A Busy Mom of Two

Abbott Champions for Kids Campaign - Shopping and Assembly #AbbottCFK and #CBias

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:45:00 +0000

Last weekend, I shared with you about Champions for Kids and the Abbott Nutrition Snack Packs simple service mission. This weekend, I went shopping for the contents of the Snack Packs.

I had hoped to shop earlier in the week, but Friday after work was the first chance that I had to head to the store.

I started my trip heading to the health and beauty section. I knew (thought I knew) that I would find the snack bars and nutritional drinks I was looking for here.

There was a quite a variety of options when it came to the Zone Perfect bars. Since I am planning to give the snack packs to children at the daycare, I decided to steer clear of things that contained peanuts/peanut butter, as our daycare is peanut free - although, it seemed that most of the boxes mentioned that they are manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts. I will just make sure that I mention it to the director so that there is awareness. We went with three varieties - a Strawberry Yogurt bar, a Fudge Graham bar and a Double Dark Chocolate bar. This section had the Ensure, but not the Pediasure that I was looking for.

I figured that if I headed back to where the infant formula was located, I might find the Pediasure there. (you know, it took me a minute to decide on where to find the formula, I don't think I ever bought a single package of formula).

Sure enough, just down the aisle from the formula I found Pediasure and all of the baby/toddler food. They had both Pediasure

and Pediasure Sidekicks.

My daughter suggested the Pediasure Sidekicks, so we gathered up several of the flavors - Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry.

We then headed over to the grocery section, where we picked up some juice boxes, some apple sauce and some raisins to round out the bags that we were putting together. That left me wondering, what should I put these snack packs in. After picking up some groceries that I needed for making a new recipe at dinner, we headed over to the card section at the store. They had some great little, brightly colored gift bags that I new would work well. We grabbed 16 of them and went to check out.

At home, we opened everything up and set it up on the dining room table to make the Snack Packs.

After filling the bags, I decided that it would be nice to add the logo and the website information, so that the bags looked 'finished' and the parents would have a way to learn more about the program.

On Monday, we will take them to the daycare and the director will pass them out. The 16 bags I am sure will be enjoyed, but I also know that there are probably more kids at the daycare (and elsewhere) that could benefit from a Snack Pack. If you have the time and resources, won't you consider finding out how you can help make a difference in a child's life? Remember, you can learn more about the CFK Simple Services Projects here.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. Information about the Abbott Champion for Kids Campaign was provided through Collective Bias.

Samples and Freebies

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Requested:
Red Gold free can of tomatoes coupon (Facebook)
Voskos plus Granola - 7 free coupons (Facebook/expired)

Received:
Benefiber sample from Rite Aid (disappointed there were no coupons)

Clothes - Making Them Last or Enhancing Their Style

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:26:00 +0000

I always heard that boys were rough on clothes. What I didn't consider is that girls are equally rough.

My daughter loves to run and play, and I love for her to run and play. Problem is, she always seems to find a way to fall down. The result is a skinned knee, a tear in her pants, mud/snow/water all over her clothes, and in one unfortunate event a baby tooth that had to have the kid's version of a root canal and is now known as 'my gray tooth'. She even has a knack of being able to cut her clothing with her scissors while doing art projects.

She has a definite style sense, all her own. I affectionately refer to her as 'my Rainbow Brite' on many a morning, when she comes down wearing a multitude of colors and patterns. Despite her affinity for diverse patterns, she simply can not wear clothes that have a tear or a stain. So, when, as it frequently occurs, she manages to make a mess of a new pair of tights, pants, shirt, or other, the article of clothing is typically toast. It will be passed over or placed back in her laundry. As a mom, it is rather frustrating to see that new article be worn but once or twice.

In the past, some of these holes have been small and I have been able to apply a sneaky patch or whip a few threads through it and all is well. But, that is not always the case.

When she managed to get holes in the knee in two pairs of pants within a week, I knew I had to find a solution. I simply can not go out and buy new clothes every week. I decided that I would embellish the pants that she has holes in. When I left home to look for the perfect patch, I had visions simply of a colorful, shaped patch. I was thinking a star or a heart. Unfortunately, at the store, I didn't see these - I simply saw standard, rectangles of patches like I had used in the past. I knew that I could cut a shape, but that wasn't what I was after. I was after 'fancy'.

So, I kept wandering and luckily, I did, because just a few short steps away, I came upon exactly what I was looking for. Decorative patches. We chose cupcakes for this first project. The close second was butterflies.

To mend her pants, I used a small patch on the inside. This might have been unnecessary, but I wasn't sure how well the decorative patch would do at mending. Then, in order to up the style and not make it look like it was just a repair patch, I stacked two patches - one big, one small - over the hole and set them with the iron.

To complete the embellished looked, I also added another small patch on the pocket.

I was planning to put it on the back pocket, but their were no back pockets on the pants.

The end result:

I am happy to say that not only was she excited to wear them the day that I patched them, but the embellished pants are now often requested by name. In fact, she recently asked if I had any more of those cupcakes and could I put them on some of her other pants.

I feel that I have succeeded. For a couple of dollars, I not only rescued a perfect other than a hole in the knee pair of pants from never being worn, but I turned them into fashion!

This post shared at Frugal Friday.

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:06:00 +0000

So, it's been a few months now that I have been hanging out around Pinterest. I was slow to adopt. Everyone that was telling me about it was finding themselves 'addicted' and spending hours on the site, so I was a little nervous. I don't have any free time as it is. If you aren't familiar, think of Pinterest as a visual bookmark list of things that you like (or would like to try).

I've been using it now for a few weeks and I find that there are a few ways in which I use Pinterest.

I check out what others are pinning and if I see something I like, I repin it to my boards. I have found a number of recipes and crafts that my friends have shared that I can't wait to try. I love that I can organize them so easily. This is probably where I spend the majority of my Pinterest time.

The second way that I use it is by searching on Pinterest for specific things - like a recipe or a craft. This allows you to explore beyond your circle for things that others have found interesting. The visual aspect is a great way to explore. Sometimes, it can be a "pain" to click from the search, to the board, to the pin, to the source.

It really was when I started to see the PinIt buttons added to some of the blogs that I read that I really started to pay attention. Suddenly, I had an easy way to capture those recipes/crafts/etc that I wanted to come back and make/do/etc. Plus, since it was saved with a picture, I had an easy visual clue about what the bookmark was. This clearly was a better option than my prior approach of simply book-marking every page (unsorted of course!) and winding up with a list of website addresses that I had to attempt to decipher as I looked for a specific post that I wanted to go back to.

Of course, not every website had the PinIt button, so I went on a quest to find out how to add the PinIt button to my toolbar. I headed over to Pinterest and found the directions (under About, Pin It Button, 1st item). It was super easy (open up your bookmark toolbar and drag the button from the site to your toolbar - can you get any easier?) and now I can bookmark any post or article that I want, whether that page uses the PinIt button or not.

While there, I also saw the directions on how to add the PinIt button to the posts on my blog. I put it at the bottom of each post - do you think I should move it to the top? Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to work following the directions on PinIt. I was able to get the button added to my posts, but when I went to test the button, I would get a 'blank' image. I'm not sure what was wrong, but think it could be related to the 'old' Blogger template that was the basis for my blog. Not being a programmer, I had no idea how to solve the problem.

But, I did find this website that offered simple directions on adding the PinIt button and the code needed. I'm currently using her file for the button, but may try to customize my own and then I will just have to change the location for the file.

I love Pinterest so far. How about you? Do you use Pinterest? What do you like about it? How do you use it?

This post shared at Works for Me Wednesday.

Mamavation Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:16:00 +0000

Yes, I know it is Tuesday, sometimes it just works that way in my world.

In order to try to help myself on my journey to healthier living, better eating, more exercising and losing weight, I have rejoined Weight Watchers. So far, I'm loving it. My first week was a positive week in that I lost 2#. It's not much, but it is a start. I need to have something in my life that helps me refocus and I think this can do it. I think that their apps for the iPhone will be instrumental in helping me achieve my goals.

The WW Mobile app allows me to track my Points or evaluate a mealtime/snacktime decision on the go. No more needing to wait until I have access to the computer and a few minutes to log in. Now it is at my fingertips. Tracking as soon as I eat something allows me to stay on top of where I am and be more confident that I didn't selectively forget something. Now, there are still foods that I can't find in there, which does mean that I have to sometimes do a web search for the nutritional information to calculate Points.

The WW Scanner app is a great app. With the WW scanner, you can scan the barcode of a product and (if it's in their database) will return the information to your phone - both nutritional information including serving size and the Points. There is a button that allows you to add it to your tracker or you can simply scan the next item and it will store those values. This is a great tool. You can use it at the grocery store to help you decide between items or to simply build a list of the items in your cupboard for easier tracking. When you are ready to track, you can either look the item up in the scanner app or you can find it from your mobile app. The scanner also has a calculator, so you can calculate Points and store the information for tracking later.

I wasn't as active as I had hoped to be last week and this week is already off to a not great start. Last week, I don't really have a reason other than the rain made me want to stay in bed. This week, early morning meetings require that I'm out the door sooner than usual and it just doesn't leave me enough time after laundry and dishes to work out. I am committed to this and do fully intend to return to a regular exercise routine. I picked up a Groupon for Zumba and I hope to meet a friend for classes. This will be in addition to my regular morning routine, so that should help as well.

In addition to the Points tracker, I'm tracking how the days go over on Losing It!. I'm hopeful that this added accountability and opportunity to reflect on what's working for me will help me to succeed.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. This week, the post is sponsored by Mamavation, who asks: Who is your biggest inspiration when it comes to healthy lifestyle?

My answer: My manager. She is a woman whom I never saw as needing to lose weight. She started on her journey a few years ago and looked great. Then, she became pregnant and committed herself to eating right and staying fit during her pregnancy. She continued on her journey after the baby was born and she looks even more amazing now. I know that she worked hard to achieve her personal goals. I know that if I stay dedicated that I can do this too. I just need to figure out how to not get derailed by life. Seeing her each day reminds me what I am trying to achieve.

No compensation was received for this post. This post is sponsored by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway. I was provided with a trial subscription to Weight Watchers. All opinions expressed are my own.

CVS Scenarios - week of 1/23

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:21:00 +0000

Not much jumped off the pages of the CVS ad this week. There are a few deals that might be worth picking up though.

Transaction #1
1 - Blistex

-$.35 Blistex mfg coupon

Total $2.52 OOP. Earn $2 ECB.

Transaction #2
2 - Triaminic

-$3 Triaminic mfg coupon
-$3 Triaminic mfg coupon

Total $5, pay with $2 ECB and $3 OOP, earn $3 ECBs.

Transaction #3
1 - Boost High Protein (I use as an after exercise protein shake)

-$3 Boost Mfg coupon

Total $3.99, pay with $3 ECBs and $.99 OOP. Earn $1 ECB.

For the day, the total OOP is $6.51, with $1 ECB to roll and just under $20 in product at sale prices. A savings of about 69%.

For more deals and scenarios, check out Money Saving Mom and Deal Seeking Mom.

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
1 - Blistex

-$.35 Blistex mfg coupon

Total $2.52 OOP. Earn $2 ECB.

Transaction #2
1 - Boost High Protein (I use as an after exercise protein shake)

-$3 Boost Mfg coupon

Total $3.99, pay with $2 ECBs and $1.99 OOP. Earn $1 ECB.

For the day, the total OOP is $4.51 with $1 ECB to roll and just under $9 in product at sale prices. A savings of about 55%.

For more $5 Scenarios, check out the CVS $5 Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday (and the weekend in review)

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:06:00 +0000

What a wonderful weekend.

Friday night we had the perfect snow storm. I say perfect because it started after we were all home for the evening, snowed about 3 - 4" overnight and was done snowing by about 8 am. The world is beautifully blanketed in white, but we didn't have to deal with traveling in the snow. We were even lucky that someone (not the city) came down our road using their own plow and cleared a single lane path, so when we went to my son's basketball game in the morning, we didn't even have to worry about the road ways (the main ones were done of course).

Saturday was a very productive day. We did a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things for the week and for dinner on Saturday. We stopped at Target and got some bins for under my daughter's bed. Her bed is adjustable and we had always had it on the lower setting (less distance to fall), but in an attempt to make it possible to open and close her closet door, we decided it was time to raise it up. Target had these cute little baskets with wheels - perfect for under the bed. We grabbed three. After having lunch and putting away the groceries, we tackled her room. It is wonderful. She has three bins under her bed and they are all full of stuffed animals and dolls. Her closet is organized and she can find the toys she wants to play with and has a place to put them away when she is done. The rest of the house also got a pretty good cleaning. I returned my dining room to a room in which to eat. This was inspired by my decision to have friends over for dinner. Saturday evening was a wonderful evening. We spent the evening eating, visiting and playing games with friends. I even tried out a new recipe for (Chicken Brushetta) - I enjoyed it and I know that my kids did too. It was so nice to have a relaxed no plan sort of evening. The kids had friends as well and they entertained themselves, allowing us to simply be adults. It was wonderful.

Sunday was a busy day. We had Kindergarten Open House for my daughter after church - so hard to believe that she will be in kindergarten next year. Then, we headed to lunch at our favorite local Mexican restaurant, using a voucher from the new daily deal site - DailyReferral. After lunch, it was time for haircuts. My daughter wanted her hair to just touch her shirt, so she had about 3-4" cut off. It is really cute. My son got closer to the buzz cut that he wants, while still keeping some hair like I want. When we came home, we watched Kung Fu Panda 2 as a family. This was followed by baths and dinner. The evening was capped by watching the Giants win their way to the Super Bowl. My husband watched with friends, but I am certain there were points where he was yelling at the TV. I'm just glad that they managed to pull it together and win in overtime.

Now, it is time for the week. I have a few work dinners this week, so my husband is on his own for a couple of meals. I'm guessing what he will make - I guess we'll see what he actually does.

Sunday
cereal
Mexican
leftovers (Chicken Brushetta)

Monday
Pizza

Tuesday
Pasta

Wednesday
Pierogie and Sausage

Thursday
Turkey Hot Shots

Friday
Sloppy Joes

Saturday
Tilapia Vera Cruz

Breakfast is cereal or oatmeal each morning, although sometimes at school my daughter will have pancakes or french toast. For my son, lunch is either the menu item at school or a packed lunch with some type of sandwich. Lunch for my husband and me is typically sandwiches, frozen meals or leftovers.

This post shared at Menu Plan Monday.

Abbott Champions for Kids Campaign #AbbottCFK and #CBias

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:58:00 +0000

I am excited to share with you about Abbott Champions for Kids mission to help children in communities across the country. As a participant in this Abbott Nutrition Snack Packs simple service mission, I will be creating Abbott Nutrition Pack a Snack at Walmart and then donating them to children who could use some extra nourishment. You can read more about this simple service project at CFK Simple Services Projects pages or by reviewing this Abbott project card. This is one of many Champions for Kids programs that are held throughout the year.

"Did You Know? • More than 16 million children under the age of eighteen in the United States are food insecure—unable to consistently access adequate amounts of nutritious food necessary for a healthy life. Even more heartbreaking is the fact that more than three million children under the age of five are food insecure. • The developing immune systems of young children ages 0 – 5 make them especially vulnerable to nutritional deprivation and as a result, the ability to learn, grow, and fight infections is adversely affected. • While having enough food is important, the nutritional quality of that food is equally important. Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents ages 2 – 19 are obese, and 1 of 7 low-income, preschool-aged children is obese. (Sources: Feeding America; Center For Disease Control)"
As I have mentioned previously, my daughter attends a daycare/preschool where a number of the families qualify for the school child care assistance. As such, I know that they are meeting certain income requirements and likely eating well at home is a struggle for these family. I have decided to help those family by creating the Abbott Nutrition Snack Packs and have the center distribute them to those families. I will be including products from Abbott Nutrition, like Pediasure®, Pediasure SideKicks®, and ZonePerfect® bars.

Would you join in and create a Snack Pack for a child/family in need in your area using the great Abbott products? Details can be found here: http://championsforkids.org/simple/ . You can also find Champions for Kids on Facebook and share about your experience.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. Information about the Abbott Champion for Kids Campaign was provided through Collective Bias.

CVS Deals - 1/15

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:46:00 +0000

Well, I had hopes of making it to CVS this week and I had a few minutes last Sunday and figured I would grab the free cards and then go again later in the week, with coupons, to pick up the weekly deals. I guess at least I am glad that I made it to CVS for the free cards.

3 - American Greetings Cards @ 99c

Total $2.98 + tax. Paid with a $3 ECB, which for some strange reason negated the tax. Earned $3 ECBs.

Giveaway Winners

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:01:00 +0000

I had two giveaways end this week, so it is time to announce the winners.

Congratulations to Michelle B. She was the winner of the Helpless by Daniel Palmer giveaway.

Congratulations to Rebecca S. She was the winner of the Frosted Toast Crunch giveaway.

E-mails have been sent to the winners.

Be sure to check out the other giveaways featured in the right hand column.

Weekend Fun - Fancy Nancy & Fribbles

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:23:00 +0000

There aren't any Kids Workshops or Build and Grow Clinics this weekend, but if you have a daughter (or niece or granddaughter) that is a fan of Fancy Nancy, you can head to Michaels for Fancy Nancy: Design a Tiara & Storytime. (Imaginative fun for crafty little ladies. Free Make-It Take-It While Supplies Last Ages 3 and up)

Then, since that event runs until noon, while you are out, you can stop at Friendly's for a free Fribble. They are celebrating 76 years of patronage and the future. Limit one per person at participating locations. No purchase required. 12 oz Vanilla, Chocolate or Strawberry only. I'd call ahead, just in case your location is not a participating location.

Walgreens - Better than Free South Beach Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:11:00 +0000

Now, I share this coupon with you knowing full well that my local Walgreens are generally out of all Free after Register Rewards items early in the week and rarely seem to get the items back in during the week. But, just in case your store has these still, I thought I would share this deal:

South Beach Bars - $5.99

-$1 South Beach Bars IP

Total $4.99 OOP, earn $5.99 RR.

Snooze

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:55:00 +0000

One of my requirements in a bedroom was a cozy, snuggly bed. I love to be able to turn the temperature down in the house at night and sleep under the nice warm and cozy blankets. My bed has a sheet, a cover and a down comforter. It is so nice and cozy, I love to be able to snuggle in under the covers.

The problem is that there are only a few minutes of each night where you aware of it. When you first climb in, you are appreciative of the warmth of the blankets, but the bed is still cool. As you sleep, you obviously are enjoying the comfort of the bed and hopefully, enjoying a good night's sleep as a result. But, the best time, is first thing in the morning, when you are half awake. At that point, you realize how cool the air around you is and how cozy it really is under the comfortable blankets that are enveloping your and keeping you warm. It makes it so hard to get out of bed in the morning, you just want to savor the warmth.

So, years ago, I started setting my alarm 10 minutes before I really needed to get up. That way, I had a 10 minute buffer that allowed me to hit snooze and then lay there, half awake, enjoying the coziness of my bed.

The only problem is, when you can hear the wind blowing outside and see the snow, it makes it really tempting to hit snooze again and again, just to avoid getting out of bed (and to keep from accidentally actually falling back to sleep).

Snooze works for me!

Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:56:00 +0000

As a mom on the go, I frequently find myself needing a quick snack that can hold the kids over until we get home for a meal. From my perspective, a quick snack on the go is probably better than grabbing a quick meal while we are out.

Fruit snacks are one of our go to snacks. I like that I can stash a couple in my purse, just in case. I don't have to worry about them getting crushed or breaking apart in my purse. They are also good for the swim bag - no worries about melting (although, I've had them stick together!) making them a mess to eat.

†Made with real fruit juice and natural colors* and flavors.
80 calories, gluten free and contain 100% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C.
Available with year round Double Box Tops.

*colors from natural sources †These Fruit Flavored Snacks are made with apple, pear, and cranberry juice concentrate. See package for a list of complete ingredients. They are not intended to replace fruit in the diet.

I think I was the first one to try the fruit snacks. I tried the Berries & Cherries flavor. Then, the kids tried them. I asked my daughter what she thought. She said that she liked them and liked that "they were fruit flavored and shaped like their pictures." I took them to work and shared them with my friend, who claims to be a gummy addict. I figured, if she is a regular consumer of fruit snacks and other gummy treats, that she would be a good judge. She didn't say anything fun like my daughter but did enjoy them and thanked me for sharing.

Want to learn more?

You can find out more on the Ocean Spray Website. You can also like Ocean Spray on Facebook.

Do you want to try them?

Coupon
You can click here to download a printable coupon for $1.10 off of the purchase of (2) Ocean Spray® Fruit Flavored snacks today!

Giveaway!
I have the opportunity to have Four (4) A Busy Mom of Two readers win a Ocean Spray Fruit Flavored Snacks Prize Pack, which contains - 6 boxes (3 of each variety) of Ocean Spray® Fruit Flavored Snacks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway will remain open through February 9. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family (and friends). Ocean Spray® Fruit Flavored Snacks, information, and giveaway have been provided by Ocean Spray® through MyBlogSpark.

All In Good Time

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:03:00 +0000

For many years, I have been reading Deal Seeking Mom. It was one of the original blogs that I read even before I started blogging myself. So, I was excited to have the opportunity to review her new book All In Good Time, which she co-wrote with Mandi Ehman of LifeYourWay.net.

The book is full of practical advice and many common sense tips. I really like that they start the book off by saying that you shouldn't feel like you need to do everything in the book. It's about finding what works for you and doing. It's about saving $1 or 15 minutes here and there, in order to maximize your time and money.

The book is broken down into what they call "rooms". Within each room, they tackle the most common purchases and tasks and share their tips for saving time and money. The last chapter is about Holiday and Event planning and includes everything from birthdays to weddings. The back of the book is a great appendix that features Homemade Cleaning Supplies, Common Kitchen Substitutes, Pantry Inventory, Freezer Storage Tips, Cooking Temperatures, Seasonal Produce, Necessities for Your..., DeepCleaning Checklists - including what/how to declutter, how to/what to clean, and maintenance of the space once you have it decluttered and cleaned, Internet Resources and Recommended Reading.

I really like that it is full of common sense advice. One example of this is their advice to clean out the refrigerator each week before you grocery shop. Makes so much sense. How many times have you come home from the grocery, only to find out that the sour cream, or the peppers, that you were going to use for dinner are no longer good. Not only that, but it certainly is easier to wipe down half empty shelves than it is to clean a freshly stocked refrigerator.

Many of the tips and tricks that they share are things that I have heard before, but now, they are captured in one easy to reference resource. The organization of the book makes it easy to find the recommendations that they provide on how to save time and money. I love that they recognize that not every method will work for everyone. First, they state in their introduction and then they follow through in the book. As an example, in their section on coupons, they present several ways to organize and maintain coupons including the binder method, the coupon box, and the insert method.

The one thing that I wish this book had was an index. I find that a quick alphabetical listing makes for a great way to find what you are looking for. Thankfully, they do include a list of subjects under each 'room' in the Contents section which is in alphabetical order (as is the chapter), so it is a little easier than just 'guessing'.

Whether you choose to read it cover to cover or simply thumb through when you are looking for some tips, this book is a great resource.

You can learn more about the book by checking out the Q&A with the authors from the USA Today. You can also check out the book's website. The book is available to purchase online or in your local bookstore.

No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary review copy was provided by the Publisher. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Organized Simplicity - free Kindle edition

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:23:00 +0000

I picked up this free eBook yesterday - Organized Simplicity. It is a Kindle edition. Now, I don't own a Kindle, but I do have the app on the iPad. I haven't had a chance to check it out the book yet, but it gets great reviews - 4.5 stars on Amazon from 60 reviewers. The list price is $16.99, so you might want to pick it up before this offer runs out.

Thanks Money Saving Mom for the tip!

Menu Plan Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:01:00 +0000

After a wonderful weekend, we are back to another standard work week. I headed out by myself to the grocery on Sunday. I did a bit of stock up trip at Walmart, as I needed to buy some vitamins that I know they have the best price for. While there, I picked up the Pictionary card game (on the deal I mentioned last week) which was a bigger challenge than it should have been. The shelf tag said $5.88, it rang up at $6.88. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until after I checked out. So, I had to stand in line at customer service. Shouldn't more than one person work there? It bothers me to that they got rid of their right price guarantee - at least when they had that it felt like they were accountable and incentivized to correct errors when they were found. Unless he hit a key on his computer that will tell them to update the shelf tag, there was no indication that they would correct the error. Whether they update the computer or the shelf tag, they need to match. Consumers need to know what they will pay, so that they can make decisions regarding their money. After that fun experience, I went to Giant Eagle to pick up some of deals and some things that we needed for the week. They had their Smart Ones frozen meals on sale, with an instant save offer and there was a $3/10 coupon on coupons.com - together, this made the meals $1.30 / each. Not bad for a frozen entree. My husband takes them to work when he is in the office and I will occasionally grab one for a quick to pack lunch.

We are trying a couple of new (to us) dishes this week. The Crunchy Onion Chicken and the Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup are both new recipes that I have been wanting to try. If they turn out, I will do my best to post them.

Sunday
Cereal
Leftovers and salads
Skyline Chili

Monday
Pizza

Tuesday
Crunchy Onion Chicken

Wednesday
Pancakes and Sausage

Thursday
Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup and Grilled Cheese

Friday
Penne Rustica

Saturday
TBD

Breakfast is cereal or oatmeal each morning, although sometimes at school my daughter will have pancakes or french toast. For my son, lunch is either the menu item at school or a packed lunch with some type of sandwich. Lunch for my husband and me is typically sandwiches, frozen meals or leftovers.

This post shared at Menu Plan Monday.

A Mommy-Daughter Day (well, almost)

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:47:00 +0000

Yesterday was a wonderfully fun day.

My daughter and I had the opportunity to join two of my friends and their daughters to go and see Disney On Ice Dare to Dream. Unfortunately, my one friend's daughter was sick, so she brought her son instead. (It was fine and the kids had a great time, it just wasn't a true Mommy-Daughter day for all of us like we had planned.)

The show was spectacular. I think that the Tangled portion of the show was our favorite. Watching Rapunzel and Flynn swing above the ice in an amazing show of strength was pretty impressive.

Of course, with it being Disney, there was not lack of Disney magic. The way that Prince turned to a Frog and then Tiana and of course, back again, was spectacular. The skaters didn't miss a beat and there was just enough smoke and light to make it all happen seamlessly.

At the end of the show, my daughter was so excited to see all of the princesses arrive, only to wonder, why didn't they tell their story. I told her they didn't have the time to tell everyone's story, but that I thought it was great that we still got to see all of the princesses.

For some reason, this got me to thinking, what is the split on already a princess (typically in hiding) and becomes a princess.

Already:
Snow White
Aurora
Rapunzel
Jasmine
Pocahontes

Becomes:
Cinderella
Tiana
Ariel
Belle
Mulan?

I'm not so sure about Mulan, I guess that she became a Princess? Overall, if my memory serves, it seems like they keep things well in balance when it comes to the Disney Princesses.

Back to the day...

So, after the Disney on Ice Dare to Dream performance was over, we headed down the street from the Q to the Winking Lizard to have lunch. This turned out to be the icing on the cake for our little princesses (and not so much for the little prince), as who was having lunch at the Winking Lizard? None other than Rapunzel. There was this amazing fan that was dressed as Rapunzel. She was very gracious and allowed many a young princess to take a picture with her.

Of course, when we ran into her in the bathroom later, it prompted several discussions - why don't you ever see the princesses go to the bathroom in their shoes and how did she get her hair back so quickly if she had cut it off. Both very valid questions, of course the answer to the first one is that you don't see it, but they go when they are not in the show and for the second, it grows back very quickly, it was magical hair afterall. Lunch was a very enjoyable time to hang out and catch up.

After lunch, we headed back down towards Akron. Earth Fare had (has?) a text coupon available when you sign up to receive text messages of deals for $10 off your total order of $25 or more. I and one of my friends had never been and wanted to check it out, so we decided to shop as a group. They both texted EAT to 71700 (give it a try, mine was only good until yesterday, but it might be a rolling deal - good for just two days when you request it) and within a few minutes had their coupons in their inbox.

The selection at Earth Fare was great. I bought more than I intended to, but had started the trip picking up a few things that I knew I needed (but not necessarily the best value) to make sure I got to $25. One thing that we tried was this homemade ravioli - I picked up some Sun Dried Tomato and some Roasted Red Pepper and Onion Ravioli. In addition, I grabbed some tortellini, just in case. To complete dinner, I grabbed some Reggiano Parmesean cheese and a baguette. I also tried two new yogurts - one was made with Almond Milk and one with Coconut Milk. My one friends was shopping for non-milk based yogurts, as both her and her daughter are allergic to milk. The last thing that I grabbed were these Crispy Mangoes from Crispy Greens. They are freeze-dried fruit and nothing else. The pasta was delicious and so was the Crispy Mangoes, I haven't yet tried the yogurts.

When we arrived back at our friend's house where we met, my daughter was very disappointed that after nearly 6 hours together that we weren't able to stay and play. We agreed to schedule a play date and headed home. Our busy day wasn't quite over. On the way home, we passed some people sledding at the park and my daughter asked if we could go sledding when we got home. Of course, I said. I knew that we didn't have long, it would be getting dark soon, but we bundled up and headed down the block to a small, but entertaining hill.

What a wonderful day!

No compensation was received for this post. As a Feld Family Blogger, I received complimentary tickets to the show for my family. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Walgreens Scenarios - week of 1/15

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:01:00 +0000

Now that I see the Walgreens Angel Soft deal where you can get 27 big rolls for only $10, I'm wondering if the Cottonelle deal at CVS is a good value. I will have to see if I have them, but I remember seeing a $1 coupon - was it for one or two though? If it is off of one, it works out to be $.33 / roll. So, I guess in the end, I need to figure out which roll has more sheets.

Transaction #1
1 - Glade Decor Scents

-$.75 Glade mfg coupon

Total $2.24 OOP, earn $1.25 RR.

Transaction #2
2 - Speedstick Deodorant
1 - Thermacare Pain Relief

-$1 Speedstick mfg coupon
-$3 Thermacare IP

-$1.25 RR

Total $2.24 OOP, earn $2 and $2.49 RR.

Transaction #3
1 - South Beach Snack Bars
1 - SoftSoap Liquid Hand Soap (w/ in ad coupon)

-$2 RR
-$2.49 RR

Total $2.49 OOP. Earn $5.99 RR.

Transaction #4
4 - Pepsi Product 12 pks

-$3 Walgreens In Store coupon (does this count as a coupon, will I need a filler?)

-$5.99 RR

Total $4.01 OOP.

For the trip, the total OOP is $10.98 for $30.46 in product at sale prices. A savings of about 64%.

For more deals and scenarios, check out Money Saving Mom and Deal Seeking Mom.

Walgreens $5 Challenge
Transaction #1
1 - South Beach Snack Bars

Total $5.99 OOP. Earn $5.99 RR

Transaction #2
2 - Speedstick
1 - Glade Decor Scents

-$1 Speedstick mfg coupon
-$.75 Glade mfg coupon

-$5.99 RR

Total $.25 OOP. Earn $2 and $1.25 RR.

Total OOP of $6.24, with $3.25 in RR to roll, for $13.98 in product at sale prices. A savings of about 64%.

Okay, so I spent over $6, but I wanted to get the bars - here is an alternate that let's you stay under $5. Or, if you happened to print the coupon the other week you could save $1 and have only $5.24 OOP.

Transaction #1

1 - Glade Decor Scents

-$.75 Glade mfg coupon

Total $2.24 OOP, earn $1.25 RR.

Transaction #2
2 - Speedstick Deodorant

-$1 Speedstick mfg coupon

-$1.25 RR

Total $2.75 OOP, earn $2 RR.

For this scenario, the total OOP is $4.99, with $2 in RR to roll, for $16.50 in product at sale prices. A savings of about 73%.

For more $5 Scenarios, check out the Walgreens $5 Challenge.

CVS Scenarios - week of 1/15

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:37:00 +0000

I had really good intentions of going to CVS last week, but there never seemed to be time and then it was cold and snowy. I was a little disappointed to miss out on some of the deals, but certainly won't lose any sleep over it. This week, I'd like to pick up some Valentine's Day Cards, so I think I will put forth a little more effort.

Transaction #1
3 - American Greetings Cards @ $.99

Total $2.97 OOP, earn $3 ECBs.

Transaction #2
2 - Valentine's M&Ms

Total $5, pay with $3 ECBs and $2 OOP. Earn $1 ECB.

Transaction #3
1 - Almay iColor

-$2 Almay mfg coupon
-$3 Almay CRT

Total $.99, pay with $1 ECB adjusted down. Earn $3 ECB.

For the day, the total OOP is $4.97, with $3 ECBs to roll for $14 in product at sale prices. A savings of about 71%.

I may also try to do the $10 CVS Cash Card deal. I am looking at using the Cottonelle Toilet Paper, the Cottonelle Wipes and the Kleenex to build a deal.

2 - Cottonelle Toilet Paper 18ct
2 - Cottonelle Wipes
1 - Kleenex Cool Touch
3 - Kleenex Tissues

-$.50/2 Cottonelle Toilet Paper mfg coupon
-$.50/2 Cottonelle Wipes mfg coupon
-$.50 Kleenex Cool Touch mfg coupon
-$.50/3 Kleenex mfg coupon

Total OOP is $28 and you earn $10 CVS Cash Card. The net cost works out to be about $6 for each package of toilet paper, about $1.20 for each of the wipes and $.90 for each box of tissues. Since that works out to be about $.33 per roll of toilet paper. I need to make sure that they are are not "normal" rolls. If they are, it might not be a great price.

For more deals and scenarios, check out Deal Seeking Mom and Money Saving Mom. For more $5 Scenarios, check out the CVS $5 Challenge.

Yoplait Frozen Smoothie coupon

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:53:00 +0000

You can head here to download a printable coupon for $1.00 off one package of Yoplait Frozen Smoothies. Be sure to try the newest flavor Chocolate Banana.

*This coupon offer is not valid in the following states: including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota and Tennessee.

No compensation was received for this post. As a member of MyBlogSpark, I was provided with information about this coupon provided by Yoplait.

Samples and Freebies

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:26:00 +0000

Requested:
Shout Color Catcher (love these!)
Crystal Light Energy - I think I got this. It was a challenge to load.
Cafe Escapes Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa K-cups (Facebook)
Shout Color Catcher (I keep signing up for these - I love these, it never tells me that I have already requested, so I'm assuming these are new offers)

Received:
no samples received this week.

Displaying Kid's Artwork

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:12:00 +0000

I'll admit it, my fridge is crazy full with magnets and papers. There is very little white space.

The side is mostly full of magnets - I must have over 100 magnets on the side of the refrigerator. Many are very useful business cards, but they add up. Many are picture frames. Some are simply souvenirs from trips long ago.

The front of the fridge is where we keep the school calendars, lunch calendars, and newsletters. In addition, this is where the kids proudly display their artwork. It used to be that there were so many pieces of artwork that they would find that the magnet wasn't strong enough to work through the stack of papers. I wanted a solution for hanging their artwork that was neater and still allowed guests to view it all.

Here is what we came up with:

We started with a piece of cardboard and cut it in half. The back of a pad of paper can work nice. Using a hole punch, we punched three holes in the cardboard to align with the holes in a sheet protector. Using three rings, we attached a stack of about 6 page protectors to each piece of cardboard. Then, we used a magnetic clip to attach it to our refrigerator. The kids were each allowed to decorate the cardboard portion of their hanger. Now, when they do new artwork, they can simply slide it into one of the sleeves. Changing pages or flipping through the artwork is easier and I have more white space on the front of the refrigerator (although, many would tell you it is still rather full!).

In addition, the sleeve protectors can easily be moved to three ring binder that we had previously set up to hold favorite artwork and new ones added to the refrigerator.

This works for me!

To Be 5 (going on 25)

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:03:00 +0000

Sometimes the things that my daughter says and does come at me from left field. Usually, they are good for a little laughter.

The other morning, as we were driving to work and school late, I was trying to explain to her that when she went to kindergarten, she would have to be ready on time in order to catch the bus. I said, "Next year, when you go to kindergarten, you can't be late or you'll miss the bus." Her reply, "but, Mommy, I will go to kindergarten this year, not next year." She has a point, technically, she will go in 2012, which is this year. I just didn't think that a five year old would look at it that way - especially since it is still 9 months away!

Yesterday, on the way to work and school, we were talking about the evening before when her brother caused her to knock over a tray table holding drinks in the media room, where they were watching the Giants game with my husband. My son had earlier started to drink a Mountain Dew and when she came home and joined them, assumed that she could share it with him. So, I was telling her that if she is going to watch the game in the media room, she has to learn to sit still or she could just watch it upstairs with me next week. She asked if she would be allowed to have a soda. I started to explain to her that soda is something that you don't have very often, it is a nice treat but not something we have all the time. I told her "Mommy only has a soda every few weeks, if even that often". She paused for a moment and replied, "but you drink wine all the time". This caused me to pause for a few moments - as this was news to me because I generally only have wine after she is in bed and probably not even on a weekly basis. So, I had to know more. I asked, "what do you mean?" She replied, "you have it all the time when you have a party". Again, news to me, since we don't have many "parties". Gave me a good giggle at least.

Then, after swimming lessons, we were in the locker room getting her dressed. I am not sure where the conversation started, but after a few minutes she decided to loudly share, "Mommy you don't know anything". I replied, partially because there were two other young women in the locker room, "Oh no, you aren't even a teenager yet" - not sure she understood what I was saying, but the women got it and gave a giggle. Her response: "I know everything Mommy." Which, she said with a great big smile!

I am certainly in trouble with this one, she already has the spirit of a teenager and she's not even in grade school.

Game Deals

noreply@blogger.com (Busy Mom) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:44:00 +0000

We are a big fan of games at our house. We have game nights with friends and play games with the kids. Right now, there are a few game coupons available on Coupons.com.

Game Coupons:
Save $5 Picitionary
Save $3 Jenga or Cranium Brain Break
Save $5 Electronic Catch Phrase or Taboo

To find them quicker, click on the Toys and Games category.

One deal that you can get with these coupons is the Pictionary Card Game. Both Walmart and Target carry the Pictionary Card Game for around $6.

Pictionary Card Game ~$6

-$5 Pictionary IP

~$1 OOP.

I haven't played the Pictionary Card Game yet, but I definitely am going to try to find it and check it out. We enjoy playing Pictionary - we even use our dry erase board on our easel to give us more space to draw when we play.

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