Advertising

Interested in learning how Wisconsin Mommy can get the word out about your product or service?  I'd love to discuss it with you!

Of course I offer the basics - sidebar ads, advertorial posts, and giveaways.  But I also love finding ways to advertise "outside the box"!  How about a Whrrl story?  Or a video featuring your product?  Or something you've come up with that no one has done yet!  Pitch me - I love trying new things!




*Wisconsin Mommy also accepts product submissions if you would like to have your product reviewed on my blog.*

Win a Shopping Spree at AJ Wright

Wednesday night, Big J and I had the opportunity to attend a pre-grand opening tour of the new AJ Wright in Racine. I had not heard of AJ Wright before, but when I found out that it was owned by TJX Companies Inc. - you know, the ones who own Marshalls, Home Goods, and TJ Maxx - I was in! AJ Wright is revamping select stores throughout the country, changing their look, and making saving money an even more enjoyable experience.

AJ Wright is a lot like TJ Maxx and Marshalls in that there are lots of bargains to be found. Just like at those other stores, the inventory changes often, so when you find a bargain, grab it! It may not be there the next time you go back.

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The great folks at AJ Wright and SBC Advertising sent a very comfortable ride to pick us up. (If you ever need a limo/town car, be sure to contact Chaffee Limo and request Ron Hill. Not only was he VERY professional and a pleasure to be with, he managed to navigate the maze of closed and torn up roads and get us to our destination early!)

After arriving at the store, we met up with the other bloggers attending: Colleen, RC, and Kimberly. We had some dinner and visited and then were given gift bags containing very cool Sony Webbie HD camcorders and $100 gift cards. The challenge was then presented. How far could we make the $100 go???

Turns out - pretty far! After a tour of the store, we were off and shopping. There was soooo much to choose from and there were great bargains on name brand items everywhere.

Can we say "books and videos and toys, oh my"??? Hmmmm - early Christmas shopping!



If you need scrubs, the selection is amazing and the price is just "Wright".

The home decor section could not be beat! Wilton and Kitchen Aid at a fraction of what you would pay at other stores. And the selection of prints and picture frames...

A great selection of infant, toddler, and children's clothes!!

I wound up walking out with the following:

• 3 pairs of pants for me


• 2 pairs of pants for Big J


• a Nike shirt for Little J


• 5 toys for Little J (Batman, of course!)


• two Scooby-Doo DVD's


• a cutting board


• a set of Kitchen Aid measuring cups
  
• a Wilton baking pan
• a cute carved wooden pumpkin


• a set of bathroom towels


• a new shower curtain and matching hooks


• two stylish latte mugs


• several personal care items (they're personal!!)


• a bottle of water - I was thirsty after all this shopping!

The grand total? For 21 items, I spent $108.48 before tax.

I added up the suggested retail price of these items and came up with a total of $238.22! That's some savings.

Now for the really exciting part! AJ Wright is going to give one Wisconsin Mommy reader a shopping spree of their own. I have a $50 gift card to give to one lucky winner. Here's how to enter:

Leave a comment telling me about a recent bargain you found (doesn't matter at what store).

For additional entries (be sure to leave a comment for each additional entry):

• subscribe to Wisconsin Mommy via feed (just click on that orange button at the top of the left hand column)
• blog about this contest with a link to this page
• become a follower of Wisconsin Mommy (in the right hand column, about half-way down)
• follow me on Twitter (@Wisconsin_Mommy)

So you can have a total of FIVE entries! (Again, be sure to leave a comment for each way that you have entered as the winner will be chosen by random.org based on your comment number.)

A winner will be chosen by random.org on October 7th. All entries must be submitted by 12:00 am Central time. The winner will be notified by email (please make sure that your email address is easily found either in your comment or in your profile) and has five days to respond with a valid mailing address.

National Family Game Night

Hasbro has declared tomorrow (Sept. 23) National Family Game Night. Is your family taking part?

Playing games as a family has definite benefits for all those involved and especially for the kids. Games reinforce important skills such as:

1. Patience - waiting for your turn is great practice for, well, waiting.


2. Teamwork - games that require kids to work well with others are great for this!


3. Being a good loser (or a gracious winner) - kids see such horrible examples while watching sports games (both professional and local). This is a great opportunity for you to set the right ind of example for your kids.


4. Responsibility - kids make choices about where to move their game pieces and then have to deal with the consequences of their choices. Great life lesson!


5. Honesty. 'nough said.

Not only do family games offer you the chance to reinforce valuable life lessons, many reinforce the concepts your children are learning in school. You can use Yahtzee to practice math skills. Have a child learning about money? Break out the Monopoly, Life, or Payday (my favorite when I was a kid!). Older kids will benefit from the vocabulary building games like Scrabble or Boggle.

Even if you can't participate in National Family Game Night, consider adding a game night to your family's weekly calender and see how much fun you have!

I'd like to thank Hasbro for the box of games that arrived at my house last week. We will be putting them to good use!

See, there IS such a thing as a free lunch!

It happened again today.

Brain-freeze. (And it wasn't even from eating ice cream too fast.)

It was from standing in front of the open fridge too long, staring blankly inside, and trying to figure out what to make for lunch.

I know it's happened to you too - whether you have to pack your child's lunch for school or fix it for them when they get home. (What? You pack it the night before?? Good for you!!)

Not only do I have a healthy solution for your over on my review blog, I have free samples AND a 20% discount code.

So what are you still doing here? GO!

Happy Constitution Day

Today, September 17th, is the two hundred and twenty first anniversary of the original signing of the Constitution. I wonder if it was even mentioned at your child's school.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that many Americans don't know enough about their own country to pass the test that immigrants must take in order to become citizens. While folks are quick to quote their first ammendment right, few know any of the other nine that make up the Bill of Rights.

Are you banking on the fact that your local school will teach your child about their nation's history? You might want to take a look at the statistics that came out of a recent survey of Oklahoma's high school seniors. (This is not a slam on Oklahoma. I suspect most states' seniors would score in the same range. I'm guessing Jay Leno must not have a hard time finding folks for his Jay-walking segment.)

Question followed by the % of StudentsWho Answered
Correctly:

What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution? 26 (74%
did not know)

What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress? 27 (73% did not know)

How many justices are there on the Supreme Court? 10 (90% did not know)

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? 14 (86% did not know)

What ocean is on the east coast of the United States? 61 (39% did not know)

What are the two major political parities in the United States? 43 (57% did not know)

Who was the first President of the United States? 23 (77% DID NOT
KNOW!!)

Who is in charge of the executive branch? 29 (71% did not know)

Survey questions and statistics courtesy of 620WTMJ.com

If you are looking for a way to commemorate Constitution Day (and suplement your child's education) take a few minutes and read the Constitution with your child. Talk about what it means and why 39 men sat down on this date and took great pride in putting their names on it. Talk about what it means to today's society and how it is/isn't being upheld in the decisions being made in Washington every day.

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We need to take responsibility for educating tomorrow's voters, because our schools are not.

Snapshots from a WI Weekend

Lessons learned at the county fair...

Obstacles usually look scarier than they really are.

Mountains may seem too big to surmount, but if you go little by little, you can do it.

It's easier if you look to where you're going, rather than when you've been.

It helps to have the right tools when tackling a big problem.

Even if you don't make it all the way to the top, it's great to see how far you can go.

Mom and Dad will always be cheering you on.

Remember these lessons, Little J. They will carry you far in life.

In Remembrance

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

Out in the yard with your wife and children

Working on some stage in LA

Did you stand there in shock at the site of

That black smoke rising against that blue sky

Did you shout out in anger

In fear for your neighbor

Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children

Who lost their dear loved ones

And pray for the ones who don't know

Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble

And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride

For the red white and blue

The heroes who died just doing what they do

Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer

And look at yourself to what really matters

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

Teaching a class full of innocent children

Driving down some cold interstate

Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor

In a crowded room did you feel alone

Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her

Did you dust off that bible at home

Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened

Close your eyes and not go to sleep

Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages

Speak with some stranger on the street

lyrics from Alan Jackson's Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)

Goodbye Paula, Hello Ellen!!

Yesterday, amidst all the political news regarding President Obama's healthcare speech, it was announced that Paula Abdul is definitely, positively, absolutely NOT coming back to American Idol. She has been replaced....by Ellen DeGeneres.

I for one am thrilled.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed (sort of) watching Paula for the eight seasons she was on American Idol. But it was beginning to be an unhealthy kind of voyeurism - kind of like watching a train wreck happen on live TV. You know you should look away, but part of you wants to see what will happen next. What inappropriate comment will she make to this season's young hottie? What new way will she come up with to say "You LOOK good" when the contestant clearly butchers a song? What lame comeback will she send Simon's way?

So now Ellen will be sitting in Paula's chair and I think this will be a huge improvement for a number of reasons:

1. She is funny - and not in a I'm-laughing-AT-you-not-with-you kind of way. I think we can count on some really funny lines that do not come at the expense of anyone's pride or self-image.


2. She can TOTALLY take on Simon and win. Paula was in waaaaay over her head on this one. You may not like Simon, but you have to admit he was ahead of Paula on the IQ scale (probably by double digits). Ellen is as sharp as she is funny and will definitely give Simon a run for his money.


3. Ellen is not afraid to poke fun at herself. Paula's delicate ego prevented her from seeing the humor in a lot of situations. Ellen is secure enough to put herself out there when appropriate and always puts those around her at ease.

So, assuming they can round up a decent pool of talent, I have to say that I predict this 9th season of American Idol could be one of the best ones yet. (And if it doesn't work out, I have a sneaking suspicion Paula will still be available.)

Help Find a Cure for Ovarian Cancer

Did you know that September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month? I didn't.



Did you know that ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death from cancer in women? Me either.



Did you know that the nonspecific symptoms it causes makes ovarian cancer extremely difficult to diagnose when it is still in a treatable stage?



These facts make it crystal clear why getting the word out is so important. You can help. Electrolux and Kelly Ripa are leading the fight against ovarian cancer (and even throwing in a freebie for YOU).



Find out how you can help here.

The one where Old Navy and Target save my behind...

As many of you know, Little J started school on Monday at the school where I used to teach. This made the whole "sending my baby off to real school and out of my control" thing slightly easier. (Notice that I said slightly easier.)

This school requires a pretty basic uniform - blue pants or shorts and a white polo style shirt. I spent four years of my teaching career making sure that the kids in my class were wearing the appropriate pieces of clothing - by far one of the least favorite parts of my job - so you'd think I would have the whole uniform thing down for my own kid, right?

Wrong.

I did know what he was supposed to wear, what I didn't know was where to get it.

One of the parents had tipped me off that Land's End was a good place to get uniforms. Since Little J has a tendency to grow inches overnight, I waited until the last possible moment (read end of August) to shop for his clothes. I figured out what size he needed and hopped over to Sears.

Sold out.

No problem, I thought, we have a Land's End Inlet (their version of an outlet) nearby and if that doesn't work, there's always the online store.

Wrong again. Sold out and sold out.

Now I should mention that there were a few other stores with the required style pants, BUT they did not have adjustable waistbands and/or snaps rather than buttons - two major requirements for Little J.

At this point I was beginning to panic. I happened to be in Target and noticed that they had the uniform pants which had both the adjustable waist AND snap closure. I bought the two pairs they had in Little J's size.

But I knew we would never make it through the year with two pairs of pants. I called one of the other parents in hysterics. "Have you checked Old Navy?" she calmly asked me.

Hadn't even thought of it. I raced over to Old Navy where I found TONS of uniform pants that met my requirements in all sizes.

So thank you to Target and Old Navy for saving this procrastinating mom from having to send her child to school naked. I am forever grateful and you'll be seeing me sometime in late June of next year hunting down the back-to-school clothing displays!