Sisterly Savings

These days birthday party planning can be extremely stressful. What used to be a relatively easy affair of cupcakes, a few games and opening presents has turned into the event of the century. Instead of looking forward to the day, moms find themselves wondering how in the world they are going to survive the day, let alone enjoy it.

Teenagers to the rescue! Hiring the older siblings and/or cousins of the birthday child or teens from your local church or neighborhood is a great way to take the stress off you if you’re planning a large involved party. And although it seems like an added expense, it’s relatively inexpensive and can be a life saver for the party and for you!

Why hire teens as birthday party assistants? Let’s look at five good reasons why you consider this for your next bash:

1. Teenagers are motivated. Teens need money. That’s just a fact. Working a short term gig with young kids is easier than babysitting and a great way to make some extra needed cash. Most parties last only about two to three hours so they can still work and have the rest of the day to spend the cash they earn at the mall or at the movies that evening.

2. Young kids love it. Little ones love teenagers and will respond to them, often better than they will to adults. Put a teenager in charge of games and even the shyest of the kids on your guest list will likely come out of her shell and join the fun.

3. It’s great experience for the teens. Chances are pretty good that the teenagers will be future parents some day and experience with working alongside parents of young children and directly with the children will help tremendously as they prepare for that. Since most teenagers are often only around their peers for a majority of their waking hours, helping them to really socialize with little ones is a great way to expand their horizons as well.

4. It’s relatively inexpensive. If you are doing a birthday party at home, hiring an entertainment professional like a clown, magician or comedian can get pretty pricey. Instead, hire some teenagers to plan the activities, games and crafts for a fraction of the cost and the kids will enjoy it just as much, or even more!

5. It will help you to stay sane. This is the most important reason of all. Hiring help for your party will allow you to enjoy the day with your child. You will also have the time and energy to entertain and serve the parents of the kids who might stay behind. Hiring a teen to be in charge of cleanup alone will save you the “ugh” factor after everyone walks out the door. And when the party is all over, you might actually look forward to the next one coming up for another child or in future years.

Think about it and start to talk about the teens in your neighborhood. You never know! You might start a young adult on her way to a profitable home based business too!

Annette Yen is the birthday party mom at FunWithMojo.com. Sign up to get more great kids birthday party tips when you visit her blog at StressFreeBirthdayParties.com.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/stress-free-birthday-party-idea-hire-teens-as-assistants-843697.html

My little momma’s boy can be so sweet at times, like when he says that I’m his best friend (awwww) or when he says that he loves me “thiiisss much” but lately, my 2 year old has become a handful more often than not these days, and I just wanted to share some of the things he’s doing with you: 

The Ice Cream Episode:

My 2 year old wants ice cream…now. Ok, I go to freezer pull out the 1st ice cream container I see (big mistake) and proceed to start spooning the ice cream into a dish.

Meanwhile he’s looking at me all confused and tells me “let me smell it!” I look at him all exasperated and say, its just ice cream and continue to scoop the ice cream to which he yells “LET… ME… SMELL… IT!!”. Fine, smell it I say and let him sniff the ice cream (c’mon, what child wants to sniff ice cream????) and at that point, he gives me a disgusted look and tells me, “No” and points to the freezer for me to get out another ice cream. I sigh, and head over to the freezer to get out the other 2 containers to let him “smell it” untill he picks one.  This can’t be happening! Does anyone else out there have a child who wants to smell their food before eating it????

C’mon jackass:

When I come home from work, usually my son wants me to give him his playdough for his “play dough time”. So I get out his tray and all the containers and let him play while I am on the computer. This particular day, he’s trying to make french fries and the french fry maker kept coming apart and he  mutters “C’mon jackass.” My daughter start roaring with laughter and I of course ask where did he learn that from??

It so happens that my daughters and hubby were watching Happy Gilmore and they thought the “jackass” part was funny and kept rewinding that particular part and now my son is calling everything “jackass”. Sigh!!

Smacking

This is a new one and happened just yesterday. He was playing in his car and for some reason, something wasn’t working right and kept yelling at the car and crying. When I asked him what was wrong, he kept sayin” No, let me do it” so I left him to sit there and fight with the car. At this point, he starts to actually smack his cheeks and mouth all the while crying! Why??? I have no idea but he kept getting angry with whatever the car was doing to him and finally I had to take him physically out of the car to calm him down! That was just plain weird!

So those are just a few things my little darling angel has been doing to keep me on my toes! What stories do you have to share about your toddlers???

PS. Anybody wanna babysit by any chance???

Download Free Tunes for the kiddies from MegaBlocks, which has 6 albums to choose from and a wide selection of fun children’s songs!!

Ok, you gotta listen to worms,worms,worms song- LOVE it!!!! Very catchy,lol:)

See more great kids freebies here!!!

Your invited to the Great Nicklodeon Easter Adventure at Toys R Us on saturday, April 4th from 12-2 pm! There will be FREE gifts for the kids!!! Find a location near you here.

Click here for more details!!

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Here we go for another week of “Ring Around the Blogs”! We will be hosting this “Game” every Tuesday and it will be left up all week so be sure to come back and visit all the great blogs!! If your participating, please add a button to your site to help get the word out:)

**Please be sure to leave “Ring Around the Blogs” in your comments so that everyone knows where the comments are coming from and to comment back:)

This is a fun way to get some traffic & comments to your blogs!! You know that childhood game “Ring Around the Rosies”, I thought maybe we could apply it to blogs! It would be a great opportunity to find new blogs and leave some bloggy comment love to all of our readers!!

Here are the rules & requirements:

1. Link to your blog in the Mr. Linky below (it doesn’t have to be a specified post, just the homepage)

2. The person that is in Mr. Linky BEFORE you, you must visit AND leave a comment on any post.

{And please make it a meaningful comment, not just “Nice Blog”, etc. Comments are what we as bloggers feed on and makes us feel good right? So please do unto others as you would have done unto you:) }

3. When you receive a comment on your blog, please visit that commenter’s Blog and leave a comment on their blog as well!

So that equals 2 comments per entry. You are more than welcome to visit and comment on other links as well, just please be mindful to follow the rules and extend the same courtesy when you receive a comment.

Also, to determine what comments come from this game, please leave Ring Around The Blog in your comment:)

Now, who’s ready to play??

With Easter approaching rapidly (April 12th) have you considered what you can do to make this Easter memorable for your children or grandchildren? As a child Easter, Halloween and Christmas were my favorite holidays. My Grandma used to make each Easter a unique treat for us kids by creating personalized baskets overflowing with goodies from none other than the Easter Bunny and the most delicious looking bunny cake I ever laid eyes on. Unfortunately my Grandma is no longer with us so it is up to each of us grand kids to carry out and create new Easter traditions to share with our own families.

I have done some brain storming and research online to find ways that I can create a new unique Easter tradition with my children. Check out these new spins on some traditional Easter activities.

A unique take on dying Easter Eggs can be found here. From creating a marbleized look to adding pressed flowers to your eggs this list provides detailed directions from beginning to end.

How about an Easter themed game or relay race to keep the children entertained? Check out the list of games and relays that Kaboose has compiled here. List comes complete with instructions for play as well as supplies needed so you can be sure your Easter activities go off without a hitch.

After dying eggs and playing games you surely will have worked up an appetite. So why not bake and decorate a cake? This adorable furry friend comes straight from the Betty Crocker Kitchen and looks too good to eat. Don’t be fooled though as this is a simple recipe (yes, it’s a box cake) with easy decorating instructions to complete the look of a bunny hiding in the grass.

Creating an Easter tradition for your family does not have to be complicated or expensive it just needs to be centered on spending quality time with your loved ones. I honestly believe this is how my Grandma made Easter such a memorable time when I was a child. I think she had just as much fun creating a tradition as us kids had devouring her hard work.

Pop Tarts has a new ”Sprinkling” program that you can sign up for where you will receive free samples and coupons.

Once registered, you’ll be able to print off two $.55/1 coupons (top left)!! Register for the program here.

Join The Blizzard Fan Club and get 2 Blizzard ice cream treats for the Price of 1, plus be the first to know about In store Dairy Queen printable coupons and promotions. They will email you a printable coupon.

Get a Free Toby the Train Coloring when you fill out this form. I can always use coloring books for my toddler!!!

Look for specially marked Kellogg’s Smart Start Cereal and mail in this rebate for Free Cereal!!

Sign up today and get 75 FREE 4″ x 6″ photo prints with your first photo order! You do have to pay S&H of $3.95 but its still a great deal!!!

Coupons.com has reloaded the printable coupons! You’ll want to check out what’s new below in the coupon bar!!

Some highlights to note:
~BOGO for Welch’s Juices
~$1/1 Scott Extra Soft Tissue
~$1/2 Quaker Oats Life Cereal
~$1/2 Quaker Oats Instant Oatmeal
~$.50 off Cottenelle (Use at Kroger’s on double coupon day to usually get for FREE!)
~$1/1 Goodlife Recipe
~$1/1 V8
~$1/2 Frosted Flakes
~$2/1 Yesterday’s News

And several $5/1 coupons for several Hasbro games. (Think Easter presents!)

(Thanks, CouponGeek!)

UPDATE: It seems that Domino’s has pulled this offer as the Online Coupon is no longer available on their website! The manager at the location where I went to, gave me the Free Pizza but said there was a glitch in the computer system!!

Get a Free Medium 1 Topping Pizza at Dominoes with Code “BailOut“, carryout only!

Order 1 pizza online, enter promo code and then pick up! Free lunch!!

Note: Code works in some areas, but not all Dominos offer this!

Origins wants to recycle your old cosmetics packaging!!

Starting March 29, 2009, you can bring in ANY empty cosmetic tubes, bottles, and jars  (ANY brand!) to your nearest Origins retail store or department store counter and you will receive a FREE sample of your choice of one of Origins skin care products.

More details here.

(Thanks , Bargain Briana!)

Personalize your own paper card at Hallmark and then have it mailed to someone for FREE with promo code TRIAL.

Note: You need to have a Hallmark account to use this code!You can sign up for one for free!!

Print coupon for a Free 3 oz body lotion ($5 value) with ANY purchase at Bath & Body Works! Coupon is valid till 4/22/09.

I am excited about this HouseParty!!

Enter for your chance to win a Ford American Idol House Party on May 19, 2009!

Party Details:

This will be The Party Everyone Will Want To Attend!

If you’re selected as a host, there’s a lot of fun in your future.

Here’s just the beginning of what’s ahead:

* You’ll host a great party on May 19th and watch the first night of the American Idol finale
* Have a 2010 Ford Fusion to show off to your friends
* You’ll receive a free party pack and share it with your guests
* Be eligible to win a new 2010 Ford Fusion
* Have the chance to fly to Los Angeles and experience the American Idol finale!

Oohh, it sure would be awesome to get top go to LA for the Finale!!!! We LOVE American Idol!!! I sure hope I get chosen to host this party!!!

Wow, those of you with a Jewel Market can score Post Cereals for your stockpile for less than $1

Jewel has Post Cereal on sale 2/$3 when you buy 2. There is also a catalina (CAT) promotion going on through April 19.Visit Melissa over at Saving with Melissa for coupon matchups and great deals!!

(Thanks, Melissa!!)

Here is a hot printable coupon for $5 off!!

Just sign up for Halo Newsletter and you’ll recieve a $5 coupon by email!

Enter your zip or postal code here to find out where you can purchase Halo’s natural pet care products.

Here are the Best Easter Candy Deals at Rite Aid this week! Looking for more Easter Candy Deals? Visit Mommysnacks each Tuesday to see the participating blogs and deals!!

Single Serve Easter Candy $.39

Brach’s Jelly Bird Eggs 9 oz bag $.69

Cadbury Creme Eggs 4 pk or Dove Bunny 3 pk $1.99

Easter Novelties w/Candy-Choose from Pez,Reese’s, Cadbury, Fluffy Stuff,Topps and Russell Stover Rabbit $.99

Palmer Candy 5 oz $.69

Marshmallow Peeps 10-12 ct $.88

Marshmallow Eggs 12 ct $.88

Candy Filled Plastic Eggs $.88

Palmer Easter Candy $.88

B1G1F Candy:

Hershey’s,Mars or Nestle Easter Miniatures 8-11.5 oz bags

Easter M&M’s 9.9-12.6 oz bags
Dove Promises 5.8 oz bags
Dove Eggs 8.5-9.5 oz bags
Bliss Eggs 8.8 oz bags
Skittles or Starburst Fun Size 7.3 oz bags
Select Jelly Beans 10.5-19.5 oz bags
Whoppers or Robin Eggs 10 oz bags