Over the past week or so, I have been reading an awesome book called The Secret of Wellington’s Map.  Granted, this isn’t my normal reading genre (usually if I can get a few minutes away I pick up Stephen King or Dean R Koontz book), but you know what?  I enjoyed this book just as much as I do books by those authors (though I think this book would be considered in either the sci-fi or mystery genre).  I would say that The Secret of Wellington’s Map is probably geared towards the ten and up crowd.  However, as an adult, I truly enjoyed the book too.  I found the author’s style a joy to read, and she really caught the essence of teenage girls in this book.  I also enjoyed finding a book that girls are the heroines.  The other thing I liked is that even though the main characters are teenage girls, they weren’t boy crazy.  Granted, there were a few boy mentions, but their lives didn’t revolve around boys.  The author had the girls talking, acting, and dressing like teenage girls, so I found them very believable.  There is also a bit of real life history intertwined into the story.

The story centers around two girls, Jaime and Nicole, that had expected a carefree summer.  However, after they come across a magic map, they go on an adventure of a lifetime.  I hate to go into more of a synopsis of the book, because I don’t want to spoil any part of it for you.  I will tell you that the map is somewhat of a time space portal, and they do go through it and end up in 1885.  However, if you want to find out why and if they make it back, you have to go read the book!

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One of best cameras I have owned is the Sony Cybershot. It is awesome that you don’t have to carry around a ton of luggage to take this camera with you.  You can easily slide this slick phone into either your purse or your pocket.  The 4GB of internal memory can store up to 40,000 VGA-quality photos or 1,000 8-megapixel pictures.  You seriously don’t need a memory card to make this camera work.  You also don’t need to read the manual that comes with to make it work.  The part that impressed me the most is that the pictures are awesome.
This camera takes the best pictures of any of the digital ones that I owned before this. On my other blog, I chronicled my entire basement remodel using this camera. I use this camera when we are out and about with the kids.  The menu is done by touchscreen, so you don’t have forty thousands buttons to figure out.  If you are in the market for a new point and shoot camera, I highly recommend a Sony Cybershot!

Back in April, I wrote a review on the That Baby CD and DVD.  They both are still a huge hit in my house.  The part I love most about the songs that are on there is that they aren’t kid songs.  You won’t find yourself climbing the walls with some sing songy tunes.  These are covers written by some of the best artists of our time:  Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Natalie Merchant, The Beatles, and The Pretenders.  You will find yourself singing along with a lot of these songs.  This CD is played every time Will goes to bed (naptime or nighttime).  That is how great I think this is!

Now, they are sure you are going to love this DVD and CD.  If you don’t, they have a money back guarantee.  They also offer free replacement of scratched or damaged discs too.  (This is worth its weight in gold!).  For those of us who want to be enviromentally friendly, they are made in the US with recyclable materials.  If you do purchase them, free shipping and handling in the US (you all know how much I adore free shipping!)  Also, if you need it quickly for a baby shower or birthday that you forgot about, call them.  They will figure something out to get it to you in time!  How awesome is that customer service?

Now, I have kept in touch with the awesome company who makes these unique baby gifts, and the owner agreed to give away a copy of the That Baby DVD and CD away to one of my lucky readers!!!  This contest will be open to all my readers.  To quote the owner:  “Kids around the world need to rock, so we’re open to all of them!”  I am going to run it until the end of the month (July 31st) till 8 PM CST.  So what do you need to do to enter?

Each one of these give you one entry:

1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know which song you think you’ll like the best.  You are able to actually listen snippets of each song right on That Baby DVD’s site (I’ve linked the page, so you can easily find it), so that should help you make your decision.  One comment only please and let me know everything you did for your entries in that comment.  If you do not leave which song in your comment, your entry will not count.
2. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
3. Vote for this post on other social media sites. One extra entry for each social media site you vote for this on.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed.

For 5 additional entries, blog about this on your blog or add it to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.

Good luck to all!

UPDATE:  The winner has been chosen for this giveaway.  However, if you use the coupon code LISASENTME, you can get 20% off your own copies!

I never thought Braincandy would infiltrate my household like it has. My 4 year old and my 1 year old are absolutely in love with the Hear My World DVD from Braincandy. My daughter (the 4 year old) has begged me to buy the rest of the series. That is how much she enjoys this movie.

Now this DVD does not go by Hear My World in this house.  Instead, it is referred to as the ear movie (can you figure out why?).  The movie is all about the sounds you hear.  There is a lot of singing and they have short little skits.  My kids love it.  The skits are just long enough to hold their attention.  Every time the singing starts, Will (my 1 year old) starts dancing.  It is both cute and funny at the same time.

The great part of these movies is that they are both learning and not realizing it.  Braincandy has won 35 awards and industry endorsements, so they must be doing something right!  I know that Madison goes around singing their theme song “Braincandy” that plays at the beginning of the video.  I know Santa will be bringing some of these videos come Christmas time at my house.  If you need an awesome present, definitely look into getting some of these DVDs.