Bloggers Wanted for the Christmas Treasure Train Hop and Hunt

 

I am so excited to be hosting my first giveaway blog hop. I’m joined by my friend Anitra from The MamaZone and we hope you’ll join us as we host the Christmas Treasure Train Giveaway Hop and Treasure Hunt.

 

This hop is a little different from most because it has the added element of a treasure hunt.

 

Readers will hop through each blog entering your great giveaways while hunting for 10 special codes that will allow them to enter to win a cash prize. The codes will be hidden randomly among all entered blogs guaranteeing traffic to every blog participating. Readers will enter the codes on a special entry page.

 

The amount of the prize will depend on the number of bloggers participating but will be no less than $100. The entry fee is just $2 plus whatever great prize you decide to give away on your blog.

 

Here are the details:

 

DATES:

• The Hop & Hunt will run from November 21st midnight until December 5th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.
• Sign up for the hop will close November 15th at noon Eastern Time.
• If possible, please have your prizes shipped within a week or two of the end date to ensure delivery by Christmas.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS:

• Pay the non-refundable $2 entry fee—this allows us to offer the cash prize.
• Sign up for the email updates in order to stay informed.
• Provide a prize to be given away on your blog during the event ($25 is a good minimum value).
• Your prize must be family-friendly. No Adult themed items.
• Start and end your giveaway at the specified event date/time.
• Display one of the event badges or banners on your blog throughout the hop.
• Prepare to see an increase in your traffic and follower counts!

POSTING REQUIREMENTS

• If you are chosen to be one of the random blogs that will be given a code, the code image must be included at the bottom of your giveaway post.
• You will need one post for your giveaway and a second post that includes the list of participating blogs and the entry form for the cash prize.
• Include a Disclosure Statement at the bottom of your giveaway post.
• Keep your entries simple. I recommend only one mandatory entry if at all.
• Follow Facebook contest rules—i.e., you cannot use posting on your wall or uploading to your page as an entry. (Click the link if you have questions about that).

EXTRAS:

• For an additional $3, be a featured blogger on the hosts’ sites, facebook page and twitter accounts for one day of the hop. This will give you additional exposure and go towards adding to the prize amount and covering administrative fees. This benefit is limited to the first $15 bloggers who pay.
• If possible, please use Rafflecopter for your giveaways. I have invitations available if you need them.

SIGN UP:

Signing up is a quick two step process

1. Send payment through PayPal using the form below.
2. Sign up for email updates

Choose Your Payment Amount

Regular Participation $2.00 Featured Participation $5.00

Leave a comment or email me with questions. Look for additional updates and explanations once you’ve signed up.

 

Christmas Treasure Train Grand Prize

All aboard… by now, you should be cruising along on The Christmas Treasure Train. If you’re ready to enter the treasure hunt codes for the grand prize, this is the place to do it.

Before entering, be sure you’ve followed these instructions:

• Visit each blog listed and enter to win.
• After you enter on a blog, look for the image of the Christmas Treasure Train.
• If the train contains a three digit code, make a note of it. 
• Once you collect all 10 codes, enter to win the Grand Prize of $100 paid via PayPal
• If you enter every giveaway you’ll earn 26 extra entries into the Grand Prize drawing

Enter below using the Rafflecopter form. The codes do not need to be entered in any particular order as long as each individual code remains intact. Extra entries will be verified, so follow all of the instructions on each individual blog. For additional details, visit my original post.

Parenting Payback

It's funny how things you did as a child come back to bite you when you're a parent.

I remember how my Mom finally gave up the battle for me to keep my room clean. When I was a teenager, she would keep the door to my room shut and whenever friends would come over she'd announce "you might need a "Tetna" shot before you go in there".  She was smart enough to know that eventually even I would get disgusted with how bad it was, and clean it up of my own free will.

I'm still not the greatest housekeeper, but I am a stickler for the "appearance of clean". You may see dust bunnies floating out from under the furniture, and don't even THINK about looking in the closets, but I do like things in their place. Papers, toys, clothes, shoes, etc. left in the dining room, on the steps, or in the family room are not allowed! If the "catch all" basket on the kitchen counter gets overloaded, it's time to start throwing things away.

This brings me to my youngest son, Josh's room - it's small to begin with, so even the smallest amount of stuff left out makes it look really cluttered. Right now, however, it looks like a tornado blew through it. I've told him to clean it up, which he does, only to mess it up again fifteen minutes later. I bought storage containers for all his little action figures and tiny Lego pieces, so that everything has a proper "home". But do you think he puts things back where they belong?

I've tried hard to ignore it for the past few days, just closing the door. You know, out of sight, out of mind...every time I catch a glimpse of his room, seeing the huge pile of toys and clothes where the floor once was, I think to myself "this is what my Mom must have felt like".

I didn't say anything about him cleaning it up yesterday, even though it was hard. Instead I made comments like, "it looks like a bomb went off in here", or "did we have a tornado and it only hit your room?"  He of course thought these comments were funny. I wasn't joking!!! 

Last night when it was time to say prayers and tuck the boys in their bed, I refused to go in Josh's room. I told him I didn't want to risk injury by stepping on all the junk on the floor. I made him pray in his brothers room and I kissed him goodnight in the hallway.  He wasn't too happy about it cause he's still young enough that he likes me to tuck him in at night.

Let's see how long this stand off will last...I'm not sure I have the same patience my Mom had with me, to wait on Josh to take the initiative...he might not crack as quickly as I used to.

Yes, sometimes parenting is life's payback to your childhood. But I still wouldn't  trade it for anything in the world - messy room and all.