Sep 30, 2009

Save 30% PLUS 15% at Children's Place



Check out this post at Penny Pinching Parent about the Fall sale at Children's Place!

Fall clothes are at a 30% discount AND you can use a promo code for an extra 15% off at checkout! Shipping is $5 flat rate too! There will probably be deeper discounts in the coming weeks but the selection won't be as good....they're already at low inventory on a lot of items.




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Free photo book from ArtsCow!





Between now and 10/10, ArtsCow is giving away FREE hardcover 5x7, 40 page photobooks with orders of $10 or more! Just use coupon code FREE7X5BOOK40P when you check out! Shipping costs are not included, and the cost of the photo book will be put as a credit on your account after your purchase.

Get even more bang for your buck and combine this offer with their existing sale (four 11X14 poster prints for $3.99 with promo code POSTERSALE, ends 10/2) - photos make great holiday gifts!




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Sep 29, 2009

Thoughts from the outside

I've been catching up on blog reading and have thorougly enjoyed a lot of the recap posts from the Type A Mom conference...recap AND fallout, based on some of the posts I've come across. It sounds like there were a lot of valuable lessons to be learned, and I'm sorry I missed them firsthand, but appreciate to all the bloggers who are willing to share their experiences and let me live vicariously through you!

Creating PR relationships seems to have been a pretty hot topic, one I've spent too many hours turning over in my own fledgeling blogger brain. I fall into the trap of comparing myself to those I'd consider "successful" blogs, wondering what I'm doing wrong. Sometimes it puts me in a "why bother" mood. But then I come across posts like the one over at Frugal Dad about "how not to suck at.." and it reminds me of a few important things.

1. I will be the victim (or victor) of self-fulfilling prophecy. If I convince myself I'm not as good as XYZ blogger, or that I'll never be as big as Doo..whatshername, then I won't be. I'm going to reach as high as I'm willing to set my own bar. If I want the Dyson vaccum, the SodaStream fizzy drinkmaker, or the gen-yoo-wine set of Ginsu knives, I can haz that. Dammit.

2. I have a voice that is as valuable as others that are out there. In MY voice. Trisha at MomDot wrote a post today about PR Professonalism (or lack thereof), and mentioned how a particular Type A Panelist suggested certain bloggers have "earned" the right to be themselves in the blogosphere. Hah. I'm pretty sure I earned the right to be me LOOONG before any PR person knew me. I'm already made of awesome, buddy.

3. Others have valuable insight that I can learn from. If someone isn't better/faster/smarter than me, I never learn how much higher I can reach! I don't have to be sour just because I'm not blazing the trail at that moment.

4. I don't need to measure my blog's success by how many product reviews I'm doing. Heck, I don't even really need to measure it by how many hits I'm getting. I've met some pretty awesome people just because I started blogging, and learned more from them than I ever could have on my own. That makes this a pretty successful venture. (of course, if Dyson comes calling...then I MUST be a rockstar, right?)

5. I have WAY too much fun blogging to suck that bad :) Isn't that why we got in the game to begin with?





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Sep 28, 2009

80% off at Restaurant.com




Restaurant.com is offering gift certificates at 80% off again! That means $25 GC for just $2!

Just visit Restaurant.com, choose the GC's you want, and enter the code CHEF at checkout - the discount will apply to everything in your shopping cart. You can search by zip code or by region - The offer is good until Sept 30th!

Be sure to read the fine print, as most restaurants place some restrictions on GC use. This is a great way to get early gift shopping done, or to try out new restaurants without breaking the bank!



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BJ's, Price Rite and Shaws Trip

I *heart* buying diapers. Really I do. I forgot how fast a newborn blazes through them, and had to run to BJ's before hubby needed to leave for work on Saturday - so I packed up the Boy Wonder and we had a fun mommy/peanut excursion! I wasn't going to hit the Shaw's but the siren song of good deals got me again :)

The Shaw's Catalina deal with Old El Paso products ($3 off meat purchase WYB 6, $1 off meat purchase WYB 3) IS still active, and includes the seasoning packets! You can buy those for about $1 apiece, making this a SWEET deal. (see my transactions below)

BJ's:
**264-count Luvs size 1 diapers - $29.99 (this works out to about 11 cents per diaper, actually BETTER than the BJ's brand size 1-2's!)
**Diaper Genie refill - $4.99
**Twin pack 40 oz Skippy Peanut Butter - $7.49
**Milk - $2.33 (anyone else notice milk prices going up again? Price Rite milk was expensive last week!)
**12-lb bag Arm & Hammer Baking Soda - $5.69 (This is actually cheaper than buying the 1-lb boxes of Price Rite brand for $0.50 each! I use it in cleaning around the house so I need a LOT)
**Coffee Mate flavored creamer 32 oz - $2.99

Total OOP - $54.09 (curse you, diapers!)

Shaw's:

Transaction #1
-Old El Paso Taco Shells - $1.50
-OEP Gordita Kit - $2.00 (Had a peelie for free seasoning WYB 2 kits!)
-2 OEP Taco seasoning - $0.67 (got one free!)
-2 OEP Salsa - $2.90

Total: $12.64
Total after sale price: $7.84
Total Coupons: $1.09
Total OOP: $6.75
Got $3 off meat purchase Catalina!

Transaction #2

-Shaw's 10 oz fresh spinach - $0.99
-5 lb tote of apples - $3.04
-2 lb yellow onion - $0.99
-5 lb Maine Potatoes - $1.99
-1 lb carrots - $0.69
-3 lb beef roast - $9.18
**used circular coupon for free Onions, potatoes and carrots with roast purchase
**used $3 off meat purchase Catalina

-Lipton Tea 100 ct - $3.49
**used free Lipton Tea coupon
-10 Gatorade 32 oz - $10
-5 Propel water 24 oz - $2.50
**used circular coupon for 5 free Propel WYB 10 Gatorade
-5 Francesco Rinaldi sauces - $5.00
-4 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta - $4.00
**used 2 $1 off 2 printables
-Philly Cream Cheese - $0.99
-Coffeemate Creamer 32 oz - $3.00
-Spray N Wash stain remover - $2.99

Total: 83.15
Total Store savings: $34.30
Total Coupons: $17.16
Total OOP: $31.69

Price Rite

-Milk - $2.39
-Sugar Free Strawberry Jam - $2.49
-Butter Spread - $1.49
-Shredded cheddar 2lb - $3.99
-Wheat bread - $1.19
=3lb bananas - 1.63
-1lb broccoli crowns - $1.17
-1 green pepper - $0.50
2.2lb zucchini - $1.74

Total OOP: $18.13

That puts my monthly spending at $195.69! That included diapers for both boys and some formula, but since we were eating freezer meals those were groceries we didn't have to buy - I'm THRILLED we are under goal for the month but next month should be more typical since I'm out of OAMC meals!





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Sep 27, 2009

Menu Plan Monday - Sept 27th, '09





Is it really almost October? Man, this year has flown by. The Boy Wonder has grown SO much, and his new little brother is already 6 weeks old! Watching the two of them start to interact over the last few days has been AWESOME...BW is enamored by the Noob's feet and toes (just like mommy!) and N's starting to recognize BW's face and smiles whenever he's in view.

I am SO looking forward to fall recipes! Apples and butternut squash should be hitting great prices, and I may pick up some sugar pumpkins so I can freeze some mashed for recipes later in the year. I'm doing my first week of all fresh-prepared meals, I found ANOTHER Spaghetti Pie and some Italian Pasta Salad in the freezer but I'll save those for after I go back to work so hubby has some goodies to fall back on when he's with the kids.

Here's what we're noshing on this week, be sure to visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for HUNDREDS more menu ideas!

monday - Burritos using leftover Obama's Chili, salad ($2.50 for 4 servings)

tuesday - Chickpea Stew over rice ($3.44 for 6 servings)

wednesday - Thai-style Chicken over rice ($4.50 for 4-5 servings)

thursday - Crockpot beef roast, veggies, homemade rolls ($7.10 for 6 servings)

friday - Beef Gorditas, corn ($5.60 for 4-6 servings)

saturday - Leftovers (FREE)

sunday - Dinner at the in law's (FREE)



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Walgreens photo deals - 75 prints for $10 and 33% off photobooks





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A couple of good photo deals from Walgreens!

You can get 75 4x6 prints from Walgreens photo for $9.99 by using code 75SAVINGS at checkout - that works out to about $0.13 per print! The code is valid through Oct 3, and you can use it up to 5 times on the same account.

They also have an offer for 33% off of photobooks, use code FALL33 at checkout. This is also good through Oct 3.





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Sep 26, 2009

WINNER - Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer

And the proud owner of a new Exergen Temporal Thermometer is...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
32
Timestamp: 2009-09-26 02:18:04 UTC

Angela said...
Its best to take the child's temp in the middle of the forehead. Interesting product. How easy!


Congratulations Angela!

An email has been sent to the winner to confirm, they will have 72 hours to claim their prize. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!





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Sep 25, 2009

Shaws sales & matchups 9/25-10/1

This could be a good stock up week for chicken and beef roast, especially if you snagged the $3 catalina from the Old El Paso deal (buy 6 get $3 OYNO, buy 3 get $1 OYNO). That catalina is still active until 10/4 so you can make this a GREAT buy!

Here are my picks for best sale items (compiled with help from Slickdeals.net):

-Split chicken breasts - $0.99/lb (3lb or more)
-use $1 off 3lb or more store printable coupon
-Bottom round roast, chuck roast, or seven rib pork roast - $2.99/lb
use circular coupon for free potatoes, onions & carrots with roast - a $4 value
(if used with a 3-4lb roast the per-pound price is $2 or less)

-Eastern apples - $0.59/lb
-Shaws Marketfresh Spinach 10 oz - $0.99
-Shaws yellow onions - $0.99
-Hood Ice Cream - $1.99
-Philadelphia Cream Cheese - $0.99/ea
-GM cereals & cereal bars, Betty Crocker fruit snacks - 4/$10
use $4 off 4 circular coupon
use $1/3 GM cereals coupon from 9/13 SS
use $0.55 off Trix printable (check for other participating GM cereal coupons at Coupons.com!

-Ronzoni Healthy Pasta - 10/$10
use $1/2 printable
-Hamburger Helper - 10/$10
use $0.75/3 printable
-Francesco Rinaldi sauce - 10/$10
-Sara Lee Deli Meat - $3.99
only $0.99 if you got the $3 coupon from earlier this month!
-Gatorade 32oz - 10/$10
use circular coupon for 5 free Propel waters WYB 10 Gatorade - 15 drinks at $0.66 ea!




Colgate Toothpaste or Toothbrush - 10/$10

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Sep 24, 2009

$0.37 Huggies wipes at Wal Mart

We had to run to Wal Mart to pick up some diabetic supplies for hubby, so I scanned some of the sale posts to see what I might be able to pick up while I was there - I saw Deal Seeking Mom's post that mentioned a free 40 count Huggies wipes deal with a coupon.

They were sold out of the 40-count packs, but they had the Huggies Natural Care 72-count boxes for $2.37! I used this $2 off any Huggies diaper product coupon (you can print twice) and got two boxes for $0.37 each! They also had the cartoon character boxes of wipes for $2.50.

I usually buy the BJ's brand wipes that come in resealable soft packages (nine 88-count packs for about $16), but the hard boxes are nice to have and the BJ's refills fit inside!



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Sep 22, 2009

Fall savings from Restaurant.com

From now thru September 27th, Restaurant.com is offering all gift certificates for 70% off! That translates to $25 gift certs for just $3!

Just visit Restaurant.com, look up your area (by zip code or region), select your restaurant gift certificates and enter the promo code TREAT before checkout. Discount will be applied to all GC's in your shopping cart.

As always, most restaurants place some restrictions on use of the gc's, so be sure to read the fine print. Once purchased the GC's are good for up to a year, so don't be afraid to do a little early gift shopping!!




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Sep 21, 2009

FREE copies of Taste of home

Check out this post over at Engineer a Debt Free Life - you can download a bunch of FREE digital copies of current and past issues of Taste of Home! I love their recipes but haven't always been able to buy the recipe books.

Read them online, or save them to your computer like I did!



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Price Rite Shopping trip 9/21

I wasn't terribly impressed with the sales this week at Stop & Shop or Shaws, if I have time in the next couple of days I may scour the sales for things we can stockpile but I was able to get everything we needed for the week at Price Rite.

Our Price Rite does not accept coupons, so all prices are everyday prices. Here's what we bought:

2.77 lb zucchini - $2.74
1 head lettuce - $0.99
2 heads garlic - $0.60
2 large green peppers - $1.45
3 lbs tomato on the vine - $4.58
1 container grape tomatoes - $1.50
1.5 lb bananas - $0.74
1 lb bag carrots - $0.69
Wheat bread - $1.19
4 cans Goya chickpeas - $2.67
2 cans Goya black beans - $1.33
Gallon milk - $2.39
5 bottles Pepsi - $5.45 plus $0.25 deposit
Dozen eggs - $1.29
Int'l Delight flavored creamer - $0.99

Total OOP = $28.84

This is everything we need to complete all meals for the week, any meat and other ingredients are already in the pantry or chest freezer! So far, we've spent 91.78 on groceries and paper goods, so we're doing great this month! I will probably need diapers again before the month is out, but we should be close to budget.




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MORE Frugal family fun - Sept 26th is Smithsonian's Museum Day


I got this awesome tip from South Shore Kids - Saturday, Sept 26th is Smithsonian's Museum Day! That means FREE (yes, FREE) general admission to local participating museums for you and a guest!

In my area, this includes the Easton Children's Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, The Museum of Science, and even the Whaling Museum right in my town. If you haven't yet made plans for Saturday, you want to check this out!

Visit the Smithsonian.com's Museum Day Venue page and find out which attractions in your area are participating...then fill out the Admission card request and print out your pass good for free admission for 2 people. Limit one per household, and it cannot be used for specialty attractions (like the IMAX, or special exhibits that cost extra).




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Sep 20, 2009

Menu Plan Monday - Sept 21, '09

Stop the presses - I actually BAKED last week!

We aren't really getting much sleep these days, but the new baby is on a slightly more predictable schedule, and I felt good enough to try making a batch of breadsticks...and SUCCEEDED! It's a small victory, but I'll take it ;)

This week marks the final hurrah of my freezer meals, which means I will actually prepare dinners FRESH...but considering the baby will be 6 weeks old this week and this is the first time I've had to make dinner from scratch, that's pretty good! I'm officially hooked on the idea of OAMC now though - it's fantastic to be able to just pop something in the oven for supper, and well worth the extra effort. My sister in law is on board too - so you may see more OAMC cooking in my posts as we figure out a system! (as a sidebar, if you do OAMC or are interested, Once a Month Mom is hosting a big OAMC Tweet-up event at 6pm on October 10th...they'll be live in the Dayton, OH area but we long distance folks can participate via Stickam and Twitter! Check it out!)

Here's what we're dining on this week, don't forget to visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for HUNDREDS of other menus!

monday - Pizza Roll Ups, salad - OAMC ($6.00 for 8 servings)

tuesday - Obama's Chili, Bread bowls ($8.10 for 8-10 servings)

wednesday - Chicken Bombay, couscous, broccoli - OAMC ($8.85 for 6 servings)

thursday - Stuffed Zucchini, Wheat biscuits ($6.67 for 4 servings plus leftover biscuits)

friday - Chicken Pot Pie, leftover wheat biscuits - OAMC ($4.00 for 6 servings)

saturday - leftovers! FREE!

sunday - dinner at the in-law's - FREE!




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Sep 19, 2009

$10 off $10 purchase at JCPenney.com

Thanks to Engineer a Debt Free Life for the heads up on this promotion!

Spend $10 or more at JCPenney.com and get $10 off your order by using the code ENJOY10 at checkout! In the Outlet section there are tons of items for $9.99 or less, which means FREE or super cheap stuff!

EADFL also mentioned that if you shop through Ebates.com you can get an ADDITIONAL 3% cash back on your purchase! I have only been using Ebates for a little while and already have about $10 in cash back racked up! If you are new to Ebates they are giving away $10 gift cards as a thank you when you sign up and make your first purchase!



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