I thought for today I'd show you each child in their costume. So here is the first one, this is Little A in his Knight outfit. Something tells me the hat, isn't staying on. I'd love to see your children's costumes? Share your link in the comments. (only those doing halloween costumes please)
Sorry it is sideways, I can't flip it.


For this next one, it's BabyGirl in her Tinkerbell and yes I realize the wings are upside down and her hair is going to be curled too.

I'll update with the other two once they get home. Today they got to wear costumes to school, but only IF they: Did NOT wear: colored hair, sprays in hair, hats, swords, weapons, scary items, etc. Ummm, they didn't dress up.

Labels: halloween, knight outfit

I've got another bloggy giveaway for ya'll that I hope you will love. The winner will get her pick between the Women's Half-Zip Pullover or the Women's Sherpa Fleece.


Info on the beautiful Sherpa Fleece and half-zip up sherpa fleece, which comes in a variety of colors:

- Sherpa Fleece: our thickest, coziest fleece. Our thickest fleece
- Feminine fit
- Cotton/jersey lined for comfort
- Half-zip style looks great and helps regulate body temperature
- TEMPERATURE RATING: 0°/10° Fahrenheit. Over layering pieces, this Sherpa Fleece - Half-zip will keep you warm in 0° weather; over a light layer, in 10° weather

With seasons changing these would definitely make you feel a little bit warmer, not to mention they just look so soft. Don't they?

RULES: Leave a comment below after visiting Lands'End and telling me what fall/winter item you'd like. I'll announce a winner November 5.

Labels: bloggy giveaway, lands' end

To my dear readers:



Very sorry about the invisible talking guy, I am looking into it but have no clue where he is. Any help would be great. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's had this happen to now, or at least hope not.

For my next Bloggy Givaway you are just going to want to indulge in it. Everyone likes a healthy snack, even if you have to indulge a bit. But what's a woman's favorite thing to indulge in? Chocolates and a spa treatment of course, now not every woman can afford the luxuries of a real spa, however with this special giveaway she can treat herself nice right at home. Not to mention it is free to THREE lucky readers.

I got one of these, "Baskets of Indulgences" and I must say I gobbled up all those Turtle Chex Mix bars, well all but three. Yes, see I saved them for the other kids but I couldn't help it I ate two and shared one with BabyGirl. These Turtle Chex Mix Bars have a light salty taste with a sweetness from the chocolate and caramel in it. Very good and perfect.

The Chocolate lotion smells "good enough to eat" but don't, it isn't recommended. This applies on thin, but comes out quickly. My daughter, BalletGirl, has worn this a few times to school.

Winner gets the following:
- Turtle Chex Mix Bars
- chocolate candles
- caramel lotion
- spa loofah
- hand massager
- nail brush
- spa towel
- basket for it all (wicker)

Why would you not want to sign up?

RULES: Head on over to Chex Mix and tell me your favorite Chex product and/or a recipe that uses it. As for myself I just LOVE these bars but normally I eat the Rice Chex cereal with a tad of sugar, I also like Honey Nut mix. Comment below and remember to leave an email by Election Day, this drawing is the day after the elections. Good luck!

Labels: baskets of indulgence, bloggy giveaway, chex mix, chex mix bars, turtle chex mix bars

We got to review the cutest little lunchbox recently from Lands' End, BabyGirl loved it so much she has had her lunch in it every day...unless of course I make her clam chowder. Days she is without it it is nearby where she can see it. I thought this would be the perfect item for another bloggy giveaway, don't forget to check out the others.

Labels: lands' end lunch box

Labels: bloggy giveaway, pillsbury savorings, wine savorings

Labels: wordless wednesday

With Halloween so close I wanted to warn all parents that there is something going around that you should be on the look out for. It is called "Strawberry Quick" and NO it is NOT candy. I can't stress this enough,but am worried that once your children go back to school friends may have this, it is a drug.

This drug does look like the candy candy known as Rock Candy and it is colored. This is a form of colored meth. According to news reports it seems to be isolated on the west coast states, but this does not mean it won't move from one location to the next.

Here's what one news site had to say about Strawberry Quick:

“Strawberry Quick” is a form of crystal meth. It looks like the candy “Pop
Rocks,” and often comes with a pink or purple coloring, and does smell and taste
like strawberry, which is where it gets its name from.“It’s more the trend of
getting the newer user, whether it’s a late teenager or young adult, to try the
drug without the bad taste involved in it, versus they’re pedaling it to the
5th, 6th, the 7th grader that’s on the playground,” Walton said.

Hopefully this helps those of us that had no clue and will be able to watch for it. Keep your eye out for it.

Labels: candy, halloween candy, strawberry quick

The kids and I were talking about the upcoming Halloween and I told them I needed some ideas for this year's Halloween Menu. In the past we've always made a list (menu) of Halloween food ideas and that is what I made.

You know stuff like this:

Eyeball soup
brains and puss (for breakfast)
blood and worms
maggots
turds in kitty litter

Now doesn't that sound yummy? They (girls) just freaked out and said, "EWWW GROSS!" I asked for their gross ideas, to which they responded, "Mom's insane, we aren't eating this stuff."

Labels: brains and puss, eyeball soup, halloween, mom insane, turds in kitty litter

You Are 35% Witch

It's unlikely that you're a witch. At least, no one thinks you are. You may still be interested in witchcraft, but you're by no means a stereotypical witch. While you don't seem all that witchy, people may think you're a bit weird. You're definitely a little offbeat. No one really knows what to make of you sometimes.

Labels: halloween, halloween quiz, i'm not a witch, witch

We went to the Oktoberfest in our little town and the girls both got to ride the horses. This is BalletGirl (age 8) and behind her is BabyGirl (age5) walking beside her is daddy. Happy WW ya'll!

Visit more at WW and 5minutesformom.

Labels: horses, oktoberfest, wordless wednesday

Okay this should be a pretty nice size list for ya'll and hopefully next week I'll have a few myself for you to enter. Remember if I somehow missed you just comment so others will see or email me personally at homemom3@gmail.com

Mom Advice is giving away a Build-A-Bear Workshop Game for Nintendo Wii but you have to tell her one reason you want this game and/or what your favorite Wii game is. You have until the 28th.

The Mom Salon has a really awesome giveaway going on, it's a A MEGA MANFRED MANTIS PLAYSET FOR YOUR KIDS! My kids would just love this, they've been hinting that they wanted a playset in the backyard since we moved here. All you need to do is say why you need one, but you have to do it by Nov 3.

The Mom Salon also has a HUGE book giveaway, here is the big prize: Take Me Back, Do Not Open, Pick Me Up, Cosmic, Dr. Frankenstein's Human Body Book, Cool Stuff Exploded, Eyewitness Expert: Knight, Animals: A Visual Encyclopedia, $50 Amazon.com Gift Card. This one ends on the 17th of November, so you do have time.

Who's the Boss is having one Crafty giveaway with lots of stuff from Hewlitt-Packard and Maria Bailey. Which I know for a fact means you leave with a ton of fun stuff, Maria goes all out with these. (wishing for another in my area) Here's what Who's the Boss is giving away:
- Poinsetta Gift Card Holder
- Zen Garden Matchbook Photo Album
- 10 pages of gift tags - perfect for the holidays
- Glass paperweight that you can decorate and give away (mine is going to Nana)
- Shrinky-Dink Wine Glass Charms (6 for you to make at home and 4 already made for you).
- 100 sheets of HP Brochure and Flyer paper (so you can make more of these for free on the HP website using your home printer)
- the new almbum by Dana Parish

The Little Window Shoppe is giving away one Britax car seat cover.

Style It Less and She Knows Best are both giving away $50 GC. Check them out.

Blogs that List giveaways:
My Precious Pennies
Kailani's Island Life Giveaway List

Labels: giveaway, tuesday giveaways

MomCentral let me know about a little competition Electrolux is doing with Kelly Ripa. Ya know the really funny chic that sits besides Live with Regis (and Kelly) in the early morning hours? Well she's cooking up turkes now and wants to know your stories. For those that don't know Electrolux will be donating $20 to Ovaraian Cancer Research Fund for every Turquoise washer and dryer they sell. Wow. Now if you can't buy one you can also send a virtual t-shirt to a friend and they donate $1 to the foundation. So you can still help out.

Want to share your story? Hurry on over as the contest will be ending November 14th and submit one. I did enter myself as a new wall oven or range sounds great, the one I currently have has a glass covering door) that keeps popping off. That can't be good. My entry can be found on my Profile page of Facebook. (www.facebook.com/elizaferree)

If I can tell them about sticking my hands up the turkey's butt or serving my son turkey for two days straight and not realizing that i what he is allergic to then you can add some story. Course if you have that "Perfect Turkey Story" you should be shot. No, on a serious note you should submit it. I mean don't we all just normally burn it and head to IHOP?

Labels: electrolux, kelly confidental, momcentral, the perfect turkey story

Cole Mason Puffinburger was kidnapped from his home on October 5th, his mom and her boyfriend tied together and a nation-wide hunt began for him. The good news is he was found late last night, Saturday, October 18th in Las Vegas. Someone saw the little boy walking the streets NE of the Las Vegas Strip. My guess is his kidnappers released him and figured he'd either find his way home or he wouldn't. I'm glad to say he is now in the care of his mom and dad. I love happy endings.

Cole's dad spoke a a press conference early this morning.

“Cole’s home,” said a tearful Robert Puffinburger, the boy’s father, at a press conference outside of police headquarters. “Cole’s back. I’m just glad
he’s safe and back home.”

I bet this is one very happy family, but one very upset grandfather (Clemens Tinnemeyer). Apparently the kidnappers were mad when the grandfather wouldn't hand over some money and went to get it from Cole's family, when they didn't have any money they took Cole instead.

Labels: clemens tinnemeyer, cole puffinburger, las vegas boy found, las vegas boy missing

There's been very little update on the 6-year-old boy named Cole Puffinburger since it was announced that he'd been taken from his home yesterday morning. Police are getting tons of calls but nothing has panned out.

Here is what is coming out:

Relative of Boy Kidnapped by Police Impostors Reportedly Ran Drug Cartel

Police seek 'person of interest' in kidnapping

As you can see by the titles they do have someone they are looking for, hopefully they find this "person of interest" and there seems to be a connection to drugs or a drug dealer. I do hope this won't stop others from reporting if they see this little boy. Keep in mind he's probably scared and just wants him mom and dad.

Labels: amber alert, cole puffinburger, drug cartel, Las Vegas

Labels: amber alert, cole puffinburger

Believe it or not there is a squirrel in that tree, you can barely see him due to the shining light. But we had to do it quickly. Happy WW!

Visit the others that are participating at the HUB and 5Minutesformom.

Labels: wordless wednesday

Babylune has a few giveaways going on and this first one ends tonight. It's a Surprise Giveaway, I can't tell ya what it is but I can say you'll love it if you are a brand new mom or a mom of a little baby. This one you must tell me which halloween costume is your favorite and here you'll tell me if your baby was the opposite sex what would you have named him/her?

Win one of two Halloween Goodie Bags from Thoughts Unveiled.

Leave a comment on CelebDish and get a free t-shirt.

The Book Stacks has a ton of giveaways for ya.

Brad Pitt Watch has a great Pitt Giveaway for someone.

West of Mars has an entire list of book giveaways for you.

My Home- My Life is having her first giveaway pick any book of his or her choice by Jodi Picoult, Lisa Tucker, or Jennifer Weiner. Godivas are in this too.

Pigtails and Snails is giving away a beautiful quilt.

Win signed copies of Dan Abnett's “Titanicus.”

The Secrets in the Sauce is having a HUGE giveaway, one item every hour. Hurry over.

Win a Plumeria Bay Organic Pillow over at That's Fit.

Try to win the an 8 GB iPod Touch (MB528LL/A).

Ashton Family is giving away 2 baby headbands or a variety of other items. This is in honour of their 200th post. Stop in at least to congratulate them, ya'll know how hard it can be to post sometimes.

Get Search Perks still has their giveaway going on where you can win a TON of stuff. You can win: flyer miles, xbox 360 games, digital timers, first aid kits, IntelliMouse, ringtones, music downloads, net ball game, shirts, hats and much more to list.

Win a t-shirt every hour over at She Knows in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Hurry over and support the cause. Don't forget to enter the other contests on the site such as: Sleeping Beauty DVD

Dial Complete's Campaign for Clean Hands program needs some more entries for their video contest. Hurry over and send a video, I mean don't you want to win a trip to Washington D.C. for four and $1,000?

How does a $500 GC sound to somewhere like Walmart, Sears, Target, etc. TotallyHer has just opened up their site and wants someone to win this marvelous prize. Will it be you?

What's that Smell? Haha Love that name, well they are giving away Boogie Wipes. Head over to win some wipes for those boogie noses you'll see all winter long.

Labels: blogtoberfest, dial complete campaign for clean hands, get search persk, gifts, october contest, october giveaway, plumeria bay organic pillow giveaway, prizes, she knows giveaways, sleeping beauty

What have we been doing lately you ask? Simple is hanging out, it doesn't matter if it is at home, playing video games, board games or kicking the ball out front. We've been having time together and it's been a lot of fun. When we aren't home we stop at the park and just let the kids have at it. I even caught Daddy playing kickball with SoccerBoy last weekend, that is until we all joined in and spent about an hour doing it. It was fun just to watch the kids run the bases, we've been pretty busy with college, school schedules or just being plum tired. This was good.

Last week we did head over to the town's Oktoberfest, but it was a bit too much for us. $18 per kid so we opted not to do the rides. We did do the little games they had and the girls left with fairy headbands and the boys with some strange water bouncing balloon. Don't ask, I've no clue what it was.

This weekend we stopped off at the Chilifest, course it was more money than we thought and didn't feel like leaving to go to the bank just to try finding a spot again. But we did explore and try some of the "Free samples" that was some good chilli too. Which of course my girls want me to make some. Anyone have simple chilli recipes for me? I've never made any, always lived in the desert so didn't really want to cook something like that. It's cold here though, or will be soon.

Today, the kids and daddy played at the park while me (mommy) read books at Borders and brought home a few. hehe. Love going book shopping. How about you?

Don't forget that I have a blog giveaway every day over at www.babylune.com as well as many other bloggers there. Check out my Suri throws a fit, Things Kids say and other posts to see what it looks like. There are a ton of prizes to be given away and only one week left. I have 5 from this week and 5 more next week. Hurry and sign up.

Imagine getting a kit to pour chocolate syrup all over your lovely carpet. Would you? While many of us would freak and scream oh no, I took the test. Unfortuntely my camera is NOT working with this loaner computer. I had really hoped it would. I did do the test and it worked. What worked I can imagine some of you stating.



MomCentral gave me the chance to try out the new Spot Shot. The company sent me a demo kit which consisted of the chocolate syrup, piece of carpet sample, a whit cloth, a small sample bottle of amonia and a bag to keep it all in. I poured that syrup all over it, had to take the demo outside due to the strong smell of amonia. Tossed on the amonia and sprayed the Spot Shot on the whole thing and rubbed it all off. I normally wouldn't believe it if I saw this done, but actually doing it has made me realize all those demos I normally see may actually work. Hey, it takes the people to actually do it and we won't always believe what we see.



I'm loving my spot shot and have even told my neighbor that I'll bring it down to her house. My kids have spilled juice on her carpet, as well as all the kids on the block and would love to help her out with those spots. This is definitely the trick. I've already sprayed SoccerBoy's room. Before we moved in someone had a pet or a child pee on the floor and there was a stain, I've now made sure the smell is gone. Woo hoo!



By the way if you get it there is a money back guarantee, so you really can't go wrong.

Labels: spot shot

An Ordinary Life is giving away the most precious Rose Petal Cottage and I just had to post about it here. Hey, if my daughters knew I had a chance to win this and didn't try they'd hang their head in shame. She's also giving away a $50 gift card to Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club in New York and three of those products from Sothys she lists in this post.

American Cheerleader is giving away 5 Edward Scissorhands Movies. Hurry!

5Minutesformom is giving away Halloween Costumes, but you must write a post about which one you would like. Here's my into: I'm a big Tom Cruise fan so we'd have to go with the Jr Air Force Pilot Suit & Helmet for SoccerBoy in the size 12. Yes, I know it's not top gun, but close enough, plus wouldn't it be funny to torture hubby since he was a Marine. hehe. Shhh. Course I'd have to get the Junior Cowgirl Dress Up Outfit for BalletGirl as she is always talking about being a cowgirl.

Mommy Mandy is giving away a Mimsi Bags. I love the little mini messenger bags.

B5media currently they are having a site wide (Lifestyles) giveaway and there are over $70000 in prizes up for grabs. Check them out: Course Babylune is having one a day.

You also have lots of chances to win great Blogtoberfest prizes! Today, October 6, your chances (and prizes) are hiding at the following blogs:

A Child Chosen; Baking Delights; Blog Fabulous; Chocolate Bytes; Declutter It; Inside Motherhood; Keeping the Castle; Mom Gadget; Noodles and Rice; Simply Home Remedies; Tangled Thread; Weary Parent
A Creative Journal; All Holiday Cafe; Blog Fabulous; Busy Family Meals; Dating Dames; Gen Between; Mad Cropper; Our One Heart; Robust Cooking; Solo Mother; Widows Quest; Kettle and Cup and Quilting and Patchwork

Kristen over at Lively Woman has a TON of giveaways for you to enter.

Okay hope this lists helps ya'll out.

Labels: giveaways

Kelly
i usually spend about $150 a week on groceries. i get two newspapers to clip coupons from and i shop all the sales. sometimes i even hop from grocery store to grocery store to get the best deals.

btw, i featured your giveaway on The Post Parent. here's the link.
http://theposhparent.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2186509%3ABlogPost%3A3252

Lidarkside
I only shop items when they are on sale, and it has to be a good sale, and I have to have a coupon for it with a few exceptions. I focus on stock shopping. Our average grocery bill runs about $20.00+ to $40.00+ per week for a family of four and six at certain times. We get many items for free or next to nothing. We buy eight sunday papers just for the coupons.

Bonnie in FL
There are several ways that I save money-besides coupons I comparison shop DId you know that Wal MArt will honor other stores ads so if XXX has ground beef for .99 a lb Wal MArt will sell it to you for that price with xxx ad I also bulk but family packs of meat usually .20 lb cheaper and then put the meat into small bags I buy 25 lbs of sugar or flour then put it into gallon ziplock bags and store in the freezer I buy gallon size mayo, mustard, piclels, etc much cheaper then the smaller sizes

Bonnie in FL
blday50@gmail.com

Shiloh
Planning is essential. Check ads in the newspaper, use coupons when helpful, plan meals from items at best costs.

please email me your addresses at homemom3@gmail.com

Labels: save-a-lot winners

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

124

Julie Vineyard said...
I have 5 children so we go through a lot of soap! My favorite is the pear. I love the scent!

Wow, with that many children I'm sure this case of Dial Complete will definitely help out.

If you would please email me at homemom3@gmail.com with your shipping address I'll send it the correct people.

How many of you HAVE TO HAVE A CALENDAR? I mean with school back in session, teacher/parent meetings, deadlines, school schedule, sports, etc. Ya know the list is endless now. Am I right?

There is a new site called, "Glubb" and it lets you organize all this. It's free online so as long as you are the type that is always online this is perfect for. Course if you are a coach, party planner or even a teacher this could be even better for you because now you can set up one just for your class/group and everyone will have access. No more emailing and hoping everyone checked it for that day. Everyone can go there to find out. Easy right? Just sign up for an account and get started, send an email to everyone or just let them know the group name. You're all set and it is that easy.

you'll be able to add photos, files, messages, etc. It's almost like having your own meeting online. At the bottom, once you are signed in you can add an event so everyone knows or a useful link off to the side. I plan on using this for all my future giveaways and listing their contact info (company's) so I always have reference to them. Have fun!