G!VEAWAY Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Fully Charged in Atlanta

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is coming back to Atlanta, and you can catch the show at Philips Arena or Gwinnett Arena. You don’t want to miss the Most Electrifying Edition of The Greatest Show On Earth®!

Dates for Philips Arena Feb. 15 – 20
Dates for Gwinnett Arena Feb. 23-26

Fully Charged, the all-new surge of circus entertainment from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey where megawatts of thrills explode off of the arena floor with breathtaking dare-devilry, superhuman stunts and never-before-seen performances that energize Children Of All Ages, and runs Feb. 15-20 at Philips Arena in Atlanta and Feb. 23-26 at Gwinnett Arena in Duluth.

Do you want to go?
You have a chance right here to win 4 ticket vouchers for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and a BIG Thank you to Feld Entertainment for supplying the 4 pack of vouchers!

The vouchers are good for your choice of one of the following performances:
Philips Arena

• Wed. Feb. 15 at Philips Arena 7:30 show
• Thursday, Feb. 16 at Philips Arena 7:30 show
• Friday, Feb. 17 at Philips arena 10:30 show (there is no pre-show for this performance)

Gwinnett Arena

• Thurs. Feb. 23 at Gwinnett Arena 7:30 show
• Friday, Feb. 24 at Gwinnett Arena 10:30 show (there is no pre-show for this performance)

Here’s how you can win!

1. Like In The Kitchen With KP on Facebook HERE and leave a comment on this post with your username.

2. Comment below letting me know your favorite act of the circus.

3. Tweet this giveaway up to 3x per day!
” I want to win 4 tickets to the Barnum & Bailey Circus in #Atlanta via @InTheKitchenKP http://wp.me/pT7cz-Xd #Giveaway”

Oh, and an extra special tip…if you select one of the shows with a pre-show performance, you have the opportunity to arrive at the arena one hour before show time to check out the All Access Power Up Pre-Show. It’s FREE! You’ll be able to meet performers and animals in person! What an awesome bonus!

GOOD LUCK!

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The Fine Print:
Follow the entry methods listed above, one entry per method chosen unless otherwise stated.
Leave a separate comment for each entry.
Please be sure to add your email address in case you win!
Contest is open until 7:00 PM February 8th, 2012.
Winner will be chosen randomly and must respond to their email no later than February 9th at Noon in order to receive complete details for receiving 4 ticket vouchers for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus!

Disclosure: Barnum & Bailey will provide the vouchers directly to the winners. My family was given a four pack of tickets to a show in exchange for hosting the giveaway.

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Congratulations to winner, Jessica!
Comments are now closed for the giveaway.

Mommy and Me Monday – Holiday Party

Taking some vacation days around the holiday was not only fun for family time, but I was able to take some time and volunteer to help out with Baby’s class holiday party. The classroom parents did a fabulous job organizing 4 stations for craft making and game playing.

How cute is this edible marshmallow snowman craft? I smell a Pinterest post.

One of the highlights of the party for the kids was the pass the gift game. Similar to the Hot Potato game, children gather in a circle and pass a wrapped gift to music. When the music stops, the child holding the gift get to unwrap a layer of wrapping paper to reveal a surprise.

I thought this was an awesome idea. To explain further, the first gift is wrapped in paper as normal. The next step is to layer the next surprise with the first wrapped gift, then wrap as one new gift. Keep layering and wrapping until you have enough layers to allow every participant to unwrap a layer of wrapping paper and receive a surprise. Of course to save any arguments among the children, the gifts were all similar with slight variations. Fun pads, holiday pencil packs, word search books, and card games all make great gifts to layer. You could even do this activity as a game at a birthday party instead of/or in addition to the usual take away goody bags.

I ended up giving it a try myself, wrapping a ten layer gift, and taking it to my friend’s Chismukkah (our own combination Christmas and Hanukkah) family party, and it was a big hit with all the kids! Even the older ones! It’s definitely an idea I will be reusing again.

Were you able to visit your child’s classroom for any activities this year?

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Have you succeeded and gotten yourself out from behind the camera lately? Share and link up with Mommy and Me Monday over with Serious Krystyn.

Hosted by Krystyn

Dude…Stephen King Was At Our Local Walmart!

I am not joking!
See!

Stephen King really was in our local Walmart. The legendary author, of such amazing books as “Misery”, “It” and “The Green Mile”, was in town a few weeks ago for a signing of his new novel, “11/22/63″.

DH was one of hundreds of people to line up outside the store for the chance, to stand in line again later that evening, for an autograph. Mr. King would only be signing copies of “11/22/63″, and the store was limiting autographs to the first 400 people. DH excitedly called me with news he received wrist band number 344, which was shocking to him, because apparently, there were a ton of superfans sleeping in tents outside the store when he arrived!

Again…not joking!

You can see more details here on Stephen King’s FB page here or from Katie VanBrackle’s article here on NorthFulton.com. Ms. VanBrackle also shares some great pictures of the event.

Who would you stand in line for hours to see or get an autograph?

Big Plans for New Year’s Eve?

For the last seven years DH and I have stayed home for NYE. Most years were out of necessity since both kiddos were born close to Fall/Winter holidays. Other years, we stayed home either due to inability to make a decision of where to go, or just out of sheer exhaustion over the craziness of the holidays with kids.

I miss celebrating New Years out among the crowds. I know it sounds funny for some to want to be among crowds, but I have such great memories celebrating NYE with friends before meeting my husband. There were years of destination celebrations and years of house parties, but they were all filled with a lot of booze fun. So to honor the occasion of going out again I decided to reminisce a little.

My top 5 NYE celebrations

1. House party in Brookhaven, PA – An incredibly fun night featuring repeated games of Chase Quarters. After minimal hours of sleep, a group of us headed out into the cold to go to the Mummer’s Parade. Needless to say, it was so cold that year, we ended up in a bar to keep warm.
Photo credit Scenes from Philadelphia blog

2. Mulligan’s – A local sports bar back in PA the year my younger brother turned 21. I didn’t have any major plans, so I decided to be the designated driver for my brother and his friend. My extrovert nature got the best of me after a while, and soon we were calling my Dad for a ride home. Don’t worry though, it was all good.  Dad said it was an option from the beginning. Makes me crack up every time. Thanks for keeping us safe, Dad!

3. Dewey Beach, DE – A friend’s dad had a summer-house and a group of us stayed overnight.  We had an amazing time going to one of the largest bars in Dewey, with multiple levels, multiple bands playing, and TONS of people!  I have to say, not much beats partying at the beach in the winter.

4. Ft Lauderdale, FL – My first NYE after turning 21. My family was celebrating the holidays in FL, and my sister had an old friend in Ft. Lauderdale. We went to an awesome night club and danced all night! I can still picture the outfit I wore…black leggings and boots, long tunic with a flouncy, little ruffle around the bottom. Holy crap…I just described the outfit I wore to a Christmas party last year. Who knew it would be back?

5. House party in Brookhaven, PA – A different house, the eve of a new millenium, but the same friends. One of my BFFs was home on a break from the Peace Corps. Not only was I so excited to see my friend, but she was finally able to meet the guy I was dating, and writing to her about while she was in Nepal. The guy dumped me in the morning (no joke), but it was still a great celebration looking back. The bright side of the boyfriend dumping me, I was free to meet my now husband, a few months later.

This year we are lucky to have my in-laws visiting. DH and I plan to take advantage of having someone to watch the kids so we can go out.
Alone.

Not sure what we are doing yet, but I can pretty much guarantee it won’t involve partying among large crowds, but that’s ok. I’ll be with the one I love, and be home in time to ring in the New Year with my favorite littles.

And I could not be happier with the choice.

How do you plan to ring in the New Year?

Make Your Mark Week – Kids and Teens Take Action

I am very excited and honored to feature another guest poster here at In The Kitchen!

Please grab yourself a cup of coffee and gather ’round the center island for some great information on a growing global youth service movement from Jessica Kirkwood, VP Interactive Strategy, Points of Light Institute

PS…If you decide to eat some cookies with your coffee, I won’t tell anyone!

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As a strong believer in the role community service plays in helping young people enhance their education and contribute to society, I’d like to invite you and your family to join me and my family and participate in a program that is very close to our hearts.

Next week, generationOn, the youth activation division of Points of Light Institute, will launch its annual Make Your Mark Week, October 16-22, an initiative that strives to inspire and mobilize youth to use their energy, ingenuity and compassion to “make their mark on the world” through hands-on service.  During the week, young people will take part in small acts or service projects that together make a big impact on their lives, their communities and the world.

Research has shown that young people want to make a difference in the areas that matter most to them.  Because of this, generationOn has chosen five service and project areas for Make Your Mark Week 2011 including animals, environment, homelessness,  hunger and literacy.

Right now, projects are being planned across the country.  In Nebraska, first through fifth grade students at Columbia Elementary School in Omaha will make their mark by creating rope devices that will be used to train service dogs to open doors, refrigerators and other various items.  In Georgia, members of the Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Georgia are using their artistic talents to produce containers featuring plaques that encourage residents to recycle their waste.

What are you and your family going to do to make your mark?  With a goal of reaching 100,000 young people, I encourage you to get involved and make your mark in your local community by visiting http://kidsvolunteer.generationon.org to pledge an action and join the movement.

It’s easy!

Together, we can help kids truly make a difference.

Wordless Wednesday – Trains, Trains and More Trains

Today I am not sure who I love more…

Craig’s List or the Grandparents that have the time to scour Craig’s list for items like this.

We love you Poppy!

Now when can we expect a visit to deliver those new trains???

Jed is pretty excited!

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I linked up for Wordless Wednesday!

If you would like to link up your WW post, go check out The Divine Miss Mommy!

Girls Night Out – Social Media Style

When I was recently asked if I wanted to join in the fun for a bowling party sponsored by One to One Network I didn’t even hesitate. How could I? A night out sans kids AND I get to socialize with fellow GA Social Media Moms…SCORE!

Wonderful hostesses Stacie from The Divine Miss Mommy and Piera from Jolly Mom had everyone feeling welcome and relaxed right from the beginning.

We met up at the AMF Marietta Lanes in Marietta, GA. The One to One network was amazing to sponsor the event. They provided food, beverages, shoe rental and game fees.

It was so nice to be able to sit and relax around the table with everyone talking, we almost forgot to bowl.

Oh, but we did bowl.
And we were all AWESOME!

Scores didn’t matter. Even though I ROCKED it and was one of only a few to break 100. Oh Yeah!!!

Apparently I have a little competitive streak according to Jennifer over at Mami 2 Mommy. Who knew?

For some more bowling action photos and info head on over to check out Piera’s post here. With the current summer temps blazing bowling is a fun family activity that you can take advantage of free air conditioning! And if you have an AMF bowling alley near you, you are definitely in luck, so be sure to check out their free bowling summer program. It’s cool in more ways than one!

When was the last time you went bowling?