Under the Tree

The ladies over at 5 Minutes for Mom are hosting their annual Christmas Giveaways again this year. I love the fact that every year along with their awesome giveaways that bloggers can register to win, they also compile an equally impressive stash of items to give away to those in need. They've definitely got the Christmas spirit! Check it out if you have a minute, and while you are over there register to win a few prizes yourself.

Sapphire

A Cowboy's Wife is hosting another Blue Ribbon Photo Contest. This month's theme is Sapphire, and anything blue goes. You've got until Sept. 20th if you want to submit one. Here is my entry..... "Day at the Beach". Even though we've been enjoying the almost fall weather lately, this photo makes me miss our vacation days of summer!

Christmas Giveaways

I've mentioned here before that I do all my blog reading via Bloglines. Well, I discovered today that there has been a glitch preventing me from seeing new posts up from one of my favorite sites, 5 Minutes 4 Mom.

It looks like I checked it out just in time too, because they have been having their Christmas Giveaways going on basically all month long. They end tomorrow, I think, so if like me you haven't checked them out yet, better get over there quick and enter to win some great Christmas prizes!!

The Winner Is...

Courtesy of Random.Org

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:10
Timestamp: 2008-11-01 01:20:36 UTC

Commenter #10: Jill, I will get the book out to you on Monday.

I'd like to say thank you to everyone for all the wonderful new parenting book suggestions that were recommended in the comments! I've got plenty of reading to do now.

Thanks to everyone for playing along.

Book Giveaway

One of the blogs I check out regularly is Bloggy Giveaways. Sometimes I enter the giveaways, but more often than not I just look because I'm fascinated with mom owned small businesses, and that's the type of company she usually promotes. If you haven't ever checked out this blog you should definitely take a look!


This week Bloggy Giveaways is hosting their Quarterly Giveaway Carnival. I have perused the entries in quarters past and found some great new blogs to read.... like I need to be reading more blogs!?! But this time I've decided to host a give away of my own.


Trying to decide what to give away was quite tough because I wanted whatever I did offer to be something that says a little bit about our blog. I am a nut when it comes to reading and studying up on kids. Even though I try to do most of my parenting based on my own intuition, I am interested to hear what the "experts" have to say about things. Some of my recent favorite reads in this department are: Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas, Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim and Charles Fay, The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp, and the one I mentioned in yesterday's post How to Get Your Kid to Eat... But Not Too Much by Ellyn Satter.


After I decided to give away a book, I realized that I have an extra copy of The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp here already. Now, I'll admit that some of the tactics in this book I found to be a little cooky, but there were also some great tips and tricks I've found for dealing with my house full of toddlers. So, the perfect giveaway from our house with one happy preschooler and 3 of the happiest toddlers you'd ever hope to meet was decided upon!


To enter your name in the drawing for this book, simply leave a comment on this post (being sure to include your email address or another easy way for me to reach you) letting me know which parenting books you enjoy. I'll randomly draw a winner Friday night and announce that winner here Saturday morning. (U.S. & Canada addresses only, please.) And be sure to visit Bloggy Giveaways to check out the giveaway carnival -- there's a whole bunch of giveaways going on throughout the blogosphere this week, and who knows, you might find a new favorite blog or two?!?

And the Winner Is...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:7
Timestamp: 2008-10-02 14:03:14 UTC

Comment number 7! Just kidding, I won't make you go back and count comments... my sweet fellow multiple mommy friend Annie and her four babies are the winners of our K'NEX Sesame Street Canister.

I still remember reading a message from her way, way back when on our Yahoo Same Age Group Triplets and More Page that, "SURPRISE, she was not having triplets after all. She had a stow away baby in there!!" So at 29 weeks, I think, she found out she was going to be a quad momma instead and something like 2 weeks later they arrived?!? Are my facts correct, Ann? I wonder how often that happens? Fortunately my babies had already arrived at that point or I myself would have had a panic attack!!

Email me your address when you get a chance so that I can have it shipped out to you. Hope your little cuties enjoy building as much as mine do!

K'NEX Are Cool and a Contest!

Last week before we left for the beach we got a package from my friends at Team Mom. The girls had no idea what was in the box. So being the "meanie mom" that I am, I opted to save the new toy unveiling until we got home. My girls are only somewhat interested in blocks and things so I wasn't sure how excited they would be about the K'NEX Bert and Ernie Sesame Street Building Set. I thought it would at least be a good distraction tactic to use during the 'okay, we're home so now what do we do' period.

I'm pleased to report that I grossly underestimated the amount of quiet play time this little set would generate. Normally, toys with millions 43 pieces are not high on my must have products list, but these fabulous sets from K'NEX come packaged in sturdy, cute boxes that can be used to store the millions 43 parts while they are not in use. Which, coincidentally, hasn't been often around here. During all of the indoor playtime the girls have had since we opened the box, at least one, if not all of them, has been playing with it.

Ella can make the Bert and Ernie figures pretty easily. Maggie, Kate, and Sarah don't exactly "get it" yet, but they too love to build random things with the pieces, and they love to have help to make Bert and Ernie.

I am thrilled that Team Mom sent this for us; I will be putting a few more of these on the girls' Christmas lists this year. This is not something I would have ever thought to try out, but it was definitely a hit with the Four Silly Sisters!

Oh, I almost forgot.... I have a K’NEX Sesame Street Canister Building Set to give away to one lucky blog reader. (Not sure which set, but they are all super cute!) So, if you'd like to win one just leave a comment on this post sometime between now and this Thursday morning(10/2) at 10am EST. I'll pick the winner with the old random number generator at www.random.org. Happy Building!

This Screams Summer Fun, Right?

I'm entering this photo of Maggie taken earlier this summer in a contest over at 5 Minutes for Mom. The deadline sneaked up on me, and I almost missed it. If you have a photo that just screams SUMMER FUN, submit it by 3pm today (Wednesday) for consideration. It will also double as my Wordless Wednesday entry for this week because I've been following the girls around with the video camera instead of the camera. More Wordless Wednesday posts also at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Wordless Wednesday- Funny Discovery

Maggie discovered something funny in Mimi's flower garden the other day...

Gotta love those belly laughs so deep that they can be seen in still photographs!!


For more Wordless Wednesday go to 5 Minutes 4 Mom and while you are at it check out their cool Back to School Giveaways!

And the Winner Is....

Boy am I grateful that I didn't have to judge the contest myself... even drawing randomly was nerve wracking! We had 53 entrants as of 10pm last night, and sometime around 11pm I printed them off, highlighted the names (just so I wouldn't miss anyone), and then carefully labeled them each with a number. Next I plugged in the info and viola:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

33
Timestamp: 2008-07-24 03:21:36 UTC


Go back and double check me, but my calculations (the first, second, and third time- yes I'm a little bit nuts) have Melissa from the Twincredible Twosome blog at lucky spot number 33.

Congratulations Melissa!! Thank you to everyone who entered. I want to say a huge thank you to the folks at Chicco who so generously offered this prize!! There were so many great, compelling entries, maybe they will offer another stroller some time!?!

Thanks again to everyone. It has been fun!! Melissa, sometime when you are not too busy chasing your fabulous twosome around please send me an email with your address so that I can pass it along to the folks at Chicco and they can get your stroller out to you.

Fresh Blueberries... Yum!

Yesterday morning Mimi, Donna, the girls, and I all went over to our cousins' house and picked buckets full of yummy, fresh blueberries. I forgot to bring my camera with me, otherwise I could have taken several pictures of Maggie, Kate, and Sarah executing their blueberry picking plan.... two for me, one for the bucket, two for me, one for the bucket. They were so funny eating the berries right off the bushes. I bet they consumed 3 cups of berries or more while we were picking, and then we brought home 2 big sand pails absolutely full. I can only imagine what that would have cost if we bought them at the store! A very cool tidbit is the fact that we were picking blueberries off the bushes that my great grandmother planted when she and my great grand father lived on the property years ago.

On a completely unrelated note, we are now half way through our first ever contest, thank you Chicco, and I must say that I am loving reading all the comments from people who hope to win! A word to all my fellow bloggers, having a contest is a good way to bring the lurkers out of hiding. I am so glad that I elected to use random selection as my decision method! However, instead of the paper slip method, I'll be numbering the comments on Wednesday the 23rd and then using a random integer generator to come up with my winner. Same principle.... less mess for me. So if you haven't already, go and enter to win the Trevi Twin stroller that I'm giving away. Pass the word along to those whom you know could use it. Comments will close for the contest at 10pm EST on Wednesday the 23rd of July.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Insomnia and a Contest

It is currently 2:07am, and I am fighting the worst case of stress induced insomnia EVER! This whole ARMY time frame thing... not knowing when Scott will be leaving, well it is driving me insane. I am quite sure it is much, much worse for him, so I try not to complain. Instead, I suffer the terrible, horrible, insomnia all alone (with my computer and all of you blog readers, I guess).


After lying in bed for the last 3 hours tossing, turning, and willing my eyes to stay shut, I finally decided to get up and announce our first ever blog contest.

Earlier this week I was contacted by a marketer for Chicco who offered me a brand new Trevi Twin Stroller to give away to one of my fabulous readers. Now, I've never done a contest before, but what an awesome first attempt! I am so excited for one of you to win this thing! Here it is.

According to the marketer, "The Trevi Twin is a double stroller, with full recline, built-in boot to ensure a safe ride for newborns, compact 3-dimensional fold, and great features for parents (an added bonus when you're traveling with twins!). While some double strollers may be too wide to fit through doors, or hard to maneuver, the Trevi Twin makes getting around a breeze. The stroller is recommended for children from birth to 40 lbs and retails for $219.00."

We have quite a collection of strollers in our garage, and I know firsthand that a good stroller can mean FREEDOM. While I can't speak for the Trevi Twin's awesomeness personally, I have many friends who absolutely love this brand.... I'm sure it will make a very nice addition to someone else's stroller fleet. So if this one has your name (or that of someone you know) written all over it, please enter to win.

Here's how:

- Leave a comment on this post stating why you need and/or want this particular stroller by 10pm, Eastern Standard Time, on Wednesday July 23rd.

- Because Blogger doesn't number comments and I could definitely not handle the extra stress of choosing the winner myself, I will print out all the comments and place them in a hat, or bowl, or baby doll stroller... whatever the Four Silly Sisters and I can get our hands on, and we'll randomly select the winner.

-It will be our great pleasure to announce the winner on Thursday the 24th of July.