Happy Blog-iversary!

I can't believe it's been a year already, but sure enough - 1 year ago today I started my little blog project. When I decided to write a blog, it was going to be sort of a 'keeping it real, this is what life is really like with four kids' type of thing. I had started reading The Hyper Homemaker, and fell in love with Kate's decorating, recipes and cleaning tips. And also got frustrated by the fact that her house was always neat as a pin and she was seemingly able to whip up some delicious appetizer out of what was just hanging out in her kitchen when friends popped by. Or, at least that's the way it appeared on her blog (now defunct - I think she got a book deal; her food blog is still up, Good Things Catered.)

Matt was actually the one who suggested I start one, and after a little stewing (what on earth would I write about?) I did. Little did I know just HOW MANY other blogs there are out there, all doing a similar thing. I was so absolutely excited when I got my first comment- I think from my sister. And then my first follower (how they found me, I'll never know!) And it just sort of spiraled up from there.

My blog is my scrapbook and journal, and an outlet for me to share the joys and frustrations of being an at-home mom with others. I am so grateful for every comment left here, and I'm tickled every time a friend or family member mentions that they read it. Really, it means a lot.

So! To show my appreciation I have a little giveaway here, just a few things I've picked up:

We have January's issue of Real Simple, The Green Book (handy 'green' living tips), a box of my favorite chocolate chip cookies, a vanilla scented Valentine's Day candle, and some kitchen towels to match - these I couldn't resist, look at the embroidery :) Oh, and the obligatory Starbucks gift card. $5, get yourself a latte on me.


So what do you need to do to win? Because nothing good comes without just a little effort, right? This will be easy, just leave me a comment below for one entry. Followers also get one entry. Blog about it and let me know for another one (no tweeting, please). So that's it! 3 chances to win. I'm going to take comments until Sunday evening, let's say 9pm EST, and I'll announce the winner Monday morning. Thank you for stopping by, and good luck!