Monday Madness: 5/24/10

MGR is looking for a resident designer for our forum! If you're interested, please click here. Now on to the fun Monday Madness!

What is Monday Madness?

Monday Madness was created by us: mommy bloggers Micael and Meghan. Mommy, daddy, single, stay at home parent, working parent, blogger, non-blogger, pie lover, pie hater (who hates pie, seriously?).... it doesn't matter who you are or what you do, Monday's tend to be crazy, right? So we thought we would bring a little fun into your Monday routine. And at the same time you'll get to check out new blogs, network with others, make new friends and connections - multitasking at its best!

So what do I do to participate?

It's really easy to participate with us!  Just follow the steps below and you'll be set!

1. Follow the hostess blogs at Saving Obsession and The Tuckers Take Tennessee for some Madness Lovin'.
2. Grab the McLinky code and make a post on your blog about Monday Madness, so more people can join in the fun! Also grab the Monday Madness button on the right.
3. Add your blog name and link to the McLinky below.
4. Check out some of the blogs on the list and follow ones you like. Leave a comment to let them know you're from Monday Madness.
5. If someone follows your blog, follow them back to keep the Madness going.
6. Each week we will "feature" a new blog right below. Who knows, it could be you next week!
7. That's it! Visit and follow as few or as many blogs, twitter pages, and facebook pages as you'd like! 

This week's featured blog is JanDee Crafts Make sure you check out her blog! It's definitely worth the follow! 

New Friend Friday & Follow Me Friday 5/21/10

Two awesome linky parties today! Make sure you join in the fun. Click the buttons below to add your blog! As alway, come join us at My Great Retreat www.mygreatretreat.com

Little Painted Polka Dots opened her co-op today. Everything is 30% off!

Weekly Deal Wednesday: Crazy 8 Shorts Just $9.99!

It's time for another great round of Weekly Deal Wednesday! This week, what are some of your favorite deals that you have found?

My Great Retreat has an awesome Deal Diva named Micael. She knows everything about deals, saving money, and the latest in coupons and codes to help save you moo-la!

Who is a fan of Crazy 8?  I know alot of us moms are! They have adorable and reasonably priced clothing for our little ones. Crazy 8 is owned by Gymboree so you know you're getting nice clothing when you buy from them. 

For a limited time only, check out all the spring markdowns and the shorts for just $9.99! www.crazy8.com has more details!

Welcome to Monday Madness! 

Hosted by: Saving Obsession & The Tuckers Take Tennessee!

What is Monday Madness?

Monday Madness was created by us: mommy bloggers Micael and Meghan. Mommy, daddy, single, stay at home parent, working parent, blogger, non-blogger, pie lover, pie hater (who hates pie, seriously?).... it doesn't matter who you are or what you do, Monday's tend to be crazy, right? So we thought we would bring a little fun into your Monday routine. And at the same time you'll get to check out new blogs, network with others, make new friends and connections - multitasking at itsbest!

So what do I do to participate?

It's really easy to participate with us!  Just follow the steps below and you'll be set!

1. Follow the hostess blogs at Saving Obsession and The Tuckers Take Tennessee for some Madness Lovin'.
2. Add your blog name and link to the McLinky below.
3. Grab the McLinky code and make a post on your blog about Monday Madness, so more people can join in the fun!
4. Check out some of the blogs on the list and follow ones you like. Leave a comment to let them know you're from Monday Madness.
5. If someone follows your blog, follow them back to keep the Madness going.

That's it! Visit and follow as few or as many blogs as you'd like! 

The McLinky will be open every Monday from 8:00 AM (Eastern Time) until Midnight (Eastern Time), that way nobody feels like they have to stay awake the night before to try to get a hot spot on the list!

Tasty Tuesday-Breakfast Cookies

You can have cookies for breakfast!!! This is a great recipe that your kids will love. My kids really liked the breakfast cookies from Quaker, but they were a little pricey and you only got 5 in a box. I went searching and found this recipe

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food (I sometimes use 1/4 cup canned pumpkin that I have left over from pumpkin bread)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped
(I leave out the raisins and nuts because my daughter is allergic to nuts and add 1/2 cup chocolate chips instead)Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Coupon Communities

I have been a member at A Full Cup for a long time now, and I have to say it has been incredibly helpful. When I was just a beginner at coupons, so many wonderful people helped answer my (what I realize now were silly) questions. It really set me on my path to learn more about couponing, and then later to start teaching others how to save in my community.

Besides that (and a lot of other things), they offer a fun thing called 'Coupon Trains'. They are vary on how they work (since they are run by individual members) but they have the same basic idea. It's a group of members that agree to send an envelope chock full of coupons that you want - and you send an envelope out to someone with coupons they want. It's a great way to get multiples of those coupons you really use all the time - all for the cost of a stamp! And if you don't want to join a train, you can just post up trades with other members!

And I love their coupon database! When I do my match ups for Weekly Deals, that's the database I use for about 95% off it!

It's a great site, and if you're just getting into couponing or are a seasoned veteran - you should still check out A Full Cup!
   
P.S. - These opinions are my own and I'm not being compensated to brag on them. I just wanted to share one of my favorite resources!

If you ever have any questions about coupons, or what to see some hot deals, be sure to visit me at my blog, SavingObsession.com!

Amazing Toy Story 1 & Toy Story 2 movie deal!

I'm sorry for not posting this sooner, but you have until Saturday that you can do this!

If you own Toy Story 1 or 2 (dvd or vhs) you can join http://www.disneymovierewards.com and enter their bar codes. When you enter the bar code you can get a coupon for which ever movie you entered for $10 off the dvd/blu ray combo pack. If you can get both, here's an awesome deal for you....

Go to Toys R Us (with both coupons!)
TS1 and TS2 combo packs are $29.99. But for purchasing BOTH at the same time you'll save $13 off of each! Plus you'll have your coupons. So this is how it will look:

TS1 combo pack - $29.99
TS2 combo pack - $29.99
Total before discounts/coupons - $59.98 + tax
Minus - $26.00 (for buying both)
Minus - $10.00 (TS1 combo pack coupon)
Minus - $10.00 (TS2 combo pack coupon)

Total after coupons - $13.98 + tax! (or $6.99 each)

That is AMAZING for a DVD/Blu Ray Combo pack!!! That's saving over 75%!

But wait! There's more!

Each TS combo pack comes with a code for a FREE MOVIE TICKET to go see Toy Story 3! So if you got both movies, you'll have $17 in free movie tickets! Making everything wash out to be FREE!!

P.S. - if you don't own the Toy Story movies to get the bar code, ask friends or family. That's what I did. Each coupon can be printed a limit of 2 times! So what I did was my friend gave me her codes, I printed (2) TS1 coupons and (2) TS2 coupons - then went and did our deal (part of the dvd awesomeness) for her. So it was coupon sharing love! Want to see how I did my deal? Click HERE!

Need help understanding this? It's ok - I know it's a little complicated, but worth it and you'll totally get a couponing rush! So please feel free to come HERE and ask questions!

THIS DEAL WILL END ON SATURDAY MARCH 27TH!

 Want to see how I did my deal? Click HERE!