Back to School Wardrobe Sale

Believe it or not, Now is the time to start shopping for a Back To School Wardrobe.

Crazy 8, a division of Gymboree is offering a $5.99 and up sale on select back to school styles.

I know my daughter has grown quite a bit this summer, so her clothes from the spring will be too short.

Disclaimer: I am a Crazy 8 affiliate and am compensated for sales through Crazy 8 links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

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LEGO Chima Toys R Us Event

On Saturday, July 27 Toys R Us stores across the US will be having a Build Your Own Speedorz Challenge Event. The event runs from noon-2p.

During the event kids can build an exclusive LEGO Legends of Chima Speedorz.

They will be giving out coupons for 25% off of a LEGO Game at the event. My daughter has several LEGO games and loves them. We definitely recommend LEGO Games.

Skylanders Giant Starter Pack Deal

Several of my daughter's friends received Skylanders Giants for Christmas this past year and she was introduced to the game through her friends during break. She then decided to use some money from Birthday gifts and returns of duplicate gifts to purchase the game for herself. She loves to play the game, especially with her friends.

Amazon is currently offering a deal on the Skylanders Giants Starter Pack. The Starter Pack comes with the game, the "Portal of Power", and three Skylanders figures. The Portal of Power connects to your game system (by USB on the Wii) and is an interface between the game and the figures. As you play you can place different Skylanders on the portal. Each figure has their own life, skill level, and area of expertise. The figures can travel between game systems so my daughter can bring her figures (we have a Wii) to a friend's house (she has used hers with friends who also have a Wii and a friend who has an XBox 360) and retain her skill level, and special features.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and am compensated for sales through Amazon links. Amazon prices can and do change quickly, so please verify the price before purchase. Prices are correct at the time the post was published. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

The Skylanders Giants Starter Pack is currently selling for $29 on Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3, XBox 360, Nintendo 3DS. It is available for the WiiU, but at $57.86 instead of $29.

I have played with her a few times and it reminds me of some of the Dungeons & Dragon style video games that we used to play except that you can change characters/figures on the fly. As you play, your character will gain experience and transition to a new level when they will be more powerful (stronger, more magic, more life, etc.). You can also collect gold to purchase some new attributes, or find them along the way. My daughter loves to find the hats in the game.

The game discount is probably due to the impending release of the next Skylanders game - Skylanders SWAP Force which will be released on October 13, 2013 for Wii, Wii U, Playstation 3, XBox 360, and Nintendo 3DS. It is currently scheduled for release on December 31, 2013 for the new XBox One and Playstation 4. Release dates are subject to change. All versions are currently priced at $74.96

Discounted Children's Magazines Plus $5 Amazon Credit

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and am compensated for sales through Amazon links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

Amazon is currently offering a great back to school deal on children's magazines. You will receive a $5 Amazon.com credit with your qualifying magazine subscription.

The deal includes National Geographic Kids. My daughter's class received National Geographic Kids, and I would frequently see the kids in the class reading them as a group. My daughter was one who loved the magazines and she has frequently checked an issue out of the library. She also loves the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2014 - she also has the 2013 edition which we found at Five Below.


 A one-year subscription to National Geographic Kids is $15 for 10 issues over 12 months. When you factor in the $5 credit, that is a net cost of $10. Since we shop at Amazon frequently, a $5 credit is as good as cash to me.

If your child isn't old enough for National Geographic Kids (6+), the deal is also available for National Geographic Little Kids (3-6). Other magazines included in the deal include Cricket, Ladybug, Babybug, Ask, Girls' Life, and more.

Half-Off Photo Books

Photo Books are a great way to remember family vacations, special events, or even just life in general.

Disclaimer: I am a Shutterfly Affiliate and am compensated for sales through Shutterfly links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

Shutterfly is offering 50% off of hardcover Photo Books with the code FRIENDS50. As a Shutterfly Affiliate, they have given me the code INVITEONLY to share for 50% off of a second photo book.

With  both codes, you can save 50% on two separate hard-cover photo books. The coupon codes are good for standard hard-cover photo books and additional pages. Soft-cover books, 5x7, 7x9, premium leather, and lay-flat books are excluded from the offer. The codes are valid through July 24.

If your final price is $30 or more, you can use the code SHIP30 for FREE Shipping. You can also use the code CARD4U for a FREE photo card.

Build a Home Depot Load 'n Go Truck

The Home Depot holds a Kids Workshop the first Saturday of each month. The workshop is held from 9a-noon and is designed for kids ages 5-12.

The Saturday, August 3 workshop is to build a Home Depot Load 'n Go Truck.

We have not yet attended a workshop at Home Depot, but my daughter enjoyed the workshop that we attended at Lowe's last year.

You can register for the workshop on the Home Depot Website to ensure that there is a space for you at your local store.

Build R.C From Toy Story at Lowe's Next Weekend

Lowe's is continuing their Pixar themed Build & Grow Projects this summer. After a few Monsters University themed projects, they will have a Toy Story themed project the week of July 27-28.

On Saturday, July 27 from 10-11a and Sunday, July 28 from 2-3p, kids can build R.C. from Toy Story

You can register for the session on the Lowe's Build & Grow Workshop website. Unfortunately our local store reaches capacity very quickly and is already booked for both sessions. The store on the other side of town is still available for the Sunday session.

My daughter and I attended a Build & Grow workshop last year and she really enjoyed it.


Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and am compensated for sales through Amazon links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

Crazy 8 Sale - $8.88 and under

Has your child hit a growth spurt lately? I hate when the end of the season is approaching and my daughter hits a growth spurt making her existing clothes too small. With stores starting to stock their back to school styles already, it can be hard to find seasonally appropriate clothing mid-late season.

Fortunately, Crazy 8 is offering a great sale on all markdowns. This sale is also a great opportunity to stock up on some summer clothes in larger sizes for next season or for warm weather vacations over the winter.

The sale include:

• $2.88 & under for Graphic Tees & Accessories
• $4.88 & under for Fashion Tees, Shorts, & Skirts
• $8.88 & under for Dresses, Shoes, & Woven Shirts

Disclaimer: I am a Crazy 8 affiliate and am compensated for sales through Crazy 8 links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.


Now is the time to stock up on adorable outfits during the Crazy 8 online only deal! For today only, Crazy 8 is offering all markdowns for $8.88 & under! Don't miss your chance to stock up on tops, bottoms, dresses and more! This offer is only valid on 7/17 while supplies last, so be sure check out Crazy 8 today!

If you are stocking up, they offer free shipping on orders over $75.

American Girl Movie - Saige Paints the Sky - Airs on Saturday

Is your daughter an American Girl fan? My daughter certainly is. She loves her American Girl dolls, and after placing an order this morning for some of the pieces of the Molly & Emily collection that she wants before they are retired, I am hoping to talk her out of asking for another doll. Although, I have a feeling Saige, the 2013 Girl of the Year, will be on her Christmas list especially since we visited Albuquerque next summer.

Saige Copeland hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is an artist and also loves horses. After her grandmother's injury she takes over with her Grandmother's horse Picasso to lead the Balloon Festival parade. She also works to keep the arts program at school alive despite budget cuts.

American Girl has partnered with NBC to make the movie Saige Paints the Sky which will be on NBC on Saturday, July 13 at 8p/7c. The movie is also currently available for purchase on the American Girl website.

from AmericanGirl.com

My daughter loves the McKenna movie that they made last year about the 2012 Girl of the Year. I had purchased it in advance of it's air date because we were having American Girl day with her friends and they wanted to watch it. I am glad that I bought the movie on BluRay since it had a digital copy for our iPad & her iPod Touch.

In reading some of the reviews, one mentions that the movie is sad and depressing for children. I have not seen Saige, but had the same thought the first time my daughter watched the Molly movie even asking her if she wanted me to turn it off. However, my daughter was loving the movie and has watched it many more times.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and iTunes Affiliate and am compensated for sales through Amazon and iTunes links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

My plan is to DVR Saige Paints the Sky on Saturday. If she likes it, then we will consider buying the movie. I was thinking to just buy the iTunes version, but Amazon is currently offering the BluRay-DVD-Digital Copy for less than the iTunes only version.



Also, American Girl will be hosting a chat with the movie's star Sidney Fullmer tonight, July 10 at 8p (ET) on their Facebook Page.

Free Photo Magnet at Shutterfly

I love magnets and use them to display artwork on my refrigerator. At the holidays, we use them to display cards on the inside of our front door. A photo magnet is a great way to display your child's latest & greatest artwork complete with their picture. A photo magnet can also be used to

Disclaimer: I am a Shutterfly Affiliate and am compensated for sales through Shutterfly links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

Shutterfly's deal of the Day for today is a free Shutterfly 3x5 photo magnet with the code FREE3x5MAG.

It is also the last day for two photo book promotions:

• New customers can also receive 50% off all sizes of Photo Books + Add'l Pages (lay-flat/premium are excluded). Get this deal with the code HALFOFF. The code is valid through Wednesday, July 10.
• Existing customers can take advantage of 40% off all sizes of Photo Books + Add'l Pages from Shutterfly with the code BOOK40 through 7/10.

They are also offering FREE Shipping on orders over $30 with the code SHIP30. I don't know if you can combine these codes.

Be sure to check back daily for new deals through July 10!

New Customer Deal at Shutterfly

Have you already taken a great vacation this summer and want to preserve the memories in a photo book? Maybe you want to retain memories from the last school year - pictures, scanned art work, etc.? A Photo Book is a great way to capture either set of memories (and many other memories).

Disclaimer: I am a Shutterfly Affiliate and am compensated for sales through Shutterfly links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

Shutterfly's deal of the Day for today is for New Customers Only. Receive $10 off of a $10 order with the code 10OFF10

New customers can also receive 50% off all sizes of Photo Books + Add'l Pages (lay-flat/premium are excluded). Get this deal with the code HALFOFF. The code is valid through Wednesday, July 10.


Existing customers can take advantage of 40% off all sizes of Photo Books + Add'l Pages from Shutterfly with the code BOOK40 through 7/10.

They are also offering FREE Shipping on orders over $30 with the code SHIP30. I don't know if you can combine these codes.

Be sure to check back daily for new deals through July 10!

Kids Kindle Books for $1

Even if you don't have a Kindle, Kindle books can be read on a smart phone, tablet, or a computer.  It can be convenient to have these on your phone to entertain your young child. It is also a light, compact way to bring bedtime stories on vacation with you.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and am compensated for sales through Amazon links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links. 

Amazon currently has several kids Kindle books on sale for $1. The sale is valid through July 31, 2013.

A few travel and bedtime related books:

• My First Airplane Ride - a great book if you are embarking on your child's first flight
• Shells! Shells! Shells! - Great for a beach vacation
  
• Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep!
• How Do You Sleep?
  

And for tweens, there is Zombie Town by R.L. Stine and Witch Dreams.

Another great source of eBooks is your local library. I have frequently checked out ebooks for myself and my daughter for both our Nook and our Kindle.

Simple Fireworks Craft

On Wednesday my daughter and I attended a Fourth of July craft event at our library. She initially picked up the supplies to make a paper plate wreath using cutout stars, toothpick flags, and cupcake liners.
Then she saw a craft with straws, tape, and pipe cleaners to make fireworks. Unfortunately by the time she finished her wreath all of the supplies for the fireworks were gone. Since we were headed to Meijer after the library to buy the remaining food we needed for our barbecue, I was able to pick up the supplies.




We only needed three components:

• Plastic "Bendy" Straws


• Pipe Cleaners - we used metallic one in red, blue, silver, gold, and purple


• Tape - We used fireworks duck tape, but the library was using painters tape in blue and red

The craft was very easy for my 7 year old daughter and neighbor. They threaded the pipe cleaners into the straws and bent the edges in crazy directions. Then they taped the straws together. They did need a little help cutting the duck tape. They got creative by varying the number of straws they used to make bigger or smaller fireworks. They mostly left the bend at the top of the fireworks, to be able to give them more of a spread. But they made a few with the bends in the straw at the bottom. This was a great idea because the fireworks could then stand on a table as a centerpiece - especially when made with 10 straws.

We then used some of them to decorate my daughter's scooter for the neighborhood parade on Saturday.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and am compensated for sales through Amazon links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

Some sample materials that you could use:

Half-Off Photo Books

Have you already taken a great vacation this summer and want to preserve the memories in a photo book? Maybe you want to retain memories from the last school year - pictures, scanned art work, etc.? A Photo Book is a great way to capture either set of memories (and many other memories).

Disclaimer: I am a Shutterfly Affiliate and am compensated for sales through Shutterfly links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

Shutterfly's deal of the Day for today is for New Customers Only. They will receive 50% off all sizes of Photo Books + Add'l Pages (lay-flat/premium are excluded). Get this deal with the code HALFOFF. The code is valid today, July 8 through Wednesday, July 10.

Existing customers can take advantage of 40% off all sizes of Photo Books + Add'l Pages from Shutterfly with the code BOOK40 through 7/10.

They are also offering FREE Shipping on orders over $30 with the code SHIP30. I don't know if you can combine these codes.

Be sure to check back daily for new deals through July 10!

FREE Photo Mousepad

Today's Shutterfly Deal of the Day is for a FREE Mousepad. This might make a good gift for a parent or grandparent to have at the office. I haven't used a mouse in years (I'm a laptop/trackpad user), so this offer is somewhat lost on me

Disclaimer: I am a Shutterfly Affiliate and am compensated for sales through Shutterfly links. I appreciate your support of my blog by shopping through my links.

Shutterfly's deal of the Day for today is a FREE Mousepad with the code FREEPAD.

Don't forget Shutterfly is offering 101 FREE Photo Prints with the code 101PRINTS today through Sunday, July 7.

Don't forget to take advantage of  40% off all sizes of Photo Books + Add'l Pages from Shutterfly with the code BOOK40 through 7/10.

They are also offering FREE Shipping on orders over $30 with the code SHIP30. I don't know if you can combine these codes.

Be sure to check back daily for new deals through July 10!