Month: July 2011

Aquadoodle Floor Mat and Penguin

- brandy3 2 Comments

Creativity has never been this clean! Kids everywhere are having mess free fun because of Aquadoodle! The no mess, chemical free drawing toy that never runs out! Just add water and doodle over and over again. Watch the designs disappear in minutes for a clean doodle surface.

New for Fall, kids have an all new way to express their creativity- with color! With 4 new exciting colors to choose from you can Aquadoodle in red, blue, green and purple. With all new fabric boards for soft play, you can let your child’s imagination run free with the never ending, no mess Aquadoodle!

Choose a bear, dog or penguin and bring these lovable characters to life. Just add water and doodle over and over again, as the colorful designs disappear in minutes for a clean doodle surface. Aquadoodle is a mess free, creative and fun experience for your pre-schooler!

****Both of these Aquadoodle products are so much fun. My kids love to draw, but they waste so much paper and I run out of places to put their drawings. The Aquadoodle classic mat and penguin were the perfect solution, my kids can draw and draw. No wasting paper, no mess and they have so much fun doing it. The Aquadoodle mat has been out for a while, but this new mat lets you draw in 4 different colors, Blue, purple, green, and red. You can only have that color in a certain square though, the mat is dived up by 4 colors, where the purple border is you can color purple etc.    My daughter loves the doodle buddy (Penguin), she cuddles up with it at night and draws on it during the day. The only downside with the doodle buddies, is when you draw, it doesn’t dry very well. There is still a faint picture.

Retail: Mat is $21.99 and Doodle buddy is $9.99

Available in August 2011, visit www.aquadoodle.com for more information..

Disclosure:  No compensation was received for this post, Products were provided by the company. All opinions are my own.

Target Black Friday Sales Tonight

- brandy3

Okay, well technically tomorrow at midnight, the deals start.

Target.com tells us it’s planning another “Back in Black Friday” online summer sale this Friday on www.Target.com/BlackFriday,  offering up to 50% off more than 1,500 items, from approximately midnight (PST) to 11:59 p.m. (PST).  There are limited quantities at these prices, so the earlier you log on, the better.

They have not announced any prices but have released a few products with what percentage off it will be. Like a Vizio TV for 50% off, but most likely the best deals will be gone in seconds. Make sure you stay up and look out.

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post.

Winnie The Pooh Movie Review

- brandy3

We had the chance to go see a screening of Winnie The Pooh last weekend.

Inspired by three stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Winnie the Pooh” reunites audiences with the honey-loving, philosophical bear and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo and Eeyore in a wild quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit.

**The movie definitely stuck to its original form. None of My Friends Tigger and Pooh, I never really got into the show. Christopher Robin is back and everyone thinks he has been abducted by a creature and go to look for him, He really is just away somewhere. They all set out on a journey and try to trap this monster by bringing household items they think attract him. The movie I would say is for the younger kids, around ages 1-7. My kids loved the movie, and they never really watched Winnie the Pooh. What my husband and I loved about the movie was that they actually had the characters walk along the letters of the book, as they were telling the story.

Disclosure: No compensation was received, screenings were provided by Disney.

Read. Share. Give. Book Sharing Program

- brandy3 1 Comment

 

KinderCare has launched the Read. Share. Give. Book Sharing program, help them reach their goals of a Summer of a million storytimes.

KinderCare believes all children should have access to books, both at school and at home. Spending just a few minutes each day sharing a story with children in their earliest years sets the foundation for future educational success.  It all starts with a book.  A book ignites a child’s imagination.  A book lays the foundation for future school success.  And a book can spur a child’s motivation, confidence and curiosity in the world.

  1. Two-thirds of 4th graders are below reading proficiency and 83% of low-income 4th graders are below proficient (National Assessment of Educational Progress).
  2. Some 42 percent of American children (31MM) lack the income to cover basic needs including child care and access to books (National Assessment of Educational Progress).
  3.  In some of the lowest-income neighborhoods in the country there is only one book available for every 300 children. (University of Nevada Study).
  4. 44 million adults in the U.S. can’t read well enough to read a simple story to a child. (National Adult Literacy Survey).

To get involved in the program:

Just pick a children’s book to read with your family.

Visit www.kindercare.com/read to download and print out a book label, enter your books code and start following your books journey.

Place the label on the inside front cover of the book, and pass it on to family and friends to do the same.

Disclosure: No formal compensation was received, I received a book that I will be passing along to others for this program. All opinions are my own

Goodwill Shopping Haul

- brandy3 3 Comments

Yesterday I visited Goodwill, now I know what a lot of people are thinking ewww used clothes. Trust me my husband is one of them, but you never know the deals you will find.

Here is a video of me sharing what I bought.

My Total cost retail would have been over $100 and I paid $31.80

The best deal I found as mentioned in the video

Brand new wedding/Prom dress Retail:$990.00 at Goodwill with Tags still on for $350.00 (No I did Not Buy This).

Disclosure: No compensation of any kind was received. Everything mentioned in the video was paid for by me.

Beyblade: Metal Fusion Volume 4 and Beyblade Top Giveaway Closed

- brandy3 55 Comments

The battle between good and evil is even more intense and dangerous than ever as Gingka and his friends face a villain with a plot to unleash a long forbidden Beyblade in his quest to take over the world.

I have one copy of the dvd and tops to giveaway:   Open to US and Canada

To enter:

Tell me who in your house is a Beyblade fan?

Extra entries:

Subscribe to my feed-8 entries

Grab my button-7 entries

Blog about this-6 entries

Follow me on Twitter-5 entries

Friend me on Facebook-4 entries

Leave a comment on any non giveaway post- 3 entries

Tweet this-2 entries (can be done daily)

Post this on facebook-1 entry (can be done daily)

Contest ends 8/23/11 (release date)

Disclosure: No compensation or products were received. Giveaway is being provided by company.

Extreme Couponing Backlash

- brandy3 1 Comment

The show Extreme Couponing on TLC, has brought people to think that they can get there monthly groceries for free, but with clearing shelves and holding up the checkout line for hours can make others fustrated. Not to mention the news of people stealing papers and going crazy to try and become a extreme couponer.

Retailers have started making changes too, changing thier coupon policies. Here are some of them.

Rite Aid-Rite Aid has taken the same steps as Target to crack down on shoppers looking to exploit BOGO coupon offers. The drug store chain has also made other changes including limiting the number of coupons per item to four. If inventory is running low, managers may limit the numbers further.

Target-The biggest change at Target comes to their buy one, get one (BOGO) policy. They now only allow one BOGO coupon per purchase. Previously, customers could “stack” Target printable coupons, combining store and manufacturer BOGO coupons to get both items for free.

Walgreens-Many high tech shoppers have even started to crack coupon barcodes, allowing them to use coupons on products they’re not intended for. Walgreens is working to combat this fraud by adopting a new type of barcode. New barcodes will be able to hold more data and can better make sure Walgreens coupons are used for the right product.

Publix-At Publix stores throughout the country they’re also limiting the number of coupons that can be used on one product. Their new policy limits couponers to one manufacturers coupon and one store coupon per item.

Here are some tips to stay true to couponing:

  1. play by the rules. Couponing isn’t too complicated and common sense should get you by in most cases. Rules vary store to store, so if you’re planning to use a large amount of coupons, it helps to brush up on coupon policies before you shop. This includes making sure you’re buying the item the coupon is intended for and checking to see if they’ll accept expired coupons or not.
  2. Don’t clear the shelf. In the eyes of casual shoppers, clearing entire shelves of popular sale items crosses the line between couponing and
    hoarding. If you really want to stock up on certain products, try making multiple trips or call ahead and ask a manager if they’ll set aside an order for you.
  3. Be organized before you check out. It’s a nightmare for cashiers and people waiting in line when you hand over a haphazard pile of
    miscellaneous coupons. It’ll be much appreciated if you clip them before hand and make sure they’re all facing the same direction. Also, remember to remove coupons for products you didn’t end up buying. If you are using mobile coupons, have them ready on your smartphone for the cashier to scan.
  4. Don’t shop during the busiest times. The stress level of those waiting in line during peak times is high enough. Using dozens of coupons takes time and will only irritate other shoppers. Instead, go shopping when business is slow. It takes the pressure off to complete the transaction as quickly as possible for both you and the cashier.
  5.  Be polite to the cashier and fellow customers. Sure, you might have some knowledge other customers and even clerks don’t, but it’s no
    excuse to treat others like they’re beneath you. If a cashier isn’t familiar with coupon policies, stay calm and ask to speak with a supervisor. They’re much more helpful if you don’t lose your cool. When your cart is overflowing, give those behind you a heads up that you’ll be using coupons. If someone is waiting with just a loaf of bread and gallon of milk, let them cut ahead.
  6. Don’t steal coupons! A growing trend turning the tide against couponers is theft. Newspapers and newspaper subscribers are increasingly
    finding coupon inserts stolen. This is a big no-no and can get you into some serious trouble. Many people will willingly part with their unused inserts if you ask nicely.

Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post, just sharing information shared by Consumer Savings Expert Andrea Woroch.

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