Mommy and Me Day!

Mommy and Me Day at Raley Field

I have always wanted to be a Mom. I knew one day I would be ready and we could have great adventures. This year when I saw on the morning news about a Mommy and Me day at the baseball park Raley Field where the River Cats play I knew we had to go. I had never been to Raley Field so I knew it would be fun to see. I love baseball and my little guy has an awesome throwing arm!

It was very exciting to be there! So many kids and their Mommies on the baseball field. There were jump houses, giant balls to roll, baseball playing and parachute fun. We did a little of everything, well at least attempted it! We got in line for the jump house since most of the kids seemed to be the same heights as my son but when I started to ask ages most kids were 2 or 3 I let him try to see if he wanted to go in but he seemed apprehensive so I let him climb down and we went over to the giant ball to play.

We were provided snacks by Raley's and Sunnyside so we had a little picnic on the baseball field. It was so nice that we were able to sit and play on a real baseball diamond! The grass was heavenly! I want grass like that in my yard. My son smiled the whole time running around, throwing his tennis ball ( I forgot to bring his baseball and glove!) I was thankful I had some sort of ball for him to throw in the diaper bag.

My son next to Dinger the mascot

He got really excited when the River Cats mascot Dinger made an appearance.  All the kids were surrounding him getting hugs, high fives and autographs. My son stood there surronded by other kids staring and in awe of this big giant Cat! He LOVES cats and I think this was to him "the cats meow!" He waited his turn patiently to get close enough to Dinger to give him a hug. He grabbed his leg and hugged it! It was the sweetest thing ever! He would have stared at and waved to the mascot all day if I let him. I told him it was other kids turn and pointed him in the direction of the baseball diamond. Hes a bit to small to get the concept of running the bases but for me it was exciting! I have played softball off and on from 5 years old until about 12. I loved it and my sister Sam and I were on the same team a few times. I have great memories with baseball and I look forward to making more fun baseball memories with my son!

Plus Mommy and Me day was free to get in, free parking and we got free goodies to eat and a Raleys Moms Panel tshirt. I am a panel member so I thought that was really cool! We are hoping to be able to watch a game this season since the ball park seems very kid friendly and has a play area for kids during the game.

Raley Field

Do you have any great Mommy and Me days in your area?

Certain Dri Deodorant Review and Giveaway 100 Days of Summer Sweeps

I have to admit sometimes my "natural" deodorants don't work as well as I need them to in the 100 degree plus summers of California. I was going to attend a job fair this week and it was 90 plus and I was dreading the heat. I also worried my deodorant would not work and leave those embarrassing  armpit spots! I know TMI lol. Thankfully I remembered I had Certain Dri in my bathroom and I put it on instead of my natural deodorant. No one wants to make a bad first impression for a job! I was impressed that it worked awesome! I must say its not one I normally think of as brands but I will now keep my eye out for it for coupons and sales!

If you have not tried Certain Dri you should enter the giveaway here f course and also the "100-Days of Summer" Giveaway on Facebook hosted by Certain Dri. It is a Celebrate the season of fun in the sun every day this summer!  For the 100 days from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Certain Dri is giving away one Certain Dri Anti-Perspirant every day. One random entrant will be chosen to receive a Certain Dri Anti-Perspirant (roll-on or solid) each day from May 27, 2011 to September 3, 2011. Every Friday at noon E.T., all seven winners from that week will be announced on the Certain Dri Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/certaindri

GIVEAWAY: 

Win a Deodorant from Certain Dri

 

To Enter this Giveaway:

 

What is your best tip to stay cool in the Summer?

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

 

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

-Follow Certain Dri on Twitter +2  
-Like Certain Dri on Facebook +2

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC (top right hand corner) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree + 3

-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +2-

 

-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (right hand side) 

-Subscribe to our Emails +2 (right hand side)

-Enter other current giveaways on our blog +1 for each entered

 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 17, 2011 and ends on June 30, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the product mentioned for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

 

Celebrating June National Dairy Month with a Picnic #SafewayDairy

Our local Safeway Store!

In my house we LOVE to shop at Safeway! I love the deals combined with BOGO and coupons. Its a frugal shoppers haven. I can remember shopping at Safeway for at least the past 16 years! My mom shopped their first when I was a teenager and its still my fav place to go. I always get my son a free cookie too, another tradition my mom started. And when you get a free cookie you always need to be sure to get some milk! 

I always have dairy products in our fridge. I never let a day go by without my son and I having a glass or two of milk. Yogurt is often our dessert and cheese always a snack. To celebrate National Dairy Month we had what I call a light and easy dairy picnic. We are not big meat eaters in our house but we do love to eat dairy products. So I thought we could enjoy our favorites at the park then have fun on the swings and slides. 

Planning for our #SafewayDairy picnic

First I planned out our meal with the sales ad and the coupons I had. I always first look at the ad from the mail or go online. Online I can also ad my Safeway coupons and personalized deals to save even more money. After we made our plan we gathered our coupons, sippy cup and my sons best friend his stuffed giraffe. Thankfully I managed to trade the cookie for the giraffe with my son. I am always afraid he will leave Gaffe as he is called somewhere and forget him!

Enjoying his free cookie while we shopped!

When we got to Safeway the first thing I did was get my son a cookie. A cookie makes sure he will sit in the cart for 15-20 minutes while I shop before he wants out. He always waves at the cookie lady and occasionally will say "To Too", it means thank you in Bubba talk! After the cookie round up I went to the dairy section to pick up the coupon booklet to see if I could find something I did not have. Sure enough there was a Daisy Sour Cream coupon that made me switch brands from my original plan. 

I love the selection of brands available at our Safeway

National Dairy Month has allowed for some awesome sales on Safeway Dairy products. The cheese we purchased Sargento was on sale and I had a coupon! I bought the 4 cheese mix for the quesadilla I had planned. We purchased Daisy Sour Cream and Oikos Greek Yogurt for my spinach dip. I love fruit and so does my son so we bought a premade cheese plate and some fruit for a cheese fruit plate. For dessert I got yogurt. I love to eat it and now my son loves it and that makes me happy! I know many kids do not like dairy products or are even allergic. I am thankful my little man can enjoy them for flavor and the nutrition. He does not like meat very much its hard to get him to even try. I want him to get protein so I love that he can get it in the dairy products he eats.

He LOVES Simply Lemonade! He kissed it when I put it in the cart!

We also purchased some other items to go along with our picnic supplies. Simply Lemonade is a favorite in our house and my son LOVES it! I bought some to drink on our picnic. He was so happy he kissed the bottle when I put it in the cart! On the day of our picnic he wanted the Simply Lemonade right then and there and grabbed it from the fridge, I saw what he was doing and grabbed it too, it hit the floor cracked open and I was only able to save half of it in another container. They need to make shatterproof bottles! We picked up some Safeway salsa, Safeway bakery bread, canned and fresh fruit, garlic, mission tortillas that I had an awesome coupon for and another brand of lemonade that was on sale and I had to buy.

Our basket full of Dairy Products!

For dessert I purchased my favorite and my sons favorite yogurt brands. I love the Activia Blueberry Cheesecake flavor. I had a coupon and it was on sale, I was jazzed about that! My son loves and I mean LOVES Yo Baby yogurt. He sticks his face and hands in it to get the last drop. The banana flavor is his favorite and of course we had a coupon for that too! With our cart full of yummy dairy food for our picnic we checked out and headed home. 

June National Dairy Month Picnic supplies

For our light and easy picnic I made Spinach Dip with bread slices, Fruit and Cheese plate, 4 Cheese Quesadilla with Salsa, Yogurt for dessert and Lemonade to drink. We don't own a microwave and have not for over 10 years, only use stainless steel pans and do not like to eat from charcoal but still managed to have a delicious fresh picnic at the park. 

Ingredients for my Spinach Dip

YUM!

For the Spinach Dip I mixed sour cream, greek yogurt, and crushed garlic with Safeway brand frozen spinach. First I thawed and drained the spinach, drained thoroughly is important. Then I mixed the greek yogurt and sour cream. I put twice as much greek yogurt than sour cream and a ton of garlic. The other stuff was simple but nutritious and delicious. With a 18 month old I try to keep things simple for him to eat and me to prepare. I made him his own small part of spinach dip without the garlic so he would like it.

We had a great time at our #SafewayDairy picnic. We ate all of our favorite dairy foods and it was simple and easy to do. A picnic can be a huge event or a small simple one as long as you have your family there its a great time! I loved seeing my son sitting at the park bench like the big boy he thinks he is. He climbed down to have his second yogurt so mommy wouldn't take a bite of it. He ended up a mess but he was happy and that makes me happy! I really enjoyed eating our Safeway Dairy products while we watched dogs run in the grass, kids playing on the playground and my son eating every bite of food I gave him. He can be a picky eater but loves Dairy food! 

After we finished our yogurt I cleaned up our picnic table and we went on the slides and swings. I had a wonderful day and know we will be back at Safeway for our cookies and dairy favorites next week!

Enjoying his Yo-Baby Yogurt

There is a fun instant win game and sweepstakes in celebration of #SafewayDairy and National Dairy month you can play and enter here. The site is called Pack Your Picnic with Dairy and has recipes and info on it as well. I saw an advertisement for it in my local Safeway. We have played once a day all month and fingers crossed we win!

Pack Your Picnic with Dairy Sweeps and Instant Win Game Ad

I loved celebrating June National Dairy Month with a picnic!

What are your favorite Dairy Foods? 

Do you have a favorite food you like to take on a picnic? 

Am I the only one who always thinks of Yogi Bear while on a picnic?!? lol Called my son Boo Boo a few times just for fun!

**This project has been compensated as part of the June Dairy program for Safeway. I already love shopping at Safeway and my son and I love dairy so this was a great project to be apart of! My opinions are my own and my compensation did not effect my review.

Dandelion Earth-Friendly Goods Review and Giveaway Birthday Bash

Baby L is getting to the stage where he is wanting to feed himself. As a Mom you are happy about this self feeding milestone but also know that it is going to be a messy one. When they are learning to feed themselves you want to make sure that you have the proper things like, plastic plates, bowls, spoons and forks. We had the opportunity to review a product called dandelion Earth-Friendly Goods, they carry these things and more. Dandelion carries natural feeding products that are BPA free, Phthalate Free, PVC Free and made from CORN!! My first thought was no way that is too weird and they are yellow. Haha but it's true.

Here is some info from their website about the way they are made:

"What’s the secret for getting kids to eat well? Make it FUN! Entice your little ones to eat right, with their own special tools. Our natural corn plates, bowls & utensils help ease the transition to solid foods and self feeding. Because they’re lightweight and ReUsable, they’re also perfect for the lunchbox crowd. All you need…patience and a sense of humor! Hand Wash.

Why Corn ReUsables?

Reducing our dependency on both petroleum-based plastics and disposable ware in general, is an essential step toward a healthier future for our families and our environment. Our reusable Corn products offer a visionary alternative, and a better choice.

Corn, really?

Really! We use a unique corn (PLA) formula. Unlike conventional plastic, which is largely made from petroleum, our bioplastic is primarily made from corn! Polylactic acid (PLA) requires significantly less fossil resources, and generates far fewer green house gases than conventional plastic. And corn is a renewable and sustainable resource."

Pretty interesting huh? The tableware is light weight and comes in a bright yellow that makes me thing about the corn it is made of! I feel like every time we reuse the plates, bowls and silverware we are really helping the Earth a little bit. Baby L is just learning how to use plates and bowls, but so far so good. These products are durable, I should know they have been throw around a lot lately, and they are Earth-Friendly. It's a win-win. I guess if I could say one thing that is a bummer is the feeding products are not Dishwasher safe, you have to wash them by hand. In today's busy world it is nice to just throw things in the dishwasher and call it good. Well it might make me feel better to think about the energy and water I am saving by doing so :)

Not only does dandelions have this great line of feeding essentials they also carry organic rattles, teethers, developmental and plush toys and organic bags. Check out these rattles, don't you just need one? I mean your baby needs one right?

GIVEAWAY: 

Win a bowl and table wear for your little one!

To Enter This Giveaway: 

 What other product from Dandelion would you like to have?

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

 

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

-Follow Dandelion Earth Friendly Goods on Twitter +2  
-Like Dandelion Earth Friendly Goods on Facebook +2

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC (top right hand corner) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree + 3

-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +2-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (right hand side) 

-Subscribe to our Emails +2 (right hand side)

-Enter other current giveaways on our blog +1 for each entered

 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 16, 2011 and ends on June 28, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the product mentioned for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Amy Adele Personalized T-shirt Review Birthday Bash

For Baby L's Birthday Bash I wanted him to wear something personal that let everyone know it was his big day and he was a big deal. A really sweet little company called Amy Adele makes stationary, invitations and gifts. They make personalized shirts and onsies for little ones and man are they cute. They have everything from animals, flowers, trains to sailboats and more. They also have a Baby's Cupcake T-shirt that we ordered for Baby L to sport on his big day! The onsie has a sweet little cupcake in the middle with one single candle on it. I was able to pick what I wanted it to say underneath the cupcake. I went with "Happy 1st B-day Baby L", but with his real name on it of course.




It is so cute and it looks so sweet on him. Yes the shirt is technically for one day but he has been wearing it a few more times just so that he can get a little more attention. But soon I will put it away with his other "baby" clothes and be able to remember his special day and his special shirt every time I pull it out. What a great way to celebrate such a special day!


If you are in the planning process of your little ones special day they also carry invitations. Some of them are hard to resist:

The sizes do run kind of small and they do tell you to expect some shrinkage, just an FYI friends! You can follow Amy Adele on twitter and be a fan on facebook. They often post coupon codes and new product news.



*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free the products mentioned in this post for my review.

Fresh Baby Stainless Steel Containers Review and Giveaway Birthday Bash

Fresh Baby is a company that helps promote healthy eating habits for kids. This includes making home made food for your kids. I have made a few things for my son when he was eating baby food and now since he eats regular food it is still important that its healthy and home made. We do not own a microwave and do not use Teflon pans. We use stainless steel cookware and was excited to see Fresh Baby makes containers that are made of stainless steel. Not only for health reasons do I like stainless steel but for durability. My son stands on or tries to crush everything he sees. He has destroyed plastic containers for snacks and food.

We received the Baby Bowl and Divided Dish from the "HomeMade with Love" line. They are really durable and easy to clean. My son loves to eat cereal with milk and soups and the baby bowl was perfect for him. He did throw it a few times and thankfully since it is made of stainless steel it did not break. We often like to picnic or go to the river and the divided dish was perfect for it. It kept his meat separate from the veggies and potatoes perfectly. He seemed to like putting the food back in the correct spots when he was done but had leftovers. He loves to clean up I find that funny and great!

GIVEAWAY: 

Win the Stainless Steel "HomeMade with Love" Baby Bowl and Divided Dish from Fresh Baby.

To Enter This Giveaway: 

What is your favorite home made food to make for your kids or grand kids?

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

 

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

 

-Follow on Fresh Baby Twitter +2   
-Like Fresh Baby on Facebook +2

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC (top right hand corner) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree + 3

-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +2 

-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (right hand side) 

-Subscribe to our Emails +2 (right hand side)

-Enter other current giveaways on our blog +1 for each entered

 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 16, 2011 and ends on June 28, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the product mentioned for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Hasbro Play-Doh Review Birthday Bash

Hasbro Play-Doh has sent us a ton of great products that have been keeping us quite busy! In our package came the Smashed Potatoes game, Flip 'N Serve Breakfast , The Story of The Three Little Pigs and Chuck and Friends Big Air Dare the movie. While Baby L has been getting all of these great things in the mail for his 1st birthday I was a little worried about JJ. Every time there is a delivery he wants to know who it is for. A few times it has been for him or I was able to trick him into thinking it could be for both of them. This time it was mainly for him and boy was he ECSTATIC!! Play-Doh is one of those things that we played with as kids and now my kids are playing with it. I love classic things like this, the memories come flooding back and I know that my sons are now making memories with the same great thing.

Play-Doh lets you explore, create and play without boundaries. Yes they have great kits and we love to do things like make breakfast and serve it up but also you can take the doh and make a snake or a blob and that is ok too! Play-Doh is great for the boys to have an activity to do together where I don't have to worry about JJ being bored or Baby L eating it because Play-Doh is non-toxic. Lately the big push at our house has been letters, numbers and colors. Play-Doh has so many great colors that we can talk about what color we are using and what other things in the world might be that color too.

Play-Doh is a great gift to give any child for a birthday present or even a "new baby" gift for an older sibling. Everyone loves Play-Doh no matter how old you are. You can follow Hasbro on Twitter and a Facebook fan for Play-Doh.

Hasbro has fun coloring pages and games on their website. We liked the Activity pages for Chuck & Friends  and the Play-Doh Creations pages. You can download activities and play games on the site.

*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free the products mentioned in this post for my review.

Pampers Kandoo Flushable Toilet Wipes Review and Giveaway

With 2 boys in the house it seem like someone is always going to the bathroom or needing to have their hands cleaned. A product we found that can help us with all of our body cleaning needs is Pampers Kandoo Flushable Toilet Wipes and their foaming hand sanitizer. My 4 year old always wants help when he is finished going #2 (I know TMI but it is what it is, we all poop) because he doesn't feel like he can get himself clean enough. My husband and I encourage him that he is doing a great job, but the boy knows when it is just not good enough. He wants to be clean and feel fresh. Do you blame him?

We needed a solution to this and fast, he will be 5 in less than 6 months! As soon as we introduced the Kandoo wipes to him he was sold. They were not "baby wipes" like his baby brother uses, he refused those and they are not flushable anyhow. They are "big boy" toilet wipes that will thoroughly clean him and moisturize at the same time. Kandoo Flushable Wipes also come in other scents like Magic Melon, Funny Berry and Sensitive (unscented and hypoallergenic). The hand sanitizer is a handy little bottle that we can pop in the diaper bag or my purse for those emergency situations where soap and water are just not available.

Here's what they sent us. Coupons too :)

These products are a practical and affordable solution for anyone in the potty training and beyond stage. Check them out here.

GIVEAWAY: 

Win a few of the great Pampers Kandoo products for your kids.

To Enter This Giveaway: 

 Have you ever tried Kandoo products? 
If you have which ones? If not let me know what ones you would like to try!

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

 

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

 

-Follow on Pampers Kandoo Twitter +2   
-Like  Pampers Kandoo on Facebook +2

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC (top right hand corner) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree + 3

-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +2 

-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (right hand side) 

-Subscribe to our Emails +2 (right hand side)

-Enter other current giveaways on our blog +1 for each entered

 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts June 14, 2011 and ends on June 28, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the product mentioned for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.