The Biggest One Day Contest EVER

So, it is nearly the last day of the month. That means it is your last chance to get your click on and help contribute to the Flight 93 Memorial Fund. I was just going to let the month fade into the sunset and be very happy with the money that has been raised so far, but after a few discussions here and there, I decided NAH! Let's go out with a bang!

I checked with a few friends and we have managed to assemble the Contest of The Century. Oh, yes. There is not just one prize to be won, there are many. There won't be just one winner, there will be many. Here are the prizes that are up for grabs:

A $25 iTunes gift card, courtesy of someone who asked not to be named. Woohoo for a friendly sort of anonymous blog person!

3 DVDs and a CD of wrestling and hip hop goodness from those crazy guys over at the Wrestling Mayhem Show.

A $15 Starbucks gift card courtesy of my favorite big booty havin' Texan, Anglophile Football Fanatic.

A kick-ass t-shirt from Wear Pittsburgh, courtesy of everybody's favorite Butler, Woy.

Your choice of any Just the Essentials case from Rocking Pony's Etsy shop. There are tons of cute ones to choose from, but I like this one.

Karen is super-generous, so she is also offering up your choice of any baby blanket from the Rocking Pony Etsy shop. I would pick this one because the colors are fantastic.

A messenger bag filled with cosmetics from Clumber Kim. I hear there is a lot of Allure recommended stuff in there, so it's got to be good.

Emma in Canada has offered up some hand-crafted Stampin' Up! cards, perfect for Thanksgiving or just general Fall use. If you don't celebrate, uh, Fall, she's got a few others to choose from as well.

A Stanley Theater prize package including the Grateful Dead's 1979 show and Marley's last show in 1981 from my favorite Donato's delivering Uncle, Unclecrappy.

A permanent artist's account from EBSQ, courtesy of Amie, valued at $650. Incredible!

A pair of highly-coveted tickets to Brewfest 2008, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Rugby Football Club. That right there is a guaranteed good time, if you can be in Pittsburgh on November 14th.

TheJim from Sportsocracy has offered up an ultra-spiffy Sportsocracy t-shirt. You can wear it in honor of the fact that I am totally going to win the Pittsburgh Celebrity Bloggers Fantasy Football League. Or at least Week One.

A copy of Sleep is for the Weak, an anthology of great blogging by several of my favorite bloggers. Thanks to ImposterMom, I happen to have an extra copy laying around. (Squee!)

A $15 gift card to Ruggers Pub. Check out the menu and you'll instantly be hungry. Mmmm . . . fried zucchini . . .

A copy of Lenny Kravitz' CD "It's Time for a Love Revolution" courtesy of Dawnmski of Yes, This is How My Mind Works.

A Tim Horton's package straight from the motherland. It includes a tin of Tim Horton's coffee, Second Cup tea bags, and Second Cup white hot chocolate. This one is also from the EXTREMELY generous Emma in Canada. I just wish she could send me a Timmy's store for my backyard.

All you have to do to win one of these fabulous prizes is to leave a comment on this post no later than 11:59pm Eastern Time on September 30, 2008 telling me which prize you want to win. If you can't decide which prize you want, that's OK, too. Just enter again. In fact, you can enter to win just as many times as your little fingers will let you. I'll throw all the comments into their respective hats and have the Toddler draw the winners. If you REALLY want to win, link to this post and I'll throw your name in the hat an extra five times. If you REALLY REALLY want to win, link to my 9/11 post and I'll throw your name in the hat TEN TIMES.

Winners will be announced on October 2nd at 10:00 pm Eastern Time.

Some not-so fine print:

* You don't have to be a blogger to win, but you do have to be willing to provide a valid email address and physical address if your name is drawn.

* You can leave an anonymous comment, but please make sure to put a name in your comment so I can tell y'all apart.

* Bloggers who have already linked to the 9/11 post are automatically entered ten times, but you'll need to enter again on this post so that I know which prize you covet most.

* I'll be connecting winners with the person that has donated the prize. I am not personally in possession of the prizes, but will facilitate to make sure they are delivered.

* I may still be adding prizes through the day. Keep checking back.

* The super-incredible people who donated ARE eligible to win, but they can't win their own prize.

What are you waiting for? Click, link, and comment away!

Please Send Funnel Cake and a Gyro

I try very hard not to let my mouth write a check my booty can't cash. That applies to all aspects of life, but it seems to be the whole world of discipline that has been getting me in trouble lately.

Alexis is the epitome of the type of child who is best disciplined through the use of threats and consequences. Tell her she has until the count of three to stop jumping on the couch, and she will manage to quit just before the "th" makes it out of your mouth, but only if there is some sort of consequence involved. I'm a big fan of threatening to take away her dollhouse, Baby Shell, or her books. All are highly effective.

Last week Alexis decided it would be great fun to start acting like a three-year old and being straight out defiant at daycare. She was sticking her tongue out when told to do things, laughing when she got in trouble, and doing extra crap just to get in trouble. Boundary testing, if you will. On Thursday night when I got the scoop, I told her she needed to be nice at school the next day or . . . there would be no Betchtubles.

Serious behavior issues require serious consequences and there is NOTHING in this world that disappoints that kid more than telling her she can't go Betchtubles on a Friday night. (If you missed the explanation on that one, Alexis LOVES going to the Farmer's Market--she calls it "Betchtubles.")

So Friday rolled around and as Alexis and I were walking into daycare, we talked about what would happen if she wasn't good all day. She said she understood and agreed that she wanted to go Betchtubles, so she was going to be nice.

She wasn't.

So, my booty had to cash that check. Sure, the kid was HUGELY disappointed to learn that I wasn't bluffing. But, you know who was more disappointed? ME. I get a funnel cake every Friday when we go and do you know how bitter I was that I didn't get a funnel cake last week? BITTER.

So bitter I wanted to cry. FUNNEL CAKE!

But, guess who was even more bitter? Mr. Husband. Turns out that if he doesn't get his gyro, he turns into a crybaby as well. So we were a trio of crybabies, and two of the crybabies were mad at me.

I will never write that check again. Promise.

Random Reminders

-- The verdict is in and Miss Megara Madison, aka The World's Most Annoying Bulldog, does not need plastic surgery. The drops appear to be working and her eye is better, so the vet has us keeping up with the drops for just a few more weeks. Fortunately, she's not bright enough to run away when the drops get walked her way, so it's really not that bad giving them to her. Mr. Husband can continue to have fun with that.

-- There was a death in the Fishtank of Horrors. Purple, the worm-eating fishy, died with his/her mouth agape the other day. The cause is unknown, but I'm thinking old age might have been a factor. That sucker had been around for a while and was already full grown when we got him/her. Peace out, Purple.

-- A while ago I had asked how to get the Toddler to cover her mouth when she coughs. Reactions ranged from helpful hints to "get over it, she's 2." I am pleased to say that I refused to just accept having Toddler breath shot in my face at Mach 5 and tried the "catch your cough" route. It worked. I'd say Alexis remembers to cover her mouth about 70% of the time these days, and she yells at adults for not doing it 100% of the time. I can live with that.

-- The comments on this post have turned a little, um, let's go with "interesting." Just so we're all crystal clear, I am a broken record when we go out, constantly saying, "Bum on the seat, please." That is Alexis' only sin when we go out--trying to stand in her seat. There is no way that kid is running around or in need of a babysitter. I just want her to get silverware, have a couple of napkins, not be physically injured by hot plates, and not spend longer waiting for someone else to make food than I would to run to the grocery store, cook, and clean up the kitchen faster. Alexis is very well-behaved in restaurants, and the one time that she wasn't? We paid and left. In return for her good behavior, I would just like to not have any other meals where she is stuck eating buttered noodles with her fingers because apparently Red Robin has no silverware anywhere. Or napkins. Cause that was. not. fun.

-- Earlier today, Alexis fell asleep in the car. When she woke up, she was all, "I had fun at Chuck E. Cheese." We haven't been to The Rat's Hole in months, so I'm thinking she had a dream about going to Chuck E. Cheese. It seems that it was a pretty good dream because Alexis was all about saying "thank you" and "that was fun." That's my kind of trip to Chuck's--the kind where I don't actually have to go, but the kid has a blast. We really should do that more often.

-- Thanks to everyone who linked to the 9/11 post and who has helped us raise a few more pennies to help support the Flight 93 Memorial. We've got a few more days left in the month, so click away and help us out a bit more. I'll let y'all know how much we ended up raising when all is said and done.