Walmart.Com's "Off To College"

"MEET TWO MOMS WITH COLLEGE-BOUND KIDS"


I'm one of those Moms!

Today marks the launch of Walmart.com's "Off To College" campaign, in which I was graciously included by the wonderful folks over at Walmart.com.


The site is full of articles ranging from campus life and supply checklists, to organizing your dorm room. There are Q&A's where questions are submitted by Moms (or Dads!) and you can click and see how others have come to their aid and answered.

My son and I are featured under "Beth's Top Ten Graduation Gift Ideas" where we have commented on our Top Ten Picks for graduation gifts and our feelings of importance for each one. A colleague and friend of mine, through our activities with Walmart and Walmart.com, is featured under "Lindy's Off-to-College Tips" where she lists (from experience-her daughter has already completed her Freshman year in college!) great tips for your new college-bound student.

Do you really want to get in on the spirit of things? Share with us your memorable moments of graduation, heading off to college, or the spirit of campus life, and submit a photo! Or, submit one of your own tips - as the Mom of a new college student, I welcome all the advice I can get!

It is an incredibly interactive site of which I'm very proud to be a part. Visit the site, check out the featured articles, post your question, share your photos, or submit a tip. We'd love to hear from you! Check in often, and watch for Lindy's "Top Ten Picks" for creating the perfect dorm room!

Let me know if you've posted any pictures or tips - I'd love to see them. I look forward to seeing you there!

Free Ice Cream at Walmart Tomorrow!

Don't forget to stop by your participating Walmart tomorrow for free ice cream! Get there early while supplies last and pick up your choice of a Dibbs Snack Bag, Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bar, or a Ben & Jerry's Flipped Out Cup.

Have a great weekend!

Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act

I'm just like everyone else when it comes to finding a great freebie. But when that freebie happens to be chocolate? Look out!

If you haven't heard about it already, Mars has created their own 'Chocolate Relief Act', handing out coupons for free chocolate candy every Friday through September. There's a limit of 250,000 coupons each Friday beginning at 9:00 am Eastern time, so get there early! There's even a place to put your email address and they'll happily send you a reminder. If you're one of the lucky ones, they'll send you an e-mail letting you know that your coupon will be arriving in about 6 weeks.

How do I know? I've been getting my share of the Chocolate Relief Act already! I was feeling a little guilty doing it behind your back and not telling you - hey, it's chocolate, and sometimes that makes a girl a little crazy, you know?

Anyway, here's your reminder from me. Tomorrow morning, as soon as you can possibly get there, go to the Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act to get your free chocolate. Hurry, though, you'll be racing me for one of those coupons!

What Would You Do With an Extra Hour? Frigidaire Wants to Know!

Let Frigidaire know what you would do with an extra hour in your day, and you could have a suite of new appliances delivered to your door! Take their Daily Dare and be entered for a chance to win a NEW Frigidaire Affinity front-load washer and dryer! Register at Frigidaire's My MotherLoad, it's fun and it's free. Check out the prizes! Read what other moms would do with their extra hour.

According to the Official Rules, the "5 Things" Sweepstakes ends on June 30, 2009, with the prize drawing for the suite of appliances on or around July 10, 2009 (winner is responsible for taxes and installation!).


There's 8 drawings for the Daily Dare prize as shown on the Official Rules, even more chances to win (winner is responsible for taxes and installation)!

Put Frigidaire in your favorites and visit daily for a chance to win. I'll be there!

Make-at-Home Donuts

I know, sounds kinda weird, a little daunting....but we started a bad habit a few years back of buying donuts on Sunday mornings for the kids that I truly wanted to kick. I'm not a donut eater and I don't even remember how the whole thing got started. And it's not even like donuts are that expensive, right? We only buy four, one for each kid. But 50 - 60 cents per donut does sound a little ridiculous when you think about it, plus the drive to the store. So when the kids started complaining about 'no more donuts', I figured they'd eventually get over it. Several weeks went by, and still the complaining. When I asked them, "What's the big deal about a donut?" I received a truly hearfelt reply: "Mom, it's not just the donuts themselves, it's just about something that we've done every weekend for years, now, like a tradition or something."

So, not wanting to break the family tradition, I began to keep my eyes and ears open for a way to make my own donuts. I came across an episode of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade on Food Network where she was making breakfast, including donuts. Such a simple idea, I decided to try it at home.

Here's what you'll need:

Refrigerated bisquit dough (in the tube)(do not use buttermilk or butter variety)

Oil (for frying)

Powdered Sugar & Milk (for the glaze)

Cocoa Powder (if you want chocolate glaze)

Vanilla

Heat the oil in a pan on a medium setting. Separate the pieces of bisquit dough on a cutting board and slightly flatten and with your fingers. Using the tip of a knife, or a very small, round, cookie cutter, cut circles in the center of the dough to create your donut shape. The circles will become donut holes. Carefully place the dough pieces in the heated oil and fry to a light brown on each side. Place on a cooling rack with a paper towel placed underneath to catch any oil drippings. For the glaze: In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. vanilla and 1 tbsp milk or orange juice. Stir in additional milk or juice until icing reaches drizzling consistency. If making a chocolate glaze, add 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder to the powdered sugar and only use milk, no OJ!

The donuts were a big hit at my house. The kids knew I had been busy in the kitchen, an aroma of something really enticing brought them all out of bed and to the table last Sunday morning. The site of freshly glazed, warm donuts sitting on that serving tray made everyone quite happy. They were in total disbelief when they found out that I had made them!

I especially like the fact that I can control some of the ingredients, mainly the oil that's used. What I like even more is the cost! I purchased a 4-pak of Great Value refrigerated biscuit dough for $1.37 at my local Walmart Supercenter. That's $.34 a tube! With 10 biscuits in each tube, that's roughly $.03 per donut (that would make the donut holes free!). Since I already had on hand the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and cocoa powder, the donuts were only 3 cents a piece!

Pick up some refrigerated bisquit dough next time you're out and give it a try. I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with the results!

Summertime Activities on a Dime

The passing of Memorial Day is a perpetual rite of passage for me, signifying the beginning of summer. Although my kids finished last week, many of you still have kids currently wrapping up the school year. Have you planned for their summer activities? Even though my kids are now old enough that they prefer to make their own plans, my husband and I were reminiscing the days when they were elementary age, and younger, and I was the one they looked to for their summer activities. Yes, a family vacation will account for a portion of that time, but what about the rest?

Looking back, we were amazed at how expensive it could have been keeping 4 kids busy throughout the summer break, bewildered at how other parents were able to send all their kids to summer camp. We weren't willing to separate ourselves from our savings account so I found all kinds of alternatives. It entailed planning, creativity, and some willpower, but the kids and I always seemed to have a great time.

I would suggest looking into your city's Parks and Recreation Department. Ours had a magnitude of classes, broken down into 'Arts' and 'Sports' orientated themes. My kids took classes ranging from swimming, to dance, to karate, all at incredibly reasonable and affordable rates. As our kids got older, our recreation center had open hours for the kids to come in, at a small cost, and enjoy not only the amenities such as basketball courts and the climbing wall, but also supervised activity tables to participate in crafts and other events. The open activities were just a 'treat' now and then as it was an extra expense. I planned ahead with other parents so that the kids could enjoy the time with friends, and the moms could take turns just 'being in the building' while the kids 'thought' they had the freedom of being on their own!



Using our Parks and Recreation Department for my kids' scheduled classes, I filled in the gaps with other activities that were either free, or close to free. We made trips to our City Pools at very little cost, and planning in advance to purchase a summer pass saved us the most.

We were always signed up at our local library for their summer reading program, which is free. The kids really enjoyed making the trips to choose their books, get their charts stamped for the books they read, earning prizes along the way, and anticipating the 'big' prize of whatever the libraries were offering that particular summer upon the kids reaching their final reading goal.

In addition to 'story time' at the library, a lot of book stores have followed suit and offer the same types of programs. That sounds like 'mom time' to me! Walk the kids over to the children's area and get them comfortable, walk yourself over to the coffee cafe/bakery and pick up a treat, find a comfortable chair where you can focus in on your little ones, and take a relaxing moment for yourself!

For a nominal fee, some of the craft stores, like Michael's, or the home improvement stores, such as Home Depot, hold regular classes for the kids to come in and make a craft, or maybe even a birdhouse! Don't forget to check with some of your local, non-chain stores as well to see what they've got going for the kids. Click here to find out more about Home Depot's "Kid's Workshop". Click here to join 'The Knack" at Michael's which is not only chock-full of great ideas of fun things to do and create with your kids, but will also keep you up to date on all the in-store events.

What I found the most useful, was putting up a weekly schedule of the things we would be doing throughout the week. Everyone knew which mornings were designated for swimming lessons, or who had what class on which day, when we would go to the library, you get the idea! The anticipation for the week ahead gave the kids a better sense of stability and structure in our schedule, which meant no more listening to whining about 'What are we doing today?" and "I'm bored, there's nothing to do!" for me!

Plan ahead, check into some programs, and keep your kids busy! Unless you're like me, with teenagers, who have opted to keep themselves busy. Oh look, one just walked into the room right now, whining, "Mom, I'm bored...." Go figure.

Free Ice Cream at Walmart!

Yes, you read that correctly! Mark your calendars - on Saturday, May 30, between the hours of 11am and 4 pm, two thousand Walmart Supercenters nationwide, as part of the "Bright Ideas" demo program, will be handing out free ice cream treats. Only 1 per customer, though, so choose your favorite! While supplies last, they'll have available Dibbs Snack Bags, Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bars, and Ben & Jerry's Flipped Out Cups. What a 'sweet' way to make that Saturday shopping trip a little less daunting!

A great kick-off to summer! Want to see if there's a Walmart near you participating in this way cool event? Click here to find out!