Sunshine and Sippy Cups — Page 207 — Smart Solutions for Busy Moms!

Busy Mom Solution: WIN a Sandisk Clip Zip! {11/18}

Another great Busy Mom Solution product – the Sansa Clip Zip!

This is a super cool little gadget. The kiddo’s hate it when I rock out while cleaning the house… Usually, I turn the music up really loud, and dance and sing while I mop, vacuum, wash dishes and windows, and other real fun mom stuff. Now, I still annoy them with my singing, but they don’t have to listen to my music. They are incredibly appreciative to no longer have my super-lame music choices interrupting them while watching iCarly and Spongebob. And I love that the music can just follow me around the house. Why did I not think of getting an MP3 player sooner??

Super Cool Features:

It comes in a ton of colors – like my current favorite color, a really great bright orange!
It’s got a bigger screen than most, making it easy for my super-tired-mommy eyes to read it!
It’s super user-friendly, even if you’re not much of a techy gal. My mom could figure out the basics, and she can’t even use the DVD player. {Lol, but seriously.}
Play downloaded music or FM radio. Love that option.
It’s got a stopwatch, which is cool if you’re using this for workouts.
MY FAVORITE: It’s got a voice recording feature – so as I’m doing housework, I can leave little message reminders for myself – like, “We’re almost out of laundry detergent.” Or, “Launch search mission for towels. Bathroom is empty. Check under kids beds.” – you know, the important stuff you discover while cleaning up.

More about the Sansa Clip Zip Rocks:

Portable: This little gadget clips onto your jacket, pants, or pocket, to easily travel with you while you’re at home, on the go, or working out. I also love to just clip it to the stroller while Abby and I go for walks – Sometimes I let her listen to it too! She loves that.
Simple Set Up: The instructions are super easy to follow – and if you can use a cell phone, you can use this MP3 Player. Promise.
Music Choices: You can go super simple, and just listen to your favorite radio stations. You can listen to some of the pre-loaded songs that are already on the Clip Zip. Or you can upload all of your own music like I did – and I promise, it’s easy to do.
Super Cute: I’m not sure if cute is a word I use often with tech stuff, but I love this little Clip Zip! I received the Primetime Purple version, and it’s just so fun. I’ve gotten a ton of compliments on it already – everyone loves it.

Win one – Great for you, or for a Holiday Gift!

The Sansa Clip Zip from SanDisk retails for $49.99, and comes with all of these accessories included in the kit:

Sansa Clip Zip MP3 Player
USB 2.0 transfer cable
Earphones
Quick Start guide
Starter CD (Sansa Updater and Rhapsody offer)

And one lucky Sunshine and Sippy Cups fan will WIN a Coupon Code to order THEIR CHOICE of Clip Zip at 100% off {meaning FREE!} – and it includes FREE shipping! Plus, 4 more lucky winners will get an exclusive coupon code for 20% off their entire SanDisk online purchase! But – this will be a short giveaway: The Free and Discount Coupon Codes MUST BE USED BY NOVEMBER 25TH! So we’ll get this rockin’ today, so I can draw and confirm winners in time for the winners to use the codes.

Make sure to check out my new Giveaway List in the side bar, right over there —>, for a list of all of my current giveaways. The more you enter, the more chances you have to win!

{Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of SanDisk and received a product sample to facilitate my review, and coupons to giveaway.}

Enter to Win:

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 10, 2011 Filed Under: Giveaways | 10 Comments

BelleChic – The Best of Handmade – Affordable Adorable!

Introducing BelleChic!

BelleChic is your place to buy handmade goods from the world’s best artisans. Be inspired by their artistry, passion, and creativity while you discover BelleChic – “the beautiful style.”

Not only will you find savings of up to 75% off, you’ll meet your new favorite designers. In short, it’s the best of the best of handmade. – This is quickly becoming a huge favorite of mine! I think you’ll love it too, so I had to share.

BelleChic – We handpick the best of handmade, and offer it at 50-70% off. Shop Now! Click Here to see their amazing selection!

Every Day Inspiration — “the Beautiful Style”

Each day at BelleChic brings a variety of product types, from elegant handmade jewelry to luxurious handcrafted bath and body products. They have amazingly adorably affordable tutu’s for little girls, bow ties for little boys, and the cuuutest baby accessories ever. You’ll find everything from candles for the home, to gorgeous one-of-a-kind gifts for your girlfriends. Love, love, love it.

Most sales start at 8am PT / 11am ET and last 48 hours.
Sales are currently happening Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays
Quantities are limited, so shop early so you don’t miss out!
More than just a sale, we’ll introduce you to the world’s best handmade artisans and how they do their craft.

Check out BelleChic today to find your new favorites!

Guerrilla Guide to the Holidays: 8 DIY Gifts that they Actually Want!

Frugal Holiday Gifts from LearnVest

LearnVest, as you know if you read my posts often, is one of my favorite sites. I love that they make financial news relevant to my life, and easy to understand. I love that they share some of the most helpful, totally do-able, frugal tips and tricks each week. And my favorite is the “fun” posts – with great information like how to save when building a wardrobe, which beauty products are worth a splurge, and today’s article – how to make DIY Christmas Gifts this year that as they say, “Don’t Suck.” Lol. This is part of their on-going series, Guerrilla Guide to the Holidays – which has been packed full of fun & frugal tips. Love it.

Get Daily Tips for Frugal Living! Packed with money-saving tips and financial how-tos to enrich your life. Click Here to join me in getting super cool weekly updates!

8 DIY Gifts:

I’ll give you an idea of what you’ll find over there – and you can head on over to get the instructions for each gift if you’re interested. Sign up for their email updates – I promise you’ll love ’em!

Biscotti: These delicious twice-baked cookies (biscotto is derived from the Latin for twice baked) keep for long periods of time, making them a sweet gift that will last past the season. Pack them in an airtight container, and wrap it with a bow. {Get recipes on LearnVest!}
Photobooks: If you’ve got a smartphone with the Instagram app and have taken some downright pretty photos, you can create a beautiful and very personalized gift. Using Printstagr.am—a site that prints and binds your Instagram photos—you can make a minibook of trip photos for a vacation buddy, or a “Tinybook” of oldie but goodie family photos for relatives. This teeny booklet even has a magnet, so it will stick to the fridge.
Infused Vodka: It’s colorful, festive and utterly customizable, so you can choose the perfect flavor for friends. Besides, infused vodka is one of the simplest flavored liquors you can DIY: It literally takes ten minutes to make, but you’ll have to start early since the flavors need a week or two to infuse. {Get the recipes on LearnVest!}
Handmade Bath Salts: Homemade bath salts are a simple luxury that anyone who likes at-home spa treatments will enjoy. And you can handpick an aroma you know your recipient will love. Also, the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you want to make a large batch. {Find instructions on how to make homemade Bath Salts on their site!}
Granola: This simple, not-too-sweet granola is delicious and keeps for months. People especially appreciate it because as long as it lasts, they always have a healthy breakfast on hand for those mornings that are too harried for cooking. Just be warned: It will also inspire them to request refills when their supply runs out! {Find the homemade Granola recipe on the site!}

There are more too!

Check out the LearnVest article, Guerrilla Guide to the Holidays: 8 DIY Holiday Gifts that Don’t Suck to read the rest of the ideas. Plus, if you sign up at their site, you get access to all of the forums, tools {like financial bootcamp!}, and more – so you can log-in to the Holiday Tips section, read the ideas other readers have submitted, and add your own too! If you’re not a member yet, join up. I get SO many great tips from them!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 10, 2011 Filed Under: Holidays | No Comments

Free Microsoft Office Tips and Tricks Book!

Maximize Your Microsoft Office Tools

As a busy mom, a blogger, and an Educational Consultant with Discovery Toys – I’m a busy girl! I’ve been struggling to find a good way to get more organized, so that I can keep up with all of the projects that I’m juggling. My solution? Make my own planning binders using free printables online, and some really great documents, calendars, logs, and worksheets from my own Microsoft Office! Seriously, I didn’t even know that I had so much stuff available! And the printable organizing stuff is just the beginning – you’d be amazed at all of the great tools you’ve had hiding right there in your computer, and probably never even looked at. I’m working on some posts to share my new blogging, household, and crafty binders – I’ll have them ready soon! Until then – get this totally free book and start learning about all of these great tools and tricks!

Free Guide: Microsoft Office 2010: Tips and Tricks – Limited Time Offer Click Here to get it!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 9, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Blogging Resources | No Comments

Win $5,000 Cash Towards a Dream Reunion with Friends!!

“The Muppets” and Alamo!

In the upcoming movie Disney’s “The Muppets,” Kermit the Frog sets out on a cross-country, around-the-world drive in hopes of getting the Muppets back together one more time. In celebration of the upcoming theatrical release of the movie, which opens nationwide on November 23, 2011, Alamo Rent A Car is launching the Alamo® Get The Gang Back Together Sweepstakes. One lucky winner will receive $5,000 cash towards a dream vacation to reunite with his or her own group of friends. How fun would that be??

Enter to WIN!

‘Like’ the Alamo Facebook Page and Enter for a Chance to Win $5,000 Cash Towards a Dream Reunion with Friends!!

A few Details:

Alamo Facebook fans can enter the sweepstakes once per day, and members of Alamo Insiders can receive two entries per day. {Not an Alamo Insider yet? Don’t worry, you can sign up on the site if you want to!}
After entering the sweepstakes, you also have a daily chance at Instant Win prizes too – so come back each day!
The sweepstakes began on October 24, 2011, and will end on December 16, 2011. The grand-prize winner will be selected at random on or about December 19, 2011.
Read the Official Rules for complete contest details.

More Holiday Family Fun:

Great Gifts: Order any two Disney titles on Blu-ray 3D and Save $10.
Yummy Sweets: Easy Peasy Cake Pops ideas – plus sweet freebie!
Helpful Tips: Santa’s Coming! 10 Tips to Get Ready for the Holidays.
Busy Mom Solution: Holiday Card Survival Kit!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 9, 2011 Filed Under: Contests | No Comments

Amazon Rain: Win a Youthful Glow! {Rafflecopter Giveaway} 11/30

Recapture your youthful glow…

Now isn’t that something that we’ve all been missing? I think I remember a “youthful glow” – you know, those days of dewy skin without concealer and powder, of rosy cheeks without the help of blush. I would love to bring a bit of that back to my tired-busy-super-mommy face.

Amazon Rain Skin Care Products

You may not be familiar with Amazon Rain skin care products yet – but I guarantee that if you give them a try, you will fall in love! I was very excited to get the opportunity to review the Deep Nourishing Oil – my skin tends to get a little dry in the winter, and this sounded perfect. The website describes it as, “It’s a blend of herb-infused botanical oils that your body needs to produce new, healthy skin. As a result, it keeps the skin feeling soft and supple with a youthful, radiant glow.” – There’s that “youthful glow” again. Sounds great, right? I was definitely ready to give it a try.

What I loved:

Um, just about everything?? I love that this is a natural product – you know I’ve been making changes towards a cleaner, and greener, lifestyle, so this is important to me. All of the oils come from extracted from nuts, seeds and fruits that are harvested right from the Amazon Rainforests. And I love that it can be used so many different ways –

Put it on at night, before your usual night cream, to wake up with amazingly soft skin.
Pour it into the bathtub for a great full-body treatment.
Use it on scars and stretch-marks to sooth and even them out.

A couple tips:

When you use this for the first time, remember that it’s not a cream, it’s an oil – so when you pump out the product, it will be very thin. So dispense it slowly the first time. This is an oil – but I promise, it does not make your skin feel oily! No residue or stickiness. Once you rub it in, you can feel the benefits right away. And in the morning, I swear you’ll see a difference the first time you use it. I’m hooked.

FREE gifts to the first 50 people purchasing any of the Amazon Rain products from this campaign:

Olivia Newton-John, who beat her own breast cancer, has announced that she’ll send a personally signed LIV Aid for breast cancer prevention in your monthly self-examination routine. This aid alone retails for $19.95, but you can get it free! Learn more about them here: Liv.com, and LiveGeiger.com.
FlaxUSA and its Founder Stephanie Stober will donate Flax Sprinkles full of Omega-3, Lignans, Protein and Fiber. Learn more here: FlaxUSA.com.
Hy-Jean Corporation and its Founder Laura Stearn will donate her unique and feminine product – Pantzies!Learn more here: hyjean.com.
The Coconut World and its Founder SaraJean Cameranesi will donate her
amazing Coconut Sugar with Glycemic Index of 35! Eating it is like almost drinking water! Learn more here: Coconutworld.biz.

Plus, every single sale all year round supports two great movements:

ACEER – Nonprofit The Amazon Center for Environmental Education and
Resources. www.wcupa.edu.
Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Center www.OliviaAppeal.com.

Win Your Own!

One lucky Sunshine and Sippy Cups fan will WIN their own Full-Size Package of Amazon Rain Deep Nourishing Oil – and I’m super excited to be giving one away! Use the easy peasy Rafflecopter form to enter, and don’t forget to come back again for your daily entries!

Make sure to check out the brand new Giveaway Linky in my sidebar! You can see all of my open giveaways – so enter to win them all! Good luck!

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 9, 2011 Filed Under: Giveaways | No Comments

FREE Nature’s Path Granola Bar – Plus Enter to WIN!

Free Natures Path Granola Bar

Nature’s Path and Ellen DeGeneres are giving fans a chance to win a Nature’s Path prize pack and a $500 Whole Foods gift card! Sweet prize, right?? They’ll also send you free box of samples. For a chance to win, all you have to do is take their poll. Choose from: Chococonut, Pumpkin-N-Spice, Lotta Apricotta or Berrry Strawberry! Whichever bar you pick – that’s the free sample you’ll be getting! {You know I picked Pumpkin-N-Spice, right??} Hurry – these will run out soon! So be sure to share this post with a friend – the buttons make it easy peasy to share to Facebook and Twitter! – so they don’t miss out!