Back to School: Ross $25 Gift Card GIVEAWAY

Today was R's first day of Kindergarten (2 out of 3 kids now in school, woo hoo!). It wasn't an actual school day but orientation day. I guess it still counts because the teacher had him take a photo with a First Day of Kindergarten frame around his body. I would have loved to take a photo of it to share but he wouldn't let go of me, so I had to hide behind his tiny body and that is how he took the photo. Thankfully he had finally stopped crying at this point to take the photo. It must be that middle children are just more sensitive because I thought the crying was over last year with the first week of preschool, but I was wrong. To make him feel better about his first day of school, R&I had special Mommy and Me time. We went to the orientation and then headed to Ross Dress for Less to get him some brand new pants to wear on his first day of school. Unlike H, R is particular about his clothes. He likes what he likes and insists upon getting it. Thankfully, Ross is a store where pretty much we can afford to buy whatever he picks.

Today our mission was to replace his favorite pants that now have two holes in them. Perfectly functional but not worthy of the First Day of Kindergarten! R quickly picked out some blue athletic pants with the signature double stripe down the sides that had a snazzy zipper feature for the pockets. He thought it would be funny to take a picture with them on his head. It's supposed to be 84 degrees tomorrow but he wanted long pants so he got long pants!

Ross had a great array of back to school items from backpacks to room decor. H had purchased his new backpack there a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I can't reveal the brand as Ross has an agreement with vendors not to mention or show brands. But I will tell you that the backpack at Ross cost 1/3 less than the same one at TRU. It's not a place to buy last season's remainders, but for the exact same items that you will find in style today. The back to school deals aren't just for kids. I wish that a Ross had been accessible to me when I had gone to college because I would have furnished my entire dorm room with the great deals that can be found there. Ross is currently running a Back-to-School Fashion Face Off promotion that will run through September 6th on its Facebook page. Each week you will be able to choose your favorite back-to-school Ross outfit for a chance to win one of three $125 Ross gift cards! And that's not all, Ross is giving one Random Mommy reader a $25 gift card to discover the great deals for herself!


HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Wednesday, August 28th at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Wednesday, September 4th at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite coloring or craft supplies, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url (once per day)
3) Like Ross Dress for Less on Facebook
4) Enter the Back-to-School Fashion Face Off Contest on Facebook

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at Ross Dress for Less for their generosity! Good luck!
 
I did not receive compensation for this post. I received a gift card to facilitate my review. 

Back to School Time at Ross: Review and Giveaway

CONGRATS TO #9 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG! PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS. Thanks to everyone who participated!

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R went back to school last week and H is going back next Wednesday. I was a bit surprised at R because he cried when I left him there. He had asked to go to this preschool since H had gone there and finally after two other preschools, it was his turn! Apparently he tried to hit his head on the ground repeatedly so that the teachers would call me, but instead they told him that was a fruitless endeavor that would only lead to his own suffering. Nice, finally a non-touchy feely school that understands how to be firm with kids. I remembered from H's experience that the teachers keep the kids in line, which is exactly what I need to feel secure that no one will attack R like they did in his old preschool.

  

H goes to 1st grade this week. Since 1st grade is "real school," we all decided to head to the Ross Dress For Less Back to School sales while we were in Oregon last week. It was an instant 10% discount on top of Ross's great prices because there is no sales tax in Oregon. Score! H is pretty set in terms of clothes because he grew into his size 6 and 7 clothes a couple of months ago. But what he really needed was pajamas. In the summer, it's fine to sleep in boxers but I know that in a few weeks he will need to get something more substantial. I was able to find two sets for him for less than $20 total for name brand items (unfortunately I can't tell which ones because of the agreement Ross has with the retailers). I know when E grows up we will be there frequently to buy all the cute things and stuffies (what my 7 year old sister would call all her treasures) that girls need. I noticed all the things that would be perfect for a college dorm room. You can check it out for yourself! My friends at Ross will give one Random Mommy reader a $25 giftcard to see all the fabulous Back To School specials that are available this season!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Monday, September 3rd at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Monday, September 10 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite school supplies, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url (once per day)
3) Like Ross Dress for Less on Facebook

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at Ross Dress for Less for their generosity! Good luck!
 
I did not receive compensation for this post. I received a gift card to facilitate my review. 

$25 GC GIVEAWAY: Finding the Right Fit at the Ross Dress for Less Annual Shoe Event

CONGRATS TO #22 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG! PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS WITH YOUR MAILING ADDRESS. Thanks to everyone who participated and I hope you will come by my blog again soon!
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My boss in law school told me over lunch one day that her feet had grown a half size with each child. The result was that she ended up with size 9 feet. I was dreading this when I became pregnant. Sure enough with H, my feet grew from 8 to 8 1/2. And wider too, from D to EE. Then with R my feet grew from 8 1/2 to 9. Thankfully my feet had gone back to D so they only blew up to EE again. I thought that I was going to end up with size 9 feet forever. But something strange happened. After R's second birthday, my feet started shrinking. All those pairs of shoes I had given away, oh the regret! Between my first and second pregnancies, there hadn't been enough time for my feet to recover. I guess two years is the magic number because I could wear size 8 1/2 again. I hoped with even more time passing my feet would go back to size 8.

Then God had a surprise for me. Along came bonus baby E and I had to buy size 9 1/2 sneakers. So now I have no idea what is going to happen with my feet. I can't buy expensive shoes because I don't know if I'll be able to wear them next year or even next month! Thankfully, my friends at Ross Dress for Less sent me a note about their annual Shoe Event going on until April 30. This isn't the first time I've turned to Ross's shoe department in my hour of need. I went to Portland for a wedding two years ago WITHOUT shoes for the wedding. The carrot of no sales tax was all I needed to take that risk. We stopped by Ross hours before the wedding and I found the perfect shoes for $30 within five minutes. I can't say what the brand was but I will say I spend double that on a pair of shoes of the same brand in the brand's store at Rockefeller Center in NYC when they were on sale for 50% off! 

I visited the store last week to look for something for Easter. There was such an extensive selection that I had to try on everything. It was pretty funny, R was with me and he saw me take off my sock so I could try on the shoes so he took off his sock and tried on the shoes with me. I thought it was a sign of genius that he took off his right sock. R picked the ones he wanted me to buy and I picked too, the ones with the black and white flowers! The day he realizes it's not cool to shop with mommy will be a really sad one for me. 

Most of the shoes were in the $20-$40 range and brands that we would all recognize. They advertise the shoes at being 40-70% off of department store prices and I would have to say the discount is more at the larger end of the range rather than the smaller. Check it out for yourself! My friends at Ross Dress for Less have provided a $25 giftcard for one lucky Random Mommy Reader!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Wednesday, April 4 at 5:01 PM (Pacific) until Thursday, April 12 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite type of shoe, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url (once per day)
3) Like Ross Dress for Less on Facebook

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at Ross Dress for Less for their generosity! Good luck!
I did not receive compensation for this post. I received a gift card to facilitate my review. 

Ross Dress for Less Review and $50 GC GIVEAWAY

CONGRATULATIONS #13 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG. PLEASE RESPOND TO MY EMAIL WITHIN 72 HOURS. Thanks to everyone who participated and I hope you will enter my current giveaway!

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Shopping online can be maddening sometimes. Yesterday I found the perfect gift for my mother-in-law but I missed the window to get $20 off $75 purchase by a few minutes. The promotion ended at midnight central time. Since the only time I have to shop online is after the boys go to sleep, that means I rarely make those deadlines. So I bailed on the gift in the hopes that the retailer will offer the deal again. I clicked on Cyber Monday deals for another retailer and that site had already reset to Tuesday. It's unfair that those who live in CST or EST get more time to shop than those of us on the West Coast (and yes, we have less to complain about than our friends in Hawaii). They get up at the same time so all things being equal they get better access to online deals. That is why I like to shop in actual stores. You don't have to worry about getting beat out by someone half-way across the country. I especially like to shop in stores where you know you're getting the most for your money. Ross Dress for Less is definitely one of those stores.

It's really quite ironic because even when I was one of those Easterners that had access to fabulous deals, whenever Stewart and I would come to the Bay Area to visit his parents for the holidays, I would always find my way to Ross. Shopping at Ross was one of the perks of visiting my in-laws. I still have the set of three springform cake pans that I got on one of those shopping trips. Yesterday, the boys and I had great fun going to Ross to pick up some holiday decorations. H wanted to hang stockings by the fireplace so that was first on the agenda. When I walked into the store, I was very impressed by the organization and the cleanliness of the store considering it was the holiday shopping season. All of the holiday decorations were in one area in the back of the store. We quickly found the stockings, which ranged from $5.99 to $8.99. The boys picked out the ones they liked. We looked at the other holiday gifts and decorations. They especially liked a certain pink starfish ornament, but I didn't think it would survive R's rough treatment this season (he's already broken three blown glass ornaments). There were also a ton of licensed toys of characters that H&R recognize from their television viewing on PBS and cable. Ross has a policy of not showing or discussing brand names so I can't reveal them here, but they are definitely on every kid's holiday wish list. Ross also had a great selection of children's books that I will keep in mind for the future.

For me, the quality of the merchandise together with the competitiveness of the prices for the decorations and seasonal gifts make Ross a better place for gifts than big box and department stores. If you're looking for stocking stuffers or office/hostess gifts, Ross has a variety of great gifts for $5, $10 and $20, including candles, gourmet food baskets, festive holiday serving dishes and more. The only drawback to my shopping experience was the long wait I had to check out. Granted it was a Monday morning, but there were only two cashiers open with 8-10 people waiting in each line. The amazing thing was that nobody left. I've seen people in other stores leave when wait times build up, but the value of the items they were purchasing must have convinced shoppers to stick with their purchases. Since inventory changes constantly, shoppers at Ross know that once they pass on a great deal, it will be snapped by another customer before their next visit to the store. Yesterday I went to different Ross location (find the closest one to you here) after I dropped H at school and found that store's inventory to be slightly different from the first store. So if you find something great, don't lose out! Random Mommy readers in the San Jose area will be happy to find out that there is a new location in downtown San Jose, in addition to the 46 other Ross stores in the Bay Area. Thanks to the generosity of my friends at Ross Dress for Less, one Random Mommy reader will have the opportunity to find some fantastic deals for him/herself with a $50 gift card. You can also enter to win a $500 gift card from Ross through their Facebook contest.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 5:01 PM (Pacific) until Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite holiday decoration, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest (http://tinyurl.com/33w8zsn) and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like Ross Dress for Less on Facebook

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at Ross Dress for Less for their generosity! Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received a gift card to facilitate my review.