SOOO...my "winning experiment" has taken a hyatis while I have had the baby and tried to adjust to being a mom of 5...wow that is harder than people say...

BUT in spite of the fact that I have not entered many giveaways, I have managed to win a few things and a couple of them were big ones! Here is one of the Biggies!! I won a mamaRoo plush in Green Jax.

If you check out the 4moms website here, and scroll down a bit, you will see this:

How awesome will this be for baby Everest?! I cannot wait for it to get here!! WAHOO!!!

Locals-This is AWESOME!! Lauritzen Gardens is FREE tomorrow (Friday May 6) from 9am-5pm?! Maybe I will see some of you there! (I so wish it was not Kindergarten round up so I could spend the whole day there...)

I have been looking for great last minute Mothers Day items to tell you about (and frankly for my mom and mother-in-law), so I was super excited this morning to get an email from Walgreens about Free 8x10 Collage Prints.

Here is the 411: Walgreens is offering a FREE 8×10 Collage Print thru Saturday. All you have to do is enter the code FREECOLLAGE at checkout. Make sure you select to pick it up at your local Walgreens. Or if you, like me, live far from mom, have it sent to HER local Walgreens. Maybe it is tacky to have her pick it up, but it is convenient and my mom would not mind picking it up to get a cute collage of her grandkids! (I might actually send there and have my sister pick it up for me to give to my mom though).

I was pretty excited about this free pic, but it was only one picture and I have 2 moms I am looking to get something for. So, I was really excited when I saw Couponing to Disney update her blog a few minutes ago with a SECOND code you can use to get another free 8×10 collage from Walgreens. Just use code FORMOM at checkout!

Looks like I have something for the mommas now!!

As I told you here, we found a great inexpensive dinner buffet, Cici's Pizzas.

Cici's Pizzas has a $4.99 endless value dinner (buffet) that includes pizza, pasta, salad, bread sticks, and desserts! And for kids the endless value dinner is even less (it is less that $3). Which means my HUGE family of 2 adults and 4 kids (that eat) can eat for less than $25.

I told you before that the kids and I ate at Cici's Pizzas once but that Wes had not yet tried it. Well, we had the chance to go over there with Wes, my mom, brother and sister after baby E was born. And guess what? Everyone really liked it. Wes thought it had great variety and that the food was good-especially for the price!

So, next time you need a night off from cooking and are looking for an affordable, tasty and fun place to take the family, check out your local Cici's Pizzas. You won't regret it!

***By way of disclosure-I was not monetarily compensated for this post, but I will receive 2 free buffet coupons. I am going to use them to take my husband and kids over there and have a break...it will be such a treat with the new baby coming so quick!***

You may or may not be aware that Wal-mart updated their ad matching guarantee policy and coupon policy recently. I have not mentioned this to this point, but I want to say a few things about the new ad matching guarantee policy and how it has affected me locally.

First thing I want to note is that the new policy states "We do not require customers to have the ad with them to honor a competitor's ad." Many, Many bloggers are praising this new note as it makes ad matching easier to do when you do not have to bring the ads and prove each price match. Apparently at most Wal-Marts nationwide in the past it has been commonplace to have to have the ads with you before this change. That is not the case here in Omaha.

Here in Omaha, I have never before this policy change brought ads with me to price match. I just have a list with the price matches listed on it. I have never had a problem price matching like that and have only been asked to prove an ad match 2 times total (thank goodness I happened to have the ads with me both times).

Since this new policy went into effect, it has actually made price matching harder here in Omaha and has caused me to NEED my ads with me all the time. Why you ask? Well, because the checkers are supposed to be responsible to know the ad matches, so the local managers have made up basically cheat sheets of the most common ad matches from week to week for the checkers to use. This means that each time I have a price match the lovely checkers grab their list and check to see if it is listed on it. The problem there is that not all ad prices are listed-only the most common or popular ones (I have found that ends up being the front page items usually).

So, if I give a valid price match that is not on their incomplete list from the managers, the checkers will NOT believe it is valid and will NOT give the price match. So you have to get a manager over and depending on the manager, they often will also NOT match the price UNLESS you show it to them in the ad. SO...I have to have my ads with me all the time to shop now because their lists are SOOOO incomplete. It sucks...that is all.

Another note about the new policy that I hate is that they "DO NOT match the price of Competitors' private label price promotions." This means they no longer price match generic brand to generic brand. DANG! That is super frustrating...

So, is price matching at Wal Mart still worth it? Well, it is now a bigger hassle than it used to be, but it is still a bigger hassle to price match at Target (since I have to go to customer service to check out with price matches there). So, yes, I will continue to price match at Walmart as it saves me so much money, but I will also continue to complain to the managers and corporate at Walmart about how their new policy has had the opposite effect they wanted.

I also will continue to keep my ads in my diaper bag just in case and I will make sure to keep a copy of the ad matching guarantee policy and the coupon policy with me as well. I recommend you also print out the policies and keep them with you.

Have any of you had similar problems or is this just me?

Here are my favorite deals in Omaha grocery this week:

Hyvee

• Dannon Yogurt 6 oz varieties 10/$3 ($.30 each)
• Post cereal 6.2-14.75 varieties $1.68
• Sun Chips or Tostitos 9-13 oz 2/$5 (Only ok, but if ou buy 2 bags, there is an in ad coupon for a free 15.5 oz Totitos salsa making it a pretty good deal.)

No Frills Fresh

• If you buy 4 participating General Mills items in one transaction, you can get FREE milk with the in ad coupon.
• Our Family 24 pack water $2.99
• Big 28 oz cans Van Camp's Pork and Beans 4/$4 (with in ad coupon)
• Coke Product 2 L 10/$10
• Aqua Star Snow Crab Legs $5.99/lb (Sold in a 2 lb package for $11.98)

In addition to their regular week long special, No Frills also has a 3 Day Price Buster Sale Friday 5/6-Sunday 5/8 that includes the following:

• EL Fudge cookies (these used to be my fave and I have not had them in years!!) $1.48
• Diet Rite, RC, Diet RC, Squirt, Sun Drop, Sunkist, or Big Red 12 packs $1.98 (limit 3)

And the Baker's Square location on 132nd and Center is having a Customer Appreciation sale all week that has the following deals this week:

• Tyson frozen Skinless boneless chicken breast tenders $1.38/lb
• 1 lb Our Family Butter $1.88 (with in ad coupon)
• Dole Lettuce Iceberg Lettuce $.69 (with in ad coupon)
• 5% discount for Seniors over 55-just tell them you are a Senior to get 5% off your entire order

Bag N Save

• Charmin Bath Tissue 12 ct double $4.99
• 32 oz Gatorades $.77 (limit 12-these would be awesome for sports...)
• Idaho Green Giant Russett Potatoes 5 lb bag $1.99
• El Monterey Taquitos or Tamales 21-24 oz $4.99
• El Monterey Burritos or Chimichangas 32 oz $2.98
• Bar S Smoked or Polish Sausage 8 oz 10/$10

In addition to their regular week long special, Bag N Save also has a 3 Day Price Buster Sale Friday 5/6-Sunday 5/8 that includes the following:

• 8 count Our Family hot dog or hambuger buns $.69
• 4 lb bag Our Family granulated Sugar $1.77
• Bakeshop Ciabatta Bread or breadsticks BOGO (Buy one at $3.49, get second free)

Baker's (Remember their sales are almost always WITH card)

• Kroger Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts, Tenderloins or Thighs $1.66/lb (sold in 3 lb bag for $4.98
• Fresh Artichokes 10/$10
• There is a 10 Item Mega event where you can get $5 off when you buy any 10 of the participating items. That means you essentially get $.50 off  each item.  The following items listed are part of that deal and the price I list is the price AFTER the $.50 off:
• American Beauty Pasta 12-16 oz varieties $.49
• Capri Sun or Kool Aid Jammers $1.40
• Oscar Mayer Ham or Turkey Lunch Meat 10 oz $1.99
• Cheetos or Fritos 7.7-10.2 oz $1.98
• Armour Meatballs 12-14 oz $2.49

Aldi

• Baking Potatos 5 lb bag $.99
• Green Peppers 3 pack tray $.99

Super Saver (FYI-this week SS is celebrating it's 27th Anniversary with an anniversary sale!)

• Roberts Milk Skim, 1%, 2%, or Vitamin D Gallon $2.48
• Pepsi Products 24 pack $4.98 (limit 2)
• General Mills Cheerios. Honey Nut Cheerios or Golden Grahams 12-14 oz 2/$4
• Pringles Potato Crisps Original or Sour Cream and Onion $.88
• Bananas $.38/lb
• Whole Beef Brisket $2.47/lb (Mmmm...I think I know what I want for Mother's Day dinner...someone better tell Wes!)
• Tostitos Tortilla Chips 13 oz $1.88

In addition to their regular week long special, Super Saver also has a 3 Day Price Buster Sale Friday 5/6-Sunday 5/8 that includes the following:

• Hersheys Candy Bars 1.45-1.55 oz 10/$4
• Land O Lakes gallon Chocolate Milk $2.78

Fareway

• Prego Spaghetti Sauce 24 oz jars $.97
• Red Potatoes $.73/lb
• Monterey Sliced or Whole Bella Mushrooms 8 oz $1.28
• Green Peppers or Cucumbers 2/$.89
• Granny Smith, Fuji, or Pink Lady apples $.73/lb 

***Remember that I generally just price match at Walmart as much as I can rather than go to all the stores separately! I LOVE being able to do that. You can also pricematch at Target, but I find it easier to pricematch at Walmart.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you are likely aware of how picky I am with naming my children. I have crazy rules about how unique they must be. (To read all about the details of my rules, see the post here.)

Basically, all of my kids have one "unique" name (as defined by my rules for naming my kids). They also each have a family name. I shared with you the stress I was having in trying to choose a name for my new baby. I always have the hardest time with finding a unique boy name that is not too weird. And lets be honest, I am apparently not good at coming up with the best unique names anyway. I tend to chose names that seem unique or at least lesser used only to find that the names are actually on the list of the top 1000 SSA names or they are listed as more popular on other baby naming sites like babynametrain.com. I told you my favorite boy name was Sawyer, and it is 202 on the most popular list-seriously go look and see.

So, with this new baby (who BTW is a month old already!) I was struggling naming him. My husband and I discussed baby's name a lot. However, at some point my husband told me that I was going to name this child because he did not want to hear forever that he named all the kids. But as I mentioned, I do not pick unique as well as I thought I would. I tend to pick "gaining popularity" type names instead. Wes however is awesome at choosing unique names. So, he is the one that comes up with the names. I just basically have to chose the one I like.

This time, I had to make the final decision. My favorite name, as usual, fell into the "gaining popularity" category (Sawyer), and the other 3 names we liked that I was choosing between were Rockwell, Everest, & Kanell. Please don't mock my choices-I am sensitive.

In the end I went with Everest. It was not listed on ssa's list, but I was surprised to find it was listed on babynametrain.com. My other kids names are not ever even listed, but Everest was listed. I really think it must be because of Mt Everest that it is listed at all though. If you go look, Everest is listed as "not ranked" and "rare".

In the end, I am happy with the choice I made. As a friend noted to Wes, Mt Everest is the highest mountain peak in the world, and surely our little Everest will also rise to the highest heights! We gave him a lot to live up to, but what a grand name it is!! Our friend said she was sure he would live up to his name. Here's to hoping! Doesn't he look like an Everest to you?

I think so, but that's just me!

"Kate & Will just made an #UltraSwitch. @Cottonelle is asking you to make a little one & enter for a chance to win

You mom deserves to hear from you on Mother's day. Click here to get a 15% discount from 1800Flowers

Are you still looking for a Mother's Day gift for a new mom, by chance? Or for a mom of young children? If you are I think I may have found the gift for you!

Many of you know wonderful readers know that I had my 5th child 4 weeks ago. One thing you may not know about me though is that I am a music fanatic and I am always looking for good age-appropriate music for my 5 babies (ages 4 weeks-8 years old). So, I was really excited when I was given a copy of the Lovely Baby & Mommy CD from Lovely Baby Music.

What is it?

Raimond Lap, the creator of Lovely Baby, has put together 10 very sweet songs about moms in the Lovely Baby & Mommy CD. It is like a big celebration of moms and as with all Lovely Baby Music, it is intended for babies prenatal to 36+ months. The Lovely Baby & Mommy CD and the Lovely Baby & Daddy CD include lyrics, but all other Lovely Baby CD's are instrumental only.

What did we think?

First, I would like to try and speak for my 4 week old baby who has sat quietly on my lap, wide awake for the last hour just listening to the music without fussing. I think his quiet sweet coos are telling me he likes it. He is so calm right now, and I believe it is because of the soothing music playing.

I also have a 35 month old child and the first thing she said when the CD came on was "Mom, this music makes me want you to hold me." Gotta love that. Before I can tell the next thing she said, I have to mention that through the music there are baby sounds (like babies or kids saying "mommy" or giggling). My little lady said "Oh...I love that sweet baby's laugh--he's so cute like our baby."

I also have 3 kids that are ages 4, 7, and 8. This Sunday I went to church with the 5 kids and my mother-in-law. My husband was unable to come due to his work schedule, and it was my first time attempting an outing of this proportion. Our church is 3 hours long, and for 2 of those hours I teach a class of kindergartners (5-yr-olds). Needless to say, by the end, I was totally drained. And my kids were totally wired-all wanted to yell over each other on the way home and so I put on the Lovely Baby & Mommy CD. Everyone quieted down and listened to the peaceful music, and I was so glad!

Many of the CD's my kids listen to and like drive me crazy, but this one is not so bad. I thought it was good music with fair lyrics. Some of the music lyrics were better than others, in that some just made more sense to me. But what I like is that all the lyrics fit with the music style from song to song, and the lyrics are very sweet and loving toward moms. As a mom it made me get a little teary eyed occasionally. I loved the lyrics to the song called "My Closest Friend." Musically, I especially loved the song "She is A Mom." You can actually listen to the song "She is a Mom" here.

Where Can you Buy it?

To learn more about Lovely Baby Music or purchase the Lovely Baby & Mommy CD, at http://www.lovelybabycd.com/. For a limited time they even have free shipping in the US and Canada!!! You all know how much I love FREE!

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