BlogginMomma.com

Here’s a funny and very true article/Q&A on how to tell if you a stroller addict. I’m part of several boards and can tell how accurate this is. Personally, I struggle with the desire to obtain more strollers but so far am keeping it in check. Now diaper bags is a whole ‘nother story!

(Exerpt)

“Do you hide your thoughts and behavior from your significant others and loved ones?

Do you disguise your roving eye from your friends and family? Do you ever pretend your stroller is broken or sabotage them in order to justify purchasing a new stroller?

If you answered yes to three or more of these questions, then chances are you are a stroller addict like me.”

I just received my RevolutionMoneyExchange (RME) card in the mail yesterday. It is similar to a debit card and you can use it a variety of retailers. Check out their site for the complete list. The cool thing? If you use your card 3 times within 90 days of activating your card they’ll give you $5 for each $25 you spend in one transaction. Not a bad gig if you ask me. You can link it to your checking account to transfer money over and make back $15 of what you spent. I like it

If you’ve never heard of RME, it is very similar to PayPal but without the fees so check it out. Do me a favor and say I referred you - cassie @ nouturn . com.

Some of the stores that are accepting RME cards are: CVS (woo-hoo ECBS and $5 back will make this one a hit); Walgreens (RR + $5 back. score again); Barnes & Noble; BJ’s; and Kohl’s. That’s just a handful of stores that I know a lot of mamas shop at, or at least this mama does!

If you shop anything like I do, then you have clothes for up to 2 or 3 sizes larger than what your child currently wears. I try to hit the seasonal sales and rake in the savings where I can. I also use this opportunity to stock up on potential presents for baby showers, birthdays, etc. Now the dilemma - what to do with all of those receipts Yea…yea store them somewhere BUT WHERE?

Here’s an idea - staple the receipt to the tag of the clothes until you are sure the new clothes will fit or be used! (Thanks to the June edition of Parents magazine for this idea.) Especially helpful for all of those newborn clothes that your darlings outgrow so quickly. If you miss the return/exchange time frame at least this will be helpful in selling the clothes on Craigslist or eBay.

Who doesn’t love candles from Yankee Candle? But, of course, in these trying times with the economy in the pooper and people losing their jobs left and right it is hard to justify spending hard earned cash on “extras”. There is a way to save a bit of cash though, if you just have to have that candle fix! Go to www.yankeecandle.com/coupons and sign up to receive a $10 off coupon good towards your next $25 purchase. If you time it just right with their seasonal sales of B1G1 50% off or buy a large candle and one tealight you’ll get a really great discount. Even a great idea for a present for the candle fan in your circle.

I’ve been on a quest recently to find rechargable batteries. Not only does it kill me to always be buying the little buggers for almost every toy we own. Ya know the $$ but also the environmental impact! We do not have a place locally to recycle regular batteries (if they are even recyclable….not sure on that one.) so they wind up getting tossed in the trash. I’ve recently come across batteries made by Sanyo that are AA and AAA, with adapters for the C and Ds! While most of our toys require AA batteries, Vincent’s swings use C and D batteries so why not get re-chargable ones. Check out their website for more info or go directly to Amazon.com! The rave reviews on Amazon’s site is the final icing on the cake for me. I’ll post a review on them after I receive them.

Are you a coupon clipper? Do you just toss coupons in the recycling bin? Ever wonder what to do with the ones you don’t use or want? I have a perfect answer for you!

Our troops and their families can use expired coupons for up to 6 months AFTER (yes after) they’ve expired! What a great way to help them out with saving money and keep the paper out of our landfill. For the price of a little time and a couple of $$ you can send coupons overseas and make a world of difference for people that are making a difference for you! You can even encourage a few friends or family members to join in and split the cost of shipping.

Please separate the coupons into two piles “Food” and “Non-Food” and put theminto a labeled baggie. And, whenever possible, please send coupons that are not more than 2 months expired to allow the time for the coupons to be mailed, received and sorted, distributed, and still give the families plenty of time to actually use them.

The two overseas bases that I will be sending my cpns to are: Menwith Hill in the U.K. and Ansbach in Germany.

Menwith Hill
Family Support Center
ATTN: Coupon Connection Program
PSC 45, Bldg 20
APO, AE 09468

Ansbach
CAFAPACS
235th BSB
Unit 28614
APO, AE 09177

Here’s a list of overseas bases that accept coupon donations: http://www.ocpnet.org/

Ok so I had to do birthday favor bags for Anthony’s 2nd birthday. But only because my girlfriend reminded me. Duh! Thanks Jody!!

I took advantage of the sales they’ve had recently and spent about $5 per “bag”. Yes, that is a steep price but since I only had to make 4 of them (one being Anthony’s) I was ok with doing it. So now you are dying to know what is in them aren’t you??

Well…..first I didn’t use a bag. Why be wasteful, right? Instead I bought pencil cases at Target a couple of weeks ago - blue for the boys and pink for the girls. I then wrote their name on the top of the box so they feel super special. My mom had the brilliant idea of using a sharpie instead of painting it on, which was my first thought. Thanks mom! Thank god for other people and their brains

So now the filler:

• a box of Crayola crayons for 22 cents
• a box of primary colored modeling clay for $1
• 2-3 sheets of stickers ($1 per package but some packages had 2 in there and were broken up)
• a box of Crayola colored pencils for 88 cents
• a package of Crayola model magic (bought a package of 6 for 6.99 and had 2 left over for Ant to play with)

If Anthony is any judge than the other kids will love it! And for the icing on the cake, they’ll get to take a balloon home too.

We got my in-laws frequently and I’ve been battling an up-hill battle to leave some toys there for Anthony to play with when we go. I’ve succeeded in leaving behind a horsey that neighs when your press his ear (bought by them so they couldn’t refuse) and a teeny tiny bag of match box cars. It doesn’t entertain him for terribly long so I always wind up bringing toys along with me as well.

Well…now that Vince is here and we’re back to bringing everything and the kitchen sink along with us, (we bring a bouncy chair for him and a portable booster for Ant on top of everything else) I decided that carting toys along too was the last straw.

I hit the Target 75% off summer clearance sale last weekend and bought a bunch of different toys and an under the bed storage box. I filled it up with crayons, coloring books, various toys - both inside and outside ones and even an aquadoodle. We brought it over to his parents house and explained that it was toys for there and they could store it under the bed in the guest room and it would be good for when all the younger grandkids come over. You could tell they weren’t overly excited about it but they couldn’t resist since we covered all the bases. And now, there is one less thing for us to cart over there when we go Thank god.

This is almost like a pre-fall sale, but great if you need to buy a seat now. I can’t say for sure what the prices will be but based on what I’ve read you can expect to pay ~ $20 more for a seat at this time than what you will in the fall sale. Again, this is based on conjuncture and what the prices were during the spring sale, which I unfortunately missed.

* I’m still in the process of compiling my list, so I’ll add the websites & prices tomorrow.

And, of course, this couldn’t come at a better time for me since I need to get a new seat for one of the boys. I’m still on the fence if I should upgrade Anthony to a Marathon and give the Roundabout to Vince or if I should just buy another Roundabout. I guess part of my decision will be based on price Based on FL law, I could go either way with using a booster seat when the time comes. HOWEVER (hold your horses before you blow a gasket) based on my personal beliefs - they will be in boosters!

According to Florida`s car seat law (http://www.dot.state.fl.us/safety/HighwaySafetyGrantProgram):

• All children 5 years of age or younger must be properly restrained no matter where they are sitting in the vehicle.
• Children through age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer’s integrated child safety seat.
• For children aged 4 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or a safety belt may be used.

Therefore, under the Florida car seat law, children over 3 years old may ride in a vehicle using a standard adult safety belt. (ACK!) The problem with this (according to advocates) is that most children under 80 pounds are too small for an adult seat belt. Adult seat belts can actually be dangerous to children because the belt cuts directly across their neck instead of snug across the center of their shoulder. This can lead to serious injury or even death in the event of an accident.

So what`s a parent to do? Car seat safety advocates recommend one of the following guidelines:

• The National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA) recommends that children over 40 pounds use a belt-positioning booster seat until they are 8 years old, unless they are 4`9″ or taller.
• The American Academy of Pediatricians goes a bit further and advocates for booster seat use until the child reaches 4`9″ in height and is between 8 and 12 years of age.

Recently I came across a website that helps caregivers receive money back on certain products - if they keep their receipts and turn them in by a certain date. Huggies, Pullups and Overnights are on there so I was thinking “score”! Unfortunately the only approved retail location in my area is Kmart and they are no where near my normal stomping ground I’ll keep checking back to see if they add any more stores in my area.

Be sure to check out the site and see if it works for you!