Here’s a perfect Valentine’s Day gift idea: a fine art photography gift certificate from SOMETHING BLUE PHOTOGRAPHY.
SOMETHING BLUE PHOTOGRAPHY is offering the following special for Valentine’s Day:

$195 portrait/photo session to be scheduled this spring. It includes two 8×10 fine art prints on archival paper. $50 of your fee supports Savannah Children’s Choir. Additional prints may be ordered through Something Blue Photography. Special  photo books are available and make lovely gifts as well. (Price not included. Orders taken separately).

Call now and Something Blue Photography will have your gift certificate ready to be picked up on Feb. 13. Gift certificates can also be emailed to you. Click here to visit the Something Blue Photography Web site. Contact Wendy Cooper @ 912.323.0616 or email wendy@somethingbluephoto.com.

Our pick this Valentine’s week for our new, regular feature “What to read with your kids”:

Mama’s Kiss by Jane Yolen
A missing kiss slips and slides around to the author’s short and snappy rhymes. Mama’s kiss, shown as a winged pair of lips, is first tossed across the bedroom at her daughter, but misses and sails off through the neighborhood to finally land….

Click  here to search and see where Mama’s Kiss is available to check out @ Live Oak library branches and here to see where it’s available @ Beaufort County libraries.

Every now and then, we’ll turn the spotlight on a children’s book you should check out. And we’ll throw in a few links so you can find the book at your local library branch.

We’d love suggestions from readers about their favorite library finds for kids. Email anne@southernmamas.com

Kristen Grach, a Savannah advisor for Lia Sophia jewelry, is giving away two sweet Valentine’s treats .

Two SouthernMamas can each win one item of your choice under $100 from the Spring/Summer catalog or the Kiam Collection.

Just check out the rules below to enter to win:

We’ll pick two names at random and announce the TWO winners Friday.

February is Double Up time @ Lia Sophia: purchase two items at full price and you can add two items for half price. When you purchase three items at full price, you can add three items for half price. And so on and so on. Even better, your half-priced items can be your HIGHEST priced items. The jewelry comes with a lifetime guarantee. Contact Kristen by clicking here and schedule your show or place your order today.

Kookie, kids couture for girls only, is giving away an “Off To The Hamptons” dress to a lucky SouthernMamas subscriber.

Specifically, you can win the green pique design (shown in the photo). It’s a size 5, so even if your darling daughter is merely a few weeks old, you can save it for when she’s old enough to hobnob with her BFFs in style.

Just check out the rules below to enter to win:

We’ll announce the winner here Friday.

If you can’t wait for the giveaway and want to order from Kookie now, start shopping by clicking here. From now until Feb. 28, enjoy free shipping on ALL orders! No minimum purchase is required.

Dianne Humes, a Savannah mother of two, has a rare form of lymphoma and needs a bone marrow match to save her life.

You may be her miracle match.

Dianne’s incredibly supportive friends have organized two bone marrow donor drives:

• 8:30 AM-6 PM, Fri. Feb. 13 in the Eckburg Lobby @ Savannah Christian Preparatory school.

OR

• 10 AM – 6 PM Sat. Feb. 28 @ Vickery’s in Southbridge.

Anyone, age 18-60, who meets the health guidelines, is eligible to donate and could end up being the life-saving match for Dianne.

We know y’all are busy. But donating is cinchy and will take only about 15 minutes. At the drive, you just fill out some paperwork requesting basic information as well as some health info. No needles. No blood. (Read more about donating by clicking here.)  A $25 cost pays for typing of the marrow and is 100-percent tax deductible. You will be given four cotton swabs to swab the inside of your mouth in the cheek areas. The swabs are then placed in a plastic bag and ready to go for typing. Viola.

The information is then confidentially placed on a NATIONAL DONOR registry. If you are a match, then further testing will be required.

There are thousands and thousands of different bone marrow types, says Dianne’s friend Suzanne Smallwood. “This is why it is so critical to get as many people on the list as we possibly can,” says Suzanne. “Our priority is to find a match for Dianne. But our hopes are that we will not only find Dianne’s match, but others as well.”

Once on the registry, you can remove your name at anytime for any reason.

We wish Dianne and her family all the strength in the world to beat this cancer.

(Dianne is pictured here with husband Chris and children Molly and Hayden)

SouthernMamas reader Ginger Heidel emails with a great question.  She’s searching for a regular opportunity to do some volunteer work with her 2-year-old daughter on the two weekdays she has off every week.

The aim is to find something that teaches her daughter to give back to the community, but is kid-friendly and not just a one-day event. Something a toddler might enjoy and be able to assist doing.

We’d love to hear from all you altruistic mamas out there on how you’re teaching your tots the value of volunteering. In the current Savannah Magazine issue, I featured an innovative Savannah 5-year-old who found a creative and fun way to volunteer to help fight illiteracy. Read the article here. But does anyone know of volunteer opportunities that are done weekly and are toddler-friendly?

If so, please either comment below or email anne@southernmamas.com.

All I can say is I am relieved my son has two more years until he’s eligible for Georgia’s free pre-k program because it’s going to take me that long to figure out the application process.

We continue to receive questions from SouthernMamas readers about the free pre-k application process, currently under way @ Savannah-Chatham public schools until March 16. Children 4-years-old prior to or on Sept. 1, 2009 are eligible for free pre-K in Georgia.

Private child-care facilities also offer the free pre-k, but many have a different application process. If, for example, you are interested in a private child care that has it, call the school to find out when their applications are due.  Savannah Youth University and The Children’s House take applications around mid-February. YMCA Childcare Plus starts accepting applications Feb. 15.

Many are on a first-come, first-serve basis, such as Maggies’ Morning School ,which is already full and only accepting waiting-list applications now.

Perhaps the most confusing is Charles Ellis Montessori Academy, part of the Savannah-Chatham public school system. Although Ellis doesn’t have a designated attendance zone for its higher grades, it does for free pre-k. That means they have TWO pre-k lotteries. One for those fortunate people living in the attendance zone and another for those of us outside the zone. The first lottery group gets first dibs on free pre-k slots. Those in the second group don’t have much chance.

For more info on the free pre-k program, click here.  Good luck to those you immersed in the process.

Jenny Boone.
Jennifer Zottola.
Sally Silbermann.
Congratulations on your pregnancies or new babies ladies and on winning this fantastic giveaway!
Each of you wins a newborn photo session from local photographer and SouthernMamas sponsor Nicole Williams of Memories for Keepsake Photography by Nicole. To book a session with Nicole Williams, call 912.596.0832 or email memoriesforkeepsake@comcast.net.

Look for another giveaway from a different business to be announced here Monday.

Kristen Grach loves well-made, beautiful jewelry.

But after the Savannah mother-of-three sold her upscale maternity boutique, Expectations, she had little reason to don her jewelry every day. Then she discovered wearing jewelry and getting dressed in something more than a tee and jeans – even just to go drop the kids off at school – helped her feel better, more put-together and as though she could conquer the world.

Now as an advisor for Lia Sophia jewelry, Kristen gets a chance to share her love for fun and fabulous jewelry, while earning a little spending money and setting her own hours.

You can either place jewelry orders individually with Kristen or host a jewelry party (and receive amazing hostess benefits such as your choice of any catalog item under $100 or, during February, add $100 of jewelry to your order for only $19). See the jewelry here and check out the hostess benefits here.

February is Double Up time: purchase two items at full price and you can add two items for half price. When you purchase three items at full price, you can add three items for half price. And so on and so on. Even better, your half-priced items can be your HIGHEST priced items.

The jewelry comes with a lifetime guarantee. Contact Kristen by clicking here and schedule your show today.

Now that the application process is under way for the funded (i.e. FREE) Georgia Pre-K program (Feb. 2-March 16),  SouthernMamas.com is receiving scores of questions about how the pre-K lottery system works. We’re trying to figure it out, too.

Children 4-years-old prior to or on Sept. 1, 2009 are eligible for free pre-K in Georgia. You can only apply to TWO different schools and your first choice must be the school in your public school attendance zone – which is a real downer for those of us in a designated zone with a less than desirable elementary school.

SouthernMamas reader Jennifer Rodgers emails:  Where can I get a list of the designated attendance zone?

Answer: Click on this school locator and put in your address. If you have any questions, call the Savannah-Chatham School’s pre-K program director LaWanda Ransom @ 912. 395.1154 or 912. 395.5635 or email her @ lawanda.ransom@sccpss.com

Private schools also offer the free pre-K program including Maggies’ Morning School and Candler’s The Children’s House.

The lottery is held @ the school sites @ 10 am March 18. You can attend the lottery drawing to see if your child gets in to the pre-K program of your choice or wait to be notified in writing of acceptance or waiting list status during the week of March 23.

For more info, read past posts on this subject here and here

Wild Dill is our latest crush.

Organic. Free-trade. Sweat-shop free. Natural. And this handmade car is on sale for $19.

Feel as though you’re out of touch with your children or are missing too much of their childhood?

Jodie Randisi says her book, “201 Things to Do When Your Children say I’M BORED!”, can help. Randisi will be among the writers, storytellers, spoken-word performers and children’s book illustrators in the family activities tented venue @ the 2009 Savannah Book Festival. Check out her Web site here.

The book festival is free and open to the public, this Saturday, Feb. 7.
The kid-friendly part of the festival is in Telfair Square from 10 am-3 pm and includes children’s book author Charlotte Sauers (click here to read about her book), singer-songwriter Caroline Aiken, singer-author Ysaye M. Barnwell, The Spitfire Poetry Book and more.

For a schedule of the performers, click here.

Of course, the book festival also has lots of stuff for adults – such as six literary venues with more than 40 authors speaking to audiences throughout the day; book signings after each author presentation, book sales; food vendors from local restaurants; exhibitors, including a local authors marketplace.

Introducing a new, regular feature @ SouthernMamas. Every now and then, we’ll turn the spotlight on a children’s book you should check out. And we’ll throw in a few links so you can find the book at your local library branch.

This week’s pick: Some Dogs Do, by Jez Alborough, who serves up a catchy rhyming tale of a world where some dogs do fly and little pups are encouraged to believe.

“All dogs walk and jump and run,
but dogs don’t fly – it can’t be done.
“But I did,” said Sid. “I did.”

Click here to search and see where Some Dogs Do is available to check out @ Live Oak library branches and here to see where it’s available @ Beaufort County libraries.

We’d love suggestions from readers about their favorite library finds for kids. Email anne@southernmamas.com or comment below.

A reminder about a new storytime in town.

It’s @ The Roundhouse Railroad Museum @ 601 W. Harris St. in downtown Savannah, starting Wednesday, Feb. 11 10 – 11 am. In the Kids Zone Baggage Car. For ages 2-5.

The theme for that week is “Will You Be My Valentine?” Cost : $4 per child, plus adult admission.

Reservations are required. Call 912.651.6823 or email childrensevents@chsgeorgia.org.

The event kicks off  a special once-a-month story and craft time @ The Roundhouse Railroad Museum. Click here upcoming storytime themes and dates.

Attention new and pregnant moms!
This week, local photographer and SouthernMamas sponsor Nicole Williams of Memories for Keepsake Photography by Nicole is giving away THREE newborn photo session packages. The three giveaway packages will include :
1 8×10
2 5×7’s
1 set of wallets
a set of mommy cards
25 custom announcements
and a mini album of your session

The only stipulation is the baby must be less than 3 weeks of age. These packages can be redeemed anywhere from now through August 2009, so whether you are newly pregnant, about to deliver or just home from the hospital, you should enter this contest! Here’s how:

Here are the rules:

To enter to win, email your name and the correct answer to the following question to anne@southernmamas.com. Nicole helps capture childhood moments. She knows how quickly those moments pass as a mom of how many children? Hint: Visit her Web site and click on More Info, then click on About Me.

To book a session with Nicole Williams, call 912.596.0832 or email memoriesforkeepsake@comcast.net

This upcoming Sunday Feb. 8 is Super Museum Sunday. On this special day you can take your whole family to participating museums and historic sites FOR FREE. For a list of participating museums and venues, click here.

During Super Museum Sunday, The Coastal Heritage Society will offer FREE rides on its newly-completed passenger car at The Roundhouse Railroad Museum

The train rides will take place every half-hour from noon-4 pm. Admission to the museum will be free as well. The car will be hauled behind a historic diesel locomotive. Also featured are blacksmith demos as well as children’s activities including storytimes in the museum’s special kids’ cars.

The Roundhouse is across from the Savannah History Museum/Visitors Center on Louisville Road west of the intersection of MLK, Jr. Blvd. 912.651.6823.

For a details on events offered at other venues during Super Museum Sunday, check back Friday on SouthernMamas.com.

Are you concerned about complications associated with c-sections? This new study here details some of the risks, including breathing and feeding problems and infections.

Many moms who undergo c-sections want vaginal births after a c-section (also known as VBAC), but are denied that option. I write about c-sections vs. VBACs in my Sunday column this week in the Accent section of the Savannah Morning News. Read it here.

Whereas VBACs were briefly popular a few years ago, increasing from 3 percent to 28 percent from 1981 and 1996, now the trend is more toward “once a cesarean, always a cesarean.” More and more doctors have banned VBACs. One of the few local practices that still offers VBACs when appropriate is Provident OB/GYN Associates.

To find out more about the risky rise of c-sections nationally, visit the Georgia chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network here.

Check out the outfits from Lemon Loves Lime designer line. Lots of descriptions come to mind – whimsical, fun, and above all, available now at @ Island Child in the Village at Wexford on Hilton Head Is. or via the Island Child online store here. 1.888.705.5437 or 843.686.5437.

Island Child is a sponsor of SouthernMamas.com

Interested in sending your child to St. Andrew’s School?

The independent college preparatory school on Wilmington Island has several open house dates for Pre-K 3 through Grade 12 including:
Tues., Jan. 13 at 9 a.m.
Fri. Jan. 16 at 12 noon
Mon., Jan. 26 at 9 a.m.
Wed., Jan. 28 at 12 noon
Thurs., Feb. 5 at 9 a.m.

Call 897.4941 to reserve your spot or for more information. To find out more about the school, click here.

You know you want professional portrait or wedding shots that incorporate the beauty of Savannah and the Lowcountry.

But you don’t know where to begin to find that perfect backdrop. Photographer and Savannah native Stacy Martinez does.

Stacy Martinez Photography specializes in wedding and portrait photography.  She’s hip to the ends and outs of this area and perfect back alleys and side streets to make for lasting and timeless photographs.

SMP’s portfolio also includes military – families and deploying or returning troops – commercial, headshots, any type of event, beach and pet photography.

Stuffy and posed she is not. Stacy’s style is candid, photojournalism with natural lighting so gorgeous it bounces off her clients beautiful smiles. She is also a photojournalist for the Coastal Family Magazine and The Business Report & Journal.

Check out her reasonable prices.
On Location session: $75
Beach session: $100
Clients can own the copyrights (images on CD) for $100
Or order prints for prices starting at $2 for a 4×6 .
You can view your images in your own private password protected gallery and order the prints or the CD from the Stacy Martinez Photography Web site.

For even more proof that Stacy does quality work, take a look at some of the examples of her work posted above or visit her blog by clicking here. Set up an appointment by calling 912.308.1427 or email stacy.martinez@comcast.net.

Looking for a better job? Or trying to rejoin the workforce after staying home with the kids?
The job market is fiercely competitive right now.
So if your resume isn’t the absolute best it can be, then you will not get a second look from the company of your choice.
Check out our newest sponsor – Premier Resumes Online– which specializes in creating professional and customized resumes and cover letters for job seekers in all industries, in all professions, and at every career level.
Owned and operated locally, Premier Resumes Online creates resumes that capture the interest of recruiters.
Owner Katie Gohn finds this work immensely rewarding. After all, she gets to see you immediately gain confidence in yourself after seeing on paper the wealth of experience you have to offer a company.
Click here for prices on obtaining the essential tool in landing interviews for the “right” positions.
And get the job you deserve.

Welcome to all the new SouthernMamas readers who found us over the holidays and signed up to subscribe to our popular weekly newsletter.

Please support the businesses listed under the sponsors column on the right side of this site. These for-profit businesses help make SouthernMamas possible and we are so grateful for their support.

So when you have online shopping to do, are looking for a photographer or travel agent, need a clown for birthday parties or help on home repairs,  or just want to give your resume a facelift, please click on our sponsors’ ads to the right. Because the more readers support them, the more our sponsors will support us.

Thank you. And thank you for spreading the word about SouthernMamas.

The good news is I still write a Sunday column “Hart to Heart” for the Savannah Morning News Accent section.

The bad news is they are cutting my column back from once a week to every other week. Very depressing and confidence-shattering. But that’s the state of print journalism today – budget cuts and lay offs.

I will continue to use this Web site to promote my columns when they run on the first and third Sunday of each month. Feel free to share story ideas and comments on what you’d like my column to focus on in the future. I get mixed messages on whether readers want more personal stories or more issue-oriented stories. My last two columns have offered a little of each.

Last week, I shared the humorous birth story of our precious new daughter, Francie, who arrived as an early Christmas gift for our family and a 40th birthday gift for me. You can read the column here. (The photo posted above is of Francie looking a little perplexed by her big brother as he tries to explain fingers and hands to her.)

This Sunday’s topic is a bit more controversial: breast feeding in public. I, personally, am often too shy to breast feed in public,  but support mothers who do 100 percent. You can read the column here. It’s about a breast feeding feud prompted by Facebook banning some breast-feeding photos on the basis of being obscene. Do you think breast-feeding photos are obscene? Please share your opinion in the comment section below.

 Thanks to savvy SouthernMamas reader Lia Hyatt for sharing this tip: Oatland Island Wildlife Center will not cancel their regular Toddler Tuesdays story, craft and animal visitor program after all. The good news was announced @ this past week’s Toddler Tuesday.

Last month, organizers had said  there are no plans to continue the popular program this year because of budget cuts. The wildlife center receives funds from money-strapped Savannah-Chatham County Public School System.

We’re thrilled the program is expected to start up again mid-January. Click here for upcoming updates on when it will start.

What a great reason to become a member of Oatland Island, especially now that membership rates have been lowered. It now costs $35 for a family of six, compared to the previous price of $60. Click here for membership info and here for rates.