Trust me, you do NOT want to miss out on the chance to win these tickets. Because if you score tickets to “Storytime Live!” at the Walton Arts Center, your little one is going to squeal and dance and light up like a star from Dora the Explorer’s backpack. This show is bringing four of the top-rated preschool cartoons to the stage, and it’s Nickelodeon’s biggest, newest, most exciting show ever. Characters from the following four shows will be in the production:

• Dora the Explorer

• Ni-hao Kai-lan

• The Backyardigans

• The Wonder Pets

Tickets for this show range in price from $18.50 to $32.50, depending on where you sit. We’ve got a family pack of FOUR TICKETS to give away to one lucky mom for the show on Tuesday, March 23rd at 6:30 p.m. Plus, this ticket package includes a “meet-and-greet” with the show characters! AND we’re going to send the winner and her kiddos to lunch or dinner at nearby Flying Burrito. Yum!

Click here for more info about the show and a listing of show times.You can also call the Walton Arts Center box office at 479-443-5600.

HOW TO ENTER: To throw your name into the hat for this drawing, click the big orange comment button below and tell us two things: Name your favorite cartoon as a kid, and then tell us what your kids’ favorite cartoon is. Easy, huh? You can also e-mail your entry to us at giveaways@nwaMotherlode.com.

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ODDS: As always, you can increase your odds of winning the tickets and the Flying Burrito gift certificate by telling your mama friends about the giveaway. Just send them an e-mail about it and be sure to put giveaways@nwaMotherlode.com on the CC line of your note so we can give you proper credit.

Good luck in the giveaway! We’ll notify the winner by e-mail, so watch your inbox for a possible note from us with good news!

Wanna score some serious “You rock, mama!” points with your kid? Or maybe even your husband?

If so, read on. Today we’re giving away a Planet 51 Playstation 3 game ($49.95 value)! Thanks to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for offering us this fun game to give away to a lucky nwaMotherlode.com reader! The Planet 51 game is based on the movie, which officially lands in Earth stores today on DVD and Blu-ray.

If you don’t have a Playstation 3, I’m sure you can think of a friend or family member who would be thrilled to receive this game as a present. Even if our own kids call us meanies, we can always aspire to be the “fun aunt”.

About the game: The Planet 51 game is an entertaining mission-based driving game with various characters from the film available to play. The game allows audiences to immerse themselves into this amazing vibrant world and experience the fun Planet 51 has to offer!

About the movie (available starting today in stores): When Chuck the astronaut (Dwayne Johnson) lands on a distant planet filled with little green people, he’s surprised to discover that we’re not alone in the galaxy. But he gets the shock of his life when the residents of Planet 51 mistakenly believe that his presence is the start of an alien invasion of the human kind! Luckily, Lem (Justin Long) quickly realizes that Chuck is friendly and makes it his personal mission to help him return safely to his ship.

How to enter: Easy, as always: you just have to write a comment! (Click on the orange “comment” button at the bottom of this post.) We like to mix it up a little with the comments — since it’s so much fun to see what other moms write — and today we’re going with “guilty pleasures”.

Since playing video games kinda falls into this category once you become a grown-up, we want to know about those things you enjoy but might not typically admit. It could be reading romance novels while eating a king-sized chocolate bar in the bathtub, watching Gossip Girl on the WB or … well, you tell us! Click the orange comment button and post your answer. Or send it to us by email at giveaways@nwaMotherlode.com.

We can’t wait to read your guilty comments. Thanks again to Sony for sharing the Planet 51 love with NWA!

Congratulations to Ashley Phillips of Rogers! She won the FREE magic show by magician Joey Williams in the loft of Mad Pizza in Rogers (along with $100 worth of pizza, thanks to the Mad Pizza owners!).

This is working out perfectly for Ashley, whose son, Mason, is turning 10 on March 14! And Mason just loves the Mad Pizza Loft. Ashley, who works in payroll and benefits in the Rogers Public Schools admin office, said Mason recently had an end-of-the-year football party there and was just telling his grandmother how much he loved having it at Mad Pizza’s loft. She said Mason was psyched when she told him about her nwaMotherlode win!

Ashley’s daughter, Morgan, just turned 5 a few days ago and mom said she’ll probably be able to invite a few friends to the party, too.

Mason and Morgan’s cousin, Andi, will also be invited, along with grandparents and other local family members. Andi has always been the one to bring a box of magic tricks along with her to family events, Ashley said.

“We love any reason to get together and spend time with each other,” Ashley said. “Our family loves magic and Mad Pizza!”

Joey is a clean-cut, hard-working grad student who is personable, easy to talk with and loves what he does. Kids really respond to him, and he gives them a great, exciting show. You can read more about his experience and awards on his website by clicking here.

Mad Pizza is one of the Motherlode mamas’ favorite places to eat, and our kids think it is the BEST. They are famous for their buffet which features a LOT of different types of specialty pizzas as well as all the classics like pepperoni, sausage, cheese, etc. They also have lots of different types of dessert pizzas like cherry, blueberry, apple, peach, cinnamon sticks, chocolate peanut butter and chocolate chip. Click here or on the logo to see their delicious menu.

Thanks to Joey the Magician and Mad Pizza for such a magical giveaway!

Remember, you still have time to throw your name in the hat for two other giveaways going on right now (click on either one to go sign up!):

Girls’ Night Out to see Hairspray, dinner at Bordinos and a basket full of hair products!

Bundle of gift certificates: Cold Stone Creamery, O’Charley’s and Fast Lane Entertainment!

Editor’s note: Congratulations to winner Pam Lewis of Lowell, mom to Riley, 6, Sophia, 2, and 10-month-old Amelia! Pam is taking her husband to the show because she can’t even remember the last date they had. Have fun, Mike and Pam!

We know just how important it is to get away with the girls every now and then. Sometimes it’s necessary to tap into our inner girl who loves to giggle, hook arms with her friends and take off on a little adventure.

We’re here to help with that.

Today we’re giving away two tickets to see Hairspray, Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical-comedy phenomenon! And you know what else? Dinner at the fabulous Bordinos – as well as a basket full of hair products, courtesy of Rhonda Moulder (who writes the hair blog “Help Me Rhonda” on this website) and the salon Estella Studio.

FYI: Rhonda is moving to a brand new salon called Estella Studio, located at 1309 S. Walton, Suite 1, in Bentonville. Call her at 586-5100 or 464-4996 for an appointment at the new salon. Rhonda is putting together a collection of some of her favorite hair products for the winner of this giveaway, so that lucky mom will have lots of “good hair days” in her future.

We think this could be just what the doctor ordered for a hard-working mama who needs a night on the town with her best friend! Don’t you agree? Total value on this giveaway package is more than $200. Cha-ching!

If you think this sounds like fun, here’s how to sign up: Just click on the big orange comment button at the bottom of this post and tell us about your favorite beauty product(s). Do you have a favorite hairspray? Is there a lipstick that you just can’t live without? Would that particular mascara make it on your if-I-could-only-have-five-things-on-a-desert-island list? We’d love to know!

About the show: Hairspray makes its awaited return to Walton Arts Center after a crowd-pleasing performance in 2007! It’s a musical with a beat you can laugh to! This mega-hit is piled, bouffant-high with hilarity and romance. The New York Times said “If life were everything it should be, it would be more like HAIRSPRAY! It’s irresistible!“

Take a little trip back to 1962 Baltimore, when JFK was in The White House, John Glen was in orbit, Cadillacs had fins and bee-hive hairdos were in vogue. Watch as pleasantly plump 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad sets out to twist and shout her way onto TV’s most popular dance program, “The Corny Collins Show.� Can a big girl with big dreams – and even bigger hair – change the world…and still have time to win the boy she loves?

Based on John Waters’ 1988 film of the same name, Hairspray won a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album in 2002 and an astonishing eight 2003 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Sixteen years after the release of the original film, a second big screen adaptation of Hairspray hit theaters, starring John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer. Now, after two hit movies and a stunningly successful run on Broadway, this musical-comedy is back on tour.

About the food: Bordinos is just the perfect place for all special occasions! And celebrating girlfriends is something we consider special. They have the fancy drinks to go along with the delicious food — and desserts that are worth getting dressed up for.

Click here to see their menu!

Ladies Night Specials on Dickson Street: FYI: Walton Arts Center and Dickson Street businesses are celebrating a Hairspray night of fun by offering special discounts to ladies (Wednesday, March 10). The following restaurants, bars & retail stores are participating:

• Jose’s- $3 margarita madness with Karaoke
• Common Grounds- $4.25 cosmo’s and special appetizer menu
• Haug House- 1/2 price wings
• 21st Amendment- 1/2 price wine
• Private Gallery- Free pair of CZ or pearl stud earrings for Hairspray ticket purchasers between March 10- 13 (bring in ticket stub or program)

Don’t forget: Northwest Arkansas audiences can see this musical extravaganza for one night only on Wednesday, March 10 at 7 pm. Tickets range from $55.50 to $75.50 and can be purchased by calling the Walton Arts Center Box Office at 479.443.5600 or by visiting waltonartscenter.org.

Good luck, pretty mamas!