Alert: Do You Post Photos Online? Watch This!

I've posted this to facebook and twitter, but it is such an important and alarming message, especially for those with kids, that I am reposting it here. Please check your image and privacy settings before posting photos online and share this information with others. Watch the video below for more info:

Aloha Friday!

Hello bloggy friends! I hope you are having a lovely April first. Have you been tricked today?
I'm not big on April Fools' prankster so I don't have any tricks up my sleeve ;)

My Aloha Friday question today is: What is your vision for your blog? Where do you see your blog in 3 years? If you are not a blogger, what is one goal you hope to achieve in the next 3 years?

I have to say that I vacillate when it comes to blogging goals. That is bad for my blog, I know. It is important to have a vision and concrete goals and then break them down into doable tasks. My biggest obstacle is time. There are so many ideas I have, but very limited time to accomplish them. Just visiting my favorite bloggy friends can be out of reach some weeks. One thing I know I need to work on is organization. I need to revamp the way my blog is laid out so that it's more user-friendly and easier to digest. I also need to work on branding and hone my posting topics so that they are more direct and less random. And then I need to just get out there more. As long as I have homeschooled kids and a family who needs me, that will be a push/pull struggle. What about you? What are your goals?


 

 Thank you so much for coming by today! I really appreciate your time and thoughts. Be sure to visit Kailani at An Island Life for more Aloha Friday fun. And Don't miss the Ultimate Blog Party blog hop at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Enter to win my giveaway for a Chuggington: Chuggers To The Rescue DVD!

Friendly Friday Follow

Time to make some new friends! This week I'm joining in on Friendly Friday Follow. I love making new bloggy friends and there's no time like the present :)

If you are new here, I hope you'll take a look around. I blog about parenting and homeschooling my 4 crazy kiddos. I am a stay at home mom and military wife. We've been homeschooling for over 3 years and my kids are 8, 5, 3 and 2 months old. We also have a loveable great dane puppus who joins in our daily antics. I post about our projects and field trips, homeschooling resources, recipes I love, product reviews and parenting tips.

I look forward to visiting your blogs and getting to know you. Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great Friday!

Friendly Friday Follow is a link-up meme which is hosted every Friday. The plan is to meet many new followers and make new friends each week.
The RULES to join in Friendly Friday Follow are very simple
Grab the button above
Add your link to the list
Visit as many other blogs as you can
Follow the ones you like (and comment on their blog to say that you are following)
…and HAVE FUN!

Aloha Friday

Greetings friends! Happy Friday :)

My question this week is: How many blogs do you have and how many hours per week do you spend working on your blog(s)?

Be sure to stop by An Island Life for more Aloha Friday fun!

Follow Me Friday

Hey there, 


A girl can never have too many friends, and a mom can never have too much support, am I right? That's why I've decided to participate in Follow Me Friday today, hosted by Still On the Verge. It's a great way to meet other bloggers and make new friends. Plus, it's just plain fun! If you'd like to join in too, here's the scoop:

* Please make a post about Follow Me Friday

* Grab the Follow Me Friday badge below

* Put the badge in your post so others know to comment and follow

* Spread the word and get others to join!

* Sign in below

* Find new friends and let them know where you found them from.

If you are new to my blog, welcome! I'm a homeschooling mom, military wife, and great dane lover, who's about to have baby #4 any minute.  (I'm 38 weeks +2 and had two of my kiddos at 38 weeks).  I've been blogging for about 2 years and post about our daily adventures, educational resources, craft ideas, recipes and tips for making family life more enjoyable. I also do occasional product reviews and giveaways.  My current giveaway is for a set of Tommee Tippee Sippy Cups. It ends today and I don't have many entries, so your chances of winning are pretty darn good!

 I hope you'll take a moment to look around and leave a comment, and follow :)

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Anyone Else NOT Going to Blogher???

Not in my wildest dreams could I make it to Blogher this year. For starters, I'm having a baby any day now. And beside that whole labor and delivery thing, it's not in my budget, nor am I blessed with enough babysitters to even go out to dinner more than once or twice a year, much less take a few days off to head to NYC.

Would I like to go? You bet! Sounds like a great opportunity to learn new things, let loose, network and make some great friends. But, it's just not in the cards for me right now. So, what about you? Stuck at home? Not interested? Can't justify the expense? Well, fret not, my friends. LT over at A Day With Two has come up with a fun idea for a blog hop for those not hopping to Blogher this year. Stop by leave your link and a comment and you're entered to win a $50 Target Gift Card. (Plus you can visit and commiserate with all the other bloggers not attending THE big gig.) How about them apples?! It's not the Big Apple, but a close second in my book ;)




And don't miss my giveaway this week for a set of Tommee Tippee Explora Cups!

Have You Seen Novica?

I was recently introduced to Novica and their beautiful world of artisan products and gifts. If you are looking for a unique gift for someone special, Novica has you covered. They offer a range of beautiful, hand crafted quality items from artisans around the world. With everything from fair trade corporate gifts, and green gifts to gifts for your home and for the animal lover, you are sure to find the perfect item for any occasion.

Here is more info about Novica and their mission, as described on their website:
We want to give artists and artisans around the world a global platform to express their true artistic talents and to spur their creativity. And, we want to provide you with access to unique, hard-to-find items at great values that only the Internet infrastructure can allow.


At the deepest essence of our philosophy, we want to create a bridge between you and the many talented artisans across the globe.


We want you to know about who you're buying from. We want you to feel that attachment to the product and to the hands that created it.


In the spirit of the Internet, let us bring you together.

NOVICA. The World is Your Market.

I have explored Novica and fallen in love with their array of beautiful gifts. I encourage you to do the same!  And good news, my bloggy friends. I have been offered a special gift code to giveaway to one of my lucky readers! Stay tuned this week for an upcoming giveaway for a $50 gift code. Anyone up for a little shopping???

Rayovac Powers Your Summer!

Gotta love those gals at 5 Minutes for Mom. They've got it going on. Currently, 5M4M is hosting a fantabulous Rayovac Powers Your Summer Bloggy Giveaway and Twitter Party.

Here's How to Enter for a Chance to Win Fun Summer Prizes and $50 Gift Cards:
Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion
Moms and kids just want to have fun and Rayovac has the power to make it happen!

From June 21st through July 20th, we are empowering families to have fun through the Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion.

First, "like" the brand and products on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rayovac and together with expert moms at 5MinutesForMom, we will offer up great daily summertime family tips and a chance to win great prizes.

Then access and complete the entry form on Rayovc's website at www.rayovac.com/PowersYourSummer. Simply tell us how you'll power your fun this summer each day for a chance to win prizes ranging from Cameras and Bikes to Camping Supplies and a Summer Supply of Rayovac Batteries! No trick questions here! There is no correct answer to how you and your family add the Power of Fun to your summer! Must be a US resident and 18 or older at the time of entry to enter this Promotion, the Twitter Event or the Blogger Promotion.

More on the Twitter Party:
Rayovac Powers Your Summer Twitter Event
Join Rayovac and 5MinutesForMom for a Twitter Event to support the exciting Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion. The Twitter Event will feature more than 20 fun giveaways from Rayovac ranging from a summer supply of Rayovac Batteries to $50 Target Gift Cards.

Rayovac Powers Your Vacation Summer Promotion Twitter Event
Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CST
Location: #rayovac
Follow: @Rayovac_Battery, @5minutesformom, @CirclePRMary

Rayovac Powers Your Summer Blogger Promotion
First 99 Bloggers to Receive a $50 Wal-Mart Gift Card and Rayovac Batteries!
The blogger promotion begins June 22, 2010 and will end on June 25, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. (CST).
Want to enter for a chance to win fun prizes to Power Your Summer? The first 99* posts that follow the posting requirements to support the Rayovac Powers Your Summer Promotion, will win a $50 Wal-Mart Gift Card from Rayovac and a summer pack of Rayovac batteries worth $35 ("Prize Package").

Be sure to Visit 5 Minutes for Mom and Rayovac for more info.

The Ultimate Blog Party with 5 Minutes for Mom and Another Giveaway

I'm so excited about the upcoming Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. I participated last year and met tons of new bloggy friends. So, what's the UBP all about? Making new connections, promoting your blog and winning great prizes. It's just about the biggest affair in the momosphere!

Serendipity is Sweet is proud to sponsor one of the prizes again this year. I'll be giving away a set of children's DVD's from Little Leaders.

 The prize includes a set of two multi-language format children's DVD's (includes American Sign Language) from Little Leaders:

Little Noah introduces kids to amazing animals and offers English, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese and American Sign Language

Little Moses teaches counting to ten in English, Spanish, Italian, Danish and American Sign Language

Little Leaders offers fun and wholesome entertainment for kids ages 9 months and up. The coolest thing about these DVDs is that they are multi-language format, which means that you can select which language you want to learn each time you play them. So, you can watch it once and learn American Sign Language, then watch it later and learn Spanish! How cool is that?!

Be sure to visit The Ultimate Blog Party '10's page at 5 Minutes for Mom for more info about prizes and how to win! The party starts on April 9th. Don't miss out on all the fun!

Hershey's Better Basket Blop Hop for The Children's Miracle Network

I want to send a special thanks out to my friend Aimee at Aimee's Land for giving me this virtual Easter basket. I'm proud to be a part of the Hershey's Better Basket Blop Hop and help raise funds for The Children's Miracle Network.

Here is some information on the Hershey's Better Basket Blog Hop:
"This Easter season Hershey is all about helping you to create Better Easter Baskets with their special limited edition Easter candies found at Walmart.
More importantly, Hershey wants to promote the idea of going good in our own communities. The Hershey Company is committed to making a difference in the communities where we live in, and has a heritage of giving back to the community."
Thanks to Hershey's and 20 different bloggers looking to blog for a good cause, baskets like the one above were created and given to charities of each bloggers choice to spread Hershey's ongoing message around: We are ALL working together to do good in and out of our own communities!

In addition to those 20 baskets donated to charity, Hershey's is also sponsoring a Better Basket Blog Hop where Hershey will donate $10 per blog post entry for the Children's Miracle Network, up to $5,000.

If you want to be apart of the blog hop, here are the rules:
Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.
Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many
Virtual Baskets as you want.
Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this #betterbasket blog hop, and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.
Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).
Please note that only one blog post by each blog url will count towards the donation.
So now it's my turn to give away some virtual Easter Baskets:
You can use the same basket I used to pass on to your friends.
Now join in if you would like it is for a great cause.

Happy Easter to all!
I'm passing this on to ...
Alicia at More Than Words
Sheila at Ma Vie Folle
Heather at The Simple Gourmand
Mimi at Frump's Findings

Too Many Hats

I Can't Believe I Won!

Do you enter blog giveaways? There are about a zillion out there at any given time. Some get thousands of entries and some get just a few. Your odds of winning are much better than you might think, and it only takes a minute or two to enter. I used to enter a lot of giveaways then for a while I stopped entering at all.

That is until recently, when I entered a giveaway I saw in an email alert from MomFuse. It was for a couple of prizes from Atari (remember those?!), Target and General Mills. Boy am I glad I did! Not only did I win a prize, but I won the grand prize - an Atari Flashback 2, several retro boxes of General Mills cereal, a T-Shirt and a Target gift card! Woo hoo!! I couldn't believe it when the box showed up at my door. As you can see, the kids were pretty excited too!

So, the point of this post is not to gloat...no, no, but to encourage you to enter a giveaway now and then. People really do win! And, to let you know that there are still chances win a prize like mine. You can enter the Great Game Giveaway here for a chance at one of 200 Atari Flashback 2 game systems and 100 Atari prize packs!

Thanks MomFuse, Target and General Mills!

Friday Follow Blog Hop Round 3

It's time for FRIDAY FOLLOW, brought to you by these fabulous bloggers: Lynn @ Midday Escapades, Rita @ One 2 Try and Tami @ Hearts Make Families.
Thank you for stopping by Serendipity is Sweet! I am so glad you're here. I'm a mom of three expecting a 4th, a military wife and homeschooler, a great dane lover, a cookie monster and I blog to keep my sanity through the everyday madness of child rearing. You'll find lots of posts about homeschooling and educational resources, craft ideas, yummy recipes and an occasional product review and giveaway - enter my DENTASTIX Giveaway today for one of 5 Prize Packs! I have a blogaversary coming up in a few weeks so stay tuned for more fun and freebies :D

I look forward to visiting your blogs and getting to know my new friends. Have a great weekend and thanks for following!

Friday Follow

It's time for FRIDAY FOLLOW, brought to you by these fabulous bloggers: Lynn @ Midday Escapades, Rita @ One 2 Try and Tami @ Hearts Make Families.

Thank you for stopping by Serendipity is Sweet! I am so glad you're here. I'm a mom of three expecting a 4th, a military wife and homeschooler, a great dane lover, a cookie monster and I blog to keep my sanity through the everyday madness of child rearing. You'll find lots of posts about homeschooling and educational resources, craft ideas, yummy recipes and an occasional product review and giveaway. I have a blogaversary coming up in about a month so stay tuned for some fun and freebies :D

I look forward to visiting your blogs and getting to know my new friends. Have a great weekend!

Friday Follow Blog Hop

Hi there,
I'm joining in the Friday Follow fun again this week. If you are new here, welcome to my little spot in the sun. I blog about my life as a homeschooling mom and military wife with three kids, a baby on the way and a goofy great dane puppy. As you can imagine, all of those responsibilities keep me pretty busy, and blogging is my "me" time. Of course, there is often little time left over for me, so this blog is definitely a work in progress. I like to share homeschooling resources and experiences, crafts and family fun ideas, recipes, frugal living tips and occasionally do product reviews and giveaways. You'll find my follow and subscribe links in the right sidebar, as well as links to some of my favorite educational resources, and blogs I like to visit often.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy your visit, and I look forward to visiting your blogs and getting to know you better!

Friday Follow Blog Hop

Thanks to my friend Sheila at Ma Vie Folle, I've been introduced to the Friday Follow Blog Hop. What a fun way to meet new bloggers and make friends. I'm joining in and you can too! And, if you don't know Sheila, stop by her blog and say hello. She's always got a great spin on life's little follies and I love reading her witty posts! You will too :D

Aloha Friday!

Aloha Bloggy Friends!
Since I've been feeling the pains of first trimester pregnancy, I have been blogging significantly less. I have many ideas I'd like to implement and would love to grow my blog, but time just seems too confining right now. I wish I had more time and energy to devote to researching some of my post ideas, but right now, it's all I can do to keep up with the kids and the laundry. Memes are easy though! And participating in them keeps me connected.

My question this week: How many memes do you participate in?

Stop by An Island Life for more Aloha Friday fun.

Lovely Blog Award

I've been honored with an award from Dana at Feeling Fit with Dana. She has a fun blog with lots of great fitness tips and reviews and she's such a sweetie. Stop by and leave her a comment to say hello!

I'm passing this award on to these lovely bloggers who I enjoy visiting. Please visit them if you have a chance. You can never have too many bloggy friends, right?

Here's my list of new found blog favorites:

The Pink Chandelier
Too Many Hats
Moms Mutterings
Not Your Average Soccer Mom
The Meanest Mom
Guessing All The Way
Green Organic Mama
Jenny Mac's Lipsmack
Lets Have A Cocktail
Elastamom's Excerpts

SIRJJ Organics Winner!

The winner of my SIRJJ Organics Skin Care giveaway is:
#22
CarolSue

Congratulations! Please contact me within 72 hours to claim your prize.

Bloggy Hoppin' Fun

Add Blog Links to your blog and share links with your visitors and friends. Blog Links will do all the work and keep it up. You can grab this code at (Blog Links). This is a Free service that lets you add your blog link to multiple blog sites.

Momfinitions

I'm joining in some fun over at twittermoms and listing a few of my "momfinitions" or mom definitions. Stop by Megan's Calhoun's twittermoms site to learn more!

Here are my 5 Funniest Momfinitions per contest rules:

Cactus Limbs - what you get when you have mere seconds to shave in the shower before your children kill each other in the living room.

Hole-y Crap - what's left in the yard after your preschooler picks up the dog poo with a stick.

The Mominator - she appears on the rampage, barking orders and spewing threats after a long night of no sleep and a full day of crabby kids.

IBS - Irritable Brain Syndrome - this happens after having two or more kids, when brain farts are taken to a whole new level. ie. Hmmm that's odd, the milk is in the cereal cabinet again. Damn that IBS! I'll have to drag the kids to the grocery store yet again today.

Mammaries - these are full and plump and located about 5" below your collar bone.
Moomaries - these are swollen and bloated and located about 3" below your chin.
Momaries - these are saggy and shriveled and located somewhere south of your 6th rib.
(Yes, I'm counting the above trio as one definition since they are a progressive description of one pair of jugs, hooters, breasteses, tatas...whatever you like to call your girls; though technically, I concede that they are not one unless you sport a uniboob.)

Here are a couple extra that I couldn't help but add in for good measure:
Fabric Glue - the remnants of fruit snacks holding your child's underwear to his shorts when you pull them out of the dryer.

Static Cling - the state of being of a child engaged with any electronic media device. Call his name, wave your hands in front of his face, tell him you are moving to Gnome, Alaska, you'll get no movement and no response.

Do you have some momfinitions you'd like to share? Leave me comments! If I win the $100 for the most comments I'll share the wealth and draw a winner from my commenters who'll receive $25. Come on, join in the fun! Leave a separate comment for each momfinition for one entry each. Show me whatcha got :D

For loads more fun with Momfinitions visit Parents Connect or twittermoms!