31 Days of Giveaways

Fantabulously Frugal is hosting 31, yes 31 days of amazing Giveaways. Click here to check them all out and enter - as well as learn about some great deals that are out there right now.

Giveaways Galore

If simplicity in style is your thing, then check out this link.  The Hip Hostess is hosting a Giveaway with Gems by Em.  Head on over and leave your comment to enter.  While you are there, make sure to check out the Gems by Em Etsy Shop and see all the other beautiful pieces she has to offer. This Giveaway ends May 31, winners will be announced on June 2.

Check out these beads!  

The Giveaway Diva is doing a Giveaway from Luccicare Lampwork.  These glass beads are not only gorgeous, but there are so many to choose from as well.  The best part is that most of them are under $18.00.  If you win, you get to pick the bead you want and she will throw in a free surprise gift as well.  So if there are any of you girls out there that love your Pandoras or Troll Beads, be sure to check this Giveaway out.  Click here for all the details.  Giveaway ends May 25.

Head on over to coupon-center.com and enter this Giveaway.  She handmakes some of the most beautiful jewelry and this month's winner will get a Chakra Pendant & Bracelet.  There are seven beads in a heart shape and each glass bead represents a color of the rainbow.  How neat.  No rush on this one.  Giveaway is all month, ending May 31.

New site I found!  If You Could See What I See is doing a crazy Giveaway!  What is cooler than waterproof notepaper?  I think perhaps, Nothing!  She mentions jotting down your notes and lists in the shower, but think of how useful it will be for boaters and beachers (is that a word?) and people who like to sit in the rain.  Click here to get the info and rules - by the way, there are tons of ways to get extra entries on this one.  Giveaway ends May 11.

Check out the great giveaway from Magnolias,  Marriage and Manhattan from Not Soap, Radio.  All the rules are there, as well as some great images of what you can win and other fun stuff.  Hurry over, Giveaway ends May 9.

She is also doing a Purely Elegant Giveaway!  Below are just 2 of my favorite items.  This Giveaway ends May 6

Sweet Tea Diaries is having a Finders Keepers Jewelry Giveaway.  What great stuff they have! From Silver to Gems, you name it.  Click here for info on entering.  

And if you don't want to wait or take the chance that you won't win, head directly over to Finders Keepers Jewelry and place your own order.  Use code DESIGNER when you check out and get 10% off your order.  But hurry before the coupon expires!   This Giveaway ends May 8.

The Right Thing To Say

Mr. P and I were having a conversation about one of the lovely blogs I have found recently and was reading. I was telling him that she had 2 children VERY far apart in age. This got us discussing friends and family members with same.

As most of our conversations usually do, this one took a quite circuitous route through many, many topics - from age difference in siblings, how old is too old to have children, how many children is enough, etc, etc, etc, just to name a few. It ended up landing upon the topic of accidental pregnancy. You see, Eldest Cherub was not planned. I mean, it's not that we didn't want children ever, but the timing was pretty bad.

Mr. P and I got married relatively young - especially by today's standards. I was 22, he was 25. That is pretty young, considering every 22 year old I see now looks like a BABY to me. We were just starting out in our respective "adulthoods" and we were enjoying life to the fullest.

About 1 year into our matrimonial bliss, I decided that I wanted to quit my job and go back to school -- full-time. Poor Mr. P. He was just starting out with his own Photography Studio and being self-employed and trying to drum up business . . . you know how it goes. But he never batted an eye. "If that's what you want to do, you should do it. We'll figure it out. We'll be OK. We'll make it work"

God Bless Him! So I did exactly that. Within 2 months, I was not only unemployed, but stacking a pile of college bills upon him. Thank God for Dear Mother and Father, they told us that because it was for my "Education", they would help. And "HELP" they did. They paid my tuition and many other incidentals, leaving Mr. P and I with only a few of the smaller expenses. But they were still expenses and Mr. P was still trying to make his business grow. But we were OK. We did it, we figured it out, we made it work.

Then one snowy January evening, Mr. P came home and had a look on his face I had never seen before. Something was wrong. His largest account had closed down, gone bankrupt. Kaput. Finished. His LARGEST paying client. "I'll quit school and go back to work." "No, you really want this, we'll be OK - it's temporary and we'll figure it out, we'll make it work." So I stayed in school, and we were OK, we figured it out, we made it work.

And then IT happened, as January turned into February and February slowly passed . . . I realized it. "OH MY GOD!" Panic "WHAT DAY IS IT?" Panic. "I'M LATE!" Major panic.
"WHAT DO I DO? WHAT DO I DO? WHAT DO I DO?" (You can see what a calm and clear thinker I am in a crisis) So out I went and bought not 1, but 4 pregnancy tests and lo and behold, they all came out positive. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. And now I had to tell Mr. P.

I remember thinking, "This guy is going to be so pissed he married me. First I quit my job and lose half our income, then I sack a pile of bills on him for school just as he loses his largest client, and now I'm PREGNANT!" I was 24. Mr. P, an elderly 27. But in true Mr. P fashion, he was elated, thrilled. "This is great! Are you sure? When did you take the test? Why didn't you tell me? I'm so happy . . . " "HELLO! Did you not hear what I just said? I. AM. PREGNANT. WITH A BABY!" "No, I thought you were pregnant with a goat . . . of course I heard you. A BABY! WOW! Unbelievable, this is so great." "Um, I'm glad you're so happy, but I'm not working, you just lost a LOT of your income - babies are expensive . . . " etc, etc, etc. And do you know what he said? "I know, it will be tough, but we'll be OK. We'll figure it out. We'll make it work." And we did . . .

So this was where our conversation ended up - the memories of finding out we were pregnant with Eldest Cherub. And apparently, Eldest Cherub heard most of it. I say this, because he quietly entered the room and said, "Mom, was I an accident?"

Let me tell you, hearing those words from Eldest Cherub was one of the closest things to heartbreaking I have ever heard. And I found myself wondering how to answer my oldest child truthfully, honestly and clearly, but letting him know how happy we are that we have him in our world, and that we wouldn't change anything, ever.

And then it was there - out of the clear blue - it just popped into my head. I don't know how. I don't know why. I don't know from where. But there it was - my answer - So simple and true. Honest and forthright and explanatory. All in 6 little words. "No Honey, you were a surprise." I was so proud of myself, what a brilliant response. But Eldest Cherub didn't understand. "Great, a surprise. Same thing as an accident." "No, No, not the same thing at all. An accident is something that happens unexpectedly and you are upset or sad that it happens. A surprise is something that happens unexpectedly and you are thrilled that it happens. So, you see, you were a surprise, NOT an accident."

And VERY slowly, you could see it, he understood. He was happy. He got his answer, but it was good.

We did it. We are OK. We are figuring it out. We are making it work.

ADORABLE

Check out Lauren Nicole Gifts - yet again, hosting another great Giveaway - Head on over before Midnight on May 7 and you could win this gorgeous "Loose Lilly" Bag.

If you entered the Body Shop Giveaway from Fabulous Fun Finds and didn't win, NEVER FEAR . . . You now have a second chance at that great gift basket! Click here to get to Mama's Money Savers and enter. Giveaway deadline is May 11. Plus, you'll find some other real great Giveaways as well.

Found a cute blog that I hadn't seen before and she is doing a SURPRISE Giveaway. Click here to get to Jiggin' In J Crew and enter. Although it is a surprise, she mentioned that you can wear it, it's pretty, it will be made by her and you can not only pick your color, but help design it too. Be sure to check it out before May 2.

Fabulous Fun Finds is hosting a Sophie's Chic Boutique $30 Shopping Spree Giveaway - I know that $30.00 doesn't sound like much anymore, but you can actually purchase one of these great items, and that will actually cover the cost. Hurry over, Giveaway ends May 4 at Midnight PST. Below is a quick sample of her bags, but really go and check it out because they have women's stuff and children's stuff and, and and.

Check out the Giveaway over at Sherbert Blossom. Don't know how i found this one, but I did. Head on over using this link and you can enter to win a $50.00 gift certificate from Goldsmith Jewelers. Contest ends May 5.

Who Doesn't Love Free Jewelry?

Click here to enter to win the above necklace with matching earrings.  Giveaway ends April 30 at midnight.

Or here to get to Youniquelychic to win the below set.  Beautiful Rose and Vitrail Swarovski Crystals.  OOh-La-La!  Giveaway ends May 3.

Question For The Masses

Ok, maybe not the masses, but for the 1 or 2 readers that occasionally click my way.

A while back, our family ventured out to try a new Italian Restaurant. It was one of those little, out of the way, dumpy-divey kind of places that has AMAZING Italian food. Anyway, they had the cafe candles in the wine bottles as decor on the center of each table and Littlest Cherub thought this was just grand.

Even better, she looked at me with that certain kind of awe that only a child can look at you with (you know, the you are so smart and amazing look) when I told her that I knew how to make them and we could do one at home.

So home we went and rummaged through our rarely used liquor cabinet, (When I say rarely used, I mean RARELY!  Mr. P keeps his favorites in a different, more convenient spot - So our actual "liquor cabinet" boasts bottles that date back to when The Pilgrims arrived in New England.) After much moving, tossing and sniffing, we found the perfect bottle. It is one of the wine bottles in a basket. PERFECT! 

We proceeded to unceremoniously dump the chunks, yes chunks, of wine down the drain and rinse it out and then went on our search for various colored candles to burn over the course of the next few weeks to create our beautiful centerpiece.

So, here is where my question comes in to play. You see, it has now been about 8 months and we still do not have the lovely centerpiece we envisioned.  The problem we are having is that all of the wonderful candles we have so vigorously burned are of the "Non-drip" variety. We have resorted to using 2 advent candles shoved into the top of the bottle at just the right angles in order to get any drippage at all. As much as I love pink and purple, Littlest Cherub was envisioning a kaleidoscope of color and not the random drippings that have ensued.

I have searched high and low for drippy candles. I have been to the Home Goods stores, Bed & Bath stores, Christmas Tree and Dollar stores and many, many more. I always look while out and about in my travels and can't seem to find candles that will actually drip - do they even make them any more?

So, today I am asking for your help . . . if any of you knows about a place where I can get different colored candles that ACTUALLY DRIP, please let me know - as you will certainly make Littlest Cherub a VERY happy little camper!

Art Nest Pincushion Ring GIVEAWAY!!!!

And last but not least . . . Grosgrain Fabulous is also giving away not one, but three Art Nest Pincushion Rings. Click the below link to see them and enter.

I have to admit, I really would have no use for one of these, as I am soooo not domestic by any stretch of the imagination and have no idea what I would ever use a pincushion for, but . . . they are so cool and wild looking, I still want one - Just Because! Giveaway ends May 10.

Art Nest Pincushion Ring GIVEAWAY!!!

Swanki Hats GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain Fabulous is apparently getting her friends in on the giveaway action as well. Her 2 friends over at Swanki Hats are offering up the following Swanki Hats Giveaway. Just click the link below . . . Giveaway ends May 6.

Swanki Hats GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Simple Skirts GIVEAWAY!!!!

Simple Skirts GIVEAWAY!!!!

Be sure not to leave your little one out in the cold. Grosgrain Fabulous is giving away the cutest skirts for girls too. Skirt fits girls, ages 3-6. Giveaway ends May 3. Just click on the Simply Skirts GIVEAWAY link above to enter.

Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

What a great Mother's Day gift to yourself. . . Grosgrain Fabulous is giving away an adorable picnic frock. Click on the Picnic Frock link below to enter and also to check out her other great stuff (and more giveaways to boot!) Giveaway ends May 8.

Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!