With so many things going on each day in a busy mom’s life, it’s important to try to organize your thoughts and errands.   I LOVE making lists and have a little notebook where I keep track of all my to-do’s,  grocery needs, chores around the house, plants to get for the garden…….all kinds of things.  Checking things off a list is so gratifying for me…..I’ve even been known to add something to a list just so that I can check it off.  So cheesy! [Read more…]

It’s just one of those things—everyone has a hiccups cure. My mom always had me eat a spoonful of sugar when I got the hiccups.  That usually translated into spoonfuls of sugar for me.  It usually worked, but not always.  I try it with my kids when they get the hiccups but it never works with them.  They just like to eat the sugar.  What’s yours?

Getting the hiccups is such an uncomfortable feeling.  At first it’s just annoying, but then it’s almost maddening.  When my kids were babies, they got hiccups daily (even in the womb!) and it would drive me crazy.

Well, I had the chance to try the Hicural and I have some cool things to tell you about it!  First of all, it seemed like just having the Hicural in my medicine cabinet was insurance against hiccups.  I think we had it for at least six months before I had a chance to use it.    Plus it’s calorie-free.  I don’t want to waste my sugar consumption on trying to get rid of the hiccups; I’d rather splurge on some fudge.  Know what I’m sayin?  The Hicural looks like this:

Yes, kind of a strange looking apparatus, I know.  But let me tell you that IT WORKS!   My daughter had the hiccups on Monday and was getting frustrated about it.  I whipped this bad boy out and asked her to hold it in her mouth, with the long ends against the corners of her mouth.  She looked at me like I was crazy.  Still, she humored me.  Then I had her drink a cup of water while the Hicural was still in her mouth.  She paused for about thirty seconds after swallowing, then looked at me with wonder in her eyes and said, “It worked!”   That’s right ya’ll, Mama’s still got it.

The Hicural comes with its own little plastic tube so you can keep it in your purse when you go out to the all-you-can-eat buffet.  Or at church during communion.  You know the hiccups don’t care when they strike, they just want to bring you down.  Now they’ll have to pick on someone else, because Hicural is to the rescue!  Hicural is selling for $7.99 on the retail site (see discount below), or you can purchase it at drugstores like CVS.

You will have a chance to win the Hicural in an upcoming giveaway (starts July 2).  In the meantime, you can get $4 off your purchase by entering code SAVINGSINSECONDS at checkout. This code is good through July 9.   I know you might be skeptical about this thing, but rest assured that it’s completely guaranteed—your satisfaction or your money back.   You can follow Hicural on Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclosure: I received this product for review purposes. The opinions are 100% mine.)

These coupons expire 6/30, so print them while you can!  Some of them, especially  the Pampers, we use all the time so I keep them in my binder.

If you’ve been saving your KeeKoo credit, this is a good time to redeem it for some quality skincare products.  Amalou products are maternity-conscious and don’t contain a lot of the scary chemicals that mamas-to-be are told to avoid.    You won’t find Vitamin A derivatives, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, retinoids, hydroquonine, parabens, phlalates, sulfates, or fragrance in their formulations.  There’s not even BPA in their packaging!

Specialty products like this can be pricey, so this is a good time to take advantage of KeeKoo’s sale.  Here’s how to get the best price:

1)  Sign in (or sign up) at KeeKoo.  If you’re signing up for the first time, you’ll get a $10 credit.

2) Add your Amalou items to your cart.  The credit will be applied when your total is $50 or more.  Mine applied at a $25 minimum, though, so check your total before submitting the order.

3) Use code FREEFORALL to get free shipping.

Here’s what my cart looked like:

Here’s the total for these two items on the retail website….includes $13.97 shipping fee:

The retail price for these two items would be $70 plus $13.97.   Buying it on KeeKoo makes it about half price. There are other items available, too, so check them out while you’re there.   Note that if you add items that don’t have the “free shipping” badge on the sale page, you will have to pay shipping.   That’s why I stuck with the Amalou!

Did you find any other good things to purchase?  Tell me about them below!

(Note that this post contains my affiliate link.  Feel free to include yours in the comments.)

This morning the kids and I went over to Evergreen Home & Garden Showplace for a few things.  We like to spend a few extra minutes looking at the fish and walking through the garden gifts.   Anyway, they had some great prices on hanging plants.  They are BEAUTIFUL and full, and most of them are only $10!   The employee who talked with me said that any of the hanging plants that were regularly $19.99 are now $10.  They also have some gorgeous red geranium/white petunia hanging plants that were $30, now marked down to $15.  They are so full and colorful, perfect for your 4th of July cookout.  He gave me a good tip  on the geraniums — the smaller containers are on sale for $3, but the $10 hanging plants usually have 4 geraniums  in them, so if you’re planning to purchase keep that in mind.  You’ll also get some extra potting soil if you buy the hanging plant since it’s in such a big container.  This is a good reason to grab a few extra, right?

I also bought some of the spring bulbs they had out in the front.  They are 50% off which made gladiolas, lilies, and dahlias $2.99.   That was less than I was going to pay online and I really like supporting a local business.  It might be a little pricier than the other home stores, but everything I purchase from Evergreen is always outstanding.  Totally worth paying a little extra for good customer service and excellent plants.   Plus those Evergreen bucks add up and redemption time is in July!  I usually buy some huge wave petunias with my Evergreen bucks, and they last all the way until fall.

Evergreen is open from 8 AM to 8 PM Monday through Saturday, from 12 PM to 6 PM on Sunday.  Need directions?  Click here!  I went to the store on Riverport Road, but you could call and see if the other locations have the same deals.   Like Evergreen on Facebook for updates and good gardening tips.

Wondering what to do with the kids now that school is out for the summer?  You’ve been to the park, went to the pool, stayed up way too late….what now?

Carmike Theater in Johnson City has a great promotion for kids.   On Thursdays for only $2 you can get your movie, drink, and popcorn.  They have pretty good selections, too!    See the banner above for the movies and dates.   Even if you don’t live in Johnson City, click here and here to see if your city has a participating theater.  There are lots around the country!  There are two pages with locations (looks like the dates are different), so be sure to check both.

How to Train Your Dragon and MegaMind are probably my favorites of these.   Which of the movies would you be most likely to go see?   And hey, if you go—don’t take my seat!

Disney artists have a beautiful way of bringing magic to children and adults alike.  My daughter came home from her Daddy-Daughter date glowing with the memory of Brave.  She was enchanted with the wisps and wanted to tell me all about the legend.  Now I’m all interested in them, too!  Here’s some information about these fascinating fantasy creatures.

THE LORE

WILL O’ THE WISPS

 Travelers—particularly those who venture out after sunset on unfamiliar pathways—beware of the will o’ the wisps.

  It is said—though by whom is a bit of a mystery—that on certain days for certain travelers in certain parts of the world, little lights dance on the horizon, whispering tempting invitations… pledging the answers to lifelong questions, the realization of dreams, a key to secret treasures—a change of fate.

  Charmed and curious, unsuspecting travelers follow the floating lights, mesmerized by their whispers, their promises. Yet no matter how long or how fervently they follow, they never quite touch the beautiful beacons whose flickering lights eventually fade and disappear… leaving the inquisitors, the dreamers and the treasure seekers lost… and alone.

* * *

In “Brave,” Merida spies tiny blue lights after escaping into the forest in search of a change of fate. Forming a path that dares her to follow, the lights lead Merida to a mysterious location that holds the power to change her destiny—just not in the way she imagines.

 “The will o’ the wisps are in a lot of Scottish folktales,” says “Brave” director Mark Andrews. “They were said to lead you to treasure or doom—to change your fate—but they’re an actual phenomenon of swamp and bog gas seeping up through the earth and interacting with the natural resources to create the blue flames. People would follow these lights thinking they were little fairies, and basically drown or get sucked down into the bogs.

“We made the wisps like actual little spirits,” Andrews continues. “They’re almost like Marley’s ghost in a way, because Marley’s ghost isn’t an evil spirit—even though he’s frightening, he’s trying to warn Ebenezer to change his ways. That’s what the wisps are doing. There’s a duality to them, because they’re either good or evil—they lead Merida into more and more trouble, but in the end, they’ve led her exactly where she needs to go.”

Have you seen Brave?  What conversations did they stir for you and your children?
(The lore of the wisps was provided by Disney.  The opinions are 100% mine.)

I love getting magazines in the mail!     I was excited to get a free subscription to Travel & Leisure magazine because I enjoy reading about new places.  This is a stay-cation summer for us and reading about the amazing travel locales will be almost as good as visiting them.  Almost.

The newsstand rate for a one-year subscription is $59.88 and Magazines.com has it for $23.95, so FREE is a big savings!  You can apply to get a free subscription, too.  It’s super easy and I’ve received many mags from this company.  They are legit.  Even if you are a work-at-home mom, you can still apply!!

Here’s a Nook freebie with some good reviews. Enjoy!