Hot off the press is the third book in the series, What to Expect the Second Year. Since my kids are all much older, I was, of course, completely unaware of the arrival of this book. However, evidently my blog and it’s amazingly cool design (hey, I slaved over this thing for days and days to get it perfect, so I think I deserve some bragging rights!) caught the attention of someone over at the What to Expect website and they asked me to do a giveaway of their brand new book.

I’ve got two copies in my possession and they look just as informational as their predecessor. (Disclosure: I haven’t read, nor ever even seen, a copy of What to Expect the First Year, so I have no comment on that one.) I would have loved to have this book when my girls were in their second year of life. My only question: Why didn’t they come out with these sooner???

If you’d like to win a copy of one of these excellent resources, here’s the scoop:

THE PRIZE:

One of two copies of What to Expect the Second Year.

TO ENTER:

♣  Leave a comment on my blog. That’s it! Limit one comment per person, per day.

WANT BONUS ENTRIES?

♣  Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email, then leave a comment letting me know.

♣  Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with the link. (You can do this daily.) Optional phrasing for your Tweet: I’m entered to win What to Expect the Second Year from @MomofTwinsPlus2. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/5r8wehn.

♣  Post on your blog with a link about the giveaway and leave a comment with a link to your post.

♣  Follow my blog on Networked Blogs and leave a comment letting me know.

♣  Become a fan of Parenting By Trial and Error on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.

PLEASE READ: Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, Friday, June 24, 2011. Any comments left after this time will be deleted. Open to residents of the U.S. only. The winner will be chosen by using random.org. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to notification with shipping info. If no response, another winner will be chosen.

GOOD LUCK!

Right now, I’m reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, which I admit has been sitting on my shelf for several years. I’m not a big fan of the memoir genre, typically, so despite this book’s glowing reviews, I wasn’t too anxious to crack it open.

That all changed when I finally sat down and watched the movie of the same name starring Julia Roberts. It wasn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen, but it resonated with me, and I decided that I simply must read the book. Once I found it somewhere in the depths of  my multiple bookshelves, that is.

I’m so glad I did. The book is divided into 108 parts. Some tales are quite short, less than a page, while others are multiple pages, making this a perfect book for parents who can steal a few minutes here and there.

Each piece is an exquisite essay. As an essayist, I appreciate the very essence of a writer that goes into a personal essay. One of the essays I wrote that was recently published in the book, Fits, Starts and Matters of the Heart (okay, yes, that was a shameless plug), took me several years to write, not to mention dozens and dozens of drafts. I can’t imagine how much of herself Elizabeth Gilbert must have put into this book. It boggles.

One of the goals, if not THE main goal, of a personal essay is to get the reader to feel what you, the writer, felt, so that he or she, the reader, walks away feeling a connection with your piece. The reader must be able to, consciously or not, identify the universality in your work, or all you’re doing is navel-gazing, which nobody wants to read.

Gilbert is exceptional at this very skill. She makes you taste what she’s eating, see what she’s seeing, feel what she’s feeling, care about what she cares about. To say that’s not an easy task is a gigantic understatement.

I’m nearing the end of the first of three sections in this book and I’m savoring it, like a rich dessert. Each piece is a gem, a beauty of finely-crafted, witty prose that makes me feel strangely comforted and comfortable.

I love this book. It speaks to me on a universal level. If your library carries it, check it out.

If you’ve read EPL, what did you think of it?

Your Timer and You, from “Toss, Keep, Sell!”

By Leah Ingram

I’m a huge fan of timers. When my kids were little, I used timers to “prepare” them for any change in activity that they faced in the near future. For example, I would set the timer for 10 minutes because in 10 minutes it would be time to get dressed, get in the bath, or go to bed, for example. I often used the timer on our kitchen stove, which gave a final “beep” at the one-minute mark. And whenever that final “beep” occurred, I’d hear my girls yelling from wherever they were, “One minute!” Hey, at least they were paying attention.

Fast forward a bunch of years, and now my daughters understand how using a timer can help them stay focused on getting their homework done or cleaning their room. I, too, use my timer all the time, especially when it comes to tackling my home’s clutter.

That’s why in each chapter of my new book “Toss, Keep, Sell! The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In” (Adams Media, 2010), I’ve created something I’m calling a “Quick Clutter Challenge.” Here’s how it works.

You set your timer for 15 minutes, and I challenge you to collect a certain kind of clutter.

Considering that we’ve all got kids in common, today’s guest blog post focuses on a “Quick Clutter Challenge” involving kids things.

I’m talking toys, games and books.

Chances are your kids’ playroom is cluttered with things they have grown out of. Well, guess what? Instead of collecting dust, you could be collecting some cold, hard cash for them–or at least trading them in for other stuff you need and can get for free.

So set your timer for 15 minutes and head into the playroom or your kids’ bedrooms. Find things that you know they’re just too old for, are still in good condition, and don’t hold any strong sentimental value. Again, focus on books, toys, and games only so you don’t overwhelm yourself.

Now that you’ve identified what you can get rid of, you have to decide: do I want to sell this? Do I want to swap this? Or, do I want to donate this?

Here are two places that can help you in this respect:

You can try your hand at kid-oriented consignment shops that give you cash on the spot, such as Plato’s Closet (Note: Plato’s Closet is geared more towards tweens and teens, even their books and DVDs.) (www.platoscloset.com)

You can swap their old books and movies at a site like PaperBackSwap, where you send away the books and DVDs you don’t want anymore, then bank your “points” so you can get books and movies in the future that you want for free. (www.paperbackswap.com).

Or you can donate them to a good cause of your choice and get a receipt you can use on your tax return.

Overall, you will end up with a neater playroom and maybe some extra cash in your wallet.

Copyright 2010 Leah Ingram, Reprinted with permission from Toss, Keep, Sell! The Suddenly Frugal Guide to Cleaning Out the Clutter and Cashing In (Adams Media, 2010)

I’ve been devouring all three books for the past couple weeks. I’m about 3/4 of the way through the last book and I love the story so much, I’m finding myself dragging out the finale because I know I’m going to be terribly sad when the proverbial fat lady has sung. A world without any more books starring Katniss Everdeen? I can’t think about it.

You know you’re reading a great story when you’re inexplicably sad to finish it. So many books leave me completely unmoved, wondering why I wasted my time hoping the whole time that some turn of events or explanation would redeem the pages I struggled through, only to FINALLY get to the unsatisfying end. The few that cause my heart to sink at the conclusion are treasures that I end up reading again and again, each time feeling just as resigned to the inevitable end of my temporary escape as I did the first time.

Even though The Hunger Games is technically in the Young Adult genre, a style for which I confess having a huge weakness, its lessons, characters and symbolism are timeless and universal. Writing a novel is a big accomplishment. Writing one in the YA genre is an even bigger accomplishment, a challenge in itself, considering its target audience. To write a story that adolescents actually care about, especially one that doesn’t contain the smut teens typically look for, is a feat achieved by very few.

If you like a fast-paced, emotionally-charged, action-filled, character-driven story, then you should definitely check out The Hunger Games trilogy. If you’re really smart, you’ll read it before the first movie, now in negotiations, makes its way to the big screen. I have a feeling it’s going to be a smash hit.

Have you read The Hunger Games? What’s your review?

Happy Families…Bounce

Some say, sure, it’s easy to be a happy family when life is good. When money isn’t a problem, when the kids are little angels, when we’re all healthy, when the in-laws are loving and supportive, when partners are joyfully in love — boy, are we happy! But what about real people in real families with some real trouble? Can we be expected to be happy when times are tough?

Yes.

Bad things happen. Financial hardship, hospitalization, relocation, problems at school, even physical abuse — they happen all the time in all families. Some families fall apart under the strain; others take the hit, but bounce right back. Why is that? Why can some families, but not others, weather the tough times and remain strong, loving and happy? The key secret of the families who are able to bounce is found in one word: resiliency.

VOTING FOR RESILIENCY

Resiliency is a common term, usually associated with toughness or durability; for example, the balsam fir is a resilient tree, able to withstand harsh northern winters. In human psychology terms, it often refers to the capacity of an individual to recover quickly from a misfortune or trauma and maintain an established pattern of functioning. More simply, resiliency is the quality of families that can stretch and bounce back when confronted with challenges! Not only is this ability important, but, according to the individuals who completed the Happy Family Survey, it is the single more important factor in keeping a family together.

When asked what contributed most to a happy family, respondents were asked to rank the following six factors: (1) agreeing about money, (2) resiliency, (3) doing a lot of activities as a family, (4) having children grow up with both biological parents, (5) living within an hour’s distance from the children’s grandparents, and (6) attending religious services weekly.

Resiliency was given the number one vote more than any other factor. When I analyzed the data, I found an interesting phenomenon. This choice of resiliency as an important factor in a happy family didn’t waver according to the type of family: whether respondents were in a traditional nuclear, step, blended, single-parent, or gay or lesbian family, all recognized that if you have resiliency, then you have the necessary ingredient to have a happy family.

Unfortunately, having a family that can weather the slings and arrows of life’s outrageous fortune doesn’t come easy. That’s why its integral role in family dynamics is too often kept a secret.

Excerpted from The Secrets of Happy Families by Scott Haltzman, M.D.  Copyright © 2009 by Scott Haltzman. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Want your very own copy of The Secrets of Happy Families? Here’s how to enter for a chance to win:

TO ENTER:

♣ Leave a comment. That’s it! Limit one comment per person, per day.

WAYS TO GET BONUS ENTRIES:

♣ Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email, then leave a comment letting me know.

♣ Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with the link. (You can do this daily.) Optional phrasing for your Tweet: I’m entered to win a copy of The Secrets of Happy Families from @MomofTwinsPlus2. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/ykqrsx2.

♣ Post on your blog with a link about the giveaway and leave a comment with a link to your post.

♣ Favorite me on Technorati (leave your username).

♣ Follow my blog on Networked Blogs and let me know.

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Giveaway ends at 11:59 Central Standard Time, Wednesday, October 21, 2009. Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only. The winner will be chosen using random.org. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to notification with shipping info. If no response, another winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

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Have you entered my Baking Kids Love giveaway? Check out the yummy recipe and leave a comment for your chance to win!