Pop-A-Tot

I run across lots of giveaways while reading the blogs of other moms. I also come across good advice for saving money, plus great tips on parenting. I don't enter all the giveaways I read about because I don't need many of the prizes. I would rather pass the chance to win to someone who really needs the item. When I read about this great giveaway, I just couldn't pass it by. The product is a very portable sort of exersaucer/jumper. It is lightweight, wipes down easily, and can be taken anywere! Read about it here: http://www.popatot.com/index.html

So for a chance to win this great item, go on over to Barefoot Mommy at:
http://barefoot-mommy.blogspot.com/
Good luck!

Another Chance for a Build A Bear gift certificate

Whenever I see a Build-A-Bear contest or giveaway, I immediately enter. I love this store and so do my kids! So, for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Build-A-Bear, hop on over to Seeryus Mama's blog:
http://seeryus.blogspot.com/2008/12/hal-moose-from-build-bear-workshop.html
Good Luck!

Would you like a chance to win an IPOD for yourself or a special someone else?

If you would like a chance to win an 8 gp ipod nano or a 1 gb ipod shuffle, head over to Christian PF http://www.christianpf.com/christmas-giveaways-two-ipods-and-more/
I visited this site for the first time today and it was filled with advice for saving and making money. So, go look around and enter to win an ipod!

Flip Ultra Video Camera Giveaway

If you would like a chance at a great giveaway head on over to I Never Grew Up
http://inevergrewup.net/giveaway-22-flip-ultra-video-camcorder/
and get your entry in. If you want to see what you could win go visit the
Flip Video Store at http://www.theflip.com/store/
This is a wonderful little video camera that is pocket sized and holds up to 60 minutes of video time.

A great product

Now this is a great, new product that any new (or experienced) mom could use. It's the Korbie diaper bag/bassinet. Here are some of the product's great features:
Storage, storage, and more storage! This bag has a ton of room!
*No more lugging around a ton of baby gear!
*Insulated pockets for bottles (easily fits 4 standard bottles)
*Single-push release makes getting to essentials a breeze!
*Sturdy, stain resistant and water repellent nylon
*Saddlebag design allows the Korbie to straddle the back of chairs
*Sturdy bassinet with carrying straps (supports up to 25lbs)
*UV-coated, nylon bassinet (even good for outdoors)
*Fashionable design
*Soft, washable terry cloth surface and safety harness on changing pad

You can have a chance to win one over at GO GRAHAM GO. Here's the website:
http://www.gograhamgo.com/
If you want to check out the Korbie, go to: http://www.korbie.com/
Good luck!

Another Build-A-Bear contest

As I posted a few days ago I love Build-A-Bear and if you've
ever taken a child there, I bet you do too! A very generous blogger is offering yet another opportunity to win a gift certificate to Build-A-Bear with several different chances to win. So get on over to Mom to 3 Angels and get your entry in.
Don't forget to look at the adorable pictures on this blog!
http://momto3angels.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-in-wonderland-blog-party-day_15.html
Here's the Build-A-Bear link:
http://www.buildabear.com/
Good luck!

Christmas giveaways

I can't believe all the great giveaways from generous bloggers this Christmas season. One thing I ran across that I am in desperate need of is the great prize at a contest over at Nurse Mommy. http://nursemommy07.blogspot.com/2008/12/win-hoover-floormate-spinscrub-widepath.html The prize is a Hoover Floormate Spinscrub Widepath. It looks awesome and you can see it on the Hoover site. Good luck!

A great Build-A-Bear giveaway

If you have ever taken a child to Build-A-Bear, you know what a wonderful experience it can be. My children loved to go there when they were younger, and I have plans to take my neice the week after Christmas...if I can steal her away from my sister-in-law. If you would like to try for a $25 Build a Bear gift card, head over to Fractured Toy and enter this great giveaway! Good luck!
http://fracturedtoy.blogspot.com/2008/12/build-bear-giftcard-giveaway.html

Do you love Amazon as much as I do?

Every Christmas I place at least three hefty orders with Amazon. I
love to give books as presents. I also like to give movies on DVD because
I know that most members of my family miss the movies when they are on at the theaters.
But Amazon has much, much more than books and movies. They have, well basically everything!

If you want to try to win a $25 gift card to Amazon, go on over to Debateur
Debates. http://debateurdebates.blogspot.com/ If you don't want to enter the contest, read the comments. It's worth it.

another great giveaway

Here's a great new giveaway over at Nickels N Dimes. The prize
is $100 worth of Estee Lauder products. Wouldn't that be a nice
treat for a mom who spends her days looking after others?
Here's the link:
http://nickels-n-dimes.blogspot.com/2008/12/giveaway-7-estee-lauder.html
good luck

Blogging Trends

Have you ever noticed that some words start out as nouns and become verbs? The recent ones that come to mind are google, blog, and text. My kids are always texting someone or googling something. I, on the other hand, am usually reading blogs as opposed to "blogging." A recent blog trend is the giveaway and there are some great ones out there. For example over at Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls http://frugalmommyof2girls.blogspot.com/search/label/giveaway there is a great giveaway for a wonderful stroller called bumbleride valued at $329.99. So, get on over there and enter for a chance to win. I'm sure we all know someone who could use this great stroller.

Turkey giveaway

I've found some really neat giveaways from bloggers. One very timely giveaway is for a Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey. You can enter for a $20 coupon over at Moms by Heart http://momsbyheart.blogspot.com/2008/11/jennie-o-oven-ready-turkey-review.html
Good luck! And good luck with your holiday preparations. I'm in the middle of some very intense Thanksgiving cooking, something I actually look forward to during the weeks before Thanksgiving. Well, maybe what I really look forward to is the "eating" part of the holiday because the cooking and cleaning up can get a bit hectic.

Where does the time go?

I haven't posted anything here since April of last year. I read blogs almost daily, but I have no desire to write anything. Except a few political
insights. But if I wrote those I would get nasty comments. So I won't.
Except for this. Regardless of what happens on election day, I fear we're in a heap of trouble. I just read that 51% of Americans favor heavy taxation of
the wealthy to redistribute wealth. This tells me that over half of our
population is socialist. Or does it simply mean that over half of our population
has no idea how the economy works? A bit of both I bet.

Prom Time

My daughter went to her senior prom tonight. She looked so pretty! The day started with her hair appointment and then a trip to pick up her date's boutonniere (I guess they still call it a boutonniere). Then it was time to do nails. Last year she went with her friends to have them done at a salon. This year they did each other's nails and makeup. I think they really enjoyed the girly primping time together. I drove her to her date's house at twenty after four. Usually the girl gets picked up, but we live 30 minutes from her boyfriend and we were already in town. Besides, it is a big deal now for the parents to gather at one house and take pictures of the couple all gussied up for the prom. Several couples were gathering for pictures at a home near the boyfriend's house, so it was easier for me to drop my daughter off. When I was young, parents did not go from house to house taking pictures of the prom couples. Anyway, after pictures were taken, the couples go out to eat at nice restaurants. The prom starts around 7. When it's over, the kids go to afterprom parties that last all night. They are coed and invitations always say something like "parents are welcome to drop in at anytime to visit with the adult chaperones."
I have been through many junior and senior prom nights with my kids. I always worry because so many teenagers drink on prom and graduation nights. My daughter promised to call me when she got to the afterprom party. I won't be able to sleep till I get that phone call.

Sleepless in Tennessee

I can't sleep, so I'm reading blogs and rambling around on the internet. I came across this http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2007/feature-photography/works/
You might have to cut and paste, but it's worth looking at. Get the tissues ready. It's a prize winning photo exhibit of a single mom and her son as he loses his battle with cancer. If you click on the pictures, they will enlarge and an explanation can be viewed. The hardest picture to look at is when the son is taking his last steps and the cancerous tumor in his stomach is so large that he can't zip his pants. I believe he is also blind in that picture, due to a large tumor pressing on his eyes. I can't imagine what that mother must have gone through.

Changes

I have never liked changes, especially when they are forced upon me. It seems that I go through times when nothing new happens, maybe for years. And then, suddenly, in the blink of an eye things change. It's almost like when someone dies and you realize the world has lost another person, yet the world doesn't really notice. That person is here one day and gone the next. Or you find yourself driving your child to college and something inside knows it's the end of an era, things will never be the same. I have had too many changes lately, and my head feels like it's spinning. My son told me last week he will not be coming home this summer. He will be staying in Nashville to continue a research project. It seems as if he's really grown up and on his own for the first time. My oldest daughter will be going to college this fall and she has decided to live in the dorm, even though we live close enough for her to commute. I understand completely, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it, especially with her health problems. But, she has plenty of scholarship money to stay in the dorm and pay tuition, and I know it's for the best. My parents just informed me they will be moving into town as soon as they get things organized and packed. They have always, and by "always" I mean almost thirty years, lived just down the road from me. That has been a great comfort to me on many levels. When my husband died, I knew I could always go talk with my mom if I got lonely for adult talk. As they've gotten older, I feel like I'm close enough to help if anything comes up. I drive my mom to town off and on and I take them certain foods I fix because my mom no longer likes to bake. Mom is sick again and the dr. doesn't really know what it is. She goes in for tests next week. My dad says he wants her living closer to doctors and hospitals. He says the farm is too much for him now, he can't keep care of the land and it drives him crazy to see things growing up all around him. My father has always hated the city. I can't imagine he'll be happy living in town. Isn't it sad that age takes so much from us. My father says he has heard people say how wonderful it is to get older and wiser. He says there is absolutely nothing good about getting old. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to move. It will be hard to live where I live now without the kids. And, everytime I pass my parents long driveway I know I'll want to drive up it. I'm certainly not ready to move into town, but my youngest is still at home and I'm sure she would love to have a neighbor or two with children. decisions decisions......

Buzz and Lilly

I have always loved animals, especially dogs. When I was in my 20's and 30's I showed dogs in both obedience and conformation. I had several English Springer Spaniels, a corgi, and a crazy border collie. Now, I have two untrained Australian Shepherds and my daughter has a 5 month old corgi. We also have a cat that we adopted from the shelter. My unruly Australian Shepherds, Buzz and Lilly, are an embarrassment to me because for several years I taught obedience classes for a local kennel club! I keep promising myself that I will train Buzz and Lilly, but I never get around to it. One of these days, after I plant a couple of apple trees, paint my porch chairs, get my back door fixed, paint my bedroom, clean the attic,........

Easter Eggs

We dyed Easter Eggs today. It was just my youngest daughter and me, but we had fun. Years ago, my sisters and I would get all the kids together (usually at my house) on Good Friday to dye eggs. We had such fun and acted so silly. There was always more dye on little fingers than on eggs. Now, all my nieces and nephews are grown (or almost grown). My mom always joined us, and I'm sure she's missing those fun times too. My daughter made one orange egg today with the letters UT (University of Tennessee) on one side. We took a picture of it and emailed the picture to my son. He goes to Vanderbilt, but he's always been a huge UT fan. My oldest daughter is going to UT so we also emailed a picture of the orange UT egg to her. We spent the rest of the day eating jelly beans and chocolate.

music meme

Grammie has tagged me, and if I understand correctly, I must post my favorite seven songs. If I had to post the last seven songs listened to, it would be whatever was sung on American Idol. I can't even remember what the contestants sang this past week, so I'll list the last seven songs I listened to on my ipod. I think it's funny that I have an ipod, but my son gave me one last Christmas. I've actually enjoyed it, especially when I go for walks.
1. Crazy - Gnarles Barkley
2. Listen - Beyonce (Dreamgirls)
3. And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going - Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
4. Defying Gravity (Wicked)
5. Georgia - Ray Charles
6. Your Song - Elton John (in honor of his 60th birthday)
7. Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flats

Thanks Grammie!

Good Friday

I've always loved Easter. To me, it is the holiest of all Christian holidays.

Yesterday my daughter finished her radioactive iodine treatments for Grave's Disease. She is confined to her bedroom for the next 4 days. She is emitting beta particles (I think that's right) and that's not a good thing. She has to flush the toilet twice after she uses it. And she has to throw away her underwear a couple of times a day. She is on a special diet with absolutely no sodium. She is allowed to eat chicken, beef, or pork with no seasoning except pepper. She can have fresh vegetables or fruit (no canned stuff), 1 piece of bread and 1 cup of milk a day. She can drink tea, water, and KoolAid if it doesn't contain red dye 40. That's all she's allowed. She's basically living on bananas and baked potatoes with pepper. She says the diet is the hardest thing she's ever done.

Areas of the North are covered in snow. I remember a huge snow in April when I was in high school. We had no power for over 5 days. My mom cooked over a fire in the fireplace. There was plenty of food because we had to use stuff in the freezer before it ruined. In those days our freezer was filled with good things from the garden, as well as beef we raised and grain fed during the summer. All four of us kids slept in the floor near the fire and my parents slept on a couch. At the time, I didn't realize I was living something that would later become a precious memory.