Free Night of Theater

You can head over to Free Night of Theater 2009 to find out what shows are being offered in your area and details on how to get two free tickets to local shows. There are participating theaters in over 120 communities nationwide.

In my area, many of the shows are weeknight shows, but there is one Friday evening and one Sunday afternoon. You can get two tickets per reservation. If you are looking to bring the family, you might want to contact the website or the theater to find out if you can request tickets in the same area across multiple reservations. Otherwise, it might be that you can go to the show, but you sit separately.

The event is brought to you by Theatre Communications Group. They are the national organization for the not-for-profit American theater. They developed this program to attract new audiences and raise public awareness about live theater. It appears that this is the fourth year for the program and that it has grown each year.

The tickets will become available on, or around, October 1st in participating areas. Check for your community, in my area the tickets are available starting October 3rd. The shows themselves are supposed to start October 15th. Some in my area are playing as late as November.

Reminder - Free Cookie Tomorrow!

Don't forget -

Celebrate National Cookie Month (who knew?) with Mrs Fields. Get a free Chocolate Chip Cookie on October 1st from 11 am - 1 pm at all participating locations.

Details and location information can be found here. As always, you might want to confirm that your location is participating before heading out.

Muffins

Lately, I have been making pouch muffins for the family. My son thinks it is a great treat to have them with dinner or as a special weekend breakfast. I think that making them from a packet is a nice quick way to make the meal special and since they only make 6 muffins, I don't have to worry about many leftovers, if any. They come in a number of varieties from mixed berries to chocolate chip to banana nut to pound cake. It also brings back memories of my childhood, when my mom would make the muffins for her family.

When I make the pouch muffins (generally it makes 6 muffins). I mix the milk and the packet right in the measuring cup I used for measuring the milk. Not only does it save me an added bowl to wash, but with the pour spout on the measuring cup, it provides an easy pour solution so that I can fill my muffin cups without making a mess.

This works for me! For more tips and tricks, check out Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

A bonus tip - pouch muffins make awesome pancakes! Many of the pouches have recipes on them.

Here is the recipe that I use:
Muffin Pouch Pancakes

7oz muffin mix pouch (makes 6 muffins)
1 egg
3/4c milk (the muffins call for just 1/2 c milk)
Mix together and cook on a hot griddle.

Disposer Care

A while back, I was contacted about trying Disposer Care. I have a garbage disposal and I have tried the standard home remedies of lemon rinds and baking soda to eliminate odors. They both seem to work okay, but I thought why not give this a try since in addition to removing odors it cleans the disposer and removes residue.

The product is really simple to use. You start with a clean disposer (so I ran mine first to be sure). Then you run a strong stream of warm water into the sink, off to the side, not directly into the disposal for one minute. Reduce that stream to a trickle, insert the packet of Disposer Care into the disposer and turn on the disposer. It's pretty cool to watch the product foam up and out of the drain. You know it is done when the foam retreats and you hear the water swish.

I have a double sink in my kitchen and every time I run my disposal, it seems to back into the other side of the sink, leaving behind a greasy, goo - a mess that I feel like I am forever trying to clean up. When I used the Disposer Care, the foam rose into the other side of the sink. The foam cleans the grease and build up as it rises and continues as it retreats. After using Disposer Care, a simply swipe with a paper towel and the drain on the other side of my sink was clean, which made me happy!

I didn't have much foaming out of the drain on the disposal side. I'm not sure if the disposal is deep enough that it just didn't rise into that side or if it is the nature of the disposal operation. Either way, it definitely eliminated the odors in the garbage disposal, but honestly, even though the package says lemon scented, I didn't notice a lingering lemon smell.

The 6-pk retails for just under $5 on Amazon.com, but is also readily available at many stores including Walmart and Target.

Have you used Disposer Care? What did you think? Have you tried something else? Leave a comment or link to your blog.

Yoplait Delights Giveaway Winner

Congratulations! DebbieLynne is the winner of the Yoplait Delights Giveaway.

I have sent an e-mail to Debbie.


Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

3
Timestamp: 2009-09-29 02:39:22 UTC

Menu Plan Monday

Since we spent much of the weekend with family, I didn't go to the grocery store this weekend, except to grab a gallon of milk and some fruit. As such, our menu is based on stuff we have at home.

At our house, the focus is on dinners. I tend to only list the main course and any standard side we have with it. We do still have vegetables and/or fruit with each of our dinners, I just don't always call them out.

Sunday
Waffle House
Skyline Chili
Breakfast for Dinner

Monday
Cheeseburgers/Hot Dogs on the grill

Tuesday
Chicken Nuggets

Wednesday
Pizza

Thursday
Chicken Gravy over Biscuits

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
TBD

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.

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

CVS Scenarios - week of 9/27

If you haven't taken advantage of the $5/$25 coupon that you can get by taking the flu quiz, this might be the week to use it.

Transaction #1
1 - Charmin
1 - Bounty Basic
1 - Tide
1 - Bounce Dryer Bar

-$5 $5/$25 CVS coupon
-$1 Charmin mfg coupon
-$1 Bounty mfg coupon
-$1 Tide mfg coupon
-$2.50 Bounce Dryer Bar coupon (vocal point)

Total $15.50. Earn $10 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Vaseline Sheer Infusion
3 - Wrigley Slim Pack
1 - Hershey Multipack

-$1.50 Vaseline IP

Total $10.37. Pay with $10 ECBs from Transaction #1 and $0.37 OOP. Earn $7 and $1 ECB.

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

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
1 - Reach Toothbrush Multipack

-$1 Reach toothbrush mfg coupon

Total $2.99. Earn $1 ECB.

Transaction #2
1 - Total Care Floss

-$1 Reach Floss mfg coupon

Total $2.99. Pay with $1 ECB and $1.99 OOP. Earn $1 ECB.

Total of $4.98 OOP with $1 ECB to roll.

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

Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children

I was reminded when I was looking at my local grocery ad that came in yesterday's paper that tomorrow, September 28th is Family Day. For us, pretty much every day is a day to eat dinner as a family, but the intent of this day is to recognize the significant impact that the simple act of eating dinner as a family can have. According to the website, cites the book The Surprising Power of Family Meals, regularly eating dinner with your children is an effective tool to help keep kids substance free. In addition, eating together can help your kids do better in school, is an opportunity to pass on ethnic and familial heritage.

You can read more about the impact of eating dinner as a family in "The Importance of Family Meals V", which is available here.

So, tomorrow, plan to participate and have dinner with your family.

Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls

So, a while back I read Mary Ingalls On Her Own. It was interesting to see things from the perspective of a character that I had come to know through the Little House series. I noticed that there were some other books listed on the jacket and put a request in at the library to put one on reserve to be transferred from another local library, because mine didn't have it.

The book I requested and just finished reading was Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls by Heather Williams. Overall, it was a good story (again, geared towards adolescents). I was a little disappointed that I was about half way through the book before Nellie met Laura. I had assumed, based on the title that the story would have been more about the two girls and their relation from Nellie's perspective. The author did a great job building the character of Nellie, I just felt that she could have brought Laura into the story sooner and developed Nellie's character through the relationship.

It was a good story and a quick read. When my daughter is older and we have read the Little House series, I will have her read these related stories as well. It sheds a new light on familiar characters, seeing the story from their perspective.

Harry Connick, Jr - Your Songs

I was recently given the opportunity to check out the brand new Harry Connick, Jr. album, Your Songs courtesy of the One2One Network.

I was very excited for the opportunity. I first started to listen to Harry Connick, Jr's music when he recorded the soundtrack for When Harry Met Sally. I loved that movie and I loved the soundtrack. The next albums he released was We are In Love, another of my favorites. When he put out his Christmas album When My Heart Finds Christmas, I got it right away and it is one of my favorite Christmas albums with a mix of classics and Connick originals.

There is just something that is so wonderful about putting a big band sound behind the lyrics. Combine that with his vocals and it really is a winning combination.

On Your Songs, Harry covers 14 classic songs and adds his touch with his own big band sound.

Here’s the album track list (originally performed by):

All The Way (Frank Sinatra)
Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)
Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis Presley)
And I Love Her (The Beatles)
(They Long To Be) Close To You (The Carpenters)
Besame Mucho
The Way You Look Tonight (from the film Swing Time - sung by a lot of people over the years)
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)
Your Song (Elton John)
Some Enchanted Evening (from South Pacific)
And I Love You So (Don McLean)
Who Can I Turn To? (Tony Bennett)
Smile (Charlie Chaplin)
Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole)

I really like the album. The songs are very familiar and Harry Connick, Jr's touch makes them that touch different from the originals. I have been listening to it for the past week. I think that The Way You Look Tonight is my current favorite. None of the songs have a large, big band sound, you can hear the horns and big band accompaniment in the background, but not that large, big band sound I hoped for. That being said, it doesn't take away from the music it is very good, I just felt that it could have been bigger. The album makes a great backdrop for a romantic evening or a soundtrack for your daily drive.

Want to learn more about Harry Connick, Jr? You can check out his webpage or become a fan on Facebook. You can also check out Harry Connick, Jr.’s upcoming TV appearances over the next few weeks and see what you think:

9/28 – Today Show
9/29 – The View
9/30 – Imus in the Morning
9/30 – Letterman
10/1 – Today Show
Week of 10/5 – Rachael Ray

The album was released on September 22nd and you can purchase Your Songs at major retailers where music is sold and at Amazon.

Or, better yet, win it here! One lucky reader will win a copy of Harry Connick, Jr's Your Songs courtesy of One2One.

How to enter:

Primary entry - leave a comment letting me know which classic song on this album is your favorite.

Additional entries:

Follow me on Twitter (@ABusyMomofTwo) and tweet about this giveaway. Can be done once per day, be sure to leave a separate comment for each.

Sign up for daily updates by RSS feed or e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know you subscribe.

Add my button to your sidebar or my blog to blog roll. Leave me a comment letting me know you did, with a link to your blog.

Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back. Leave a comment letting me know you blogged, with a link to your post.

Giveaway will remain open until Sunday, October 4th at 9 pm Eastern. Winner will be selected using a random number generator. Winner will be contacted by e-mail and have 36 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

CVS Deals - 9/25

I finally had a chance to get to CVS on Friday.

Here's what I got:

9 - Twix Bars
1 - 100 Grand Bar
1 - Mars Chocolate Bag (55 pc)
1 - Extra Polar Ice - 3 ct bag
4 - 12pks Mountain Dew
2 - Rewards Stickers (to give to Daycare)
2 - Dry Idea Deodorant
1 - Colgate Toothbrush
2 - Gold Emblem Cashews

-$5 $5/$25 CVS coupon
-$1.50 3x B2GO Free Twix coupons
-$2 Dry Idea IP
-$2 Dry Idea IP
-$1 Dry Idea CVS coupon (from $100 coupon booklet)
-$.75 Colgate Toothbrush Mfg coupon
-$2 $2/2 Gold Emblem Nuts CRT

Paid with $6.99, $5 and $2 in ECBs and $8.88 OOP. Earned $5, $3, $2, and $1 ECBs. My net cost was $11.88 for everything. I think that is pretty decent for 4x12-packs of soda and the candy I need for Halloween. I could have saved a few bucks skipping the reward stickers, but thought that it would be nice to give to the daycare since my daughter gets at least two stickers daily.

For more deals, check out:

Super Savings Saturday
CVS Superstars
Shopping Superstars

Fat Burnin' Friday

There have been lots of challenges for me this week. We went out for dinner for my husband's birthday, we had a catered lunch during a work meeting, everyone brought in birthday treats at work for my birthday and my kids and mom made me a birthday cake at home - which of course, I had with ice cream.

On the positive side, I did get to go on a decent walk one day at lunch, which not only felt good, but was good for me. I did a really great job drinking plenty of fluids and choosing a variety of foods.

This week I joined Weight Watchers. Things have changed some since last time I joined. Your daily points target is based on your current weight, your age, your gender and your height. What this means is that every time you pass a decile, your target points go down by 1 point, with a minimum daily target of 18. What hasn't changed is that they also give you a bank of weekly points, to allow you a splurge if you want or just a few extra points each day as you adjust. If I can lose another 2 pounds, I will lose a point next week. I'd like to do that.

There are more challenges in the week to come - another birthday party and travel for work. I'd like to start reintroducing P90X next week as well.

Despite all of the challenges I encountered this week, I was still able to lose 1.5# this week. I feel pretty good about that. It gives me faith that even if I have small set backs along the way, I shouldn't let them turn into bigger set backs assuming it is a lost cause, because I can still lose if I watch the remaining time. I have lost 5 pounds so far since starting my adventure two weeks ago.

Pounds to go: 35#

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Lever 2000
Always Infinity

Received:

Hallmark Cards (from Walmart)
Fancy Feast Appetizers for Cats sample and coupon
Stayfree Overnight with wings sample and coupon
EOS Lip Balm

Last Chance for Free Chocolate!

Today is your last chance to request a coupon for a free chocolate bar.

Mars is planning to give away free chocolate every Friday until September 25th. To get your coupon, you need to head over to Real Chocolate starting at 9 am ET on each Friday. Your coupon is good for one single serve chocolate (any M&M'S® Brand, MILKY WAY® Brand, SNICKERS® Brand, 3 MUSKETEERS® Brand, TWIX® Brand and DOVE® Brand product). The coupon will be mailed and take up to 6 weeks to arrive.

There is a limit of 250,000 coupons each Friday. You can only win one coupon each week, but each household is allowed to win up to 4 coupons over the course of the promotion. You can see the full terms and conditions here by clicking on Terms and Conditions.

What a great promotion. I know I enjoyed the chocolate that I got with my coupons.

Saving Money on Your Phone Bill: Losing the Land Line

When the phone company nearly doubled our monthly bill for the same service about a month ago, we went looking for options.

A few weeks ago I asked about options, but we finally did it: we dropped our land line for cellular.

I was worried about a handful of things in making this decision:
1. I didn't like the idea of the kids using the cell phones to talk to family and friends.
2. I was worried about 911 from cellular service.
3. I didn't like the idea of the kids being home with a babysitter now or on their own in the future and there not being a phone at home.
4. I didn't want to have to change all of my contact information at the oodles of places where I have my home phone number listed.

I found a resolution for each that I was pleased with.

To me, there is still too much unknown on the impact of cell for me to be comfortable with my kids using the cell phones to talk to everyone. We did some research and a little bit of trial and error and found a system to allow us to use our home handsets to make and receive calls on our cell phone. We wound up going with the XLink and made our purchase about two weeks ago.

Simply pair your blue tooth cellphone to the XLink and plug your handset into the XLink. Then, you can use your regular handset to make and receive calls on your cell phone. A great way to take advantage of all of those Unlimited Night and Weekend minutes.

We had some concerns at first with how it would work, but as we have learned more - like keep the cell phone close to the XLink, not just in range - we found that the XLink works rather well. There is a slight delay between pick up and connection, but not more than a couple of seconds. There are even some advantages that we got with going to the XLink and cellular. We never had caller ID on our home phone, but now we are able to program our phone book into the phone and have caller ID on each of the handsets. We also didn't have call waiting on our home phone, but with the cell phone, we do have call waiting and with the addition of Caller ID, we now know whether to stay on the call we are on or switch over to the other one. This is pretty important to me since so many people that call us are long distance and the last thing I want to do is put them on hold to click over to a solicitation or other random call. You can even transfer the phone from the handset to the mobile if you need to head out. Overall, we have been pleased with the XLink.

We called and found out that 911 calls from cell phones route through the sheriff's office instead of our local police, but are then rerouted back to our local police. We weren't thrilled with this but were happy to know that the call would get to the right location. But, then I learned that the phone company maintains a "heartline" (or something like that) dial tone on the line once it is cancelled - let's you call them or 911. We plugged a corded set into one of our home phone jacks, so now we have a phone that can be used to call the local 911.

We ultimately decided to get a dedicated cell phone for our home and had our home phone number ported over. The process to port over a land line to a cell is a lot longer than I expected - they had said 24 - 72 hours, but it took most of a week (Sunday - Friday). Now that it is done though, we have a phone that stays in our house at all times, is answered by the regular answering machine and has our old home phone number on it.

Sure, there was an initial cost to purchase the XLink and because we wanted phones throughout the house, we also bought a new cordless phone system that allowed for multiple handsets to work with one base. We also added an additional cell phone to our cell phone plan, which will be a new monthly expense. Even so, our net monthly savings will be about $40 compared to the recently increased phone bill. We will pay for the XLink and the new cordless phones within the first couple of months and everything beyond will be pure savings.

Update: The group at XLink was kind enough to extend a $5 savings opportunity to my readers. To take advantage of this savings, head here and use coupon code 'busymom' at checkout.

This post linked up at Frugal Fridays and Super Savings Saturday.

Using Liquid Hand Soap in a Foaming Dispenser

I'm looking for your help on this one:

I was at Target the other day looking to buy a refill bottle for our foaming soap dispenser. I noticed that all of the foaming soaps are anti-bacterial. Everything I have read is that it is no more effective than regular soap and that we are putting it in our water and allowing super bugs to come about, so I would like to not use the anti-bacterial soap. Anyways, the woman at the pharmacy commented that her mom uses regular soap and water in the foaming refills.

In a quick search, I found more concerns than works. Does this work? What ratio? Do you have issues with your dispenser binding?

Based on cost, I think that if indeed I could do this, it would make a great way to save money on hand soap.

This post linked up to Frugal Fridays.

Museum Day 2009

Enjoy Free Museum Admission on Saturday, September 26. You can check out the Smithsonian Magazine website for more information and participating locations. In my area, there are Children's Museums, Art Museums, Historical Museums, and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that are participating in the event. You have to print out an admission card here, but please note that each admission card is good for 2 people and indicates a limit of one per household.

This is a great opportunity to explore a new museum with your family.

Favorite Fall Foods

Jessica, aka FishMama, over at Life As Mom is hosting a Fall Festival of Fun, Foods and Friends. Today's topic (it is Ultimate Recipe Swap day) is Favorite Fall Foods. I will say, I have a lot of favorite fall foods. Some are main courses, but I'm noticing a lot of desserts come to mind - ones made with apples and pumpkins. The fall is a time when I welcome back roasts, my crock pot, chili and comfort foods. I love Thanksgiving and make a Thanksgiving feast for my daughter's birthday and for Thanksgiving.

Here are some of my favorites I have shared with you before:

Apple Crisp
Apple Dijon Roast
Pumpkin Streusel Muffins (okay, not my recipe, but I made them and really enjoyed them, so I figured I would share the link)
Pumpkin Pudding
Pumpkin Sheet Cake
Leftover Pot Pie - a favorite way to use up leftover turkey
Taco Soup

Here is my recipe for chicken chili. It has been too long since I have made it. It's not a traditional white chili that you normally find chicken in, which is part of what I like.

Chicken Chili
1/2# skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
3/4 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped green pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 c chicken broth
1/2 c ketchup
1 tbsp chili powder (or more, to your taste)
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper (or more, to your taste)

toppings:
sour cream
sliced green onions
shredded cheese
tortilla chips
Tabasco Sauce

Cook chicken with onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat, until chicken is no longer pink, stirring constantly. Add remaining ingredients. Cover, simmer 10 minutes. Top with toppings of your choice.

Sometimes, as a variation, I will add 1/4 c additional broth and will add 1/2 c uncooked instant rice when I add everything else. Of course, if you are feeding a larger crowd, you can double and triple the recipe.

For more fall favorites, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap Fall Favorites edition at Life As Mom

I love my daycare

Having to go back to work after your baby is born is one of the hardest things for a working mom. Not only have you been spending 100% of your time (or at least pretty close to it with that cute, sweet smelling, wriggly little one), but you are disconnected from work and what is going on at work. Finding a daycare or babysitter or nanny that you are comfortable with can make all of the differnce in the world (although, not the first week). It can be really hard to being a working mom and knowing that your children spend their day in the care of someone else. Choosing that care is a very hard decision to make.

When we started our search, we visited numerous centers and at home care providers. Someone once told me, you just know when you find the right one. We didn't find the right one when my son was first born. In fact, he stayed home with my husband, while he worked from home for the first few months after I went back to work. I had a friend that would babysit if my husband had to travel or had a big conference call. Then, one day, he got stuck on the road and my friend wasn't available to watch my son. We knew then, that although it was nice to have my son at home, it wasn't going to be a good long-term solution.

One of my co-workers recommended a daycare and I went to check it out. I liked it. I will be the first to admit that on my son's first day of care, I drove up there on my lunch hour to see him. He was sleeping and that made me sad, because I just wanted to hold him with the 15 minutes I had to visit. He woke up shortly after I arrived (I didn't do it) and I picked him up and sat on the floor in the middle of the play area and just rocked him. They must have thought I was some sort of a lunatic. It all worked out, the next day I was happy with just a phone call to check on him. With time I adapted and as I got to know the care providers in each room as well as the director, I became increasingly comfortable. My son went there and now my daughter does.

The other day, I was dropping off my daughter at daycare. She has a "tradition" where after we get to school, she has to get a sticker from the director. As we were walking to the office, another mom was leaving and made a comment about how hard it must be to be around so many kids all day. I made a remark that they probably make it through no matter how mad or crazy it gets, just knowing that eventually the kids are all going to go home. In response, the director said, "I think of them all as my grandkids, I love them, spoil them and send them home."

Right there says it all. That is why I really like my daycare. I really love the care my kids have received there. Part of it is that feeling that kid is special to them and that they truly care about my child and are glad to see them. I think that the Director embodies this and it shows through her staff. (It probably also helps that her grandkids are actually students at the school too.)

Being a working mom is hard, knowing my kids are in good, loving hands while I am at work makes it a little easier.

To see what works for others, check out Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

More Free Ice Cream - Carvel 9/24

Well, on your way to the World's Largest Ice Cream Social at Cold Stone Creamery, you can stop by Carvel for a snack to hold you over.

On September 24th, from 3 - 7 pm, Carvel is having a customer appreciation event. During the customer appreciation event, they are giving away free Oreo Lil Rounders.

While you are there, be sure to pick up the 18pk of Oreo Lil Rounders with this $3 off coupon. The coupon is good through 9/30.

More details on the event are here. You can find Carvel locations here. As always, you may want to call ahead to confirm your location is participating.

Vote for me in the Better-For-You Tailgating Recipe Contest

I am one of the finalists in the Better-For-You Tailgating recipe contest over at Life As Mom's review site. If my recipe gets the most votes, I will win a Tailgating Prize Package from Frito Lay.

You can go here to read more and to vote for my Chips & Salsa recipe. Voting ends tonight (9/22) at 8 PM Pacific.

The recipe may be simple, but it is yummy and a great way to eat all of those fresh tomatoes growing in the garden.

Thanks!

CVS $5/$25 coupon

CVS must have heard my request for another $/$$ coupon, as I just learned that you can test your Flu IQ and get a coupon for $5/$25 in-store purchase.

In addition, there is a banner on that page that mentions a $100 Coupon Book that you can pick up when you go in for a flu shot. The fine print says no purchase necessary, while supplies last. I figure I will ask - no harm in that.

Yoplait Delights Giveaway

Are you looking for a guilt-free snack that will help satisfy that afternoon sweet tooth? Want to enjoy in a delicious treat with only 100 calories?

Thanks to MyBlogSpark, I was given the opportunity to try the new Yoplait Delights. We decided to try the Chocolate Raspberry. Yum! It was a little weird to me to have chocolate yogurt...it was delicious, but felt more like a dessert than a yogurt. The product is sweetened with Sucralose and there are just 100 calories in each of the cups.

In addition to the Yoplait Delights Chocolate Raspberry, there are also Triple Berry Creme, Creme Caramel and Lemon Torte. Each cup is created by layering two flavors of yogurt, a larger base with a smaller top layer of a second flavor. With the Chocolate Raspberry, the base is chocolate yogurt and the top layer is Raspberry with the other flavors, the base is the Triple Berry, Caramel and Lemon yogurt respectively with a top layer of Vanilla yogurt.

You can get a coupon here for $1.25 off of one package of Yoplait Delights.

Have you tried Yoplait Delights? What do you think? Tried something else you want to share? Leave a comment or link to your blog.

Giveaway

Now you have a chance to win your own Yoplait Delights prize package courtesy of MyBlogSpark and Yoplait. The winner will get a robe, slippers, eye mask and of course, a coupon for free four pack of Yoplait Delights.

How to enter:

Primary entry - leave a comment letting me know your favorite mid-afternoon snack or indulgence.

Additional entries:

Follow me on Twitter (@ABusyMomofTwo) and tweet about this giveaway.

Sign up for daily updates or e-mails and leave me a comment letting me know you subscribe.

Add my button to your sidebar or my blog to blog roll. Leave me a comment letting me know you did, with a link to your blog.

Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back. Leave a comment letting me know you blogged, with a link to your post.

Giveaway will remain open until Monday, September 28 at 9 pm Eastern. Winner will be selected using a random number generator. Winner will be contacted by e-mail and have 36 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

Free Cookie Day - October 1st

Celebrate National Cookie Month (who knew?) with Mrs Fields. Get a free Chocolate Chip Cookie on October 1st from 11 am - 1 pm at all participating locations.

Details and location information can be found here. As always, you might want to confirm that your location is participating before heading out.

World's Largest Ice Cream Social (8th annual!)

We took part in the World's Largest Ice Cream Social last year. When we went, surprisingly there wasn't really a line. It was actually my first, and only, visit to a Cold Stone Creamery.

I'm not sure that our schedule will allow us to join in on the fun this year, but if you have the opportunity, head out to your local Cold Stone Creamery on Thursday, September 24th between 5 and 8 to get a FREE 3 oz. Make-A-Wish® Creation™ with a donation to Make-A-Wish (it does say in the small print that 85% of donations in September will go to Make-A-Wish - doesn't say where the other 15% goes?). Donate and receive a 3 oz. sample of Jack’s Creation (sweet cream ice cream mixed with brownies and rainbow sprinkles topped with caramel) served out of a ready-to-love pan in a Like It™ Cup.

Menu Plan Monday

I had hoped to get more of the Honey Sunshine Kashi cereal on Target's deal, but when I headed out my store was out of the Honey Sunshine. Sunday I did my grocery shopping. My trip to Giant Eagle resulted in 46% savings. I also made a quick trip to a couple of other stores to get a few other deals.

At our house, the focus is on dinners. I tend to only list the main course and any standard side we have with it. We do still have vegetables and/or fruit with each of our dinners, I just don't always call them out.

Sunday
Cereal
Pizza
Spaghetti & Meatballs

Monday
Penne Rustica

Tuesday
Leftovers

Wednesday
Crocked Beef

Thursday
Chicken Caesar Salads

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
Birthday party

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.

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

CVS Scenarios - week of 9/20

I feel like the deals this week at CVS are a little bit light. Still, there is a deal on chocolate, so I think I will pick up my candy for trick or treat and maybe a few other things.

Transaction #1
2 - Dry Idea Roll On
1 - Crest ProHealth Rinse
1 - Colgate Classic Toothbrush (from travel aisle)

-$2 Dry Idea IP (from the last time there was a deal)
-$2 Dry Idea IP (from the last time there was a deal)
-$.75 ProHealth Rinse Mfg coupon
-$.75 Colgate Manual Toothbrush Mfg coupon

Total $3.07 OOP, earn $2, $2, and $1 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Mars Fun Size Mix
6 - Twix Bars
1 - Orbit Big Pack
2 - Theater Box Candy

-$1.00 2x B2GO free Twix mfg coupon

Total $14. Pay with $5 ECBs from transaction #1 and $9 OOP. Earn $5 ECBs.

Transaction #3
4 - 12 pk Pepsi

-$1 4x$.25 Pepsi IP

Total $11. Pay with $5 ECBs from Transaction #2 and $6 OOP. Earn $3 ECBs.

I sure wish there were a $/$$ coupon out there. I am hoping maybe I will get one at the CRT. If so, I would probably combine these transactions to meet that threshold.

With this scenario, I will have spent $18.07 OOP and have $3 ECBs to roll.

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

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
2 - Dry Idea Roll On
1 - Wheat Thins

-$2 Dry Idea IP (from last time there was a deal)
-$2 Dry Idea IP (from last time there was a deal)
-$1 Wheat Thins IP

Total $.58 OOP. Earn $2 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Crest ProHealth Rinse
1 - Colgate Classic Toothbrush(from travel aisle)

-$.75 Crest ProHealth Rinse Mfg coupon
-$.75 Colgate Manual Toothbrush Mfg coupon

Total $2.49. Pay with $2 ECBs from Transaction #1 and $.49 OOP. Earn $2 and $1 ECBs.

Transaction #3
1 - Aquafresh IsoActive

-$1 Aquafresh IsoActive IP
Total $2.99. Pay with $3 ECBs from Transaction #2, adjusted down. Earn $2 ECBs.

Total of $1.07 OOP (total updated from $1.82, I missed my Colgate toothbrush coupon) for $13.56 in pre-coupon merchandise with $2 ECBs to roll.

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

CVS Trip - 9/15

Not a very exciting trip to CVS this week. In part I just didn't have time and in part, there weren't any deals that I just had to have.

Transaction #1
2 - Brach's Candy Corn (2/$1)
1 - Kleenex pocket pack
1 - CVS Cold Relief

-$1 Kleenex CRT

Paid with $5 ECB and $1.36 OOP. Earned no ECBs. On one hand, it is sad to "lose" ECBs, but in reality, it is one of the nice things about having them. If there is something that I need, I can get it for little OOP and that works for me.

I actually tried really hard to spend another $5 on CVS brand, as I had a CRT for $3 off of $10 CVS brand that was expiring. They are still out of all the school supplies and there just wasn't something that jumped out at me. Had I more time, I would have found someting, anything. I could have got a $5 item for just $2. Oh well! Maybe next time.

Check out deals that other's found:

Super Savings Saturday
Shopping Superstars
CVS Superstars

Fat Burnin' Friday

Watching what you eat is by no means easy. I'm sure it is all in my head, but for some reason, when I first am watching what I eat, I am hungry all of the time. The funny thing is that this even occurs during the morning, a time where I haven't made much adjustment to what I eat - I still start my day with a banana or fruit and then have a bowl of oatmeal mid-morning.

I have found that drinking plenty of water helps keep the edge off of my hunger. In addition, I sort of eat a series of mini-meals/snacks during the day. I try to walk on my lunch hour, so when I return, I eat my protein and then bring the rest of my lunch back to my desk and nibble on items over the course of the day. I'm not eating more food, I'm just spreading it out across my day. Again, I'm sure part is real, part is psychological, but somehow knowing that I just ate, makes it easier for me to resist temptations and to say no to "fake" hunger. The only meal I don't spread out is dinner...I eat that with my family though and since I'm a big proponent of only making one meal, I just make sure that I can have a plateful, feel full and still eat a moderated amount of calories and fat.

One thing I was happy to snack on this week was fresh green beans. Someone at work had brought in a bunch from their garden and I happily snatched them up. I made a modified version of this dip with a little less mayo for eating the fresh beans.

I even managed to get in a piece of chocolate every day. I just need that sweet diversion.

I didn't make it to Weight Watchers this week, my husband was out the night I would normally go and was sick the night I would use as a back-up. But, I will start next week and can't wait.

So, how did I do in my first week (okay, really only 5 days, as I didn't watch over the weekend and started on Monday)...I lost 3.5 lbs! Yeah! That is great motivation to keep going.

Pounds to go: 36.5#

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Hard to believe, but I requested: Nothing!

Received:

Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal sample and $2 coupon.
Honey Nut Cheerios Cereal sample and coupon - Non-challenge
Total Blueberry Pomegranete Cereal sample and coupon
Fiber One Cereal and Fiber One Bar sample and $5 in coupons.
Wisk HE 32 load bottle
Pert Plus Try Me Free rebate check

Chocolate! Chocolate!

If you haven't yet requested your 4 coupons for free Real Chocolate, you only have two more opportunities - and today is one of them.

Mars is planning to give away free chocolate every Friday until September 25th. To get your coupon, you need to head over to Real Chocolate starting at 9 am ET on each Friday. Your coupon is good for one single serve chocolate (any M&M'S® Brand, MILKY WAY® Brand, SNICKERS® Brand, 3 MUSKETEERS® Brand, TWIX® Brand and DOVE® Brand product). The coupon will be mailed and take up to 6 weeks to arrive.

There is a limit of 250,000 coupons each Friday. You can only win one coupon each week, but each household is allowed to win up to 4 coupons over the course of the promotion. You can see the full terms and conditions here by clicking on Terms and Conditions.

Even if you are reading this at 5 pm, I suggest you head over and give it a shot. I have found that there is still chocolate available at the end of the day.

Chips and Salsa

One of my favorites snacks is chips and salsa. I get in trouble when I go out to Mexican restaurants, filling myself on chips and salsa before the meal comes. Homemade salsa is my favorite. It just has a much fresher taste. Many Mexican restaurants make their own and you can tell...it is just better that way.

With the tomato crop in full swing, this is a prime time to make homemade salsa. This recipe is very healthy and very tasty. This is the ratio to use, you can easily scale it up.

10 tomatoes, diced
2 small hot peppers, diced
1 small onion, diced (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Lime juice
2 tsp salt
1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Combine ingredients in bowl and let sit overnight. I feel this salsa is best served with Scoops, the little bowl just holds so much of the tasty salsa. Serve with Baked Tostitos Scoops Tortilla Chips to make this a better for you snack.

Adding the onions and the cilantro certainly give a different flavor to this salsa...I almost think it is "fresher" tasting without and don't always use them.

See more better for you snacks at Life As Mom Ultimate Recipe Swap Better For You Appetizers and Snacks.

Bribing the Kids

I'll admit it, I bribe my children. Not anything major, but enough that they are incentivized to do as I request.

Generally, the incentives are focused around things they are struggling with or things they don't particularly want to do.

With my son, brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed is frequently a source of consternation. Over the summer, if he would get upstairs and ready for bed without complaining, then he could stay up until 8:30 reading or playing in his room. The flip side was that the longer it took for him to get ready for bed, the less time he had to play or read. It worked pretty well. Overall, he is now pretty cooperative about getting ready for bed, even when we returned to the school year bedtime of 8:00.

Sometimes when I have a lot I want to get done on a Saturday, I use incentives to get cooperation on the way. This weekend, we went for pictures, bought a new cell phone, got gas, a car wash, groceries and a ball for my daughter. In order to get through the many stops, the kids were allowed to share a "special" drink at Target - a small Icee. Not a major expense, but a treat to them. It worked, they cooperated and didn't complain as we made the numerous stops.


For my daughter, the big task at hand lately has been potty training. We have used incentives all along the way. Early on, using the potty would get her an M&M. After a while, that wasn't enough of a reward to get to the next level. Then, a few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to review the Razor Jr Folding Kiddie Kick Scooter courtesy of All Children's Furniture. (All Children's Furniture - you wonder aloud? I was a little surprised to learn that they sell everything from kids chairs to toys.) When it arrived, we had it sitting on the counter, we kept referring to it as the big surprise and when she had a full week wearing her big girl underwear and keeping them dry, we used this as a reward. She was very excited when we opened up the box and assembled the scooter. She couldn't wait to play on the scooter. She put on her brother's old helmet and knee/elbow pads. She was able to hop right on and ride. I'm sure that in part, her quick adaptation was due to watching her brother ride his scooter. The three wheel configuration makes the scooter more stable for her and allows her to feel like a big kid because she is riding a scooter just like her big brother. The turn radius on the scooter was good, allowing her to make a u-turn at the end of our driveway. The wheels seem to be loose enough to roll, but no so loose that the scooter slides out from underneath her. The handlebar is not adjustable, but I figure that by the time she is too tall for the handlebar height, she will be ready for a two wheel scooter. The scooter does fold up pretty easily, which will be nice for us to take the scooter along when we go to visit family or friends.

I know that there are many that would say that bribes aren't a good thing, but, you know, they work for me!

For more tips and tricks, check out Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

Target Deals - 9/13

I am really starting to love the $5 Gift Card when you buy promotions that Target is doing. I have gotten some really good deals the past few weeks and Sunday's deal was no exception. I headed up to get a ball for my daughter, but before I left, I checked the ad and saw the Kashi deal. Here is what I got:

Transaction #1
5 - Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal

-$7.50 5x$1.50 Kashi Honey Sunshine Mfg coupon (available as an IP here - you will need access to multiple computers to get 5 or use this $1 IP here)

Total $6.90. Earned a $5 Gift Card.

Transaction #2
1 - Playground Ball
2 - Oscar Mayer Lunchables
2 - Peppridge Farm Cookies (Dollar Spot)

-$2 2x$1 Oscar Mayer Lunchables Mfg coupon (there is an IP here for the one's with water)
-$1 Peppridge Farm Cookies Target coupon
-$1 Peppridge Farm Cookies Mfg coupon

Total $5.82. Paid with $5 Gift Card from transaction #1 and $.82 OOP.

So, I got all of this for $7.72 OOP. Wow!

See more deals at:
Shopping Superstars
Super Savings Saturday

Nature Valley Nut Clusters Coupon

You can get this $1.60 IP for Nature Valley Nut Clusters. My husband loves these for snacking on. He keeps a couple of bags in his office. This coupon makes it a great time to try them. You can see my review here.

Zhu Zhu Pets

A while back, I was offered the opportunity through MomSelect to receive some Zhu Zhu pets and a habitat in order that I might host a party and share the Zhu Zhu pets with friends. "Zhu Zhu Pets are the world’s first innovative, realistic, interactive, plush, and artificially intelligent hamsters that talk and move around in their own playsets."

Zhu Zhu pets come with a complete set of accessories that allow you to build a complete habitat for them. When the package arrived, I was surprised by the number of pieces that there were to build the habitat with. There are hamster wheels and balls. There is a car and surf board. There are rooms and slides. The possibilities are endless and you can connect them all. The kit was delayed in arriving and actually arrived after my planned date for my party, so we did a bunch of mini-play dates. All of the kids really loved them. Our neighbor girl asks daily if she can come in and play Zhu Zhu pets.

The hamsters run on 2-AAA batteries and come with their first set, which is nice because you can start playing right away with no need to find batteries. The Zhu Zhu pets come in a variety of colors and each seem to have a bit of their own personality.

The first weekend after the package arrived, I decided to open one of the Zhu Zhu pets and start playing. My daughter called them her "little kitties", which I thought was really cute. My cat, on the other hand was not very fond of the "little kitties". He pretty much steered clear of them as they wandered down the hallway and around the kitchen making little chirpy type noises. It is really amazing, they use their nose to sense when they run into things and turn around, but they also will, while heading down a given path, stop and change directions. No two adventures are alike. After playing with one in the hallway and nearly having it take a tumble down the stairs, we decided to start putting their habitat together to keep them in a safe surrounding.

The kids and I built the habitat over the next couple of days, one connection at a time. Speaking of connections, getting them to fit is important, we had one piece that was slightly warped and the hamsters kept getting caught on it. The connection tubes come with flip open lids and we quickly learned to leave that door open so that we could encourage the hamster past the hang up. I think of the habitat my favorite piece is the hamster wheel. Watching the little guy get himself onto the wheel and positioned and then taking off. It really was like playing with a real hamster only no food to feed them and no mess to clean up. (Plus, when the kids lose interest for a while, there is not a neglected pet to worry about.) The hamster ball is kind of fun too, as the little guys run off in one direction and then decide to head another way.

My kids really enjoy this toy. I was a little skeptical at first, but they really are kind of fun to watch scamper about the room or their habitat. The Zhu Zhu pets were originally only released in a test market, but are to be on shelves this fall. The toys are reasonably priced at $6.99 for each hamster and playsets beginning at $14.99. The playsets are modular and you can add as many or few as you want. Toys'R Us is currently out of stock on the items that they carry and the stores who list on Amazon appear to be taking advantage of the current limited availability and are selling them at a significant premium.

I can say that I will likely have to buy a second hamster ball when they become available so that both hamsters can play in them at the same time. I might also grab a couple more habitrail pieces. I think the room and the u-turn might be a good piece to extend the set.

The kids have maintained their interest in the toys, which is a good thing. At some point though, I think that we might donate the hamsters and habitat to our daycare. I think the kids there would get a kick out of watching the "animals" explore their environment.

Have you played with Zhu Zhu pets? What did you think? Leave a comment or link to your blog.

Weight Watchers Disclosure

You will likely notice that I frequently reference Weight Watchers in my posts. I have received no compensation for these posts. Weight Watchers did provide me with some vouchers to allow me to attend some free meetings and with access to their eTools. These were provided so that I might share my experiences with readers.

Luvs $5 Coupon

Tomorrow, September 15th, you can register to join the Take a Stand campaign at Luvs.com and request a $5 off any Luvs coupon by mail.

This could make for some really good diaper deals.

Lose-A-Palooza

On Tuesday, September 15th, Weight Watchers is hosting Losa-A-Palooza, a social media action day to help raise money for its two charity partners - Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger.

On September 15th, for every accepted mention of Lose for Good on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blogs and online news sites, Weight Watchers will donate an additional $1 to Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger, up to $25,000.

Here's a link to the Lose-A-Palooza campaign . From the campaign site, donating $1 to two hunger-fighting charities is as easy as two clicks and there are links to donate via your favorite social media site -- Twitter, Facebook or MySpace.

Smart Source Coupon for Discover Card Users

In case you missed it, I almost did. This week, the Discover Card ad in one of the Smart Source circulars included a $1 or $2 manufacturers coupon for Discover Cardmembers (the other one just had an ad). Good for any purchase using your Discover card anywhere coupons are accepted. I love this! Free Money!

If you got one and aren't a Discover card user, I would be happy to have them.

Menu Plan Monday

I ran out to the store on Saturday as part of my errand running and again on Sunday, since the kids wanted donuts. On Saturday, the crowds were horrible, so I picked up only a few deals and things that I new I needed for this week. But, when I went back on Sunday and the store was less crazy, I took a little time and picked up some meat. The store was having a BOGO sale on value pack meat and I was able to get pork chops for 6 meals for under $12 and ground meat for 8 meals for about $15. Big spends, but not on a per meal basis. I also stocked up on some frozen bread sticks with pizza sauce for dipping (12 ct per pack). They were on sale for $1.99 and they had peelies on them for $.55 that when they doubled made them $.89 each.

At our house, the focus is on dinners. I tend to only list the main course and any standard side we have with it. We do still have vegetables and/or fruit with each of our dinners, I just don't always call them out.

Sunday
Cereal
Leftovers
Skyline Chili

Monday
Sloppy Joes

Tuesday
Leftovers

Wednesday
Chicken Fajitas (Tyson kit)

Thursday
Breakfast for Dinner

Friday
Dinner at our favorite local Mexican

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
TBD

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.

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

CVS Scenarios - week of 9/13

There are a number of deals this week at CVS. All of the $/$$ coupons that were still available for use last week are gone now.

Transaction #1
3 - Suave Shampoo/Conditioner/Bodywash
2 - Children's Tylenol Cold
1 - Stacy's Pita Chips
2 - General Mill's Cereal
1 - Colgate Total Advanced Toothpaste
1 - Listerine

-$.75 $.75/2 Suave Mfg coupon
-$2 B2G1 Suave Mfg coupon
-$3 $3/2 Children's Tylenol Mfg coupon
-$1 Stacy's Pita CRT
-$1 General Mill's IP
-$1 General Mill's IP
-$1 Colgate IP
-$2 Listerine Mfg coupon

Total OOP $22.21, earn $11 in ECBs ($2, $3, $2, $2, and $2).

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

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
2 - Purex Detergent

-$2 2x $1 Purex IP

Total $4.98 OOP, earn $2 ECBs.

Transaction #2
2 - Sobe Lifewaters
1 - Colgate Advanced

- BOGO Sobe Mfg coupon
-$1 Colgate IP

Total $1.99. Pay with $2 ECB from transaction #1 and earn $2 ECBs.

Transaction #3
1 - Listerine

-$2 Listerine Mfg coupon

Total $1.99. Pay with $2 ECBs from transaction #2 and earn $2 ECBs.

Total of $4.98 OOP with $2 ECBs to roll for almost $17 in product.

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

Lose for Good

I am so excited!

I am going to be a participant in the Weight Watchers Lose for Good Campaign. It runs from August 30 - October 17 with the goal of promoting weight loss and healthy living while raising $1 million for two hunger-fighting charities, Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger. With the Lose for Good campaign, which is in it's second year, Weight Watchers will be donating $250,000 for every 1 million pounds lost by participants, up to $1 million. As part of the campaign, Weight Watchers is providing me a 3-month membership and access to the online eTools. Not only will I be helping to support a good cause, I will, as a member of Weight Watchers be learning a healthier lifestyle and hopefully, losing the weight that I have been struggling with.

I have used Weight Watchers before and I know that it works. It has been a number of years since I last was a member and I am excited to check out their on-line tools, because I think that they will really help me towards my weight loss goal. They even have a mobile site, which since we finally entered the 21st century, will allow me to easily access the on-line tools wherever I am.

In light of this new opportunity, I have revisited my goal and I think that my new goal is to lose 40 pounds from where I am now. I had lost some weight last spring, but after twisting my knee and not exercising, I lost some workout/eat right motivation and put a portion back on. I'm not sure whether they will agree that is the right goal weight for me, but that will be my starting point.

I am psyched and ready to succeed! You can join me on my journey. In celebration of Lose for Good, Weight Watchers is offering its first ever membership promotion offer! They're offering a free month of Monthly Pass for any new member who joins during the campaign and that includes FREE registration! The in-person meeting offer is valid in participating areas only, but you can enter your zip code here to find out more. For Weight Watchers Online, if you sign up for a 3 month offer, you’ll get the fourth month free.

I won't start going to meetings until probably late next week, but I started my efforts in watching what I eat this week. I pretty much only lost a pound this week, but it is a start.

I will be sharing my successes and challenges here on my blog as I participate in Fat Burnin' Friday. Please leave comments sharing your successes and challenges, so we can support each other through this wonderful journey.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Secret Clincal Strength (VocalPoint)
Snikiddy Snacks (enter babybix sample in the comment section for a free coupon)
Slim Fast Peanut Butter 100 calorie snack
Quaker Fiber and Omega 3 Granola Bars - coupon for free box

Received:

Gain with Febreeze sample and coupon

What's for Lunch?

What is it about packing a lunch that is so great? Since my son started school last year, he is always excited to pack his lunch. We run through the school menu each week and determine what days he is going to pack. If we get to the end of the week and he likes everything, he will generally go back and change his mind about one day just so he can pack. He has a Derek Jeter soft side lunch box which he just loves.

The main course of his lunch is usually peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or occasionally a bologna sandwich when he asks for it before I go shopping for the week. We have a good variety of jellies on hand most of the time, so even when he packs peanut butter and jelly multiple times in a week the sandwiches aren't all the same flavor.

The fun comes in to his lunch with the side dishes. I like to try to pack a decent assortment for him, while still keeping it "fun". He is a big fan of fruit and of yogurt, so I try to include one or both in his lunchbox. There is always a snack or treat included as well. Sometimes it is a small piece of candy or maybe some chips. This week it has been oatmeal cookies that we made over the weekend (I need a good recipe or a tip on why mine turn out "lacy" - they taste great but they are full of gaping holes and are fragile).

The important thing is that I fill it with things that he really enjoys and that it is different every day, so that there is something to look forward to.

When my daughter sees my son's packed lunch on the counter, she wants to pack too and pulls out a Hello Kitty 'Bento Box' that we have. Generally, what she wants to pack is breakfast - today it was a pack of oatmeal on one side and the other side was Cheerios and mini-marshmallows. She carries the empty box around until I fill it for her.

For me, my lunches are simple. Tomato sandwiches in season - I pack a sliced tomato, toast and mayo and assemble at work. Tuna sandwiches - I pack a packet of tuna, bread and may and assemble at work. Leftovers - flavor du jour. I also like to include fresh fruit and yogurt. Occasionally, I will include a treat in my lunch too! I use Lunch Skins to pack my lunch in a brown paper bag that I use over and over.

My husband works from home so he is pretty free to eat whatever is in the kitchen with little forward thinking required.

For more lunch box ideas, check out this week's Ultimate Recipe Swap Lunchbox Love Edition at Life As MOM.

Target Deals

After the kids went to bed last night, I headed up to Target to get a couple of things, including the Fiber One bars that are on deal this week. I had a blast! I found some really great deals, many of which I had been reading about on other sites. I also found out that a number of things I bought this weekend are now on a deeper clearance - does Target price adjust? I suppose the other option would be to rebuy and return, but I'm not sure how much effort it is worth.

I broke my purchase up into two transactions so that I could use the $5 gift card from the Fiber One deal.

Transaction #1
5 - Fiber One Bars

-$.40 mfg coupon
-$.40 mfg coupon
-$.40 mfg coupon
-$1 $1/2 mfg coupon

Total $10.30. Paid with the $10 gift card I had gotten for free when we filled a prescription earlier this week and $.30 OOP. Earned a $5 Gift Card.

Transaction #2
2 - packs of Construction Paper
4 - General Mills Cereals (price matched to $1.99 at Walgreens)
1 - Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal
1 - Nintendo DS Walle Game (clearance)
1 - Hungry Hippos Travel Game
2 - Velveeta Mac'n Cheese cups
1 - Travel Kleenex pack
2 - Travel Tide pack
1 - Systane Eye drops
2 - Boston Simplus Contact Solution with sample bottle (clearance)
1 - Up & Up Dishwasher Detergent
2 - Kellogg Yogos
1 - Ruffies 13gal Trash Bags

-$4 4x$1 Target General Mills coupon
-$1 Cocoa Puffs Mfg coupon
-$.75 Cheerios Mfg coupon
-$1 $1/2 General Mills Mfg coupon
-$3.49 Free Kashi Mfg coupon
-$4 Hungry Hippos Mfg IP
-$.99 BOGO Velveeta Cups Mfg coupon
-$2 2x$1 Tide Mfg coupon
-$2 Systane Mfg coupon
-$1 Target Up & Up coupon mailer
-$1 2x$.50 Target Kellogg's snacks coupon
-$.50 Kellogg's Yogo Mfg IP
-$.50 Kellogg's Yogo Mfg IP

Total $36.77. Paid with $5 Gift Card and $31.77 OOP.

I feel like I got a lot for $32.07 OOP. One of the best deals was the cereal. With coupons, I paid $1.25 total for 5 boxes of cereal!

The IP coupons are from the coupon widget on my sidebar and the SmartSource website. The Target coupons were from their webpage - I print them every time I got to Target, so I have more/less of some.

A few of the items - the two games and the construction paper - will be set aside for holiday gifts.

For more deals, check out:

Super Savings Saturday
Shopping Superstars

CVS Deals - 9/7

I headed over to CVS on Tuesday to take advantage of a couple of the 3 day sale items, since I didn't make it over the holiday weekend. I got a lot of coupons from the card scanner today. The one was for a free CVS Cocoa Butter lotion. The store didn't have it in the trial size section, but they had a stick of it in the regular section and that is what they gave me. I'm not sure about a lotion stick, although we use stick sunscreen, so I guess it will likely be similar.

Here is what I got:


Transaction #1
2 - Dove Dark Bars
2 - Dove Desserts
2 - Crest with Scope Outlast
2 - Oral B Children's Brushes

-$4 $4/$20 CVS coupon
-$2 $2/$10 Oral Care CVS coupon
-$1 Crest Mfg coupon
-$.75 Crest Mfg coupon
-$2.99 BOGO Oral B Mfg coupon

Paid with $11.58 in ECBs and $1.17 OOP. Earned $5 and $5 ECBs.

Transaction #2
2 - "Crocs"
1 - V05 Conditioner
1 - Aussie Styler
1 - Coppertone Nutrashield Lotion
1 - CVS Aloe Handsoap
1 - CVS Cocoa Butter Lotion Stick
2 - Glade Fragrance Collection Candles

-$4 $4/$20 CVS coupon
-$1 Aussie Mfg coupon
-$5 Coppertone Nutrashield IP
-$1.69 CVS Free Handsoap e-mail (raincheck)
-$.99 CVS Cocoa Butter Lotion try me free CRT
-$3.29 Free Glade Fragrance Collection coupon
-$3.29 Free Glade Fragrance Collection coupon

Paid with $4.50 in ECBs and $1.32 OOP. Earned $2 ECBs.

Net for the day, I spent $16.08 in ECBs and $2.49 OOP and earned $12 in ECBs. So, my net "cost" for everything was $6.57 (but only $2.49 in real money). Not bad when you consider everything that I got. Unfortunately, I discovered that my chocolate was expired, so I will have to head back to return/exchange that.

For more deals, check out:

Super Savings Saturday
Shopping Superstars

Lemi Shine

A while back, we started having issues with our dishwasher cleaning properly. I tried running it empty with vinegar and all sorts of other techniques I had found on-line. But none seemed to really solve the problem and so, we called the manufacturer and they provided us with a contact for a local repair service. We were more than a little frustrated by the issue because, at the time, the dishwasher was probably only 4 or so years old.

They were a great service company, because we never actually used them. Before they would even set up an appointment, knowing that we lived in an area that had fairly hard city water, they recommended that we try using Lemi Shine and see if that solved our problem. If that didn't work, then we were to call back for an appointment. (We never did have to call in the service group to repair the dishwasher. We did keep the contact information for future reference though. A lesser organization might have come out and charged us for a service call, rather than provide the recommendation to try Lemi Shine upfront.)

It didn't take us long to find the product on the shelves of the local Walmart (the only place I have actually seen it). We started by first running the dishwasher with just Lemi Shine. It seemed to work pretty well. It cleaned up some lingering stains and seemed like the inside was a little shinier. The next thing we did was run a full load of dishes with both detergent and Lemi Shine. The dishes came out much cleaner than they had been. With continued use, it only seemed to improve.

We did this for a while, using a couple of bottles of the product. Then one day, we ran out and we never got around to getting more. Then, recently, I started to notice the return of the hard water stains on our dishes and the feeling that everything was not getting quite as clean as it should. I had my husband go out and buy a bottle that day and started adding it to the wash again. Wallah! It worked. The dishwasher is running better again.

I plan to use it, not in every load, but fairly regularly to keep my dishwasher running well.

For more tips and tricks, check out Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

National Waffle Week

I just had to share this deal.

Every time we are home visiting my parents, my mom takes the kids to Waffle House. They love it. It started as a way for my mom to let me sleep in a little bit by taking my early riser son to breakfast and get him out of the house. But, it turned in to a tradition. As soon as my daughter was big enough, she had to go too. On a few occasions, I am allowed to join them at Waffle House, but normally it is a mom-excluded event. The staff there love my kids (I'm sure they love them all, but I think it is great that they make them feel special). My son's request is to sit at the tall counter where he can see everything. Because my daughter is still younger, they tend to sit at the divide with my son on the tall counter and my mom and daughter at the small counter.

I think it is great that my kids have an experience like this. I can remember as a kid going with my Grandparents to Long John Silvers. I thought it was awesome and even have a picture of my Grandpa in a Long John Silver pirate hat.

Anyway, as I was saying, this week is National Waffle Week (September 6 - 12) at the Waffle House. You can go here to print a BOGO waffle coupon.

Crayola Coloring Pages

When I saw this post this morning, I just had to share a link with you.

Head over to Moms Need to Know for details on how you can design your own coloring pages for your child.

I can't wait to try this.

Labor Day Entertainment

Looking for some diversion on this Labor Day. It is gray and rainy here, so a movie would be just the ticket. Since it is the first Monday, you are in luck, you can get a free rental at Redbox today only. Use code T46T3Q7 at checkout. The code is limit one per credit card and expires tonight at Midnight.

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

I personally am enjoying my day off, hanging out with family.

Catch up with you tomorrow.

Menu Plan Monday

I didn't actually make it to the grocery store this weekend. I made a quick stop on Sunday morning after church to pick up some donuts and grabbed a couple of deals. I only need a few more items for the week, so I will probably make an early week run

At our house, the focus is on dinners. I tend to only list the main course and any standard side we have with it. We do still have vegetables and/or fruit with each of our dinners, I just don't always call them out.

Sunday
Donuts
Sandwiches
Dinner at Favorite Local Mexican

Monday
Cereal
Lunch out with family
Chik-fil-A (free food!)

Tuesday
Homemade Pizza

Wednesday
Cube Steaks

Thursday
Chicken Nuggets

Friday
Hamburgers/Hot Dogs on the Grill

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

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.

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

CVS Scenarios - week of 9/6

This is the last week that you can use the coupons from the Pharmacy coupon booklet. There are a couple that might work well into some of the deals - there is an oral care one that you could combine with the Scope Outlast/Crest with Scope deal if you add a toothbrush; there is a facial care one that you could use for some of the facial wash/makeup deals; and of course the straight up $4/$20 if you haven't used them.

Transaction #1
4 - Dove Bars/Desserts
1 - Aussie Styler
1 - Coppertone Nutrashield
1 - Schick Slim Triple

-$5 $5/$25 from video (my post here)
-$1 Dove mfg coupon
-$1 Aussie Mfg coupon (came with a P&G sample)
-$5 Coppertone Nutrashield IP
-$3 Schick Mfg coupon

Total $12 OOP. Earn, $5, $2 and $4 ECBs.

Transaction #2
2 - Crest with Scope Outlast
3 - John Frieda Collection

-$4 $4/$20 CVS coupon
-$.75 Crest Mfg coupon
-$.75 Crest Mfg coupon
-$3 3x$1 John Frieda Mfg coupon

Total $13.48. Pay with $11 in ECBs from transaction #1 and $2.48 OOP. Earn $5 and $5 ECBs.

Total for the trip, $14.48 OOP with $10 in ECBs to roll.

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

CVS $5 Challenge

1 - Schick Slim Triple

-$3 Schick Mfg coupon

Total $3.99. Earn $4 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Aussie Styler
1 - Crest with Scope Outlast

-$1 Aussie Mfg coupon
-$.75 Crest Mfg coupon

Total $4.73. Pay with $4 ECBs and $.73 OOP. Earn $2 and $2.50 ECBs.

Total for the transactions $4.72 OOP with $4.50 in ECBs left to roll.

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

Free Bowling - TODAY!!

I just learned that today is National Bowling Day and that you can get a coupon for a free game of bowling, as they attempt to "Have Fun Setting a New Record". You can go here to get your free coupon and learn more.

Samples and Freebies

I don't know if it is the start of the month, but there were a lot of samples to request out there this week.

Requested:
Nature Valley Nut Clusters
FruitaBu
Free sample of Kashi Cereals - chose one of 3 or let them surprise you.
Huggies Little Movers - size 3, 4, or 5
Kotex/FDS Sample Pack
Quaker Chewy Granola Bar - choose from 3 flavors or let them surprise you.

Received:
Scope Outlast, Crest with Scope Outlast and Floss Picks with Scope Outlast sample (no coupons, bummer)
$5 Pepsi rebate - CVS tear pad back at start of summer
Nabisco $55 Savings booklet/calendar
Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters and coupon (not the one I requested above???)

Free Chocolate Friday!

Just 4 Fridays left to request your coupon for free chocolate.

Mars is planning to give away free chocolate every Friday until September 25th. To get your coupon, you need to head over to Real Chocolate starting at 9 am ET on each Friday. Your coupon is good for one single serve chocolate (any M&M'S® Brand, MILKY WAY® Brand, SNICKERS® Brand, 3 MUSKETEERS® Brand, TWIX® Brand and DOVE® Brand product). The coupon will be mailed and take up to 6 weeks to arrive.

There is a limit of 250,000 coupons each Friday. You can only win one coupon each week, but each household is allowed to win up to 4 coupons over the course of the promotion. You can see the full terms and conditions here by clicking on Terms and Conditions.

Even if you are reading this at 5 pm, I suggest you head over and give it a shot. I have found that there is still chocolate available at the end of the day.

Freebie Reminders

Don't forget this weekend, there are a few freebies to be had:

Free Museum Admission.

Free Chick-fil-A Sandwich on Monday.

Free Blue Bunny Aspen or Sedona Frozen Yogurt Granola Novelty:
Simply purchase a pack of these on Labor Day Weekend (9/5-9/7) and use the rebate form here to request your rebate. See rebate for specific terms and offer.

Free Card from Cardstore. You have until Monday to get your free card (including delivery) from Cardstore as part of the Hope is in the Cards promotion.

For teachers: Free Clorox Disinfectant Wipes Cannister. Offer ends on 9/5.

Free small cup of flavored coffee from Borders/Seatle's Best with coupon here. Coupon is good through 9/8.

Know any more? Share them in the comments so everyone can enjoy.

CVS Deals - 8/30

Headed out to CVS on Sunday morning to take advantage of some of the deals. I still had my free item coupon from e-mail, but when I got to the store they were out of the soap. I asked if they were substituting or I could get a raincheck. They suggested I get the nuts. I explained that I preferred the soap and they wrote a rain check.

Here is what I did get:

2 - Absolutely Divine Cookies
1 - Pantene Hair Spray
1 - Wet Ones Sensitive
1 - Aquafresh Iso Active
2 - Pilot Easy Touch (raincheck)
1 - Glade Fragrance Collection Candle (Macintosh - that was all that was left)

-$4 $4/$20 CVS coupon
-$1 Absolutely Divine Cookies CRT
-$1 Absolutely Divine Cookies CRT
-$1 Pantene Styler Mfg coupon
-$.75 Wet Ones Mfg coupon
-$1 Wet Ones CRT
-$1 Aquafresh Iso Active IP
-$3 Glade Fragrance Collection Mfg coupon

Paid with $3.79 and $7 in ECBs and $1.50 OOP. I earned $2, $1.50, $3, $2 and $6.99 ECBs (total of $15.49) for a net ECB "profit" of $3.20.

I hope to head back to see if the Sensodyne Iso Active comes in and to redeem my raincheck for the free soap.

For more great deals, check out:
Super Savings Saturday
CVS Superstars

Chicken Pasta Bake

At our house, we have many favorite recipes. Some are tried and true recipes that I have been making for years. Some are recipes from my childhood, some from my husband's. There are favorite comfort foods, like Sloppy Joes. Favorite restaurant knock-offs, like #54 and Penne Cardinale.

Sometimes though, the gem can be a newly discovered recipe.

Last weekend, as you may know, I cleaned out my pantry. In so doing, I found some partial boxes of pasta. Not being one to waste and knowing that serving a bowl of mixed pasta with sauce might not be well received, I decided to concoct something new. I had chicken thawing that I needed to use up, as we had made a last minute dinner change on Saturday when we were out later than expected running errands. So, my challenge was to come up with a dish that would use those ingredients. I also knew I had some assorted cheese leftover from serving crackers and cheese when we had guests a few nights earlier.

My first thought was a chicken lasagna - you know in all of my life, I honestly don't believe I have ever had a chicken lasagna. Of course, I only had a few lasagna noodles and there were other noodles. In the end, I did two dishes - one layered and one tossed.

Chicken Pasta Bake

1# Pasta - assorted or the same, prepared
3 Chicken Breasts - baked and shredded
12oz Cheese - assorted or the same
1 1/2 jar/can Pasta Sauce

For the lasagna, I started by layering a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan and then a layer of lasagna. Then chicken, cheese and sauce. I topped this layer with assorted noodles and then repeated the chicken, cheese and sauce. Another layer of lasagna noodles, some chicken, sauce and lastly cheese. I sprinkled this with a touch of garlic powder and onion salt.

For the pasta bake, I tore long noodles into bite size pieces and mixed with the chicken in the pan. Then I added some sauce and cheese, stirred and added a little more sauce. I topped this dish with cheese and a touch of garlic powder and onion salt.

I baked at 350 for 45 minutes covered, with the two pans side by side in my oven.

We found the dish to be very tasty. I think the assortment of cheese - Swiss, Pepper Jack and Mozzarella gave it a good depth of flavor. I did shred the chunks of cheese I had so that it would be more evenly distributed. I used a full can of Hunt's Zesty & Spicy canned pasta sauce in addition to some Ragu Meat flavored sauce that we had leftover in the refrigerator. The ingredient amounts I listed is approximately what I used to make two pans - but I wasn't using a full 9x13 baking dish for either. I used a 9x9 square for the bake and a 6x8 baking dish for the lasagna. I would think that 1# pasta, 1 jar sauce and about 10 oz of cheese would work for a standard baking dish.

My husband did make a point of the fact that it wasn't a chicken pasta casserole, because that doesn't sound as good as a chicken pasta bake. In fact, he told me he doesn't like casseroles, so I guess we will be eating a lot of bakes at my house.

For more favorites, old and new, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap favorites edition at Life as Mom.

For more recipes, check out the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap and Cook-It Wednesday.