BOGO is Great!!!

Each week Publix offers a variety of Buy One, Get one Free deals. They offer really great items with a wide assortment to choose from. Get even better deals by using a coupon with your purchase (or better yet two - that's right you can use a coupon on the free item). This week they had Texas Toast BOGO ($.50 coupons at coupons.com) and Earth's Best Stage 2 ($1 off/10 coupons at earthsbest.com). Happy shopping!

The deals go live every Thursday on their site - www.publix.com/bogo.

Wednesday Samples

Nothing is better than a free sample :) My mom always says that I just like to get mail. I LOVE getting samples - I use them for travel or for everyday use. And its a great way to try out new products - instead of buying the full size. Here are a few samples to try out:

• Every day at noon CST (thru April 30) Uni Ball is gives out 10,000 free Uni Super Ink pens
• Get a sample of Cream of Wheat - 7 flavors to choose from
• Free sample of Kerasal Exfoliating Foot ointment
• Sample the Gold Bond Ultimate Hand Sanitizer Moisturizer
• Parent's Choice Formula Samples

Thanks to Freebies4Mom for most of these posts!!

Plus get a free coupon book from Betty Crocker - you have to sign up for an e-newsletter though

Giveaways

So I never used to believe that giveaways and sweepstakes were real. I always thought it was some way that companies tried to get your information. Until I started coordinating giveaways as part of my job...

Companies really do offer free trips, products, and more - just for the exposure value of getting their product in front of you. It's not a scam (okay, I'm sure there are a few scams out there). In the last six months I've actually won two giveaways! No trips or anything, but I won a set of First Impressions baby clothes from www.thebump.com, and I just found out that I won a set of cool Knock Knock menu planning/organizing sets from www.anutinanutshell.com!! Nice!!

But there is SOOO much out there that you can win - trips, money, and more... The best list I've found yet is at About.com - here's the link

But you can find tons of other ones online - especially on Mommy Blogs (my favorites: Freebies4Mom, A Nut in A Nutshell, and Mom Giveaways).

Oh and look in April's Glamour and Redbook magazines for a few that I helped coordinate :)

Baby Food Friday

Today was an interesting day. We had our appt with the neurologist - which I'm just planning to ignore until I get a second opinion from my new pediatrician next Friday...

But, on a much better note, I tried my hand at making my own baby food today. I've made avocado twice before successfully - although today's batch had to get thrown out. Very strange, but avocado looked fine when I scooped it out but turned black while I was pureeing it...

But I made sweet potato, pear and green beans today - all for the first time. I must say, I'm not sure that the pears were worth it - but the rest certainly were. Two sweet potatoes made a ton of food (at least 12 servings) and they were so easy I was able to puree them in my magic bullet. The green beans were a bit more difficult! I tried the food processor first (no luck), then the blender (this only works if you use a lot of green beans - can't do a small portion). But it worked out great in the end!! The pear was super easy too (just steam and throw in the magic bullet) but one pear only made 2 servings (one jar of baby food). Considering the organic pear cost me $0.88 - and the jars of Earth's Best baby food only cost me $0.33 on sale (actually less because I used a coupon). But pears are on the EWG's dirty dozen list so you really should use organic - so I'll probably be making only a limited amount of this food...

For those of you who are interested in making your own food too, here are a few resources:

My favorite Web site for info, recipes and more - www.wholesomebabyfood.com

Looking for something to store your food: try babycubes, or freeze them in ice cube trays (which are 1 oz for ea cube) and put them in plastic bags.

I also love the Nuby Storage containers - you can freeze and microwave them. I also use them for sending cereal to the babysitters!

Hoping it snows tonight!! Fingers crossed :)

The New Year is Off to a Great Start

First day back at work in 2010 and I think we got a great deal to go through! Fingers crossed till all the proposals are signed, but things are looking good!! It was tough leaving little Jake again though - after being home with him for 4 days. But he loves daycare - he loves watching all the other kids and things are going much better with him and the sitters.

A Few Deals for Today:
New York & Company (only my favorite store ever) is having a 70% off sale.

Picaboo is offering a buy one book, get one free deal, until January 31. Code JANBGF - I LOVE their photobooks. They give you a ton of layout choices. I'm already working on Jacob's first year album...


And finally, why didn't I see this article about 6 mos ago. Of course, I read about it right when I'm about to stop nursing. But still good to keep on hand for the next kiddie - Convert a regular bra to a nursing bra

New Year's Resolutions

Somewhat sad, yet somewhat happy that the holidays are over. Will be nice to return to our routine and not have to drive all over the state. But I must say, it was great to see all our family and friends over the last month!!

For the record - my New Year's resolutions for 2010. Let's see if I can actually follow through on them all :)

1. To loose 10-20 lbs (the additional baby fat)
2. To cut down on my cussing (in particular around Jake)
3. To be a better godmother to Mya
4. To not forget quite as many birthdays this year...

Best of luck to all of you with your resolutions!!

Made some avocado baby food for Jacob today. 2 avocados made 8 servings (although he only eats about an ounce to an ounce and a half per serving). The magic bullet purees it perfectly! Hopefully it's this easy to make the other kinds of baby food too!!

Big week coming up - Jake has his neurosurgeon appt. We'll finally find out if (more like when) he has to start wearing a helmet! Not to worry, I'll post pictures!!

A few new coupon codes for ordering pictures online:
1. Shutterfly - 75 free prints, PRINTS2010 (valid until Jan 6)
2. Snapfish - 50 prints for 50 cents, NewYear50 (valid until Jan 7)