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	<title>Stop, Drop and Blog &#187; contests</title>
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	<link>http://stopdropandblog.com</link>
	<description>The Family Side of Fire Life</description>
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		<title>10 Days of Disney Video Tour + Giveaway</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/09/08/10-days-of-disney-video-tour-giveaway/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/09/08/10-days-of-disney-video-tour-giveaway/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:08:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asides]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[5 Minutes for Mom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Disney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=1536</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The wonderful ladies over at 5 Minutes for Mom have a great little thing going on right now. They are hosting a 10 Days of Disney Video Tour. What&#8217;s that? Each day we’re going to release one video from our recent Disney trip and after we have posted them all, we will give away TEN <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/09/08/10-days-of-disney-video-tour-giveaway/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/09/08/10-days-of-disney-video-tour-giveaway/">10 Days of Disney Video Tour + Giveaway</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.5minutesformom.com/7157/10-days-of-disney-video-tour/"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-7304" title="10daysofdisney125x125" src="http://www.5minutesformom.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/10daysofdisney125x125.jpg" alt="10daysofdisney125x125" /></a>The wonderful ladies over at <a href="http://www.5minutesformom.com/" target="_blank">5 Minutes for Mom</a> have a great little thing going on right now. They are hosting a <a href="http://www.5minutesformom.com/7157/10-days-of-disney-video-tour" target="_blank">10 Days of Disney Video Tour</a>. What&#8217;s that?</p>
<blockquote><p>Each day we’re going to release one video from our recent Disney trip and after we have posted them all, we will give away TEN magical gift bags, each worth over $200. (One winner for each post and we will announce the winners on September 26th.)</p></blockquote>
<p>You have ten chances to win a &#8220;magical gift bag&#8221; worth over $200. I don&#8217;t know about you but the thought of winning something that awesome puts my mind into Christmas mode. Not only do I have two boys to buy for but friends, family and other children need gifts too. (And me. Surely something would work for me, right?)</p>
<p>Head on over to <a href="http://www.5minutesformom.com/7157/10-days-of-disney-video-tour" target="_blank">5 Minutes for Mom</a> and enter!</p>
<p>_<br />
<small><em>[(If you win and your bag has something Buzz Lightyear related, think of us, okay? Just sayin'!)]</em></small></p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/09/08/10-days-of-disney-video-tour-giveaway/">10 Days of Disney Video Tour + Giveaway</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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		<title>Did FireDad Win Redbook&#8217;s Hottest Husband?</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/19/did-firedad-win-redbooks-hottest-husband/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/19/did-firedad-win-redbooks-hottest-husband/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:20:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Living Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FireDad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Redbook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Redbook's Hottest Husband]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=1250</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s official. FireDad did not win Redbook&#8217;s Hottest Husband contest. I logged onto Redbook this morning to find that the winner, Rob Myers, has been announced. (Congrats to Rob and family! FireDad is not surprised as the winner is a Navy pilot. That gets a thumbs up from the FireFamily!) I had figured, as we <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/19/did-firedad-win-redbooks-hottest-husband/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/19/did-firedad-win-redbooks-hottest-husband/">Did FireDad Win Redbook&#8217;s Hottest Husband?</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s official. FireDad did <em>not</em> win <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/02/24/vote-for-firedad-in-redbooks-hottest-husband-contest/">Redbook&#8217;s Hottest Husband contest</a>. I logged onto Redbook this morning to find that the winner, Rob Myers, <a href="http://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/hot-husband/hottest-husband-in-america" target="_blank">has been announced</a>. (Congrats to Rob and family! FireDad is not surprised as the winner is a Navy pilot. That gets a thumbs up from the FireFamily!) I had figured, as we hadn&#8217;t heard a single word from the magazine in either direction, that no news wasn&#8217;t good news but I had held a candle of hope just in case.</p>
<p>I informed FireDad this morning as we enjoyed a quiet, no-kids morning (as they have been kidnapped by my mother-in-law). He smiled and said it was okay. I asked him if he was upset. He said, unsurprisingly, that it was fine. I said, &#8220;<em>That&#8217;s a shame, because I was going to make it up to you later.</em>&#8221; He would like Redbook, our readers and the world to know that he is now <em>very</em> saddened by his loss. *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*</p>
<p>We had a good time with it. <em>He</em> had a good time with it. He took it all in stride, has endured months of, &#8220;<em>So, did you win,</em>&#8221; questions and has done it all with his beautiful smile. These, of course, are just a few of the reasons that I love him. I love that he can take something as cheesy as a &#8220;hot husbands contest&#8221; and barely bat an eyelash. I love that he agreed to pose for the newspaper. I love that he loves me despite all of my crazy antics. I love his sense of humor. I love how he is with our boys, how he is with the Munchkin and how he loves with his whole heart. I love everything there is to love about him, even when he leaves his socks on the bathroom floor. (Mainly because he puts up with me leaving my towel on&#8230; every&#8230; floor.) That&#8217;s love, folks.</p>
<p>He may not have won the popular vote on Redbook&#8230; but he&#8217;ll always be my hottest husband. (I mean, right?!)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="Blue Us, This Morning" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3342/3641047873_a1d8a05a32.jpg?v=0" alt="Blue Us, This Morning" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="Blue Kisses" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3326/3641049137_94ac04e066.jpg?v=0" alt="Blue Kisses" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="How FireDad Feels" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3390/3641049927_36513dd11a.jpg?v=0" alt="How FireDad Feels" /></p>
<p>And that&#8217;s how he feels about <em>that</em> comment.</p>
<p>Thanks to EVERYONE who took the time to vote. Thanks to everyone who tweeted, blogged, emailed, talked on the phone and generally spammed their real life friends with the URL to vote for my (hottest) husband. Thank you to all who have laughed with us and poked fun at my husband as he honestly had a good time. Thanks to <a href="http://whiznews.com" target="_blank">WHIZ-TV</a> for airing a piece about the contest and <a href="http://daily-jeff.com" target="_blank">the Daily Jeffersonian</a> for photographing my (hottest) husband for an article that ran on the front page of our local newspaper. And, lastly, thank you to my mother-in-law and father-in-law for not only combining genes but raising one wonderful, strong, funny, intelligent, mannerly and loving man.</p>
<p>I <em>am</em> the luckiest.</p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/19/did-firedad-win-redbooks-hottest-husband/">Did FireDad Win Redbook&#8217;s Hottest Husband?</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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		<title>Who Are the Real Heroes In Your Life?</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/15/who-are-the-real-heroes-in-your-life/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/15/who-are-the-real-heroes-in-your-life/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Applebee's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FireDad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[giveaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heroes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Real Heroes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=1224</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve told you before how I view FireDad as one of my heroes. I&#8217;ve written about how he was honored by our city as a hero as well for saving another man&#8217;s life. Every time he fights a fire, he becomes a hero to someone else&#8217;s family as well. The boys, as well, think that <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/15/who-are-the-real-heroes-in-your-life/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/15/who-are-the-real-heroes-in-your-life/">Who Are the Real Heroes In Your Life?</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" title="Hero" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/57236390_308c635932_m.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="240" />I&#8217;ve told you before how I view FireDad as one of my heroes. I&#8217;ve written about how he was <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2008/05/08/and-then-a-hero-comes-along/" target="_blank">honored by our city as a hero</a> as well for saving another man&#8217;s life. Every time he fights a fire, he becomes a hero to someone else&#8217;s family as well. The boys, as well, think that he&#8217;s the best hero since Mr. Incredible. (But not since Buzz Lightyear. Buzz wins, hands down.) He may not be on CNN (but he has been on the front page of our newspaper time and time again, though <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/02/24/vote-for-firedad-in-redbooks-hottest-husband-contest/" target="_blank">once</a> it wasn&#8217;t for being a hero). But he&#8217;s our real life, everyday hero.</p>
<p>And Applebee&#8217;s <a href="http://www.applebees.com/realheroes/" target="_blank">wants to know</a> about him and the many men and women like him.</p>
<p>Applebee&#8217;s has launched something called their <a href="http://www.applebees.com/realheroes/" target="_Blank">Realburgers for Real Heroes contest</a>. In essence, they want people like you and me to nominate our favorite &#8220;real life hero&#8221; to win a great prize pack. Here&#8217;s what they have to say about the definition of real life hero:</p>
<blockquote><p>A real hero might be a favorite fireman, parent, coach, volunteer, teacher, or best friend – people who are<br />
making a difference in your life and neighborhood every day. Who are your heroes?</p></blockquote>
<p>Sure, it&#8217;s easy to call FireDad a hero. I mean, he saves lives! But what about a coach or a teacher that has touched the lives of students for years and years? What about a parent who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in how they actively parent their children? What about the best friend who stood by you as your world crumbled? What about that woman who started the organization that changed your life? What about those you come in contact with, every single day, that are actively working to better the world around them? I know that you know someone to nominate. In fact, if you think about it, I bet you know more than one person to nominate.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s to win? Other than a big old pat on the back and some recognition for a job well done?</p>
<blockquote><p>The Grand Prize Winner will receive $5,000 and a year’s worth of free Applebee’s Realburgers. Just for nominating, you&#8217;re automatically entered into a weekly sweepstakes drawing for a $50 Applebee&#8217;s Gift Card.</p></blockquote>
<p>Free burgers and money. Sounds good to me!</p>
<p>You can nominate your Real Hero through July 5th. After that, people will be able to vote for their favorite Real Heroes on the Applebee&#8217;s website from July 15th to the 23rd. (I know I&#8217;ll be checking in to see who others view as their heroes. I love reading stories that warm my heart!)</p>
<p><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1225" title="Prize Pack" src="http://stopdropandblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/applebees-prize-pack-150x150.jpg" alt="Prize Pack" width="150" height="150" />As we&#8217;re hoping to spread word about this contest, we&#8217;re hosting a little giveaway here on Stop, Drop and Blog. You can win an Applebee&#8217;s prize pack with a few things (an aromatherapy ball, lip balm, cookie butter, pen, photo holder, calculator, stress apple and some other stuff). How to win?</p>
<blockquote><p>1. Tweet this contest by copy/pasting this into your tweet stream.</p>
<p><em>Nominate a Real Hero in your life &amp; win an Applebee&#8217;s prize pack:  http://ow.ly/ebdg Now thru July 5th! #SDBrealheroes</em></p>
<p>After doing so, come back and comment with the individual URL of the tweet.</p>
<p>2. Blog about the Applebee&#8217;s contest and this associated giveaway, linking to both the Applebee&#8217;s contest page and this post here. Come back and comment with the link to your live, public post.</p>
<p>3. Send this post here to StumbleUpon, Facebook or any other legitimate social media site. Please comment with each site you have submitted to.</p></blockquote>
<p>The giveaway is open through the end of the contest (in the continuous hope of reminding people to vote for their Real Heroes) on July 5th, 2009. Comments will be accepted through 11:59pm on that evening. At that point (or, the next morning), we will visit <a href="http://random.org" target="_blank">random.org</a> and pull a random winner. The information will be forwarded on to Applebee&#8217;s so that the prize pack may be shipped.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t forget to <a href="http://www.applebees.com/realheroes/" target="_blank">nominate</a> your Real Heroes! Today!</p>
<p>_<br />
<small><em>[Full Disclosure: I received no compensation, monetary or freebies, for posting about this. Our family is simply well aware of how real life heroes need recognition.]</em></small></p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/06/15/who-are-the-real-heroes-in-your-life/">Who Are the Real Heroes In Your Life?</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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		<title>Just a Few More Moments: A Gift for Maddie</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/14/just-a-few-more-moments-a-gift-for-maddie/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/14/just-a-few-more-moments-a-gift-for-maddie/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Living Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maddie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[March for Babies]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=1082</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Words will never be enough. Instead, the FireFamily released balloons this past Saturday for Maddie. We had talked about what we were doing with BigBrother ahead of time, that we were sending balloons to Maddie in heaven. And I&#8217;m glad we did it ahead of time&#8230; Because as the wind swept those balloons away much <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/14/just-a-few-more-moments-a-gift-for-maddie/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/14/just-a-few-more-moments-a-gift-for-maddie/">Just a Few More Moments: A Gift for Maddie</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;">Words will never be enough.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="A Balloon" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3646/3432310312_77c0897db8.jpg?v=0" alt="A Balloon" /></p>
<p>Instead, the FireFamily released balloons this past Saturday <a href="http://amomtwoboys.com/for-maddie/" target="_blank">for Maddie</a>. We had talked about what we were doing with BigBrother ahead of time, that we were sending balloons to Maddie in heaven. And I&#8217;m glad we did it ahead of time&#8230;</p>
<p>Because as the wind swept those balloons away much more quickly than I had anticipated, I had to blink back the tears as I attempted to get a few photographs. I kept thinking, &#8220;No! Slow down! I just want a few more moments! I just need a few more moments.&#8221; And then, as I was snapping the pictures and those balloons kept racing away from us, I realized that&#8217;s likely how Maddie&#8217;s parents felt. Feel. I was overcome with the realities of the loss of such an innocent, beautiful life. I had no words left to share with my boys. I simply held my oldest son tightly as I struggled to carry him back to our truck. He&#8217;s far too big for me to carry him anymore&#8230;</p>
<p>But I just needed a few more moments. I figure there will never be enough moments to be had.</p>
<p>Today, on the day Maddie&#8217;s family is celebrating her life, we are wearing purple (clothes and on our blog) in honor and in remembrance. Today we continue to hug our boys just a little tighter while saying a prayer for those who know a loss that no one should ever have to know. Today we acknowledge that life is too fragile while simultaneously wanting to ignore that fact.</p>
<p>Today we thank the Spohr family for sharing <a href="http://remembermaddie.com" target="_blank">Maddie</a> with the rest of us.</p>
<p>As of late last night, we have decided to join the Burgh Moms &#038; Dads March for Babies walk for Maddie on May 9, 2009. <img src="http://marchforbabies.org/firemom" target="_blank">We have a small goal</a> as we hadn&#8217;t planned on walking this year due to the fact that I&#8217;m speaking at a conference in Cleveland on the day of Columbus&#8217; walk. However, I feel we need to ignore the crazy schedule we have starting on March 11th and join in the walk this year. We&#8217;ll be there. With purple on. Will you be there?</p>
<p><em>[As a reminder, you can still <a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=dvR-OLHnjvC2n9wFBymrIzn4GvpvyneWvg48DfDkKohoWehEnW1JnGzh_Ei&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f998ca054efbdf2c25fe4a05bcb33bff6399b4b6a7ee9cf98" target="_blank">donate to the paypal account</a> set up for the family to handle the costs associated with this sudden loss. You can also <a href="http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?w=131032674&amp;u=marchformaddie&amp;bt=7" target="_blank">donate to the Spohr family's March for Babies walk</a> to be held on April 25, 2009.]</em></p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/14/just-a-few-more-moments-a-gift-for-maddie/">Just a Few More Moments: A Gift for Maddie</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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		<title>Girlfriend Getaway Contest: You Gotta Enter!</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/10/girlfriend-getaway-contest-you-gotta-enter/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/10/girlfriend-getaway-contest-you-gotta-enter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=1074</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you need a getaway? I do. In fact, I need a few getaways to catch up on the sleep lost while raising these two wild and crazy kids. That aside, how does a getaway that includes you, a good friend and chocolate sound? I know, I know. Heavenly but unlikely to happen this side <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/10/girlfriend-getaway-contest-you-gotta-enter/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/10/girlfriend-getaway-contest-you-gotta-enter/">Girlfriend Getaway Contest: You Gotta Enter!</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Do you need a getaway? I do. In fact, I need a few getaways to catch up on the sleep lost while raising these two wild and crazy kids. That aside, how does a getaway that includes you, a good friend and chocolate sound? I know, I know. Heavenly but unlikely to happen this side of Heaven, right?</p>
<p>Wrong.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s possible. For you and a friend. It&#8217;s being brought to you by Lorrie Morgan Ferrero, Shannon Cherry and Joanie Winberg. These three women have faced their own share of challenges and now want to give another woman and her best friend the chance to kick back and relax!</p>
<p>What&#8217;s included?</p>
<blockquote><p>1. A Chocolate spa getaway at the Hershey Hotel (PA) on May 15-17. This includes:</p>
<p>2. Airfare!</p>
<p>3. Limo service to and from the hotel.</p>
<p>4. Poolside room!</p>
<p>5. Over $400 (!) worth of spa treatments (!!) including a Swedish Massage, a Facial, a Chocolate Wrap and Lunch in the Oasis- a lite lunch of salads, soups and wraps at the spa in your robe and sandals. (!!!)</p>
<p>6. Admission to Hershey Gardens.</p>
<p>7. <a href="http://www.thehotelhershey.com/dining/index.php">Gourmet dining</a>. Mmm.</p></blockquote>
<p>All that? Is worth over $3000! And there is no cost to enter. So how do you do it?</p>
<blockquote><p>Tell us in 300 words or less why YOUR FRIEND deserves a Chocolate Spa Getaway Weekend. (For example has she had some extenuating circumstances, struggles, challenges, or just plain needs a break? The contest is for all women- married, single or single again). Don&#8217;t forget to sign up for your special gifts below! Then COPY and PASTE your essay into an email (sorry, no attachments accepted) and send it off to us at chocolatespacontest@gmail.com by midnight April 17th. Winners will be announced April 24. Best of all, if your story is chosen, you get to go, too!!</p></blockquote>
<p>(I will let you know that I would enter but I cannot go on the dates due to my Spring Show so that&#8217;s one less essay that yours would be up against. So get to writing, ladies!) Also, you don&#8217;t have to tell <em>me</em> if you&#8217;re entering but if you are, I&#8217;d love to hear about you and your best friend. I love happy stories. Share with me!</p>
<p>For more information, please <a href="http://www.freshstartafterdivorce.com/public/department123.cfm" target="_blank">visit the contest page</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/10/girlfriend-getaway-contest-you-gotta-enter/">Girlfriend Getaway Contest: You Gotta Enter!</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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		<title>Signing Our Way Out of Diapers</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/01/signing-our-way-out-of-diapers/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/01/signing-our-way-out-of-diapers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:27:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[giveaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[potty training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sign language]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=1048</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve mentioned before that we use sign language in this house. BigBrother used it minimally when he was pre-verbal. LittleBrother started even earlier than BigBrother did and has a large signing vocabulary. Similarly, at sixteen months, he already has a large verbal vocabulary as well. Not all of that can be attributed to signing itself, <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/01/signing-our-way-out-of-diapers/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/01/signing-our-way-out-of-diapers/">Signing Our Way Out of Diapers</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve mentioned before that we use sign language in this house. BigBrother used it minimally when he was pre-verbal. LittleBrother started even earlier than BigBrother did and has a large signing vocabulary. Similarly, at sixteen months, he already has a large verbal vocabulary as well. Not all of that can be attributed to signing itself, of course. Mainly, he wants to be like BigBrother. He wanted to talk early. He wanted to roll, crawl, walk and run early. And now he wants to potty train early.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m okay with this!</p>
<p>A few months ago we received <a href="http://pottytrainwithbabysigns.com/" target="_blank">Potty Training Made Easy with the Baby Signs Program</a> <a href="https://www.babysigns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=mall.ViewProductDetail&amp;categoryid=42&amp;itemid=235" target="_blank">Complete Starter Kit</a>. I kept it in the box for awhile as he hadn&#8217;t shown any interest in the process at that point in time. And then, last month, he started saying the word potty. (Pah-ee! Pah-ee!) Whenever anyone would go into the bathroom, he would follow behind, talking about the potty. Then he started wanting to sit on the big potty. Then we bought him a little one. And while he hasn&#8217;t gone, he sits daily, talking about his male genitalia (pee-ahhs), pee, poop and pah-ee.</p>
<p>Color us shocked.</p>
<p><img title="Book &amp; Stickers" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3542/3403921645_1d75712bfd_m.jpg" alt="Book &amp; Stickers" align="left" />So, I broke out the sign language program. I read the accompanying parent manual about why starting the training process in the 12 month to 24 month age range was a great idea. I agreed with most of what was said, having already potty trained one child. (I also know that being strict with your ideas regarding what will and will not work can set you up for failure.) The manual, however, does have many things that we agree with (especially since we potty trained BigBrother based on Elizabeth Pantley&#8217;s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071476903?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=thechrofmunla-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0071476903">The No-Cry Potty Training Solution</a><img style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thechrofmunla-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=0071476903" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" />).</p>
<p>And then we started watching the DVD every few days. LittleBrother enjoys the real kids more than the animated babies. (He&#8217;s likely used to Signing Time videos.) We also regularly read the train book that came with the kit. (It&#8217;s a lift-the-flap book which are all hugely popular with LittleBrother right now.) While he has done nothing in the potty, we currently have a child who is not scared of the bathroom or the potty. He knows what goes on in the bathroom and the potty. He knows the appropriate signs (more, all done, potty, wash hands). And he regularly tells us when he needs a diaper change. (To boot, he also says &#8220;excuse me&#8221; (cue-me!) after he toots. Win.</p>
<p>I can&#8217;t tell you if he will officially train early or if he&#8217;ll be like his brother and train shortly after his second birthday. I can&#8217;t predict what will happen. I can tell you that this little kit, complete with reward stickers for when we start moving forward with this &#8220;potty train&#8221;, is a big help in our house. As BigBrother went through a phase where he was scared of the bathroom (no fault of our own as we didn&#8217;t push training), we&#8217;re hoping to avoid that with LittleBrother. Of course, having BigBrother around to show by example and encourage with words is a great training tool as well. I&#8217;d let you borrow him but, well, I like him very much.</p>
<p><img title="Complete Starter Kit" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3599/3404731070_fe9ea83bfc_m.jpg" alt="Complete Starter Kit" align="right" /></p>
<p>I can, however, offer you this Potty Training Made Easy with the Baby Signs Program <a href="https://www.babysigns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=mall.ViewProductDetail&amp;categoryid=42&amp;itemid=235" target="_blank">Complete Starter Kit</a> ($39.95)! That&#8217;s right! I have one to give away! It&#8217;s the exact same one we have which means that it includes:</p>
<blockquote><p>1. Potty Training Made Easy, a Parent&#8217;s Guide.<br />
2. All Aboard the Potty Train DVD<br />
3. All Aboard the Potty Train lift-the-flap book.<br />
4. Stickers!<br />
5. All Aboard the Potty Train Conductor&#8217;s (wooden) Whistle (yes, noisy).</p></blockquote>
<p>It can be yours! There are a few different ways to enter.</p>
<blockquote><p>1. <strong>Leave a comment on this post</strong> telling me a funny story about potty training. Whether it&#8217;s your child, your sibling, your friend&#8217;s child or yourself. Make me giggle. Because a sense of humor <em>is needed</em> while potty training! (I remember that much!) You may leave a comment like this once.</p>
<p>2. <strong>Tweet about this contes</strong>t, copy/pasting the following into your tweet stream: <em>Enter the Potty Training Made Easy giveaway over @FireMom&#8217;s blog: http://tinyurl.com/SDBptsigns Kit includes book, DVD, stickers &amp; whistle! </em> After you tweet, grab the URL to the individual tweet and paste it in a separate comment here. You may do this once a day for the duration of the giveaway!</p>
<p>3. <strong>Blog about the giveaway on your blog</strong>, linking back to this post and the <a title="Potty Training Made easy" href="http://pottytrainwithbabysigns.com" target="_blank">Potty Training Made Easy website</a>! Make your post about another funny story regarding potty training, fears about the process or what your plans are thus far. Come back and leave the link to your blog post in a separate comment. You may do this once.</p></blockquote>
<p>The giveaway will be open through <strong>Monday, April 13, 2009 at noon (EDT)</strong>. I will close comments and pick a winner via the random number generator at <a href="http://random.org" target="_blank">random.org</a>. I will then contact the winner by email. The winner has 24 hours to respond before I move on to the next random winner. Winnings will be shipped the following day after claim with delivery confirmation and insurance. If you have questions, please don&#8217;t hesitate to contact me.</p>
<p>Best of luck&#8230; in the giveaway <em>and</em> with potty training! (And if this giveaway doesn&#8217;t apply to you, please feel free to pass it on to your friends with children who may or may not be potty training sometime soon!)</p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/04/01/signing-our-way-out-of-diapers/">Signing Our Way Out of Diapers</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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		<title>Reading is So Important and So&#8230; A GIVEAWAY!</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/03/13/reading-is-so-important-and-so-a-giveaway/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/03/13/reading-is-so-important-and-so-a-giveaway/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:28:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[giveaways]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leap Frog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Reading Month]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reading]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=1021</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re a reading family. I always have my nose in a book (even if it is a horribly cheesy book that features teenage vampire love). FireDad loves to read. And it seems we&#8217;re raising two little readers as well. If you could glimpse at my living room floor right now, you might think a library <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/03/13/reading-is-so-important-and-so-a-giveaway/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/03/13/reading-is-so-important-and-so-a-giveaway/">Reading is So Important and So&#8230; A GIVEAWAY!</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We&#8217;re a reading family. I always have my nose in a book (even if it is a horribly cheesy book that features teenage vampire love). FireDad loves to read. And it seems we&#8217;re raising two little readers as well. If you could glimpse at my living room floor right now, you might think a library had blown up. But, no, we have just finished up an evening read-a-thon. I&#8217;ll clean it up soon. I promise. But the mess was worth it. Watching LittleBrother&#8217;s vocabulary expand in front of my face fills me with pride. And watching BigBrother&#8217;s brain make connections and his imagination sore through the pages of a book, well, it makes me melt. And so we&#8217;re proud to bring you this post&#8230; and giveaway!</p>
<p>To help get the word out about National Reading Month (March), we&#8217;re participating in a giveaway with <a title="Leap Frog" href="http://www.leapfrog.com/readingmonth/" target="_blank">Leap Frog</a>! That&#8217;s right. Leap Frog! A huge favorite in our house!</p>
<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1022" title="Tag Reader" src="http://stopdropandblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/tagreader.jpg" alt="Tag Reader" width="205" height="177" />The prize is a Leap Frog TagReader bundle that includes Dr. Seuss&#8217; Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. It also comes with a story called Ozzie &amp; Mack. If you&#8217;ve got a child in the 4-8 year age range (or surrounding ages) who is working on readking skills, this is definitely something you want to pick up. Don&#8217;t believe me? Check out this comprehensive review. But, as a real quick overview, it&#8217;s basically a pen (no ink!) that helps your children learn to read. (Did any of you have something similar in the 80&#8242;s? Because I did. But this is cooler.) It can hold up to five books. And there are bunches of compatible books! Win!</p>
<p>So, how do you win? What&#8217;s the catch?</p>
<p>First off, I want you to visit the <a href="http://www.leapfrog.com/readingmonth/" target="_blank">Leap Frog Reading Pledge</a> and pledge to read some hours with your children. (Or grandchildren. Or siblings. Or what have you.) The point of this giveaway is to raise awareness about the fact that it is National Reading Month and to inspire parents to read with their children. It&#8217;s just so important to read with your kids. I know that FireDad and I both have such a love of reading because our parents took the time to read with us.</p>
<p>Okay, now that I trust you have made a pledge to read (which involves a coupon for you for $10 off TagReader systems and books&#8230;), here are the steps to enter.</p>
<blockquote><p>1. <a href="http://familyinternet.about.com/od/hardwareforkids/fr/tagreader.htm" target="_blank">Read this great review</a> (includes pros and cons) of the TagReader system.</p>
<p>2. Come back to my post here and tell me in a comment what you expect will benefit your child the most with the Leap Frog TagReader system. You may do this once.</p></blockquote>
<p>You want some extra entries?</p>
<blockquote><p>3. Tweet this giveaway on your twitter stream and bring me back the individual URL of your tweet (found by clicking on the time that you posted your tweet). Post it as a new, individual comment. You may do this once. Please copy/paste this tweet: It&#8217;s National Reading Month! Celebrate by entering to win a Leap Frog TagReader at Stop, Drop &amp; Blog! http://tinyurl.com/SDBtag</p>
<p>4. Blog about it on your blog, linking back to this post! Include a link to <a title="The Review!" href="http://familyinternet.about.com/od/hardwareforkids/fr/tagreader.htm" target="_blank">the review</a> in your blog post, please! After doing some, come back to my post here and post it as a new, individual comment. You may do this once.</p>
<p>5. Use other social media (facebook, digg, stumbleupon, etc) to link this post. After doing so, please return to this post with the username and link (if applicaple) to your shared link in a new, individual comment. You may do this once per social media engine.</p></blockquote>
<p>The contest is open now through March 26, 2009 at 12:00pm EDT. At that point, this post will close to new comments and a winner will be picked via random.org. One winner will be chosen and contacted via email. Winner will have 12 hours to reply or another winner will be chosen. Winner must reside in the United States. Winning will be shipping straight from vendor. (Meaning, I don&#8217;t have it in house!)</p>
<p>So, get to entering and sharing word about the contest. And if you want to up your chances of winning, check out these blogs: <a href="http://3carnations.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">3 Carnations</a> | <a href="http://somuchmorethanamom.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">So Much More Than a Mom</a> | <a href="http://www.goddessinprogressblog.com/" target="_blank">Goddess in Progress</a> | <a href="http://www.whataboutmomblog.com/" target="_blank">What about Mom?</a> | <a href="http://parentingbytrialanderror.com/" target="_blank">Parenting by Trial &amp; Error</a> | <a href="http://unst.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">My Sweet Baboo</a> | <a href="http://verbatim.blogs.com/" target="_blank">Verbatim</a> | <a href="http://miss-britt.com/" target="_Blank">Miss Britt</a> | <a href="http://www.callapidderdays.com/" target="_blank">Callapidder Days</a>. They&#8217;re all giving away the same package. Go enter!</p>
<p><em>[Thanks to <a href="http://www.leapfrog.com/" target="_blank">Leap Frog</a> for the chance to participate in something as awesome as National Reading Month. And thanks to <a href="http://familyinternet.about.com/b/" target="_blank">Christy Matte</a> for <a href="http://familyinternet.about.com/od/hardwareforkids/fr/tagreader.htm" target="_blank">such an amazing review</a>.]</em></p>
<p><em>Updated at 4:01pm, March 26, 2009: Winner Amanda, chosen by the random.org number generator, has accepted the prize. Thank you all for your entries. Now get to reading with those kids!<br />
</em></p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/03/13/reading-is-so-important-and-so-a-giveaway/">Reading is So Important and So&#8230; A GIVEAWAY!</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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		<slash:comments>43</slash:comments>
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		<title>Our Service Project for Mom It Forward</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/02/21/our-service-project-for-mom-it-forward/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/02/21/our-service-project-for-mom-it-forward/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:13:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[videos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mom It Forward]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[service project]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unplanned pregnancy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=968</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After some editing issues (software updates taking forever) and some uploading issues (YouTube hates me, I prefer Google video), our vlog for the Mom It Forward service project is uploaded, processed and live! (And viewable on the Mom It Forward YouTube group as well!) I thought it would never happen. Briefly: we (our family) decided <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/02/21/our-service-project-for-mom-it-forward/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/02/21/our-service-project-for-mom-it-forward/">Our Service Project for Mom It Forward</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://mommygossip-gno.blogspot.com/2009/01/rsvp-for-giveaway-win-laptop.html" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj139/ODCrogers/4giveawaysgreen.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" width="150" height="150" /></a>After some editing issues (software updates taking forever) and some uploading issues (YouTube hates me, I prefer Google video), our vlog for the <a title="Mom It Forward" href="http://mommygossip-gno.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mom It Forward</a> <a title="Giveaways" href="http://mommygossip-gno.blogspot.com/2009/01/rsvp-for-giveaway-win-laptop.html" target="_blank">service project</a> is uploaded, processed and <a title="OOOH!" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUh6avHfaLs" target="_blank">live</a>! (And viewable on the <a title="MiF YT Group" href="http://www.youtube.com/groups_videos?name=momitforward" target="_blank">Mom It Forward YouTube group</a> as well!) I thought it would never happen.</p>
<p>Briefly: we (our family) decided to gather some friends (real life and blogging) together to make a sizeable donation of &#8220;stuff&#8221; to our city&#8217;s brand new pregnancy center. We had over 600 diapers, a bunch of wipes, bags upon bags of clothes, two playmats (one was brand new), an infant car seat and, well, the list goes on. We chose this organization because of my previous experience with an unplanned pregnancy. (For those not in the know, you can read about my adoption story at <a title="The Chronicles of Munchkin Land" href="http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com" target="_blank">The Chronicles of Munchkin Land</a>.)</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Enough with the written word. Let&#8217;s listen to my strangely young sounding voice.</p>
<p><object width="425" height="344" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/CUh6avHfaLs&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x5d1719&amp;color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CUh6avHfaLs&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x5d1719&amp;color2=0xcd311b" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object></p>
<p>And there you have it!</p>
<p>As an added note since the &#8220;filming&#8221; of this vlog: I have been contacted about volunteering as a counselor for mothers who come through the center. Helping mothers make well-informed decisions about all aspects of this topic has been a huge passion of mine for years and being able to help in our city is&#8230; well, it makes me feel like I belong here.</p>
<p>And, so, a big thank you to <a title="Mom It Forward" href="http://mommygossip-gno.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mom It Forward</a> for <a title="Giveaways" href="http://mommygossip-gno.blogspot.com/2009/01/rsvp-for-giveaway-win-laptop.html" target="_blank">encouraging us all to give back to our communities</a>. I&#8217;ve been meaning to do something like this for far too long and it feels good to know that I&#8217;m right where I need to be at this point in time.</p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/02/21/our-service-project-for-mom-it-forward/">Our Service Project for Mom It Forward</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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		<title>Room-a-Day Giveaway + A Giveaway Here!</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/30/room-a-day-giveaway-a-giveaway-here/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/30/room-a-day-giveaway-a-giveaway-here/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:07:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home Ownership Rocks/Sucks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[decorating]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[giveaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[giveaways]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Room-a-Day Giveaway]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=928</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was privileged to be a part of a web conference with Thom Felicia. Don&#8217;t know Thom? I don&#8217;t know how! Thom is an interior designer, author and host of Dress My Nest! He&#8217;s just a man about town. During the web conference, I learned a bit about organization, decorating and other stuff that I <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/30/room-a-day-giveaway-a-giveaway-here/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/30/room-a-day-giveaway-a-giveaway-here/">Room-a-Day Giveaway + A Giveaway Here!</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I was privileged to be a part of a web conference with Thom Felicia. Don&#8217;t know Thom? I don&#8217;t know how! Thom is an interior designer, author and host of Dress My Nest! He&#8217;s just a man about town. During the web conference, I learned a bit about organization, decorating and other stuff that I simply am not good at doing.</p>
<p>One tip that I liked, mainly because it told me that I was doing something right with my total lack of decorating ability, was that a toy corner in your living room was fine. (Thank goodness! Remember <a title="I Bought a Real Toy Box" href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2008/12/31/i-bought-a-real-toy-box/" target="_self">my lamenting</a> the addition of a toy corner? I&#8217;m not a total failure!) Thom then went on to talk about how rooms/space that were off-limit to kids taught them more about cleaning up and such. Apparently Thom has not been to our small house. That said, for the most part, our bedroom is off limit to the kids. Unless I&#8217;m too sick and tired to move from bed and it is a day that FireDad is at work&#8230; then we play in my bed all day. You make it work when you have to, ya know?</p>
<p>All the same, I learned quite a few things (some of which are in his new book) that I hope to implement in the next five months. I&#8217;m pretty sure that Thom would have a near coronary if he found out that we&#8217;ve lived her for over three years and I still don&#8217;t have proper window treatments in the living room. Gosh, I could use his expertise.</p>
<p>Which is why I entered <a title="Room-a-Day" href="http://roomadaygiveaway.com" target="_blank">the Room-a-Day Giveaway</a>. Have you? You should. You can enter now through March 6th. Go do it!</p>
<p>But before you do, I&#8217;d like to give you a chance to pre-win. You know, just in case you actually win the big-big prize. (In which case, please have Thom order you an extra pair of curtains and send them to me, okay? Thanks.) But seriously, I have a great prize pack to offer up. It just arrived today and it&#8217;s pretty nice!</p>
<p>First and foremost is Thom&#8217;s new book, Style. I&#8217;d keep it for myself but, let&#8217;s face it, I&#8217;m a lost cause when it comes to decorating. Unless I win the room-a-day sweepstakes, I&#8217;m just sorely out of luck in this department. Here&#8217;s the book itself:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="Thom Felicia Style" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3487/3239850110_67ef9bc548.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="333" /></p>
<p>See? It just looks too swanky for me, doesn&#8217;t it? Hopefully our winner will take pity on me and come decorate my house.</p>
<p>And then, up next, we have a big bag full of goodies from Kimberly-Clark, the co-hosts of the Room-A-Day Giveaway! What&#8217;s in the bag? We&#8217;ll let&#8217;s see.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="Kimberly Clark Stuff!" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3088/3239849444_6ce897200f.jpg?v=0" alt="" width="500" height="333" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">1 Roll of Kleenex Viva Paper Towels, 1 package Cottonelle Fresh Flushable Moist Wipes, 1 box Kleenex Expressions, 1 package Poise Pads, 1 package Kotex Pads, 1 bottle Huggies Soft Skin Shea Butter with Oatmeal Wash, 1 package Huggies Supreme Thick and Clean wipes, 1 package Kleenex Anti-Viral tissues, 1 roll Scott Extra Soft toilet paper. (LittleBrother&#8217;s hand not included in winner&#8217;s prize package.)</p>
<p>That&#8217;s a bunch of stuff! Of note: LittleBrother grabbed the small package of tissues and ran with them. If they arrive at our winner&#8217;s house smelling of pretzel stick spit, please accept my most humble of apologies. One of the tricks of working from home is trying to keep the kids off of my work. I sometimes fail. Do forgive! (That said, they&#8217;re anti-viral so you should be fine, right?!)</p>
<p>So, how do you win these nice prizes? It&#8217;s simple. You help ME!</p>
<p>WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH MY LIVING ROOM WINDOW?! Viewed here:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="Window of DOOM" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3305/3239036811_72aea6aa4a.jpg?v=0" alt="" width="500" height="333" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">(Check out all that snow outside. Goodness.)</p>
<p>I&#8217;m embarrassed that it&#8217;s not a very big window and, if we had the money (gee, thanks economy), we&#8217;d replace it with a double-width window. But, right now, this is the window that stays. We have blinds because we don&#8217;t like people on our street being able to see into our home. Other than that, I need help. How to create the illusion of something bigger, <em>grander</em>, without creating a hazzard? (Meaning, drapes to the floor might not be the best idea with a three year old and a one year old, right? Or is it okay? I have no clue. Help.)</p>
<p>And so, please leave a comment with what you would do to our living room window. Note that the colors in our living room are various blues and we do not plan on changing the coloring anytime soon. (Our walls are a light beige.) If you could, oh, make it affordable, I&#8217;d be grateful. Pictures and links to specific ideas are not necessary but would be highly appreciated. So, of coruse, the rules.</p>
<p>1. One comment (with an idea for the window) per person.</p>
<p>2. You can receive one extra entry by tweeting the contest. Just copy paste this into your twitter account and then return here to leave a separate comment with the link to your singular twitter (not your twitter name). To grab the URL for the singular tweet, click on the &#8220;time&#8221; in which you posted (2 minutes ago, as an example) and grab the URL that way. Copy/paste this:</p>
<blockquote><p>Win with Thom Felicia &amp; Kimberly-Clark at Stop, Drop &amp; Blog! <strong>http://tinyurl.com/c6s64c</strong></p></blockquote>
<p>And that&#8217;s it!</p>
<p>The giveaway will be open through Saturday, February 7, 2009. One random winner will be chosen via Random.org and contacted via email immediately. And hopefully, in the next month or so, I will post pictures of my new window. (Note: I don&#8217;t have to &#8220;do&#8221; what the random winner has suggested. I mean, what if it was something I hated! Ha!)</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t forget to enter the <a title="Room-a-Day" href="http://roomadaygiveaway.com" target="_blank">Room-a-Day Giveaway</a> while you&#8217;re at it! Now get to decorating my window, please.</p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/30/room-a-day-giveaway-a-giveaway-here/">Room-a-Day Giveaway + A Giveaway Here!</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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		<title>Planning for the Super Bowl</title>
		<link>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/13/planning-for-the-super-bowl/</link>
		<comments>http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/13/planning-for-the-super-bowl/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:30:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FireMom</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[contests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FireFamily Talks Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[giveaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pepsi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steelers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Super Bowl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://stopdropandblog.com/?p=865</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m glad the Super Bowl is just around the bend. Neither BigBrother nor LittleBrother will fit in their Roethlisberger jerseys for much longer. See the picture below to view LittleBrother stuffed into his jersey just this past Sunday afternoon when the Steelers beat the Chargers (thankfully). Yes. I&#8217;m going out on a limb and calling <a href='http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/13/planning-for-the-super-bowl/'>[...]</a><p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/13/planning-for-the-super-bowl/">Planning for the Super Bowl</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m glad the Super Bowl is just around the bend. Neither BigBrother nor LittleBrother will fit in their Roethlisberger jerseys for much longer. See the picture below to view LittleBrother stuffed into his jersey just this past Sunday afternoon when the Steelers beat the Chargers (thankfully).</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" title="LittleBrother in his Jersey" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/3188939285_7b1f60bc98.jpg?v=0" alt="" width="500" height="333" /></p>
<p>Yes. I&#8217;m going out on a limb and calling the Steelers in the Super Bowl. But I&#8217;d do that even if this was the first day of preseason football. Once a Steelers fan, always a Steelers fan&#8230; even if thrust into the middle of Cleveland Browns territory. In fact, we live in this weird trifecta area where the Browns, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers all have equal representation. It&#8217;s quite odd. All the same, we&#8217;ll be having a Super Bowl party while wearing our black and gold no matter the colors of the to teams playing.</p>
<p>Speaking of parties, I&#8217;d love to help <em><strong>you</strong></em> have a Super Bowl party. No, really. Even if you&#8217;re a Browns fan (which means your team isn&#8217;t doing&#8230; anything). Even if you&#8217;re a Ravens fan (which means we can&#8217;t talk until after the Steelers win this coming weekend). If you&#8217;re a football fan, I want to help you celebrate!</p>
<p>I&#8217;m teaming up with Pepsi through their <a title="Refresh Everything" href="http://www.refresheverything.com/" target="_blank">Refresh Everything</a> site and giving away a Super Bowl XLIII (that&#8217;s 43, folks) Ultimate Pepsi Party Pack. Not just any party pack but a fantastic party pack worth $250.00! WOO! What&#8217;s comes in this little prize pack? Let&#8217;s take a look at the picture first.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="size-medium wp-image-866 aligncenter" title="Prize Pack!" src="http://stopdropandblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/superbowl_prizes3-264x300.jpg" alt="Prize Pack!" width="264" height="300" /></p>
<p>Nice, right? And now, the list.</p>
<blockquote><p>•       1 football</p>
<p>•       1 beverage pail</p>
<p>•       1 snack helmet (my favorite!)</p>
<p>•       2 key chains</p>
<p>•       2 hats</p>
<p>•       2 t-shirts</p>
<p>•       5 Pepsi 24 pack coupons</p>
<p>•       5 Frito Lay coupons</p></blockquote>
<p>That&#8217;s a lot of stuff! I love that we&#8217;re giving away not just stuff to put the food in but coupons for the food, too! I promise that I&#8217;m not trying to sabotage your new year&#8217;s resolution of losing weight. But, surely the Super Bowl is cause enough to take a day break from your diet plans and indulge a bit. Right? Right. I grant my permission.</p>
<p>And so, I&#8217;m sure you want to know how to go about winning, right? There are a few ways! Each point counts as one entry. You may do one, two or all. You don&#8217;t have to do them all.</p>
<p>1. <strong>Leave a comment on this post</strong> letting me know who you normally cheer for and, if your team isn&#8217;t even the running for the Super Bowl, who you might be rooting for come Super Bowl Sunday. I will accept answers other than the Pittsburgh Steelers as the winner is completely random so don&#8217;t feel forced into placating me. (But don&#8217;t feel un-forced either!) This counts as one entry and may be done so once.</p>
<p>2. Use your <a title="Twitter" href="http://twitter.com" target="_blank">twitter</a> account to make a <strong>tweet about the contest</strong>. Simply copy and past the following: <strong><em>I want to celebrate the Super Bowl in style with the giveaway at Stop, Drop &amp; Blog! </em></strong><em><strong>http://tinyurl.com/SuperBowl43</strong></em><strong><em> #SuperBowlSDB</em></strong> . After you&#8217;ve done so, copy the URL of the singular tweet (retrieved by clicking on the time that you made the tweet) and paste it here in another comment. You may do this once a day.</p>
<p>3. <strong>Blog about this on your own public blog</strong>, complete with a link to this post, and come back to leave a comment with the URL of your post. You may do this once.</p>
<p>This contest is open until <strong>January 22nd at 11:30am EST</strong>. At that point, the comments on the post will be closed. I will pull one winner via random.org at that point and contact the winner by email. The winner needs to reply with their snail mail address within twelve hours or I will choose another winner. The winnings will be shipped directly from the supplier. I&#8217;ll be going out of town that weekend and the supplier needs your shipping info to ensure you get your winnings before the big day! (Which, if you&#8217;re not in the know, is February 1, 2009!)</p>
<p>And so, get to entering. And, while you&#8217;re at it, give a few GO STEELERS cheers and wave your Terrible Towel a few times. Okay?</p>
<p><a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/2009/01/13/planning-for-the-super-bowl/">Planning for the Super Bowl</a> is a post from <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com">Stop, Drop and Blog</a>. Want more of Stop, Drop and Blog? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/StopDropBlog">Like our page on Facebook</a>! If you have questions, <a href="http://stopdropandblog.com/contact">contact me</a> or hit me up via <a href="twitter.com/firemom">twitter</a>.</p>
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