And the Winners Are.....

This was a really fun giveaway! I had a great time reading all of the comments! I chose the winners at Random.org based on your comment number. Here is the list of winners:

Search RANDOM.ORG
Random Sequence Generator
Here is your sequence by comment number:

21 - Renee G.
3 - Terra H.
16 - Nichola
22 - Suzy and Ken
14 - Amber
8 - Abby
6 - VaBookworm
10 - ScarlettNicole
18 - DG
13 - Sue

I will contact each of you by email to get your mailing address and forward it to the advertising agency who is sponsoring the giveaway. Thanks for participating!

Harry Potter Giveaway

I'm pleased to announce my latest giveaway! My son has read all of the Harry Potter books and loves all of them. He read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2nd grade!

It’s been over 10 years since author JK Rowling first introduced us to the magic of Harry Potter and to a world of wizards, witchcraft; and fantastic creatures. In celebration of a decade of wizardly fun we have access to two very exclusive items that any Harry Potter fan, young or old would love to win! Ten lucky winners will receive a prize pack which includes a special collectible pin for the 10th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone as well as a brand new – yet to be debuted – exclusive Harry Potter poster print featuring Harry Potter illustrator Mary Grandpré’s stunning artwork from all 7 Harry Potter covers!

Ten (10) Lucky Winners Will Receive:

* Copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Book
* Commemorative Pin
* 18x24 Poster Print featuring combined artwork from all 7 book jackets!

You're probably wondering how you can win! It's very simple - just leave a comment telling me what your favorite Harry Potter book is (or your child's favorite!). The contest ends at 5:00pm on Monday, May 25th (Memorial Day). Winners will be drawn from Random. org and will receive their prize package shortly after the contest ends.

Check out the official website:

Harry Potter

Giveaway Coming!

Check back next week when I am starting a great Harry Potter giveaway!

Dinner for Four

I'm like most moms and can never seem to figure out what to make for dinner. I have one picky eater and one who doesn't really like to have the same thing two nights in a row. They're getting old enough to make their own "substitute" meals, but it sure would be nice if most nights all four of us could sit down at the table and eat the same meal!

In my latest search for the age old question "what's for dinner?", I came across this great lasagna recipe! I caution you not to look at this website when you're hungry - the lasagna looks yummy! I visited some of the other pages on this website, and found something that's right up my alley - weekly menues!! This takes all of the brainwork out of the equation - I can click on a menu, and meals for all seven days pop up. I can just print the list, which includes recipes for each meal, check to see what items I need to get from the grocery store, and yahoo - dinner is planned for a week!

Tweens making good choices

Something happened with several 7th grade boys at school a couple of weeks ago. They decided that it would be a good idea to steal items from the Scholastic Book Fair. I found out about it from a friend, and assumed that Buddy wasn't involved because I hadn't been notified by the school. When Buddy got home that afternoon I asked him about it. He was reluctant to tell me, but in the end, I think he shared most of what he knew. I asked him where he was when the stealing was happening. He said he was with his friends A and J. I asked him how he knew about it and he said he knew because his friend, R, said, "Buddy, take something." But Buddy just told his friend, "See ya" and walked away from the situation. I was so proud of him! I told him he made the right decision. Later I asked him why he had chosen to walk away, and he said, "Why would anyone want that junky 99 cent stuff anyway?" LOL. I was really hoping to hear, "I know stealing is wrong, Mom", but I'm sure deep down he knows that stealing is wrong and that's why he made the decision to walk away, not because he didn't want any of the items that were available to steal.

Every day is an adventure with teens and tweens!

College - it's not that far away

It really won't be that many more years before Buddy is sending in college applications and deciding what he wants to do with the rest of his life. With the economy being the way it is right now, I worry that we won't be able to afford to send him to college. In addition to tuition, there are so many other costs associated with college. Here is one of the places that might be able to help with the cost: you can always sell used text books back At this site, not only can you buy used textbooks to use, but you can also sell your used textbooks back to them! Who needs old textbooks laying around anyway? I might even see if Hubby has some old textbooks that we could sell! So it's a win/win situation - making money on things you aren't using anymore and getting rid of clutter in your house! Those are two things that make me happy, and also relieve a little of the stress of looking forward to college for two kids.

A Different Life

What would I do if I didn't spend 95% of my time being a mom, running the kids from here to there, attending sporting events, helping with homework, doing their laundry, cleaning their fish bowls, etc. etc. etc.

If I didn't have kids I could spend my time getting manicures and pedicures. I could watch whatever I wanted on TV, whenever I wanted to. Hubby and I could travel to places by ourselves, and more cheaply too! We would also have a lot more money, because I'd probably work full time instead of part time and we wouldn't be paying Catholic school tuition. We wouldn't be forking out money for all of the "incidentals" that kids require. Hubby would probably already be thinking about retiring.

But you know what......I don't think I'd be nearly as happy if I didn't have kids.