Friday's Giveaway...20 Questions Trivia Game

If your children are like our grandchildren, they are already tired of their Christmas toys. The weather outside is "frightful" and you are always looking for something to keep them entertained inside of the house, right?

I am giving away a set of "adventure" stencils/markers and a paint with water book--no paint necessary, brush included! Shoot, I'll even throw in a few sheets of paper for the stencils! This should keep any child happy for at least a day!

To have a chance to win this prize, all you have to do is play MiMi's Blog Trivia. I will have a list of 20 questions at the bottom of this post.

Choose one question, find the answer if you don't know it, and leave the correct answer in the form of a comment.You can not answer a question that someone else has already answered--you must pick one that hasn't been answered! However, you can answer two questions in the form of 2 comments, for two chances to win! If I have more than 5 participants, I will end the game at midnight on 1/10/10. If I have less than 5 participants, I will run the game for another week. Random.org will choose the winning comment number. Thanks and have fun!

Trivia questions:

1. What was Cade dressed as in the picture on his birthday invitation? (12/2 post)

2. What did I buy Cade for his birthday present? (12/2 post)

3. Who was Madison's Christmas visitor? (11/26 post)

4. What has Madison loved to do for as long as I can remember? (12/16 post)

5. What do I call Madison because she loves to do what she does? (12/16 post)

6. Who gave Cade his first haircut?(12/17 post)

7. What kept happening to MiMi's reindeer in the picture? (12/28 post)

8. What happened to Mr. Penguin when I tried to brush him off?(12/28 post)

9. What happened to my daughter-in-law's car?(12/28 post)

10. What time did MiMi get up on the day after Christmas?(12/28 post)

11. What "took out" one of my spiral trees? (12/28 post)

12. What two things did Madison ask Santa for? (12/29 post)

13. What did Madison say when she saw her gifts? (12/29 post)

14. What did Santa tell Madison in the note that he left? (12/29 post)

15. What is the same about both pictures in this post? (1/4 post)

16. Why is Cade wearing Madison's t-shirt in the photo? (1/5 post)

17. What is on the front of the t-shirt that Cade is wearing in the photo? (1/5 post)

18. What is Cade doing in the photo taken Christmas 2009?( 1/7 post)

19. How old was Cade on Christmas Day 2008?(1/7 post)

20. What was Cade wearing on Christmas Day 2008?(1/7 post)

Click here to see the entire Giveaway Blog Hop List....

What A Difference A Year Makes...part 2

This picture was taken of Cade on Christmas Day of this year(2009). He's grown so much this past year. He's walking, talking, and has a mind of his own...such a busy boy!

This picture of Cade was taken last Christmas Day...He was just 13 days old! It was hard to find a Santa suit small enough to fit him. See how tiny he is in that bouncy seat? My, what a difference this year made for Cade!

Adventures in Babysitting...

Cade is probably thinking "What's up with this shirt, MiMi?"

This past Saturday night I had the pleasure of babysitting sweet baby Cade for over five hours while his parents went on an outing with some other couples.

When Cade arrived, his mama told me that he needed a nap. He looked sleepy, but I could tell that there was no way that he was going to sleep without playing a bit first! After about 30 minutes, I decided to see if he would go to sleep if I rocked him and sang to him. It worked like a charm...

I sat there in my big comfy rocking chair humming and rocking him for over an hour. Just enjoying the experience of it--knowing that these times are quickly disappearing!

Cade woke up and I was still holding him, when I felt something warm on my lap. I didn't realize it for a moment, but Cade had "wet" both of our pants! What an ending to such a perfect hour!

Unfortunately, I didn't have another outfit to change Cade into. My daughter went next-door to her house and brought one of Madison's old shirts over. Thank goodness for helpful daughters and neighbors!

The rest of the evening went off without incident. Cade and Madison played together and had a wonderful time...and so did MiMi.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

The picture of Madison on the top was made last Christmas, the bottom one was this year. She was still able to wear the same little shirt that she wore last year, but look how much her face has changed..I know that growing up is a part of life, but why does it have to happen so quickly? Where are you going, my little one...little one...turn around and you're 2, turn around and you're 4...turn around and you're a young girl going out of the door...

Not Me Monday...and the Winner Is...

Greetings...Nothing like announcing the weekend give away winner to get things started. With seven entries this weekend, I used Random.org to choose the winning comment number. It chose the number 1, which means that the winner is "Country Mom" from over at http://www.acountrymomma.blogspot.com/ If you haven't visited her blog, you should check it out. Congratulations to you Audrey. I appreciate you so much for being a faithful blogging friend. I hope the children enjoy the games.

Now it's time to get on with my Not Me Monday post for the blog carnival created by Mckmama. If you read my sister blog Reflections...by Kathy, you have already heard about this outing--if not, sit back and let me tell you about our family after-Christmas outing last week.

After post-poning the trip earlier due to illness in the family, the ten of us did not load up in two vehicles to go on a trip to visit Guido Gardens and view their spectacular Christmas light display. Five of the ten of us did not cram in a PT Cruiser with a baby car seat! There is nothing like family closeness...

After driving over 30 minutes, we did not arrive at Guido Gardens to discover that they had ended the Christmas light display earlier in the week--even though it was scheduled to be on.

We did not leave Guido Gardens with all of the men joyful because they did not have to walk through the display with us! The ladies were not amused!

We decided to go to a steakhouse that we knew of in this small town...only to discover that it no longer existed!

After enjoying a delicious buffet meal in the new restaurant which is now located in the old steakhouse building, we did not decide to take a detour to Wal-mart--another 30 minutes away...

My hubby agreed to sit in the car with grandson, Cade, while we shopped-- since Cade was asleep in the car seat. An hour later we all returned to the car and Cade's mother, Christina, realized that she'd missed out on the after Christmas sale in Wal-mart.

While discussing whether or not she was going back in Wal-mart, we did not discover that we had a flat front tire! While the men proceeded to change the tire, I did not send Christina back in Wal-mart to finish shopping...a good opportunity shouldn't go to waste!

The men did not push, pull, and bang, on that front tire trying to get it off--without any success! My hubby did not resort to going inside Wal-mart and buying a can of fix-a-flat and a battery-powered air compressor. Within 15 minutes the flat tire was pumped up and ready to go--and it's still pumped up!

On the trip home from Wal-mart, those of us in the PT Cruiser noticed that the mini van was lagging behind us. Upon arriving home, we did not discover that the reason for the lag was granddaughter Madison's having a piece of a goldfish cracker lodged up her nose! Some of those riding in the mini van were having to remove the cracker from her nose with tweezers while riding down the road!!! Thank goodness for nurse Jennifer and her handy tweezers!

Was this a memorable after Christmas outing or what? Have a great Monday!

Out With The Old, In With The New/Friday's Giveaway

Hoping that you had a Merry Christmas, and that you will have a very Happy New Year--from my family to yours!

I can't believe that it's 2010 already! I can remember when the year 2010 sounded like something from a futuristic movie--and now it's here, and thankfully I am living to experience it!

I am looking forward to another wonderful year watching my grandbabies grow and learn. There are no plans in the immediate future for any siblings for either one of them, so I will be grateful for the ones that God has blessed us with.

Granddaughter, Madison, is getting old enough to play games with me now. I love playing games! She's getting pretty good at the Candyland Castle Shapes game. We also play Lucky Ducks. I tried playing Who Stole the Cookie with her the other day, but she got mad and quit when she had to put her cookies back in the cookie jar! Her mother says she is a "poor sport" just like her daddy!

This weekend's giveaway is a reminder of my past...I saw this game set of pick up sticks and bob jacks and was reminded of my own childhood. These were two of my favorite games--many years ago. The jacks in this set are actually metal like they used to be!

How about you, what was your favorite childhood game? Tell me about it in the form of a comment. That's all that you have to do to be entered for a chance to win the prize. Contest ends at midnight on Sunday night 1/3/10. Winner will be drawn and notified on Monday morning. Have a great New Year's weekend.

Click here to see the entire Giveaway Blog Hop List....

2009...The Year With Two Grandbabies!

What a difference a year makes...and what a year it was! This photo of Madison was taken in January right after her parents caught her trying on hats in bed when she should've been sleeping!

Madison has grown and changed a lot this year--going from a toddler who spoke in broken sentences to a completely potty-trained pre-schooler who can carry on an interesting conversation with you!

The thing that Madison does best is singing. She can pick up a tune with ease. If she forgets the words, she's great at improvising! I still call her the "toddler of 1000 tunes".

In January of 2009, Caden was still practically a new-born. This picture was taken the first time that he ever smiled and cooed at me.

He's gone from that cuddly baby to a sweet little fellow who has learned how to walk, but not without falling yet.

Cade's vocabulary is growing daily. He can say several words. The funniest thing that he says is "Brrrr" (explaining that it's cold outside). He can also tell you what sound the monkey makes--and he calls his "monkey lovie" his "key".

His "monkey lovie" is the top part of a monkey sewn into a small blanket. Cade sleeps with it and loves it very much.

2009 has been a very special year for me. Spending time with these two adorable grandchildren and watching them grow. I can only hope that 2010 will bring more of the same...Happy New Year everyone!