Monday, October 31, 2011

Pregnancy 2.0 MommyParty - sneak peak

I am so excited!!  I was just chosen to be the host of a MommyParty!! 

If you haven't heard of them yet, MommyParties are a part of Mom Select.  Once you sign up as either a mom or a mom blogger, you start receiving opportunity emails.  You get to choose which ones you apply to and which ones you don't.  If you are interested in one, you take a short survey and then Mom Select decides if you qualify or not.  I have signed up for a few (less than 10) so far, and I was just chosen for one.  So, 1 in 10 is not bad odds if you ask me!  I've signed up with other sites, applied to A LOT, and still haven't been chosen!!

Anyway....I got the "Congratulations" email last week letting my know that I have been chosen to host a MommyParty sponsored by Pregnancy 2.0.  And I've already started getting some great items delivered to my door!  So far I have received a Britax B-Agile stroller, Britax B-Safe car seat, Britax baby carrier and seat extender insert.  I also just found out that I will be getting a BabyPlus prenatal education system.  WOW!!!

I am still waiting for all of the details, but from what I've read I am supposed to have a party with at least 10 new or expecting moms to show off all of these goodies.  We all get to "play" with the items, see how they work, and then provide feedback on them. 

I'm not gonna lie....I started opening boxes last night!!  I'm just so excited to try everything out!  And my mommy friends are getting pretty excited too!!  We can't wait until my party. 

This post is just to try to help me contain my excitement as I wait for my party.  Stay tuned for another post with pictures and feedback from the actual party.

Disclosure:  I was provided with products from Britax and MommyParties to review and use with my guests.  No monetary compensation was received.  Any and all opinions are my own.  To learn more about MommyParties, please visit their website at http://www.mommyparties.com/ or click the link in the above post.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of myself!

We did our weekend shopping yesterday and I saved a lot of money. How you ask? Coupons!

I'm definitely not an extreme couponer. I wanted to be (still kind of do), but I just don't have the time or patience for it. With 2 small kids at home, it's a wonder I get any shopping done. Let alone shopping with coupons. But Saturday morning, my husband and I sat down at the kitchen table and went through the several months’ worth of Sunday coupon inserts that had been collecting. We haphazardly sorted and organized them and headed out. I had a list of what we needed, but I didn't check any ads for who had what on sale. We just headed to Kohl's, Target and Publix (our stores of choice).

I had a 30% off coupon and $10 in Kohl's cash that happened to overlap on Saturday, so we headed there first. I ended up getting Christmas outfits for both kids. I spent about $32 out of pocket and saved over $60.

We then went to Target. I love Target, but I also hate it. I always seem to find too many things to buy when I'm in there. I had some pretty good coupons that were close to expiring, so even though items weren't on sale I bought them anyway to use the coupons. I got everything on the list plus a lot more. Paid around $78 out of pocket and saved $68+.

And finally, Publix for groceries. We got a bunch of items that we didn't plan on buying. But, they were on sale and I had coupons to match so we stocked up. We ended up filling the cupboard and deep freeze! Our total there was about $120 out of pocket with $90+ in savings.

So even though we spent more than we planned, we got a ton of items and saved a bunch! And the best part.....I don't have to drag 2 little kids shopping for a while!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Upcycled t-shirt dress - practice round

We had a little chilly weather here the other day and when I went to dress my kids I realized that they didn't have any warm clothes that fit them.  So we went shopping.  NOT fun!  The price of kids clothes is just ridiculous.  Especially for items that they are only going to wear a handful of times.  So I started wondering how I could get them clothes without spending a fortune.  Then I walked into my garage and saw the many boxes of old clothes waiting patiently for a yard sale.  hmmm....could I?  dare I?  yes!  yes I will!

I pulled out one of my old t-shirts (you know, one that nobody would think twice about if it ended up a shredded disaster) and started cutting.  I had no pattern, just an idea in my head.  And in the end, I think it turned out pretty good for my first go at it.  There are definitely things that I will change on the next one (the neck is too loose), but overall I'm pretty proud of myself!

I forgot to take a picture of the shirt before I started cutting, so here it is in a different color (yeah, I actually bought the same horrible t-shirt in several colors).
And here is the finished product (needs ironed, but just ignore that!)
And my beautiful model!