Please excuse me...

I must excuse myself for a few days. 

Why, you might ask? 

Because we FINALLY CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE!! 

Yippee!!

Here we are outside the title company after the closing...just to prove that we FINALLY made it happen.

What, you didn't see the celebratory fireworks go off at noon today? Haha.

We found the most amazing deal on a house and put an offer in 12 months ago. That's right kids, we've been waiting, fighting, striving, waiting, saving, and waiting for this house for an entire year.

But, as I always say, patience pays off! If you're willing to be patient, you can save boatloads of money. And trust me, we got a killer deal on this house. I can't wait to decorate and show you all the creative ways we've saved money so far even. So much to share!

But for now, please excuse me, I may not be around as much for the next short while. Tomorrow is moving day, which means today is packing day, which means the next MONTH is unpacking day. Moving is the pits, but let's be honest...it's worth it. My aunt has been great to let us bum in her basement for the last few months, but I am sure glad to get our own place again. Can't wait to make this house a home!

I'M SO EXCITED!

De-germ your house with your dishwasher

The flu recently swept through our house, and how the round of colds have hit. My husband and I have been able to avoid the colds, but I figured it's only a matter of time before our dear sweet sharing children generously share those fabulous germs with us.

Ugh.

I started spraying down my son's toys with Lysol spray each night after he went to bed, hoping it would kill off the germs. I felt like I was coating layers upon layers of chemicals on his toys, so I came up with an alternative solution:

Use your dishwasher to disinfect your things!

Some things I run through the dishwasher from time to time to kill germs are:

• Toothbrushes
• Binkies
• Retainers
• Hair brushes (once the hair has been removed)
• Dog food/water bowls
• Tub toys
• Various kid and dog toys

Here's how I did it recently with my son's toys:

Before going to bed I filled the dishwasher to the brim with his toys; even the ones he hasn't played with much recently. The criteria I looked for:

• No fabric or soft parts
• Toys where water couldn't seep inside and ruin them (like balls that light up or toys with buttons to push)
• No battery-operated toys
• No wooden toys
• No loose or removable parts

I placed small random things in the silverware holder,

Filled the bottom with the big toys, filled the top with the smaller toys,

 And put it on a gentle cycle. This is my aunt's dishwasher, each washer is a a bit different. Just make sure the heated dry is off - you don't want to melt any toys.  I added a bit of all-natural dish soap with my wash.

And that's it! When I woke up in the morning I had a whole batch of spiffy clean toys. No more cold germs in our house!

By keeping your home germ-free it saves you money by cutting back on doctor bills, medicine costs, missed work, etc. I suggest running toys or everyday items through the wash once a month or so, even if your family is seemingly healthy at the time.

What an easy way to save!

You're welcome :)

FREE Minky carseat cover!

A FCF friend Deborah passed this promo along to me. You get a FREE car seat cover, or a huge gift set for just $29.95. Christmas is just around the corner, sounds like a great deal!

**Note: You end up having to pay $15 shipping, but $15 for a minky cover could still be a good deal for a gift.

Click HERE to get yours

It's as easy as 1-2-3!

1.  Go to CarSeatCanopy.com.
2.  Click on "Shop Now" and select any Car Seat Canopy or Whole Caboodle Set that you like. The Whole Caboodle Set includes the same Car Seat Canopy as well as a matching Minky Car Seat Slip Cover, Minky Head Support Pillow, Replacement Umbrella with Minky Lining and a Baby Lap Blanket with Minky Underside. This promotion brings the price on any "Whole Caboodle Set" regularly priced at $135 to only $29.95!
3.   Once you have made your selection, you'll automatically be directed to the shopping bag. Enter the promo code " CHRISTMAS and it will bring your product total on a Car Seat Canopy to $0 and $29.95 on any Whole Caboodle Set!
Remember: the promo code is " CHRISTMAS " and you can order as many times as you want - just open a new browser window each time you do.

At $29.95 for The Whole Caboodle, you're getting the best baby shower gift you will ever give or receive!
Feel free to pass this promotion on to your friends!

List of Cyber Monday deals and great tips!

Happy Monday! Wow, my Thanksgiving weekend was awesome...hope yours was too! I'll share with you all about my little vacay soon. For now, I wanted to share some exciting Cyber Monday deals with you, just in case you didn't get all your shopping out on Black Friday ;)

• Click HERE for "an exhaustive" list of all the best electronics deals for today. The list is MASSIVE!
• Click HERE for an accumulative list of everything on sale for Cyber Monday.
• Click HERE or HERE for good retail lists of deals for stores like Gap, J. Crew, and Kohl's.
• Be sure to check sites like retailmenot for deals and coupon codes before buying ANYTHING!
• Shop through Ebates to get cash back on online purchases. They send you a check, it's so easy! The best part? They are offering DOUBLE cash back today!
• Today is a great day to print your Christmas cards and photo books. Shutterfly is offering penny prints, Artscow is offering 50% off their entire site, Picaboo is offering 40% off site-wide, and pretty much all other printing sites are offering deals today.
• Even Costco is offering Cyber Monday deals!

Here are some examples of good deals:

-Michaels is offering $5 off every $25 you spend
-Joann Fabrics is offering good deals too

FASHION

J. Crew: 25% off and free shipping on all orders (code: SURPRISE)

Madewell: Extra 30% off sale and free shipping (code: ENJOY)

Ann Taylor: Everything is 50% off (code: MONDAY)

LOFT: Everything is 50% off (code: SHOP50)

Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta: 30% off everything (code: HUGECYBER)

Piperlime: 20% off everything (code: HUGECYBER)

JewelMint.com: Sign up and get any piece for $19.99 (code: CM1999)

Shopbop.com: 20% off everything (code: BIGEVENT)

ShopSosie.com: 20% off everything (code: HAPPYMON11) 

ASOS.com: 25% of ASOS Collection

Anthropologie: Free shipping on all orders

Steve Madden: 30% off and free shipping (code: STUFFING)

Express: 30% off and free shipping

American Eagle: 25% off and free shipping (code: 49827101)

Urban Outfitters: Free shipping on all orders

Lulu’s: 30% off entire purchase (code: CYBERSALE)

Scoop NYC: 30% off and free shipping

Erin Gallagher: 40% off everything

Victoria’s Secret: Free shipping orders $25 or more and $15 off orders of $100 or more (codes: 25FREESHIP and FALL11)

Intermix: 15% off  (code: CYBER15)

Bloomingdale’s: Free shipping on any order (code: FREESHIP11) and $50 off purchases of $250+

C&C California: Extra 42% off sale items and free shipping (code: CCTDAY42)

Endless: $30 off $100, $60 off $200, $100 off $300 (code: CYBERMON)

HOME

West Elm: Free shipping (code: BEMERRY)

Crate & Barrel: 15% off and free shipping (code: SAVE15)

BATH/BEAUTY

The Body Shop: Any 3 items for $30 plus 10% off and free shipping (code: JOY10)

Sephora: Get a free assortment of samples with any $25 online order (code: MYSTERY)

E.L.F.: 50% off purchases of $25 or more (code: 50WIDE)

ViolentLips.com: 50 % off everything and free shipping

BeautyBar.com: Free gift set with any purchase over $40

TECH/GADGETS

Check out the exhaustive running list at Gizmodo.

ETSY

Shops with free shipping

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Advance Auto Parts
Save $30/$50/$70 on orders of $100/$150/$200+ To get the Cyber Monday discount, use code DDCBER at the AdvanceAutoParts.com checkout. This offer starts at Noon ET 11/27/11 & ends on 11/28/11.
Save 20% off all your AdvanceAutoParts.com purchases by using the code CYBER. This deal is good on Cyber Monday only.

6PM.com Cyber Monday 2011 Deals:
One deal priced at $24 every hour for 24 hours (starts midnight on 11/28/11)
FREE shipping on all orders on Cyber Monday 2011

Ace Hardware Cyber Monday 2011 Deals:
10% off entire purchase from AceHardware.com from midnight to 11:50 PM EST on 11/28/11.
Cyber Monday Only discount does not include purchase of sale and clearance items, power tools, power equipment, water heaters, grills, EdenPure Heaters and gift cards.

Adiago Teas Cyber Monday 2011 Deals:
Free shipping on all AdiagoTeas.com website on Cyber Monday, with no minimum purchase required

Amazon.com Cyber Monday 2011 Deals:
"Cyber Week" specials begin on Sunday, November 27, 2011 and will continue for the entire week beyond Cyber Monday

Banana Republic
Save 30% off any purchase at BananaRepublic.com by using the code HUGECYBER at checkout.
Cyber Monday discount offer ends after 11/28/11

Best Buy
AOC 20” Widescreen LED Computer Monitor - Cyber Monday sale price $89.99.
Acer Iconia Tablet with 8GB Memory - Cyber Monday sale price $229.99.
Asus Desktop with AMD Processor, 500GB Hard Drive, and 4GB DDR3 Memory - Cyber Monday sale price $349.99.
FREE $10 e-gift card with in-store pickup of website orders of $100 or more on Cyber Monday
Frigidaire 26.0 Cu. Ft. Side-by-Side Refrigerator with Thru-the-Door Ice & Water - Cyber Monday sale price $450 Off
Gateway All-In-One Computer with 500GB Hard Drive, and 2GB DDR3 Memory - Cyber Monday sale price $399.99.
ION Audio iCADE Arcade Cabinet for Apple® iPad® and iPad 2 - Cyber Monday sale price $49.99.
Kenwood CD Deck and Pair of 6-1/2” 2-Way Speakers, $30 Off - Cyber Monday sale price $79.99.
LG 32” Class ED 720p HDTV - Cyber Monday sale price $299.99
Norelco Rechargeable Cordless Men’s Razor - 50% Off
Philips Sonicare Rechargeable Powered Toothbrush - 50% Off
Samsung 25.8 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator - $600 Off
SanDisk Cruzer 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive - Cyber Monday sale price $8.99.
Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor - Cyber Monday sale price $99.99.
Ecost.com
Logitech harmony 300 Universal Remote - Cyber Monday sale price $84.99
Vizio 47" 1080p 3D TruLED 480 Hz HDTV with WiFi and VIZIO Internet Apps - Cyber Monday sale price $629
HP Mini 1151nr 1.6Ghz Intel Netbook with 3G Mobile Broadband and Bluetooth - Cyber Monday sale price $169.99
Dell Latitude D63D 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Notebook PC - Cyber Monday sale price $199
Jawbone 3 PRIME Bluetooth Headset, open box - Cyber Monday sale price $17.99
HP Pavilian dm4 - 1160us 2.6GHz Intel Core i5 HDMI Notebook w/500GB hard drive and bluetooth , silver - Cyber Monday sale price $549
Western Digital WD TV Mini Media Player, black - Cyber Monday sale price $23

Entertainment.com
30% off Entertainment Books
FREE shipping on Entertainment Books purchases through Cyber Monday

Family Christian
Use coupon code 123054301 for 99¢ shipping on total purchases of $40 of more through December 24th.

Gap
Save 30% off on all purchases at Gap.com by using the code HUGECYBER at checkout. This discount ends after Cyber Monday, 11/28

Kohl’s
Cyber Saving Days begin on November 27 and continue through Cyber Monday, November 28.
200 Cyber Saving deals and discounts
Get an extra 20% off your entire purchase on Sunday and Cyber Monday when you use the code CYBER20 at checkout on 11-27-11 and 11-28-11.
Completely FREE shipping with no minimum purchase on Sunday and Cyber Monday. (No code required for free shipping).

Land of Nod
Free shipping on all Land of Nod children's merchandise - no coupon code required - through the end of Cyber Monday, November 28, 2011.

Living Social Purchase coupons from Living Social on Cyber Monday only in order to get these retail discounts from a variety of retail websites:

Blue Nile - $100 for $200 (50% savings) at bluenile.com plus free expedited shipping
Bluefly.com - $25 for $50 to spend (50% off) plus free shipping on orders over $100
Bonobos - $25 for $50 to spend at bonobos.com (50% off)
EA Android games - $5 for $10 to spend on EA games including Madden NFL 12, Bejeweled® 2 and
The Sims™ 3 for Android devices (50% off)
EA PC games at Origin.com - $10 for $20 to spend on select PC downloadable games such as
Battlefield 2™: Complete Collection, Medal of Honor™ and Mass Effect™ 2 at the EA Origin online store (50% off)
Eyefly.com - $49 for 1 pair of any glasses or sunglasses with or without a prescription ($99 value, 50% off)
Fanatics Sports Shop - $10 for $20 to spend at fanatics.com (50% off)
Fathead - $25 for $50 to spend at fathead.com (50% off)
Incase - $25 for $50 towards any product (50% off)
Red Envelope - $20 for $40 to use at RedEnvelope.com (50% off)
Shari's Berries.com - $15 for $30 to spend at Berries.com (50% off)
Skype - $10 for $20 worth of Skype Credits this holiday season (50% off)
Snapfish - $15 for $30 to spend at Snapfish.com this holiday season (50% off)
Threadless - $15 for $30 to spend at Threadless.com on tees and other artist designed products (50% off)
Wine.com - $40 for $80 to use at Wine.com (50% off)