A Call For Help

    Ten years ago tomorrow, the people of our country opened their hearts and united together to help complete strangers. But this is no surprise. It was not the first time that everyday people extended a hand, and it certainly wasn't the last. That is the spirit of who we are, as people. Even if we think that there is nothing we can do, we somehow find a way to do SOMETHING.

    I wasn't planning on posting anything on my blog today. Then I read this (please give it a read):

Help Somebody. Just do it.

From there, I read about the Martin family. A family with 8 kids, whose house is flooded. Please read about them here: Have you ever lost it all?

It really moved me. I wanted to run out and do something to help. The problem is, I am in Northern California, not Central Texas or Pennsylvania. I know there are stores in my area that are taking donations for both the fires and the floods, and I will donate when I go. But I want to do something NOW, so I am helping to spread the word. I am hoping that even just one person reads this and is moved to do something. (Of course it would be way better if more than one person can help, but you know what I mean.)

Click here to Donate to the Texas Wild Fire Relief Fund

Click here for info. to help the Texas Wildfire Victims

Click here for info. to help Pennsylvania Flood Victims

Click Here to Help the Martin Family

Frugal Friday: Sept. 9, 2011

    Hi! Make sure you pick up your Sunday newspaper this week! Depending on your region, you could get up to 4 inserts this week. One of my sources shows 1 Redplum insert, 2 Smartsource inserts, and 1 General Mills insert. Another shows that it is 2 Redplum and 1 Smartsource... and the General Mills. So, I am not sure which one there will be 2 of, but either way, it should be good! I am thinking that I will pick up two papers this week.

Check your local Dollar store, you can sometimes get a great deal on your Sunday paper. My local paper's Sunday edition is $2.00. A lot of times, I just go to the Dollar Tree and buy 2 for the same price. 

Oh, and make sure that the inserts are in there when you buy the paper. I have picked up 3 or 4 papers without the inserts. Not cool. 

    So, now what? If you're like me, there are often old newspapers piling up. OK. They can be recycled. But what else do you do with your old newspapers? 

Here are some of the things I have done:

• With 6 kids, things spill. A lot. Newspapers are super absorbent. 
• Newspapers are great for washing windows.
• Newspapers are fun for paper mache.
• They are great for putting under the kids' craft projects and painting projects.
• Send the kids on an ABC hunt- they find all of the letters in the alphabet by searching through a page of the paper.
• Use some to help start the BBQ grill. We use it with our chimney charcoal starter.
• Use them to line the bottom of a pet's cage.

Please chime in with your ideas!

    One more thing before I wrap today's post up. Please stay tuned for a GIVEAWAY!

I am working out a giveaway deal with a great Tutu shop. Details to come. 

What I CAN tell you now, is that it will be a "Blog Follower Appreciation Giveaway". The giveaway will take place soon. I will put up a sign-up sheet, and those following my blog can sign up. When I reach at least 25 followers, I will announce the closing of the sign-up. One "winner" will be randomly chosen to receive the giveaway item. So, tell your friends & sign up to follow my blog for your chance to win. More details to come.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday Review: Johnson's Body Care 24-Hour Body Lotion

    Have you ever been hanging out with friends or family listening to some music, when suddenly a song comes on that you can't help but to sing along with? You turn the volume up a bit, then start belting out the lyrics along with the tune. Suddenly everyone starts laughing. What is it? Why are they laughing? Once they compose themselves, they clue you in... It's "There's a bad moon on the rise" NOT "There's a bathroom on the right".
If so, you might like my little story that goes along with Johnson's Body Care 24 -Hour Body Lotion.

    It started 11 months ago when our youngest daughter was born. While I was at the hospital, my husband and kids put together a gift bag for our newborn daughter and me. One of the items in the gift bag was a tube of the Johnson's lotion. Now, maybe it was my lack of sleep, or maybe it was just that I was too preoccupied marveling over our sweet little girl to notice, but whatever the reason, I read it as Johnson's  Baby Care 24-Hour Baby Lotion. I mean, it came in a pink tube and it smells a little bit like the baby lotion, after all.

    The lotion was great. I would use it occasionally on my daughter's delicate skin. It kept her skin so soft and always made my hands feel soft and smooth. I like it so much that I would even "sneak" it for my own use from time to time (it is great for the elbows!). It only takes a tiny bit of this lotion, so one tube has lasted us a long time.

   A couple of weeks ago, I was brainstorming ideas of products to review for my blog. I remembered how much I like this "baby" lotion, so I put it on my list. Well, a few nights ago, there I sat, pencil in hand, getting ready to write the rough draft of my review in my notebook. Wanting to get the name of the lotion exactly right and not remembering if it was Johnson's or Johnson & Johnson (yes, now I know that they are one in the same), I looked at the tube of lotion only to realize for the very first time that this is not Baby Lotion at all. It is Body Lotion. Nowhere on the entire tube is the word "baby". Believe me, I looked. Everywhere. It's not there.

   I suppose I should be a little embarrassed that this one little detail has escaped my attention for nearly a year. Maybe I am... Just a little... But I choose to look at the bright side of things. Now I don't have to feel bad for "sneaking" it from time to time and using it for myself!

Johnson's Body Care 24-Hour Body Lotion
Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢¢

Website Wednesday: ChuckECheese.com

 Chances are, if you have kids, you've either been to a Chuck E. Cheese's or you've consciously avoided Chuck E. Cheese's. If you go there from time to time, or if you plan on caving in to your children's pleads, Then I recommend you visit their website first.

    The Chuck E. Cheese's website has cool little arcade-style games for kids to play. Kids like that sort of thing. But, there are things that the grownups like too- things like coupon deals... and tools to help bribe encourage your kids to do things like get good grades or clean their room. They even have a game that allows kids to win tickets for the prize counter.

   Navigating the website, you can: find restaurant locations, view the menu and nutritional information, book parties, learn about fundraising, buy gift cards, and play games; but my favorite features of the site are the coupons page and the promotions page.

From the coupons page, you can print coupons to use on food and/or tokens. They even allow you to combine coupons in the same visit! You can also sign up for their Email Club. You will get exclusive coupons right in your inbox.

From the promotions page, you can:

Print Rewards Calendars - These are printable two-week reward calendars for things your child needs encouraging to do, like- clean their room, do their homework, or brush their teeth. When your child completes the calendar, s/he can take it to Chuck E. Cheese's and trade it in for 10 free tokens.

Check out Tokens For Grades- Your child can take in his/her report card and get up to 15 free tokens for good grades.

You can also learn about Chuck E. Cheese's promotional partners, take advantage of teacher resources, and check out their cool printable activities.

ChuckECheese.com is a fun website for kids and a great resource for parents.
Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢¢

Tuesday Review: Goldfish Flavor Blasted Grahams

   You all know the jingle, right? "The wholesome snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off." Fun! Sure, a bit disturbing, but FUN! My kids like the song. They like the snacks better. Since Goldfish crackers are made with whole grains and they are perfectly sized for little fingers, the decision to buy them was a no-brainer.

    OK, who am I kidding? It's not like I always go into the store, planning to buy Goldfish crackers for the reasons I just stated. The truth is, more often than not, the kids break me down. "Mom, pleeeease? They are so yummy!" Can't blame them when they're right...

   Now, we usually buy the Goldfish crackers, not the grahams.When I saw that the grocery store was having a sale on Goldfish, and I had a coupon for the Goldfish Grahams, I thought it was the perfect time to give them a try. Apparently, I wasn't alone with that plan. There were only a few packages of Goldfish left on the shelves. I managed to find a package of the Xtra Chocolatey grahams and one of the Vanilla Cupcake grahams.As soon as the kids saw me put them in the cart, they were excited to try them.

Goldfish Flavor Blasted Grahams- Vanilla Cupcake
While these have a good vanilla flavor, I don't really think "vanilla cupcake" when I bite into them. They taste more like vanilla wafer cookies. They are "flavor blasted" with something that looks like it is supposed to resemble cupcake sprinkles... if you look really close. It makes the grahams feel dusty. You know, like the last little bit of cereal in the cereal box. I would like them much more if they didn't have the dusty, messy flavor blast. Simply having them as vanilla grahams, in my opinion, would be better. They have a great flavor. Don't ruin it by trying to stick to the cupcake theme with the powdery sprinkles.
Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢

Goldfish Flavor Blasted Grahams- Xtra Chocolatey
These taste like the outside of that famous chocolate sandwich cookie ... wait. No one is paying me for this review. That means I can say it, right?
These taste like the outside of an Oreo cookie! YUM! Unfortunately, though, they are also "flavor blasted". Maybe I just don't get it. But again, the dusty, powdery, messy bits are off-putting. Drop the flavor blast and I will buy a lot more.
Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢

Sacramento Gold Rush Days

If you are in the Sacramento, California area this weekend, be sure to check out the Sacramento Gold Rush Days in Old Sacramento. Admission is free!


Not only that, but Old Sacramento’s museums are open FREE Saturday-Monday during Gold Rush Days 2011, 10 a.m.-5 p.m!
 Sacramento History Museum
California State Railroad Museum
California State Military Museum
Wells Fargo History Museum
Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum

Check out the official Gold Rush Days site here.

Thursday Review: Mega Bloks- Maxi Blocks

    I am sure that everyone is familiar with Mega Bloks. My kids have just been having so much fun with them lately, that I thought I would write about them.

    The kids have collected a few of the classic bags of the Maxi size Mega Bloks. I like the Maxi size for a few reasons. First, it allows the kids to build something BIG. And building something big is FUN! Second, we don't have to worry about our baby getting a hold of them. In fact, she loves playing with them too. OK, so she mostly just bangs them together or throws them, but if you saw the huge smile on her face when she does it, you'd understand just how fun it is. Now, the main reason I like the Maxi sized blocks is that they are easy to clean up. Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night, half asleep, stumbling into the kitchen for a drink of water, only to suddenly "find" the one tiny block that was missed at cleanup time? Yup, just stepping on one of those little suckers is enough to make you want to throw all of them in the trash! OUCH!
   
    Back to the fun part. My kids are awesome! They have promising futures in architecture and engineering, and we owe it all to Mega Bloks. OK, maybe that statement is a little extreme. But playing with the Mega Bloks sure brings out their creativity. Here are a few of their "masterpieces".

    See what I mean? Fun, right? Do you know what else is fun? Using the blocks as teaching tools for preschoolers and young children!

They are GREAT for:

Copying. Can you build what I build?

Sorting. Sort by color, shape, or size.

Patterns. Which color comes next?

Math. 3+2=5

  

  Mega Bloks Maxi Blocks are tons of fun and educational too! They are definitely a family favorite toy!

Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢¢