Toys, prizes, friends, good food…. Chester County Moms put on quite a night Thursday. Sarah and Shannon did an amazing job bringing together women and businesses from around the Chester County area to enjoy a night of raffles and prizes from companies both local and national. Jo-Lynne, Kim and I headed out from our corner of the county to join the fun on a very cold night. We debated the wisdom of leaving our cozy warm homes but the trip was worth the trek.

Recruiting the help of my early birthday gift (a Garmin GPS), our conversation went something like this . .

"Make your next turn. . ."

"yeah, no.. . "

"Make your next turn. . "

"no, I don't think so. . . "

"Turn left.. . "

"We're turning this way . . . so get OVER it {you little black box who can't even get Paoli right – why should we listen to you?}."

Well, Garmins are fairly reliable but they don't know momma shortcuts and they don't know mommas who need a night out – BADLY!

Arriving safely at Milestone Events, we each deposited new toys for Toys for Tots, which earned us extra entry tickets to the toys being given away. The ever lovely Melissa from Girlymama met us at the registration table.

After enjoying delish appetizers, we heard about the latest in toys from Chris Byrne, the Toy Guy and watched the Marines walk the toys down the aisle in a fun toy fashion show. See below for a picture with Mindi, Chris, Shannon and myself. 

 

Afterward, we started stuffing the boxes of our favorite toys and gifts in hopes of winning the prize of our choice. AND I WON!! Okay, back to earth. First, I won a lovely tree skirt and Christmas stockings from Sterling Pear, and then I sat back and waited. Each toy was called and I thought I just WANT THAT DSi while others went crazy over dinosaurs, dolls and night vision googles (right, Mindi?).

Yes, I will admit, I totally flipped when they called my number. Now, I had a major decision – which kid gets it? Both my daughters LOVE their DS. So, I struck a bargain with one of my daughters. She gets the FLIP video camera I got from a recent event while the other gets the DSi. AND, the Flip is a TOTALLY awesome gift that she will enjoy for YEARS to come and is definitely equal in value. Kids just don't think the same way. I might as well have told her I was buying her clothes or something — happy but still calling me "you little booger."

So, the fun ended and we gathered our coats and swag bag chockful of goodies  (in an awesome as always reusable bag from Sun & Earth). Then, the night was not over just yet as Whitney and Julie treated us to their winnings at Doc Magrogan's Oyster House before we made our way home.

"Make the next turn. .."

"Okay, we get it already."

"Make your next turn. . ."

"Should we just turn this off now?"

"Yeah, we know where we are."

Garmins and sassy mamas don't make for a good mix.