Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Amazon Deals: Halloween Costumes (Kids Edition)

I will be giving you all a list of discounted prices on Halloween costumes that I found on Amazon. Halloween is incredibly close and you do not want to wait until the last minute to find a great costume. What I like to find is a fabulous costume for a great deal! So check out some of these items, I hope you find something you like!

Kids Costumes
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Thrift Hunting Adventure: Marvel and Star Wars

My son is a very confident boy, and wanted to video tape some of our thrift hunting finds. So I gave in and we made a video together to show you some amazing goodies. We want to break the stigma of thrift shopping and hope you are inspired to go thrift hunting for treasures. I will add the link below so you can see what we found. Hope you enjoy :)

https://youtu.be/G_Mf3cOmX0I

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Freebies and Samples: 9/30

Hey everyone! I am just here to post a few freebies and samples that I think you will enjoy!!! I will only be posting links that I personally used and that I know work. A lot of other sites have posted links and I clicked on them (not even five minutes later) and they did not work. I hope you all take advantage of these freebies and samples, because they often come with COUPONS!


If you find any other freebie offers, please add the links in the comments below! Thank you all for reading and I hope you score some free stuff
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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

What's for Dinner: Chicken Cordon Bleu Potato Bake

I wanted to share a favorite family recipe that is always a big hit in my household. Now this is pretty easy to make although it does require a couple of steps. If you want something quick, I will let you know a shortcut way to make this cook faster for you


Chicken Cordon Bleu Potato Bake

  • 1lb to 2lb of boneless chicken breast (or a whole rotisserie chicken already cooked)
  • potatoes (I used red skinned potatoes)
  • provolone cheese
  • Bacon or deli ham
  • Flour (3 to 4 tablespoons)
  • Butter
  • Milk
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Green onions (optional)

  1. First chop up potatoes. You can skin them if you would like but my family likes the skins on so we just wash and chop. You will also save time by skipping peeling potato skins. (While you are chopping the potatoes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees)
  2. Toss potatoes with salt and pepper into a well oiled roasting pan. Then place into the oven for about 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
  3. Chop up the chicken. While the potatoes are cooking, chop up your chicken. If you had bought a store bought premade rotisserie chicken start separating the chicken from the bone.
  4. Layer the chicken onto the potatoes. After the 30-40 minutes of roasting the potatoes, take the pan from the oven and place on the oven. Then layer the chicken on top of the potatoes.
  5. Layer the bacon or ham on top of the chicken and potatoes. Then put the pan back into the oven until the chicken is cooked and the bacon is crispy.
  6. Melt butter in a pan on the stovetop. While the bacon, chicken and potatoes are cooking. Melt a stick of butter in a small saucepan on the stove.
  7. Add flour to melted butter. Whisk the flour so that it doesn't clump.
  8. Add milk to flour and butter mixture. Once this mixed well and thickens a little remove from heat.
  9. Add the milk, flour and butter mixture to the bacon, chicken and potatoes. Remove the potatoes from the oven and immediately pour the butter mixture into the potatoes.
  10. Place provolone cheese on top of the bacon, chicken, potatoes and the butter flour milk mixture.
  11. Add breadcrumbs on top of the cheese. Place back into oven until the cheese is melted.






It is a pretty easy meal for anyone to make. I do hope your family enjoys this as much as my family does.

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Sunday, September 27, 2015

Today's Amazon Deals: Toy and Game Edition

Being a toy collector and a gamer, I am always on the lookout for great deals, because hey I love to save money and still be able to continue my hobbies. With that being said, I am always checking out Amazon because they offer amazing deals, but you have to know which deals are the best. As with any retail store or outlet, the prices are ALWAYS changing so that is why you should snag these deals before they are gone. Without further ado, here is today's list of fabulous finds on Amazon:

Today's Amazon Deals:

****If you find any more awesome deals, please add the link in the comments below****
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Meltdown at the Photoshoot

Today we had our kids' pictures taken at JCPenney's Potrait Studio and let's just say I was more excited than our kids. Of course we had cute outfits for all three of our kids as I had been planning for this for well over a month.

As you can imagine, photo shoots with three kids under the age of 6 are quite a challenge...even more so when you have a child with Autism. However, this did not stop us from capturing memories of our three little beasties.

It was quite easy to get my other two children to sit still and photograph but my daughter, Hannah, was another story. I am not saying she was bad--not at all. What she wanted to do was explore and look around and touch everything she could see.

Being in a new place, can be quite difficult for any child let alone a child with Autism. Once we got some beautiful pictures taken that is when the meltdown started. Hannah was done. I mean she was done with the whole process and she just wanted to leave.

When she realized she could not leave right that second that she wanted as we had to wait and pay, Hannah had a meltdown. When I say meltdown, she dropped herself to the floor and wailed uncontrollably--and very loudly.

My husband picked up Hannah because she refused to walk so he had to put her over his shoulder. As we walked out the store, there were stares and comments surrounding us. It is not like we did not try to console our child. We did--we always do, but it doesn't always work.

Autism is difficult for all those involved. It is a fairly new to me as we just heard one doctor label our child "Autistic". When this happened, I just broke down in the office I literally could not stop crying. I felt that I failed my child.

Did I do something wrong during my pregnancy? Did I not breastfeed her long enough or too long? Did I not read enough books to her? Every possible question that I could ask myself I did. I STILL struggle with this quite often.

Every parent wants the best for their child. No parent wants to hear their child labeled Autistic or any label. We have just started this journey with our beautiful, smart daughter. We have not given up hope to hear her one day say, "I LOVE YOU!"

What I wish is for people to educate themselves....and to just have COMPASSION. If you see a child having a meltdown, do not make ignorant comments. If you cannot offer help, then offer prayers for this family as they are struggling to help their child to the best of their ability.

Here is a picture from today's photo shoot of my fabulously gorgeous and brilliant daughter, Hannah :)

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Saturday, September 26, 2015

Thrift Hopping Finds

Today my family and I went thrift-hopping! Now, you are probably wondering what in the world is thrift-hopping?!

Glad you asked!

Thrift-hopping is basically bar hopping but with thrift stores. Ok before you roll your eyes or wrinkle your nose in disgust, hear me out...

You probably imagine thrift stores as some dingy, disgusting store filled with used, broken items that are filthy. I admit I have been to some thrift stores that do fit that description; however NOT ALL thrift stores are like that.

I want to break the stigma of shopping at thrift stores or discount outlets. Many times you can get amazing items in new or gently used condition without having to pay high end retail prices.

In order to break this stigma, I want to share with you some items I snagged today while shopping. I went to 2 thrift stores and a discount store, called Tuesday Morning.

Here are two AMAZING finds that I scored at Tuesday Morning. The first item I have to talk about is the Monster High Spectra Vondergeist Doll. Normally these dolls ring up $14.99 and up, but I got this doll for only $3! It was priced at $7 but it had been deeply discounted to $3 due to the fact it was no longer in the box. But seriously I could care less if it was not in the box. My daughter, Hannah loves these dolls so $3 was a steal! I am adding a link to show you the price difference (http://www.amazon.com/Monster-High-Tired-Spectra-Vondergeist/dp/B00DOWXXM8/ref=sr_1_3?srs=2596782011&ie=UTF8&qid=1443308543&sr=8-3&keywords=monster+high+dead+tired). The second item I saw while rummaging through the shelves was this Fairy Tale High block building set. This set had originally been priced as $9.99 however it had been marked down twice so I only paid $2 for a 72 piece building block set. I couldn't find this exact set on amazon but I found one similar (http://www.amazon.com/Daron-Fairy-Tale-White-Playset/dp/B00MC7ULFI/ref=pd_sim_21_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=04152YS2QH3QJVEBAKEZ&dpID=51%2BUregMF0L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR102%2C160_). That particular set that I linked you all is actually a smaller set that was priced at $10.99 but now it is priced for 8 something. So I am thrilled that I got this set for such a small price. My kids will love it.
 
 
I have to thank my husband for finding this at the Goodwill! I had been wanting one of these Arabian type lamps for the longest time, but was not willing to pay the exorbitant price. We got this lamp for only $3 and it is over a foot tall. I wish I put a comparison object so you can know exactly how large this beautiful lamp is. Normally these can run well over $25 and up....but we got it for $3 so yeah I win :P

 
 
I found these brand new Halloween decorations and dress up items at the last thrift store that we visited. The first picture I know the box is beat up, but everything was still sealed in side. My kids will be crafting this haunted house craft later tonight. They were super excited to get this huge arts and craft kit for ONLY 50 CENTS! My kids love crafts and crafts can be quite pricey as you can imagine, but 50 cents will not break the bank :P
 
The second picture I got all three items for under a $1!!! We will definitely be spooky specters this coming Halloween.
 
I posted all this for you to show you that thrift stores are not bad or taboo. Just take a walk in side, because you will never know what you will find. So why not go treasure hunting?
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Friday, September 25, 2015

It's what's for dinner: Pork Tostados

In a previous post, I shared my recipe for Salsa Verde and you will need that for this recipe. This particular recipe is a favorite of my husband's as well as my kids. It is a bit hands on as to assembling the tostados, but I think that is half the fun.

What you will need:
  • Pork butt (or you can substitute for chicken if you like. Personally, I like pork butt since it does have fat in it to stop the meat from drying out.)
  • Tomatoes (chopped)
  • Onions (chopped)
  • Tostados (or corn tortillas that you can fry up in oil)
  • Cilantro (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper (to taste)
  • Salsa Verde (recipe in previous post will add link at the end of post)
  • Sour Cream (optional)
This is the perfect meal for the busy family. What I do is put the pork butt in the crockpot along with some salt and pepper and water to cover the meat. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Set it and go about your business.
After it is done, take the meat out it should be very tender and may break apart when taking the meat out. Now you can simply serve this meat on the tostados with the tomatoes, onions, cilantro and salsa verde and voila an easy meal. Or....you can do what I do and fry up the pork so it can get a little crispy. Either way this is super delicious and easy meal for your family. I hope you enjoy :)

Salsa Verde Recipe: http://fantasticalmom.blogspot.com/2015/06/fresh-salsa-verde-my-mother-in-laws.html
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The Question: Where to get coupons?

As a mom of three beautiful beasties (my nickname for my loveable but mischievous children), I love to save money. Considering I have 5 people in my family (myself included), you can imagine the grocery bill along with any other household necessities can be quite costly.

One of the ways I have learned to reduce monthly grocery and household bills is to coupon! I actually learned to coupon while I was living on an army post when my husband was active duty. I will forever be grateful to those women who took time out of their hectic schedules to teach me and others the "Art of Couponing".

I have already ordered several inserts for the coming weeks and I will be posting a tutorial video on youtube to show you exactly how I coupon as well as how I figure out the best deals. I do this so I can help others as I was helped.

Ok, back to the question at hand: Where do I get coupons? Well there are several ways.
1. Buy your local Sunday paper
2. Ask friends/families for their Sunday paper if they do not use the coupons (you can always pay them back with your amazing deals)
3. Buy inserts or clipped coupons online
4. Dumpster diving (this one I do not personally recommend as you can get in some serious trouble for doing so)
5. Print Coupons from online (http://www.coupons.com/)

How I usually get inserts is to buy them online. I do this because I can get other regions coupon inserts, which can often mean higher priced coupon value. Another reason I buy online is that I can often buy a lot more inserts for a cheaper price rather than buying a million Sunday papers.

The two main sites that I PERSONALLY buy coupons from is as follows:

http://capriscoupons.com/
http://couponsclippedcheap.com/

I truly hope you check these out so you can start saving money!
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Amazon Prime Deal!

If you do not have Amazon Prime NOW is the time to get it! I mean seriously TODAY is the day to get it and ONLY today. Normally, Amazon Prime is $99 for the entire year but today it is ONLY $67 a great deal if you ask me!

You are probably asking yourself about what you would get with Amazon Prime. Great question and here are the benefits of Amazon Prime:

Enjoy Amazon Prime
  • FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of items
  • Unlimited, ad-free access to over a million songs
  • Instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Video
  • Free unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive
  • Read free books each month through Kindle First and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library
 
If you are like me and read like a fiend, the $67 is a great deal just for the benefit of reading free books. Yet you get so much more and it is worth it if you have to send gifts across country. Why not check it out???
 
Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/prime/pipeline/prime_gifting_landing?primeCampaignId=PrimePromo&ref=dvm_us_cw_cs_swm_pr67
 
 
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Thursday, September 24, 2015

To EBAY or not to EBAY???

I am sure all of you have had some experience with EBAY and I wanted to talk about why you should buy off of EBAY.

My personal opinion of EBAY is that I love it. I mean I love to get brand new, name brand, hard to find items, etc. Obviously I know some people have had some bad experience with EBAY and that is a shame.

If you have not bought anything off of EBAY, I encourage you to check it out. At the end of this post, I will add some links of items that I think are a great buy from a TRUSTED seller.

The Rules of EBAY

1. Read the DESCRIPTION of the item you would like to purchase. (Do NOT just look at the picture and assume that what is pictured is exactly what you are getting.)
2. After finding an item that you would like to buy, CHECK OUT the seller. Make sure that they are a trusted seller with lots of satisfied customers.
3. Technically this could go under read the description rule, but find out if the seller gives REFUNDS for an unsatisfied purchase. Some sellers (even good ones) do not give refunds on products. So if you are unsure if you will like the item or are nervous about buying from a seller find a seller that does give refunds.
4. Leave FEEDBACK! Sellers and Buyers can have feedback. If you buy something from someone and pay for the item right away without an issue, the seller will most likely give you good feedback as for being a great and trusted customer. Likewise if you are satisfied with the seller and the item(s) you purchase, leave them some POSITIVE feedback. If you are not satisfied and the seller refuses to work out the problem with you, then leave negative feedback.
5. If you have an issue with something, before you leave negative feedback, CONTACT the seller. Sometimes with shipping, things can get broken or lost which is not the seller's fault. More times than not the seller will correct the issue and if you have left negative comments on their page that will negatively affect the seller. This is why I practice contacting the seller before leaving any feedback.


****List of great EBAY deals****

There are so many more deals available! The deals listed above are buy it now not auctions! You can get even more deals on the many, many auctions. Why not check it out?
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Today's Amazon Deals on TOYS

I am posting a list of deals I personally found quite sweet on Amazon. This is just a toy list for your munchkins. If I have some more time today I will post more deals on other categories later.

*Girl Toys

Boys Toys

****If you find any other deals, please feel free to list in the comments. Thank you ***
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Want a FREE Christmas?!?!

Yes, yes, I know Christmas is a couple of months away but hear me out.

As a mom of 3, I like to be prepared and I LOVE to get the best deal possible. Being a couponer, I hunt for the lowest possible price on an item. I mean who doesn't love to save money?!?! (Unless you are Donald Trump...I kid! I kid! But seriously).

I want to get my children the very best...but that doesn't mean you have to pay OUTRAGEOUS prices! No, no. You can get the season's hottest gifts for a fraction of the price.

I want to help other families this Christmas season and all year round. So I want to share a bit of wisdom with you that made my Christmas FREE FREE FREE last year. Seriously, I did not pay a dime out of pocket for any of the amazing toys I got my kids. I will attach a photo to this post of just a few items that got for my kids last Christmas...oh and by the way it was FREE for me.

You are probably asking yourself, how in the world did you get a FREE Christmas?! The answer is simple I did a butt load of surveys for Opinion Outpost. It took quite a bit of time since I was in crunch time. Literally I had only found out about this company a week before black Friday, so you can bet your butt I was doing surveys like crazy.

I do not want that for you all that is why I am letting you know now about this awesome opportunity to provide an awesome Christmas for your family.

Here is the link where you can sign up and start earning towards Christmas, vacation or whatever : http://tracking.surveycheck.com/aff_c?offer_id=1915&aff_id=2619&aff_sub=myDashboard&aff_sub2=ZLP0a8y8TbiCC93OOPsyGoR18uK6yp9h



These are only a few presents that I scored for my kids last Christmas. They were free thanks to Opinion Outpost and....I did not pay FULL price for any of them!!! I got amazing deals on all items. To help you even more, I will be posting some deals that I think are pretty sweet that I hope you take advantage of before the price jack up before Christmas.
 
 
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