Market Mommies is an online business directory of Work at home Mom businesses. You can find great products all made and created by Stay at home Mom's. Sign up for their email and you can get their Deal of the Day offering discounts and savings from some of those businesses. This would also be a great place if you have your own business to connect with other Mom businesses, and promote your own. Today's Deal of the Day is 20% off Tuscany Creative (coupon code marketmommies). Check out her etsy page here.
Be Snack Ready and build your snack profile over at Frito-Lay.com and you'll receive emails with coupons, special offers and opportunities for free samples. Click here.
I was in a minor little fender bender car wreck last night, (everyone was okay, thank goodness, and none of my children were with me thankfully). But it made me think about how important it is to always be safety belted, and to make sure that your children properly are.
These things happen with no warning, that's why they are called "accidents", and anyone would hate to be caught when they weren't properly prepared. Now I'm going to assume that all of you follow all of the safety laws and drive with caution and defensiveness, especially when your children are with you. It is my nature to want to share what life smacks me with when something unpleasant happens to me in hopes that I can at least prevent one bad thing happening again! (I'm no superhero, I know!) At the risk of sounding "parental", Buckle up, and drive safe, we Mom's are always transporting precious cargo!
Coupons have been slim this week, but here is what I found for you to start your weekend! TGIF!
50% off one item and 25% off entire purchase at Michaels.
Also at Michaels next Tuesday is a free make and take it craft event for ages 3 and up from 10-noon. Check your location for participation. This week it is an Easter egg chick!
Free sample of Purex with Zout, laundry detergent and stain pre-treater in one. Sample packets will be sent by mail in about 12 weeks. Sample is only available in Fresh Morning Burst fragrance. US households only. Limit one per household per 12 months. While supplies last.
This morning I found myself having to sort through boxes of hodgepodge filled with a myriad of various items that have gone forgotten or unneeded. (Come on, you have those boxes in your storage too!!) And due to my lack of organization the past four years, boxes of junk drawer receipts, owners manuals, and pictures were found all mixed into one. Suddenly my search for missing paperwork became "trip down memory lane", as these types of searches usually end up. My how time flies. I find pictures of my oldest two, now 10 and 7, when they were just babies. Funny, how life is so hectic and busy, that I had almost forgotten what they were like at that age. Life was a whole lot different then, since coming out of a divorce, and life reshuffling, it makes you forget the sweet moments that were always there.
I celebrate a birthday tomorrow, a day that just feels like any other day now that I am so much older. I understand now that nothing magical transpires each year that you get add a digit to your age....it's more the moments and the memories that lead up to that day, that makes it a day to celebrate. A Celebration of another year that you got to spend with loved ones, getting through life each day at a time. Days not to take for granted. My parents and my grandparents look back on their lives, and you hear them mention "the good old days". Ever wonder when your good old days will be? Maybe, those moments that my kids were little, and the moments that they are growing up right before my eyes, are the good old days. Ten years from now, I'll be looking through another box, and find pictures from now, and things will have changed, and be different, and there may have been pain, and there may have been tears to get from now to then. But I probably won't remember them. Hopefully I'll remember the conversations with my three year old, where he's explaining to me he "has to get bigger". Oh yes, unfortunately you do. But that's okay, I understand know that these are the good old days. I'll remember them fondly.
What do you think? Are these your good old days? Or are you sure the best is yet to come? What things do you look around at and think..."this is as good as it gets"?
Spring Break is coming and Tanganyika Wildlife Park is officially open for the season starting this weekend, Saturday, March 19th. They will be open daily March 19th through the 27th for Spring Break. Then after Spring Break just over the weekends. Summer season starts on May 2nd. Visit their website for a new members special event, and for location and features of the park.
Free chips and queso coupon at Chili's. Get it here.
Stock up for your spring cleaning endeavors, if you haven't already, with up to $5.00 worth of Scrubbing Bubbles coupons. Click here.
Check out Totsy.com. It's a site with up to 80% off items for Moms, infants and kids 0-7. Prenatal care products, baby gear, travel accessories, bedding and bath, children's clothing, toys, DVDs, and educational materials are just a sampling of a selection that promises only the best in quality and designer brands. Their goals are one baby, one tree: With every purchase you make through Totsy, they will plant one tree in the name of your child to help reduce the effects of deforestation. Shopping and saving the environment. Sweet!
Spring shopping is officially in full swing, and the consignment sales are kicking off all over. One you may want to check out this weekend, is the BriarBerry Lane Kids Consignment sale. They are running their 12th consignment sale in Downtown Newton with Spring/Summer merchandise. Just a short drive North and West of Wichita about 20 minutes or so, this sale is a consignment sale that gives back to the community.
Each sale, they choose a local non-profit or charity to donate a portion of the Consignor Fee to. This sale, they will be donating to a local mother who's newborn son is set to have heart surgery later this month.
Cristy at BBL Kids says they are seriously PACKED full of the cutest spring and summer clothing, shoes and sandals, Easter dresses and suits, maternity, toys, strollers, care seats, toddler beds...you name it! This is their 12th sale and it will be their biggest sale! 517 Main Street in Downtown Newton (click the address for google maps) is the place starting Thursday, March 17th from 9-7pm, Friday from 9-7pm and Saturday from 9-2pm (some items 1/2 price this day). If you've read my post on Consignment shopping you know I advise to shop and shop often, especially to support locally owned Mom businesses.
So BriarBerry Lane Kids was gracious enough to provide a gift for one of my lucky Wichita City Mom readers. Just "like" BriarBerry Lane Kids on Facebook, and comment on here that you did, and that you "like" Wichita City Mom or already "like" Wichita City Mom on Facebook and you'll be entered into a drawing for a shopping tote to take to the sale with a $10 gift certificate to get you started! (Winner will be selected by random number generator Random.org) But hurry, and tell your friends, this contest ends Wednesday at 7pm. Winner will be announced shortly after, and prize can be picked up at the sale location during the days of the sale. Good Luck!
On or about Earth Day our Sedgwick County Zoo will be participating with other national zoos with a "Party for the Planet" which will have games, activities, giveaways and special events for kids of all ages. Keep up with Wichita City Mom for more info in the future on this great event.
But meanwhile, through April 22nd, you can start participation through the zoo's new online photo store. (Check out my previous post about this here.) Now through Earth Day, Think Big Photos will donate $1.00 for each new registered user that registers on the zoo's Online Photo Site! This money goes to funding our Sedgwick County Zoo. What an easy, quick way to support our local zoo and animal conservation! And don't forget, any purchase you make they will give back 25% of your order in funding back to our zoo! Just visit www.sedgwickcountyzoophotos.com
Free appetizer coupon from Chili's restaurant. Click here.
Coupon Bonanza from Michaels. 10 coupons for you to print saving you 40% and 50% off baking, bridal, scrap booking and more! Click here.
Exclusive coupons from Dove. Save $1.00 and $1.25 off shower care products. Link to them here.
$5 off your magazine subscription order at Magazines.com. Couponmob.com has the code.
$10 shampoo, cut and blowdry, and $5 brow sculpt at the Eric Fisher Academy next week, Thursday, March 17, from 3-8pm only. All proceeds go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. All cuts performed by supervised students. No appointment necessary! Check out more details here.
This weekend don't miss the Great Train Expo at Expo Hall at Century II. Saturday and Sunday March 12, and 13th, from 10-4pm. Adults pay $7 admission, kids under 12 are free. This looks to be a very family friendly show with over 200 train displays, trains for kids to play with, free workshops, prizes, and even a riding train for kids! Check out the website for the event here.
If you love Kellogg's products, follow this link for coupon savings worth $5-$10.
Get a free "beauty bag" sample pack from Target along with money saving coupons. Sign up on the website and it will be sent to your mailbox. Here's the link!
Two great coupons to Michael's Craft store. One for 40% off artist paints, brushes, pencils, pastels, and markers. The other for 40% off any regularly priced item. Good through this weekend.
Free mascara from Sephora in JCPenney's, get the coupon here.
Still need to get your taxes done? There are coupons for Turbo Tax at shopathome.com (the site where they pay you to buy through them). Check them out here.
Starbucks is celebrating 40 years this week. Starting Thursday, 3/10 and continuing through Saturday, get a free sample of one of their new treats like cake pops, or whoopie pies, with any drink purchase. Between 2 and 5pm only!
If you like or would like to Skype your loved ones and family, you may want to snag Groupon's deal today for a three month premium subscription for $10! This is a $26 value! View it here.
Perhaps a little touch of warm weather, or even just sunshine, suddenly has you thinking "cleaning". Yes, it's that's time again, time for some spring cleaning. Normally applied to areas where the climate is cold in the winter, Spring Cleaning is that yearly act of cleaning your house from top to bottom during the first warm days of the year, typically spring. Hence the name. It has been suggested that it's origins trace back to the ancient Jewish practice of cleansing the home in preparation for Passover. Iranians still "shake the house" just before their Persian "new year" which falls on the first day of spring.
eco friendly cleaning tips at wish.ca
So what is good spring cleaning? If you're going to do it, better do it right, I always say, so I did some research to get you started.
First: Plan on setting aside an entire week to devote to spring cleaning. You will not only clean the inside of your home, but you should also make your way outside to the garage, and also to attic/storage spaces and the basement.
Second: Stock up your cleaning arsenal. You will need lots of products, some you may not usually have on hand. (Don't want to loose your momentum with a trip to the store.) More attention is being paid to buying eco-friendly "Green" cleaning products, so maybe do some research on this too.
Third: Enlist your whole family to take part. It is a big job if done thoroughly, and just not fair if Mom has to do all of it!
I found some great checklists that will get you going that can give you a day by day schedule, or a room by room schedule. Martha Stewart has a very in-depth pdf printable version that I like as it doesn't miss a thing. Another of my favorite blog sites, abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com has a great day by day schedule that is the best of the basics cleaning list. (Check her out for her tips on how to organize and clean anything!)
Besides dusting and scrubbing, this is also a great time of year to clean out those closets and go through any clothing that you haven't worn all season, or are tired of, outgrown, etc. Get it to your favorite donation site, or make some money doing consignment/resale. (Read my tips for consigning here.)
Have fun, and don't stress yourself out! Just think, summer is around the corner, and that will be your time to sit back and enjoy all your labors. Happy Spring!
If you love books, and you love to shop at Watermark Books, heads up on a special "March Madness" Sale starting tomorrow 3/4 and running through 3/11. They have done some spring cleaning, so starting at 8am until 11am, you can pick up select titles for $1 per book!!! Discount is taken at the register and there is no limit! So go crazy!
Check them out on facebook and on their website: http://watermarkbooks.com
Watermark books is located at 4701 E. Douglas, at the corner of Douglas and Oliver.
If you have Chicken Poop, you are probably, undoubtedly, hooked, and refuse to use anything else on those pretty little lips of yours. That mystery little tube of “lip junk”, whose name alone can evoke disgust or uncontrollable giggling, makes you feel you HAVE to try it. If you haven’t heard of it, or used it, relax, there’s no chickens, or poop involved in the creation of this product, just one super cool chick with lots of super cool ideas.
Jamie Tabor Schmidt’s destiny seemed to be clearly laid ahead of her. At age 4 she went door to door selling homemade “air fresheners” from Kleenixes soaked in handsoap for $.05. In her twenties, a trip to a Sephora store with a beauty school friend, inspired her to make her first product, a hair pomade. Soon requests for a lip balm came in. She instantly knew, that if she made a lip balm, it would have to be called “chicken poop” because of a saying her Grandfather always said when someone complained of dry lips: “put some chicken poop on ‘em so you won’t lick ‘em”. She had a great product, but not everyone at first was excited about it because of it’s name. But perseverance paid off and she got her first big order in Chicago. Local interest picked up and she scored an account with Wal-greens. Chicken Poop is now sold in over 700 stores across the nation including Canada, Australia and the UK.
Also known as “Simone Chickenbone”, Jamie stays inspired by her freedom to spend time with her family. Both she and her husband are self-employed, and they spend all their time with their two kids: Aurora, 5 and West, 2, and two dogs and a cat. Her husband Eric is an artist/inventor and is very supportive of her and her business. They enjoy gardening and hanging out at home when not creating or working.
Here’s a couple of questions I ran by her for this story:
What is your favorite inspirational quote/saying?
“When you're green you grow, when you're ripe you rot.” She heard this at a product education class while she was working as a hair dresser. She also lives by "what goes around comes around". Her husband, Eric, is always telling their daughter Arora "to whom much is given, much is expected".
Baby "chicks", Aurora and West
What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
“I love getting a latte and a cinnamon streussel donut from The Donut Whole”, and her Pilates with Aliesa George at Centerworks Pilates, twice a week.
If you could change the world with your products, what would you want to do?
“To encourage the use of only all natural products on the skin. Also, the humor in my products is a universal ice breaker/boundary breaker. People of all walks of life get a kick out of it. Somehow, Chicken Poop transcends gender, race and age.”
Her best piece of advice for other entrepreneurs?
“Persevere and get a good attorney.”
Keep persevering Jamie! Your fans love you and your products and can’t wait to see what the future holds for Chicken Poop.
You can get your own tube of Chicken Poop over at her website, www.ilovechickenpoop.com, along with her other products "Good Gravey", and "Kill it Dead" and through March only, any order can get a free “I love chicken poop” tee shirt with coupon code #freetshirt. This is for Wichita City Mom readers only!!!
Thanks Jamie, for being our Work At Home Mom of the Month for March!
