Thursday, December 22, 2011

Taking a Break! and GIVEAWAY!

I've been pretty behind on life once again and getting super stressed trying to balance everything with a 3 year old who doesn't nap and a crawling 8 month old who gets into everything bad for her! =D I'll be taking December and January off from the blog to catch up, get family life organized (along with starting a preschool with my son - since we can't afford to put him in one yet) and play with my Christmas present (see below). Also be prepared for a new look for Crafty Mommy Diva!
Good news - I now own a Silhouette Cameo!!! It's my Christmas/Anniversary present! I actually received it on my son's 3rd birthday (November 30th) and I ordered it on Black Friday. I haven't gotten to play with it much, but for the few hours I tried it out, it was the best feeling in the world! When I first bought it though, I regretted my decision because we're so tight on money as is...thus I spent most of December trying to sell sell sell! My hard work paid off because I feel like I mostly paid it off my credit card. I'm excited to create and try new crafts!!

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year!


Here's a giveaway to end the year!
What to Expect has generously offered a giveaway!
I love What to Expect! As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I went and bought What to Expect When You're Expecting. It sure answered lots of questions and provided me with other helpful information through my pregnancy.
Later when my first born was in his toddler years, I decided to buy What to Expect: Toddler Years because this age group was the hardest for me when I was teaching in day cares because I didn't know all that they could do. This book provided me lots of ideas of What to Expect and things to work on with my son. I love how it is organized by months. It was a great tool to make sure my son was on track for growth.

What to Expect sent me The First Year and The Second Year which will be really helpful because it has been so much harder to teach my 2nd child all the things I want her to learn so I'll be using these books to remember what things she should be doing and learning each month. It sure seems like time really really flies with the 2nd child!
In The First Year along with the monthly milestones and tips, they even have special sections about comforting crying and helping baby sleep through the night - both I definitely need for my baby girl! It even has a section about weather and seasons and when baby gets sick. The internet is nice, but having an actual book is so much quicker! There are other sections for preemies and for special needs babies. I have tons of friends who have had preemie babies so this is very useful!
The Second Year just has different sections from feeding to behavior to talking to health - all different areas of their life. Lots of interesting and useful information. If you're looking for the info for your child by months, that's all in The Toddler Years (which I highly recommend!).
Currently I receive What to Expect's e-mails too - great tool! They send me information about each of my children's stages, tips and how other moms are doing things too. I've Pinned a lot of their links on Pinterest - my board: Raising and Teaching Children. I'm grateful to have these books though because searching on the internet can take longer go through different links.

What to Expect is giving 1 reader both of these books!
  • What to Expect the First Year
  • What to Expect the Second Year

MANDATORY ENTRY:
To enter this giveaway you must follow Crafty Mommy Diva publicly, and leave a comment telling me what you like about What to Expect. Please include your email. 
You must do this before you complete any of the extra entries! Even if your child isn't at this age, you can enter for a friend or family member!

EXTRA ENTRIES: leave a separate comment for each - please leave your e-mail so I can contact you if you win.
  • Follow What to Expect on Twitter
  • Facebook about the giveaway with a link to What to Expect's FB page on Facebook.
  • Blog about the giveaway: leave link - blog must be public.
  • Leave a comment on a Mommy Mondays Post.
  • Leave a comment on one of My Projects Posts.
OPEN TO U.S. - GIVEAWAY ENDS JANUARY 28TH at 11:59PM MST.

8 comments:

Rachel said...

I follow Crafty Mommy Diva! And I really like the What to Expect Books. I read their Pregnancy book before (for a class) and during my pregnancy and it was so easy to understand and it addressed so many things that I needed to know. :)

Rachel said...

Following What to Expect on Twitter :)

Rachel said...

posted about the giveaway and included What to Expect FB page site in the post :)

Rachel said...

Commented on one of your My Projects posts :)

Rachel said...

Left a comment on one of your Mommy Mondays posts :)

bcriminger said...

I follow you! I like that What to Expect doesn't end at the end of the pregnancy!

bcriminger said...

Left a comment on Mommy Mon 65

bcriminger said...

I commented on your fondue post!!