GIVEAWAY ALERT Budget Friendly Boutique PAISLEY PINEAPPLE

Guys I started a new boutique and I want to share it with you!! 

Here's the back story:

It all began when I found these stinking cute rompers. I had been seeing them everywhere for a bundle of $$....  didn't want to pay that much. If you are a parent, you can guess why. Paying a fortune for children's clothes is no fun. They outgrow them or wear them out rather quickly(that can't be just my kids!)

I wanted them for my cute little baby girl{P.S. I had a baby AGAIN! ha! She is beautiful and we're loving her. She is in the :-) stage right now. She smiling at me right now as I do this post} 

Having done boutiques for years now I used my connections to buy wholesale. I buy as many as I can at a time to get the price as low as possible. Then of course I wanted some new clothes too, which led to where we are now. We(I asked my sister Sue to join me-she's awesome sauce) started a group to do pre-orders through and it's awesome because we join together and buy together so that we get the best pricing possible! We all win.

It went so well that just a week in and we had 500+ members! So...

We are celebrating in a big way! We have a giveaway

(https://www.facebook.com/groups/1629379194056517/permalink/1681879425473160/) 

that will have five prizes and four different winners! Come join the group today and enter our giveaway! See what we're all about!

* Sorry about the long ugly link. I'm working on my iPad app and there's no hyperlink as far as I can tell.

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Awesome Simple Cheap Disney Souvenir

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 I was just about to send off a whole bunch of images to Costco to create a Disney Character Signature book until I saw this idea! 

I love the idea of a Disney Signature book but with four kids could easily see the issues we'd run into... 

-Printing and organizing the character pages

-thumbing through character pages trying to find the right page

-not being able to find each character on the list

-or worse, not having a page for each character we meet...

-and the overall time consumption of it all.

This idea simplifies that all! I love it!

Simply:

1)Get a mat frame from Michaels(or other store) and you can even use a coupon. 

2)Place it in a gallon sized bag with a pen 

3)Each time you meet a character quickly pull it out. 

You could do one family mat frame or one for each family member. I think this time around I'll go for a family frame to keep things simple. Of course you simply add your favorite picture from your trip to the frame!

Thank you StockPilingmoms.com for the idea! 

(Click on the image to be sent to the original Pin from StockPilingMoms)

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Using VRBO for your Disney Vacation

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Have you heard of VRBO? 

"Powered by HomeAway, The world leader in vacation rentals"

VRBO is a site that allows individuals list their properties as vacation rentals. 

You can find vacation rentals all over the world through VRBO.  These rentals range from small condos to large homes and sometimes even whole apartment complexes. 

Rather than get into all the nitty gritty of VRBO itself, 

I want to share what I have learned through researching for our Disneyland vacation.

VRBO for Disneyland

Pros:

*Hundreds of locations- some even right across from Disneyland

*Something to accommodate and party size

*Family friendly. Many of the rentals have strollers, high chairs, beach toys and more

(no need to pack bulky strollers in the car!)

*Options: swimming pool, bbq's, theater rooms, decked out in Disney decor- you can find it

*Lower than Hotel Prices: Price per person is usually(not always) lower than a hotel

*Full sized kitchens and fridges- save on $$- prepare meals to take to the park

*Washers and dryers at most rentals

*Living space- it really is more like home

*Split the cost with multiple families

*Free Parking: Some provide parking passes for Disneyland if they aren't close enough to walk, might as well ask about it.

CONS:

*Cleaning Fees

 I've seen them from $70-200 depending on the rental. This is decided individually- you may be able to work with the renters on the cleaning fee but usually it's pretty set in stone. 

*Damage Deposits

Usually $300-400 to protect the owners against any damage done. Most of them say fully refundable. Definitely ask each owner specifically about that. Some are partially refundable while some are fully refundable. Be sure to ask the likelihood of getting all of that back. I was told several times that it is refunded 10-14 days following our stay.

*Damage Insurance

NON-refundable fee usually $70-80 This is actual insurance so it is not refundable. I didn't see more than a handful that required this but it IS there. You can click the 'Rates' tab on any VRBO rental or the 'detailed price' link below the 'quote' button will also show any extra fees.

*Pool/Spa heating fees

Not all have them but if you have a place with a pool or spa, make sure to double check or ask the owner about it. I've seen them be $10-20 a day! That adds up.

*Additional Persons Fee

This one is ridiculous IMO. And it comes up more often than the Damage insurance so triple check on this one. A rental may say it sleeps 12 then say additional $5-10 pppn (per person per night) 

above six. That adds up really quick if you are planning to max out at 12 people. 

*Verify that the property is vacant.

VRBO is a site that allows individuals list their properties as vacation rentals. Let me clarify, these are usually people who own several properties with the intent to rent them out, however, I did run across a couple 'rentals' which were part of a persons home, meaning you would be staying in the same home as the owners. Possibly their basement, casita, or even a 4th floor "apartment" on their home. While some may be ok with staying with total strangers, I think the majority isn't... which does have a bonus to it, the prices are usually less for these kind of rentals. Not enough incentive for me to stay there but maybe for someone else.

Additional Tips:

*Prices vary by location, size, and number of persons staying

*Discounted rates will pop up if you are planning last minute or off season trips. 

*Weekly Discounted Rates:If you plan to stay for an entire week, many will usually give you a good discount.

*Distance Saves. If you don't mind being a little farther from the park, go just outside of the Anaheim area and avoid the new 15% TAX RATE that applies to all Anaheim rentals. This went into effect over the summer of 2015.

*Multiple families going? Find a large home and split the costs. Usually ends up costing less than a hotel room and you have more amenities.

*NEVER EVER pay through a wire transfer, Money Gram, or Western Union, even Paypal. 

I trust Paypal but in this case, it may be used as a way to avoid VRBO requirements and safe guards.The best option is to pay through VRBO to ensure your transaction is verifiable. I did read that you can pay in cash in person but every renter I talked with requires payment before your trip, just like if you booked a flight or hotel, it's only guaranteed once its paid for.

*One last tip, check the reviews but don't solely rely on them. I've read that negative reviews are not posted. Kind of ruins the idea of even having reviews available. But take note to the percentage of renters who actually left a review. If 200 people stayed there and only a handful left a review, I'd make sure to talk with the owner in depth before agreeing to rent from them.

****************************************************************************

There is a lot to take in when searching for a vacation rental on VRBO but overall, I think it can be worth it. 

As I was researching for our stay, we ended up finding other sources inadvertently through VRBO properties and planned to work with them seperately. Here are some sites we found.

Photo Cred: Anaheim Vacation House

1) AnaheimVacationHouse 

This is who we are working with. They have been very accommodating and friendly. All the homes listed are very nice luxury homes. We are excited to work with them for our stay. 

I'll let you know what we think about it after our stay. 

Photo Cred: My Castle House 

(Castle #14)

2) MyCastleHouse

These are decked out in Disney decor and have a special theme to each home. However, I didn't like that prices are only available by phone requests. This site is similar to VRBO in the fact that each of the homes are owned by different people so your contact info changes from house to house. They do have great reviews as far as I can tell. 

What options have you looked into for your 

Disneyland vacations?

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Aged Perfection Sings to me!

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Who loves natural aged perfection? And Pianos?! ME! 

I got lucky with this one. Within minutes after seeing it posted for sale I immediately got in touch with the seller and set up the arrangements to pick it up. Right after I did that, she got tons of offers higher than mine on it. So sad. But she was kind enough to let me know and I hurried down to check it out and paid a little bit more, which is totally ok because I love it. I loved it from the start. 

I'm lucky my husband wanted it too!

We've been searching for a piano so our children can learn to play for over a year! We just couldn't get to them before everyone else did. I wanted to know about the age of the piano so I got as much info as I could. The serial number inside the piano dated it back to 1986. Then when I saw it in person, there was another serial number on the music backing(where the music books sit) that did not match the inside. It dates back to 1940. That means someone rebuilt it. Pretty cool!

My first instinct was to just leave it as is. Then when I got there and looked closely, I saw it would need some help. The paint was is chippy and some pieces of wood are missing.

I went through a whole debate in my mind...  

1) Strip it completely and paint it?  

2)Lightly sand the chippy paint off the top and paint the rest? 

3) Or lightly sand it all and seal it in so that no more paint chips off?

Which do you think I chose?

Stay TUNED for the after shots!! Side NOTE: anyone know a good piano tuner in Southern Utah? 

I know I know, my jokes often fall FLAT... Oh I'm just killin myself here! Ha! Ok, I'm done. 

 {BTW my dining room set just took a backseat to this piano project.}

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Final Epic Mickey Countdown and a Disney Freebie

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Build Your Disney Side Decal

I love this freebie! We did one a while back but it's disappeared. You can create your own little vinyl decal family. I love the idea of making a cute picture frame with the decal and a picture from our Disney trip.

And if you didn't catch that...  we are totally COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS UNTIL OUR DISNEY TRIP!

My husband and I were questioning if Disney really is the right way to celebrate our victory over debt because well, it is quite expensive to get there.

But after reviewing all the Disney on a Dime posts, I started to think that maybe we really could do it and stick to a budget and let's be honest, my husband is super excited. We are all super excited!

It was something he grew up doing with his family(I did not). I did, however, grow up on a budget. 

So we are going to Disneyland! 
We decided to even let the secret out to our littles so that there is no turning back.
(We had a little swim party to celebrate- hence the swim apparel)

These are snap shots from my phone- please excuse the blur... also caused by extremely excited children who wouldn't sit still long enough for a photo. LOL!

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Disney on a Dime Tips: Top 3

My hubs and I have been gathering information, tweaking the vacation budget, and weighing out the pro's and con's of my recent post To Disney or To NOT.

Of course I felt like I needed a refresher on all the "Disney on a Dime" posts floating around. There are A LOT of them. So I figured I would share a list of links with great Disneyland info and MY FAVORITE TIPS. I actually found a couple new to me tips!

Just check out my Disney Pinterest Board for all the great links on Saving in Disney.

Here are the tips I loved:

(if we head to Disney, I will for sure be doing them)

1: Use your Target Red Card to buy Disney spending cards. Save 5% right away!

Amazing! What's so great about this is that you can use the Disney cards anywhere in the park on food or souvenirs and you instantly saved 5%! I also think it would be a great idea to give each child a small amount on their own card-then when it's gone- it's GONE. Also- this is a great opportunity to teach your kids about finance. 

**Along with this tip, one blogger suggested keeping those $5 target reward cards you get from time to time and then turning those into your Disney cash cards before your trip. Although you get these free, you won't be getting 5% off the Disney cards so you could use them for snacks to take into the park and then buy the Disney cards separate too. Either way, it is a great idea!

2: Rent DVC points! (Disney Vacation Club) One blogger tells of how she saved $3200 on hotels by doing this!! She paid $800 for 6 nights to stay on Boardwalk(normally $4000)! I'll let ya know first, it will cost MORE than just an offsite hotel but if you want the experience of staying IN Disney and can't hack a several thousand dollar bill just on a room, this is a great option. Read her post HERE. There is a lot to consider with this option and I'm still researching it out. If you are going to Disneyland, there is only the option of staying at  The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. We figured for 5 nights in November it would cost about $1450 to sleep our family of 6.

Or you could go the Get Away Today route, we have used them before and they were fantastic- they take care of the tickets and all. I've also heard for larger groups that renting a condo from Vacation Rentals By Owner(VRBO) is an awesome deal- like a home away from home!

3: Pack your own food and drinks into the Park. 

Ok, this one is a no brainer and pretty common but you can pack snacks and a small cooler into the park. You can put it in your stroller or pay about $12 a day for a locker and head to the park area for lunch and dinners. BUT the idea I LOVED from one blogger was to pack refillable water bottles- for water yes- but also pack those individual drink mixes with you as well. They are compact and when you are thirsty for something other than water, you can quickly make a gatorade, lemonade, or punch drink instead of spending the $4-6 for a drink in the park. I read you can ask for a cold drink of water at any food service for free too. And keep your eye out for the drinking fountains throughout the park.

BONUS TIP: Buy lanyards and pins on Ebay before your trip. 

You can get them MUCH CHEAPER this way and the kids can trade with the characters and workers in Disney. I haven't done this one yet but I think the kids would love it and it would make for a great souvenir. Here is also a blog post about pin trading which is the source for the image above.

Hope you enjoyed these tips and will search my Disney Pins for more! 

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To Disney or To NOT... feeling torn

Sooo... ya know 46 MONTHS later... and now seeing savings adding up.... My husband and I are feeling torn on whether we should actually spend a small fortune on a family Disney trip. 

Don't get me wrong. WE LOVE DISNEY. We love the rides, the yummy treats, seeing the characters, seeing our kids(and our own) excitement and the escape from reality. Disney really brings it all. We just DON'T love the price tag. 

I think that through those 46 months of pinching our pennies, something happened to us. WE CHANGED. We really do budget differently and we value what we have to work with SO much more now. We still have lots to learn but the feeling of dropping $2000-$3000 on a trip to Disney just isn't settling well with us. I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Disney with many of the posts on how to do it on the cheap... but even on the cheap, you'll still be forking over a fair amount of moola. Aaanndd.let'sbehonest. If you are going to Disney you don't want to worry about finances while you are there. They've made it so magical and inviting and EXPENSIVE... that experiencing Disney the right way -in my opinion- is not having to worry about the $$ spent on yummy park treats and a couple souvenirs as well as not having to tote around a cooler for your meals... have I made my point yet? Of course, if you are willing to pinch your pennies for Disney, you may be able to go more than once too... could be worth it.

In short, Disney = spending a small fortune 

(or stressing over every expense while you are there)

There are sooo many other WAY less expensive options that could be just as memorable and enjoyable. The real kicker is that my husband works for an airline company and gets great flying benefits. My kids LOVE Hawaii... which would cost a third the amount of a Disney trip. We've never been to Legoland and my kids have asked many times to go there.Way less than Disney. We could even buy passports for our kids and go somewhere foreign. Less than Disney. We could almost do all three for the same amount as ONE Disney trip. 

In short again, Not going to Disney = New adventure elsewhere, more adventures elsewhere, AND more than likely saving money.

When ya lay it out like that, it's hard to choose Disney. Not that we won't ever go back but maybe right now is not the time for it? After all, we have kids ages 8, 6, 4, and 2. There would be a lot of missed rides and kids who may not remember it anyway and I'd most likely end up pushing the stroller around for hours with sleeping kids. Maybe it's all about timing here. Maybe when they are all old enough to ride it all! This year got a lot busier for my husband too. He's almost finished with his dreadful but fulfilling CPA exams(Hoping this time around we-yes we- are finished with the CPA exams chapter of life). He's a lot busier at work too which had influenced our travel dates anyway. We haven't decided to ditch Disney (for a couple more years) just yet. There are some other family factors I haven't mentioned but will you hate it if our Epic Mickey gets dusty.... really dusty? 

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Epic Mickey Month 43!!! Don't miss this one!!!

Doesn't Mickey Look So Happy?!

Oh my goodness! oh my goodness! 

OH! MY! GOODNESS! 

It has finally come! 

No April fools joke this year! We made our very last payment ever to student loans! Yes!!! YES!!!

I'm still wondering if it's actually REAL. We've been so connected to the stupid student loans it feels like we just lost a limb, LOL!  But maybe more like we just lost 100 lbs! The weight is lifted. 

Or squares.... we literally filled in 100 squares yesterday! Wahoo!

I may have cried as soon as I realized we could do it! I called my husband at work to scream about it. We thought it would be about two more months out. But we did it Sunday!!! **gasp**

Huge sigh of relief!! Next months budget will be weird- no student loan payments!!

We paid off roughly about $56,000 in 3 1/2 years. (Not all, but most, was student loans) 

Just 6 months past our original goal! Plus we brought our 4th baby into the world, bought a home, and paid lots in medical expenses all while paying down debt!!! We were lucky enough to have my husband receive a promotion at work too. Helped lots. I can honestly say I feel like we did awesome and that we are so glad to be done. Being that awesome is hard work!!  ;)

You might notice some empty squares on Mickey. Even though we paid off our student loans, we decided on two things:

1) We now need to SAVE for the trip...we'll use the smile for that portion.   2) Most importantly, we decided that we're going to keep it a secret from our children until the day comes to celebrate...we'll leave a portion to color in when we arrive at our hotel. 

(They have no clue we are done paying off student loans and actually planning our trip!!!)  

I don't know how many have really REALLY been following along with our Epic Mickey but I am so glad I have blogged about it and tracked the month to month progress! It's been so much more enjoyable. I plan to create a flipagram of the months to share too!! I will continue to blog about life after death... I mean debt. ;) oh that could be next blog title! Done! "Life after Debt" posts to come...although we still have the mortgage to pay off. Life after student debt just doesn't have the same ring to it...lol. 

Anyway, keep it a secret at least around my kids ;) Yay!!!! 

And a huge thanks to all who have been following along and encouraging us through our Epic Mickey Journey!

Hey DA-ave! WE'RE DEBT FREE! 

(excluding the mortgage)

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Thank Goodness for Good Insurance!

Just a quick update here... clearly blogging is not my top priority. I do hope to get back to it regularly someday but that day hasn't arrived. Recently, MY HUSBANDS APPENDIX BURST! OUCH! I could go on and on but I'll spare you the gory details and just say I am SOO glad to have my husband home, alive and well! I have to admit I was scared about any small possibility of something going wrong. Enough said.

 From a financial stand point, all I can say is I am SOO grateful for insurance! Without insurance through my husbands work... this hospital stay would have cost just under $20,000! It makes me want to puke even thinking about that number but it totally would have been worth it to save my husbands life... and worth it to have insurance so the cost is CONSIDERABLY less. I'm happy to have my hubby home and healthy and cherishing family time. You may have noticed that we haven't been posting any Epic Mickeys for a while... we do have one month we have not published but once again... Epic Mickey is getting lonely and not changing much. That's LIFE I tell ya! We still aren't far off though and even if I don't get much published on the blog, I'll for sure be screaming about when that Epic Mickey is DONE! :) 

During all the family drama happening around here, I got to check into my blog once... and to my surprise, it was GONE! Aaahh! My domain had expired along with my cc on file to renew it automatically, Ugh! AND to top that off, someone came and claimed my old domain! Super Frustrating!! On top of that, the GoDaddy employee said I could not get it back. Do you know what this means?

I LOST MY DOMAIN AND WITH IT I LOST ALL RANKINGS AND STATS. GROUND ZERO WITH BLOGGING PEOPLE. GROUND ZERO.

So either I can give up, or start over. My temporary fix is a new domain www.FrugalToBeFree.com that directs back to the blog. For now, that'll have to do. 

Thank you for all your support and I sure hope you all are healthy and happy!

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Mommy Life

Oh my goodness. I am going on about 4 weeks of my children rotating through a serious stomach bug... you know what I'm talking about! The kind that comes out BOTH ends!

To start off this past Monday, it went a little like this...

5 yr old "Mom, I pooped my pants!" with a look of confusion on his face and fear in his eyes.

3 yr old "Mom belly ache" followed by throw up.

Mom cleans up poop, baths boy, changes pants, cleans up throw up, changes girl. Proceeds to clean bathrooms to rid them of all germs because that HAS TO BE where they came from.

5 yr old "Mom, I pooped again. :( " with dismay and sadness.

Mom cleans up poop. Changes pants.

3 yr old "Mom I pee" (NOPE, NOT PEE, POOP... on the carpet right near the entryway! Chunky watery poop. Boy the house sure smells nice)

Mom sighs, pours baking powder on the poop(not baking soda because that was all gone by this point) hoping it'll act the same as baking soda. Nope, sure doesn't.

11 month old wakes up from nap in crib... crying.

Mom gets baby. Baby has had an explosive diaper.(only the millionth one in the past 2 weeks)

Mom changes baby.

Mom realizes there is no more tp left in the house.

Mom realizes there is no Imodium in the house.

Mom realizes this means a trip to the grocery store in the midst of all these explosions of said bodily fluids. CRAP! Quite literally.

5 yr old actually makes it to the bathroom 70 billion more times to explode in the toilet... ok more like 5 more times.

Mom actually has thought run through head, "Maybe the kids should spend the day in the tub."

3 yr old makes it to the toilet for other poops but toots, well they keep coming and every toot should be called a poot.

Dad comes home for LUNCH(yes it is only lunch time...) so mom can run to the store.

While mom runs to the store, mom calls 5 yr old preschool to let them know he won't be there. Hangs up. Then calls again. "is it early out day for regular school?"

School, "Yes"

Mom forgot and is 15 minutes late picking up 7 yr old. Doesn't make it to the store, turns around to head to the school, pick up 7 yr old, then turns around and heads back to the store.

7 yr old, "You took a really long time."

Mom, "Yes, yes I did. wanna know why?" Proceeds to tell why.

7 yr old understands. Thank goodness.

Mom grabs TP, Powerade, Sprite, Bread, chocolate chips, baking powder, Lysol spray, and ADULT Imodium. Why adult you ask?

Store says they don't carry child Imodium anymore. Mom hopes Dr. will give permission and correct dosage of adult Imodium for children.

Mom calls Dr.

Dr. "Nope, don't give Imodium. Give probiotics. Bring your baby in tomorrow morning. It might be giardia. (what the heck is that? thinks mom) Dr. proceeds to review signs of dehydration... none of which applied to the kids."

Mom thinks, "Seriosly, I CAN'T USE this Imodium I just bought for $6 bucks?! I could have bought a lot of chocolate bars with that $6 bucks." and somehow agreed to the Dr's appointment which, by the way, was ultimately pointless. That's another story though.

AND...

Somehow... the last hours of the day was a blur... COMPLETE BLUR.

Tuesday was no better...

Today... I'm(me being MOM) still trying to figure out if it has been any better. I even ran out of clean undies for 5 yr old and stuck him in a swim diaper for the first part of the day while I got the laundry going out of pure need. Otherwise.Laundry.would.not.be.happening.

Stay tuned for the next episode of Crap hitting the fan. Blah! 

**I am trying to laugh this one out but come on! this needs to end!**









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GIVEAWAY!! Benny The Bouncing Bull!

 Sponsored Giveaway by JumpingBalls

 I sure hope you all are ready for Halloween and have your costumes in order but for today, I'm thinking way ahead....

Who wants to WIN a Christmas Gift?!!

Or use it right away, whatever you please!

I recently reviewed Benny The Bouncing Bull... or rather, my kids did. 

(Yes I took a ride too... I just couldn't resist the urge!)

AND IT WAS "TOTALLY AWESOME!" AS MY SON SAID!

Now I get to give one away to one of you LUCKY readers! 
(Prize will be the Lime Green Benny Pictured)

Are you PUMPED?!

(Ha, ha, get it? PUMPED, like Benny! Ok maybe not funny... but these days, anything is funny with kids right?)  

OK so here's the deal, It's pretty darn easy to enter and you can enter multiple times too! 

Just fill out the RaffleCopter form below and I'll pick a winner on November 15th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

JumpingBalls can be found on 

Facebook, and Amazon!

HUGE Thanks to our Sponsor JumpingBalls.com

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Hopper Ball Review- Benny the Bouncing Bull

Sponsored Post by Jumping Balls

 I have to tell you how long I have waited for a chance to review this FUN product! I have been working for over a YEAR in hopes to work with them on a review... which you might know is always followed up by a GIVEAWAY! I know you all a cheering... more on that later ;)

Soooo of course, I was *thrilled* to find an email from them just last month confirming the opportunity. I KNEW my kids would just love it... and they did.

I mean who wouldn't love Benny the Bouncing Bull right? 

Here is the Nitty Gritty Review ;)

Pros:
*Obviously cool looking!
*Lots of color options
*Super bouncy fun
*Helps kids exercise
*Burns energy- great activity to do about an hour before bedtime ;)
*Designed for kids 18 months to 6 years old
*Can be used for therapy purposes for children with needs
*Hilarious to watch kids play on it
(My four year old said, "This is Totally AWESOME!)
*Easy to pump up with included manual pump
*Very durable(even I gave it a shot... just couldn't resist)
*Holds the air in well, no need to re-inflate for weeks

Cons:
*It is smaller than it looks on the website
For my kids, the 2 and 4 year old could ride it the best. My two year old LOVES it. My six year old has a harder time bouncing on it so for her I think the next size up would be best.

So if you are ready for your kids to have hours of fun and use up all that energy we moms all know they have, check out all their bouncing animals! 

Become a fan of JumpingBalls on Facebook

ORDER FROM:
Amazon
or
JumpingBalls.com

Thank you Jumping Balls for the opportunity to review Benny the Bull!



**All opinions expressed are my own honest opinions. I did not get monetary payment to do this review.
I did receive the product to review free of charge. 

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50 % Off Halloween Decor- Tai Pan Trading

 HUGE Sale at Tai Pan Trading locations! 50% off all Halloween Decor. 

I'm sure you'll have to hurry in for the best picks! 

Also get a 25 % off coupon good for any regular priced item in the store! 

Wahoo!

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Elephant Hopper Ball Review- Jumpingballs.com

Sponsored Review by JumpingBalls

I remember one of my all time favorite activities as a kid was bouncing around on something like these Hopper Balls... of course they were a bit more plane back in my day

(I am 30 now ya know! YIKES! Ya I just let that one slide by without announcing it on the blog... it did end up being a good day though)...

Anyway, my children and I were so lucky to review these sweet Hopper balls. We received "Ellie and Emily" the Elephant... yes my kids named the Elephants. :) We got the small size for kids ages 3-6.

I think I could just say they are awesome and be done but I'll go ahead with the details for ya!

(My boy right after a wipe out! lol... looking nice and tired and ready for bed in his pj's)

Pros:

Oodles of bouncing fun

It's exercise for the kids and they don't even know it!

Burn off all that toddler energy :)

These small hopper balls are great for ages 3-6

Easy to inflate

Very durable thick vinyl

Holds in air pressure amazing... 

we haven't had to re-pump at all and we have had them for weeks now. 

Can be used indoors or outdoors

Can be used for therapy sessions for special needs children as well

Great price for the product

Compact when deflated for easy storage

There are different sizes for different ages

There are also different options of animals and characters too

Cons:

 Does not come with a pump unless you buy a party pack or simply buy the pump.

It may be hard to get your kids OFF of them! 

Check out this video from Jumping Balls... looks like fun... I know you want one! ;) 

Checkout JumpingBalls on Facebook too!

Find Jumping Balls on Amazon too!

*All opinions expressed are my own honest opinions. I did not receive monetary payment for this review. I did receive the product for review free of charge. 

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Pool Products For Less- Clearance

(Just click on the picture above to shop)

Now that we have a pool, I have started to search for great deals on pool toys and maintenance equipment AND since pool season has ended... it is the best time to stock up for next year! 

I may even use them as Christmas gifts for the kids. LOL!

You can also get your winterizing products if you haven't already. Although, in my area, it's warm enough we just rotate the pump cycle to run during the colder hours of the night and we don't have to worry about it freezing.

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How long will it take....

....to get back to normal?!

Seriously, we have had the craziest summer and the craziness has continued on. I was being very hopeful that I would be back to regular blogging schedule about a month ago, lol! What a joke!

Sorry guys. It looks like our new normal is chaos, lol! We'll just have to make the best of it. We for sure are not out of boxes, we don't have a single wall freshly painted, and we still haven't hung a single picture yet{I did however hang 4 hooks for backpacks and bags... does that count for anything?} Friday marked 4 weeks since we moved into our new place. 

In a way it seems like we've been here forever but at the same time just since yesterday... It's home but we just haven't made it home yet. I feel like the paint commercial, "I want a purple that's not too pirple but it isn't too puuurple... just the perfect Purple."

Anyway, I come before you today to let you all know I am going to just make things work one way or another and to bear with me.

I will try to start getting other posts going again. Slowly but surely I will find my new schedule again. You all rock for sticking with me! 

Thanks again!

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Termites, Mold, Flooding...

These are just a few of the things we have been up to! Sheesh! 

(Didn't see that follow up coming from my last post)

We love our new home and we DID do the proper thing and get an inspection before hand... which DID NOT mention any mold or termite issue or any concern for flooding. Thank goodness the flooding was minimal because my husband became a handy man the day we bought the home. Who knew owning a home could change him over night? Don't get me wrong, he is AMAZING! When it comes to hands on stuff, we just aren't the best at it but hands on stuff comes with owning a home. I have to admit, we are a good pair and worked together to remedy our small flood situation. I'm so impressed with my husbands hidden talents too, he has fixed quite a few things already. As for the termites, well, that'll set our Epic Mickey back a little. Anyway, sorry, I have no pictures to show you because it has been rather chaotic and we are definitely not settled in yet. It'll be 2 weeks on Friday since we moved in. 

Overall, we are doing well. We have had a rough move in but doing well and enjoying the new place. I'll be sure to update you all every once in a while too. Hope you are enjoying the new school year! (That's another thing keeping me busy!)

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Buy, sell, move, have a baby...

...these are just a few of the things we've been up to! It has been one crazy month! Just wanted to let you know I'm here but I'm not "here", when I get a chance I will fill in the details for you! We are definitely blessed!

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We Bought a HOUSE... with a POOL! (My Swim Suit is calling!)

That's right! Well technically we are BUYING a house... we still have some loose ends but I just wanted to let you all know because we will be crazy around here trying to get moved out of our condo and getting it ready to SELL! We'll be at my in-laws until we officially close on the new home so we have got LOTS to do. I may get a post in from time to time but most likely not many.

Speaking of SWIM SUITS.. all Velocity orders are now being directed to my company website to ensure shipment of your orders.  

Sooo...

Click on ORDER VELOCITY 

(the Velocity picture will take you to my website)...

P.S.

This is not my house, lol... that is a little far out of our comfort zone and budget... but I kinda feel like I'm moving into this after all ours years of apartment living... (7 years and four kids later!!)

Our baby is doing great and growing fast! He's already 3 weeks old too!! He is so adorable and we just love him. We are doing our best to enjoy every moment with him.

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Best kept Laundry Secret! AMAZING!!!!

In preparation for my baby, I pulled out all the baby clothes I had stored away only to find them looking AWFUL! All those spit up marks I thought I had washed out were back and were WORSE! If you are a mom, you know what I'm talking about. The stains GROW!

I was completely expecting to have to throw out lots of the clothing due to these stains(my kids spit up A LOT!) but not with out a fight first.

After some research... on Pinterest... of course, I found the BEST LAUNDRY TIP EVER!

Seriously it took out ALL THE STAINS! I was so impressed- especially since some of the outfits were so covered in spit up stains I didn't think they stood a chance. This saved me lots of money for sure!

Pin It now to save for later!

So all you need is a large pot, water, and a couple scoops of Oxi Clean. 

Directions from Glue Sticks blog Below:

"The Best Homemade Stain Remover for Baby Clothes"

 

Boil a large pot of water (about 1/2 full).

When the water is boiling, turn off the heat. Add a couple of scoops of Oxi-Clean.

Then add the stained clothes.

 (It works on darks too but definitely do separate pots since the darks will obviously bleed). Let clothes sit submerged in water for 5-10 minutes then dump water and clothes into the washing machine and wash as usual. If it's something really soiled, you may have to repeat the process one more time. I've never had to.

I would add one tip... when you add in the Oxi Clean, add slowly because it will bubble up and if you are doing it for the first time like me... you will end up with a stove top covered in Oxi Clean--- however, it helped clean the stove top nicely too. It feels like a science experiment, lol!

But seriously... this is amazing and it is said to work on any bodily fluids... spit up, baby blow outs, sweat stains, blood. I haven't tried it on anything but the baby clothes yet but plan to go through the white t-shirts and see what happens. 

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