It's that time of year again!! The Circus is coming to town!

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 Congratulations sj! I will email you for your choice of showtime. Thanks everyone for participating and please make sure to use the discount code if you purchase tickets to save yourself some money!!

 Come one, come all! The circus is coming to town October 17th-22nd to Quicken Loans Arena! Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey present DRAGONS! I can't tell you how excited I am to go see the show and I know my girls are going to have a blast! Here is some information about the show:

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents DRAGONS is a once in a millennium event that honors The Year of the Dragon.  Circus performers from the farthest reaches of the earth have assembled for Ringling Bros. Presents DRAGONS to showcase their astounding acts of bravery and astonishing athleticism. Ringling Bros.® Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson presides over this fantastical celebratory tournament of circus champions that brings together mystic dragon lore with authentic circus feats. DRAGONS is a never-before-seen blend of renowned spiritual and real life legends and is coming to Quicken Loans Arena on October 17-22, 2012. Tickets are on sale NOW!

If you plan on going to this show, here is some pricing information:
$85 Circus Celebrity, $68 Front Row, $43 CIP, $20 and $15
Use the code MOM5 for $5 off each ticket, not valid on CC, Front Row, or VIP seating, 6 tickets max for this discount code! Show times as follows:

10/17: 7PM                                               
10/18: 7PM                                 
10/19: 7PM                                   
10/20: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm                                                         
10/21: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm                                             
10/22: 7PM

You can order tickets and view seating charts at Quicken Loans website HERE.

Now for the SUPER exciting part. I have a 4-pack of tickets to the show of your choice to give away!! To enter, please leave a comment below. Please be sure to include your email address in the comment in the form of name at site dot com. Deadline to enter is midnight October 13th. I will randomly select a winner and notify you by email! I will need you to respond with your name, the date and time of the show you want to attend! REMEMBER: THIS IS FOR QUICKEN LOANS ARENA, IN CLEVELAND OHIO. Please only enter if you are able to attend!

This is a Feld Entertainment Production. Feld Entertainment is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live touring family entertainment experiences that lift the human spirit and create indelible memories, with 30 million people in attendance at its shows each year. Feld Entertainment’s productions have appeared in more than 70 countries on six continents and include Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®, Feld Motor Sports, Disney On Ice and Disney Live!

Been a While

I've been having a hard time maintaining this blog. So many things going on every week between working full time, V's dance classes and my Zumba classes. There's always something going on around here. I'm going to try to get this back up and going though!

These girls are so smart and I love watching them learn new things. V is already in 1st grade! She will be getting tested for the gifted program at school. I'd like her to have as many opportunities as she can to learn and have new experiences. She reads pretty well and her teacher sent home a Junie B. Jones book for her to read. She said only a couple other kids got chapter books, the rest got easier books. She has always been above her age level. She turns 6 at the end of this month! She is taking tap and tumbling for this season of dance. It's already her 4th fall season of dance! I'm always so proud of her!

N is more stubborn. She's 17 months old.  She doesn't really say much of anything yet. She doesn't really like help doing things, she rather do everything herself. She knows how to use the potty but she doesn't know how to tell me when she has to go so we're working on that yet. N is one of the funniest kids though. She will just do silly things and laugh. I think she will be artistic when she gets bigger. She LOVES make up and she loves to put it on other people too! She is really into necklaces and rings and hair clips. V was never really into the whole princess type things other than the dress up clothes. V would rather wear jogging pants and a t-shirt or hoodie any given day. N seems to like skirts and dresses and sparkly shoes. It's so fun seeing the differences in them.

Work is going well so far. I got transferred to a new building last February. I like my position and I feel like I'm picking it up pretty well. I like this building much better because the atmosphere isn't as suffocating. In my previous position, it was discouraged to get out of your seat for anything unless you needed help or had a question. To me, work is about building relationships with people in other departments so you can work together better.

I've been taking Zumba classes since January. I absolutely LOVE it! Our instructor is fantastic! It's sort of like dancing and everything is choreographed so you just follow along. I've never taken any dance classes in my life but it's not difficult AND it's a great workout! I'm trying to lose my baby belly once and for all. We aren't having any more babies so I really want to get comfortable with my body. I feel more confident already and my jeans are loose on me. I plan on sticking with it since I like it so much.

I hope everyone is doing well. I will try to keep going this time in between everything else going on. Have a great week!

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!!

Entries completed. Congrats to....

 

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!!