Holiday Shopping for Kids at Target #MyKindOfHoliday #Giveaway

This post has been brought to you by Target. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

I have four young boys, which makes my holiday shopping absolutely insane. Between the amount of gifts I have to buy and all of my trips to the store, I am exhausted by the time Christmas finally rolls around. Target is one of my favorite stores to shop at year round but even more so at the holidays because they always have what I am looking for.

Earlier this Fall we got the Skylanders Swap Force game, but we are still in dire need of the swappable characters. Most of the other stores I looked at locally are sold out, so Target was my last hope. Luckily when I turned into the Skylanders/Infinity aisle, I saw it was still pretty packed.

Armed with my list of characters that Grammy already purchased I was able to find 4 of the new Swap Force swappable figures that we still needed. All 4 wound up in my cart.

Santa just happens to be bringing the boys the Disney Infinity for Xbox game this Christmas, so we are going to need a few of those characters too. Ya know, because the 50 Skylanders we already have isn't enough.  I'm not sure what Santa was thinking here. Target had a bunch of figures to choose from and thnakfully they had the only one I was looking for: Davy Jones.

Now as if the holidays alone weren't enough, 8 days before Christmas is also my youngest sons birthday. Which means even more shopping. I always find this a struggle because I start to run out of ideas for him. Since he is obsessed with Batman lately (he will be 4), I headed over to the DC Comics toys to see if I could find anything for him that didn't have 50 million little pieces.  And right there on the bottom shelf was a talking Batman doll - perfect! I can totally see him lying in bed with this while wearing his Batman pajamas, he's going to love it.

With that, I headed over to checkout with what was hopefully the last of my Christmas shopping. I felt rather satisfied after this shopping trip because I got everything I walked in the doors for. And luckily I had my husband with me to distract said youngest child so he didn't notice everything I was buying. In the end I purchased the 4 Swap Force figures, 1 Disney Infinity figure, talking Batman doll, 2 Minecraft dolls, DC themed Hotwheels cars, kid's toothpaste and a snack of Goldfish for my little monkey.

The second best part of this trip was being able to pay with my eGiftCard using the Target app on my iPhone. While I love shopping online, especially during the holidays when the stores are crowded, there are times I just prefer to shop in person. So it is pretty cool that now if I get an eGiftCard for Target, I can use it to shop in either place.And if you are struggling with those last few people on your holiday shopping list, you can't go wrong with a gift card.

Have you done any shopping for your children at Target this holiday season?

Check out the great deals on Kid's toys only @Target!

Giveaway
One (1) winner will receive a $25 Target eGiftCard. Giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on December 18, 2013 at 12:00 AM EST. Please use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

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Back to School with Crayola & General Mills at Target #Giveaway

It is had to believe that back to school time is upon us already. For us, the first day of school is August 27 and it is a very big day since our twins will be starting Full Day Kindergarten! To say that I am really excited about this is an understatement. This mama will be dancing in the street once the bus pulls away!

My go-to store for back to school shopping supplies is Target. Oh who am I kidding, Target is pretty much my go-to store for everything. We are fortunate that our schools don't require us to purchase a lot of supplies, but I do like to stock up on new crayons and such every year.

Available this August exclusively at Target stores:

• Purchase specially marked Nature Valley® Crunchy Granola Bars, Pillsbury® Toaster Strudel® Pastries, and Big G Cereal packages and you could save up to $5 on Crayola products
• Participating Big G cereal boxes will feature a fun Crayola coloring activity on back
• Save on General Mills products when you purchase specially marked Crayola 64-CT Crayons

"This back-to-school season will be as easy as 1-2-3 with a little help from General Mills, Crayola, and Target, the one-stop-shop for all your back-to-school needs! Head to the front of the class and check out www.GrocerySavvy.com where you’ll find even more coupons for back-to-school, recipes, and a special 2012 “Grocery Savvy Crayola® Back To School” Sweepstakes!"

This is a perfect promotion for my family because as I mentioned I need to stock up on some crayons and we just ran out of Honey Nut Cheerios (my boys are very upset with me about that). How do you plan to take advantage of this special promotion to tackle back-to-school shopping this year?

Giveaway
One (1) winner will receive a prize pack that includes:
• Target $20 gift card
• Crayola Dry Erase Crayons
• Cheerios Cereal

The product, gift pack, information, and additional sample have been provided by Crayola, Target, and General Mills through MyBlogSpark. I received free product to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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There Should Be Rules For Shopping Carts

Yesterday myself and the boys headed to Target for some back to school shopping. Silly me thought that going on a weekday afternoon would save me from the crowds. Um, wrong. Hello, you are not the only stay at home mom in Connecticut! It was insane, especially since our Target is being remodeled.

So in the parking lot I quickly threw two of the boys in a standard shopping cart just to get us inside so I could transfer them to one of the boats shopping carts that holds three kids. Our Target recently got new all plastic carts and they are seriously awesome. The larger one, which I can't find a picture of anywhere, has an addition in the front that seats two children side by side. The last time we were there I put the toddler in the regular seat and the twins in the side by side while the 6 year old walked. It worked brilliantly.

We get inside and of course, no big carts to be found. Great. The store is packed and I don't want the twins roaming around. So I throw both of them in the "cargo area" where they are practically sitting on each other. As we shop I have no choice but to put items on them. So there they sit with backpacks, folders and lunch box supplies piled on top of them. And because I was in a pissy mood now, I kept my eye out for the big carts to see who was using them. Why? Because I have seen on multiple occasions a parent with just one kid take these and it makes my blood boil.

I did end up seeing two of the multi-child holding carts as we shopped. One was being used by a mom of 3 - good that is who should be using it. The second was being pushed by a mom with two kids in it which normally is OK, but her kids looked like they were about 6 and 10. Seriously? Your 10 year old can't walk? My 6 year old loves to walk around the store and on the rare occasion that he does get tired, he will stand on the cart bottom and hold on while I push. But even if you did want your 6 year old to sit, couldn't you get a single cart and have the 10 year old walk? Here I am with my toddler and two preschoolers squished in a tiny cart while your big kids are lounging about and being driven around the store. It is just so inconsiderate.

So here is my rule proposal. You should only use the multi-child shopping carts if :
1. You have 2 or more children and
2. said children are too young to walk the store themselves. What is a good cut off age? 6?

Eventually I took one of the twins out once they started punching each other in the head. Awesome. So I held his hand while I steered the cart with the other. Normally I love shopping at Target but I couldn't get out of their fast enough. Shopping with 4 kids during back to school time is no fun at all.

Oh and I missed the Earthquake while I was in there which has me feeling very left out. People all around that area felt it, but for some reason we did not feel it inside Target. Boo.

Have you ever missed out on the big cart because someone who didn't really need it was using it? What did you do? (Or am I just nuts?)

Shop Target's Back in Black Friday Sale!

I looooooooove Target - definitely my favorite store to shop at. Today that are having an online only Back in Black Friday Sale at Target.com.

Everything from electronics to toys to home goods are on sale! Like a Kodak EasyShare M52 14MP Digital Cameraa regularly $149.99 is now only $89.99! Or a Britax Roundabout Classic Carseat for only $100! There are so many great deals but quantities are limited so hurry on over and check it out!

Moody Mamas for Target.com Review & Giveaway

I have mentioned before that I am NOT a fashionista when it comes to maternity clothes. Unfortunately, most of my maternity wardrobe consists of pretty drab, frumpy clothing. And when you wear frumpy clothes, well it just makes you feel frumpy overall, which is no fun. Sure there are some super cute maternity lines out there - but they all seem to be outrageously priced! And I refuse to spend a ton of money for something that won't get a whole lot of use. So what is a pregnant, frugal girl to do? Well, you can continue to wear the same "blah" clothes OR you can check out the Moody Mamas maternity clothes now available at Target.com!

Moody Mamas was created by 2 fashion-savvy young women in their 20’s,Marta Abrams and Elise Rosemarin, who are single and have never had children - admittedly an unlikely pair to design a maternity line - which is precisely why they have been so successful --throwing out the rulebook and shaking up the status quo by creating a bold, daring collection that has injected style and fashion flair back into the lives of expectant moms everywhere. It has also become the go-to maternity line for women across America and worldwide, available at more than 200 boutiques and other major retailers, including Nordstrom.com, Harrod’s, and Belk’s. Just in time for the holidays, millions of moms-to-be across America can now follow in the footsteps of trend-setting celebrity moms by scooping up the brand new, affordable, capsule collection just debuted on Target.com. Moody Mamas is revolutionizing maternity fashion by giving it a hip, stylish, sophisticated make-over with inspiration straight from the runways.

Target is probably one of my favorite stores to shop, both in person and online. So I am excited to see them start carrying a trendy maternity line that is also very affordable. Moody Mamas sent me 2 pieces from their target.com line to try out and let me tell you, they are probably my 2 favorite items of maternity clothes now. First up is the Striped Nursing Pajama Set in Charcoal. This is not only a maternity pajama set but a nursing one as well, so it can last way beyond your pregnancy. Oddly enough, this is my 3rd pregnancy and I have spent nearly 3 years collectively breastfeeding my first 3 children and yet I have no maternity or nursing pajamas. From the moment I put this on I was in love. The first thing that stood out to me is the fabric of this set. It is made of 95% Modal and 6% Spandex and truthfully, the softest piece of clothing I have ever owned. And I really lucked out that it fits me perfectly. I can see I will be spending a lot of time in these pajamas over the next 2 years.

The second item I received is the Jersey Wrap with Ruffle in Gray. I usually wear the same old, worn out maternity shirts day in and day out, but this allowed me to spruce things up a bit. Similar to what you see on the model in this picture, I wore my gray wrap over a black maternity camisole and then with some black knit pants and I have to say, I looked pretty darn cute. Believe me, I do not say that very often (or ever, really). It was nice to actually feel good about the way I looked. I also like that I can use this as an extra layer for warmth in our cold New England winters here.

My only complaint? I wish this line was available sooner! I am now at the end of my 3rd, and most likely last, pregnancy. With less than 6 weeks to go (ack!), I won't be shopping for a whole lot of maternity clothes any more. But if I was, you can be sure I would be ordering some more item from Moody Mamas for Target.com!

Shop
Moody Mamas maternity clothes are available for purchase at Target.com.

Giveaway
One winner will receive a Moody Mamas for Target.com wardrobe consisting of five (5) items and valuing approximately $190 total. The items included are (pictures below - colors may vary depending on availability):

Jersey Wrap with Ruffle Detail – shown in Grey - $39.99
High Neck Top with Cascading Ruffle – shown in White - $27.99
Striped Nursing PJ Set – shown in Pink - $44.99
Ruffled Tunic Top – shown in Red - $34.99
Cowl Neck Dress – shown in Black - $39.99




Mandatory Entry
Visit the Moody Mamas line at Target and tell me what your favorite piece is. You must complete this entry in order to be eligible for extra entries.

Extra Entries
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This giveaway is open to US Residents 18+ only and will end on Monday, November 23rd at 11:59pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to claim his/her prize otherwise a new winner will be picked. You must leave your e-mail address in all of your comment(s) so I can contact you. I will not share your e-mail address with anyone, it will strictly be used to notify you if you win. Good luck!

Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this review are my own and based on my personal experience with the product. You may encounter a different experience with this than I did. Moody Mamas for Target.com provided me with items for review and is providing the items for the giveaway.