Free Chick fil a!

They're back!! Most things that sound too good to be true are, but that's not so with free Chick-fil-a breakfasts! Bring in ANY cereal box top on a Thursday morning to Chick-fil-a and receive a free breakfast. To see the schedule just click on the picture above. I can't wait to get my first breakfast tomorrow!

I know the advertisement above says one per customer, but I've brought two box tops at a time and got a free breakfast for Ethan and myself.

Free things + Christmas music

I just found on Coupon Katie that every day this December through Christmas, Amazon.com is unveiling a new holiday song available to download free for a limited time. Even though they add a new song everyday, you can download the ones from past days as well. Many of the songs are by Christian bands so I think that is neat as well. You can also preview the songs before you download them (just because they are holiday songs doesn't mean you'll be adding them to your Christmas play list). To access the songs just click on the picture above and (if you haven't already) download amazon's mp3 downloader. Then you can put the song on your mp3 player, a CD, or just play it from your computer.

Merry Christmas!!

Fun Free Stuff to do with my Kiddlet! (updated)

Okay moms out there! I know you all have a favorite fun free thing to do with your kiddlets and with summer approaching I would love for you to share your ideas.


Today I was poking around on the internet and found that our public library is having a magician, storyteller, and the zoo tour around town all throughout the summer. Also, they have weekly story times for all ages of kiddlet! If you haven't participated in the past the summer reading programs are great (there is even a program for adults). Just fill out the required paperwork and pick up your prize at the end of the summer! One other really cool thing they do is the "Children's Festival of Reading" at the beginning of summer. This year the event is planned for May 30th from 10-3pm. We didn't make it last year, but I am excited about taking Ethan this year.
Free Movies! Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. Around Knoxville you can see movies at: Knoxville Center Mall, West Town Mall, and Turkey Creek. Movies this summer include the "Pirates that Don't Do Anything", "Kung-Fu Panda", and "Horton Hears a Who". It looks like there is a different PG and G movie every week so the selection is huge! I have never attended these and I wonder how early you should get there to guarantee a seat, or if it is worth going because of all the noise/distractions. Let me know if you like (or dislike) going to these!



Of course parks and splash pads are always fun to visit. I know last year when I was in Stroller Strides the splash pad a Carl Cowan would be totally empty in the morning. I'm excited that this year Ethan is old enough to visit and have fun at such places.

Every Wednesday (11-2) and Saturday (9-2) from May to November our Market Square will be hosting a Farmer's Market. We are trying to eat more locally since I am reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" so this market can really help!

Other things I could think of are:

• World's Fair Park Fountains
• Tour of Mayfield Dairy
• Books and Blooms at the UT gardens (Thursday morning crafts and story time)
• Sunflower Project - send off to get a free packet of information and sunflower seeds
  

Here is a link to an article that has more "free things to do in Knoxville" listed.

So, what is your favorite free thing to do during the summer? Leave a comment so that we can all enjoy it!

More Free Chick-fil-a!!

This special has been extended for the month of March!!! I'm so bummed that I've missed it so far and that I'll be gone next Thurday morning. If you didn't catch my post in February you can read it below:


FREE Breakfast! That's right, this morning I had a free breakfast. Chick-fil-a is running a "box top" promotion in the month of February. If you live in Knoxville you can claim your free breakfast on Thursday mornings by bringing in any cereal box top. I know other cities do this in the month of February so check your local Chick-fil-a restaurants. In Knoxville the restaurants will donate the box tops for education to local Knox County Elementary schools! This morning the featured breakfast was a chicken sandwich, but it's my understanding it will be different every week.

I do love Chick-fil-a for other reasons! They are a great place to eat with toddlers. I would actually rather go in at a Chick-fil-a then go through the drive through (like all other fast food places). If you go up to the counter with your little ones they will offer to bring your food to your table. For every kiddo they will give you a disposable place mat that you can just lay thier food out on. If you don't see any placemats on thier high chairs just ask them, they probably have them behind the counter.

I also use to think to myself, "Who can really eat a 12 count chicken nugget meal?" Well, now that I have a little one with me I usually get the 12 count value meal and I eat the normal 8 and Ethan gets 4. At most Chick-fil-a restaurants there is also a person who comes around to bus the tables of your trash.

My favorite location in Knoxville is Turkey Creek. For some reason I think they are a tad bit more accomidating, although I haven't had a bad expeirence at Bearden Hill, they might just offer to do less for you.

All in all I give Chick-fil-A 5 Stars for toddler friendliness and an extra gold star for FREE breakfast!

Simple Mom

Betsy sent me a link last week to one of the coolest blogs/websites I have come across in a long time. Originally she sent it to me for her simplification ideas. Couldn't we all use a bit more simplification in our lives? Well, after probably 2 hours (and 10-20 tabs) I have found so many cool things on her site I just had to share it. Here are a few of the highlights:

• She has a book club and 2 of the 6 books for this year are ones that I have mentioned here on this blog as must-reads. I have posted a link to the book club on the right=>
• The thought of having a home management notebook really is just a brilliant idea. Big shot executives have planners, why do we think as housewives we would need any less? I have a planner for work, and honestly I never thought to use it for all parts of my life. Even if I thought of it I didn't execute that plan well until last week. It is still a work in progress but I'm getting there.
  
• The Daily Docket! I love planning out my day the night before and especially highlighting the Three Most Important Tasks. Identifying these and actually writing down what I want to get done at work everyday (and the times they should be done by) really keep me focused and at the end of the day I have accomplished so much more.
• I have to admit I am not a very good housewife. I don't really notice that things need dusting or mopping for that matter. But with my new Weekly Home Management checklist I know where to start. I have also started reading the Fly Lady's book and I think this will fit right in.
• Simple mom has also introduced me to the idea of storing all of my online recipes in one place. Tonight I made a del.icio.us cook book. Delicious is a social bookmarking site that allows you to keep all of your internet bookmarks in a web-based location so you can access them from anywhere in the world. This didn't seem so cool to me until I thought about it in light of all of my favorite online recipes. I have been looking for a way to purge my Everyday food collection because it is such a hassle to search through. Since all of thier recipes are online I can now save my favorites to delicious and pass on the magazines to someone else.
• Online menu planning is also a great idea. You know how I feel about my google calendar, it is great! What about using it to plan your weekly or monthly menu? Genius! Here is a picture of my google calendar with all of my options shown:
  The items shown in brown are my meals for next week!
  

Not all of the posts on simplemom are original (some are pulled in from other sites) but I continue to get inspiration from this collection of tips and tricks of being a mom, house manager, and wife.

Enjoy!

Good Reads

This site is so cool! Not only can you make a "wish list" for the books that you want to read, but you can also see what all your friends are reading too. This site has really helped my not buy books that I want to read in the future. Instead I just add them on to my "to read" shelf and they are saved forever. I love getting email updates of what my other friends are reading too.

Recently my friend Allison posted a list on her blog of all the books she read in the last year. I can't remember all the books I read last year so I just went on Good Reads and sorted my "read" shelf by date.

Free Stuff

So I'm following a new blog, and on her blog is a link to a giveaway for free Fiestaware! Go sign up!

Good luck and Merry Christmas!