Pillow Pets giveaways

From the moment she saw the first commercial, my daughter has been OBSESSED with getting a unicorn pillow pet.  She will randomly, enthusiastically mention to friends, family, and probably even strangers, "I want a pillow pet."  Alas, the unicorn has been sold out weeks, so the Easter Bunny will not have a Pillow Pet (because there's no reason to pay those crazy eBay prices).  However, mommy CAN work on winning one!

1)   Rave and Review ends 4/25 http://raveandreview.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/03/snuggly-pillow-pets-an-easter-giveaway.html

2)   Melinda Joy ends 4/22  http://melindajoy.blogspot.com/2010/03/pillow-pets-review-giveaway.html

3)  Mommy Mandy ends 4/10 http://mommymandy.com/spring-my-pillow-pets-giveaway/

4)  The Cloth Diaper Report ends 3/30 http://www.theclothdiaperreport.com/2010/03/pillow-pets-easter-pets-review-giveaway.html

5)  Outnumbered 3-to-1 ends 4/10 http://www.outnumbered3-1.com/2010/03/leap-into-spring-my-pillow-pets-review.html

6)  Mommy Goggles ends 4/8 http://www.mommygoggles.com/easter-spring-pillow-pets/

Got Tropicana OJ? Try Juicy Rewards! [Part 2: Online Shopping]

As mentioned in part 1 of this series, I was invited by "Savvy Auntie" Melanie Notkin to check out the new Tropicana's Juicy Rewards site as a Juicy Insider and share my experiences with my friends and followers.  This past weekend, I finally had a chance to use some of my points to do a little online shopping.

As a stay at home mom of a three year old and a five year old, shopping in person has been growing increasingly difficult.  Getting great deals online with free shipping is a huge thing for me.  One of Tropicana's Juicy Rewards Partner Rewards that caught my attention was Adidas.  While looking through the Adidas website, I discovered they carry English Premier League soccer jerseys, specifically my husband's beloved Newcastle United FC.  Yes, while some wives become football or basketball widows, I become a soccer one at times.  I bought my husband's original Newcastle United jersey when I traveled to England for work, but the team's sponsor then was Newcastle Brown Ale.  Alas, when my husband's school has team jersey day, it would be a little inappropriate for him, as a teacher, to be wearing a shirt with the logo of a beer company on it.  Newcastle's current sponsor is much more appropriate for school, and the shirt was on sale.  How could I pass it up?  

With the jersey discounted to $42, all I needed was $18 more of merchandise to meet my $60 minimum purchase to satisfy the save $10 off / free shipping coupon from Tropicana's Juicy Rewards.  Like magic, I found an $18 pair of basic black Adidias track pants in my five year old son's size.  While he's learned to manage buttons, elastic waists still make it easier for the kids.  Black goes with practically everything, so you really can't go wrong with it either.  Let's just say my little guy would probably wear a plaid shirt with polka dot pants if he had them, so I try to keep it simple for him color-wise too.

With my shopping items determined, the actual point transaction was quite straightforward.  When you choose to get a reward, you are issued a unique coupon code to enter into the Adidas website during the checkout process.  You can either copy and paste out of the Tropicana window, or wait for the confirmation email to arrive and shop later.  I realized the Adidas was also a My Points partner.  So I accessed the Adidas website through My Points so I could get My Points credit in addition to my coupon savings (It's currently in my My Points pending points queue, so it worked!).  I ordered everything Saturday afternoon.  It shipped on Monday, and arrived Wednesday via FedEx -- a prompt and accurate transaction.

I'm hoping to hit our local indoor playground, Boro Kid Zone, to test out the printable local coupons in the near future.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Haven't registered yet?  Head to Tropicana's Juicy Rewards site and sign up.  Within your first six hours of being registered, you can enter the code SAVVY-AUNTI in the codes area to earn your first point.  There are additional extra point campaigns that you may be able to take advantage of,like code FBOOK-TROPI (Tropicana's Facebook Fan page).  Additional limit-time point opportunities have appeared on their fan page as well, so it it a good place to watch.

Come back and share what great deals you find!

-- Sue

*This post is written for my participating in the Tropicana Juicy Insiders program by Savvy Auntie on behalf of Tropicana. I received 12 free Juicy Rewards points and a $50 Visa gift card to use in redemption of the points and to facilitate my review.  The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Bedtime Theater giveaway ends 3/29

Bedtime is a struggle in our house -- The 3 and 5 year olds have way too much control!  I would love to have a bedtime theater to help them settle down for bed...  Check it out at Brimful Curiosties, where the giveaway ends 3/29.

http://www.brimfulcuriosities.com/2010/03/storytelling-and-goodnites-bedtime.html

Pair of Calphalon Contemporary omelet pans giveaway ends 3/24

 The good news about non-stick -- No sticking!  The bad news:  Eventually, the coating starts to chip and its time for new ones.  My non-stick pans are ready for replacing, and this would be a great way to replace them!  Check out the giveaway ending 3/24 at Tammy's Two Cents:

http://tammystwocents-tammy.blogspot.com/2010/03/giveaway-calphalon-contemporary.html

Got Tropicana OJ? Try Juicy Rewards! [Part 1: Searching]

I was recently invited by "Savvy Auntie" Melanie Notkin to check out the new Tropicana's Juicy Rewards site as a Juicy insider and share my experiences with my friends and followers.  My husband's favorite orange juice has been Tropicana since before we nearly 20 years ago, so this seemed like a promotion right up our alley.

Likeother manufacturer point programs, Tropicana's Juicy rewards codes appear on the purchased products, can be registered on the site, and then be cashed in for discounts on purchases / admission fees.

First step was the registration process, which was simple and straightforward.  Thanks to Savvy Auntie, I could even immediately load my first Juicy Reward code by clicking "Enter Codes" and entering the code "SAVVY-AUNTI".  I had some jugs of Tropicana in my refrigerator as well.  Regular cartons are 3 points each, but the larger jugs will get you 5 points each.  So, after entering the codes near the caps of the jugs, I had a hefty 11 points to start shopping with.  Now how to spend them?

The rewards on the Tropicana Juicy Rewards site vary, but are generally focused on health, sports, and the arts.  I was able to find plenty of great offers in my area.  Here in central NJ, we have a number of indoor playgrounds for the kids, and there are buy-one-get-one-free admission coupons for many of those in our area.  With two kids, yay for BOGOs!  For Boro Kid Zone, one of the local playgrounds, that's a $9 value right there.  I have already mentioned the site to a number of people by word of mouth for this savings alone.

Other entertainment offers are similar to those found in the recreation section of your local entertainment book, such as discounted admission to theme parks, children's sport complexes, and museums, as well as discounts on local gyms, music education, and sporting goods.  If you are into massages and have a Massage Envy shop near you, they are one of the reward partners including 10% coupons for certain services. Not looking to buy sporting goods or head out to a museum?  Tropicana also gives you the option to donate your points toward their Rescue the Rainforest program.

Like any new website, there are some quirks that need to be worked out with the search interface.  I was an IT consultant working on multiple software design projects before kids, so I am extra picky on stuff like this!  To help you with your navigation of the site and hopefully minimize frustration, I wanted to share what I found:

• When using the search functionality, the first 11 search results are Tropicana's reward partners.  I understand that these companies have become partners in order to have increased visibility, but on my little netbook, it's frustrating that on the first page of geographic search results, 11 of the 14 results are partner websites, not stores/facilities that are actually geographically close (although we do have a Massage Envy in town).  Other categories are grouped in a way that multiple rewards are consolidated, so it would be nice if the partners were collapsed as well.  For example, have ONE listing for adidas that you drill into, not THREE on the first screen.  This reduction would still give the partners the higher visibility at the top of the search list while not frustrating folks like me who were trying to see things from the non-sponsors. 

• The reward categories appear in a completely random order.  It would make more sense to have all the "entertainment" categories in the list together, or better yet have a higher set of categories like "entertainment" (for arcades, museums, etc.), "sports" (sporting equipment, specific sports), etc.  I also found it confusing to figure out what I would find in what category.  For example, I do not really think of my local preschooler-friendly indoor playground for the kids as an "arcade & batting cage".  This lack of intuitive categories forced me to go through every category.

• As you drill through the listings, if you find something you like, you can click "Add to Favorites".  Great!  The bad news is that clicking "Add to Favorites" removes the "Back to Results" button from the offer detail screen, so you either have to use the browser back button or restart your entire search because the "Back to Search" button take you back to the initial search screen rather than your search results.  "Back to Search" on the category search results screen takes you back to the highest level of your geographic search, so the button meaning is inconsistent.  It took me a few times before I realized what was happening.  Hopefully this bug will get fixed soon.

The VERY GOOD news is that, like I mentioned above, while it may take you a while to navigate through them at first, they DO have some great offers that are well worth the hunt.

I hope to have the opportunity to cash in some points and share the redemption process with you soon!

Ready to get started?  Head to Tropicana's Juicy Rewards site and get registered.  Within your first six hours of being registered, you too can enter the code SAVVY-AUNTI in the codes area to earn your first point.  UPDATE:  There are additional extra point campaigns that you may be able to take advantage of,like code FBOOK-TROPI (Tropicana's Facebook Fan page).

Come back and share what great deals you find!

-- Sue

*This post is written for my participating in the Tropicana Juicy Insiders program by Savvy Auntie on behalf of Tropicana. I received 12 free Juicy Rewards points and a $50 Visa gift card to use in redemption of the points and to facilitate my review.