The skill of winning raffles ...

Well, it isn't actually a skill, and certainly isn't marketable, but for whatever reason, I have always been very lucky with raffles. Once, at a function for my brother when I was 8 or 9, my dad bought me 5 raffle tickets to some dessert auction. I won 4 desserts. After the first one, my parents didn't let me take any of the others home. At a craft fair at some point in middle school, I won a giant crocheted Santa (seriously, why did I ever want that!?). At my work outing this past summer, I had 5 raffle tickets, and won 3 really great gift cards. After accepting the first 2, I gave the 3rd back, and gave my tickets to a different table. And there have been other raffle wins. So random, too bad that doesn't translate to Powerball.

Sam, it appears, has "inherited" the knack for winning raffles. His school, in one of their chronic fundraising efforts, had a raffle for Disney on Ice tickets. I bought each boy a ticket, and figured I was just donating more money to their preschool. Nope. A few hours later, I got a call from school. I picked up the phone with dread, expecting a report of dislocated elbow, or a fever, or a vomiting child. Wrong, thankfully. Instead, the director was calling to say that Sam had won the raffle and was the proud owner of 4 tickets to Disney on Ice.

The boys and I went to the show on Monday, and had a wonderful time. The music was fabulous, the skaters were very talented (even if Princess Jasmine totally bit it during one of her jumps), and the boys and I had a very enjoyable afternoon in 7th row seats. I did spend probably close to the price of tickets on cotton candy, popcorn (which obviously got spilled all over the floor during a struggle to control the popcorn bucket), lemonade and parking, but it was well worth the price. Sam was delighted to be the "big winner," and Ben and I got to reap the benefits of his win!

The boys are getting so big, they hardly fit in my lap together. What happened to the babies who both fit in my lap when I saw "criss cross apple sauce"?