by admin -

I Was a Cool Mom: For About 15 Minutes

Today we took advantage of the Hero’s Salute and took the family to Sea World. I love Sea World, there is something for everyone and my kids always seem to enjoy themselves when we visit.

My big kids love the roller coasters and Sea World has a new one called Manta. My big kids rode it three times in the first 30 minutes. My husband and kids raved about how cool it was, and how smooth the ride was.

Later on in the day my kids wanted to ride it again, and I decided I would ride it too. If dad could ride it, then mom could ride it too. We got in line and made our way through the aquarium. About half way through the line I started thinking that I really didn’t want to ride the Manta. The Manta is different than most roller coasters because you ride it face down… head first.

There I was, in line, totally regretting my decision to ride the Manta. I was trying to figure out how I could get out of line without facing the relentless teasing of my teenagers for the rest of my life. Just about this time my daughter looks at me and says,

“You are the coolest mom in the world. I don’t know of any other mom who would ride the Manta.”

There was no turning back. I was not going to give up my “coolest mom in the world” status.

We got into the seats and were strapped in. I was nervous. Then the seats turned and we were all facing the floor. Panic. The ride began. I don’t remember much after that except for the fact that I screamed the entire ride only stopping to let my kids know they were grounded for the rest of their lives for letting me go on this ride.

Apparently I screamed so loud the rest of my family could hear me…  from the ground.

When the ride finally stopped my daughter told me her stomach hurt. I thought it was from the ride, but then she informed me it was from laughing so hard during the ride. Laughing at me.

I begged them not to buy the picture of me and thankfully they did not.

About 30 minutes later we were sitting down for a snack and my husband started looking at me funny. He then said something like, “what is wrong with your face?”

He then started laughing…

Do you see those dots around my eyes?

They aren’t freckles.

Apparently I squeezed my eyes shut so tight on the ride I broke all the blood vessels.

I was a cool mom.

by admin -

Coupons for Troops: Families Needed

As many of you know, I oversee a program called Coupons for Troops. This program matches up overseas military families with stateside families who send them coupons. Groceries at overseas Commissaries are more expensive and coupons help military families serving overseas save money.

I need 5 to 10 families who are willing to donate expired coupons to military families overseas. I had a few military families sign up over the last few weeks and need to get them assigned to a stateside family. If you are interested please email me at couponsfortroops@gmail.com. Before you email, please read the Coupons for Troops FAQ page to make sure this is something you are able to participate in.

If you are a military family overseas would like to receive coupons please email me and I’ll match you up too.

Thanks for serving and supporting our troops with coupons!

by admin -

Cora the Explorer….

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Cora was always in to EVERYTHING. I figured I would start documenting her adventures on camera so I could show them at her wedding. 😉

Forget Cheerios, bring on the Lucky Charms.

Apparently we left the high chair a little too close to the drawer.

Notice the safety gate she pulled down to get up the stairs.

Who needs a sippy cup when you can borrow your big sister’s “real” cup?

Stay tuned for more Cora adventures….

by admin -

Veterans Day Discounts for 2010

I am currently working on a Veteran’s Day discounts page for all my military readers. There are so many great offers and freebies for military families, I hope you are able to take advantage of a few of them. You can visit the Veterans Day 2010 page which will be updated daily with new discounts. If you find a discount that you would like to share, please email me at thehappyhousewife (at) gmail (dot) com, and I’ll add it to the page.

by admin -

Hefty Trash Bags Review or My Life with a Toddler

Aren’t toddlers fun? I have a post coming in a few days that talks more extensively about my life with a toddler. Cora is giving her siblings a run for their money when it comes to toddlers who get themselves into a whole lot of trouble when mom isn’t looking. Her latest trick, throwing things in the kitchen garbage. This would be great if she was actually throwing away garbage, but she is throwing away things like silverware, cups, toys, and tupperware. Because of the way our garbage disposal is set up, we can’t fit a trash can under the kitchen sink so it is out in the open. It has a lid- but Cora quickly figured out how to get that open.

After I realized that the reason we have no forks is because they were all sitting at the city dump I quickly moved the trash can into the pantry. Let’s just say that The Happier Husband was not happy with garbage sitting in the pantry. I wasn’t thrilled with it either, but I really like eating my food with silverware.

About that same time as the “garbage-gate” was unfolding, the folks at Hefty contacted me and asked if I would review their new unscented trash bags with odor block technology. The fact that they were unscented got me interested (I personally do not like anything scented) and if they blocked odor this might be a solution to our trash can in the pantry problem.

I have to admit, that I was a bit skeptical at first ( I usually am) but after trying them for over a week I am happy to report that they really do block the smell. While my preference is to keep the garbage under the sink, I really like these bags and will continue to use them because there is definitely less stinky-ness going on in the pantry.

You can download a $1 off coupon for Hefty trash bags on their Facebook page.

Now if I can just find a toddler proof trash can I’ll be all set!

by admin -

Heroes At Home: Free Sears Gift Cards for Military

Update: This program is now closed. They received over 25,000 applications in less than 24 hours. There should be another program next year, hopefully I’ll be able to give you some advanced notice.

Heroes at Home: Gift Cards for Military from Sears

Back again for 2010, the Sears Heroes at Home program is open to all military families. Active Duty military can receive a free gift card from Sears to help with Christmas in 2010.

The 2010 Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry helps America’s military families enjoy more of Christmas each year.
In 2009, over 20,000 military families participated in the Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry program and received more than $6.7 million in gift card donations from the Sears community.

To sign up, visit the Sears website for all details and information. This program opens on October 13, 2010 at 9 am CST and closes on October 15, 2010 at 6pm 2010. Sign up now because this doesn’t last long. The Sears website will experience delays because of the high traffic from this deal. Don’t give up, keep trying and eventually the page will load.

You are eligible for this program if you are on active duty between October 13, 2010 and December 31, 2010 in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Reserves. You can read all the details and fine print on the Sears FAQ page.

Thank you Sears for Supporting our Troops in 2010!


by admin -

Operation Purple Needs Your Help

As most of you know I am a proud to be a military wife. Newer readers might not know that a few years ago my husband was deployed and during his deployment he suffered an injury that turned our world upside down for about 18 months. I am thankful that he is now completely healed, but I know there are other families who are not so fortunate.

While we had an excellent support system while my husband was gone, many families do not. According to a Defense Manpower Report over 100,000 kids have at least one parent deployed. Deployments are tough on kids and I love organizations that help make this time easier.

Operation Purple is one such program. They organize summer camps, and family camps to help children cope with the stress of deployment. This camp is totally free and supported by the National Military Family Association. This video below gives a small peek into what Operation Purple is all about.

These camps are a great way for kids to have fun, hang out with other kids who are going through the same thing, and talk through some of the struggles and worries they face while their parents are serving our country overseas.

As a parent who helped six kids through a deployment, I understand the need for programs such as these to serve our military families. Many families can not afford to pay for camps likes these for their children. While the military does provide counseling for families, there is something about summer camp that goes beyond traditional counseling methods.

The problem is that Operation Purple might not continue. Currently they do not have enough money to fund the 2011 camps. This great organization relies on donations to keep the camps operating and free to military families. I know that many families donate money at the end of the year to their favorite charity, and many businesses also make end of the year donations. I realize the economy stinks and time are tough, but this is a great program and if you were already planning on supporting an organization, would you consider supporting Operation Purple?

The folks at Operation Purple have asked me to help spread the word about this camp (and their need for funding) and would love your help in spreading the word about Operation Purple too.

I’m hosting a giveaway (courtesy of Operation Purple) as an incentive for you to tell others about this wonderful program.

To enter to win a $100 American Express Gift Card you can do any and all of the following.

  1. Leave a comment on this post sharing how you support our troops.
  2. Follow  @military_family on Twitter.
  3. Tweet about this post.
  4. Add it to your Facebook Wall.
  5. Email it to a friend.

I’ve made it super easy for you to do all these things, if you look at the bottom of this post there are some buttons. Clicking on them will allow you to share this information in a few seconds. Please leave additional comments for each entry. Giveaway ends Tuesday, October 12, 2010.

I realize that most of the time I am encouraging you to keep more money in your pocket on this site, but this program is one that is close to my heart and I wanted to make sure as many people as possible know about this opportunity to support our military families. I have been compensated for my time to write this post, but all opinions are 100% mine and this program was one I had planned on writing about even before being contacting by the organization.

by admin -

Real Life Housewife

So…. this is what my family room looked like yesterday when I got a surprise phone call from a realtor.

They were letting me know that the house I am moving out of in a few weeks was going on the market. Today. They also wanted to know how much notice I needed before showing the house. I was tempted to say three weeks. 🙂

Things are busy around here….