I have put together a page, that I will add to as time goes by, titled Frugal Living.  The resources listed include where to print coupons, forums & blogs that I view at least on a weekly basis for deals, coupon policies to stores in my local 30 minute drive area and other links for tips & resources.

I came across a blog today called Couponing to Disney.  The idea behind it sounds great – savings toward vacations that you wouldn’t be able to take if it wasn’t for the couponing & deals.  Here are a few deals from the blog:

Under $1 Deals at WalMart

Benadryl Itch Relief Sticks — $2.28
Use $5/2 from 4/11 RP (exp 7/31)
Total: FREE

Suave Deodorant — $0.97
Use 75c from 7/11 RP (exp 8/8)
Total: $0.22

Nexcare Bandages — $1.50
Use $1 from 6/6 SS (exp 10/31)
Total: $0.50

Johnson’s Baby Wash or Lotion — $1.97
Use $1 from 6/6 RP (exp 8/15)
Total: $0.97

View the full post for more Under $1 Deals at Walmart on Couponing to Disney.

These 4th of July printables by Tweedled Designs is a collection of 8 files including party invitations, punchables (useful for stickers, cupcake toppers, favor tags, etc), party banner, straw flags, labels, mini notecards, treat bag toppers and plastic water bottle labels.

Posh Pixel Design Studio was generous enough to revamp their Memorial Day printable set just for the Fourth of July. The circle stickers and the mini party flags would be a great addition to the set above.

Skip to My Lou has the Patriotic Pinwheels printable and an Uncle Sam Hat Party Favor tutorial.

Family Fun has this cute Star Spangled Welcome Banner tutorial as well as many other great 4th of July crafts, recipes & game ideas.

ENJOY THE PRINTABLES! HAVE A FUN + SAFE FOURTH OF JULY!

1. #3 – Leslie Cole “All I can say about this is WOW!!!!! I have 3 young boys at home and I am constantly struggling for something healthy and nutritious, yet also delicious, that all 5 of us will eat. This would really help me stress less and spend more time loving on my family.”

2. #24 – Katie Lou “LOVE your blog! With kids with multipile food allergies out mealtime for sure takes some major planning!”

3. #1 – Mollie “Hey Gypsy! I don’t think that I’ve been to your blog before today, and I definitely didn’t know that we have so many common interests…

I would use this resource so much. My mom and I combine forces to plan and make the meals for 8 people, and we eat at home nearly every meal. We’re already doing pretty good, but the routine gets stale and this would be such nice way to get us going again!”

I will be contacting the winners shortly by email to discuss your prize.  Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to those who participated!

If you are interested in more about receiving a copy of your very own “200 Weeknight Dinners” eBook or the online meal planning system head on over to Menu In A Box.

PS: I know there was/is an issue with the correct time & date stamp on comments.  As of 9pm when I checked comments last night, most all comments were posted and were showing as 5/26 AM times.  I plan to fix this issue before the next giveaway so there are no questions/mishaps.

How many times a week do you ask yourself, What’s For Dinner? How much time a week are you planning out your family’s dinner meals, shopping lists and grocery shopping?

A lot! I know that I was spending more time than I wanted to in planning for our meals – probably just as much time or more as I did in cooking & eating them! Then a few months ago, I came across Menu In A Box. I won a free one year membership to the site by simply entering a giveaway on the blog. I was thrilled at the thought of it and trust me, it’s came in handy!

My favorite part of the membership was actually the free gift that came along with it, an e-book. Menu In a Box 200 Weeknight Dinners Budget & Family Friendly includes 40 weeks of meals along with shopping lists. All organized and ready to print for shopping and preparing your meals! You could add one night of leftovers and one night as a take-out or go out to eat and print a page from this ebook and you have an entire week planned in seconds!

Example of How to use 200 Weeknight Meals

If your family is easy to please in the meal department, you could print the lists off and use them in the order that they are. Everything, and I do mean everything, sounds great! I, however, have one child that eats everything in sight and one that is allergic to eggs as well as has some sensory issues (picky about way certain foods feel and/or look in his hands and/or mouth). While he seems to be doing a bit better lately with those sensory issues, I do usually have to make sure I have something else on hand that is most likely microwavable or quick to throw together like a sandwich. As there are 40 weeks to choose from, I have been known to skip through a few of them and print out ones in which everyone in the household is more likely to eat all or close to all the meals from that week. And others I have used a blank printable meal planner of my own and created the shopping list for a few of the meals from the e-book and a few of my own recipes. Since my children are toddler/preschool age, I’m sure they will out grow the picky stage and I’ll have more opportunity to use each and every one of the recipes!

Advantages of 200 Weeknight Dinners

Now here’s your chance to get a copy!

3 of my lucky readers will win a copy of 200 Weeknight Dinners!

Contest starts today May 20 and ends May 25 at 11PM EST

Winners will be announced on May 26th

You may visit Easy, Quick Dinners where you can find more information about this e-book.  

To enter this giveaway, Leave a comment below and tell us how this could help your household’s weeknight meal planning. For an extra entry (must have done the above first), Follow myself @LifeAsMama and Ruthie of Menu In A Box at @MenuInABox .  Tweet out the following, then comment below that you did so.

Win a Free E-Book, @MenuInABox’s 200 Weeknight Dinners | Enter: http://bit.ly/7JYiOT | via @LifeAsMama #MealPlanner #Giveaway

It’s that simple!

I was searching today for cupcake ideas for my daughter’s birthday.  I came across Family Magazine’s Cupcake Alphabet.  These could be used to go along with the letter used with the Alphabet Animal Special.  I will share my full plan for my 3 year old son really soon so that anyone interested could use it as well.

Here are the individual links for the Cupcake Alphabet:
Apple Cupcake

Balloon Cupcakes

Clown Cupcake

Desert Island Cupcake

Elephant Cupcake

Flower Cupcake

Grapes Cupcake

Hedgehog Cupcake

Ice Cream Cone Cupcake

Jell-O Cupcake

Kitty Cupcake

Ladybug Cupcake

Mini Monsters Cupcake

Nest Cupcake

Octopus Cupcake

Pig Cupcake

Queen Cupcake

Rose Basket Cupcake

Shark Cupcake

Tic Tac Cupcake

Unicorn Cupcake

Vampire Cupcake

Wizard Cupcake

Xylophone Cupcake

Yellow Jacket Cupcake

Zoo Cupcake

I am following a few people on twitter now that are fitness guru’s or weight-loss professionals.  A lot of the tips are great but they all scream “buy my product!”.  I’m wanting to improve my overall health, not just my weight so I’ve been looking to follow a few twitter-ers or blogs that are into the natural health community.  I found one healthy fellow that I will be following (subscribing to the RSS feed of his website).  The site looks rather interesting and is not in your face about buying a product.  It includes a few topics of interest to me: depression, allergies and healthy recipes.

Do you have any suggestions/links to websites related to health & fitness?  Have you started a weight-loss program or routine this year?  If so, feel free to leave a comment to share your story.  Or if you have suggestions of exercises for someone with leg/foot injury, please leave those as well.

For busy moms on the run, this can be tough to do at times. Where do you put them in time out when you’re shopping? At the Grandparents? The park? Let me introduce you to the Take Out, Time Out Mat.

It is a 20 inch circular rubber mat with a fabric top that is bright in color – almost resembling a target. The Take Out, Time Out Mat is great for use in the house as well as on the go. Being consistent now doesn’t mean you have to place your child in the same one spot in your house, but you can place them on the same mat wherever you may be. It is able to be folded up and placed in a purse, backpack or diaper bag. While you’re in the house, place the mat where the child will still be within your sight. Cooking, place them on the mat in the kitchen or dining area where you can keep an eye on them. In the living room? Again, place them in view on the same mat. Going to the park or Grandparents? Pack the mat up with you. When needed, pull it out and place the child on the mat. Same rules apply no matter where you go; keep the same mat and the same time limits as you would at home.

Even Kelly Ripa uses the Take Out, Time Out Mat. She says “Take Out Time Out is my new traveling naughty mat. It works, I swear! And my children do not know that they can get out of it.”

I received this mat about a week ago and have began using it with my son. I don’t leave the mat sitting out all day. When my son acts up, I tell him that I will bring out the mat as a warning. So far his response has been well. He knows that if he continues doing something “naughty” that the mat will be brought out for a time out.

If you are an on the go parent, or just looking for a specific time out routine, I do highly recommend you visiting My Precious Kid to grab yourself a Take Out, Time Out Mat.

Last but not least, check back soon for a contest sponsored by MyPreciousKid!