Gratutities

Today I am thankful for. . .

--a day with my mom and son

--Oberweis icecream

--Dewey's pizza (can't you tell it was a fun Grandma day)

Gratutities

Today I am thankful for. . .

--a day with my son and mom

--Oberweis icecream

--Dewey's pizza (can't you tell it was a fun grandma day!)

Freebie!!

Go here and order a free sample of your choice (or surprise) Kashi cereal.

Thanks STL Mommy

all natural savings: BOGO at Drugstore.com

Some great deals at Drugstore.com. Sale ends 9/4
Buy one Bumble Bar, get one free
Buy one Tazo tea, get one free
Buy one Yogi tea, got one 50% off
Buy one BioBag doggie bag, get one 50% off
Buy one BlueAvocado Starter Kit (reusable grocery bags), get one 50% off
Buy one Perf Go Green item get one 50% off
Buy one Fit and Fresh food storage item, get one 50% off (these are bpa free)
Buy one Oregon Chi, get one 50% off
Buy 2 Kashi, get thrid free
Buy 1 Envirokidz bar or cereacl, get one 50% off
Buy 2 Traditional Medicinal tea, get one 50% off
Buy one Belly Bar shake or chews, get one free
Buy one Gaiam water bottle, get one 50% off
Buy one Natrapel insect repelant, get one 50% off
Buy one Neu Home product, get one 50% off

Don't forget to go through ebates to earn your signing bonus +6% cash back on this purchase.

Gratutities

Today I am thankful for. . .

--homegrown tomatoes

--a nice family walk

--my husband mowing the grass

All Natural Savings

Here are more Natural Savings. See previous post on this topic for a more complete list.

New Smart Source coupon for $1.00 off The Spice Hunter herbs, spice, blend or grinder. (it was on page 6 for me)

Coupons.com has the following available
1.00 off Horizon eggs
1.00 off any 2 boxes Kashi TLC chewy granola bars
1.00 off Cascadian Farms Products
3.00 off Huggies Pure and Natural
1.00 off 2 Muir Glen products

Sorry this is expired: $5 off $15 purchase of Babyganics products. Cleaning products that are earth friendly and people friendly. Print here or use code fit5off at babyganics.com

0.75 off 8 pouch carton Honest Kids beverages here (thanks organicdeals)

Spaghetti Sauce

We've had an excess of yummy homegrown tomatoes so I've tried out a few different ways to make spaghetti sauce. With not a drop of Italian blood in me this did not come naturally. First I made a fresh sauce with ripe tomatoes, the sauce was good but a little thin for our taste. For my second attempt I used my Muir Glen canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste, fresh garlic, fresh local mushrooms, fresh local zucchini, and a green pepper I grew. I cooked this all for a few hours in a crock pot. This was a thicker meatier sauce, so I felt I was getting closer. Finally tonight I think I got it. In fact I followed a recipe from a baby and toddler cook book, The Petit Appetit. First I broiled the fresh tomatoes for 15 minutes. Then sauteed the onion, peppers, garlic. Added the tomatoes (ran threw the food processor), a little vegetable stock, spices, and a little canned tomato paste. Simmered for 30 minutes. Then added a tsp of honey and finished off another 10 minutes. Nice, thick, yummy sauce. I could have added mushrooms to give it some meatiness, but we didn't get any this week and it was very good without. Most recipes I looked at called for a bay leaf, I've left it out every time just because it is something I don't keep on hand. The best part about making this now is to make enough to freeze for use when the ingredients are no longer in season.

Hope you are enjoying tomato season as much as we are.

mutli-vitamin for toddlers

I just started giving my toddler these multivitamins. Of course this this a decision you should make along with your pediatrician.

Here is what I liked about them

• most other vitamins I looked at started at age 3 or 4, you can start these at 13 months
• the loads of vitamin C (I was looking to build immunity before our upcoming trip)
• no added sugar
• my friend used them with her son and he's not contracted colds from the YMCA's nursery since starting them
• they are from a company I trust
• my son can easily chew them, once you bit in they break up quickly

What I don't like about them:

• they are "candy like," but so were all the others I looked at, so it's really nothing against this particular brand, just how kid vitamins are I guess
• the dosage for my child's age does not contain the recommended 400 IUs of vitamin D, but that is ok too since I already have a year's supply of D drops

for more information:

http://www.sweetpea.usana.com/

Gratutities

Today I am thankful for. . .

--cheese

--the VA picking up some of my junk and using it to help others

--a good nap

Cascadian Farms Coupons

I saw this on Cascadian Farm's website, but thought I missed the July deadline. According to STLMommy there was a misprint. So go over here, sign up for their newsletter and you will receive $5 in Cascadian Farm printable coupons in your inbox plus other money saving offers and tips.

Recycle at Origins

From Origin's website:

"Everyday packaging accounts for approximately 1/3 of all landfill waste.
Most community recyclers only take items made from materials that are easily recognized - such as soda and water bottles.
Cosmetic and toiletry bottles, tubes, caps and jars among those items not easily recognized and therefore not often recycled"

So what are they doing about it?

"bring your empty cosmetic tubes, bottles and jars, etc. - regardless of brand - to your nearest Origins retail store or department store counter nationwide.* All returned packaging will be sent back to a central location where products will be recycled or used for energy recovery"

find out more here

Gratutities

Today I am thankful for. . .

--a great morning playing with friends

--a happy marriage

--bug spray

Free Organic Orange Juice

from hip2save

Go here scroll to the bottom and click on take survey (very short) and get a coupon for a free Uncle Matt's Organic Orange Juice. They say the juice is available at Whole Foods.

Barnes and Noble Gift Card Offer

You can score a free Barnes and Noble Gift card with $15 in purchases of Hain Celestial Group Natural and Organic Products (Earth's Best Sesame Street, Health Valley, Garden of Eaten, and others). You will receive a $5 gift card for $15 in purchases or $10 gift card for $25 in purchases. Submit by 10/7/09. See details here.

Leap Frog Tag: Save $10

Finally got to flip through my Parents magazine and found this.
To download a coupon for $10 off Tag or Tag Junior reading system visit leapfrog.com/tag
I know nothing about this system. I do know Leap Frog is a good company, their toys have the correct phonics for letters, others companies don't always have things exactly right.

Trail Mix Day August 31

Coming Soon...Another Fun Day to Celebrate....Trail Mix Day!! (hey, why not?)
And this one comes with a free outing for St. Louis Mamas. Just bring you little ones to Whole Foods Galleria between 1:00 and 4:00 to make their own trail mix....FREE!! Sounds like a fun outing. If you're not in STL, look for it in a Whole Foods near you. That not a option? Celebrate the day anyway by picking up seeds, nuts, dried fruit, etc, etc, and creating your own at home. For very young kids you may want to just use cereals (puffed rice, oat o's, puffed wheat, etc.) that are easy to chew and not a hazard. A great hands on activity for kids. You could even step it up for older kids by talking about the nutritional value of the various ingredients. Again I choose not to give my toddler nuts until he's three, this is a choice you make between you and your pediatrician. Please also be cautious with little ones and the ingredients may pose choking hazards.

Gratutities

Today I am thankful for. . .

--my cousin SS and her constant love, support, and advice

--that my baby is a good sleeper

--my washing machine

Just a story. . .

So my cousin calls today to tell me about her 2 1/2 year old. She had her first real shopping experience over the weekend. She gathered her very own money, put it in her purse, and left to go shopping with her daddy, . . . to the farmer's market!! She picked out some corn and an apple and paid for them herself. She was so proud of her purchases. And what mom wouldn't be proud of that little girl. Of all the things to spend money on she chose fresh, local, yummy fruits and veggies. Way to go mom!

Organic Diaper Sale

Just received this from Cotton Babies

The rumors are true, bumGenius Organic Hook & Loop Closure Diapers are being discontinued. To clear out our inventory, we are putting them on sale for $19.95! All Organic Hook & Loop packages are also on sale.Don't worry, the Organic SNAP closures that you love are not going anywhere!

Gerber Graduates Deal at Target

OK, so in general I HATE Gerber Graduates. I hate the entire concept of toddler tv dinners. I firmly believe your child should be eating what you eat by the time they are toddlers. However I did see something in Target today that caught my eye. Gerber Gradates Smart Sips beverage made from milk free of antibiotics and growth hormones....Try me FREE. It is made from fat free milk though so if your tot is still on whole milk you may store it for a while. The other reason I went ahead and picked it up is that it does not need refrigeration (just the the Horizon milk boxes) so I thought it might be good to store and have on hand for trips. To sweeten the deal I also picked up the GG whole grain animal crackers (for the days when I can't make my own) for 1.99 and used the target coupon for $1 off 2 Graduates. The best part is I didn't even have this coupon on me, why would I have, but some nice couponer had set down the ones she (I assume) wasn't going to use on the shelf.

Total out of pocket for Graduates Smart Sips and Animal Crackers $0.99....not bad.

Whole Foods Coupon Match up for Aug 26- Sept 1

Sale Aug26-Sept1
Add available here
Whole Deals booklets available in store by cash registers
16 inch one topping pizza just 8.99 Wednesdays only

Santa Cruz Juice: sale price 2/$8
Use with .75 off coupon from http://coupons.mambosprouts.com/online_coupons
Final Cost 3.25 each

Enjoy Life Cookies 6oz pack: sale price 2/$6
Use with 1.25 off 2 from http://coupons.mambosprouts.com/online_coupons
Final Cost 4.75 for 2 packs

Organic Valley Cottage cheese
Sale price 2.99
Use with $1 off coupon from here http://www.organicvalley.coop/coupons/?gclid=CIX8zfHKuJwCFRkNDQodewlSmw

Envirokidz Cereal 2/$7
1.50 off 2 from Whole Deal Booklet

Envirokidz Rice Bars 2/$6
1.50 off 2 from Whole Deal Booklet

Cascadian Farm Cereal 2/$7
1.00 off coupon from coupons.com
final price 2.50/box

Also a great deal this week. Organic seedless watermelon 3.99

Whole Foods is typically crazy expensive, hope this helps make your shopping there a little less painful.

To be or not to be.....organic

Of course buying organic fruits and vegetables typically means spending more money. And more money is something few of us have these days. So does it make sense to go organic? And if you can't go all out with organic foods where should you draw the line, where should your money go? It can be confusing. That is with out good guidelines. Hence the "dirty dozen." These are the foods that when tested proved to have higher levels of chemicals than other foods. If you swapped your traditional foods for organic for just these 12 foods you could reduce your exposure to pesticides by up to 90%.

You can find the dirty dozen list from the Environmental Working Group on many websites and books (including Toddler 411). I just couldn't reference them all.

So without further ado...The Dirty Dozen

12 Most Contaminated
--Peaches
--Apples
--Sweet Bell Peppers
--Celery
--Nectarines
--Strawberries
--Cherries
--Pears
--Grapes (Imported)
--Spinach
--Lettuce
--Potatoes

12 Least Contaminated
--Onions
--Avocado
--Sweet Corn (Frozen)
--Pineapples
--Mango
--Asparagus
--Sweet Peas (Frozen)
--Kiwi Fruit
--Bananas
--Cabbage
--Broccoli
--Papaya

Also keep in mind that children today are exposed to more toxins in general, many we do not have control over, but we do have control over the food we buy. Pound for pound children consume more foods than adults and their little bodies may be even more sensitive to pesticides than ours. That being said the American Academy of Pediatrics has made no official guidelines about the need for organic food for children. However, my personal pediatrician (who is a regular MD not a holistic or homeopathic practitioner) did say it was one thing she wished she had done with her own children.

you can down load the dirty dozen list as a pdf or even iPhone app from here

for more information search "dirty dozen fruits and vegetables" or "dirty dozen organic"

Quick Tip: making the beds

Make your child's bed with a sheet, mattress protector, then another sheet. This way if they are sick or have an accident during the night you can just strip off a layer and still have a made bed. You can then take care of your child, get them clean and back down a little faster. In the middle of the night seconds count.

Gratutities

Today I am grateful for. . .

--The fact that I never have to take another Zumba class

--The fact that nobody I know saw me in the Zumba class

--My best mama friend JG, God put us both in St. Louis at the same time for a reason

All Natural Savings: Horizon

here's one more I found

Horizon Organic Milk

.55 off any single serve 3 pack or larger

And

Coupons.com added a coupon for $1 off 2 dozen Horizon eggs

California Babies: My favorite baby skin care line

I love California Babies products.

Let me tell you why.

When my son was born I was desperately trying to find a product with no fragrance (especially after the stinky pampers we had, I was just done with the perfumed baby products). When I was looking I quickly realized I needed a natural product. Many of those still add fragrance and also had nut oils, something else I wanted to avoid (duh, if I'm still not feeding my toddler nuts why would I have been willing to rub it into his skin as an infant). Finally I came across the California Babies line and especially their "Super Sensitive" products. All California Babies products are free from common allergens (nuts, gluten, soy, oats, dairy) and the super sensitive products are also fragrance free. Also they are free of the "tear free" numbing agents which I had heard bad things about. Here are the benefits of the super sensitive wash as listed on California Babies website.

• Contains organic and sustainably grown ingredients
• No fragrance, scent masking agents, clear formula chemicals, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, or DEA
• Safe and gentle, no tears; no numbing agents.
• Non-irritating and non-chemical formula
• For people with allergies and those who cannot tolerate fragrance
• May be used by those following a homeopathic regimen
• Two products in one; use head-to-toe
• Great for babies, kids or adults with super sensitive skin
• Non-stripping of natural oils

Now another reason I love this line. Over Christmas my son got sick-- diarrhea-- bad, bad diarrhea. We switched to disposables when he was going through over 1 diaper an hour, we just couldn't keep up with the cloth. I luckily had my California Babies diaper cream on hand and used it on his poor little bum. Can you believe it, with all the diarrhea, all the diaper changes, my son never got diaper rash. We ended up in the hospital for fluids and even the nurses were amazed. (We were released the next day and fully recovered, thank you). I just think a diaper rash would have made a bad situation worse and I think it was using the right product that made the difference.

Also, I just found that the California Babies sunscreen is on list of top rated sunscreen by the environemental working group, and are "recommended" products. See more here.

Needless to say I highly recommend these products.

Pictured is the California Babies founder and mom

Products available at Target, Whole Foods, Amazon, Diapers.com, etc.

Gratutities

Today I am thankful for. . .

--the ability to be a stay-at-home mom

--the few fresh veggies picked from my attempt at a garden

--a little bit of "me"time

All Natual Savings: updated

Yippee!! I've found lots of new organic/natural savings! Here is the updated list.

Organic Valley coupons

$1 off coupons for milk, eggs, cheese, butter, cream, soy milk, cottage cheese and cream cheese. $8 savings total! Valid 30 days from printing and you can print 2 of each coupon.

Stoneyfield Farm coupons

15 different .50 off coupons available for yogurt, yo baby, yo kids, milk, and ice cream when you sign up here. Valid for 10 days after download.

Huggies Natural Diapers 3.00 off coupon from coupons.com
Buy at target and also use their 1.50 off coupon for 4.50 total savings

Coupons.com has these organic coupons available :
2.00 off 4 cups of yogurt
1.00 off any Cascadian Farm product
1.00 off any two Muir Glen products

Natural coupons from target
Aveeno Baby
Burt’s Bee’s Baby
California Baby (my favorite, see this post)
Earth’s Best Toddler snack (can be used w/the coupon from Earth’s Best listed below)
Annie’s bunny crackers

R.W. Knudsen Juice Sign up here to get $1 off any Just Juice or 8 pack Sensible Sippers

New post 8/25--Horizon Organic Milk
.55 off any single serve 3 pack or larger

New post 8/26--Horizon Organic Eggs $1off 2 use zip code 90210

Don't forget the Kashi saving post

Previously posted but still good deals:

Annie's Homegrown
free loot--decals, stickers, and bumper stickers
free 2010 calendar with any product purchase
buy Annie's at target with .50 off bunny crackers coupon
or at Whole Foods get Mac and cheese for .88/box when on sale this week and using the Whole Deals coupon booklet

Seventh Generation
sign up here for these coupons, each can be printed twice
$1 off feminine care product
$2 off any 2 household cleaners
$1 off 1 dishwashing product
$2 off any 1 diaper product
$1 off any 1 seventh generation product

Earth's Best
click here to print coupons for
$1 off 10 jars babyfood (trip or emergency food for those of us who make their own)
$1 off 2 Sesame Street products
$5 off formula
$1 off wipes

Belly Bars 3.00 off coupon

Freebie!!

Check out this great find from Collin over at hip2save

Free 8x10 photo collage from Walgreens with code "FUNDAY"

pick up in store to avoid shipping charges

something from nothing

So this may not be a beautiful center piece, but it sure does perk up my window over the kitchen sink. And who doesn't need a little smile at their sink? To make this I just cut what I saw in my yard. Some flowers from monkey grass, a few little poof-ball-I-don't-know-whats, and some mint that has started to flower. Not a masterpiece, but I have to say I like it.

So get out there. Cut some stuff. Use what you have. and create something from nothing. It just might make you smile.

Quick Tip: reading labels

If you want to feed your family whole grains (which of course you do), here's a tip you should know. When reading bread labels look for "whole wheat flour" or even "sprouted wheat flour" as the first ingredient. Many will simply say "wheat flour" but this does not mean "whole wheat" as white flour comes from wheat and is hence "wheat flour." So don't fall for the claims of "wheat bread" or even "whole wheat bread" on the packaging, turn it over, look at the ingredients and decide for yourself.

Happy Waffle Day

Just wanted to wish you a happy Waffle Day!! Hope you eat some yummy ones today.

Gratutities

Today I am thankful for . . .

--M.G. whose birthday party we went to today.

--That my son loves books

--Time together as a family

Sign Language

At a birthday party today and another mama was asking about baby signs. My 18 month old has approximately 30 sign now (still learning more all the time) and almost as many spoken words. I started signing with him very young, with only the 3 most important things to him (nursing, eat, and water). Once he learned these we were able to add many more. bath, outside, book, milk, dog, cheese, cracker, up, shoes. . . . Of course we might be the only ones who understands some of his sings, but his being able to communicate with us is huge. I used the Baby Signs book by Linda P. Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn, Douglas Abrams as a reference tool (available from amazon or your favorite book store). I signed when he pointed to things he wanted and signed when I gave him those things and eventually he started signing back to me (I think I only showed him "cheese" three times before he did it....he just loves cheese). I am very glad I taught him to sign and do feel the effort is paying off in terms of his language development.

Diapers and Wipes

Diaper Down Low
I LOVE BumGenius diapers from Cotton Babies. My son has never had a diaper rash from them. They are cute, soft, and comfy. And they grow with your child so you only have to buy them once. The only thing I don't like about them is that after all these months of use the velcro tabs are starting to roll out and not say closed like they used to. Part of this is my fault for buying only about half the number of diapers we really needed, so mine have had lots of wear. Also Cotton Babies are great and will send replacement tabs out for free if you can just find someone to sew them on for you.

I HATE pampers. The smell is intolerable. We had some when we first came home from the hospital and tried to air them out on our deck in a laundry basket for days because of the smell...and they still stunk! Not to mention disposable diapers do not decompose well and will still be in a landfill 500 years from now.

I do like Seventh Generation's newborn diaper. My son was on the small size and they were the only ones we found that (didn't stink and) ran small enough. I will occasionally use Seventh Generation now if we are going someplace that our cloth diapers are just completely impractical. These diapers are chlorine free, but they still will sit in a landfill for generations to come.

I wanted to love gDiapers. We used them for a little while but as my son's urine production increased the liner would draw up and we were wetting the cover every time. Maybe a girl who wets in the middle wouldn't have this problem? Once I was washing every time I though I might as well be using cloth and that's when I found BumGenius.

Wipes

If you use cloth diapers like I do I hope you also have found cloth wipes to use. I think this makes the whole process so much easier to be able to just put the wipe in the diaper and drop them both in the pail. Not to mention the impact on the environment.

I bought my cloth wipes (rookie mistake maybe, or maybe just the thing a tired mom needed to do), however you can easily make your own. Check out the easy instructions here. I keep my wipes in a container that disposable wipes had come in. I mix a little baby wash (California Babies to be exact, but that is another post), a little grape seed oil (I also use this oil in my toddler's bath), about 6 drops lavender oil (for it's antiseptic properties, I get mine from Cheryl's Herbs), a little aloe, squeeze in one or two vitamin E capsules, add water, mix, and pour over the wipes in the container. It has worked very well for us. Hope is works for you too.

Product Review: First Years "Take and Toss" Products

OK, I admit, these are not the "greenest" products on the planet. I had refused to buy then even as a gift from others' registries. But as all my nuby sippy spouts had cracked and broken I had to find a replacement and we were about to go on a trip so I thought I'd give these a try. Of course I wanted something BPA free and this line is. And I have to say I like them. They hold up well to washing so I don't have to participate in the "toss" part until he is really done with them. And if one does get lost it is no big deal since they are fairly inexpensive. Also nice about the cups is that they are simple--cup & lid--no valves or extra parts (to annoy grandparents with). Now I have the spouted cups, the cups with straws, and a few bowls with lids. Great for home use and for travel. When you're done (out grown or completely worn out), they can be recycled. So bottom line is they are not the evil product I had previously viewed them as and I am happy to own them (and would even buy them off a registry).

Gratutities

Today I am grateful for. . .

--My son's playgroup

--A truly beautiful day outside

--My husband's coming home early for us to all go out to dinner together

Outings: Border's Story Time

Last week we tried out the story time at Borders (Brentwood). It was nice with a little snack (2 animal crackers), 2 stories, a "craft," and even a small gift to take home (pencil, paper doll, bumper sticker), but just not well suited for my 18 month old. The stories didn't seem to be the best for sharing with a group (one was a lift the flap book) and the craft was tic-tac-toe with these shape markers (which I don't think were washable) and was definitely over my little guy's head. Just seemed to be more for the pre-K crowd than toddlers. So if you have a 3 or 4 year old I suggest checking out your local Borders. If your little one is smaller this may not be your outing. It is nice. And nice that they offer it. Just not for us....not now anyway.

All Natural Savings.

I am trying to compose more of these. Here is what I have thus far....

Annies Homegrown

free loot--decals, stickers, and bumper stickers

free 2010 calendar with any product purchase

buy Annies at target with .50 off bunny crackers coupon

or at Whole Foods get Mac and cheese for .88/box when on sale this week and using the Whole Deals coupon booklet

Seventh Generation

sign up here for these coupons, each can be printed twice

$1 off feminine care product

$2 off any 2 household cleaners

$1 off 1 dishwashing product

$2 off any 1 diaper product

$1 off any 1 seventh generation product

Earth's Best

click here to print coupons for

$1 off 10 jars babyfood (trip or emergency food for those of us who make their own)

$1 off 2 Seseame Street products

$5 off formula

$1 off wipes

Huggies Naturals

3.00 off coupons available at coupons.com

Belly Bars

3.00 off coupon

Gratutities

Today I am grateful for. . .

--a pediatrican I can trust

--my mom

--my friend's engagement

Coupons Codes and Savings for all Mamas

A list of current coupons and codes...enjoy!

Diapers.com

http://www.diapers.com/

$10 off first order with code "Jami"

Free shipping on all orders over $49

(what I love about diapers.com: 1. great products 2. free and fast shipping 3. you can use your coupons, just send them in and they credit them to your account 4. price guarantee)

Go through ebates* and get 1% back

One Step Ahead

http://www.onestepahead.com/

This Weekend Only

Save $5 off ANY order

enter the code 5OFF in the "Promotion Code" field during checkout

Go through ebates* and get 3% cash back

Babies 'r Us

Aug 19-Aug 31

Save $5 on purchase of $25 or more in store with coupon

or online with code 930411

Picture People

Aug 12-Sept 12

Buy 1 Portrait Get 2 Free

(never a sitting fee)

The Container Store
Good only through Sunday Aug 23
15% off for using click&pickup service
enter code click15offer
Go through ebates for 4% cash back

Gymboree
Circle of Friends Sale
Now through Sunday Aug 23
30% off everything with coupon

*About ebates:
sign up to receive cash back on many online purchases. You receive a $5 bonus just for singing up and bonus for making referrals. The current referral program is as follows:

"Refer your friends to Ebates.com and we'll give you and your friends $5 when they sign up and become qualified members*. As part of this special offer, for every two friends you refer, we'll double your second referral bonus to $10 for a total of $15. There's no limit to how much you can earn so refer everyone you know to Ebates.com! "

Sound easy? It is!! My I just got my first big fat check from ebates and I'm loving it!!

Target

Just back from Target (brentwood) and here are the deals I found.

Grocery
Cascadian Farm Organic granola bars:
clearance priced at 2.75
1.00 off coupon from coupons.com
final price= 1.75

Casscadian Farm Organic Granola
priced at 3.19
1.00 off coupon from coupons.com
final price= 2.19

Annies Organic Bunny Fruit
(I usually don't buy this kind of stuff, but we have a trip coming up)
sale price= 3.00

Honest Kids Organic Juice Pouches
(again the upcoming trip)
sale price= 2.99

Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes and Tomato Sauce
Sale price 2.21
$1 off 2 coupon from coupons.com
final price= 1.71/can

Muir Glen Organic Tomato Paste
priced at 1.40
$1 off 2 coupon from coupons.com
final price= .90/can

Other Stuff
Shout travel sized wipe and go:
priced at .97
.55 off coupon from Sunday ads
final price= .42

Soft Soap hand soap refill
clearance priced at 2.78
(so bummed I didn't have a coupon to add to this)

Softlips pure honeydew organic lip conditioner
clearance priced at 1.48

Triaminic Flowing Vapors Portable Vapor Fan
clearance priced at 3.94

Hungry Hippos Travel Game
priced at 4.99
$4 off coupon from here
final price= .99
(thanks hip2save)

Speedo UV protective toddler shirt
clearance priced at 6.48

Total Savings: 30.73!!!

Whole Foods Coupon Match up for Aug 19-25

Collin over at hip2save found more weekly deals. Here is an updated list. Good Aug 19-25

Annies Natural Mac and Cheese Sale price 4/$5
Use .75/2 coupon from Whole Deal (free booklet located at front of store or by registers)
Final Cost 0.88/box

EnviroKids Cereal: sale price 2/$7
Use 1.50 off 2 from Whole Deal (free booklet located at front of store or by registers)
Final Cost 5.50 for 2 boxes

Santa Cruz Juice: sale price 2/$8
Use with .75 off coupon from here
Final Cost 3.25 each

Enjoy Life Cookies 6oz pack: sale price 2/$6
Use with 1.25 off 2 from here
Final Cost 4.75 for 2 packs

Odwalla Bars $1
Use the .20 off coupon from the Whole Deal coupon booklet
Final cost= .80

Back to Nature Juice boxes (10 pack)
$3.99Use the $1 off coupon from here
Plus, use the $1 off coupon from the Whole Deal coupon booklet
Final cost= $1.99

Nature's Path Toaster Pastries 2/$6
Use the $1.50/2 coupon from the Whole Deal coupon booklet
Plus, use the $2/2 coupon from here(You'll have to buy an Organic valley product to go along with this coupon)
Final cost= $1.25 each

EnviroKidz Organic Cereals 2/$7
Use the $1.50/2 coupon from the Whole Deal coupon booklet
Final cost= $2.75 per box

Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter 16 oz. $3.99
Use the $1 coupon from the Whole Deal coupon booklet
Final cost= $2.99!

Waffle Day August 24

Dust off the Waffle Irons in celebration of Waffle Day on Monday. What a fun day!!

My recommendations for waffle mix:
Local
Kimker Hill Farm Waffle Mix (available at Tower Grove Farmer's Market on
Saturday and Local Harvest Grocery)
National
Trader Joes Multigrain Baking and Pancake mix

Our favorite mix-ins to add:
chopped pecans (not for my toddler though, I'm keeping him away from nuts until age 3)
coconut
mashed bananas
fresh ground flax seeds

Top with local butter and real maple syrup....yum!!

Grocery Thursday

Sappington Farmer’s Market
8400 Watson Road
$10 of $50 or more in groceries! Thursdays only. Detail here
A few things you might want to pick up:
Organic Grapes 2lb for $3
Good Earth MO All Natural Eggs dozen 10 for $10
Full add can be found here

Whole Foods
Whole Rotisserie Chicken 5.99. Thursdays only.

Gratutities

Today I am thankful for....

--My sister-in-law picking up my CSA food while I search for my son's shoe in a shopping complex

--Finding my son's shoe in a parking lot

--Mom's night out (I'm on my way ladies)

Kashi Coupons

If you love Kashi you are in luck

1.50 off Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal use your back button to print 2, coupon doesn't expire until 10/31

1.50 off Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal another one, again you can print 2 of these

1.50 off any 2 boxes Kashi Cereal

1.00 off any 2 boxes Kashi TLC granola bars

1.50 off any Kashi TLC snack when you buy a box of Kashi GoLean Crunch

Join Kashi community here and recieve a coupon for 1.50 off any cereal or TLC snack (I think you'll be able to print 2 using your back button)

My toddler's favorite it the TLC 7 Grain cracker. He loves them.


(thanks Collin at Hip2Save)

Outing: Missouri Botanical Garden's Children's Garden

Saturday we took our first trip to the Children’s Garden. I have to say it was great fun. A good experience for our 18 month old, though I’m not sure if children much younger would get too much out of it. I do think it will be a good outing for years to come which is exciting; it just seems like great place for children of all ages. Though I did not think too much of their “spray” area, which is fine considering all the nice parks that have them. I was surprised at both how large the area was and how much there was to do there. Slather on the sunscreen and go out to give this one a try, the children's garden closes for the season October 31. We had a great time and hope you will too.

Members get into the Children’s Garden free all day Tuesday and until noon on Saturday. Our garden membership has definitely paid off, the best thing is with not paying admission each time I feel I can go for shorter amounts of time than if I paid for each visit (which is key when you have a little one). You can find more information about visiting the gardens here http://www.mobot.org/visit/hours.asp and about the children’s garden here http://www.mobot.org/finn/

Bottom line: Highly recommended my both my son and me

Gratutities

Today I am thankful for.....

--A loving husband

--A healthy, happy son

--The two kind (and forgiving) police officers who quickly responded when my son (unknowingly to me) accidentally dialled 911

(you guessed it, the dark pink rose is a symbol of thanks)

30% off coupon for Gymboree

Got this from http://www.hip2save.blogspot.com/ My favorite blog

Click here and print for 30% off at Gymboree Aug 20-23

http://content.mkt2170.com/mson/2009/08/18/Hm4rFu9wTwDo/index.html

Use the coupon with clearance items to score some cheap clothes for next year.

Adventures in a CSA: Tomatillos

Last week I received a bag of tomatillos from my CSA. I wasn’t sure what to do with these never have bought or even held one before. I also received 2 jalapenos and had a red onion left from a previous week. I wanted to make something I didn’t have to go out and buy extra ingredients for, I like it when I can cook with what I have. So (and to your experienced cooks this is no surprise)……my first time to make…..SALSA! Yum! I first roasted the tomatillos in the broiler on a piece of Pampered Chef stoneware (p.s. I sell Pampered Chef…..love it!) for 5 minutes on each side. Let them cool. Then threw them in the blender with the jalapenos which I had seeded and diced and garlic. Added some diced red onion, a little water, a little sugar, a little salt…..Voila! I wanted the flavors to have time to fuse so I made it a night before we used it for dinner. So what did we eat this on? For my husband (the carnivore) I cooked some ground bison (also from my CSA) with finely chopped onion and fresh ground cumin in my iron skillet. For myself I did the same with beans and added a little garlic. We put our filling in a tortilla (aslo from our CSA), topped with cheese and the salsa, rolled, and YUM! My toddler ate the beans and meet with cheese and even a little of the salsa, it wasn’t too hot.

Salsa recipe was adapted from the Joy of Cooking, a must have for any cook.

Info about my CSA can be found at http://www.fairshares.org/

Why I started a Blog

Well, two things happened to me last week that made me think, wow I have stuff to share with other mamas. The first is the fact that I got $71 worth of groceries for just $17! I have to say I was amazed at myself. Then I got an email from a friend and new mama saying “Awesome, Awesome, Awesome advice.” After these two incidents I thought…well….why not. So here is my blog. Hope you enjoy. Here is a little about me and a taste of what my blog will be about.

I’ve lived in St. Louis for 3 years now. Not being from this area I had to figure a lot of things out on my own, and I still have lots to learn. If you’re new to St. Louis this, blog is for you.

I’m the stay-at-home mama of an 18-month old little boy. He is full of energy and very sweet. I am so blessed to have him. If you have a toddler, this blog is for you.

I try to live a “green” lifestyle. I compost. I recycle. I buy organic and natural products when I can. If you’re interested in raising you child “green” or even just upping your own greenest a little bit, this blog is for you.

I cook. I’m no expert but I cook. I do not buy my family processed foods. I want them to eat a balanced diet of nutritious whole foods, local and/or organic when possible. I belong to a CSA (community shared agriculture) and love the unexpected produce that I receive and have to figure out what to do with. I am a vegetarian myself, but my husband and son are not. I made all my own baby food when we needed that too. As one of my friends said about the baby food market “it’s just a big scam.” If you like to feed your family real food, this blog is for you.

p.s. about the pink carnation. .. Taken from http://www.geocities.com/gratim98/langlist.htm "Pink carnations have the most symbolic and historical significance. According to Christian legend, carnations first appeared on Earth as Jesus carried the Cross. It was then that the Mary shed tears at Jesus' plight Legend tells us that and carnations grew from where her tears fell. It was for this reason that the pink carnation became the symbol of a mother's undying love. In 1907 it was chosen by Ann Jarvis as the emblem of Mother's Day, now observed in the United States and Canada on the second Sunday in May."