times a day. (My son has a majorly sensitive gag reflex.)<br />
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Then a few weeks ago, a friend was telling me about how a neighbor who is in college was talking to her about being a stay-at-home mom, and she asked, "So what do you do all day??"<br />
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So apparently, there's still some mystery surrounding what stay-at-home moms do all day. And really, I should probably just let the mystery remain, because, well - most of us pee with the bathroom door open; this is the only mystery we've got left.<br />
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But an idea came to me in the shower (which is where all my ideas come, pretty much, because it's the only place I can hear myself think) that maybe we stay-at-home moms could maybe pull back the curtain and let the world in on the glamorous, fun, exciting world of what we do all day. So I started a new Instagram account called "<a href="https://i.instagram.com/whatdoesmomdoallday/" target="_blank">What does Mom do all day?</a>" And this is where you come in. If you're a stay-at-home mom, you're invited to take over the account for a day! I'll email you a temporary password, and for one day you can post between 2 and 10ish funny, interesting, or teeth-grindingly awful (because, you know, be realistic) glimpses into your life. I'll also periodically post photo "challenges" (like "show me your kid's biggest mess") for moms to post on their own Instagram account, and I'll repost some of my favorites. You can also submit one-time "stay-at-home mom slice-of-life" photos to be posted on the account by emailing them to bejaneum (at) gmail (dot) com.<br />
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(Just for the record, this is not a "<a href="http://morenaps.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-battle-of-moms.html" target="_blank">stay-at-home moms are better or more busy or more hard working than work-outside-of-the-home mom</a>" thing. Working moms are amazing! I just think that if you work outside of the home, people maybe ask the question "what do you do all day" less frequently, because, you know, people assume they know what you do when you tell them what your job is. Unless your job is confusing. Like transpondster*.)<br />
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Here are the guidelines:<br />
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1. You must have an Instagram account, public blog, or public Facebook page (and be able to verify that it is, in fact, your account) or you must know me in real life. (I just need to make sure that you're not going to take over the account only to post 100 pictures that say "Buy discount designer sunglasses!")<br />
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2. You should be a stay-at-home mom. (I'm not going to come to your house and check or anything, though.) And if you work part-time or work at night but stay home with your kids all day or freelance from home or something, that's totally fine. Just, you know, if you're a full-time TV news anchor or a member of Congress, you might not fit in the population we're looking for here.<br />
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3. Please don't use the account to try to sell anything! If selling something is part of what you do in the course of a normal day, you're welcome to include a relevant picture, but please don't post anything with the sole purpose of selling something, getting people to sign up for an email list, etc.<br />
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4. Try to make it funny, interesting, unique, etc. But you're not being graded on this.<br />
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5. Feel free to tag (and invite people to follow) your own Instagram account at the end of some (or all) of your posts! If you're looking to grow your Instagram following, hopefully this will help!<br />
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6. If the response gets overwhelmingly crazy, I might switch this to an email submission only thing.<br />
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Interested? Email me at bejaneum (at) gmail (dot) com and I can send you more details.<br />
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<b>So... what do you do all day??</b><br />
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<i>*Please tell me someone recognized that Friends reference.</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-12405726032241079732015-02-15T13:07:00.001-05:002015-02-15T13:07:22.445-05:00Sign #4,432 That I'm Definitely a MomThis past week, we went to an indoor water park for a few days. On one side of the building, there was a hot tub that was half indoors and half outdoors. While my mom watched the kids, Dan and I went outdoors to sit together in the hot tub. A light snow was falling, and the steam was rising slowly from the hot water. Dan and I sat, resting together in the hot water, arms entwined around one another, as snow fell gently on our exposed shoulders and warm steam enveloped us, and I turned to Dan, smiled, and said...<br />
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"Wow, this would be so great for a kid with croup."<br />
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Um, yeah. I'm so romantic.<br />
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(But seriously. So great for croup.)<br />
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<b>What else have you said that was totally mom-ish (although maybe slightly mood-killing)?</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-61853601547382309112015-02-09T14:22:00.002-05:002015-02-09T14:22:56.773-05:00Here's how the last hour has gone: Put Calista down for a nap. Started to put Lucas down for a nap. Calista wakes up. Get Calista. Continue Lucas's nap time routine routine while nursing Calista. Turn off Lucas's light and leave his room. Continue nursing Calista. Notice that Lucas's light is on; can't do anything about it because Calista is almost asleep. Lucas comes out of of room wearing no socks and with head stuck in arm hole of Elmo costume. Gesture wildly to him that he has to get back in bed RIGHT NOW. Calista wakes up. Light still on in Lucas's room, now joined by what appears to be a flashlight shining underneath door. Calista wide awake. Lucas comes out of room again because he is trapped in Elmo costume. Help get Lucas unstuck. Threaten with various punishments if he does not get back in bed RIGHT NOW. Calista really, really wide awake. Mommy gives up on naptime and blogs on phone.<br />
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THERE IS NOT ENOUGH OF ME TO GO AROUND!<br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-62547886956706301712015-02-05T15:20:00.003-05:002015-02-05T15:20:52.711-05:00Easy Valentine's Day Craft for Toddlers and Preschoolers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I try to do crafts with Lucas fairly regularly, and this time I decided to videotape us doing it instead of typing up a description. So we'll see if that was a good choice. Kindly ignore my weird facial expressions and the fact that my makeup looks weird - I swear it looked normal in the mirror.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nyq4aPLNrNo" width="560"></iframe>
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-2401398268513760442015-02-03T09:16:00.001-05:002015-02-03T09:36:11.979-05:00Things I Haven't Said to Strangers...<i>I wrote this when Lucas was about Calista's age, and I'm sharing it with you because... well, why not? Enjoy! Also, just because I think they're adorable, here are my two babies at five months of age, two and a half years apart.</i><br />
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Oh, hello, lady who seems slightly unhinged. Thank you for repeatedly stroking my six-week-old baby's head! The fact that I am wearing him in a baby carrier and his head is pressed against my chest does not make your stroking of it any more awkward than it already was. Sure, absolutely - you can definitely hold him! I can't think of a single reason not to allow a stranger to hold my child. Please wait a moment while I take him out of the carrier, where he is comfortable and content, so that I can put my newborn into the waiting arms of someone I don't know. I can't believe I didn't come up with this idea myself!<br />
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Hi, woman I just met while visiting a friend! Yes, my two month old does sleep reasonably well at night (you know, for a two month old.) What's that? I should mix apple juice with rice cereal to give to him before bed so that he sleeps better? Even though I just told you he already sleeps well? Well, why the heck not? His pediatrician told us not to give him any juice OR cereal until he's 4-6 months old, but she never said a word about juice AND cereal! Plus, what does she know?? It's not like she went to medical school or spent years working with babies! And if it's going to make my baby (who already sleeps well) sleep well, then I should do it for sure! Thanks for shouting "apple juice and cereal!! Seriously!" after me as I walk out the door!<br />
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Well hello there, man who has had several drinks at a cook-out. Yes, my three-and-a-half month old would love a potato chip! I've already told you repeatedly that he is much too young for solid foods, but that was only because I was testing you to see just how much you really wanted to give him some ruffled chips! He will probably love them and not choke at all! Yes, that's it... continue to shove your plate in his face. He is just now learning to grab objects that are placed in front of him, so if he misses the chips, he can always grab a handful of your potato salad. Either way, delicious fun is just inches away! Wait, where are you going? Has my pulling him away offended you?<br />
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Oh, good, you're back... with a pretzel stick! Thank you for wedging it into his hand before I could stop you! I genuinely enjoy prying age-inappropriate foods from his fingers.<br />
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<b><i>Ok, this is a safe place... share something you wanted to say to a stranger but somehow managed not to say. </i></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-44195810307249802722015-01-24T13:53:00.000-05:002015-01-24T13:53:13.417-05:00The job no one prepared you for...<i>Usually when I write a blog post, I do so over a matter of days or even weeks. (Truthfully, I have at least five posts that I started last summer and intend to finish someday.) I write a beginning or a basic outline, then fill in details and complete sentences over time. Or I write the first half, get distracted, and don't write the second half for a month. After I've finished a rough draft, I wait a few days, then proofread, change a few things, and then post. That's probably why I post so infrequently.</i><br />
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<i>But occasionally, usually after a night of very little sleep, the whole post just comes out at once. This is one of those times. If you find typos or if this post makes no sense... I'm not surprised. Also, maybe don't read this if you're not a mom yet but hope to be someday. You've been warned.</i><br />
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My two children and I have a particularly nasty cold. (My husband Dan is still healthy, and I'm more than a little jealous.) Lucas (almost three years old) has been sick for over two weeks. He's definitely improving, but he has a lingering cough that still wakes him up at night. I got sick a few days ago, and then four-month-old Calista really came down with it yesterday. By last night, she was miserable. I tried for over four hours to get her to sleep. She would doze off in my arms, but as soon as I would put her down, she would wake up coughing and then cry. I tried her crib, her rock and play (which props her up at an angle,) running a humidifier... nothing helped. The only place she could sleep was in my arms. So I finally gave up and let her sleep in my arms. All night long. I'd love to be able to tell you some pretty lie like, "and I cherished every second" or "These fleeting moments of holding my little darling will be gone all too soon, and I know I will miss them with all my soul, so I just gazed at her sweet face, overwhelmed with love and emotion, while a single tear rolled down my cheek." But the truth is that in the middle of the night, I sent Dan (who was working overnight) a text that said:<br />
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Dan and I had dinner at a restaurant with some friends the other day. They have two young children under two years old, so combined we had a total of four kids under age three. The other mom and I were talking, and she confessed that she was finding motherhood to be much harder than she'd expected. "You have a nephew who's older, right?" she asked, "So did you kind of know what to expect?"<br />
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It's an interesting question, because before I had Lucas, I totally thought that being an aunt to my sister's son gave me the inside scoop on what it was like to have a baby. My nephew was born when I was 15 years old, and I babysat him a fair amount. I have vivid memories of my tiny nephew crying. I would cradle him gently in my arms, nestle his little head under my chin, and pace the floor while crooning in a sing-song voice, "I'm never going to have kids. No, I'm not. No, I'm not. I love you, I love you, but I'm never going to have kids."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ld2hXUduH7Q/VMOszQwA8cI/AAAAAAAAQr0/2-kb0ew2ruo/s1600/newborn%2Baunt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ld2hXUduH7Q/VMOszQwA8cI/AAAAAAAAQr0/2-kb0ew2ruo/s1600/newborn%2Baunt.jpg" height="307" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Clearly I needed to work on my lullaby skills.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I waited a full 14 years after his birth to start having children of my own, and when I was pregnant with Lucas, I honestly thought I was Prepared with a capital P. Of course it would be hard. Sure, I'd be tired, But I had <i>experience</i>. I wasn't going in blind like some moms. I knew what to expect.<br />
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Poor, naive Bethany.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iEvaJKfhlGk/VMOum9oD8HI/AAAAAAAAQsM/jrOLHI1oznE/s1600/newborn%2Bmom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iEvaJKfhlGk/VMOum9oD8HI/AAAAAAAAQsM/jrOLHI1oznE/s1600/newborn%2Bmom.jpg" height="321" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Not the same thing. At all.</i></td></tr>
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It turns out that there's really no way to be truly, fully prepared for what it's like to have little lives literally dependent on you for survival while you're sleep-deprived and overwhelmed and sure you're screwing everything up. I'm sure there are levels of preparedness. Someone who's worked as a nanny for ten years is likely more prepared for motherhood than someone who has never held a real baby, for example, but it's still hard. And I think it's important to know is that it's hard for everyone. That all the other moms aren't just sailing along, doing the easiest job they've ever done, while you're hiding under your covers crying and eating chocolate.<br />
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I tell you this because I know moms who genuinely fear that they are the only one with these struggles. The only mom who has no idea what she's doing. The only mom whose toddler throws twenty-minute-long tantrums. The only mom who is really, really cranky after she's been up all night. The only mom who periodically sends her husband or best friend text messages that say "I'm going to run away and join the circus." So I want to be sure that you know that it's a tough job. For all of us.<br />
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Don't get me wrong - there are moments that are so wonderful that I cry. (Although, to be fair, I cry a lot in general.) Lately, Lucas has taken to telling me, "you're the sweetest girl in the whole world," and "you're the best mommy in the whole world," and, "I pick you, Bethany." (I'm not entirely sure what that last one means, but it sounds sweet when he says it.) But it's tough. And when you see other moms (me, for example) post pictures like this on Facebook:<br />
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you might be tempted to think, "She has it all together. This is a totally accurate portrayal of her life: two smiling, cooperative children posing sweetly on a floor that is not covered in Cheerios in front of toys that are actually put away." But the only reason you would think that is because I didn't take the time to caption the photo as follows: "This picture was taken on day two of the plague. It was sandwiched in between Lucas screaming for a tissue and spilling cough medicine all over the floor. The Cheerios are on the living room carpet."<br />
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So if you're having a rough day or week or... decade, please know that you're not alone and that it definitely doesn't mean that you're failing as a mom. You can do this. But if you find yourself Googling "circus job openings" at 2am, I promise I won't judge you.<br />
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<a href="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="If you like what you just read please click to send a quick vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs- The best mommy blog directory featuring top mom bloggers" border="0" src="http://www.topmommyblogs.com/directory/images/banners/top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner.gif" height="124" width="540" /></a>Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771914699634573129.post-44042086316977029142015-01-09T15:48:00.000-05:002015-01-10T11:05:53.436-05:00The Beautiful Daughters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Towards the beginning of December, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicole-Baart/53232389209">Nicole Baart</a>, an author whose page I follow on Facebook, posted a request for applications for her "street team" to read advance copies of her not-yet-released book <i>The Beautiful Daughters</i> and then write a review of the book. Naturally, my reaction was "Free book?? Before anybody ELSE gets to read the book??? DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!" Also, she said she'd mail some gourmet chocolate and homemade organic soap along with the advance copy of the book, so, um... obviously I applied.<br />
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Then I got selected, and I suddenly got kind of nervous. Because, minor detail, I had never actually read any of the other books she's written, so I wasn't entirely sure that I even <i>liked</i> this author's books. If you didn't like her book, she wasn't expecting you to lie and say you did or anything, but still, you know, I didn't want to be like, "thanks for the free book. It stunk." Then I read her book. And it was good. Really good. As in, despite the fact that I have woken up to nurse Calista at least once a night (but usually two or three times) every night for four months and am chronically sleep-deprived, I still willingly stayed up past midnight to finish reading it. <i>Two nights in a row</i>. (I'll give you all a moment to pick yourselves up off the floor, as I assume you've fallen out of your chairs at this shocking revelation.)<br />
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So here's the scoop: <i>The Beautiful Daughters</i> is the story of Adri (short for Adrienne) and Harper. (Side note - how cute is the name Adri? If I'd read it before I had Calista, I probably would've suggested the name Adri to Dan as a possible name for our own beautiful daughter. And he would've said no. Moving on...) Adri and Harper are two former best friends who have been separated by time, a whole heck of a lot of miles, and one tragic event. It's equal parts suspense, mystery (from pretty early on you're told who committed a crime, but not how or when or why,) best friend story, romantic fiction, and a bunch of other goodies. Parts of the book are told from Adri's perspective and other parts from Harper's, so you see some of the same events and people through two different sets of eyes. Both main characters are well-developed and likable, and very early on you'll find yourself rooting for them to reconnect (all while trying to figure out why on earth they've been separated in the first place.)<br />
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The novel deals with some pretty intense themes, but without being too graphic, and the love stories are romantic but not sappy. Nicole Baart has absolutely mastered the art of writing vivid descriptions that allow you to visualize a person or place without being so overly detailed that you're thinking, "could you please stop describing a table and just move on with the story?" Overall, I loved the book, and now I'm planning to buy Nicole Baart's other books because I really like her writing style.<br />
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If you'd like to read this novel before you can buy it, you can win my Advance Reader Copy (autographed by the author) for your very own!! Not only will you get to read it before everybody else does (it's due to be released April 28,) it's also entirely possibly that if you take it with you to a doctor's appointment and have it sitting next to you in the examination room, the doctor might happen to notice that it's an advance copy and be impressed and then recommend some other good books you'll like. I'm not promising this will happen, but it has happened to 100% of the people who have read this particular copy of the book (although, to be fair, I'm the only one who has read this copy before, so...)<br />
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Wanna win it? (Of course you do.) <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" target="_blank">Visit my Facebook page</a> or check out the Facebook post below to enter (and check out the complete rules under the picture of my beautiful daughter with <i>The Beautiful Daughters</i>.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps/posts/340761089442091">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps">I was promised more naps</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rtyIxH4oMhY/VK7bTfwlXrI/AAAAAAAAQnE/eQTdPoR4Dms/s1600/P1083309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rtyIxH4oMhY/VK7bTfwlXrI/AAAAAAAAQnE/eQTdPoR4Dms/s1600/P1083309.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This book comes with my 100% personal guarantee that Calista did not spit up on it.</i></td></tr>
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<b>Complete contest rules and details:</b><br />
<i>Open to residents of the United States age 18 and over. Contest ends 1/21/2015 at 11:59pm. Up to two entries allowed per person. Please do not comment more than two times on the Facebook contest post!</i><br />
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<i>Requirements for the first entry: </i><br />
<i>1. "Like" <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicole-Baart/53232389209?fref=nf" target="_blank">Nicole Baart's Facebook page</a>. </i><br />
<i>2. "Like" <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iwaspromisedmorenaps" target="_blank">I was promised more naps' Facebook page.</a> </i><br />
<i>3. Leave a comment on the contest post on Facebook letting me know that you've liked both pages.</i><br />
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<i>Requirements for the second entry:</i><br />
<i>In a SEPARATE comment on the Facebook contest post, tag at least two friends (or as many more as you wish) who you think might be interested in entering the contest to win a free book.</i><br />
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<i>One person will be randomly selected to win an autographed Advance Uncorrected Proof copy of </i>The Beautiful Daughters<i> by Nicole Baart and will be notified of their win via Facebook. The winner is responsible for providing me with a mailing address within 72 hours of being notified. If the winner does not contact me within that time frame, the prize will be forfeited, and an alternate winner will be chosen.</i><br />
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<i>This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Facebook. By entering, you agree to release Facebook of all liability pertaining to said contest. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. This prize has no assigned value as advanced reader book copies are not available for retail sale.</i><br />
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<br />Bethanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05900914389510848443noreply@blogger.com9