Veggies

If anyone is interested in a bunch of farm-fresh organic vegetables next year, Springdale Farm is now accepting sign-ups for 2011. You can check out the website here: www.springdalefarmcsa.org. We got the half share this year and will be getting it again next year. It's a fun way to try new vegetables and support local agriculture. You are welcome to call or email me with any questions. - Linda

Groupon - 3 Redbox Rentals for $1

Check out this Groupon for today - Three redbox rentals for $1. It's a deal for a different city but should work anywhere! Who doesn't love Redbox?

Nursing Cover

If you or anyone else is in need of a nursing cover, uddercovers.com has a deal right now where you can get one for free with the code "thanksgiving". You do have to pay for shipping, which is $10, but that's still a great price, and they have some really cute ones.

Betty Brinn Groupon

Check out today's Groupon - it's for 4 tickets to Betty Brinn for $12 (reg. price $24). For everyone like me who doesn't go there regularly enough to justify a membership, it's a pretty good deal. :)

By the way, any good clearance sales shopping going on?

Leapster Leapfrog

Admittedly, my kids play with Leapfrog Leapsters. The games are usually really pricey. Right now, there are several games on clearance at Leapfrog.com for $9.99. Then, apply promo code FEBLEAP5 to receive $5 off each game, on up to 5 games. Yup, that's $4.99 per game, plus about $5 shipping.

Shade sale

If anyone hasn't heard, Shade clothing company is going out of business. They are liquidating all of their clothes. The best deal I found was on the camisoles - they are $3.99 each plus shipping. They still have white and black in all sizes. The rest of the selection they have left is so-so and the website is s.l.o.w.. But it might be worth checking it out if you are in need of tank tops for layering. The site goes down on the 17th, so if you are interested, go asap.

Old Navy coats

I heard a rumor online that Old Navy is having their 16th anniversary sale this weekend and on Oct 9th only the frost-free coats for adults and kids will be $16. I love those coats so I thought you might too. You might want to check the website or call a store before you make a special trip though just in case I'm wrong. :)

Cheap Discovery World Membership

I just purchased a Discovery world membership for $40 (w/ tax) on this link instead of paying $78.  If you don't have a pass to this place you are missing out!  You get reciprocity to most of the Chicago museums plus many others around the country.  It's a serious deal.  They have something like 55 more passes left.  check it out!

Deliciousness...

Do you like Brie cheese? Who wouldn't? It's so yummy. Anyways you can get it SUPER cheap TODAY only (Wed Sept 22) at Pick 'N Save in the specialty cheese section. It's Buy One Get One Free. I believe one round of President Brie cheese is usually $4.99. So you get two for $2.50 each. BUT there's more. Look carefully by your President products because you should be able to find a little recipe/info book. Pick up two of those babies because they each have a $1.00 off/1 coupon in them. And since today is Double Daze you'll get $2 off/1 today. That means you get each Brie for around $0.50. Sweet deal, right?



Plus the Baguettes are on sale for $1.89 so pick up a couple of those and you'll have the perfect French snack.

(Oh one note - you have to spend $25 to double your coupons. And you can only double up to 5 coupons per transaction.)

The Pleasure of Your Company

My kids earned free pool passes to any Milwaukee county pool through the library's summer reading program. I won't be able to use them all. I have three extra free passes if you would like to join me (I could also use advice on which pool is best to use...I haven't been to any of the paid pools...would be looking for a safe neighborhood and a toddler pool if possible)

Half Price Deals

I'm sure a lot of you have heard about Groupon by now. I just became aware of this website featuring half price deals in Milwaukee: http://wlum.milradiodeals.com/

There are quite a few current offers and I actually found a couple worth buying. Just thought I'd pass it along!

Toy Clearance

Target right now is having a sale worth going to on toys. I stocked up super-early for Christmas on toys that were 75% and more. I didn't spend more than $3.75 on anything and I got some great toys.

Kids Clearance Sales?

Any good finds ladies?
I usually find things here and there, and I am able to stock up a season ahead. This year, no such luck. Mostly, it's just the fact that I have 4 kids and a hubby that's gone all the time. I just don't go shopping, period. I'd be willing to go somewhere if I knew I could get some good stuff.

WICKED!!!

Check it out:

http://www.marcuscenter.org/documents/MKE%20Lottery%20Press%20Release.pdf

They're doing a daily lottery for Wicked tickets!  I was there for a show on Thursday and I saw the people waiting for the lottery--there were only about 20 people hanging around.  They drew 4-6 names and then, if you weren't lucky enough to get your name called, they offered a consolation prize:  Orchestra seating for $40!  The tickets they were offering were row P.  The $40 tickets depend on availability, but if you're lucky and get drawn in the lottery your seats are downright amazing--4th row!  The exciting part is that, since they just started doing this, not many people seem to be participating.  Your chances probably improve on the weekday shows and are even better now, toward the beginning of the run, rather than as the show winds down.  The cast is really fantastic and it was such a fun show!  It's a pretty incredible way to see Wicked on the cheap.  If you don't get drawn and they don't offer the consolation prize, you can always just go to dinner or shopping in the area.  Good luck!~

Pewaukee Water Ski Show

Have you ever heard about the Pewaukee Lake Water Ski Show? It's held every Thursday night in the summer at 6:30pm. It's free - just bring your chairs or blankets and come watch the water skiiers do tricks right on the lake. I think they usually have live music too. (Oh and they also have an ice cream shoppe right there.) It's fun, especially on a warm summer evening!

What other fun things do you like to do in the summer?

Waukesha County Fair - Dollar Day

In case anyone is interested, the Waukesha County Fair is next week in Waukesha. Wednesday, July 21st (opening day) is their Dollar Day. It's $1.00 parking, $1.00 admission (ages 5 and under are free) and 1 ticket rides for $1.25 each. I haven't been but I'm probably going to go (not sure what time) so let me know if anyone wants to join me.

Here's the link: http://www.waukeshacountyfair.com/

Diaper Sale

Amazon has their diapers and wipes for 30% off and free 2-day shipping when you use Subscribe and Save. Just go the baby section and click on "special offers". The 30% doesn't come off until after you enter your payment method (but before you finalize your order), so take an extra 30% off the prices shown. I don't know how the prices compare on everything else, but I got some Huggies Overnites for Ben and Pampers Easy-Ups for Carter for way less than sale price, even with coupons. You can cancel the subscribe and save after you place the order, just go to your account and find the manage my subscriptions link.

67% off Art Museum family membership

That makes the family membership $50 instead of $150. There is another family membership that is $75 but that doesn't get you reciprocity throughout the country like this one does. (There is a list of other museums you can get into with this pass.) Follow this link to today's deal:

http://www.groupon.com/milwaukee/

Which will actually be different tomorrow, so if you're wanting the art museum membership it has to be today!

More Web Searching Rewards

Going along with Nicki's last post about Bing, there's a site called 'Swagbucks' that also gives you rewards for searching.

From this website, I got a basic description of Swagbucks for you.
It’s easy as 1-2-3!

1.Search the web as you normally would using SwagBucks.com search engine. You’ll get results from Google.com and Ask.com.
2.Swag Bucks will be periodically awarded to you as you search. You can win up to 50 Swag Bucks with a single search and on Fridays you can win up to 1000 Swag Bucks with a single search. You can also find and redeem Swag Codes (many of which will be hinted at here at WeLoveSwagBucks) which will add to your Swag Bucks total.
3.Redeem your Swag Bucks for prizes ranging from gift certificates for Amazon, Target and iTunes to televisions, video games, iPods, movie, music and sports collectibles, comics and books, and much much more!

I am normally highly skeptical of this type of internet thing because they are so often full of junk mail, don’t pay out, ask you for way too much personal info, or just take too much time, but SwagBucks.com is really working for us. I have used Swagbucks for several months and already been able to redeem my digital dollars for 8 Amazon giftcards, which I've used for a couple of books for the kids and myself, and now I'm saving my Amazon cards to get Evelyn her very own camera.

Here's where you come in. When I gain friends, or people who join swagbucks through my links, Swagbucks matches the first 1,000 points earned by those friends. It would be awesome if you sign up with Swagbucks.com right now and start earning money for us both, doing one thing you do occasionally anyway; searching the web. Just click on my banner below to become my friend!

Bing Cashback

If you do much online shopping, it might be worth your while to shop while using MS search engine "Bing". Bing offers "cashback" through several retailers. For example, I recently made a purchase on overstock.com. Rather than typing their address into my browser, I did a search on Bing for "overstock". When I clicked on the link, Bing offered me 15% cashback on my purchase (if I paid with PayPal). Anyway, it sounds complicated, but it really wasn't. Again, it's worth trying if you shop online.

Bowling

You can go here to sign your kids up for free bowling passes this summer (2 free games/day). You still have to pay for shoe rentals and they will try to sell you a family pass for the adults to get the 2 games/day as well for $25. If you are looking for something to do with some bored kids this summer, this could be good!

Wanna Tri?

Hey Ladies,
I just signed up for my first triathalon. I would love to have some girlfriends join me. The website is www.irongirl.com/Events/Racine.htm. I have a coupon code (of course!) for $25 off (CCIGWIS25). This is one of few that I have found that is not on a Sunday. I love that it is for WOMEN!!! It's also nice (at least for me) that it is pretty close to home so that I can get a good nights rest in my own bed the night before. I want to be able to at least have my kids see me finish the race...it would be miserable if we had all stayed together in a hotel room the night before.

Baby Girl Clothes

I have a few bags of baby girls clothes, sizes 12mo - 18mo. (I have more than that, but I still need to sort through it). Before I haul it off to Goodwill, I wanted to make sure that no one that I know and love could use 'em. Let me know.

Nickelodeon Storytime Live

We ended up with 5 extra tickets to Nickelodeon Storytime Live. It's on May 1, at 5pm (the same day as Womens' Conference, due to a mix up with Ticketmaster). Anyway, NO PRESSURE, but if you are interested in joining us, let me know. Otherwise, I'll just sell 'em on StubHub. I think in order to make Womens' Conference and Storytime Live, I'll just be meeting Jake downtown...

Music Classes

A girl in my ward is starting up a music class for kids 3-6. She is very talented and great with kids. It's a general class that teaches skills that will tranfer to any instument. Her website is here. She also teaches violin.

Maternity Clothes

I have some maternity clothes that need a new home. I keep thinking I should just drag them to Goodwill, but I'd rather have someone I know and love use them if I can. Most of them are size medium. Big mix of summer and winter...let me know via email if you would like to go through them.

Single Stroller

I have a favor...I'll be traveling out of town on a short trip this week with Jake. I am leaving my older kids, but taking Jack. I am in need of a single stroller that I can click his carseat into, or I could use one of those frames that just carries the carseat. I am not picky and don't want to take anyone's stroller that they use regularly. I'm happy to take something that is old and you aren't currently using.

Babysitters

Does anyone know of an older girl looking for babysitting opportunities? I will be needing someone quite a few times over the next few months. I need to leave all 3 kids, so I need someone more experienced. Any suggestions?

Love and Logic

If any of you have read the Love and Logic parenting books, you know it's good stuff. The Tosa Health Department is sponsoring and Love and Logic workshop beginning in April. I have a cousin who did the seminar in Denver and they swear by it. Here is the flier that I grabbed for it at the library (you should be able to click on it to make it bigger):

Veggies

For anyone who is interested in farm fresh fruits and vegetables this summer/fall, Springdale Farms is a local farm now accepting sign-ups. You can sign up for a full share or half share, depending on how much you want. It is a little pricey, but you can pay in installments, or split a full share with someone to cut the price as well. You can click here for a list of everything you get in a full share. A half share is at least half of that. The benefit is that it is all locally grown, fresh and organic. They have pick-up sites in Tosa, Menomonee Falls, Whitefish Bay and more. I signed up for a half share and am really looking forward to fresh vegetables all summer and fall!

Groupons

Just thought I'd throw this out there....

There is an online company called Groupons (Group + Coupons) that offers daily deals in individual communities at GREAT prices through the power of group buying. It has established itself in most major metro areas and cities and Milwaukee finally has one too! The daily deals feature local businesses that are offering good discounts on their services or products (anywhere from 40 -60% off the regular price.... I've seen it for 70% off a couple times). For example, today the Milwaukee Groupon is offering 2 Adult admission tickets to tour Pabst Mansion for $8. Normally, each individual adult ticket is $9. If you haven't ever toured Pabst Mansion, it's incredible!!! I highly recommend it even just to get a glimpse into part of the history of Milwaukee. It could be a cheap date with your hubby! Tomorrow, the Groupon with change to highlight another business.

Here is the website, check it out!

www.groupon.com/milwaukee/

Just as a heads Up

Hi ladies,

I thought I'd let you know that my business website is up and running (more or less.....), and I've got a blog to boot! You can check it out at;

www.wix.com/emilytate/The-Spectacular-Whimsy-Website

The website is almost complete. The address will change to www.thespectacularwimsy.com by the end of this month. My blog is up and running with 2 posts. The address is;

www.thespectacularwhimsy.blogspot.com


I know many of you have been super kind and have been spreading my business name around by Word of Mouth. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! If you hear of anyone with a birthday coming up that would like some help with it, please pass my name along. I'm so excited to get this going. Even if I only end up booking 1 party every other month, I'd still be estatic!!! You guys are awesome. Keep posting those amazing deals :)

Weekend Events

A couple ideas for things to do this weekend:

Laura mentioned a while back the Frosty Flicks - $3 family movies at Marcus Theaters. The first one is this Saturday Feb 6 at 10am: Ice Age http://www.marcustheatres.com/Promotion/PromotionDetail/4/

It's another Family Free Day at the Milwaukee County Zoo on Saturday Feb 6. (Brr!!)

Oh and there's Disney on Ice Princess Classics going on this weekend Feb 4-7 (Thurs-Sun). The cheapest tickets are $15 and kids are $10. Go to ticketmaster.com.

We like going to the Home Depot and Lowe's workshops. There's one at Home Depot this Saturday too. 9am-noon. (And they're free.)

That's all I can think of. What else fun is going on in the next week or two?

Pick 'n Save Double Daze

Did you know Pick 'n Save will double your coupons every Wednesday? They usually double up to 5 coupons worth $1.00 off or less, with a minimum purchase of $25. Tomorrow- Wednesday, January 27- they're doubling up to 10 coupons. This is the best deal if you match your coupons with the weekly sales. There are quite a few sales that match up with my coupons this week so I didn't have any trouble picking out 10 coupons that I will be able to use. (Ex: GM Cereal, Kraft cheese, Nature Valley granola bars, Ritz crackers, etc.)

Don't get coupons in the newspaper? Print off some coupons online at websites like www.coupons.com A lot of these say "Do not double or triple" at the top, but I've never had a Pick 'n Save employee reject one of these for doubling.

A tip: Since a lot of people will be shopping tomorrow to take advantage of this, if something is out of stock, go to the Customer Service desk and get a raincheck for the item. Then you can come back anytime in the next two weeks and even though something won't be on sale you can still get the sale price.

To maximize savings and minimize stress, do yourself a favor and don't bring the kids with you. :)

Old Navy Clearance Sale--For REALS

Starts tomorrow, January 22nd.  I called and clarified--it will be 50% off the orange clearance tag price.

Target Deals

I'm no expert clearance shopper, but I went to Target in Menomonee Falls today and found some good deals. I got some toddler girls cold weather boots for Avery for 75% off. They were regularly $15.99 and I got them for $3.74. They had a few other styles that were $5.74. They had a whole aisle of these kinds of deals for toddler boys and girls (size 5-12) in the shoe section. They had some good clearance selection on infant/toddler clothes too. 30%, 50%, and 75% off. I got a winter coat for Camryn 50% off for $13.48. They also had a lot of stuff in the baby supply aisles for 50% off.

Where else are you finding good clearance deals?

Dentist Referral

Just FYI -- I found an awesome pediatric dentist. He would be quite a drive for anyone who lives on the East Side, but he's worth it if you're in the middle or west. His name is "Dr. Rick" and his office is called "Small World Pediatric Dentistry" (http://www.smallworlddds.com). He is located in Brookfield. No, I don't get anything for passing on his name. I was referred to him by my regular dentist and I was just really impressed. He is in a brand-new, super kid-friendly office. The staff is kind and accommodating. He seems to love kids and what he does; and he works from a very conservative approach (ie: Brooklyn has some very, very small cavities, he recommends just "watching" them and increasing flossing rather than doing fillings...at least for now). Bonus: his rooms are all painted with adorable, different murals. I had more take-home ideas for my kids bedroom than I've found in any books or home improvement stores. I'm just relieved to find him. The dentist was SO traumatic for me as a kid (my dentist didn't really like kids, as I remember). It's nice to have someone who specializes in pediatrics.

New Baby Advice

Hey, wouldn't you think I'd have it down by #4? Apparently not. Also, it has become apparent that many baby products are designed to last through three children. I am replacing my infant car seat and my breast pump this time.
Any suggestions on either?

Old Navy Clearance Sale

Old Navy is in the middle of their amazing winter clearance sale.  Apparently it began last week (HOW do I always miss the beginning of these things??) but they are now offering 60% off clearance online and in their stores as well.   I haven't been in to the store yet, so I don't know how picked over it is, but in the past this has been a pretty incredible chance to pick up a few bargains (last year I got fleece lined jeans for the toddler in my family for $2.50).  And, for what it's worth, the Brown Deer store typically has the best markdowns, but the sale should be active at the Brookfield Square and Southridge Mall locations as well.  Good luck, ladies!