Samples and Freebies

Requested:
Dial NutriSkin Replenishing Lotion
Tom's of Maine Silly Strawberry Children's Toothpaste

Received:
$2 Charmin coupon from Facebook offer
$3 Huggies Slip On diapers coupon
Huggies Snug & Dry sample - Sam's Club
Crest Complete toothpaste and mouthwash sample and coupons
Tote bag from Parenting Magazine (part of renewal offer)
Outback Free Steak Dinner coupon (Facebook promotion a while back)

The Circus Is Coming To Cleveland! - Coupon Code & Giveaway

When I was a kid, I remember loving the circus. I am not sure that I went many times, but I remember one time going to the circus with my Aunt and Uncle (who, may have only been dating at the time). They had taken me and a couple of my cousins along for the show.

At the circus, I think my favorite act is the Trapeze and High Wire acts. There is something that is just awe inspiring about walking, swinging, flipping, and jumping above the crowd. I also like the elephants. They are such gentle giants in the show.

Do you live near Cleveland? The circus is coming to town!

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents Fully Charged is coming to Cleveland at the Quicken Loans Arena, Ocotber 19 - 23rd.

Performance Schedule:

Wednesday, October 19: 7:30pm
Thursday, October 20: 7:30pm
Friday, October 21: 7:30pm
Saturday, October 22: 11:30am/ 3:30pm/ 7:30pm
Sunday, October 23: 11:30am/ 3:30pm/ 7:30pm

"ABOUT THE SHOW Don't miss Fully ChargedSM, the all-new surge of circus entertainment from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® where megawatts of thrills explode off of the arena floor with breathtaking dare-devilry, superhuman stunts and never-before-seen performances that energize Children of All Ages! The most electrifying edition ever of Ringling Bros.® celebrates performance power that boosts circus-goers excitement. The amazing acts, which can only be seen at The Greatest Show On Earth®, include Tabayara, a dynamic animal trainer whose rare ability to communicate with animals allows him to ride rearing stallions at a fully charged gallop and orchestrate majestic four-ton Asian Elephants in a symphony of dance. When he stands inside a cage, eye to eye with twelve ferocious tigers, Tabayara sees family where others see danger. Audiences will feel the earth shake when the Ukrainian strongman duo of Dmitry Nadolinkskiy and Ruslan Gilmulin, who are as wide as they are tall, enter the arena. The brawny twosome give the word manpower a whole new meaning as they lift large cumbersome telephone poles, which weigh up to half-a-ton, and twirl them above their heads while acrobats balance atop. The Fearless Fernandez Brothers dial up the thrills as they perform daring feats of athleticism on the Twin Turbines of Steel, including, extreme jumps and twists inside the moving wheels! Audiences will crackle with excitement as they watch Guillermo perform a three hundred sixty degree flying forward somersault, three stories in air, a feat so difficult it has only been attempted by one other person in the 141-year history of Ringling Bros.The Human Fuse, Brian Miser, sets the arena sky ablaze as he rockets through the air from his self-made human crossbow. Don't blink as he flashes across the sky in less than a second, and travels 80 feet at 65 miles per hour. Ever wonder how many clowns it takes to change a light bulb? The hilarious hoopla continues to flow as the clowns from the world-famous Ringling Bros.® clown-alley, charge-up the audiences' funny bones with hysterical silly antics and clownish comedy. You can only experience this current of excitement at Ringling Bros. Fully Charged! Get your ticket for high-voltage fun today!"

You can check out videos from the circus on their You Tube page.

Discount
Want to save on your tickets? I have the opportunity to send my readers to this ticketing page to purchase seats, you can save $8 in advance on each ticket with CODE: FFA8 -- or save $4 on each ticket on the day of the show with CODE: FFA4. (Restrictions: FFA8 code valid through October 18, 2011. FFA4 code valid October 19-23, 2011. Not valid on Discount Drug Mart Circus Celebrity, Front Row and VIP seats. Limit 6 tickets per transaction.)

Giveaway
The winner will receive a family 4 pack of tickets to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents Fully Charged for one of the shows in Cleveland. You may choose the date you would like to attend.

To enter: Leave a comment answering the question: What is your favorite act at the circus?

Additional Entries (please leave a separate comment for each entry):

Follow ABusyMomofTwo on Twitter.

Tweet about this giveaway. You may complete this entry up to five times, but your tweets must be at least an hour apart. (You may use the following or write your own: Enter to win a Family Four Pack of Tickets to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents Fully Charged #Cleveland http://bit.ly/qaaWoZ)

Follow A Busy Mom of Two. Subscribe to updates in your feed reader or in e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know that you signed up, or that you already subscribe.

Like A Busy Mom of Two on Facebook.

Share this giveaway with friends - on your blog, on Facebook or by posting it on a giveaway link-up. Leave me a comment letting me know how you shared or leave a link to the giveaway link-up. You may have one additional entry for each giveaway linky that you submit it on.

Leave a comment with a link to your blog where you have either my button or have a link to A Busy Mom of Two in your blog roll.

Giveaway will remain open until October 7th at 9 pm. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected using a random number generator. The winner will be contacted by e-mail (be sure to leave one!) and will have 12 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I have the opportunity to take my family to the show, as well as hold a giveaway for my readers as a FFA blogger for this event.

Giveaway Winners!

Congratulations to CT Mom! She was selected as the winner of the FyrFlyz giveaway. An e-mail will be sent to the winner.


Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

3

Timestamp: 2011-09-30 10:33:17 UTC

The original winner of the Cereal Treats Bars Prize Pack did not get back to me and it has been well over the 48 hour time-frame, so I have selected a new winner. Congratulations to Karin! She was selected as the new winner of the Cereal Treats Bars Prize Pack. An e-mail has been sent to the winner.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

69

Timestamp: 2011-09-30 10:39:50 UTC

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation - Sam's Club Gift Card Giveaway

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, they are celebrating 25 years of awareness, education and empowerment. Many companies participate in supporting breast cancer research through the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

"Give back by purchasing your favorite cereal or snack! This October, by making simple everyday purchases at Sam’s Club, you can help support breast cancer education and research. Beginning September 19th, Sam’s Club stores will feature exclusive pink packaging on some of your favorite participating General Mills products in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For 5 years, General Mills has partnered with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Foundation to bring breast cancer support to local communities, and this year they are making their annual donation of $2 million to the foundation to advance breast cancer research and support education and community outreach projects. Purchase specially-marked General Mills products like Cheerios and Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies at your local Sam’s Club and help decide how half of that contribution will be donated by voting at PinkTogether.com from now until April 14, 2012. General Mills’ donations will be divided between two important Komen programs: the Treatment and Assistance Program, which assists women in securing care they otherwise may not be able to afford, and Prevention Research, which helps unlock the keys to preventing breast cancer. Voting results will be announced on Mother’s Day 2012."

Giveaway!
General Mills through MyBlogSpark, is providing me with one $25 Sam's Club Gift Card to giveaway to one A Busy Mom of Two reader.

To enter: Visit PinkTogether to learn about the two options you can vote to have General Mills make a donation to. Let me know which one you would cast your vote for.

Additional Entries (please leave a separate comment for each entry):

Follow ABusyMomofTwo on Twitter.

Follow Sam's Club on Twitter.

Tweet about this giveaway. You may complete this entry once per day. (You may use the following or write your own: Enter to win a $25 @SamsClub Gift Card. @ABusyMomofTwo. Ends 10/10 #myblogspark http://bit.ly/qzx4DI)

Follow A Busy Mom of Two. Subscribe to updates in your feed reader or in e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know that you signed up, or that you already subscribe.

Like A Busy Mom of Two on Facebook.

Like Sam's Club on Facebook.

Share this giveaway with friends - on your blog, on Facebook or by posting it on a giveaway link-up. Leave me a comment letting me know how you shared or leave a link to the giveaway link-up. You may have one additional entry for each giveaway linky that you submit it on.

Leave a comment with a link to your blog where you have either my button or have a link to A Busy Mom of Two in your blog roll.

Giveaway will remain open until October 10th at 6 pm. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected using a random number generator. The winner will be contacted by e-mail (be sure to leave one!) and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. The Sam’s Club gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills and Sam's Club through MyBlogSpark. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Chef Boyardee Be the Chef House Party

So, yesterday, we had our Chef Boyardee Be the Chef House Party. The original party date was for Saturday, but I had to reschedule for last night. Of course, as is generally my experience, weeknight parties aren't as conducive for everyone's schedule, but for those of us that got together we had a good time and enjoyed some different food.

The kit for the party included a fun Chef's hat, some recipes featuring Chef Boyardee canned pasta, some Chef Boyardee Note Pads, a tote bag and some coupons for product.

I selected three recipes to prepare - Chili-roni, Taco-roni and Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake.

Overall the recipes were very easy to prepare. I started prep work about 1/2 an hour before the party and the food was finishing up as everyone arrived.

I first made the Pepperoni Spaghetti Bake since it went into the oven. The recipe layered prepared baking mix, Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs, Cheese and Turkey Pepperoni. Overall, the result had a good flavor, but I think that most agreed that there was a little too much of the crust (bake mix) relative to the amount of sauce - I would make it again, I just would probably tweak or add a little extra canned tomato sauce.

The next recipe I tackled was the Taco-roni. This one is prepared on the stovetop. It was a combination of Beefaroni, diced tomatoes, black beans (which I served on the side), corn and cumin; after simmering, this is served with a sprinkle of cheese and some crushed chips. Overall, I thought this meal had a good flavor, the cumin added a nice smokiness to the dish. There was a little bit left that I served with Doritos and experiencing it that way made me feel that the dish could have used a little more taco flavoring. I would make this dish again, only with nacho chips instead of tortilla chips.

The last recipe was the Chili-roni. It was super easy, combining Beefaroni with Pinto and Kidney Beans, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and seasoned with some cumin and chili powder. I didn't try this dish, since I don't like beans, but it was well received by everyone that ate it.

As we were eating, we were talking about the recipes and the idea of using canned pasta to make recipes. The discussion started with a question about the point of convenience, canned food of a quick heat and eat meal and how taking the time to prepare a recipe from them seemed odd. We decided that yes, they generally are good for a quick, heat and eat, but that by having recipe options you could not only stretch the can to serve more, but also vary up the flavors of the same dish. I thought it was kind of nice that I started with a very similar base and wound up with dishes that had three very different types of flavors. Then, one of my friends mentioned that they could easily see these recipes being prepared at a Boy Scout camp. It was an easy preparation with some different flavors - of course, we decided that carrying all of the cans on a backpack trip wouldn't make much sense, but a more sedentary camping trip they totally would work.

The group hung out for a while, until it was time for the kids to head to bed. We had a little bit of leftovers and we enjoyed them for dinner tonight. So, I am happy to report that they also reheat well.

In addition to the recipes that I tried at my House Party, they also sent along a Ravioli Lasagne and a Cheeseburger-roni recipe. Want to try any of the recipes? You can check them out at the Chef Boyardee website (they are even in a convenient printable format, if you download the Be the Chef party kit).

No compensation was received for this post. As a participant in House Party, I received a party package so that I could host an event and share the products, recipes and information with my guests. All opinions are my own or that of my family and friends.

RunKeeper Phone App - Tracking My Workout

A while back, I guess it was the end of June. I was in Boston on business with a coworker (and friend). I was telling her that I had been trying to find an app for my phone that would allow me to track my walks (that was before I started running). She mentioned the RunKeeper App to me. I found it in the App Store and downloaded the free version to my phone.

The first day that I walked with it, I tried to hold my phone in my hand. (Ever notice that there aren't pockets on many workout clothes?) The distance was crazy - it was picking up the location based on the swing of my arms. Aside from the issue with the distance, I really liked several things about the app, so I figured I could find a way to carry my phone.

The first thing that I really liked is that the app talked to me. I have mine set up to "talk" every 5 minutes and to tell me Time, Distance and Average Pace. Why? I think that was the default values. You can set it to provide you info based on time or distance - every 1 to 5 minutes and/or every .25 to 1 mile (in .25 mile increments). I honestly have never tried both, but I believe that you could set it to provide audio cues on both time and distance. As to the feedback it provides, you can also have it provide Average Speed, Current Pace, Current Speed, and if you have the RunKeeper Elite and I assume a compatible monitor Average Heart Rate and Current Heart Rate. I love having it provide feedback every 5 minutes because with time, I know how far I should be able to have walked from one interval to the next. As I have started to run, it allows me an easy way to measure towards my goal of running for at least 5 minutes at a time.

There are several types of activities to choose from. I have left mine on walking, but there is running, cycling, hiking, downhill skiing, snowboarding and more as options. I'm not sure what the different settings change, but likely it impacts the way it looks at calories burnt and such. There also is coaching available for intervals and fitness classes. I have not used these, but it looks like there are presets available or you could create your own. You set your interval pace, type and size. So, I could choose Slow, Steady or Fast; Time or Distance; and then enter the time in minutes or distance in miles (or portions of). I am assuming that it would provide audio cues on transitioning - maybe I will check this out as a way to coach me to full time running.

I liked the onscreen display of my workout. It provides the total time (elapsed time if your workout is still in progress), average pace, and calories burnt at the top of the screen. Then, there is a bar chart that shows you your distance across time and then a map that shows you your route. When the workout is complete, you can save the data, leave yourself (or others) comments about the workout and can even share it to Facebook if you want. There are settings that allow or disallow others from seeing your activities and your maps (for security I chose to only allow myself to see those).

Once saved, then you can go online to check out your workout and monitor progress.

When you log on and open an activity, you see the basic information from your workout displayed at the top. In addition to what you see on your phone, you can also see elevation information (helps you find those hills!)

The next thing on the screen is a map of your workout. The route is overlayed on a street map. This would make it easy to repeat a given route or share with a friend.

Below the map, it shows a graphic that reflects your time along the x-axis and your elevation, pace and speed along the y-axis. The "coolest" thing to me is that as you drag your mouse across the chart, you can see the movement on the map. This allows you to go back and see where you were when you had a really fast or slow pace, the combination with the elevation helps you see how you are handling hills.

Keeping in mind that it uses a GPS to track your position to measure your run, it is subject to some hiccups. I think I read once that GPS on your phone is accurate to within 14 feet - not usually an issue when you are driving, more noticeable when you are walking or running. This is what that hiccup looks like on the map:

Generally, unless they are significant, I don't worry too much. I figure it balances out with the times that the tracking cuts off a corner. Plus, after walking the same path over and over again, my experience is that it is within about 0.02 miles each time. So, the accuracy may be good or bad, but the precision is good (sounds funny - read more here). I will tell you that I found that turning off WiFi can significantly improve the positioning, once I had it on and my location was all over the map.

There are also a number of progress tracking reports on the site. You can see charts of your total distance for a given period, the total miles at each activity distance (i.e. I have walked 108 miles on 3 miles walks), and more. If you join, RunKeeper Elite there are even more charts available.

For now, I stick with my Free RunKeeper version. I find that it works well for me and my needs. Someday, maybe I will want to be more high tech and have access to more numbers to play with, but for now I am good.

This post shared at Works For Me Wednesday.

All opinions expressed and experiences shared are my own. No compensation was received for this post.

Mamavation Monday

I am back on track and it feels good!

After two weeks of paying little attention and 10 days of vacation, I am back on track. Granted, I gained some weight over that time frame. In fact, it was just over 3# that I gained, but considering that I was down 3/4# since yesterday suggests to me that most of it was not "real" weight. My goal is to be back down to where I was by next Monday. Seems pretty achievable to me.

I got back on track yesterday with my eating. I started writing down what I was eating again too. It is amazing how much of an impact tracking alone can have on your overall success. I find myself occasionally reaching for that extra helping, snack, etc. and then stopping, thinking do I really want to mark down that I ate that and attempt to quantify it? I am still following the make healthy choices, monitor total calorie approach to eating. It seems to be working for me and the way that my family eats. I am still using my scale to help me gauge portions when I am home and then trying to fill my plate with vegetables and lean protein when I am out. The biggest difference from last week to this week is the lack of soda...I drank more soda last week than I have in the last year (perhaps longer). I can't stand diet soda, so it was all regular, full-calorie drinks. This change alone should make a serious dent in that gain.

Last week, I definitely did a lot of walking, but despite my hopes otherwise, I didn't actually work out. I wore a pedometer one day to see what I did - on that day, I walked over 20000 steps. So, I was active - just not exercise active.

Yesterday morning I just went for a walk. I was a little worried about going from being active in walking around to being active in exercise too abruptly, so I decided not to run. I could definitely feel the workout in my legs at the end of the day. But, this morning, I decided it was time to run again. My friend that I meet at the track had asked about going up today, which gave me the perfect setting for easing back into running...only I didn't ease. I ran 2 1/8 miles of the 3 3/8 miles at the track (I still had the 1.25 of walking up to and back from the track - so walking was still king of the total workout). That, I believe is the furthest that I ran and I did it two laps (just over 5 minutes) at a time. I alternated with a single lap of walking between. It felt GREAT!!!

I am trying to get back in the groove of keeping a daily journal again too of what I did, how I felt, etc. Something that I can go back to for inspiration when needed. I have one day down, not quite a habit yet, but I have hope that I can do it.

#s to Go: 25.4#

This post shared at Mamavation Monday.

Menu Plan Monday

After a week of traveling, the menu this week seems very simple - mostly because we are eating from the pantry and freezer. I haven't made a full grocery store trip - stopping in for a few minutes to pick up milk, bread, bananas and carrots. I might need to make a stop at the store mid-week, but hopefully can wait for the weekend.

Sunday
Waffles/Cereal
Taco Bell
Dinner out with Friends

Monday
Pasta and Spaghetti Sauce

Tuesday
Chef Boyardee Be the Chef House Party (I'll share the recipes that we tried later this week)

Wednesday
Pancakes

Thursday
Homemade Pizza

Friday
Pork Chops

Saturday
TBD

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

This post shared at Menu Plan Monday.

Cereal Treats Bars Prize Pack Winner!

Congratulations to Kelly! She was selected as the winner of the Cereal Treats Bars Prize Pack Giveaway.

Thanks everyone for entering and be sure to check out the other current giveaways.

True Random Number Service
Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

80

Timestamp: 2011-09-26 09:41:06 UTC

Home Sweet Home

After a wonderful, 10-day (including driving) family vacation to Walt Disney World, we are finally home. I love being on vacation. I love spending the time with my family and I am always sad when vacation ends. But, when it has to be over, it really is nice to be home. Back in my own bed. Back to my own kitchen. Back into a routine.

There is a lot of work to be done coming home from vacation, but for the first time in a while, I really did a great job prepping and on the home front, at least, things aren't as crazy. Now work, that is a bit of a different story, because things continue to move on in your absence - I expect to find no fewer than a couple of hundred e-mails to sift through, some voice mails and likely some things on my desk.

I have a lot I want to share with you about my experience on vacation and at Disney. It may take me a few days to get caught up, but watch for some posts on the topic soon.

ZhuZhu Pets: Quest for Zhu

On September 27th, a new movie the Quest for Zhu is being released to DVD. My kids have been big fans of the Zhu Zhu pets and their habitats since they first burst onto the scene about 2 years ago. It's hard not to be drawn into those cute, little hamsters. I love how they squeak and make noises as they wander about your floor and when you are holding them close and petting them.

I figured that it would be fun for them to see their favorite little hamsters "live" in their own animated DVD. When our party pack arrived with a copy of the soon to be released DVD, a few figurines, a movie poster that included a number of "Zhugames and Zhuactivities" and a box of Twizzlers movie snack, the kids asked if they could watch the movie.

Since timing didn't work out for having some of their friends over to watch the movie and since we had a 16-hour each way road trip planned (Disney), I waited for our trip to let the kids enjoy the movie. I thought they would both like a break from the same old movies that they normally watch and would like to see something new. Overall the kids really enjoyed the movie. I liked that each hamster was looking for the meaning to their own symbol, in a bit of self discovery. The little toy figurines were nice for the kids because they were easy to play with while strapped into their car seats.

If your kids enjoy the Zhu Zhu Pets, they will enjoy the Quest for Zhu movie. The movie has something for everyone: action, adventure, suspense and lots of laughs. Plus, it is full of familiar "faces" - the movie stars Mr. Squiggles, NumNums, Chunk and Pipsqueak.

The heartwarming tale of four lively young teens (who just happen to be hamsters) on a quest to find the Palace of Zhu, where they believe all their dreams will come true. Join the feisty and lovable Pipsqueak,Mr. Squiggles, Chunk, Num Nums, and Stinker as she gets swept away to the other side of the Zhuniverse.

You can check out the trailer:

As a mom, I like that they enjoyed the toys before the movie. It's not the same, but I consider it similar to reading the book before the movie. By playing with the toys before they were given a character on screen, allows the kid to have their own perspective on "who" each hamster is and "what" they do. It is sort of like reading a book, where you are free to visualize the characters and interpret things in the plot on your own, without being subjected to what another person "sees" and then presents in the movie.

No compensation was received for this post. I received the Quest For Zhu party pack from MommyParties so that I could share this review. All opinions are expressed are mine or that of my family.

My Favorite Game Apps

I have a new addiction on my phone - Word Feud. Okay, it's not that new, but I still love it. A game in the style of Scrabble, you can play with friends or against random opponents. I am a geek you see. I love to play word games and other mentally challenging games (I really love a "board" game that I have called Mindtrap. My husband doesn't enjoy it, but it is such a great game that causes you to push the limits of normal thinking and think outside the box.)

What is nice is that you don't have to give the game constant attention. You can actually take up to 72 hours after your opponent's turn to play your next word. I have had games with some friends take as long as two weeks to complete.

My son recently got an iPod Touch and now plays games against us and some friends. This can be a great way to build his vocabulary. Whenever someone plays a word that he doesn't know, we have him look it up in the dictionary. I have also asked him to check a word in the dictionary if he is not sure that it is a word before playing. Now, he has attempted to play words adjacent to other words and found some two letter words that are accepted by the game, but not necessarily words that we know or would use.

I know that there is a free version of the app available for iPod, iPhone and the Droid. That is what we have. I have to deal with advertisements, but they don't bother me that much.

Speaking of free games for the Droid, iPad, and iPod, we have another game that we thoroughly enjoy and find challenge in - Unblock Me. In this game, you have a red block that you need to slide out an opening on the side of the board. The other blocks that are blocking it in can either move left and right or up and down depending on their orientation. This is a very spatial type of game that you either love because of the challenge or find frustrating. My kids like to play it a lot - although, my four year old generally asks me for help. She's still learning, so I help her out and have her watch what I am doing.

Bubbling Math - iPad App

When I was a kid, the video games that we had were not exactly what I would call educational. Our first game system was an Atari. I loved playing Breakout and Pacman, but they were merely time killers. The first computer that my family had was one that my dad got from work when I was in high school. I took a couple of computer classes during school - in 7th grade math, we learned to program the TRS80 and at one point, I took some sort of Apple programming class. There weren't really "games" though that we played on the computer.

Technology has clearly come a long way since I was a young child. My kids have access to a laptop, an iPad, and each has a DS. There are a lot of educational options when it comes to games for all of these technologies.

Recently, we had a chance to check out the Bubbling Math App for the iPad. It is also available for the Mac. The app was developed with the input of teachers and children. The focus is on elementary math learned in grades 1 - 4.

"Here are some of the highlights of the Bubbling Math application:
• 9 different graphic levels with nice music and sounds - will make it difficult for you to stop your child from solving math tasks
• 
  
• Task configuration - easy, but powerful - to help you set what your child will practice - based on his age and skill
• 
  
• Parents section - with detailed results - you will know how many tasks your child has finished and you can even view which tasks your child finished incorrectly
• 
  We are motivating - not only to learn, but motivating to continue with additional tasks, because when each new level is unlocked, your child can also get 3 cups for every level (Bronze, Silver, Gold) - and it is not easy to get a Gold cup!"

My son was very excited to try it out (he loves math). He enjoyed playing with it for a while, but with as much as he loves math and excels at it, I don't think the game was providing enough challenge for him. We used the task configuration to adjust the difficulty settings and it once again was a challenge for him.

For addition, you can go from easy to expert = additions up to 10 to additions up to 100. For subtraction, you can go from easy to expert = subtractions up to 10 to subtractions up to 100. For multiplication, you can go from easy to expert = multiplications of 1, 2, 3 (up to 30) to multiplications up to 100 with multiplication of 2 digit numbers with 1 digit numbers. For division, you can go from easy to expert = division of numbers up to 30 to division of numbers up to 100, including division by 2 digit numbers. Setting and adjusting the task difficulty is very easy to do. However, I wish there were a way to save the settings for different children. That way, they could just open up and start playing. As the two kids alternate playing, we have to remember to adjust the settings or they problems are too easy or hard. As a parent, I really like the reporting features of the game.

The report shows a history of how many exercises were done by date and the percent correct. It shows which type of problems were done and how many were right and wrong. There are also settings which allow you to speed up or slow down the game to meet your child's needs. Surprisingly to me, my daughter, who is four really took a liking to the app. She of course stuck with addition on the easy setting, and really benefited from the multiple choice nature of the game.

I was able to play with her and provide guidance on math. If the problem was 4 + 2, I would use the opportunity to walk her through starting at 4 and going up 2. She didn't always get the problems right, but she was at least trying. I figure at only 4, she has a couple of years before she will need to be an expert on simple addition and this is giving her a head start. You can pick up this app for $1.99 for either the Mac or the iPad. No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary copy of the app and information about the app was provided for the purpose of my family testing out the app and providing a review.

National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Did you know that September is National Childhood Awareness Month? I didn't realize that until Hormel sent me the information for completing my September post. But, shortly after receiving the information from them, I started noticing a lot of information both about Childhood Obesity and MyPlate.

This past weekend, there was even a full page spread on "The Mini Page" within the papers comic section about School Lunch. It shared about the history of School Lunch - surprisingly to me, it was back in the late 1700s and early 1800s that people started to be concerned about childhood nutrition. Of course, at that time, the concern was more around malnourishment than it was around obesity. Through some studies and tracking of heights, weights and learning, they learned that kids who ate a good meal in the middle of the day grew stronger and performed better in school.

They also shared about the Department of Agriculture's new MyPlate model, which replaces the food pyramid. The MyPlate model not only provides information on the type of foods that should be eaten, but also provides perspective on the ratio of food types. One example is that they recommend drinking water in place of sugary drinks and to limit the cookies, cakes, pastries and doughnut. They also recommend filling half of your plate with fruits and vegetables.

I know that for me, one of the things that I always had trouble with was gauging portion size. You can read in this post about I use a digital scale to help me measure the portion that I am consuming. It was really eye-opening when I first started to use it to see what a standard serving was - like a bowl of cereal - I quickly realized that I was eating more than one portion. I still sometimes eat two portions, but now I do it with the awareness of it being two portions. I feel like I have gotten pretty good at being able to look at my plate and have good perspective on what size the portion is. It really is amazing though how, even now that I feel like I know what a portion looks like, with time away from using the digital scale, what I perceive as a normal portion tends to get larger.

Another tool that can help you gauge portions (and perhaps more child friendly) are equivalency charts. There are two available on WebMD - one for your wallet and one for home - you could even post it on your refrigerator door! As an example, 3 oz of cooked chicken is about the size of a deck of cards.

Providing your children with the tools to make good food choices and eat the right portions can give them a foundation for a healthy, lifestyle as they grow older.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. The links to the charts on WebMD on ones that I found on my own through a web search.

CVS Deals - 9/15

I made a quick stop at CVS on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, they were out of the Airwick iMotion and the St Joseph's Aspirin. I requested a rain check for both. It turns out that was a good thing, the coupons that I thought worked on iMotion were only good on the larger Freshmatic Starter Kits. Now I need to consider what to do, it would be more money out of pocket than I planned, but it still seems like a good deal for the dishwasher tabs.

3 - Boost High Protein 6-pk
1 - SweetTarts
1 - CVS Allergy tabs
1 - RePHresh Tampons

-$2 Boost Mfg coupon
-$1.50 Boost Mfg coupon
-$1.50 Boost Mfg coupon
-$1 RePhresh IP

Paid with $13.99 in ECBs and $11.11 OOP (most was on a gift card). Earned $3.69, $5 and $6.79 ECBs. A net cost of $9.62. Everything else aside, that amounts to about $.53 / day for my "Protein Shake". Not too bad, usually if I buy protein bars, I am around $.75 - $1 / day and the SlimFast seems to run me about $.75 / day.

FyrFlyz - Review and Giveaway

Fyrflyz is a spinning toy that creates amazing light shows in the palm of your hand! You might recall a few months ago when my son made a video of the cool light effects he could make with FyrFlyz. By spinning the FyrFlyz around at different tightness and speed, they can create light shows from Large Orbits to "Sydwynders" to Shooting Stars to Loop de Loops. For such a simple looking toy, it really is very entertaining and each performance seems to be a little different.

The FyrFlyz are available at Toys 'R Us and other specialty retailers. You can like them on Facebook for opportunities to join in on giveaways and chances to win great prizes.

Giveaway!
Now, I have an opportunity to do a giveaway. One lucky A Busy Mom of Two reader has a chance to win their very own FyrFlyz toy.

To enter: Check out their online galleries of tricks (here and here) and leave a comment sharing which trick you (or your child) hopes to master first.

Additional Entries (Must complete main entry. Please leave a separate comment for each entry):

Follow ABusyMomofTwo on Twitter.

Follow FyrFlyz on Twitter.

Tweet about this giveaway. You may complete this entry once per day. (You may use the following or write your own: Enter to win a @FyrFlyz Spinning Toy and create an amazing light show. #giveaway Ends 9/29 http://bit.ly/qR0uPy)

Follow A Busy Mom of Two. Subscribe to updates in your feed reader or in e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know that you signed up, or that you already subscribe.

Like A Busy Mom of Two on Facebook.

Like FyrFlyz on Facebook.

Share this giveaway with friends - on your blog, on Facebook or by posting it on a giveaway link-up. Leave me a comment letting me know how you shared or leave a link to the giveaway link-up. You may have one additional entry for each giveaway linky that you submit it on.

Leave a comment with a link to your blog where you have either my button or have a link to A Busy Mom of Two in your blog roll.

Giveaway will remain open until September 29th at 6 pm. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected using a random number generator. The winner will be contacted by e-mail (be sure to leave one!) and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. We received two FyrFlyz through MomSelect & BSM Media. In addition, they are providing the FyrFlyz for the giveaway. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Shout Color Catcher sample (Facebook offer)
Emergen-C Kidz Vitamin Drink Mix (Facebook offer)
Kleenex Cool Touch

Received:
John Frieda Root Awakening shampoo/conditioner and coupon

WonderDads City Activity Guide Winner!

Congratulations to Tracey! She was selected as the winner of the WonderDads City Activity Guide.

Thanks everyone for entering and be sure to check out the other giveaways.


Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

5

Timestamp: 2011-09-16 12:09:45 UTC

CVS Deals - 9/12

I stopped by CVS, sort of randomly on Monday evening. Mostly, I wanted to see what type of coupons I would get. I had all of my coupons with me, but hadn't looked for the ones that I needed. It was a good trip. I got a coupon for a free Crackerfuls or Newton Fruit Thins. When I got it, I honestly expected it was for a single serve item, but when I headed to the shelves and read the size, it was for a full box.

1 - Crackerfuls 6ct box
1 - #5 birthday candle

-$2.50 Free Crackerfuls CRT

Total $0.45 OOP. Earned $1 ECB for the Green Bag Tag.

Disney On Ice Ticket Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Stacey M! She was selected as the winner of the Disney On Ice Mickey and Minnie's Magical Journey ticket giveaway.

Thanks for entering and be sure to check out the other giveaways going on now.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp: 2011-09-15 02:21:03 UTC

Disney On Ice presents Mickey and Minnie's Magical Journey

Disney On Ice presents Mickey and Minnie’s Magical Journey

"Make imagination your destination! Join Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse on a journey into the magical worlds of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Peter Pan and Lilo & Stitch. From Ariel’s enchanting undersea kingdom to Never Land with Peter Pan and his sassy fairy friend Tinker Bell, you’ll be captivated by the music, beauty and laughter in a journey so magical, you’ll never want to go home!"

The show is coming to Cleveland! It will be performed at Quicken Loans Arena from September 29th through October 2nd. You can read more about the show on the official Disney On Ice Website. The show times are:

• Thursday, September 29: 7PM
• Friday, September 30: 7PM
• Saturday, October 1: 11AM/ 3PM/ 7PM
• Sunday, October 2: 1PM/ 5PM

I have the opportunity to offer my readers the opportunity to purchase tickets with a discount. You can save $6 in advance on each ticket with CODE: FFA6 -- or save $3 on each ticket on the day of the show with CODE: FFA3. (Restrictions: FFA6 code valid through September 28, 2011. FFA3 code valid September 29 - October 2, 2011. Not valid on Discount Drug Mart Front Row and VIP seats. Limit 6 tickets per transaction.) To take part in this discount, you will need to head to this site to purchase your tickets.

In addition, I have the opportunity to giveaway one family 4 pack of tickets to the show! But hurry and enter now - this is a quick 24 hour giveaway.

Giveaway:
The winner will receive a family 4 pack of tickets to the Disney on Ice Mickey and Minnie's Magical Journey for one of the shows in Cleveland. You may choose the date you would like to attend.

To enter: Leave a comment answering the question: If you were going on a Magical Journey with Mickey and Minnie, where would you go?

Additional Entries (please leave a separate comment for each entry):

Follow ABusyMomofTwo on Twitter.

Tweet about this giveaway. You may complete this entry up to five times, but your tweets must be at least an hour apart. (You may use the following or write your own: Enter to win a Family Four Pack of Tickets to Disney on Ice presents Mickey and Minnie's Magical Journey #Cleveland http://bit.ly/nuwAlX)

Follow A Busy Mom of Two. Subscribe to updates in your feed reader or in e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know that you signed up, or that you already subscribe.

Like A Busy Mom of Two on Facebook.

Share this giveaway with friends - on your blog, on Facebook or by posting it on a giveaway link-up. Leave me a comment letting me know how you shared or leave a link to the giveaway link-up. You may have one additional entry for each giveaway linky that you submit it on.

Leave a comment with a link to your blog where you have either my button or have a link to A Busy Mom of Two in your blog roll.

Giveaway will remain open until September 14th at 9 pm. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected using a random number generator. The winner will be contacted by e-mail (be sure to leave one!) and will have 12 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I have the opportunity to take my family to the show, as well as hold a giveaway for my readers as a FFA blogger for this event.

Menu Plan Monday

After a very busy weekend with several and rotating house guests, Sunday was a relatively unharried sort of day. I think I responded by being a little lazy - although, in retrospect, I actually got a lot done. I did 4 loads of laundry, including washing and remaking 2 beds. My daughter and I had lunch with friends and then went grocery shopping. It was a bit of an unusual shopping trip - I didn't have a single coupon with me and hadn't even looked at the ad. I knew that this week my plan was to use up things in the refrigerator and pantry, so I wasn't too worried about not preparing. While shopping, we tried this pumpkin pasta sauce. My daughter really enjoyed it and wanted me to buy it, so I figured we will give it a try. They were serving it on mini-ravioli, so we grabbed some of them too. A little too fall for me right now, so it might be a couple of weeks before we make it for dinner.

Last week, I made a copycat dish to one that we had had when we went out to dinner the prior week. It was a pasta with a lemon sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and chicken. I hope to get the recipe posted soon.

This week is another busy week with kid's sports, community events and I'm sure there is more.

Sunday
Donuts
Steak n Shake
Leftovers

Monday
Scrambled Eggs and Toast

Tuesday
Chipotle Chicken/Chicken Tacos

Wednesday
Pizza

Thursday
BLT

Friday
TBD

Saturday
Dinner out

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

This post shared at Menu Plan Monday.

CVS Scenarios - week of 9/11

It is one of those weeks at CVS where a $/$$ coupon would be great, because so many of the deals that interest me have a high purchase point for ECB. There are some great deals though to be had.

Transaction #1
3 - Airwick iMotion Starter Kit
2 - Finish Power Ball

-$4 Airwick iMotion Starter Kit mfg coupon
-$4 Airwick iMotion Starter Kit mfg coupon
-$4 Airwick iMotion IP
-$.75 Finish Power Ball mfg coupon
-$.75 Finish Power Ball mfg coupon

Total $7.95 OOP, earn $10 ECB.

Transaction #2
1 - St Joseph Aspirin
1 - CVS Allergy Medicine
1 - RePhresh Tampon

-$1 St. Joseph mfg coupon
-$1 RePhresh IP

Total $10.48, pay with $10 ECB and $1.48 OOP. Earn $1, $3.69 and $6.79 ECBs.

Transaction #3
3 - Boost High Protein (use them as my protein shakes when I work out)
1 - Nestle Single

-$2 Boost mfg coupon
-$1.50 Boost mfg coupon
-$1.50 Boost mfg coupon

Total $15, pay with $11.48 in ECBs and $3.52 OOP. Earn $5 ECBs.

For the trip, the total OOP is $12.95 with $5 ECBs to roll, for about $54 in product at sale prices. A savings of about 78%.

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

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #2
1 - St Joseph Aspirin

-$1 St. Joseph mfg coupon

Total $1.00 OOP. Earn $1 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - CVS Allergy

Total $3.69, pay with $1 ECB and $2.69 OOP. Earn $3.69 ECB.

Transaction #3
1 - RePhresh Tampons

-$1 RePhresh IP

Total $5.79, pay with $3.69 ECBs and $2.10 OOP. Earn $6.79 ECB.

For the day, the total OOP is $5.79, with $6.79 ECBs to roll, for 12.48 in product. A savings of about 70%.

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

Zippy Cap

A while back, my family and I were given the chance to check out a fun new product called the Zippy Cap. These Nylon caps are unique in two ways from an ordinary hat. First, they can be folded up into a small pocket, the size of the hat bill. Second, when open, feature a small pocket on the front of the pack that can store small things. They are available in a number of fun, bright colors with equally fun names - Bubblegum Blue, Pinky Swear and Grape Escape for example. The nylon material makes them easy to wipe clean.

As a mom, I actually think that the hat's ability to fold into it's own pocket is it's greatest feature. This compact way of storing the hat makes it very easy to bring along in a diaper bag or purse. Having a hat available at a moment's notice could be very convenient at the park, at a ball game, on a walk and other places - to shade little eyes and cover their head.

The pocket itself is not very large, but can certainly hold some small things for the kids.

My daughter seems to have a number of small trinkets that fit in the pocket and both kids immediately thought they could store their money in the hat's pocket. I have a little concern with that, as I can see them taking off the hat and losing it - better to lose a trinket than money. It easily would hold several baseball or Pokemon cards:

I've seen my daughter check out storing some bead necklaces in the pocket, too.

My son says: "I like that the hat can fold into its own little pocket. And that there is a pocket that you can store stuff in."

Direct from Cap-sac Kids, the hats retail for $15.99 each and your payment can be made by PayPal.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. Two Zippy Caps were provided for my children to try and that we could share our experience.

CVS Deals - 9/9

I headed back to CVS today because my CRT for a free 20 ct Always Liner was expiring. Of course, the store was still out of them. I asked at the check out if I would be able to use the CRT later - knowing that that store's normal policy is that you can use an expired CRT only during the calendar week that it expires. They told me that I could substitute any other liner on the offer.

1 - U by Kotex Liner
1 - Gold Emblem Gummy Bears

-$1.56 CRT for Free Liner

Total $1.09 OOP.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Shout Color Catcher
Playtex Sport sample

Received:
quiet in terms of samples and freebies.

Cereal Treats Bars - Giveaway

As a busy mom, I try to plan my days around being home at meal time (unless we are eating out, of course!). Sometimes though, in order to get everything done that I need to, I wind up stretching the time-frame for meals. Usually, this means that I have cranky, hungry kids running errands with me. I have found that keeping some snacks on hand in my purse is a great way to help me bridge the gap when we are not going to be home in time for a normal meal time. Especially, when I am not expecting to be out that long. I have found that cereal bars are an easy snack to keep in my purse. They seem to be fairly resilient, even if they spend a few weeks in my purse. For the most part, the bars don't seem to melt and they don't get sticky. Plus, with flavors like Golden Grahams Treats and Lucky Charms Treats, my kids are excited to have a "treat". Of course, I don't tell them that these

"Cereal Treats Bars contain less than 140 calories per bar and are made with wholesome cereal, making them a snack option that you can feel good about giving your kids."

My family enjoys eating these cereal bar treats. I like that they are convenient and made with cereal.

In addition, right now you will find "TWO Box Tops for Education seals on each box of Cereal Treat Bars, making earning cash for your school doubly cool!"

You can learn more about Cereal Treats Bars on their website and on Facebook.

Giveaway!

One A Busy Mom of Two has a chance to win a Cereal Treats Prize Pack courtesy of General Mills through MyBlogSpark. The prize pack contains the following:
One box of Lucky Charms® Cereal Treats Bars
One box of Golden Grahams® Cereal Treats Bars
Lunch bag
Locker whiteboard
Colored pencil set

To enter: Leave a comment sharing which cereal treat bar you or your kids are most interested in trying.

Additional Entries (please leave a separate comment for each entry):

Follow ABusyMomofTwo on Twitter.

Tweet about this giveaway. You may complete this entry once per day. (You may use the following or write your own: Enter to win a Cereal Treats Bars Prize Pack. #giveaway Ends 9/25 http://bit.ly/mQd3xn #MyBlogSpark)

Follow A Busy Mom of Two. Subscribe to updates in your feed reader or in e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know that you signed up, or that you already subscribe.

Like A Busy Mom of Two on Facebook.

Like Betty Crocker on Facebook.

Share this giveaway with friends - on your blog, on Facebook or by posting it on a giveaway link-up. Leave me a comment letting me know how you shared or leave a link to the giveaway link-up. You may have one additional entry for each giveaway linky that you submit it on.

Leave a comment with a link to your blog where you have either my button or have a link to A Busy Mom of Two in your blog roll.

Giveaway will remain open until September 25th at 6 pm. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected using a random number generator. The winner will be contacted by e-mail (be sure to leave one!) and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I received a Cereal Treats Bars prize pack for my family to experience and information for this post from General Mills through MyBlogSpark. In addition, they are providing a prize pack for the giveaway.

Walking (in the Dark?)

So, few months back I started walking outside every morning. With time, I started to mix in some running. Some mornings I simply walk the neighborhood, other mornings I meet a friend at the track. Here's the thing - when we started walking it was early dawn at 5 am when I would head out, now it is DARK!!! And, it keeps getting lighter later (yes, I know it's only a minute or two a day - but it seems like more). I want to keep walking in the morning, but this darkness is a challenge to me. It is getting to the point where not only is it not light out at all when I start, but it isn't when I am done either!

If I stay in the neighborhood, there are a good number of street lights, but even then there are shadows where the street lights don't reach. I do tend to pass a good number of people - some on foot, some getting their paper, some heading off to work or school in their cars.

If I head to the track, I am meeting my friend there, but since we don't wait for the other to start, it is hard to locate where she is on the track (or if she is there). Most of the track falls into a shadow. There are lights on the school that help light a portion of the track, but otherwise not so much. There is another neighbor that shows up many mornings about half way through my walk and about the time I leave there are others that start to arrive.

The question is - what do I do? Do I continue to walk outside and know that when we Fall Back in two months that it will be lighter again? Do I carry a flashlight? Do I pull my workout indoors and miss out on the fresh air?

All I know is that Walking in the Dark does not work for me. This post shared at Works for Me Wednesday - what doesn't work for me edition.

CVS Deals - 9/5

Labor Day morning, I ran out to pick up some of the deals at CVS. I must say, I was rather surprised to see that they had in stock many of their items, including the FREE after ECB offers. I am so used to them being out of everything when I go.

1 - Slimfast shakes (clearance)
2 - Hershey Air Delights
2 - Skinny Cow Candies (rain check)
1 - Milky Way Caramel
1 - Carefree Liners
1 - Kleenex (200ct)
2 - Skintimate Shave Cream
1 - Travel Baby Wipes
2 - Orbit Gums (14ct)
2 - Phillips Colors

-$.99 BOGO Hershey Delight Mfg coupon
-$.99 BOGO Skinny Cow Candies Mfg coupon
-$.99 BOGO Skinny Cow CRT
-$.79 FREE Milky Way or Dove single CRT
-$.50 Carefree mfg coupon (think I had a $1 coupon somewhere, but not with me)
-$1 any Kleenex CRT
-$1 Skintimate CVS IP
-$1 Skintimate mfg coupon
-$1.50 Skintimate IP (no longer available)
-$1 Skintimate CVS IP
-$1 any Baby Wipes CRT
-$1 any Orbit singles CRT
-$2 on any $2 or more, birthday CRT
-$1 ???*

Paid with $16 ECBs and $1.37 ($1.12 + .25 tax) OOP on a gift card. Earned $1, $10, $.99 and $.99 in ECBs. So, just under $5 net cost for this.

*She had trouble with one of my coupons, which at the time, she thought was an issue with stacking CVS and mfg coupons. But, now as I look at my receipt and can't seem to recall what my other coupon might have been, it appears that she might have had a problem because she scanned one twice. The first time it went through, the second time she had to push it through.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.

CVS Scenarios - week of 9/4

It's been a while since I shared the CVS scenarios for the week. I have made a few trips to CVS, but they have been more spur of the moment and with limited preparation. I wanted to make sure to get the Phillips Color Tunes this week, so I figured I would build some scenarios around that. I am glad to see a deal on the Color Tunes, but wish it were free like they normally are when on deal.

Transaction #1
2 - Hershey Air Delights
1 - Carefree Liners
1 - Always Liners

-$.99 Hershey Air Delights BOGO mfg coupon
-$.50 Carefree Mfg coupon
-FREE Always Liners CRT

Total $1.49 OOP, earn $1.99 in ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Phillips Color Tunes

Total $6.99, pay with $1.99 ECBs and $5 OOP. Earn $5 ECB.

Transaction #3
1 - Phillips Color Tunes

Total $6.99, pay with $5 ECBs and $1.99 OOP. Earn $5 ECB.

Transaction #4
2 - Orbit Gum
1 - Skintimate Shave Cream
2 - FiberPlus/Granola Fudge

-$.50 $.50/2 Orbit Gum mfg coupon
-$1 Orbit gum CRT
-$1 Skintimate CVS IP
-$1 Skintimate mfg coupon
-$.75 Granola Fudge Bars mfg coupon
-$.75 Granola Fudge Bars mfg coupon (unless I can find a FiberPlus coupon, then I'll get a box of each)

Total $4.98, pay with $5 ECB adjusted down. Earn $2 ECBs.

For the trip, the total OOP is $8.48 OOP, with $2 ECBs to roll, for over $28 in product at sale prices. A savings of about 72%.

This post shared at Deal Seeking Mom and Money Saving Mom.

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
2 - Hershey Air Delights
1 - Carefree Liners
1 - Always Liners

-$.99 Hershey Air Delights BOGO mfg coupon
-$.50 Carefree Mfg coupon
-FREE Always Liners CRT

Total $1.49 OOP, earn $1.99 in ECBs.

Transaction #2
2 - Orbit Gum
1 - Skintimate Shave Cream
2 - FiberPlus/Granola Fudge

-$.50 $.50/2 Orbit Gum mfg coupon
-$1 Orbit gum CRT
-$1 Skintimate CVS IP
-$1 Skintimate mfg coupon
-$.75 Granola Fudge Bars mfg coupon
-$.75 Granola Fudge Bars mfg coupon (unless I can find a FiberPlus coupon, then I'll get a box of each)

Total $4.98, pay with $1.99 ECB and $2.99 OOP. Earn $2 ECBs.

The total OOP for the trip is $4.48 with $2 ECBs to roll, for about $15 in product at sale prices. A savings of about 74%

See more $5 scenarios at the CVS $5 Challenge.

CVS Deals - 9/2

I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss out on the St Joseph Aspirin Money Maker this week at CVS, so I stopped by quickly on Friday. I had hoped to get back on Saturday to pick up other deals, but as typical, just didn't find the opportunity. I did get the CRT for the free Always Liners, but they were out and were not substituting since they expect to be back in stock before the coupon expires.

1 - St Joseph Aspirin 36ct

-$1 St Joseph mfg coupon

Total $1.07, paid with $1 ECB and $.07 OOP, earned $2 ECB and a $2 on any purchase birthday coupon. I was surprised to get a coupon at checkout, since I had already scanned my card at the coupon scanner.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.

Bored No More!

When we travel, we spend time in advance planning for what we will do to fill our days. We try to find interesting things to see and do along our route, as well as look for the hidden gems that our destination has to offer. On many trips, we have seen many unique and interesting things that I wouldn't have known about with some research. As example, when we went to New York, many years ago, we went on a boat ride in an underground lake.

With all of the research and preparation we do for travel, I find it interesting how you can live in a community or part of the country for years and never really find all of the local hidden gems. Is that your experience? We live in North East Ohio, not far from Cleveland. We know many of the "basics" - there is the science museum in Cleveland, a zoo in Cleveland and Akron, used to be an inventors museum in Akron, and there are baseball teams in both Cleveland and Akron. Aside from these stand-by activities, we find ourselves scratching our head when we want to head out and do something new and different.

I was recently introduced to a book series from WonderDads. They offer books featuring "The Best Dad & Child Activities" in a number of cities. We had the opportunity to check out the book for Cleveland.

The book is broken down into a handful of sections - there are Restaurants, Activities, Stores, Outdoor Parks and Recreation, Sporting Events and Unique Adventures. The very first section is the "Best Of" section. It includes top 10 overall best dad/child things to do, and then a number of top 5 lists - including to do on a rainy day, hot day, full day, splurges, and most memorable. Each top 5/10 list includes the page number with information about that item.

As I sit here and glance across the list, many I have heard of, some of them I have been to/done, others are no familiar to me. Most of them are in Cleveland, but there are some that would be more of a day trip. In the Unique Adventures section, they do have listings as far away as the Caribbean though.

Within each section, the lists are alphabetical by location, which are not specific cities but rather neighborhoods, like Summit County North or Summit County South. For each location, they list an address, a phone number, a website (when available) and then a quick blurb about the location. They also mention some specials or offers. In the activities section, they include festivals as well. Not being from the area originally, I never would have known that there was a Frog Jump Festival or a Potato Festival so close to home!

Overall, I found the book to be a nice addition to our home. It gives us the opportunity to find some new to us activities to check out close to home, especially when we feel like we have no ideas. I like that it is all in one place and is organized by type of activity. I think that the "rainy" day and "hot" day lists could come in rather handy on a summer day where the kids are feeling "trapped" by the weather. I think that the guides are perfect for home or might make an interesting travel companion on your next vacation. My only concern on using it for vacation is the way that the sections are sorted by county would make it better for planning in advance than for trying to use it on the fly - at least I don't generally know what county I am in when I am traveling.

When you purchase a book, you also get free access from your smart phone for a year, so that you can have access to the content in the book, special updates and more from your phone. I think this would come in handy. Sometimes when we head out, we find ourselves with some more hours on hand than expected and having access from our phone could help us find another local activity or a restaurant to check out. Also, when you purchase a book, 2% of the profit goes to the WonderDads Fund, which helps dad with a sick child take paid time off from work.

They also have a website (www.wonderdads.com), which provides information on upcoming events and more organized by neighborhood. If you head over to their blog, you will also notice that A Busy Mom of Two was included on the Best Blogs to Tell Your Wife About article. A visit to their bookstore will allow you to check out the different cities that they offer guides for (there are currently 40 locations available), as well as some other "dad" type books. I am thinking of picking up Coach Me Baseball for my husband, since he has been volunteering as a baseball coach for my son's team.

Giveaway!
One A Busy Mom of Two reader will have the chance to win a free copy of a WonderDads Activity Guide for the city of their choice, courtesy of WonderDads.

To enter, visit wonderdads.com and let me know which city you would like to have a WonderDads Activity Guide for.

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Share this giveaway with friends - on your blog, on Facebook or by posting it on a giveaway link-up. Leave me a comment letting me know how you shared or leave a link to the giveaway link-up. You may have one additional entry for each giveaway linky that you submit it on.

Leave a comment with a link to your blog where you have either my button or have a link to A Busy Mom of Two in your blog roll.

Giveaway will remain open until September 15th at 6 pm. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected using a random number generator. The winner will be contacted by e-mail (be sure to leave one!) and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. Wonderdads provided me with a copy of a the Activity Guide for the purposes of my review and is providing one for a giveaway. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Huggies Snug And Dry (Sam's Club offer)

Received:
U by Kotex samples and coupon
Kashi Cinnamon Harvest sample and coupon
Suave Sample (Walmart) - dry shampoo, body lotion and body wash, plus three $1 coupons

Harry Potter Birthday Party

Most years we keep the kids birthdays simple at our house. We have a big family-style gathering at our house. For my son, who was lucky enough to be born in the summer, typically it means grilling out and the slip'n slide. For my daughter, with a fall birthday, it is generally a roasted turkey and the all the tastes of Thanksgiving. We invite our family and then we invite friends and their families. There is usually at least a few kids close to their age that are there to celebrate. Occasionally, we will plan an all kids party - but certainly not every year (that can really add up!)

Even though our birthday parties are more family focused, doesn't mean that we don't go all out on the theme. The kids select a theme, together my husband and I come up with a plan for the invitations and he puts his creativity and computer skills behind creating the themed invitation. I pick up cake plates and napkins that fit the theme. Sometimes, this means bright colors (for the Wiggles) and other times, it means plates and napkins printed with the theme. I usually try to find a giveaway for the kids in attendance in the theme of the party. This has varied from books (Curious George's Birthday for the Monkey Theme) to Princess Dress Up Clothes (for our Princess Theme). At last, but certainly not least, I come up with a plan for a themed birthday cake and make it. You can see some past examples (like Space, Star Wars, Phineas and Ferb and Princess) here.

This year, my son chose Harry Potter. This was my biggest challenge to date. You see, not only have I not read the books, but I haven't seen any of the movies either. In fact, you may remember my asking for help with cake ideas.

For our invitation, my husband put together a letter of acceptance to the guest to be part of the Hogwart's School. We had to go online, but we found a great deal on plates and napkins from Birthday Direct. Since shipping was flat rate, we also added on some reusable cups that we could fill with candy as a gift to the kids in attendance. Then, came the cake. After some searching, I decided that the way to do it was to make a book cake and decorate it with magical things.

I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. I simply used a Wilton Cake pan in the shape of a book, which my mom happened to have from when I was a little girl (saved me $$ on buying a pan). I frosted the cake with a basic butter cream frosting that I made. A little dyed butter cream served for the words and the edging on the cake. Then, I made up a batch of Marshmallow Fondant and using different dyes, created the decorations for the book. To give the bag some form, I filled it with mini-marshmallows. The colors for the scarf were a little difficult. I think I kept tweaking the maroon for a good 15 minutes before it looked right. The glasses were by far the hardest things to make. My son definitely liked his Harry Potter cake (as did one of my friends at work who is a HUGE Harry Potter fan). I had a lot of fun making the cake and saved a good amount over what a bakery cake would have cost.

This post shared at Frugal Friday.

Target Deals - 8/28

In need of a few things, we headed out and did some shopping on Sunday evening. I guess it has been a while since I shopped on a Sunday, as I forgot that some stores still close at 6 pm on Sunday. Luckily, Target wasn't one of them. Unfortunately, the transactions at Target were less than easy.

4 - Febreeze Set & Refresh
1 - Febreeze Air Effects

-$1 any Febreeze mfg coupon (from Parade)
-$1 any Febreeze mfg coupon (from Parade)
-$1 Febreeze Set & Refresh mfg coupon
-$1 Febreeze Set & Refresh mfg coupon
-$1 Febreeze Air Effects mfg coupon

Total $7.50 OOP, earn $5 Target Gift Card. Not too bad getting these items for $.50 each after the gift card. We like the Set & Refresh in our half bath. They provide a nice scent without the need to plug it in.

Unfortunately, despite the ad not specifying limited scents and the shelves seeming to be widely marked with the offer, we managed to grab one that was not included on the deal. I guess when it rang up at $3 instead of $2.50, I should have seen that as a sign. The cashier quickly price corrected in the system, but at the end of the transaction, it didn't prompt her to give me a gift card. A trip to customer service (which of course had a line that was already 3 deep) and a walk back to the air freshener aisle provided the realization that it wasn't included. We had to return and rebuy in order to get the deal. I was glad that it worked in the end, but it really was a lot more effort than it needed to be. I still am not sure why one scent of the Set & Refresh would not be included when essentially every other one was.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.