The Miss Elaine-ous Life

random acts of life, family and photos

A Meme & A Giveaway (UPDATED)

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I was tagged a week or so ago by my new friend (from the Ultimate Blog Party!) Scrapping Servant to do this book meme.

I also won a Pay It Forward giveaway from Boys Rule My Life and the new hurricane I received is now on display in my living room. YEAH! ***UPDATE – Don’t forget if you win this giveaway you are supposed to PAY IT FORWARD and give something away also – on your blog if you have one or to someone else in your life if you don’t – Please pass on the love!***

So, I am tying the two things together. I am giving you a passage from a book that I will also giveaway! And, I’m gonna throw in a $10 Starbucks gift card because that’s just the kind of girl I am. Plus reading and drinking a mocha go hand in hand, right? Literally! Oh, I do amuse myself…

Here’s the meme first.

Here are the rules:

  • Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
  • Open the book to page 123.
  • Find the 5th sentence.
  • Post the next 3 sentences.
  • Tag 5 people.

I chose this book because it’s awesome for moms and it was right on my nightstand and it’s from the Chicken Soup series. How could you go wrong?

My friend Jennifer gave me this book when I was pregnant with Little G. I guess she thought my life was about to get a little busier! And I LOVE this book. It has a ton of practical advice about how to run your household with kids and thus how to keep some of your sanity! One of the reviews on the back says, “A must-read for every busy mom wanting down-to-earth advice on the highest acclaimed profession in the world: Motherhood.”

So here’s by excerpt:

“Everything we did was a learning experience for my daughter – I think she learned her letters from trips to the supermarket where I pointed out everything that was at eye level. However our trips to the “Hippo Playground” at Riverside Park were my sanity savers – except when I was so frazzled getting out of the house that I forgot something important like diapers, juice, or wipes, or took so long getting myself toether, we didn’t get out of the house until late afternoon. It was after one of those days that I sat on my sofa and reflected on how much simpler my life used to be.”

Perfect, don’t cha think?

Okay, so if you wanna win this book and a $10 Starbucks card just leave me a comment about what you love about motherhood (I assume it will only be moms commenting, but if you are a dad or a pet owner only, leave a comment about that!) on this post and I will enter you. This is open to bloggers and non-bloggers who live in the US or Canada only. You can leave a comment every day if you want. The more you comment the more chances you have! Please, please make sure I have a way to contact you, whether through your email or blog profile. I will pick a winner via Random.org at the end of the day on Monday, March 31st.

By the way, my birthday is tomorrow and it’s rumored that my husband is going to do a “guest post” so come back and check that out – should be interesting!

Oh and then there’s the tagging (for the book meme that is)… I shall tag some of my newest bloggy friends!

Adventures of a Reluctant Housewife

Loving Every Minute

3 Little Monkeys…

Quirky is a Compliment

Mindless Chatter of a Busy Mom

Good luck to everyone (you know, whether you are meme-ing or commenting or both!)

Comments

  3. It’s a good meme. I’ve been tagged by Reluctant, but haven’t got a book nearby right now.

    I’d also really like to win this book, but understand that I can’t. I live in the UK. Boo hoo (that I can’t win the book. I think it’s cool to live in the UK, of course).

  4. What I love about motherhood…the pile of dishes in the sink, the dirty clothes on the floor, the thousands of diapers I’ve changed, never sleeping through the night…Ok, nevermind!

    My 3 little monkeys are the best part of motherhood, of course. It’s the unconditional love they give and the many, many hugs and smiles that get me through the day.

    Thanks for the tag.

  5. Well, I’m not a mommy to humans, but I am a mom to my two cats, and I’d say the thing I love best about them is when they’re sitting on my lap helping me blog, and they reach up with their little paws to touch my face to get my attention. It’s like, “Hey! Hey! Down here! Love me!”

    I’ll do the book meme as soon as I get a chance.

  7. What do I love about motherhood? I get to do all the things that I loved anyway and not look nearly as silly doing it w/ my children in tow. I can watch all the Scooby Doo I want w/o anybody razing an eyebrow. I can go through the toy aisle at Target or Meijer and browse w/o looking silly. We can sing silly songs while grocery shopping to pass the time. I can can forgo doing the dishes or laundry for a night in favor of playing a board game with my kids and be justified. 🙂

    All that the fun I’ve been able to have with them far outweighs the worries and stresses that come along with it in the end.

    -Nicole

  10. My husband and I are working on our budget…which means no more Starbucks for me. =-( I’d LOVE that Starbucks gift card!! Thanks for the giveaway!

  11. It’s kind of hard to come up with something I love about motherhood right now, as I haven’t slept in three years. I’m going to say that I love the baths — not mine of course but the kids’. We put them both in there and they have a blast. Which makes me laugh. So that’s good.

  13. What I love most is that I genuinely laugh out loud at stuff my son says. I never thought a kid would be so funny!

  14. i love everything about motherhood. my favorite though is when my kids learn something new it makes me so proud.
    bwalleshauser AT yahoo DOT com

  15. I especially love the fact that my husband and I are (for the most part) the first ones to tell our children new things, let them see new sights, and let them experience new delights. It’s a great privilege, and an even greater responsibility! Thank you! ( meg.wilson@gmail.com )

  16. Well, I’m a mom to 3 (10, 6 and 9 months) and I love them so much. Every day is a blessing. Every day I teach them something and they teach me something (even if it’s just having patience). Being a mom is the best! Great give away.

  17. My 5 month old son makes me smile when he sees me, he kicks and wriggles and his face lights up in a smile, and sometimes a giggle. When I put my face near his, he gently (amazingly gentle for a 5 month old) places his hands on my cheeks and coos at me. that’s what i love best about being a mom…at least while he’s this little, the unconditional love and adoration from my son JUST BECAUSE I’m his mommy.

  19. Greetings! Being a mother is the most difficult, but most rewarding job in my life. The fact that each stage of a child’s life brings new challenges and rewards keeps me on my toes. I enjoy watching the person hood that is developing in my two sons. They are as different as night and day! Your contest is wonderful. Please enter me in your drawing. Thanks,Cindi
    jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

  20. I love seeing my 13 month old daughter’s beaming smile first thing in the morning. It gives me such joy and helps me start the day feeling great.

    disarray at onebox dot com

  21. I love the funny things kids say…the fresh perspective they offer up about the little things. Thanks for the giveaway!

  23. The best thing about motherhood is the unconditional love. It’s wonderful to wake up and walk into my twins room and see the smiles on their faces, so happy to see me every morning. 🙂 Makes it all worthwhile.

  24. I’ve never been a mom, but I’ve been a nanny and a pseudo-orphan-mom, and I love how crazy they can make you and you can get so sick of them and never want to see them again, and then they’re gone for, like, five minutes and you’re craving their little bodies and totally forgetting why they pissed you off so much.

  25. I did the meme and now I’m commenting too.

    One of the things I love was that when my husband was deployed and my son was very young, we co-slept and I knew that every morning, I would be greeted by his big blue eyes and then when I signed, “Milk,” I knew he was going to get super excited and laugh and flail his arms and legs.

    He’s 2 now and sleeps in his own room and I miss that. It helped keep me sane. I knew that I would wake up without my husband, but I also knew that I would wake up to my happy little guy.

  27. Um, yes please! I could really use this book AND some Starbucks! I love having my big family and seeing my children relate and interact with each other- I feel like I learn something new about them everyday… motherhood is so unpredictable in a good way!

    Steph

  29. This is a great giveaway…thank you!

    My favorite thing about motherhood is the absolute joy my kids experience when they accomplish a new skill that they thought they could “never do”.

  30. Since I am pregnant, this is an easy one for me to answer. My favorite thing about motherhood is the promise to finally achieve it. After 17 cycles, 13 months, a miscarriage, fertility treatments, and a lot of heartache, I have reached a place I doubted I would.

  31. There are truly so many many things that I love about motherhood. I love when they laugh, I love when they smile at me, I love hearing “I love you mommy”, I love when they crack me up, I love when I teach them something new…
    Motherhood- the most exhausting, crazy, silly, fun, amazing job I’ve ever had!

  32. I’ve only been a mother for 4 months and I’m only just realizing how wonderful it is. When my baby looks at me and smiles, my heart soars. I’ve never been this happy.

  33. My favorite thing about motherhood is getting to experience everything for “the first time” again with each child!
    dansan826 at yahoo.com

  35. My favorite thing about motherhood: Seeing my kids smile. That’s all I need, and everything and anything is perfect.

    oh…and best thing about coffee: It’s friggin’-Yumo-delish!

  36. my favorite thing about motherhood is watching them learn new things and be proud of themselves! oooooh and i hope i win! that book looks great and well, starbucks is always yummy.

  38. If my child was taken from me tomorrow, I would be crushed. That said, motherhood is so damn difficult- my little one is 2ish. Some days I am aware of liking anything about motherhood. Then night come and I see her sleep peaceful and it is great!!

  39. I love watching them learn. Walking, talking, all the myriad of things they learn. I love my oldest son’s made up words: “hot cave” for fireplace, “shadow timer” for alarm clock. I love my youngest son’s big smiles, and laughter. I’d also love some sleep, darn it, but I guess you can sleep when you’re dead, right?

    tgperg(at)gmail(dot)com

  42. What I love about motherhood is that I am no longer embarrassed about ANYTHING. Thanks for a great blog and give-away!

  45. OOOH! I dig this! I am totally going to try this. I just popped in here today. And I’m already stealing your meme.

    Please don’t be too mad. This one could be so fun!

  47. There are lots of things I love about being a mom, but the best is probably having my kids tell me they love me and making them laugh and smile.

    Hope I win! Yumm, starbucks!

  48. Gosh, it would be so hard to pick just one thing. I love everything about my kids and I cherish each day I have with them. Not a day goes by that I don’t count my blessings. Thanks for the great giveaway!

  49. How fun!

    Something I love love about Motherhood…

    That I always have someone to play with who thinks I hung the moon 🙂

  50. I love it when my daughter comes up to me and in a really excited voice yells “Ma-ma!” It always cheers me up and brings a smile to my face.

    I don’t have a blog, but if I win, I’ll pay it forward by giving the Starbucks card to my MIL because she loves Starbucks and I’m nursing so I shouldn’t be drinking it. I’d really love to read the book.

  51. What do I love about being a mother?

    I have six, ranging between 16 and 10 weeks.

    I can say, the milestones, from the first steps, to the first teeth, to the first day of kindergarten, the first dance, the first date, the first time I trusted them to go in a car ride without me. The first heart break, the first breakfast in bed, the last day of middle school, the first time they failed the test to get their driving permit.

    All of it I love and cherish (and cry over, I cry alot. 🙂 )

    It’s a blessing… the greatest laughter and the worst heartbreak!

  52. i love being depended upon by my children. I love being the one who holds all of their trust and love. it makes me feel super special 🙂

  53. I pretty much raised my younger sister and I love how she can now, as a teenager, say thank you for teaching me the ins and outs of this world (as much as i know of course)

  55. It has been an amazing journey as a mommy. Watching little bundles turn into their own characters with unique personalities has been fascinating. I love being able to watch each time they do something new and seeing the excitement on their face. These moments are precious and make me know that having kids was the best decision of my life (along with marrying my hubby of course).

    Thanks for the fun Elaine.

    The Angel Forever

  56. What I love about being a mother is the kids grew up and gave me grandchildren. I have a 4 day old grandson who is the sweetest baby ever!

  58. I love the endless kisses. The little pictures and notes my children bring me. The pride I feel when they accomplish something new or get really good at something. The joy they find in the little things.
    4babybirds[at]gmail[dot]com