We caught a movie (Pete’s Dragon!) at the Thanksgiving Megaplex so we decided to stop at the American Fork DI on our way home. There’s another DI in Provo and I am so excited for the Springville DI to open soon!

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If your kids aren’t back in school yet chances are they will be soon. As parents we often times plan ahead to purchase everything for a new school year but then scramble last minute because we forgot something. It’s human nature to forget things but the worst thing to forget would be an awesome new Minecraft shirt or new pair of jeans to get a new school year started. So if you are doing some last-minute Back to School shopping then I suggest you head to The Children’s Place!

The Children’s Place is a retailer that has great clothes at a great price. They almost always have a sale going on that you can stack with coupons and even earn rewards that you can use on future purchases. One of the biggest reasons I shop there is because of the savings. Let’s face it, kids grow fast and they are pretty rough on their clothes so spending a fortune on them is not on my agenda!

I love the outlets in Park City, but when I can’t make it up there you’ll find me online! I always shop through cash-back sites like Ebates,  Shop at Home, and Swagbucks to get the most bang for my buck. These two sites usually tell me the best coupon codes available PLUS give me from 2-8 percent back. Nothing beats back to school clothes delivered right to your door and an automatic rebate check!

When you head shopping at The Children’s Place make sure you sign-up for their free My Place Rewards program. It’s a rewards card that allows you to earn points on your purchases. Those points then turn into coupons that will help you save (and pay) on a future purchase. It’s basically free money just for shopping for your children’s clothes. Plus if you prefer to shop online, you will be happy to know that August is Free Shipping Month! No minimum purchase amount required!

You know what would make your child’s school year even better? A FREE Shopping Spree! The Children’s Place is giving away a $75 Gift Card to one lucky winner to use to shop in one of their stores! All you have to do is enter using the rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway ends 8/28/15. Good Luck Everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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New pencils, crayons, paper products, tissues – I love Back to School shopping! But if I have all three of my cuties with me – it’s got to be fast. I am so lucky that a new Wal-mart was built right after we moved to Spanish Fork – it’s the easiest for picking up everything I need for back to school. Plus I am a big fan of the Wal-mart Savings Catcher app and price matching policy. It saves us lots of money!

Here’s a few tips that help me keep my sanity during Back to School shopping.

1. Stock Up! Sale prices for back to school items are the best this time of year. Everything from crayons to Kleenex at Wal-mart are on sale. I have a shelf in my kitchen with all the gluesticks and art supplies.

2. Prep for Parties! Last year I was a room mom and I wish that I would have bought more supplies for school parties at the beginning of the year. Inevitably, something comes up and parents forget to send in supplies. With class parties come class messes so be sure to pick up Viva paper towels at Wal-mart!

One of my favorite supplies for parties – Scott Extra Soft at Wal-mart! Toilet paper is seriously a life-saver for games. We’ve done toilet paper bowling and my personal favorite – Minute to Win it Wrapping. For Halloween, the kids can wrap each other up like mummies. For Christmas – make it a Christmas tree with ornaments! For Valentines – wrap them up and tape on hearts.

3. Be Ready for Sick Days. School is back in session and that means germs are, too! I hate starting cold season without my favorite soft tissues so I stock up on Kleenex at Wal-mart.  Grab some Bear Creek Soup packets (just add water) and saltines and you are set for flu season.

4. Price Match. Be sure you have the Wal-mart Savings Catcher App and price match at Wal-mart. It’s nice knowing that you are getting the best deals!

5. Buy Double for Home. Make sure you are stocked up for home and for school! This year I am organizing my supplies in a rolling cart with individual containers so that my kids can easily access what they need and don’t have to go looking for it. All the extras will go up in the kitchen cupboard.

6. Give back. We are serious Box Tops for Education collectors at our house. We even recruit grandparents and aunts/uncles to clip them for us. The best thing abut buying in bulk at Wal-mart is the high-value Box Tops.

Hope these tips help your school year start more smoothly! Check out more tips from Wal-mart and moms like you here.  Be sure to share your own tips as well!

How do you shop Back to School like a boss?

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This post is sponsored by Intermountain LiVe Well. All opinions are my own. 

My Lily loves to pack and take her own lunch to school. Plus I have two preschoolers at home so healthy and fun lunches are a pretty big deal around here. Last week I had the chance to sit down with dietician Mindy Probst from Intermountain Healthcare and brainstorm healthy school lunch ideas as well as ways to help make sure our children are eating them AND enjoying them. As part of the event we tested out Rubbermaid’s popular Lunchbloxes and built our own healthy lunches.

Let me tell you, since I have been home – that Lunchblox is a hit! My husband and all three of my children want to use it for their lunches! They love the Bento style and that it has a cooling component that will keep their food safe and fresh during the day. Intermountain LiVe Well is giving away 8 of these parent and kid-approved Lunchbloxes on  their facebook page this month. I’ll be talking about that more later, but first let’s check out some fun lunch ideas!

The first step to fun and healthy school lunches is all about the planning! I know my daughter will be much more likely to eat her lunch if she has had a hand in planning it and making it. We made these simple ham and cream cheese roll-ups this week and they were a hit! Lily could easily make them herself and I knew that she would devour them. Hooray for knowing she is getting some protein in at school!

 Intermountain LiVe Well has put together some great printables to help you and your child plan out their lunches. Sometimes it helps them to see that they need a fruit, a vegetable, a protein, etc. It also helps if your little planner to see what is on the menu that week! (Am I the only with a child who likes to know EXACTLY what is going on each week?!?) You can download these printables here. 

Another huge aspect of making sure that your child is eating and enjoying lunches is to make it fun! These Princess Sandwiches and Fruit Cars always disappear in a hurry when we have little friends over. You can find the princess cutter on Amazon.com and they are perfect for cookies, too!

Some of the bloggers I attended the event with have been sharing their fun lunch ideas as well. How darling are these Halloween Mini Pizzas from Just Between Friends?

I also love this healthier version of a Lunchable Bento Style by Mountain Mom and Tots. She will be listing more lunch ideas this week as well! Be sure to check them out!

I hope some of these ideas have inspired you to get creative and healthy with your back to school lunches! Now you just need the perfect container! Intermountain LiVe Well is giving away 8 Rubbermaid Lunchblox containers this month on their facebook page. . Head on over to win! They also have oodles of healthy lunch ideas on their Pinterest board!

You can also check out more healthy lunch ideas on Intermountain LiVeWell’s Pinterest Board

Do your children pack a lunch from home?

What lunches are favorites at your house?

What is one lunch food your family could not live without?

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Confession: I’ve been collecting children’s books since I was in high school. As a child I loved reading – scratch that – I was obsessed with reading. I carried a book everywhere I went. Now that I have children of my own, I want to pass that same passion for reading on to them so I am always on the lookout for new books for our children’s library.

When I was introduced to the interactive children’s book – Pictivities by Meg and Corbin Frost – I knew it would be a hit with my little ones. This board book is the first to completely capture all three children’s  (ages 7,5, and 2) attention simultaneously. Those of you with young children know how difficult that can be!

The Pictivity books are designed to generate interaction between reader and child by linking pictures to words and actions. On each page there is a picture button that shows an object, animal, or person. Each image is also linked to an action. You prompt your child to touch the button and then you both say and do the action together. My children absolutely loved this and were immediately engaged.

The book was pure delight for the whole family. The simplicity of the interactive pages created a fun, family-centered reading time that we all enjoyed. One thing that I have noticed since my oldest began reading is that how much she enjoys a book directly affects how much she reads. This is the perfect book for creating that base memory of reading equaling fun. My children loved the book so much they begged my husband to read it again.

Pictivities is currently one of the top five most popular children’s books on KickStarter. Meg and Corbin are raising funds to produce the first run of books before Christmas. This would be the perfect gift under your little reader’s Christmas tree! By pledging $10, you can get this adorable book by Christmas. Pledge more and they have other delightful prizes in store!

Pictivities is currently halfway to its fundraising goal with only 16 days left! Do yourself a favor and support this great move forward in children’s literature while getting a little Christmas shopping done as well! 

I received a copy of this book to review. 

What is your favorite children’s book?

What do your children ask you to read again and again?

Have you funded a project on Kickstarter before?

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Where did the summer go? This month we are wrapping up our summer adventures with one last trip to Bear Lake (pictured above!) and getting Lily ready to start second grade at her new charter school. With so many exciting things going on, I need fast, healthy, and easy snacks to keep me and the kiddos going! Apples and grapes are always a hit at our house so my littles couldn’t wait to dive into this yummy package from Chiquita Snacking.

As a busy mom, I love that Chiquita Bites are:

• Washed and ready to eat
• 30–80 calories
• A half-cup of fruit or vegetables per serving
• A great source of nutrition

They come in  single-serve bags, multipacks, and family packs – whatever size suits your family best! They are perfect for grabbing from the fridge when you are on your way to a dance lesson or – better yet – when it is your time to bring team treats for sports!

My family enjoyed eating them as is, but it was fun searching the Chiquita site for yummy and creative recipes! My little ones love it when their snacks are fun! We made these simple fruit cars for a birthday get together with cousins. They were a hit!

Apple Cars – healthy, easy and fun snacks!

We served the apple cars along with princess wands made from the grapes! Pair that with crown-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and you have happy kiddos!

To go along with the apple cars, I made our favorite fruit dip! Every time I serve it to company, I always get asked multiple times for the recipe. People are shocked when I tell them it is only two easy ingredients – honey greek yogurt and peanut butter! You can substitute any nut butter as well as different flavors of greek yogurt to change the taste. It is a protein-packed snack dip that I can feel good about my kids indulging in. Perfect to serve with the apple and grapes!

I am excited to try a few more of the recipes from the Chiquita web-site for our after school snacks! Don’t these look delicious?

Love that back to school snacks just got a little easier and healthier at our house! The Chiquita Snacking company loves making life easier for moms! T

What is a favorite after school snack at your house?

How do you get ready to go back to school?

I received this product for free from the manufacturer. I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the manufacturer of the product.

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I love back to school shopping! New pencils, new books, new teachers – it brings back so many great memories. My oldest is going to be in first grade this year – what am I going to do without my biggest helper? And how am I going to get everybody up and moving in time? (seriously – any tips are appreciated!).

On a happier note, I am so excited to be helping one of you with your back to school shopping this year! One lucky reader’s daughter is going to be a very happy princess the first day of school. I am teaming up with some fun Disney bloggers to giveaway:

Disney Princess Back Pack

Disney Princess Matching Lunch Tote

Disney Princess Pencil Box

$15 Disney Card

and to top it all off …

a princess pink chevron dress donated by the Smocked Shop!

Awesome, right? Be sure to enter to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you finished your back to school shopping?

Who was on your lunch box in elementary school?

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Earlier this week these words came out of my six-year-old’s mouth, “I don’t want to read. Reading is boring.”

Gasp! As a child I carried a book wherever I went and could not get enough of the library.  How could I give birth to a child who doesn’t like to read (or at least tells me so in a frustrated moment. This too shall pass, I know)?

My husband or I read several books a day to our children and we listen to classics like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe while we fall asleep at night. But how to encourage my little socialite to independently read on her own?

Time to make reading fun!

I busted out the sidewalk chalk, leftover pop-it’s from the 4th of July, bikes, and water balloons. Covering the driveway with a mix of site words and easy to read words, I also mixed it up by using different colors and shapes. This way, my four year could participate a little easier as well.

The kiddos were quite excited when they came outside. I could see it in their eyes, “what has crazy mommy been up to now?”

We turned reading practice into 5 easy and fun and outdoor games.

1. Pop its! My children love pop its. I passed out several to my six year old and four year old. As I called out a word/shape/or color, they would find it and toss down a pop it like the word was a bulls eyes. Reading + noise = fun!  (please only use pop-its with adult supervision.)

2. Bikes and wiggle cars. I also had the children drive or ride over words as I called them out. Another fun idea would be to have your child ride over certain words to make a sentence!

3. Modified hop scotch. The kids came up with this idea on their own. They would jump from word to word reading each one. They had fun seeing how many words they could read in a row.

4. Writing practice. My daughter got in on the fun by using the chalk to write her own words. She wrote out words and her little brother wrote out letters.

5. Water balloons. Clean up is easy with water balloons! The chalk will stay on your drive way for awhile, but if you want a quick clean up – bring on the water balloons! Just like the pop its, have your child toss a water balloon at the word. Washes the chalk right, off!

We will definitely be bringing out more chalk, water balloons, and pop its for future spelling practices. The children loved it and mommy liked that they were learning, too.

What is your favorite learning activity to do with your children?

Are your children back in school yet?

How do you prepare for the school year?

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