Summertime Fun With Kool-Aid Kool Creations And Big Time Rush

Every household has the one product that they us a lot of on a regular basis-toilet paper, soap, lotion.  For my family Kool-Aid is that product.  We roughly go through a one and a half to two pitchers a day (and our pitcher is big).  So, any given week I'm spending well over $6 on Kool-Aid drink mix alone.  And of course, you can't make my family's favorite beverage without sugar.  We use a lot of that too.

I'm not complaining though because all that Kool-Aid consumption has paid off this week.  You see last year my niece introduced Moo to Big Time Rush via their show on Nick and she's been a fan ever since.  Thanks to me being such a big spender on Kool-Aid at Walmart, I got a discount code for a BTR Family Four-Pack for just $50!  Now I know that I'm not the only mom with a BTR fan or two in the house.  So, you all can kick up the summertime fun by getting in on this Family Four-Pack deal too.

Just download the Shoparoo app to your phone.  Then go pick up at least $6 in Kool-Aid products from Walmart (includes Kool-Aid Jammers too).  You upload your receipt to Shoparoo and within 48 hours your discount code is sent to the email you registered with.  Very simple process.

Can you tell what we're about to make?

You all know the Mr had surgery on Friday.  So, I needed something fun to keep the kids busy while he rested.  We decided to make popsicles!  All you need is a pitcher of Kool-Aid or Kool-Aid Jammers, popsicle molds and a half cup of fruit (fresh or canned).  Fill your molds half way with Kool-Aid and then add in as much fruit as your molds can hold.  Freeze for 30 mins to a hour and you'll have a healthy and yummy treat for the whole family!

Moo nicknamed our Kool Creation Strawberry Delicious Surprise

And as if scoring four Big Time Rush tickets for $50 wasn't enough, Walmart and Kool-Aid are hosting a contest for a chance to win meet & greet passes & tickets.  All I had to do to enter was upload a picture of our Kool Creation here.  Your Kool-Aid Kool Creation doesn't have to be food like ours was.  Other families have made playdough, paint and more using Kool-Aid products.  

Thanks to Kool-Aid and Walmart, the amount of summertime fun our families can have are endless!  So get to shopping and creating with the kids!

What would your family's Kool Creation be?

Christmas In March

You all know that I can't pass up a good sale.  I'm the queen of not paying full price for anything.  So, when I went to Walmart a few hours ago with my family, I spotted a sale on toys that I couldn't pass up.  I've mentioned that Moo already made her Christmas list out.  Therefore, I was beyond stoked when I saw that some of the items she wanted were marked down by 50% or more!

Here's a peak at what I got. 

My Little Pony & Friends 2 sets in 1 Was $12 Paid $6

Xia Xia Confetti Cottage Was $10.98 Paid $1

Littlest Pet Shop Dolphin $3.96

Play Dough Roller Was $4.97 Paid $2

La Dee Da Doll Was $19.97 Paid $10

For $23.96, I've pretty much already finished Christmas shopping for one child.  They didn't have a lot stuff for toddlers JJ's age.  The stuff they did have, he wasn't interested in.  Therefore, I didn't my money getting him any toys.  However, they did have some cute little rockers by Disney and Pixer's Cars that I'm hoping will get a second markdown!  I really want to get him one but I don't want to pay the $35 price tag.

They also had pretty good clearance on youth and toddler shoes but I just purchased two new pairs of shoes for Moo and a pair of sneakers for JJ.  As my mom pointed out tonight, if you're on a budget or a single parent household then a sale like this a great opportunity that you don't want to pass up on.  This my friends is why I don't do Black Friday.  Prices are way cheaper and the great thing is that many of these toys will back in stores for regular price again this upcoming fall.

When do you start your Christmas shopping?

Box Topping 4 Education With WalMart

 Now more than ever schools are calling out to parents, guardians and community members for help.  I don't know about you but in the last two years I've seen the damage caused by budget cuts and lack of funding here in Charlotte and back in my hometown.  A lot of schools have been closed and many of my friends and former co-workers were let go or forced into retirement.  That's why it's imperative to for us to support and take part in programs like Box Tops 4 Education.

Box Tops 4 Education is a program that allows schools to submit Box Tops from specially marked products to earn money that can be used purchase supplies, playground equipment and much more.  This year Box Tops 4 Education and General Mills have partnered with Walmart to help make it easier for families and community members to earn money for local schools.  In fact, you can head over to Walmart's Facebook page right now and earn money for a school of your choosing just by liking their page! 

You can also collect Box Tops by stopping by your local Walmart store and purchasing products from brands like Avery, Betty Crocker and Hamburger Helper.  I personally stock up on Cheerios, Juicy Juice, Ziploc and Kleenex products over other brands just for the Box Tops.

Also, Box Tops 4 Education has created Earn More for My School, a website that was designed specifically for Walmart shoppers to help them earn more money for local schools with eBox Tops.  In addition, you can earn more eBox Tops by completing Click & Earn activities like surveys and by shopping online with some of your favorite brands like Motherhood Maternity, Gap, Build-A-Bear, Apple, Avon and Old Navy to name a few.  eBox Tops is a great alternative for those of us who are busy and can't always get to our kids' schools to drop off Box Tops in person or for those who don't have kids but still want to support a school.

I encourage you take a moment to register for a Box Tops 4 Education account and start keeping track of your kids' schools progress with the program.  Remember, our children are our future.  And education is the key to making sure that their future is bright!  I'm making it my personal goal this year to submit at least 1,000 box tops to schools in Charlotte and my hometown!  Don't forget that for more information on how to earn money for kid's school you can visit the official Box Tops 4 Education website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. 

Do you support programs like Box Tops 4 Education?

Disclosure:  The Walmart gift card, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by General Mills and Walmart through MyBlogSpark.



Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday!!!  This week started off with a little family time.  Sunday afternoon, I got a nice visit from my mom and niece.  The kids played a little bit and then we hit the road to do a little shopping.  We used coupons of course. (Saving up for my dream vacation).

I'm very thankful that we got to spend that time together.  With me working on my freelance career and other projects that are tied to YUMMommy, I haven't been able to go home in a while.  Moo and JJ enjoyed having Grandma's attention.

I'm also thankful that I handled my bad shopping experience at Walmart well on Monday.  Sadly, this was not my first bad experience with a Walmart store.  I did a little research and found out that a few stores were recently sued for unfair trade and business practices and the consumers were winning.  I think it's sad that Walmart is ripping people off.

But I am really proud of how composed I stayed in front my of kids.  My husband couldn't believe it when I told him about it.  He knows how I feel about my money.  And the fact that I worked in retail for five years, I know all about coupon policies and how important it is for stores to follow all corporate policies.  I've seen people get fired for not doing so.

I'm thankful that this morning my husband told him how much he loves the things I write about him on my blog.  Yes, he reads it.  I'm happy that he continues to support my desire to move forward with my writing career, YUMMommy, all of my charity projects and more.  I'm thankful that our marriage continues to get stronger.

What small happenings are you thankful for this week?

The Walmart Debacle

I'm taking a break from our regularly scheduled Romance Wednesday posts to share with you all my recent experience at my local Walmart.  Let me just start by saying that I enjoy shopping at Walmart.  They are one of the few stores that still carry somewhat reasonably priced merchandise (food included).  I grew up shopping at Walmart.

Source

In fact, I'm pretty sure my mom has spent nothing short of a small fortune there.  Anyways, you all know that I am a frugal shopper.  We just don't have money to waste and even if we did, I still wouldn't change my frugal shopping habits.  I work hard to get the most bang for our bucks.  And in doing so that means that I coupon.

I wouldn't consider myself an extreme couponer.  I coupon on a much smaller scale in comparison to some people.  And until recently, I never had an issue with couponing at Walmart.  Since we moved to a different neighborhood, I shop at the Walmart that is closest to us rather than driving almost 45 minutes to the other Walmart we shopped at for 5 years.

Monday, I decided to go pick up some items that I had on my shopping list that I had finally gotten some coupons for.  Nothing fancy.  Just some soda, disposable razors, body wash and those mini Colgate toothbrush things.  I put all my coupons in an envelope and had calculated my total which should have came out to zero.

This past week, there have been a lot of high value and Free product coupons being put out in the Sunday papers, on company websites, Facebook, etc.  And I planned on taking full advantage of the ones for products that I use.  So, I loaded the kids up and we headed off to Walmart.  Everything was going well.  I was able to find the items needed with no problem.  Moo had a small meltdown over having to ride in the buggy but quickly calmed down.

I proceeded to check out.   And this my friends is where my shopping experience turned from a pleasant one to an utter debacle.  I loaded my items to the conveyor belt and greeted the cashier.  I informed her that I had some coupons I would be using and handed them over.  The whole mood of the cashier changed.

I could see her face take on a less than pleasant appearance.  Please keep in mind I had less than ten items.  It wasn't like she had a million coupons to scan.  So, instead of continuing to scan my items through, she immediately stops the transaction to go through my coupons.  Right off the top she pulls one of the coupons from the pile and proceeds to tell me that I can't use it.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because you can't save $6 on this product," she says.  "We've had a lot of customers come in with this coupon and we've been instructed not to let them use it on the cheaper product."

"Why?" I persisted. "It says that I can use it on any two disposable razor packs except for the two count.  I have two twelve counts. This is a violation of your coupon policy."

She explains that obviously, the managers don't want customers getting cash back and having been scamming other customers by not allowing them to use their legit coupons on the cheaper razors that would have let them get less than a dollar back. She continues to look at through my stack of coupons with scrutiny and questioning each one.

At this point, other customers are behind me witnessing this and I start feel slightly humiliated.  Not because I'm using coupons. (There's nothing humiliating about saving money folks).  But this chick was acting like I was trying to rob or scam Walmart when it was the complete opposite.

What should have been an in and out trip had turned to a disaster.  Thankfully, I had a lower value coupon that I could use on the razors.  And instead of getting three packs like I had planned, I ended up getting one.  But even with the lower coupon I would still get the razors free.  I saw her look at that coupon and she looked like she wanted to refuse it too but I gave her my "You don't want to do that" look and she scanned the coupon through.

Now, my frustration is this:

1-I wasn't using fraudulent or illegitimate coupons.

2-I don't appreciate being humiliated or made to feel to stupid.

3-I don't appreciate stores that refuse to honor their policies.

I am very familiar with the Walmart coupon policy.  And it does not state that there is a limit of the amount of money you can get back if you have a high value coupon.  The crazy thing is that I wasn't even going to get cash back because the overage would have been eaten up by the tax and I had picked up some candy for Moo that I had put me over my calculated total.

JJ was getting a little fussy and I didn't want to wait a long time in the line at customer service with him crying his head off to talk to a manager.  So, I came home and called back to the store.  I asked the speak to a manager but guess what I stayed on hold forever and not one manager ever answered my waiting call.  I was pissed off at this point and decided to call corporate and file an official complaint. 

In closing, I just want to say that I've been very brand loyal to Walmart.  I don't appreciate mangers telling cashiers to do things that are unethical.  I will not support brands who do things like this.  What I will do is take my business elsewhere and make sure that my family and friends do the same.

If you've been having issues with your cashiers not reading coupons or not following the policy properly you cannot take that out on the other customers who are following the policy correctly without corporate approval.  I think it is needless to say that it might be a while before I shop at Walmart again.  And if I had had more sense, I should have just walked out not buying anything.

Queen City Deals-8/30/11

Ok, so here's my first official deals post.  Now, this post is called Queen City Deals but these prices are good for NC and SC and I think that some areas of GA have the same prices.  So, please visit your stores and see if your store has these products for same or relatively similar price.  I'm going to put up pics of the individual items I purchased.  Below those pics I will outline the transaction performed including the coupons/discounts used and where you can find the coupons/discounts.  Yesterday, Moo and I went on a little shopping trip to WalMart and Target and below is what we got.                                              

WalMart

                        

Febreze Noticeables Warmer $2.27
~Use $3/1 Febreze Noticeables Warmer, 8/28 P&G (x 9/30/11)
=FREE + $0.53 overage

*WalMart does give money back in the case of overages.  And in those states like NC where you have to pay taxes on all goods including free ones, the taxes will be subtracted from the overage total.


Target

Cascade Action Pacs $0.97 each (1) 4-count & (1) 3-count

~Use (2) $1/1 Cascade, 8/28 P&G (x 9/30/11)

=FREE + $0.06 overage

*Target does not give money back but will use the overages to subtract from your subtotal or put towards covering taxes.

Neutrogena Transparent Facial Bar $1.97

~Use $1/1 Neutrogena Acne/Facial Cleansing Product here

$1/1 Neutrogena Facial Skin Care Target printable coupon here

=FREE + $0.03 overage

Suave Deodorant (1.4 oz) $0.97

~Use $0.50/1 Suave Deodorant, 8/14 RedPlum (x 9/30/11)

=$0.47

So, my grand total was $0.66 with taxes for everything.  Talk about a steal!  And I'm sending all these goods with the exception of the warmer in a care package to come college students.  So, if you buy or get a Sunday paper and don't want or use all your coupons, I'll be more than happy to take those off your hands.

Happy Shopping!

Queen City Deals

As many of you know I am quite the frugal diva.  I'm always posting about great fashion finds and online sales.  But what some of you don't know is that I'm a huge couponer.  Very rarely do I shop for groceries or other household products without a coupon.  No, I didn't start this because of the extreme couponing show.  My couponing days date back to the summer of my freshman year of college.  

I wasn't living on campus with free food from the dining hall anymore.  I had moved in with my husband and noticed that we were spending a lot on food and stuff.  That was money we could be saving for date nights and other forms of entertainment.  So, I started my ritual of buying a Sunday paper and hunting down sales.  I kept old receipts and jotted down prices of products that we frequently purchased and noted when they went on sale.

And with times still being hard for some I've decided to start posting some of awesome deals and matchups for here in the Queen City/Charlotte, NC area.  I'm going to show you how you can get everything from clothing to food to household supplies and not spend over $50 a week.  I'm bet you're thinking that you can't get much, but I'm going to prove you wrong.  Hope you all enjoy!

Shopping for JJ

If you follow me on Twitter, then you heard the news that Baby JJ could possibly be here two weeks early. I went to my OB for an ultrasound and to talk about my sugar test as well as my severely low blood count on Monday.  Well, during the ultrasound appointment the tech pointed out that JJ was two weeks more developed than 86% of babies his gestational age.  She estimated according to ultrasound measurements that he's already almost five pounds!!!  That is crazy.

Can you imagine how much bigger he's going to get these last two months?  I mean that's when babies really start to put on their final pounds. So, let's say he puts on two pounds in April and then another two pounds in May.  I'm looking at trying to push out an almost ten pound baby folks!!!  And then think about the carrying around.  My arms are going to beyond tired.

Guess, I better start carrying around and cradling a ten pound bag of sugar to get used to what my baby is going to feel like.  With Moo, I at least had two weeks before she hit the ten pound mark.  JJ is going to come out weighing ten pounds or close to it which means in two weeks he'll weigh 12 pounds or more.  Since, I'm breast feeding, he'll pack on more weight than a formula feed baby in a faster time period.

Anyways, to the hubby and I decided that we needed to go ahead and get a move on getting the rest of the stuff we needed.  So, this morning I got surprised with breakfast complete with fresh orange juice.  I was glad that I didn't have to cook.  And then I enjoyed a nice hot shower minus Moo for a change.  She usually throws a fit if she hears the water running and she's not in there showering with Moo.  She thinks the shower is some kind of magic rain cloud. LOL

After we were all dressed and ready to go, we headed out to do some shopping.  Since my family is taking care of the clothes and toys, we tackled the big items and here are some of the steals we got today:




We got the Graco Kinsey DuoGlider Stroller from Target for $139.99.  That's a whole $10 cheaper than Babies 'R Us.  Needless to say I have scratched this off our registry with them.

Graco Kinsley DuoGlider

And we all know how much I love co-sleeping with Moo.  So, since we'll most likely be moving a week or two after JJ is born and won't be able to get our king sized mattress until then we decided to get a bassinet so JJ can join us.  We settled on this adorable Nod-A-Way by Safety 1st from Target as well.  It was another great buy at $79.99.

Safety 1st Nod-A-Way Bassinet

And since I hurriedly gave away Moo's baby bouncer seat, we  picked up this adorable How Now Brown Cow Open Top Take Along Swing.  Of course, it's from Target too for $49.99.  It has a three point harness and can handle up to 25 pounds!!  I loved it because we can fold it up and carry it to Grandma's or when Moo goes on in home playdates. 

How Now Brown Cow On Top Take Along Swing

We picked up a Munchkin bottle rack from WalMart for $7.99.

You've also probably heard me talk about how my hubby has been really involved with wanting to pick out a breast pump.  So, we grabbed a Playtex Petite Double Electric Breast Pump System from WalMart for $79.98.  It's a 16-piece kit that comes complete with pump motor, 2 breast cups, 2 Playtex Drop-Ins bottles, 10 Drop-Ins liners, an adapter, tubing, 2 liner rings, 2 bottle nipples, 2 milk storage sealing discs, 2 extra pump valves and of course the instruction booklet.

We also picked up JJ's first outfit that he will be coming home in and taking his newborn pics in.  However, I'll  let that be a surprise as well as my dress for my baby shower.

Overall, I would say that if you're shopping for baby gear Target is certainly the place to go.  And Big Lots is not bad if yours carries big items like double strollers, bassinets and swings.  WalMart has the best prices on baby clothes, bottles, breast pumps and diapers.  So, keep that in mind for future baby shower registries.

My Weekend WrapUp

I'm back!!!!!!  I've had a wonderful and trying four day weekend.  I never thought I'd be kind of happy to see the weekend come to end, but I was.  My four day weekend started on Friday and it wasn't all that bad.  I got to do some shopping with my mother, baby sister, niece and Moo in Rockingham, NC.  I was a little sad that we had to return our lovely rental car though.

We had a 2010 fully loaded Jeep Liberty.  It was an eye catching shade of gold with glimmers of silver, rims and huge head lights.  The interior was all black.  It had Sirius XM radio, a cd player, a very spacious trunk (perfect for hauling diaper bags and other mommy stuff) and a roomy backseat.  For a whole ten days, we were in Car Heaven.  I think I fell in love just a little bit.  And while I knew our time together was limited, I couldn't help getting attached.

Oh let me just add that I love the new HP Photo Printing Stations they've put in WalMart.  Instead of waiting hours for pictures to process, you can upload as many photos as you want and have them printed or burned to a disc in as little as 5 minutes!!!  Awesome.  And greatest thing is that prints only cost $0.28!!  You can put all your pictures on a cd for under $3.00 and print from home if you like.  You can create party and wedding invitations, birth announcements, calendars and much more on those things.

That is certainly my newest obsession.  I've already tried it out twice in one week.  As soon as I rack up another batch of pictures, I'm heading back for my third session.  I know it sounds a little crazy, but I enjoy being up on the latest technology.  And I'm one of those people who has like a million pictures in my phone or digital camera.  So, now I don't have to get them all developed.  I can pick the ones I want to get made and put the others on a cd that can be mailed to family or friends and uploaded to my computer.  The cds are a great way to keep pictures too because computers crash all the time and in case of a fire or emergency I keep them in a box that  I can pick up and take.

Saturday was a lazy day for me and the fam.  I helped my mom weed through her wardrobe and get rid of some of her older pieces.  I'm talking about stuff she's had since I was a baby.  We're slowly but surely trying to move her up in time in terms of fashion and technology.  She's getting there a little bit though.  But I was actually proud of her for getting rid of over five bags worth of stuff.  I know this seems like a lot, but trust me she still has more that she could part with.  However, for now we'll take any small victory that we can get.

Later that afternoon it was discovered that we had left our steaks for the 4th in trunk of the car.  Needless to say the heat had cooked them and we had throw them out along with some other stuff we had gotten.  Let's just say we learned our lesson about shopping and grocery shopping.  Your mind forgets that you've gone grocery shopping when you start to buy clothes, shoes and stuff.  Luckily though, I had steaks in the freezer from my last trip to the grocery store.

Now, Sunday we got a new pastor.  And let me just say oh boy is he tall!  I'm talking Shaq tall people.  He's relatively young, but I can already tell that he is one of those by the book, drill sergeant types.  I'm not so sure how long he'll be with us.  I think that he will certainly whip our loose ends into shape, but I'd like to see him work on becoming a little bit more warm and cordial.  I take my faith seriously and if there's a disconnect then I have no problems moving on.  But I'll give him a month to really get a feel for how he is.

I was also in charge of our firework show!!  I love fireworks too.  I know that I should probably to be over the excitement of such things, but I'm not.  I enjoy all things celebration related, especially fireworks.  We put on quite the show for our neighbors and the passerbys.  One of my sister's friends even stopped by and burned Sparklers with us.  Moo chose to watch from the safety of the car with my mom and niece.  They love the lights, but can't stand the sound. LOL.

On Monday, let's just say we were all a little stir crazy.  Day four was just  a little more weekend than we could handle.  Plus, the heat was blazing and not helping any of our moods.  My mom and I kind of got into a slight disagreement in which she said some hurtful things.  I just kind of listened and didn't reply.  I've learned from my childhood years that it's pretty much useless to answer to anything she says when she's in her moods.  It only makes her rant and rave more.  So, upset and pissed as hell, I took off for a walk to clear my mind.

I don't know what I was thinking because halfway to downtown, I felt like passing out.  Pushing a stroller in jeans and heavy sneakers under a 98 degree sun is no joke.  I could have had a heat stroke but at the time it seemed worth it.  I feel like I haven't been a burden on my mother at all.  Out of all of her children, I'm always the one she can turn to for help whether it be financially, babysitting or whatever.  So, of course I've written a little bit about my nasty split from a year ago that left me a little down on my luck, but I have to say that I haven't been taking advantage of my situation to bum off my family.

Yet, at times my mom tries to make me feel that way.  I have to constantly remind her that I pull my weight around the house and then some.  It is only then that she tries to apologize and come off her high horse, but of course her words have been said and my spirit broken.  So, I'm looking forward to moving later on this year.  I've found a nice place an hour away and it's currently getting the last remodeling touches put on it.

I can't express how trying it's been to adjust to being back home.  I thought it was going to be great because my mom is a single mom and I'm a single mom.  I figured we'd bond more and she said she would feel more comfortable with me staying with her instead of living by myself with a baby.  I quickly started to question whether she was really being truthfully.  It felt like a part of her was hoping that I'd decline her offer and maybe I should have.  But I'll take this as a lesson learned.

I'm getting back to my independence and my freedom!!  Glad that this chapter of my life is coming to close and that a new one is on the horizon.  Hope that you all had a blessed weekend and will have an even more blessed week!!!  Oh, congrats to Future Mama!!!  She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this weekend!!!