Let me warn you ahead of time if you’re thinking of running a contest like this . . .

the toughest part is trying to choose who wins! I mean it’s really, really hard! I’m so grateful that Darren Rowse has agreed to choose the final winner, because I would NOT be able to. It was hard enough to decide on the finalists. There were so many good entries, that many more deserve a winning badge than we can award.

So how did we decide? First, I took into consideration the comments of those that so graciously took the time to make a comment. So, for those of you that didn’t find a friend or relative to comment on your blog . . . “your bad”!  We also looked at the quality of content, and depth of blog. Those that blog seriously know the time a good post takes to create, and we all know those ‘just need to throw something up for now’ posts, too. Understanding that all posts can’t have literary award written on them,  quality still trumps quantity.

However, consistency in posting is important, too, as well as visual appeal. So with all that taken into consideration . . . everyone wins! Oh, can’t do that, can I? Well, our selection process really had no rhyme or reason, so please don’t be discouraged if you didn’t make the final round. You are probably one of those that was so close, it was only the extra comment that pushed another blog in front of yours.

With all that said, here are the 3 finalists in each category we’ll be submitting to ProBlogger Darren Rowse for final evaluation:

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YOUTH BLOGS:

Gardening For My Family

Got Freckles?

Sweet Tea {Jesus} and Me

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HOMESCHOOL BLOGS:

Homeschool Hang Out Zone

A Day In The Life

Confessions of an Organized Homeschool Mom

Katie’s Homeschool Cottage (by popular demand)

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MOM BLOGS:

For Such a Time As This

Generation Cedar

All You Have To Give

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MOMPRENEUR BLOGS:

Homeschooling WAHM

Homeschool Income Makeover

Network From Home, Homeschoolers Creating Success

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. . . and our newest category:

BABY BLOGS (blogs under 6 months old)

Gardening For My Family

Katie’s Homeschool Cottage

From The Mango Tree

Best of Both Worlds at Home

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Don’t forget our READER’S CHOICE AWARD – all entered blogs listed at  are eligible, and all votes are put into a hat (really!) for a  drawing for a free book from Benjamin’s Book Shop. Benjamin (pictured) will do the drawing. Vote by clicking here and commenting.

Please keep in mind that this was really hard, because there were so many excellent blogs to choose from, so keep at it! Blogs are a labor of love, and never really finished. We would like to put all these into some sort of directory for homeschoolers to refer to…keep posted!

Thanks for entering!

So… does anyone have any thoughts on how I could have done this contest any differently? I would love to hear suggestions, opinions, etc!