Well, my blog here has now been open and rollin’ for almost 2 months and I have had lots of fun and gotten to know so many more of you. In the process, I have been learning and getting moral support and I just want to repay it a little. One of the people who should receive this award, already has and in fact is who gave it to me – Kailani over at An Island Life so while I will not be gifting this award to her, …

Meet Emily and KC. They are an adorable young couple who are willing and ready to adopt. While I do not know them personally, I felt an instant connection the minute I saw their webpage. Brett and I have been in their shoes and know the powerless feeling you have while you wait for the right Birthmom to find you. If you know of anyone who is looking for a loving and happy home for their child, please contact Emily and KC via their webpage. …

This one is for all of my Walt Disney World loving pals out there…yes Erin and Carol Ann, I am talking about YOU!
Launched in 2008, the Walt Disney World Moms Panel is an online forum that provides first-hand tips and insights for vacationing at the resort from a panel of park-savvy parents. This year, Walt Disney World is looking for a diverse group of moms, dads and grandparents with vast knowledge of the parks and a desire to share their experience with others. And, …

I have just learned of a tragedy that has occurred to a fellow blog queen and her hubby,
Stephanie and Christian. You may know them through the Nie Nie Dialogues. If you are unaware as I was, Stephanie (Nie) and Christian were in a private airplane crash on Saturday evening. They are both being in treated for serious injuries locally. The doctors have said that they are in for months of recovery. Simply reading this disturbed me. I wanted to help. As I read on, …

Remember how I told you I really had very little time to enter the Bloggy Giveaways this go ’round? Well, I was lucky enough to actually win something very fun and something my girls think makes me very cool – this pair of cutting and creating books by Kumon. And who do I have to thank for making me look so good?
Why, Ms. Stacey of All Because Two People Fell in Love! If you have not visited her yet, do yourself a favor and stop by her …

Casey over at EntreBlast is rounding out the summer with an awesome Entrecredit Summer Credit Splash!
The contest prizes are just pure ECs. They have garnered a total of 36,000 ECs and they are up for grabs spread over just a few lucky winners. And I want some of those credits!! What can I do with said credits? Well, advertise this awesome blog and let more readers know how much fun we have here! I think it is a very worthy cause, don’t you?;)

The Prizes

There are 6 EC prizes …

Casey over at EntreBlast is rounding out the summer with an awesome Entrecredit Summer Credit Splash!
The contest prizes are just pure ECs. They have garnered a total of 36,000 ECs and they are up for grabs spread over just a few lucky winners. And I want some of those credits!! What can I do with said credits? Well, advertise this awesome blog and let more readers know how much fun we have here! I think it is a very worthy cause, don’t you?;)

The Prizes

There are …

Hohoho…so have you been naughty or nice? Will you be getting coal in your stockings? Are you saving Santa the trip?
Since Christmas will be here before we know it, I decided to participate in the Techno Christmas 2008 fun. The goal of this tag is to increase our Technorati authority, and of course our Page Rank. Isn’t it a cool gift for you this Christmas? This tag will end on December 25, 2008, so join now…
*Start Copy Here*
You do not have to be tagged to play along. This game …

Check me out!
I guess I am now one of the cool kids…hehehe. Yes, that’s right, I have been accepted by the somewhat exclusive Alltop. A lot of the credit goes to you, my awesome and devoted readers so THANK YOU!!
For those of you unfamiliar with Alltop, they describe themselves as,
“We help you explore your passions by collecting stories about “all the topics” on the web. We’ve grouped these collections — “aggregations” — into individual Alltop sites based on topics such as environment, photography, science, Muslim, …

Yes, I am dating myself by asking this next question but does anyone other than me remember The Banana Splits, of “The Banana Splits Adventure Hour” fame?
Come on – Fleegle (a dog), Drooper (a lion), Bingo (a gorilla) and Snorky (an elephant)?
And they hang out in their Banana Pad while tinkering with their music and telling really dumb jokes?
Anyone? Anyone? Beuller?
Well guess what? They are back! Yep, beginning September 2nd on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang, the whole gang will be around to entertain an entirely …

Okay gang…this is it, the LAST DAY so hurry and sign up!
Remember, the giveaway closes at 11:59pm!!

Be sure to check out my other blog, 3 P’s in a Pod!Your+Little+Sweet+Pea

Come on y’all – join in on all the fun!!
Mommies United is ready to celebrate our kiddos returning to school. Sounds like a party right up my alley! And no party is complete without prizes and these girls have plans for prizes galore!
So mark your calendar and make those plans to attend!!

Make sure you check out my great new Review and Giveaway Blog, 3 P’s Mama Says… where somethin’ is ALWAYS happening!
Mommies+United

A few weeks ago, the blogosphere was rockin’ with reports of people getting to go to San Francisco, CA to attend Blogher. The Blogher conference was a gathering of female bloggers from all across the US for great speakers, networking and workshops. I caught on to the importance of attending Blogher right about the time it was too late to go. Figures:). Maybe next year!
Of course, those of us that were left at home were feeling a little left out. Well, I am feelin’ some of the …

Motherhood Uncensored is one clever girl! And while I don’t agree with everything she writes, I do love her ‘lay it all out there‘ style. Well, she has come up with a great idea of how to help out the bloggers suffering from money problems compliments of the rising costs of gas & food and if you have yet to hear about it, well you need to.
Her concept:
It’s simple. When you read blogs during the month of August, make the “pledge” to click through from your …

While I may be short on time for dropping, I find I am still loving Entrecard! I really do get a nice amount of traffic from EC plus now with SezWho onboard, it is helping me to improve my commenting style and substance. I really think you should take a look at Entrecard and if it all sounds like Greek, not to worry! Graham (the brainiac behind it all) has it all laid out for you step by step.
We have now finished another month and I …

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
****This contest is now CLOSED****
What We’re giving away:One winner will receive this fabulous box, chalk full of brand name school supplies, provided by EZ School Supplies and Us!

How you can win:
Go to my new blog, 3 P’s Mama Says…, look around and decide what you like the best on there then comeback here and leave that information in your comment below. Easy!
How to earn extra entries:

Subscribe/be subscribed by email to my updates for my new blog, 3 P’s Mama Says…
Subscribe/be subscribed by email to my updates (make sure to …

Really and truly, it has finally come. That’s right. the 2nd Quarter edition of the Bloggy Giveaways! If you are not familiar with it, just take a minute to read the rules outlined HERE. Bottom line = 1000′s of dollars worth of gifts and prizes are being given away by friendly bloggers and the info is gather all in one centralized location, The Bloggy Giveaways.
I am wishing each and every one of you tons of luck! Be sure to stop by my giveaways on 3 …

Hey gang,those sweet-teas over at MomDot just cannot keep it under wraps any longer!
– “Hey BlogoSphere! MomDot is so excited about our launch! We had been working hard to get going for August 1st, but with all the amazing support of mom boutiques and mom bloggers, we are ready to get the Party Started! We want you to come every day starting on July 28th with the party ending on August 31st, including prizes daily and feature bloggers, just in time to …

Hey gang,those sweet-teas over at MomDot just cannot keep it under wraps any longer!
– “Hey BlogoSphere! MomDot is so excited about our launch! We had been working hard to get going for August 1st, but with all the amazing support of mom boutiques and mom bloggers, we are ready to get the Party Started! We want you to come every day starting on July 28th with the party ending on August 31st, including prizes daily and feature bloggers, just in time to …

Kait Emerson Designs is giving away a darling Chocolate Lollipop Dress to one lucky winner. The giveaway is being hosted by Notes From My Nest. To enter, visit http://notesfrommynest.blogspot.com/2008/07/week-of-july-19th.html, for details. Deadline to enter is noon (EST), 7.30.08. Open to US residents only.
And if you think this dress is cute, wait until you see the Euro Dress in Sky Blue Lotus, the Euro Tunic in Pink Lotus, and the China Dolls Luxury Blanket! To die for!!

Make sure you check out my great new Review and Giveaway …

I am so excited… I have now been accepted as a member of Parent Reviewers! I am really thrilled with some of the opportunities that I am being blessed with lately and this seems to be another one.
This site allows your blog to be listed with other like-minded reviewers, has information and updates that allow you to be on top of anything new and exciting in the Review industry and gives you an opportunity to review some wonderful products. It is also a way for other parent reviewers to …

**This is a copy of a post I recently did on my other blog, 3 P’s in a Pod**

The answers of course are a resounding YES!! That’s why you need to join me and lots of other moms on one of the Blogosphere’s newest and most friendly groups, Beautiful! Fabulous!
Yesterday, I had something so fun happen there – I ran across my old roommate who introduced the Hubby and I would not have found her if I had not joined! Who knows who you could find or who you could …

more cat pictures

lol+cats

In getting caught up, I have come across a bunch of fun things so thought I would share them with you, my wonderful readers! Good luck!
Krista of Boutique Flair Hip Hostess Giveaway: Win a Beautiful apron or a fabulous tea towel. Contest ends 7/21.
Classy Mommy Giveaway: Lily Cait Tutu! Win an adorable Tutu made by one of my Beautiful!Fabulous! friends. Contest ends July 13th.
Naomi’s superdumb supervillain Flor rug Giveaway: Win the gorgeous Mandarina six-tile area rug, part of the Alexander Girard La Fonda del Sol™ collection …

Here is a bit of my follow-up post on http://aboutadoption.org. It is not as exciting as the first but I needed to cover a couple a salient points. Hope you will read and enjoy!
Knowledge is Power
I really want to thank everyone for their comments following my last post. We certainly have a diverse group of readers! Diversity is such a big part of adoption and it can evoke a range of emotions. As with many things, adoption has some terms that are totally unique …

I saw this on The Girl Indie Blog and had to laugh. This actually touches on one of my pet peeves. See, I have many friends who Homeschool their kiddos and while it is not something we do, I can see a lot of merit to it. My pet peeve though is the folks who do it but do their kids a huge injustice by not socializing them, not keeping up with their studies and basically raising illiterate children. (I’ll now step away from that soapbox:).
This …

I am feelin’ the love here folks!!!
Those wondermous chicas over on Whats that Smell? seem to think I am a pretty nice individual. Ain’t it cool?! They have given me the delightful “Arte y Pico Blog” Award!
And while I concur with Ms. Kim that is a rather unattractive item, ahem… I shall display it with great pride!
What is the “Arte y Pico Blog” Award, you ask? Well, the blog where the award originated is in Spanish and not French so I cannot exactly say but the rules …

Along with all of the rest of the fun changes taking place here at ye olde blog, I have recently learned about a terrific resource for all Parents and Grandparents who review products called Parent Reviewers.
This site allows your blog to be listed with other like-minded reviewers, has information and updates that allow you to be on top of anything new and exciting in the Review industry. It is also a way for other parent reviewers to connect and support one another so if this is your field …

Hey, check me out! I am posting the Monday Meme on Monday. Go me, Go me….:) And a happy Monday morning it is too. Hope you all had a great weekend. No sunburns, right? And if you had something you needed to do in June, well, THERE IS STILL TIME…if you really hurry.:)
So anywho, on to the Meme. The idea for this week’s version was ‘borrowed’ from KCee at Barefooted Me. Remember, I’d really love to know if you play along so …

As I was doing some of my morning bloggy rounds last week, while peace and tranquility still reigned here at my home, I dropped in on the ever delightful Mom With Brownies.Reading through her blog I saw she is now doing this fun Saturday carnival, Entrecard Saturday to share her favorite Entrecarder/Entrecard find of the week – a GREAT idea!! Again, I actually discovered this blog a few weeks ago but love it so much, I just have to share it as my EC Blog of the Week.
If …

As I was doing some of my morning bloggy rounds while peace and tranquility still reign here at my home, I dropped in on the ever delightful Mom With Brownies. Reading through her blog I see she is now doing this fun Saturday carnival, Entrecard Saturday to share her favorite Entrecarder/Entrecard find of the week – a GREAT idea!! The hard part? Choosing which one.:D lol But choose I did.

Susie at Nothing Clever to Say is my first Entrecard Blogger of the week. I …

I told a friend I would help them out with a project you may be interested in, most especially if you are a WordPress fan.
Pixel Shoppe is a fascinating blog chock full of tips, links, and ideas. He writes interesting posts on a vast array of subjects. His blog is quite new and he is trying to give it a bit of a jump start by increasing the number of people subscribed to his RSS feed.
If you have a blog and an RSS feed and would like to …

I know I love a good party so you must too, right? Here is some of the fun stuff I know about right now. To get to the party info, just click on each blog’s button shown here on this post. Have fun and good luck!

Pauline’s sweet baby is turning one and she wants to celebrate in style! There are so many gifts that I don’t even want to list them all but added up, the total value is over $450. Add to that, she …

Today let’s try the Meme for Monday ON MONDAY, shall we? hehehe
I ‘borrowed’ this from KC at Mindless Chatter of a Busy Mom. I’d love to know if there are any of you playing along with me so leave me a post and let me know if you do, ‘k? On this one you highlight the ones you’ve done.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

02. Swam with wild dolphins

03. Climbed a mountain

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive

05. Been inside the Great Pyramid

06. Held …

…News at 11. (grin)
Okay seriously now, Kailani has indeed announced the winners and I am so pleased to see that several of my nominees are among the winners!! So run on over to see who they are and cheer for them, one and all!
BloggyHoss+Momblogs

I promised you I would bring you up to date on what has been going on around her that has me so occupado and so I shall begin. Let’s see, the girls finished camp last week with their last day being Friday. Before we went up to visit them at camp and see what they had done all week, I went with Mom to an appointment with Dr. Brandon B. Wilson. Dr. Wilson owns North Texas Spinal Health & Wellness and has a terrific practice in Frisco. Well, one thing …

Okay, I KNOW today is Thursday, not Monday but I am really trying to participate in this new carnival so I have chanced* the perilous journey through blistering cold and scorching desert, traveling for many days and nights, risking life and limb to bring you today’s meme, borrowed from Production, Not Reproduction.
Favorite person (outside family): Oooh, toughie…I guess Alison in England, Erin, Jamisa, and Lauralyn. They ‘get’ me.
Favorite food: My Mom’s Macaroni & Cheese, Steak, Mexican food, and French food, especially bread and pastries. …

Craziness abounds around here since school got out! Last week was wild enough with camp and this week has ramped it up about 10 times more, thus my unanticipated absence these past few days. So sorry about that! All is well though and will simmer down in a day or two. I will fill you in on all of the details but I’ll give ya a hint…I am actually doing something to help myself feel better overall finally…guess it is about time.:)
I’ll be back asap…stay tuned! …

(drum roll)…………………..
MacMui Mom
is the winner of my 500th Post Giveaway!
Thanks to everyone who played and dropped off good wishes to me. I can hardly believe I have gotten to this point with my blog either.:)
Gotta run and get ready for church but I’ll be back with a some fun follow-ups from this. You won’t believe some of the fun stuff I learned during this contest and what I have planned next!!
Catch ya later and YAY for Lisa!!!
Contest+Mom

As with all good things, the time for entries to my 500th Post Giveaway has ended. I have had such fun reading everyone’s kind posts and great Mom Meme’s!! If it were not for Random.org, I would have a truly difficult time selecting a winner! So let me get my kiddos squared away for the morning and then I will be back to tend to this important business – the business of finding our WINNER! Stay tuned!
Contest+Mom

Are you ready for the 2008 Island Life Bloggy Hoss Elections??
What? You have no idea what I am talking about? Sure you do….remember all of the popularity contests from high school? Well, the ever-cool Kailani is hosting her second annual Bloggy Hoss Elections again, as we speak. The nominations run now through Friday the 6th then the 7th through the 10th the top 3 nominees in each category can be voted on…..what? Oh, you want to know what the categories are? Sure!

Most Athletic
Class Clown
Brainiest
Most …

As Latter-day Saint women, we are practically obsessed with anxiously engaging ourselves in good causes. Maybe it’s subliminal.
Glancing through the hymnal last Sunday I noted that as sisters in Zion, we who are called to serve are all enlisted to go marching, marching forward because the world has need of willing men to all press on scattering sunshine.
We wonder if we have done any good in the world today because we have been given much and want to do what is right, keep the commandments, press forward with the Saints, …

Here at 3P’s you know we are ALL about G*I*R*L P*O*W*E*R and now I have found some for me!!! Yep, that’s right Mama’s got her own Girl Power…by participating on a fab new blog called The Secret is in the Sauce or SITS for short.
How does it work? Well, here is a quote from their blog:
“Monday through Friday, we will be featuring a new Blogger every day. We will tell you a bit about why the blogger ROCKS and provide links to their “Best” posts. Once …

Meme Monday is something new I want to try as I find I am really enjoying Meme’s these days. They make me think about how I really feel and think plus they are a fun way for people to get to know each other. If you want to play along, we would love to have you!! Just copy these questions onto your blog and answer them as you see fit then head over to Melanie’s at Livin With Me and sign the Mr. Linky so we can …

P2 LOVED this and had me playing it over and over and over. In her honor I have shared it with you!

Cats

With the current state of affairs where gas prices are concerned, I have letting cost-saving ideas roll over me like waves, trying to find the best ones to ride out. I have scoured several of my favorite money-saving sites for tips or glimmers of some area I had not thought of.
One thing we have done is install solar screens on our windows, hopefully decreasing our cooling and heating bills. I’ll let you know how it helps.:)
I have also joined a coupon swap group in an effort to …

HowManyOfMe.com

There are0people with my namein the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

This is totally cool!

There are 13,688 people in the U.S. with the first name Alyson.
Statistically the 1580th most popular first name.
More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Alyson are female
There are 3,133 people in the U.S. with my last name.
Statistically the 10395th most popular last name.
While both my first and last names were found in this database, neither was common enough to make it likely that someone in the U.S. has that name therefore …

Isn’t this picture just too much? It was from Chinese New Year. One of the nice Dad’s took pictures for everyone and I am so stunned at how well ours turned out!
P1 is finishing up her last week of school as a Kindergartener…so hard to believe! P3 has been a bit of a pistol lately but so far today she has been great and I am so grateful! P2 is back to her precious self again since her ear infections cleared up. She had a …

I mentioned recently how I have enjoyed watching Dancing With the Stars. If you have watched it, then you know who cute Julianne Hough is. Here is here debut video off her debut self titled album – hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Julieanne Hough+DWTS

Well, 4 months, 42 episodes, 24 semifinalists, 3 crazy judges, loads and loads o lyrics – some good and some not so good, and something around 97.5MILLION votes and we have our newest American Idol – David Cook!

I am so thrilled for David and truly, I cannot believe that the person whom I actually thought was the most well-rounded and true musician won!
This has been one of the best Seasons yet. I really enjoyed the improved focus on the contestants rather than the celebrities and felt like …