Father’s Day Gift Guide

Last year I posted about how I can never find the right Father’s Day gift, so this year I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a gift guide!

Here are some of our tested-and-true Father’s Day gift ideas:

Kodak Gallery Photo Book

You really just can’t go wrong with a photo book for any gift-giving opportunity, but what I like about the Kodak Gallery version is all the options they have. Depending on the size, number of pages, and cover material, the books range from $9.99 to $69.99, so you can personalize the price as much as the book! They have tons of options for covers, including one designed like The Hungry Caterpillar, which makes me thing of Kate and Joshua’s babyhood, because of the line of Carter’s clothes out at the time. Anyway, a photo book is always a hit, and the endless options and quality of the Kodak Gallery books make them a great choice.

DadGear Diaper Backpack

Here’s what our resident preggo, Jenny, has to say: Back when Joshua was a baby, I bought Bobby a diaper bag that was supposed to be just for dads, and other than looking manly, it kind of sucked. So I was blown away by the quality and functionality of the DadGear backpack diaper bag they sent for Bobby to review. I WANT IT!! I noticed they DO make a pink one, hmm….Bobby has already hidden the DadGear bag from me so that I won’t steal it. He knows me so well. Here’s what I like best about it: it’s very roomy, has a light-colored inside so you can actually see what’s in there, and has a little diaper hammock to keep the diapers in the TOP of the bag where you can find it! And then, there’s the icing on the cake: a built-in wipes case that a) stays in one spot and b) has a flip-top pop-up dispenser! It’s pretty much the bomb-diggity. Me want. But get one for your dude. And then steal it before he can hide it from you.

Wellness Mat

Again, back to Jenny: I had my darling husband Bobby give the WellnessMats mat a try because he is an automotive technician and stands up all.day.long. And he works very long days! WellnessMats are designed to reduce the fatigue and discomfort that results from long-term standing (and I will say as a non-expert, they are very cushy and feel GREAT to stand on!) Here’s how the WellnessMats work, from their website:
Our revolutionary concept interacts with the body by suspending your body weight thus reducing impact on the joints. Your weight will frequently shift and rebalance itself, reducing the stress and strain of many daily activities.
Bobby’s been using it for a couple of weeks now and he really likes it! He isn’t always in one spot all day, but he stands on it when he does his paperwork and any other time he CAN – because it really does give him relief.

Sanuk Sidewalk Surfers

These unique shoes are actually sandals – the base of the shoe is a sandal footbed, so you get the comfort of sandals with the look of actual shoes. They are incredibly light, and they are vegan and vegetarian. Apparently shoes can be vegan – who knew? My husband loves them and feels pretty young and hip when he wears them!

Clingo Universal Vent Mount

From Jenny: I gave the hubs the Clingo Universal Vent Mount to try because he is always messing with is iPod Touch in the car (he’s a musicaholic and MUST listen to his chosen music ANY TIME he gets in the car for ANY REASON!) and thought this would be nice for him to have it mounted where he could actually see it instead of having to look down to mess with it (and you know, away from the road.)
Well, I must say I was skeptical, but the Clingo is pretty cool! It really, really, really STICKS to any cell phone or Ipod-type device and holds it really well. You can take your device off the Clingo any time you want, but it’s NOT gonna fall off. It installs easily and adjusts to many viewing angles – I think this is a neat, inexpensive gadget that most moms and dads would love!

Body Bar Flex

We all want to exercise, but finding the time to get out of the house to go to the gym is a complicated feat. The Body Bar Flex makes it possible to get in shape at your house – so you have no excuse! From their website:
The Body Bar Flex is a flexible fiberglass composite rod with easy-grip durable rubber casing and end caps that comes in two lengths, three and four feet, for total body training options. Weighing approximately one pound, The Body Bar Flex can be used for balance and stretching when straight, but offers resistance ranging from zero to 20 pounds when bent into an arc. It has an ergonomically tailored flexibility to allow full joint range of motion and works the entire body in simple or compound movements to develop strength, flexibility, coordination and balance.
They even have special workouts for people looking to improve their golf or baseball swing! I think I might have to give it a go before the next church softball game.

SuperDad Tee

Dads really are super heros, so why not dress him like one? This cute shirt is available from one of our favorite mom-owned companies, Cutie Pa Tutus. It’s available in red, blue and white, and the kids are bound to get a kick out of Dad wearing a super hero shirt!

Sigg Water Bottles

This water bottle makes a functional and affordable gift for any dad. Whether he’s taking a drink to the park or the gym, a Sigg bottle fits the bill. This bottle is great because it’s reusable (obviously!) and it doesn’t have BPA or any other gross chemicals… and it’s dishwasher safe. That is a must for me! The coolest part? You can design your own. Upload a picture and they’ll make a skin for it – that’s sure to make this Dad’s favorite water bottle ever!

Recycled Computer Clocks

This is the perfect gift for the techie-dad’s man cave. Made using a recycled circuit board, recycled components and even a recycled acrylic base, this clock is the ultimate GREEN gift! We do love the nerdy boys around here! Use coupon code MOMMINITUP and get 10% off!

So there you have it – our Father’s Day Gift Guide. But we want to hear from you, too. How are you celebrating the dads in your life?

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I’m a Looter, baby…

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Sometimes when I leave the drugstore with a bag of stuff I’ve pretty much gotten for FREE-99 as I like to say, I feel like a looter! A pillager! Even though I am a totally honest couponer, I still feel like I need to run out the door before they make me give everything back!

Such was the case at Rite Aid and CVS today.  My Rite Aid loot is above.  Here’s what I got!

Two Gillette men’s body was $5.98

Herbal Essences $2.49

Veet $5.84 (regular $6.49 but I get 10% off regular price w. my Rite Aid Wellness + card)

Coppertone $8.99

Scotch tape 3-pack CLEARANCE $1.25

total= $24.55 (I hadn’t realized I would get a discount on the Veet.  The manager rang me up and still let me use my $5/$25 coupon.)

Coupons:

$5/$25 Rite Aid video values coupon

-$1 Herbal Essences q from recent P&G insert

-$4/2 Gillette body washes from recent P&G insert

– $1 off Coppertone printable (coupons.com)

-$3 off Coppertone Rite Aid Video Values q

-$3 off Veet printable q (Veet.com)

-$3 off Veet Rite Aid Video Values q

-$1 off Veet Rite Aid in-ad q – this week’s ad

total= $3.55, tax $1.30 paid $4.85 out-of-pocket

Will get back a $2.99 rebate for the Gillette, $1.50 for the Herbal Essences, and received $2 +UP rewards for the Coppertone.  So, a profit of $1.61 for this trip!

Next – CVS was even better than I thought it would be!

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I got:
Two IZZE soft drinks clearance 80 cents

Three Power Bars $2.97

Schick Hydro razor $8.97

Gillette ProGlide razor $9.97

Two Old Spice body washes $8

total = $30.71

Coupons I used

$5/$30 CVS email coupon I got this week – WOOT!

-$4 B1G1 Free Old Spice odor blocker body wash from P&G rebate coupon book

-$4 Gillette ProGlide q from last week’s P&G inserts

-$5 Schick Hydro q from today’s SmartSource insert

-$8 in ECBs I earned in last night’s trip

total = $4.71, $1.34 tax, paid $6.05 out-of-pocket

And I got back $8 ECB for the body wash (this was supposed to be limit 1, but they apparently made it limit 2!! so this was my good surprise on this trip!), $4 for the Schick razor, $2.97 for the PowerBars and $5 for the ProGlide razor.  So I spend $6.05 + 8 ECB and I got back $19.97 ECB which is a $5.92 PROFIT for this trip!  Woohoo!

I’m feeling pretty good about now!! Have you been shopping yet today??

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Rite Aid $1.79 and CVS clearance!

This afternoon I headed out for a little “break” – what I call a break anyway – drugstore shopping without the kids!  I try to do as much as I can on Saturday & Sunday when the hubs is home.  Here’s what I SCORED!

Rite Aid:

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Two Secret sheer minerals $8

Lubriderm $3.59

Milk $2.60

Total=$14.19

Coupons I used:

Two $2 off Secret sheer minerals from recent P&G insert – $4

Rite Aid in-ad coupon for $3 off Lubriderm – $3

Printable manu coupon for Lubriderm – $2

+UP reward for buying Old Spice earlier in the week – $4

total =$1.19

tax = 60 cents

paid $1.79 out-of-pocket and I’ll get back a $2 Single Check Rebate for the Secret. So, 21 cents profit on that trip! 🙂

CVS:

CVS paid $9.75 got 8 ECB

Johnson’s bedtime wash: clearance $1.49

Johnson’s baby powder: clearance $1.49

IZZE soda clearance 40 cents each $1.60

Two Gillette body wash $6 (I thought they would ring up $4 each.  My store starts next week’s sales on Saturday but they rang up at last week’s price. Score for me!)

Two Rolaids chews $7.98

Total = $18.56

Coupons I used:

$4/2 Rolaids products from this past Sunday’s inserts

$4/2 Gillette body washes (can’t remember which insert these were in)

$2/2 Johnson’s products prntable coupon

total = $8.56 + $1.19 tax = $9.75 out-of-pocket (I blew all my ECBs on baby clearance last week!!)  and I got back 8 Extra Care Bucks (ECBs), 4 for the Rolaids products (from this week’s sale) and 4 for the Gillette body wash (from sale that technically starts tomorrow).

so, my net was $1.75 🙂

A great shopping day!  And with the coupons that are coming out in tomorrow’s paper and new sales starting at the drugstores, I am ready to go back for more!

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