Classroom Valentines from Minted

Card and gift-giving occasions are always such a challenge. Remember how I totally dropped the ball on holiday cards this year? I have such great intentions of making beautiful handcrafted goodies for Roo and Jasper to pass out too all their friends, basking in the glow of love and admiration from other parents and teachers… but that seldom happens. We are ALWAYS doing stuff last-minute, although I must admit it does usually turn out okay.

Friends and longtime readers know my fatal flaw: I am a tardy girl, always have been. I know this is not something to be proud of and I am trying to instill a fear of lateness to my kids as best as I can. They are both natural-born dawdlers, preferring to "go with the flow," as they say. In a way, I like the fact that they get so rapt in their imaginations that they lose all track of time; their creativity is truly boundless. But when mommy's constantly fighting the clock, having two stragglers in tow has a tendency to make our tardiness even more palpable, especially when we have to come up with something in a hurry. So, what are we going to do for Valentine's Day this year?

In lieu of spending the night before V-Day cutting out thousands of tiny construction paper hearts and having the kids decorate stacks of cards, we'll be ordering our classroom Valentine's Day cards from Minted. I like the fact that you can customize them with your kids' names and photos, change the colors, etc. And I'm still going to make Roo and Jasper sign all of them– 40 each. Better them than me…


Here are our top contenders:

Work of Art, Robot Friends, Chatter

Which design would your kids like best?

Remember:  You must order personalized classroom Valentine's Day Cards by February 7th to receive them in time for your kiddos to hand out on February 14th!

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received a gift code to facilitate this review. All opinions are, as usual, strictly my own.

Mr. Chewy: Delivering Pet Happiness

Mr. Chewy is a new shopping destination for pet lovers. We have four cats, a basset hound, two frogs and a turtle, so I'd say our household is definitely in their target demographic.

It seems like I am always making a last-minute run to the pet food store, so I was intrigued by the concept of ordering supplies online. Mr. Chewy offers free shipping on orders over $49 and if you schedule regular deliveries, you'll receive 15% off your first shipment. Plus, they stock over 70 of the most popular pet food and flea/tick protection brands.

I placed an order for two bags of the Iams cat food we usually buy. The price was comparable to our local chain pet emporium. I received an email saying my order was on its way within a couple of hours- it was crazy fast! Also crazy was the fact that it arrived via FedEx Saturday delivery with no extra charge. If you consider I didn't pay shipping (since my total was above $50) or sales tax, Mr. Chewy gives those big guys a run for their money!

Fluffy asks "is that for me?"

I was impressed with how many varieties of food they stock, from huge brands to more obscure ones. I'd like to see Mr. Chewy expand their offerings to include toys and other accoutrements for cats and dogs, not just food and treats. It would be great if they offered supplies for other pets, too. Say, for example, turtles or dwarf frogs. Just something to consider for the future…

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received credit to shop online at Mr. Chewy in order to facilitate this review, which was made possible by Mom Spark Media. As usual, all thoughts are my own.

Frugal Dad Knows Cool Stuff…

… like the real cost of cupcakes:
and just how common pawn shops are in the US: Source: http://frugaldad.com