Outdoor & Sports Reviews

How to Store Digital Coupons on Free Smartphone Apps

If you have been watching Extreme Couponing on TLC you probably like saving money with coupons at the grocery store. While you do need to clip coupons from the newspaper and print them out online most of the time, there is also another way to get coupons sent directly to your loyalty card, it’s called eCoupons or digital coupons.

Every grocery store has a loyalty card. Just go to your store’s customer service desk and sign up. Make sure you use the card when you check out. That is another way to save money because some stores actually load coupons and bonus cash onto the cards.

Here are some Free apps that will help you create a grocery shopping list and also put eCoupons on your grocery store loyalty cards.

CellFire

Never clip a coupon again with Cellfire. With Cellfire you save online grocery coupons directly to your supermarket loyalty card. No clipping, no printing, no forgetting. Just use your loyalty card when you check out and the coupons you have uploaded will be taken off your order. Use Cellfire.com to track what coupons you have in your account so you can compare them to your shopping list and use them for items that are on sale to save even more.

Visit www.cellfire.com to setup a Free account and add your grocery store loyalty card.

SavingStar

SavingStar’s eCoupons are totally paperless. There’s nothing to clip or print since they are 100% digital! They work at over 100 chains in 24,000 stores nationwide.

Here’s how it works:

1. Setup a Free account at www.savingsstar.com and add your store loyalty cards.

2. Select the eCoupons you want to use from the SavingsStar website or the Free SavingStar Smartphone mobile app. They are automatically linked to your store loyalty card.

3. Use your grocery store’s loyalty card when you checkout and the money you save with the coupons is added to your SavingStar account. The savings don’t change your bill at the register and the savings are not printed on the receipt. Instead, they get deposited into your SavingStar account within 7-30 days depending upon where you shop.

4. Once your SavingStar account reaches $5 in savings, you can pick your payout and have the money sent to a bank account deposit, a PayPal account deposit, an Amazon gift card, or you can donate it to a charity.

There’s over 30 coupons on SavingStar now worth over $50!

Coupon Sherpa

The Coupon Sherpa is a Smartphone mobile app that brings hundreds of store coupons to your wallet. Coupons are updated daily and displayed as a number or scannable bar code to be shown at checkout. Coupon Sherpa not only has grocery store coupons but they have discount coupons for other stores as well so you can save on apparel, shoes, home decor, toys, and more.

The free iPhone app hosts a variety of features, including a daily rotation of fresh coupons and codes displayed as a number or scannable bar. The location function uses your phone’s GPS to instantly recognize nearby establishments and pull up the most suitable coupon.

WOWPONS

WOWPONS combines manufacturers coupons, in-store coupons and store loyalty cards into one easy, Free Smartphone mobile app.

Available for the iPhone and Android Smartphone.

Download WOWPONS to your smart phone
Use your phone to scan and add grocery and drugstore items to your custom WOWPONS list
WOWPONS searches for all the coupons to save you money.

You don’t have to be an Extreme Couponer to want to save money and using a coupon Smartphone app to store digital coupons is convenient and will help you save even if you don’t have the time to spend cutting and clipping newspaper coupons.

The Tuneables Educational Music DVD Set Review

Teaching the basics of music to children is important. The Tuneables CD/DVD set they will learn all about notes, beats, rhythm, and be introduced to classical music and instruments like the violin, clarinet, snare drum, cymbal, horn and piano to children ages 3 to 8. As children get older they are introduced to all kinds of music but often classical music is left out because it feels old, dull, and boring. The Tuneables DVD set changes all of that.

The DVD is a lot of fun. It is colorful and the music is fantastic. The main characters, Annie and Max, visit a music shop and are whisked away to Tuneville where they meet the characters – Mo, Gloria, Clara, Pete, Snare, and Sunny. The DVD is interactive and kids get to sing along and dance, march, clap, and move with the beat of the music.

The Tuneables teaches the “ABCs” of music learning to children in a fun and engaging way.

This focuses of The Tuneables is on four elements:

Tonal & Rhythm Patterns in Music
The Singing Voice
A Basic Repertoire of Music
Listening Skills

When you get to the main screen you can click Play and it will start at the beginning where the children visit the music shop and are introduced to the characters. Pick a Chapter to go from one section to another or click on individual Songs to skip around. Once your child goes through the entire storyline they will most likely have their favorites and want to jump right to it on the Songlist.

While the characters are singing they are also instructing the children to participate and occasionally real children join in so your child will feel like they are a part of a group. I really liked how they integrated animated characters with real children.

The companion has some of the music that is on the DVD but not all of the songs. It seems to have a little more classical music on it but it is a great companion CD that kids can take in the car and sing along or listen to. Because some of the songs are different they are getting even more to enjoy. All of the songs on the CD and DVD are original and a beautifully orchestrated. The quality is superb.

Visit thetuneables.com to joint The Tunies Club. On the Tuneables website kids can also be introduced to each character and print out a coloring page for each character.

If you have time and want to use the set to teach your child about music or you are homeschooling your children you can integrate the curriculum components including:

Moving to the beat (rhythm)
Learning two tonal patterns
Developing voice controls
Introducing tonal patterns within everyday sounds (raindrops)

Another goal of The Tuneables is to get kids to “hear it, do it, and name it”

I was really impressed with this set and think kids ages 3 to 8 will really enjoy it and learn a lot. I still remember when I was in 5th grade and an orchestra came to our school and taught us to listen to the different instruments within the musical piece and showed us how those instruments actually told a story. They painted a picture in my mind that has stayed with me all of these years. I think music is so important for children, for personal expression, enjoyment, and it nurtures our soul to lift our spirits. I was immediately impressed when I watched the Tuneables DVD and the music was a joy to listen to.

The Tuneables DVD/CD set is available for $29.99. The DVD is available alone for $19.99 and the Music Box CD is available for $14.99

The Tuneables is sponsored by the Music Intelligence Project

Check out one of the fun songs on the DVD.

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Disclosure: I am reviewing the The Tuneables DVD Set for Child’s Play/Team Mom. All opinions are my own and I was not paid for this review.

Fun at Busch Gardens and Water Country USA Virginia

Mom is always winning our family fun prizes, like this trip to Busch Garden. We went on our trip July 20-21, midweek, and really I think that was the best time to go. We still got to enjoy full park attractions and benefits without the hassle of large crowds (I think the fact that we went during a 100+ degree heatwave helped with that!).

We easily kept cool by frequenting the Sesame Street and Dragon World water attractions every few hours, which our girls highly enjoyed, and really helped cool us down. Lunch and dinner were great, and we were really impressed at the large amount of food we received when using our free meal vouchers!

After spending most of day one at Busch Gardens, we spent some time in our awesome hotel (another treat!) and went back to the park that evening for fireworks.

Day two was spent at Water Country, which was also awesome because of the oppressive heat! What could be better than water everywhere? This park was much more crowded however, and even though the water attractions were amazing and fun, my kids were struggling a bit with a second day out in the heat and we had to call it a day a bit earlier.

Overall, a wonderful trip was a lot of fun for everyone, the park is beautiful, and we will definitely be back whether we win it or not!

Kushyfoot Flats to Go Slipper Shoes and Foot Covers Review

Recently I received some new sock products and Flats to Go Shoes to review that I wanted to share with you. The socks are unique because they have cushions built in at the sole. They are from a company called Kushyfoot. The shoes are similar to the Dr. Scholl’s Fast Flats I told you about last month but they come in a clear bag and have tiny air holes in them so your feet can breathe.

I think the Flats to Go are a great idea. Since I found the Dr. Scholl’s Fast Flats, I have been a huge fan of the take-with-you slip-on slipper/shoe concept. These are great too. They are well-made and they tiny air holes throughout the top and sides to let your feet breathe. Inside, the rubber has grooves, kind of like traction, that lets your feet stay securely in the slippers. The bottom has traction too for added gripping while you walk. These slippers have elastic on the back of the heel area to help them stay one better too. The ones I got were an off-white color and had a cute little bow on the front.

I actually like how these are made more than the Dr. Scholls. The case these Flats to Go comes in is clear and is really designed to take with you in your purse while the Dr. Scholls comes with a gold or black purse you can use by itself but I found it hard to get the Dr. Scholl’s slippers in the purse they provide. The Flats to Go fit better in the clear purse they provide. I think these Flats to Go are a good idea to keep with you so you can slip them on when your feet hurt.

The Flats to Go cost $9.99 which is affordable and at the same price as the Dr. Scholl’s so you can get either depending on the purse carrier you would rather have, or style. I think these are made just a bit better though.

Kushyfoot Foot Covers is a sock product made out of Nylon and Elastane for stretch. They are small and fit inside of your shoe just like a nylon sock that will keep your feet from rubbing against your shoes. They will help keep your shoes cleaner too because you aren’t putting your foot right in the shoe without anything one. They are the size you use when you go to a shoe store and try on a pair of shoes and they give you those small slip-on foot protectors.

The different in the Kushyfoot Foot Covers from other brands is they have a padded sole and also padding at the base of your heel where your shoe tends to rub. I like the padding idea, especially at the heel because that is definitely where shoes tend to rub a lot and you end up with a blister.

I don’t wear many closed shoes, probably for the reason these foot covers were designed, they are uncomfortable and rub. I like to wear open back, slide-in shoes all year long so these won’t help me much. I do wear boots in the Winter though but they rub in different places. I am not sure the padding at the sole will do anything much but it is an added bonus that might help and couldn’t hurt.

The Kushyfoot Foot Covers sell for $3.99 a pair or 3 for $11.97 for the lace face with frilly edges. I think that is a bit high but since I don’t buy these type of socks maybe it is the price most foot covers are sold for. I also received a set of two black extra low cut foot covers (really the same thing as the white ones without the frilly look) and they cost $6.00 for the two pair.

You can buy both products at local retailers (shown here) or at kushyfoot.com

Disclosure: I received the above products for testing. I was not paid and all of the opinions I wrote are my own.

101 Offline Kids Activities Book Review

Technology is an integral part of our daily lives and now our children are growing up with technology on the brain by the time they are 2. My granddaughter can use a Smartphone and tell you how to search on Google and she is only 4 and has never gone to school yet.

Because technology has taken over every breathing moment of the day it gets harder and harder to get kids unwired. Some would say that it doesn’t matter if kids just use technology to learn and play but I would say, and so do others, that kids need time to use their imagination. Technology is great and without it I couldn’t be writing this post but to have healthy kids I think they need balance in everything they do.

I received a copy of the book, 101 Offline Activities You can Do With Your Child to review. It reminded me of some of the things I used to do with my kids when they were growing up. They didn’t have computers, Internet or Smartphones so they had a lot of time on their hands. Boredom frequently set in when nothing great was on TV or the weather wouldn’t cooperate for them to go outside and explore the woods behind our house.

We used to make all kinds of craft projects, setup a neighborhood baseball card show in our basement and invite friends to come trade cards, and even do design obstacle courses in the driveway.

Steve and Ruth Bennett, the authors of this book, have put simple, fun, and easy activities for you to enjoy with your kids in a well laid out book. I like how they have used drawings for the index instead of a long list of topics in text format.

Here are some examples of offline activities from the book:

Create a Big Newspaper
In-Flight Map Game Pack
Magical Mystery Machine
Macaroni Math
Kitchen Bowling
Indoor Treasure Hunt (we used to do this at Christmas for the kids presents)
Snork
Sign Jumbles
Pin the Food on the Plate

I’d say the only thing I don’t like about the book is the lack of color and a little too much text. The cover is so colorful and you open it up and not a lick of color can be found inside. If the goal is to get you to want to read the book to find offline activities I think they have to take in consideration the fact that most people have the attention span of a mouse. Nowadays you might have 5 seconds to impress someone and if you give them too much to read, like this post, you may just lose them. If the book had more photos of the steps you do to make the projects or play the game they are telling you about you might find more moms interested in getting their kids involved. You will find kids gravitate to pictures too.

The more pictures the better I say, maybe because I am a visual person and tend to skim over text. The same way they put the pictures in the index, they could have put picture instructions instead of so much wording with just a sentence under each one.

I do like how they make a short list of items you will need on each page, one drawing to show you what you will end up with and then put everything in categories like home, out and about, anytime or anyplace, in the kitchen, on the road, etc. They make it easy to use this book as a reference when you need a quick idea for something fun to do with your kids offline.

[rating:4]

Overall I’d have to say I give it a 4 out of 5 stars just because of the lack of color and lack of step-by-step pictures. Other than that, I think it is well designed book with thoughtful ideas for things to do and make with your kids that have nothing to do with computer, Smartphones or the Internet.

Disclosure: I received this book to review and was not compensated. I am reviewing for the Family Review Network and Steve and Ruth Bennett. What I wrote was 100% my own opinion.