Amanda's Books and More

Friday, May 24, 2013

Make My Saturday Sweet - Blog Hop #38

Finish the Sentence Friday

I blog because…

for years I felt like I was completely out of the loop, living in obscurity, while life was passing me by. I missed having girlfriends who share similar interests and I desperately wanted to do something more with my life.

Blogging made it possible to hone my skills in writing and photography, two talents that were, for the most part, lying dormant. There were also personal stories and experiences that were bursting inside of me, waiting to be told. Blogging has given me the opportunity to have a voice and to put some of those talents to work. I also love networking and making new friends.

I’m a firm believer that if we desire for our children to grow up and be all that they are meant to be, then we must lead the way. My blogs are only the beginning.

Don't forget to enter my
$20 Gift Voucher Giveaway!
Only 2 days left!

Now on to the blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Pinterest

Twitter

Facebook

Leave me a comment with your link and I will follow back!

Here are the easy rules:

Follow Tina (your host) @ Amanda's Books and More.
Link up your family friendly blog.
Please try to add my hop button on your most recent post or on your side-bar.
Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
Visit at least the last two blogs before your link and leave a comment.
Follow any new blogs that you like.

Blog Button Code:

This is a blog hop!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Picture Perfect Party Linky #41

The Circus

On Friday I took Amanda to the small-town circus that arrived for the weekend. It was her first circus and she says it was her first time to see live lions and a tiger. I think she's right about that. It's interesting that she knows this and I didn't realize it.

The bigger kids have been to zoos and game drives, but our Cape Town Zoo closed down (it was privately run and they couldn't keep it going). Amanda can't wait to go on the game drive in Animal Kingdom. The big kids say they'd rather go on rides and skip that one. It's kind of funny, because we're in South Africa and Amanda's first game drive will be at Disney World, U.S.A.

We weren't allowed to take any pictures once inside the tent. Check out the McLaren Circus to catch a glimpse of the animals and performers that we saw.

Don't forget to enter my $20 Gift Voucher Giveaway!

We are counting down the days to Disney World!

Today is May 21st and we leave on June 21st.

Amanda with her Minnie Mouse doll for the very first time.

Amanda got the pink and black dress from Grandma Lisa
and the Minnie Mouse doll from Grandma Naty.

Amanda with Minnie Mouse ears

Amanda's Disney dolls and Disney pillow
We are dreaming of Disney World.

This is a very recent picture of Amanda on her bed.
Samantha sleeps in the bunk above her.

Now on to my blog hop...

Here's your chance to link up your Wordless Wednesday

(with or without words) or any picture post

at this Picture Perfect Party Linky.

Come join me on this fun and easy blog hop!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter

Facebook

Leave me a comment with a link and I will follow back!

Here are the easy rules:

Follow me. Please leave a comment so that I can follow back (as long as your blog is family friendly).
Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like.
Grab the button below and add it on your post or side-bar.
Tell others about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

The Button Code:

This is a Wordless Wednesday blog hop.

Monday, May 20, 2013

$20 Gift Voucher Giveaway!

CafePress is giving away a $20 gift voucher to one of my readers. They are an international company and this giveaway is open to everyone. I highly recommend that you check out my post, "CafePress - A One-of-a-Kind Online Shop," to find out more and to get some good ideas of what you can buy.

The winner will receive his/her voucher from CafePress via email. You can find the Rafflecopter at the end of this post and follow the suggested entries to earn points.

I got my $40 voucher the other day and I let my girls spend it. This Pony Kids T-shirt below was chosen by Amanda and the Vintage Boombox Jr. T-shirt was chosen by Jessica, who will turn 15 in a couple of weeks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, May 17, 2013

Make My Saturday Sweet #37

Today I'm linking with two Friday hops!

Finish the Sentence Friday and Friendship Friday.

And, don't forget to link your blog at

the bottom on my blog hop!

Finish the Sentence Friday - May 17

When I was younger, I wanted to……

own a candy store. I loved imagining being surrounded by all the colorful sweets and seeing the wonder and joy on children’s faces. For me, a candy store was one of the happiest places to spend your days. It wouldn’t feel like work at all and I’d sample the tasty treats whenever I wanted to.

I still remember what house we were living in when I day-dreamed about my candy store, so I would have been around 10 years old at the time. It was a step up from a lemonade stand, something I also did in those days. Believe it or not, people stopped their cars and bought lemonade in those days. I was thrilled to make a bit of money and to see the smiles on the adults’ faces.

It's Children's Book Week and the theme for Friendship Friday

is on childhood books, favorite authors and your children's

favorite books.

When I was younger, I didn't have many children's books around

me. I couldn't read in English either, so that didn't help.

English was my home language, but the school I attended from

the end of Kindergarten to part of Grade 3 was a German school

in Germany. My dad was stationed there in the American Army in

the JAG Corps. My mom was half Austrian and spoke German and

I had a grandfather and grandmother who were living in Germany.

My parents decided that my brother and I would be better off

learning the language if we went to the closest German school

instead of the even closer American school.

Later on, from about Grade 5 and onward, I began reading avidly.

One of my favorite novels in my teen years was Jane Eyre.

As I began reading for my own children, we went through the

Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. That was great fun for all of us,

but sometimes my then youngest child, Samantha, got a bit lost

with the characters.

Amanda, my youngest who is now 5, has many children's books

available to her. More than half of her library are books

from her siblings when they were younger. Amanda enjoys

looking at all of them.

Make sure you check out the Kid Lit Giveaway Hop!

I have teamed up with the author of a really neat

Mermaid eBook and we are giving 5 away! Also,

on the linky list there are many other giveaways

for this Children's Book Week. So, don't miss out!

Now on to the blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Pinterest

Twitter

Facebook

Leave me a comment with your link and I will follow back!

Here are the easy rules:

Follow Tina (your host) @ Amanda's Books and More.
Link up your family friendly blog.
Please try to add my hop button on your most recent post or on your side-bar.
Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
Visit at least the last two blogs before your link and leave a comment.
Follow any new blogs that you like.

Blog Button Code:

This is a blog hop!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Picture Perfect Party Linky #40

I shared a Mother's Day photo on Sunday.
Samantha (my 12-year-old) made me breakfast
all by herself. Along with that post I also had
an eBook giveaway in honor of
Children's Book Week. Visit
5 Mermaid eBooks Giveaway
to enter my Rafflecopter or

visit other Kid Lit giveaways on the
linky list at the bottom of that post.

Here are two more photos taken on Mother's Day.

I've also added new photos of my family
and the African Penguins on 1camera1mom,
so please check it out this Wordless Wednesday.
And, at the bottom of this post, you can link
your own Wordless Wednesday!

My mother-in-law and I

Amanda building a Disney Princess puzzle with her Grandma

Now on to my blog hop...

Here's your chance to link up your Wordless Wednesday

(with or without words) or any picture post

at this Picture Perfect Party Linky.

Come join me on this fun and easy blog hop!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to link them on my Blog Hops page!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter

Facebook

Leave me a comment with a link and I will follow back!

Here are the easy rules:

Follow me. Please leave a comment so that I can follow back (as long as your blog is family friendly).
Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like.
Grab the button below and add it on your post or side-bar.
Tell others about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

The Button Code:

This is a Wordless Wednesday blog hop.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

5 Mermaid eBooks Giveaway!

Girly Comments & Graphics

I first want to wish all moms a very Happy Mother's Day!

And, all women who care for others and animals should be

honored today too. We are the backbone to a healthy society.

My 12-year-old daughter made me breakfast this morning.

I wanted to show you how pretty it looked and the omelette

she made was delicious!

This week is Children's Book Week from 13 - 19 May.

Renee at Mother Daughter Book Reviews and

Katie at Youth Literature Reviews are hosting

an awesome Blog Hop featuring links to giveaways

for fabulous children/teen's books, gift cards, cash

or other prizes! Their hop will go live on the 13th.

My giveaway goes live now, so keep reading!

I am taking part and have joined up with E.S. Ivy, the author of

Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret. It's a really neat mermaid

story like no other for girls ages 6 - 12. I read the first

book in the series and got really caught up in the story.

I wanted to read more! The story has lots of little bits of

cool scientific information that makes the story feel possible.

It will even keep Moms entertained.

Summary:
A young girl, who hates fish and other slimy things,

finds out she’s a mermaid princess and must overcome her fears

to visit the mermaid city of Kai Kaona and meet her mother.

E.S. Ivy is giving away 5 of her Miri Attwater and the

Ocean's Secret eBooks! Please let us know in the comments

what format you would like to have it emailed to you if

you do win (mobi, epub, or pdf).

You can read more about Miri’s world and ask questions

when you visit the series’ blog, Miri Attwater’s World.

While you’re there, don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter!

A Little Bit About the Author

Growing up in East Texas, E.S. Ivy preferred her adventures to be in books,

where things were nice and safe. Ivy graduated from college with a degree

in Chemistry. She learned how to grow a certain type of fern upside down

and sideways! She sent some of them up on the space shuttle Columbia and

got to see the nighttime launch at Kennedy Space Center in person.

Ivy also worked as a writer and editor of children’s science textbooks.

But she got tired of the publishers taking out all of the fun parts.

Novels are much more fun. She also likes to craft and has had original

crafts published in Family Fun Magazine.

Ivy now lives in the hills of Central Texas with her husband and three kids.

And – because there’s a rule that all pets have to be a type of critter that

mom is willing to catch – a dog named Topaz.

Visit E.S. Ivy's author blog,
which also includes some posts on crafts

and other interests.

5 Lucky Winners will be chosen for the

1st book in the Miri Attwater series!
Don't forget to let us know in the
comments if you would like your
eBook in mobi, epub or pdf
format if you win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To find more giveaways of fabulous

children/teen's books, gift cards,

cash or other prizes, click on the

links below!

Friday, May 10, 2013

Make My Saturday Sweet - Blog Hop #36

Today I'm linking with 3 other blog parties, so you'll get to know more about me and my family with photos too. But first I want to tell you that I'll be hosting an international e-book giveaway this weekend for 5 lucky winners of a really neat mermaid e-book (ages 6 - 12), so make sure you don't miss out.

Also, I had to share with you the gift that Amanda and I put together for her teacher. This week was Teacher Appreciation Week and so we showed our appreciation by baking chocolate chip cookies and decorating a jar to put them in. The chocolate chips were my last bag from the States. They arrived in a Christmas package from my mom and grandma. We can't get chocolate chips here unless I buy the waxy kind that are not real chocolate or the gourmet kind that come in small tins, so I don't do either. If I'm stuck, I just chop my own chocolate, but then they don't look like chocolate chips.

For my first writing prompt of today, I'm linking with Lisa-Jo Baker's Five Minute Friday and Create With Joy's Friendship Friday.

Comfort

I feel the comfort of my little girl as we snuggle together on the couch to watch TV. She enjoys watching cooking shows with me like Barefoot Contessa or The Great British Bake Off.

It’s a wonderful feeling when I come into the bedroom early in the morning to find Amanda already awake and waiting for me in my bed with Hubby. I give them both a big hug and kiss. It’s a wonderful start to a new day with our youngest child.

I see the comfort she brings to our kittens with all the attention and love that she showers on them. They don’t mind having her so close. In fact, they enjoy it.

My son brings me comfort when he takes the time to lean in and give me a hug. He’s so grown now, but he’s not too big for hugs. I’m proud to be his mom.

Stop

For my second writing prompt of today, I'm linking with Janine's Finish the Sentence Friday.

This summer I plan to...

go with my family to Florida to visit family and to see Disney World. It will be Amanda's first time leaving South Africa. My kids are being raised as South Africans and Americans, but they don't have many American experiences except the few trips to the States and what I bring to the family.

Amanda hasn't even seen real fireworks yet, so this trip to Disney will be great. And, we'll be at my mom's for the 4th of July, so we'll see more fireworks. Samantha and Amanda never experienced a 4th of July in the States. Jeremiah and Jessica got to see the fireworks from the downtown park in Atlanta, but they were very small and can't remember. We enjoyed taking them to the playground there and the fountains during the day.

This trip will be awesome!