Summer Bridge Workbooks are designed to help children maintain and enhance scholastic skills over the summer break. Summer Bridge workbooks consist of daily activities in reading, writing, mathematic, and language arts with bonus activities in science and geography for grades Pre-K through 8th. Summer learning is fun and easy with exciting activities, full-color flash cards, incentive contract calendars to keep kids motivated and a certificate of completion when they’re done.

Each workbook is divided into three sections.  The first two sections review the grade students are leaving to help them retain the skills they have learned.  The third section previews the upcoming year to prepare students for the challenges in the grade ahead.

Another thing about the Summer Bridge Workbooks that I love is in the beginning it has a “contract” for the child to sign with their parents. It has each of you actually sign it and put a reward the child will receive when they finish the workbook. This has made such a world of difference and upped the excitement for my daughter to want to do her “Learning Time” each day.

I am just now getting into workbooks with my oldest, however I was a nanny for seven years before having children and have gone through countless workbooks! I honestly, truthfully really love these workbooks far more than any other I have looked through or worked through with a child.

Lucky for you the company is giving you the chance to win a set of their workbooks in any age range/skill level/grade level that you would like! From ages Pre-K up to 8th Grade.

You know you want the chance win this giveaway!! SO PAY ATTENTION, this is what you need to do!

#1 Comment on THIS post for one entry

#2 Facebook about this post for another entry (and comment that you did)

#3 Twitter about this post for another entry (and comment that you did)

#4 BLOG about this post for FIVE extra entries (and comment that you did)

#5 For TEN EXTRA ENTRIES participate in the Do You Know a Mom Who Inspires You Post (and comment that you did)

The Elephant and Piggie books are perfect for your little ones learning how to read. They are done in comic-book style and feature two main characters Piggie the Pig (the optimistic one) and Gerald the Elephant (the pessimistic one).

You know what I love about these books the most? They are witty and original tales written to stimulate and encourage young imaginations. The books really do capture your child’s attention; there are so many different elements that are spot on and cater towards my girls’ personalities and imaginations.

Does the author’s name sound a bit familiar to you as well as the illustrations? Well this would be why…these are his other amazing books.

For this giveaway you will have the chance to win the complete set of the Elephant and Piggie Books by Mo Williams.

• Today I Will Fly!
• My Friend is Sad
• There is a Bird on Your Head!
• I Am Invited to a Party!
• I Love My New Toy!
• I Will Surprise My Friend!
• Are You Ready To Play Outside?
• Watch Me Throw The Ball!
• Elephants Cannot Dance!
• Pigs Make Me Sneeze!

Which would be ALL of these:

You know you want the chance win this giveaway!! SO PAY ATTENTION, this is what you need to do!

#1 Comment on THIS post for one entry

#2 Facebook about this post for another entry (and comment that you did)

#3 Twitter about this post for another entry (and comment that you did)

#4 BLOG about this post for FIVE extra entries (and comment that you did)

#5 For TEN EXTRA ENTRIES participate in the Do You Know a Mom Who Inspires You Post (and comment that you did)

Happy 4th of July! In a few minutes I will post three fantastic giveaways that will help you promote learning throughout the Summer with your children. SO stay tuned…..

At the Moms Who Make It Conference, we’re honoring moms that are “making it.”  We’re looking for moms who have had difficult life circumstances, but have used them as a catalyst to change their lives for the better.  These are moms that have inspired you to look at your own life & think “I can make it, too.”  Each of the “Moms Who Are Making It” will be honored at the Conference*.  They will also be invited to attend the VIP Mocktail Party following the Conference to mingle with all the speakers & the CreatedByMom.com moms.

If you know of a mom that is “making it,” please email or comment a quick summary (200 words or less) on why you think they should be honored at the Moms Who Make It Conference to momswhomakeit at createdbymom dot com.

Each mom submitted will go into a drawing where we will then draw 10 moms’ names out to be honored.  The more times each mom is entered into the drawing, the more likely their name will be drawn.

If you wonder if you’ll be honored as one of our Moms Who Are Making It, don’t wait to buy your ticket.  We’ll refund the ticket cost if you are chosen.

We’re looking forward to sharing their stories & being inspired, like you have been inspired by them!

It’s a MWMI ‘09 tweet-up! Jyl of Mom It Forward will be broadcasting her Twitter #GNO live with us at Rock Creek Pizza Co.

The #GNO topic that night is “Me Time,” all about carving out time for yourself - you deserve more “Me Time!” The featured business for #GNO that night will be DesignHerGals.com, one of the MWMI ‘09 Sponsors.

Rock Creek Pizza is offering 25% off everyone’s dinner who wants to come & eat with us. Also, they have FREE wi-fi, so feel free to bring your computer & “tweet” with us.

Don’t know what “tweeting” is? Come learn all about the fun, awesome networking tools of Twitter & www.todaysmama.com/connect.

Can’t be with us there in person? Join us via Twitter!

This event is sponsored by the Moms Who Make It Conference (MWMI ‘09) as an effort to encourage community and friendship among women/moms, especially those attending the Conference.

***This night will be the last opportunity to buy your Conference ticket at the current price. Prices will increase at midnight.

Wondering what in the world this Moms Who Make it Conference is?? Read my post about it here.

Last weekend the Sassy Scoops had a fun picnic and I was in the mood to cook! More specifically, I was in the mood to bake something sweet and so not healthy or good for you and this was it! Everything in moderation, don’t you know! Am I talking about the Sassies or the Trifle…I guess you’ll never know!

This whole recipe was based on these Italian cookies I bought down in Sugarhouse at Whole Foods…Ah-mazin’ by themselves, trust me.

I came up with the recipe we the help of @TwoPeasandPod and @PheMom on twitter, two amazing local food bloggers. They both gave me recipes for two of the different layers in the trifle.

Ingredients:

1 pan of Toffee Brownies (click on link for her recipe)

1 recipe worth of Caramel Mousse (click on link for her recipe)

Bunches and bunches of whipping Cream (How exact that is but seriously, who doesn’t need some extra whipped cream around the house?!)

Chocolate Sauce

1 package of Caramel Toffee Pizelles

1 bag of Heath Bar Pieces (you can buy these already crushed by the chocolate chips)

1 bag of mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Cook the brownies according to the recipe, let cool.

2. Make the caramel mouse (it takes 2 hours to chill so keep that in mind)

3. Whip your whipped cream

4. Start the layering process:

Brownie, Caramel Mousse, Toffee pieces…

Pizelles, Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Sauce, Whipped Cream…

and repeat…I had a total of three layers.

5. Decorate as you wish…

6. Now I let this one chill for at least 8 hours or overnight in the fridge. It was heavenly although it was missing a bit of crunch, which the Pizelles should have taken care of. Unfortunately they were not crunchy after sitting for so long. SO I suggest only letting this sit for an hour or two.

This is my last sappy letter for a while. I wrote one to Tyler and Abby and until the mood strikes me again in a few years, this is it!

Dear Sunshine,

(Your nickname given to you by Daddy)

I let you get away with a lot because basically, you are the sweetest thing on earth. Yell for me after I put you to bed? Well yes, ma’am, you can stay up until I go to bed. Look at me with those sweet eyes and say, “More, please?” Why of course! Whatever you would like. Could I be creating a monster? No way–you are too sweet and beautiful for that. (This is what I tell myself.)

I have created quite the problem with coming in to check on you and noticing how just darn cute you are and then have to get you out of your crib. You lie on the couch with me late at night curled up in my arm while listening to music or watching late-night TV on Food Network. You already love Alton Brown–good girl! You lie very still and cuddle; you have already learned the longer you cuddle with me the later you get to stay up. You give me these sideways glances and break out into a smile.

You love me and I can’t get enough of it. When you call to me and say, “Mama hold you?” so I will hold you like a baby, I run and pick you up. How could I ignore a request like that?

Yesterday I let you stay up once again because you are very good at entertaining yourself while I do work at night. You crept over oh-so-quietly about every fifteen minutes, squatted down so you were right next to my ear as I was typing away while lying on the floor and said “Mama, I love you.” Then I heard you waddle over to the other room and whisper the same thing into Daddy’s ear.

When I quickly and oh-so-surprisingly was pregnant with you I was ecstatic with the thought of sisters….everyone needs a sister to love them throughout her whole life. You love your sister; we creep into her room late at night and you crawl into her bed and get under the covers. Your grin is uncontrollable as your sister Ocean rolls over to her side deep in sleep and wraps her arms around you. I hope you love each other forever.

The other thing that crossed my mind when I found out I was having another child was…uncertainty. How could I have room to love another? Would it take away from my love for my other child? When you came all my worries washed away. How was I to know my heart could have room for so much more love? And you also opened up a part of my heart I didn’t know was there and filled it with your light.

You really ARE our Sunshine. You brighten everyone’s day who passes you by and I pray you will always know how beautiful, special and amazing your little soul is. Your soul reminds me so much of my little sister, Laura; you love everyone so much. You love life, you radiate with that knowledge and I hope you can always hold onto your sunshine.

Erin over at TodaysMama wrote a post after watching tonight’s episode of “Raising the Bar.” The episode was about a father who posts an innocent picture of his little boy in a bathtub on his public family blog and it winds up on a child pornographer’s website. The father is taken to trial and faces charges dealing with child pornography and the possibility of being registered as a sex offender for life. She wrote about her personal take on the episode and also about how much she chooses to share online about her child.

While watching the episode I started to browse around online to see if there were any local stories dealing with this subject and mom bloggers. I found an article The Deseret News just published titled “Does posting photos online jeopardize your family?” I have to say there were some quotes in that article from other bloggers that rubbed me the wrong way. I don’t like people “suggesting,” “telling,” “offering opinions” on what I should do. Just ask my husband!

Then I decided to get real honest with myself, take a step back and reassess my decisions:

Our family blog–Invite-only when I post information I would not want people to see. I don’t even post our actual address anywhere. I feel okay with this.

Facebook–All of the extra privacy settings are on and I am careful who I let see my profile. I feel okay with this.

THIS blog–Sometimes I really do wish I never used my girls’ names but sometimes I feel the complete opposite way. I do think the pictures I post are always appropriate.

Twitter–I get a HUGE thumbs down on this. I reread my tweets and was so upset with myself. Tweeting to the whole wide web where we planned to go that day for fun?! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I always considered myself such an overprotective parent; my girls are rarely without him…

…a (you don’t even want to know how much $$) trained protection dog. I watch my kids like a HAWK and they are never, ever to be away from my side in public. They aren’t allowed to roam the neighborhood, play outside alone or go to anyone’s home I don’t know extremely well.

But after watching “Raising the Bar” and reading the article on TodaysMama I was able to reassess my online presence with open eyes and realize some things I was doing were not safe.

I definitely was not as responsible a parent as I could have been and now will be.

Take the time today to look at YOUR online presence and if you really want EVERYONE to know all the information you are sharing.

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