Leapster Explorer Game for under $10!!

My little guy is 5 (and a half!), and he LOVES his Leapster Explorer! I'm always on the lookout for the games on sale, since I really dislike paying $25+ for a single game cartridge.

I recently stumbled upon an awesome deal, so I'm going to share it with you!

Yup. I'm good like that.


One of the great things about these Leapster Explorer game cartridges is that they also work in the newer Leapster LeapPad Explorer. I am not positive, but I'm pretty sure they will work in the newest version of the LeapPad as well!

So, here's what you do!


First, head over and get your printable coupons for Cheerios:

$1/3 General Mills Big G cereals
$.50/1 Original Cheerios cereal

(Hint: if you print them through Swagbucks, you'll get 10 SB's for each coupon redeemed! Hooray for free money!)

Next, head to your local grocery store and dig through the boxes of Cheerios on the shelf until you find the ones that have a $5/1 Leapster Explorer game cartridge printed on the back.

Our store happened to have Cheerios on sale- 2 boxes for $5. I printed off two of the $.50/1 box Original Cheerios coupons. Since our grocery store will double any coupon valued at $1.00 or less, I got 2 boxes of Cheerios for $3.00!! Not too shabby! (I also got 20 Swagbucks neatly deposited into my account a few days later.)

BONUS: Cut out those Box Tops and send them into school with your kiddo! They'll appreciate them for sure!


Next, pick up the Target TOYS! catalog (ours came in the mail, but there are also some in the toy aisles in the stores).

In the coupon insert in the center of the catalog, there's a $5 off coupon for any Leap Frog item (excludes the game systems themselves)!!

Target's coupon policy allows for the use of one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon on any single item.

Another great thing about Target? They price match competitor's ads for the same item!!! The catch- you have to bring the entire PRINT ad (they will not match online deals!) with you to the store.


This week, Toys 'R Us has the Leapster Explorer games on sale for $19.99.

(I have been informed that this sale is regional, so it may or may not be going on at your local Toys 'R Us. If it is NOT, then keep an eye on the sale flyers for the next 2 weeks for ALL stores! Someone is bound to have these on sale for the same price again soon! The Target $5 off coupon does expire on November 21, 2012.)


Now, gather up the following items:
1. Your $5 off coupon from the Cheerios box;
2. Your $5 off coupon from the Target Toys catalog;
3. Your local Toys 'R Us weekly flyer from the Sunday paper (sometimes they have them available in the stores as well if you already recycled your newspaper inserts!)

Then go to Target and pick out a Leapster game. Head to the cash regster. Hand the cashier the TRU flyer, and she will make a price adjustment. Then hand her your 2 coupons.


That's it! You've just purchased a Leapster Explorer/LeapPad game cartridge for UNDER $10! Congrats!

Sprinkle Nests?

So I know that really, these are Chocolate Haystacks. My 4 year old? She thinks they're Sprinkle Nests, and who can resist a chocolate-covered cutie who's so eager to make desserts?

So Sprinkle Nests they are!

This is what you'll need to make these wonderful creations:

1 bag chocolate chips
1 bag butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped peanuts
8-10 oz chow mein noodles

Yup, that's it! And if you're saying "I don't like butterscotch", don't worry! You can't even taste it, and these are well worth the calories (although my butt may argue with that!)!

First, dump the bags of chips into bowl over a pot of boiling water (also known as a double-boiler, for those of you who speak kitchen). My little helper loves doing that part!

Chop up some peanuts. Or leave them whole. Or just give the bag a couple good whacks on the kitchen counter. Your frustration and stress will thank you. Your counter may not. Do this while the chips are melting in the bowl.



These are the noodles we use (and the sprinkles, she insisted that the sprinkles be in the picture). You can get them in a can too, but we like the bag. Cheaper, mostly.



Eventually, the chips will be melty. These aren't quite there yet.



And you don't see the butterscotch, therefore, you can now pretend it's not in there!

Add in the noodles and peanuts (another perfect job for a little helper!), and mix it all together carefully.



A wooden spoon or silicone spatula is usually a good tool for the job. I don't know where mine were. We used a regular spoon instead. It worked, but we did have a lot more broken noodles than usual.



Scoop the mixture onto waxed paper in little mounds. Or big mounds. Or you could try making them in fun shapes. Smush it into a cookie cutter, that would be fun!



They look yummy, don't they?

But we didn't stop there. They needed something else. They always do.



There. Much better.

Sprinkle nests. Brought to you by a hungry Monday afternoon!

Doesn't this face say it all?