TotsSwapShop.com, Kizoodle.com, SwapTree.com, Kashless.org

Want to unload last year's clothes, holiday gifts, spring clean and wish you could just swap for something you could really use? Try TotsSwapShop.com, Kizoodle.com, Kashless.org or SwapTree.com You list and when someone redeems for your item you receive points. You can then use your points to get something you really want or need and pay a minimal amount for shipping (unless it's local and you can just pick it up). FREE, SWAP....heaven!

Image Nails (Loop Pedway)

Do you live or work downtown and want a convenient, clean, affordable place to have nail and spa services? Located at 25 East Washington, in the Washington Street Pedway (just outside the bookstore area at Macy's lower food court) is Image Nails. Not only does Image do nails but they also do extremely affordable Eyelash Extensions that are just beautiful, as well as brow threading, body waxing, nail care and facials, all at very reasonable prices. They sell an extensive selection of Essie and OPI products as well as skin care. A manicure/pedicure is only $35 and they have package deals that are super savers. Facials are $45-$80 for 30 minute to one-hour treatments. I found them through a Groupon offer and even at the bargain rate I got they treated me fabulously and did a wonderful job. The place was buzzing with other Groupon offer clients (the offer was 2 manicure/2 pedicures/2 brow waxes for $60 - truly unbelievable).

Savings at Starbucks

If you are a regular at Starbucks, or if you are lucky enough to get a gift card from someone, go online and register the card. There is a code on the back of the gift card that you use to log in. This protects your card if it is lost but, EVEN BETTER, entitles you to FREE add ins like flavored syrups, soy milk, etc. When they swipe your card to pay for your purchase the amount automatically deducts for your add ons. If you are a Starbucks lover and don't have the Gold card, then purchase a gift card for yourself, refill it often and make sure to register it to get savings! They will also send you emails for freebies on a random basis. More value from a merchant we love.

YouSwoop.com

I want to be the first to let Chicago mom's know about the NEWEST opportunity for daily savings - YouSwoop.com It is to be launched in days so be the first to join so you don't get left out of fantastic offers popping into your inbox on a regular basis. Save up to 80% and more at Chicagoland merchants by signing up at YouSwoop.com

Concordia Place DayCare/After School

Want affordable, clean, NAEYC accredited day care? Concordia Place offers two convenient locations at 3855 N. Seeley (Roscoe Village) and 3300 N. Whipple (off Belmont @ the Kennedy/94). They offer infant through preschool full and part-time programs and after school and summertime camp care for school age children. Even senior citizens can get active with lots of special classes to get them healthy and active. They have subsidized rates for those making under $50,000 a year. You won't find a cleaner or more highly accredited day care in the area that is this affordable. The teachers are all superb and parents say "my child is never ready to come home in the afternoon even after spending all day at Concordia", "I have never seen two children squabbling in all the times I have been at Concordia. They are always so happy and peaceful". That is testament enough for what a wonderful place Concordia is! Hot lunches and snacks are served as well. Check out their website at ConcordiaPlace.org.

Kohl's Childrens Museum

By far the newest and probably most exciting Children's Museum in the Chicago area, Kohl's offers a bright and exciting experience for your family. Located on the North end of The Glen in a separate complex, Kohl's has an ever changing array of special activities along with their standard hands on fun like Potbelly make believe sandwich station, the automotive area, the pin cushion form section (my favorite), weather permitting an outdoor activity station and much, much more. It is clean, all on one level and loaded with so many activities you can easily make a full day of it. There is a fantastic Cosi restaurant to relax in and catch a bite to eat between activities. Check their website for daily activities posted. Oakley's Guide typically has $1 off coupons! Kidwinks.com recently gave away free passes (register now so you will get notice of other exciting offers)!

Hours

Monday 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
(9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. June – Aug.)
Tues. – Sat. 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday 12 – 5 p.m.
Members Only 9 – 9:30 a.m. (Mon. – Sat.)

---

Admission

Members: Free
Children Under 1: Free
Adults and Children: $7.50
Grandparents and Seniors (55 and older): $6.50

---

Location

2100 Patriot Boulevard
Glenview, IL 60026
(847) 832-66

Daystar School - South Loop Chicago

Daystar is a South Loop preschool/daycare parents have sent rave reviews about. Daystar is located in an ultra-urban-cool building at 15th & State. They offer Preschool through Grade 8 with small classes, affordable tuition and scholarships. There is a parking lot for easy drop off and a spacious gym for the kids to play in during the before school hour/after school hour care and for Physical Education. Cooperation and team learning is greatly encouraged and the children learn from hands on experience visiting local cultural and historic sites as well as museums. They have a short Wednesday day for kindergarten which gives parents some extra time with their kids before they are in school all day 5 days a week starting in first grade. Very friendly, SUPER clean and modern.

RetailMeNot.com

Do you love to shop online or in stores using coupons (discount codes online)? RetailMeNot.com is a great consolidation site offering thousands of codes and printable coupons from major retailers for in-store and online purchases. They even rate the effectiveness of the codes on their site by asking for user feedback after they have used the discounts. This helps alleviate some of the disappointment and aggravation from using a code that is bogus, outdated or incorrect. The site is updated regularly so check back often!

MomsLikeMe.com

You will LOVE MomsLikeMe.com. The site is dedicated to all things 'mom' from coupons, events, chat groups, cool links, gift recommendations, time savers, etc.... The site is very easily navigated and updated on a regular basis. My favorite is the extensive 'Coupon' section with all sorts of product coupons available for just a click. The site is attractive and relevant. You'll definitely want to mark it as a favorite.

Legoland Discovery Center

There are lots of ways to do Legoland in The Streets of Woodfield, Schaumburg. You can be the non-researching aimless parent who just shows up and pays full price for you and your 3 kids ($19 for you, $15 for each child) or you can spend a little time searching for their coupons/deals and save yourself a BUNDLE. Legoland always has 'FREE entry with one paid entry' coupons. They can be found in WHERE magazines, in brochure stands in hotels and tourist areas, on the internet and in some newspapers. They are everywhere if you just look. You get one just for visiting the Polar Express Santa in Woodfield Mall. The best deals are to be found on the offical Legoland website. As of today their annual pass (come as often as you like any day of the week) is $32 per person on the Legoland website. That is less than the cost of 2 visits per person! There is something for all ages at Legoland Discovery Center. Just looking at the Master Creations is awe inspiring and will forever change the way you view Lego's (and your humble creations done at home!). There is a Dragon Cave ride that every child loves to do over and over (if the line isn't too long). There is even a photo op booth for the ride to capture your visit in print. Head upstairs for a very inexpensive fresh snack and to ride the Mechanical Swings. Pedal, pedal, pedal and your swing will take up higher and higher as the ride spins around. There are Lego creation stations for all ages upstairs so plan on spending a while as your children explore. You can enter their Lego building contests offered every hour or so and even see how Lego's are manufactured in their 'Lego Lab'. There is a 3-D movie that comes complete with snow and water shown several times an hour. Hours are Noon-7 Monday through Friday and 10-8 on weekends with special holiday hours posted on their website. Wholesome, inspiring entertainment for the whole family.

***On GROUPON.com there was a $20 offer for a One-Year Platinum Membership to Legoland in mid-December for only $20!!!! HUGE savings - you know I bought those ! There is power in discount membership sites make sure to join!

Ikea

You love Ikea for their inexpensive, do it yourself, home improvement projects, especially for your childrens space, but did you know you could even pull off a date night IN Ikea? If you have potty trained children, there is a fabulous play area in the Ikea stores, where you drop off your children (1 hour maximum) for FREE! They are supervised by trained child care workers and have lots of fun things for kids to do inside. Once you have dropped them off, you and your significant other can head to the dining area and have a quiet meal (cafeteria style) for under $10 easily! That means you can have a sitter for an hour and dinner for less than $10 - now that's a deal! Tuesday's they offer $2.49 Swedish meatball meals (trust me, for $2.49 it is fantastic!), Wednesday is $7.99 bbq rib night and there are other specials on other nights. If you want to make it a family outing and do a little shopping then you can drop the kids off, shop, load the car, come back and get the kids and then enjoy the 99cent kids meals as a family and let your kids enjoy the play area and special childrens tables in the dining room. Also look for coupons for FREE or 99cent meals in your paper and mailed flyer packs on a regular basis. I see them at least twice a month. Ikea is located in Schaumburg (just north of Woodfield Mall off of Golf) and in Bolingbrook (west of 355).

Texas de Brazil

If you like Brazilian churasscaria style dining and want to bring your kids then visit Texas de Brazil (on Ohio St. downtown Chicago or Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg). At Texas, kids under 7 eat FREE, children 7-21 eat for half price! At $40 a person, that is significant savings. This is their standard children's offer, no coupons or time limits involved. If you leave hungry at Texas it is your own fault. The salad bar is a meal in itself, loaded with fresh vegetable, salami, proscuitto, cheeses, soup, sushi, smoked salmon, salads of all sorts. What kid won't love their sauteed Plantains, brought to your table as a side. They are so good they are like dessert. The meats offer something for everyone - pork, lamb, sausage, seafood, steak, steak and more steak, mmmm.... Don't forget those delicate little cheese biscuits and creamy mashed potatoes. And yes, there is even a dessert menu. Isn't it time for a nice outing with the family?

Snippets Mini-Cuts

Want a cool place to get your kids hair cut? Try Snippets Mini-Cuts with 3 convenient locations. Snippets has DVD's your kids can watch while getting their hair cut sitting in their favorite car, or on a carousel pony. If you are a regular they even offer FREE bang trims! Walk-ins are accepted or you can book online a few days in advance. I recommend an appointment because you never know how busy they will be. They also carry a fantastic line of quality hair care products for your children as well as THE BEST pediatric dentist created toothpaste in flavors like Vanilla, Orange Dreamsicle and Chocolate. Buy all three - the whole family will want to use them.

2154 N Clybourn Ave Chicago, IL 60614 Tel: 773-755-1000 (Clybourn and Southport near the Treasure Island)	Hours: Mon - Th 9:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. (6:00 - 8:00 by appointment only) Friday 9:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. LAST WALK-IN AT 5:15 Saturday 9:00-5:00 LAST WALK-IN AT 4:15 Sunday 10:00-4:00 LAST WALK-IN AT 3:15
	2240 Northbrook, IL 60062 847-498-4543 (4KID) (in the Treehouse Court)	Hours: Monday-Friday 10:00-9:00 WALK-INS WILL BE ACCOMMODATED BETWEEN APPOINTMENTS AFTER 6:00 P.M. Saturday 10:00-7:00 Sunday 11:00-6:00
	Yorktown Center Lombard, IL 60148 Tel: 630-827-0300 (Butterfield & Highland Ave.)	Hours: Monday-Friday 10:00-9:00 Saturday 10:00-6:00 Sunday 11:00-6:00