Swagbucks!

I'm so excited for next month! Why? I'll be getting a brand new Chi flat iron for FREE to tame my wavy tresses into smooth styles for summer. I've been wanting one for quite awhile, so I'm extra stoked about it. So how did I snag that deal? SwagBucks.com. I won enough swagbucks to redeem them for the amount of Amazon.com gift cards to get it.

Earning points or 'swagbucks' is really easy. You just sign up for SwagBucks.com and just use their search engine to search for stuff that you'd normally search for. There are other easy ways to earn swagbucks as well, including:

• Downloading their toolbar; you get swagbucks every so often just for using it.
• Checking their blog and facebook page for special swag codes
• Recycling your old cell phone through their easy service
• Completing special offers (you can get swagbucks for just LOOKING at some...no participation in the offers needed)

You earn 30 SwagBucks just for signing up.  Also, as a bonus, my friend Kim with Maven on a Mission is doing a SwagBucks-related giveaway for a $5 Amazon.com gift card (her favorite SwagBucks prize, and mine too!)  Kim's the one who got me into couponing and uses her blog to help coach many of us in the Orlando area and beyond in our frugal pursuits.  I'm so excited for her doing her blog's first giveaway, so go support her and hopefully win!

So what would you like to get for free?

Being paid to shop

How fun is that?  I'd mentioned that I started couponing a number of posts ago, and it's really been saving us a lot of money.  Our grocery/household/personal care expense savings are hovering around 47% as of 2 months of couponing.

When I talk about it with friends who don't coupon, one of the questions I get the most is 'do you end up buying a lot of stuff you don't need?'  Here's my answer: I only buy stuff I don't need if it's either free and it's something I can give to a food pantry or other charity OR if I can make money by purchasing it.  Extra bonus if I can give it away.

One of my fave couponing and good-stewardship-of-your-finances websites is Money Saving Mom.  Here's her post giving readers a heads up on how to make $13 on Bayer meters at Walgreens as well as how to get free Lipton Tea and Theraflu.  I'm not diabetic, but I can certainly use $13 and give a glucose meter to charity so that someone who can't afford a meter can have one.  Everybody wins!

Giveaways

In my world, free stuff = great. Free stuff that I already think is awesome or has rave reviews from a trustworthy source = uh, where can I sign up. . .now?

I'm getting into couponing, and in my searching around the internet for good deals, I happened to find The Bragging Mommy, a reviews, features, and giveaways site. The head bragging mommy, Heidi, and her team talk about lots of great kids/moms stuff, and they're very thorough in their personal reviews. I aspire to be like them someday; in my own personal vein of things, of course.

Now for the cool free thing: their Strider Running Bike Review also has a giveaway of a Strider Running Bike. Heidi writes a detailed description of how her toddler son has used and loved his Strider Running Bike, gives you a bullet point list of brag-worthy features, and has a giveaway where your entries make you learn more about the bike and of course, her blog. A little time and effort for a chance to win? Yes. But, if you're wanting to research a great product and get the info on other helpful stuff, it's worth it.

The Strider bike itself is something I wish they'd had when I was little. It's just like a small bike, but with no pedals. The hardest thing about learning to ride a 'real' bike is learning how to balance, and the Strider gives a child the opportunity to learn that skill in a fun, safe and confidence-building way. With training wheels, a regular bike just acts like a tricycle, so balance doesn't develop until the child is actually riding on their own....lots of opportunity for falls. Check out the video to see more.



Hope you think this giveaway and the Strider bike are worth looking into. Wait a minute... do I want more competition for winning the bike? ;)

Bouncy, pouncy fun

By this time in the summer, it's felt like we've exhausted most of the ideas for fun places to go and things to do where a mom and a toddler won't overheat...and that are really cheap or free. We've loved the pool, splash pads, and the occasional mall playground, but when my friend M told me about an indoor bounce house & inflatable activity play place that had a FREE toddler time, I jumped (ha ha) at the chance to go.

Our 18-month olds were among the youngest kids there, but they loved to bounce and even go on the 16-foot slides with their moms' help. This place, Ipez, lets parents go on the bouncy stuff with their kids to help, and that made it even more fun for Samantha. We loved giggling with delight together as we bounced and pounced around. I loved it too. I've got a lot of kid in me, so I admit, I'll go back, even to just get my own Tigger on.

If you're not from central Florida, look for these kinds of places near you. It's a blast. Any other ideas for summer fun? Please share.

In Flight Entertainment

We just returned from my parents' house in the Chicago area yesterday, which was Samantha's first plane flight. I asked many friends for tips on airplane travel with a 17 month-old and went armed with books, a few new small toys, a water bottle to sip during altitude changes and lots of snacks -- great suggestions, all.

One of the most entertaining objects on the trip for our toddler was a FREE one you don't even have to bring with you; Sky Mall magazine, home of the Retro Hot Dog Ferris Wheel, the Deluxe Cushion Keeper, the Pet Ramp and Staircase and my favorite, the Bug Vacuum. Samantha loved pointing to all the photos of dogs, cats and people, and asked me to identify lots of odd objects, which was entertaining for both of us. I got to learn about Thermostone Rock Covers. Woo hoo!

The next activity was joyfully ripping out pages. After that, we crumpled up pages. The most fun of all was our new game, 'Bah', made up on the fly and the cause of many, many fits of giggles.

Here's how to play:
-The parent wads up a page of Sky Mall and hides it in their closed hand
-Toddler pries the adult's thumb away from the closed fist, then the next finger
-After a dramatic pause, the adult playfully says 'bah' and gently flings the wadded up Sky Mall page at the toddler's face or chest, depending on the child's preference. Samantha liked the face.
-Laughing ensues for everyone

Just a thought for your next plane flight. I'd love to hear about more tips for flying with a toddler, or more fun uses for Sky Mall for that matter.

4th of July Festivals

Where I grew up, 4th of July parades complete with floats, bands, horses and the Shriners riding around on go-carts were the thing to do. Lots of stuff to keep young kids' attention, but also lots of loud noises to startle them. Even as a 4th or 5th grader, the fire engine sirens were a bit too much for me but all the candy the parade people threw to us on the sidelines was way worth it.

Here around my new 'hometown' in central Florida, I've found a new fun pasttime...a festival a town park. All the stroller brigade was out in full force to listen to a great choir sing patriotic songs, stroll along Park Avenue to take advantage of the AC pumping out through the open shop doors, and to see all the red-white-and-blue clad dogs, carriage horses, people and buildings. Lots of eye candy for a toddler and festival ambiance for parents. Without the carnival rides, this festival was just the right speed for a young family. Plus, it was FREE. :)

While not technically part of the festival, splashing in the fountain was an extra bonus for Samantha. She got soaked and then dirty from sitting on a bare spot on the ground, but it was worth it.

Happy 4th, y'all!

How are you celebrating Independence day with your child(ren)?