We have winners: Muslin Wrap, LOFT Maternity, and Love, Mommy

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• #11 Tara is the winner of the Baby Gilliyan Boutique’s Muslin Wrap.

If you didn’t win, take advantage of their generous offer to our readers of 20% off–just use the code 09ZRA9.

• The reader who is going to be one hot mama (to be) with her $100 gift certificate to Ann Taylor LOFT Maternity is #222  Richelle F.

• The winner of Love, Mommy: Writing Love Letters to Your Baby is #65 Tracey Becker.

Didn’t win? Love, Mommy is truly a book I’d recommend that you buy. The author left a comment on the post that I’d like to reprint here, since most of you probably didn’t scroll down to read it.  She shares some great quick tips:

Dear Jennifer,
Thank you so much for your beautiful review of my book. I loved how you opened by saying very aptly that as “parents all of us try to capture those fleeting moments of childhood one way or another.” And I think it’s great that you offered all of the possible suggestions to get started from photos to video, scrapbooking, journaling, blogging or a combination of these methods. Memory triggers are so important for moms, because don’t always get a lot of sleep, (Understatement!) and we have lots on our plate.

Thank you for the lovely line you wrote about how “the book is excellent because of those lapses between our intention and action.” It is so true. I believe this so passionately, because I know that children love stories about what they were like when they were little and they seem to crave all of the information they can get. Even adult children and teens enjoy hearing all of the stories and by writing them down, you get all of that rich, evocative detail. I am amazed by some of stories I wrote when Max and Lily were little, because even though I wrote them, I’ll catch myself saying, “I forgot that happened. Wow.” It’s so lovely to have these letters and stories, because somehow it allows you to capture some of the happiest moments of your life and make them live on forever.

I often tell moms in workshops that if they don’t have time to write a whole letter, just write even five headlines a year-after their birthday is a great place to start. So you can write about Their Birthday, First Day of School, Family Holidays, Celebrations, not to mention First Bath, Birth, First Time They Caught a Baseball, First ballet class or times spent in the playground, just to name a few. I give lots of suggested topics in the book to stimulate your memory and imagination. Another way to get started is just to keep a shoebox and cut a letter sized opening on the top of the box and every time you get an idea, just dash it off on a piece of paper, (even just one line) and pop in the “suggestion box,” Then on a rainy day or whenever you have the time, you can take these notes, headlines or ideas and write out the story in a journal, or some pretty stationary, or even just tap away on the computer and have that memory preserved. I also say even if you can’t write a number of letters, write one masterpiece of a letter, (there is chapter that outlines how to do that.)

You know those cute words and phrases they say? I call them Maxisms and Lilyisms, so what are your Davidisms, and Susyisms, etc. That’s another great way to get started. And Jennifer thank you for mentioning “The Magic Key” as I think that is one of the greatest keys to the book. A mom read the book and started writing love letters to her daughter Brenna. So she wrote a story about how she painted Brenna’s bedroom and then noticed that Brenna was waiting outside the room, propped up on her elbows and just waiting. When her mom asked her “Brenna, what are you doing?” Brenna answered: “I’m waiting for the paint to dry.” So after the story, the mom ended the story with this Magic Key: “Brenna, I love your patience. Your patience and your innocence are some of your most wonderful qualities.” So even if Brenna forgets the story about the paint, she will always remember that her mom wrote this wonderful line about one of her best characteristics. That noticing and acknowledging lands in a very deep place for all children, young and old alike. Thanks Jennifer and I am so thrilled that moms are writing. I really believe it is the greatest gift you can give to your children and to yourself.

With appreciation and thanks,
Judy Siblin-Librach
“Love, Mommy”