Family — Page 22

Shutterfly Family Photo Days – Fun Tips & Free Holiday Cards!

Getting Perfect Family Photos…

Everyone has that one perfect family photo. The one where everyone is smiling, the lighting is perfect, no one has a weird lamp growing out of their head…. You know, perfect. And you try again every year to get it right again, with no luck. At the holidays, you’re often sending out cards to people you seldom see during the year, so you want to show your family in the best possible way – it’s a lot of pressure, right?

The holidays are getting closer every minute…

As you can see from my new little gadget in the sidebar, there are only 47 days, 3 hours, 14 minutes, and 22 seconds until Christmas! That might seem like a lot of time, but it’ll be here before you know it. And the very best tip to have a relaxing, peaceful, and enjoyable holiday season it to get things done early. One of the big reasons I hear from people for putting off creating amazing personalized holiday cards is that they don’t have a great photo to use. Well – I’m here, armed with some great tools from Shutterfly, to save the day!

Holiday {or any day!} Photo Tips:

Coordinate: You don’t have to dress everyone in matching holiday sweaters! But choose a theme, or color story, so everyone’s outfits work well together. Solid colors work better than a lot of pattern, layers work better than short sleeves, and a couple cute accessories can really pull things together! Choose one color that everyone pulls into their outfit somewhere – Example: If you chose red, then mom would wear a red top, dad might have a red shirt layered under a sweater, baby could have a red bow in her hair – you get the idea.
Shake it up: Don’t take stuffy, boring photos on the family couch. Get outside! Jump in fall leaves, play in the snow, run in the grass. Find an interesting landmark in your city to take photos with. The more unexpected the better!
Props: Some fun props can make a world of difference! I love, love, LOVE bringing big wooden letters into photos – have the kids hold letters that spell a word, like JOY or LOVE. Or have each kid hold a sign with a different word – spelling a phrase like Joy to the World. Have everyone wear hats and scarves – or big winter boots in the snow! Eat snowcones, shovel snow, throw the kids in the air, kick a soccer ball – trust me, when you’re having fun, it’ll show in your photos!

Have a Family Photo Day:

Shutterfly wants to help families across the country have an easier time capturing those perfect family moments to share in their Holiday Cards and Photo Books by helping you host Family Photo Days! What’s a Family Photo Day? Well, it’s a super smart idea, a total Busy Mom Solution – get a bunch of your friends together, set up some fun props to share, brainstorm fun ideas and silly settings, grab your cameras, and prepare to be delighted by some amazing holiday photos!

It’s not about the professional photographer or the dull photo shoot in front of the mantle. It’s something anyone can do. Get together with friends and brainstorm! Think about creative ways to show off your families’ personalities.

Online Tool Kit:

Check out Shutterfly Family Photo Day online for some super cool tools and features:

Learn more about Family Photo Day, and watch a really great video that will seriously give you some awesome ideas. So easy, and so fun!
Download the digital toolkit for a HUGE list of photo tips – including indoor shots, outdoor ideas, setting and prop ideas, wardrobe tips, and so much more. You’ll feel like a pro in no time!
Get FREE Holiday Cards! Enter your favorite family photo – and get 5 totally free cards just for entering! And the winner will get a full YEAR worth of free cards! Awesomesauce, I know.

Secret Trick for Holiday Photos:

If all else fails, and you just cannot get one picture where everyone looks good, use my secret trick – use an easy and free editing program like Picnik.com to crop your photos – take the best parts of a few of your favorites, make sure you’ve got everyone in at least one pic, and put them all together in a fun multiple-photo Christmas Card! No one will ever know that you had to crop out the brother pulling sisters hair. We’ve done this for many of our cards, and they turn out perfect.

More Holiday Fun:

Check out a few of my other Holiday Prep posts too! Learn my super easy peasy secret for amazing Bake Pop desserts, read my Top 10 Tips for Holiday Planning, learn how to get a great 25% off coupon for Melissa & Doug Toys, and get your business ready for the holidays too!

What do you think?

Did you watch the video? Does it make you more excited for great holiday photo shoots now too? What do you think of the idea to pull your family and friends together for a fun Family Photo Day? Share your thoughts, along with your best holiday photo tips, in the comments!

{Disclaimer: I received a complimentary set of holiday cards for sharing this amazingly cool promotion with you – but I would’ve shared it anyway, because I know you’ll love it. Fun tips and advice, creative inspiration, and free photo cards? That’s what I call super-cool.}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 7, 2011 Filed Under: Holidays, Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

Baby Safety Is Not Just Cribs and Car Seats…

“There’s only one pretty baby in the world, and every mother has it….” – Unknown.

So true, right? Every mother believes that her perfect tiny baby is the most amazing baby in the world…. and they’re right. Because every baby IS amazing. And every mother wants to find the best products for their little ones. When you think of safety in regards to baby products, most of you probably think about car seats, cribs, toys, and baby gates – but it’s important to think about safety when buying personal care products for baby too. So many lotions, soaps, and shampoos have yucky ingredients that have the potential to be harmful. Dr. Sears Family Essentials line of Baby Care products are made from 100% all natural ingredients, so you can feel good using them!

Why use natural baby products?

Many synthetic ingredients are found in cosmetics, and even in over the counter baby products. These products don’t cause immediate visible signs of toxicity, but can affect the health of the baby negatively over time through repeated use. Some of these can lead to rashes, respiratory distress, even long term health consequences. {Read more here.}

Why Dr. Sears?

I was already a huge fan of Dr. Sears, and his books The Portable Pediatrician: Everything You Need to Know About Your Child’s Health, and The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two are my most-used reference books when I have baby questions. The Portable Pediatrician gives me so many great solutions when Abby’s not feeling well. I seriously do not know what I would do without them. When I learned about their new line of Baby Products, of course I was really excited to try them out, since I have so much trust in Dr. Sears. I love that the products are made from really safe natural ingredients, I love that they’re affordable and easy to find, and I’m totally in love with the quality – which is the most important part, right? Plus, Abby LOVES them!

What I love most:

The lotion: The Dr. Sears Family Essentials Baby Lotion in Citrus smells so yummy! The first time I used it, Abby wanted to eat it – she scooped a dab off of her tummy and licked her finger. Evidently it tastes as good as it smells, because she wanted more, lol. Although I don’t recommend this as a snack, since it’s made with natural ingredients, at least it’s safe and non-toxic. This can be used every day, and will keep baby’s delicate skin soft, and protected. Available for $6.99.

The baby wash: The Dr. Sears Baby Wash & Shampoo in Citrus is such a great idea – why don’t more baby wash products come in a pump container? It is so much easier to use one hand to pump a bit out, so I can keep the other hand on baby – and I really like that it’s a wash and shampoo in one. And it smells just as good as the lotion! It’s also a tear-free formula, of course – and washes away with no residue. You can get the big bottle of Baby Wash & Shampoo for only $5.99.

The diaper Cream: We tried a new line of diapers, and they just did not keep Abby dry at night, at all. After just a couple of days, she ended up with a pretty bad diaper rash, poor baby. The Dr. Sears Healthy Baby Bottom really helped soothe her, and I swear it cleared up the rash faster than any products I’ve used before. We now use this every day, and haven’t had any troubles with diaper rash since we’ve started with it. You can pick up a package of the Healthy Baby Bottom cream for $6.99.

Get FREE Shipping on all Dr. Sears online orders over $60! Stock up on great baby products, helpful books, kids vitamins, and super-yummy, nutritious kids snacks! {Watch for a review of some of the amazing snacks and beverages coming soon!}

What do you think?

Have you used Dr. Sears Family Essentials line of baby products in your family? What did you think of them – and which ones are your favorite? If you haven’t tried them yet, are you excited to try them?? Share some comments!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 7, 2011 Filed Under: Reviews | 2 Comments

Are Pre-Paid Credit Cards for Kids a Good Idea?

To pre-pay, or not to pre-pay? That is a mom-of-teens question…

I’ve told you guys before that I don’t think enough kids are learning about money management. I remember taking a class in High School called “Single Living”; it taught skills like how to make a budget, how to balance a checkbook, rental agreements, etc. We once did a project where we made our imaginary budgets, and then made a grocery list that we thought would fit our budget – then took a field trip to the grocery store, to write down the actual prices of the foods on our list. 99% of the kids in class were completely shocked by the price of food – and had spent around triple what they thought they would. But, since I’d been helping my mom with grocery shopping for years, I was the only one who actually spent a little less than my budget – and then did a presentation on couponing too!

How I became a frugal momma…

My mom was really honest with us about money. We knew that the reason we couldn’t have everything we wanted was because we couldn’t afford it all. But while we struggled financially while I was growing up, it was never a negative thing – we just worked together as a family to figure out what was most important to each of us, and sacrificed other things to get them. Mom worked 2-3 jobs sometimes – which meant we did more housework, to help her out. We all learned budgeting basics at a pretty young age. But I am SO surprised to see how many people graduate high school with NO understanding of money what-so-ever.

Busy Mom Solution – A tool to help:

I’ve also talked to you before about what a great tool pre-paid credit cards can be. As a young adult, I used them to help me budget. And I really love them as an option to get teenagers used to using credit – once their out on their own, most kids sign up for a ton of cards, rack up a ton of debt, and have no idea exactly how it happened. BUT – giving them a pre-paid card, that you have a lot of control over, can teach them some budgeting basics earlier on. Plus, you take away the temptation to spend their money on drugs, alcohol, or other dangerous activities – you get to see a record of exactly where they’re spending!

Here are some great ways to use them:

School shopping: Load an agreed-upon amount into the card, and let your child to their own shopping. When they don’t have mommy or daddy to spend more, they quickly realize that they don’t need those designer jeans as much, when it means they only get 2 shirts for the year. And if they do splurge on the jeans anyway – they’ll soon learn why it was a mistake. Lessons that are important to learn. Working in retail I saw a HUGE difference in the way kids shop when they’re using moms money, or using their own limited clothing allowance.
Emergency Cash: So many kids might lose cash, or spend it if they’re holding it more than say – 5 minutes. But, they can carry a pre-paid card, and you’ll know that they always have some cash in an emergency situation – peace of mind is worth it.
Allowance: An easy way to give the kids their weekly allowance, without having to run to the bank for cash each week. Or – pay your babysitter each week by loading it onto a pre-paid card. Easy peasy solution.
The most important factor: I remember in school, parents would give their kids lunch money, or spending money, and some would use that for alcohol or drugs. When you’re using a pre-paid card like this to give them cash – you get to see exactly what they spend it on. Much safer.

Cool features:

Lock and Unlock Your Teen’s Card with a Simple Text.
Monitor Purchase Alerts in Real-Time on Your Mobile Phone – so you can quickly catch problems before they get out of control.
Family or Friends Can Reload Funds – which is great for holidays, birthdays, or graduations.
Plus – there is NO risk of overdrafts, and no credit risk for them. It’s a safe way to learn to use a card responsibly.
You can see where they spend it, to ensure they’re being safe.

What do you think?

Have you used pre-paid cards for your kids? Are you for, or against the idea? Are there other ways that you help to teach your kids money management? I’d love to hear your tips! If you’re interested in learning more about pre-paid cards – the one I use is the Bill My Parents card, from MasterCard. You can also use this now at Amazon – which can help the kids learn about safe online shopping too. The rates are totally reasonable, and I’ve used them for a long time with no problems. My boyfriends two other daughters are teenagers now, and budgeting, money, and allowance are topics we’ve been giving a lot of thought too – I’d love for you to share your thoughts, ideas, and tips in the comments….

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 7, 2011 Filed Under: Shopping, Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

Weekly Weekend Holiday Shopping Report! Coupon Codes, Cash Back, Deals, & More!

Ok, it’s time again for the Weekly “Weekend Holiday Shopping Report”!

Here are the best deals I’ve found this morning, to help you start knocking out your holiday shopping early! Start now, and when December hits, you can just relax and enjoy the season. I’ve matched up some great cash back, coupon codes, and deal sites – and remember, many of the deal sites will reward you with FREE bonuses for sharing with YOUR friends too. That can be a great way to get your holiday shopping done for FREE! Plus, cash back dollars really start adding up over the holidays, so make sure to check your favorite sites like zuuzs.com, ShopAtHome, Inbox Dollars, or Ebates whenever you shop, to get your rewards! Then you can go do some fun FREE shopping for you after the holidays!

Weekly Weekend Holiday Shopping Report

Victoria’s Secret: Get a FREE Victoria’s Secret PINK tote with any PINK purchase! Add it to your cart, then use code PINKTOTE11 at check out to get it totally free, until November 17th! Plus, use coupon code SHIP50VS to get FREE shipping on all orders over $50 bucks. Make this an even SWEETER deal by starting your shopping at ShopAtHome.com and get FREE cash back on your purchase too! If you’re not earning with ShopAtHome yet, no prob – it’s super easy peasy to sign up. Make sure to check their WILD DEAL each day to find stuff that’s sometimes almost free with cash back! Love that.

Mini Social: HUGE Toy and Book Warehouse Sale on now, until Wednesday, on Mini Social. There is SO much cute stuff here – Choose from some of the very best kids toys from brands like Melissa and Doug, ImagiPlay, Shure Toys and Random House Books. Hurry – quantities are limited! Plus, invite your friends to Mini Social, and get $10 when they join! They’ve also got some really great sale events on kids clothing too. You will love the selection on this site – stuff goes really fast, but if you get there in time, you’ll find really affordable, really adorable, kids stuff!

NoMoreRack: Get a FREE Clear Black iPhone Cover Case for the iPhone4. Very cool. You pay $2 bucks to ship it – that’s it. Awesome, right? Every day NoMoreRack has eight super deep discount items, in limited quantities. Sign up for their email updates, so you can check first thing in the morning, and grab one if you want it. They do lots of freebies like this too. Plus, get points for each friend you refer – that you can use towards amazing free stuff like baking accessories, or even tech stuff like an iPad!

HomeSav Event: Stupell Kids Wall Art over 50% off! Stupell Industries, Inc. is one of America’s premier suppliers of handcrafted decorative accessories for upscale homes. All of their products are hand-crafted And they use only original art work, which is very cool. They’re now taking their super amazing quality, and creating kids art too! These pieces are each only $19 on sale – over 50% off! Plus, invite a friend – they get $10 bucks off, you get $15 in free credit! Great way to share the savings, right?

Totsy: Check out the super cute Angelina Ballerina Sale Event! Ohmyheck – who doesn’t totally love this stuff, right? And with prices starting as low as $3.90 {wow!} you can buy a TON of great stuff! I bought some books, a little toy set, and a matching outfit for Abby, for Christmas! Plus, with Totsy, you can get $15 in credit when you invite your friends to join you there. Check out the deal for 60% off kids shoes, and 66% off Little Divas Hair Accessories too – great time to start pulling together great holiday outfits for parties.

Zulily: Starts today – Disney Sale Event up to 65% off! So many super cute plush character toys – for only $7.99! I had to snag this adorable Cheshire cat for Abby – and of course the Alice Doll too, to go with the movie I got her for free on Amazon with Swagbucks. That’s less than $16 bucks for 2 big plush dolls and a movie. Sweet gift shopping, right? Plus, invite your friends to Zulily by email or Facebook post, and get $15 in credit each time one of them joins you there! They have great deals that are super easy to share.

Bath & Body Works: It’s back – the super duper Buy 3, Get 3 FREE event! Get any 3 of the classic products, including new holiday scents – and get an additional 3 for free. Plus use code SHIP50 at check out to get free shipping on all purchases over $50! To sweeten up this deal, start at ShopAtHome to get 3.5% cash back on your purchase! There are also a ton of great clearance deals going on now – From 50% off accessory items, to 75% off the Pocket Bac’s {great for diaper bags, by the way!} so get shopping before their gone!

Grand Finale: Save 90% off {WOW!!!!} on this cooking deal from Moolala!! Pay only $10, and get: $20 in Organic, Fair-Trade Spices. PLUS get Preferred Spice Club Membership, AND Gourmet Cookbook {$103 Value!!!!} Here’s what that membership gets you: Preferred Spice Club, offering the tantalizing aromas of monthly deals with 50% discounts, a 30% discount on orders of $25 or more, a 20% discount on all orders, free shipping on select orders, and selected, members-only cooking videos. Holy heck! If you do a lot of cooking – this is a serious savings. You can bet I snatched this up super quick!

Ladies – grab your debit cards!

Make sure to start at a site like like zuuzs.com, ShopAtHome, Inbox Dollars, or Ebates when you shop, so you can get FREE cash back on shopping you’re going to do anyway. Even when the percentages are small, it’s still FREE. And it does add up. Plus – during the holidays, all of these sites start ramping up, and giving BIG cash back deals, like up to 25% on some sites! So you’ll want to subscribe now, so you get updates when these types of deals start. I mean, imagine you’re doing to buy $100 worth of gifts online – and you can get $25 in cash back?? On TOP OF the coupon codes and great deals you’ve already found? That’s what I call smart shopping sister :)

Don’t forget – Sign up for UPS MY CHOICE – so you can schedule your deliveries, sign for packages online, and more!

And if you need holiday cards to go with all of these great gifts, get 20 FREE holiday cards with photos, matching address labels, and a super-cute photo pen too, for less than $5 bucks. Have a great weekend! And if you have deal lovin’ momma friends who would appreciate this list – please share it to your own Facebook and Twitter! Friends don’t let friends pay full price!!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 5, 2011 Filed Under: Deals and Coupon Codes, Shopping | No Comments

The No-Cry Picky Eater Solution!

Do you struggle with getting a picky child to eat healthy foods?

Or is it a challenge just getting them to eat, period? As moms, we take our care-giving responsibility very seriously – and want so much to do the very best for our kids. When you’re trying so hard to find time to buy, prepare, and serve healthy meals packed with nutritious foods, only to be shot down every time by a picky-eater who refuses to even taste what you took so much care to make – well, frustration probably doesn’t even really cover it! Dinner time can be stressful enough when you’re a busy mom – when it turns into a battlefield full of pleading, fighting, or crying {from you both!} – something has got to be done. We all know that you can’t keep serving chicken nuggets forever….

Busy Mom Solution!

Elizabeth Pantley to the rescue! If you’re familiar with any of her other books, then you know that she has an amazing way of offering helpful tips, advice, and solutions – that are realistic and truly useful – in a way that is never critical, and very comforting. In The No-Cry Picky Eater Solution: Gentle Ways to Encourage Your Child to Eat – and Eat Healthy!, she gives you actions that you can use to make a real difference in mealtimes for your family! Make family dinners enjoyable again!

Say goodbye to the daily frustration of picky eating with these effective child-tested, parent-approved, No-Cry solutions plus healthy family-friendly recipes!

This book gives you so many great tools to use! Here are some of the great things that you’ll find inside:

Start by “hiding” healthier foods inside meals that they already love – and learn some great ideas on how to accomplish this.
Next, learn new ways to introduce healthy foods – They might not eat something at home, but will try it at a restaurant and love it, making it a new at-home dinnertime favorite too.
Use some of the super-fun recipes included to appeal to a child’s developing sense of taste, texture, and smell – making it more likely that they’ll give it a chance.
Learn how much of the different types of foods your child really needs at each age – you might even be doing better than you think!

Great advice, do-able solutions!

You can pick up a copy of Elizabeth’s book on Amazon for only $10.98 right now – and start making easy changes in your home today! This is the perfect time to begin using some of her ideas and tips – so that you can enjoy all of those great holiday dinners coming up soon! If you’re already using this book, I’d love to hear how it has helped YOUR family too – I know that it’s already making such a big difference in our home. I’ll give you an update soon too, on which tips are working best for us. I’d love to feature you too – let me know in the comments what new tricks from her book have made the biggest difference in your home!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 3, 2011 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

Busy Mom Solution: Holiday Card Survival Kit – $4.99!!

Get your kit today!

Get a head start on sending out holiday cards this year! Choose from over a thousand super-fun holiday designs and personalize them with your families names and message. Then, make a set of custom return address labels too, to make sending out cards easy peasy! Writing handwritten messages in your cards? {Of course you are!} So you also get a really sweet engraved and customized pen – and you’ll love using these, they write so smooth! They’re totally my favorite pens now. This is a huge savings – a value of around $30 bucks for only $4.99!!! And – if decide to add more cards, or any of the other great holiday items like photo ornaments or calendars, you’ll get FREE shipping over $25 bucks!

This is what you get:

20 Customized Holiday Cards!
140 Personalized Labels – {if you already have address labels, make these to use as gift tags!}
And 1 Engraved Pen… Get it ALL for only $4.99!

Visit Vistaprint and get your FREE Holiday Card Survival Kit today!!

When you click the link, you’ll see the selection of card styles at the regular and sale prices – but look for this logo:

Get 20 Holiday Cards, 140 Labels and 1 Engraved Pen for $4.99!
Bonus: New Customers Enjoy FREE Shipping on Orders Over $25!

– at the top – that shows you that you’re not even paying sale prices, you’re getting an AMAZING deal!

Check it out today, and start getting ready for the holidays! – and stay tuned for more great frugal Christmas ideas every day!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on November 3, 2011 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | No Comments

Busy Mom Solution: FREE Meal Planning Help – Save Time and Money!

Busy Mom Solution: Food on the Table

The Challenge:

You know you should start planning your meals for the week, but you never find the time. You know that meal planning can make dinner time less stressful, since you already know what you’ll be making, and know that you’ve got the ingredients on hand. You know that meal planning can save you tons of money, since you match your weekly meals to the sales at your favorite store. But between kids, work, the house – who has time to keep up, right? And what is the worst thing to hear when you’re already tired…. “Mom, what’s for dinner??!!”

The Solution:

Food on the Table is an online, budget-friendly, meal planning service designed to help families eat better and save money. It combines the weekly sales from your favorite local grocery store with your family’s food preferences to create a family-friendly meal plan that is personalized just for you! You can even get a printable grocery list, or download the app so you can view the list on your smartphone. Amazing, right? And the best part? It’s FREE!

Sign up for Food on the Table’s FREE Meal Planning Service today!!

How it Works:

Head to the Food on the Table website, and all you need to get started is your email address.
Then, type in your zipcode to find the partner stores in your area. They had two of my favorites on there, so you should be able to find at least one of yours too!
Next, set your preferences – do you only eat certain types of meat? Have food allergies or special diets to plan for? Love Italian but hate Chinese food? Click the boxes to personalize your meal plans.
Food on the Table will then bring you some great recipes that fit your family – pick the ones you like best, it’ll match your recipes with the best sales, and print you out an easy to use shopping list. Or, do like I did and get the app, so you have the shopping list right on your phone!

What are you waiting for?

It’s totally free to join – no strings! You’ll save time, save money, and have a much more enjoyable family dinner-time! Check out what other busy moms are saying on the Food on the Table Facebook page – and get started today!