
Okay, so y'all know I love contests, especially from the various mom blogs I follow. Well recently there was a contest on a local mom blog here in the Twin Cities. To enter you had to write about why your husband/father was a "Super Dad". There were 5 winners chosen and each winner won a 1-year Family Pass to Underwater Adventures at Mall of America. So I sat and typed up why Chad deserves the title "Super Dad", and guess what - Underwater Adventures agreed with me and named him a SUPER DAD!!!
Here's my winning entry:
"Wow, where do I begin? My husband is the ultimate "super dad". We have an almost-five-year-old daughter with special needs and a little boy who just turned three last week. Our journey through parenthood has been anything but "normal" with our daughter being born with special needs after a difficult delivery, but my husband has taken everything in stride. From day one he’s been so pro-active about making sure our daughter gets all the extra help she needs. And he's a teacher, so during the summer he's off with the kids and runs our daughter around to the 4 therapy appointments she has each week, and then to all of her appointments with various other specialists. They also fit in trips to the park, the zoo, and to the lake swimming, of course!
During the school year he picks up additional contracts/responsibilities at his school above and beyond his teaching duties to earn extra money for our family so we can afford to still do some of the fun stuff "normal" families do, as all the therapy sessions are extremely expensive and put a big strain on our finances. He's gone above and beyond in every way imaginable to make sure he's involved and a part of the kids' lives, whether it's taking time off from work to be at our daughter's appointments (which isn't always easy as a teacher!), to making sure our son gets special one-on-one "daddy time" since our attention is often focused on our daughter.
He's just such an amazing person and it melts my heart when he walks in the door each evening and I see his face light up as the kids run screaming "Daddy's home!!!" towards him. I know the years ahead will most-likely continue to be challenging, but I’m confident that at the end of this journey our kids will look back and agree that they’ve got the best daddy in the WHOLE world!! I love you honey, and I’m so thankful for the wonderful husband and father you are. We’d be lost without you! And the kids and I are so blessed to have you! Thank you for being the best Dad EVER!!!"
Congrats to my friend Amber whose husband was also named a Super Dad!!
Check out this awesome "baby bag" I won!!! I know, I know...our kids are getting old enough now so that we shouldn't really need to carry around a diaper bag. But with Peyton still having troubles with potty training I always have a pull-up and some wipes jammed in my purse because I refuse to carry around a standard dorky diaper bag with obnoxious characters all over it. Then there's always a change of clothes in the car for both the kids - just in case. I'm sick of carrying around random things in my purse (which I sometimes forget at home anyway), so when I came across a blog that was giving one of these kickin' bags away I figured what the heck - why not enter. And I won!! I'm not sure what person in their right mind would pay $200 for a diaper bag, but that's what this one costs apparently. Oh, and it's "green", made out of recycled pop bottles. Can't wait to get it and start using it! 
So I'm totally copying Sarah (my giveaway monitor) and am entering a contest to win a bedroom set over at 5 Minutes for Mom. I'm supposed to choose which set I'd want if I were to win...I could go either way, but I guess I'd say the Summer Breeze set.
To enter the contest you have to post a picture (or pictures in my case) of your little sleepyhead. These are pictures of our ride home after a trip to the zoo. And yes, Peyton is sleeping with her head in my hands...it's not an "altered" photo.
This is a fun giveaway for anyone who's got a great picture of their sleeping beauties!!