The first was in the decorations at The Cheesecake Factory and the second was a rubber band (well I call it a hair hickey) on the floor.
Have you found any in your life? Be sure to email them to me!
Save for Family Vacations
By Kristen D
The first was in the decorations at The Cheesecake Factory and the second was a rubber band (well I call it a hair hickey) on the floor.
Have you found any in your life? Be sure to email them to me!
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
On the 9th day of the trip, we decided to go to Hollywood Studios. Lee Dewyze (The American Idol) was going to be in a parade in front of the American Idol experience and we thought it would be fun.
We got to Hollywood Studios just after it had opened (it was an early magic hour day) and Jason rushed to get us Fastpasses. The kids and I took our time walking back to the Muppets 3D show and Jason met us there just as we were arriving. We watched the show with about 5 other people (I really don’t know why this is an early magic hour attraction, but it was alright) and the kids enjoyed it. We then went to wait on Chip and Dale to come out at 9 am. By the time 9:15 am rolled around, we decided they weren’t coming. This was a frustrating part of the trip because we asked 2 cast members if the characters were still greeting in front of the hat (even though the parade was going on at 10 am) and they said yes. Oh well.
The kids and I went to meet Buzz and Woody while Jason went to see the American Idol parade. The times guide said that they begin meeting at 9:30 am, but the sign said 10 am. We decided to wait it out and sure enough, it was 9:30. It only took us about 5 minutes wait to meet these cool characters!
After that, we walked over to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater. They were so cute! And then we went to the Animation Building to meet Sorcerer Mickey. That’s where we hit the jack pot! That is where all the sorcerer hat characters ended up.
Here’s who we met in 45 minutes:
Sorcerer Mickey
Minnie
Goofy
Pluto
Chip
Dale
Stitch
Pooh
Piglet
Lotso
Can you tell the kids LOVE meeting the characters?
After this, we left Hollywood Studios and headed back to the hotel to refresh.
We got to Epcot around 3 pm so we could do the Visa Meet and Greet. We had the best discussion with people while we waited our turn. We only had to wait about 10 minutes in line and it went by fast. We met Mickey, Minnie and Goofy at the meet and greet. The kids had a lot of fun but I was a little irritated at Disney. They advertise it as a private meet and greet, but they had the waiting family stand behind a rope in the same room as us. I don’t classify that as too private.
Next we went to Mexico for the BEST tasting Nachos in all the world. Make sure you don’t miss these. They are so good! We also rode Gran Fiesta Tour (which Jacob LOVED) and tried on the sombreros. Then we rushed to China to meet Mulan (waited 2 minutes) where Jacob received the THIRD kiss of the trip.
Then we ran to meet Snow White (she’s so cute!) before her meet and greet time was over. We had to wait 10 minutes to see her. Apparently she couldn’t find her lipstick.
Then we backtracked back to Norway and rode Maelstrom and stopped in China to eat dinner. While we were eating, it started to rain. So we spent some time browsing in the shops and playing with the Chinese toys. I also bought my grandmother a fan and they wrote her name on it in Chinese. (They do this for free!)
Finally the rain started to let up, so we went on to tour Germany and the United States. Finally we ended up in Japan where I let Emily pick a pearl (it’s $17). She had no idea why she was picking a slimey oyster, but was so thrilled to find it had a pearl inside.
We had just enough time to grab a spot for Illuminations. If you have never seen it, it is absolutely amazing and beautiful!
We left the park and on the way back to the hotel it started to pour. I mean POUR! Jason stopped at the curb and we rushed to get the sleeping kids out of the truck and poor Emily fell flat on her butt in a huge puddle. But at least it didn’t rain on us in the parks! For that we were grateful.
Day 1 evening and Day 2 morning recap
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
Today is our 9th anniversary. It’s so hard to believe that we have been married 9 years! Time has flown by so incredibly fast.
I met my husband online when I was 16 years old. I didn’t talk to strangers online, but one night I was bored and decided to find someone to chat with about the country music singer LeAnn Rimes (we were both huge fans of hers). I searched through AOL profiles and he was online and so we started chatting. We hit it off and 5 months later we met in person (he lived 150 miles away). My mother always said she would go on my first date and I didn’t believe her, and sure enough…. she went on our first date. Looking back I really appreciate her doing that, but I was rather annoyed at the time.
And that night I got my very first kiss…. on the baby aisle of a grocery store. We had gone to Books a Million and decided to walk next door to the grocery store and he kissed me right there on the baby aisle! I went weak in the knees. I’m not kidding. I really did swoon.
The next summer he moved to town (just before my senior year) and we were inseparable (well as much as my mother allowed us to be. I wasn’t allowed at his house by myself, etc. We spent A LOT of time hanging out with my baby brother and sister). The month after I graduated high school we got married. We had planned on having a nice, small wedding, but my home life was too crazy at that time to even plan anything. So finally my mom told me to just elope with him.
So June 29th, 2001 we went to the courthouse and exchanged our I Do’s. And after the judge pronounced us husband and wife….the Judge gave me a bag of coupons and samples. I’m not kidding! There were samples of cleaners, dishwashing detergent and coupons for bathroom supplies, paper goods and more. It still cracks me up thinking of it.
So here we are 9 years later. 2 amazing kids and a happy life. My husband is my best friend and I am so incredibly thankful to of found him at an early age. When people wonder how I get everything done between the blog, kids, house etc. It’s because of that man. He is amazing…. he even does laundry and the dishes!
By Kristen D
We just got back from ‘yard selling’ and check out what we got…
Total spent: $27.50!!
How did you do today? Get any great deals?
By Kristen D
This was a rather slow week for us, money saving wise. Mother in law is without a job so we actually went over the weekly budget helping her out (which is fine. But she does have a job interview tonight!).
– $6.11 found in an envelope in my purse left over from Emily’s field day. (yeah my purse was that messy!)
$6.11 added to the Disney fund. $107.61 saved since June 3rd!
You can see all the previous deposits here.
By Kristen D on at
One way that I save money is by cutting the men in my family’s hair. I bought a $20 pair of sheers at Walmart 2 years ago and it was money very well spent. Cutting hair is so easy! You just put on the guard you need (the set I have came with 8) and run it over the head. Their hair is short and well groomed in no time.
I saved $30 by doing this at home!
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
Wow! I have already reached $100 in the fund! I can’t believe how fast it has grown and to be honest, I haven’t really even been trying. I’m still trying to recover from the trip and moving Mother in Law.
– $12 Survey Savvy check from surveys I did in April and May.
$12 added to the Disney fund! $101.50 saved since June 3rd!
You can see all the previous deposits here.
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
Well I just had time to sort through everything I have done for the survey companies in the past couple of months and realized I had $30 sitting in Paypal I hadn’t cashed out. I have my Paypal account linked to my bank account so I just transferred it. I also could of used it to buy Disney gift cards from The Disney Store.
– $30 from Mindfield ($7 earned in May and $23 earned in April.)
$30 added to the Disney fund! $89.50 saved since June 3rd!
You can see all the previous deposits here.
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
Campbell Soup Co. is recalling 15 million pounds of SpaghettiOs with meatballs after a cooker malfunctioned at one of the company’s plants in Texas and left the meat undercooked.
Recalled are certain lots of three varieties of the pasta product often consumed by children: SpaghettiOs with Meatballs, SpaghettiOs A to Z with Meatballs, and SpaghettiOs Fun Shapes with Meatballs (Cars).
You can read the full article here.
(Thanks Mommy Octopus!)
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
Another week has passed since my last deposit into the Disney fund. I still haven’t had time to really sort through everything. (You should see the house! Ick!)
– $22.50 in miscellaneous rebates that I received while we were on our trip.
$22.50 added to the Disney fund. $59.50 saved since June 3rd!
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
Check out this super cute Beagle puppy that Brandi just posted on my Facebook page. What do you notice??
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
It’s time for the very first deposit to the Disney fund! I’m so excited! Every week I will be detailing each deposit to the Disney fund. I might add money to it throughout the week, but you can definitely count on a deposit every Thursday (this is the day I go to the bank). I have not yet come up with a goal amount, but I will let you know when I do! I have some more money floating around the house (spare change, etc) but I haven’t had time to count that. Here’s what I do have:
$5 – I was opening mail and I received $5 in cash to complete a survey for Neilsen TV (they also included the survey. I was paid in advance). I assume they got my information when I applied for the Neilsen Homescan Panel. It was 5 of the crispest $1 bills I have ever seen.
$15 – My birthday is on Saturday and my sweet grandmother sent me $15 for my birthday. I decided I’d rather spend this money on souvenirs on our next trip. I saw so many things I’d love to have at Disney World.
$17 – My husband had to go to a meeting today and they pay 58.5 cents a mile! They also round it up to the nearest dollar. Isn’t that awesome?
$37 added to the Disney fund! $37 saved since June 3rd.
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
I just uploaded the pictures and videos off the video camera and thought I would share. Total wait……….10 minutes! ;) I tell ya. All you gotta do is know the best time to be somewhere and be there.
By Kristin from Couponing to Disney
In case you were wondering, none of us suffered from a sunburn during our 12 days in the Florida sun! We did get a little pink a few times, but it was never painful. Every morning we would apply the Neutrogena Fresh Cooling SPF 45 spray to our bodies and the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock cream to our faces. (We all used the same sunscreen.) We also would apply it again around 3 pm.
I saw some people at Disney with terrible sunburns. I am so thankful that we weren’t one of them!
By Kristen D
We are leaving Disney World right now. :( I have so much more to tell you about our trip. Sorry the updates have been slacking over the last few days. We were having so much fun!!!! But we are ready to go home.
We are going to my MILs tonight and driving her and her moving truck to an apartment 5 miles up the road from our house. Busy day!!! Wish us luck. :)
By Kristen D
We were just walking by the mad tea cups to get to the speedway and Alice stopped us! Emily and Jacob rode with her and the White Rabbit!
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