This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General. All opinions are 100% mine.

Mr. Crunchy and I LOVE our fur babies. We constantly joke that they are our "children." We love them to pieces, but man can they break the bank sometimes. You wouldn't think that a 5 pound dachsund could eat as much as he does.

Since taking a couponing break for a while, I have decided to get back to basics and shop more frugally again. One of the places that I have always loved shipping was Dollar General. They have great name brands that I can use my coupons and my Dollar General coupons on.

Did you know that there are even MARS® Petcare products at Dollar General? We grab our Pedigree dog food there when we are in a pinch. It's a great way to save money.

Right now Dollar General has a great promtion when you buy $10 worth of Pedigree or Temptaions you get a coupon good for a free book! Plus, when you redeem your coupon for the free book Dollar General will donate a $1 to Dollar General Literacy Foundation to support Dollar General's literacy inititatives.

How is this a bad deal? You save money on your fur babies. You score a free book, AND you get to help literacy campaigns to help those that struggle with reading. It sounds like a win/win situation all the way around to me.

What are you waiting for? Take advantage of htis promo, and then you can thank me later . I won't mind.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort and Harmony for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

My "baby" is now ten years old, but I have some really amazing memories of when I nursed her. I tried to nurse my eldest daughter, but it only lasted about 3 months due to some health problems she had. When I had my second daughter I was bound and determined to make nursing her successful.

I thought I would make a list of ten tips to help you make your nursing experience as positive as possible, because tips like these can be the difference between nursing successfully and not.

1. Have a great nursing pillow: This is a MUST! A pillow like the Mombo Comfort nursing pillow is your best friend. I had a chance to check one out before I am mailing it to my sister, and it's SO much better than the ones I had when my kids were younger.

This pillow is amazing. It is so simple to put around your waist, and has a great height to it. It's got a more structured side so it won't start to collapse or your baby roll toward you too much. I know my sister is going to love it for her newborn.

It is so easy to use, the pattern is just absolutely adorable, and it's really a great top notch product!

2. Have support: Look into great groups like La Leche League to have support when you have questions about breastfeeding.

3. Have a plan: Know what your breastfeeding goal is! This will help you through the tough times. When you feel like giving up, remember you have a goal for you and your baby.

4. Have pride: Know that breastfeeding is what you want for your child, and DON'T be afraid to take care of yoru child. If you need to feed your child in public do it how YOU are comfortable, not how it makes others comfortable. 

5. Have backup: If you have to make changes to your plan, be flexible just remember that breastmilk is best but if you have to pump and give it in a bottle that is just as good! Don't judge yourself.

Follow these five steps to breastfeed your child, and you are sure to have a positive experience!

Make sure to learn more about the Mombo line of products. You should follow Comfort & Harmony on Facebook and Comfort & Harmony on Twitter!

You can find momboTM products at Babies R Us as well!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Private Selection for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Food is an honored family tradition. It's something that we cook together, we enjoy together, and we create together. All of my family spends time in the kitchen which makes it even more fun when it's time to enjoy eating  it!

Our favorite thing to do lately is to use food and cooking as a way to teach our homeschool lessons. Kids get to learn chemistry, math, and critical thinking skills. Since we have to alter a lot of recipes due to food allergies, my kids get to make and create their own recipes. My daughter, Bayla, just loves seeing what she can create that has foods she can eat in it.

Our latest recipe has been vegan chocolate chip cookies. Most people think you have to be "vegan" to eat them, but you don't. They are just made egg-free, dairy-free so my daughter, and other kids like her can eat them. They are actually really delicious. We used bananas instead of eggs, and her favorite dairy free chocolate chips. When we are asked to bring dessert to family gatherings, we grab great goodies like these cookies!

Private Selection has the same passion that my family does for food! Private Selection is a private brand available at the Kroger Family of stores! 

Right now you can grab a Private Selection Upside Down Cakes coupon, which is perfect for their Upside Down cakes! These cakes are premium quality without the premium prices. They offer three distinct flavors, and taste like homemade!

To learn more about Private Selection, make sure to like Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Facebook  and grab some inspiration on the Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Pinterest!

You can find the Private Selection Updise Down Cakes using this great store locator at http://www.privateselection.com/store-locator

Fine Print: Coupon ends 6/2/13. Official Rules. In order to load these coupons to your card, you will need to sign into your Kroger account or set up a Kroger account and enter your card number. Limit one use per digital coupon. Digital offers are not eligible on Manager's Specials, cannot be combined with manufacturer paper coupons on the purchase of a single item, and do not double. Not all items are available in all stores. A limit of 150 coupons can be loaded per household at one time.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Osteopathic Association for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

One thing that a lot of people don't realize about blogging is that full time bloggers spend a full time work week sitting at the computer. Personally I can easily work 40-60 hours a week between writing, social media, and creating content.

I LOVE what I do, but what I don't love is the pain in the butt (well back actually) that I get after sitting at a computer all day long. The more intense and focused I get on my work (some would say obsessed) the more I feel the aches in my back. (Mr. Crunchy likes to tell me it's because I am getting older, whateva)

You guys know I have found ways to do yoga for free, and now I found some other goodies to help too. Check out the Break Through Your Pain videos! These great videos below share some really awesome stretching tips to help keep you feeling great while working those LONG hours at the computer.

These tips are all really easy and quick to do. I try to set a timer and do them every two hours or so just to get my body moving. It's reall helped with the chronic pain I have had in my back and shoulders.

Make sure to check out the video, and then take a second to share this post in the share bar to the left so any friends and family that have chronic pain from working too much can check it out too. Trust me they will thank you!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Huggies®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Remember when your kids were first born, and you had all these big dreams of who they will be or what their life will become? Heck, you probably still have lots of dreams for them even as they are growing.

Right now Huggies is having the Huggies® Little Hands, Big Plans Essay Contest. Where you can share your dreams, and how $5,000 will help those dreams come true.

In our house, my dream would be letting my child be a kid again. She's suffered most of her life from ezcema and/or psoriasis and can't do a lot of things other kids can because she doesn't feel well.

We would use this $5,000 to treat her to a vacation to let her be a kid. One of the places she has always wanted to go is Alaska, and I know she would love to head on a cruise and see the beautiful land. It would give her a chance to forget about her conditions and enjoy herself.

You too can enter the Huggies® Little Hands, Big Plans Essay Contest. There are 2 winners per submission period. These periods run.

• Sub-Period 1: 4/23-5/30
• Sub-Period 2: 6/1-6/30
• Sub-Period 3: 7/1-7/31
• Sub-Period 4: 8/1-8/30
• Sub Period 5: 9/1-9/30

Each winner will receive a $5,000 check to make their dreams come true! So enter away and hopefully you are one of the 10 lucky winners.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Reward Summit for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

One of the first things, I started blogging about was how to save money. For our family, that was saving on our Christmas shopping. I mean there were years when we had NO money to spend, or very little at most. 

While I totally don't recommend going into debt, I do recommend using your credit cards with rewards points as a way to save up for those holiday purchases!

Each year Mr. Crunchy and I use our credit cards for things we would normally pay cash for. Pay the card off every month (ok almost every month), and then before the holidays we cash out all those points. We get enough gift cards to pay for our whole Christmas!

Now there is a cool program called Reward Summit that allows you to check out all of your rewards credit cards in one spot, and figure out which program is best to make your purchase with! That's really helpful because if you are at restaurant you might want to use one card, but if you are getting gas another one might be better!

 I know Mr. Crunchy and I have used the wrong credit card, just to realize we had a special offer on the one we didn't usem You really want to smack yourself then!

Rewards Summit is available for both Android AND iPhone, and it gives you a great cheat sheet showing which is the best card to use. Plus, it doesn't matter if it's miles, award points, or dollars Reward Summit covers them all.

Worried about your info? Don't be, Rewards Summit is private, safe, and secure! It's a breeze to use!

The best part it is really to join Reward Summit, and stay on top of their latest news!

You can Download the Reward Summit app here! Then make sure to Like Reward Summit on Facebook. and Follow Reward Summit on Twitter. too!

This week on the red carpet was surreal to say the least! To give you a small glimpse of how crazy it was look at this wide shot of all the red carpet fun! So, let’s have some fun of our own. We are going to play our own version of Where’s Crunchy!

The first person to successfully figure out where I am in this photo wins a $25 Amazon gift code just for being an awesome reader, and a heck of a guesser! Ready, set, go!

Here’s the photo showing where I am in the photo? How many of you guessed right?

The winner of the $25 Amazon gift code is Heather Roberts (selected by comment time stamp) congrats!!!!!

Make sure to check back Monday to see first hand my red carpet experience!

What famous people can you see in this Iron Man 3 photo?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now that we are a little bit more settled in Minnesota, I am ITCHING for spring to come around. You know maxi dresses, flip flops, pedicures; all the great things that warmer weather brings.

Since I have put on a few extra pounds, I really need to up my wardrobe this year, but you guys know me I really don't want to break the budget. So off I went to find some frugal fashion finds.

One of the places, I really didn't think I would find fashion was Dollar General. I was shopping at my local store the other day, picking up stuff for more crafting goodies, and I noticed that they actually sell clothes there. Not just clothes, but cute clothes! (A girl can never have enough maxi dresses right?)

When I got home, I looked online and found the Dollar General Apparel Book. It had all sort of cute items for my family, even maxi dresses.

The maxi dress here, is just too cute for words. It just screams warmer weather! Just throw some really cute bangle bracelets on with your favorite pair of flip flops and out the door you go!

If you don't believe me, you should check out Dollar General on Twitter and like Dollar General on Facebook! They are always updating their pages with great news about the goodies that they carry. It definitely beats paying big prices at major department stores, and you don't have to spend time scouring thrift shops. Just pick up your outfit and go!

What is one of your favorite items from the Dollar General Apparel Book?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General. All opinions are 100% mine.

You guys saw a few weeks back 5 Ways to Indulge your Sweet Tooth Mindfully. Well, now it’s time to find out how to do it frugally as well.

My house is ALWAYS stocked with chocolate, you know in case of emergency. It’s actually one of the things I stockpile. (Don’t judge, chocolate has a LONG shelf life) That way I can always get chocolate for my sweet tooth pinings for the lowest prices.

One of the best places to do that is Dollar General. They take coupons, plus they have their own manufacturer’s coupons. Then on top of all that they have some really great deals!

Just getting back from Florida, I needed to restock my stash. Just checked my paper out and it looks like there is a sale on MARS® products at Dollar General. When you buy 3 2-liters you get a free MARS® Brand Fun Size® 6 pack!

Of course, Mr. Crunchy didn’t go shopping while I was gone so he is all out of pop. So this deal kinda kills 2 birds with one stone! He gets his refill on soda, and I get my stash of Milky Way® Brand Fun Size®6 pack! Sounds like a win/win situation to me. Now I just have to look around see if I have any candy coupons stashed somewhere. Don’t you hate when you know you have them, but can’t find them!

What’s your favorite MARS® products at Dollar General? Do you guys keep a chocolate stash like I do? (Come on fess up, I KNOW I can’t be the only one!)

This has definitely been an interesting year! We started out saving big bucks with coupons, and ended the year with tons of great lessons, stories, recipes, and frugal ideas. It’s truly been amazing to see what inspires the Crunchy community, and get inspired by different ways to make our lives a little bit better. The end of the year is always a time of reflection, and I figured we would rewind and look at some of the top posts here at Crunchy Frugalista. Some are the best picked by you the readers, based on visits, others are my top favorites or the ones through email/comments/shares that were most impactful this year.
 
 

Posts with the most impact for 2012!

A Step Parent Adoption Story

What’s Wrong with Your Face?

Parenting Rant: Just Because I Don’t Have a PhD, Doesn’t Mean I am an Idiot

Dear Deadbeat Dad

Best Round Ups

50 Christmas Crafts

50 Amazing Christmas Cookies

10 Holiday Desserts

31 Awesome Halloween Crafts

Best Recipes (picked by the most pins)

Homemade Chicken Soup

Easy Cheese Fondue

Easy Homemade Stuffing

Chocolate Pretzel Rods

Crunchy’s Favorites

Let’s Talk Serious About Women’s Underwear

Death of a Broomskirt

TSA Touched You Where?

10 Ways Physical Therapist are Like Terrorists

TOP 10 of 2012! (based on your visits!)

Homemade Glitter Ornaments

Winter Glitter Lanterns

Vinegar Toilet Cleaner

DIY Coat Rack

Halloween Graveyard Cupcakes

Crochet Headbands

Crochet Winter Hats

Candy Corn Hats

Homemade Shower Cleaner

Top 5 Referring Blogs of 2012!

Money Savvy Michelle

A Spectacled Owl

Freckleberry Finds

Mojo Savings

WIC Project

Which posts of 2012 was most memorable for you?

 
 
 
Here’s to a fabulous 2012 Crunchy peeps, and looking forward to a marvelous 2013! It’s truly been a blessing to have such a great community of readers. It’s for you why I get up every morning and find inspiration in the world around me! Hope 2013 finds you and your family happy, healthy, and inspired too!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort Zone® products for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

While I love my bulldog, Decker, I really don’t love his need to mark my bookshelf when we leave him home alone. For the most part he is house trained other than when he throws these temper tantrum. It’s so bad that I can’t leave anything on the bottom shelf of the book shelf. I told you it wwas annoying.

Tired of all of his special “messages” on my bookshelf, I though we would give Comfort Zone® with D.A.P.® to see if it could help manage his unpopular habit.

We used it for about 3-4 weeks, and began to notice a difference in him. He didn’t seem to mark as much. He still does mark, but I am not having to clean the carpet or the bookshelf near as much. (Trust me, any progress is a good thing)

We have four dogs total, and they all seem to be just a little bit more relaxed with the Comfort Zone® with D.A.P.® plugged in. The coolest thing about it, is there isn’t an odor  from it at all. I don’t even notice it. Plus, it looks just like any other scented plug in so your guests really won’t notice it either.

If you have a dog that has less than ideal habits, you might want to check this out. You can also stay uptodate with them on Facebook!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort Zone® products for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have a pretty headstrong cat.  When we moved recently, he found it necessary to mark his territory.  Outside the house.  Inside the house.  In the laundry.  In things we were unpacking.  It was a nightmare! 

The worst: my plants.  He has destroyed them.  I had four tomato plants I was trying to nurse through the winter and they are now dead.  Most of the pepper plants are gone too.  I was at my wits end.  Then, I plugged in a Comfort Zone® with Feliway®.  I figured I had nothing left to lose at this point.

The first thing I noticed was that there was no discernable scent.  Nothing weird, nothing saying "hey!  I've got something plugged in over there!".  It's really quite nice.  It looks like any other plug in, so visitors to your house won't notice anything different.

It's been plugged in for about four weeks under my plant table.  Odin, my cat, loves to curl up near it and sleep.  He hasn't touched a plant in the house during those four weeks. 

I've been able to save two pepper plants, and my spider plant hasn't looked this good in ages.  He has been using his litter box, as he should, without fail.  The laundry and clothing is all safe from his frustrations.  He's an indoor/outdoor cat, and I've noticed that even outdoors, he's sticking to his dirt pile for his relief.

I'd have to say, this is a great product.  It works like it says it will, and my cat is calm.  It's so wonderful, I'm going to go out and get the matching product for my dogs.  If you have a cat that you absolutely love, but can't stand his or her marking, scratching, or failing to use his litterbox, this is the product for you!

Want to learn more about this great product? Make sure to check them out on Facebook!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Truvia® Natural Sweetener for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

This weekend we found out that Mr. Crunchy might be diabetic, so I am having to rethink my holiday baking plan. I know there are a lot of options out there, so I wanted to see what they were all about.

The first place I went was truvia.com! This website was really helpful place to find holiday recipes that would allow Mr. Crunchy still eat some of his favorite holiday sweets. I didn't know that there were so many different ways to use and cook with Truvia^®

When I visited the webiste, I found out some really interesting facts:

• Truvia^® natural sweetener is something you can use on anything! Sprinkle it on your grapefruit. Spoon it in your coffee.
• One packet of Truvia^® natural sweetener provides the same sweetness as two teaspoons of sugar.
• Truvia^® natural sweetener is a great alternative for people with diabetes.
• It is also kosher certified.

​After learning all this, I checked out which recipes would work well for Mr. Crunchy. I think the receipe that he is going to like the best is the fudge brownies. The recipe looks absolutely amazing! If you want to give it a whirl here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

Hosted by: Spend With Pennies
Sponsored by: Pressman Toy Corp. Date: November 12- 25, 2012
Open to US Residents only.

Have you heard about iPieces from Pressman Toys? If you haven’t this is something you are definitely going to want to check out!! iPieces are SUPER fun!! They are the games we know and love… that use your iPad to bring them to life!

There are 5 awesome games to choose from:

• iPieces™ Fishing
• iPieces™ Snakes & Ladders
• iPieces™ Air Hockey
• iPieces™ Pool
• iPieces™ Game of Goose

You can read a full review of these games here. These games are easy to install and fun for all ages! iPieces are great for travel because the pieces all pack up in little sturdy boxes. These games are perfect for all ages! With the holidays coming, these are perfect gifts for any family! You can view them in action here on You Tube!

iPieces are available for purchase at Toys“R”Us, Barnes & Noble, K-mart, Radio Shack, Learning Express, and BJ’s Wholesale Club stores nationwide. They are also available online at Amazon or Toys “R” Us.

Pressman Toy Corp. is going to give one lucky a winner a set of iPieces of their choice! Check out the full line of iPieces at PressmanToy.com so you can decide which game you would like to have if you win!

This giveaway is open to US residents only and runs November 12-25, 2012! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

iPieces Games were provided for review. Crunchy Frugalista is not responsible for prize delivery.

Round Two  will be a little  different. Add a NEW comment under thiscomment thread using numbers 1-50. Numbers will be called on Facebook page to make this round go more quickly!

It’s been a while since we have played some games here on Crunchy Frugalista.As a way to say thanks to all of you guys, I figured that starting at 8:30pm EST tonight,we will play Crunchy Bingo!

Here’s how to play:

1. Post 5 numbers (between 1-50) in the comments below (no comment, numbers don’t count)
2. Make sure to watch the Facebook page for the numbers to be called. (Refresh the screen to see new numbers)
3. When you hit all five of your numbers, YELL BINGO on the FACEBOOK page!
4. Wait until your numbers are verified, and then email me at crunchyfrugalista@gmail.com

Just for fun, we will play TWO rounds tonight! If you are ready to have fun, enter in your 5 numbers below and wait for the numbers to be called!

Numbers will be chosen using Random.org

Winners will receive an envelope with free product coupons and possibly gift cards courtesy of Crunchy !

Have I mentioned that I love Amazon? Right now I am saving up for a Kindle Fire HD Tablet. I love my Kindle Fire, but I really think I could use a tablet too. What would you do if you one this giveaway? Comment, and then enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveawayGiveaway brought to you by DUI attorney DC Mike Rothman. Visit the giveaway page here.

Update: Thanks for all the advice guys. I did end up calling the desk sargeant for the local police department, and they strongly urged an officer to come and to talk to us. He heard our side, and then went to talk to the neighbors. Not sure what he said to them, but they were told their son isn’t allowed on our property anymore.

Funny little thing happened this evening, we got a welfare visit from animal control saying they got a complaint saying someone hadn’t seen our dogs in a while and they were “concernered.” (Even the officer came to the door with “I got a “weird’ complaint.”)

Funny thing is that our dogs are in our backyard all the time, including today. Sigh, not sure why some people need to retaliate rather than acknowledge their child is misbehaving.

If you missed yesterday’s story, you can read what is going on below.

As I shared earlier in the year, my husband and I bought our first home together. We love the neighborhood, and absolutely love our house. There is one, quickly becoming major, problem with our little blissful cul-de-sac. There is a local bully.

You think being a homeschooling family that our children wouldn’t have to deal with bullies, but sadly you would be wrong. When we first moved into our complex every thing was hunky dory.

My children quickly became friends with, let’s call him, Samuel. He lives a few doors down from us, and attends a local private school.

He’s a few years younger than my son, but they seemed to enjoy playing together. That was until other children would come along. The child would gang up with his cousin and threaten to beat up my child, and at times would throw objects at him.

When it first started, we told my son to walk away, which amazingly he did. Every time things would get heated, he would let the bully know how he felt and then walk away.

We thought things were getting better because a few months passed and there were no events. Suddenly things began to get worse again. The child actually threatened to beat my child up, and then chase him down MY driveway. He then tried to force entry to MY home!

That was enough, I told my kids to do their best to avoid playing in the front yard. Whenever they had friends over, they played in OUR back yard.

That worked for a few weeks, until the bully got bored again! This time he took to throwing sticks and stones (literally) at my children in MY back yard. While doing this, he actually hit my friend’s car with a golf ball (which left a dent).

That was the final straw, I walked over to my neighbors home, and introduced myself and told his father what was done. There were 2 other children in my home that told the EXACT same story (we asked them all separately).

I thought things were going ok after that, the fact I told him I would call the cops if happened again, might have had something to do with it. Again, I was wrong!

Today we found out that the bully’s MOM told my son he had to go back inside because her son was outside first. I was so angry, that my eyes saw red. That’s not even the best part.

EVERY time we have talked to the bully’s parents, the bully has told them that our children hit/threw/swore first.

One thing I can guarantee you is that MY children know better. I may not be amazing at everything, but I am an amazing parents. I know when my kids lie, and I know when my kids are trying to pull the wool over my eyes.

What I cannot believe is that these parents are SOO dillusional that they are more comforted thinking that all the other kids in the neighborhood are liars.

I am at my wits ends, other than documenting every single incident that I personally see, what do I do. What would you do if it was your child?