http://holidaygifthunt.com/?plink=1322057039_XL66876
This is a great contest where you can win a trip, a laptop, or many other prizes like gift cards to Starbucks, etc. You can play every hour and answer the question to see if you win instantly! The contest runs until December 7, 2011. Good luck to all!
http://sobeysholiday.com/?plink=1321232216_XL14144
Sobeys has a great holiday contest with lots of prizes to be won. You could win one of 92 Instant Win Sobeys gift card prizes, two $500 prizes, ten $100 prizes, forty $50 and forty $25 prizes. It has a daily spin to win. The contest is a daily contest and you can enter once daily until January 3, 2012. Good luck to all!
Halloween is a fun time for the kids. They get to pretend to be someone or something that they always wanted to be or whatever type of creature they want. They can be a witch, a goblin, a doctor, a farmer, an animal such as a cat or dog, a creepy ghost or whatever their heart desires. It is fun to watch them and see what they will be this year. My daughter decided she wanted to be a witch this year (originally wanted to be a cat but then changed her mind like a girl can do). My boys are into Star Wars so they want to be one of their characters again, Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. Harry Potter is a popular choice or such “cool” characters. Our traditions of Halloween begin with choosing what outfit they want to become and then goes the search for finding the costume (and at a good price too). They have parties at school and have a great time wearing their outfits there.
Then of course comes Halloween. We like to decorate our place with the jack-o-lantern with a candle inside, decorate the windows with pumpkins etc, and have spooky music, etc.. for when the kids come knocking on the door. And candy is a must for all those trick-or-treaters out there. This year we are giving out Allan Candy when the kids come knocking on our door. All the products are made in Canada (as they are a Canadian company) and all their products are peanut free ! Their Halloween candy this year includes Allan Intense Jubes & Jellies, Allan Chewy Rascalz and Allan Fruit Buddies. You’ll find these selections at key retailers, including Wal-Mart and Loblaws. Kids will love them!
I also love to see what new costumes all the kids in the neighbourhood are going to wear this year and from year to year, and I always keep track of how many kids end up at our door. Even though we may not have as many kids as some other houses, we enjoy seeing them and having a great time!
Before my kids go trick-or-treating, I always have a chat with them about staying safe at Halloween and not eating the candy until we check it etc. Wear something so cars can see you whether it be glow bracelets etc. but watching yourself too, etc… It is very important to be safe! We have fun and look forward to each year as it comes.
So Happy Halloween everyone, stay safe outdoors!
Disclosure – I am participating in the Allan Candy Company program by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.
When I was a new parent, I wanted lots of advice from friends, family, or wherever I could find information. For lots of parents, especially new parents, there is a need to find information about questions you may have. And being a new parent the list may be endless on what to do including getting your child to sleep, feeding, changing your baby, what brands to use, etc.. What do I feed my child and when do I introduce new foods? You are not alone. Lots of new parents need a place to go to have discussions or learn about new products, etc. and now there is one.
There is a facebook page called Baby and You where you can learn about all sorts of topics about baby and mom. There is a baby chat and also there is a place where you can have a mom chat, so it’s not just about the baby. It’s about taking care of you as well. And we all need some “me time” as it is healthy not only for you, but for your baby. It is a great community for you to learn and help your baby grow at the same time!
Periodically they also will have exclusive coupons or promotions so you can save money on different baby products for your family. This is great as every family could use some savings since a lot of baby items are so expensive. If you check back on their website in early September, there may be something about Joe Fresh. Do you like Joe Fresh??? I know I do.
There are also featured bloggers on their website that you can go to their web pages or blogs and find out their tips on being a mother and all things baby related. Just look to the left-hand side for the list of people/websites to visit!
I think it is worth it to check out their website. Like them today!
Disclosure – I am participating in the Baby and You program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Loblaw Companies. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.
http://www.exploresaskatchewan.com/
Here is a contest with great prizes within Saskatchewan.
You could win $5,000 towards building a Saskatchewan vacation of your dreams, one of three fabulous Saskatchewan vacation packages, electronics (including smart phones and tablets), or watersports gear. Usually these are one time entries, but could not see whether it was or not. Contest ends September 30, 2011. Good luck!
Since it is that time of year and Mother’s Day is just around the corner, I have decided to make a post to help all the moms out there, not just at Mother’s Day, but all throughout the year. I am a busy mom of 3 children, two boys and a girl, and I also work outside the home, so trying to balance life is not easy. Sometimes you are in a rush (well sometimes quite a lot) between work, all the sports activities, shopping, running around etc.. every family has to do. My very own dear mother helped me at a time in my life when I needed it due to an accident I endured, and I would like to share it with you.
A few months ago I was playing a sport with one of my children’s teams (hockey against the moms night) and I ended up breaking my wrist from a fall on the ice. I am right handed, and of course my right hand broke. I ended up having surgery and everything. So needless to say, I could not do a whole lot. Even getting dressed was a problem for a while. I needed to rely on others whereas I never needed to before. My mother had given me a recipe book a couple of months before that, and I had tried some of the recipes inside it and they were very good. It is called “The Big Cook”. It is discounted at Chapter's Indigo Book Store right now for $21.74 or you can purchase it at http://www.thebigcook.com/
I am not sure if any of you have heard of it or not, but I would highly recommend it. You can cook healthy meals for your family that do not take too long to prepare or a lot of work. Kids love it and you can make as many meals as you want at one time and then you can freeze them for later. The book recommends getting together with friends and making a lot of meals. Then you can socialize and end up with lots of meals at the same time. And it ends up saving you a lot of time in preparation. You just take it out when you need it. My family loves it too. My kids especially love the Cantonese chicken recipe and the Lazy Man’s Lasagna. Do you know of any other great recipe books for families? Let me know.
Also, when I broke my wrist, my mother came over and we made a bunch of recipes and labeled Ziploc bags (with the recipe and the page number on top of the bag so you know which recipe you have) and put them in the freezer for a later date. Then when I needed them I would just put them in the crockpot or the oven and my family and I could still eat healthy plus save time. It was a lifesaver! But it is not just for those that injure themselves. It is for the regular family. Anyone can use this book!
If you are looking for other ways to save, that’s not all. When you do your grocery shopping, there are a few tips to learn:
1. Stick to your grocery list. You can save a lot of money this way.
2. Do not impulse buy or shop when you are hungry. Then you will end up buying a lot of junk food or things you do not need.
3. Coupons also help you to save money. Sometimes the stores have them right in front of the products.
4. There are some websites that offer coupons on a regular basis: Save.ca Websaver and Brandsaver. You sign up for the coupons you want (and there are lots of brand name product coupons), and they will mail them to you within a week or two. It’s that easy. You can end up saving lots of money by using coupons when you shop.
5. If you are on Facebook sometimes companies offer free products just for “liking” them. I do this a lot!
6. I love to save money by using rewards cards! I save TONS of money over the months and years by using these cards. There are many rewards cards such as Airmiles, Shoppers Optimum, Aeroplan, Club Sobeys and I am sure there are many more. You save the points until you cash them in for rewards such as gift cards, merchandise, or even trips. I just recently cashed in some of my Shoppers Optimum points for $100 worth of free merchandise of anything I wanted in the store. It sure is wonderful.
7. See if you can sign up to be a product tester. I am a Bzzagent and sometimes get free products for buzzing about it to other people (usually there are coupons to hand out to others. There are other places you can find that look for people to try their products. Companies sometimes have “try me free” where you buy the product and send in the UPC and you will get a refund. This will save you money in the long run as well.
I have saved quite a lot of money over the years by getting freebies, entering contests (which is one of my hobbies), trying new products by product testing, etc. I hope I can help some of you to save or become better at your shopping skills. If you have any other tips to help you save money or time, I would love to hear them. Hopefully your families will appreciate all you do for them, so I wish you all a very happy Mother’s Day, and happy saving!
I would like to thank Mom Central Canada fortheir blogger grant program as I was chosen to be one of their spring recipients!
