Catch a moment of Mango Mandarin Bliss

**Contest Closed**

My friends at MomSelect and Suave Body Care sent me a full-size bottle of Suave Naturals Mango Mandarin Body Wash to try out. From the minute I flipped open the lid and took a sniff I knew I would love it. The rich, fruity scent is so yummy and honestly just as good as the high-end boutique products. If you are a frugal mom like me then you would see the value in this great bath product. The average cost of a 12 ounce bottle in under $3 so why would anyone want to pay $10 for practically the same thing?! Even better you can go here to sign up for a 50 cents off coupon that you can print directly from your computer. The great thing is you can use it in some stores that offer double coupons for even more savings! Now you can feel like you are indulging for a low cost. This body wash is a great way to start your morning, especially with the crisp citrus scent. I don't know about you but my shower time is the time I take for myself and I love having nice fragrances to make the experience blissful.

Not only was I provided with a bottle of Suave Naturals Mango Mandarin Body Wash for myself, but I also received one to give away to one lucky reader! As a bonus, Momfiles will throw in a bath sponge as well.

All you have to do it leave a comment telling us what fragrance you currently use from the Suave Body Care line or which new one you would like to try.

You can gain additional entries by Tweeting or Facebooking this contest. Leave a separate comment (limit 1 per day)

*Contest open to US Residents only. Giveaway ends May 5, 2010 at 9:00 EST. Winner will be selected by random.org. Good luck!

A great way to save some money

I was looking over my cable and Internet bill the other day and realized I was paying WAY too much. It was absolutely ridiculous and was to the point that I almost felt like canceling the service! I decided to give them a call so they could break down my charges to the penny. I was paying almost eighty dollars for digital cable service. I only have one receiver and the other 2 TV's have basic cable. I about lost it on the phone. I then told them that my husband has been wanting to go back to satellite for some time and the rep immediately told me that she would transfer me to their 'Retention Dept' and I could take advantage of any promotions they are offering. Hmm, interesting. I spoke with the sales person whose job function is to save customers. I already knew in the back of my mind that if I did go back with satellite that my bill would run anywhere from $55-$65. Well at the end of the discussion my bill came down and I am now saving $26 per month for the next 12 months. You know I will be calling back in 12 months to see what promotion they are offering! There is way too much competition out there to risk losing a long time customer.

Black Friday anyone??

I am going to ask for your forgiveness if I commit any major grammar mistakes. I just got up from my after-shopping power nap. I went out there in the cold at 4 am. Dwayne came along too. We hit several stores and it was awesome! We got such great deals and "saved" over $500. I think because we stuck with necessities and not fun things we were able to maneuver around the stores and make our way out very easily. We had so much fun. The girls stayed home with the baby monitor so we had some freedom. We made it home by 6:40. I'm tired still but happy with my purchases. Just a heads up...look out for our upcoming 500th post. We've got something good going on. Stay tuned...

Suave® "Shower Yourself Beautiful" giveaway

My friends at MomSelect and Suave® Skin have generously sent me some amazing products as part of their Suave® Skin program. I have been a Suave® user for many years now. When you have a large family you have to cut corners and save where you can and these products are very budget friendly. I really love the bodywashes and feel the quality is top notch. I have used boutique products and honestly feel like I am throwing my money away. Since I have teenage daughters that are into beauty products, Suave® Skin products are a perfect fit for us. There are also many yummy fragrances to choose from like Wild Cherry Blossom, Ocean Breeze and Apricot Exfoliating.

Dwayne and I are really big fans of the Cocoa Butter with Shea Body Lotion. I used it especially during my pregnancy with William to keep my baby bump extra smooth and moisturized. I really love the way it makes my "Summer glow" look even more glowing too!

Now for the fun part, 1 lucky reader has a chance to win the 4 products pictured above! This prize includes one 18 oz Advanced Therapy lotion and 3-12 oz bodywashes (one of each scent) in Wild Cherry Blossom, Ocean Breeze and Apricot Exfoliating. Just leave a comment telling us if you are a Suave® user and what your favorite product is or visit the Suave® Skin site and tell us what you would like to try. Be sure to leave a valid email address if you do not have a Blogger account or ID. The deadline to enter is June 25th at 11:59 pm EST. Giveaway open to US residents only.

Would you like an extra entry?

1. You can tweet this giveway and leave a link to your tweet (one tweet per day)

2. You can place our button on your site (leave a link to your site)

**Be sure to leave an individual comment per entry method.

We're not done yet...

Suave® Skin has a really cool campaign for the Summer called "Shower Yourself Beautiful" that offers great tips from Holly Robinson Pete, actress and celebrity Mom. Each week running from June 15- July 20, you can create a different registry for a chance to instantly win your chosen prizes and also be automatically entered for a chance to win the ultimate at-home shower for you and your friends! Be sure to visit ShowerYourselfBeautiful.com for your chance to win.

Growing Green

**In recognition of Earth Day we opted not to post a Vent day video.

Yes and I said growing green... We have officially planted our organic garden! The folks at the Ismail house occasionally do things to encourage greener living ;) We, or I should say Dwayne has been composting for over a year now and he finally got to put all that "stuff" to good use. He made a 4x8 bed in our backyard and we also gathered every plant pot we could put our hands on. It took us a few days of back breaking work to complete this project and we are very optimistic about the results.

Here is Dwayne mixing all of his organic material and getting the bed ready for planting.

Here is the garden after we planted some veggies (yellow squash, cucumbers, and sweet banana peppers)

This is Dwayne's aloe plant. He's old school like that!

You know you have to have your herbs! I keep this by my door closest to my kitchen for easy access. (cilantro, basil and thyme)

We planted some Roma tomatoes, habanero peppers and both red and green bell peppers.

We also have quite a few pots with some petunias, impatiens and begonias all around the house.

We just wanted to share a few photos of the many things we planted. We went way over our initial budget, but hopefully we will get enough fresh produce to make it all worth the cost.

Have you planted a garden this year? If you have a green thumb and have any gardening advice, please share!!

Extra savings for the Coupon lovers

For those of you coupon clipping moms (and dads) here is a great tidbit I want to share. If you shop at Kroger or the related chain grocery stores there is an extra way to save. If you sign up with ShortCuts (a free service) You can link your shoppers' card with E-Coupons. This means no clipping! As a matter if fact, you can also use physical coupons in combination with items that have an E-Coupon.

For example:

Yoplait offers an E-Coupon for $1.00 off 2 packs of Yoplait Kids yogurt products. The Kroger price is $2.39 each ( 2 for $4.78) This brings you to $3.78 with your $1 off that was automatically deducted upon using your Kroger shoppers' card. I went to the Yoplait Kids site and printed out 2 coupons for $1.50 any Kids yogurt product. My final cost for 2 packs of yogurt is 78 cents!

It is not nearly as complicated as it sounds. It just takes a few minutes to sign up for the service along with clipping your coupons like you normally do. The results are BIG savings! You can even end up with items costing you nothing but tax. I have gotten great deal on paper products, baby items, baking goods and other miscellaneous everyday things. With the rising cost of everything we use these days it is so worth it to sign up for this service. Don't use the excuse that you don't have the patience or time. It does not take much out of your day to save, I promise!

If you have any additional tips you would like to share or websites that offer great savings please leave a comment letting us know! Have a great Monday!!