{Giveaway} Soaking in the Season

'Tis the season for twinkling lights, Christmas carols, sweet treats, cold mornings, remembering Jesus' birth, parties with family and friends, wrapping gifts for those we love, finding ways to help people around us, candy canes, and ... busyness.

My calendar is full. Thankfully, it's full of good things. Dinners with friends. Parties with family. Family-friend activities like a live nativity and Christmas parade. Plans to cut down a Christmas tree. A road trip to visit my side of the family. It's full of so many things I love about December.

But I still enjoy the breaks. The days like today when I don't have much planned and I'm still sitting in my pajamas while my kids argue {I mean, play ...} with the Little People nativity and GeoTrax train to the North Pole.

These moments are as sweet as the busy ones. Because, really, time does fly.

I have a 4-year-old girl who soaks in everything around here. And my 2-year-old boy will try to do anything she's doing. They're both independent and determined. But they're both loving and sweet. It seems like just yesterday I was trying to think about how to make these days -- the ones where they're watching and listening and soaking it all in -- special.

I want them to know Jesus is alive and he was born as a baby, just like they were. He slept in a manager those first days, like they slept in their baby cribs. He cried. He needed his momma. His father -- both his earthly one and his heavenly one -- adored him.

Just like them.

That's what this season is about. Jesus knows what it's like to live this life. And he gave up his life so we could have abundant, eternal life. With him. And his father.

It's a merry season indeed. Soak it in.

One of our favorite ways to take a break from the busyness and just enjoy each other is play games. We love that Cate is old enough to play some board games with us. And she loves that we'll sit down and play with her. Sorry and Mancala are popular ones around here these days, regardless of the season.

How do you take a break and enjoy this season? Are you doing anything special this year to help your kids soak in what Christmas means? Tell me in the comments below and you could win one of our favorite board games from Wayfair.com, which was formerly CSN Stores. Thanks to Wayfair.com for making this giveaway possible and letting me choose something to share with you.

Here are the giveaway details:

• I will randomly choose two winners on Monday, Dec. 19, so you have until then to enter.
• Participants must live in the United States for shipping purposes should you win.
• I'll need your email address, so I can contact you if you win.
• Extra entries can be earned by following me on Twitter and tweeting about this giveaway {daily, which means you can rack up the entries}. Please leave a comment here should you do any of those things.

Until then, may your days be full of all the joys of the season.
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Date night on the sofa

I like to date my husband. We recently went to the movie theater to watch Super 8, a movie that had been on my must-see list since I learned that Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams were making a movie together. Having Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights was just an added bonus.

But sometimes I like less theatrical dates. The ones on the sofa after the kids are in bed are a relaxing ending to a day filled with questions and stories from my 4-year-old daughter, babbled requests from my 18-month-old and all the other fun responsibilities that go with parenting and managing a household.

{Continue reading over at CSN Store's blog ...}

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And the winner is ...

Tabitha won a $25 gift certificate she can redeem at any of CSN Stores more than 200 online stores. Tabitha, you should have an email from me with the online code and additional information. Happy shopping!

And happy spring to all my readers. Hopefully you'll be able to put away those coats, pack the picnic basket for trips to the park, spend time watching kids be kids outside, watch baseball and cuddle with precious new life.

Celebrating Spring

My calendar tells me Spring will be here in nine days. We'll see if Mother Natures agrees. Even so, spring is coming.

I'm looking forward to pushing my double stroller outside, walking to errand stops like Rite-Aid and the Post Office, letting the kids have picnics outside, watching Cate ride her bike, watching Ben discover the great outdoors, sitting on my porch swing with a good book and tasting my husband's grilling successes.

Cate is ready to play in her house [actually a play set like some of these wooden swing sets], blow bubbles and ride her bike, helmet and all. Ben just wants to "go," as he said yesterday while beating on the back door, and get dirty, I'm sure.

What do you want to do when Spring arrives?

Share your answer in the comments section below and you could win a $25 gift certificate to spend on anything you'd like at any of CSN's more than 200 online stores, which features anything from home decor items to baby accessories to cooking ware to toys to school supplies.

Any U.S. or Canadian resident is welcome to enter. Each tweet about my contest earns an extra entry, just link the tweet in the comments section. An e-mail address must accompany each participate, so be sure to leave yours if you doubt I have it.

You have until March 20 -- you know, the First Day of Spring -- to enter. A winner will be selected sometime that day using random.org.

You're a winner!

Mindy won the $25 CSN Stores gift card to spend however she'd like. Mindy, look for an e-mail message from me coming your way. Enjoy!

a fresh giveaway

Purging and online shopping are two of my current loves. Seems contradictory, I know. But these loves can intersection, really. Just look at CSN Stores, which includes more than 200 online stores that sell anything you could possibly need, from storage containers to modern dining room furniture to board games to cooking accessories.

One of you will have $25 to spend at CSN Stores on whatever you'd like. Well, one of you who live in the United States or Canada because that's where CSN Stores ships their goodies.

So, it's the beginning of the year, a clean start. I've been purging and organizing and decluttering and rearranging. I've also been loving my Motivated Moms household planner.

What have you been doing in this early part of 2011?

Just answer that question in the comments section below. And leave your e-mail address, if you're unsure if I have it. One person will be randomly selected to receive a $25 gift certificate to spend at CSN Stores. You have until Friday, Jan. 14 to enter. Sometime that day, I'll choose a winner.

Now, I'm going to clean out another closet.

And the winner is ...

... Tim! He wins a $65 gift certificate to spend however he wishes at CSN Stores. His comment was chosen randomly, thanks to random.org.

the joys of technologyand a giveaway

We can buy anything we want online, from cheap bedroom furniture to diapers. Most stores have online shopping options, which is nice because I live in a small town that doesn't have a Target, Babies R Us or Old Navy.

But it hasn't always been this way.

While walking through Murray State's campus with a friend last week, I reminisced about how I didn't have a computer of my own in 1997, the year I got my first email address, which came with my parents' tuition payments to my higher education institution. This memory came to mind when I walked by the building that had a convenient computer lab between my dorm and the journalism building. Then I thought about how much has changed in 13 years.

My husband and I just started enjoying the convenience of movies being delivered to our mailbox and Wii. Plus Facebook, Twitter and blogs make the world seem smaller than it did when we weren't all so well connected. And I really love my iPhone.

And thanks to technology, you could win you a $65 gift certificate to use at one of CSN Stores' more than 200 online stores, which allow you to shop from home for anything from practical cookware to cheap bedroom furniture to entertaining toys.

So how does technology affect your life? Answer that for me in the comments section and you'll be entered in a random drawing to win that $65 gift certificate to CSN Stores I mentioned earlier.

For additional entries, follow me on Twitter [one entry] and Tweet about my giveaway [one entry for each daily Tweet]. Leave links below if you do these things.

The contest is open to anyone in the United States or Canada, as those are the countries to which CSN Stores ships their products, all this week. Also, for entries to be valid, I need to have your email address so I can tell my friend at CSN where to email the gift certificate. I will draw a winner Sunday, Sept. 26.

And the winner is ...

Congratulations, Ava! You are the winner of the $60 CSN Stores gift certificate.

Spring is my favorite season. Maybe it's because I don't like cold weather and I can feel warmer and longer days ahead with springtime. It's when Mother Earth seems to awaken signaling a new beginning with flowers erupting with their bright colors and tantalizing aromas. People seem to scurry about with new-found energy and raise their eyes to God to give thanks for bringing them through the darkness of winter into the light of spring once again. It's a busy time, but a very happy time as people get out and enjoy nature and children play in the sunshine.

Happy spending!

vacation + giveaway

First, a little about vacation, and then I'll share with you a new giveaway, in which you could win a $50 gift card to spend however you wish at any of CSN Stores more than 200 online stores, which feature beach toys, board games, cookware, dining room sets, baby accessories and anything else you think might make your summer more complete. Seriously, if you win, you won't have trouble spending $50 at one of the online stores.

Cate was 13 months old when we went to Hilton Head two years ago. In case you don't want to do the math, she's 3 now. I am so looking forward to seeing her reaction to the beach this time, when she walks, talks and brainstorms her own ideas.

I'll find out soon enough what she thinks of the beach her momma loves because we leave for Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Saturday morning. We'll be there for a week, with my parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law, soon-to-be-official sister-in-law, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. We're all staying under one roof, and, thankfully, the house we're renting has a pool in the backyard and a short path to the beach.

In addition to lounging by the ocean and pool, we'll eat seafood, play some board games and the Wii, laugh, eat some more, and probably shop. And speaking of shopping, you probably want to know how to win the $50 gift card to CSN Stores. All you have to do is comment below with your favorite vacation memory.

And there are other ways to enter! You can get an additional entry for each of the following you choose to do: Follow me on Twitter. Tweet about this giveaway. Or blog about this giveaway. Just leave an additional comment with the appropriate link to Twitter or your blog.

You have until I return from vacation and celebrate the Fourth of July with the other side of my family to enter, meaning I will randomly draw a winner on July 5. Be sure to leave an e-mail address so the $50 gift card is directed to the appropriate inbox!

And the giveaway goes to ...

Jonnie (aka edmonton jb) who blogs at MoM of BoYs with ToYs!

She wins a $60 gift certificate from CSN Stores. Jonnie, I copied your e-mail address from your Blogger profile and will send it to the CSN Stores representative, who will send you the gift certificate via e-mail.

I interrupt this routine for a GIVEAWAY!

People, for the most, part do some of the same things over and over again. Every day. Some of these things are required of us [at least if we're going to do our jobs well] and others are just part of our own personal routine.

Just the other day I commented to Greg, "I have cleaned this kitchen counter four times today." And then I thought about how we only have three meals a day in that room, yet I seem to clean it more than that. And some days we don't even eat every meal in the kitchen. Yet I still clean the counters. But, hey, I like a clean kitchen counter.

So I don't mind to neaten the piles and break out the Clorox wipes.

Really, it's the same way in the bathroom. Every morning after I finish getting ready, I wipe down the bathroom vanity with a Clorox wipes. And I put most everything away in its assigned drawer.

Again, it's just what I do. Because I like it like that.

I do, however, mind the constant need to sweep and mop my floors. That drives me crazy. Yes, I like clean floors, but I don't want to continually clean them. Can't they just stay clean?

But I do more than clean. Knowing I have a 3-year-old girl and 5-month-old boy, I'm guessing you know I don't just clean all day. Nor would I want to just clean all day. I fill juice cups, change diapers, bottle feed my baby and send many text messages throughout the day. Every day. And that's fine. I'm a mom. And I have an iPhone I love.

I know lots of other moms read my blog. Of course, people who aren't moms read my blog too. All of you readers have a chance to break up your routine, at least today, and enter a giveaway for a $60 gift card to be used however you wish at any of the more than 200 online CSN Stores, where you can find cleaning products, baby products, games for people who don't have kids, bathroom vanities, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. And this $60 gift card can be yours. Just hang with and I'll tell you how you can win it.

Speaking of technology, a day doesn't go by that I don't visit Google Reader, Gmail and Facebook. I like Twitter too, but only via TweetDeck on my iPhone. Routine, I'm telling you. With everything we do. Everything.

I like orange juice for breakfast. Followed by a Diet Dr Pepper.

When I am loading in the kids in the car in the garage, I open Cate's door, let her climb in while I snap Ben's car seat in, then return to the driver's side to buckle Cate in behind my seat. Cate even knows the routine.

Ah, yes, kids are routines. Greg often says Cate is just like me. And one of those ways is how she likes things like they are supposed to be. She puts things where they go. She does things like she did the time before. Really, I have a hard time fathoming that other people aren't like this.

Even our mail lady has a routine. She parks her truck in front of the same house on our street every day. Well, not Sundays, but that's how the government wants to do it. She delivers the mail around 4:30, sometimes 4:45. And I like to get the mail. Yes, even as an adult, I like getting the mail. And I always sort it when I get it. Open what is interesting. Set aside bills and other things that are important. And move the junk straight the recycling bin. You know, it helps keep my counters clear.

I thrive with a routine, but sometimes routines do get monotonous, so I'm learning how to find joy in these ordinary moments -- both the ones I plan and the ones that just happen because I'm the mother to two small children.

Then I read something last week that helped me really put daily life into perspective ...

In those moments I force myself to take a deep breath and thank God for this season of life. These children. The privilege of wiping noses and bottoms and countertops. A privilege many women would love to have, but don't. I remind myself that the days are long but the years are short. And one day I will look in the rear-view mirror and see empty seats. ... And I will find that a new set of daily struggles has overtaken me. When that day comes I will find the strength to face them as well because God gives the grace, daily.

The daily-ness.

As C.S. Lewis once said, "The thing is to rely on God … Meanwhile, the trouble is that relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing has yet been done."

Your daily-ness is probably different than mine, but it is nonetheless God-ordained. It is exactly what we need to live dependent on His grace instead of our own strength. The One who knows us best, who knit us together in our mother's womb, has allotted these days that are equal parts trial and triumph. And He knows that we will see Him most clearly from a place of dependence.

So today I embrace the normal things. The daily things. Another round of laundry. The ring in my toilet. The dust on my dresser so thick a child could write his name. But even more than that I want to celebrate the important things. A child slowly learning to read. A husband that finds his comfort in my arms. A baby who learns to walk and talk. Because all these are the things of life: some mundane and some holy. And all of them must be received daily.

--From a devotion I read last week

I embrace my routine, knowing full well all seasons are temporary. What about you? What do you like about your routine? How do you need to be intentional about embracing your daily life?

Just answer in the comments section, and you'll be entered to win the $60 gift card from CSN Stores. Want another chance to win? Follow me on Twitter [@kristinhtaylor] and retweet about the giveaway. Let me know [either here or there] that you've done so and you'll be entered to win.

The winner will be announced here on my blog on Tuesday, after my 3-year-old randomly picks an entry from a hat, or a box, or whatever container is convenient. Be sure to leave an e-mail or Twitter name so I can contact the winner.

For you faithful followers, CSN Stores is the same company that provided the Settlers of Catan game I gave away about five months ago. I'm excited for this second giveaway.

It's a SETTLERS OF CATAN giveaway!

I associate board games with people. Othello reminds me of my former neighbor and longtime best friend. Cribbage is a game my other best friend and I used to play often. Euchre reminds me of college friends. My childhood friend and I used to leave games of Monopoly set up for days so we could actually finish them. My mom and I are usually competitive in Scrabble. Apples to Apples makes me think of hilarious moments with both friends and family. We know which friends like to play which card games. The Game of Things is the Game Night choice among my friends right now.

But my real board game obsession is Settlers of Catan.

Stay with me and you can win your own copy of my favorite game, courtesy Toys and Games Online, which has a great selection of online toys and games. [For the record, this is my first blog giveaway, and I'm really excited about it!]

It's been three years since my aunt -- who always knows the best games! -- taught my husband and me to play, as if learning how to trade sheep for brick, convert settlements to cities and build the longest road through Catan was the best Christmas present ever. I bought the game for Greg for Valentine's Day 2007 (Nothing says "I love you" like a new competition, right?) and we haven't stopped playing since. Almost literally.

We play with another couple at least a couple times a month. (Although for awhile we were playing weekly ...) We even have an on-going scoreboard to tally victories. I'm always white (See, I have the longest road in the picture above. That's worth 2 points toward the 10-point goal.) when we play and we sit in the same order around the table, regardless of whose house is hosting. And, in case you're wondering, I'm four tally marks behind Greg and Bryan. I've recently been making a run to catch the guys. Jaclyn is a few behind me, but given the fact we play at least two games every time we have a Settlers night, she can catch up in no time.

We like the expansions likes Seafarers as well as Cities and Knights, but when we play those we may only have time to play one. To feed our obsession, we usually play the original Settlers of Catan because the four of us have established such a rhythm.

If you've never played, the best explanation I can give to this German-made game that has won all sorts of awards is think about mixing Monopoly with Risk. But, really, that description doesn't do Klaus Teuber's invention justice. It's a strategy game with lots of rules. But once you learn all the rules, you won't be sorry. One of the reasons playing never gets old is the way the board changes each time it is set up. The strategy I used last time I played might not work to my advantage next time, depending on where the resources are and what numbers are associated with them.

In honor of the approaching three-year anniversary of the start to my obsession, you can win your own copy, courtesy Toys and Games Online, which offers a variety of online toys for all ages at reasonable prices.

All you have to do is post a comment about what your favorite game is and a memory you associate with that game. (Be sure to include an e-mail address so I can contact you, should you be the lucky winner!)

All of the comments will be placed in a bowl and one winner will be randomly chosen, probably by my 2 1/2-year-old daughter, who has witnessed many Settlers marathons but isn't quite old enough to bargain her way with sheep and wheat to successfully settling Catan.

You have until 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 12 to enter this giveaway.