Cellfire is getting ready to update the coupon bar and here's a peak at what will be available:

Starbucks VIA® Save $1- Save $1.00 when you buy any ONE package of 8-Count Colombia, 8-Count Italian, or 7-Count Italian Decaf Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew. Starbucks VIA® can be found in the premium coffee aisle near the Starbucks® bagged coffee. (Safeway Only)

Nature Valley Granola Bars Save $.50  - Save $0.50 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor/variety Nature Valley® Granola Bars. 

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks Save $.50 - Save $0.50 when you buy TWO BOXES Betty Crocker® Fruit by the Foot®, Fruit Gushers®, Fruit Roll-Ups® OR Fruit Roll-Ups® Fruit Stickerz® Fruit Flavored Snacks.

Bisquick® Save $.50    - Save $0.50 when you buy 40 OZ. OR LARGER Original Bisquick® OR Bisquick Heart Smart® Baking Mix.

Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Save $.75    - Save $0.75 when you buy TWO BOXES any flavor Betty Crocker® Box Supreme Brownie Mixes.

Multigrain Cheerios® Save $.75 -  Save $0.75 when you buy ONE BOX MultiGrain Cheerios® cereal.

Cocoa Puffs® cereal Save $.55- Save $0.55 when you buy any ONE BOX Cocoa Puffs® cereal

Golden Grahams® Save $.75 - Save $0.75 when you buy ONE BOX Golden Grahams® cereal

Yoplait® Cups Save $.40  - Save $0.40 when you buy SIX any variety Yoplait® Yogurt cups (Includes Original, Light, Thick & Creamy, OR Whips!®) OR any flavor Yoplait® Original OR Light Smoothie.

Betty Crocker Warm Delights Save $.50  - Save $0.50 when you buy ONE any flavor Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Bowls OR Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Minis Bowls.

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters Save $1  - Save $1.00 when you buy ONE BAG any flavor Nature Valley® Granola Nut Clusters.

Yoplait® Delights(tm) Save $1  - Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Yoplait® Delights Yogurt Multipack.

Nature Valley Granola Thins Save $.50  - Save $0.50 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor/variety Nature Valley® Granola Thins

So, have you found a new favorite treat recently using Cellfire coupons? Or maybe you've figured out how to use them at last? Perhaps you have a tip that you'd like to pass along to others? Whatever it is, it's almost the end of the month so be sure to get in your comments which will be your entry into my giveaway for a grocery gift card courtesy of Cellfire.

Yep, today is Joy's half-birthday and we are up to our elbows in potty training. Still. Again. For REAL. It's not that she doesn't understand the concept or that she can't 'do' it but she chooses not to stop what she's doing to - you know.  This is especially a problem at home with me. At school she's a champ. Even on car trips. Heck, five out of seven nights she'll stay dry.

So I know it's about sticking to it and summer seems to be a great time to run around the house in fewer clothes and make sure we are more about sticking to it. We bought cute underwear - she loves monkeys so she now has Paul Frank monkey undies from Target - and thankfully they came in a 7 pack. Yep, one for everyday of the week. I've done laundry twice in two days!!

Some things were expected. Like accidents. And laundry. And I've cleaned the floor more than I have since we had a puppy. What I hadn't expected was how wonderful it would be that she is wearing her Crocs around the house.

Not only are these shoes easy for her to get on and off on her own but they are super easy to clean. In fact, they even hold some of the 'accident' in their structure. Then I put them in the sink and wash them with anti-bacterial soap and wipe with a Clorox wipe and set to dry and they're ready in an hour or so. This would not be the case with a sneaker or a regular sandal and a flip flop wouldn't help me with containment.

So even in the midst of the drama of potty training I've found a new silver lining and it is the Croc shoe. Which helps remind me that a woman, no matter how young she is, should never underestimate the power of having a shoe for the right occasion.

Happy Birthday, sweetie. Enjoy those purple Crocs!

I've been chatting up Cellfire this month because they've rolled out some nifty new ways to enjoy their ecoupons and I want to make sure that as many people as possible know how to use this great way to save on their groceries.

First of all, the easiest thing to do is to hop over to the right hand sidebar and sign up. Cellfire ecoupons can be used at Kroger-family stores, Safeway, and Shoprite. Some coupons are store specific so if a coupon isn't available when you log in it's because it's not available at the store in your area.

Second, Cellfire has been releasing their Cinderella coupons this month. These $x off coupons have been available on their website at specific times and for very short periods of time, in very limited quantities. I got a $1 the first time around but had a schedule conflict during the second time period and wasn't online. But, hey - that's what happens.

Third, I love that Cellfire sends me reminder emails that I have coupons that are about to expire. How Cool Is That!! I can't think of any other marketer doing something like that - can you? Seriously, it's like saying, "Please spend my money!" and truly Cellfire is just that easy.

It really is an easy approach to saving money at the store. Load the coupons and forget about it. When you check out they come off your receipt. Sure, I double check to make sure but at least I don't have to dig through my coupon caddy or worry that I dropped tiny pieces of paper while going up and down the aisles of the store.

So, if you haven't tried Cellfire yet I encourage you to give it a try. And while you're at it go ahead and leave me a comment telling me that you did. Or tell me what you like about Cellfire. Or tell me if you were lucky enough to catch a Cinderella coupon last week. Remember, each comment in English enters you into a drawing for a grocery gift card courtesy of Cellfire.

**Disclosure: The $100 Gift card is provided by Cellfire to readers of this blog. I will receive compensation for my work through the month.

You know, I haven't actually thought much about the pressure that moms, and women in general, find based on real and perceived pressure that is felt from other moms and women. I know it's there. Heck, we were all in middle school. I figure it's pretty much the same thing. The fact that I don't notice it doesn't mean that others don't or that it doesn't exist.

"Bad Mother", a post on Lucy March's blog delved into this. I'd venture to guess that there's something there that most every woman has felt at one point in time.

But it begs the question - what do you do instead of getting on the hamster wheel of things you feel you should do? Either for yourself or for your kids?

When I was on maternity leave this was the first time I'd not worked outside the home. I tried to do everything. After a day or two I came up with a new plan - One Thing A Day! Some days all I got done was brushing my teeth or cooking dinner. Some days we made a trip to Target for essentials. Most days we took a walk. Everyday we read.

Now that the kidlets are older it's harder to stick to the One Thing A Day rule because they move too fast sometimes. Looking ahead to the beginning of summer vacation it'll be a challenge to keep the girls busy but not overwhelmed. Our goal is still to be intential about what we do and not to get on the hamster wheel any earlier than we have to, if at all. Personally, I think this is definitely a Cool Idea!

I've ranted about minivans before and on more than one occasion. Mostly because they seem to come in non-colors. Well, I now drive a minivan. Yeah, this is where you get to laugh. Or snort. Or both.

And just in case you're curious - it's red! The red isn't perfect but it is red.

Some of the background is that after 3 1/2 years with one car we finally needed two cars again. We've worked hard to make our lives work with only one car since Joy was born. We bought a scooter and dh rode it to work in all kinds of weather. The MPG was fantastic especially when the price of gas went into the stratosphere.

But then there are times when we both need to be places with a car. So, wouldn't any car work? Well, I've got the kidlets more often and the car we had actually hurt me a few times - the door closed on my knee a couple of weeks ago [as it occasionally does] and it's still tender. This, and the fact that it would be nice to be able to have grandma right along with us when she visits istead of following along behind us when we go someplace.

You'll read on some mommy blogs about their families incredible planning and saving and how they bought their car outright. You won't read that here. I will say that these past few years of being intentionally frugal and accountable did really GREAT things to our credit rating and we were able to be one of those specially qualified buyers. So, even if you're not hitting the stars yet it does sho that working toward them is helpful in the short-run and defiitely a Cool Idea!

Cellfire is releasing another coupon for $x off your next visit to a Kroger-family grocery store. And couldn't we all use some extra dollars of our receipt? You bet!!

In case you had trouble with the last Cellfire Cinderella coupon we get another chance. Cellfire is releasing another Cinderella coupon at 12noon PST/ 3pm ET on Thursday June 17. They assure us that the technical difficulties are taken care of and that these coupons will be in very short supply. What they won't say i what denomination these coupons will be - except they won't be for $1 like last time.

In case you don't have a Cellfire account, hop over to the right-hand sidebar and get started. Then log on to http://www.cellfire.com/cinderell  on Thursday at 12oon Pacific (3PM Eastern). Log in to see the coupon (and of course you must haveyour loyalty card added to your Cellfire account), then go to the Browse Offers tab.


Be sure to come back and let us know what how you did so you can be entered in the Cellfire giftcard giveaway.

The World Cup started this week. Did you notice? I've seen a couple of games and listened to a few others on the radio. Yes, I'm a product of the '70s when many acres of suburban land was mowed to create soccer fields - thank you very much.

The difference this year is that Comfort and Joy are watching along with me. They've watched soccer with me before but mostly as a way to entertain them. Now we're talking about how they can learn to play soccer, when they can sign up for soccer and how girls can play soccer, too.

This is one of those moments when we as parents are models for our children. They watch and learn from us. They listen and hear. This is why Title IX was important because a generation of girls grew up playing soccer and now we have kidlets of our own that we'll take out to suburban soccer fields and teach them the importance of team work and so many other things that they won't even understand until they're older and that is definitely a Cool Idea.

Did you snag one of those wonderful Cinderella Coupons from Cellfire last week? Yeah, I know - there were technical difficulties and it took a while but I got one for $1 off my next visit to Kroger. Woohoo!!

I know I've mentioned how much I enjoy Cellfire but really it's so convenient that I can't wait for the new coupons to load each month!! I don't have to track down the scissors or make sure that Comfort and Joy don't use them for a 'project' before I need them. In fact, you just load them to your account which is tied to your Kroger-family store loyalty card and when you check out the coupon hits your receipt. It's magic.

Yeah, it really is magic. Hop on over to the right hand sidebar and check out the useful stuff you can get coupons for: Yoplait Yogurt, Honey Nut Cherrios - or the cereal that got me through both pregnancies Lucky Charms!!

As an added bonus, Cellfire is perking up the Month of June around here. I'm going to be keeping track of all the comments to my posts about Cellfire deals this month. And if you comment, in English, about a coupon that you've added to your account, or that you've added this blog to your 'must reads' or, something equally wonderful - I'll add your name to a drawing for a $100 gift card to the grocery store of your choice!! You can get additional entries if you tell me you receive the blog by feed or follow me on twitter, but you must leave me a comment with that information. I'm only counting unique comments. Pretty cool, right, and such a Cool Idea!!

**Disclosure: The $100 Gift card is provided by Cellfire to readers of this blog. I will receive compensation for my work through the month.

For some the summer offers time to bond with their kids and for other's there's nothing but time to fill. No matter which category you fit into let try to do some brainstorming with opportunities - both fun and educational - that will keep the kidlets entertained and keep you sane.

For outside entertainment, Comfort and Joy love sidewalk chalk. This is closely followed by waterpainting.  Yep, nothing technical here. I bought cheap paintbrushes at the dollar store and they paint the sidewalk with water. Oh, and bubbles. That's a good one, too.

But weather in Virginia is unpredictable and can get H-O-T so outside fun is often limited to early mornings or very short timeslots when there's a nice breeze. For inside fun, a big favorite is our local library because this also involves a short walk through our neighborhood. Our library runs a summer reading program for kids and adults with the opportunity to win stickers and prizes.

Regal Cinemas will be offering their Free Family Film Festival again this summer. Here's the information from their website: Selected G or PG movies start at 10:00am every Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. Tickets and seating are first-come, first-served and are limited to theatre capacity.


And for more ideas you can look back to the posts I wrote on this topic last year. 

There are new Cellfire coupons for June that you will definitely want to check out? Hop over to the righthand sidebar and load 'em up!!

In addition to the regular monthly coupons, Cellfire is treating us to some amazing deals in June. I'll have several special posts throughout the month so make sure to check back frequently but the one you'll want to watch for today is this:

At 6p ET today a very special coupon will be loaded onto the Cellfire site. It will offer $x off your next shopping trip at a Kroger family store.  How cool is that!!  Even better you don't have to keep track of it - just load it into your Cellfire account and it will be on your loyalty card the next time you check out. So easy.
There is a limited supply of these coupons and they will not be available before 6pm ET [or 3pm Pacific]. It's likely that they'll run out within the hour so plan ahead. Or keep your eyes on this site for more great news from Cellfire!!

it's even hotter in our wartime 'hot' spots around the globe.

I picked this up off another blog I read. It's good information so I wanted to pass it on:

The quilt guild she belong to makes quilts in support of The Quilts of Valor Foundation. The quilts are given to those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, they send them directly to Landstuhl in Germany. They received a letter this week from a Navy Chaplain requesting baby wipes for the Troops in Afghanistan. The temperatures in the field are soaring and the patrols are long with no showers, the baby wipes are a God send.You can find out all about the Quilts of Valor Foundation on their website http://www.qovf.org/

The address of the chaplain organizing this can be found by anyone interested on the blog of the shop she works at.
So, if you have any extra baby wipes coupons that you aren't planning to use or have some stockpile that you are willing to share. Please think about sharing.