Guess Where I'll Be Tomorrow?

I am so so excited to finally announce that starting tomorrow, I'm "hosting" the Valentine's Countdown on Nickelodeon's Parent's Connect!  For ten days, I'll be sharing super sweet ideas you can use to celebrate Cupid.  From treats like cookies and cupcakes to photo op and party inspiration, you're sure to find something fabulous for February 14th.  And that's not all - Parents Connect will also be giving away prizes every.single.day!  How cool is that?

So if you're not already registered at Parents Connect, head on over and create a profile now so you can get in on all of the action tomorrow morning when I'll be showing off eight great ways you can throw Valentine's Day bash. Trust me, you won't want to miss it!  See you there.

Valentine's Freebie Festival: Day 13 {FREEBIES}

For day 13 of the VALENTINE FREEBIE FESTIVAL, I've got a great alternative to handing out candy - and the fabulous printable to go along with it!

I've been trying to come up with something cute that Gabrielle and Alaina could "hand out" to their fellow toddler pals on Valentine's Day besides plain old cards.  But we did crayons last year and candy isn't really an option for two year olds, so I was at a loss.  And then I saw this fabulous idea on Twig & Thistle!

Who says your Valentine's Day treat can't be naturally sweet?  Giving fruit may seem silly but not when they're adorned with adorable free printable stickers like these!  There's "Orange you glad you're my Valentine?"

"We make the perfect pear!"

"I'm going bananas over you!"

And my personal favorite "You're the apple of my eye!"

Whether your kids hand them out to friends or find one from you when they open their lunch box, these fun messages are sure to be a hit!

You can download the free printable banners here at Twig & Thistle, and if you have a free Valentine's printable you'd like to share, enter it into the link up below!

*If you are reading this in via our e-mail newsletter or RSS feed, the link up won't show up. You have to visit the post on our website to view it.

A Valentine's Day Dilemma {GIVEAWAY & DISCOUNT}

I'm all about dressing Gabrielle and Alaina up for Valentine's Day.  Two years ago, they were just a few months old so their get ups consisted of onesies and leggings.

Last year, I went with tutus and initial tees.

So you can probably guess what I'm on the hunt for now, right?  Luckily for me, klzart, one of my favorite Etsy sellers, just added has a whole bunch of Valentine's designs to her shop.  So what do you think?  Should I go with the LO-VE appliqued tops?

The super cute love bugs?

Or two of the Conversation Heart tees?

I'm kind of leaning toward the LO-VE set in these colors:

But getting the girls to sit together is a challenge enough these days, let alone sit in "order."  VE-LO may not translate!  So maybe I'll get the conversation hearts with their names in them instead.

Decisions, decisions!

All of the klzart tees feature hand sewn appliques, and while the listings state that they're for Twin-zies or Trip-zies, Kelly can customize them for siblings or friends, too, so if you need one onesie and one larger tee or just three different sizes, it's no problem.  I've posted before about how great the quality of her work is so if you're looking for the perfect Valentine's Day number for your kiddo, look no further!

And here's a sweet treat - Kelly has generously offered to give away one Conversation Heart Tee to a lucky AFOMFT reader (or if you want to buy a twin or trip set, she'll apply a $25 credit to your order)!  I want to make sure the winner gets it in time for Valentine's Day so this will be a very quick giveaway - it closes in just three days. To enter, post a comment here telling me what saying you'll put in your conversation heart if you win (this is mandatory). For additional entries:

• Visit klzart on Etsy and add the store to your favorites.
• Subscribe to AFOMFT or let us know you are a subscriber
• "Like" AFOMFT on Facebook
• "Like" klzart on Facebook and leave a comment that A Few of My Favorite Things sent you.
• Ask your friends to "like" AFOMFT on Facebook by sending them this link - http://tinyurl.com/AFOMFTFBFAN - and post a comment here with the names of each one who does. You'll earn one entry per new friend who "likes" our page and names will be cross-checked.
• Follow AFOMFT on Twitter (@AFOMFT or click the birdie icon on the sidebar) and tweet this post by clicking the graphic above or this giveaway: #Win an adorable Conversation Heart tee for your little one from klzart at @AFOMFT - perfect for Valentine's Day! http://tinyurl.com/AFOMFT
• Click here - - to vote for AFOMFT on Top Baby Blogs and post a comment here that you did. You can vote once per day per computer so if you vote every day or on different computers, be sure to post one comment for each one.
• Grab our button and put it on your blog or website and post a link here showing us.
• Blog or post on Facebook about this giveaway with a link to this post (worth 2 entries so please post two comments) and make sure your comments include a link to your status or blog post.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry (two if you've blogged about the giveaway) and make sure to include a link to your tweet, blog post, etc. All entries must be posted on AFOMFT as a direct comment to this post. Comments on Facebook will not count as entries. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada and ends February 1st at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be selected by random.org and announced on AFOMFT on February 2nd. If the winner does not contact AFOMFT within 48 hours, a new drawing will be held so be sure to check back to see if you've won!

And that's not all!  AFOMFT readers will get a 10% discount on all orders from klzart by using code AFOMFT at checkout! This discount does not apply to shipping costs and expires on 2/15/11. Happy shopping!

Images: AFOMFT & klzart

Valentine Freebie Festival, Day 12! {FREEBIES}

It's day 12 of the VALENTINE FREEBIE FESTIVAL and today's pick is a simple tag from Giver's Log that you can attach to any treat you're handing out.

But the perfect way to use them?  Tied to the back of fun candy airplanes like these!

 
You can download the free printable banners here at Giver's Log, and if you have a free Valentine's printable you'd like to share, enter it into the link up below!

*If you are reading this in via our e-mail newsletter or RSS feed, the link up won't show up. You have to visit the post on our website to view it.

Valentines You'll Flip For {DISCOUNT & GIVEAWAY}

Are you on the hunt for unique and fun Valentines? Look no further than Pear Tree Greetings! They sent me a package of samples of their Kids Valentine's Day Cards to review and let me tell you - the quality is fabulous. The paper is nice and thick and the colors are vibrant. And there's a design for everyone.

Personally, I always like photo cards and for girls, I love the Queen of Hearts.

And this flower is super sweet.

The Robot card is perfect for your little love machine.

And the spaceship is out of this world!

There are also color-your-own designs:

And sassier versions that are great for older kids.

Pear Tree Greetings also carries Valentine Variety Packs, which include four different designs:

And Sticker Sets, which are great for crafts or making DIY cards.

I think my favorite of all of the Valentine's offerings is this photo card - it also has a magnetic back so your friends and family can hang on to it long after February 14th has passed!

Did you spot a card you just have to have? Well, you're in luck because we've got a giveaway and a discount for you!

Pear Tree Greetings has generously offered to give away 24 Kids Valentines Cards to one lucky AFOMFT reader! I want to make sure the winner gets them in time to mail out for Valentine's Day so this will be a very quick giveaway - it closes in just three days. To enter, post a comment here telling me what you love most about February 14th (this is mandatory). For additional entries:

• Visit Pear Tree Greetings and post a comment telling me which Kids Valentines Card style you'll choose if you win.
• Subscribe to AFOMFT or let us know you are a subscriber
• "Like" AFOMFT on Facebook
• "Like" Pear Tree Greetings on Facebook
• Ask your friends to "like" AFOMFT on Facebook by sending them this link - http://tinyurl.com/AFOMFTFBFAN - and post a comment here with the names of each one who does. You'll earn one entry per new friend who "likes" our page and names will be cross-checked.
• Follow Pear Tree Greetings & AFOMFT on Twitter (@PearTreeGrtngs & @AFOMFT or click the birdie icon on the sidebar) and tweet this post by clicking the graphic above or this giveaway: #Win 24 Kids Valentine Cards from @PearTreeGrtngs at @AFOMFT - http://tinyurl.com/AFOMFT
• Click here - - to vote for AFOMFT on Top Baby Blogs and post a comment here that you did. You can vote once per day per computer so if you vote every day or on different computers, be sure to post one comment for each one.
• Grab our button and put it on your blog or website and post a link here showing us.
• Blog or post on Facebook about this giveaway with a link to this post (worth 2 entries so please post two comments) and make sure your comments include a link to your status or blog post.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry (two if you've blogged about the giveaway) and make sure to include a link to your tweet, blog post, etc. All entries must be posted on AFOMFT as a direct comment to this post. Comments on Facebook will not count as entries. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada and ends January 31st at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be selected by random.org and announced on AFOMFT on February 1st. If the winner does not contact AFOMFT within 48 hours, a new drawing will be held so be sure to check back to see if you've won!

If you can't wait to order your Valentine's Day cards from Pear Tree Greetings, use code HEART10 to get 10% off! This discount cannot be combined with other offers and expires on 2/28/11. Happy shopping!

Please note that I am now a Pearista, which means I have partnered with Pear Tree Greetings to offer great giveaways and discounts to my readers. I do not receive any monetary compensation from them but they will occasionally send me free product to try out. Whether I choose to post about their company or not is totally up to me and my opinion of their products is solely based on my experience using them.

Images: Pear Tree Greetings

Valentine Freebie Festival, Day 11! {FREEBIES}

Today's pick from our VALENTINE FREEBIE FESTIVAL a super fun activity older kids will love - Conversation Heart Bingo!

Nicole, aka The Party Animal, created this game and it's so easy to play.  Just put a bunch of conversation hearts in a bag and have the "caller" draw them one at a time.  Roll each one onto the calling card and then have the players mark off the result - the color of the heart plus the letter from the card.

And the best part of this game is that everybody wins because there are lots of tasty candies to eat when it's over!

You can download the free printable conversation heart Bingo game here at The Party Animal, and if you have a free Valentine's printable you'd like to share, enter it into the link up below!

*If you are reading this in via our e-mail newsletter or RSS feed, the link up won't show up. You have to visit the post on our website to view it.

Valentine's Freebie Festival: Day 10 {FREEBIES}

For day 10 of our VALENTINE FREEBIE FESTIVAL, I'm sharing two fab freebies from a site I love called Supermom Moments.  Both of these ideas are simple but fun ways to add some flair to the cards your kids give out on February 14th.

Up first is the Bouncy Ball Valentine.  Just add a super ball to a 3x5 plastic bag, top with one of these cute sayings:

And have your little one sign the back.

Option number two is the Sip-a-dee-do-dah Valentine - simply glue a message to a silly straw. 

Now really, does it get any easier than that?  I love these ideas because they're unique and cost a few cents each.  They'd make great party favors too.  I'm just sayin'!

 You can download these free printable valentine messages for the bouncy balls and straws via the links above, and if you have a free Valentine's printable you'd like to share, enter it into the link up below!

*If you are reading this in via our e-mail newsletter or RSS feed, the link up won't show up. You have to visit the post on our website to view it.

The Poetry Friday Roundup Is Here!

The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Wild Rose Reader this week. Leave the URL of your poetry post in the comments. I'll be rounding up all the links throughout the day.

The Friday Morning Poetry Pack

Charles Ghigna—also known as Father Goose—says he’d like to “Open the door a little more with ONE at the Bald Ego blog. He’d also like to share a few SNICKERS with us.

Ruth has Pablo Neruda’s Ode to a Lizard at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town.

Toby Speed shares an original poem about a “famous shoe” at The Writer’s Armchair.

At the Poem Farm, Amy has poem #4 in her series of poems about reading and books—and poem #5 of sock week. (Amy's got original poems for us every day of the week--not just of Fridays.)

Mary Lee of A Year of Reading has an original acrostic about “balance” today. (She says she’s trying to get some in her own life.)

Irene Latham gives us Mary Oliver’s What Is the Greatest Gift? this Poetry Friday.

Poet Heidi Mordhorst shares an original poem by her daughter titled ask mom at My Juicy Little Universe.

At A Journey in Learning, Debbie Diller has a poem by Sallie Wolf titled Cardinals from Wolf's book The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound.

Over at The Stenhouse Blog, you’ll find the poem Teacher by Sharon Draper.

Diane Mayr says she’s looking at oatmeal poems this week at Random Noodling. And at Kurious K’s Kwotes, she’s got a quote by Mackenzie Conneellee. She’s also “remembering Reynolds Price at Kurious Kitty’s Kurio Kabinet.

David Elzey reexamines a puzzling moment of his youth called “job interview #1.”

Children’s poet Laura Salas shares a lovely original poem titled Wintry Warmth at Writing the World for Kids. She’s also in with her weekly 15 Words or Less Poems.

Jama Rattigan adds Tomatoes to the Friday feast over at Alphabet Soup—the poem Tomatoes by Stephen Dobyns, that is.

Dorraine Bennett has the winning poem from the regional Poetry Out Loud contest at DoriReads. It’s "Who Understands Me but Me" by Jimmy Santiago Baca.

At Semicolon, Sherry presents Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Tabatha Yeatts has Rattle for us this Poetry Friday.

Blythe Woodson gives us Figment: A Space for Poetry on Poetry Friday.

At Deo Writer, MsMac shares William Stafford’s Ask Me.

Ben at The Small Nouns has the latest in his Poetry Mix Tape series.

The Write Sisters are offering up Eleanor Lerman’s Starfish for our poetry reading pleasure.

In her post Stepping Toward the Brink—of Paper, author/poet Jeannine Atkins shares a poem she wrote about finding inspiration through her senses.

PaperTigers joins in the Poetry Friday fun with a post about Canadian poet P. K. Page.

I’m in at Wild Rose Reader with a first draft of an original poem titled It’s Snowing Again!—which was inspired by all the winter storms we’ve had here recently.



The Literary Lunch Bunch

At Blue Rose Girls, I have an original fairy tale poem titled Dear Goldilocks that I wrote in the form of a letter.

Kelly Fineman is in with an excerpt from Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth—which relates to yesterday’s chapter of Pride and Prejudice at her blog Writing and Ruminating.

Janet Squires has a post about the book Bees, Snails, & Peacock Tails, which was written by Betsy Franco and illustrated by Steve Jenkins.

Tara says that a random encounter with a lost pet sign made her think about a particular Mark Doty poem.

Carlie serves up Aztec Drink in January, an original poem, at her blog Twinkling Along.

Sheri Doyle is revisiting a favorite poem by Ezra Pound today.

Take a one-click trip over to The Drift Record where award-winning poet Julie Larios has Double Abecedarian, an original double abecedarian about how to write double abecedarians.
I think I'd need more than one lesson to write one of those poems!


Early Evening Poetry Tastings

Liz Scanlon is in this Poetry Friday with some librarian love…

At One Deep Drawer, you’ll find a poem by W. A. Mathieu about Bach dying on the day after Mozart’s birth.


The Late Edition

Rasco from RIF has a poem by Linda Hull related to the Chinese New Year, which will be celebrated on February 3rd.

You'll find a book spine poem over at Looking for the Write Words.


Saturday Morning Special

Sylvia Vardell has an interesting interview with award-winning poet and anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins about the future of publishing poetry for children. Click here to read the interview.


Special Edition Sunday

Over at TeachingAuthors they're talking about organizing your writing...and your life. April Halprin Wayland has an interview with Clutter Buster Brooks Palmer about his book . She also offers an original poem (and two drawings) about cleaning out the clutter.

It's Snowing Again!: An Original Poem

Well, we had yet another big snowstorm here yesterday! There is NO place to put any more shoveled snow. Here’s the first draft of a “snow” poem that I was inspired to write this week.

It’s Snowing Again!

It’s snowing again.
It’s blowing again.
It’s snowing and blowing.
The traffic is slowing.
The drifts keep on growing and growing and growing.
It just keeps on snowing
and snowing and snowing.
I don’t think it’s
EVER
going
to end.

I'm doing the Poetry Friday Roundup at Wild Rose Reader this week.

NOTE: Click here for the link to my ROUNDUP post.

Valentine's Freebie Festival: Day 9 {FREEBIES}

It's day 9 of our VALENTINE FREEBIE FESTIVAL and holy guacamole - there are more than 100 amazing printables linked up already!  You can plan a cupid-themed party, make some great games for your kiddos and print out enough valentines to send out to everyone you know and then some.  And all for FREE!

Today's featured freebie comes from my good friends Maureen and Adria of Anders Ruff.  I've had the pleasure of working with and spending time with these lovely ladies and they are truly two of the most warm and genuine people ever.  I just adore them!  And they are so so good at what they do.  You may remember they designed the fabulous printables for Gabrielle and Alaina's birthday party.

It's been almost one year since Maureen and Adria launched Anders Ruff, and to celebrate, they created four free printable valentines.  That's right - to celebrate their anniversary, they're giving us a gift!  How fab is that?

I love the funky patterns and adorable sayings.  One of these will be perfect for everyone on your list!

You can download these free printable valentine cards here, and happy birthday/anniversary (what the heck should I call it, anyway?) to Anders Ruff!  Can't wait to see what the two of you come up with this year.

If you have a free Valentine's printable you'd like to share, enter it into the link up below!

*If you are reading this in via our e-mail newsletter or RSS feed, the link up won't show up. You have to visit the post on our website to view it.