Kids Meal Crowd

Sunday Shopping Recap - Shaw's and Price Chopper Deals

2009-11-09T00:23:00.003-05:00

Just a quick recap of my grocery shopping trip on Sunday. I spent a little bit of prep time going through some coupons I had around (inserts and printables) and that ended up being great. For a few hours, I saved over $100! Well worth it. The printables were all from my coupons.com widget here at Kids Meal Crowd blog and the Price Chopper SmartSource printable coupons.

Here's more details...apologies for the not-great photos, they are from my Blackberry - my camera must be at work. Let's hope so anyway!

Price Chopper

Boneless Chicken Breast
PC Raisin Bran
Stuffed Clams (x2)
Halloween Peanut M&Ms
Minute Main Orange Juice
Hillshire Farms L'il Weiners
Riccola Berry Throat Drops (x2)
Local Sunday Newspaper

Savings (Advantage Card and Coupons, including Sizzlin' and Facebook Fan for the week) = $22.17
Out of Pocket (OOP) = $14.28

Shaw's #1

Sunday Boston Globe Newspaper
Progresso Bread Crumbs (x2)
Cheerios
Ragu Pasta Sauce (x2)
Sour Patch Kids Halloween candy
Deli counter meat, turkey and honey ham (x2)
Fresh Express salad
Progresso Soup (x3)
Knorr Lipton Noodle mix
Hamburger Helper (x3)
Wishbone Salad Dressing (x2)
Cocoa Puffs
Betty Crocker Au Gratin Potatoes (x2)
Betty Crocker Cake Mixes (x3)
Betty Crocker Frosting Tubs (x2)
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix Pouches (x2)
Progresso Beef Broth
Fiber One Toaster Pastries
Halloween candies (x2)

Savings (Rewards Card and Coupons, including $5 off $40 purchase from mailer) = $45.69
Out of Pocket (OOP) = $38.35
Coupons Savings to use at future Shopping Trips = $31.50 ($30 from current Catalina Deal, $1.50 for buying 2 Wishbone dressings)
Rebate to Submit = $2 (for produce when you purchase 2 Wishbone dressings)

Shaw's #2

Chex Mix (x5)
Breyers Ice Cream (x4)
Bottled Water

Savings (Rewards Card and Coupons, including $10 CAT from Shaw's #1) = $32.01
Out of Pocket (OOP) = $4.90
Coupons Savings to use at future Shopping Trips = $15

TOTALS FOR THE DAY:

Savings = $99.87

Out of Pocket (OOP) = $57.53

Coupons Savings to use at future Shopping Trips = $35.00

Rebate to submit = $2.00

I will definitely be planning a few more trips to Shaw's before this $15 CAT coupon deal ends. Need to print out a few more coupons, check to see what other inserts I have that might be useful. The stores I visited were also out of the Scott Paper Towel single rolls that I really need to stock up on, for example.

Have you taken advantage of the Shaw's deal this week? Do you plan to?

Price Chopper Sunday Facebook Fan Coupons Now Available!

2009-11-08T11:32:00.002-05:00

Starting today, Price Chopper Supermarkets is offering exclusive coupons to its Facebook Fans each Sunday.

This week:

$2 off Price Chopper All Natural Boneless Chicken Breast Savings Pack (per pkg.)

You can find the coupon in a special tab at the top of the Price Chopper Facebook Fan Page. If you have problems printing, here's a link to the troubleshooting guide.

And don't forget that today is the last day to use your Price Chopper Sizzlin' Coupons, including FREE Hillshire Farms mini franks! They are no longer available online to print, so hopefully you did that earlier this weekend. Another batch should be up on Thursday, so check back at the PC web site. It will ask you to sign up for e-newsletters in order to print out. Each coupon prints individually, so if you want all 4 deals, click on all 4 photos.

(Thanks to Wicked Cool Deals for reminding me about these Sizzlin' Coupons, I haven't caught up with all of my email while being sick this week. You should also check out her posts about deals at Shaw's - a great resource!)

$5 Eukanuba Coupon by Mail

2009-11-05T07:45:00.003-05:00

Stumbled across this $5 off Eukanuba coupon by mail and wanted to share.

Dog food is expensive, so even if you don't have a dog personally -- consider requesting this coupon and use it to buy some dog food for your local animal shelter or pet food pantry (check with your local people food bank to see if they have an affiliated pet food bank). My daughter, the dog lover, thanks you!

Shaw's Supermarket Coupon Mailer -- Great Timing!

2009-11-05T00:39:00.001-05:00

I was happy to see a Shaw's mailer arrive this week with several good coupons, tips and recipes. "Your Guide to Savings & Short Cuts" included the following:

$1 off 3 Pillsbury Refrigerated Baked Goods Products (exp 1/24/10)
$0.50 off any Daisy brand Sour Cream 16 oz or larger (exp 1/31/10)
$1 off one PAM cooking spray 5-6 oz (exp 12/31/09)
$1 off any bag of Tyson Frozen Breaded Chicken (exp 2/2/10)
$5 off purchase of $40 or more with Shaws Rewards Card (exp 11/10/09)

The Pillsbury and $5 off $40 coupons can be used with the upcoming Catalina Promotion (spend $30, get a coupon for $15 off your next purchase) that you can read more about at Wicked Cool Deals to make it an even *better* deal! Please share your savings in the comments section...I will plan out my shopping list and let you know how I do in the next week.

Don't forget that Shaw's also has coupons you can print out from their website each week. Here's the link to the 11/6/09 - 11/12/09 batch.

WFMW: Halloween Clearance = Christmas Savings

2009-11-04T21:59:00.001-05:00

One of the things I love to do, is to think of how I can use something in a new and creative way. Especially when that means savings money! So when I was picking up even more fever-reducing medicines at Walgreens earlier this week, I took a moment to glance at the Halloween clearance. Candy was 50% off, but I wasn't interested in that. I went straight to the 75% off items and scored the items below:

Now, how will I use 5 magnetic note pads and 12 plastic trick or treat bags, you ask? Great question.

I was really careful to look trough the trick or treat bags to be sure I didn't grab any that said "Trick or Treat" or had pumpkins or anything else that would give it away. The winners in my pile were themes like super heroes and princesses. I thought that these would be perfect for quick little gifts that the kids may need for school or scout exchanges, or to use for kid party goodie bags. They normally sell for 2/$1 and were ringing up at 12 cents each. Total price for 12 bags = $1.44. Less than two gift bags at the dollar store!

Everyone can use a note pad to jot down the phone messages or items to pick up at the grocery store. So for 25 cents each discounted, those magnetic note pads are easy stocking stuffers. My family knows that I am a bargain shopper, and they don't seem to mind that the header or color scheme is "off". Total price for 5 magnetic note pads = $1.25.

A few other things that I noticed, but did not purchase:

costumes -- great for dress up and playtime fun
wigs -- same idea
"nerf-like" pirate swords -- also great for dress up time

Shopping post-holiday clearance bins...that's what Works for Me! Check out more great holiday tips at We Are That Family.

SPOOKtacular List of Current Kids Meal Toys

2009-10-31T23:02:00.002-04:00

Happy Halloween!

A busy weekend like this one meant it was time for a "treat". Last night needed a quick dinner before going to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science "Hoots and Howls" program with Sydney's Girl Scout Troop. Zach had spent the day with me at work and had done a good job, so I let him pick what we would have for dinner. After a quick check at the three web sites, he decided on McDonald's for an Astro Boy toy. Here's the full list, complete with web sites.

Wendy's
Halloween-themed Audiobooks on CD
Sneak Peak...Click on "coming soon" to see the next batch: Leap Frog toys

Burger King
Spongebob Squarepants
Extra Savings...Check the toy insert for a special Toys R Us coupon

McDonalds
October 23- November 5
Astro Boy and My Little Pony
Sneak Peek...on the bottom of the Happy Meal boxes, it lists the upcoming batch as Strawberry Shortcake and Nerf.

Toys R Us Lego Coupon Now Online

2009-10-25T18:32:00.000-04:00

If you have kids anything like mine, or if you need to shop for a certain son of mine who turns 7 next month (you know who you are!) -- here's something that you'll want to know about. A recent email from Toys R Us included this link to a pdf coupon for 15% off Lego sets.

Valid this week only, 10/25/09 - 10/31/09, in store only purchases, and it excludes Star Wars sets. It may also be something you can use at other retailers that honor competitor coupons.

If Legos are on your holiday shopping list, it may be worth it to pick up sets now and then price match it when the Black Friday deals come out. You'll end up with better selections now, based on my experiences. Connor's birthday is November 17th, so we are often shopping for Lego sets in early November for that and then also keep our eyes open for sales on Black Friday and December for Christmas.

Really TICKed Off Today.

2009-10-12T23:55:00.002-04:00

Tick, side view
Originally uploaded by NH Mom of 3

This morning my little guy (who is 4 years old) said his head hurt when he lay down on one side. He pointed and I thought it looked like a scab on his head, when I asked he said he fell down. Once I got him into the light of the bathroom however, I was shocked to see the "scab" move! It had legs! And it was in my baby's head!

Yuck. A nasty little tick. In Lyme Disease country. Crap.

I did the good mother thing and stayed calm (while I ran downstairs for the camera and the tick spoon) and they took a quick photo before prying the tick off with the tick spoon. All in one piece, thank goodness. The tick was really wedged into the slot in the spoon, so I felt OK in showing it to Zach. He was a bit freaked out, but did great!

We washed up the bite with some mild soap and water, and put on some Neosporin. No band aid as it was on his scalp.

Then I did what moms now-a-days do: I called the triage nurse at the pediatrician's office while I got online to google "found tick on my child" and "tick lyme disease" to try and identify the thing. I suspect it was a deer tick. The doctor's office had me drop the tick off for further lab testing. As my son is young, they will not treat with antibiotics unless the tick is positive for lyme. I am crossing my fingers that it comes back negative.

I'm sharing this as a simple reminder to not get complacent. I was the one who was helping Zach with his bath last night, and even washed his hair quickly. Key word is "quickly". I feel really bad that I might have missed this. I'm hoping that the tick hitched on for a ride from the pile of leaves the kids were raking and playing in on Sunday.

I will say that I was never so happy to have attended a boy scout pack meeting that had a presentation about ticks! That's where we got the tick spoon that made it much easier to remove the tick. Unfortunately, I handed in the tick spoon with the tick for testing. Hope I can get another from Atlantic Pest Solutions from Maine.

Will keep you posted. Have you ever dealt with ticks? We've found them on our dog Zoe, but never actually on a child's body.

A new academic year, and a new President at Dartmouth

2009-09-23T01:25:00.002-04:00

Celebrating the arts at Dartmouth
Originally uploaded by Dartmouth Flickr

I wanted to share this excellent photo from one of the many events happening in the Dartmouth community to celebrate the beginning of the Kim legacy at the College and the start of the 2009-2010 academic year.

I was happy to be there, and look forward to the years ahead. And who knows...perhaps someday our children can play together. Is a Webster Avenue playgroup in the works? I'll let you know. Until then, I wish President Kim and his family the very best.

BTW: I was live tweeting during the event (twitter.com/uppervalleymom), and you can see my comments and some TwitPics when you search for #dartjyk

Coupons for Maine and NH Travel

2009-09-01T06:34:00.002-04:00

Don't say goodbye to summer just yet! Looking for a fun holiday weekend? What about a fall getaway? I've got great news: special coupons just for my readers and friends! Coupons are good for weekdays or weekends, your choice.

You can visit the same great locations we did on our vacation, and at a discount. Totally cool, right?

Nordic Village -- Jackson, NH

Finish/Supplement your Back to School shopping in nearby North Conway, NH (or get a jump on your holiday shopping while the crowds are manageable!). No sales tax in NH.
Fall hiking in the White Mountains can be spectacular - I love to see the leaves change color. I'm such a New Englander.
Enjoy family attractions without so many people in line for the rides.
And don't forget that Nordic Village has lots of family entertainment right on site!

Best Western Merry Manor Inn -- South Portland, Maine

You can modify some of the same reasons listed above for Nordic Village (shopping at the Maine Mall, take a trip to Freeport for a LL Bean pilgrimage or outing, visit some unique family attractions like a life-size moose made out of chocolate).
Plus, Merry Manor Inn makes for a comfortable and welcoming home base for your Portland, Maine area excursions.
They often have Spa Nights on site! Check their Facebook page for more details on specific dates.
Ride the ferry to Peaks Island and take a crisp fall bike ride. Grab an ice cream cone to eat down at the beach as you wait for the ferry back to Portland.
Enjoy the Old Port area shops and eateries. Bon Appetit magazine recently named Portland as the foodiest small town!
Take the kids to the Portland Children's Museum or a whale watch for a fun day trip. Check out the Sept. 2009 issue of Family Fun magazine for a list of things to do in the Portland area in their "Family Getaways" section.
GREAT value.
Flying out of Portland is really easy from this location.

Ogunquit River Inn -- Ogunquit, Maine

You can still do shopping from this location: outlet shopping is in nearby Kittery, Maine.
The ocean water is always cold in Maine, but the beach is much less crowded in September. ORI has a FREE shuttle right to the Ogunquit beach. You really can't go wrong.
Walk the Marginal Way, and enjoy the ocean air and fall colors around you.
Play golf (or mini-golf).
Enjoy the view from your balcony overlooking the salt marsh area, or even from a kayak. Sip umbrella drink of your choice. (Put that in-room fridge to use!)

I know that you'll enjoy any of the hotels mentioned here, and hope that you'll consider them for your upcoming travels to NH or ME. Please remember to use the coupons here for an extra 15% off, and let them know that you heard about them here at the Kids Meal Crowd blog!

Don't forget to follow the Lafayette Hotel group on Twitter, and become a Facebook fan for more great deals year-round. Even if your travel will take place after Sept. 30th, please let the hotel know that you heard about them here. Thanks!

Why Date Nights Rock

2009-08-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

We don't often have the opportunity for a true date night, so when we had the chance to get Red Sox vs. Yankees tickets way back at the beginning of the year -- we jumped on it! It did not disappoint.

Although the outcome of the game wasn't what we had hoped for that night, the Fenway experience was lots of fun. I'm also hoping that we can continue to make time to connect as a couple on a more regular basis. We deserve it! Just as a little bit of background: Todd and I started dating when we were freshmen in high school (1990), and married in 1997. We have gone through lots together and I feel thankful that we have each other to count on. With three kids, sometimes it's easy to forget that we also need to spend time nurturing our own relationship!

What are some of the things that you would suggest for a future date night? Remember that we live in a rural area, have no regular babysitter on hand, and don't have a lot of "fun money" that we can commit to stuff for us (we'd rather use it for family stuff or something the kids will enjoy). Help us out -- share your ideas! Thanks!

Family Travel Tales: Jackson, NH

2009-08-27T07:30:00.020-04:00

This is a review of a family vacation we were able to take earlier this month. Several more installments, plus a post with special offers, are scheduled for the next three days. Would love your feedback!

To say that we were excited to begin our first extended (i.e. longer than a 3-day weekend) vacation in about 3 years would be a total understatement. Last summer we had just purchased our new home and did not have the extra cash for a real vacation; the summer before Todd and I had planned a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary but had to postpone due to a medical emergency. So our last vacation was in August of 2006, when we rented a travel trailer (camper) and drove from the annual family reunion in VT to a campground in Wells, ME for just under a week.

Being able to actually stay in hotels and not camp was a true blessing, and to begin our trek at the Nordic Village Resort in Jackson, NH was a fabulous way to kick things off!

About the accommodations:
The Nordic Village Resort in Jackson, NH is a true mountain getaway. It is a beautiful resort made up of about a dozen buildings spanning one mile up a hillside in the White Mountains. Extremely family friendly, with lots of things to do right on the property. There are multiple swimming pools, a fitness center, pavilion building for indoor activities, making s'mores at the fire pit, arcade, small pond with row boats, a small island area on the pond where kids can be entertained by performers, and even pony rides!

The lodging itself was incredible, our "room" was actually a 2 bedroom/2 bath condo unit with a balcony! A fully equipped and furnished kitchen (with dishwasher) meant that we could keep our food costs down by going to the grocery store and cooking our own meals. Splitting up the sleeping spaces allowed us to keep the peace with the kids -- the boys slept in the full bedroom on the main floor, Sydney slept on the sofa-bed in the living room, and we took the master bedroom in the loft above. One of the favorite features of the unit was the spiral staircase (aka "curly stairs") leading up to the master suite. The master bathroom had a large jacuzzi tub that was big enough for two and had a skylight above. There was tons of natural light in the unit, especially in the morning as the sun was rising over the mountains. We had gorgeous views from our balcony. Oh yeah, we also had a small laundry center (washer/dryer), board games/puzzles in the entertainment center and even a DVD player. It was for sure something that felt like a home away from home. There was no wireless internet, but we did have wired ethernet access in our unit. There was wireless available at the common buildings, like the Fitness Center and ClubHouse, but I did not take my computer to those areas to test.

About the local community and things we did for fun:
We trekked to the Nordic Village Resort by way of the Kancamagus Highway. It was a beautiful drive, and we stopped at a NH State Park area along the way to hike a waterfall area. What a wonderful way to begin our trip!

Although the resort is a mere mile away from Storyland, we decided to skip Storyland to enjoy the Nordic Village itself. The pool area was just really inviting after so much rain this summer. We did make a couple of quick trips to North Conway outlets for shopping, mere minutes away. Visited the local Dairy Queen for a Blizzard ice cream treat, and to the grocery store to stock up our kitchen in the condo. We spent the majority of time just enjoying ourselves as a family: swimming, playing, using the row boats, watching the clown show, putting together a puzzle, writing in our journals and playing ping pong. It was super.

The White Mountains area of NH has a lot to offer year-round: miniature golf, family attractions/parks, water parks, hiking, biking, camping, outlet shopping, historical sites, Mt. Washington, dining and much more. I'd encourage you to check out web sites and travel guides for more ideas on what to do. I am certain there is something for everyone...we could have spent a whole week here and done something new each day!

Fab five reasons you might want to book this trip yourself:

The resort itself was just fabulous. Lots to do on-site made it a great value. I can also see this being a winter wonderland, a perfect place to warm up after days on the ski slopes nearby.
Can't say enough about the great customer service: From the moment I checked in, I felt like the staff really cared about making this a great experience for our family. This extended even beyond the time we checked out -- I had forgotten a RedBox rental DVD in our unit and didn't realize it until we were half way to Maine. I figured it would be a loss, and I'd see the max $25 fee on my checking account sometime later in the month. I was thrilled to see an email a few days later to confirm my DVD was returned! I was impressed.
The pool area included several pools and hot tubs. One pool and hot tub was indoors, so no matter the weather outdoors you and your family can enjoy splashing around. We don't have a pool at home, so swimming is always something the kids enjoy when we are out and about.
The Nordic Village is part of the Lafayette Hotels family, and they often have discounts available at their web site or facebook page. (We'll also be featuring a special coupon -- stay turned!) When you couple the discounted lodging with the savings you can find when you are cooking your own meals in the unit and utlizing the entertainment options on-site, it's really a great value for a family getaway.
Two words: Pony Rides! OK, so they do cost a little extra to do...but what a nice bonus for the kids. We actually need to go back for the pony rides, as it was raining the day we had planned to let the kids go for their rides.

Things that we might do differently next time:

We didn't make time to enjoy the bonfire each night and eat s'mores. Wish we would have done so here, there was no other place on the trip that offered this opportunity. We had even brought along our own s'mores ingredients in anticipation but just found ourselves doing other things each night at the time the bonfire was happening. (You can purchase your own family s'mores kit at the hotel store for a reasonable rate)
Get the address that we should use for the GPS in advance -- the address listed in promotional materials is very generic and we ended up in the wrong place until I called the front desk for clarification.
There were wonderful skylights and natural light throughout the unit, which we loved. But we forgot to shut the pocket doors in the master bedroom loft area and it was just so bright at sunrise that it woke us up when we wanted to be lazy and sleep in. Lesson learned for the next night/morning.
The only TV was in the living room (where the sleeper sofa was located), and Sydney was sleeping in that room. So we needed to find another way to watch/listen to the Red Sox games that continued later than the kids bedtime.

Overall:

Even though our trip was in the warm summer months, I can totally see how this would be an equally if not better place for a winter vacation. There was a fireplace to stay cozy, and our unit had plenty of closet space to store gear. Each of the kids loved our time at Nordic Village -- they noted the pool area, the clown, the row boats, and the games in the pavillion. We all enjoyed the ability to spread out and sleep in different rooms, as well as the access to a full kitchen and washer/dryer. The view from the balcony, especially with the morning mist, was just breath taking, and the jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom was an added bonus.

Nordic Village gets the Kids Meal Crowd thumbs up!

Check out our photos from the trip on Facebook:
Day One
Day Two

NEXT STOP: Portland, Maine

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To comply with my own disclosure policy, we did receive discounted room rates at the Lafayette Hotels we visited during our family vacation. We appreciate the opportunity to have connected with a local New England based company such as the Lafayette Hotels group. If you want to keep up with the Lafayette family of Hotels, please check them out on Twitter and Facebook. They have 27 hotels in New Hampshire, Maine and Michigan and I’d say that in my opinion, they have been on the leading edge of local businesses using social media to interact with new and existing guests.

Offline for LASIK eye surgery

2009-08-27T05:53:00.001-04:00

Just a quick program note: I'll be offline for a little bit while I go in for LASIK eye surgery. I'm so excited for the possibility to buy cheapo sunglasses and not need something that is spendy and needs a Rx!

Cross your fingers for me that all goes well. Apparently, after not doing any reading or watching TV on the day of my surgery I will be near 100% the next day and able to drive again. But just to be safe, I've got a few posts in the hopper to share some reviews about our family vacation earlier this month.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Free Samples and Coupons - updated daily!

2009-08-20T13:00:00.000-04:00

Looking for free samples, coupons and special offers? Here's a great place to start! The offers below are updated each day, so please check back often. Ones that I have personally taken advantage of are things like coupons, free samples and the Entertainment Book.

Full disclosure: The offers presented are collected by a third party - apologies if some are not what you would expect me to promote. Please let me know if you find it distracting to keep this offers page.

I am a ReadySite affiliate, so if you do find any of these offers useful for you I will receive a few cents to help defray the costs of running this blog. Thanks!!!

If you have a website, you can earn $25 to sign up for Ready Site. Once you meet the $100 minimum payout, the $25 will be added to your check. Click here to get started.

Family Travel Tales: Introduction

2009-08-11T23:42:00.003-04:00

If you have been following me on Twitter, or are friends with me in real life or on Facebook, you likely already know that our family has just returned from vacation. It was a real joy to spend that much quality time having fun with my husband and three children.

We were fortunate enough to be able to schedule a full week away. We broke the trip up into 4 segments:

Two nights in Jackson, NH
Two nights in Portland, ME
Three nights in Ogunquit, ME
And a day trip to Boston, MA

For each day of the trip, I’ve set up a photo album on my Facebook page. For each segment of the trip you’ll be able to review a story on Whrrl and a review of the accommodations and activities we enjoyed while traveling. Both will be posted right here on the Kids Meal Crowd blog, so check back again soon! You'll see these all by the end of this week.

Also coming, some special deals just for Kids Meal Crowd readers and my online followers/friends. Very exciting! Stay tuned...

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To comply with my own disclosure policy, we did receive discounted room rates at the Lafayette Hotels we visited during our family vacation. We appreciate the opportunity to have connected with a local New England based company such as the Lafayette Hotels group. If you want to keep up with the Lafayette family of Hotels, please check them out on Twitter and Facebook. They have 26 hotels in New Hampshire, Maine and Michigan and I’d say that in my opinion, they have been on the leading edge of local businesses using social media to interact with new and existing guests.

Family Reunion Advice?

2009-08-10T07:02:00.000-04:00

Get ready for some great posts with Whrrl stories, links to great hotels and New England attractions and maybe even a vlog to review our recent family vacation! Will start posting the reviews by Tuesday, and they will be spread out over the next week. This is your heads up, so stay tuned!

In the mean time, I'll be working on my weekly menu plan for another busy week here at home.

Todd and I are hosting the annual family reunion next Sunday and I'd love to see if you have any advice for us about the following:

web site - should I just set up another simple blogspot blog and keep it password protected? Or is there a web site that specializes in family-based info collecting (that still allows for some customizing and linking to other sites)? PLEASE ADVISE if you have any ideas.
photo group - planning to set up a Flickr set for this event. Any simple instructions out there for total Flickr novices in the family?
grocery/discount store sales on the following items (or online if free shipping can get it here by Friday) -- STURDY paper plates, cups, bowls, plastic silverware, napkins, ground beef, hot dogs, and other BBQ or picnic related stuff
any other fun things?

Thanks in advance! This will be a crazy week as we head back to work from that awesome vacation, clean the house for family guests over the weekend, and then the family reunion off-site on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed that we get it all done. ;)

Have a great week.

My Disclosure Policy, v.1

2009-08-02T11:08:00.001-04:00

As my BlogHer post-mortem indicated, I've come to think that it's important for responsible bloggers to disclose any compensation (including free products, discounts, etc) that they have received in order to be as transparent as possible. I like to think that I practice what I preach, so I've developed my own disclosure statement for this Kids Meal Crowd blog.

I used an online generator that only took a few minutes. I have cut and pasted that policy below, with a few modifications. Some of the questions didn't have *quite* the wording I would have liked to use, so that's the few places I made some changes below. I plan to review this policy on a regular basis, and will post updates if deemed needed.

And now back to your regularly scheduled broadcast.
;)

This policy is valid from 02 August 2009

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact Danielle.

Even though this is primarily a personal blog that follows the journey of one family, we are open to PR and marketing offers for consideration. This blogger will only review, test or giveaway products or services that our family would possibly use and that we suspect would be of interest to readers who follow this blog. This blog will consider accepting forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. When compensation is received, we acknowledge that it may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. Any such content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Back from BlogHer '09 (Part 2)

2009-08-01T07:27:00.001-04:00

Finally downloaded my photos (I need an Eye-Fi card something fierce!) and put together my first Whrrl story. What do you think?

There are lots of great link roundups of post-conference posts, but there were a few posts and links I wanted to highlight:

BlogHer 2009: A recap in Whrrl stories
BlogHer '09 Live-Blogging (also has links to collections of event photos and videos)
Good-bye BlogHer 09 (with a Mr. Linky with nearly 100 more posts)

With so much being said about the role of marketing via bloggers, especially "mommy bloggers", I also wanted to share these two clips to help frame some of the points that are commonly mentioned:

Mom Bloggers Debate Ethics of "Blog-Ola" on NPR
Mommy Mandy's post about being on a ABC News piece about the KMart/Sears Home Design Summit in July

I know that there are many more points being made in this debate, and as a blogger who has really not spent more than a few moments thinking about the business of blogging I am still figuring out where I stand on things. In general, I agree with the idea that being genuine, authentic and honest is the gold standard. If a company has offered free product for review or giveaways, that's OK with me. Adding a disclosure statement or taking the "blog with integrity" pledge are options for bloggers to consider. The continuum of advertising > advertorial > editorial is blurry at best. As bloggers, we hope to gain the respect of and connect with our readers. Some circles think that this automatically transfers into "influence". I disagree. I think that influence and respect are things that need to be earned and maintained...not something that can be created with a few giveaways. Now if I was a top blogger and asked to attend invite only events; or actually made more than $3.25 on advertising in, oh, a year...then maybe my thoughts would be more nuanced. Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Please leave a comment, and include a link to any posts you have made about this topic.

I enjoyed the two sessions with Katie Orenstein that I attended, exploring how we have the credibility to be considered experts and that we should write our Op-Eds. I thought the keynote on the media (traditional vs. new) was interesting, and the community keynote was moving. Talk about authentic voice! I laughed, I cried, I was truly moved when hearing the authors read posts that I remember viewing when originally written. To actually hear the emotions around these topics that folks had was touching.

Most importantly, I will remember the friends that I discovered and met in real life at BlogHer '09. Thanks for the opportunity to connect and I look forward to staying in touch!

Back from BlogHer '09 (Part 1)

2009-07-30T02:58:00.000-04:00

As I gather and process thoughts about my first BlogHer conference experience, I thought I would pass along a *brilliant* little video from Telling Dad. Watch and enjoy!

And you can expect a much more detailed account from me, including some photos, within the next day or two. The punchline is that I had a great time meeting new people, getting ideas about things to incorporate into my work and my blogging, and look forward to attending more such events in the future. And yes, I brought home such luxurious swag as a bottle of Greenworks Toilet Cleaner and a whole pack of kiwi fruit scoopers that I will gladly use at our upcoming family reunion. Score!

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 7/20/09

2009-07-20T01:03:00.000-04:00

Wouldn't you know that the week of my returning to menu planning is a short week for me at home. I'll need to stock the kitchen with easy stuff for the family when I am off to Chicago for BlogHer.

I've got a request for you all - can you help me? My husband and I are hosting the annual family reunion in a few weeks, and we really need to some ideas for frugal food ideas for large groups. We will be at a public area, and under a big tent...so items also need to be OK for coolers or slow cookers. We'd like to consider catering...but this is usually more of a potluck affair. We have a modest budget for food and related expenses, and will be paying for the use of the event location. Any ideas or tips for us? I'd like to include your tips in an upcoming post. Thanks!

Meals for this week include:

chicken stir fry with veggies and rice
beef roast with potatoes and carrots
annie's mac and cheese, turkey hot dogs, fresh veggies
leftover buffet
pizza and salad
chicken nuggets, green beans and onion rings
breakfast for dinner or maybe even a night of take out!

I've got quite a few recipes bookmarked that I want to try, but this week is just not the time to be messing around. Mama's gotta pack!

One last note: Many thanks to Lisa at Peppers & Pollywogs for including my Pirate Party Treat on her great kids party planning site! If you haven't been there yet, you should totally check it out. All sorts of great ideas, links, photos and even giveaways.

Have a wonderful week and check out a whole mess of menus at the OrgJunkie site for inspiration.

Back to the Basics: Current Kids Meal Toys at McDonalds, Wendys and Burger King

2009-07-18T00:32:00.000-04:00

I was feeling a bit reflective today, and was remembering why I started blogging in the first place.

It's been quite some time since I posted an update of what's out there for the "Big 3" drive thru options here in my area, so I wanted to get back to basics.

Here's what you can find with your Happy Kids Meals this weekend:

McDonalds --TY Teenie Beanie Babies (July 17 - August 13) 30 different toys! And next up: American Girl and Lego Racers

Burger King -- Transformers And next up: GI Joe

Wendy's --Magic Tree House Audiobook CDs ***this is one of our absolute favorite goodies! Connor and Zachary listen to one of these before bed each night.*** And next up: FunKeys

The last time the boys convinced me to get fast food a few weeks ago, it was for Transformers at Burger King. I wasn't impressed, and neither were the boys. I will lobby for Wendy's next time - this group of audiobooks are different than the batch that was offered last time, and now we have nearly 30 Magic Tree House books to read along with!

If you have access to any additional information that we can share here at Kids Meal Crowd, especially around the dates these toys are being offered or how to get some samples for giveaways, PLEASE contact me - would love to hear from you!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Printable Weight Watchers Yogurt Coupon

2009-07-11T07:46:00.000-04:00

I've heard great things from folks about the Weight Watchers (1 point) Yogurt. Now I will have to try it! You can find a coupon for 55 cents off 3 yogurt cups or a multipack here. Click on the link that says "Act now for a special offer". I printed mine today and expiration date is 8/9/09. Click the back button on your browser to print out a second copy.

Stumbled upon this ad while reading an article about Eating Healthy & Organic on $7 a Day.

Sydney Says: "Pets are People Too!"

2009-07-11T00:47:00.001-04:00

My heart sinks when I see news like this. Sydney's love for all things animal makes me oh so aware of things like this. Since our cat Bingo disappeared one night last October, she has been especially taken with cats...along with her all-time favorites -- little dogs.

I really must reschedule that Girl Scout troop tour of the Upper Valley Humane Society and follow through on the fundraising/wish list collection.

When we do have the details of the collection in place, I will certainly share that information with you. In the mean time, here's a little reminder to clip those pet food coupons (check out the Coupons.com banner at the top of the Kids Meal Crowd blog for some printables) and pick up extras for your own local Humane Society or ASPCA.

BlogHer Planning: HELP!

2009-07-09T00:12:00.007-04:00

OK, so it finally dawned on me that the BlogHer conference in Chicago is nearly here and I'm totally unprepared. I *am* registered, but have to call to find a room, book my flight and many, many more supporting details.

I'm going for work (did I ever tell you that I love my job?), but will also be meeting lots of online friends from blogging, Twitter, Facebook, etc in "real life" and can't tell you how exciting that is.

What does this BlogHer Conference newbie need to keep in mind?
Bring along?
Dress for Chicago?

Seriously, what passes for a so-called summer here in Northern New England can't possibly what I can expect elsewhere...is it?

I've ordered more business cards from work and hope to have those in time. Should I just go the Vistaprint route to also bring blog/twitter cards? Where can I get a card holder?

Do I need a big bag for swag? {AWEsome if yes!}

What parties or side events should I plan to attend? I'm so behind in thinking about this stuff, am I too late to RSVP? I'll be on my own, so I do want to socialize.

Any blog bling I should be adding?

I don't have a PR package or my stats memorized or anything. Will that be a negative when speaking with other bloggers or vendors?

I'm going to learn more about what is out there in this big bloggy, social-media world. I'm curious to see how governments and higher education are using the technology to frame and encourage conversations. I want to meet inspiring people that I read, and see if they might make good speakers on campus or the right people to lead sessions of our student programs. I want to understand the tools out there and practice my face-to-face relationship (aka networking) skills. Hoping to find new people to connect with in my social media life. Most of all I want to have fun, and come away with new information and contacts that I can follow up with in the future -- in both my professional and personal lives. Am I crazy to think I can accomplish all of these objectives?

Seriously, your advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't want to be as out of place as this local in NH today:

Camel climbs Mt. Washington

Thanks in advance! See you in Chicago.

Pirate Party Treats: Easy to make and great for kids parties

2009-07-08T21:36:00.002-04:00

Pirates on Parade!

This was a huge hit at Zachary's 4th birthday party two weeks ago. I would definitely suggest this easy treat to anyone looking for a crowd pleaser that doesn't take tons of time.

I must also give credit to Nicole at Planning With Kids, a great blog with lots of ideas I've enjoyed. I saw her post on creating Milky Way Cars and thought it was just adorable. But as Zach was having a pirate party, I wanted to be sure to adapt the idea to our needs.

Ingredients:

Teddy Grahams; I used Honey bears
Snack size candy bars; I experimented with both 3 Musketeers and Milky Ways, see my tip below
Pringles Sticks; I used cheese flavor because that was all I could find!
Mini-Fruit Roll Ups; cut into 1/3 sections, rectangle shape works best - portrait orientation []
Black icing gel

Steps:

Take all the candy bars out of the wrappers and put onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
Use the black icing gel to create the pirate eye patches on each Teddy Graham. The best way to do so is to use one dab of gel right from the tip for the patch over the teddy's eye, then use a toothpick with a little more black gel to draw in the string (is that what it is called? or band?) of the eye patch.
Push the Teddy Graham pirates into the candy bar, in the front part of the ship (er, candy bar)
Cut two small holes in the Fruit Roll Up (the sail) so you can thread the mast in (the Pringle Stick). If the sail is sagging, just pinch the fruit roll up a little bit.
Very carefully, push the mast and sail into the back part of the ship
Show off to your kids! They should oh and ah and say things like "Mom, you are the best party cooker in the world!" (thanks Zach!)

Tips:

Next time I do this, I will use all all 3 Musketeers. They were much easier to push things into without breaking. The Milky Ways had the caramel or whatever goodness inside and it made it more rigid.
If you are making this for a summer party, or in a hot and muggy location -- you may want to put the cookie sheet full of pirates in the freezer before displaying them at the party. The roll ups get a bit sticky and the candy bars get a bit soft in the heat.
You could certainly adapt this idea to other themes as well, be creative!
I also used a few pirates and a few of these pirate ships on Zach's cake. I had enough ships in the freezer so that all the kids got their own with their slice of cake - no fighting.

No need to wait for a special occasion to make these, this would be a fun scout troop activity or family fun on a rainy day. I was able to find most of the ingredients either on sale or had a coupon, so it wasn't very costly. It didn't take allI that much time - I made them on the morning of the party. And I have to admit, it was a lot of fun making these.

I'd love to see photos of any variations you try on this. Please be sure to comment with your link!