“Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence!” I have no idea what that means, but my kids randomly shout it all the time. At least I’ve finally realized they aren’t talking to me.

What they are talking about is Disney’s Phineas and Ferb, a much-loved TV show that’s coming live to Philips Arena in Atlanta this Saturday and Sunday, December 17th and 18th. The Saturday shows are added performances, at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., and I’m giving away 4 tickets to the 7 p.m. show on Saturday the 17th.

Comment to win at the bottom of this post!

My kids promised me a Phineas and Ferb Netflix marathon this week so I’ll be familiar with the show, but in case you’re a P & F newbie like me, here’s a rundown of the live production:

Produced by Feld Entertainment, Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever! brings Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford and friends to the stage as they make the most of the last day of summer by building an invention bigger, better and more amazing than ever. And, before you can wonder, “Hey, Where’s Perry?” the beloved pet platypus shifts to his secret double life as Agent P to foil another one of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s evil plans. Musical madness abounds in an escapade so awesome that even Candace can’t help but join the hilarious hijinks. It’s the ultimate end to summer vacation, so seize the day ‘cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all.

Philips Arena
Show Date & Times:
Saturday, December 17 – 4:00pm, 7:00pm
Sunday, December 18 – 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 6:30pm

Ticket Prices: $70, $55, $35, $25 and $15 (plus applicable fees)

If your kids like Phineas and Ferb as much as mine do, this would make a fantastic early Christmas present!

How to Win

You have up to 3 chances to win! Do one or all, leave a separate comment for each:

1. Leave a comment on this post. Are your kids Phineas & Ferb fans? (Are you?)

2. Tweet about this giveaway! Here’s a sample tweet:

Win tickets for 4 to Phineas & Ferb LIVE from @PhilipsArena and @dawnMHSH http://bit.ly/unNNjh #ATL #giveaway

Come back and leave another comment on this post.

3. Like My Home Sweet Home on Facebook for a 3rd entry and leave a separate comment so I’ll know that you did.

Win 4 Tickets to See Phineas and Ferb LIVE in Atlanta! is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

Last year was the first time our family saw A Christmas Carol at the Alliance Theatre, in a beloved production which celebrates 22 consecutive years this season. The Dickens classic begins with greed, selfishness, and hatred and concludes with forgiveness; love for your neighbor; loyalty; and compassion. A Christmas Carol remains fresh year after year, depicting change and renewal of the best sentiments of the season.

Comment to win tickets for 4 for this Thursday, December 1, at the bottom of this post!

I love what the Alliance is doing for the community this year: sponsoring a food drive with the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Bins are located in the lobby to collect your donations of non-perishable food items or other household consumables. The most needed items can be found in the right sidebar on this page.

I’m not sure what surprises are in store for audiences at this year’s production, but it’s suggested that you warm up your singing voice before you arrive! This play is best enjoyed by ages 6 and up.

How to Win

You have up to 3 chances to win! Do one or all, leave a separate comment for each:

1. Leave a comment on this post. Have you ever seen A Christmas Carol at the Alliance?
2. Follow both the Alliance Theatre and me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Here’s a sample tweet:

Win tickets for 4 to A Christmas Carol from @alliancetheatre and @dawnMHSH http://bit.ly/vZIWb7 #ATL #giveaway

Come back and leave another comment on this post.

3.Like the Alliance Theatre and My Home Sweet Home on Facebook for a 3rd entry and leave a separate comment so I’ll know that you did.

A Christmas Carol at the Alliance Theatre: An Atlanta Tradition (and a Giveaway) is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

The monthly attendance reports that homeschoolers are required to submit in Georgia cramp my style. I’m thankful to live in a good state for homeschoolers, but it’s just plain easy to forget about those forms. If you do, however, you can expect a letter or call from your county, and if you have a high schooler, it can affect their ability to get a driver’s permit or license.

This summer I learned about a service called Homeschool Compliance, which is accepted in 110 Georgia counties. Set up an account and log into the secure site; enter your family information, dates for your current school year, etc.; create an electronic signature (quite entertaining); and submit your monthly attendance online. No stamps, printer ink, paper, or envelopes!

Your family info—those details that we fill in over and over again each month—are pre-populated and all Monday-Friday dates are pre-checked. The system automatically calculates the total days of attendance for the month and the cumulative days for the year, time-saving features that make filling out your form a breeze.

It literally takes seconds to submit your monthly attendance.

You’ll receive monthly reminders to submit and an email receipt when the report has been received by your local school system. You can have PDF copies of the reports emailed to you for your records, and they are always available on the website, too. View a demo video here.

Sign up for a free 3-month trial and then pay a low $1 per month.

Win a free year of Homeschool Compliance! (do one or all, leave a comment for each)

(Remember that this service is for Georgia homeschoolers.)

• Leave a comment: Do you have an attendance form horror story, or do you usually remember to submit?
• Share on Facebook (just click the “like” button at the bottom of this post)
• Tweet it! (there’s a retweet button at the bottom of the post for that, too)
• “Like” My Home Sweet Home on Facebook (click here or use the big “Find us on Facebook” widget here in the right sidebar, where I get to look at your lovely faces)

Contest ends Sunday, October 16.

***

All 31 Days of Real Life posts can be found here. Other 31 Dayers can be found here.

31 Days of Real Life: Homeschool Attendance Reports (a giveaway for Georgia homeschoolers) is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

Lisa Leonard not only makes beautiful hand-stamped jewelry, she’s an incredibly sweet and generous person. On our (in)courage authors trip to Hilton Head earlier this month, one of the first things I saw was a table spread with assorted boxes of jewelry and other goodies, gifts from Lisa’s new fall collection.

My husband can tell you that I can take forever to choose a new pair of shoes, an entrée on a menu, or a movie at the theater—I analyze selections to death—but the Whoo Do You Love necklace was love at first sight.

I wear mine almost every day. Comment below for a chance to win this whimsical little owl for yourself, too!

My husband and sons think this artsy fartsy Instagrammed photo makes it look like I have a hairy chest. (I don’t.)

The winner gets to customize the back with names, words or a short phrase—up to 5 lines!

Enter to win a “whoo do you love” necklace from Lisa Leonard! (do one or all, leave a separate comment for each)

1. Do you wear jewelry on special occasions or daily?
2. Tweet about this giveaway (sample tweet: Win the new “whoo do you love?” necklace from @lisaleonard and @dawnmhsh http://bit.ly/njzKTX).
3. Share this giveaway on Facebook (“like” button is at the bottom of the post).
4. Stumble it!

Giveaway ends Tuesday, September 27.

Whoo Do You Love? A Necklace Giveaway from Lisa Leonard’s New Fall Collection! is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

This week’s challenge at iHeartFaces is Beautiful Eyes; I’m submitting an old favorite. It may not define beautiful in the traditional way with its bloodshot eyes, dirt, and water—but it’s beautiful to me.

iHeartFaces: Beautiful Eyes is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

Last week I got together with fellow Atlanta bloggers as part of “A Fabulous Summer of Flavor,” a contest sponsored by Lawry’s. Our theme is “On Vacation” and our mission is to cook our way to victory by submitting the tastiest or most interesting recipes in the competition.

My partners—Piera at Jolly Mom (our hostess), Lisa at Life with Lisa, Meghan at JaMonkey, Renee at Cutie Booty Cakes, and Diane at Turning the Clock Back—and I are competing against teams of bloggers in ten other cities.

As good as our food tasted, I feel like our chances are good!

We had so much fun cooking, talking, and laughing. I love spending time with other bloggers and getting to know them. Atlanta is a great place to blog because there are so many neat ladies doing it!

Here are our recipes, which make up a meal: Balsamic Herb Tomato Salad (salad), Garlic Knots (bread), and White Chicken Pizza (main course). We would totally make pizza as a family on vacation—what a great way to involve the whole family in the kitchen!

I would really appreciate your help. We want our team to win! Twenty-five percent of the scoring is based on overall community engagement with blog readers and Twitter followers

White Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt Marinade
5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
3 Tbsp of olive oil
1 large bunch fresh spinach
1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 recipe homemade pizza dough

Directions:
Marinade chicken in Lawry’s Seasoned Salt Marinade (overnight is best, but a few fours will work).
Cook chicken on grill pan until done and then shred.
Roll out pizza dough very thin and brush the top with olive oil and add minced garlic. Add fresh spinach, mozzarella cheese, red onion, and chicken. Don’t overload your pizza with toppings–it’s best to keep it light.
Cook your pizza on a pizza stone or quarry tiles in an oven that’s been preheated to 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown around the edges.

Recipe makes 2-3 pizzas, depending on how thin you roll out your pizza.

Balsamic Herb Tomato Salad

Ingredients:
2 pounds tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup Lawry’s Balsamic Herb Marinade
Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions:
Combine the tomatoes, scallions and marinade in a large salad bowl and toss to coat. Top with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Garlic Knots

Ingredients:

Dough
1 3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast
5 1/2 cups all-pupose, unbleached flour

Garlic Coating
1/4 cup olive oil
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 cloves garlic, finely crushed
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Parmigiano Reggiano
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt to taste

Directions:
Combine water, olive oil, sea salt, sugar, and active dry yeast in a large bowl. Mix to dissolve yeast.
Add flour and mix until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lint free towel and set in a warm spot to proof until doubled in size. At this point, you can refrigerate the dough for a few days if you want to make it ahead of time or go ahead and begin making the knots.
Divide the dough in two balls to make it easier to handle. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 5″x16″ and 1/2 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the rectangle into 1/2? x 5? strips.
With floured hands, roll each strip back and forth to create a rope. Tie into a knot–over, under, and through– and place on sheet pan lined with a silpat or parchment paper.
Make the rest of the knots, cover pans loosely with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise before baking. You want the knots to double in size (approx.)
Preheat oven to 500° F. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden.
While knots are baking, make garlic coating. Gently warm olive oil, butter, and garlic in a small saucepan. Add chopped parsley and set aside.
Remove knots from oven, place in a large bowl and toss with garlic coating OR brush the coating on. Season with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt to taste and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Help us win? (and you could win the 3 Lawry’s products we used!)

As I mentioned, 25% of the scoring is based on overall community engagement with blog readers and Twitter followers. Please leave a comment on this post and tweet it, too. It’s easy to tweet by clicking Tweetmeme button at the bottom of this post (it looks like this —->)

One commenter or tweeter will receive a sample pack with a 16-oz jar of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, Lawry’s Balsamic Herb Marinade, and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt Marinade.

What’s your favorite way to use Lawry’s?

Lawry’s “A Fabulous Summer of Flavor” — Team Atlanta! is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

You know you have awesome friends when you can talk them into flashmobbing at Moe’s, not only in the middle of the free kids’ night crowd but also on the one day of the year when they’re offering free queso. The lines were long and the emotions high as our group waited to perform.

An assortment of moms, kids, and one husband (mine!) danced our queso off for a chance at the $10,000 prize. Win or lose, it’s an experience and a bond we’ll never forget!

The winner is calculated as follows: 40% based on Originality, 20% based on Quality, 20% based on Dance Moves, 20% based on Dance Off Ranking (your votes) on the ilovequeso.com site. Here’s the easiest way to find us:

Go to ilovequeso.com, where you will see pairs of videos for a “dance off.” Since the contest is no longer open to new entries, clicking the black bar that says “ENTER THE CONTEST FOR A CHANCE TO”—

—is the fastest way to refresh new videos. Once you see our video, which will look like this—

—click the “Start Dance Off” button and then the “I Love It” button to vote. That’s it!

You might have to cycle through several entries to get to ours, but we would greatly appreciate your vote. Believe me, the entries are quite entertaining!

What do you think? (Would you have mobbed with us?)

Our Moe’s ilovequeso.com Flashmob Video is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

I found out tonight that my blog has been nominated for the Top 25 Faith Blogs at Circle of Moms. Click on over and see the other blogs nominated with me. Voting ends June 8 and you can vote once per day.

BooMama wrote a great post a few years back about removing all the buttons and gadgets from her blog that ranked her against other blogs: we’re community, it’s not a competition. I agreed wholeheartedly and removed not only all the ranking gadgets on my blog, but even the FeedBurner subscriber count, which didn’t rank me, but I spent too much time stressing about and over-analyzing (anyone with a FeedBurner feed knows those statistics can be unsettlingly erratic at times).

What I’m saying is: check out the blogs, but vote for your favorite (even if it’s not me). I’m just honored to be included.

The Fresh Air Fund

The Fresh Air Fund is looking for host families in the northeastern U.S. states. Host families are volunteers who open their hearts and homes to children from the inner city.

Here’s some information about the program:

“THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2010, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.”

Impressively enough, more than 65% of these kids are reinvited to stay with their host family, year after year.

Although I was only asked to share with you that The Fresh Air Fund needs host families, there is also a “Donate” link on their site that provides other opportunities—camps and other programs—for these kids.

Links to Share is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

[The contest is now closed. The winner is comment #12, Patti. Congratulations!]

I’ve always bought inexpensive pizza, not the cheapest, but nothing fancy. We’ve got a lot of mouths to feed, and frankly I didn’t think you could expect much quality from a pizza in the freezer section anyway.

I was wrong.

I was part of a Freschetta focus group at BlissDom in January. Both a scientist and a chef spoke to us about their production process and I was impressed by how determined they are to make the freshest, tastiest, most homemade tasting pizza you can get in the freezer aisle.

Freschetta has a new product called Pizza By The Slice, individual slices of pizza sold separately in a microwaveable box. It’s available in four flavors: BBQ Recipe Chicken; Vegetable Medley; Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom; and Six Cheese Medley. I chose Chicken, Spinach, and Mushroom (I love mushrooms!). Directions are included for both oven and microwave heating.

In the same way I was skeptical about quality pizza in the freezer aisle, I didn’t believe microwaved pizza would be edible, just soggy. We were in a hurry last night throwing together sandwiches and leftovers before racing to the ballpark, a wonderful time to try my Pizza By The Slice. Not only did it cook well in the microwave, it was so big that I couldn’t finish it by myself!

Freschetta wants you to try their Pizza By The Slice, too. Comment on this post to win a coupon for pizza, and also a 3-piece food storage set by Beihe. I had never seen or heard of Beihe food storage containers, but let me tell you I love the ones that Freschetta sent me.

This contest runs for one day only, so enter now and please help me spread the word and get extra entries by posting it to Facebook and Twitter.

Enter to win Freschetta Pizza By The Slice and a Food Storage Container Set! (do one or all, leave a separate comment for each)

1. Leave a comment and tell us which one you’d try: BBQ Recipe Chicken; Vegetable Medley; Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom; or Six Cheese Medley.
2. Tweet about it.
3. Share on Facebook.
4. Like Freschetta on Facebook (they have a link on the left to sign up to win pizza for a year).

Tweet and “like” buttons are at the bottom of the post.

Giveaway ends today, Saturday, May 7.

{Disclosure: Freschetta provided products for review; opinions expressed are mine.}

Freschetta By The Slice: Win Pizza and a Storage Set! is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved

[Contest is now closed. The winner is Lisa Stichweh!]

This is the final week of the Scott Naturals 4 Week Test Drive. Have you taken the pledge? Pretty please click the following link and Scott will donate $1—up to $25,000 total—to the National Wildlife Federation. While you’re there you can print coupons or sign up to win a Ford Fusion Hybrid (I want that car!). Leave a comment on this post to win a sample pack of Scott Naturals products.

Click here and $1 will be donated to the National Wildlife Federation

In Genesis 1:26 it says: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

Caring for the world around us demonstrates good stewardship of the things God put under our dominion.

I don’t believe that man will be the one to destroy the earth, but I do believe that we should care for it (without putting the importance of the creation above the Creator, or the earth above man).

So maybe you’re wondering: What’s the big deal with using Scott Naturals products? How can it help? Check out these stats based on the Scott Naturals 4 Week Test Drive:

• If everyone who took a flight today took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 14,240 trees saved.
• If every person that updated their Facebook status this week took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 1,744,400 trees saved.
• If every text message in the last hour was sent by one person that took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 1,483,333 trees saved.
• If everyone that visited Google today took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 4,414,400 trees saved.
• If everyone who drank a cup o’ joe today took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 1,106,348 trees saved.
• If everyone who saw the #1 grossing flick last year took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 393,977 trees saved.
• If everyone that ate fast food today took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 553,179 trees saved.
• If everyone that played the lottery last year took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 683,520 trees saved.
• If everyone that biked to work today took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 11,063 trees saved.
• If everyone who was issued a speeding ticket last year took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 232,568 trees saved.
• If everyone that bought one of the top 20 selling comic books of last year took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 407,196 trees saved.
• If every person that graduated college in 2010 took the 4-Week Test Drive, there’d be 11,797 trees saved.
• If every American that was married in 2005 took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 15,877 trees saved.
• If everyone that exercised five days a week took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 659,480 trees saved.
• If every American with less than stellar dental hygiene took the 4-Week Test Drive, there’d be 132,760 trees saved.
• If everyone holding a U.S. passport took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 814,983 trees saved.
• If every professional dancer in the US took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 178 trees saved.
• If every person that ascends The Eiffel Tower daily took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 56 trees saved.
• If every iTunes song downloaded last year was listened to by one person that took the 4-Week Test Drive there’d be 1,017,142 trees saved.

Pretty cool, huh? Won’t you click the link and take the pledge?
Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win a sample box of the Scott products pictured above—you know you could use some TP! Congratulations to Lesley M., last week’s winner.

{Disclosure: I am being compensated by Scott Naturals and TheMotherhood for my part in this campaign.}

Stewardship {Scott Naturals 4 Week Test Drive: Week 4} is a post from: My Home Sweet Home
© 2012 My Home Sweet Home | All rights reserved