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Frugal Meal-Planning with Simek’s Meatballs – Recipes & Giveaway

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simek's

With the temperatures dropping and days becoming shorter (I can’t believe it’s already dark out by dinnertime!), nothing beats a comforting, home-cooked meal that’s easy on the budget. I’ve been cooking more hot-dishes, casseroles and other “Minnesota” foods that are easy to put together and inexpensive. This is why I was happy when Simek’s contacted me to try some of their new Meatballs, Lasagna and recipes. Plus they’ve provided a prize pack for me to give away to one lucky Twin Cities Frugal Mom reader!

Simek’s is a local-woman owned company and their meatballs come in three different sizes and have flavor options of beef, turkey, sausage and Italian-style beef. With the meatballs already made and ready-to-go, it’s easy to put more time and creativity into the rest of the recipe! Simek’s has a lot of ideas for getting kids in the kitchen, such as “Meatball Mummies.” These ideas can be found on their Pinterest page. [Read more…]

GoodBelly Probiotic Juice Drinks Review & Giveaway

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goodbellygiveaway

I was invited by GoodBelly to try their line of probiotic juice drinks. They sent me vouchers for 3 GoodBelly products to start my 12-day GoodBelly Challenge to experience better digestive health, and are providing 3 vouchers to one lucky Twin Cities Frugal Mom reader as well!

GoodBelly is a probiotic drink that contains live & active probiotic cultures. They’re dairy-free, soy-free and vegan. It’s packed with 20 billion CFUs of the probiotic strain LP299V, which, as it states on their website, is one of the most well-researched and effective probiotic strains for daily digestive health. [Read more…]

Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park Giveaway

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skyzonegiveaway

I am excited to share that Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park is sponsoring a giveaway just for Twin Cities Frugal Mom readers!

skyzonelogo

I’ve been provided with three 4-packs of 1-hour passes to give away to 3 winners – good at either the Minneapolis (Plymouth) or St. Paul (Oakdale) locations!!!

In the last few months I’ve featured Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park twice.

The first was this summer when I was invited to try it out with my kids. We had such a great time and I shared lots of information about the many fun ways to enjoy Sky Zone, plus pictures from our visits including when we visited during Toddler Time (a great time for kids 5 and under and their caregivers to jump together!).

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The second was last month after my 4-year-old celebrated his birthday at Sky Zone! Sky Zone so generously gave him the best birthday party he’s had yet so I could write a review about our experience. Plus, I shared a 10% birthday party discount for anyone who read my review!

Pricing for jump time at Sky Zone is as follows:

30 Minute Jump $8.00
60 Minute Jump $12.00
90 Minute Jump $16.00
120 Minute Jump (Long Jump) $20.00
SkySocks $2.00 (required to jump)

However, one thing I’ve discovered about Sky Zone is that throughout the year they offer so many ways to get jump time for a discount that it’s really affordable for everyone.

In the past few months, 1) I’ve seen Sky Zone 2-for-1 deals multiple times on Groupon.com,  2) they’ve offered free 30-minute jump passes at kids fairs and to my church’s youth group,  3) and on both their Minneapolis & St. Paul websites, there’s a Promos & Deals page where you can get great deals (check back regularly for updates).

PLUS…

BUY ONE GET ONE FREE COUPON

I recently posted about a GREAT “Buy One Get One Free 60-minute Jump Pass Coupon.” It’s good for either Twin Cities location through 1/1/2015 so be sure to print it soon!!!

GIVEAWAY

And now, they’re offering 4-packs of 1-hour jump passes to three lucky Twin Cities Frugal Mom readers!

skyzone passes

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below by Thursday, November 13th at 11:00pm CST. Three winners will be randomly selected on Friday, November 14th and contacted by email. Winners will have 48 hours to respond and claim their prize. (Please note that if you enter by selecting “Leave a Blog Post Comment” please be sure to leave a post comment or your entry will be disqualified. Thanks!)

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Crazy October in the Life of a Frugal Mom

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autumn,branches,brown,fall,leaves,maidenhair tree,nature,plants,trees

The last few weeks have been nuts for me. How about you?

What is it about autumn that makes so many of our schedules overflow with impossible expectations – many of which are self-imposed, I’ll admit – so much that the time flies by and suddenly you realize, I have to start thinking about CHRISTMASTIME! (Especially considering how cold it’s been out there lately…OH, HOW I LOVE MY CUDDL DUDS!!!…)

Here are a few highlights from the past month. Well, actually no. Mostly the past 2 weeks…because honestly so much happened in the last 2 weeks that I can’t really remember much before then!!!

My Website got a New Look

My blog got a makeover! Did you notice? Before it had a basic design and wasn’t mobile-responsive, and I felt it just needed an overall update, so for the past year I’ve been trying to get it done (I won’t bore you with the details of why it took a year…).  [Read more…]

Coupons and Freebies – Week of October 31st

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Coupons and Freebies

Here is a compilation of this week’s great printable restaurant and retail coupons available in the Twin Cities area. Lots of good ones to jump start your holiday season shopping.

Not a lot of restaurant deals to feature this week, so be sure to check out my list of Halloween Restaurant Freebies & Deals!

Top Restaurant Coupons:

Hardees – FREE Small Coca-Cola Freestyle Drink (exp: 12/15/2014)
Tony Romas – $5 Off $20 Purchase (exp: 12/9/2014)
Village Inn – $5 Off 2 Entrees & 2 Drinks or $2.50 Off 1 Entree & Drink (exp: 11/14/2014)
White Castle – $3 Off Crave Case of 30 Sliders (exp: 11/9/2014)

Top Retail Coupons:

[Read more…]

Free Halloween Trick-or-Treating at the Mall of America (+ these other Twin Cities Malls!)

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howloween
It’s the one day of the year you can go to the Mall of America, go from store to store and get goodies for FREE!

On Halloween, the Mall of America celebrates “Howl-O-Ween” where kids can dress up in costume and collect treats from participating shops throughout the mall from 4:30 – 7:30pm. After you’ve gotten your candy fix, head into Nickelodeon Universe for a one-of-a-kind experience at Blackout: Glow Crazy! They’ll be offering discounted ride tickets and free activities!

Prefer a smaller mall? (Like any other mall in America…)

Here are some other Twin Cities area shopping malls offering their own trick or treat festivities (in order of start time):

Twin Cities Premium Outlets. 3:00 – 8:00pm. Enjoy fun and safe Trick-or-Treating at participating retailers. Look for the signs in each store window for participating merchants. Also stop by Guest Services for extra treats.

Burnsville Center. 5:00 – 7:00pm. Burnsville Center invites families with kids 12 and under to come in from the cold for an evening of faBOOless free family trick-or-treating. The Halloween fun takes place on Friday, October 31 from 5 to 7pm at participating retailers.

Midtown Global Market. St. Paul. 5:00 – 7:00pm. Trick or Treat, get something good to eat at Midtown Global Market. Grab a bite & load up on candy from their market merchants.

Rosedale Center. Roseville. 5:00 – 7:00pm. “Mall-o-Ween Spectacular.”

Eden Prairie Center. 5:30 – 7:30pm. Participating stores offer candy (while supplies last) to children as they trick-or-treat throughout the mall. Everyone is welcome to come dressed in costume. Please, no face masks on teens or adults. Live entertainment by The Teddy Bear Band. Meet Eden Prairie Police Officers and Fire Fighters.

mpldwodmall
Maplewood Mall. 5:30pm. Be sure to stop by Lower Level Sears Court to pick up a trick-or-treating bag and also get your photo taken at our fun Halloween set. You will not want to miss it!

Northtown Mall. Blaine. 6:00 – 8:00pm. Trick-or-Treating will start at 6, stores that participate are marked with a sign. Please note that the majority of stores do not participate in trick-or-treating. There will be an activity outside of Burlington Coat Factory, Herberger’s and Best Buy.

Maddi’s Fridge Children’s Book Review & 4 Ways You Can Help Alleviate Childhood Hunger

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maddisfridge
I was given the opportunity to review Maddi’s Fridge, a children’s book that’s actually the first picture book to address childhood hunger in the United States.

My kids and I have read Maddi’s Fridge together several times. I was hesitant about reading the book to my kids, worrying that it might be a downer of a book that would make them mad at the book (or me for reading about something depressing!). However, turns out it’s an enjoyable book, and I am impressed with the way the author, Lois Brandt, tells a simple, age-appropriate story about two young friends and their adventures as one notices the other’s empty fridge and tries to help. [Read more…]

Play from Scratch YOXO Toy Factory Tour in St. Paul

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Play from Scratch

My kids and I, along with some other mom bloggers in the area, got a super fun and unique opportunity to visit the Play from Scratch YOXO toy factory in St. Paul this week.

Play from Scratch YOXO is a local company that makes products – TOYS – that encourage creative open-ended play. They had just moved their factory to a bigger location and we were among the first to see it!

yoxotoys

[Read more…]

Free Printable BIG HERO 6 Family Activity Sheets

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bighero6
BIG HERO 6 is opening in theatres everywhere next Friday, November 7th, and here are some new printable family activity sheets you can download and print right here. Included are some science experiments and movie-themed recipes as well!

Printable Activity Sheets:

BayMax Origami
BayMax Pumpkin
Hidden Objects
Lucky Cat Cafe Recipes
San Fransokyo Maze
San Fransokyo Postcard
Science Experiments
Spot the Difference

Big Hero 6 – Trailer [Read more…]