Tiny Baby Jesus Book Review and Giveaway

The book reviewed here was sent to me by Planned Television Arts, the publicity firm for author Dandi Daley Mackall.

You may remember that last year we started a new tradition with the girls. To cut down on the 'gimme gimme' nature of the beast, we created the "one thing you want, one thing you need, one thing to play with, one thing to read" gift guidelines. The girls loved it, we loved it, and it's definitely on the agenda for Christmas 2009.

Luckily, I'm ahead of the game on the "one thing to read" category. Author Dandi Daley Mackall has written a book called Tiny Baby Jesus and her PR firm sent it to me to review (and to give away to a few of you!).

A simple rhyming version of the story of the Christ child, Tiny Baby Jesus alternates between the birth of Baby Jesus and his life as an adult, leading up to the resurrection. This story has been beautifully illustrated by Julia Noonan and each page has gorgeous details in soft browns, blues, and greens. Miss P has asked me to read it several times and Miss A absconded with one copy and hid it in her room somewhere, so it's obviously a hit with the under 5 crowd at my house.

My favorite part is the last stanza:

Tiny gift from heaven
sent to us on earth.
God's Son wrapped for Christmas
in a miracle of birth.

I love that. And it almost makes up for the irritation I feel when I see Christmas decorations hogging the aisles next to the Halloween stuff.

Buy Tiny Baby Jesus here OR leave a comment on this post. Tell me ONE thing that you're most grateful for this holiday season and you'll be entered to win one of THREE copies of Tiny Baby Jesus. The giveaway closes on Friday, November 6th at Noon C.S.T.

Planned Television Arts (PTA) provided the product used in this review to the author.

The Price Chopper 400

I'm not a huge NASCAR fan. I'm not actually any type of a NASCAR fan. I used to watch the races on television when I was little. In fact, I remember curling up with my Grandma, resting my head on her ample lap and hoping for a wreck. What can I say? I wasn't exactly a sophisticated viewer of the sport.

Not too long ago, I was at the gym, flipped the television over to a NASCAR race, and realized the sound of the tires on the track made a nice accompaniment to the rhythm of the treadmill. I'm guessing that's not exactly what the broadcasters were going for in terms of audience appreciation. I don't know the names of many drivers and I don't understand the points system or most of the rules.

I do, however, recognize the skill it takes to keep those powerful machines spinning around the track, jockeying for position while racing at incredible speeds. And in just a couple of weeks, I'm going to learn to love NASCAR all over again.

On October 3rd and 4th, NASCAR comes to Kansas Speedway. I'm going to be there, taking in the spectacle and enjoying the sights and sounds. You can be there, too! I have four tickets to Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series Kansas Lottery 300, and four tickets to Sunday's Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400.

To win, simply tell me why a grocery store is sponsoring a NASCAR event.... no no no, not really. :)

To win, just leave a comment here on the Mama in Pajamas Reviews blog. Tell me what you love about NASCAR and why you'd love to be at the Kansas Speedway in Ocober. For an additional entry, tweet the contest and leave me a comment linking to the tweet.

The contest runs until Noon CST on Sunday, September 27th. I will use random.org to choose the winner and that person will be notified Sunday evening. Good luck!

Gentlemen, start your engines!

I Love Lovable Labels!

I love back to school shopping, but I HATE back to school labeling. Writing our name eighteen times on every crayon box, pencil, and notebook just isn't my idea of a good time. Luckily, the folks at Lovable Labels felt my pain and they offered me a chance to try out their Back to School Mega Pack.

The Lovable Labels Back to School Mega Pack has everything parents need to label school supplies, clothing, and more. The Mega Pack includes 15 Sticker Labels, 60 Slimline Labels, 48 Press N’ Stick Clothing DOTS™, 16 Shoe Labels, 2 Mini-Metal Tags, and 5 Book/Binder Stickers. The company brochure says the labels are made to withstand your dishwasher, microwave, washer, dryer, and your child.” Seems like a great idea, right?

I loved the simple ordering process – pop onto the website, choose your label color and graphic, and enter in the name you want listed on the label – simple! The labels arrived nicely packaged and with clear instructions for application and use. The labels definitely made it easier to get our school supplies ready – we had stickers for 3-ring binders, notebooks, paint sets, and more. We labeled the backpack and also used the mini-metal tags (dog tags for kids!) and attached them to the backpack zipper pull. So far – so good. We’re three weeks into school and the label adhesive isn’t showing signs of unsticking! Actually, I was impressed by the adhesive on the labels – this isn’t the stuff on the back of the stickerbook stickers - it's more like duct tape.

But my favorite item in the Back to School Mega Pack? The Press n’ Stick Clothing DOTS! We buy school tshirts and sweatshirts every year and then I cringe when the girls wear them to school because if one of those items gets tossed into the Lost and Found box, that’s where it stays. No parent has any idea which sweatshirt is the one their child lost. But this year, I’ve labeled all of our school spirit wear and all of the girls’ jackets with the clothing labels. Then, as a test, I ran one sweatshirt through the washer with five different loads of laundry. The label is still firmly in place, and hasn’t faded or wrinkled.

There were a few 'cons'. I would have liked to see wider choice of label colors as they’re all a bit ‘pastel’ for my taste, although the basics are represented and my daughters found one they could both agree on. Also, the Back to School Mega Pack only comes with five binder stickers (meant to be placed on the binder spine) and we could have used several more of those and fewer of the regular sticker labels.

Now - because the folks at Lovable Labels are seriously cool - they're offering a 10% discount on the Back to School Mega Pack to my blog readers until September 30th! Enter the code typeamom at checkout.

Purpose of this Site

I occasionally get the chance to review really, really cool items. However, I'd like to keep my 'commercial' side separate from my 'I'm going to ramble until your ears fall off' side. So... Ta Da! A review site!