Sunshine and Sippy Cups — Page 218 — Smart Solutions for Busy Moms!

Busy Mom Solution: Skype is the easiest way to video chat

Do some of your closest friends live far, far away?

Do some of your closest friends live far, far away? You probably connect through email or status updates, but wouldn’t it be better to connect face-to-face? For that video chatting is the way to go, but if you’re not on the same email provider it’s not going to work. A simple solution? Skype.

What’s the best thing about Skype? It’s FREE!

Skype has a free basic service that allows you and any other “Skyper” to chat and instant message no matter where in the world you both live. For a small charge you can even group chat, call mobile and land lines, and if you download the free cell phone app, you can call anywhere in the world for a fraction of traditional costs.

Check out this week’s Twirl and get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes in to shooting an episode when we’re missing a key ingredient…or are we?

What do you think?

I think I’m ready to sign up for Skype – finally! I’ve had quite a few people ask me if I’m on Skype lately – from my web designer, to affiliate managers; from my cousin in Seattle to blogging partners across the country – Now I can finally say YES, and chat with them easily using Skype.

So much easier than I expected!

Setting up Skype sounded like it was the kind of thing that would be a big confusing headache, so I’ve just been putting it off. But after watching this twirl, I realized I’m craaaaazy for not having done this sooner. It’s easy peasy as can be!

Do you use Skype?

What’s your favorite thing about Skype? Or, if you’re NOT using it already, does this video give YOU the confidence to get started too?

Digitwirl is the weekly web show that offers simple solutions to modern day problems. In 3 minutes, Digitwirl brings busy women the very best time, money, and sanity-saving technology, and then teaches them how to use it, step-by-step. Digitwirl was created by technology lifestyle expert Carley Knobloch, who uses lots of technology to manage her busy life as mom of two and entrepreneur. Become a subscriber to get weekly show alerts and exclusive deals at Digitwirl.com, or follow Digitwirl on Twitter at @digitwirl.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on October 16, 2011 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

Frugal Mom Solution: Aeropostale – Cool Clothes, Cool Prices!

Huge Savings for the whole family at Aeropostale!

If you have a kid over the age of 7 or 8, I’m sure you’ve probably heard of Aeropostale! From Grade School to High School it’s one of the most popular clothing retailers – I know first hand, since I used to work there doing Fashion Merchandising a couple of years ago. We’d have lines around the entire store sometimes during busy seasons like Back-to-School and the Holidays – it was the busiest store in the mall by far!

Why Aeropostale is great for frugal moms:

Even though Aero’s targeted customer is your teen’s, there are great options for the rest of the family too! Check out the deals right now on mens t shirts and henleys – most of them are over half off! And there are enough different styles to find something for every guy – loud graphics, trendy designs, or simple basics. There are also tons of great styles for moms too – I wore it head to toe when I worked there – and even found some layering pieces and accessories to wear while I was pregnant!

Great Fashion – Great Deals!

They update their selection non-stop, with full new collections almost once a month, so you’ll always find the perfect piece that’s right on trend. You can find great deals on amazing stuff like this perfect Aeropostale Hooded Peacoat for Half Off for you, graphic tees for the kids starting at $9 bucks, and tons of seriously cute cold weather accessories at big discounts too!

Take $25 off your purchase of $100 or more when you enter promo code 25OFF100 at checkout.

What are you waiting for?

Check out the selection at Aeropostale.com today, or stop into your local store – you’ll find clothes that the kids will actually think are “cool” at prices that YOU will think are cool! Love it!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on October 16, 2011 Filed Under: Shopping | No Comments

Rafflecopter: Postcardly Prize Package #giveaway!!

Introducing – Postcardly.com!

This is such a super-cool new site, and I just KNOW that you guys are going to love it! What it does is allow you to take any of those amazing pictures you have stored in your computer, have them printed onto a postcard with just a few clicks of the mouse, and then automatically mailed out to anyone in the world! Awesome, right?

“We wanted to find an easier way to get pictures to our relatives that aren’t on email or Facebook,” says Tom Marshall, co-founder of the Seattle start-up. “People love getting the pictures they can hold in their hands, but printing and mailing pictures is a pain. But email is easy, and using Postcardly is just like using your email.”

This gives you an easy way to stay in touch with friends or family who don’t use computers. And even if they do – how fun would it be to find something like this in your mailbox, instead of just bills and junk mail?

How Does it work?

When people sign up, they create Postcardly email addresses that correspond to physical mailing addresses. It’s a one-time set up. After that, when you email grandma at, for example, grandma@postcardly.com, your grandma gets a postcard mailed to her house. You attach a photo to an email the way you normally would — then they print and mail your postcard with your attached photo on the front, and your words on the back. Easy peasy – and imagine how quickly you can turn into grandma’s favorite, right?

Fun Facts:

You can send postcards from anywhere that you have email access – meaning you can also send them right from your phone too! Love that.
There’s no app, nothing to download, no commitment.
They have a great free trial – send your first 3 postcards totally free! They know you’ll love it once you try it.
They have some great packages you can get, and all prices include the postage too!

I can’t wait to try it!

Postcardly.com is giving me a free package, so that I can try out their service, and share my thoughts with you guys. It is SO easy to set up, super easy to use, and I can’t WAIT until people get the first postcards that I sent out! {I had one sent to myself too, so that I could show you guys the quality when I get it. So stay tuned!}

What I love most:

Abby’s doesn’t get to see her Grandpa as often as I’d like, and he’s getting ready to move even farther away next month! I am absolutely lovin’ that when I snap a cute pic of her on my phone, with just a quick email, I can have Postcardly.com send it as a postcard to him! This is just such an amazing idea. Instead of heading to Hallmark to get overpriced holiday and birthday cards, picking up stamps, and then remembering to get them in the mail – I can snap pic’s, add a personal message, and have them mailed for me. I KNOW that friends and family would MUCH rather get cute pic’s of the kids than a card from the store anyway!

Win it!

One lucky winner will WIN a full package of 10 Postcardly postcards! Use the Rafflecopter Entry Form for your chance to win – and remember to come back once a day for your BONUS daily Tweet entry!

Love the frugal tips and giveaways here? Then share some love and give me a vote today! All you do is click the pic, and you’ll see my profile! If you like it, click the big pink heart to vote – easy peasy! If you LOVE it, you can vote daily until the end of the month too! Thanks guys – You rock!