Hurry..Mattel Graveyard Sale Now through 9am EST 11/1/11

Head over to Mattel NOW!
Free shipping, lots of clearance! PLUS 20% off EVERYTHING!

Gotta LOVE the Mattel toys!



Go HERE!!!

My Pick: Product of the week is Mega Blocks

My 3 1/2 year old has owned many sets of blocks in his short life and just recently has taken to playing constantly with them. His first set and set he still plays with a lot were the Large blocks. He loved when I built "Car Garages" as he called it and would play for hours with the structure..guarding it with his life on the living room floor.

Then he began to build his own structures. Mostly towers that go as high as he could get them, but because he did not understand Physics yet at age 2, he would stagger the sizes and it would collapse on him and he would get frustrated. But he kept on it and has now graduated to a smaller set  I had picked up at consignment and plays endlessly building with them. He even totes the whole tub into the car to build as we drive. Tonight as I write he is playing with them while watching his before bedtime show. He says this is his airplane (below).

I have always been a fan of Mega Blocks and always will be. I am eyeing the character sets for XMAS as I think he might be able to construct the simpler ones well enough. We'll see!

This review is my own emphasis as I was not contacted to write this or compensated to post this review by the manufacturer.

Leisure Weekend!

Just thought I'd write about nothing really. It is snowing a lot in other parts of the country, Halloween is Monday, a UFC fight is tonight (a big deal in my house) and so far the highlight of my weekend was a Halloween Festival at the Elementary School my mom teaches at that I took my 3 year old to last night. So here it is: Enjoy some cute photos!

And you know that went in..thatta boy!

Break for a photo shoot!

Face Painting: He chose a snake!

In search for just the right candy!

The Cupcake Walk!

Giveaway of the week: Leapfrog Story Pad

I have really been eyeing and reading reviews for Leapfrog products lately as I really love Leapfrog and want to get my 3 year old son a leapfrog system for Christmas. A few I think I would like are the Leap Pad or Explorer. I also love the Story Time Pad and found a review & Giveaway on the  Two Of A Kind Blog. This is for the My Own Story Time Pad by Leapfrog. It is recommended for the Toddler Age 2-4 and is really a great Getting Started To Read system.

 

Giveaway: My Own Story Time Pad
Where: Two Of A Kind
End Date: 11/21/2011

Announcing: Starbucks GC Winner



The winner of my Starbucks GC..as picked by a 3 year old is #17: Anonymous said:

 Anonymous said...

Enforce the no-cell-phones rule!

mjfitton20......

October 20, 2011 8:26 AM

Congratulations. I am sending you an email and you have 48 hours to respond or I will have to choose a new winner! Thank you everyone for the ideas. They were a lot of fun to read and I will be sharing them!

My Nedi-Pot steal at Rite Aid

So, my husband asks if I could do my deal find to get him more Nedi-Pot Solution packets last week. Since I know they frequently go on sale and last week they were not on sale near me, I could wait till this week and surely find them discounted. So, I went through ads..nothing! So decided to stop into Rite Aid since they seem to have in-store specials outside of the ad and saw that they were on sale for $9.99 instead of the regular $12.99. I went to grab a box and saw a taller one in back, so pulled it out and BONUS it was a 120 pack instead of 100 pack..a bonus pack! So, then I eye over to an actual Nedi-POT and spot a $3 Manufacturer coupon and pull it..it says good on ALL Niel-Med products (not just that pot) so I took it for my packets. At the register after coupon and sales..it came to $6.99! Pair that with my $5 UP Reward I have in my purse from last week and I paid $1.99 for $12.99 worth of Nedi packets!!

Moral: Remember In-store advertisements may not reflect in AD. Look for hidden coupons on products and read what it encompasses! Save those UP Rewards-don't forget to rip them off receipt!

Must Have XMAS Gift! *Frecklebox*

A while back I had ordered some personalized Coloring Books from Frecklebox and after I ordered them, I kept recieving emails from them with special savings codes and new products and I saw the New Personalized Storybooks. I almost have to say the own description on thier website can hardly do the book justice..not sure how you really could. This was the most adorable book I have ever seen! I chose 'Anthony' (my son) Goes To The Zoo! As you can see in my photos, the pictures are incredible and each page is so cleverly organized by describing the animal on the page and giving clues to what animal you may see on the next page AFTER you read the clue of where to find your child's name within the picture...can you see Anthony's name in the pages? My son is 3 1/2 and he loves this book!



The Book Runs $19.95 and they have over 10 different themes! I would search for Promo Codes because Frecklebox is very generous in the discounts they offer all the time. They have so many cute personalized products and so far between the Coloring Books (where EVERY page has your child's personalized name on it), Sticker's I bought w/ my son's name on them so I can label things like Daycare bags/Show & Tell toys, the Book and a Folder I bought for my new nephew I labeled Eddie's Keepsakes-the products have always been extremley high quality! Paper products are very thick & durable. I am such a fan of their items and this book is too cute to not have shared with everybody!

This review is a personal review, I was not asked or compensated for writing it.

So far so good..couponing and blogging for XMAS gifts!

The holidays are comming and I had to sit and go through my cupboards of giveaways and stash from sales and see who I can already check off. So, here is my start in a nutshell...
My LIST:
Husband (we do $50 limit for ourselves)
2 Teen Boys and 3 Year Old ($200 limit each teen and ~ $100 for 3 year old)incl stockings
2 sets of Parents ($50 each parent = $200)
2 young nephews and 2 tween nieces ($25 each = $100)
my husbands family (besides parents)-pick names. 2 names for us as couple at $35 limit each = $70
my Family-same = $70
My oldest son's GF (they have been dating over 4 years, so I include a little something)$25
My 3 year Old's daycare draw names $10 Teacher's $30
My Boss and 3 Doctor's $100
My Husbands Boss and 10 Store Manager's (he is a DM) $130

Here is where I stand: I have taken care of My 3 year old, 1 niece, 2 nephews and the 2 names on my family side, 1 name on husband's side, son's GF, Daycare name draw to Total $315 of my budget! In checking thier names off, my actual total spent is $78!



How?
My youngest:Toys R Us XMAS in July sale-several toys and GC I had in wallet, giveaway wins: shirts, toys and Eversave Deal at Zoopas $20 for $50 of items and I got a few toys there $42. Niece: Giveaway win of Jungle Speed $0. My family names draw & nephews (got nephews parents-my bro and sis-n-law): Family pack for all 4 to spend 2 days at Silverwood Theme Park next summer (Won 8 tickets in a photo contest for Silverwood this summer) $0. Husband's side 1 name: Scentsy Warmer and bricks from a discount I had $30. Oldest's GF: Cooking basket filled w/ giveaway wins, free products from product coupons and dollar store has Betty Crocker line of baking Utensils right now and found Big Bowl on Target Clearence Shelf $6! Daycare child: Soft Blocks I won $0.

I still have have $96 in Amazon code credits and more to come from 3 different Survey Sites--I still have giveaway wins comming that have not arrived yet and 2 more survey sites I am almost at redemtion for even more Amazon codes..I should be able to totally take care of my 13 year old with his HP Touch he wants just in my Amazon Codes! I also have $80 in Sears Gift Cards and $30 in Target GC and many other $5-$10 GC I have won/earned for places to eat and coffee for my oldest (this year he is going to have his entire budget be in many GC as he lives in own apartment and can use them)! So those little GC are on his budget right now and I will keep searching for ways to win/earn more! Can't wait for the end result!! I will let you know.

A Giveaway site YOU HAVE to join!

If you have not signed up for Giving It Away yet, you surely must! They have some awesome giveaways and they are fairly new. As they grow they promise many more giveawaysa daily at high dollar value!
It is so simple and even if you do not win a giveaway, you earn points to spend in the store. Here is how easy it is:

Sign up for free here (you get 500 bonus points if you join on this link by 10/24, otherwise 100 extra)
Check email to activate subscription
Click Giveaways
Watch Video
Enter by Liking on FB/Follow on twitter or comment on You Tube post (do all 3, get 3 entries!)
Gain points for evry giveaway entered
Spend points in the store or use to enter sweepstakes!
That is it

Giveaway of the week: Scentsy!

I love, love, love Scentsy! I actually first discovered it several years ago when looking for a gift for my sis who lives in a dorm on campus. She loves candles, but is not allowed open flame in dorm rooms so I went searching for something flameless. I had to get one for myself. I only have one of the larger warmers and it is enough for the entire house. I would love to get one for the office now!
I love Paradise Punch! I use those scent circles all the time!
For about $25 you can get a Medium size warmer, Scentsy Buddies and mutli-packs of scents. The schent bars are only $5 a brick and there are SOOOOO many scents to choose from. At 4littlemonstersandme, they have a giveaway for a $25 credit to Scentsy Shop!

   Giveaway: $25 Scentsy Credit
                                                     Where: 4 Little Monsters and me
                                                      Deadline: 11/1/11  10MST

My pick: Product of the week is Starfall.com

OK, it is not a product per say but a website. If you have never heard of Starfall.com and have toddlers to elementary age children you are missing one of the best online sites ever. My mom actually introduced my 3 1/2 year old to this site a little over a year ago as she is a teacher and it is the only acessible site she allows her students on during down time in classroom computer time.


My son's favorite right now is on the Homescreen (shown above) called Earth Day (on right with all the other Holidays). He has to use the mouse and now is real good at it because of this game to pick up trash around the river. He has to sort Cans into the can basket, Plastic to plastic basket and paper to paper basket. As he cleans, animals come out  (he clears all bottles from river, fish start swimming, etc..) Once the whole area is clean he'll just sit and watch the animals moving around.

The instruction buttons are big and simple..arrow to go to next page will flash and is large so he does not have to try and hold the mouse in such a narrow space. I can let him go freely on this site and he is now able to navigate all over.  You can see how simply the Homescreen is organized so you know the correct level to enter into depending on age or ability of your child. The music section is great too! This is a great way to familiarize your toddler with using a computer and navigate with the mouse because Let's Face It, they need to by Kindergarten!


Link: Starfall
Ages: I would say 2 1/2-8 maybe older!

A Starbucks Gift Card for your Ideas! *GIVEAWAY*

This is a bit unusual, but  I  need a set of ideas! We have formed a Patient Experience Team within our region which is part of a large organization that consists of Medical clinics of both Primary Doctors and a few Specialists. We have hit a road block on ideas of how to take a small budget and use it to stretch an entire year on our patients.We are a Patient Satisfaction Team..not aide or relief for someone, but we stand for how we can improve the patient experience when they come to their appointment.
We have already done appreciation days . It goes well..if you happen to have an appointment that day! Coffee/donut days-however some clinics are Endocrine or Same Day Surgical Centers so food/coffee is out and we stopped doing that. We have a small budget (Just under $2000) for a fiscal year and although it costs, we do have a print shop. As another idea of what we can do: we are completing our brochures we are having made for each clinic to have for patients to take that break down the description of Doctor Titles: MD, DO, FACC, etc...



I would love as many suggestions as possible on what little things you have seen or would like to see to make your trip to Doctor or specialists special and memorable. This can be a permanat solution or something fun to celebrate a cause/holiday.

GIVEAWAY

$10 GIFT CARD TO STARBUCKS!

Mandatory: Please help suggest a way to bring a good experience to our patients. What have you seen done in a cinic before, what would make your trip to a medical office memorable/personable/less confusing.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. One more suggestion-in case you had more then one!
2. Subscribe to my blog (left side)
3. Become a GFC follower
4. Add this Giveaway to a linky

A separate comment for each entry WITH contact email is required. Ends 10/27/11 at 11:59pm PST

Thank you!

Giveaway of the week: Zutano $75 Giveaway on Mom Spotted

I always love entering the Zutano Giveaways in hopes to win the outfit I love! My son loves "comfy" clothes. It is a battle to get him in jeans or any other pants. He is extremely picky on tops as well and now insists on dressing at nigh time so he can wake up warm in his clothes! His room is heated..not like I have him sleeping in the freezer or anything?! Yes, I really do have a clothes conscious 3 year old and I know if I were to present him with the Navy Striped fleece hoodie and matching Navy fleece pants, I will have to tear them off of him to wash it every once in a while!
Mom Spotted is giving away a $75 Gift Card to Zutano! Just click her link and enter!

 This is the jacket I want!

What: $75 to Zutano.com
Where: Mom Spotted
Ends: 10/31/2011

My Pick: Product of the week is Swiffer Dust & Shine

Although it may be odd I choose a cleaning product as if I want to discuss chores!! However, I am in love with the new Swiffer Dust & Shine spray cleaner. Not only does it smell good, but it is so versatile. I love that when my 3 year old asks to help clean, I can let him have at it. The amount of cleaner it releases as you pull the trigger is a very fine mist, so it is hard for him to waste the product.

The cleaner is an Allergen Reducer and it comes in Gentle Breeze Scent. Directions are simple: Spray & Wipe! It can be used on Wood laminate, Finished/sealed wood,  Marble, Leather and Granite. There are almost always coupons around for the spray which really makes it a great buy! I love this cleaner and a few surfaces later, the room smells great too!

I was not compensated in any way for my review. I choose products I use and write my personal review.