Win This Bag!!!

Welcome to Week #4 of

Win This Bag

sponsored by HipSwap

hosted by Mom Does Reviews and Mom Blog Society

“Win This Bag” is a 6-week event that will feature 6 weekly giveaways.There will be one designer handbag given away every week! Each bag will be an authentic, recognizable designer brand such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Coach, or Fendi.Our 6^th week will feature a highly coveted designer handbag and you will have the option to claim bonus entries for each of the 5 weekly “Win This Bag” giveaways you entered leading up to this grand finale!So, enter each weekly giveaway to increase your odds of winning!

Here’s what really separates this event from any other handbag giveaway you may have seen before… some of these handbags will come to you directly from a celebrity’s closet! That’s right –

Thanks to HipSwap, you have the opportunity to win the exact bag that may have been on the arm of a famous celebrity!

Final Bag: Chanel quilted leather tote supplied by DoubleTake Consignment Boutique.

About the Chanel handbag:

This beige quilted leather Chanel tote is a one-of-a-kind find. It features a black leather trim and large "CC" on side to make it easily distinguishable as the one of the world’s most prestige designer brands.

Dimensions: 11" x 10" x 5" with 7" straps.

Estimated Retail price: $1,300.

This beautiful handbag was provided by the amazing DoubleTake Consignment Boutique of New Jersey.

The DoubleTake Consignment Boutique first opened its' doors in Short Hills New Jersey in1992 and from day one the store has been packed with women who understand the advantages and value of consignment shopping. DoubleTake, which only accepts the highest quality & current designer clothing and accessories, has been recognized as a unique clothing boutique where huge savings can be realized

 

How to Enter:

1.Create a HipSwap account.You will be asked to enter your name, email and zip code.If you do not live in the United States, please enter your City and Country in the Zip Code field.

2.Once registered, you can earn additional entries by:

a.Pinning your favorite HipSwap bag on Pinterest

b. “Liking” HipSwap on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hipswap.

c. Following @HipSwap on Twitter https://twitter.com/HipSwap

d.Tweet with the hashtag #winthisbag for daily bonus entries

This giveaway is open worldwide! It ends Aug 6th at 1159p

Be sure to create a Hip Swap Account to be eligible to win!

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway: What to Expect when you are Expecting

I Dont Get Sundays teamed up with To Sew With Love and To Cook With Love to bring you this exciting giveaway sponsored by WhatToExpect.comSo, you're not expecting (yet)? You don't have small kids either? But I'm sure you know somebody who is expecting or has small kids! The books we are giving away would make a great baby shower gift and/or mother's day gift!

WhatToExpect is one of the most favorite site of pregnant women. In fact, they have the second largest audience of pregnant women online! They also have an array of best-selling books any expecting mom would love to have! You will also love the fact that at WhatToExpect.com, you will find not just information and news about pregnancy, newborn, infant and toddlers but also an online community where you get to meet other moms and support each other, too!
*Review by To Sew With Love

I love these books and would honestly recommend  WhatToExpect to anyone expecting. This is like the bible for expecting mothers. If you want to take advantage of a great giveaway, this is a great one. Each book covered an extensive amount of area and practically has the answer to any question or doubt an expecting mom or a mom could have!

The What to Expect When You're Expecting Pregnancy book is a best seller and it did not come to me as a surprise. This book is like an encyclopedia, a pregnancy bible! It practically has everything you need to know in your pregnancy!

This book also includes:

• an expanded chapter on pre-conception
• a detailed weekly fetal development in each of the monthly sections
• loads of information about pregnancy's emotional ups and downs and how to survive it
• a brand new section on achieving a safe, comfortable and pampered pregnancy But that's not all! It also includes practical advise for pregnant women on the job and on the go!

What to Expect The First Year book is America's best-selling guide to baby caring. It covers almost every question a new mother could have regarding care for her baby: colic, teething, weaning, sibling matters, feeding, sippy cups - name it and this book has it! 


It also includes:

• information on your child's monthly growth and development
• feeding and sleeping strategies
• up-to-date medical and practical tips

 Kids grow up so fast! Before you know it, you already have a wonderful toddler! You will be amazed at how much independence they will be showing you! Understanding your toddler in this stage of her growth and development is just as important as the first years. 

With this book, you will get to understand and learn more about:

• feeding picky eaters
• solving sleep issues
• getting your toddler to talk and communicate
• temper tantrums and how to manage it
• understanding their behavior and
• keeping them safe and healthy.

These books could have saved me lots of worrying! These books should be a must-have in any household with small children.  You can buy these books through WhatToExpect.com's bookstore. But wait! WhatToExpect.com generously offered to give away 2 sets of books to 2 of our readers!

2 lucky readers will win their own set of What To Expect books. Each set is comprised of What To Expect Pregancy Book, First Year and Second Year books. This also includes free shipping wherever you are in the world! How great is that!
An email address is required to enter. Giveaway will end at 11:59 EST on July 29, 2012. The winner will be chosen randomly through Rafflecopter Random Selector and contacted via email. A reply to the winning email is required within 48 hours before a new winner is chosen. The winner's entries will be verified -- please make sure you follow the instructions and submit the entries correctly. Only one person per household may enter. You do NOT have to be a blogger to enter. Open worldwide, ages 18+. This giveaway is void where prohibited. For more chances of winning, make sure to come back everday for the daily entries. The more entries you send, the more chances you have in winning!Please be patient and wait for the entry form to full load. If it does not load at once, just re-load the page. Good luck and have fun!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



DISCLAIMER: This giveaway is in NO way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Picket Fences, Pinterest, etc. Information collected is NOT collected by these sites. In signing up for this promotion, participants release and indemnify aforementioned sites from all liability. By entering this contest, you may be choosing to opt in to newsletters and other emails from To Sew With Love, To Cook With Love, I Dont Get Sundays and/or it’s sponsors, opting out of emails does not jeopardize your chances of winning. To Sew with Love and other participating blogs are not responsible of shipping the giveaway prize. 

Fearless...

We have been doing a lot of swimming around here. Ava really doesnt know what to think of the beach, the water goes on forever and the sand is all over the place. She really likes the pool in our complex though. She has been enjoying swimming with her family and showing how much she loves the waters.







She has even been jumping in the deep in and showing off her skills. LOL she doesnt mind having her head under the water, or a little water in the face. Hailey doesnt either. They both will dip their faces in the water, look up and smile, and do it all over again.

Food, Food, and more Food

So anyone that has been on vacation knows that the food is one of the best parts. You go out to eat, no clean up, and wonderful food you normally wouldnt be eating at home. The girls have been having a blast eating pretty much anything they want. I am trying to keep them on a semi normal schedule with the meals but the snacks have been plentiful.

We have had ice cream while in Beaufort, cookies, and lots of Puffs for the little ones. Hailey has ate more table food than she has until this point in her little life. She has tasted french fries, oatmeal cookie, ice cream, chips, and she has stolen cups from the bigger girls to get a taste of lemonade, mt dew, coke, and other juices.

A Big Change....

Man, vacationing with little ones is a lot different than when we last took a vacation here at the beach. It was 5 years ago, we weren't even engaged yet. We spent the week doing whatever we wanted to, sleeping in, and going to bed late (stayed up many nights just talking to my soon to be sister in law).

This year has been great, I wouldn't trade this for the world. Life before my kids was nice, but who knew how amazing it could get with them here. It's just a big change. We now are scheduling everything around naps, attitudes, and the safety of our kids to not be in the sun. I certainly am not staying up too late, and Ms. Hailey is getting up early but thankfully not as early as she usually does. I have slept in until after 6am most days. How awesome is that?!

We have enjoyed the beach, yet they still arent really old enough to enjoy it to the full max. Ava is loving the sand but not too sure about the 'big pool' as she calls it. She is really enjoying the pool. She is soaking in all the attention of having her uncles, mommy and daddy, grandma and grandpa all week.

So a few more days left of no work, no rushing around, no worries.

She's Up and She's Gone

Hailey is really getting fast with this whole crawling thing. At almost 9 months old, she is starting to try to stand on her own. My little baby is going from sitting on the ground and trying to free stand. It's so hard to believe that soon she will be walking. She is fast at being in the middle of anything going on in the house. She is almost always right by Ava, where ever she is at in the house. She has found the stairs and can climb them quick.

She is fearless just like Ava was at this age. She just goes. She smiles and laughs the whole way also. She's starting to really rough house with Ava and play. It's taken a long time, I know it has felt like forever to Ava who has wanted her to play since day one of bringing her home. Kenny and I are just waiting until she walks. It shouldnt be much longer, she wants to go so bad, she will watch everyone playing and jump up on her knees and reach out with her arms.

It is very awesome to watch my girls interacting and playing. Its nice to watch them have their sweet moments and also funny to watch when they are fighting over a toy. We just have to keep reminding Ava that Hailey is still a baby, even though she is almost as tall as her and probably weighs as much as she does.

Two Teeth

Well the 2nd tooth has finally broken through. It must not have hurt Hailey because there wasnt much whining with this one. It is so cool to see her with a few teeth in. Ava was 11 months before she got her 1st tooth.

But now we have to remind Ava that she still ONLY has 2 teeth, not a mouth full as she tries to feed Hailey snacks and dinner.

Now lets see how long it takes before she bites Ava.....it should be interesting and fun to see how and when the rest of her teeth come in.

The Upstairs Bathroom

Our remodel is still going on, even though I havent said a word about for a while. Once we got moved up there, we kinda stopped and got busy with other stuff. Now we are getting back into the swing of things. Trying to get everything just the way we want it.

Kenny worked on our upstairs bathroom to get it working and able to be used. He put tile down and painted. We also purchased a new vanity. I want to pick out a mirror to go on the wall then put up all the frog decor that I have.

The Lights went OUT

So last week, we had a hellish storm that swept acrossed the state and blacked our area. It happened a little before 10, the girls were asleep and my bedroom was already beginning to get hot. My brother in law offered to come get us since Kenny was working. Anyone who's hubby works at night, my best to you because sometimes it is very annoying. So off we went to my in laws. They have a spar room that fit us comfortably since we co-sleep when Kenny is at work. I fed Hailey a bottle to help her drift off to sleep and Ava was a few minutes after it went dark again. They actually went back to sleep a lot quicker than I thought they would after getting woken up and moved to a whole new place.

That morning, still no power, we headed home to wait on Kenny to get home. The girls were happy to be home but it was getting warmer and warmer in here. So we made a few calls and found out that my mom had power. So she let us come spend the day at her house. The girls loved it. My niece was there while Jessica worked so the girls got to play.

Kenny and I made our way back home that afternoon to gather food from our freezer to take to moms. We used my 'Making Memories Thermal Tote' from my Thirty-One collection to put a lot of stuff in. I loved that we had it. Kenny actually just put it in the deep freezer at moms.

We were one of the lucky one, our power came back on that evening. My sisters power did not return until Tuesday and my Dad's didnt come back on until Wednesday.

I hope we dont have another storm like that for a while. The wind was crazy, the lightning lit up the whole sky, I could see the neighbors house like the sun was shining. If it does, I can only hope my husband is home so I have a little help with the girls.

The 4th of July

We pretty much spent all day of the 4th inside. It was hot and I cleaned while the girls played. That evening we were invited to join our cousin's the Collis Clan at their annual 4th of July Celebration. This celebration is held in Zack and Jessica's field and they watch all the random fireworks in the valley. Ava had a blast. Hailey played in her walker and watched everyone.

Ava and Ella playing with balloons

It did get cut short by the storm that came but until then it was fun. We got to spend time with family, catch up with friends I havent spoken to in a while, and see the kids. They are all growing way too fast.

I hope everyone had a great and safe time.

Bloggers Wanted: The Back to Preschool Giveaway Blast

Bloggers! It is almost here!

The Back to Preschool Giveaway Blast

When the fall rolls around, as it will way to soon, the big kids will go off to school, or in the case of homeschoolers the older children will start up their studies again (unless they school year round). There will be lots of excitement and anticipation for those older children.

But, what about the younger children in the family.

Older toddlers and young preschoolers may miss out on the excitement.

The Back to Preschool Giveaway Blast has been designed to bring some excitement into the lives of our younger children. All of the prizes in the Grand Prize will be great for these younger children. Here is a sneak peek at what I have been working on:

And this doesn't include the online subscriptions or Gift Certificate.

(The amount of the Gift Certificate will depend on how many bloggers opt to purchase additional links)

Some of these great sponsors have also agreed to help create a Second Place Prize Pack.

So there are going to be 2 winners!!

I would love to have a whole bunch of bloggers join in with me to make the

Back to Preschool Giveaway Blast

Huge

The event will actually take place from July through Aug 18th.

July will be filled with reviews of all these great products. I will share both my and my daughters' opinions on these products. We are looking forward to sharing with you. In fact, reading and commenting on these review posts will get you bonus entries into the giveaway.

The giveaway will run from Aug 1st through Aug 18th

How can you join in?

(and there will be ways to join in even if you don't want to join in with the Free Blogger Sign Ups, please see below.)

I am offering one free FACEBOOK link for helping to promote by posting the giveaway on time with all links intact and sharing on either Facebook or Twitter at least 3 times during the event (1- at the beginning, 2- sometime in the middle and 3- on the last day as a reminder)

There are also some optional ways that you can help:

1. Share about this Free Blogger Sign Up Opportunity on either your blog or Facebook page and place the event button on your sidebar to earn a Twitter link and 10 bonus entries into the Giveaway. (While this is optional I would encourage you to share, as the more people sign up the bigger this will be which will help everyone's numbers.)
2. $3.00 will get you your choice of Pinterest link or email subscribe in addition to the above links. This money will go directly into the Gift Card.
3. $5.00 will get you both the Pinterest link and the email subscibe giving you a total of 4 links, in addition to your blog being named on the giveaway post with a link back to your blog. This money will also go directly into the Gift Card.
4. If you don't want to purchase the additional links I am offering the choice to supply a prize (worth $10 or more) to the Grand Prize Package. You will be responsible for shipping the prize to the winner unless you plan to get someone to sponsor it. This is completely optional, but you will receive the same benefits as #3!!

Requirements:

You must have a family friendly blog to participate!

You must post on time and submit a your direct link to your post on the form I will supply (both in the email I send with the post information and on my Facebook Group-Tots and Me Celebrations and More.

You must promote the giveaway at least 3 times (the more we share, the more entries we get and the more likes/follows for you)

You must join the Facebook page- http://www.facebook.com/groups/155423947919589/

Prize:

There is one Grand Prize Pack worth at least $170 which includes craft items, games, a DVD, a book and learning activities as shown above.

There will also be a Second Place Prize pack, worth of which is to be determined.

edit: the Grand Prize Pack is now worth approx $225 and the Second Place Prize Pack is growing!!

Referral Benefit:

The top referrers will get to host a Facebook or Twitter link page.

Click here to go to the sign up form.

Do you wish to help share about this Event but not have the time to worry about posting and promoting? I would love to give you 10 bonus entries into the giveaway for sharing about this event. Please just write up a little blurb on your blog and share the button on your sidebar. Then leave a comment below saying you have done so with a link to your post. When the giveaway rolls around on August 1st claim your bonus entries in the correct spot on the Rafflecopter. Please make sure the button is on your blog for the length of the event.

Also, reading and commenting on the review posts will get you bonus entries.

No Fee Blogger Sign Up~ Thirty-One Gift's Organizing Utility Tote & Thermal Tote

No Fee Blogger Sign Up~ Thirty-One Gift's Organizing Utility Tote & Thermal Tote

This is a FREE Blogger Op with a post announcement post.

2 Prizes

Organizing Utility Tote (personalized 7 letters 2 lines)

and a Thermal Tote.

winner will be able to pick design, text, and color of thread.

($55 value)

Open to U.S. only

Blogger Sign Ups 7/6 - 7/12

You will get 1 FREE link of either Facebook or Twitter with announcement post or pay $2.00

You can purchase extra links for $1.00 for anything except affiliate links

You must agree to promote the Giveaway at least 7 times

You must have a Blog/Website in order to participate

The Giveaway will run from 7/13 - 7/26

You can find out more details and to sign up Clicking Here

A Connection Gone

Last Wednesday the 27th was the last time we got to speak with Grandma. Vickie's mother passed away in her sleep in the early morning of the 28th. She was 86 years old. Ava is a little too young to quite understand what happened but she knows Grandma is gone, 'not here' as she told me when I picked her up that Friday. She just looked at her recliner and pointed.

When I heard the news, we had known it was only a matter of time, how long can you go without eating or drinking? Well Grandma went 5 weeks without food and 4 days without liquid. She put up a good fight but her body knew what it was doing and let her go in a peaceful way. In a way that Vickie had prayed many nights for.

That evening, we tried to figure out daycare for the girls, I figured Vickie would want some time. We spoke with each other about how Ava might take the news. We didnt know how to explain it without having anything to show her to explain it. So I told Kenny we would just wait until we got to Vickies and she saw that Grandma's chair was empty.

That morning, Vickie showed Ava the chair, told her Grandma had gone to live with Jesus at his house in Heaven. Ava said 'ok' and went to play with Vickie's granddaughters.

There was no 'why?' which Ava is famous for. There was no questioning. Did she really understand? Who knows? But she accepted the answer. She never does this.

But Grandma is with her husband, Bucky, and her 5 brothers, and her son in law. She outlived all these men.

She will be remembered by many, for her faith, her loving personality, her dedication to her family, but we only knew her for the last 6 months. I didnt get to have long conversations with her, I wasn't invited into her home, but I did get to speak to her in the mornings, Ava took care of her. Ava tried to make her eat at the end, helped with her baths, and loved her. Even if Ava doesnt remember her I will try to have remember with memories.

God Rest her Sole. She is in Heaven with Him. All her pain is gone. She is smiling and happy.

This is the poem that the family chose for her card at the funeral.

God Saw You Getting Tired

God saw you getting tired
and a cure was not to be
so he put his arms around you
and whispered,
"Come to Me"

With tearful eyes we watched you
and saw you pass away
and although we love you dearly
we could not make you stay.

A Golden heart stopped beating
hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us
He only takes the best

I think it suits how she went, peacefully in her sleep, with her family with her, in her daughters home, being taken care of the best they knew how.

Happy 4th of July!

Be Safe in your travels, Have fun, Eat lots of good food, Play, Sing, enjoy each others company
Enjoy your freedome, thank someone that helped make this all possible