The Night Night Book by Marianne Richmond {Review & Giveaway}

If you have children you no doubt read bedtime stories on a regular basis.  And I'm sure your child has grown to love a particular book... one that's become their favorite bedtime story.  Well get ready to add a new favorite into the bedtime routine!

The Night Night Book is an adorable board book for young kids all about getting ready for bed and telling your things 'night night' along the way.  The storyline may sound familiar but this is a modern day version if you will... there's always room for a new classic.

Instead of saying goodnight to a comb and brush or a bowl full of mush, the young child in The Night Night Book tells his wagon, puzzles, and even glitter glue night night.  Written and illustrated by Marianne Richmond, The Night Night Book is wonderful and sure to delight your child.

When we first received the book, my 3 yr. old wasn't so sure though.  She still wanted her other goodnight book before bed, the one she was familiar with.  The next night when I brought out The Night Night Book again, she let me read it to her but then still wanted the other book read afterward.

By the next night though when I gave her a chance to choose between the two, she went for The Night Night Book.  She loved pointing out all the things in the book- the crayons and flowers, the slide and ball.  She asked for it several nights in a row after that, and it has definitely become one of her top favorite bedtime books.

My 20 month old however was hooked the very first time I read it to her!  Night night is how she says goodnight and this book was just perfect for her.  The first time I read it, she sat quietly through the whole thing- just watching and listening.  Since then she's gotten more involved and also loves to point out different things in the book.  Her favorite page is the "Silly dog, chasing squirrels, chasing frogs".  She loves to sound like a dog and then "ribbit" like a frog... it's so cute!

This is definitely a nice addition to our nightly bedtime stories... a new classic for sure.  Your toddler or preschooler will love hearing this book and then 'reading' it themselves.

BUY IT:  You can purchase The Night Night Book for only $7.95 just about anywhere books are sold or online at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, or at Sourcebooks.com

WIN IT:  1 lucky reader is going to win a copy of The Night Night Book for their own!

Ways to enter (leave a separate comment on this post for each entry you do):

•  Like Marianne Richmond Award-Winning Books on Facebook  +2 entries
•  Follow my blog publicly via GFC
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•  Enter any of my other giveaways +1 for each
•  Vote for my blog at The Picket Fence Blogs (can be done daily)
•  Post about this giveaway (Facebook, Cafemom, Blog, etc.) +5 entries, leave link
•  Tweet about this giveaway (may be done daily, leave link)

This bedtime book is sure to be a classic:  #WIN The Night Night Book via @SusieBHomemaker http://goo.gl/kWHof #Giveaway ends 6/7

U.S. ONLY

This contest ends on 6/7/11 at 11:59 pm EST. Open to U.S. residents only.  The winner will be drawn via random.org and has 48 hours to respond to winning notification email before another winner is drawn.  Please make sure your email is visible on your profile or leave with your comment(s).

Disclosure:  I received a product in exchange for my review.  No other form of compensation was given.  All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and completely honest.

Catching some Zzzz's #WordlessWednesday

I love how kids can fall asleep almost anywhere when they're all tuckered out.  Here's a couple different pics of my 18 month old after a long day of playing.

This post is linked up with 5 Minutes for Mom, Project Alicia, and

Movin' on up...

Our middle daughter, aka Curls, is making the switch from her 'big girl' toddler bed to an even bigger 'big girl' bed... a twin size!  We decided she had outgrown the toddler bed- she went to a toddler bed right around 2 years old and is now almost 3 (less than 2 months away).  But she's also above the 75th percentile for height and weight for her age so she can definitely use the extra room.

We decided to go with a Mates Bed* for the storage underneath (I had a 20% off coupon too!).  She shares a room with her younger sister and they need all the extra storage they can get.  Curls is so excited about her new bed, and now she has the room she needs to stretch out and sleep comfortably.

This is right after Daddy put the bed together

And this is sleeping peacefully at night

We got the twin mattress for 20% off also, a nice plush one, her older sister has the same one and it's really nice and is holding up great.  I ordered her a comforter and sheet set from Walmart (not the one pictured above), free site to store shipping (love that about them).  We had to wait a little longer for it to come in though because all the snow we had lately caused a "delay in transit" according to the website.  I had decided on the Kelsi Patch Bed in a Bag (pictured below) but when we tried the fitted sheet on the mattress... it didn't fit!  So Curls is back to using her older sister's comforter and extra sheet set for now (pictured above) and big sister gets to use her sleeping bag which she's loving.  :) 

Now it's back to the drawing board trying to find a comforter and sheet set... one that'll actually fit her 'plush size' mattress.

*For anyone wondering, this bed from Big Lots is not the greatest quality.  We had some issues when assembling it- not all the connectors went together smoothly and one of the support boards underneath (not seen) cracked due to being over-stressed.  My husband said it won't affect the sturdiness of the bed but still not what you want to see when putting together a brand new bed.  There was also one spot on the front, very tiny and barely seen, where the paint was chipped.  All in all, the price was right and it'll do fine for our situation, but if you're buying for an older, heavier child you may want to spend more money for higher quality.

Wordless Wednesday- Being Two can be Tough

My two year old all tuckered out...

To see more or link up your own, visit Wordless Wednesday & 5 Minutes for Mom

Big Girl Bed!

   So my 2 yr. old (the one that likes to sleep naked) has now graduated to a toddler bed!  She decided to climb out of her crib a few nights ago, thus immediately upgrading herself to the 'big girl' bed.  For her 1st night trying it out she fell asleep with no problem, only for us to hear 2 hours later... THUD... my poor baby oops, I mean 'big girl' fell out of the bed (those darn sides- they're too short)!! 
  
   After a long while being held and rocked by mommy (while checking for lumps on her head) she settled back down, and we decided to put her back in the crib for the rest of the night (better safe than sorry).  Then it came to me- the brilliant idea to take one of the bed rails off our 4 yr. olds bed (they're the extra long Summer Infant pink ones) and put it on the toddler bed.
  
   So now they both have 1 side of the bed up against the wall and the other side has a bed rail... HOORAY for mommy  (yeah, not so brilliant coming up with this plan AFTER my daughter fell out of the bed).  In any event, the problem is solved... no more kids falling out of bed (just poor little stuffed animals falling between the bed and the wall to lie with the dust bunnies)!!  Sleep tight little ones!

Are you an Early Bird or a Night Owl?

  I have always been a Night Owl, thru & thru.  I hate to get up early & love to stay up late!  Any outings, activities, or appointments are always scheduled in the afternoons whenever possible.  Even our 4 yr. old is on the afternoon schedule at school- she's in the Young 4's p.m. class.  We don't do mornings at this house!

Though it isn't always easy with a baby, toddler, & preschooler since they like to wake up whenever.  So there are times I end up being a Night Owl and then an Early Bird the very next morning... grrr!  Most of the time though the kids are on our schedule and tend to stay up slightly later & sleep in 'til about 10 am or so.  Except for the baby who generally wakes up at 8am but then after feeding goes right back to sleep.  Ah, a sleeping baby is a beautiful baby!  

But this brings up a terrifying thought about when our oldest starts going to school all day.  What are we going to do?  How are we going to get her to school in the morning?  We are going to have to completely switch our routine around.  I'm not sure it can be done... and trust me, if you knew us, you'd probably agree (we're habitually late for everything!).

I think I see in our daughter's future multiple late & tardy passes and us having to explain to the teacher & principal why she doesn't make it to school on time.  GULP!!  Thankfully this won't be starting this fall, as Kindergarten is a half day too (thank you Jesus!), so she'll be on the afternoon schedule again.  And that leaves us a year & a half to get our you-know-what together!     

My toddler likes to sleep naked!

  Yes it's true, my 2 yr. old will strip down- pjs, diaper & all- and go au naturel every chance she gets!  During the day she's more conservative and usually just takes her pants off and leaves her diaper on, but at nap & bedtime all bets are off.

  We lay her down to sleep (fully clothed) and shortly after we leave the room... she frees herself.  We tried at one point even putting her pjs on backward so she didn't have easy access to the zipper.  That worked for a little while but then she started pulling Houdini stunts and wiggling out of them. 

  So now, she's back to wearing her pjs frontward and still takes them off whenever possible.  We have gone back in to check on her before heading to bed ourselves and there she lay, naked as the day she was born.  This is completely adorable to see, and gives my hubby and I a good laugh while we redress her, but it's not ideal when she isn't potty trained yet!  So next step.... potty training here we come!!