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Frugal Novice

Enter Here: Quick Draw Giveaway ($25 to MelissaAndDoug.com)

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Congratulations on finding the numbers and entering the correct password! Just comment below for your entry into the giveaway for $25 to MelissaAndDoug.com! By entering this giveaway you agree to the Official Rules.

Have a wonderful day, and good luck to everyone!

Cars 2: Lightning McQueen Alive

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Looking for a unique toy to give this holiday season? Well…

Lightning McQueen Alive is no ordinary toy. Check out some of the features:

I was even impressed with the packaging – it will be sure to make an impact with anyone who receives it:

 

To really get an idea of what this car can do, you’ll have to check out the videos below. We were amazed at how realistic the animation of McQueen talking is, and all of the different driving sequences he can complete.

Despite what we originally thought, this toy is meant for older children or for adults. J loves it, but because it’s pricier (we found it retailing for $62 in most places) we make sure we’re around when he plays with it. It is a huge hit with both of the boys, though.

The vehicle charges by “gassing up” at the Allinol tank, which takes 6 AA batteries. It’s easy to attach & detach, and to tell when McQueen is ready to go, thanks to the red and green lights on the gas tank.

You can find the Lightning McQueen Alive here if you’d like to buy it for someone on your holiday list! It’ll be sure to stand out to any Cars fan, young or old.

Note: We received the Lightning McQueen Alive from Mattel for review. All opinions are honest and our own. We were not compensated monetarily for this post.

Ten Tips for Road Trip Survival

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We’re leaving on a road trip next week. But not just any road trip. An 18-hour road trip. With a two-year-old and four-year-old in tow. In honor of this trip, I decided to create a list of things that might help us survive – and maybe even really enjoy – the drive.

  1. Three words: Portable. DVD. Player. Every parent who’s ever gone on a long trip with kids will extoll the virtues of this device. I don’t typically advocate using videos as a babysitter, but in the car I think it’s valuable tool for breaking up long spurts of essentially just sitting around, especially when kids are too young to read. Here’s another idea – take advantage of Redbox and pick up new movies at various stops along your trip. You can return the DVDs to any machine, so you can always just have one or two out at a time and your kids will get a new variety of entertainment.
  2. Pack plenty of blankets and pillows. I’m a nester… I want any space I’m spending time in to be comfortable and feel homey, and I’ve always been that way. It’s a lot more pleasant to be stuck in the car for a long time if you’re snuggled up with a blanket and pillow!
  3. Offer prizes. Yep, I resort to bribery on long road trips. We usually go buy up some cool-looking Hot Wheels cars for $1 each, and some other items from the Target dollar section. In the past I would just periodically pull one out for each of the boys, but now that they’re older I want to incorporate some fun into it – the small toys can serve as prizes for correctly guessing an I Spy, coloring a great picture, or for winning a round of the quiet game.
  4. If possible, travel when the kids are sleeping. I really hate driving (or, ahem, traveling… Brian does most of the driving on our road trips) at night, so we very rarely abide by this one. It can really make things easier, though! Our boys typically go to sleep around 8:00, so if we drive until midnight that gives us four hours of quiet drive time.
  5. Listen to audiobooks and FUN music. Growing up, we always listened to music on road trips, but now with how easy it is to load up audiobooks on your MP3 player, these are a great option for listening material in the car. Chick Fil A and Taco Bueno are both offering great audiobooks in their kids’ meals right now, by the way! We’ve amassed a collection of VeggieTales stories from CFA, and two Scholastic books from Bueno. Another idea: After you listen to a story, ask the kids questions to see what they remember, or what they thought about certain things that occurred. It’s a great conversation starter! As far as music goes, it’ll vary with the ages of your children. With small kids like ours, though, sacrifice your musical integrity and listen to some Old MacDonald. A family sing-along can be a lot of fun for everyone.
  6. Play games. I referred to it earlier, but games definitely make trips go by faster! Brian and I play “My Father Owns a Grocery Store” where you take turns thinking of an item from the supermarket that begin with a certain letter of the alphabet, and the other people have to guess. It’s surprisingly fun and helps make the time go by more quickly. If you’re looking for other game ideas besides the standard I Spy, here’s a list of 101 ideas you can choose from. I’m also a huge fan of MadLibs, and so are the boys. I like to come up with my own basic stories for them because then I can center the subject around something the boys really like.
  7. Drive a vehicle with plenty of space. I know it’s not always possible, but the more space you have, the happier everyone will be. We get to try the 2011 Ford Explorer on our road trip, and are excited about having a lot of space for both luggage and our family.
  8. Provide a variety of snacks. If you have a cooler along with you, I’m a big fan of string cheese. The boys take forever to eat it, and it’s a healthy option. Grapes (I cut mine in half because I’m paranoid about the boys choking) are another good choice. Crackers and chips can crumble all over the place, so think about the mess potential when you’re picking food to bring. Oh, and always have lollipops on hand. Those can buy us a good 10 minutes of happy silence!
  9. Art time! Instead of pulling out coloring books, bring cardstock along and let your kids create masterpieces to mail to family and friends. Another idea is to work together as a family to create a storybook – draw all the pictures first, have the kids place them in the order they want, and then write the story to go around the images.
  10. If you’re stopping overnight on your trip, pack one “hotel” bag. Nothing’s more annoying than getting to your hotel late at night and then having to dig through luggage to find everyone’s suitcases and toiletry bag. Instead, pack PJ’s and the next day’s outfit for everyone in one duffel bag with toiletries. If you have small children, pack some outlet protectors in the bag too for a little childproofing.

I’ll be writing a series of posts starting next week that chronicle our trip, so I hope you’ll tune in and follow along. In the meantime, you have any tips for traveling with small kids, I’d love to hear them!

Wordless Wednesday: Love Those Smiles!

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And love those boys! I’m one blessed momma.

Voice Rockrz Mic

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Help your kids find their inner rock star with the Voice Rockrz Mic. The interactive microphone changes a child’s voice as they perform with just a tap of the included accessories (a ring and a bracelet) to the Mic target zone. There’s a hi-note effect, an echo-tastic effect and a robo-riffic effect. You can also add concert sound effects like audience applause or a drumroll.

By plugging in any MP3 player into the jack, kids can rock out by singing along to their favorite songs! The mic is available in blue or pink, and requires 3 AAA batteries, which are included.

Our boys had a blast with the mic – they love hearing themselves talk and sing, so amplifying their voice and adding funny effects just made it 10 times better. Here’s a mini-performance from C, including a mic-check and everything.

Halle Joy Jewelry – Necklace Giveaway!

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Halle Joy creates beautiful collections of fashion jewelry, handbags, and accessories to enhance the physical, mental, and spiritual beauty of those who wear them. They’re also committed to making the world a better place. Find out more in this video:

So, with Halle Joy you get the best of both worlds – beautiful products, with the knowledge that you’re helping make a difference in someone’s life!

I received this necklace for review:

Isn’t it pretty? It’s a classic heart silhouette with some sparkle. It’s not my style specifically, but I can still appreciate the beauty of the jewelry, and how well-made it is. They have a ton of different styles of jewelry and bags, which makes it a pretty sure thing that you’ll be able to find something for virtually any woman on your gift list! You can also let the recipient know that a portion of the proceeds from every piece Halle Joy sells goes to support worthy causes around the world. You even get to choose your favorite cause to support at checkout.

One lucky winner will receive a necklace from Halle Joy! This contest is open to all US residents aged 18+. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight Central) Wednesday, December 7. By entering this giveaway you agree to the Official Rules.

Mandatory Entry: Visit the Halle Joy site, then comment below telling me what your favorite product is!

(Only valid after the required entry has been completed)

Please leave a comment for each extra entry – if you blog about this giveaway and get 2 entries, for example, comment 2 times.

Note: I received a necklace to review, and Halle Joy is providing one for the giveaway. Any opinions provided in this post are honest and my own. I was not compensated monetarily for this review.

Make a Statement This Christmas with Custom Cards from TinyPrints.com

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I’ve been a huge fan of Tiny Prints for a long time – they’ve got a ton of beautiful, modern, well-designed cards to choose from. Their Christmas cards are no exception. I was browsing their site just the other day (although I’m still a little in denial that it can really almost be time to start thinking about Christmas cards already!) and came across these three designs that I’m pretty much in love with:

See what I mean? Each of these designs is unique and distinct, but they are all so, well, pretty!

Now that I’m older and have friends scattered throughout the country (and even some around the world), the tradition of sending cards has become more important to me. As we receive cards, we tape them up on the back door as a kind of gallery to view throughout the holidays. How do you display your holiday cards?

If you’re looking for a way to make a statement and send a card that your friends and family will love displaying in their homes, be sure and visit TinyPrints.com to find a card that’s just right for you!

Note: I will be receiving cards from TinyPrints to thank me for my post. All opinions in this post are honest and are entirely my own. I was not compensated monetarily for this post.

Name Your Tune Personalized CD’s

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If you’re looking for a fun idea for kids in your life, you’ve found it with the Name Your Tune CD’s! These discs inject your child’s name into classic songs like:

1. Hello, How Are You?
2. If You’re Happy And You Know It
3. Little ______ Had A Farm
4. Oh, How I Want to Go
5. Wheels On The Bus
6. Boom Boom, Ain’t It Great To Be YOU!
7. Down At The Park
8. The More We Get Together
9. Head And Shoulders
10. There Are Seven Days
11. Rainbow Song
12. ABC Medley (ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep)
13. I Don’t Want To Live On The Moon
14. Instrumental Lullaby

These songs are fun and recognizable, and it’ll make your child’s day when he hears his name pop up! If you have more than one child, don’t worry – for us, every other song has J’s name, and the others have C’s name. They love it so much that they listen to it every night to fall asleep to – and it’s great to listen to in the car, too!

Note: We received two CD’s for review. All opinions are honest and are our own. We were not compensated monetarily for this post.

CoffeeStack Review

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Like many people today, we have a Keurig coffee maker in our home. Brian drinks coffee and I don’t (I’m a hot cocoa kind of girl) so it’s perfect for us – we can each use a K-Cup to make one cup of what we like, not making an entire pot and wasting some.

The only downside we’ve found is that the K-Cups can take up a lot of space. Our solution in the past has been to dump them in a basket on the counter, which looks cluttered and haphazard, but was the best option we could think of.

Until now.

The CoffeeStack is a unique solution that holds 40 K-Cups in less than 6 inches of cabinet space. Of course, you can also use it out on your counter, which we’ve chosen to do.

You just slide a drawer out until it’s extended all the way, then lower it. It’s very easy to find which flavor you’d like – or more importantly, it will make it easy for guests to find what they want when they’re staying with you.

Now instead of a cluttered basket, we’ve got a slim, sleek, stainless finish CoffeeStack. It works just as well on our counter as it does in the cabinet, so it’s nice to know it’s got a little versatility to how you can use it.

The Coffee Stack would make a great gift for any Keurig owner. It’s priced at $34.95 which is slightly higher, but pretty comparable to the price of other organizers. This one has the distinction of working well in cabinet space so it’s easy to tuck away if you desire – you’re just not going to find that with other options.

Note: I received a CoffeeStack for review. All opinions are honest and my own. I was not compensated monetarily for this post.

New Air G70 Garage Heater Review

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Even though we live in Texas, it can get reallllllly cold during the winter. It’s during these times that I particularly dread doing laundry, because our machines are out in the garage. I plan ahead to spend as little time out there as possible and have been known to bundle up. To do laundry.

Well, I now have no excuse for avoiding laundry this winter, because we’ve got the NewAir G70 garage heater. This compact heater is 4,000 watts and can easily heat up to 400 square feet. It even comes with a mounting bracket so you can have it up safely out of the way. There’s a built-in thermostat that maintains your preset temperature and has a range of 45°F to 77°F.

Garage heaters would be a great gift for anyone who likes to spend time out in a garage or shop, or for any families that have a laundry setup like we do! This one in particular is one I’d definitely recommend, with its range, its safety features and its size that allows it to fit well in any space. I know we’ll be enjoying ours all winter long!

Note: We received a garage heater to facilitate this review. All opinions are honest and our own. We were not compensated monetarily for this post.

150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes (Second Edition) Review

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We absolutely love our Crock Pot – it can be a lifesaver on busy days. But we end up making the same recipes over and over again… especially soups! That’s why I’m happy to add the 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes (Second Edition) cookbook to my collection.

The first edition has 425,000 copies in print – this second edition is revised to reflect today’s home cook. It includes nearly 100 of the original favorites from the first edition, plus an additional 75 new recipes that have been carefully sourced and selected by the author. There are more fish, seafood and vegetarian favorites along with more whole-grain offerings.

The cookbook has a ton of vibrant, full-page photos accompanying the recipes. It also breaks down everything you need to know about the recipe – what size slow cooker to use, how many it serves, if it’s entertaining worthy, if it’s easy to be halved, and tips to make the meal the best it can be.

This cookbook would be a great gift for someone who loves to cook – I do, and like I mentioned I’m excited to try its recipes – but it would also be a nice option for someone who doesn’t like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, because slow cooker recipes are notoriously user-friendly!

Note: I received a copy of this cookbook for review. All opinions are honest and are my own. I was not compensated monetarily for this post.