Buy 1 Get One Free

One of my favorite coupon deals are the buy 1 get 1 free. I just discovered that you can actually use 2 coupons on this deal. Here is how I work it:

1. Most of the time when you get your coupon flyer there is a bogo (buy 1 get 1) and a coupon right next to it for the product. They can used together at most places. So, not only are you getting 2 products for half the price, but you get a discount on top of it. What you can't do is use a coupon on the free item- ex. Buy 1 box of Ritz crackers and get a box of Crackerfuls for Free. You can use a Ritz cracker coupon, because that is the item you are buying, but not a Crackerfuls coupon because that is what the BOGO coupon is for.


2. This is my favorite although it doesn't come around often: If you have a BOGO and the store is offering those items as a BOGO you get both items for FREE. Yes, I said FREE. I just did this at Rite Aid with Covergirl cosmetics.


3. If a store has a BOGO sale you can use 2 coupons. 1 for each item. (sometimes, it depends on the store)

Now every stores rules are different- so you can either give it a try or check with your local store.


Last Shopping Trip: I purchased 66 items for $75.70. That's about $1.15 per item. i had a total of $53.52 in manufacturers coupons and $24.46 in store coupons. Not bad. Just don't ever stand behind me in line, you could be there for awhile!

2 Free Issues of Family Circle

Wow- We haven't had a new one in a while. Here is your chance to get 2 free issues of Family Circle.

Click Here.

No credit card. No strings! Just Free.

Yoplait Kids Review and Giveaway

My Blog Spark just gave me an opportunity to try some Yoplait kids yogurt and offer 2 of my readers this prize package.

Review:

I can't even give an honest review because my kids consumed the entire 6 pack in a day. So I guess you could say they loved it! I believe the words after the first taste were, "oh yum" and then followed by, "can I have another one?".

Yogurt is definitely something I keep handy in my house. My little guy can be a difficult eater, but I can always get a yogurt in him. Now that Yoplait kids has 20 % less sugar in them I feel even better about it. It also contains no artificial sweeteners or flavors, so you can feel good about serving it to your kids.

Giveaway:

Two lucky winners will receive:

The Yoplait Less Sugar, More Fun prize pack includes a coupon for a Yoplait Kids yogurt, a travel cooler (to take your yogurt on-the-go), a fun spoon that changes colors in warm water, a reusable place mat with games to keep the kids happy while snacking, and a fuzzy tangle puzzle for some after-snack fun.

Contest ends November 10Th. Winners will be chosen at random and notified by e-mail.

Shandle Giveaway!

Only a few days left to enter for your chance at being one of 5 winners! If you missed the post check it out here.

Creating the Experience

With all of the holidays upon us, I wanted to touch on what I call creating the experience. A little creativity can turn any day into an experience, but the holidays are really a time to shine. A holiday actually gives you something to work with and with all these Dollar Stores around you don't even need to fork over mega bucks. Also the age of your children will determine how extravagant you need to get with your ideas.
Mine boys are 3 and 5 so I'm still on the low end here- nothing too scary.

1. Decorate, decorate, and still decorate. So for a few bucks I bought all sorts of stuff, and some things I can use again for Thanksgiving. The boys and I spent so much time together drinking cider, baking cookies and decorating.

The key to creating the experience is not just decorating, but completely immersing yourself in the holiday. We played Halloween music and drank cider. We also tried on costumes.

2. All the holiday books and movies come out and we do holiday crafts. Grandma was a big hit this year and made spiders with the boys.

3. I cut my boys sandwiches into ghost and bat shapes with a cookie cutter.

4. Then I made some mummy dogs for dinner. They thought that was hysterical.

5. My husband and I dressed up with them on Halloween and played games then watched a scary kid movie.

Now we spend the entire month of October "doing" Halloween not just one day. I think it makes a difference. They really enjoy themselves.

Now on to Thanksgiving! I'll keep you posted on that experience, but I'd love to hear how you celebrate the holidays!

Book Review: Your Intercultural Marriage

What Every Intercultural Couple Should Know About Relationships and Marriage

(Dallas, TX)─The number of intercultural relationships and marriages between people from different countries, faiths, races, and ethnicities has skyrocketed over the past several decades. But these couples face unique challenges and relational complications due to varying worldviews, values, attitudes, customs, language barriers, and more. These cultural differences can wreak havoc on a relationship unless couples learn how to work through them in a healthy way.

Some of the problems these couples face include communication challenges, religious and political conflicts, value differences, varying gender expectations, different views on child rearing, economic adjustments and legal complications.

After falling in love and deciding to marry a man from Romania, Marla Alupoaicei (pronounced ah-loo-PWI-chay) searched for effective resources on the topic of intercultural relationships and marriage, but couldn't find any. After performing extensive research and interviewing hundreds of multi-cultural couples, Alupoaicei wrote the definitive guide to intercultural marriage: Your Intercultural Marriage: A Guide to a Healthy, Happy Relationship (Moody Publishers, September 2009). Marla and her husband, Catalin, have been married for seven years. Marla serves as the Director of Leap of Faith, an intercultural marriage support organization in Frisco, Texas.

"What counts in making a happy marriage is not how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility." - Leo Tolstoy

Book Review: Your Intercultural Marriage: A Guide to a Healthy, Happy Relationship by Marla Alupoaicei

I chose to take part in this review as a part of the Blog Tour Spot, because I thought it would be an interesting read and I was right. Although I don't have an intercultural marriage per say my husband and I do come from two very different backgrounds, he's as American as can be and I'm first generation Italian American. Alupoaicei's knowledge touches on subjects that can benefit any marriage that has religious, cultural, and race differences. Marla shares stories from her own marriage as well as those of others. Her advice includes issues such as, communicating, understanding each other's values, agreeing on food, managing finances, and raising children.


Not only does Marla explain four different types of Intercultural marriage, but she provides discussion questions for you and your partner and provides a wide range of resources for improving your marriage. I love that she includes at the end of every chapter movies to watch and quotes for reflection.

Early in the book Marla tells a story about her husband, who is from Romania, and an incident that happened at the library. The librarian asks him why he writes his 4's so funny and his answer was "Why do you?". Sometimes as Americans we think that our way is the "right" way, Marla points out that she realized neither way is the "right" way. It is only different. I had a moment of enlightenment in that story. This book is a must read in any intercultural marriage, but if you have a chance to pick it up as I did I think it will open up communication amongst friends as well.

Meet the author of Your Intercultural Marriage, Marla Alupoaicei.

Author and speaker Marla Alupoaicei serves as the Director for Leap of Faith Ministries, an intercultural marriage support ministry in Frisco, Texas. Marla has authored or co-authored over twenty books and Bible study guides, including Taking the Intercultural Leap, Generation Hex: Understanding the Subtle Dangers of Wicca, and In the Flow: Spiritual Insights for Living a More Creative Life, as well as numerous nonfiction articles and poems. Marla has fifteen-plus years of ministry, teaching, and speaking experience with a variety of organizations. Currently she works as a staff writer for East-West Ministries, a grace-based church planting organization in Addison, Texas.
Marla and her husband, Catalin, whom she met while on a missions trip to Romania in 1998, have been married for 7 years and currently reside in Texas.

Learn more about Marla at http://marriageleap.com.

Go to Amazon.com to purchase a copy of Marla's book.

To read what other bloggers have to say click HERE.

The Shandle: Giveaway !

Remember my review of the Shandle? Well, they have offered to give 5 of my lucky readers a chance to win one! Good Luck!

GIVEAWAY: REMIND YOUR KIDS TO PRACTICE HAND WASHING WITH THE SHANDLE

To Enter:

Sign up for the Shandle Newsletter at www.theshandle.com for promotions, discounts and product news and then leave a comment on this post.

Earn additional entries by completing any or all of the tasks below. Each optional task below is worth one additional entry.

• Sign up as a reader or subscriber to Be Your Best Mom.
  

• Become a fan of the Shandle on Facebook.

• Post a message on the Shandle Facebook Page

• Follow The_Shandle on Twitter and Tweet about why you would like a Shandle in your home - include a link to www.theshandle.com.

• Tweet about this Giveaway and include a link

• Post a link to this giveaway in your Facebook feed

• Post a link to this giveaway on your blog

To complete your entry you must leave a comment on this post. Please state which Shandle design is your favorite and indicate any additional entries you completed and your email address for contacting.

Comment Example:

“ I love Frog Bear Washes His Hands. He is so cute. Hope I win!! My additional entries are the newsletter sign up, tweeting about Shandle and tweeting about this giveaway. Thanks for the chance! My email is Mommy (at) nextdoornyc.com”

CONTEST CLOSES ON Nov.11Th. All winners will be selected via random number generator. Winners must be confirmed as Shandle Newsletter subscribers and will be notified via email. Prizes will be sent directly from www.theshandle.com