Here’s another activity to add to your Project Summer Fun list!

Keep your kids entertained while they are out of school with this FREE Summer Crafts for Kids eBook.  Includes 22 craft projects for kids involving paper crafts, household items, recyclables and more!

I am honored to be featured on iVillage today with my post, “The Real Life of an Extreme Couponer.”

My post focuses on dispelling some of the myths that people have come to believe after watching Extreme Couponing on TLC.    I took the opportunity to offer a glimpse into my real life and (no doubt) the lives of most couponers out there.

Here is a brief excerpt, then head on over to iVillage to read the rest (and be sure to chime in with your thoughts!):

I have a confession: I am a couponer. Some might even call me extreme. I regularly bring home bags of groceries for mere pennies. In fact, I often get paid to shop. I can’t remember the last time I spent money on toothpaste, or deodorant, or shampoo, or cereal. I know a rock-bottom deal when I see it and I stock up.

But if this description brings to mind images of grocery carts overflowing with free mustard and Alka-Seltzer, or entire garages overtaken by rows of shelves that bear a striking resemblance to your local Kroger, I’d say you’ve been watching a little too much Extreme Couponing on TLC.

TLC has shown the world that couponers can score big at the grocery store. But if you ask me, the show is a little… well, extreme.

I think I speak for most couponers when I offer you a glimpse of my “real” life. 

Read more on iVillage…

I just wanted to give an update on our local donation drive that was held a couple of weeks ago at Dunkin Donuts.  Local readers stopped by and filled my truck with pasta, juice, canned goods and health and beauty products.  I seriously don’t think I could have fit one more thing in my truck.

I immediately took all of the food items to Keystone Opportunity Center where they were finishing up their Stamp Out Hunger Drive.  They were very grateful!

They weren’t collecting health and beauty items that day–and many were donated.  So I got permission to set up a table at Fresh for All which is a free produce drive offered by Philabundance at Grace Bible Church in Souderton every Tuesday.  (By the way, I think that what they do is fantastic!)

We set up the table yesterday afternoon as people were arriving. Immediately, the table was swarmed with people asking, “Are you handing these out for FREE?”

We were able to hand out well over 200 full-size bottles of shampoo, body wash, soaps, deodorants, and specially packaged sample bags. What a blast!

Reader Angie stopped by to help out and we had a great time getting to know each other while she helped out.

Oh…did I mention that yesterday was our first warm day here in quite a while?  Poor little Lincoln looks like he’s feeling it!

Thanks so much to all who helped make this happen and to those who participated in Couponing for Community.  There is just something SO cool about couponers working together to make giving happen.  I look forward to many more opportunities like this!

I was at CVS this morning, grabbing a few of the great deals this week and picked up a copy of our local paper, The Souderton Independent, because I thought they might have a story on the Stamp Out Hunger Drive last week.

And that’s when I saw this picture smack dab in the middle of the ‘Living’ section front page:

That kid?  Yeah…he’s mine.

Boy, is this mama proud.

My husband took our youth group to help with the Stamp Out Hunger Drive last Saturday, and our boys went along to help.  {As much as a 2 year old and 5 year old can help when it involves carrying large loads of canned goods and such.}

Included with the picture is a great article about the drive, which also highlighted Couponing for Community and our local donation drive as well.  Head on over here to read the whole article.

Oh…and in case you were wondering, Wes failed to mention to me that he was contacted to ask if the paper could use Lincoln’s picture.  {So, it’s all good.}

And just to be fair, here’s a picture of the big brother doing his part to Stamp Out Hunger:

I just wanted to give you all a heads up that this offer is still available.  I’m not sure when it will end, so be sure to grab it now if you are interested!

Now that Mother’s day has come and gone, you know what that means.  It’s time to start thinking about Father’s Day!

Vistaprint has a FREE T-Shirt offer available now that I think would make a super fun gift for a Dad or a Grandpa.

Shipping starts at $4.41 and you can upload pictures for an additional $2.49.  Some of the designs are created for business, but you can change the wording to whatever you like.  I like my friend Shannon’s idea to use the words “Real Men Use Tools” with this design:

Have fun!  Click here to get started.

Image Credit

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Supermoms!  Hope your day is very special!

You may have noticed that things have been a little quieter around here for the past few days.

That’s because my family and I, along with my brother’s family, made a whirlwind trip down to VA Beach for a couple of days.  It was a quick trip, but you can’t go wrong when the ocean is involved.

Oh…and yes…I used a Groupon. 🙂

So hopefully things will resume to a bit more of normal pace here in the next few days.  Thanks for understanding!