Keeping My Family Happy

 Happiness is what every mother wants for her family and children. My mom, a mother of 5, always said her only wish in life was for us kids to be happy. I did not really get what she meant until I had my own family. Now I say it all the time too, "I just want you to be happy!" Happiness all depends on what you want out of life. It took my entire 20s to realize what truly makes me happy, to just to have a happy family!

In our house we do many things to keep happiness flowing. For one I have a motto I say all the time "P for Positive" Its a small metal check and a useful reminder to anytime there is stress. If you can remind yourself that happiness is an action that you choose, you will find it in every situation!

Secondly in our house we know we are all individuals. We have long stopped trying to change each other and have learned to be happy with each others quirks. Working as a team in our own way to make the family happy is our goal. We give time for separate activities without stressing on one another. We even do this for our son who is only 16 months old. He loves Cats. I am allergic to them but that boy adores them! I got him a DVD and a stuffed animal and let him have his cat time. My husband has cooking. He loves to cook. He has worked as a chef and makes awesome food. He enjoys just him in the kitchen no distractions, just the ingredients and stove. Sometimes I want to cook or feel like I am contributing to the meals but its his thing he enjoys it and I have learned to just be happy I don't have to do it! For me its to blog! I need the time to connect with other moms and share my experiences or great deals. My son and husband do not particularly care about the newest fashion, baby products, cool blogger conferences or why I feel like sometimes I have no clue what I am doing in life. But the moms I connect with on the net do! Having my mom friends to chat with keeps me happy and as they say a happy mama makes for a happy family!

My son and his CAT!

My husband the Chef!

Lastly to keep us happy we have family time of course. We make sure to all hang out in the morning together. If its for breakfast at the table, a walk at the park on weekends or just playing with our son and all his toys on the floor we do it together. We do that again at the end of the day. Dinner at the table, a movie or show we all enjoy or snuggling up to read a book together. The connection at the start and finish of the day keeps us happy and able to be a family but also individuals.

One of our favorite places to go on a walk.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Farm Rich blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

The Chalkboard Tee Review and Giveaway

The Chalkboard Tee is a 100% cotton t-shirt that you can write on with chalk! Simply write on it, wipe it clean with a damp cloth and store the chalk in the "chalk-it" (or pocket as we know it). They have 5 designs to chose from an apple, a heart, a butterfly, the background of a city and a tie. We went with the tie, I thought it would be a good choice for us. Any reason to dress up right? haha

Chalkboard Tee is a cute and fun way for a child to express themselves in a different way. My son made a rainbow and some guys fighting (or so that is what he said the scribbles were). I wrote the I am 4 you see in the pictures, sent it over in an email to family and they loved it! The Tee's come is sizes 2 all the way to 12.

GIVEAWAY: 
For our Moms Leaving the Workforce event Class Attire The Chalkboard Tee has generously offered one of our lucky readers the chance to win a Chalkboard Tee of their choice.

 
To Enter This Giveaway:

Mandatory entry is to Follow Class Attire Chalkboard Tee on Twitter

*Leave a comment telling me your a twitter follower 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.
 

-Visit Chalkboard Tee and tell me what shirt you would pick if you won +2 

-Follow The Coupon Queen Bee on GFC (right top corner) +3
-Follow The Coupon Queen Bee on Twitter +2
-Like my fan page on Facebook +2
-Like The Chalkboard Tee on Facebook +2  

-Enter any of the giveaways during the Moms Leaving the Workforce event +2 for each you have entered.

 -Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link to the post +5

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts March 29 , 2011 and ends on April 8, 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 Chalkboard Tee mentioned in this post for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

SnackTAXI Reusable Snack and Sandwich Bags Review and Giveaway

In our house I have turned into a baggie addict. I put everything in plastics bags. Food, crayons, snacks, baby wipes, anything you can think of I put it in a plastic bag. I feel horrible about it! I hate that I am using so much plastic and it goes in the trash. The other day when my son was in his stroller he reached up and grabbed a baggie with happy baby puffs in it, he loves those and ravaged the bag with his teeth. It happened in seconds and he bit the baggie. I was so upset that he could have been hurt by having plastic in his mouth! I knew we needed a solution to all the plastic baggies in our lives.

I have seen on the net reusable baggies but never knew how important they really were. I want to be more earth friendly and this is a small but great way to do it. Plus I can save so much money on not constantly buying plastic baggies.

The SnackTAXI products are sewn in the founders home based workshop by local sewers and the vow to never outsource. The bags are made of 100% cotton and lined with nylon. The nylon has been tested and confirmed to be lead, phthalate and BPA free! They can be machine washed or hand washed and air dried. They recommended emptying them after using them so the fabric doesn't absorb the oils that some foods contain. We will make sure to empty out our crumbs to prolong the life of these cute bags.

We used the snack bag, smaller one, to carry my sons favorite puffs in his baby bag . The sandwich bag, the larger one for my snack , a peanut butter sandwich! They are really cute and a mom at the mall play yard asked me where I got them from. I really love the owl one! The blue circle ones were perfect since our new diaper back has a similar pattern.

Set you can WIN!

GIVEAWAY:

For our Moms Leaving the Workforce event SnackTAXI has generously sent me an additional set to giveaway to one of our lucky readers.

To Enter This Giveaway:

Mandatory entry is to Like SnackTAXI on Facebook

*Leave a comment telling me your a facebook fan 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 The Coupon Queen Bee on GFC (right top corner) +3
-Follow The Coupon Queen Bee on Twitter +2
-Like my fan page on Facebook +2
-Visit SnackTAXI and tell me your favorite pattern +2
-Enter any of the giveaways during the Moms Leaving the Workforce event +2 for each you have entered.

 -Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link to the post +5

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts March 29 , 2011 and ends on April 8, 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 reusable bags mentioned in this post for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Power Capes Personalized Superhero Cape Review and Giveaway

Living in a house full of boys we are always playing superhero's of some kind and with the boys being home more now that I am out of the corporate world we are always finding ways to use our imaginations. I am trying to be home more and to let the boys just be boys. It seems that most things lead back to some superhero saving the day and JJ thinking he needs to fly around to do so! Power Capes are an awesome addition to our many imagination props! Power Capes makes custom superhero capes and accessories for children. They even have them in adult sizes, you know you want one ;) 

They offer already made capes with a choice of emblem or a solid color, a custom superhero cape or an entire superhero costume. If you order a custom cape there are 3 sizes to chose from, they come in a child 2 all the way up to adult sizes. To start they have tons of options for the main color of the cape, lots of emblems of the center, then you chose the letter you want in the middle of the emblem. As you make your choices and you are literally building the cape to your custom needs. They also give you a preview of what your cape will look like as you build it. Very easy and very fun to create with your child or as a gift to give. We went with the "Superman" style of red cape and blue letter (that's Superman style right) cause he is a character that comes out pretty often around here. My son beamed and squealed when we opened our special delivery and saw it was a superhero cape! He had to put it on right away and we have been in Superhero bliss ever since :) 
 

Look how serious he takes this Superhero business!

One thing I liked about the company is that they every month they give away their products, so you have a chance to win every time you enter their contest. Another thing I really like is they offer a fund raising opportunity. Here is how it works:

1)Donate a Cape Program

With our "Donate a Cape" program people can purchase products on our website and the proceeds will go to help your organization or cause.

2) Cape Kits & Team Spirit Capes Program

Perfect for schools, our Cape Kits and Team Spirit Cape fundraisers are a fun original alternative with GREAT profit margins!

3) Enjoy the benefits of our fund raising programs:

• We sell all the products and handle all the shipping and logistics!
• Automated purchases via our website!
• Fast turnaround times!
• You get a dedicated page on our website!
• We market your organization/cause to all of our customers!
• We match donations: for every 10 capes donated we donate an additional one!
• We provide help with PR and internet advertising!

Pretty cool huh? It is also pretty cool that the capes are made in the USA and made by Mom's like you and me. Now excuse me, I am off to order another cape for Baby L. He may be tiny but if his brother has one he needs one too :) I also may or may not be checking out the adult sizes after all the family that saves the world together stays together!

GIVEAWAY:

For our Moms Leaving the Workforce event Power Capes has generously offered one of our lucky readers the chance to win a their very own kids size "sidekick" custom cape!

To Enter This Giveaway:

Mandatory entry is to Like Power Capes on Facebook or Follow them on Twitter

*Leave a comment telling me your a facebook fan or twitter follower 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 The Coupon Queen Bee on GFC (right top corner) +3
-Follow The Coupon Queen Bee on Twitter +2
-Like the fan page for TQCB on Facebook +2
-Follow Power Capes on Twitter or Like Power Capes on Facebook (which ever one you didn't do for mandatory entry) +2
-Visit Power Capes and tell me what color and emblem you would pick for your super hero +2
-Enter any of the giveaways during the Moms Leaving the Workforce event +2 for each you have entered.

 -Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link to the post +5

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts March 28 , 2011 and ends on April 8, 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 Power Cape pictured in this post for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

 

Coupon Blogs I Visit

 

The idea for todays posts and giveaways are a way a mom can save some money. Before I was pregnant with my son I had no clue about coupons and the vast world that exists around them. That all changed once I found out I was having a baby. My firsts thoughts were of course joy followed by oh my this is going be expensive lol. That is the point where my saving money adventure began. 

I found a few blogs that were ok kinda full of down load this and that and I am not really a downloader too much. I did however find 3 blogs I really used and helped me save me a lot of money. The only draw back I find from coupon and deals is the gas it costs to go round them all up. But if its a place I have planned to go to I definitely will look before I head out shopping. I find online shopping deals to work best for me since it doesn't involve driving. 

I wanted to share these sites with you so you can save a little money if the deal is near you. I do not however recommend trying to take part in them all. I would often get coupon anxiety at the thought of I wanted to take part of all the deals but there wasn't enough time, money or gas. So just have some fun with a few deals and relax and enjoy. I would love for you to share a site you know about too so we can all be happy and saving money together.

This site is the first one I ever found ( she does Safeway Stores which I LOVE):
My Frugal Adventures

This one is a really nice group of couponers that blog:
The Coupon Posse'

This site is a good one too, I cant do all the deals since some of the stores are not in my area ( I love her blog colors too!):
Spectacular Savings

Please share great coupon sites you know of in the comments. If you like our blog please feel free to follow us on Google Friends Connect and leave us a comment and a link we would love to check out your blog back.