Mead Stocking Stuffer Ideas + GIVEAWAY

Of course our kids Christmas gifts include toys, candy and electronics, but what about educational gifts? I know my Cooper has endless sheets of paper all over the house where he has practiced writing his name, numbers and drawing people. When I was asked if I wanted to review Mead Early Learning products, I knew instantly that Cooper would love to have his stocking stuffed with them!

The kit I received is just full of amazing products. Workbooks, flashcards, dry erase boards and more. Pretty much everything that I need to prep Cooper for kindergarten and encourage learning at home after that.

I am in no way educated in teaching, so I love that these workbooks give me a fail-proof teaching guide to help Cooper learn. The workbooks provide basic learning skills from preschool to third grade. They include a big variety of activities that are sure to keep even the busiest kid interested. 

These dry erase boards are already on my must pack list for our Christmas traveling. What a great way to practice writing letters! 

Mead Early Learning products are all available on their website. They are also offering one winner the entire kit I recieved, valued at over $75! Enter below using the rafflecopter widget!

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Amazon's Gold Box Deal of the Day: Just Dance 4

Got a Just Dance lover in your house? We have several. Umm, in my house, I may be the biggest fan!

I've been know to have dance-offs with just about anyone in my house. Including my 4 year old son. I pride myself with having the highest score on Can't Touch This. (circa Just Dance 1) When my sister-in-law was staying with us for a little while, we did Just Dance workouts. Seriously, have you ever danced 4-5 songs back to back? Total calorie burner. I've been known to have late night dance-offs with my brother, lasting until I come out the winner, of course. 

When Santa was gift brainstorming around here, Wii games definitely made the cut. Just Dance 4 is one of the top ones he decided on. It involves the whole family, it's an energy burner, and it's so much better that sitting still with the glazed over eyes. And when adults start playing, it can be amazing entertainment! 

So what's awesome today? Just Dance 4 is Amazon's Gold Box Deal of the Day! Instead of the normal $39.99, it's on sale for the low price of $22.99! Probably the lowest you're going find it before Christmas, so you better go snag it up now! Of course with Amazon's super saver shipping over $25, you can add another gift and get it shipped free! 

Are you on twitter? Clever Girls is giving away 5 copies of Just Dance 4 TODAY ONLY! All you have to do is Tweet the following:

Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day: Just Dance 4! To buy: http://clvr.li/SzFT7r -- RT to enter to win a copy! #JD4Gold

I was given a copy of Just Dance 4 via Clever Girls Network for my amplification of this deal. I was in no other way compensated. All opinions are mine. 

Christmas Card Time: A Shutterfly Giveaway

Have you ordered your Christmas Cards yet? Me either! I went into panic mode last week, thinking I was too late. Nope. Not so fast. Shutterfly has a huge selection of cards and there is still time to order from them! 

I am a wee bit picky when it comes to my cards. It must have more than 1 picture spot, have space for our name and I tend to lean towards the black and elegant cards. 

I did find a couple that fell outside of my normal box this year and I'm seriously considering them! Here are some of my faves from Shutterfly's Christmas Card collection. 

Gorgeous, right? We have a family photo shoot to do and it will be ordering time! I will be sure to show you the one we pick!

Be sure to check out Shutterfly's Cyber Monday deal! Visit their Facebook page tomorrow to receive a 25% off unique code! You can also check out their Special Offers page for great deals all the time! 

Are you still in need of Christmas, Hanukkah or another type of Holiday cards? How would you like to win a $50 credit to Shutterfly?! Simply enter using the rafflecopter widget below!

Because there is only a few weeks before Christmas, the winner will be chosen December 2 and the credit must be used by December 14th.

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Thank you, Shutterfly for sponsoring this post. I received a store credit in exchange for my honest opinion. 

He's a sports freak. SportsFreak365 Review + discount.

To say the hubs is a sports freak, would be an understatement. There is no way, under any circumstance, that he would miss his beloved NY Jets play. And since we haven't lived in NY for 6 years, he pays who even knows what, to make sure all his games are broadcasted here. 

See, his parents grew up in Queens, automatically making him, along with his whole family, NY Jet and NY Met fans. He has huge prints in our basement. Any kind of clothing imaginable. License plate frames on both our cars. And of course, the kids and me have no choice but to be fans right along with him. 

When I told the hubs about SportsFreak365.com, he was more than excited to try it out. See? 

Haha! I begged for permission to use that picture! 

He used SportsFreak365.com to make a custom NFL calendar, complete with his favorite players. He also got to customize each date with text and photos. He put a picture of each person on their Birthday's and a different NY Jet player on each month. 

I always know I'm safe buying Met or Jet related gifts for him for his Birthday or Christmas. It makes gift buying easy; especially to add a little something extra to a gift. 

Do you have a sports freak in your life? Showing off your team spirit has never been easier! Whatever team you root for and whatever sport they play, find the gear you need at SportsFreak365.com. Just in time for the holidays, you can get 30% off any purchase using the code “Clever30.” And while you’re there, be sure to enter to win $500 toward team gear in Ditka’s SportsFreak of the Week Contest!

I was selected for participation in this campaign as a member of Clever Girls Collective.

Scents of the Season

It's amazing how certain scents can bring floods of memories. Just the other day in the grocery store, I passed an older lady and instantly my eyes burned with tears. I smelled my Granny, and how much I miss her made my heart ache. Scents are memory filled, be them sad or joyful. The sniff of a candle, the aroma in a home, the smell of the salty ocean. They all flood my mind with memories. 

This time of year, scents are plentiful and are definitely joy filled. They make me giddy for the Holidays and spending time with my family. Some of my favorite scents are a fresh pine, of course. There is nothing like that family trip to pick it out, either!

The scent of apple pie baking just screams holiday, right? I made my first one for our first Thanksgiving by ourselves in California and it came out perfect, if I may say so. 

And what about the smell of a turkey baking? Yum. (Is it Thanksgiving yet?!)

Sugar cookies baking remind me of the first time Cooper "made" Christmas cookies. It was such a proud mom moment! 

And last but not least, one of the most universal scents of the season, is coffee. My favorite way to drink it is in my big Santa mug. With a pile of family family and friends drinking it with me! 

Dunkin Donuts packaged coffee is available at your local grocery store. I love the Flavors of the Season varieties they have, including Mocha Mint, Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread Cookie. They are all sure to make your home smell festive this holiday!

These specially packaged coffees even have a little gift tag on them, perfect as a hostess gift or stocking stuffer! Stock up and keep some on hand for last minute gifts, too! Your guest will feel the holiday spirit sipping on these delicious flavors this year!   

Thank you to Dunkin’ Donuts® packaged coffee at grocery for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Because my family rocks. Does yours?

This post is brought to you by The New Santa Fe from Hyundai. Think your family rocks? Show us by uploading a photo of your family rocking out. Enter now for a chance to win great prizes.


On any given afternoon, right when the inevitable late day wiggles set in, you'll find my house in a loud, crazy awesome dance party. I crank the music and all the little booties (as well as mine) get their groove on. My kids love it. I love it. We love to rock. 

We got Cooper Guitar Hero for Christmas last year. While I'd like to think it was for him, you can see here that him and the hubs are laying on the ground in a full on guitar solo face-off. I think that solidifies why the hubs suggested it as Cooper's gift! 

Because Cooper really does love music of all kinds, he got this set of very loud drums for his 4th Birthday. He gets down in the basement, playing and singing at the top of his lungs. 

And if those things aren't enough to prove he loves to rock, well this is how he does a wedding reception. 

Yes, we've passed our love of music, loud singing and dance parties right down to our kids. And our family just loves our rockin' time together. 

Does your family rock? Then Hyundai Santa Fe and Rolling Stone are looking for you! If you love to rock, jam, dance party and get into other general mischief with your family, you won't want to miss this contest! All you need to do is upload a picture of your family showing how they rock along with 500 words or less describing it. 

What does the winner get? Prizes include a photo shoot in Rolling Stone, Airfare, hotel and transportation to the 55th Grammy awards and a fully tricked-out Hyundai Santa Fe custom rock 'n' roller! Amazing, right?! Go enter the contest now! 

Contest ends December 14, 2012

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Mott's Medleys Fruit Snacks {GIVEAWAY}

Pretty sure there isn't a kid that doesn't love fruit snacks. (Or Mom for that matter) So it's no surprise that we were pretty excited when these showed up on the front porch.

We always have packages of fruit snacks in the diaper bag, the car snack box and usually in my purse. They are handy on the go treats and are PERFECT bribes. Hehe. I love that Mott's Medleys Fruit Snacks are made with real fruit & vegetable juice and natural colors and flavors. And don't worry, they don't loose any of the fruit snack deliciousness because of that.

The snacks are available in assorted fruit and berry varieties, both are yummo. We give the new Mott's Medleys two thumbs up! 

Go here to print off a coupon good for $0.60 off of a package!

Want to win some for yourself? 2 winners will receive a prize pack with 6 boxes of fruit snacks! Tell me where you would take Mott's Medleys Fruit Snacks this summer and enter with the Rafflecopter widget. Hurry, giveaway ends Sunday, 7/20!

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I received the above prize pack in exchange for my opinion. I was in no other way compensated.