Deals of the Week

      I had so much fun scouring the Internet for deals last week that I decided to do it again. I hope that this helps with finishing up your Christmas shopping. There's pretty much something for everyone. 

     Again, I recommend signing up for Ebates if you plan on doing any online shopping. You basically get paid to shop online. Here's the low-down.  

• Register (for free) with an e-mail address and click on one of the 1,500 retailers listed on the site to shop. If you buy something, you will get an e-rebate on your total purchase (for instance, 6 percent cash back at Macy's.) 
• There are no fees or forms to mail in - they just send you a check in the mail! Now is a great time to sign up because many stores are doubling and even tripling the amount of cashback you can earn while holiday shopping. 
• I have already earned more than $35 in two weeks since I joined last week by shopping through Ebates at Clinique, The Disney Store, and Old Navy. Join HERE. 
• Today only, receive double cash back at more than 500 stores. For example, 8 percent back at Sephora, 10 percent back at Harry and David, and 10 percent back at Sears. 
• Free $10 giftcard of your choice when you sign up. (I chose Target).

      
    And here are some of the deals I've found for this week. Some are only valid for today, so act fast!

1. Discounted Umba box subscriptions

Although their limited edition holiday subscription is sold out, Umba Box still has several gifting options available. Umba Box is a monthly subscription box that includes handmade jewelry, accessories, home decor, and other items. Their regular gift subscriptions can be purchased using several discount codes through Wednesday (Dec. 12) and the subscription will begin in January. Use the code HOHOHO5 for $5 off a three-month subscription, HOHOHO10 for $10 off a six-month subscription, and HOHOHO20 for $20 off a 12-month subscription. Or if you want to give an Umba Box for Christmas, they still have a small number of December boxes available for sale in their Online Shop.  These will ship the next business day via USPS Priority shipping, and must be purchased before December 17 to ensure pre-Christmas arrival.

2. 30 percent off at Land's End + 6 percent cash back at Ebates

The Ebates 12 Days of Deals deal of the day is 30 percent off at Land's End, plus free shipping on orders over $50 and 6 percent cash back if you shop through your Ebates account. The promo code DASHER gets you the free shipping. 

3. 30 percent off gift sets at Starbucks 12 Days of Gifting

Through its 12 Days of Gifting, Starbucks is offering 30 percent off on gift sets today. Also, if you look at the bottom left side of Starbuck's main webpage, you will see a place where you can sign up for e-mail updates and receive a 10 percent off coupon. Sign up and shop through your Ebates account and you will also earn 7 percent cash back today only (normally 3.5 percent cash back). 

4. $40 Best Buy giftcard with purchase of two video games

For a limited time, you can receive a $40 Best Buy giftcard with the purchase of two select  video games. Be sure to sign up with and shop through Ebates to get 1.5 percent cash back on your purchase in addition to this deal. Some games that are part of this deal include: Halo 4, Madden NFL 13, Just Dance 4, Far Cry 3, Assassin's Creed 3, and several others. Just go to Best Buy's website through your Ebates account, click on the video games tab under products and the deal is one of four listed in a ticker at the top of the page. Also at Best Buy today, you can receive up to 15 percent off on ITunes gift cards. 

5. MomAgenda and MyAgenda planners for up to 51 percent off

Fab is offering MomAgenda and MyAgenda desktop planners for $25 and mini planners for $20. That makes the planners between 42 and 51 percent off. I love these planners and used them for three years before I bought my Erin Condren planner. Other than not having tabs, I still really like this planner. It is nice and thick like a book and the patterns and colors are really beautiful and vibrant. They come in red, scarlet, violet, tangerine, python, and leopard. I love that leopard print one! This sale ends this coming weekend. 

6. Citrus Lane 2-month subscription for $40

Use the code HOLIDAY10 to receive $10 off a two-month gift subscription to Citrus Lane. This offer expires December 10 (today) so act fast! Just click the link above and look under the Gift Tab for a 2-month subscription listed at $50. Once you use the code, you will get two months of surprise goodies for your favorite baby or toddler for just $40. Try it for yourself or give it as a gift. 

7. Join or make a purchase from The Honest Company and get a $10 credit

      If you join The Honest Company subscription or sign-up with their site and make a purchase from their store using a referral link, you will automatically earn a $10 credit in your account. This deal is only good for the month of December. I love the company and you can read more about them and find my reviews HERE and HERE. Last week, they released three new products: bathroom cleaner, floor cleaner, and toilet bowl cleaner. I am excited to try them out when I get my next shipment. I have pushed it back eight weeks because we have tons of diapers left from our last shipment. I don't know about other people, but a month's supply from The Honest Company always lasts us more than a month so although the price might seem high for their diapers, we don't have to buy them every four weeks. Their gift kits are also available through December. To receive $10 off a purchase of $40 or more, use the code TOTL$M50MHM. 

8. Amazon Book Deals

Amazon has a great daily book deal each day from December 3-14. They put one hardcover best-selling book on sale for 75 percent off or more from noon to 4 p.m. EST. There have been some great books featured typically for between $2.99 and $4.99. And they sell out super fast, so you need to check right at noon or else you might be too late. Some of the books that have been part of the 12 Days, 12 Deals special are: "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn, "Killing Lincoln" by Bill O'Reilly, "Winter of the World" by Ken Follett, and "Recipes You Can Trust" by Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa. Also, they have a daily giveaway called The 12 Days of Books Giveaway on the same page where you can enter to win a $250 Amazon giftcard. 

9. New shopping sites have 30 percent off deals

     New customers to the Familyhood of online stores, including Diapers.com (DIAP30), Casa.com (CASA30) and Wag.com (WAG30) can use 30 percent off codes on a first purchase from the sites. On the toy site, Yoyo, you can use the code YOYO30 on your first purchase from the site to receive 30 percent off on one toy. On the books site, Bookworm.com, you can use the code 1FREEBOOK to buy three books and get one free. This code is good through June 1, 2013. The code BOOKWORM30 will get you 30 percent off your first order. 

Owen Calls the Dawgs!

     For those of you who might not know, one of the traditions of University of Georgia football is a cheer where you "Call the Dawgs" at every kick-off by saying "Go Dawgs, sic 'em! Woof, woof, woof!" As the son of two UGA grads, it was very important for Owen to learn this cheer early. Now, he is a pro. Check out a recent video of Owen cheering on his favorite team!

Stork Stack review (December box)

       I purchased a month of Stork Stack for 20 percent off last month in hopes of getting some fun items for Owen that could be put in his stocking this Christmas and to do a little comparison between it and another subscription box that I receive. Stork Stack is a monthly subscription box for babies and toddlers ages newborn to three. The company sends a box of five items each month for $28. Multi-month subscriptions offer discounted prices and the company also donates a box to charity for each membership purchased for 3, 6, or 12 months. Shipping is super fast for this company. My box shipped on Friday and I received it on Monday. 

      The theme this month was Rock, Roll, 'n Roar. Here's the description from the insert in the box: "Happy Holidays from Stork Stack! This month we have selected a variety of products that will encourage your little one to Rock, Roll, 'n Roar! Your kiddo will love to wear these BearHand Mittens - no more resistance from their little paws! Balls are one of the best gross motor toys to enjoy, and these ones from Rubbabu and Edushape will keep things rollin' thi month. With so many budding stars out there, we knew your family would be ready to rock - whether to the sounds of the classics on Rockabye Baby or the sounds of your little musicians jamming out with their musical instruments." I really loved the theme this month and I think they were really creative in their interpretation. There was a wide variety of items in the box and I was really pleased with everything we received. 

      The box we received was tailored to a 20-month-old boy. I was really happy that everything was very age and gender appropriate. 

Here's what we received in our box:

• BearHands & Buddies Fleece Mittens ($12.99) - Combining fun and functionality, BearHands are unique, super-warm, Thinsulate lined, paw-shaped mittens. These mittens are super cute and actually match a hat that my aunt sent to Owen the other week. They are sized 18-36 months, so Owen will be able to get some good use out of them for the next year and a half. I like that the thumb is separate so that he has a little more mobility with his hands, but so far the weather hasn't been cold enough lately for him to need to wear them. 

• Rockabye Baby "Good Day, Good Night" 2CD set ($24.98) - Rockabye Baby transforms rock favorites into beautiful instrumental lullabies, and this 2-CD set features exclusive new songs as well as Rockabye Baby's most requested jams! Tonight will rock as guitars and drums are traded for xylophones and bells. I have to admit that I probably love this CD more than Owen does. I have seen Rockabye Baby CDs before, but they normally feature a single musician on each CD. This is the first compilation CD that I've seen from them and it features a really good variety of songs and singers. I can't help but sing along to all the songs. Some of the songs featured on these discs are "Dream On" by Aerosmith, "Beautiful Day" by U2, and "Rock n Roll All Nite" by KISS. I thought the Good Day and Goodnight CDs were meant one for more upbeat daytime play and one for calming bedtime lullabies, but really the songs just  feature either the word day or night. Either way, I love them both. The lullaby version of James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thing" is so fun and Owen cracks up every time I sing and dance along to it. 

• Edushape Maracito ($3.25) - These 5-inch long maracas are ergonomically designed for big sound and small hands, and aid in fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and auditory sensory development. Owen was so happy when he pulled this out of the box. He shook it and held it up in the air crowing, "Balloon!" It was so cute. He was really excited about it, but he didn't know what to call it so he just called it the closest word he knew. It's the perfect size for his little hands and will be a great addition to his musical instrument collection. The rattling sound isn't uber annoying or loud, which is definitely a plus. 

• Rockin' Green Detergent sampler ($1.25) - Rockin' Green is the perfect detergent for diapers, kid's clothes, uniforms, linens, and more. It's an eco-friendly laundry solution for the whole family. This sample contains enough detergent for four high efficiency washer loads. I tried this detergent for the first time yesterday when I washed a load of Owen's clothes. They came out so super soft and smelling fresh. The detergent is designed to remove residue and is supposedly great for washing cloth diapers too. There are three varieties specially formulated for hard water, soft water, and regular water (called hard rock, soft rock, and classic rock, haha!) There are also different scents. My sample was Smashing Watermelons. There was also a coupon included.

• Rubbabu Educational Ball ($6.95) - Rubbabu's products are handmade from natural foam and encourage imaginative play and education at a young age. Rubbabu is a really great toy company. I like their vehicles too. This ball is really squishy and covered in a plush, velvety material. The natural rubber is great because it is antimicrobial, dust mite resistant, mildew resistant, hypoallergenic, and flame retardant. These balls also won a Parents Choice Award. Owen is a big fan of this ball. It is definitely his favorite item from the box and I couldn't keep his hands off it long enough for me to take a picture. 

All balls must be thrown immediately!

     The total value of this box was $49.42, which is a pretty good return for my investment and more than double what I paid. From looking at past month's reviews, Stork Stack seems to have a good variety of items and brands and is a fun monthly surprise. If you're interested in learning more about Stork Stack, click HERE.

Deals of the Week

    I have been finding some great deals online for my Christmas shopping this year and I wanted to share some of the great ones I've found. Some of these are only available for today, so act fast! 

But first...sign up for Ebates! 

• Register (for free) with an e-mail address and click on one of the 1,500 retailers listed on the site to shop. If you buy something, you will get an e-rebate on your total purchase (for instance, 6 percent cash back at Macy's.) 
• There are no fees or forms to mail in - they just send you a check in the mail! Now is a great time to sign up because many stores are doubling and even tripling the amount of cashback you can earn while holiday shopping. 
• I have already earned almost $10 since I joined last week by shopping through Ebates at Clinique, The Disney Store, and Old Navy. Join HERE. 
• Free $10 giftcard of your choice when you sign up. (I chose Target).

And now, on to the deals of the week!

1. 60 percent off Christmas card deal with Plum District + Free Gift with Purchase

I wrote about this deal over the weekend, but it's still valid through Wednesday on Plum District. You can find my original post HERE, but to sum it up, I received more than 75 percent off our Christmas cards using this deal and an additional promo code. The promotion from Plum District is for a $50 credit on the card site Elli.com for just $20. I'd never heard of Elli before, but their cards are just as attractive as the more well-known companies. And through the week, each day you can win a free gift with any purchase on Plum District. See the website for details. Today's gift is a free 8x10 canvas print. 

2. 35 percent off at Chronicle Books
Get 35 percent off at Chronicle Books with the code FRIENDS. This offer ends on December  4 (tomorrow). After tomorrow, try the code GIVEBOOKS for 30 percent off through December 31. Chronicle Books is one of my favorite books websites. Owen is getting "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site" for Christmas this year along with the Little Books boxed set of "Little Hoot", "Little Pea", and "Little Oink." He is also getting a Taro Gomi boxed set of the books "Bus Stops," "My Friends," and "Spring is Here." Also, if you shop Chronicle Books through your Ebates account (sign up above), you will earn 3 percent cashback on your purchases at Chronicle Books. 

3. 15 percent off at Old Navy
Use the code ONGIFT to receive 15 percent off at Old Navy This offer excludes everyday steals, jeans, and cords and expires on December 5 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Also, this week colorful cords and jeans are on sale starting at $19. If you shop online through your Ebates account (sign up above), you will receive 7 percent cashback on your purchases.

4. Up to 70 percent off Cuisinart at Hautelook

Hautelook has great deals on tons of Cuisinart appliances and cookware, up to 70 percent off. From mixers and food processors to coffeemakers and wafflemakers. Seriously, if any type of appliance is on your loved one's wish list, you can find it here and in pink! (Or white or black or stainless.) Dear Santa, I'd love an icecream maker... The sale ends Thursday at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. To sign up for Hautelook, you need an invitation from a member and you can find mine HERE.

5. 30 percent off on your first order from Bookworm

Shop this new book website for babies up to teens and receive 30 percent off of up to three books in your first order using the code BOOKWORM30. Bookworm is a great company. Their shipping is super fast (and free if you spend more than $49) and their customer service is great too. They easily fixed my order a couple months ago when I accidentally sent my package of books to our old address in Washington. They just reshipped the order to our new address no problem. 

6. $5 Magazine Subscriptions at Amazon

Several magazines are only $5 on Amazon for a year's subscription. This deal has been extended through December 25! Some of the magazines that are only $5 are: Cosmopolitan, ESPN Magazine, Popular Science, TV Guide, Better Homes and Gardens, Reader's Digest, Family  Circle, Esquire, Elle Decor, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire, Seventeen, Parents, and Ski. That makes some of those subscriptions 90 percent off! Many of them are auto-renewal subscriptions which means that Amazon will automatically renew your subscription when it expires, but you can easily change this in your profile. Once your magazine order goes through, just click on Your Account, then Manage Magazine Subscriptions, find the magazine subscription you purchased and then click Auto-Renewal Setting. Then you can just select Cancel Auto-Renewal. You will receive your whole year's worth of issues and Amazon will not renew for you. Magazine subscriptions make great gifts because your recipient will receive something from you every month of the year. 

7. Snapfish 8x11 Classic Photo Book for $10
Use the code CLASSICFOR10 to make an 8x10 Classic Photo Book at Snapfish. If you shop at Snapfish through your ebates account (sign up above), you will receive 20 percent cashback on your purchase. You can also get their 8X11 Custom Cover Photo Book for $15 using the code CUSTOMFOR15. This deal is available through December 10. Also at Snapfish, you can get two free calendars when you buy one using the code TREATUCAL. Available through December 4. 

8. Pottery Barn Alphabet Mugs for $6
These mugs are really beautiful for the coffee/tea lover in your life. Unfortunately, this deal is only for TODAY and they are already selling out fast. J is already gone! Get 'em quick if you're going to get one. Also, Pottery Barn is offering a new deal on one of their products each day, so be sure to check back each day this week to see what's on sale for the day. 

9. 20 percent off at Bath and Body Works

Get 20 percent off on candles, wallflowers, soaps, and more at Bath and Body Works using the code EBATESHOLIDAY. Be sure to sign up for Ebates first (up top) and link to Bath and Body Works through their site to receive 2 percent back on your purchase as well. Bath and Body Works is also offering Buy Three and Get Two on their Signature Collection of Body Care items and Four for $20 or Six for $25 on handsoaps and 2 for $5 Mini Candles and some other deals too. Add that on to your promo code and you will save a bunch at Bath and Body Works today. The code supposedly expires tomorrow, but if you are shopping later this week, try the code BBWHOLIDAY for 20 percent off. 

10. Julep Gold Glamour Mystery Clutch for $29.99

Julep is offering a different deal each day from Dec. 1-12 in their 12 Days of Gifting event. Today's gift is this gold clutch filled with assorted polishes and products for $29.99. Use the code GOLDGLAM to get the deal. The large clutch will come with at least two nail polish colors and one product and is guaranteed to be worth between $84 and $200. Some clutches will include a never-before-released mystery color. 

11. Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day - Downton Abbey Seasons 1 & 2

Amazon has the first two seasons of Downton Abbey on DVD and Bluray for $23.99 and $25.99, respectively. This is a 60 percent off discount from the retail price and about $10 less than what they are normally offered for on Amazon. This deal is only available today. 

   

 What deals are you excited about? Let me know in the comments section if you decide to use any of them!

Amazing Christmas Card Deal (75 percent off)

     If you are looking to buy Christmas cards online this year, then look no further. I found a great deal where you can get 50 Christmas cards with printed envelopes for more than 75 percent off and with free shipping.

    We ordered our Christmas cards today and we are so excited about the great deal we got on them that we had to share! I had a coupon code for Tiny Prints, but even with the 30 percent off code, we were still going to be spending a ton on our cards. Luckily, I found a great deal on Plum District and we were able to get 50 Christmas cards with printed envelopes for just $20.70! Plum District is a great deals site and it's free to sign up.

       Right now, you can purchase a $50 credit for the card site Elli.com for just $20 on Plum District. The best thing is that you can combine it with other offers on the site to save even more! Then you register on the Elli site and input your voucher code under the credit tab of your profile on the site. After doing that, you should have a $50 credit listed.

      After selecting the card we wanted and personalizing it, we put the 50 cards in our shopping cart with 50 personalized envelopes (which are 20 cents extra each). Our total came to $84.50. Then we entered the promo code CYBER40 (put this in exactly with the capitalization) for 40 percent off (this deal is available through December 2). That brought our total down to $50.70. We applied our $50 credit and were left with just 70 cents to pay. So for $20.70 total, we got $84.50 worth of cards. That's a savings of more than 75 percent off! If you want to take advantage of this deal, click HERE to purchase the Plum District deal and then don't forget to use the CYBER40 code by December 2. If you can't order by tomorrow and use the extra discount code, don't worry. You can still purchase the Plum District Deal through Wednesday and get 35 cards for just $22.

So to sum it up:

Buy the Plum District deal for $20 (for a $50 credit)

Pick out your Christmas card and personalize. They also have greeting card styles too.

Add 50 cards to your shopping cart and add printed envelopes for 20 cents extra each.

Your total will come to $84.50.

Use code CYBER40.

This will take $33.80 off your order and give you free shipping. 

Your total will be $50.70.

Apply your $50 credit from the Plum District deal.

Your total will by 70 cents.

You saved more than 75 percent.

Do a happy dance!

Owen is twenty months old!

  We don't have a doctor's appointment this month, but according to our bathroom scale, Owen weighs a little less than 25 pounds. He seems taller to us, but we haven't tried to measure him.

Eating:

• Owen eats three meals a day and an afternoon snack normally. 
• He still eats basically whatever we eat unless we are having something super spicy. He has been eating really well lately.
• Owen's favorite foods are pizza, Cheddar bunnies, turkey sausage, oatmeal, yogurt, biscuits, peanut butter sandwiches, pears, and soup. 
• Owen loves to "dip" his food, fingers, and pretty much anything else in ketchup or other sauces. He frequently asks to "dip it?"
• Owen drinks whole milk with each main meal and water in between. He had hot chocolate for the first time the other day and loved it. 
• If you ask Owen what he wants for breakfast, he will most likely say, "Uh, sausage and uh, muffin?"

Sleeping:

• Owen naps in the afternoon and generally goes down just after lunch around 12:30 or 1 p.m and sleeps for between an hour and a half to two hours.
• Owen goes to bed at night at 7:30 p.m., though he has been fighting it lately and sometimes won't fall asleep until closer to 9 p.m. 
• He wakes up at around 8 a.m., sometimes earlier, sometimes later.
• Owen has been waking up in the night the last few nights. We are not sure if he's having a growth spurt and some growing pains or if its teething pain or something else entirely. 
• Owen's going to bed routine consists of a bath, pajamas, reading a few books, and then snuggling and rocking in the chair with either mommy or daddy for a few minutes before putting him in his crib. We have about 5 books we alternate between for our bedtime routine and Owen basically has most of them memorized now. He also knows which one is the last one we read and now tries to close it so we can't read it and make him go to bed. 
• Owen loves to have us read his "Bible stories."

Things He Knows:

• Owen has a super large vocabulary. 
• Owen will say "Bless you" whenever someone sneezes. He will say "thank you" if you say bless you when he sneezes.
• Owen can count to 10. He can even do it when we take turns filling in numbers for him.
• The only sign that Owen still uses is "please."
• He can say "Love you mommy" and "love you daddy."
• Owen says "bye bye" to many things. 
• Tim has taught Owen to "tackle" him and it's so cute. He knows several football-related words and will say "Yay football" anytime he comes into the living room and Tim is watching a football game. He can also say "Go Dawgs! Sic Em! Woof woof woof!"
• We are continuing to teach Owen his shapes and colors. So far, he can recognize and name a circle, triangle, square, star, rectangle, diamond, and oval. He is a pro at the shapes sorter and can put all the shapes through their respective holes in about a minute flat.
• Owen definitely knows his name and will refer to himself by name now. For example, he will point at pictures of himself and say "Baby Owen." 
• Owen has learned some of the words to several songs. He can sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Jesus Loves Me."
• If you show Owen a skunk in a book or talk about skunks, he will hold his nose or yours and say "Pee-yoo!"

Other Things I Want to Remember:

• Owen is wearing mainly 18-24 months clothing. His 12-18 month pajamas are too tight now and it seems like he outgrew them overnight. 
• Owen wears size 6 and 6.5 wide shoes, depending on the brand. His boots are size 7's and without a couple pairs of socks, they still fall off his feet.
• Owen is mainly in size four diapers. We have just a few more size threes to use up. 
• Owen has 12 teeth completely in now (four in front on top and bottom and two top molars and two bottom molars). His canine teeth are still making their way in slowly. 

• Owen loves when we read to him and looking at books by himself. His favorite books are anything with trucks or animals. He really loves "Little Blue Truck Leads the Way," "Barnyard Dance," and "Fox in Socks." He really loves Sandra Boynton books. He can even finish or fill in the words to some of the sentences of certain books when we're reading to him. 
• Owen's favorite songs are "Baa Baa Black Sheep,"  "Row Row Row Your Boat," "Hush Little Baby Don't You Cry," and "Old MacDonald." If you wait for him to fill in the animal when you sing "And on that farm, he had a..." he will 99.9 % of the time say sheep. He can also sing the EIEIO part. 
• Owen loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which we allow him to watch about once or twice a week. He knows most of the characters' names and seems to prefer Mickey and Goofy. He adores the "hotdog dance" at the end of each episode and can now sing some of it and dances to it. 

• Owen loves bathtime. He has started lining up all his toys on the side of the tub in a very OCD way.  
• Owen enjoys playing outside and will cry pretty much every time we bring him back inside.
• Owen still displays some separation anxiety and fear in certain situations. We were called out of the church service twice this month to come get him.
• Owen is a major animal lover, particularly dogs and cats. He talks all the time about all the ones he knows.
• Owen still loves to put our shoes on now and try to walk around in them. 

Cheese!