Giveaway: The Land of Nod

You can imagine my delight when the nice folks at The Land of Nod asked if the kids and I wanted to try out some of their new holiday toys. I adore everything we have from The Land of Nod, so I knew these toys would be no exception. I really wanted to take some sweet photos of the kids playing with these darling toys, but that didn't happen...and I don't want to make you wait any longer for this giveaway. One lucky reader will win BOTH of the following:

Kids' Games: Kids Animal Memory Game - Animal Memory Game

I'm a huge sucker for a memory game. And these super cute wooden tiles completely take the cake. They're so darn cute, and they're rounded so chubby little fingers can pick them up easily. Plus, anything that can make Charlotte say "MY pink hippo" is pretty fantastic in my book. An added bonus: they come in a drawstring bag for handy storage and cleanup.

Kids' Puzzles and Games: Kids Jumbo Wooden Tic-Tac-Toe Game - Wood Tic Tac Toe

When our food is taking too long at a restaurant; when church seems to drag on and on; in the waiting room at the doctor's office...Tic Tac Toe is my never-fail boredom buster. Well, this takes a classic game to a whole new level. I keep it in the car for an easy distraction...and it's come in handy many times when the kids are supposed to be quiet and well-behaved, and they're not responding to my whisperyell or my stern warning looks. Love the simplicity, the wooden blocks, and the durability of this one.

How do you win these goodies, you ask? Simple.
1. Hop over to The Land of Nod, check out their toys and tell me what's your favorite.
2. Followers of my blog get an extra entry.
3. Tell your friends about the giveaway on Twitter
4. Spread the word about the giveaway on Facebook.

So that's it. You have four different chances to enter. Just leave a separate comment for each entry. Comments will close on Sunday (Dec. 4) around 11pm PST, and I'll announce the winner bright and early Monday morning.

UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered, and Happy Holidays!

November? Where did it go?

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. November has been such a whirlwind. I turned 31, and felt absolutely celebrated by all the people who love me. We spent Thanksgiving with my family (only the third time in 10 years!) It was so nice to be with my family, enjoying my mom's wonderful food. On top of all the partying, I'm 31 weeks pregnant...yikes! This pregnancy is flying by. Better start thinking of baby names ASAP.  

I'm so excited that my 2012 printable calendar is finally available in my shop. I've been meaning to make one of my very own for the last several years, but never took the time. I think they make perfect holiday gifts for friends, teachers and co-workers.

Simply buy the file, and print as many as you want. The entire year fits neatly on three sheets of paper, which saves you time and money. (you're welcome). Finish them off with a cute clip or punch a hole and tie them together with ribbon. Then check a lot of gifts off your to-do list.

Finally, kick up your feet and sip some warm cider as you laugh at all the people scrambling around at the last minute. That sounds mean. But I'm usually one of those last-minute idiots...go ahead and laugh. I can take it.



P.S. I'll be back tomorrow with a fantastic giveaway from my friends at The Land of Nod...you won't want to miss it.

Halloween

Just wanted to pop in and share a couple quick photos of our Halloween fun with you. 

Charlotte loved all of her birthday gifts. I didn't take too many photos of her opening gifts. By the time the kids and I made it home from trick-or-treating and Bryce made it home from work, we were all pretty exhausted.

Notice her choice of accessories: a PINK pumpkin pail, and pink cupcake icing all over her shirt. Also, those tights are size 18 months...but they kind of gave her a bunchy "legwarmer effect" near her ankles.

All ready to go on Halloween evening.

Hudson had to have a Bowser pumpkin to go along with last year's Mario version.

Long Time

It's been a long time since I've showed my little blog any attention. October felt like nothing short of a three-ring circus. We ran from event to event, checkups and soccer practice; field trips and parties. I just squeaked by every time I faced a project deadline. Not to mention we threw a little bit of travel into the mix and stared some huge life decisions in the face. It's an understatement to say that I'm so glad November is here. Hopefully this month will be a little more kind to me. Or maybe I need to be a little more kind to myself and stop saying yes to everything everyone asks me to do. (Jill & Angel...I think I'm starting to see the light).

And the big elephant in the room, at least the big elephant in my mind is the fact that Bryce finishes his residency in June. That's seven months away. All the big decisions that I've been avoiding for the last 7-10 years are now barreling down on us. October forced us to talk about contracts, and locations, and money, and moving and all this grownup stuff I've ignored whilst in the trenches of schooling. I've felt pretty protected by dental school and residency because I figured they'd never be over. Wrong! I knew I'd be excited when this time came. And it is exciting. What I wasn't expecting were the other emotions. In addition to the excitement, I'm also terrified, stressed and nervous. Basically, I'm afraid of making the wrong decision. Because now our decisions affect some really cute tiny people, too.

A few other highlights of October:

• Notice how I'm starting to fill out my Splendid maternity top quite nicely? I mentioned to a friend yesterday that I feel like my face is starting to get puffy and she confirmed it. Not exactly the response I was going for. But honesty never killed anyone, did it?
• I'm not sure if it's pregnancy or old age, but my all ready horrible eyesight is getting much worse. Is it sad that all I want for my birthday is an eye exam and a new pair of glasses?
• Charlotte had a pretty rough month, too. She suffered both a bee sting to the bottom of the foot and bumped her chin hard enough that her tooth went all the way through her lip. She made up for taking a few hard knocks by wearing her tutu everywhere for the remainder of October. She ended the month on a high-note by celebrating her second birthday. 
• Hudson had his first field trip ever, turned in a stellar performance for his school's walk-a-thon, and had a pretty awesome halloween. Oh, and he lost another tooth and has four more in varying stages of wobbly-ness.

So there you have it. That's why I haven't been around much lately. Lots of crazy, fun, exciting stuff going on. I feel like November is full of good things, though. We're close to figuring out our post-graduation gameplan, I've decided to embrace my pregnancy puffiness and eat my way through the holidays; and if I can clean off my desk, I've got loads of fun holiday projects in the works. To those of you who have sent kind words and expressed concern at my absence, THANK YOU! Your kindness means more to me than you'll ever know.

Happy November!