Friday, July 17, 2009

Vacation...Staycation Giveaway

Our vacation planned for next weekend turned into a staycation. But...we moved up our beach trip to the end of the month (because we're driving and staying with Donnie's parents our dates are flexible). Up until now, Bug's longest road trip has been three hours. I'm hoping for a long nap (either him or me but preferably him), the magic of the portable DVD player, no major traffic or construction delays, a bit of Bruce and a small miracle. Any advice for an 8-plus-hour car trip with a toddler?

So to help me not focus on the long drive in my oh-so-near future, I've decided to do a vacation/staycation giveaway.

Thrill of the chaise tote bag: perfect for the beach, grocery store, library or whatever. It's a big, sturdy and ready to go.



When life gives you lemons, make martinis with a twist tee (slightly fitted, extra comfy tee):



Tote bag and tee are from charmingmaeve.com.

I love this Romeo and Julienne cutting board...so clever! Really, if you're going to wear this martini tee, you can use the cutting board for the lemons.



The cutting board is from Fred (but it's discontinued). I just happen to have an extra! Check out the other cool stuff on the site.

Wanna be the winner? Enter by leaving me a comment on this post. You can get an extra entry by mentioning the giveaway on your blog (and linking it here) or by being a follower. I'll pick a winner on Tuesday, July 28.

48 comments:

  1. Ooooo, I'll take any of the above.

    And I'm already a follower!

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  2. Traveling with a toddler...that's a tough one. The DVD players are awesome. Large variety of snacks; for everyone.

    Earplugs for you?

    Hope you have a great time!

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  3. My son will be three next week and we find that the portable DVD is best for trips. The Magna doodle is also a good one, or if you let him have sweets my son gets super excited about a lollipop and will actually lick it for a LONG time.

    We pack a tiny little suitcase with special trip toys, like the magna doodle, some new small books, a sticker book and maybe a small toy....he usually has fun going through it for ahwile...

    good luck

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  4. I love all three, but I'm a bag addict, so the tote is perfect!

    I follow you, already! Hope that counts. ;)

    A goodie bag filled with things he's never seen before, some wrapped items so they're total surprises, those coloring pads where the markers ONLY (yeah, right!) write on the special paper, stickers, new and fun snacks, stuff like that work wonders! Have fun and safe travels!

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  5. An 8 hour car trip? Hmmmm... we have a 3 hour trip to the cabin and when my kids were little we always brought coloring books or construction paper and markers or crayons, lots of books to read, and that's all I can remember. I wish they'd had DVDs in the car when they were that age. My kids are teens now so it's all iPods and Nintendo DS!

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  6. You won mine now I wanna win yours! ; )
    Cool stuff, I am addicted to totes. :)
    Travelling with kids? Yuck. My inlaws get into town tomorrow and we'll be going, going, going, all week. I'm tired already. :)
    Macey

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  7. Traveling with a toddler...is there a fun half way point? Stopping and getting that energy out for even an hour is a lifesaver. For us, we leave early, early in the morning before they are wide awake, pack "just for the car" toys, and try to make a stop at a playground/playplace/museum/etc. so we can wear them out. They know the drill...run to get your energy out. Then naptime until we get there!

    What fun, cute items! Pick me, pick me!

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  8. We're gearing up for a 6+ hour road trip next weekend too. (YAY Adirondacks here we come!!) It's always a little painful the last hour or two... Hopefully the weather will be nice and we'll make extra time for stops along the way. The boys always ask if we can stop "to get the yaya's out"!! Thankfully, they're great travelers and are happy with singing, snacking and napping! :) Have a GREAT time!!

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  9. I'm afraid I'm the queen of the staycations. At least you have come up with some fun things in your giveaway! Thanks for having it!
    doot65[at]comcast{dot}net

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  10. I blogged it for ya here
    doot65[at]comcast{dot}net

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  11. I'm a follower!
    doot65[at]comcast{dot}net

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  12. ooh. Long drive with a toddler. Not one of my favorite memories... But seriously... my kids were always pretty good in the car (not according to my post today, but hey). I lasted until they were 12 and 10 before I succombed to the DVD player cop-out. lol. Now I love it. I used to sit in the back with them and read books. I also bought lots of little games for them to play. We did the old-fashioned stuff like car bingo, the "I'm going on a picnic" memory game, and the classic 20 questions....

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  13. Here's my advice for long drives: tons of snacks. Tons of books. Tons of DVD's (love the portable player). Lower your expectations. Prepare to stop often. A lot of zen breathing.

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  14. What an incredible giveaway!
    I hope you make the most of your vacation/staycation.
    oheeyore at hotmail dot com

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  15. What a terrific giveaway! I'm going to add a button to my blog at the top (I have a couple other ones up there, hopefully people will visit you).

    Traveling with your toddler will be fine, esp. with the DVD player - we've done a 19 hour two-day trip a few times with little ones - last one was in December, our youngest was 13 months old at the time, and we've done it with a 9 month old - you'll be amazed at how fast it goes. If he's 3 you should be fine - might not nap if you have a movie running so be sure to turn it off around that time. Yummy snacks & a few toys that are different from the norm. Favorite books. It'll be fun - good luck!

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  16. FUN STUFF! Can you have it wrapped and sent to me by next Thursday? What?? This is a 'giveaway contest'.. oh... I have to enter??

    shoot. Have a beach trip upcoming. I say go for it... he'll be just fine. Make stops and don't put yourself into a pressurepot.. :) Go with the flow. Which is code word for. STOP THE CAR EVERY 4 SECONDS. :)

    stopping in.. blog of a blog of a blog.. found you.
    d

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  17. Staycations can be a lot less stressful and they really bring your creativity out!

    Have fun!

    Thanks!
    Jae
    passiontealemonade(at)yahoo(.)com

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  18. I follow :)

    Jae
    passiontealemonade(at)yahoo(.)com

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  19. Toddler travels are fraught with peril, but I am sure you will come up with lots of creative ways to keep him busy. Love the tee and tote, both are always in demand.

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  20. what a great giveaway! that cutting board is so clever!!

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  21. Road trips are something I do with just the girls, my DH will not be stuck in a car with them for any length of time. I think a 6 hours trip in a friends amazing RV was about all he could handle! Have a great time.

    OH by the way I think I need that bag and I'm already a follower

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  22. mmmmm...martinis.....

    I'm a follower!

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  23. very cute, very fun stuff- I wanna win!!

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  24. I'm a new reader via Swistle!

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  25. They are soo cool! I live in London, I hope I can still enter...

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  26. Well, Swistle sent me over here, but I think I'll be coming back! My youngest is around Bug's age (sept 06) and we do long car rides all the time. Family lives 550 miles away, and we go a couple of times a year. We usually leave right away in the morning, b/c everyone is happy then. After they exhaust their car toys/books, we stop for lunch and then she usually naps for quite a long time. We stop again late afternoon/evening and get a snack and some stretching. By then we are almost there!

    Good luck, and your give-away stuff is so cool!

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  27. How fun! Who doesn't love giveaways? Thanks for the chance to win!

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  28. I *must* have that tshirt!

    I miss martinis (7 mos pregnant over here...does it come in maternity sizing, b/c that would be teh awesome!)

    Came here via Swistle today. But I'll be lingering.

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  29. Very cute, I'd love to win this contest!

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  30. I could absolutely use a vacation... or a staycation... and definitely could use these lovely items! :)

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  31. hang in there and ENJOY vacation! love that tote. i'm a HUGE fan of totes, everywhere i go, everything i do. cheers to summer, rachel

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  32. I had gerbils growing up named Romeo and Julian - no kidding!

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  33. I second the selection of small toys he's never seen before, doled out at various points along the way. We travel with the small people several times a summer, and always stop at a rest area with a playground and picnic tables. A quick lunch and some time to run around works wonders!

    Cool contest!

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  34. Fun giveaway! Have a great trip.

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  35. Cool contest.
    This is my first visit, nice to meet you.
    I'll be back again soon.

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  36. I'm follower #34

    Your blog name caught my eye-- very cute-- so I stopped by!

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  37. This looks like an awesome store! Thanks for the great giveaway! I've got one going too, so stop by... :)

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  38. Please enter me. We could def use a new cutting board

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  39. What a fun giveaway!

    heatherdemke(at)gmail(dot)com

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  40. Yes please! (=
    gjturner at gmail dot com

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  41. I love these.. The martini T is the best.. One of my Fab Fav's is a Martini .. I saw you stopped by my site I want to say Hi.. I need you to become a my "Fab Friend" to get on the List for my BEAD FOR LIFE BRACELET.. I would love it if you won... Love your book choices.. I am almost done reading "The Shack" So I might pick one of your books out to be my next read..

    XO,

    TFF

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  42. I'm pretty sure I'm too late, but entering anyway, in case you feel like being loosey goosey w/ the rules!

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