Some tips for getting the most out of Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

FASTPASS

• FASTPASS is the key to getting the most out of your Disney experience. My husband is somewhat of a pro about the FASTPASS.
• FASTPASS can be used on the following attractions at Disneyland: Autopia, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, Roger Rabbit’s Car Too Spin, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Star Tours.
• Use FASTPASS on these California Adventure rides: California Screamin’ (well worth it even though I was terrified!), Goofy’s Sky School, Grizzly River Run, Soarin’ Over California (our family’s favorite ride at both EPCOT and California Adventure), The Twilight Zone of Terror (I couldn’t get anyone to ride this ride with me!), and World of Color.
• When you enter a Disney park, check the bulletin board at the park entrance. The board shows wait time for rides and which rides are FASTPASS. You will also see which rides are closed for the day.
• Look for FASTPASS distribution kiosks near the entrance to each ride.
• Check the FASTPASS return time to know when you can ride the attraction. Don’t use a FASTPASS if you will not be available to ride the ride. Save your FASTPASS for another ride.
• A tip about World of Color at California Adventure… World of Color is a spectacular light, water, color, and movie show. You will want to use your FASTPASS to get a good viewing spot. Go early to the Grizzly River Run to get your FASTPASS for World of Color. You can hold a World of Color FASTPASS and a FASTPASS for a ride, so go get one as soon as you arrive in California Adventure.

Season

• We have visited Walt Disney World twice in the fall. While the parks have shorter hours in the fall than in the peak seasons, we loved walking on rides and waiting for just a few minutes to get on a ride.
• In addition, to short wait times, you’ll also find that flights in off-peak season are cheaper as well as hotels.
• On this trip we visited in August. Because it was the height of a peak season, we planned our days with FASTPASS, wait times, and our stamina in mind. If we were all up for waiting in a long line, we did.

Technology

• Our two-day stay at Disneyland Resort would have been far less fun had my husband not had an app on his phone. He kept us apprised of wait times. With a Kid, a Preteen-now-Teen, and a Teen, we had the flexibility to race from one ride to another. Families with younger kids will want to pace themselves due to weather, crowds, and wait times.
• Here’s an app for Disney World Wait Times.
• Visiting Disneyland? Here’s an app for wait times.
• And of course, charge those batteries. Bring all chargers on your trip. Charge digital, video, and phones at the hotel each night.
• We had a couple of Flip Video Cameras which we let our kids carry.

Safety

• Stay connected with cell phones.
• Our Teen and Preteen-now-Teen did not carry their phones as they were worried about losing them or getting them wet. Because of this we stayed in a group of 5 or we split in to a group of 2 and a group of 3. My husband and I coordinated a meeting spot if we split up to ride different attractions.
• Let each family member carry his Disney ticket in a lanyard. You can bring a lanyard from home or buy a colorful lanyard from any of the Disney stores. Each lanyard comes with a clear plastic case for holding the Disney ticket and money. We found it helpful for each child to carry his own lanyard and ticket so that it was easier to get FASTPASS.
• My older two know their name, address, home and all our cell phones, but I wrote down all our details on a piece of paper for my youngest child to carry with him. If he got separated from us, I wanted him to know how to reach us.

I was given passes to Disneyland and California Adventure. We paid for our own flights, car rental, and hotel accommodations while in Southern California. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

As a child, we traveled a great deal. I lived in three countries. Attended three preschools. Three elementary schools. Two middle schools. And one high school. Lived in seven homes, including one hotel. Yikes that’s a lot of moving!

As well as moving, we vacationed all the time. When we first moved to the U.S., my parents weren’t sure how long we would stay. Consequently in a 6- to 7-year period we visited Niagara falls, Williamsburg (VA), Skyline Drive and Luray Caverns (VA), West Point (NY), Pennsylvania Dutch Country, the Jersey shore, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

One memorable trip was a quickie visit to Disney World. It was 1974. I was about 8. My parents knew that a return to England was in the near future. We stayed off site at a motel in Kissimmee (FL). March can be chilly even in Florida, so I recall wearing a sweatshirt while we were there. It was back in the day where you bought tickets for each ride. We had a handful of “A,” “B,” and “C.” As near as I can recall, you needed 2 A tickets to ride one ride, but only a C ticket to ride something else. While we didn’t ride every single ride, I have vivid memories of Captain Nemo’s 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Hall of Presidents, the Country Bear Jamboree, Tom Sawyer’s Island, the magic Tea Cups, and the Polynesian Resort.

Disney IS the most magical place on earth. While we had taken the kids twice to Disney World, none of us had visited Disneyland. I was anxious to experience a Southern Californian Disney with my husband and kids. After a stay in San Diego, a visit to LegoLand, and a brush with celebrities in Hollywood, we were ready to do Disneyland.

On Day 6 of our trip to Southern California, we hit Disneyland. Our experience was magical from start to finish. Our day began at the park bright and early after a buffet breakfast at our hotel.

We took a spin on Buzz Lightwear’s Astro Blasters in Tomorrowland. Everyone loves to laugh about Mom’s low score. I guess I have a little hand-eye coordination problem! While we were in Tomorrowland, we also rode Autopia, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Space Mountain, and Star Tours the Adventure Continues.

This is not my score!

Heading to Tom Sawyer’s Island. I was the most excited to explore the island. The kids were meh about it. Disneyland’s version of Mark Twain’s classic story of growing up in America is very different to Walt Disney World. We spent close to 45 minutes running through caves, climbing ladders, hopping on swing bridges, and generally having a boatload of fun (pun intended!). This part of Adventureland is actually called Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer’s Island.

Autopia otherwise known as “Who let that 8-year-old get behind the wheel?!” Actually everyone was a better driver than mom. I needed the hefty bumpers!

I was given passes to Disneyland and California Adventure. We paid for our own flights, car rental, and hotel accommodations while in Southern California. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

With a Kid, a Preteen-now-Teen, and a Teen, finding something fun for all of us to do is a challenge. You wouldn’t think so, but it is. Years ago, we could pop in a DVD. Go to a museum. Go out for ice cream. But, then school intervened. And homework. And weekends packed with birthday parties, sports, and play dates.

I struggle and stress and fret about the amount of time I have left before my oldest heads to college. She is one of those kids who never gave me a backward glance when stepping on the elementary school bus. Who was already planning what AP classes to take in high school when she was in 6th grade. Who now as a 10th grader is loving the envelopes that have started to arrive post-PSAT. She’s ready for college. I’m not ready to let go of her.

So, I have made it my goal to find fun things to do both at home, in our neighboring towns and cities, and in the places we visit for vacation. We’re not a family that travels to far away places every year. We have had years where we grabbed a quick week at the beach with the grandparents. Other years we have visited Niagara Falls–the Canadian side; Colonial Williamsburg, VA; Pennsylvania Dutch Country; and of course, the beach. Two summers ago we took a long-awaited, yet hastily planned trip to my home country…England. We had a fabulous time. I wish we could do a big trip each year, but we can’t.

Last summer, the chips fell in to place. I purchased a BlogHer ticket at the early bird rate. I planned to find a roommate and fly to San Diego by myself. The more I thought about going to SD and BlogHer, the more I wanted to involve my family.  How could I think of visiting California without them? But, how would I bring them?

A quick check of Southwest.com showed that we could get reasonably priced flights for all 5 of us. Not bargains, but not out-of-sight prices. I had a room at the Marriott Marquis and Marina, which would do. It was a relief not to look for a roommate. Although going to a conference with a roommate in tow is super fun, especially if it is your first blogging conference. With a hotel and flights, all I needed was an itinerary.

Within days of booking flights we had our itinerary planned. While I gallivanted about at BlogHer meeting people, making connections with brands, and of course, having fun, my husband and the kids toured San Diego. Post-BlogHer, the plan was for me to join the family and tour L.A. and Anaheim. Obviously our family works well under stress and tight deadlines…in fact we thrive on it.

Our itinerary went something like this:

• Wednesday — Travel Day. Arrived in San Diego. Kids and husband relaxed in the room, while I met up with some bloggers at a wine party hosted by @guavalicious. What can I say…BlogHer is part work and part play!
• Thursday — Day One — Sea World. While I attended one of the pre-conference sessions hosted by Procter & Gamble, my husband took the kids to Sea World. While I was very sad to miss out on the amazing-ness of the San Diego Sea World, my son and I got to experience the Orlando Sea World.
• Friday — Day Two — San Diego Zoo. I was very sad to miss out on a zoo I have heard so much about, but obviously I had obligations at BlogHer. Don’t worry, I had my husband text photos and tweet while he was there with the kids.
• Saturday — Day Three — Hotel pool. Bus to the airport. Pick up of rental car. Drive to beach. Husband and kids accomplished all this while I was hauling myself and sundry swag bags from the San Diego Convention Center Expo Hall  to my hotel room to meetings to sessions back to the Convention Center Expo Hall back to the hotel room, with a quick pitstop before the evening events and parties began. I was exhausted. I’m not a beach or pool lover, so I wasn’t upset about missing the beach and pool day. Highlight for my kids and their dad was catching a beach volleyball game. We’re East Coast volleyball players. They weren’t able to play, but loved experiencing a bit of Southern California.
• Sunday — Day 4 — Legoland. With BlogHer over and bags packed and swag exchanged at the Swag Room, we hit the road to drive to LegoLand.
• Monday — Day 5 — Starline Tour of L.A. and Hollywood. I was so glad to experience Southern California with my family!
• Tuesday — Day 6 — Disneyland. Our first experience of Disneyland was a success. Yes, it was crowded, packed, and we missed out on a couple of rides towards the end of the day when Fast Passes ran out, but we had an awesome day. Probably our best day as a family on our trip..
  
• Wednesday — Day 7 — California Adventure. Second day of Disney…we hit our stride. Figured out how to maximize the Fast Pass. Got prime “seats” at the World of Color. And, I may have been persuaded by a certain Kid to ride California Screamin’. Whoa that was an experience!
• Thursday — Travel Day. Sadly, we had to say farewell to Anaheim and Southern California. And say hello to our lives back home.

I was given passes to the attractions in this post. We paid for our own flights, car rental, and hotel accommodations while in Southern California. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

My son is a giant. O.K. not quite. But he is very tall for his age. At 3 he was mistaken for a 5-year-old. At 5, people assumed he was 8. Lately, people have asked if my 8-year-old is 10 or 11. What?!

Being mistaken for an older kid can be onerous. Especially if your 3-year-old is acting like…well…a 3-year-old and not say like a 5-year-old. I got used to the looks of concern. There is a one bright spot to having a taller-than-average kid. Your child is tall enough to ride rides at Disney! That’s right my 3-year-old was about 40 inches tall when we visited Walt Disney World. I was surprised to learn that he was able to ride Soarin’ at EPCOT. I was amazed that I was able to take him on this ride. I thought that I would have to do the Rider Swap, which is when one parent rides a ride while the other parent stays back with the young child. He rode that ride like a seasoned veteran of amusement park rides.

Of Interest to Parents… At Disneyland, a child who is 40 inches and above may ride: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Star Tours — The Adventure Continues. At Disney’s California Adventure, a child who is 40 inches or move may ride: Jumpin’ Jellyfish, Silly Symphony Swings, Soarin’ Over California, and The Twilight Zone of Terror.

Our Kid, Preteen-now-Teen, and Teen loved California Adventure. So did we! We arrived at California Adventure determined to have the best last day of vacation ever…and we did!

Warning To Those Who Like to Stay Dry: You will get wet on Grizzly River Run! We couldn’t persuade the older two to come along for this adventure, but our youngest was game. Did I mention we got wet? A poncho would have been a good idea. Except that my son probably wouldn’t have worn one.

Musings from Me advice: Go on Grizzly River Run early in the day. We climbed aboard as soon as we arrived at California Adventure. We were able to ride twice. It was August so we all dried off quickly.

Grizzly River Run and Soarin’ Over California are in the Golden State Area of the park. Another attraction in this area is the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. You can get a preview of soon-to-be-opened attractions, while also perusing plans and blueprints for existing attractions. If I had any artistic skill at all, I would train to be an architect. The attractions at all Disney parks are designed to give the visitor the best possible experience. Nothing is left to chance. Why even Spaceship Earth is designed with channels and special gutters to allow rain not to fall on visitors. Disney Imagineers think of everything!

Thanks to FASTPASS we rode Soarin’ Over California twice, maybe three times. You feel as though you are literally handgliding over California.

The kids were anxious to do as many rides as possible at California Adventure as it was our last day of vacation in Southern California. I couldn’t blame them for wanting to do as much as possible, but I wanted to see Blue Sky Cellar.

Once we were inside Blue Sky Cellar the kids were intrigued by the designs for new and old rides. Of special interest to us was the soon-to-be-opened Cars Land. Scheduled to open in 2012, Cars Land will feature the sleepy town of Radiator Springs off Route 66. Rides in Cars Land will include:

• Luigi’s Flying Tires
• Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
• Radiator Springs Racers

The 6-acre Cars Land will be the largest attraction at Disneyland Resort. You can even dine at the Cozy Cone Motel, Flo;s V8 Cafe, and Fillmore’s Taste-in! I wonder if there will be a statue to Stanley!

While my son had his pic taken with Lightning and mater, I took a peak over the wall surrounding the construction site for Cars Land. It looks very fun!! I can’t wait til it opens!

We ended our day with several visits to California Adventure stores so my Preteen-now-Teen could swap her Vinylmations. She started a collection of these quirky and oh-so cute figurines about a year before our trip. Each one has the body of Mickey Mouse but each is decorated to resemble the characters from Toy story, the Muppets, Disney villains, or other more off-the-wall creations. One of hers is a Mickey decorated to look like a S’more.

She was anxious to trade the Vinylmations she had for different ones. I volunteered to carry her Vinylmations in the PlumDistrict bag I got at BlogHer. After saving the Vinylmations from getting wet, getting crushed, and getting mangled in the crowds, I was ever so happy for my daughter to do her trades. You can trade at over 90 locations in Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Disney Cruise Line, and Disneyland Resort Paris.

We ate a very delicious dinner from two walk-up, quick service places: Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta and Paradise Garden Grill. My son and I are the more adventurous eaters…we loved the Mediterranean dishes from the Paradise Garden Grill. After dinner, it was a final ride on Goofy’s Sky School before heading to World of Color to use the FASTPASS that we picked up at Grizzly River Run at the start of our day.

I was given passes to Disneyland and California Adventure. We paid for our own flights, car rental, and hotel accommodations while in Southern California. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

Source: Kid's Birthday Parties

One of the pluses of having children at different preschools is the variety. For a myriad of reasons, my three children attended four different preschools. Each preschool adhered to the preschool calendar of projects tied in to holiday traditions and celebrations. Even though all three preschools celebrated seasonal events, each had different lesson plans for the children to do. I was always surprised when I peaked in my preschooler’s bag around holiday time. In the words of Forrest Gump, I never knew what I was gonna get.

My oldest attended a private preschool for 2s before transferring to another private preschool for 3s and 4s. She was taught about celebrations near and far. Her preschool was not church-based so the staf were careful to include all celebrations. She already knew about Hanukkah, but learned about Kwanzaa and other festivals.

My favorite craft from my oldest’s preschool years was the Halloween skeleton craft. I don’t have a pic of it…no digital cameras back then. I’ll scan it when I get a moment. But, picture if you will a sheet of black construction paper and Q-tips. The Q-tips were loosely arranged on the paper to approximate a skeleton. I could tell that my daughter had drizzled the glue on the paper all by her self. On one side there was hardly any glue, the other side was caked with glue. The head and legs of the skeleton were obvious, but the body and arms were just a jumble of cut up Q-tips arranged willy-nilly on the paper.

I absolutely loved that the teachers let the kids do the skeleton craft themselves. In stark contrast is the same craft from my Preteen-now-Teen’s preschool. Same idea of a skeleton made with Q-tips stuck to a piece of black construction paper. While my Teen’s skeleton was haphazard arrangement on paper, my Preteen-now-Teen’s skeleton was arranged with precise lines and angles. The teacher must have held each of the children’s hands as they were placing the Q-tips on the black construction paper. Not a Q-tip was out of place. Every Q-tip was arranged to look like a skeleton.

I love both crafts. My daughters both poured their little selves in to all crafts that came home from preschool. Both girls and their younger brother LOVED showing me the day’s preschool craft project. My son was a little less eager to do the project as there were cars and blocks to play with, but once he got in to it he enjoyed creating crafts. My son’s school was a preschool based in a large Methodist church nearby. Many of his crafts from school were inspired from the Bible verse of the day.

This past Halloween I displayed a number of the kids crafts in the kitchen. I taped the projects on to the kitchen window frame. We had many dinner table conversations about who did what craft.

What was the preschool craft project you loved the most?

Links in this post are to my amazon affiliate account.

Cheese. Cheddar. Gouda. Smoked Cheddar. Creamy Swiss. Mission Jack. And even Jalapeno and Cheddar. To me, cheese is a major food group. I can eat cheese morning, noon, night, and even late in to the night. Cheese hits the spot. It’s satisfying, filling, and can be a meal by itself.

As a child in England, cheese was a major part of fancy restaurant meals. As the saying goes, a good meal goes from “soup to nuts.” The multi-course fancy restaurant meal would begin with soup or an appetizer, followed by the meat course, and a dessert. But, the meal wouldn’t end here. After dessert, waitstaff would bring around a cheese tray. The tray would feature English cheeses…Cheddar, Wensleydale, Leicestershire, Cricketer cheeses, an assortment of biscuits (in the U.S. biscuits are the same as crackers), pickles, pickled onions, lettuce, and tomato. The English cheese tray could be a meal in itself!

Although I have known about Hickory Farms for many years, it wasn’t until Thanksgiving that I experienced a Hickory Farms Gift Box.

I knew we were joining my parents for Thanksgiving Dinner, so I brought the Summer Sausage & Cheese Gift Box to share. As soon as I arrived, I found a wooden cutting board. As my mother put the finishing touches to the meal, I cut up the Summer Sausage. I couldn’t help myself from sampling a slice or three. In fact, my son had a few slices as well. Luckily, the Gift Box came with two rolls of Summer Sausage.

Once I had cut up the sausage, I sliced the Farmhouse Cheddar. As a cheese lover, I am pleased to report that the Farmhouse Cheddar was delicious. Just the right amount of creamy to sharp, but not too sharp. The Gouda even though it was smoked and I tend to prefer cheeses that are not smoked, was good too. I wasn’t as fond of the Smoked Cheddar Cheese, probably because Cheddar is my all-time favorite cheese.

All-in-all our family of 5 plus two grandparents, devoured most of the Gift Box. I left a roll of Summer Sausage and part of one of Smoked Gouda in my parent’s fridge.Perfect beginning or end to a meal. Good for snacking too!

Want to learn more about Hickory Farms?

• Like Hickory Farms on Facebook.
• Follow Hickory Farms on Twitter.
• Shop for gifts on the Hickory Farms site. You’ll be amazed at the variety of gifts.
• And finally, Hickory Farms is offering 3-day shipping for $3 (see infographic above for all the details).

In 2011, Hickory Farms is partnering with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry:

• Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry is a national nonprofit that is working to end childhood hunger in America.
• Go to the Hickory Farms Facebook page and take the Pledge to Help End Childhood Hunger.
• This holiday season Hickory Farms will donate $5 from each Party Planner gift box sold to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign.
• Hickory Farms provides free shipping on select products to APO/FPO military addresses across the globe, allowing loved ones overseas to share in holiday traditions.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Hickory Farms and received a product sample to facilitate my review.

Whether you are working from home or working out of the home, you will want to have piece of mind that your children are occupied. Winter break is short his year, so Kindercare is offering winter camps to keep your little ones occupied.

News from MomSelect…

Explore a Winter Camp that gives your children everything they crave now. KinderCare is proud to announce that this year’s Winter Camp is believed to be the best yet! Combining fun and learning, KinderCare offers programs that kids think are cool and parents know are smart — they balance loads of fun with a healthy dose of learning.

From December 19th – December 23rd and December 27th – December 30th, both preschool and school-age children can participate in KinderCare’s Winter Camp. Children will explore the science of chemical reactions and learn about the magic of flight through educational and hands-on themed activities:

• “Bubble Trouble”
• “Volcano Blast”
• “Helicopter Propellers”
• “Balloon Rockets”

KinderCare’s Winter Camp helps encourage and reinforce core learning activities such as

• language arts
• math and science
• creative expression

Winter Camp is specifically designed to offer a balance of fun and learning during winter break, while providing parents, who may need to work or simply catch up on holiday shopping and errands, with a simple solution for engaging their child in fun, educational activities.

For more information and to find a KinderCare camp near you visit http://www.kindercare.com. You can also find science experiments to do at-home by logging onto www.kindercare.com/camps.

Want to have more fun over winter break? Why not purchase a gift for the whole family to enjoy? Although once your kids get ahold of it, you might never see it again.

I was not compensated by Kindercare or MomSelect. I am providing this as a service to my readers. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

It’s that time again! What time you say? It’s time for me to pick winners! Love my job!

• Congrats to ACMommy3, Michelle, Kate,  Dagmar, and Emily on winning the ChicaPC-Shield Giveaway from Chicalogic!
• Congrats to Sara for winning the Real Steel prize pack!
• And the winner of the Who Says Moo? storybook app by Kneebouncers is…Sara!
• Summer and Elaine won the Happy Meal coupons! Congrats Summer and Elaine!
• And finally Deanna won the Sam’s Club Pink Spark Giveaway from My Blog Spark and General Mills.
• I gave away for a gift card to the Bean Bag Deli in Rockville, MD to Sara!

I’m updating this blog every day with my pics for the Musings from Me Holiday Gift Guide:

• UNO Roboto
• HTC Rhyme
• DaGeDar Marble Race Track
• Motorola Bionic
• Get Real About Food

More giveaways and reviews to come. I’m adding products to my Holiday Gift Guide daily!

Shopping is a necessity not a desire. For me I shop when I need things. My days of browsing the racks and window shopping are long gone.

I have a more precise, laser-like method of shopping than in my teen/college/premarriage years. If I need it, I buy it. If I see it on a rack, I buy it. If I browse the internet and see something I want, I buy it. And the item must be on sale…or I have a coupon…or it is a deal on a deal site. If I can’t save money, I’m not buying it.

Even before I was serious about shopping with a stack of high-value coupons in one hand and a bunch of coupons loaded on to my store discount card in my other hand, I liked to save. And way before I had a coupon pouch, I was a bargain shopper. Especially on Black Friday.

The bargains to be had can be plentiful. No matter what time of day, day of the week, or season you shop. You just have to look for the deals. And the bonanza bargain time is Black Friday, particularly Black Friday 2011.

My daughters and I will scan the ads. Even my son and husband will get busy. Peruse the books. Ogle at the savings. Analyze the bargains. And plan our assault on Black Friday. Armed with the Black Friday ads I’ll establish a game plan. Set the alarm and Go!

One Black Friday, in particular, I spotted a sale on Power Wheels cars at Walmart. I was beside myself with glee and joy and excitement and every other emotion as I cradled the Black Friday ads book in my hot little hands. I knew my kids would love seeing the two surprises under the tree.

I rose at 4 a.m. to get over to Walmart. Raced back to the toy area. Spotted the two cars I wanted.

• I knew my 5-year-old would love the Fisher Price Power Wheels Kawasaki Quad. I could see her four-wheeling through our yard. This was a little girl who could rock a pair of camo cargo pants one day and wear a Disney Princess dress the next.
• The Power Wheels Jeep Wrangler Rubicon would be perfect for my 3-year-old. I knew that though she wasn’t quite ready to “drive” on her own. she would love to be driven around in style by her big sis.

I manhandled one Power Wheels vehicle in to a shopping cart while keeping an eye on the other vehicle. The first vehicle was boxed up, which made it slightly easier to get in the shopping cart. How I managed to lift it in to the cart…I don’t have a clue. Brute force and determination I guess! I rolled the cart containing one of the Power Wheels vehicles while pushing the other boxed Power Wheels vehicle. Took me a while to get to the register as I slid and pushed and shuffled and rolled and dragged both of the huge boxes. I was relieved that the check out line was short.

Once at the register, I was surprised when the prices rang up differently than what I thought I saw. I looked at the Walmart Black Friday ads. Looked at the cash register. Looked at the two Power Wheels boxes I had just manhandled. To my horror I realized that the “too good to be true” sale prices were actually not Black Friday deals at all. No! The deals were just sale prices. I had misread the ad circular. I felt a little kooky. I told myself I’d come back the next day. I abandoned both Power Wheels boxes with a sales clerk and shuffled back home to bed. I knew I needed backup (AKA my husband) to help me manhandle the boxes in to the van.

So, if you’re headed to Walmart Black Friday 2011, don’t forget to check out the amazing deals here.

This post is sponsored by the coupon and deals experts at www.BlackFriday2011.com. Visit their site to browse the latest Black Friday Ads and find the best holiday savings at top stores, including Walmart, Lowes, and Walmart Black Friday 2011 deals.