July 24, 2010

Wooooohoo, I <3 my mom.  As anyone with a child not quite old enough for school yet knows, they can be a handful at times.  I love my little boogers, but a couple hours to myself or with my husband?  Bliss!  What a co-incidence that yesterday my four year old was little miss attitude and/or little miss whine & cry (payback, I am sure), and I was ready to ship her off to her grandparent's for a week.  She calmed down later in the afternoon and was my happy little girl again, but then my mom called and said she wanted the girls today.  Sooooooooooo, girls are now with her for a few hours, and husband and I get the evening to ourselves.  We're going to induldge and order some Chinese takeout, and watch a movie.  Normally I would use this time to do some bargain shopping, but we are pretty well stocked right now and I've already hit CVS this week...no where else I wanted to go.  We could have done dinner out and movie or something, but I am just digging a few hours at home to chill with him.  The girls will have a blast over there too. 

I have some pictures to upload and a few more posts to make, but they might end up waiting until tomorrow.  We had some frugal fun with the kids today, well, it was frugal for us anyway...  I have saved nearly all of my childhood toys that were still in good condition to pass down in the hopes of someday having a girl (and lucky me, I now have two! <3), and as they've gotten old enough to handle different things I pull the boxes out and go through them and let them have what's age appropriate.  Today I went through and pulled out a bunch of old Barbie stuff... SO much fun, for me (trip down memory lane) and them.  I took a picture as I opened one of the boxes so I will have to post it later.

Bright Beginnings

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.


I know most of you who read this probably know me in person, and as such you know I am a huge, huge, huge advocate of breastfeeding your child if at all possible.  That said, I realize that it is a highly personal choice, and that not all mothers are physically able to or even want to breastfeed their children completely or at all.  I, myself, and am glad that formula exists for those reasons. 

If you use formula for your child, you might want to check out Bright Beginnings available at diapers.com.  It is a Parent's Choice product, and they just re-designed the can.  Purely from a looks stand-point, cute!  I like simple designs.

Bright_beginnings_1

I am always seeing coupon codes and sales for Diapers.com.  I haven't actually ordered from there before, but I have been tempted.  Just now, when I visited their site I saw a code for $5 off a diapers or formula purchase, as well as 10% off any other items you might purchase.  On top of that, they offer free two day shipping on orders of $49 or more (easyyy to purchase that much when you're talking baby needs like diapers and formula).  I have also heard that if you have actual physical paper coupons they will allow you to mail them in and have them deducted from your purchase price (can anyone back me up on that?  I am 99.99999% positive that I have heard that about them). 

Visit my sponsor: Bright Beginnings

July 22, 2010


 CVS:

10 Nabisco crackers - .99/each.  Used ten $1 coupons, fa-ree!! :o)
1 Ivory bar soap 3-pack - .99, used a $1 coupon, free!
1 Trident - $1.29, used a free item coupon from the CVS coupon machine
1 Shick Intuition refill - $8.99.  Used a $4 coupon, got a $4 ECB.  .99!
1 Celcius 4-pk - $7.99.  Used a $3 coupon, got back $7.99 ECB, $3 money maker.

Used $9.97 in ECBs to pay, and ended up owing 14 cents, mostly tax.  I can handle that.  ;o)  I got back $12.99 in ECBs since I also got $1 for my Green Bag Tag.  They were out of the pretzel M&Ms so I got a raincheck.

I turned around and bought diapers for my stubborn will-not-potty-train two year old, used $4 in ECBs on those (and a $3 coupon) and got back $3, so I "lost" $1 on those ECB-wise, but that's okay, lol...didn't snap a picture of those, but I also bought these cookies, that were .99/each, and I used three $1/2 coupons, so they were .49/pack.  


July 19, 2010

Free from Franklin Goose!!

:o)

July 12, 2010

CVS:

10 Gatorade - .77 each.  Used five $1/2 coupons.  $2.70 for the lot, or just .27 each.  Awesome!


More CVS:

1 Complete - $7.99, used a $2 coupon.  $5.99, and got back a $7.99 ECB.  Free plus $2 profit!
1 Papermate pens - .99, got back a .99 ECB, free!
1 scissors - .99, got back a .99 ECB, free!

Paid with ECBs, and nothing out of pocket for this one :o)
Walgreens:

1 Always: Free with coupon that printed on a previous trip.
1 Charmin: on sale for $2.99, used a $1 coupon...$1.99

:o)

Mail!

Pampers diaper sample.
Melissa & Doug stamp set, reward for redeeming points earned for taking surveys. 
$4 in coupons from Febreeze
Propel coupon and sample from Vocalpoint. 

I'm tucking the stamps away for Christmas ;o)

July 11, 2010


F.R.E.E. to me! 

2 Cascade - 2/$5.99, used two $1 coupons.
1 Duracell batteries - $2.99, used a $1 coupon
1 Dawn - .99, used a $1 coupon
1 Pantene - $5.99, used a $1.50 coupon and a $2 CVS coupon
1 Charmin 12 pack - $5.49, used a $1 coupon
1 Biotrue - $2.99

I used $16 in ECB and paid nothing out of my own pocket.


I didn't break even with the ECBs I used to the ECBs I got back, I only earned $1 for the Charmin, $2 for the Pantene, $1 for the Duracell, $2.99 for the Biotrue, $1 for the Cascade... so, just $7.99 compared to the $16 I spent, but that's okay with me every once in awhile, at least it was still all free, and I still have ECBs to use next time! :o)

July 8, 2010

Familyville

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Johnsonville Sausage. All opinions are 100% mine.

First of all, let me say, I am not the video making type. The extent of my video making is recording my kids, and mayyyybe you might hear me in the background.  BEHIND the camera.  So, I decided to try this anyway, but as soon as I pressed that button I got that knot in my stomach and lost my words...not that I really had any to begin with. I suppose I could have written a script, but where is the fun in that? That would be like me though! I have this crazy phone phobia, and before I go to make a phone call I will write everything I want to address, down on a piece of paper to have in front of me. Even simple things like birth dates and such if I am making an appointment somewhere, things that I *know* but will just draw a blank on when I'm on the phone. Wow, now I am really making myself nervous and I already made the darned video!  I am sitting here laughing at myself for the long pauses, etc, haha.



So there you have it.  In the spirit of Johnsonville's FAMILYVILLE,I decided to take you on a quick tour of my family's extra freezer, because having Johnsonville in my freezer is one of the ways I help nourish and provide good memories of barbecuing outdoors for my family..  It could actually use a bit of a re-stocking.  I haven't been grocery shopping much lately aside from quick trips, and well, we don't stop eating just because we've been shopping less!  I love having the freezer stocked for that reason though, I can stock up when the prices are rock bottom and I have coupons, fill up my freezer, and then when were busy or the sales haven't been that great, I can do quick stops at the store for dairy and produce and not have to worry about what's for dinner. 

You can almost always find Johnsonville products in my freezer.  They often go on sale Buy 1 Get 1 Free, and in many of the magazines that I have free subscriptions too, I find .55 coupons, which will double at my favorite grocery store, to $1.10 off.  So if they're $3.99, Buy 1 Get 1 Free, and I have two of those .55 coupons, I end up paying just $1.79 for TWO packs.  That is a pretty good deal! 

If you're interested in making a video of your own (I am SURE you can make a better one than mine, hehe), you can whip one up in the categories of: Familyville, Friendsville, Eventville, or Locationville.  You can enter it in the "Share Your Ville" Video Contest online, until July 20, 2010.  As a BONUS, the first 50 videos will get a free coupon!  Yayyy, coupons! Five winners will be able to share $21,000 in cash, as well as other prizes from Coleman, Hefy, and Gander Mountain.  The winner of the "Professional Category," will recieve $10,000!  Good luck!!  And, if you  make one, feel free to share it with me :o)

PS - Wow, I just checked out some of the submissions on the site, way more entertaining than taking a peek into my freezer, lol.

Visit my sponsor: Share Your Ville

A few of the freebies in my mailbox recently:

Paint testers from Glidden
Crystal Light packets and coupons from VocalPoint
So Dear to My Heart DVD from Disney Movie Rewards


July 6, 2010

America's Favorite Gift Cards

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of FriendGiftr. All opinions are 100% mine.


I just heard about a neat site called FriendGiftr.  I have to admit, it really bothers me that it is "Giftr," and not "Gifter," because really?  Not a fan or leaving out letters!  It doesn't take that much more effort to type an "extra" letter, and it would really calm my inner spelling Nazi down, haha!  Once I got over that, I began to browse the site.  You can purchase digital gift cards, and your normal phyiscal "in your hand" gift cards to be mailed to you or the lucky recipient of your choice.  You can purchase the cards through their website, or even purchase them through your favorite social networking site, like Facebook, MySpace, iGoogle, Ning, and Bebo (though, I am so behind the technological times because I have never even heard of Ning and Bebo, and I've obviously heard of Google, but I have no idea what iGoogle is...is it for the iPhone?).  You can also purchase giftcards from your phone (it says on their website, from your iPhone, Blackberry, Android, webOS, Symbian OS, or any other phone with wi-fi)!  (Though again, I am BEHIND THE TIMES, I don't even have a cell phone.  At all.  If I need to use a phone when I'm out, I use my husbands or, you know, a pay phone, lol).  There are over 120 retailers/restaurants/gift card selections to choose from, and you can choose to purchase in increments of $10, $20, $25, $35, $50, $75 and/or $100. 



The best part about purchasing through FriendGiftr is that you can rest assured that no matter what gift card you select to give, the recipient can choose to exchange it for another gift card to a different place.  I know I have recieved gift cards that I end up hanging on to for a long time, simply because they are for somewhere that isn't in my area and I don't go to that often.  It would be nice to be able to exchange those for something I would be sure to use more quickly.  AND, say if you get a $100 gift card to GAP, but you're just not a fan of their clothes, you can split that gift card up and exchange it for five $20 gift cards to five different places (or two $50, etc) you're sure to enjoy shopping, and there is NO additional cost for this service (!!).  This would be great for people who are hard to shop for!  I could have purchased a gift card for my teenaged brothers recent birthday, and known for sure he would have gotten a gift for himself that he really wanted, instead of wondering what on Earth I could possibly get him that he would like. 

Visit my sponsor: America's Favorite Gift Cards

July 3, 2010







My sweet "baby" girl, is now FOUR years old!

Where has the time gone?

July 1, 2010

Mission Tortillas

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mission Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.



Taco nights are a big hit in this house.  My three year old (she is STILL THREE, I don't care if she turns four in TWO days.  TWO!  *wah!*) requested them tonight in fact, but I had to deny her request because I'm out of her favorite ingredient, the sour cream to dip them in, haha.  I've tried a few different brands of tortillas, and Mission brand tortillas are by far my favorite.  They're so soft, and yummy.  They always taste fresh, to me.  I would really like to try my hand at making my own, but I am a bit of a scardy-cat...not sure how they would turn out and if it would be worth the time and effort when I could just pick up a pack at the grocery store.  I like to have them on hand for quick lunches for the kids, quesadillas usually...but really they are just great to have on hand all the time, they're so versatile.  Breakfast burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, tacos, Mexican pizzas...I even sometimes put sandwich fillings on them and roll them up for the kids.  Heck, my kids like to just eat them plain.  When I was a kid, I used to put a little butter on them, and stick them in the microwave for a few seconds, just enough to warm them and melt the butter...roll them up, and they're delicious.  I still do that every once in awhile.  I like that you can purchase them in a variety of sizes too, there are small, medium, and large to choose from.  I like to pick up the small size for the kids every once in awhile, but I normally buy the medium to keep on hand all the time. 

Did you know you could check out Mission Menus Challenge for a variety of meal ideas?  They have some with a $10 budget, and you can even submit your own recipes.  While you're there, you can also read about Share Our Strength, which is taking a stand to end childhood hunger in America.  I love when brands I would buy anyway, support great causes. 

Mission Foods is starting off the Summer with the Mission Menus Challenge.  It started on June 28th, and participants can submit their recipes for a chance to compete in a cooking challenge, and win a $10,000 kitchen makeover (not to mention other weekly prizes)!  The grand prize winner, will recieve round trip air fare, and hotel accomodations for two, to the cook-off, that will be held on September 10th, in Los Angeles at the Hard Rock Cafe.  You can submit entries online until August 9th.  Recipes must include the use of Mission tortillas, be budget friendly (feed a family of five for $10 or less), and be original.  Do you think you're up for the challenge? 


Visit my sponsor: Mission Menus Challenge