Friday Follow – and a Giveaway

I’m sure you’ve experienced something pretty similar to a common occurrence in our house – bedtime arrives and the stalling begins. C is too young to join in (yet – it’s coming, though!) but J has already mastered the skill. He’ll ask for us to sing more songs, or will keep adding things in to thank God for in our prayer, or he’ll ask for extra hugs and kisses (man, he’s good).

Even once he’s in bed, he talks and sings to try to hold off on actually falling asleep as long as possible. Last night we heard him gabbing away a full 45 minutes after we left his room. If we didn’t have places to be the next day, it wouldn’t be a problem, but six out of seven days we’re getting up for school or church. When J doesn’t get a lot of sleep at night, that translates into a much rougher next day for all of us.

The creators of Shushybye have obviously been in the same situation, because their line of products is all focused on making nighttime something kids look forward to. They have DVDs, a live show, toys, CDs, books, and more. I was excited to receive a copy of a Shushybye book and CD to review, and couldn’t wait to see what J thought.

First we listened to the CD  – “Close Your Eyes” – while J played a little before bedtime. The songs on the CD strike a nice balance of being upbeat but still having a mellow feel to them. A couple of songs seemed like they’d be fun to dance around to before nap time to get some energy out.  They all have a focus on sleeping or dreaming, which helps get kids into the mindset of thinking about going to sleep.

Then we pulled the book out to read. What I really love is that you can read the book with your child or you can play the accompanying CD and let him “read” along. The CD has songs on it too, and can add variety to story time. Tonight we read the book together so I could get an idea of what it was like. I noticed right off the bat how bright and colorful the illustrations are. This helps shape the idea of a dream world as a fun, happy place. The story is lighthearted and talks quite a bit about dreams, which is wonderful for getting kids excited about going to sleep and having dreams of their own. It also has a message about being kind to others, which I really liked.

Once you finish reading the book, it provides a great segue for getting your kids in bed – the cover has glow-in-the dark stars on it. We closed the book and I told J I had a surprise for him. We went into his room and he was really excited to see the stars. It took his mind off the room being dark, and was a nice way to get him settled in bed.

Now, the best part – I get to GIVE one of these books and CDs away to one of you! If you’re like us and are always looking for ways to make bedtime easier, you’d love having this in your home.

You’ll win a copy of the “Close Your Eyes” CD, and of the book “Shushybye Sleepover Surprise.” This giveaway will run until Thursday, April 8 at midnight CST; the winner will be posted in next week’s Friday Follow post.

Go to the Shushybye website and then comment below telling me the name of one of the Shushies.

Please leave a separate comment for each of your extra entries. Thanks!