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More freebies!

January 26, 2009 by

Thanks to IveBeenNaughty on NBBC for sharing this deal:

Free Scholastic Book when you try Pampers Easy Up or Kandoo products:
To Redeem your free book, simply mail one original UPC from any pampers Easy Ups or kandoo product along with your name, daytime phone number, email address and complete mailing address to Pampers Book Offer 557 Broadway, PO Box 771, New York NY 10012.

Book offer begins 1/28/09 and ends either when 2500 free books have been awarded or 5/31/09.

I believe this deal originated on SD:

ORIENTAL TRADING COMPANY – free items, just pay shipping!
Oriental Trading Company offers $10 off $10 or more when you enter code AVA910 at checkout. Shipping starts at $6.99. (Thanks JennK1975)
Note: As you proceed through checkout, be sure to make sure the code AVA910 remains in box as the system seems to default to a different code which will not take $10 off $10.

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More Gymboree markdowns!

January 26, 2009 by


Not that anyone NEEDS more kid clothing after the great Old Navy sale, The Children’s Place monster sale, and redeeming Gymbucks, but….Gymboree did a bunch of really great markdowns that just started today (SO HURRY!)

In Kid Girl, they have marked down several of the “Happy Rainbow” items to $4.99 (Including jeans!) I bought a size up for next year and was able to get two pairs of pants and 4 shirts for $14.05 shipped (I did use my Gymboree gift card to pay for part of it….if you frequent Gymboree and haven’t checked out their Visa card yet, it’s great!)

In Baby Boy and Kid Boy, they have denim jeans and cargo pants marked down to $4.99 and several other items that have been marked down!

If you’re interested in getting a Gymboree Visa, e-mail me and I can refer you (my e-mail address is in the upper left corner of the blog). You will get a $20 enrollment bonus (the regular enrollment bonus is $10). With your Gymboree Visa, you can get 5% off any of your Gymboree purchases (even during Gymbucks redemption – this is the ONLY discount you can use during Gymbucks redemption) and you earn 1% back in the form of gift cards from all other purchases. I earned $240 in Gymboree gift cards last year, which basically pays for my kids clothes (combined with 20% off coupons and Gymbucks, of course!) There is no annual fee for this card.

MY DISCLAIMER: I only recommend getting the Gymboree Visa if you intend to pay it off IN FULL every month!

You can find other great deals for the week all in one spot here.

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Menu Planning Monday

January 25, 2009 by


I posted a lot of information about my family and how we plan meals in this initial post.

You can check out my $40 weekly shopping trip for the week here.

Here is my meal plan for this week:

Sunday – Tuesday is my husband’s birthday, but since I have to work, I’m doing the big family dinner tonight. I am also making breakfast, which I rarely do.

For breakfast, I made the Puffed Pancakes recipe that I got from Marci’s blog.

For dinner, I made manicotti, which is my husband’s favorite. I use the one straight from the Barilla website.

I also made this recipe for Basil Garlic Bread, which I got from someone off of a Babycenter cooking board years ago:

Basil-Garlic Bread

Prep: 10 min., Bake: 10 min.

1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 6-ounce Italian bread loaf

Stir together 1/4 cup melted butter, 1 teaspoon dried basil, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. Cut a 6-ounce Italian bread loaf in half horizontally; brush cut sides evenly with butter mixture. Wrap loaf in aluminum foil, and bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Yield: Makes 4 servings. (I added some parmesan cheese on top also)

Then, I made cheesecake, which is another one of my husband’s favorites. This recipe is super easy, but good:

Philadelphia 3 step cheesecake
Ingredients:
2 packages (8 ounces each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat and it works fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 Honey Maid graham cracker pie crust

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Stir in fresh lemon juice and grated lemon peel. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool and refrigerate 3 hours (or overnight). I add a can of cherry pie filling on top.

Monday – Green enchiladas – this is a modified version of a recipe my dad makes

Ingredients:
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
3-4 chicken breasts
corn tortillas
monterrey jack cheese

I place the chicken breasts, enchilada sauce, cream of chicken soup, and Rotel in the crockpot on low all day. When I get home, I shred the chicken and add it back to the mixture. Then, you can either do stacked enchiladas (pour some of the mixture on a corn tortilla/add cheese and repeat for as many layers as you would like) or do rolled enchiladas (place some of the mixture in the corn tortilla, roll, and place in a pan….repeat 9 times…then, pour the remaining sauce mixture over the top and top with cheese and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes).

Tuesday – Mix in a Blender cheese souffle – this is a recipe from my mother in law and is one of my husband’s favorite. Since tonight is his “actual” birthday, that’s what we’re having! We have yummy sourdough bread with it.

Ingredients:
1 T butter (softened)
6 eggs
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 lb cheddar cheese (sharp)
11 oz cream cheese

Butter souffle dish. In blender, combine eggs, parmesan, mustard, salt & pepper. Whirl until smooth. Cut the cheddar cheese into pieces. Add piece by piece to mixture in blender. Do the same with the cream cheese. Pour mixture into the buttered souffle dish. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour. (If souffle is prepared ahead and refrigerated, add about 5 minutes to the baking time)

Wednesday – French dip sandwiches (slow cooker)

Thursday – Creamy bacon ranch chicken (slow cooker)

Friday – Ravioli (slow cooker)

Saturday – Lemon Chicken Puff – this is from Marci’s blog and has become a family favorite!

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Deals for the week all in one spot!

January 25, 2009 by
I know that my blog can get overwhelming (at least this is what I’ve been told), especially if you are new, so I thought I’d post some of the deals for the week all in one spot:

CVS – You can find the weekly ad/coupon match ups here, the monthly deal coupon match ups here, and my weekly scenarios here.

Diapers.com – You can still get great deals on diapers without ever leaving your house! Check out all the details here.

Gap – Today is the last day of the 30% off sale. Take an extra 30% off new arrivals and get free shipping when you spend $150 or more when you enter the code SPRING at check-out. Get 3% cash back when you shop through Ebates.

Kohls – Save an extra 20-40% off selected Food Network cookware. Shop their three day specials in store (Through Tuesday) and their four day specials online (through Wednesday): 70% off selected winter coats for women, 50% off Urban Pipeline tops and jeans for boys, 60% off selected fine jewelery, 15% off entire stock of Kitchen Aid stand mixers. They are also having their Gold Star clearance where you can save 60-80% off original prices. The BEST part is that they are offering .99 shipping (if you’ve ever shopped at Kohls.com, you know that shipping can be killer sometimes!) Get an extra 4% cash back when you shop through Ebates.

Kroger – The Mega sale will reportedly continue for another week! You can access the match ups here and my scenario from my first trip here. If you want to order coupons to match up with some of the deals, I totally recommend The Coupon Clippers. Turn around time is fast and the prices are reasonable.

Old Navy – Today is the last day of the 30% off sale. Take an extra 30% off new arrivals and get free shipping when you spend $150 or more when you enter the code SPRING at check-out. They also have more clearance markdowns starting at $1.99 and up. Click here for the details. Get 3% cash back when you shop through Ebates.

Target – Save up to 75% online when you shop their clearance sale here. They are also offering free shipping on many items when you spend at least $50. Get 4% cash back when you shop through Ebates.

Click here to find out how you can get free juice and really cheap (or free) snack items. Also, check out your baby section. Many stores have baby gear on clearance for 30-75% off. People have reported finding the Sit ‘n Stand stroller for $32. Children’s clothing is also on clearance for 30-50% off. Some areas are reporting that their stores have already started clearancing the “value packs” (at my store, these were back in the area were the seasonal decor is usually)

The Children’s Place – If you haven’t taken advantange of their great clearance sale yet, it’s not too late! Their “Monster Sale” is still going on. Take an additional 50% off already reduced clearance items. Get 3% cash back when you shop through Ebates.

Walgreens – I have had a hard time getting into the Walgreens deals lately. I spent all of my RR and am waiting for my rebate gift card. I hate spending money OOP! Becky has some great coupon match-ups on her blog. There are some decent deals this week, but the only thing I really see myself doing is this because we need a refill anyway:

Printer Cartridge Refill – $5.00
-$5.00 MIR (from the Easysaver catalog)
= FREE

FREEBIES AND OTHER “NOTEWORTHY” THINGS:

Free Bath and Body Works – The details and printable coupon are here.

Free Earrings from Darcus Tori – Manda posted about this on her blog. You get a free pair of heart-shaped amethyst earrings (a $59.99 value) when you use code 0801 at check-out. You do have to pay shipping. Check out the details here.

Free Valentine’s Day Cards from Stories by Everyone – I originally saw this posted on Freebies4Mom. You can get six Valentine’s Day from Stories for Everyone. Here are the details:
(The offer expires 2/1/09)
1. Go to http://stories.scrapbooksetc.com/landings/valentine0209.php (you may have problems using Firefox, but IE reportedly works fine!)

2. Click on the red box “Create your Valentines Now” in the bottom right-hand corner.

3. Select one of the ten Valentine’s Cards by clicking on the design you want

4. Click on the green button “build now”

5. Account Setup: create a new account by entering your first name, last name, email address and password. You can uncheck the box if you don’t want to receive the weekly update newsletter from Scrapbooks etc.

6. Click on “Upload Photos” button below the preview of the design you selected. Or you can click on the “My Photos” in the top menu and then click on “Upload Photos”.

7. Click on “Add Photos” and select a photo from your computer to upload.

8. Click on “Start Upload”

9. After you’ve successfully uploaded your photo, click on the text link “Go back to My Photos”

10. Click on “Back to Book” button in the top right-hand corner. They use the term “book” to refer to any photo project including cards.

11. You will see the Valentine card design you previously selected with your uploaded photo below it. Click on your photo and drag it onto the card.

12. Select the blue “Edit” button in the top right-hand corner of the photo to make changes to your photo and the border. Then click on “Done” button.

13. Click the “Preview” button to look at your design and confirm that you are done with your editing.

14. Click the “Order” button below the preview of your photo card.

15. Click “Continue Checkout” because the default package size is “Box of 6” and that is what the free offer is for.

16. You’ll see your Shopping Cart with a subtotal of $5.34. You need to enter the coupon code valentine in the box under the text “Have a coupon?”

17. Click on “Recalculate” button after you enter the coupon code and you will see your subtotal change to $0.00.

18. Fill out your mailing address under the “Billing Information” then click the box at the bottom to copy it over to the “Shipping Information”. Click on the “Next” button.

19. You should see your order summary with a total of $0.00. Click on the “Next” button.

20. Don’t fill out any credit card information! Just leave it blank and click on “Place Order”

21. You’re done! You’ll see an Order Summary and you’ll also receive an email with your order number.

Kraft Instant Win Game – Several people have reported they’ve had “luck” winning in the early morning hours. You can enter here

Lila Guide – Find out how to get $15 in Target gift cards here.

Swagbucks – If you haven’t joined yet, you will get one free Swagbuck when you enter the code BeRewarded (it is case sensitive). For details on how Swagbucks works, read this post.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

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Scenario Sunday: CVS scenarios for the week of 1/25

January 25, 2009 by

I’m posting this early for people who like to shop early! 🙂

My coupon match-ups for the week are here. My coupon match-ups for the month are here and my scenarios for the monthly deals are here.

Don’t forget to check out my $15 CVS gift card giveaway!

Here are some scenarios for “newbies” with little or no ECB to start with:
Spend $7.48 OOP, get $19.98 in merchandise (walk away with a $2 ECB for next time)

Transaction #1:
Buy Gillette shampoo – $4.99
Use $2 coupon

Spend $2.99, get $3 ECB

Transaction #2:
Buy Gillette Fusion – $7.99
Use $4 manufacturer’s coupon
Use $3 ECB from shampoo

Total OOP = .99, get $4 ECB

Transaction #3:
Buy 2 Wisk laundry detergent – 2/$9
Use $1.50/2 coupon
Use $4 ECB

Spend $3.50 OOP, get $2 ECB

Scenarios if you have a $5/15 CRT (always scan your card before you start shopping!) – These will also work if you have a $3/15 CRT (you just spend $2 more OOP!)

Scenario #1:
Buy 3 Wyeth Products (3 Robitussin, 3 Dimetapp, 3 Advil or mix and match)
Use 3 $2 off printables
Use $5/15 CRT

Total before coupons = $15
Spend $4, get a $5 ECB

Scenario #2:
Buy 1 Fusion razor – $7.99
Use $4 manufacturer’s coupon
Buy 2 Gillette shampoos – $4.99
use 2 $2 Gillette coupon
use $5/15 CRT

Total before coupons = $17.97
Spend $4.97, get $10 ECB

Scenario #3:
Buy 2 packages Energizer batteries ($12 for both)
use 2 $1 Energizer coupons
Buy 1 Gillette shampoo – $4.99
use $2 Gillette coupon
use $5/15 CRT

Total before coupons = $16.99
Spend $7.99, get $7 ECB

Scenario #4:
Buy 4 12 packs Pepsi – $16.67
Buy 3 bags Lays potato chips – $6
Buy 1 Pepsi 2 liter (or Gatorade/Sobe Life water/Propel) – $1.25
Total before coupons – $20.58

Use $5/15
Spend $15.58, get $10 ECB (don’t forget to send off for the MIR here)

**If you usually shop “early” (on Saturdays) and you’ve already done the Pepsi deal, I would wait until next week to do this deal. I have a feeling there will be some computer glitches with pricing (the prices are different on 12 packs and chips between the two weeks) and with the computer thinking you’ve already done the deal for the week.

My Scenario: (I will do this all in one transaction)
$52.96 in merchandise for free! (walk away with $17 ECB)

Buy 2 Huggies Pull Ups – $10/each
Use 2 $2 off Pull Ups coupons
Buy 3 Advil Cold & Sinus – $5/each
Use 3 $2 Advil printable coupons
Use $1 CVS CRT
Buy Gillette Fusion Razor – $7.99
Use $4 Gillette manufacturer’s coupon
Buy Gillette shampoo – $4.99
Use $2 manufacturer’s coupon
Buy 2 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish – $1.99 (BOGO free)
use $1 manufacturer’s coupon
Buy 2 CVS tissues – on sale 2/$1

Total before coupons = $50.97
Use $10/50 CVS CRT (be sure to scan your card!)

Total after coupons = $22.97 (Pay w/ ECB), earn $17 ECB
(I will also get back $1.50 in rebates from Caregivers)

**JUST AN FYI – Apparently the “Fusion Gamer” won’t be available in stores until 1/30. I was hoping some of the other Fusion razors would work for the deal, but I scanned them while I was there today and they aren’t!

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