“Action, mommy. A really good book has lots of action.”

If you are looking for books that the boy in your life will look forward to reading, take it from my seven year old.  They love action.

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan delivers exactly that.  Beginning with The Lighning Thief  and ending with The Last Olympian, even a fairly reluctant reader will be hard-pressed to put the books down.  Not only do they move along briskly, with plenty of the aforementioned action, but there is quite a bit of humor, topped off with a nice dusting of Greek mythology.  I should know,  because I read all of them before my son did.

For, uh, research purposes, of course.

The books follow demigod Percy Jackson through five years of living out a prophecy foretold by the Oracle of Delphi.  Who happens to be a mummy in an attic at the demigod summer camp.  Percy must battle gods and monsters in order to save Mount Olympus, which is located at the top of the Empire State Building. Natch. Throw in some centaurs, labyrinths, Mist, and capricious Greek gods, and tell me how you can possibly resist.

I highly recommend the books for that certain someone who is bound to be whining about being half-dead from boredom in about two weeks from now.

*I bought all of these myself at Target.  No freebies here. Now normally I don’t buy my books at Target, but I have a seven month old, so you’ve got to cut me some slack.

Remember those teething biscuits I raved about?

Well, the owners of the company were awesome, and sent me a few boxes of them, along with some of their other products, which are some lovely kid-friendly cookies called Dino Bites in different flavors. All of the products are 100% natural, vegan, and well, awesome. I have to admit that I am not a vegan, and love my butter, but even I really enjoyed the cookies. They are light, delicately flavored, and have just the perfect amount of crisp.

So, I’d like to give you some! I’ll be giving away four sets of teething biscuit/cookie combos, with a total of three boxes per prize.

Here’s how you can enter:

-One entry for adding Teeny Manolo on your RSS feed.

-Two entriesfor becoming a fan of Teeny Manolo on Facebook.

-Two entries for following Teeny Manolo on Twitter. (Be like Veronica Webb, who for some strange reason is following me! I will confess to screeching when I saw the name! Love her!)

-Three entries for blogging about the giveaway and linking back to the site.

The first three options are easily done by looking for the handy-dandy Twitter, Facebook, and RSS buttons at the top of the peach-colored middle column of the site.

The winner will be picked by random number generator on Tuesday June 22, 2010.  Unfortunately, contest winners must be from the United States or Canada.  I love you Aussies, but it would cost me a fortune!

You must leave a comment on this post so I know how many entries to give you! We work on the honor system here, so don’t make me disqualify you!

Have you seen Salma Hayek’s new shorter style? She is genetically blessed, though, with uber-thick hair. My hair would never do that. It would just sort of hang there, not swirl so impressively.

Actors play dress-up for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.  And could I be any more jealous of Gayle King?

 Your Mama dresses down the press about Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt.

Candy’s True Confessions.  My husband does the same thing, Candy, so don’t feel alone!

Nance exposes Einstein as a big, fat, liar.

Cynthia’s take on Food, Inc.

Kelley lays down the law to her family during her recuperation.

And finally, The Bloggess tells you that your zombie armor is ALL WRONG.

What do I look for in a dress? Vibrant color combinations, wearability, and uniqueness.  Because I have become intimately acquainted with the girl’s section of the clothing store, and there are just so many dresses that look awfully similar to each other, and I can only take so much pink and brown and pink and white.

Kate Mack – Copacabana Dress  also in Infant and Toddler So fluffy! So cute! Tiers of ruffles make this dress an irresistible confection.

O’Neill Kids – Layla

It’s got some wonderful colors and patterns, and a vintage vibe.

Roxy Kids – Check It Out

Love. It.

O’Neill Kids – Belle

Another ONeill with a wonderful print. And a halter dress for the win!

D&G Junior – Sailor – Dress

This is a dress that not many would buy due to the price, but I’m digging it nonetheless.

Clickety click here to

Gabriella Rocha Kids – Chaterina

A perfect princess-y special-occasion dress. 

Hanna Andersson Fresh Air Sundress & Maxi Skirt

Can be worn as a maxi skirt or a dress. 

Hanna Andersson Coral Sea Sundress

Coral and berry colors make this one a winner.

Vintage Dress

I adore the pattern and the color.

So, as a distraction, I went looking at some spring/summer shoes for the young ladies, and found some that lightened my mood a bit.  Ahhh, shoe therapy always works, doesn’t it?

Camper Kids – 80181

Stuart Weitzman Kids – St. Tropez (Youth) (Fuchsia) – Footwear

Lo, as the Manolo has entered the world of Twitter and Facebook, so has Teeny Manolo! 

Go here to find us (and me) on Facebook! Join the tens of fans!

Go here to follow us (and we’ll follow you, natch) on Twitter!

Do you have a blog? Would you like to be on the blogroll? Would you be willing to have Teeny Manolo on your blogroll? Email me at theglinda@gmail.com

No, none of this is an April Fool’s joke, just desperation, on my part!

Posting a teensy bit about the newest addition to our family.

The Munchinette was born at the very civilized hour of 9:33am on November 5. She came in at a healthy but petite 7lbs, 6oz. She currently has curly brown hair and blue eyes. Both of those could change, I’m guessing.

I had a repeat C-section, and according to the anesthesiologist, I set some sort of World Record in Vomiting During the Giving of Life. I guess my body does not react well to anesthesia, and I even told the doctor prior to the surgery that I had some similar issues with the Munchkin, although not nearly as bad. Even the anti-nausea medication he put into my drug cocktail didn’t work. Boo.

So, I’m slightly sleep deprived, even though I am lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who is taking two months off work to help out with my recovery and just generally making sure that the Munchkin gets to school on time and wearing appropriate clothing.

Here’s to the many sleepless nights to come!

Who says that moms are all about “mom jeans” and sweats?

Certainly not the people who have submitted photos of their stylishly clad mothers at the aptly named “My Mom, The Style Icon” blog.

I don’t know that my mother would have been considerd a style icon, but she did have some pretty rad cat-eye glasses during the seventies.  Oh yeah, and she had a sort of bouffant hairstyle that went well with the glasses. 

I don’t have a huge impression of her clothing, but the sad part is, she has a lot of her old clothing still in her closets, and yes, she has closets plural, so all I would have to do is go over to her house and have a look-see.  She probably still fits into most of them still, damn her.

I do seem to remember a pair of white go-go boots.  I think I’m going to have to dig up some old albums!

In my very unbridled opinion, these plates are superfantastic! 

(Neatorama via Boing Boing)