Happy Halloween! Black Friday is on its way!

We have had a wonderfully busy and gloomy day! It has been raining off and on and quite chilly! Due to the weather we almost didn't go trick or treating but instead altered our plans (like much of the town did) and went to the mall to trick or treat! There were so many families there but we had fun and Shane got his bucket filled with goodies! When we got home we only got a few trick or treaters, probably about 8 or so. We have some leftover goody bags, I will let Shane go through them and he can pick what he wants (besides the candy of course) out of them.

Shane posing with his bucket!

Candy!

On our way out

We made a brief stop at the grocery store so that I could get all the ingredients to make Crockpot Mulled Cider! When I get around to making that I will definitely post some pictures!


I have found a couple great giveaways as well as an awesome coupon for Yankee Candles. I am very into these candles and I have quite a few of them but I only get them when I can find good deals on them, and this is a good deal! The Yankee Candle deal is Buy 2 Get 2 Free! Yes, TWO FREE Yankee Candles! That is over a $50 savings! This is only valid on Large Jars and Tumblers and ends on November 25th! These would make an excellent gift for someone! Be sure to click the picture below for the coupon! They have many great fall scents to choose from this time of year.

I recently discovered InPink through a giveaway I had entered and I actually won! I have perused their site many times and have found many beautiful pieces that have made their way onto my wish list! I have since ordered my prize using the promotion code I was provided and I cannot wait for them to get here in the mail. This 40% off is an excellent deal and you should make the best of it while it is available! This special will end come Monday November 5th! All you need to do is go to their website, select what you want to order, register or enter your information and be sure to enter the promo code: FRIENDS40 where prompted to enter a code, it's that simple!

Today I also entered in the Max & Ruby Tote Backpack giveaway at MomMomOnTheGo, with the prize being provided by KimmyShop! But wait it gets better, there will be TWELVE winners in this giveaway, each receiving one of these cute little bags! You have an excellent chance of winning this bag for your favorite little one! I checked out KimmyShop's other items as well and they have some great products at very reasonable prices, be sure to head over there! This giveaway will end on November 22nd.

According to Jenny is doing a fabulous giveaway as well! With an awesome Paper Coterie Memory Box as the prize! These are very high quality photo boxes to store your keepsakes in. One winner will receive a 10x10 Paper Coterie Memory box! This is a $36 value! This giveaway runs until November 14th. These nifty little boxes are great if you are anything like me, I have piles of stuff around which I intend on scrap booking when I get the chance to...some of it has been in piles for over 3 years! You can also head over to their page if you don't win and buy one for yourself, first time orders get a free journal as well, just be sure to use promo code WELCOMEJOURNAL at the checkout screen.

Now that Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is right around the corner and for most of us it is time to start thinking about Christmas time and presents. I usually don't go out on Black Friday but have thought about it in the past due to the great deals that can be found. I already have amassed several presents for my boys (yes all of them!!) but I am always looking for a great deal! I will be on the lookout and if I find anything I will be sure to let you know!

Candles and baskets!

 Empty Nester is having an awesome Jewelry Candle Giveaway! I love these candles, they contain a piece of Jewelry inside worth $10 to $7500! You could get a ring, pendant, necklace or a bracelet. Plus, these are soy candles and burn much cleaner than traditional paraffin wax candles! To know the full value of your jewelry you will probably need to get it appraised at your local jeweler.There will be one winner who will receive the new Christmas Tree scented candle! This giveaway ends in 3 days!

Elite Mama's Blog is also doing a Jewelry Candle giveaway! There will be two winners one will receive a mystery candle with a piece of jewelry inside and the other will receive a mystery jewel! Winners will be chosen in 1 week!



Mom to Grandma is having a huge giveaway with 3 winners! The first prize is a Madison Op Art Multi Sateen Maggie,MSRP of $298! Next is an XBOX 360 Holiday bundle with Kinect and two games, MSRP-$299! Last up is a brand new 32 GB Kindle Fire HD, MSRP of $249. Im not sure about any of you but I would love the new Kindle Fire HD!! It has so much space for apps and books! Get those entries in this giveaway ends on November 24th!

Cheap is the New Classy is doing a Thanksgiving gift basket giveaway! There is also a second gift basket giveaway link in the Rafflecopter form at the very bottom, so there are TWO great gift baskets up for grabs! Both of these giveaways end on November 13th so get your entries in! I was unable to get another image to load so click HERE to enter this giveaway!

I myself am still busy trying to enter all the Hoppin' Halloween Giveaway blog entries! Be sure to check all those out for some awesome prizes there are over 80 blogs to check out and this giveaway ends tomorrow! Work quickly to enter if you haven't already!

Search With Vonnie is having a For the Love of Fashion giveaway worth $200! FOUR winners will each receive a gift card to one of these stores: Nordstroms, Old Navy, H&M and Forever 21! You have 4 chances to win something on this rafflecopter form! Goodluck! Enter HERE.

For a yummy prize head over to Close to Home, she has done a review of Kukees Cookies! One winner will receive a 3 pound box of cookies of the winners choice of flavor(s)! These look delicious and there is a variety to choose from! At $49 a box, these cookies are made to order from scratch with no artificial ingredients. Better yet, if you are not a winner they are still having a holiday promotion of 40% off if you sign up over on their Facebook page! To enter this giveaway enter HERE. This giveaway ends on November 18th.

I am hoping the bulk of Hurricane Sandy has passed us, it has been strangely calm today and sunny out... We are still going to try and take the kids to the Trunk or Treat event later if it has not been canceled.

Hurricane Sandy

As some of you may (or may not know) I live in upstate New York, at this current time we have been preparing for the onslaught of hurricane Sandy. There is massive flooding on the coastline in many of the Eastern coastal states. We are nearer to Lake Ontario and hope that the lake does not have any effects on us.
We are currently experiencing strong winds and some minor rain, but expect more as the wind gusts are expected to get up to 65 MPH. I am strongly worried about power outage and flying debris, but really there is not much to do for either of those things except try to be prepared. We have a couple lanterns and flashlights with plenty of batteries, I picked more up today as well as a lot of bottled water and several gallons (just in case).
I am most concerned about the heat of the house, which it has been steadily getting colder and colder here, I worry that my boys will not be warm enough if the power goes out, but I think our furnace runs off of gas (I hope) so that may not be an issue.
So, to all of you on the east coast, I hope that you stay safe and dry! I will try my best to stay safe and dry as well!

For now, I am going to go do some homework and try to catch up on my textbook reading!

Be safe!

Busy momma's busy week!

His masterpiece!

Spent the last week with my mother, she was visiting from Washington, I am always grateful when she visits, I know she enjoys (mostly) spending time with the boys and I am glad for it. We did a few fun things this trip, she usually stays for 2 weeks but this was a spur of the moment trip in which she was only going to be visiting for 1 week.
We had Dinosaur BBQ down in Syracuse and spent the rest of that day down at the mall there, which they recently renamed "Destiny, USA" for some strange reason....

Petting Jet the horse!

We drove out to visit with the Amish and pick some pumpkins, they usually have mountains of them at very good prices, but because it was such a dry summer apparently a lot of their crops failed, which is not good. My mom and Shane did some baking and also some fun Halloween crafts. We also did an early Thanksgiving dinner (which we seem to do every fall) since she won't be here for next month's festivities! We made a 15lb turkey, mashed potatoes, asparagus, sweet potato casserole, gravy of course and pumpkin pie!

Shane rolling in the grass at the Hay ride

We all went to an FRG event hosted by my husband's work which involved eating (of course!), a donut on a string eating contest for the kids, a bean-bag toss contest for the kids and a costume contest!
Had a girls night out with my mom to go play bingo--not much luck there we didn't win a thing!

Shane's Creepy keeper!

Zealand being a silly boy!

We also got my mom some new shoes which seems to be a trend, she always gets a new pair at the PX when she is here! While we were there we did a fun little scavenger hunt for clues to enter for prizes! Didn't even know that was going on! All in all it has been a busy fun week!


 Now it is time to get back into the swing of things, did my workout today which kicked my butt since I haven't done it in a week. Spent time with the boys out at Lowe's doing the build and grow clinic to build our Creepy Keeper! Had fun!
Got home and my full size Smashbox Photo Finish primer that I won was in the mail as well as my Target Beauty bag and my Pure & Clear face wipes! I love to get freebies by mail!

Just a few goodies!

Simply Stacie has done an awesome review on Rock-A-Thigh baby thigh socks! These are not leg warmers, but not regular socks, they are all in one! Simply Stacie is also doing a giveaway, one reader will win a pair of their own! Better yet, Rock-A-Thigh is offering a coupon code as well, a 15% off coupon code for the month of October enter “ss15” on the Rock-a-Thigh Baby website during checkout!

In celebration of Halloween, MamaNYC is hosting a Hoppin' Halloween Giveaway hop! From October 25 through October 31st enter to win some awesome prizes! There are over 80 blogs participating in this blog hop so you better start getting your entries in! I will be busy getting mine in I'm sure!

This Flourishing Life is doing a giveaway on Chebe Gluten Free bread mix products! This looks so yummy! The winner will receive 6 Gluten free mixes to try for themselves! The prize pack includes 2 All Purpose, 2 Pizza, 1 Garlic Onion, 1 Focaccia, and 1 Cinnamon Roll! Awesome! I have been getting into the gluten free thing lately and it just seems healthier, and better for you. I would love to try this brand of bread mix!

Mon Cheri is having a fast easy giveaway of a Green Giant prize pack! These things are awesome I regularly buy these to get my husband and kids to eat their veggies, they taste amazing and are relatively good for you too! This prize pack includes: A VIP coupon for one free package of Green Giant Seasoned Steamers, an apron, Green Giant Serving Spoon and a Mixing Bowl! To enter this giveaway click HERE.

Life With 2 Boys has done a Thermal-Aid Bear review and is now doing a giveaway! Two winners are each going to win a Thermal-Aid bear! These are soft cuddly bears that you can heat in the microwave to sooth little achy or sick bodies or cool them off in the freezer for a chilly cuddle buddy in the summer! How cool is that? 

There are so many great giveaways going on right now right before the holiday season. Some great prizes for the kids, moms and the whole family! I try to post a variety of them whenever I can to bring you the latest of what is going on in the blogging-giveaway community! Of course I try to post every day but sometimes I do not get around to posting so pardon my days off here and there! Thanks for reading!

Twitter Party!

The twitter party for Travels with Baby is going on starting right now! Make sure you had RSVP'd to be eligible to win prizes! I am heading over there now! See you there! #babytravels

In the Kitchen!

Awesome Jewelry Candle giveaway for two winners over at Joys Of Life, one winner will receive a mystery candle and one will receive a mystery jewel from Jewelry Candles! There are a lot of Facebook and Twitter likes for this one so be sure to start getting your entries in soon! Giveaway ends in 2 weeks!

This Flourishing Life has a giveaway that will help you get your little ones into the kitchen and help you cook! One person will win a Monster Fun Pop Ups 4 Piece Set, a Veggie Dude Brush, and a MooMoo Little Whisk, how awesome!






Simply Stacie has done a review on a VeraTemp thermometer and is now doing a giveaway! This thermometer is so awesome it is no touch and is as accurate as any ear or rectal thermometer! This giveaway is running for 2 more weeks, get in those entries!

TruKid is offering a 3 month supply of their products as a giveaway prize package just for voting for them in the Red Tricycle 2012 Totally Awesome Awards! Click on the photo to go to the voting page, then go to their Facebook page and leave a comment saying "I voted for TruKid!" Voting goes until November 30th! Be sure to check out their website for the full line of products!

The Giveaway Bandit is having a couple great giveaways, just click the image to get to the entry page! First is a Step2 WalkIn Kitchen & Grill for your little chef! Giveaway ends November 5th,  this giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents, ages 18+. One lucky winner will receive this great little kitchen and grill! I know my kids would love to have one of these around! Next up is the Crispery Marshmallow Crispycakes giveaway! The winner will receive a crispycakes Medium Sampler Gift Box from The Crispery! This looks so yummy! I would eat this myself! This giveaway ends October 31st.

Dog Tipper is having a Zombiez Dog Toy giveaway! One furry winner will get four Zombiez Toys!! Your pet will be in heaven! These toys are super awesome and spooky just in time for the Halloween season! Giveaway ends in 7 days so get your entries in.

Busy baking momma!

I only have a couple things to post today, I have been busy with classwork as well as exams and my mom is here visiting! We went out to visit the Amish the other day and pick out pumpkins but apparently because of the extremely dry summer a lot of them did not have good crops this year. We did manage to get a few pumpkins and have yet to decorate/carve them. But we will get to that! My little Zealand who just turned 1 this month is very good at walking already! He is getting into all sorts of mischief! Baked some Bran muffins and they are super delicious! I will post the recipe when I get a chance!


So Easy Being Green is offering a giveaway for Over the Moon Diapers, a newer cloth diapering store which opened in May of 2012! The prize package is worth a whopping $160 and has some very useful cloth diapering items if you are just starting out including a diaper sprayer! This giveaway will end in 2 weeks so get your entries in and check out Over the Moon Diapers!

There is an awesome Lilla Rose giveaway over at Powered by Mom and its a Facebook party! The party and giveaway is sponsored by Sarah Ives who is an independent consultant for Lilla Rose. I have recently seen these hair accessories and they are unique and cute and very functional! I have been wanting one for awhile now and here is my chance to win one! The Facebook party is October 26th at 7pm EST. You need to RSVP and Register with the link in the rafflecopter form. If you do register and attend please say I referred you!

Winner

Busy day yesterday! Spent time with my boys, got to take Shane outside because it was warm enough and it was even sunny out! He played with Brodie and in his sand box and in the huge hole that Brodie dug out in the yard (even though I keep filling it in!!). This morning we got up bright and early to pick up my mom from the airport, then (as tradition dictates) we went for breakfast at Cracker Barrel!

My little monster playing in the fall leaves!

I also received an email this morning from Suburban Style Challenge, and looks like I won their 2012 Fall Fashionista Grand prize! A beautiful hand-knit silk and cashmere scarf embedded with authentic Swarovski crystals, from J-Na Couture! I also won an On-In Beauty System from Jenny at dapperhouse! I am super excited to try this!! I just want to thank all those bloggers who take the time to put on giveaways and give other people the opportunity to try new products that they otherwise might not know about, so thank you!

There is an awesome giveaway for your little preschooler, this is going on over at Life With Two Boys! One winner will receive a win a CAT Preschool Take-a-Part Machine from Toy State! This is an awesome little machine and I know my son would love to have one. Its like a truck and lego's all in one because it comes apart and you can put it back together! I am sure this will provide one lucky reader's child with hours of fun!


I don't know about many of you guys, but I have recently got into warmers and tarts, I prefer Soy over the paraffin wax types--plus they burn cleaner and the fragrance is awesome! Over at Celebrate Women Today they are doing a giveaway of a Countrytrail Soy Candle to 10 winners!!

 Each winner will receive a Prize Pack that Includes:

1 large 16 oz candle 

1 soy melt of winners choice

1 Wick Dipper

This is an awesome prize pack for anyone!

There is a Halloween Cash Bash going on over at Chant3llo's Blog, this event is hosted by Kara's Deals and Steals! The winner will receive $220 in paypal cash! Great timing since the holiday season is right around the corner! Giveaway starts on October 17th and ends on October 31st! Be sure to check it out and get your entries in!

A Year of Jubilee Reviews is also having a giveaway, a Kor Water Hydration Vessel! This is a stylish and unique, BPA free water bottle! They have so many different options and all very cute! Be sure to check out their website too at Kor.

O-Dee-O Designs Wetbag!

So recently I won a giveaway that O-Dee-O Designs was doing the other night. I won this cute little wet bag that is big enough for wipes or any smaller items that might need a wet bag! It has an excellent sized handle with a snap so that you can hang it, snap it to a stroller or purse and not have to worry about carrying it around.
It has a convenient zipper all the way across the top for easy access, I am personally not too fond of drawstring wetbags, they don't hold in odor as well, so this is a great design!
This item is hand made with love! It has a cute cupcake pattern and is lined with PUL to hold in wetness and odor!
 O-Dee-O designs also makes Fleece Soakers, OS Pocket Diapers, Fleece Longies, Cloth wipes and I think Taggie blankets, and much more to come I am sure. The quality of this item is superb even though it was only a tester, I definitely will be looking around O-Dee-O's page for more useful items to buy! I am not sure on prices right now but you can always contact her over there, she does amazing work and also does custom orders!










Be sure to go to O-Dee-O Designs to check them out!