Couponing- It’s all about the sales!

The following is a guest post by Outside the Box Mom:

The natural inclination is to make a list of the things you’re out of, then go to the grocery store to buy them. WRONG! If you do that, you have just agreed to purchase them at whatever price they are selling for. How do you pay a lower price? I introduce to you, the sales cycle.

What is a sales cycle?

The period of time between the best sale price and the regular price.

How long does it usually last?
12 weeks (3 months).

How much do I need to buy?
Enough to get you through to the next low sale price.

How do I know the best price?
Most shoppers keep a mental list of the best prices. You may also want to keep a price book, which is just a list of items you buy, brand names available, store name, price, and the date the price was noted. After reviewing this, you may decide on only a few stores to shop at, a preferred brand for each item, or the best time of year to purchase certain items.

What do I buy when?
Learn when to buy soup, cereal, turkey, fruit, packaged foods, and more. See comprehensive lists at the Krazy [Read more…]

Weekend Hop Along- Weekends with Lucy and Sam :) @CloserToLucy @Weidknecht

Let’s link up…Everyone is welcome, there are only two rules rules.

1) Follow your hostesses Have Sippy Will Travel and Closer to Lucy and our guest spotlight Planet Weidknecht

2) Family friendly blog links only.

If you would like to our spotlight co-host mail Lucy at closertolucy@gmail.com please include Weekends [Read more…]

Jon Bon Jovi Pictures from the Mario 3D Event

So, I have been getting requests for a few more Bon Jovi pictures from a whole lot of you- so here are a couple more. Here are just a few more from the NYC Mario event. Hope this helps 😛

Sorry ladies and gentlemen, the rest of the pics I have are all of his kids, my kids, and some other [Read more…]

Guaranteed Ways to Keep the Spark Alive in Your Marriage

Nobody ever said marriage was easy; in fact, the reigning theory seems to be that it’s a lot of hard work.
And if you’ve been married a while, you can probably attest to the fact that the flame of romantic love
can dull to embers over time. So how do you regain that spark that made you want to be with this
person for the rest of your life? There are plenty of ways if you’re willing to work for them and you can
get your partner on board for some changes. Here are a few that will get you started on the right track.

1. Do unto others. Why is it that you’re willing to treat friends and acquaintances the way you’d
like them to treat you, but when it comes to your spouse you seem to be full of expectations
that you may not be able to live up to yourself? If you want to create a happy home life for you
and your spouse, try giving a little of what you’d like to get. When your honey comes home
after a hard day, offer a nice meal, a massage, or a hot bubble bath. These little signs of love are
bound to improve relations and perhaps you’ll even get a little dose of what you’re dishing out!

2. Talk it out. There is no relationship that can’t be improved by a meeting of the minds. This
doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to over-analyze your marriage to death, but you can
certainly open up about how you feel (without attacking your partner) and ask for the things
that will make you happy. This honesty could lead to a breakthrough, some input from your
spouse on how he/she is feeling, and ultimately, a more [Read more…]

Win Caldecott Favorites on DVD- Great Educational Movies for the Kids

This is a wonderful 3-pack of DVDs from SCHOLASTIC that will both engage your child and expose them to some of their favorite stories. No flashy, wild animation here- these low-key movies are slow moving pictures from the mentioned books that they come from, with the words along the bottom that your child can read along with,

On the Caldecott Favorites DVD, featuring the award-winning Snowy Day, you and your child will see 23 Award-Winning Stories in a 3-DVD collection-
Caldecott award winners including Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day, Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling and Denise Fleming’s In the Small, Small Pond come together for the first time in Caldecott Favorites!
Antarctic Antics
o Antarctic Antics
o Bear Snores On
o In the Small, Small Pond
o Bark, George
Ezra Jack Keats Collection
o The Snowy Day
o Peter’s Chair
o Whistle for Willie
o Pet Show!
Make Way for Ducklings
o Make Way for Ducklings
o The Ugly Duckling
o The Story About Ping
o Angus and the Ducks

And maybe as a follow up, you can visit the library and choose a book from the series that you may not have read together yet!
We had never read Peter’s Chair, so that is just what we did. What a great way to expose your child or children to more books and stories, and these are award winning favorites and classics all children should read.
Fabulous for the classroom, daycare, or an in-home-care environment as well, literacy can only help your child in every aspect of his or her life, and these videos support honesty, humor, respect, and a love of reading. Not to mention if you have an animal lover in your home, this will be a smash-hit, with all the animal antics going on in these DVDs!

Another Read-Along DVD that I love (and is appropriate for today!) is called “Giving Thanks (and more stories to celebrate Native American heritage)”. This DVD will help support a love of history, learning, friendship, and an appreciation for our culture and the culture of Native Americans.

This DVD contains the following stories-

GIVING THANKS (Written and narrated by Chief Jake Swamp, illustrated by Erwin Printup Jr.) Known as the Thanksgiving Address, this Native American good morning message is based on the belief that the natural world is a precious and rare gift – from the moon and the stars to the tiniest blade of grass.

HIAWATHA (By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Susan Jeffers) Hiawatha’s boyhood is gracefully brought to life against a background of authentic Native American music in this excerpt from Longfellow’s classic poem.

THE PILGRIMS OF PLIMOTH (Written and illustrated by Marcia Sewall) The arrival of the Pilgrims in the new world is chronicled in this dramatic reenactment of their daily activities during those first trying years in the colony they called Plimoth.

LINCOLN AND DOUGLASS: AN AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP (By Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier, narrated by Danny Glover) The story of an unusual, historic friendship between two great American leaders – Abraham Lincoln and [Read more…]

Olly Oogleberry- an Alien Review

Olly Oogleberry is a strange little alien from the planet Oogleberry. He is on a mission of discovery and adventure. Olly and his friends explore different planets and even a planet we all know and love, Earth.
Olly is a cute little guy, who is on a T-Shirt Little Man likes a lot. We got this cool orange shirt with an ‘army of Olly’s’. The shirt also says hello in five languages. Little Man likes it because not only is there an alien on it, but also there are words he doesn’t know. Every time he puts it on, or takes it off or just happens to take a look a it he asks, ‘what’s that one say?’. Take a look at the Olly Oogleberry site.

You can pick up all sorts of Olly gear, from shirts to skateboards to books to phone cases.
After traveling 11 million years from his home Planet of Oogleberry, Olly and his band of alien misfits have landed on planet earth to a town near you, just in time for the holidays.

Olly and his friends are here to to educate and inspire with a published [Read more…]

Holiday Travel Tips

Holiday travel can be a rough time for all involved, between trying to get everything done on time, shopping, and packing- it’s easy to become overwhelmed. With so many of us traveling with small kids at some point this holiday season, there are some ideas I’d like to share with you.

1) PLAN!!! You need to plan as much as you can- but be prepared to be flexible and make changes along the way. Be like the tree…..sturdy, rooted,…and pliable 😛

2) Attempt to arrive early- this way, if things go awry, you will have “wiggle room”.

3) Have a newly potty trained, or potty training kiddo? Bring a little potty along- keep it accessible- and some sani-wipes as well to clean it out after using. Keep it in the car, where you can very, very easily reach it. Nothing worse then a wet kid in a wet seat on a LONG drive! Plus- who needs more laundry? Don’t push it- just pull over if they have to go. Yes, it’s annoying. They are kids- being annoying is sort of their “thing”. 😛

4) Bring laundry detergent, stain stick (for those “fun” accidents), and a laundry bag. Chances are great that you will be doing some if you are gone more then a few days! If you are going to be staying with family or friends, so much the easier for you!

5) Don’t fight the silly/small things. Is your kid insistent on bringing a bag of stuffed toys he sleeps with? Wearing a tutu for the whole trip? Maybe- like mine- won’t sleep in a hotel bed and makes me bring his pack and play even though he is nearly 4 and sleeps in a bed at home???? (Did I mention I hate that?) Whatever- you can fight them, and have a whiney, buggary kid on your trip, or just go with it. For me? Sleep is more precious then his sleeping (or not sleeping) in the area I would prefer. I bring the pack and play. I suggest you just run with your child’s whim of choice, unless it is harmful or completely insane, LOL. It’s just a trip- let them induldge for a second. And as they say- “don’t sweat the small stuff”. Have fun!
[Read more…]

Merry Christmas- From Timmy Time! Cute toy and DVD- GET YOURS HERE

My Son LOVES Timmy Time! Since the minutes he got his Jakks Pacific Timmy Time toy, he has not put him down, including to the mall, to see Santa, and you can bet pretty much everyplace else. Timmy looks just like he does on TV/in the Movies, and he makes all sorts of adorable “Baa-ing” sounds as well. Lots of varieties! LOL.

Timmy is super soft, snuggley and cuddly, and my son’s buddy of choice at the moment. He has also asked Santa for Ruffy the Puppy, so we will see what “Santa” can come up with. The soft factor is a must for a stuffed sheep, don’t you think? LOL
Timmy has a few friends that you can also pick up, which feature all the key characters from the show, including Timmy, Mittens the Kitten, Ruffy the Puppy and Yabba the Duckling. These cuties are huggable and playable – the perfect collectible plush!
The newest Timmy Time DVD, Go Kart Timmy, is available as of November 22, 2011.

Timmy’s newest movie!
Fun for all the kiddos, and a hit “across the pond” that made it’s way to the USA 🙂

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
It’s go time for loveable lamb Timmy and all his barnyard buddies in Timmy Time™: Go Kart Timmy, featuring five fun adventures all about being preschoolers on the move, coming to DVD November 22, 2011 from Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment. From the Oscar