Monthly Archives: November 2011

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North “Poll”

Holiday, New posts,

We LOVE Melissa & Doug toys.  My daughter’s favorite Melissa & Doug toy is Flip to Win Hangman.  She beats me almost every time. Between you and me.. I think she’s memorized the boards… but I still love playing the game with her!
Melissa & Doug offers toys for infants all the way up to 8+.  On the Melissa & Doug website, you can search for a toy by age, or by type of toy.  You will love their selection of puzzles, food toys, arts & crafts, and classic toys.  You will find something to buy for every child on your gift list at Melissa & Doug.

Get a 25% off coupon!

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best!

Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North “Poll!”

You’ll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon** to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North "Poll"

Vote by November 20th to be eligible for the coupon!

Disclosure: I may receive a shopping credit for participating in this promotion.  All opinions are 100% my own and were not influenced in any way.

Alicia Hagan, Editor

5 Things You Can Do With Post-It® Craft Paper

Arts and Crafts, New posts, , ,

Post-It® Craft Paper holds many possibilities for all children! The paper is thick and has a peel-off backing. I love how mess-free Post-It® Craft Paper is for children.  My five-year-old can create beautiful pictures and ‘art’ without using glue or tape.  She seemed to have an easy time getting the backing off of the paper which was my primary concern.  She was able to cut the paper just fine and loved the different colors in the pack I gave her. She created a scene with grass, trees, a sunshine (see photo below), and clouds, all by herself.  She was so proud and she had a great time creating piece after piece of art while I worked next to her!

Post-It® Craft Paper

Here are 5 crafts your child can create with Post-It® Craft Paper:

1. Create a holiday scene
Your child can easily cut out decorations for a background for any holiday including Thanksgiving or Christmas and simply peel and stick to create a one-of-a-kind piece of art. By cutting out the basic triangle for a Christmas tree, your child can then cut out ornaments, decorations, and gifts out of the paper and attach it to the page, mess-free.

2. Make a card
It’s peel and stick ability make it easy for a child to create a card for a birthday gift or holiday party for that special friend.  My 5-year-old made her friend a birthday ‘card’ out of Post-It® Craft Paper a few days ago! It was adorable!

3. Create a scrapbook picture frame
Cut shapes out of the paper in a variety of colors and use the shapes to decorate a picture frame for a loved one with a photo of your child inside. This is perfect for the grandparent who has everything!

4. Paint a picture that can hang itself
The genius of Post-It® Craft Paper is that your child can create their artwork on the paper and it can be stuck directly to the wall without damaging paint or wallpaper.  This makes the perfect gift for Dad to take to work to put on his office wall.

5. Custom make stickers
Allow your child to draw favorite pictures and characters on the paper then cut them out. Reward jobs well done with custom stickers or use the cuts-outs to decorate notebooks, folders, and papers!

Learn more about Post-It® Craft Paper here on the Post-It website.

Do you have ideas on how to use Post-It® Craft Paper?  Share your ideas with us in the comments below.

Disclosure: I was given a Post-It® Craft Paper to use for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.

Alicia Hagan, Editor

Win a $200 AmEx Gift Card + How to Make Leftovers Delicious! #Giveaway {Contest has ended}

Brand Ambassador, Contests, Food and Drink, Giveaways, ,

I am an Ambassador in the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Program and this week we are discussing leftovers!   What busy parent doesn’t love leftovers?  They are quick and easy to prepare when you’re on the run, after a long night out at sports practices, or when you’re too tired to cook a meal.

If we have leftover chicken, sausage, and/or shrimp, we mix them together in a pot of Ragu sauce and serve it over pasta, rice, or barley and wahlah!, we have a Jambalaya!  Here is a great recipe for Jambalaya.  The best thing about this recipe is that you probably have all of the ingredients in your kitchen already!  My favorite Ragu recipe to date has to be the Chicken Fajita Grilled Pizza with Ragu Pasta Sauce that I made in September.  That was delicious but there’s we never have enough pizza left for leftovers.

Ragu Moms the Word on Dinner

 

Win a $200 American Express Gift Card! {This contest has ended}

To win tell me your favorite leftover tip or what your favorite leftover meal is (what recipe always leaves you with great leftovers?) in the comments below.

To earn extra entries, after you have left a comment, do any or all of the following.
Make sure you leave a separate comment entry for each extra thing you do.
DO NOT leave your email address within the comment!

Get two extra entries (each) for doing each or all of the following:

  • Subscribe to The Mommy Insider (and verify the subscription) and leave a separate comment telling me that you subscribed. If you are already a subscriber, leave a comment telling me that you are a subscriber.
  • Follow @mommyinsider and Tweet this giveaway using the blue Tweet button at the top or bottom of this post. Then leave a comment with a link to the Tweet.  Tweet up to once every 8 hours.
  • Like The Mommy Insider Facebook page.  If you are already a fan of our page, tell me in the comments below.
  • Blog about this giveaway on your own blog and put a link to the blog post in the comments below.  Do not copy and paste the first two paragraphs!
  • Follow Ragu on Twitter
  • “Like” Ragu on their Facebook Fan Page
  • Comment on the Leftover discussion on Ragu Mom’s The Word On Dinner Facebook page.
Entries accepted through 11:59pm November 15th.  Open to U.S. residents, 18+.  No P.O. Boxes.

Disclosure: This is part of a campaign where I am an Ambassador in the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Program. Visit www.facebook.com/ragusauce to join the conversation.

Alicia Hagan, Editor

Join me at the Kmart Layaway Twitter Party Wednesday 11/9 from 8-9:30 EST – #KmartChat

Holiday, Twitter Parties, , ,

I love the idea of layaway.  People use layaway to buy things they might not otherwise be able to buy for themselves, their kids, their parents, or friends.

Here are a few things you might now have known about Kmart Layaway:

  1. You can put items on layaway year-round at Kmart
  2.  You can layaway items online at Kmart.com
  3. You can calculate your layaway payments on Kmart.com here

Kmart layaway is a convinent, easy way to pay for products over time. Shop for virtually anything and bring your items to the Kmart layaway counter in the store or add them to your shopping cart online.Your down payment includes the Service Fee and is due when you initiate your contract.Make payments every two weeks online or at any Kmart register with cash, check or debit/credit card. Simply pick up your items after you make your last payment or schedule your pick-up after making your final payment online. Try it today here!

 

Kmart Layaway Twitter Party Wednesday 11/9 from 8-9:30 EST

My Top 5 Ultimate #Layaway Wish List Items

RCA 42″ 1080p FULL HD LCD TV

This one would be for my husband, not me.  I’m not a huge fan of television but my husband is and really wants a new TV.

Gardman USA Inc. EasyStart 6 x 6 Greenhouse

This would be for my mom.  She loves gardening and has wanted a Greenhouse forever!

Garden Oasis Chesterfield 3-piece Patio Bistro Set

This would be for ME!  I am pretty happy with our back patio furniture set but we don’t have an ‘official’ set on our front patio which is where I sit 80% of the time I’m outside.

Craftsman 21 HP* Automatic 46″ Lawn Tractor (Available in 49 States)

This would be for my husband but for me, indirectly.  I appreciate that my husband enjoys mowing the yard but the entire process of mowing, blowing, and cleaning takes hours.  This handy riding mower would help save time and make the process more efficient, I’m sure!

Smooth Fitness CE 3.6 Elliptical

This would be for my husband and I. Our treadmill is pretty old and we are ready for a change of equipment.. how cool would this be?

WHO

@Kmart AND @KmartDeals and co-hosts @StacieinAtlanta, @crissy, @jollymom, and @mommyinsider

WHERE

Twitter with the hashtag #KmartChat & #Layaway

WHEN

Wednesday, November 9th from 7-8:30 CT  /  8-9:30 EST

WIN

  • One $125 Kmart Gift Card
  • Three $25 Kmart Gift Cards

JOIN THE FUN

To enter the sweepstakes you must:

  • Have an active Twitter account
  • Follow the official @Kmart and @KmartDeals Twitter accounts
  • Send the following Tweet: “Join me and @Kmart for #KmartChat #Layaway – Wed 11/9 from 7-8:30 pm CT talking about layaway- Details: http://bit.ly/sWJs5G”
  • Post an appropriate, non-duplicative, family-friendly comment on this blog post (<< click that  link, not the post you are reading now!) that also includes a link to your Tweet above.

Leave a comment on the Official Party post on the Kmart website with a link to your blog post or Tweet and let us know you are coming.

Official Rules

Teaching Children to be Thankful

Holiday, Parenting Articles, ,

It is our responsibility as parents to teach our children how to be thankful.

Teaching children to be thankful for what they have will help them become compassionate adults who want to help others.

Teaching Children to be ThankfulHere are some ways to teach children of different ages to be thankful.

Parents should start teaching their children to be thankful when they are toddlers.

  • Ask your toddler what they are thankful for and have them draw pictures of what they appreciate. These can be hung on the refrigerator as a reminder.
  • Parents should spend time talking with their toddlers about how they would feel if they didn’t have those things to be thankful for in their lives. This helps toddlers understand that being thankful feels good, so they recognize thankfulness is a positive emotion.
  • Toddlers should also be taught to be thankful for people and emotions instead of just things.

Teaching an older child to be thankful is different.

It is often easier to teach elementary age children or even teens to be thankful by showing them people who don’t have all the things to be thankful for that they have.

  • Taking children to volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter can open their eyes and help them appreciate what they have.
  • Parents can go with their kids to volunteer for local veterans’ associations or battered women’s shelters.  This may help your child become aware of how difficult life could be and thus make your child more thankful for what he/she has.

Children have a way of learning to be thankful when they understand that other people don’t have all that they do.

Do you have tips on how to teach a child to be thankful? Please share them with our readers in the comments below.

Alicia Hagan, Editor