Happy Thanksgiving

I'm most thankful for God's giving me what none of us deserve - life in Him.  I'm thankful for my dear husband, daughter, and spending time with my family this Thanksgiving.  We're all a bit off center, but then again, isn't everyone?  ;)  I hope it's a time where you can have at least a moment between the turkey and football games to reflect on what you've been given. 

Happy thanksgiving, y'all. 

Kitchen Giveaways Galore

So I've already given you the heads up about The Five Fish's Step 2 Kitchen giveaway in my last post.  Just so happens that there are several other opportunities to win a Step 2 Play Kitchen out there right now from some top mommy bloggers' sites.  You've got to hurry, though, most of them are only open until the end of November or soon thereafter.  

Here's the scoop on each.  Look for their blogs' buttons on the left as well:

First, Our Ordinary Life'sStep 2 Deluxe Kitchen and Give-a-way runs until December 1st.  Our Ordinary Life (Kristen) is a test drive mom for Frigidaire (which by the way, is sponsoring a Creative Kids in the Kitchen contest in conjunction with Step 2) so she knows her kitchens.  Her review of the Step 2 was just as positive as The Five Fish's.

Another great giveaway where you could win the Step 2 Deluxe Kitchen is on Amanda - A Stay at Home Mom's Point of View's blog.  Amanda took some great photos of her kids' kitchen to give you an idea of what the accessories and features look like.  She also remarks about the easy assembly.  Her giveaway runs until Nov. 30th.

Lizzy at Lizzy Dear's Life is holding a Step 2 Lifestyle Party-Time Kitchen Giveaway, also open until December 1st.  Her kids have really enjoyed playing with theirs, and Lizzy says that it's the perfect size for a play kitchen; not too big, not too small. 

Finally, if you're looking to win the granddaddy of all play kitchens, Two of a kind, working on a full house's Step 2 Lifestyle Grand Walk-in Kitchen Review and Giveaway is not to be missed. She takes great photos of the kitchen's amenities and talks about the ways in which her son plays with it.  It keeps him entertained for hours.  Apparently, it's not TOO big, and it even has a slighly squooshy faux hardwood floor.  Can I have that for my kitchen?

These are some great opportunities to win a big Christmas gift for your kiddo(s), but even if you don't win, I hope that you're able to get some great deals to help your gift budget stretch farther.  Check out the rest of Step 2's great toddler toys too!

Fishing for a Great Gift? Catch this Giveaway

Toys that keep your child entertained for hours are worth their weight in gold.  Ones that foster imagination, creative play and allow for several kids to play together are even better.  Another mommy blogger whom I've started following, The Five Fish, recently reviewed such a toy, the Step 2 LifeStyle Deluxe Kitchen.  She should know about the multiple-kid, multiple ages playability of this toy -- she has twin toddlers and a 6-year old who've all loved it.

And, she's giving one of these fab kitchens away, courtesy of Step 2.  Read her review and enter the giveaway for a chance at your child enjoying the cool food & utensil accessories, realistic appliance sounds and lots of storage space for all of his/her culinary creations. . . for free.

Li'l girlie is already interested in kitchen play; she empties out her cupboard in my kitchen daily and one of the few recognizeable-to-the-general-public words is 'bowl'.  She loves bowls, especially the one on our salad spinner.  I could see her going nuts over this kitchen and its play food and dishes, and I'll probably play with it a ton too if we won, truth be told.  I love to cook, and am excited to continue fostering a passion for it in my daughter.

Thanks for giving away one of these awesome toys, Five Fish!   We all love the opportunity to get free cool toys like this for our kids to foster their imaginations.

Coupons - this girl's new best friend

Blue Coupons
Originally uploaded by kyz

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be searching the internet for coupons and actually like it. There are several reasons for this newfound passion -- other than me being off my rocker -- but that's another topic for another time. ;)

This started with the fact that I've been looking for something to help bring in some money that I could do from home. On facebook, my friend K often posted about the great deals she'd been finding and how much money she'd been saving by couponing. Not just $10 per grocery trip, but around 40% or more of her grocery budget. Plus, she was getting some items for FREE. I dig free.

After an evening's tutorial from K, I got the gist of what was involved in saving all this $$$, and it's become a motivating challenge to see how much I can save each month and how cheaply I can get stuff that I'd normally use. It's the thrill of the deal.

On top of that, I've figured out that so far, as I total up how much less money I've spent by using coupons and sales together and stocking up on items when they're dirt cheap that I'm saving around $50 for every hour I've spent on couponing. Much better than most part-time super-flexible jobs than could be done around a toddler's nap schedule. The amount of time I spend is really doable for me too.

I'll tell more about my adventures in couponing and share what I've found to be helpful. Would love to help you save the big bucks too. For now, I'm off. It's pizza night in my house and I'm starving.

2 hour vacation

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth.  Lately, I've felt like it, though.  I've had a lot on my plate lately with learning to coupon to save tons of money on my grocery bill (more on that in an upcoming post), preparing to move and lots of other life stuff that I won't bore you with.  It's been really easy to feel under the pile.  The state of my desk lately has been a visual representation of that feeling.  ha.

Even when things are rolling along smoothly, (remind me, when does that happen??) one of my favorite times of the week is the 2 hours on Saturday morning where my husband plays with li'l girlie and I go to my yoga class.  Not just any yoga class, mind you, but a small community class (read:  affordable) that's held outside in a gazebo in a lovely wooded area.  The combination of being outside, having time to myself and doing strengthening and stretching that is both relaxing and challenging refreshes me mind, body and spirit.  As my breath and movements are focused, it's a time where I can let my mind dwell on the beauty of creation around me and be thankful for what God is doing in my life, even if that has been tough as of late. 

While yoga itself may not be your cup of tea, I bet there's something else --a bath, a trip to a coffee shop by yourself, etc.  -- that would recharge you and help you keep your sanity in the hectic pace of life.  Take a couple of hours (or as much time as you can spare) to do to take a little 'vacation' to refresh your spirit, even when it doesn't feel like you have time.   Do you have time to burn out and crash?  I don't either, and I'd rather take the enjoyable time away to prevent that. 

Plus, it's great to see the smile of your child when you return with renewed energy and joy in your life.  Li'l girlie's face when I come home from yoga is a picture of wide-eyed sunshine as she snuggles up to me in greeting.