Puppy Bowl House Party review!

It seems like since I updated my blog last I have been even more busy than before! 

January was a pretty busy month for me with hosting parties and February has been even busier! But I am confident I can get back into some kind of rhythm once I figure out how. 

So a little rundown of some of these hosted parties I've been having - The first one we did was a Puppy Bowl tailgaters House Party, now I am horrible at taking photos so I don't really have a lot of photo's besides our group photo and another one we took of our decorations so here they are:

I made some classic Super Bowl foods - Chili, Wings and a new favorite of mine, chips with queso and I have to say this recipe I found is pretty darn close to the queso you get at a Mexican restaurant!
I also made these amazing cupcakes that House Party suggested making from DC Cupcakes.....oh they were sooo good! And totally gone by the end of the night! I also made muddy buddies, and "pup"cakes for everyone to take home for their puppies!

I have never actually watched the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet but I loved watching the puppies...and kittens...and penguins and all other little animals on there!

Overall I was a little upset with this House Party at first because I did not receive a party kit, but overall I think it helped me be a little more creative in my party! 

Over the course of the afternoon we ended up with a whole house full of people - mostly children but we had a LOT of fun! We watched the Puppy Bowl, ate some yummy food and played a few games, it was definitely a lot of fun!!!

Never done a House Party before? Check them out at houseparty.com! They are simple and easy to do and most of the time they send you party packs with everything you need to host a great party!

ThredUp $5 credit towards handbags!

Head on over here to score an advanced peek at the new handbag collection! Only available to the first 10,000! 

PLUS refer a friend and when they sign up for the preview, you will receive a $5 credit!!!

For those of you not familiar with ThredUp - its a GREAT online clothes resale store for both kids and women's clothing!

TGIF!

Thank goodness it's Friday!!!

And thank goodness grandma has offered to take my wonderful little ones for the night so I can get some much needed ME time! I love my kids, but I'm sure as all Mommies on here can relate...Mommy needs a break!

This past week my youngest little one has decided she is going to start attempting to walk...which has been extra exhausting for this Momma because she has not given me a break from mini heart attacks  all week! On top of learning how to climb over her little barricade I made out of storage blocks so she would stay in our living room instead of taking off through the house 10 bazillion times a day. Plus she has also figured out how to climb onto the couch......all of this in one week!

So what is my break from children going to consist of? cleaning! Yup I am going to spend my free time catching up on cleaning,  gotta love the never ending pile of laundry sitting in baskets next to my washer and the wonderful little piles of dog hair hiding in the corners that are screaming to be swept up...again. The work of a mom is never done!

 And I wouldn't trade it for the world, they may drive me bonkers some days (or some weeks!) but I love them more than anything in the world! I can't wait to start sharing awesome tips, tricks & products with other Mom's to make their lives a little easier and a little more fun!

Opinions!

So as most can see I have completely revamped my page!

 I am now taking comments on what all everyone would love to see posted on here! I am going to do weekly recipes and crafts to do with the kids, I have a ton of ideas but I want to get readers input on things they would like to see added to my blog!

I am going to keep my freebies tab available for those that are looking for free kids and mommy products to try out. I am also going to start looking for new products to review once I get all my stuff switched over on all my accounts for google and whatnot. 

So please! Comment away! I need opinions!

Changes!!!!!

As some can see the name is changing on my blog! Lots of changes coming! So please bear with me as I switch it all over and update everything! 

Why the change? 

I have decided to give up the attempt at a couponing website, with two kids and limited time on here, trying to post deals a million times a day just doesn't work for me! So I am switching to a more relaxed subject and something easy for me to keep up on! 

I am still planning on doing product reviews and giveaways! And I will post deals and freebies that pertain to kids and babies! 

I hope everyone likes the new direction I am going it! I know it will be better and easier for me to post things!!!

Restaurant.com $25 gift certificates for $2!!!

Right now Restaurant.com has select $25 gift certificates for only $2 when you enter the code MEMORIES at checkout!

AND if you go through Ebates, you can get a whopping 15% cash back on your purchase!

A few AWESOME restaurants to note in the Canton Ohio area are: The Flipside Grille! Two Fat Guys BBQ, El Galeron, the QQ Buffet, Rolando's and soo many more!

Now please note that all of the gift certificates come with exclusions on minimum purchases in order to use the gift card, but at $2 for $25, thats pretty good still! To give an example of how much you will be saving, I will use the gift certificate I just bought for one of my favorite restaurants, The Flipside Grille, the requirements to use the certificate state that you must purchase a minimum of $35 in order to use the $25 Gift certificate. And that an 18% Gratuity will be added prior to the discount.

So here's the breakdown:

I buy the $25 Gift Certificate for $2
I get $0.30 back from Ebates - Total now is $1.70
I go to The Flipside Grille and get $35 worth of food, obviously not by myself!
Grand total for the night - including the $6.30 in gratuity - 41.30
Take off the $25 gift certificate - $16.30

Which means I paid a grand total of $18 for a $35 meal plus the tip!

2 GREAT giveaways to check out!

2 Different Giveaways are going on over at The Busy Woman's Guide to Surviving Motherhood, you can enter both here:

Blurt Board Game - Ends 3/8 at 11:59PM 

Grandma's Trunk Alphabet Game - Ends 3/14 at 11:59PM

Subway: FREE Cookie with ANY purchase February 29th!

Just got an e-mail from Subway that they will be giving out a FREE cookie on February 29th with any purchase! You can go here to get more info and to RSVP.

FREE Sample of Simple Moisturizing Face Wash

Go here to get a FREE sample of the NEW Simple Moisturizing Face Wash on CVS.com - you must watch a short video to receive your sample.
You can also share with 3 friends to receive a coupon good at CVS! 

Sample will ship within in 6-8 weeks.




Thank you Hip2Save!

21 Day Weight Loss Challenge - Day 21!!!!!!

I CANNOT believe it has been 3 weeks since I started this challenge! I am so proud of myself for sticking with it longer than any other weight loss plan I have ever done! What have I learned this past 21 days? Lets see:
I have learned that yes you can live off of 3 meals a day, but 5 is soo much better! With 3 meals a day, your starving by the time you get to the next meal! With 5 your eating every couple hours and don't eat as much because you know your going to eat again soon!
I have learned that working out does not have to take a lot of time! 45 minutes MAX (thats with me taking quite a few breaks) 3 times a week doing strength,cardio and core exercises. And just lighter exercise the other 4 days. And that it can make you feel sooo good! And can be fun! Especially when others join in!
I have learned a lot about diet and balancing meals, what is good for you, what is better, and that even though something is low fat, it may not have what you need in it. And get this one! Carbs are good! And so are Proteins and FAT! Yes FAT! (I had to add that!) But the difference is all in the balance! And I had no idea that bananas and apples were carbs, call me dumb but I never knew that!

I have more energy, I feel better, I feel better about myself! I want to work out, I want to eat healthy and the effect that junk food has on my body is shocking! 

I am so excited to start the next 21 day challenge coming up at the beginning of March! I can't wait to continue achieving new goals in my health and fitness! And for final measurements and weight for this first 21 days:

At the beginning of the challenge:
Weight: 187
Waist: 36in
Abdomen: 41 1/2in
Hips: 42in
Thighs: Like I said before, the 38 was an incorrect measurement so I'm going to use my second weeks measurement for this one - 22 1/2 in
Arms: 13in

Now:
Weight: 185 - 2 lb! But oh so much more of it is muscle!
Waist : 32 in - 4 inches lost!
Abdomen: 40 1/2 - 1 inch there!
Hips: 42in - I doubt this number will move for awhile, I have to gain a butt!
Thighs: 22 in - 1/2 in gone!
Arms - 12! 1 inch lost! Not sure how but it is!

And an update on the goals:
To lose 5 lbs - I lost 2! But again, I didn't realize that I would be gaining it all back in muscle the first few months.
be able to do 5 push ups- shoulder still hurts like crap trying - I can get in 3 good ones MAX, the rest I have to attempt on my knees
Cut down on my pop intake- It was 2-3 cans a day, now I'm down to a can at the most, usually I am just taking sips of hubby's pop occasionally
Learn how to work out regularly - getting there! I did good for the most part despite being away from home for half of the challenge! 

I won't be posting pictures at this time due to not having my camera at the moment and not being home, but I will be posting before pics for the next 21 day challenge which will start in a few days! 

 If you are a blogger and would like to join me in this 21 day challenge send me a link to your blog via e-mail at nilasage (at) gmail.com and I will send you a code to get the entire program FREE!

And if you are not a blogger, you can check out Dustin's page here to learn more about his fitness programs!

$3/1 KY - FREE at Wal-Mart!

Yet another KY coupon! This one states off of any! You can pick these up at Wal-Mart for $2.84 if I remember correctly which means you'll get overage!

Please remember that Wal-Mart will not give you money back so have something else to use up that overage!

You can print it here!

Don't miss the Petsmart deals!!!! Ends tomorrow!

Some pretty awesome deals going on at Petsmart for Presidents Day! Two items to note are the Hills Science Diet 4lb dog food on sale for $6 and also the dog treats for $3! Print off the $8/1 any Hills Science Diet Dog Food, ANY SIZE and the $3 off any treats 3oz or larger! Here's the trip I just made:

I ended up with 4 bags of dog food and 4 bags of treats and one of those greenies dental chews FREE!

Breakdown:

3 Bags of Hills Science Diet 4lb dog food - $6
1 Bag of Hills Science diet 5lb dog food $7 (found this last one on an end cap!)
4 different types of Hills Science Diet Dog Treats $3
1 Greenies individually wrapped dog chew $1.69

used 4 $8/1 Hills Science Diet coupons - adjusted down to sale price
used 4 $3/1 Treats coupons
used 1 FREE Greenies coupon that I received via e-mail from Petsmart!

Total for everything BEFORE coupons: $44.91! Total out of pocket: TAX! $2.22!

WINNER! WINNER!

Congratulations to Natalia E. for winning the Fit Mom's for Life book! She has already been e-mailed and has responded. Check back soon! I have 2 more reviews and giveaways in the making!!!!

21 Day weight loss challenge - Day 17!

I can't believe this months challenge is almost over! Where did the time go?! I am seriously soo proud of myself for sticking with it! I have been consistent with working out so far for Wednesday and Friday! Definitely not feeling it as much though since I had to bring my "portable" weights which are only 5lb, but that just means I gotta do a lil bit more for now, next month will definitely be better! I failed to add my measurements to Mondays post but I did take them and I will post them tonight!

I was so proud of myself last night! My husband wanted to go out for a "date night" so we went to Applebee's, not my favorite choice but, I got to go out! I'm not complaining! They did have a 550 calorie menu which was awesome! I ended up getting the grilled chicken with portobello mushrooms, peppers, onions, provolone and a dijon sauce with steamed seasonal veggies and steamed potatoes (that I did not even touch!) I had grilled shrimp added to my meal, which was what I wanted in the first place, but the only thing they had was either deep fried or smothered in jalapenos. But my meal was amazing! And I was bad, sort of, because I got the little strawberry cheesecake shooter thing for dessert, but I liked that it was so small and that by the time I finished eating it, I was DONE with sweets!

Overall, this week I have done ok with my foods, I have been working harder on getting my snacks in, portion sizes and pop intake- still a big problem for me! Especially with not being home and running a daycare, I crave all the caffeine I can get!

One other thing I can say I'm proud of! My cousin came over the other night, with her son, I made her do the workout with me, just one round of each, I was breathing slightly heavy, she was on the ground trying to catch her breath! I felt so good about it, realizing that I was her just 17 days ago! Just another one of those realizations of how far I've actually come!

And with that, we get to the measurements!

Measurements:
Weight: 185 - down 3lb!
Waist: 33 1/2 - another 1/2 inch!
Abdomen: 41 1/2 - up 1 1/2in, I also did this after I ate O:-)
Thighs: 22in - Same as last, this will be my biggest problem!
Arms: 12in! - A whole inch! I seriously measured, remeasured and re-remeasured! I either screwed up in the past two weeks with measuring somehow or I actually lost an inch on my arms!


I am happy with my results so far! Even though there are a few up, there are just as many down! And like I said, I did this in the evening after I ate so some of them may actually be lower! We shall see Monday when I measure again!


And one last thing I have neglected the past few posts, my goals!
Here are the goals I have set and an update on them:
1. Do the workout 3 times a week and either walking or Wii Fit the other 4 days. - I have been doing better at this, slowly, once I get into the routine it will be easier!
2. Drink more water and hopefully cut pop down to only when we eat out! - I am down to between half to a whole can a day, it has went up a little bit due to the lack of sleep and how much more active I have been this week chasing 6 kids around.
3. Get up earlier, which means getting my daughter on a different schedule! - I have been getting up earlier alright! But my bedtime is seriously killing me! As of right now it is 11:30pm and I am just now getting to this post while I wait for the last of the kids to leave so I can go to bed! And I have to be up early so I can get the grocery shopping done before they all come back!
4. Lose 5 lbs by the end of the 21 days -3 more pounds! I have to remember I am gaining muscle and will not see a big weight loss until later on!
5. Be able to do 5 Push ups without being in excruciating pain. - I am at 4...most workouts, some I can only do 2 or 3, but once again, that is because of my shoulder :/



Interested in what I'm doing? Are you a Mommy Blogger? If you answer yes to BOTH questions, contact me via e-mail with a URL of your blog and I will give you a code to get this program FREE! We start a new challenge at the beginning of every month! Sign up now for March!!!! My e-mail is nilasage(at)gmail.com I would love to share this with you!

Recyclebank - earn points and receive coupons!

I seem to keep forgetting about Recyclebank! Recyclebank is another awesome way to get coupons you normally wouldn't get. It's simple and easy and if you live in an area that participates in this program, its even better! Canton, unfortunately does not participate in the program, but I wish they would! Basically one of the ways to earn points is by recycling, those awesome little blue bins you put out every weekend for the recycling truck, all adds up to points! They take the weight of all the recycled objects and convert it into points and split those points up between  recyclebank members in the community! That is just one of the ways to earn points! You can also take pledges and do quizzes and recycle kashi boxes and ziploc boxes and finding codes in products, and every once in awhile they have bigger ways for you to earn!


And what do you earn points for? Coupons! Not just store manufacturers coupons, but also coupon codes for specialty stores! A few of my favorite coupons I see right now, $2 off any 1 Kashi Item! $10 off a $30 purchase at Bed Bath & Beyond, free 1 year subscription to Popular Mechanics, $0.60 off one Q-tips! $10 Wal-Mart gift card! And sooo much more! And new stuff pops up all the time!

It's so simple and easy, and the coupons are usually a great high value which are awesome when paired with a sale! Definitely something awesome to check out!

FREE Chapstick at Walgreens!

A friend just reported that it is working at our local Walgreens! Tomorrow is the last day for it!


Select Chapsticks are $0.99 at Walgreens this week, pair that with the $1/1 Walgreens coupon in the February coupon book (located at the entrance) you can get them for FREE! Don't forget you still have to pay tax!




Thank You Tanise! :)

Clearance at CVS!

Another awesome clearance deal! Pampers Cruisers Boxes are on clearance at the local CVS for $11.49! That's 50% off! Plus if you have any coupons to go with them it makes it a better deal! I had $1.50 off from a Cheerios box :)

A few Target deals - cheap Q-Tips and FREE Activia Yogurt!

While I was at Target in Massillon last night, I spotted a few awesome deals in the Dollar Spot! Everything with a purple dot is 50% off! I got an over the door shoe organizer for my daughter for $1.25 & a pink striped tray for $0.50! There was tons of stuff, but I had 2 guys with me that were a little antsy to hurry up so I just grabbed those 2 things.

They also have great sale on Activia yogurt for 2/$4 and after using the Target coupon found here and the $1/1 manufacturers coupon from the 2/12 SS it makes them FREE!

Another great deal I got was the Q-Tips, not as good as was reported but still a good deal! The deal Target is running is that you get a $5 gift card when you buy 4 select Unilever products, so you get 4 boxes of 375 ct Q-Tips priced at $2.99 = $11.96, use 4 $0.60/1 coupons from Recyclebank (you can purchase this for 30 points per coupon and print all 4 at once!) and pay $9.56 oop and get a $5 gift card back making them $4.46 for 4 or $1.14 a piece!

Another few things I found were Liz Lange Maternity T-Shirts on clearance for $4.99 paired with the $3/1 Liz Lange Target coupon it makes them $1.99 each!


And another good deal to get while your there is the UP2U gum, I forgot to print it out before I left so I did not get it, but the Mentos UP2U gum is normally priced at $1.29 (I did not check the price at Massillon though) and when you use the $0.50/1 Target coupon with the $1/1 manufacturers coupon from the 1/1 SS or 2/5 SS it makes them FREE!

Plus there is TONS of clearance and starting tomorrow there should be TONS of Valentines Day stuff on clearance!

21 Day Weight Loss Challenge - Day 13 (late post!)

Well I'm a day late due to the fact that we were out shopping from 5pm-11pm last night! Got a lot of walking in!

The weekends was filled with bad food choices, BUT I did good at limiting myself! I have come to realize that the more bad stuff I eat (fast food, pizza, white bread, etc) the more I feel like crap!
I have not been able to keep track of my points this weekend due to the fact that my spreadsheet AND open office will not open, still trying to fix the problem - even though I haven't the slightest  idea as to why its not working!

I was able to get in 20 min of strength training today to make up for yesterday but couldn't do anymore because I upped my weights for the first time and it seriously wore me out! And my daughter woke up from her nap, so I decided to call it quits for the day and continue the rest tomorrow as scheduled.

Since it is Tuesday and I was supposed to do my weekly measurements yesterday I have to do them tonight and I will probably post them Friday, this week and next are going to be a challenge for me since I will have more kids than usual due to filling in at my mothers daycare. But I intend to just add them to my workout! Why not teach a few kids how to jump rope and "pretend" strength training! I might even stop at Target and grab a few sets of 1lb dumbbells from the dollar spot for them (only for the more responsible ones of course!) Gonna be a long interesting week!

Ollie's Bargain Outlet!

Anyone ever get a chance to stop at Ollie's Bargain Outlet in North Canton? I absolutely LOVE going there! Today we stopped after my Spring Launch meeting since it was right down the road, I got a couple cute books for my baby for $2 and $3 (originally $7 and $8 ea!) and some office supplies and if you remember the movie Thunderbirds that came out a few (when I say a few I mean like early 2000's) years ago with Vanessa Hudgens and Bill Paxton (aka - Twister!) in it, they have them for $0.99! Still a pretty cool movie for only $0.99!

Great place to check out, they always have different stuff every time I go, this time I saw big bottles of All Laundry detergent 74 loads for $7.99 (not bad if you NEED detergent!) and the bigger 96 load was $9.99! And they were having a flooring sale.


I'm pretty sure they don't take coupons, but still, at the prices they have, its almost like using a coupon on some of the stuff! Always lots of stuff!

They are currently found in 12 states: Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

If you wanna check out their website or see if there is a location near you, you can find it here.