{ The Hot Mom to Be Handbook Review }

About the Book
Are you simply “pregnant” . . . or a Hot Mom to Be?

A Hot Mom to Be is confident and empowered. She’s a woman who meets the needs of her family but refuses to get lost in the madness of motherhood. And she will never sacrifice her sense of style or self.

Founder of the Hot Moms Club, and monthly “Mommywood” columnist for Pregnancy magazine, Jessica Denay is on the pulse of Hollywood mom trends and baby products. The Hot Moms Club has coordinated nurseries and hosted star-studded baby showers for dozens of celebrities including Brooke and Charlie Sheen, Trista Sutter, Alison Sweeney, Ana Ortiz, and Angie Everhart to name a few. And now Jessica Denay offers the very best advice, products, and stories for moms-to-be everywhere. Wise and funny, helpful and hip, The Hot Mom to Be Handbook contains a wealth of information on:

• Avoiding McSteamy or McDreamy ob-gyns
• Working the perks of pregnancy—and playing the “I’ve Gotta Pee” card to your best advantage
• Bump on a Budget—money saving tips that won’t cramp your style
• Creating decoy baby names and coping with Dad’s “Post-Party” Depression
• Earth-friendly tips for the Eco-Minded Mama . . . and more!

Chock-full of Hot Mom bare necessities—as well as $tuff to Drool Over sections—here’s how to do it, how to strut it, and where to buy it.

Plus thousands of dollars’ worth of discounts inside!

My Thoughts:

I recently was chosen to review a book for Mom Central on behalf of Harper Collins. It is called "The Hot Mom to be Handbook".

Now while I am not a mom to be at the moment, I have been and I do love all the pregnancy books out there getting you ready for your new baby, and giving you information on what to expect.

The book is set up pretty much like all the others, every chapter taking you through a different stage of your 9 months of pregnancy.

I have to say though, I truly wish it had been available when I was pregnant with my kids, I could have used a book like this telling me not just what to expect with baby but how to feel good about myself during these months.

I love that the Chapters are not too long but they are long enough to be filled with great ideas and resources, but it's also pretty funny. The author is hilarious and she keeps things fun which makes for a breeze to read, I didn't want to put it down.

You can find this book on Amazon and you can also read more about other Hot Moms at the Hot Moms Club Online.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of HarperCollins and received a copy of The Hot Mom to Be Handbook to facilitate my review. Mom Central also sent me a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

{ Toothless...oh so toothless }

(I'm a little perplexed by the Cocaine word)

We interrupt the Summer Days schedule to bring you the story of a toothless wonder.....namely ME.

See on Saturday morning I started getting a bit of pain on my back right tooth, on the bottom. I think it's my molar, but who knows, I'm not a dentist and I really don't know much about teeth other than they help me eat and that is like major for me *teehee*

So anyway, being the mom that I am, I thought "ugh, it's just a little toothache, it will go away, I don't have time for teeth problems"....and I kept on going, trying to ignore it.

Problem is that it didn't go away and it just got progressively worse, to the point where eating was becoming a pain. I was feeling throbbing on the side of my face and it was just really bothering me.

I tried to hold off until the first of June because our dental insurance is not really that great and I knew that I would be paying a LOT to get this taken care of.

Let me just say that at my last appointment a few weeks ago the doctor had talked about a crown and root canal and something something which I blocked out as the dollar signs started flashing before my eyes, and not in a YAY I just hit the jackpot kinda way...more like in a "dangit we're going to be broke and eating ramen noodle for a couple of months".

But by this morning, I could not bear it anymore and if you've been through toothache before, you KNOW it's got to be one of the most irritating things ever, right up there with standing behind someone in line when they seem to have bought the whole store....OR....going outside to turn off your sprinkler and slipping on the wet ground with your flip flops and doing a matrix move in front of the neighborhood....OR.....well, you get my drift.

I made the call and was lucky to get an appointment this afternoon.

Dentist tried to tell me I needed a crown and maybe a root canal, but see she wouldn't know that until she got in there and when I asked how much was this going to cost me out of pocket, she gave me a paper. $574 just for the crown, more for the root canal. WHAT?!?!?!?!?

Yeah, um, NO, I am not rich and I don't have money growing on trees, there is no way I can afford that right now. So I asked for other options and was told, a temporary crown WHICH the insurance company doesn't cover because you know, it's temporary and it can break or fall off or explode.

It came down to, either paying $574 OR paying the $574 PLUS the root canal cost, OR, paying a ludicrous amount for a temporary crown.

That's when I said "PULL IT".

Of course she gave me the cock eyed look and tried to talk me out of it, but really, I'm about to turn 36 years old, this tooth is all the way in the back, it's not in the front and it's just a pain anymore. Just pull the thing, I won't miss it. And it's not like it's one of my front teeth or I'm a young spring chicken looking for a husband. I just want it gone.

So she did and after doing so told me that there was pus forming in there which meant an abscess forming AND a root canal if we hadn't done it.

Score for me.

So here I am, the numbing finally having left my mouth and face and now all I feel is pain, but a good kind of pain. It's a relief just knowing that it's gone and it won't bother me anymore, it also doesn't hurt that I have antibiotics and vicodin. Yes, I think I'll be ok.

There was talk Dry Socket and all that non fun stuff, so I'm just going to be really careful and pray that doesn't go there.

Moral of the story.....well, there really isn't one, other than instead of $574, I paid $54 and I'm very happy.

{ The Last Christian Review }

The Last Christian by David Gregory
Genre: Speculative Christian Fiction, Thriller
Pages: 407
Date Published: May 4, 2010
Publisher: WaterBrook Multnomah
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher's book description:

A.D. 2088. Missionary daughter Abigail Caldwell emerges from the jungle for the first time in her thirty-four years, the sole survivor of a mysterious disease that killed her village. Abby goes to America, only to discover a nation where Christianity has completely died out. A curious message from her grandfather assigns her a surprising mission: re-introduce the Christian faith in America, no matter how insurmountable the odds.But a larger threat looms. The world's leading artificial intelligence industrialist has perfected a technique for downloading the human brain into a silicon form. Brain transplants have begun, and with them comes the potential of eliminating physical death altogether—but at what expense?As Abby navigates a society grown more addicted to stimulating the body than nurturing the soul, she and Creighton Daniels, a historian troubled by his father's unexpected death, become unwitting targets of powerful men who will stop at nothing to further their nefarious goals. Hanging in the balance—the spiritual future of all humanity.In this fast-paced thriller, startling near-future science collides with thought-provoking religious themes to create a spell-binding "what-if?" novel.



Before I even begin, I'm going to let you watch this trailer for the book:



I know I often say that this book is one of the best I've read, but in this case. It absolutely is one of the BEST books I have EVER read. PERIOD!

And I have read thousands of books over the years, but this one has left something in my heart.

The Last Christian is so well written, and I think as a Christian it leaves a lot in your mind, a lot of food for thought, it certainly makes you think and ponder and wonder and I love that about a book.

I wish I had the words to describe what an amazing book this was, let's just say that I didn't have to wait until the middle of the book to find it interesting, it pretty much caught my attention from the get go and then it was like a fast paced train, I kept turning the pages, wanting to read more, wanting to know more and by the time it ended, not only did I love it but I was also left with a little to think about.

I'm love endings where everything is sort of set straight and put in it's place, but I also enjoy those where you are left to wonder, left with a few what if's. That's what this one did for me.

I encourage you to pick it up at your local library or bookstore and read it, then come back and tell me what you thought. I'm sure it will touch you like it did me.

For more info, you can check out Random House.




This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

{ Summer Days #1 }

Oh boy, Summer is definitely upon us and for us here in the Bourland Household, it's begun!

Today was officially our first day of Summer Break and what a day it's been. From sleeping in late, to a filling breakfast of bacon and eggs....to puttering around the house, planting and watering and decorating and ending with a couple of hours outside in the pool and under the canopy.

First I have to show you my progress in the gardening department. I'm quite pleased with myself, seems my Thumb of Death is either on vacation or decided to leave forever. If so, Thank the Lord above because I'm finally able to grow things around here.

Tomato and my Sage

Starting from the top: Parsley, Lavender, Marigold, Johnny Jump Up and Zinnia, all growing, all pretty and I couldn't be happier.

Closer look at my parsley

If you turn around, right behind you you'll see this.

Now turn the other way because....oh my word....real strawberries. Yes, and I grew them. *GASP*

Strawberry and Tomato plant. I think it helps that I keep the instructions on there and follow them to the letter LOL

Tomato plant, look it's all thriving and doing good. I'm shocked I tell you, beyond shocked that I have been able to grown anything at all.

I'm not sure if you noticed on my Stove Top Cover yesterday, I have this little mini muffin pan.

I wanted something cute, so I grabbed this old pan, added some tea lights here and there, then filled in the rest of the holes with beans. I then took my Sweet Pea and Jasmine scented oil and dripped a few drop over the beans.

It smells SO good in my kitchen and I don't even need to light a scented candle. Just love this, so easy and so inexpensive.

After my puttering around a bit, the kids asked if I could put the pool up again, and that's what I did next. But not before pruning my lemon tree, which I forgot to take a picture of, I'll do that for you tomorrow.

Their friends came down to play in the pool too. Just give kids a pool and watch them have fun for hours on end.

Little Miss Lola went in for a swim too and then came and sat down on the chair with me to dry off. She really does think she's human.

5 PM rolled around and retreat kicked in, which means the taking down of the flag and the playing of the National Anthem. At that time, cars have to pull to the side of the road and remain there until it's over, and anyone outside during this time needs to face the flag or the sound of the Anthem.

The kids were jumping around and having fun, but being the military brats that they are, they KNOW that when the first note sounds, they are to stand up and remain quiet.

I love watching them all with their hands over their hearts, paying respect to their Country. It's adorable!

So there you have it, the first day of summer. Just like my Spring Break series, I plan on doing a daily Summer Days post with one or more pics of the day. If you want to join in, let me know through comments so I can come by and check your post out.

It's not going to be a strict every day thing, if you want to participate today but then don't for a few days and then come back again, that's perfectly fine.

I'm off to work on my Knitted Gifts.

{ Happy Homemaker Monday }

Before I start, just wanted to let you all know that I apologize for not getting a chance to come by and see your posts last week. But I will definitely visit you today, I have time set aside for that :)

<a href="http://familycorner.blogspot.com" title="hhm by jasnicmommy, on Flickr"><img width="150" alt="hhm" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4452676258_fbde55c90f_m.jpg" width ="200" height="150" /></a>

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Blue skies. The wind has finally left, it was so annoying and kept trying to blow my outside canopy down.


Things that make me happy:
Goodwill


Book I'm reading:
I am Hutterite - Doing a review and so far I'm really enjoying this book


What I'm enjoying on TV:
Weird or What
Ancient Aliens
Robin Hood (2010)


On the menu for dinner:
Portuguese meal - Ground beef with sausage and fries. (will post recipe tonight)


On my To Do List:
Laundry
Mopping
Bathrooms


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Didn't try anything new last week

In the craft basket:

Folk Dolls
Bath Mitts for gifts

Looking forward to this week:
First week of Summer with my kids


Tips and Tricks:
Got dirty walls? Chances are if you have little ones in your home, you DO. But it's not always that easy to get them clean, so here are a few tips I found while searching online for myself.

• To remove dirty fingerprints on the wall, a pencil eraser is an effective tool.
• Dirt marks on wallpaper can be removed by rubbing a soft India rubber or a small piece of stale bread over it.
• Ceramic-tiled walls will freshen up by brushing white shoe polish into the cracks of the tiles. Remove the excess polish streaks with a damp absorbent cloth.
• Moss that have accumulated on walls can be removed by pouring hot water over it and wiping with a cloth or scouring with a brush or scouring pad.
• Oil-paint walls can be cleaned with soapy water.

My favorite blog post this week:
I'm just going to send you all Jen's way at Reflections in the Window. She has got to be one of the luckiest ladies on earth by living so close to the one of the most amazing Living History Museums. She's been sharing tons of pictures and I'm loving every single one of them.


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Gettysburg Homestead - I love this Primitive blog


No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
That as much as I love my children, they can drive me completely insane at times and it's OK to admit that. It's OK to feel overwhelmed and helpless and frustrated. It doesn't make me a bad mom, it just makes me a MOM...period.


On my mind:
The knitted gifts I'm making, got a lot of ideas floating around.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.

1 Chronicles 16:11-12