Reviews

How I make life a little easier with Walgreens Web Pickup

February 11, 2013 by Sandra 7 Comments

As a mom of five kids, one of whom is extremely hyperactive and always on-the-go, I can use one word to describe my life most of the time right now.

Crazy.

I wish it wasn’t this way. I really, truly, wish it wasn’t this way and life didn’t seem like such a challenge every. single. day. But it does. This is my reality.

Yes, I have good days, and I know that I’m extremely blessed to be able to be home with my kids all day long and homeschool them. But it’s still hard, because in the midst of the blessing there’s:

A child not wanting to sit down and eat breakfast

Complaining

Runny noses

A child yelling, “Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom…” when I’m home alone and trying to keep the baby asleep. (I was not successful.)

A brand new roll of toilet paper in the toilet

Hitting, scratching, bothering

All this just…today.

So, you can imagine, that when I had the opportunity to try out the Walgreens Web Pickup service, I jumped at the chance! I mean not having to leave the house with the kids to go shopping for household items, really? Instead, I get to sit home at my computer and browse through the items we need, be able to see the sale prices, Balance Rewards, whether it’s in stock or not at my local Walgreeens, literally shop from the comfort of my computer chair…well, that’s my kind of shopping! 🙂

And that’s just what I did.

First, I went to Walgreens.com and logged into my account. (Tip: If you’ve taken advantage of the free photo offers from Walgreens, like a free 8×10 or free photo collage, then you probably already have an account.)

Then I browsed for the items my family needed. My husband had a list of items for me to look for specifically, and so I started there. You can also use the Walgreens Mobile App, which is extremely handy and can do so many cool things (even edit photos!), to search through your local ad.

I also used the app to check my Balance Rewards (signing up is free).

I found some very nice deals on natural products like lotion, hand soap, and toilet paper. Since life has been hectic with all the moving we’ve done lately, I haven’t been able to make and replenish our own supply. It’s so nice to have store bought natural products when we need them — and at good deals! I also found good sale prices on everyday items like garbage bags and storage bags.

You can take a peek at the first picture in this post to see everything I put in my web pickup shopping cart.

Or you can see my entire shopping experience from start to finish in this Google+ story I created. There’s even a picture I snapped of the sign for curbside service (Hello! :)) that Walgreens offers with Web Pickup. Curbside service.

After I was finished shopping, I went through the online checkout process (though you are not actually charged for the items until you pick them up in store — this way you can get your Balance Rewards AND bring any coupons you have to use on your order), then I headed to the store the next morning to pick up my order.

Finding the web pickup counter was easy because of the signage. My local Walgreens web pickup area is at the photo counter.

The checkout process was a breeze, and I was in and out of the store before I knew it. It was quick and easy, and I will definitely be using the Walgreens Web Pickup service again and again and again…to keep my family #HappyHealthy and to keep me a little more on the sane side.

Have you ever tried the Walgreens Web Pickup service? I’d love to hear your experience! If you haven’t tried it, do you think you’ll try it now that you know how easy it is? (I’m personally trying the curbside service feature next time. :))

P.S. Now through March 1st, Walgreens is giving the Walgreens community the coupon code: WEBPICK to save $5 off an order of $20. I used this code for my order, because I *heart* coupons.

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Walgreens #cbias #SocialFabric #HappyHealthy — All opinions are my own.

Fun Holiday Creations with Tyson Chicken Nuggets

December 24, 2012 by Sandra 4 Comments

It’s not everyday that I get the opportunity to let my kids play with their food. They rarely get free rein to decorate their dinner. But last week, I had the chance to be a fun mom, and my kids created fun, memorable holiday creations with their Tyson chicken nuggets.

We started by going on an always-interesting-when-we-go-out-as-a-family-of-seven outing to Sam’s Club. You can see our entire trip breakdown in the Google+ story that I created about our shopping experience. There are lots of pictures. 🙂

At Sam’s, we bought our chicken nuggets, and we also bought other items that we could use to pair with the items that we had at home, so that we could be really creative with our holiday chicken nugget creations.

We used these items to make a wreath, Christmas tree, and snowman:

chicken nuggets (our main ingredient)

cherry tomatoes (for cherries)

peas (for some christmasy green color)

nutella (this was our ‘glue’ or ‘paint’)

granola thins crackers (these were used to make gifts to go under the tree, as a tree stump, and used as Frosty’s hat)

parmesan cheese (snow)

coconut (snow)

ketchup (as ‘glue’ and a great way to add a christmasy red color – also great for dipping your finished nuggets)

chocolate chips (coal for the snowman’s face and purely for fun)

chocolate truffles (the ‘star’ for our tree – an extremely creamy and delicious star, that is)

Nathan, our oldest son, had a delicious holiday wreath for dinner. We used chicken nuggets, cherry tomatoes, and peas to create the wreath. I love that we could incorporate some vegetables into this fun holiday meal.

Isaac’s and David’s creations were much more sweet and chocolatey. Isaac created a chocolate chicken nugget Christmas tree. He is definitely the adventurous one in our family, and he loved his creation. He enjoyed eating it, too.

Can you tell from the pictures? Chicken nuggets and chocolate were winning combinations for our sweet-toothed 5-year-old.

David also created a Christmas tree. His tree was made out of chicken nuggets, and it had peas for ornaments, cherry tomatoes as the stump, and coconut, which was for snow on the tree.

Breanna, who is our more meticulous creator, made a snowman. She used chicken nuggets as the snowman’s body, and then used the granola thins crackers as the hat, chocolate chips for the face, coconut as snow, and ketchup as glue to keep the snow on the snowman’s body. She finished him off with a single pea – as a button.

All in all, the kids loved thinking outside of the box with their chicken nuggets. They made some fun holiday creations, and I know this is something they’ll not soon forget. Why should cookies have all the fun?

We may make this a new holiday tradition. 🙂

What kinds of fun holiday traditions do you keep with your kids? Have you ever thought to decorate chicken nuggets in a fun and festive way?

I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Tyson. All opinions are my own. #MealsTogether #CBias #SocialFabric

Make your coffee even more delicious with Torani coffeehouse syrups

December 15, 2012 by Sandra 6 Comments

It’s no secret that I love coffee. I have tried to give it up or at least cut back to one cup a day instead of two, but I can’t. I used to feel some measure of guilt about loving coffee so much, but I don’t anymore. I feel like coffee is something that the Lord has blessed to bring a little joy to my mornings, which tend to be the some of the most hectic times in my day. Waking up to children who need to be fed, bathed, dressed, changed, and ten other things…isn’t easy. I’m sure you can relate.

So I need coffee. My husband knows it, and he makes my first cup just about every single morning. He does a great job, too. 🙂 I normally have coffee with a little vanilla almond milk and nothing else. It took a little time for me to get used to drinking it that way, but my taste buds have been trained. And I enjoy it.

However, there are times when I like to enjoy delicious coffeehouse style coffee at home. I’ve experimented quite a bit over the years with different recipes, and some have turned out to be winners. The only issue I have with the recipes is that they require so many additional ingredients. Ingredients like sugar, brown sugar, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, chocolate syrup, etc… Then there’s the time involved in making my extra-special cups of coffee. It can be a bit of a process to make a homemade latte.

Enter Torani syrups.

Torani syrups have made it so easy for me to enjoy coffeehouse style coffee in minutes and without a bunch of ingredients.

The taste? So good. This picture pretty much sums things up.

The bonus is that Torani syrups aren’t just for coffee. You can use them to create new dishes and desserts for your family. I decided to try the peppermint syrup in our brownies. The result was delicious peppermint brownies! The peppermint in the brownies was not overpowering. It was just the right amount for our family’s taste buds. I’m going to post the recipe to the peppermint brownies here on The Sensible Mom next week.

Overall, I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed trying the Torani syrups, and I’m glad to have found a new favorite brand of syrups.

Do you drink coffee? What do you like to add to your coffee to make it just right?

More about Torani:
Since 1925, 3rd generation family-owned Torani has been crafting great tasting flavored syrups that coffeehouses use to make their flavored drinks taste so delicious. With over 120 flavors in Regular and Sugar Free varieties, Torani flavored syrups are perfect for flavored lattes, mochas, coffees, cocoas, Italian sodas, teas, lemonades, and smoothies. Coffeehouse professionals choose Torani flavors because they are expertly crafted and made with the highest quality ingredients, like natural flavors and pure cane sugar. Now, Torani flavored syrups are widely available at retail so you can easily create authentic coffeehouse quality drinks at home.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of SheSpeaks & Torani. All opinions are mine.

Create fun and memorable crafts with your kids using BabbaBox

December 12, 2012 by Sandra 6 Comments

As a mom, I want to spend quality time creating making memories with my kids. I want to read, explore, and create with them. The reality for me, as a work-at-home mom of five kids, is that I don’t have a lot of time to search the internet for fun and brain-engaging crafts and books. Much less find those ideas and then go to the store and buy the supplies. Every few months…I can pull it off, but not on a regular basis.

So I was thrilled to discover a program like BabbaBox. Everything I need is included in the BabbaBox that is delivered right to my door. From the storybook that is themed to go along with the craft to the glue for the craft itself. It’s all there, and it’s fantastic. There was no starting a craft and then realizing we are missing something. It was all in the box.

My boys and even my 10 yr. old daughter loved creating, reading, and exploring with all that was included in our BabbaBox. With one BabbaBox we created two crafts, a moon nightlight, and a constellation of stars that went into a frame for showing off. Also included were binoculars that the kids used to try to see as far as they could into the night sky. We used the binoculars after we read the book that was included in our box, Twinkle Star of the Week. (We all loved this story!)

The BabbaBox was an experience for our family, and I know it’s something my children and I will remember for years to come. I love how their eyes lit up with excitement when we explored the different things in the box and the joy in their voices when a project was completed and they could use it!

Isaac is already asking about our next BabbaBox! 🙂

More about BabbaBox

BabbaBox is a theme-based box delivered to your door that allows you to enjoy a little convenience and inspiration! As any parent can attest, the most important thing you can give to your child is quality time. BabbaBox makes this possible by helping you to save time, money, & mindspace.

Just think! Fantastic monthly activities with ALL the materials for kids ages 3-6. Included in the box are 3 projects + 1 bestselling book + digital download + parent surprise gift!

The best part? Babbabox makes a GREAT unique gift during the holiday season.

Act now! Get 50% off your first month when you sign up for a monthly membership using the code, SWAY100. Offer expires December 31, 2012.

Watch this video to learn more about BabbaBox

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BabbaBox. The opinions and text are all mine.

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