You might as well buy yourself a little somethin’ to celebrate Mother’s Day. I try to be selective about products I review (and hope to move the majority of these type posts to my forthcoming blog, Savvy Housewife) and I love to feature businesses run by women.

Junk in Our Trunks sent me two gorgeous necklaces to review. These fabulous jewelry designers are in Texas and their jewelry definitely makes a statement.

Check out this cute domino Giggle necklace. A pink Swarovski crystal dangles from the bottom and the domino pendant hangs from a 16″ black organza ribbon. Junk in Our Trunks has an entire line of unique domino necklaces, so if this one is not your style I can guarantee you will find one you will love.

I also have this beautiful Blessed/Pray necklace handcrafted from metal and glass. Depending on how I feel about the girls at the moment I can flip it back and forth. This afternoon at soccer was definitely a time for prayer as Miss A would not stop mischieviously darting back and forth on the playing field and eyeing the poison ivy at the edge of the river bank as if it were laced with Pop Tart dust.

So buy yourself a fabulous little piece of bling, or three, for Mother’s Day. Junk in Our Trunks is offering my readers 25% off through May 30 with the code BLONDEMOM (unlimited uses per customer.) These SLUTS cocktail napkins are very fun, too. Hey, stir up a little conversation at Bunco night!

Happy shopping!

Winner Update: Noelle at Winging it in the Windy City is the winner of the beautiful Tomo&Edie organic baby kimono. Congrats Noelle! Don’t forget to consider Tomo&Edie the next time you are shopping for a unique baby present. 10 percent of their sales are donated to Unicef.

 In celebration of all things baby this week, I posted a giveaway at Blissfully Domestic for this beautiful kusakizome kimono from Tomo&Edie. Madder root has been used for centuries to achieve deep reds and oranges. The rich colors symbolize the rising sun and new beginnings and are a unique alternative to blue or pink.

Each kimono is lovingly hand dyed using a traditional Japanese technique on certified organic cotton–a work of art for that special baby in your life.

Tomo&Edie was founded by two friends, and mothers, who share a passion for other cultures, educating children, doing their share to preserve the environment, and promoting a peaceful existence. The business name was inspired by their young children. I happen to know one of these wonderful mamas (she teaches at the fabulous 12South Yoga studio here in Nashville) as she is a good friend of my big brother. The mamas also blog at Southern Sushi. Is that a great blog name or what?

Staying true to the principles upon which their business was founded, 10% of all Tomo&Edie profits are donated to Unicef. Tomo&Edie also features a unique line of beautiful hair accessories hand-crafted from vintage Japanese silk kimonos.

Check out the details of this great giveaway over at Blissfully Domestic. The contest closes Monday at midnight.

Amy, the last entrant who commented “The monogram necklace is super cute!,” is the winner! Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. This was great fun.

Per usual, I am fashionably late to the party.

Give Simple has graciously offered up one of the pretty, fun, feminine necklaces from Charming Expressions as part of the ginormous Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival taking place this week.

Designed by Shawnell Williams of Fort Worth, Texas, each glass charm is hand-crafted and has its own unique imperfections that add to the loveliness.

To enter, visit the Charming Expressions page at Give Simple and then leave a comment here telling me which of the necklaces is your favorite (it’s hard to choose, trust me.) You’ll then be eligible for the random drawing for the Charming Expressions necklace of your choice.

Entries will be accepted through midnight Saturday, April 26 and then I’ll draw a winner’s name from all eligible comments on Sunday. You don’t need a blog or website to enter, but you do need to leave a valid e-mail address so that I can contact you, should you be the big winnah!

p.s. Don’t forget my earlier announcement — you can take 10% off all purchases at Give Simple through April 30 with the code BLONDEMOM.

Have you ever skimmed over words at bedtime just to speed read through story time?

Eaten your kids’ last PopTart?

Lied about the Doodlebops disappearing from TV?

Pumped your kid full of Tylenol and dropped them off at daycare?

Called daycare “school” just to ease your own mommy guilt?

If so, “Dirty Little Secrets from Otherwise Perfect Moms” is the book for you. Written by the moms who brought you “I Was a Perfect Mother Before I Had Kids,” this is a fun collection of page by page “momfessionals” that would make a great Mother’s Day gift (especially with a spa gift card thrown in as a bookmark…ahem.) They interviewed hundreds of moms and found that all mothers have a few skeletons in their closet. Don’t pass this little gem of a book off as a total cream puff, though. Some of the confessions are painfully honest. Many, though, will make you laugh out loud.

As part of the Dirty Little Secrets MotherTalk book tour, MotherTalk is sponsoring a contest at their book club site. Share your own dirty little motherhood secret for a chance to win an Amazon gift certificate. I’ve already shared some of my dirty little secrets above, so go check out the contest.

I agree with Plain Jane Mom, though. I wouldn’t recommend this book for a first time mother. It might scare the hell out of her.

Chantelle, who chose the silver love charm bangle, is the winner! Thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway.

Most all my coming of age moments were in the 1980s (first kiss, first date, first field party, first job, first parking experience with the hubby on a gravel drive by a creek on someone’s farm where we almost got caught and I honestly listened for shotgun fire), when Bangles meant this:

I can still smell the spritz.

I had the opportunity to review a great line of hammered silver bangles available at Give Simple designed by the talented jewelry artisan behind Metalsgirl, Laura Gibson from Austin, Texas. The ultra skinny bangle charm bracelets are unique and fun and look great layered with other charm bracelets from the collection or layered with several plain bangles. I have the hammered sterling silver “Blessed” bangle with a pink herb charm and love it.

To win a Metalsgirl charm bangle, just visit the page on the Give Simple website, take a look at all 12 of the bangles offered, and then come back here and leave a comment telling which is your favorite. Give Simple is a wonderful place to shop for Mother’s Day, so while you’re there you may want to look around and find a little something for yourself. The entire jewelry line is great. And you can take 10% off all purchases at Give Simple through April 30 with the code BLONDEMOM. I’ll leave comments open until midnight Saturday, April 26 and will draw a random winner from all eligible comments (U.S. and Canadian addresses only, please). If you’d like to receive two entries, leave a comment and write about this giveaway on your own blog or website. You don’t have to have a blog or website to enter, but you do need to leave a valid e-mail address.

p.s. Not only does she craft beautiful, and cool, jewelry, but Laura Gibson founded the Blue Dog rescue group in Round Rock, Texas. As the owner of two pedigreed rescue mutts, I have a soft spot for pets that need homes. Hubby and I have always joked that if we hadn’t had children we’d have a house full of dogs. Bailey and Jack give Metalsgirl jewelry two paws up.

I just finished reading Stefanie Wilder-Taylor’s wickedly hilarious new book, Naptime is the New Happy Hour: And Other Ways Toddlers Turn Yourself Upside Down, as part of a MotherTalk blog book review tour.

Although we all have obviously survived the terrible 2s reign of terror at my house, there were times I would lament to my best friend, mom, and pretty much any stranger at the grocery store that 2-year-olds can totally suck the lifeblood out of you. It also probably didn’t help that I was pregnant with Miss A during the height of Miss C’s terrible 2s. In my opinion it’s a critical phase of childhood that is nature’s way of weeding out the parenting wimps.

Stefanie’s first book was the popular Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay. She writes no-nonsense parenting insight, with a lot of humor, like the best girlfriend who will sit down and tell you straight up how tough parenting can be.

If you’re stickler for hard-core parenting advice philosophies, this book is probably not for you. Save those information quests for the frantic midnight Google searches (key words: toddler, insanity, mom, Exorcist, help) and your pediatrician. If you can appreciate a good laugh, laid back parenting, and someone who can joke about their child possibly being the spawn of Satan during a toddler meltdown, then this book is for you. I’d share it with a best girlfriend who’s about to have her fourth child, your co-worker who jokes about escaping to the office to get a little mini sabbatical, free coffee included, from her kids, and any mom who wants to take hard core parenting advice with a grain of salt, preferably margarita salt.

This is a fun fast read similar and is a nice balance to all of the uber parenting advice on the market that can be overwhelming. Let’s face it, sometimes all you need is a pack of dollar stickers and a trip to Target to make your kid, and you, happy.

Because I think all moms deserve a good laugh, and a glass of wine, I’m giving away a copy of Naptime is The New Happy Hour. Simply leave a comment on this post by midnight Friday, April 11 and I’ll draw a random winner from all qualifying entries (U.S. and Canadian addresses only.)

p.s. Stefanie Wilder-Taylor lives in California with her husband and three little girls and blogs at Baby On Bored.

I love office supplies. When the stores stock the back-to-school aisles in August I get a euphoric high from looking at all the pretty new pens and notebooks and folders. I remember being thrilled with my new Trapper Keeper notebook and folders, shiny and yet to be plastered with scratch ‘n sniff stickers, and accompanying my mother to our school supply store, just off the town square. Our budget is tight, though, and ordering personalized stationery for myself is not a priority. Getting seven hours of uninterrupted sleep and making it through the day with no pee mishaps, however, is.

American Stationery recently sent me a set of beautiful personalized memos in a trendy aqua and brown for my desk and I have to admit that jotting down a quick phone number on them looks so much nicer than my usual Post It Notes or junk mail envelopes that I use as my personal note pads.

I’m no stranger to American Stationery as my mother has been ordering from them for years (and she has exquisite taste) and she gave me a pretty set of their return address labels at Christmas.

Some more finds from their website (Mother’s Day will be here before you know it):

This note card set which features envelopes with a fun stripe interior.

Pink and black polka dot note cards with a monogram.

Shopping diva theme correspondence cards.

Pink and brown neapolitan notes. I think it would be nothing but appropriate to eat a bowl of neapolitan ice cream while writing on your cute new notecards, just mind the dribble.

Elegant jet black correspondence cards.

Mom’s calling cards.

Design your own cocktail napkins. Since I seem to relate everything to indulging in food or drink, (see neapolitan notes above) you should definitely use these as an excuse to make yourself a nice stiff drink.

As a bonus to my readers, American Stationery has graciously offered a 10 percent discount good through 12/31/08. Just use the code BLONDEMOMBLOG at checkout.

Don’t forget these other discounts just because you are fabulous for reading my blog and not choosing to surf the Weather Channel website instead:

• Go Baby offers 25% off at checkout with the code BLONDEMOMBLOG.
• Sitter City offers 10% off registration with the code BLONDEMOM. Scroll down for the ad at the bottom of my blog. You’ll be doing your part in helping me start the very critical Cute Fall Purse Hunt of 2008 Fund.