Kroger Buy 5 – Save $5 Event! #MyBlogSpark $25 gift GC Giveaway

Attention Kroger Shoppers! Get ready for the Kroger Buy 5- Save $5 Event from October 14th-24th. Purchase 5 participating General Mills products, and receive a coupon for $5 off your next shopping order* (coupon printed at checkout)!

Look for some of your favorite participating General Mills products like Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Pillsbury Toaster Strudel, Betty Crocker Cake and Brownie Mixes, Hamburger Helper, Totino’s Party Pizza, Yoplait** and many more! With the baking season in full swing, I plan on stocking up on some Betty Crocker cake and brownie mixes!

Promotion varies in different locations so please be sure to check your local Kroger Co. Family of Stores*** for specific deals and offers which include: Kroger, Ralphs, King Scoopers, City Market, Dillons, Smith’s, Fry’s, QFC, Baker’s, Owen’s, Jay C Food Stores, Hilander, Gerbes, Fred Meyer, Pay Less Supermarkets and Scott’s Food & Pharmacy 

* Products must be purchased during one shopping visit. To view a list of participating products see your store for details. The $5 coupon offer off your next shopping trip offer expires 1 week from the print date, with the coupon prints ending October 24th. Any offers printed on October 24th will expire on October 31st. **Yoplait items vary by state ***Excludes Food 4 Less

One Momfiles reader will win a $25 Kroger gift card to help stock up and save during the Kroger Buy 5- Save $5 Event. Enter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end on October 11, 2012. One winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted via email. Momfiles is not responsible for any lost or stolen prizes. Good luck!

Disclosure: The gift card, information, and additional sample have been provided by Kroger and General Mills through MyBlogSpark

Buy HP XL Ink at Walmart to save money and time! {$20 GC Giveaway}

**Contest closed** Winner is Jammie Morey Congratulations!

Ever since school has been back in session, I have noticed something that is inevitable. We run out of printer ink way too often and I feel like I am having to run to the store to buy it frequently. When you add a spouse that's in college in the mix, we really run out of ink fast! Good thing Walmart carries HP ink cartridges that come in HP XL. I had seen them before in my cartridge size but was afraid it would not fit in my HP printer. It turns out the "XL" means the cartridge holds more ink. It fits in the same way the regular ones do. This means way more printing and less running out to buy more ink cartridges! 

It is so convenient to be able to stock up on ink cartridges while you are shopping for your groceries and household items. I found that the HP XL ink came in a large variety of sizes and the prices were reasonable. I received a $75 Walmart gift card from MomSelect to purchase HP XL ink for my printer and I had $14 left over to purchase a few items for the kids. Besides the ink cartridges, I was able to get 2 boxes of oatmeal for William, 2 bags of candy for the girls to take to volleyball, as well as a box of cake mix and powdered sugar to make cupcakes. You can't beat getting your printer ink for a decent price and being able to grab some other items at the same time with the money you saved. I think it is a great convenience for busy moms like myself!

Giveaway: One lucky Momfiles reader will win a $20 Walmart gift card to help towards the purchase of HP XL Ink! Enter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end on October 10, 2012. One winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted via email. Momfiles is not responsible for any lost or stolen prizes. Good luck!

I received a Walmart gift card as part of a promotional program with MomSelect. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own.

Vanity Sizing

I was listening to story this morning in my car on NPR. It was about something I have never heard of before... vanity sizing. There were two experts speaking on the subject and it was about the epidemic of obesity in America and how it affects clothing purchases. They spoke about how clothing has been re-sized to give customers the feeling that they are smaller than they really are. Basically, a person buys a size 8, but in reality it is a size 12. The fact that they feel they fit in a size 8 makes them feel good about themselves and results in them purchasing even more clothes. They even said that women's bra sizes have been affected. A woman that is normally a B cup might have to purchase a C cup and the true size might actually be an A! Of course, not all brands are doing this but it does make you wonder if you are wearing your true size. About 2 years ago, I was wearing a Juniors' size 9. A year later I was a 7. As of last week, I wear a Juniors' size 5! Even tops, I went from a Juniors' XL down to a small.

This is crazy! Turns out that it has been going on for many years. I guess I always just assumed that every brand was cut differently. Turns out, they are cut to please the customer in hopes of increasing sales. I just had to share this with you all! Has anyone heard about this before? I'm probably so late :)

Making Laundry FUN!

September 23-29 is National Keep Kids Creative Week. Gain recognizes the importance of National Keep Kids Creative Week and believes that there are ways to make laundry more fun. I am so thrilled to be teaming up with Gain to show you a very simple way to make a sometimes boring chore for a kid, a fun adventure! If you ask my son William what his favorite things are he will quickly tell you, DINOSAURS! He carries around everything from dinosaur flash cards, books, toys and loves his dino apps on the Kindle Fire. It has gotten to the point where he can tell you the names of at least a dozen dinosaurs and fill you in on how big they are and what they like to eat.

I figured that dinosaurs would be a great subject to incorporate into helping out around the house and allowing his creativity to shine. We decided to make a "Dino Adventure" laundry basket. You should have seen the excitement on William's face when we were gathering our craft items for the basket project. I came up with the basic idea but had William do all of the coloring, gluing and helping to hold things to assemble.

We started with some dinosaur template cut-outs that we found online. William chose all of the colors he wanted his dinosaurs to be and enjoyed making dino sounds as he colored. He really got into it! His big sister helped him to cut the dinosaur and dino egg shapes out and glue down them down on construction paper to make them sturdier. We attached simple assorted plastic greenery to our laundry basket to give that jungle feel. Once all the dinosaurs and eggs were completed, we punched holes in them and attached them with bag ties onto the basket in between the greenery. To personalize the laundry basket even more, we made a nameplate so William can be proud to have his very own hamper in his room.

 

 

He just loves the fact that this is his very own basket that he helped create. I think it turned out really cute and it was such fun crafting this masterpiece together. He is already asking about what our next project will be!

He is so proud of his special basket.

I have never seen William so eager to help with laundry before. He very happily loaded all of the dirty clothes in the washing machine.

Of course you must have some good old-fashioned shenanigans to make the chore of laundry even more fun! I am sure William is going to show a lot more effort in keeping up with his dirty clothes. Hopefully I will find more of it in the hamper instead of on the floor!

Won't you join Gain in this great initiative? Have your kids decorate a basket and tag Gain on Facebook. It is such fun! Check out the Gain Facebook page for more details on National Keep Kids Creative Week. You can also follow Gain on Twitter. What creative things will you do with your kids or what suggestions can you share that can bring out your child's creativity

I am being compensated by Gain to share the importance of National Keep Kids Creative Week and Gain believes that there are ways to make laundry more fun. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own.

Play Time Fun with Playmobil

Playmobil toys are a classic option for indefatigable kids with growing imaginations. With components themed around certain settings like pirate ships or veterinary clinics, each set is charming and vibrantly coloured with parts individually wrapped in plastic for assembly later on. We have picked two of the best ideas for Christmas and birthday presents alike.

The Playmobil Robber Amphibious Vehicle

Aimed at the four to eight year old age group, the Playmobil Robber Amphibious Vehicle is perfect for the child who soaks up pop culture like a sponge and wants to experiment with cops and robber role-play. Parents of younger kids should know that pieces are small enough to be swallowed by children under three, so it pays to be vigilant. The set comes with play money, a case, robbers, police and a getaway amphibious vehicle that's perfect for those last minute dashes away from the fuzz.

Other toys integrate well with Playmobil, and can form an extensive obstacle course all over the lounge room floor. This is a type of toy that really encourages imagination, creative and lateral thinking and fine motor skills.

 Playmobil Vet Clinic

Perfect for the budding animal lover, this vet clinic comes with an ultrasound machine, bird aviary, bunny pen and dog pen. There are also a vet surgeon, a mother and child and lots of animals waiting to be looked after. Easy to construct, the set looks great whether placed on a shelf in the child's room or sprawled out on the floor.

Generally, the great thing about Playmobil is that each set overlaps and interact well with other ones. These ever-expanding world of new characters such as the gorilla and baby set, the farmhouse with market and the forest animal station, are all conceived to increase the imaginative powers of the child. Playmobil is a vibrant and colourful universe of fun in its own right.