Your Picture Could be Worth $1000!

Over at 5minutesformom.com they are hosting a bloggy photo contest that could win someone a $1000 American Express gift card! That would be absolutely amazing for us right now so I am definitely in.



I did have a very hard time picking out a photo that tells a story about what motherhood means to me. I have so many pictures that could work but I think this one is probably the best.

Why do you ask...well because I think this picture demonstrates those moments when you just need to let your kids live. My practical side was telling me that I should really take that hammer away from them...before someone gets bashed in the head. But my gut was telling me that they were just fine. They were taking turns hitting the nail with the hammer and doing quite an impressive job at it. As parents, we are just here as a guide. We are hear to help them as they need us on this journey that is THEIR life. I think as parents we often lose sight that it is their life even when they are little and we are just a tour guide providing them with support, love and guidance. As a mom I try to instill a natural sense of curiosity and an attitude that "I can do anything." And we try to let our kids do as much as they want (safely of course).

So, what does motherhood mean to me? It means being there, as much as I can and finding love in every moment of every day.

Now I will ask you, what does motherhood mean to you? Share with me either in the comments or on your own blog and if you can share a photo and post your like at 5minutesformom.com to try to win that $1000 visa GC.

Blessings!

And the Winner is!

I decided to use a random number generator this time from Random.org. Here are the numbers from Random:

Here are your random numbers:

36
25

Timestamp: 2008-04-28 15:12:11 UTC

#25 is Tammy over at Three Different Directions. She had asked for The Usborne Internet Linked Library of Science Animal World. Congrats Tammy!

And #36 is Genevieve P over at St. Juliana Sisterhood. She did not specify a particular title so she will be getting the In The Castle picture book. Congrats to you also Genevieve!

Does not look like I was as lucky with winning as I was last time around. So far I haven't won anything! Oh well. There is always next time right!

Congrats again ladies and thank you to everyone for all the amazing give a ways! This was so much fun!

Bloggy Giveaway Carnival is Here!!

It is finally time again for the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. I am SO EXCITED! There are already over 400 give a ways posted so definitely head over to bloggygiveaways.com and sign up for tons! I won some awesome prizes last time so it is well worth it.

This time I am giving away two differnt titles to two different winners. I will use a random number generator (depending on the number of entries) to pick a winner. The first title is The Usborne Internet Linked Library of Science Animal World. It retails for $9.95. The second title is the Usborne Picture Book In the Castle.

OK...so here is what you need to do:
1. Leave a comment on this post with your absolute favorite book is and why (I'm looking for new reading material...not that I need more books but I am always looking for a good new read).
2. Please also let me know which of the two titles you would like to win or if it does not matter.
3. Make sure you leave your blog name (with a place where I can find your email address). If you don't have a blog, just leave an email address where I can reach you.
4. The contest will end on April 27th (Sunday) at 12:00midnight (EST). I will announce the winner on Monday.
5. The contest is open to US residents only. I will contact you regarding shipping next week. Books will ship via media mail.
6. If you would like to earn extra entries please set up a wish list on my website, enter to win the $50 drawing, contact me about hosting an eshow or send me an email asking for more info about the Usborne Opportunity (it is an amazing one!), or blog about this give a way on your blog. Please post an extra comment for each of these things...and I will be checking!

I am ALWAYS look to grow my team so if you are looking for a way to stay home with the kids, need a little extra money or just looking for something different I want to talk to you! Usborne has the most amazing opportunity out there (in my opinion!).

Good luck!!

Pictures of our prizes!

I wanted to share a few pics of the prizes we have recently won. Here are the boys using there new Klean Canteens. Check out this post to find out more about our prizes!
We were able to purchase these with the $100 gift card to Amazon.com that we wont during the Bloggy Carnival give a way from Pediscribe. Thanks again Karen!!

Here is a picture of Aiden in his new B Kindwear won over at Blog in my Eye from Elaine. Thanks Elaine!!

And last but not least my favorite (well...the only one that was really for me!!) is my new Mommy Necklace from Little Piddles. I LOVE IT!!

I am so loving all of these give a ways online and I hope to win many more.

Sorry for the missing Menu Planning Monday. I decided to take this week off as Hubby needed to take the laptop to work to catch us up on our account balancing. Haven't really been able to get online so I am just sticking with tried and true faves this week. Pasta, Pizza, Quesidillas, etc, etc. I promise I'll be back with my menu next week!

Mommy Tags Give a way!

There is an amazing give a way going on right now over at An Island Life. She is giving away a $300 gift certificate to Mommy Tags. You are going to absolutely love these tags! They are so cute. I've got my fingers crossed so that I can get a braclet...and with $300 you can even get someone...or a few someones a gift on top of something for yourself. Check it out and I'll be back later with Menu Planning Monday!

I WON, I WON (I forgot to post)!

It was just brought to my attention that I totally forgot to post the blog I wrote about the giveaways that I won during the carnival that Rocks in My Dryer put on back during the last week of January/1st week of February.

Wow!!! What a great carnival! I can't wait for the next one. I had over 100 entries myself and I didn't put up my giveaway until midweek! Pretty good. I will definitely partake in that again.

I entered at least 100 of the giveaways offered and I won two of them!

The first was a $100 gift card from Amazon.com at PediaScribe! OMG...can you just see me dancing around the room. I plan to get some stainless steel sippy's for the boys and maybe a few books for me. Thanks to Karen over at PediaScribe for picking me! Check out her blog. It is pretty cool!

Update: I already did order my items from Amazon and got the following:

2 Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Sippy's.

I also ordered The Keeper. This will hopefully cut back on our grocery bills slightly and will also save on trash. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is my motto!! I have a few friends who use the Keeper or the Diva Cup and really like them, so I decided to give them a go! Check both The Keeper and The Diva Cup out.

And lastly I was able to order two titles I have been wanting to pick up.

Both excellent titles that I cannot wait to sit down and read.

I also won a cool t-shirt from bkindwear.com. This giveaway was from Elaine at Blog in My Eye.

This is the t-shirt that I picked for Aiden. It is just too cute!! I'll be sure to post a picture of him in it as soon as it arrives!

Thank you to everyone who posted a giveaway. I had so much fun browsing all the sites and even subscribed to a few (10-12) dozen blogs. As if my inbox is not already full enough! Make sure if you didn't check out the Carnival this time you check it out next time...I think in March or April.

I WON, I WON!!

My blogging career has been pretty short lived so far. I've only been hanging out with all the other momma's on the blogosphere for a few months now but I have to say there are some AMAZING give a ways. I've got a few subscriptions to some excellent blogs (like 5 Minutes for Mom...one of my favorites!!) that keep you posted on the give a ways going on.

I entered one of the give a ways on a blog called Little Piddles last week and I WON!! Her give a way was for one of her necklaces. I picked out the Classical Mommy Necklace.

Isn't it LOVELY! I am so excited! I can't to get it. Jennifer is also offering a special right now. 15% off all orders until March 31 if you use the coupon code MOMMYNECKLACE during checkout. I get a one disc necklace for winning so I needed a second dish for my second son so I will definitely be taking advantage of the coupon!

Thanks Jennifer for a great give a way!!

And the Winner is!

Carrie from Mommy Brain picked the book Knights IL Discovery Book. Congrats Carrie! I ended up with 111 comments on my blog. Not bad for a first time and I even won a few give a ways myself! It was so much fun! Thanks everyone for the comments. Please make sure to set up your own wish list so that you have a chance to win every month. http://www.usborneofmaine.com/

I'll definitely be back for the next give a way so keep watching!

Congrats again Carrie!!

Bloggy Giveaway Carnival

I just found this AWESOME blog. And she does a quarterly giveaway carnival. This is too cool!! I could spend hours looking at all of these blogs! They are all so cool. I've decided to participate for the first time and going forward! So, make sure you go back and check out all the others on there after you pick a book from my website.

OK...so here is what you need to do:

1. Go to http://www.usborneofmaine.com/ and pick out any one title, $10 or under.

2. Leave a comment on my blog with the title you would like to win.

3. Make sure you leave your blog name (with a place where I can find your email address). If you don't have a blog, just leave an email address where I can reach you.

4. The contest will end on Feb. 3, 2008 (Sunday) at 12:00midnight (EST). I will announce the winner on Monday.

5. The contest is open to US residents only. I will contact you regarding shipping next week.

While browsing my website please make sure to enter the drawing for $50 in free books. I also do a monthly drawing for a free title for everyone who creates a wishlist. So, make sure to create a wish list if you want a chance at winning titles each month. (I pick one title from one wish list each month) And if you would like to host an e-show or learn more about becoming part of my Usborne Team please let me know!

Good luck!!