Cotton Babies: Bum Genius Clearance $9.95!!!

If you are already cloth-diapering, or are interested in starting, I highly recommend Cotton Babies. This website has not only a wide selection of cloth diapers, they also explain a bunch of the different options for cloth diapering that are out there. They are currently having a sale on their BumGenius 3.0 AIO's (All-In-One Diaper) for only $9.95 with free shipping.

I also love the Planet Wise diaper pail liners for $16.50 (which I use with a garbage can I bought at Wal-Mart). I recommend having two, so when you carry the soiled diapers down to the washing machine, you can throw the whole thing in, and have one already back in the diaper pail.

"Special K" B1G1 coupon: 4 boxes for $3 at Target!!! (updated)

Update: Apparently there is also a $1/2 Special K Target Web coupon, so stack 2 of those with 2 B1G1, and you will get 4 boxes for $3!!! (Target's coupon policy allows you to stack a manf. coupon with a target coupon on the same item)

If you go to the Special K website and "design a plan", you will be able to print off a B1G1 coupon (hit your browser's button to print it twice). Special K is on sale 4/$10 at Target this week, bringing your total down to $5 for 4 boxes of cereal!!! Fantastic deal!

Don't forget, you can create a free email account to use specifically for coupons and deals, so you don't get all the extra mail mixed into your normal email account! I personally use gmail, which has very little spam and is very simple to use.

Bible-In-A-Year Audio Podcast: FREE!!!

Have you tried to read the Bible in a year before, but end up getting miserably behind by February? :-) A few years ago I discovered the 1 Year Daily Audio Bible. This is a free podcast that reads portions from the Bible every day (Old Testament, New Testament, then a Psalm/Proverbs). If you listen every day, by the end of the year you would have listened to the entire Bible in a year! I listened while I nursed my son in the morning, I've listened on my way to work, or while cooking breakfast.

Subscribe through the iTunes Store (type in the search box "1 Year Daily Audio Bible"), or listen directly from the Daily Audio Bible website. You can also download the Daily Audio Bible app for your iPhone or iPad. This is also offered in Spanish, Japanese, & Hindi, as well as a modified version for kids.

Listening to the Bible actually made some things surface that I don't think I had ever really thought about or paid attention to before. And on days when my brain is frazzled, it's good to fill it with truth!

FREE Kindle Books on Amazon...

Here are a few of the free Kindle fiction books right now...

- Danger in the Shadows by Dee Henderson (I love Dee Henderson books)
- Invisible by Lorena McCourtney
- Happily Ever After by Susan May Warren
- Light of Eidon by Karen Hancock
- Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson
- Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith
- The Centurion's Wife by Janette Oak & Davis Bunn
- ESV Bible

These are all prices at $0.00 right now. But since prices change often, make sure it's still free before you download it!

Don't have a Kindle? You can download the Kindle to your PC, iPad, smartphone, and a bunch of other devices here! (And yes, that's free, too!)

First Giveaway: $5 Amazon e-giftcard!!!

To kick off the New Year, and the official launching of this blog, I am hosting my first-ever giveaway! One lucky follower/reader will get a $5 e-giftcard to Amazon.com (an e-giftcard is a redemption code you can apply directly to your Amazon account). Here's how you can enter this giveaway:

- Become a follower of this blog (1 entry)
- "Like" Saving With a Smile on Facebook (1 entry)
- Invite a friend(s) to follow this blog or "like" it on facebook (1 entry per friend*)

So you can have multiple chances to win this giftcard. Current followers will automatically be entered into the giveaway. The giveaway ends January 31st at 12midnight ET!!! Let the fun begin!!!

*Email me at smilingwhilesaving@gmail.com with the names of your friends you invited, and when they become a follower of "Saving With A Smile" or "like" this blog on Facebook, that will qualify you for another entry. I won't use your friend's names for anything else--first name and initial of last name would probably work, if that would make you feel more comfortable! Your friend will also be entered into the giveaway, and can invite their friends, too!).

Want to earn more free Amazon giftcards? Register for "Swagbucks", where you can randomly earn "swagbucks" just by using their search engine for you daily internet searches, as well as by taking surveys, polls, or even printing & using coupons!!! (and yes, that is my affiliate link to Swagbucks, because referring people is another way to earn some extra Swagbucks. If that makes you uncomfortable, go directly to www.swagbucks.com yourself and sign-up!)

It's a New Year...

This month, my adorable boy turns 1. I can't believe how the last year has flown! It has been a year full of learning new things (for me, the mommy, probably even more than for my Levi!), and looking forward to another new year! (that's my son, Levi, with my grandparents, who have been married 56 years! This was taken while visiting my family in Texas during Christmas)

In the fall, I way over-committed to some things personally, at my church, and in my community. I didn't give myself any wiggle room, and most weeks I was completely burnt out. I had little room for the basics in life like house-cleaning, hanging out with my husband consistently, or spontaneously playing with my precious boy! So I finished up my commitments in December, and decided to re-prioritize for January. This morning at church, the sermon talked about how we should take "New Year's" resolutions seriously, and to be honest, this is one of the worst times to make a commitment to change something in our life... we all just got done with 6-8 weeks of running around, visiting everyone, getting sick, eating way too much, etc... Why are we surprised when we give up our resolutions after only a few weeks? So I think this year I'm going to think and pray about it and wait until Easter or so. :-)

However, the last 6 months have shown me some basic no-brainer things I need & want to change in my life:

- Take time to enjoy my son more! These days are truly priceless and can't be replaced.

- As I learn more about motherhood and being a "ma-ma", I should give myself a learning curve!

- Meal plan more regularly so we can eat healthier food that helps us stay more physically & mentally balanced.

- Set aside time more often to slow down with my husband. He is my best friend and companion in this crazy life adventure!

- Figure out a reasonable way to have consistent time with God. I let the little life things consume me!

So that's why I'm shifting my focus from outside my home to inside my home... As I  begin to balance these things better, I can add outside things again one-by-one. This blog, "Saving With A Smile", is my one "outside" commitment, because I can do it from inside my home! And to be honest, it's a lot of fun!

Coupons.com: $3/1 Similac Coupon restocked!!!

Since switching from breasfeeding to formula a month ago, I have been VERY excited when Coupons.com restock the $3/1 Similac formula coupon! This coupon is good on ANY Similac formula purchase, so I buy the 32oz. liquid formula for $3.84 at Wal-Mart and it makes the formula almost free!

Don't forget, you can print two of these coupons per computer!!!

Over Christmas, we got to celebrate our little boy's 1st birthday a little early. He will be 1 on January 13th. I can't believe how time flies!

$.07 Prints at Snapfish!!!

Ok, I couldn't hold off on some of these deals until after the New Year. Christmas has been wonderful, full of adventures and laughter (my son got double-ear infections, poor kid) and my husband got a nasty spider bite. But we have been having a great time with family members we don't get to see often!

So to capture many of the holiday memories, check out this deal: Snapfish is offering 99 prints from $.99 (plus $5.89 shipping) when you use the promo code "2011PENNY". That comes out to be $.07 per print. You have to order exactly 99 to get the deal (and it is only valid for mail-order purchases, not store pick-up). This is a great time of year to get this deal!

This deal is good through January 9th, 2011!

Celebrating Christmas...

Just in case anyone is stopping by my blog, I wanted to let y'all know that starting today (Dec. 22nd) I will be off-line until January 1st, spending time with family and celebrating Christmas. I will be back after that, helping hunt down coupons, bargains, and freebies on our everyday life stuff like groceries, toiletries, and household supplies.

In the midst of a busy season, finding the perfect gifts, the best deals, etc... I continue to think about the fact that the entire reason we even have "Christmas" is to set aside a day out of the year to celebrate one of the most selfless acts in human history: our very personal God sending His Son, Jesus, to be born on this earth as a precious little baby boy, so that all people could have a personal relationship with God. Yet we've turned it into one of the most selfish days of our year.

The verse that keeps coming to my mind the last few weeks is the beginning of James 3:17- "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..." I look around me, and can't help but think of all the good gifts God has given me this year: my incredible husband who supports me, challenges me, and loves me through the ups and downs of life, my healthy little boy who brings me so many smiles, a home that keeps me warm, money to pay the bills every month, healthy food on our table, friends to laugh & cry with, healing with various health issues, and so much more! It's not even Christmas Day yet, but I have been receiving gifts all year long from a heavenly Father who loves all of us so much.

The best gifts of all really can't be wrapped and put under a Christmas tree, can they?

Beautiful Downloadable Patterns for FREE...

Not everyone loves to sew, but I do. "Homespun-Threads" is offering ALL 29 of their downloadable patterns right now for FREE. They have some absolutely adorable patterns, like the little chef hat, apron, and oven mitt pictured above, or all the little baby booties. Download them now, and enjoy a fun craft sometime this winter! (be patient, the site might be running slow with so many people trying to get these free patterns!!!)

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!