If you are looking for stilletto recommendations, you are in the wrong place. I need to be able to run after my kids without falling on my face. Want to know your smartphone's metapix? Sorry. I only write about whether it can survive 5 minutes in the hands of my kids.
I stumbled across this book recently and I wanted to share it with you.
It is called the Okay Book and it is a fun and colorful book, with simple stick figure faces and easy sentences, that subtly let’s kids know that it is okay to be different.
It is okay to be big or skinny, have freckles or wear glasses, to be different colors and live in different houses.
The author Todd Parr has a great collection of books that have similar teachable themes. His newest is about the Earth (a New York Times Best Seller), which teaches, at a variety of levels, how to love the Earth.
His books range in price from $6.99 to 9.99. They can be found at a variety of local and online retailers, and are truly kindhearted and refreshing for any age.
We use popular websites to send out electronic baby shower invitations, send out emails letting people know that our baby has arrived, post on facebook the first photos at the hospital, and tweet that we went into labor. Yet why do we still send out paper birth announcements?
Most paper announcements cost around $2 for the card and postage (at least!). Plus the time to create them, stamp them, sign them, and address them with a demanding newborn and little sleep to guide the way.
What if there were a better way?
Glad you asked!
A local Mompreneur launched a company a couple of years ago called Cool Dog Productions (named after her beloved Sammy). The company has unique, eco-friendly and hip Video Birth Announcements from her Cool Dog Baby line.
How does it work? After you have snapped all the pictures you want of your new bundle of joy, email them to Cool Dog Productions. They take your photos, do a bit of magic with music and imagery, and then you get a link to an incredible video announcement that you just email to all your friends!
It saves you time and saves wasted paper. You save some moola too because a basic video announcement costs around $100. Link to it on Facebook, send out a tweet with a link, email to everyone you ever knew – all for around $100. Want a DVD? You can get that too. There are some great add-ons depending on your wants and budget.
So if you know of someone who is expecting or you are anxiously awaiting a bundle of joy, check out Cool Dog Baby line and see how you can be unique and chic with a baby announcement.
Not expecting? They have just launched a Holiday Site too!
I recently was approached by a company called Stride Everyday to try out some underwear.
Yes, that is what I said. Underwear, panties, whatever you want to call them. Was it some sexy lingerie shop knocking? Um, no. I have a 10 month old so those days are long gone my friends.
Sigh.
What I was given, was the opportunity to try out panties that had, um….light leak protection.
<Blush>
Okay, the deal is that I pushed a baby out and it was no easy four hour pushing feat let me tell you. My kid has a huge head and he has left his mark. So when I cough and sneeze? Yeah. You guessed it. It is also a huge issue when I run more than 10 feet, and many of you know I am a runner.
I have tried liners and even heavier ‘stuff’ but it’s not exactly sexy. Not cool.
So basically I’m a leaky runner that has to pee before she runs, sneezes or coughs so all heck doesn’t break, um, loose. It was the same way when I was preggers too.
And if you don’t yet have these problems? I am soooo jealous, but I am sure you get sweaty when doing hot yoga or a kick-boxing class in your pre-pregnancy glory.
Is all of this TMI? Probably, but hey, I decided to try out these undies because I had the feeling I may not be the only one with this leak problem. So I got my free panties of choice to try out, called Stride Femme.
I tried them out on our brief vacation. Daring I’d say, since if I did not like them, I only had a limited packed panty supply. I put them on one night before bed so to see ‘what was what’ and I can say that I immediately liked what I felt. The material was soft and felt really good on, and the cut was sexy! Totally riveled it’s a secret who, but I know that is only half the panty battle. The ultimate test would be the next day when we walked around the island.
Would they creep up and give me the dreaded panty wedgie?
The next day we walked, and hiked, and climbed down and up a huge flight of stairs with my 20 pound baby on my back. Wedgie? Not a one! So no embarrassing picking en route. I also had a lingering cough from a cold. If I did not remember to cross my legs before I coughed, it was a problem, and at one point I did forget. It was then I experienced panty nirvana. It totally took care of the problem. Sweet!
The details are that these undies have technology that wicks way and absorbs up to one ounce in moisture, and deodorizes too. They last up to 100 washes and come in seamless, french cut brief, mid-rise brief, sport bikini and lacy thong styles. (Told you – sexy!)
Prices range from $19.99 to $24.99
These are hot panties too. They were just launched this past spring and are even being featured in Shape Magazine.
Try them! Use code NEWS123 for free shipping on orders over $30. Want to win a pair? One lucky reader can also win a Stride Everyday panty in your style/size choice!
Just leave a comment to win! You know you want too.
So I’m in love. Just don’t tell my husband…or better yet, tell him because they have stuff coming for the guys too.
Wink, Wink.
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Contest is Closed: Congrats to Beth!
Rules:
Leave a comment about this post . One comment permitted per person; US entrants welcome.
Include your name and email in the appropriate fields so I can contact you if you win. (Including just first name or first name + last initial is OK!). Anonymous or SPAM-like comments will be discarded.
Entry period closes at midnight EST, Monday, October 4, 2010.
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*One lucky winner (drawn randomly via Random.org) will receive get a Stride Everyday Femme panty in their style and size choice. The winner will be notified directly via e-mail, then listed back at this post using first name only.
I recently wanted to create a birthday invite for my son who is turning One next month. I wanted a fall-themed birthday invitation for the Apple Picking Birthday Party we were having for his birthday celebration. I searched the internet. I saw great Halloween cards everywhere, but the only site that had a fall-themed birthday card was Shutterfly.
I fell in love with the brown and orange colors and the design with four pictures. I had taken photos of my son with a sign saying how old he was each month for the past year. I used a few of those so you could see how he grew over the year. Then I wrote. “Let’s have some fall fun and celebrate Liam turning One!” Then I had all the details about his party. (I blurred that part so we don’t have party crashers.)
It was ridiculously easy to make the card. The fast photo uploads, the ability to edit your photo on the fly, or change your mind mid-stream and select another picture was super easy. I even made custom address labels to match the fall theme of his Apple Picking Birthday Party. I uploaded a picture of some red apples and pasted it into an orange label for a fall-ish feel!
It is amazing how well run this online photo site is, and they have a huge selection of photobooks, a fabulous array of cards and stationary, like thank you cards and an online sharesite. They always have great coupons, promotions and offers too, and the service was so prompt. I received my custom cards in a couple of business days. Faster than the some diapers I ordered.
If you don’t know about it, the Shutterfly sharesite is really neat. I have had one for over two years now. It is like your own website. You can create subpages for wedding photos for example. Then another for honeymoon pictures, and one for pictures of your baby’s first year with sub-albums on that page for each month. You can add video, widgets and more. It is really slick. Our favorite part is that we can allow people to download the pictures. So grandma and grandpa can pick what they want. If you want more privacy though, you can prevent it too.
The only negative I have with Shutterfly is that all photobooks have to be 20 pages. I wanted to create a little family photobook for my son, with pictures of each family member. However, I don’t have 20 relatives so I can’t create it. Shutterfly only has photo pickup at Target while some other sites have more locations to chose from.
Yet, those points are minor compared to the rest of the fantastic features on Shutterfly, which is why, despite those two downfalls, Shutterfly continues to be my online photosite. So if you are thinking about holiday cards (they already have those online) or you want unique birthday invitations, then definitely try them out. Four Chroniclers can even win ten 5×7 flat stationary cards just by leaving a comment below, so you can see the fantastic-ness of Shutterfly for yourself! Don’t miss out.
UPDATE: Contest is now closed. Congrats to Beth and Katy for winning! Since no one else entered, I gave a prize to my Mom and my brother!
Rules:
Leave a comment about your favorite photo. One comment permitted per person; US entrants welcome.
Include your name and email in the appropriate fields so I can contact you if you win. (Including just first name or first name + last initial is OK!). Anonymous or SPAM-like comments will be discarded.
Entry period closes at midnight EST, Monday, October 4, 2010.
+ + + + +
*Four lucky winners (drawn randomly via Random.org) will receive a code for 10 free 5×7 flat stationery cards from Shutterfly. The winners will be notified directly via e-mail, then listed back at this post using first name only.
