Are you a golfer or want to be...

May is PGA Free Lesson Month. During the month of May, you can get a free 10 minute pro lesson. Head over to Play Golf America to learn more abut this program.

"Perfect for New Golfers – Easy, casual program to get a quick introduction into golf!
Perfect for Casual Golfers – Get a few tips to improve your swing.
Perfect for Avid Golfers – Work with a PGA or LPGA Professional to see how you might fine-tune your game. "

You do need to sign up for your free 10 minute lesson. Find a participating Professional here.

CVS Deals - 4/29

After reading everywhere about the money maker deal on the 3M Command Strip Metal Hook deal, I printed my coupons and headed to CVS after work on Wednesday. Of course, they were out. I was able to get a rain check for that item though. While there, the scanner printed me another coupon for $2/2 Gold Emblem nuts, so I figured I could at least pick those up.

2 - Gold Emblem Almonds Snack Size

-$2 $2/2 Gold Emblem Nuts CRT

Total $0.

I might stop by another store to see if I can get the 3M deal yet this week, but at least I know I always have the rain check to fall back on.

For more deals, check out Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom, CVS Superstars at the "Cent"sible Sawyer and Shopping Superstars at Thrifty Mama.

CVS Deals - 4/28

I headed out to CVS after work on Tuesday, because the store was closest to on my way and I needed buns for dinner.

While there, I decided to take advantage of the Tresemme deal and used the Gold Emblem Nut coupon that printed at the scanner. I was a little bummed to find that the Tresemme was not on sale for 3/$10. I didn't really review my ad this week and was going by what I had read on line. It changed my plan a little, instead of 6 items, I only got 4 and I paid $.76 more than I would have had they still been on sale.

Here's what I got:

2 - Tresemme Hairspray
2 - Tresemme Shampoo/Conditioner
2 - Snack Size Gold Emblem Almonds
1 - 8ct Hamburger Buns

-$5 $5/$15 Tresemme CRT
-$4 4x$1 Tresemme IP
-$2 $2/2 Gold Emblem Nuts CRT

Paid with a $10 and $2.89 ECB and $1.40 OOP. Earned $10 ECBs. The cashier had to force the ECB, it seems to be ringing up as a count instead of a dollar amount on the deal.

For more deals, check out Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom, CVS Superstars at The "Cent"sible Sawyer and Shopping Superstars at The Thrifty Mama.

Chicken Enchiladas

When it comes to dinner time, my two objectives are tasty, satisfying food and minimal time in the kitchen. It doesn't get much easier than this recipe for Chicken Enchiladas that I put together from a few recipes a number of years ago. Served up with a side of beans - pinto or refried at our house and some Mexican rice, it is a filling and flavorful meal.

Chicken Enchiladas

1# boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts, cubed
1 can condensed Cheddar Cheese soup
1/2 c Salsa
10 Flour Tortillas
1 can Enchilada Sauce
1 c shredded Cheddar or Mexican cheese

Spray bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

Cook chicken in a skillet until done. Add soup and salsa, heat through.

Remove from heat and spread mixture down center of tortilla. Roll and place in baking dish. Repeat.

Top with Enchilada sauce and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Bake at 425 for 5 - 10 minutes.

I make the Mexican rice by adding 1/2 c salsa and reducing the water to 1 3/4c to prepare the 2 c of Minute rice.

For more Mexican favorites, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap Mexican Food at Life as Mom.

For more recipes, check out the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

More Free Ice Cream - Carvel 4/30

Tomorrow, Carvel is celebrating their 75th Anniversary by offering free 8oz Iceberg.

An Iceberg is "Your favorite soda flavors blended with ice and vanilla flavoring, topped with a scoop of our famous premium soft serve ice cream"

The offer is valid at participatin locations from 3p - 7p. As always, I recommend calling ahead to see if your location is participating.

Blogging Help for the Non-Programmer

I will be the first to admit that I sort of stumbled into the world of blogging. I found my first blog through a couple of Google Alerts that I had set up. It was Money Saving Mom. I was intrigued. I started checking her blog occasionally and then through the assorted carnivals and links to the bloggers that supplied tips on deals, I found myself with a nice little collection of blogs that I was a loyal reader of.

Then, one day, I thought, I would like to join in on the fun. I would love to post my plans and successes for CVS and other shopping adventures. Almost by accident (all you have to do is select Create Blog from the upper right hand corner, so it wasn't that accidental), I managed to find myself in Blogger. I set up an account and chose a template. It really was that simple. Suddenly, now I was not only an avid reader, but I could be an active blogger myself. I started slow, but as I built momentum and visited ever increasing numbers of blogs, I wanted to change things, improve things, implement things that I liked on other sites and make my site my own.

I'm so far from a computer programmer, but I found that there were sites out there that offered help on "How To" for Blogger. Two that I continue to reference back to are Tips For New Bloggers and Quite Random. Using these two sites, I have managed to find the help I needed to change my standard Blogger template from two columns to three. I have found out how to put numbers in my comments - a huge help when you run a giveaway, I learned the hard way.

On top of that though, they have given me the confidence to explore HTML. When I wanted to add the menu bar to the top of my site, I checked out the source code on a couple of blogs, theirs included, to see how the menu bar was set up. Then I headed back to my site and implemented what I had observed. When I wanted to do a header and a button, I sought the assistance of my husband and together we worked through the HTML (popping over to the two sites I use regularly, as well as a couple of others for pointers) to make it all happen.

I'm still no programmer, but with a little help from the free online resources I have found, I have been able to modify my site to be a little more of me and a little less standard.

For more tips and tricks, check out Works For Me Wednesday on We Are THAT Family. Ironically, she has a post on Blogging Tools today. I know I plan to check out some of the sites she references.

Free Lunch - Domino's 4/29

There seems to be no end to the free and cheap food lately.

Tomorrow only (4/29), from 11 am - 2 pm, Domino's is offering free Bread Bowl Pasta. Offer is for carry-out at participating locations on select varieties (so maybe not all 5 flavors are available). I called my local store and they are participating in this event. The told me that I could call ahead or walk in and order.

There are five varieties and they normally are $5.99 each ($4.99 if you skip the bread).

To find a location near you, you can check here. The selection of Bread Bowl Pastas are also shown on this front page. As always, call your location to confirm they are participating.

For dessert on Wednesday night, don't forget to stop over at Baskin Robbins.

Tried It Tuesday - Ferrero Rondnoir

Recently, I was offered the opportunity to try Ferrero chocolates. I am a huge fan of dark chocolate, so my choice was easy, I chose to try the Rondnoir chocolates.

I must say, they were delectable. When you first open the bronze foil wrapper, you are greeted by this cute little ball of chocolate coated in crunchy dark chocolate morsels. When you take your first bite, you discover that beneath this outer coating are a number of tasty layers. Moving in from the outside, you have the dark chocolate morsels, a crunchy wafer shell, a creamy dark chocolate layer and inside it all, a center of pure dark chocolate.

The best part is that while one piece feels totally indulgent, the calories are not crazy. In fact, the suggested serving is 4 pieces which have a total of 220 calories. I have managed to exercise control and have enjoyed the chocolates one at a time, for a mere 55 calories each. This is great, since I am trying to watch my total calorie consumption, but enjoy a treat now and then. Sometimes, I find myself mentally setting aside a few calories so that I can enjoy a Rondnoir chocolate at the end of my day.

The chocolates are reasonably priced, too. The 12 count pack of Rondnoir chocolates is sold for $3.29, making it an affordable treat (27 cents/piece) as well.

Heading over to the Ferrero USA site, I learned that the Ferrero Company is a family-owned business, that was started in 1946 in Italy. Ferrero USA was first opened for business in NYC, in 1969. The first product that they offered in the US was the Tic Tac. According to their website, they use only the highest quality ingredients and aspire to be unique. I've never had a dark chocolate quite like the Rondnoir - so I would say they have succeeded in this.

Giveaway
Thanks to the Ferrero Company, I have been given the opportunity to share with two of my readers, a Ferrero Collection. The Ferrero Collection features the Rocher (Hazelnut), Rondnoir (Dark Chocolate) and Garden Coco (Almond/Coconut)chocolates. The Garden Coco is currently only available in the collection. (Please be advised that the products may contain allergens and winner assumes responsibility to read label for details)

There are three ways to enter:

1) Head over to Ferrero USA website. Then come back here and leave a comment letting me know which product you are most interested in trying.
2) Subscribe to my blog. Leave me a separate comment to let me know that you subscribe and letting me know your results to What Chocolate Are You?.
3) Tweet about the giveaway or post about the giveaway on your blog. Come back and leave a comment with a link to your tweet or post. You can tweet and blog, but this is still only one entry, not two.

Contest is open until Saturday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern. Winners will be notified by e-mail and will have 24 hours to respond.

Have you tried a product? Write a review on your blog and then post a link using Mr. Linky. Be sure to include a link back to Tried it Tuesday in your post.

Baskin Robbins 31¢ Scoop Night - Tomorrow

Don't forget, Wednesday, April 29th is 31¢ Scoop Night in honor of America's Firefighters at Baskin Robbins. It runs from 5 pm to 10 pm. Limit of 3 scoops per person.

"Join us for 31 Cent Scoop Night at Baskin-Robbins® and help us honor America’s firefighters with a $100,000 donation to the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) National Junior Firefighter Program. Participating stores will reduce prices of small ice cream scoops to 31 cents. At some locations, you may also have an opportunity to make a donation to local fire charities. Everyone is invited."

You can find a location and learn more at Baskin Robbins website

Macy's Friends and Family Employee Discount Event

Head over to the "Cent"sible Sawyer to learn more about how you can get a shopping pass for an additional 25% off at Macy's during their Friends and Family Employee Discount event, running from April 29th - May 4th.

More Free Chicken - El Pollo Loco

Today only, April 28th, until 8 pm, you can head to your local El Pollo Loco and "Taste the Fire for Free". Valid at participating locations while supplies last, for walk-in customers (no drive-thru) and guest must request the offer. More details can be found here.

I suggest you call ahead to confirm your location is a participating location. Find a list of locations here.

Just Got Back...

from a wonderful getaway weekend in Niagara Falls, Canada. It was a 10th Anniversary celebration for me and my husband. We got to visit a number of local wineries, catch up with some friends that we hadn't seen since just after we were married, and visit the Falls, which was a favorite pre-kids destination for a getaway weekend.

I hope to get back onto track with some regular posts soon, but for now am busy getting settled back in routine.

Have a great day!

Redbox free MONDAY rental. Use code 4CW33N at check out. Expires tonight at midnight CST.

Free Chicken - Tomorrow

Head to your local KFC tomorrow to experience their new grilled chicken for free.

Limit one free piece per person and valid only on April 27th.

You can learn more details here. As usual, I suggest you confirm your location is participating before heading out.

CVS Deals - 4/24

I finally made it to CVS today. I was glad that I wasn't able to make it earlier this week, because yesterday a $5/$30 coupon arrived in my inbox and I was able to save some additional money. Because of the coupon, I did one big transaction.

1 - Multigrain Cheerios
1 - Total
3 - Benefiber Sticks
1 - Edge Shave Gel
1 - Bayer Quick Release Crystals

-$1 Multigrain Cheerios Mfg coupon
-$.75 Total Mfg coupon
-$6 3x$2 Benefiber Mfg coupon
-$1 Bayer Mfg coupon (hanging on display at checkout - bonus!)

Paid with $4, $3.99 and $3.99 ECBs and $6.93 OOP. Earned $2, $10, $2.98 and $2 ECBs. My effective cost for everything, after considering my increase in ECB holdings, was $1.93. Not too bad for all that I got.

For more CVS deals, check out CVS Superstars at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

For other deals, check out Shopping Superstars at the Thrifty Mama and Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:


Aveeno Nourish Sample and Aveeno Nourish Sample from Walmart
John Frieda Collection Root Awakening Sample
Aveeno Nourish Sample from Walmart
Dove go fresh Deodorant Sample
Nivea Touch of Happiness Body Wash

Received:
Jergens Natural Glow Healthy Complexion sample and coupon
Emergen C samples and coupon

Giant Eagle Foodperks

Do you shop at Giant Eagle? They are launching a new Foodperks program, where you can earn discounts on your groceries when you buy fuel. Couple that with the discount you earn on fuel when you buy groceries, and you can stack the discounts.

Watch the short video on their site and earn a 5% discount on your next shopping trip.

Broccoli Cheese Quiche

As summer approaches, I like to move to more simple, lighter dinners. The less time I need to spend in the kitchen preparing dinner, the better! It allows me the opportunity to spend my time playing outside with the kids. My kids both love broccoli, so a simple quiche, paired with some fresh melon is a perfect light dinner for the family.

I generally will put my pie crust in the pan and add the broccoli and cheese in the morning before I go to work (or the night before) and place in the refrigerator. Then, when I come home, I can simply mix up the eggs and tuck it in the oven, while I head out to play.

Of course, there generally are some leftovers, which are great for a second meal - sometimes packed for my lunch, sometimes as leftovers the following evening.

Broccoli Cheese Quiche

1 10" pie crust
1 1/2 c chopped broccoli
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 c cream
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
dash of nutmeg

Arrange broccoli and cheese in pastry lined pan. Beat together eggs, cream and spices in a bowl. Pour over cheese and broccoli. Place in preheated 375F oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and knife inserted 1" from edge comes out clean.

For more meatless entrees, check out this week's Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom.

For additional recipes, check out the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap. She has a recipe posted for Oreo Truffles, which sound nothing short of wonderful.

Today Only - Reynolds Foil Wrap from 100% Recycled Aluminum Rebate

Head over to the Reynolds Website to print off this personalized rebate form to get a free roll of Reynolds Wrap Foil from 100% Recycled Aluminum.

Rebate is only available to print today. You must purchase by May 4th and submit by May 30th. It is good for up to $3.99 back on the purchase of regular or heavy duty 100% recycled Reynolds aluminum.

Cleaning House

I hate cleaning my house. I am certain that there are many that share this sentiment.

I do clean my house. I can't stand a dirty house, although, I am willing to live with a little more clutter than most - in part, because I am a bit of a pack-rack and in part because I am so tired at the end of the day, that a couple of toys sitting out in the family room just don't bother me enough to put them away (at least not everyday).

When it comes to cleaning, unless I am cleaning towards a major event hosted at my house, I have a simple tactic that helps me stay on top of things.

I clean in spits and spats. The mere thought of cleaning the whole house on one day is daunting and, let's be honest, now that I have kids, could never happen unless someone takes them away for a day. So, I tend to clean a little each day. This way, things never really get too bad.

I do a load of laundry regularly, so that I don't wind up with a build up of laundry to clean, fold and put away all on one day. I load my dishwasher each evening and run it when needed. I wash my pots and pans, since they don't go in the dishwasher, each morning. I sort through the papers and mail on my counter each Tuesday evening, before the trash goes out for the week. I pay bills and do my filing on Thursday or Friday. I wipe down the bathroom counter every couple of mornings. I dust and vacuum during some of the mindless reality TV that I enjoy, where missing a bit of the conversation isn't such a big deal.

The one area that is a real challenge to me is the dining room. We don't use it and I have a tendency to put things there that I don't know where else to put. There is a stack of papers that my son has brought home from Kindergarten. We try to go through periodically and choose a few that are special papers, but I haven't figured out exactly where I am going to keep those special papers. I put my bags from clothes/household shopping trips in there and sometimes don't put them away until there are people coming over. I have future shower gifts and cards sitting on the table. It really becomes my catch all. It is definitely a good exercise to clean it up, it just doesn't happen as often as it needs to. It does get tackled before events hosted at my house, especially when we need the extra dining space.

When I have an event being hosted at my house, I do start to clean days ahead of time and make an extra effort not to allow things to accumulate. This way, I can do a quick trip through the house a few hours before guests arrive and touch up.

This approach is what works for me to keep my house clean. For more tips and tricks, check out Works For Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family.

Tried It Tuesday - Fiber One Chewy Bars

The first Fiber One chewy bar that I tried was as a free sample. I was a little bit skeptical at first, I wondered, with the word Fiber in the name would it taste a little like cardboard? Of course the flavor included the word Chocolate, so I figured it was worth a try. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bar was not at all what I expected, it was tasty and reasonably moist (although, as I haven't always rotated my stock well, I can tell you that they do get drier when they get older).

As a non-nut consumer (no allergies, just a personal preference), it was refreshing to find so many options that weren't nut based in a healthy, granola style bar. Now, there is peanut flour, almond flour, sunflower meal, and such in there, so they certainly aren't allergen free, but they are near the bottom of the list of ingredients, providing little hint of their presence in the taste. I also like that I don't see Aspartame or Sucralose in the ingredient list, as I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners. The bars are still only around 140 calories each. Each bar contains 9g of fiber (35% of the daily recommended fiber for a 2,000 calorie diet), 2g of Protein and is a good source of calcium.

My favorite variety is the Oats & Chocolate, followed closely by the Oats & Caramel. The other varieties that I have tried and enjoy are Oats & Apple Streusel and Chocolate Mocha. Not being a big coffee drinker, I have to be in the right mood to enjoy the Chocolate Mocha, as it has a definite coffee flavor to it. The other two varieties that I haven't tried and don't plan to, but are probably equally tasty (if you are good with almonds and peanut butter) are Oats & Strawberry with Almonds and Oats & Peanut Butter.

You can head over to the Fiber One site to learn more about the benefits of fiber in your diet. I will warn you that if you are not a regular consumer of fiber that the first few bars can be a little bit rough on your digestive system, as your body isn't used to that fiber load. Just make sure that you are drinking plenty of water through out the day, "your body needs more water to help process the added fiber you eat."

Have you tried the Fiber One Chewy Bars? Which is your favorite? Have you tried something else? Leave a comment or post on your blog with a link back to Tried it Tuesday on A Busy Mom of Two and then leave your link in Mr. Linky.

Free Cone Day - April 21st

Ben & Jerry's is having their annual free cone day tomorrow!

"Around the world, Scoop Shops are opening their doors from noon to 8:00 pm, to serve up a free scoop of your favorite flavor."

You can find a location near you here. When looking at my state, there are a number of locations that are noted as not participating in free cone day (such as the zoo and airport locations), so you definitely will want to check that your local store is participating.

Kashi Coupons

If you are a fan of Kashi cereals, like I am, then you might want to grab the new Kashi coupons available here or on the coupon widget in my sidebar.

There are:
$1 on any 1 Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal
$1.50 on any 2 Kashi Cereals (wonder if Kmart carries these at my local store?)
$1.50 on any 2 Kashi TLC bars.

Redbox Free Rental Code 4/20

Redbox free MONDAY rental.
Use coupon code M6FR97 at checkout. Code expires tonight at midnight CST.

Menu Plan Monday

I hadn't done much shopping in recent weeks and this week was a bit of a hodge podge. On Saturday, I stopped by one local store and picked up milk that was on sale. Then, I made the trip to Kmart for Super Doubles, getting some grocery items, but nothing in particular. Then we headed to Target and picked up some of the coupon deals - the Easy Mac and the Market Pantry Fruit Snacks. Rounded out by a trip to the grocery for a few ingredients needed for this week's menu.

At our house, the only meal we normally have together is dinner, so it is the focus for us.

Sunday
Cereal
Spaghettios
Out for Mexican

Monday
Macaroni and Cheese

Tuesday
Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday
Pork Chops

Thursday
Sloppy Joes

Friday
Cajun Chicken Jambalaya

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
Out with Grandma and Grandpa

Weekdays breakfast is at daycare for my daughter, the rest of us eat cold cereal, frozen waffles, oatmeal, toast or whatever strikes our fancy. Lunch we pack, usually leftovers for me. My son either packs or buys lunch at school. If he packs, it is generally a lunch meat sandwich or a PB&J with some sides.

Check out other menu plans for the week at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Coupon Ethics

I came across a great post today at Moms Need to Know talking about decoding coupons. I know that there are people out there who are trying to decode coupons, because earlier today, I came across a post that promised to share a coupon decoding spreadsheet - to help you beat the system.

Coupons are a great savings tool provided by manufacturers to entice you to purchase specific products. Taking advantage of glitches is not a great way to encourage manufacturers to continue to offer these coupons that save us all money.

Mindi is doing somewhat of a series on Coupon Ethics and has some other coupon ethics posts that were also good reads:

• Why Stores Don't Trust Us - In this post, she explores some of the activities that cause a bad name for all couponers. Remember the altered Target coupon last fall that was supposed to be for $5 off $25 of toys, but someone altered and circulated it for $5 off any purchase. It's for reasons like this that one of my local grocery stores for a long time wouldn't accept IP.

• The Black, White and Grey of Coupons - she offers some interesting thought provoking scenarios. I personally struggle with seeing listing on some of the boards offering pads of coupons - the manufacturer made those available to the store so that everyone could use them. Taking one or two more than you purchase might be questionable, but lifting the whole pad is just plain wrong.

CVS Scenarios - week of 4/19

There are only a few deals of interest to me at CVS this week. I think this is in part due to my stockpile being in really good shape. Here are some scenarios worth considering.

Transaction #1
3 - John Frieda collection ($5 each)

-$6 3x$2 John Frieda mfg coupon

Total $9, earn $5 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Bayer Quick Release ($2)
1 - Crest ProHealth ($2.88)
1 - Edge Shave Gel ($2.89)

-$.75 Crest coupon

Total $7.02. Pay with $5 ECB from Transaction #1 and $2.02 OOP. Earn $2, $2, and $2.89 ECBs.

Transaction #3
3 - Benefiber Sticks (7.19 each)

-$6 3x$2 Benefiber Sticks Mfg coupon

Total $15.57. Pay with $6.89 ECBs from Transaction #2 and $8.68 OOP, earn $10 ECBs.

Total OOP $19.70 with $10 ECBs to roll to next week.

For more scenarios and deals, check out Deal Seeking Mom, The "Cent"sible Sawyer, and Money Saving Mom.

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
1 - Edge Shave Gel

Total $2.89, earn $2.89 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Crest ProHealth
1 - Bayer Quick Release

-$.75 Crest Mfg coupon

Total $4.13. Pay with $2.89 ECBs and $1.24 OOP. Earn $2 and $2 ECBs.

Total OOP $4.13 with $4 ECBs to roll to next week.

For more $5 Scenarios, check out CVS $5 Challenge at Keeping the Kingdom First.

Kmart Super Double Deals - 4/19

I decided to head out to the Super Kmart today to take advantage of the super double coupon deals. We have a Kmart in town, but they are only a Big K and their selection is very limited. I might stop in there later this week to check on a few other deals, as I was somewhat disorganized this morning and think there are some other deals that would be worth my while.

Of course, if I had planned better (or at least kept track better, I would have found another $8 worth of things I had coupons for so that I could have used my $5/$50 coupon.

Here is what I got:

Goodlife Cat Food $4.99 - $2 - $2 = 99¢
Oust Air and Surface Sanitizer $3.79 - $2 - $1.79 = FREE
Meow Mix Wholesome Goodness Cat food $2.10/3 - $1 - $1 = 10¢/3
Trident 3pk $2.89 - $1 - $1 = 89¢
Trident Xtra Care $1.49 - $.75 - .74 = FREE
Kraft Caesar Dressing $3.29 - $1.50 - $1.50 = 29¢
Quaker Quakes 1.99 - $1 - $.99 = FREE
Hormel Compleats 2.79 - $1 - $1 = 79¢
Pineapple Tidbits $2.97/3 - $1 - $1 = 97¢/3
Oreo Funsticks $3 - $1 - $1 = $1
V8 Juice 46oz can $2.49 - $1 - $1 = 49¢
Spaghettios with meatballs $1 = $1
Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red $2.99 - $.55 - $.55 = $1.89
Velveeta 2# Loaf $4.49 - $1 - $1 = $2.49

Total after coupons $11.37. Saved $30.24 or 73% savings.

I bought the Spaghettios for my shopping assistants because they felt they needed them, even with no coupon. I know I said it before, but I wish I had been better prepared and could have found $8 more to buy. They had General Mills Cereals for $2 each, I had some 55¢ and 75¢ coupons but skipped them. If I had bought 4 with 55¢ coupons, then I would have saved $9.40 on $8 worth of cereals...or could have spent only $10 out of pocket with $40 in savings. Next time I will keep better track so I could fill my cart with better than free items.

Check out the deals that others are getting over at Deal Seeking Mom.

For more deals, check out Shopping Superstars and Super Savings Saturday.

CVS Deals - 4/18 - Nothing but Tax

So, I headed out to CVS on Saturday evening, hoping to find a store with some detergent. I had stopped at a store on Friday, but they only had one bottle of Purex, not great when your deal is BOGO. Tonight, the store only had 2 bottles, but I was glad to get them.

Here is what I got:

6 - Sobe Lifewater
2 - Purex Detergent

-BOGO coupons for each pair of items

Total OOP $.46.

I realized when I got home that I had inadvertently purchased the 0 Calorie Sobe. I normally don't care for artificially sweetened products, but it's sweetened with that new Stevia sweetener (naturally sweetened according to the label), so I guess I will give them a try. If I don't care for it, then I guess I will have to try to exchange them next week.

For more deals, check out CVS Superstars at the "Cent"sible Sawyer, Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom and Shopping Superstars at The Thrifty Mama.

Kmart Super Doubles

In many areas, Kmart will be having Super Double Coupons next week.

"Participating stores only. Amount of credit from doubling a coupon cannot exceed the current retail price of a single item. No cash or in-store purchase credit will be awarded for any amount exceeding the retail price of the item. Limit 1 coupon for each item purchased. Only 1 coupon will be doubled per item. You may only purchase 4 of the same item using double coupons. Buy One, Get One offers, Kmart Savings coupons and Kmart Store coupons are excluded from this promotion. Coupons do not apply to sales tax. Limit 25 coupons per customer per day."

The disclaimer no longer seems to exclude Internet printable coupons. I will probably call ahead to confirm with my store. Certainly don't want to plan for them if my local store won't take them.

To find out if your store is a participating location. Go to kmart.com and enter your zip code to see your local ad. The front page of the ad for the sale starting tomorrow will tell you if the store is participating. You can also sign up for e-mail specials and get a $5 off of $50 coupon.

For a list of coupon pairings, check out Common Sense with Money's coupon match post.

Fat Burnin' Friday

I'm a little late in getting up the post.

It was another nothing week for me. I finally headed to the doctor on Monday. It took until today though for me to feel better. I did go for a short walk today at lunch, but nothing very strenuous.

I plan to get back into the routine of exercising and watching my diet next week - since I only do my P90X on weekday mornings, I can't really start until Monday. It is supposed to be beautiful though this weekend, so I hope to get outside and play with the kids - which is the best exercise.

Pounds lost to date: 11#
Pounds to go: 22#

CVS Deals - 4/16

I was able to get the coupon for Purex before they ran out, so I headed to CVS on Thursday, before work, to get Purex before they ran out.

Here's what I got:

4 - Purex 50oz (32 loads)
1 - Benefiber Sticks (16ct)

-$BOGO Purex IP
-$BOGO Purex IP
-$3 Benefiber CRT
-$2 Benefiber Stickie

Paid with $2 ECB and $.76 OOP.

That's a more than reasonable price for that much laundry detergent.

Check out more CVS deals at CVS Superstars at the "Cent"sible Sawyer.

Check out more deals on Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom and Shopping Superstars at the Thrifty Mama.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Precious Places DVD

Slow week this week. With my cold still lingering, I haven't been online much to find deals to request.

Received:
Kotex Sample, "new look" including 2 $1 coupons
Mine - my magazine, my way
Rebate Check from Ensure $8.49
Rebate Check from Walgreens $6.99
Yoplait Kids prize pack from Bargain Jargon

CVS Deals - 4/14

On Tuesday, I had an off site meeting for work, so on my way home, I had the chance to stop at some stores. I made sure to stop at CVS to get some of the week's freebie deals.

Here is what I got:

Transaction #1
1 - Colgate Sensitive 6oz
1 - Softsoap Coconut Butter Scrub 18oz
2 - Sobe Life Water
1 - Skintimate Shave Gel (raincheck)

-$.75 Colgate Mfg coupon
-$.75 Softsoap Mfg coupon
-$1.49 Sobe Life Water BOGO coupon

Paid with $10 and $.50 ECBs and $.70 OOP. Received $3.99, $4.99 and $4 ECBs (the raincheck was for the $3.49, but since they had to force it to print, I'm speculating it has to be even dollars?).

Transaction #2
1 - Colgate Sensitive 6oz
2 - PertPlus 2/1 13.5oz

-$1 Colgate IP
-$1 PertPlus Mfg coupon
-$1 PertPlus Mfg coupon

Paid with $4.99 in ECBs and $1.26 OOP. Earned $2 and $3.99 ECBs.

I started with $10.50 in ECBs and finished with $13.98 in ECBs. After you consider the $1.86 in cash, I profited $1.62 in purchasing all of these items. I'll take it.

For more CVS deals, check out CVS Superstars at the "Cent"sible Sawyer. For other deals, check out Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom.

Hot Deal Alert

There is a BOGO coupon for Purex Detergent on the coupon widget in my sidebar or here. Purex is on sale BOGO at CVS this week, making this an opportunity to pick up some free laundry detergent. The coupon is reported to be a regional deal.

Thanks Deal Seeking Mom.

Snowdrop Cookies

I am a big fan of cookies. I have tried a number of cookie recipes over the years. Some I have loved, others have been just okay. One cookie that I like because it is unique and different than many other cookies I have had are Snowdrop Cookies. They are essentially a meringue chocolate chip cookie.

Snowdrop Cookies (3 dozen)

3 egg whites (room temperature)
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven 250F. In mixer bowl beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add cream of tarter and vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form. Add sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop onto ungreased foil lined cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn oven off and let cookies sit in oven for 30 minutes more.

Each cookie is only 23 calories according to the notes that I made from the recipe.

For more cookie recipes, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap Cookie Throwdown at Life As Mom.

For even more recipes, check out the recipe swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Tax Day! As an addition to my prior list, I found out Papa John's is offering a Large 3-topping Pizza for $10.40. Order online with offer code 1040M.

Toddler Independence

With both of my children, around the time they are 2 or 3, they start to become convinced that they are independent. One area that they both started to exercise their independence in around that age was in clothing.

With my son, it started mostly with him getting upset with my clothing selections for the day. I didn't want to spend hours in an already busy morning fighting him about what to wear. Ultimately, as long as it was weather appropriate, I really didn't care what he was wearing. I started presenting him with a do you want to wear this or that choice. For him, this was enough to make him feel like he was in charge. Over time, he began to express the need to dress himself. I am a working mom, so I found that for me, the best option was to get him up earlier, allow him to choose his outfit and leave him to dressing, while I got ready. This gave him ample time to try to dress himself, and time for me to assist with frustration on not getting the shirt on or the pants up or whatever the daily challenge might be, but because he was up earlier, it didn't impact my ability to leave the house on time.

With my daughter, it has been a little different. She only went with my 'this or that' approach for a very short window. She has some definite opinions as to what she is going to wear. She climbs out of bed and immediately opens her drawers looking for a shirt. Her drawers are no longer neatly folded, but since the clothes that she wears aren't the kind that get overly wrinkled, I have learned to look past this, to maintain the peace with my 2 year old. She definitely has favorites that she will dig through her drawer looking for. If I did laundry daily, there are some items that would be selected daily, so her laundry doesn't get put away right away, in order to ensure that she wears more of her clothes. Usually, if she doesn't see it, she doesn't need it.

She also needs time to get herself dressed now. Typically, only Daddy is allowed to help if she struggles, so I bring her to my room to dress, while I get ready. This way, Daddy is there to help her out.

Her opinions carry beyond her clothes to her shoes. 'Pretty' shoes are a definite favorite with her. In fact, I had to hide the Easter shoes so that we didn't wear them out ahead of time. Now that the holiday has come and gone, I do let her wear them. She looks a little silly in sweats and formal white shoes, but she is happy. I just pack her tennis shoes, so when they play outside at school they can change her into better play shoes.

With both of my kids, there were times where I had to convince them to wear a particular outfit for pictures or other event, but if you set it up right, you can usually convince them it was their idea and maintain the peace.

When it comes to toddlers, sometimes the best way to avoid unnecessary meltdowns is to know which battles you are willing to fight. At my house, we try to stick with those that directly impact safety, manners, etc. and worry less about the little ones like what they wear.

For other tips and tricks that work, check out Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

Free Tax Day Goodies

Tomorrow is Tax Day. A number of restaurants are offering deals to their customers in honor of Tax Day.

Last week, I posted about the free Cinnabon Bites and the essay contest at Cinnabon in honor of tax day.

In addition to that, I have recently learned that TGI Friday's will be offering $5 Bonus Bites to customers that spend between $15 and $25 and $10 Bonus Bites to those that spend over $25 on tax day. If you are a member of their Give Me More Stripes club, April is also double points month.

Maggie Moos, PF Changs, Taco Del Mar are other restaurants offering tax day deals. For more tax day deals at restaurants, check out this article at the Nation's Restaurant News.

Tried It Tuesday - Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red

Having been fighting a cold for what feels like forever (went to the doctor, turns out it is a sinus infection - so hopefully, with medicine I should be getting better soon!), I haven't been doing much of anything. But, I have been drinking my tea!

I used to think I didn't like tea. But then, when I was in high school, I went to a friend's house and she offered me some hot tea. Being a teenager, I was concerned that I couldn't not like tea if she liked tea, so I accepted a cup of hot tea - lemon flavored as I recall - and I was pleasantly surprised, it actually was good. I stayed 'safe' for a while, drinking only lemon teas, but, overtime, I got more adventurous and started trying some other teas.

A few years ago, I was at my cousin's house visiting for the weekend and since neither of us were coffee drinkers (that has changed somewhat too, but that's another story), she offered me a cup of tea at breakfast. She had a variety of teas, including some samples of assorted teas, so I thought I would try the Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red tea. I had it with a touch of sugar and some milk - the first time I had ever used milk in tea. Yum! I was sold. I immediately looked for a box of the tea the next time I was at the store.

The tea is "an herb tea made from the foliage of a hardy shrub grown only in South Africa’s Cederberg mountains". The Rooibos tea is known for it's antioxidants. The tea has a nice flavor. The vanilla component lends a nice soft flavor, not too overpowering. It is 100% Natural and has a very short ingredient list - Rooibos, Natural French Vanilla Flavor and Vanilla Bean. As it is caffeine free, it is a tea that I enjoy frequently in the evening before heading to bed. I really like that the bags are string free - I am one to leave my tea brewing the entire time I drink the tea and I find that the strings are a hassle - I know, I could just pull them off, but that is effort.

I always enjoy the Madagascar Vanilla Red steaming hot with a touch of sugar and a splash of milk, like I experienced it the first time. (It is the only tea that I use milk in.) Sometimes, I will pair it with a simple sugar cookie for an even more special treat. On days when I am not feeling well, I swap out the sugar and substitute in honey. With this cold, I have had a cup (sometimes two) every night for the past two weeks and now, I need to go buy more.

Have you tried Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red? What did you think? What is your favorite tea? Have you tried another product? Share your thoughts in the comments or post about it at your blog and come back and leave a link on Mr. Linky. Please be sure to include a link back here in your post.

Menu Plan Monday

I haven't been to the store for the week yet. We were out of town this weekend, which was a nice time, but I am still not feeling great - which leaves me uninspired in the menu planning department. I have updated this a little bit, still some unknowns, but will update it when I look at the ads and figure out what we are going to eat this week based on the deals.

At our house, the only meal we normally have together is dinner, so it is the focus for us.

Sunday
Waffle House
Lunch at Grandma's
Grab what you can

Monday
Cube Steaks

Tuesday
Spaghetti with meat sauce

Wednesday
Chicken Fingers

Thursday
Cheeseburgers

Friday
Turkey Roast

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
?

Weekdays breakfast is at daycare for my daughter, the rest of us eat cold cereal, frozen waffles, oatmeal, toast or whatever strikes our fancy. Lunch we pack, usually leftovers for me. My son either packs or buys lunch at school. If he packs, it is generally a lunch meat sandwich or a PB&J with some sides.

Check out other menu plans for the week at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

CVS Deals - 4/11

Well, I have not been feeling well for a week now. I ran out of tissues for my car and we were traveling, which is probably the only reason I actually made it to CVS this week.

Here is what I got:

2 Huggies PullUps
2 J&J No More Tears Shampoos
3 Puffs Plus cubes
1 Trident Gum (so I could use my coupon)

-$5 $5/$30 CVS e-mail coupon
-$2 PullUps Mfg coupon
-$2 PullUps Mfg coupon
-$2 $2/2 J&J IP
-$.25 $.25/3 Puffs coupon

Paid with $1 and $2.99 ECBs and $16 OOP. Earned $10 ECBs, plus $.50 for last quarter (one drawback of getting so much for $100 OOP in 10 mos is that you don't have much that goes towards your quarterly ECBs.)

CVS Scenarios - week of 4/12

There are a number of freebies and other deals this week at CVS.


Transaction #1
1 - Colgate Sensitive
2 - Sobe Lifewater

-$1 Colgate Sensitive IP
-BOGO Sobe Lifewater IP

$2.99 OOP, earn $3.99.

Transaction #2
1 - Softsoap Bodywash

-$.75 Softsoap Body Wash Mfg coupon

Total $4.24, pay with $3.99 ECB from Transaction #1 and $.25 OOP. Earn $4.99 ECBs.

Transaction #3
2 - Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner
1 - Pantene Styler
1 - Airwick Freshmatic Mini

-$3 $3/2 Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner
-$3.50 Buy Pantene Shampoo Get Pantene Styler coupon (can these stack or is that two coupons for one item?, if not, I would likely skip the styler)
-$4 Freshmatic IP

Total $4.99, pay with $4.99 ECBs from Transaction #2 and earn $2 ECBs.

Transaction #4
2 - Pert Plus

-$1 Pert Plus IP
-$1 Pert Plus IP

Total $3, pay with $2 ECBs from Transaction #3 and $1 OOP. Earn $2 ECBs.

You will have spent $3.99 OOP and have $2 ECBs to roll to next week.

For more $5 Scenarios, check out the CVS $5 Challenge at Keeping the Kingdom First. For more deals and Scenarios, check out Money Saving Mom, Deal Seeking Mom and the "Cent"sible Sawyer.

Free 6 Buffalo Wings at BW3

With this coupon, you can get Six Free Buffalo Wings at BW3. The offer is good through 4/30 and is limited to one per customer. You can not use it for Boneless wings.

Target Deals - 4/10

I decided to head to Target today to pick up a few of the items that I knew would be cheap after coupons since I could stack a Target and Manufacturer's coupon (All and Bliss were all I got), as well as to look for some Easter shoes for my daughter.

2 - All Small & Mighty 32 loads ($4.54/ea)
3 - Hershey Bliss ($3.99/ea)
2 - Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup ($1.14/ea)
1 - 12 pk Diet Mtn Dew ($3.66)
1 - 2L Diet Cherry Dr Pepper ($1.49)
1 - 25.25 oz box of Honey Nut Cheerios ($3.33 - big box!!!)
1 - Cottonelle 42ct wipes ($1.69)
1 - Lego Creator Set ($5.44)
1 - Dora Bubbles ($2.99)
2 - Books ($1/ea, from the dollar bin)

I had $6 in Target coupons ($1 ea for the All, the Bliss and the Cottonelle wipes), $9 in manufacturers coupons ($2 ea for the All, $1 ea for the Bliss, $1 for the soups, $1 for the Cheerios) and $5.25 in free coupons (for the Diet Mountain Dew and the Diet Dr Pepper).

My total before tax was $20.68 ($22.20 after tax), with a savings of 22.65 (a 53% savings).

I was pretty pleased with my shopping trip.

For more deals, check out Drugstore Divas at the "Cent"sible Sawyer, Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom and Shopping Superstars over at Thrifty Mama.

Fat Burnin' Friday

It was a bit of a non-week when it comes to weight loss and the weight loss effort in general. I have been sick all week!! It has been 10 days since I last worked out and I haven't really been monitoring what I am eating, trying to fill my body with vitamin C and fluids in an effort to beat this cold.

The good news is that despite not really monitoring and not working out, I was able to maintain. I would have preferred a loss, but am happy not to have had a gain.

Pounds lost to date: 11#
Pounds to go: 22#

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Huggies Pure & Natural - Sz N, 1, 2 (picked this up to share) and another sample here as well.
Crest Enamel Shield sample
Biggest Loser Protein2Go sample
Gillette Shampoo or Bodywash sample

Received:

P&G Brand Saver over $120 in coupons, from request submitted back in February
Old Spice High Endurance Body Wash and coupon
Gain Fabric Softener Sample
Sun Crystals sweetener sample and coupon
Cottonelle Toilet Paper and Wipe samples and coupon
Delallo Tote and online discount card

Free Cinnabon Bites and Essay Contest - April 15th

Cinnabon is celebrating Tax Day by offering Free Cinnabon Bites on April 15th from 5-8 pm. Offer limited to one offer per guest, while supplies last at participating locations, be sure to call ahead to confirm your location is participating. Find more details here.

In addition, they are running a Tax Day Bites essay contest that could win you a $100 gift card to Cinnabon. Simply tell them in 500 words or less how Cinnabon came to the rescue and put some frosting on your crazy, stressful or just plain bad day. You must enter by 11:59 PM on April 15th. Find out more details here.

Children's Rooms

It all started with the nursery. A nice neutral theme was chosen, after all, it was always my hope to have more than one child, so I wanted to make sure that the theme would be appropriate for either a girl or a boy. We chose a Safari theme and painted the walls "Beach Glass" to compliment the comforter (world's worst nursery investment, by the way). We bought framed prints at Joann's to decorate the walls. Now that it is no longer a nursery, there was no need to rush out and paint, as to undecorate from the nursery theme, all that was required was to remove the framed prints from the walls.

When my son was old enough to move to a big boy bed, we moved him into a new bedroom In selecting the colors and linens for the room, we kept things very basic and classic. I wanted something that I wouldn't have to completely redo in 3 years because his interests had changed. The carpeting was already a neutral beige. For his walls, we chose a pale blue color. The comforter was a basic denim comforter. The sheets were beige. The curtains pulled it all together with a blue and beige plaid. Now, I recognized that this was a kid's room and I wanted for him to be excited about moving to a big boy bed, so we accessorized. We bought themed pillow cases - Thomas, Spiderman, Star Wars and Walle are all part of our collection today. We bought posters and bought a quilted wall hanging from the fabric store that I finished. Now, as he outgrows one theme or character and moves onto another, I simply can swap out a pillowcase or get a new poster. There is no need to repaint or make any major purchases to retheme his room.

For my daughter, we took the same approach. For her, it was a light lavender on the walls and a white comforter and curtain set adorned with simple flowers. Her sheets are checked, but match the assorted colors. For her, the pillow case is Disney Princess right now. Sometimes, we will borrow a Thomas pillowcase, but only when the Princess one is dirty. We have a movie cell from Cinderella that we got for free with purchase that we need to frame and hang in her room still, but otherwise, her walls are still unadorned.

Keeping the large surfaces neutral allows for our children's rooms to grow with them. Not having to repaint or buy new bedding as they grow, works for me and my budget.

For other tips and tricks, check out Works for Me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family.

Free Grand Slamwich - today!

Today only (Wednesday, April 8) from 6 am to 2 pm, head to your local Denny's and get a free Grand Slamwhich with the purchase of a Grand Slam.

There is the typical fine print on this deal - good at participating locations, while supplies last. You might want to call ahead and confirm your location is participating. You can learn more here.

Tried it Tuesday - Venus Embrace

As a participant in VocalPoint, I was sent a sample of the Venus Embrace Razor. I was a little skeptical at first as I had no problem with the current disposable razors I had been using for some time, but decided to give it a try.

I have to say that I was impressed. The razor has five blades and is surrounded by "a protective ribbon of moisture" that is supposed to provide a smooth glide. I really felt like it gave me a great, smooth shave.

It took me a while to get used to the handle, only because it was different than the one I had been using. Now that I have been using it for some time, I find the handle to be very comfortable and find that the notch for my forefinger gives me excellent control of the razor. The head has a nice range of pivot, that allows for a close shave across the curves and contours, even on the knees, which generally are an area that I don't do such a good job with.

One drawback that I found, is that unlike most of the other razors that I have used, there is not a cover for the head, leaving it fully exposed in the shower environment and essentially impossible to travel with. I thought about one of those razor travel cases, but don't think it would accommodate the large head of the razor. I do see that they also have a disposable line, although not with 5 blades, that might be worth a try when I travel.

The second problem that I have is with the price for refills. I'm not sure exactly how frequently you are supposed to replace the head, but the refills definitely run more than the disposables I had been using and more than the original razor kit, which comes with two heads. Luckily, as it is still early in its launch, there have been some high value coupons and some deals at the drugstores for the razors themselves. I hate to say it, but I have a few of the razors in my closet and have yet to buy just the refill. It sort of defeats the intent of a reusable handle and refills, when I wind up swapping the whole unit, but economically the coupons paired with the sales, make the average cost per head much cheaper on the starter unit.

One thing I do like though about the replacement heads is that the container for the refill heads is a fully enclosed package, so if you do use the shower holder and store your blades in the shower, they won't be exposed to the water while in storage. I think this should help over some other razors I've used in the past that had refills that were exposed to the environment while in storage.

Have you tried the Venus Embrace? What did you think? Tried something else that you would like to share? Leave a comment or post to your blog, with a link back to this post, and leave your link on Mr. Linky.

Menu Plan Monday

This week was a light shopping week. A quick trip to the store on Saturday picked up the handful of items that we would need for the week. My Father in Law is in town to start the week which amounts to more activities and more eating out. It also is Spring Break, so there is more lunch at home than normal. Although, dinner is still the focus for us.

Sunday
Cereal
Out
Out

Monday
Bagels
Skyline Chili
Leftovers

Tuesday
Chicken Patty Sandwich

Wednesday
Breakfast for Dinner

Thursday
Cube Steaks and Rice

Friday
Fish Fillets

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
Dinner at Mom and Dad's

Weekdays breakfast is at daycare for my daughter, the rest of us eat cold cereal, frozen waffles, oatmeal, toast or whatever strikes our fancy. Lunch we pack, usually leftovers for me. My son either packs or buys lunch at school. If he packs, it is generally a lunch meat sandwich or a PB&J with some sides.

Check out other menu plans for the week at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

CVS Scenarios - week of 4/5

There are some deals that I think I will go after early this week.

Transaction #1
2 - Huggies Diapers
1 - Huggies Pull Up

-$3 Huggies IP from last month
-$3 Huggies IP from last month
-$2 Huggies Pull Up mfg coupon

Total $22 OOP, earn $10 ECBs.

alternate Transaction #1
2 - Huggies Diapers
2 - Johnson's Baby

-$3 Huggies IP from last month
-$3 Huggies IP from last month
-$2 $2/2 Johnson's IP

Total $18 OOP, earn $10 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Covergirl Simply Ageless
1 - Covergirl Mascara

-$4 Covergirl Simply Ageless mfg coupon
-$1 Covergirl Mascara mfg coupon

Total $15, pay with $10 ECBs from transaction #1 and $5 OOP. Earn $10 ECBs.

Transaction #3
1 - Colgate Toothpaste
1 - Skintimate Shave Gel
2 - Baskets
1 - Easter Grass

Total $10.50, pay with $10 ECBs from Transaction #2 and $.50 OOP. Earn $2, $3.49, $3.98 and $.79 ECBs.

Transaction #4
1 - Easter Grass

Total $.79, pay with the $.79 ECB from Transaction #3. Earn $.79 ECBs.

Total OOP is $23.50 - 27.50 with $10.26 ECBs to roll to next week.

For more deals and scenarios, check out Deal Seeking Mom, Money Saving Mom, and The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
2 - Easter Baskets

Pay $3.98 OOP, earn $3.98 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Easter Grass
1 - Skintimate Shave Gel

Total $4.28, pay with $3.98 ECBs from Transaction #1 and $.30 OOP. Earn $.79 and $3.49 ECBs.

Transaction #3
1 - Easter Grass
1 - Colgate
1 - Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Egg

-$.75 Colgate Mfg coupon

Total $3.53, pay with $3.49 ECBs from Transaction #2 and $.04 OOP. Earn $.79 and $2 ECBs.

Total OOP $4.32. Use your $3.58 in ECBs to fill your baskets or roll them to next week.

For more $5 Scenarios, check out the CVS $5 Challenge at Keeping the Kingdom First.

31¢ Scoop Night

Wednesday, April 29th is 31¢ Scoop Night in honor of America's Firefighters at Baskin Robbins. It runs from 5 pm to 10 pm. Limit of 3 scoops per person.

"Join us for 31 Cent Scoop Night at Baskin-Robbins® and help us honor America’s firefighters with a $100,000 donation to the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) National Junior Firefighter Program. Participating stores will reduce prices of small ice cream scoops to 31 cents. At some locations, you may also have an opportunity to make a donation to local fire charities. Everyone is invited."

You can find a location and learn more at Baskin Robbins website

Free Admission - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Today Only - April 4th!!

If you happen to live in the northeast Ohio area, today you can head to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and get free admission. The public will be admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for FREE all day as part of the Induction week celebration. You can head over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famewebsite to learn more.

Fat Burnin' Friday

This was a bit of an odd week. My husband was out of town last weekend, which really messed with my workout schedule. It is a lot harder when it is just me and the kids. We went on one walk, but that was about it. Then last night, my youngest had a stomach bug, which kept me up much of the night, so I lost my opportunity to work out again. I hope to get back into the grove with exercising next week. Of course, I seem to be getting a bit of a cold, which never helps with motivation.

I had some stressful days at work too, which didn't help, as I found myself nibbling on things, when I normally wouldn't be. Hopefully, I can get back on track with my eating next week too.

Despite it all, I did manage to lose a 1/2 pound, which is better than nothing.

Pounds lost to date: 11#
Pounds to go: 22#

CVS Deals - 3/30

On Monday, I headed to another CVS so that I could pick up some of the items that the first store was out of.

Here's what I got:
2 - Glade Sense and Spray
1 - Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara
1 - Rimmel Eye Shadow

-$4.00 Glade Mfg coupon
-BOGO Glade IP
-Free Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara

I paid $3.21 OOP and earned $1 ECB.

For more deals, check out Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom, Shopping Superstars over at the Thrifty Mama and CVS Superstars at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:
Jergens Natural Glow
True Lemon
Aveeno Nourish+ Hair Collection
Glad Flex Force Trashbag

Received:
Ziploc Fresh Shield Bag Sample
All Bran Fiber Drink Mix Sample
Starbucks Via Instant Coffee Sample

Winner - Online Poster Print

Congratulations Scutler! You are the winner of the Online Poster Print Giveaway.

I have sent the winner an e-mail. Please respond within 24 hours or I will pick a new winner.

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

10
Timestamp: 2009-04-03 02:07:50 UTC

CVS Deals - 3/29

I headed to CVS on Sunday to take advantage of the one day deals and to pick up some of the other deals that interested me this week. There were a few things that they were out of already - the Glade Sense and Spray and the Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara.

Here is what I was able to get:

Transaction #1

1 - Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner
1 - Lysol Wipes
1 - Paas Egg Decorator
2 - M&M 12.6oz bags

-$1 CVS coupon for Lysol product
-$1 Lysol mfg coupon
-$.75 Lysol mfg coupon
-$1 $1/2 M&M mfg coupon

Paid with $2 and $3.49 in ECBs and $.79 OOP. Earned $1.99 ECBs.

I will be submitting this receipt for the Lysol Pediatrician $5 Reward Mail-In Offer.

Transaction #2

1 - Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner
1 - Lysol Wipes
1 - Lysol All Purpose Cleaner
4 - Ensure 6pk

-$1 CVS Lysol coupon
-$1 Lysol Mfg coupon
-$.75 Lysol Mfg coupon
-$.50 Lysol Mfg coupon
-$3 Ensure IP
-$3 Ensure IP
-$3 Ensure IP
-$6.99 Ensure free IP
-$2 CVS $2/$10 coupon

Paid with $3.99 in ECBs and $11.73 OOP.

I will submit this receipt for the Lysol $3 Mail-In Rebate Offer.

I spent a lot of money and ECBs today. I decreased my ECBs by $7.49 and spent $11.73 OOP for a total "cost" of $19.22. I will get back $8 by mail, making my net cost $11.22. I don't think that is too bad for everything I got.

I use the Ensure as a protein source after working out. I typically get the high protein ones, but they only had three on shelf, so one was not high protein. I also was able to get a good amount of cleaning supplies. I couldn't have even come close to this deal elsewhere.

Of course for those of you that recall this post, you will see I spent in one visit almost 10% (prior to rebates) of what I spent in the last 10 months (prior to rebates as well). Sometimes, you have to spend in order to save. My savings for this visit was $49.10 - since they roll my ECBs into this savings, that means that I got $60.83 worth of product (at CVS shelf price) for $11.73 a savings of 81%.

For more deals, check out Super Savings Saturuday at Money Saving Mom and Shopping Superstars at The Thrifty Mama. For more CVS Deals, check out CVS Superstars at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

My Two Year Old Doesn't Nap

What's a mom to do? My two year old will go upstairs, read a book, rock and climb into bed at nap time, but she doesn't go to sleep. She'll climb out of bed, grab a book and climb back in. You can hear her read her books, which is just too cute for me. Then, it will get quiet and I will think aha, finally, sleep. Only to be followed a few minutes later with a crash. Something has fallen, I being the worried mom of course head upstairs to see what happened. She's sitting on her floor playing with something and looks up at me and says, I woke up! I try to explain that in order to wake up, you must first go to sleep. When I suggest we rock or climb into bed, she'll tell me "I'm done".

I find myself running errands some days, just because I know that 5 minutes in the car will put her to sleep and if I hang out in the car for a while, she will at least get some semblance of a nap. To me, the fact that she falls asleep in the car means that she is still needing a nap - she's just not able to resist it there.

They tell me a similar tale at school, it takes her about 45 minutes to fall asleep at nap time. Of course there, she has no choice but to lie on her cot until she ultimately gives in. All the kids are doing it.

With my son, we eventually had to stop calling it a nap, he simply didn't want to nap. We would call it time to recharge. This worked. We always said, you don't have to sleep, just recharge. Invariably, he would fall asleep 5 - 10 minutes later.

How do you get your reluctant kid to stay in bed long enough to fall asleep? I don't want to stay in her room with her and rock her or pat her bottom long enough for her to fall asleep, but I'm starting to think that is my only option.

Can you help others? Head over to We Are THAT Family for a backwards edition of Works for Me Wednesday and see what dilemmas others are facing.

Free Chicken Wrap Snacker

Today only, head on over to Tim Hortons between 11:30 am and 2:00 pm to enjoy a free Chicken Wrap Snacker. You can choose from Chicken Ranch and BBQ Chicken. Offer is limited to one per customer, while supplies last at participating locations. It probably would be best to call ahead.