Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream coming soon!!

Comment number 1 wins the family 4-pack of tickets!

I can't express enough how much we love going to these shows. Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream is coming to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland between Friday, January 6th and Monday, January 16th. There are a variety of showtimes available so if you get a chance, I recommend taking the family!

This time, Tangled stars Rapunzel, Flynn, and of course Maximus are taking the ice along with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. Cinderella and Prince Charming and many more will join the show which I'm sure will be fun for kids of all ages! If you plan on buying tickets, visit THIS PAGE and use the discount code FFA6 to save $6 per ticket. This code is only valid if you order your tickets by January 5th. You can save $3 per ticket by using the code FFA3 the day of the show. Please note that there is a limit of 6 tickets if you use the discount (saving you $36 if you buy 6 by January 5th, $18 if you buy 6 the day of the show). The discounts do NOT apply to Front Row or VIP seating.

I am fortunate to be able to offer another family 4-pack of tickets. Please leave a comment below to be entered! The only rule is to make sure I can contact you to let you know you've won so I can get your information to secure your seats! The winner's tickets will be available for pick-up with ID at the Will Call windows at The Q. A winner will be chosen using Random.org number generator. You have until Sunday, January 1st at 10AM to enter! Thank you and have a Happy New Year!!

So Much Fun!

I want to send out another huge THANK YOU to Feld Entertainment for the wonderful show!! If you have a chance to go see Phineas and Ferb LIVE in your town, it's definitely worth it! V had a blast singing and dancing along. It was very cute how they went from cartoon to on-stage! I think that really tied everything together for the little ones. V even wore her Phineas hat she got at the show to school for her show-and-tell day to tell all her friends about it! I'm so glad she had a great time!!

As a parent, I think these types of experiences are great for kids. I never really got to do things like seeing live performances and events. We like to go to movies and the zoo. I took V to the Natural History Museum. We LOVE going to see Disney on Ice and hopefully more live performances such as this one in our future! Everything comes with it's own things to learn and enjoy. We are always so thankful for these opportunities to expand our horizons and see new things.

Feld Entertainment presents: Phineas and Ferb Live!!

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I will email the winner shortly!! Thanks for participating everyone!!

With so many crazy things happening in the world that we see on the news, our television is almost always set to cartoon channels. One that we all seem to enjoy is Phineas and Ferb! Each episode is imaginative and fun, not to mention the catchy tunes! V even likes to look up the music skits on Youtube to sing and dance around. At the end of the month, we are fortunate to be going to see Phineas and Ferb LIVE!! I know she is going to love this! It will be the first stage performance that she will see.

This performance comes to the Wolstein Center in Cleveland on October 30, 2011. They will have a 1pm show and a 4pm show, so you only have two chances to see this!! Please click HERE for the ticket office page to purchase tickets. Use promotion code MOMDL to save $4 per ticket, limit 6 tickets per discount. This code is not valid for Front Row or VIP seating. The code will be valid through October 30th, 2011. Check out a behind-the-scenes clip HERE.  Also, check out the official tour page!!

If you'd like a chance to get 4 free tickets to one of the two performances on October 30th, 2011 at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio, here is how to enter:

1. Just leave a comment below!! Any comment is fine, but you could tell me who your favorite character is if you'd like. Please make sure I can contact you!! You can leave your email in your comment in the form of name at site dot com. (Spelling it out prevents spammers from web crawling stealing email addresses they run across.)

2. Post this on Twitter and copy the direct link to the status update and paste it in as a separate comment.

You have until 10am EST October 15th to enter. Please remember this is only for one of the Cleveland performances!! This show is produced by Feld Entertainment. They are super awesome for providing the tickets for this giveaway!!

Learning Link Education Therapy

We've never had a problem with V's ability to learn. She has always been advanced for her age and in fact got into Kindergarten early after being tested in Spring. She loves learning and playing learning games and activities. The exercises that come with the Learning Link Technologies are fun for her and helps promote cognitive development.

There are tests available on this website to help you diagnose potential learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Knowing how your child is learning or what road blocks they face can help you to find better ways to make learning less difficult. The activities in this program are meant to retrain the brain to make learning and understand easier. There are workbooks, DVDs, online programs and downloads. If your child is having a little bit of a hard time retaining information or even if they just enjoy learning like V, you can check out their program at the links below.

http://www.learning-aids.com/our-program
http://www.learning-aids.com/how-retrain-brain

Find them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/learninglink
I'm not sure that this has helped V very much but we have always done workbooks together that I buy from the store and play educational games anyways. I think this program would be great for kids that struggle a little or want to do better than they already are. Skill building is important when kids are young so they can be better prepared as their classes get harder. This program definitely gives you the tools to help build those necessary skills for learning.

Enfamil at CVS

Lately I've been attempting to save us money using coupons. I think I've been doing fairly well. I only use the coupons for things we normally buy. Extra purchases JUST because you have a coupon is not always a great decision. You can even get together with some friends and swap coupons so you get more of the ones for products you will actually use.

I wanted to share a deal with you all at CVS this week for baby care products, specifically Enfamil 23.4 oz cans. Enfamil is on sale for $22 a can. I printed out 2 Enfamil coupons I saw posted on their website for $5 off each (limit 2 per computer or I would've got more!) plus stacked those with 1 $5 off 1 can (didn't have another regular coupon), plus 2 formula checks (one for $5 and one for $4). My total savings came to $28.58. It cost me $20.00. If you spend $30 or more (before coupons), CVS gives you $10 extracare bucks to use on your next purchase. I am always thrilled when I can get a great deal! Baby products are especially expensive so this is awesome!!

Also, do not hesitate to ask your pediatrician's office for coupons or sample cans of the formula you are using. They get it from the manufacturer's to give to patients anyways, so you might as well take advantage. At our last check-up, I asked for coupons and the nurse gave me 2 sample cans each having a $2 off coupon under the lids. I hope this might help someone save some money!!

Great Weekend!

We had a wonderful weekend for V's birthday party! The weather was fantastic and all week it said it was supposed to rain for the weekend. We had family come in from PA, even some that had never been out here until then. I was very happy to see them and get to spend more than just a few minutes visiting! 

The night before, I got V's bicycle put together despite the instructions being in Spanish. The morning of the party, we had to leave early because V had to be in a parade for dance. Afterwards, we went home to pack more things for the party and head over to the park to set up. I had my husband pick up the pizza and a few other things so I could get other things ready as guests started to arrive. She had friends show up from preschool, kindergarten, dance class, and one from our street! I was very happy for her to have her friends show up. We were glad we had enough food and cupcakes for everyone to enjoy plus extras.

At the end of October, we're going to see Phineas and Ferb Live in Cleveland!! I think I'm just as excited to take V to see this as she is to go! I'll be posting about that on October 1st to give more details and to have a giveaway for 1 week for a 4-pack of tickets. I seem to get people to use the promotion code for discounted tickets but not many will actually try for the free ones! I don't get that, but I'll have the code too if you rather just buy them yourself. We are so pleased with the Feld Entertainment shows we've been to and I know my previous winners had a great time as well! Check back Saturday for more information and your chance to win!

My baby is turning 5!!

I can't believe my daughter is already turning 5 years old. She's so smart and beautiful and absolutely hilarious! She learned to tie her shoes and ride her bicycle without training wheels this summer. We had to get her tested for Kindergarten because she wasn't old enough for regular registration. She was the only one in our district that tested for early entrance to pass! She makes me so proud! I was looking back at her baby pictures, wondering where time has gone.

V is also a wonderful big sister for our 6 month old! She plays with her and tries to make her laugh. I know they will be great friends growing up. I fully expect some sibling fights now and then, don't get me wrong. V is just as strong-willed as I am and her little sister might be too haha! Saturday we will all be at a local park, celebrating her birthday. I'm really hoping we get a nice turnout from her friends this year. We're also keeping our fingers crossed for good weather!!

Need to Start Couponing

I'm debating on buying the Sunday paper in our town. I don't know if it would actually be cost effective or not. I'm just interested in the coupons inside. We have been wanting to try to save more money in areas we can, and a dollar off here, fifty cents there could really add up! I keep looking at all these websites dedicated to posting the newest sales and coupons available. I just haven't really got into it yet I guess.

Does anyone else coupon? What is the easiest way for you to get your coupons to save the most? I've tried signing up for stuff but I still never received any and it's been a few months already. Maybe I should just ask the neighbors for the coupon section when they're done with their paper?

Chaotic at First

Well we've since welcomed our second daughter into our lives since my last post. It's been a little crazy getting back into the swing of things. I kept forgetting this or that when we'd leave the house but I think we've got it under control now! V is a wonderful big sister. She helps out all the time without even asking her to. Just yesterday, we had baby sister on the trampoline laying down. V lightly bounced around her and she kept laughing out loud! It was so beautiful to hear her laugh so much!!

J and I also got married. That was long overdue but I'm glad we waited until we were both ready for it. I have the most beautiful rings on my finger and we're very happy. After 10 years, it's been a long road and not always very smooth, but we made it and I'm completely honored to finally be his wife.

I'm hoping to get back in to doing some giveaways here. If you haven't already, check out http://www.prizey.net/ for current giveaways! It's fun to go enter the ones you are interested in and eventually you'll probably win something.

Monster Jam is coming to Cleveland!!

Feld Entertainment presents Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam coming to Quicken Loans Arena for only 2 days!!! Some of the trucks included in the line-up are Grave Digger, Bad Habit, Excalibur and making his Cleveland debut – Taz! Make sure you buy your tickets now to take advantage of discount pricing and to ensure you get seats! We are super excited to be attending this event next month. I'm not even telling my 4 year old that we're going, but I know she is going to be thrilled! She loves seeing the advertisements on tv and always comments about wanting to go see the monster trucks. I can't wait to see her face when we arrive and she realizes why we are there!

Here is the discount information for you and please pass this on to anyone else you know that may be interested!!

Discount Code: MJMOM
Discount gets you up to 6 tickets at $15 each for any of the performances (additional fees may apply)
This discount is NOT valid for Front Row or Gold Circle seats, no double discounts, and the code is only valid up until February 18th, the day BEFORE the first show, so HURRY!!

Showtimes are February 19th at 2pm or 7:30pm, and February 20th at 2pm. You may want to invest in some ear plugs or noise-reducing headphones for yourself or little ones. I hear it's pretty LOUD!!
Purchase tickets at: http://www.theqarena.com/events/monsterjam_110219-20/