Busy Mom Solution

Boon High Chair Give-it-Away #SuperEvent

I’m so excited to bring you another #SuperEvent Giveaway! This week is all about YaySave! where you can save big dollars on all your household needs. {And if your household is anything like mine, you have a LOT of needs, lol.} This event is hosted by Full Price? Never! with contributing bloggers CuzinLogic and MyCraftyLife.

About YaySave!: At YaySave, you can finally get all your household essentials at one place, rest assured that you’re always getting a great deal, and best of all, do it all within the comfort of your own home! YaySave! Offers some unique options to help you save time and money:

Certified Program: • All items with a YaySave Certified emblem are at least 25% less than any other Online Retailer. • We provide you with the prices and links to our competitor’s right there, so you can be sure that you’re getting the best price possible.
Referral Appreciation Program • We’ve created a referral program unlike anything you’ve seen before, where you can earn up to $100 in YaySave credit for each referral!
Premium Membership Program- Free shipping on any size order and 5% cash back on all orders along with access to Exclusive Weekly Deals for just for “Premium Members”!
Swagbucks Partnership: I’m such a big fan of Swagbucks, and have been using it for years. So the total selling point for me here at YaySave! was that you earn Swagbucks with your purchases – some special promotions get you TONS of them! Love that. {Join Swagbucks here before joining YaySave! if you want to – to double your rewards.}

Ready to shop now? Here’s am exclusive $3 coupon code:3b3c8e506a76fc1f68df578bd2857fdd

You can learn more about YaySave! on their Website, Twitter, and Facebook page. You’ll love them – YaySave! is revolutionizing the way moms shop by helping us to save money and time. Love that, right? Let’s Celebrate YaySave! with a chance to win an awesome Boon Highchair….

About the Awesome Prize

BOON Flair Pedestal Highchair in Coconut Seat / Tangerine Pad {srv $369} No cracks, and no crevices means that there are no places for crumbs to get stuck! This one-piece seat is the sleekest, smoothest thing going and it makes cleanup unbelievably easy. Its dishwasher-safe tray cover actually fits in a dishwasher. {That’s what sold me on it!} And the continuous height positioning with pneumatic lift is just a fancy way of saying you can pick the exact height you want to fit your table.

Super Sweet Savings

YaySave! has so many deals running right now, but my favorite one is get $30 back when you spend $100 – I mean, that’s a major savings, right? This deal is for new customers only and is only for a limited time… so shop now before it’s over.

Why YaySave! Rocks for Moms

Heather from Full Price? Never! spent some time researching some great deals on YaySave! Here are her thoughts “YaySave! is a great site and features some real money saving opportunities. I was happy to find Huggies diapers for $5.99 a pack. I really don’t like paying full price for diapers and it’s not easy {or fun} to drag 3 kids to the store to buy diapers… Thank goodness for YaySave! Knowing that I can just go online and order them at a really good price makes life a whole lot easier! With their certified prices I know I’m always getting rock bottom online prices too. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of their $5 flat rate shipping although I’ll probably end up purchasing a premium membership. At only $19.99, the Premium membership would get me free shipping for the whole year!”

Ready for the giveaway and a chance to win the awesome highchair above? Great! Enter on the Rafflecopter form below!

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 6, 2012 Filed Under: Giveaways, Busy Mom Solution, Shopping, Deals and Coupon Codes | 7 Comments

Real Food for Real Kids: Smart Snacking Guide

As I was saying yesterday in my post about my new favorite on-the-go snack bars, eating healthy does NOT have to mean sacrificing taste. When you’re at a grocery store, there are so darn many products marketed as “kids snacks” – covered in cartoon images, and packed full of sugar, coloring agents, and yucky additives that your kids sure don’t need. But there’s an easy solution – if you take just a little time each weekend to plan and prepare snacks for the week ahead, you can feed your kids REAL foods that they’ll love to eat, and you’ll love serving.

Exploring new tastes

I printed this out to go into my Meal Planning binder, so I can put together great snacks for Abby and the boys each week. I seriously love these ideas – there are a ton of traditional snacks that are fun for kids, like ants on a log, creative healthy alternatives to things like sugary fruit roll-ups, and new tastes that kids will love trying out like hummus and baby carrots. You would be surprised by how many great “real” foods kids will love – they don’t have to survive on just chicken nuggets and candy-like fruit snacks. They’ll love experiencing new tastes like edamame, or popcorn with lime juice, cumin, and garlic powder! The earlier you start giving them cool new things to try, the more adventurous eaters they’ll become as they get bigger! {Abby loves salmon, sugar snap peas and ranch, and eggplant!}

California Raisins’ Let’s Keep It Real Healthy Snack Challenge

California Raisins are an all-natural, no-added-sugar snack you can feel good about giving your family, and are a perfect fit for daily snacking. To help more moms discover what a great choice they are for kids snacks {and for you, too!} they’re running a super fun promotion: California Raisins is asking you & your family to pledge to enjoy all-natural, no-added-sugar snacks – like California Raisins – for one week.

Sign up for the Let’s Keep It Real Healthy Snack Challenge on Facebook and you’ll be automatically entered to win one of five prize packs that include $1,000 in cash and other goodies to get your healthy snacking on. How awesome is THAT?

How do you incorporate real foods into your snacks while still trying to save time and keep it simple?

I admit it, there are many times that I buy those big boxes of pre-packaged bags of chips for the kids, or other unhealthy junk. But I’m getting better all the time at stocking up on healthy stuff. Here are a few of my best tips on building better snacks:

Snack Ideas: Print out this great snack planning chart on the page, and get a fun book like Healthy Lunch Boxes and Snacks to inspire some really great daily snack ideas. You’ll also find loads of ideas on my Fun Kids Snacks board on Pinterest.
Perfect Portions: My absolute favorite containers are the EasyLunchboxes Bento Box Set! They’re BPA free, really sturdy, and make it so easy to build great snacks for the week. Instead of buying Lunchables that are packed full of sodium and fat – make your own little snack packs with California Raisins, cheese cut into fun shapes or cubes, and celery with peanut butter!
Choose Real: If the only options in the house are good, healthy, real foods – that’s what the kids’ll eat! Make a snack box in the fridge, and another box in a cupboard – buy a few Itzy Ritzy Baby Reusable Snack Bag, or some of the fun new Ziploc bags with cartoon characters, and fill ’em with healthy snacks. Then the kids can just grab a great snack each day when they need one – and you know that they’re getting the good vitamins and stuff that they need.

So – If you’re ready to take the California Raisins’ Let’s Keep It Real Healthy Snack Challenge on Facebook too – join today! And I’d love to hear your best snack tips too – share ’em in the comments!

{Disclosure: I participated in this campaign as a member of One2One Network and am eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated in the post are my own.}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 4, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 5 Comments

There’s a {Facebook} App for that

So….. I want to know what you guys think of this? First, we went from shopping for birthday cards at a local shop, handwriting a heartfelt message – {or at least our signature!} – buying and attaching stamps, and usually remembering to do this all a week BEFORE the recipients big day, so that it would reach them in time. Then we started using ecards, which can still be really cute and personalized, right? Next, it turned into simply sending out an email that included a few birthday wishes. Now – we don’t know it’s someone’s birthday until we log-in to Facebook in the morning so that it can remind us of our supposed loved ones special days. You write a quick, “Hope your day is as awesome as you are!” birthday post, and call it good.

But now, there’s an app for that.

This free Facebook app will automate your birthday messages, so you don’t even have to be bothered with paying attention to those notifications on your homepage, or taking even 30 seconds of effort to tell someone that you care that they’re celebrating an important day. Does that seem super impersonal?

Or, is this the new normal?

Is it because at over 30, I’m clearly too old to know how things work these days? Or is this something helpful, to make sure you never miss any important days in your favorite people’s lives – by writing out personal messages to all of them, all at once, just once a month – and then letting them automatically post out to Facebook at the right time?

Yes. I signed up for the app.

Lol – I had to! I’m a social media junkie here, remember? So I wanted to check it out and see how it worked. Looks cool, and I do see how it could be helpful – but it seems so lazy. I want to hear YOUR thoughts? Share some comments – awesome, or awful? Will you use this? DO you use it already – if so, is it awesome? Chat with me here ladies….

Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 1, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 2 Comments

Learn how the #IcedCoffee Challenge put $121 bucks in my pocket

You guys know that I love coffee, right? I’ve told you what my life is like when something happens and I don’t get my coffee, and about my crazy life that drives me to drink…. too much coffee each day. But, while I am totally and completely content to drink regular home-brewed coffee in the mornings most days, I have serious iced coffee cravings in the afternoon – and prefer it in the mornings too as the weather gets warmer. The trouble is, those iced drinks at the coffee house add up really quickly! So, since I’m a finder of “Smart Solutions for Busy Moms” – I found a solution!

The Iced Coffee Challenge Results

Remember way back at the beginning of the month when I started this Iced Coffee Challenge? Well, I estimated that I spend around $4 bucks a day on a coffee house drink – although there are quite a few days when I drink more than one! But based on JUST one per day, the awesome little counter widget in my sidebar shows me that I’ve already saved $121.87 this month!!! Can you believe that? Over $100 extra bucks in my pocket, just by switching to the International Delight Iced Coffee, that comes in a carton so I can serve it at home. And the best part? This stuff is seriously good. Like, addicting good. I’ve never ever found an iced coffee drink that I could buy off the shelf and actually enjoy – but this totally rocks.

My new morning routine

Pretty fresh flowers from our garden, my local daily paper, and a big glass of creamy and delicious iced coffee at home = Perfection. With the weather finally getting warmer, there is nothing better than relaxing on the deck in the early morning, feeling some sunshine on my face, while drinking this stuff over ice. And, it’s not just me lovin’ it and savin’ big bucks. Check out everyone else’s stories and savings results on Twitter – just search #IcedCoffee.

Seriously delicious savings

There is no way that you can tell me that doesn’t look amazing. And if your dreaming of how good it might be right now – you will NOT be disappointed when you try it in real life. It’s my new favorite drink – and in total honesty, it’s better than most of the coffee house drinks I used to buy anyway! And since I’m on a super strict budget to save for our airfare to Reviewer’s Retreat {where I’m speaking – yay!}, and BlogHer, the $100+ bucks a month that I’m saving will be a HUGE help in paying those expenses. What could YOU do with an extra hundred bucks next month? Find out by switching YOUR coffee house drinks to new International Delight Iced Coffee too!

Follow International Delight on Facebook and Twitter – for updates on new products and promotions!

{Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias. All experiences, results, overuse of the word “awesome”, and photos are my own!}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 30, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 7 Comments

What’s lurking under Your Kitchen Sink? The #GetClean Makeover!

As moms, our biggest job in life is keeping our kids safe. Yes – we want them to be so many things: funny as heck, star athletes, amazingly talented performers, creators of beautiful artwork, compassionate and kind individuals, and much more. But – the #1 job is keeping them safe, so that they can grow into those amazing people we imagine that they’ll become. And one of the ways that we keep our little ones safe is by keeping our home clean, and free from dangerous germs, right? Well – these facts may surprise the heck out of you:

Is your home dirtier after you clean it?

You totally get this great feeling when you’ve cleaned, scrubbed, and disinfected your whole house, right? But – you would NEVER let your little ones play with toxic chemicals, so why would you use them to clean up a spill on the floor that they play on??

The EPA says that only a portion of the 81,00o registered chemicals in household cleaners, only a fraction have been tested for health concerns.
More than 9 out of 10 accidental poisonings happen at home – many from household cleaners.
Due to the use of air fresheners and cleaners, the levels of organic pollutants is 2 to 5 times higher INSIDE your home, then outside.

So what do you do? Well, you can learn about a new Smart Mom Solution I’m really excited about, that will help you clean your home with cleaners that don’t leave more toxins than the toxins their supposed to clean.

A Healthier Life for Everyone and a Better Life for Anyone

I’m always looking for new household cleaning helpers that are cleaner, greener, safer – but still really WORK. I’m also all about living a frugal lifestyle, so I hate spending a ridiculous amount of money on cleaners with fancy package, that call themselves “Green”, with no real facts to back that up. But these have all been reviewed and endorsed for their safety by Healthy Child Healthy World, who I totally trust for good information. I am incredibly glad that I was introduced to Shaklee – this is now my new go-to brand, and can easily just about everything else I was using in my home!

The #GetClean Under Sink Makeover!

This is my under-sink kitchen makeover – Notice how many LESS products I have under there by switching to the Shaklee products? I counted 17 different cleaners, sprays, wipes, and powders in my cupboard in the “Before” pic – but with the Shaklee Starter Kit, I only have 6 – plus some great reusable cleaning cloths which allow me to get rid of all those rolls of paper towels. I totally encourage you to take a look under your sink, and then check out the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources website, Household Products Database – and learn about the crazy-harmful chemicals that you are wiping onto your counters, scrubbing onto your dishes, and spraying into your air. It is insane – seriously.

Makeover YOUR Kitchen Sink!

I used the Shaklee Starter Kit to replace all of that super yucky toxic junk under my sink. It’s a bit of an upfront investment – Around $100 bucks for the set. BUT – when you make your cleaners, you fill each bottle with water, and less than a teaspoon of concentrate from a big full-size bottle. Can you even imagine how long that is going to last?? Here are a few great benefits:

It’s Frugal: Frugal isn’t about spending less, it’s about spending smart. And you would spend $3400 for ready to use cleaners to get the same amount of clean found in the Get Clean Starter Kit! Can you say value?
It’s Safe: No harmful fumes or hazardous chemicals. If you have kids with asthma, eczema, or any other sensitivities – imagine what a difference that could make for them?
It Works: They say that it rivals or outperforms 20 national leading brands – I can tell you that every product that I have works just as well or better than any of the major brand products that I replaced. And I’m a clean freak, with pretty high standards on that stuff.
Eco Friendly: Not only are they better on the earth due to the lack of gross chemicals that will end up polluting the air and water – But with their refillable packaging and concentrated products, you keep 108 pounds of packaging waste from landfills!

Awesome Fact: My favorite product, the Basic H2® Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate – just 1/4 tsp. makes 16oz. of all-purpose cleaner for only 3 cents!!! Whaaaaat? Yep, it’s true.

You can learn more about the Shaklee line, including their healthy weight and nutrition products, other home items, and even a healthy beauty line – on their website. And be sure to follow Shaklee on Facebook and Twitter too, to stay updated on new products and promotions.

{Disclaimer: I received a complimentary product kit from Mom Spark Media to facilitate this review. All photos and opinions are 100% my own – I love this stuff, and know you will too!}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 25, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 2 Comments

7 Time Management Tips for Busy Moms

“You’re writing the story of your life one moment at a time.” – Doc Childre

Ah…. Time management. It is one of the biggest challenges to mothers everywhere – and it is especially challenging when you’re a work at home mom. Balancing work tasks, home tasks, and time spent with your family {because that was the whole point of working from home right? Spending more time with your family?} – It’s a difficult balancing act. With a million different things to do and places to be – but only ONE you, and still only 24 hours in each day, you’ve got to grab a hold of your time, and make it work for you! So, here are a few great tips, tools, and resources – gathered up from some of my favorite mom bloggers – to help YOU simplify life and save time each day:

5 Ways to Better Manage My Time: These are awesome tips – some of the same things that I’ve been working on myself. My favorite is #5 – so important, but it’s something most of us neglect to do.
How $3.64 Makes Me A Better Blogger…And A Better Mom: Learn how spending this small amount on a simple tool has seriously boosted this moms productivity levels!
Time Management Tool Shows You Where Your Time Really Goes: I love this tool – it’s free, super simple to use, and then gives you a really awesome graphic that shows you exactly where all of your time goes each day. You might be really surprised when you see it all added up!
WAHM – How do you organize: This has some awesome tips on using online tools to stay organized – I love it! {Totally and completely love the spreadsheet she offers too – get it free!}
WorkFlowy, the Key to getting Organized, for a Blogger or Forgetful Women over 45 or Anyone: I’ve been wanting to learn how this site works – and love her simple explanation for getting started – Looks really cool!
How gCal Helps You Stay on Track: I love how this tool makes it super easy to sync everyone’s schedules – whether it’s family, or business teams. You can access it from any device – laptop, work computer, smart phone…. This is super helpful for me!
Printable Planners: While I totally rely on my online tools and calendar, I also totally need paper and pen style organizing. I use a binder system for most of my organizing – I have one for homemaking, bills and financials, and my blog. You can find a big resource of my favorite printables for organizing here.

Do you have a great post that shares YOUR favorite time management tips? If so, leave a link in the comments so I can check it out too – I’m always looking for new tips to help me simplify and stay on track. Find a new favorite on this list? Let me know which post you liked best!

My Time Management Crisis in Poorly Drawn Graphics…. This explains my problem perfectly, lol.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on April 22, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 4 Comments

My #IcedCoffee Challenge – Big Savings So Far!

Saving Money in the #IcedCoffee Swap Challenge!

I started this challenge at the beginning of the month, to see how much money I could save by switching from coffee house drinks to the uh-may-zingly delicious Iced Coffee in a carton from International Delight. To help me see those savings add up – I added a cool little gadget to my site, that automatically adds up the $4+ bucks a day that I’m not spending at Starbucks! See it over in the sidebar? Awesomesauce.

“A morning without coffee is like, sleep.” – Author Unknown

Most of you ladies know that I was invited on a last minute conference trip to Fort Worth, Texas last week. It was amazingly educational, amazingly fun, and amazingly BUSY!! We started at 7am and were running all day until 11pm. The hotel room had a coffee maker – but it only made 2 cups. So I staggered downstairs to the lobby in search of more caffeinated goodness to help me get started – and found the beautiful sight of a Starbucks sign! But – the part that was NOT good was the price!!! Yikes – It was close to $7 bucks for my usual drink – ACK!! That is NOT smart spending. And it really helped me realize what an awesome savings I’ve been seeing from NOT buying coffee house drinks this month.

“I believe humans get a lot done, not because we’re smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.” – Flash Rosenberg

So what was the FIRST thing that I did when I got home again from Texas? Sleep. Ok, but the SECOND thing I did was go grocery shopping – and stock up on more of my FAVORITE Iced Coffee drink – the Mocha flavor from International Delight. I had to adjust my savings widget down a bit, to make up for my over-spending while traveling. But I’ve still saved over $70 this month – which is pretty exciting right? That’s some sassy new spring fashions shopping! {And, since I often would get MORE than one coffee house drink per day – and the calculator is only counting ONE drink per day – my true savings are actually much higher!}

“Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven.” – Jessi Lane Adams

I’m always searching for simple ways to save my family money – so that I can share them with you too. I love that with this Iced Coffee Swap, you’re not giving up anything, so it’s an amazingly easy way to save some extra cash in your families budget! What do you think? Do you want to try it too? Let me know how much YOU could save this week by switching to International Delight!!

I’m saving BIG BUCKS doing the #IcedCoffee Challenge – Join Me! sunshineandsippycups.com/2012/04/my-ice… #Cbias

— SunandSipCups (@SunandSipCups) April 18, 2012