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Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Ultimate Blog Party

AND THE WINNER IS #22 - SERENA! Congrats and thanks! Nice meeting all of you and I hope to see you around!

Ultimate Blog Party 2009

It's time for the Ultimate Blog Party over at 5 Minutes for Mom and this year I thought I'd hop in. I've loved participating in things like Bloggy Giveaways as I've met quite a few of you that way. I look forward to making some new friends in this way.

If you are here from 5 Minutes for Mom, the chances of you knowing what this particular blog is about is slim to none so give me a second to fill you in. If you make it to the end of this post, there's a potential gift waiting for you. (Yeah. Bribery.)


This is a book blog, pure and simple. Only it's not always purely about books and I'd like to think it's not all that simple. If I thought it were simple, I'd probably quit blogging. Besides running this site, I am also a staff member at 5 Minutes for Mom's sister site, 5 Minutes for Books. Being a part of that team is a joy and a delight!

I love to read and I love to think. My husband will verify that I get antsy and anxious after a period of days if I haven't had a chance to read. I can't help it. I don't try to.

Blogging seems to be my escape from the world and a chance to get my "mommy brain" some excersize. I am a stay-at-home mom who wouldn't want to be anywhere else, so I especially relish the joys of blogging and the book blog community that has been developing over the last few years. I'm blessed to have the opportunity to be home with my kid(s). I have one son and another on the way via adoption (due to arrive sometime this summer). My son doesn't have a blog name and he needs one. Feel free to leave a suggestion. ("Bookworm1" "Little Squire"? I don't know. Leave a thought!) I love that I get to pursue two passions: the passion to pursue homemaking as both an art and a calling and the passion to read and review books.

Why the passion for books? I think they weild great power of influence and its important to understand them and the changes they are likely to make on society. (This is all aside from the fact that they are just generally entertaining things.)

My husband and I are also photographers in Oregon and we have fun working together to be creative in this particular art medium. We've guest posted a few tips and tricks over at 5 Minutes for Mom if you'd care to take a peek.

There are a lot of things that drive and motivate us, but for me books have to rank near the top of things that have the ability to sway, shape and change my mind. They mature me. They speak for me. They engage me and I love them.

I'm trying to instill the same love of reading in my children. One of the publishers that we've used in our home to encourage this love of the written word (as well as love of music!) is Barefoot Books. Barefoot books are quality - top quality - children's books. THey have a series that also includes music and one of our favorite is Knick Knack Paddy Whack. This particular book features SteveSongs singing the main tune. Each verse or round of the song highlights a particular musical instrument (maracas, guitar, violin, drums, etc.) in a tasteful and catchy manner. We love this book.

Barefoot Books has agreed to give away one copy of Knick Knack Paddy Whack with a CD to one of you! I love their generosity and excitement in wanting to participate in this way and would encourage you, in turn, to show some excitement back to them by browsing their site. It's like a big treasure hunt over there! Then come back and tell me what you found!

So how do you win?

1. Visit Barefoot Books and come back and let me know what you saw and liked.

2. Win an extra entry by leaving a suggestion for a blog name that I can refer to my son as.

3. Win a THIRD entry by subscribing to me via Google Reader, e-mail or whatever!


This contest is open to U.S. Residents Only. Winner will be announced on Friday, March 27th.

I hope to get to know you also and am looking forward to running around the Blog Party and meeting some other attendees. Good luck, have fun and see you around!

59 comments:

Mum-me said...

Great idea to try and teach your children the love of reading. I am pleased my son (now 12) is as addicted to reading as I am.

I'm from Australia so am ineligible for your giveaway, but it sounds like a good one!

Anonymous said...

I love your site. yes, I found you through 5MfM but you are on my blogroll. I have a passion for reading so I always enjoy your input. Swing by my site, The IE Mommy, to check out my Ultimate Blog Party Post.

Anonymous said...

I am an avid reader, too. I can be a little obsessed in that once I start a good book I cannot stop! I'm planning to begin doing more book reviews on my blog. I love your site!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE reading and can never get enough of it. I will be checking back again, thats for sure!

Happy UBP!

Happy Hermit (happilyhiddenhermit@gmail.com) said...

I love reading , I am currently reading "The Secret Life of Plants"

Have you ever tried it , I would love have someone to compare reviews with when I am done.

Have a wonderful Party Day !!

Angela C. said...

My daughter loves Bear about Town. I didn't realize there were others in the series. I will have to check those out. Thanks for the giveaway.

accoupons at gmail dot com

Angela C. said...

I subscribe.

accoupons at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

I like seeing the pics!

And having you part of the 5M4B team is a delight as well.

Anonymous said...

We are a reading family. How about Bitty Book Biter? Party On!

Joy @ SAH Missionary said...

Nice to meet you, your family is beautiful! I love your list of books too, every single book looks interesting to me.
Blessings!
Joy

Shawna said...

Nice to meet you. I'm a SAHM to a three year old daughter and one on the way due anytime. Reading is a big deal in our house.

I have two blogs but am participating with my book blog, Teen Lit Review. I have visited 5 Minutes for Books in the past.

I stopped by Barefoot books and loved that they started as a homebased business. I loved the activity books. I'm interested in homeschool, and those books sound like they'd be great resources. As for a name, my daughter goes by Scamp, so how about Reading Rascal for your son? I'd love it if you stopped by.

StacieinAtlanta said...

Hi Carrie,

I am a book obsessed Mommy and I love Barefoot books. People sometimes get overwhelmed with all of the books we have in this house.

I am stopping by from The Ultimate Blog Party to check your blog out and subscribe. What a great week we are in for!

Check out my place for your chance to win a LeapFrog Tag Reading System. :)

Stacie
The Divine Miss Mommy
http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com
http://www.twitter.com/stacieinatlanta

Lorie said...

I love the barefoot activity books! So fun!

As for your little guy, I would call him the little book worm! ;D

Tori said...

I, too, love to read. I don't read as many books as you do in a year, but I probably read as much (spread across internet researching, blog reading, books, and so forth). Great site. And cool that you have another blog just for your book list! ^_^

I would choose any of the items/books in the One World, One Planet section.

Tori said...

Refer to your son as Paddy (right from your favorite series that includes music). ^_^

nic said...

i am remarkably saner when i'm in the middle of an absorbing novel. i read while i walk on the treadmill, and it's amazing how those miles fly away when i'm lost in a story.

we have a ton of children's books at our home, and i'm actually working on weeding through them and making better use of the treasure trove that is our local library, so no need to enter me in your contest...but for the record, barefoot books (and everything they publish) seriously rocks.

lovely to meet you.

Stephanie said...

I also really enjoy reading, but probably not as much as you! I love the family photo.

auntrene said...

I love to read, my daycare kiddos love to be read to. Books are one of the things I tend to purchase without hesitation. We get so much use out of them.
I am in a reading circle with my mom, and my aunts. The Aunts live 400 miles away and we mail books back and forth.
You have a wonderful site, and I love the Blog Party, it has been so much fun.
Thanks for inviting us to stop at your blog.
auntrene.blogspot.com

Robynn's Ravings said...

I am a bibliophile as well and am always reading five books at once. LOVE the family portrait. Just beautiful. Found you through UBP09.

I'm mom to two teens who I adore and a humor writer. Come on by and visit anytime! :)

Anonymous said...

Hello! Poppin' in from The Ultimate Blog Party...all the way from Queensland, Australia! G'Day! I hope you have time to visit my party soon.

Children's Literature was my favorite course in college when finishing my B.A. in Education.

I would love to win this book for my nephew in Michigan.

Ta!

Serena said...

Oooh! Everything is so great! "We're Riding on a Caravan" looks lovely. I like the activity pages they have to go along with some of the books!

I think nicknaming your little guy "Bookmark" might be cute, because children DO tend to cause you to use bookmarks rather often!

I subscribe to your feed, as well.

Unknown said...

Brea loves fairies so I would go with "Barefoot Book of Faeries" Thanks so much for the giveaway. I would also like to invite you to participate in my Show off your blog Saturday linky. I would love to check out your favorite post!

Nadine said...

It must be fun to read and review books. I love to read and I also write.

Have fun at the parties and I hope you have a chance to stop by.

Pami said...

I love to read too, you have a beautiful family, I checked out Barefoot books I loved all the choices and that they are so colorful and could hold a childs attention, their activity books are awesome thanks for letting me know about them, Happy UBP! 2009

Super Fun Mama said...

Hi, stopping by all the blogs in the party that I can get to. It's very nice to meet you and your blog! With how many blogs in the party right now, that is 254 blogs per day for 4 days! Wow! I like the Barefoot Book of Faeries. We are obsessed with faeries.

tiarastantrums said...

oh I wish I had more time to read - I guess if I read less blogs I would have more time!!

Party hopping

Kati said...

It is great to hear about your love for books.. especially the idea of passing that on to your child!

Happy UBP 2009!!

Erin @ Closing Time said...

I love books, so your blog looks really interesting! Happy partying!!

Melanie said...

Happy UBP 2009!!! Beautiful family.

Frantic Holly said...

I'm liking the ABC's and 123's set. It's great to meet you! What a wonderful blog. Hope you have a wonderful bloggy party!

Maude Lynn said...

Barefoot Books are such high quality! Always gorgeously illustrated. I'm a huge fan.

Anonymous said...

how about prince periodical ?

Would love to see your blog at herblogdirectory.com.

Happy Blog party-ing !
Karrine
AKA Her Media
AKA The almost always organized mom

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting a blog party! I love to read too. Although I have been reading mainly for pleasure and escape recently and not to grow and learn. I look forward to getting to know you better.

Colette S said...

Nice to meet you!

Talk about a party!

I'm quite intrigued and am learning how to get around!

Just stopping by from 5minutes for moms blog party!

Anonymous said...

You don't need to enter me for the contest, but I just wanted to pop in and say Hi while party-hopping. :-) You're in my husband's neck of the woods -- he grew up in Idaho.

Chel said...

I love to read,too! I'll have to come by again and see what you're reading.

Kari @ A Giveaway Addicted Mommy said...

Party Hopping and loved the Barefoot Books Activity Books - looks perfect for just throwing in the bag for long waits at the doctors or in line!

Thanks for the giveaway and Party ON!!

You can visit my party HERE!

Kari

Mommyhood is Thankless said...

Party hopping! I will be back to enter your giveaway at some point!

Barbara's Beat said...

I ws able to go to the site and find the correct age and then find the perfect book - Journey Home from Grandpa's - Book & Music CD

Barbara's Beat said...

I like bookworm1

Miranda Ward said...

i love the book reveiws

Mrs. Nichole J. said...

Love your blog!
Came in off UBP09!

Keep it up!
http://blog.handmadebycole.com/
Nichole

Anonymous said...

I love the way you designed your blog. Nice!

Anonymous said...

Nice to meet you. Happy partying!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for joining the UBP. I especially like your graphics

Colleen @AMadisonMom said...

Hi Carrie!
Just blog hopping in through the party link list.
Stop in on my party if you've got a minute!

Anonymous said...

I never noticed before that Little Bear's favorite book, WHO ARE YOU, BABY KANGAROO, is a barefoot book! We took it out of the library some time last year, and Little Bear and Pufferfish loved it so much, I ended up buying them a copy! The illustrations are so beautiful, and its like a regular little kid story (repetitive, basically, which is what they love) but educational too because it teaches the names of baby animals and the countries they come from. I would recommend it to anyone!

Anonymous said...

As for a blog name for your little guy, in my blog I use spin-offs of the kids' actual nicknames! For instance we always called my oldest nephew Monkey because he sort of looked like one (LOL seriously... when he's tired he gets big circles around his eyes!) so in the blog he is Monkeyboy. We always called my oldest niece (her real name)-Bear, because when she was little she was like a teddybear... so now in the blog her name is Little Bear! When my sister was pregnant with my youngest niece, we asked the kids what the baby's nickname should be, and they decided on Pufferfish... so now, in the blog, the baby is Pufferfish! If there's anything you refer to your son as... for instance Little Guy, Tiger, Scout, Bubba, or whatever... that would make a good blog name, and also less confusing for you and any readers who know you personally! :)

Miranda Ward said...

kids books

techyone said...

I love the ABC's and 123's set of Barefoot books.

Natalie said...

my daughter's school is having their book fair today and we both got excited when we found a Fancy Nancy book that we didn't already have. oh and we had to buy Purplicious to go with Pinkalicious! I love to read too but lately i have been reading mostly other blogs...

A Reader said...

I like the Tales of Old Ireland.
Thanks for the giveaway!
kimspam66(at)yahoo(dot)com

Unknown said...

Visiting from the UBP. Love your blog. I love to read and can't wait to visit more of your site.

Amy @ Hope Is the Word said...

Hey Carrie!

I finally subscribed via Google Reader!! Go me!!! : )

I'll come back later to do the other stuff!

Shannah said...

Lovely blog and lovely family. The family portrait is really fantastic. Good luck with the adoption. I am sure you are waiting with bated breath for that next little one! How exciting!

Come by and visit my place if you have time and check out my Etsy store. I have some really fantastic flashcards that would be wonderful for your little one (whi is adorable, btw). If you are interested, email me and mention UBP and I'll give you a 15% discount.

Best,
Shannah at The Flashcard Zoo

Penelope said...

Great site! I love books, and am always looking for great recommendations.

Thanks for the referral to Barefoot books. I like that they have a section dedicated to Earth Day, which my son and I will be celebrating for the first time this year!

TwinHappyJen said...

Well on the Barefoot site, I went straight for the party themed-books... I wouldn't be able to decide between princesses or pirates, though. My girls love both pretty equally :-p

As for a nickname, my first thought is "Son de Plume" (like Nom de Plume, but... well, you get it :-p) Might be too obscure, but just something that came to mind :-p

Anyway, I'll definitely have to check out your blog more later... (I'm just bookmarking everyone right now, while I blog-hop my way through the party :-p)

Feel free to check out my blog, too! While I found the party too late to be part of the official prize giveaways, I do have a door prize at my blog: I'm giving away a free print copy of my book, "Two Snowflakes." Here's my address: http://twinhappyjen.blogspot.com/

It was nice to meet you!

Anonymous said...

I love to read and hope to pass on this love to my kids. Thank you for your blog!

Anonymous said...

Blog Party Woohoo! Talk about fashionably late, right, sorry. I have been sick which left me in a fog all last week, so I am still trying tomake my rounds. Better late than never I figured. Anyway, hope you had a great week at the UBP. Hope to see you again sometime!

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