Win a $50 Safeway gift card and Learn about Safeway Gas Rewards now available at Chevron

Safeway has had a gas reward program for a long time, but until recently you could only use those rewards at Safeway gas stations. To be able to earn gas rewards you need to sign up for their club card. You can get one of these cards at Safeway. This is not a credit card. Once you have your club card register it online. Once your card is registered use it every time you shop at Safeway. Each dollar you spend at Safeway gets you one reward point. 100 reward points gets you .10 off per gallon on your next gas purchase. Now you can redeem your gas savings at the Safeway gas stations and at Chevron. If you save up your points then you can get up to a $1 off per gallon.

I use my card so I can earn gas savings, but I also you it because you can load electronic coupons to it. Each week Safeway offers you Just for U coupons, plus all the manufacturers coupons that are available. You just select the ones you want and load them to your card. You can load coupons to your card online or by using their app. I personally use the app.


These are pictures of my last shopping trip. I spent $109 and earned .20 off per gallon. Between the store's weekly deals and the electronic coupons I save $45 - $55.

Win a $50 Safeway Gift Card

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GetUncommon.com Review and Giveaway

This is a sponsored post. Recently, I was given the opportunity to use my child's artwork to create a custom case for my iPod for review from GetUncommon.com, they also provide a $50 gift card to  GetUncommon.com for one of my lucky readers.

GetUncommon.com sells iPad, iPod, Mac Book cases and more. They have various case types to choose from. You can choose one of their designs or you can upload your own.

First I had to pick out which type of case I wanted. I went with the Deflector. It's a one piece case that offers a slim fit.

Next I had to pick a design. I choose to upload my own design. I considered using a picture of my kids, but instead used a piece of artwork that my oldest son had drawn. I snapped a picture of his artwork and then uploaded it on the  GetUncommon.com website. I adjusted the size and added some text to it: Designed by Noah.

You can take a photo of anything and turn it into a case.

Check out this quick video to see how to customize your own case.


I got my new case just a few days after I ordered it and look how good it turned out. One of these custom cases would make an awesome Mother's Day gift!

Win a $50 GetUncommon.com Gift Card

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This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner(s) will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions - feel free to send us an email!

Current Giveaways

• $100 Amazon GC Giveaway (mommytravels.net)

Keeping Kids Safe in Today's World with Family by Sygic and $100 Amazon GC Giveaway

“Disclosure: As a Brand Ambassador with PTPA and Sygic, I received compensation for my participation. However, all opinions expressed on this blog are my very own.”

Keeping your kids safe in today's world is a never ending job and my sponsor, Family by Sygic, is helping parents keep their kids safe with the use of an app. Most tweens and teens have phones and most have phones with access to the Internet. So, it only makes sense to use our phones as part of keeping kids safe.

• Family by Sygic is an app that lets you share location with your kids and family using the one thing we always carry around – the Smartphone. It keeps you all in touch, lets you see where everybody is in real-time and gives you peace of mind.

• Family by Sygic was awarded by the largest parent-testing community Parent Tested Parent Approved.

My tween is starting to do things on his own, like meeting kids at a coffee shop, walking to school, and catching buses to other schools occasionally for sports. I get nervous not knowing exactly where he is at all times, so I got the Family by Sygic app for our phones. With this app I'm teaching him to be safe and responsible.

• Family by Sygic can teach your kids responsibility and self-reliance and give you peace of mind at the same time. You don’t have to keep calling your kids all the time to check on them.  Kids can “check-in” to tell you where they are. The app will send you the parent an “alert” with their exact location.
• The app lets you setup safe and unsafe zones. If your child goes into an unsafe zone you are immediately notified.

The poor children that suffer from having a lunatic mother.

Recently, I became that crazy lunatic mom and it all could have been avoided if I had the Family by Sygic app on our phones. Here's what happened.

I needed to pick up my oldest son, Noah, from track, but I couldn't find my youngest son, Jonah. He was playing in the neighborhood somewhere. (Yes, that's right. I'm the mom that can't find their kid, because I suck at keeping tabs on him. He's the third child and well.......you know how it goes.) I'm yelling his name, asking the other kids if they know where he is and getting very agitated.

I jump in the car with my daughter to drive around to find Jonah, because we are now running very late. I did not stop to grab my cell phone or put on some shoes. (It's the no shoes part that I feel takes me from being that crazy mom to full on lunatic mom.) We find Jonah and immediately drive to the school. At the school there is not a kid in sight. I'm only 15 minutes late and I can't believe there are no kids around. I have to send my daughter who is a 3rd grader into the school to look for Noah, because I have on NO FREAKING SHOES! She returns without him. I proceed to drive a different way home to see if Noah is walking.

We get all the way home without having spotted him. I am now having a heart attack. I run in the house and grab my cell phone. No missed calls, no texts, no anything. While I put on my shoes I call his friend's mother to see if she has him. She does not have him, but wonders why he isn't at the high school. The high school?!?!?! Apparently a bus picked the kids up and took them to the high school to practice, but I didn't know. Nobody bothered to tell me. We jump in the car and go pick him up at the high school where he was waiting with a bunch of other kids, because they had just gotten done. He has no clue at the drama that had just gone on.

It's moments like these that makes it hard to be a military wife 2,000 miles from family, but at least I have an app now that I can track my kids down with! It was easy to teach the kids to use and they understand it's important for them to use it. You can only imagine how much I love Family by Sygic app and not going to crazy town every time I lose a kid.

Giveaway - Family by Sygic has partnered with me to giveaway a $100 giftcard to Amazon.

Win a $100 Amazon Gift Card

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This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner(s) will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions - feel free to send us an email!

Other current giveaways

• $50 Gift Card to GetUncommon.com Review and Giveaway (mommytravels.net)

Reducing Our Carbon FootPrint #EverydayEffect

Have you done anything lately to reduce your carbon footprint?

We've been back in Oregon for over a year and like any true Oregonian would, I decided to try and reduce our home's carbon footprint. I decided this because of our rising utility bills, it's the right thing to do, and it didn't hurt that P& G and SheSpeaks ask me to participate in they're sponsored #EverydayEffect campaign.

Save Money on your Utility Bills

So far our electric bill has dropped $60! Here are some of the things we've been doing.

• Turning off the lights in rooms we are not in.
• Unplugging the coffee pot when it is not in use
•  

Our gas bill has dropped $80

• Wearing warmer clothes instead of turning up the temperature in the house.
• Turning our fireplace off and shutting off the gas valve
• Replacing our old thermostat for a new efficient one

Win a Washing Machine

enter the P&G #EverydayEffect Pinterest Giveaway by filling out the form here: on.fb.me/ZMyucH

Family by Sygic - Review and Giveaway

Have you entered the phase of life where your children have phones? We crossed that milestone many months ago. I like the kids having phones so I can contact them at any time. Unfortunately sometimes they don't pick up, like a few weeks ago when my son didn't get off the bus. I called his phone, no answer. I called the school, they put me on hold. If I had a tracker on his phone I could have immediately located him. Instead of panic and worry, I would have realized he was around the corner. He was goofing off and didn't get off until two bus stops later.

So, now you can imagine my delight when I was selected as an ambassador for Family by Sygic. I finally got to have my peace of mind back!

• Family by Sygic is the family locator, children safety and emergency alerts app awarded by the largest parent-testing community Parent Tested Parent Approved.

•  Family by Sygic is Sygic's latest app for families and with a touch of a button you can see where every member of your family is in real time.

• You can even set up zones, safe zones and unsafe zones. If your child goes into an unsafe zone you will receive an alert.

 Right now for a limited time the app is free. They have an app for iPhone and for Android.

Enter to Win an Offline Sygic GPS Navigation app for iphone or Android 

On Android, the app will have over 111 maps  of Europe, America, Southeast Asia and Africa to choose from. An  $89.99 value!

On iPhone, the Sygic GPS Navigation app will have maps of North America  and  an additional app with maps of Europe a value of $79.99

a Rafflecopter giveaway

These are fantastic apps to have, especially when traveling to different parts of the world. I know this for a fact, because I've gotten lost in Barcelona, Rome, Scotland, Ireland, and pretty much everywhere else I've been! It's always best to have a gps when traveling.

This giveaway is open to Canada, US and Europe Readers.

As a Brand Ambassador with PTPA and Sygic, I received compensation for my participation. However, all opinions expressed on this blog are my very own.

ABC Mouse – Review and Giveaway

 When I found out ABC Mouse was going to let a blogger try out their site I jumped at the chance.

What is ABC Mouse you ask? 

• ABCmouse is an Early Learning Academy with a full online curriculum for preschool through Kindergarten. 

My youngest is in kindergarten and learning to read. I know they do a lot at school, but there’s 27 kids in his kindergarten class and it’s just too many. So, we’ve been trying to supplement at home which is not always easy.

We’ve actually tried another computer program and he hated it, so I wasn’t sure if he would even try ABC Mouse. I have two of their free phone apps on my cell and he plays those, so when I said ABC Mouse he already seemed to have a positive attitude towards it.

Much to my delight he immediately got right into it. I set him up on the learning path and he did 5 activities in one sitting. (If you have a high energy little guy like mine then you will know why that’s a huge deal.) He enjoyed it so much he discussed it with me and played again later that day. Since then he has play every single day. Sometimes he does the learning path that was customized for his age and sometimes he just does free choice. I love listening to him sing a long with the songs.

 
Another great things is the parents section. Here I can watch his progress and adjust his levels if I want. There’s also explanations of the various lessons. They’ve got hundred of lessons.

Win a one year subscription to ABCMouse.com

Here's your chance to win your children a one year subscription to ABC Mouse. You can also check out their Facebook page for more info http://www.facebook.com/ABCmouse 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This was a sponsored post by thebloggerconnection.com. All opinions shared are my own.

Pressman Toys - iPieces review and giveaway

Have you heard about the new interactive games that have come out for your iPad? Pressman Toys has come out with lots of interactive iPad games including the Fishing Game, Game of Goose, Snakes and Ladders, Air Hockey and iPieces Pool. 

Recently, Pressman Toys was gracious enough to send me two games to try out, iPieces Air Hockey and iPieces Pool (Billiards).  My kids loved both games and I love the fact that they are playing a game I can play too. Even better for me the small pieces, it's going to be easy to pack for a road trip or even a flight with kids!

I was most excited to try out the iPieces Air Hockey game. I love air hockey and wondered how much fun it would be on the iPad. It is fun, but more challenging, because little circles float on to the screen with - or + signs. If you hit one you either gain points or lose points. You can be up by several points and instantly be tied or even behind. Check out this video to see how it works.

iPieces Pool (Billiards) is a little more straight forward. It's the same rules as regular pool. 
iPieces are available for purchase at Toys“R”Us, Barnes and Noble, K-mart, Radio Shack, Learning Express, and BJ’s Wholesale Club stores nationwide.

You have a chance to win an iPieces game of your choice:   the Fishing Game, Game of Goose, Snakes and Ladders, Air Hockey or iPieces Pool.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Only U.S. residents are eligible for the giveaway. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner(s) will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions - feel free to send us an email!

Win a $50 Gas Card: Are you WreckCheck Ready?

Have you heard about NAIC's (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) free WreckCheck app? WreckCheck in an app you can use when you've had an auto accident. You pull it up and answer all the questions. When your done it sends you an email with all the info and your insurance agent! 

I don't know about you, but the last time I got in a wreck I was freaked out and wasn't sure what to do. With this app it doesn't matter if I'm freaked out, because it will tell me what to do and what info I need to get.

Not only does it help you through the wreck situation, but it also has a lot of tips. For example did you know that if there is an injury you may or may not be liable. Some states are no fault states! I always assumed if it was your fault, then you paid. I also learned that you should never let someone take a photo of your license. This is something I never thought about and if I had gotten into a wreck prior to learning this, I may have complied without thinking it through!

Enter to win a $50 gas gift card good at Phillips 66, Shell or Quik Trip; your choice.

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This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner(s) will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions - feel free to send us an email!

Win 2 Text Bands - Review and Giveaway

Hallmark recently came out with a fun new product your kids are sure to love, Text Bands.  Text Bands are the latest trend in texting and doubles as a colorful fashion accessory. The Text Band starter kit has everything your kid or tween needs to swap short secret messages with their friends. They can even swap out the bands to match their mood that day. Two lucky winners will receive a Text Bands pack with two Text Band starter kits.

My kids love their TextBands. They wear them all the time and are constantly sending each other messages. They type in a message they want to share and then bump their TextBands together and their messages automatically go to the other TextBand. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. Winner(s) will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If you have any additional questions - feel free to send us an email!

Win a $20,000 Trip to cruise Galapagos

English: An Iguana at Galápagos. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Right now Travelingmom.com, TakingtheKids.com and the Family Travel Forum are giving away a trip for four to the Galapagos Islands!  Entering is easy and they have multiple ways to gain extra entries.  You have until November 8th to enter so hurry over to Travelingmom.com today and enter!

Maintaining Sanity on the Road Trip: Slow Down and Listen

Ready to take that end-of-the-summer road trip but worried about how your kids will fare in the back seat?  

Translation: do you fear the bickering and yelling?  Do your kids get car sick watching DVDs?  Mine do.  And they fight in the back seat.  A LOT!  This was a painful situation for me: I like road trips, but I don’t like my kids on road trips.  How to fuse the two?

A little over a year ago, we were on a road trip and I wanted everybody to listen to audiobooks: they improve your vocabulary, they broaden your world!  I downloaded an iPhone app that had the entire Librivox.org catalog in it for a mere 99 cents.  That’s over 30,000 books!  Problem was, many of the narrators were unbearable.  I also found out: thirty thousand books is overkill.  Too much choice creates paralysis.

And that’s when it hit me:  I would create my own iPhone app with only the children’s catalog from Librivox.  And only with the best narrators.  No matter how good a book is, if the narrator is no good, it’s impossible to enjoy.

I engaged Mazal Simantov – a good friend and excellent designer, programmer and lifelong children’s advocate.  Together we created Audiobooks For Your Kids.  Thirty of the best narrated titles from the children’s catalog of Librivox.org.  Now, you don’t have to spend the time figuring out which book to listen to: you can search by title, age, genre and author.  Best of all, the app is only 99 cents.  We also made sure that the design was beautiful, spare and easy to use -- and we’ve done the legwork for you by curating the app!

Here’s what you get when your kids read on the road: they don’t wander away, they don’t fight, they are safe.  They are quiet. 

There are no bells and whistles to this app: it’s old school, if apps can be called such things.  You don’t read along, there are no graphics, no animations.  You just listen.  Slow down and listen.  There’s a lot of noise out there, online, and most of it is no good for us.  You can listen in the car, at home, in the doctor’s waiting room.  We even explain how to do it on our website.  Easy peasy.

Over the next few months, we’ll release three new apps with 30 titles in each of the following categories: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Fairy Tales/Folk Tales.  Stay tuned.
Raise your kids as readers.  Audiobooks is too reading!  Enjoy the summer.  Drive safely!

The first five people to retweet this blog post will be sent a free copy of the iPhone app, Audiobooks For Your Kids.  Be sure to send your email to feedback AT audiobooksforyourkids DOT com so that we can send you the code.

Elizabeth Rodgers is an avid traveler, award-winning filmmaker and Los Angeles native who now lives in Boise, Idaho with her lovely family. She’s the co-creator of the Audiobooks for Kids iPhone app and contributes regularly to TravelingMom.com as the Idaho TravelingMom. Follow her on Twitter at erodg.

Real Estate seminar material giveaway

It's been a while since I wrote about investing. Last week I attended a free real estate investing seminar put on by the people behind Armando Montelongo Flip that House. Although they spent a lot of time plugging their products and classes, there was still useful information I learned. (I do not recommend buying any of their products that they are selling.  If you go to a seminar take what you can get out of it and leave.  Oh, and pick up your free gifts at the end.)
At the end they gave out some CDs and DVDs. So, of course I picked up an extra set!  You can not buy these any where and there is some very interesting stuff on the CD!  (The prize is not the guide pictured above.)

I'm giving away the Flip For Success: Fast Cash In Foreclosure DVD and Real Estate 2011 cd.

How To Enter
One lucky reader can win. If you would like a chance to win, leave a comment telling me one good money related tip by 11:59PM PST on Sunday July 31, 2011.

How to Earn More Chances to Win


There are several ways you can get additional entries in this contest. Each takes only a few minutes!

1.For Five Additional Entries: Subscribe to my RSS feed (either by reader or email) using the buttons on the top left-hand side of the page. Leave another comment telling me you did.

2. "Like" Mommytravels on facebook, and come back here to tell me that you did. I use my Facebook page to share exclusive giveaways, discount codes and other opportunities.
 
3. "Follow" MommyTravels on Twitter, and come back here to tell me that you did.
 
4. For Five extra entries: Link to this giveaway on your blog, and come back here to tell me that you did.
 
5. "Follow" MommyTravels blog, and come back here to tell me you did.
 
Winner

I will choose a winner randomly and announce the results here on August 1, 2011.
Rules

Please, only one comment per person per giveaway post (except as outlined above where the comment is related to an extra entry). Duplicate comments and Anonymous comments will be discarded. Please make sure that the email address in your comment form is valid (email addresses are never public). Winners must claim their prize within three business days after the date of notification of such prize. A Sweepstakes winner's failure to respond to the prize notification within the specified three business days will be considered such Sweepstakes winner's forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected from the pool of eligible entries. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected from the pool of eligible entries. To enter, you must be a U.S. resident, age 18 or older.  We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology. When applicable, the winner may be required to execute and return within five business days an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability and Publicity Release to be eligible for the prize or an alternate winner will be selected. All prizes will be awarded. No substitutions including for cash are permitted.

Win an IPad or $100

     Travelingmom.com and APEX, the Airline Passenger Experience Association are giving away 2 IPad2!  Plus, their giving away a $100 gift card, two $25 iTunes gift cards during the June 13 Twitter party. Then their going to give away two more $100 gift cards and a second iPad2 in the two weeks after the Twitter party.



     All you have to do is share your air travel experiences and ideas for improvement atTravelingMom.com's  June 13 Twitter Party and fill out the APEX Passenger Choice Awards survey to tell the air travel industry what you think and be eligible to win $100 gift cards and an iPad2.

To see all the ways you can enter and the rules check out Travelingmom.com

Currently there are 242 entries so you have a good chance at winning a prize!

Goby.com is a great travel tool for families

gGoby.com has been a new fantastic website discovery for me.  I just found out about it a week ago when they partner with TravelingMom.com to giveaway an IPad 2!!!!  I was so excited and loved their website.  Then the next day I found out my kids were accepted into Operation Purple camps for military kids.  I was thrilled, but my daughter is only 7 and I am nervous to leave her behind.  Not sure what to do, I turned to Goby.com immediately and looked at the closest town to where my kids will be.  I wanted to see what the town was like and if it was a place I could spend a week with my four year old. 

Once I looked it up I realized it was a huge town with tons to offer.  I had never heard of it, so I assumed it was an in the middle of nowhere kind of place.  Instead I found water parks, museums, playgrounds and more.  I even found something just for me, wineries!  Yes, I take my kids to wineries and they complain the entire time. 

I was able to plug in the dates we were going to be there and they gave me a list of concerts, a brewery festival, plays and baseball games.  It was so easy.  In less then 10 minutes I knew everything I needed to know.  Including a place for us to stay!

Be sure to go enter the contest at TravelingMom.com and join us for a Twitter Party May 23rd.  I know everyone wants an Ipad!!  See you at the party!

Giveaway Winners!

The of the Manner Mats by Blunders are:
MoneySavinDiva
Ladybug
AnthonyandEmily

The winner of the Family Talk game by Around the Table Games is:
Ryan (you did not leave an email address, please contact me)

Congrats everyone.