We’ve been thrilled to host two giveaways for Natural Pod here at Quiverfullfamily.com, we love their emphasis on natural toys and family gear.

This spring, they’re celebrating their 3rd birthday with 15% off everything!  They also have some exciting new products like all natural play clay.  So, hurry on over before March 21st at midnight and use coupon code “springbirthday2010″ to get your discount!

I just received an email in my inbox today from Chapters (an online Canadian bookseller).  Seems they’re giving away a $5 gift certificate if you join their facebook page.

You can sign up here, and they have free shipping on orders over $39 as a matter of course.

Hmm, I can hear chapters calling my name…

Fellow Canadian book-lovers, this PSA is for you .

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dirt Devil. All opinions are 100% mine.

Just in time for the busiest shopping season of the year, Dirtdevil.com has released an exclusive (free) guide to finding bargains online!  Written to provide online shoppers with the tools, resources, and all-important bargain-listing websites they need to get geared up for Black-Friday and the newly instituted Cyber-Monday

While we don’t go in for the ‘holidays’ we certainly don’t object to receiving great deals on items that we’ll need throughout the year if they’re on sale during this season!

You might be thinking, yeah yeah – a gift guide from Dirt Devil, it’s likely loaded with vacuum cleaners, right?  Well, yes and no.  I did see some super-great Dirt Devil products that I wouldn’t mind owning (like their combination sweeper/vacuums – my kitchen needs one!) but they’re lightly sprinkled through the guide, giving suggestions for men, women, and family.

The bulk of the guide is actually helpful for any bargain-hunter, with money saving websites, rebate sites, twitter accounts to follow to alert you to deals, 300 money saving tips and resources all together. Something I was previously unaware of is the second annual Free Shipping day on December 17th – there’s something we should ALL know about!

Well, I’m off to look at those sweeper/vacuums online and see if I can get a deal one one!

Over the past 50 years family structures, and social structures have change dramatically.  With the incredible rise of nuclear families separated from older, more experienced relations, and an incredible reliance upon electronic forms of communication (re: the internet), people can often feel at a loss when they require answers to their questions.

These aren’t necessarily the ‘big’ questions of life, but the little ones, “Where can I buy this?  Will this item last?  Is it a good value for the money?  What is the best type of product that will accomplish this task?” and so on.  Freshdeals.com provides a unique combination of shopping search engine and advice column where people go to for their answers – the worldwide web.

Readers can look-up the latest deals, including coupon codes, discounts, and savings at a variety of online shops.  They can also ask and answer questions related to a wide range of shopping questions.  Anything from “Is there a baby sock that is made to stay on your baby’s feet?” to “Are they baby pants available with pads in the knee for when the baby starts crawling?“, they can be sorted by category and searched. Product searches can also be conducted with associated questions shown beneath them, as well as an option for price comparisons when more than one listed store offers the item.

Overall, Freshdeals is a unique site for shopping reconnaissance – I’ll certainly be heading there the next time I need a shopping question answered and I don’t want to do a lot of online ‘legwork’ myself.

After having the opportunity in the past to review a Sleepy Wrap and give one away, we’ve bought them for friends and recommended them widely to one and all.  This is absolutely my most favourite carrier for newborns on up to toddlers from a comfortable front carry.  The Sleepy Wrap is so comfortable and is very easy to use, even for those new to baby-carrying.  There’s a picture of Sarah as a newborn in the wrap to jog your memory .

Now I’m excited to share a coupon code for this fabulous baby carrier with you, as well as an opportunity to vote in accordance with your love for this comfy, convenient wrap.

Sleepy Wrap has been listed on the Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine Readers Choice Awards! Readers from all over the world may vote online at the Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine Website for their favorite baby and maternity products.  Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards will determine the top brands in many categories of baby and maternity products based solely on the input received from voters such as yourself. We hope that with your help, Sleepy Wrap will have it’s time to shine! 

So, what do you need to do to vote the Sleepy Wrap up?  Head on over to Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine and register for an account there (free of course).  After you activate your account, and log in, click on the big pink words Vote Now In Our Readers’ Choice Awards! under your name, and you’re off!

As their way of saying “Thank you!” our readers get a 15% off coupon code for the beautiful new Organic Sleepy Wrap! The code “ivoted” (no space!) is good until May 31st when the Pregnancy & Newborn RCA poll CLOSES! 

When you Vote now you can also enter to win Pregnancy & Newborn’s GRAND PRIZE SELECTION OF THE WINNING GEAR! So have fun, vote on the categories you’re familiar with, and if you love Sleepy Wrap’s, keep them in mind!

For a limited time Tawra at Living on a Dime (who recently sponsored a contest here for her book, Dining on a Dime) is offering for FREE her e-book Valentine’s On A Dime.  It’s only available until February 15th, so run over there and download it while you can!  Enjoy !

CONTEST CLOSED

Thanks to everyone for entering!  We have a winner – Helen S.!  Congratulations Helen, I pray that God will bless your food budget through this book!

Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper of Living on a Dime are amongst the most renowned frugal-living experts on the internet today.  Their books, both in print and e-book have enabled mothers nation-wide to pay down their debts and save money on groceries, children’s items, gifts, home decorations, beauty products and many other household needs.

Recently featured in Parade magazine the team at Living on a Dime ordered too many books.  Now, in a desperate attempt to clear out their garage…erm, warehouse….their well known print titles are on sale at an unprecedented discount, from 50 – 57% off, putting prices on par with their e-books!  (There are free bonus downloads as well!)

By implementing even a few of the money saving suggestions made in their titles you’ll quickly and easily recuperate the investment made by purchasing their books.  Hurry over; this Crazy New Year Sale will only last until January 08th, 2009!

Tawra has also generously donated a print copy of their flagship title – Dining on a Dime – as a prize to one of our U.S. readers!  Regularly $19.95, it is now on sale for only $9.95 and promises families delicious recipes that will result in thousands of dollars of savings on grocery bills.  Don’t take my word for it, here’s what they have to say:

Save $10,000 a year on food?

Without cutting coupons! Unbelievable? Read Tawra Jean Kellam and Jill Cooper’s advice in their book: Dining on a Dime (formerly Not Just Beans) and find out that it really is possible.

Tawra has told her story to millions of listeners and readers on the radio, on the web and in women’s magazines (including Woman’s Day and Woman’s World) and now she’s put her best tips and tricks into a 476 page book. Using these tips and suggestions, Tawra shows how anyone can tighten his or her food budget.

Dining on a Dime is packed with over 1,200 money saving recipes and tips, kids tips and snack ideas, gift baskets, menus, food storage directions, Cleaning Cents and Pretty for Pennies. The recipes are easy to cook with ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. To make shopping easy and economical, Tawra has also included a pantry list and a shopping list.

• Did you know that dirty dishes cause debt? See page 385 and read how to save money just by doing the dishes.
• Need fast snack ideas for hungry kids? Check out page 28.
• Want to clean your bathroom in a flash? Check out page 398 for a 7-step plan.
• Got leftovers in the fridge? Use them up!!! Dining on a Dime has a complete index of recipes using nothing but leftovers.
• Drive right by the pricey gift basket boutique– Go home and make your own for pennies. Check out page 339 for ideas!
• Need to cut down on meat? Tawra has pages of tips for eating better and spending less.
• Need a specific money saving idea? Dining on a Dime has a special index just for tips.
• Make three meals from one chicken? Yes, Dining on a Dime has this, too! (Page 176)

According to Tawra, “real families don’t eat shitake mushrooms.” (Note from Jennifer: Amen!) She’s spiced up the book with plenty of anecdotes, quips and quotes that make the book worth reading just for entertainment. Don’t just read the jokes – if you use just one or two of her ideas and recipes, you will recover the purchase price of the book!

Dining On A Dime is a collection of frugal recipes and tips from the cooking expertise of three generations of Tawra Kellam’s family.

Dining On A Dime is a great resource for beginners and experienced cooks. It contains over 540 recipes and 420 tips explaining how to eat well while slashing your grocery bill. With hard-to-find frugal recipes like buttermilk, enchilada sauce and granola bars, classic favorites like slow cooked roast, hush puppies and apple crisp and old-fashioned comfort foods like watermelon pickles, lemon bars, rice pudding and fried green tomatoes, Dining On A Dime has it all.

And that’s just a sampling, click here to read testimonials and more details.

So how do you enter?

CONTEST DETAILS:

To enter visit Living on a Dime’s Crazy New Year Sale and tell me which of their print titles interests you the most, and why!

For additional entries:

1. Subscribe to this blog for updates – see the left hand sidebar. Leave an additional comment letting me know you’ve subscribed (or if you already subscribe).

2. Write a post on your blog promoting and linking to this contest. Leave an additional comment with a link to your post.

3. Add the Quiverfull Family button (see the code box in the right hand sidebar under BUTTON UP!) to your blog’s sidebar. Leave an additional comment with a link to your post.

4. Digg, Stumble or otherwise share this post on a social networking site.  Leave an additional comment indicating how you shared this post.

5. Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/quivermamma

Each additional step taken counts for 1 additional entry.  A total of 6 entries are available if you complete all of these steps.

The contest will close at 12 a.m. MST on Thursday, January 09th, 2009. One winner will be randomly drawn for the book on Friday, January 10th, 2009 and notified by email. Please fill your email address in the comment form when you are completing your comment so that I can contact you.  The winner must respond with a mailing address within 72 hours of my email, or a new winner will be chosen.  This contest is open to US addresses only.

I look forward to seeing God bless a family with this book, I know that it will prove to be a blessing to a family as they seek to save money at the grocery store.  Thanks for entering!

Where can you go to find easy, affordable home made project plans suitable for gift giving? My absolute favourite are these felted house slippers made from a used sweater with a brown sugar foot scrub, you have to check it out!  You can also pick up frugal, crafty ideas for decorating the holiday table, free tasty recipes and organizational tips AND an interactive online homemaking community?    I’m talking about Home Made Simple, brought to those caring for the home by Proctor and Gamble, manufacturers of the top brands in home care today.  I haven’t even mentioned the contests, coupons and free newsletter – make sure you set some time aside before you visit, this site is loaded with information and offers.

If you’ve been keeping your eyes peeled to the latest cleaning products on store shelves you’ve likely noticed some brand new products for cleaning, scenting and disinfecting your home.

I’ve certainly noticed as I browse the aisles, and I’ve had a chance to take a peek at some of these new products and let you know how they measure up.  I’ll be doing a series of posts featuring two – three items in each installment.

Even better, I’ve done a bit of online research and found some online coupons.  Woohoo – read on for coupon links!  Because I’m in Canada, the links are for the Canadian sites, but never fear, US equivalents exist, just do a search for the product name and visit the main website for the product and the default country is the U.S.A.

Our family has found some favourites amongst the new offerings.  Every family faces specific housekeeping challenges, and we have our share of them!

Febreze has released a new line of refillable scented oil warmers that scent the home – Febreze NOTICEables.  The starter packs include the plug in device, and one dual oil refill in a wide range of scents.  The scents alternate back and forth, with a soft, green light indicating which oil is currently in use.  I was amazed to learn that each refill lasts for 30 days on the low setting.  The high setting is quite strong, almost overpowering in our small home, but the low setting provides an effective level of scent that refreshes without being obtrusive.  We were able to test the Lavender and Vanilla starter pack, but once established with the device, any new scent can be chosen as a refill.  Some of them sound delicious, each pair is selected to provide two complementary fragrances.  The citrus duo, berry/melon and clothesline/meadow sets sound so yummy!  Our family suffers from some fragrance sensitivities, we had the plug-in working for several hours and overnight before any hint of a headache was detected.  That being said, we obviously can’t run it for 30 days straight, but it’s great to plug in for a few hours on high for an emergency, systemic home scenting.

Next up, Mr. Clean a housecleaning superstar has teamed up with Febreze to offer a disposable, scented disinfecting wipe.  I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t use disinfecting wipes on a regular basis, but we’ve run into a few situations where they were a God-send.  Now maybe this is too much info…but we often run into poop related events in our home.  With a baby and 3 kittens on the loose, it seems like we have poopy incidents more often than we’d like to.  For these kinds of emergencies, these wipes can’t be beat.

We had the opportunity to test out the Mr. Clean Disinfecting Wipes with Febreze, scented with the meadows and rain aroma (that’s the green kind).  When baby Sarah’s diaper exploded – for lack of a better word – in her Bumbo seat, it was Mr. Clean to the rescue!  I grabbed a wipe, swabbed the seat down and within a minute the seat was clean, disinfected and smelling fresh.  Left it to sit for 10 minutes for the bacteria killing action to take full effect and we were ready to go!  These handy wipes can be kept on hand to clean any non-porous surface.  Kitchens, bathrooms, cat poop on the floor – yep you name it, just give any food contact surfaces a rinse with clean water when you’re done.  Here’s a list with some more cleaning ideas and tips.  And like I said, I dug up some coupon codes!  A Canadian coupon for $1.00 off any Mr. Clean disinfecting wipe product – enjoy!

Don’t forget to check back for some more reviews on the new cleaning and home care products from Proctor & Gamble!

Whew.  The repair bill for our IMac was $1299.00 or so.  Thank the good Lord for extended warranties!  When we purchased our Mac nearly three years ago we went for the longest term of extended warranty available – three years.  It runs out early January/09.  In the past two years our logic board has been replaced, twice – worth $900, and a total repair bill of $1200 each time.  I don’t know why the silly board keeps blowing, but it’s frustrating.  I thought Macs were more sound than this?  My husband has a Mac from the eighties that is still going strong, so what’s up here?  In any case, always get the extended warranty.  With the $299 warranty price we’ve done well financially on this one – still I wish we could avoid these break downs all togehter and get more than a measly three years out of this machine.  Ah well – laptop next time .

I like to keep my frugal minded readers up to date with the latest sales and freebies in the homeschooling world, and I HAD to share these sales and great prices from The Old Schoolhouse.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is having an amazing sale on subscriptions during their annual Black Friday Sale November 26 – 30. For those 5 days only, they are drastically reducing their one-year subscription price to $7.95! That’s the price you would usually pay for just one issue at a bookstore!  I can’t believe this price, this is a BIG magazine and is definitely the premier Christian-based homeschooling magazine on the market, don’t miss out!  This sale is for new subscribers only.

This is their lowest price ever on the magazine and they want all of you to take advantage of this offer and share the info with your friends.

Your one-year subscription will pay for itself time and time again as you receive practical tips and Biblical encouragement to keep going strong in your commitment to homeschooling and to the Lord. Since it’s a quarterly magazine, they even have a monthly subscriber’s only E-Newsletter called Teacher’s Toolbox that will give you seasonal teaching ideas and a free E-Book download! It’s like joining a unit study of the month club! The free E-Books alone are valued at almost $250/year. It’s really perfect for people who are homeschooling on a shoestring or just wanting to add in some little extras to your teaching.

Plus during the Black Friday Sale, they have all kind of bonus gifts when you spend $50, $75, $100, or $150. Some are electronic downloads that you can download immediately, while other are physical products mailed from various vendors directly to your home.

AND, their Win Big contest is going on so if you just happen to be customer 67,000, you will receive a prize package valued at almost $500 which includes a $150 gift certificate to the Schoolhouse Store! Who couldn’t use that? And you can qualify to win it no matter how much or how little you spend!

Mark your calendars for November 26 – 30th and do a little shopping from your seat, not your feet at the Schoolhouse Store’s Black Friday Sale!

www.TheOldSchoolhouseStore.com