WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
INSERT INTO wp_postmeta (post_id,meta_key,meta_value)VALUES (1,'enddate','')

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
INSERT INTO wp_postmeta (post_id,meta_key,meta_value)VALUES (1,'shortname','')

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11597,11616,11627,11636,11689,11708,11711,11720,11726,11731,11738,11780) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

Frugal Novice

You’ll FLIPP for These Great Halloween Deals

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11764) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

Note: I received compensation to facilitate purchase of deals found with the Flipp app. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Halloween is next weekend (!) and the kid in me was pretty thrilled to discover that it falls on a Saturday evening. It works out perfectly -Friday night we’re having friends over for a pumpkin carving & painting party, and we’re having a Halloween-themed meal for the kids, since Saturday will be busy with trick-or-treating. It’ll be a lot of fun, and I decided I needed to ramp up my Halloween decor and supplies to get ready.

I knew that, when shopping, I didn’t want to break the bank on items we’ll only get to use for a short time each year, so I turned to my Flipp app on my iPhone to help me find the best sales and coupons. If you haven’t heard of Flipp before, it is a free iPhone & Android app that aggregates all your favorite retail circulars onto one super-handy digital device for seamless access to the very best deals on everything you’re shopping for. There are all sorts of categories to pick from, or you can do a search to find the specific item(s) you want.

The screen below is my favorites screen; it shows me circulars for the stores I shop at most.

Flipp-Favorites

I was on a mission, though – to find great Halloween deals. I did a search for Halloween, and it brought up all the deals in my area.

Continue Reading…

Three Low-Cost Ideas for Family Holiday Fun

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11739) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

This partnered post is brought to you as part of my Denny’s Ambassadorship. All opinions are honest and are my own.

The holidays will be here before we know it. I know from years past that we’ll get busier and busier as the holidays get closer, so I’m already starting to plan ahead – I know I’ll be thankful when we’re in the midst of the holiday season. And since the holidays can also be one of the most expensive times of the year, I’ve got three great – and affordable – ideas for family holiday fun. You could do all three in one evening, or you can split them up. Either way, these will make for some fun family memories:

ChristmasLights

1. Make looking at Christmas lights extra special.

Driving around town to look at Christmas lights is a tradition many of us probably experienced as children. I have lots of memories of driving past a particular neighborhood in Fort Worth, where the lights from houses reflected on to a small pond and seemed almost magical. If you’re planning on taking your kids to look at lights, you can easily (and cheaply) step up the experience a bit with a few special touches:

  • Line the car seats with cozy fleece blankets, and have extra blankets and pillows for each car rider.
  • Have everyone (you too, Mom & Dad) wear pajamas.
  • Pack a travel mug of coffee or hot chocolate for everyone, complete with peppermint for an added Christmas flavor.
  • Bring along popcorn, cookies, and/or candy for the kids to have a special treat while you drive around.
  • Have a Christmas music playlist ready to go for background music.
  • Get a cheap pair of binoculars and let the kids take turns looking at houses up close and personal!
  • Play a version of BINGO, having the kids look for various decorations (i.e. inflatable snowman). Here’s a link to a free printable card.

2. Have a fun holiday-themed meal.

Eating out as a family doesn’t have to be expensive – in fact, I’ve written before about how we fed our family of five for just $20 at Denny’s. You can have an affordable – and extra-fun – meal for you and the kids with Denny’s great holiday offerings for kids and grown ups alike:

Continue Reading…

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Triple Play

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Boys & Girls Club of America. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Our kids are young – 8, 6, & 3 – and Brian and I think all the time about how this is a time in their lives in which we’re helping them establish habits that might last an entire lifetime. We hope to teach them polite habits, thoughtful habits, and healthy habits. Being healthy, of course, can encompass so much – mind, body, and soul. From a young age, activities such as taking part in school sports, making friends at after school clubs, and maintaining a balanced diet contribute to the health in all three of these areas. The skills and routines practiced as children influence habits well into adulthood, and establishing healthy lifestyle patterns with our children helps them carry these skills forward for the rest of their lives. Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Triple Play program encourages us to continue shaping our children’s future and get out and about with our family.

Triple Play launched in 2005 and has made close to 10 million connections with kids, sharing how important it is to have physical activity and proper nutrition.

Continue Reading…

When We Needed Extra

I have, over the years, developed a love for traveling with minimal baggage. I used to over-pack for trips, thinking of every possible thing I might need while away. Now, though, I pack the bare minimum. This is largely because I know we’ll also have luggage for four other people in our vehicle, and because I know that whatever I pack will eventually have to be unpacked upon our return home.

There’s one exception to this rule, though: supplies for cleaning up. Napkins, towels, wipes… we’re prepared, folks. And it’s not just because I was a girl scout. It’s because we learned from our experience. From our oh-so-unpleasant, toddler-puking-all-over-dad-in-the-middle-of-a-restaurant-and-then-again-in-the-car experience in the middle of a different city, right before we were supposed to get back on the road to head home from a day trip. We had to make not one but two trips to the store to get a bucket, a change of clothes for both my husband and son, paper towels, and trash bags.

There are just certain things, certain necessities, you want to make sure you have extra of – because you definitely don’t want to run out of something crucial when you really need it.

Continue Reading…

#SavorSimple Moments with Your Furry Friends

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11705) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

This post is part of a compensated campaign with Purina, who is also providing the prizes for giveaway. All opinions are honest and are my own. 

First of all, if you haven’t already entered my giveaway for your chance to win one of THREE Waggin’ Train prize packs, go do that real quick. Then come back here and finish this post.

Now, back to business.

We are busy. Not as busy as some families, but busier than I’d like a lot of times. We’re on the go many evenings during the week, and sometimes we don’t get to spend as much time with our dogs Sally and Ninja as we’d like to.

Thankfully, it’s easy to tell that what makes them happy is being with us, so even if Brian and I are working on design freelance, or we’re watching a show together to decompress after a busy week, the dogs can be right there (and I mean rightthere) with us. Ninja really just wants to spread out on the cool floor with us near him, and he’s happy as can be!

Ninja_SprawledOut

I also love it when Sally hops up in bed with us – she circles around a few times before she settles into her spot, and if one of the kids is in the room she’ll inevitably be laid on (which she actually adores, because she’s such a sweet dog).

Continue Reading…

Purina’s Waggin’ Train Dog Treats are a Hit! {Giveaway}

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11706,11707,11702) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

This post is part of a compensated campaign with Purina, who is also providing the prizes for giveaway. All opinions are honest and are my own. 

If you saw some of my posts last week, you know that our dogs are a big part of our family; we had fun celebrating them for National Dog Week, but that doesn’t have to end just because the week is over! We want to keep letting our dogs know we love them with plenty of attention, plenty of petting, plenty of play, and plenty of treats!

If you don’t remember, we have two pups in our family:

Sally is 4, and is an 80-pound labrador/golden retriever mix. She is a mouth breather, so you always know when she’s nearby… and she loves to be near us so we almost always hear her panting. :) She is incredibly sweet and she thinks she’s a lap dog.

Sally_CloseUp_Gameroom

Ninja just turned 1 in April, and he’s a yorkie/schnauzer mix. He is only about 12 pounds, and I’m betting 2 pounds of that is fur – he’s our little mop! He also likes to be right where we are all the time, unless he’s wrestling with Sally (because while she thinks she’s a lap dog, he clearly thinks he’s an 80-pound lab).

Ninja_Up

While our dogs couldn’t look any more different from one another, they’re the best of friends (I guess opposites attract?) and they play together all the time. It really is as if he’s the little brother who thinks his big sister is so cool and so he wants to be around her all the time. But since he’s the little brother, he has to also bug her and beg her to play with him.

Purina_WagginTrain_Featured2

One thing the dogs definitely have in common is their love of the Purina Waggin’ Train Chicken Jerky treats. I pulled out the chicken jerky curls for them to try the other day, and Sally practically climbed up on to the dining table (which she doesn’t even do for PEANUT BUTTER, friends – that’s saying something!).

Continue Reading…

How To: DIY Oil Change With Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic Oil

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11686,11687,11685) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #DIYOilChange #CollectiveBias

There are lots of lessons that parents want to pass along to their kids – one of those life skills is changing your own oil. It’s something I’ve got to admit I didn’t know how to do until recently, when Brian taught our oldest son and I tagged along to watch – and to take pictures, so I could share a how-to with you, too!

First, you’ve got to make sure you’re equipped with all the necessary tools. As you might guess, oil is pretty key to have. We headed to AutoZone and picked up some Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic Oil.  We decided to give this oil a try because we’d heard geat things about the complete protection it provides. No other leading motor oil provides better protection from friction, and we wanted to use  high-quality oil that has been specially designed to give our engine complete protection.

OilZone_Sign

AutoZoneOilAisle

PlatinumPennzoilPrice

Continue Reading…

Denny’s Makes a Difference #DennysNKH

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11656,11650,11648,11638) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

This post is part of my compensated ambassadorship with Denny’s. All opinions in this post are honest and are my own. 

Just $10 to No Kid Hungry can provide up to 100 meals for kids who need them. 

As you all know by now, I’m a Denny’s ambassador. It’s been a lot of fun learning about all Denny’s has going on – I’ve even visited their test kitchen in South Carolina to see all the work and planning that goes into every single part of the Denny’s experience (spoiler alert: it’s impressive). It was there, over a year ago, that I first learned about Denny’s partnership with No Kid Hungry, which still continues to this day.

No Kid Hungry is a charity that helps make sure children don’t go without a very basic need: food. It’s a cause that’s near and dear to my heart – the thought of kids having to function throughout their day with empty bellies is sickening. I get shaky if I skip lunch one day, and I’m a grown adult. I know my children definitely give off signs of hunger, and that’s just from having a later dinner one night. I can’t imagine them going without food, and No Kid Hungry aims to end that problem for kids around the country. Check out these facts on what a difference breakfast makes for kids:

BreakfastChangesLives_infographic_FINAL

I get the opportunity to help raise money for No Kid Hungry through the Denny’s campaign, and I got to host a fundraiser dinner this past week to help inform friends and family about this great partnership – I thought I’d share a few photos about our event and then I’ll share how you can make a difference (fun fact: did you know that if you donate $1 you can provide up to TEN meals for children? That’s some major change you can make with minimal cost to you, friends!).

Brian_Patrick_Menus

Grandma_E_Fruit

Anthony, the GM at our location, was amazing in helping coordinate the event. He set us up in a private room, and as their contribution to the fundraiser he even donated drinks for the event. That is going above and beyond, but it’s not surprising to me given our experience with our location. They’re a great team of people who care.

Waitress_Jay

Continue Reading…

Tagamoto Road Sets Bring Hours of Hot-Rodding Fun!

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11631,11610,11606) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

We received some Tagamoto sets to try out for this review. We weren’t compensated monetarily, and all opinions are honest and our own.

Holiday Gift Guide 2015

It’s never too early to start thinking about what to get your friends & family for Christmas; I personally like to spread shopping out over several months so it’s not a huge hit to our December budget! So, yes, it’s September (October’s just around the corner, though, folks!) but here’s the first of my Hoilday Gift Guide items for 2015 – a fun toy for the kids in your life.

Our boys love playing with cars. I think it’s a pretty timeless favorite for kids everywhere – I can remember my little brother lining cars up for hours and imagining all sorts of scenarios for their various races and situations.

When I first saw Tagamoto road sets at our local Target I thought immediately it was something the boys would have a blast with. Tagamoto is made by the same company who created HexBugs, and those electronic critters were quite popular around our house for a while!

I love that the Tagamoto tracks are very customizable. You get a set of tracks that comes in various types of segments – straight paths, U-turns, curves, etc. and you’re able to assemble it exactly how you like. There are even little dead-end blocks you can put up.

Tagamoto-Pieces

The boys spent a good amount of time figuring out the configuration they wanted for the track. It was fun watching them problem-solve as they figured out the best way to use the most amount of pieces. And we had several sets, so they were able to put together a pretty massive track that spanned most of the length of our dining table.

Tagamoto_Tracks

Continue Reading…

#NationalDogWeek Giveaway! #FriendsWithBeneful

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11617) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

This post is part of a compensated campaign with Purina. All opinions are honest and are my own.

I’m sure y’all have seen my other posts this week sharing a little about our dogs Sally & Ninja. National Dog Week is a great time for us to really appreciate how much they add to our family, and how much we love them!

Beneful_Goodies

Beneful is celebrating, too, and they sent us a really fun bag of goodies for the dogs. In addition to celebrating National Dog Week this year, the Beneful Dream Dog Park Project is supporting a wide variety of different dog park projects across the U.S. and help further the Beneful team’s mission of celebrating the joyful life dogs and owners share together. Beneful is supporting dog park projects large and small, and lending a paw to help make dog park dreams come true through a mix of financial support, hands-on volunteerism and dog park expertise. We have a dog park in our city, and it gets used SO much. I think it’s a great feature every city should have, and I love that Beneful is helping support the creation of more dog parks.

Continue Reading…

Eat, Play, & {Puppy} Love: National Dog Week

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (11598,11599) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

This post is part of a compensated campaign with Purina. All opinions are honest and are my own.

DogPawHeart

You love your dog, don’t you? I know we sure love ours! Since it’s National Dog Week I’m especially thinking about how thankful I am for Sally & Ninja. They’re a part of our family and they are completely loyal and loving to us. And you know what? It’s incredibly easy to make your pups happy and thank them for all the love they give.

Sally_ShakingPaws

Continue Reading…