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By Sandy, December 16, 2009

If you are looking for a last-minute gift idea, or just like to read, I highly recommend Matthew Amster-Burton’s book  Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father’s Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater.

I was hooked from the opening:

“My daughter’s first meal was supposed to be, oh, let’s say organic carrots pureed with homemade chicken broth in a hand-cranked food mill. That’s what everyone wants for their kid, right? I swear I was totally planning a feast of that nature when fate intervened and a doughnut fell on her head.”

This book is filled with hilarious anecdotes about raising and feeding a baby. His daughter is now five, so the stories range from life with an infant to the daily interactions with a toddler. The best part about this book is its refreshing honesty and sense of humor. Amster-Burton never talks down to his readers and never claims to have all of the answers when it comes to raising children or dealing with picky eaters.

Some readers may be shocked by the fact that the author throws out all of the “rules” associated with feeding babies, including waiting 3-7 days in between introducing new foods, and avoiding high-allergenic foods. He feeds his daughter everything from sushi to spicy enchiladas to pad thai with peanuts. All before her first birthday!

This book also contains recipes, which, although interesting to read, are for wanna-be-chefs and “foodies” and contain complicated ingredients that can only be found at Asian markets. However, the author is also a big fan of boxed macaroni and cheese and frozen potstickers, so he never alienates his readers.

The writing is so charming and engaging that even people without kids would love this book, but if you’ve ever grappled with what to feed your child, or if you live with a picky eater, this book is for you.

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By Sandy, November 3, 2009

I love books about writing and blogging, but some are more helpful than others. One of my favorites is The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging. This book not only covers the basics of blogging, but also delves into the fascinating history of The Huffington Post blog. The book is packed with useful information and resources, as well as essays on blogging from Nora Ephron, Larry David, Al Franken, and Steve Martin (among others).

Now I want you to have a copy! This is my very first giveaway, and this is not a sponsored giveaway. Enter to win below and a winner will be chosen randomly on Friday at 12:30 P.M. Mountain Time.

To enter (open to North American residents only):

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me why you love to blog. Your comment should link to your blog or website.

2. Follow me on Twitter or let me know if you already do: @alittlesandy

3. Tweet the following: Enter to win The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging! @alittlesandy Blog Book Giveaway bit.ly/4iq8rh

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By Sandy, July 27, 2009

Darin turned 40 this weekend, and it was also the 23rd anniversary of when we first met.  I know this because I met him the night before his seventeenth birthday.

Here we are, then and now:

What can I tell you about what it means to know someone for twenty-three years, and to have a baby with him?  For each of those twenty-three years I have loved Darin more than I thought it was possible to love.  My love for him only gets stronger and better.  We combined twenty-three years of love with each of our twenty-three chromosomes and made Oscar, the most beautiful little boy anyone could ever imagine.  I can never give Darin a gift that compares to the gift he has given me in the form of our son.

Here are some things you may not know about Darin: He is gentle and compassionate.  He is graceful and athletic. He is very, very intelligent. He is one the funniest and most creative people I know.  He can cook. He is a master gardener. He does illustration and comic book art, but he is also a talented painter and sculptor (even though he will never admit it).  He also plays the guitar beautifully.  How lucky am I?

In twenty-three years you learn a lot about people, the good with the bad.  We have had our share of ups and downs, slammed doors and broken dishes and broken hearts and hurt feelings.  Every angry word floats out there, always there, and I regret every one of them. We will only be given so many moments, and I want them all to be worthwhile.  I want Darin to know that I would take it all back, that I would trade every one of those words for a kiss or a hug or a joke.  From this day forward I make it my mission to create more positive moments than negative interactions.

Love doesn’t have to fall victim to entropy; it doesn’t have to diminish with time. We have never been closer or happier since the birth of our son.  We have to work at our relationship (who doesn’t?), but it’s worth it.  Each and every minute of the last twenty-three years has been worth it.

Darin, here is what I give you for your fortieth birthday: I give you my intention to spend the next forty years with you, or how ever many years we are given.  It is my intention to sit with you when you are eighty, whether in the sun or the rain or the snow, and to lay my head on your shoulder and to say to you, “Thank you for making my life a poem, a painting, a song.”