No Gift Birthday Parties

My son has a ton of toys. He receives them for presents from my family and me. Some of them are birthday gifts and Christmas gifts but sometimes they are for no reason. Honestly, I kind of feel like when his birthday comes along it just means more stuff. Now that he is older and will start having birthday parties with friends, it will only get worse. I am thankful for the gifts we receive of course. I really am.

I have an issue with the quality of some toys now days. I can tell you that I have quite a few toys from my childhood that are still in good condition or well working condition. I bought Noah a remote control helicopter for his birthday that was broken less than a month later. Another issue is a lot of toys are made in China and end up getting recalled for lead or whatever reason.

I would like to see my family and friends use their gift money to go towards his college education. That would be a gift that would really last a lifetime. I also think that quite a few parents are interested in a no gift birthday party. As my mom would say, your presence is present enough.

Did you know saving just $25/month when your child is a toddler can result in up to $10,000 when they're ready for college? That's just one coffee a week.


If you reach $1,000 in the 60 day window GradSave will give you $100 to use towards your college savings or to pay for your birthday party.  How cool is that?

You can learn more about the GradSave Birthday Challenge.

What do you think about no gift parties? I look forward to your thoughts.

How To Monitor Your Kids Online – Gecko Monitor

We all know of the dangers lurking around the digital corners of the internet, especially when it comes to letting kids loose online. Of course, sometimes we can do everything we can do avoid these unwanted websites, but occasionally there's no avoiding them. There's also another side to the issue – Kids curiosity. Whether children mean to click something or not, curiosity sometimes gets the better of us all, which means sometimes those dangers are unavoidable.

But luckily, help is at hand. When I talk to people about how to introduce kids to the world of the internet I talk about a 3 step process; Control, Monitor and Trust. The first step – Control, is the first introductory stage to the web. It means controlling what your kids can access and filtering what they see. Applications like Net Nanny can put a lock on internet browsing, meaning any webpages that contain profanity, adult material or a number of other questionable topics are blocked, and on some 'allowed' websites swear words and marked out.

Of course, there's no right age at which you should allow your children free reign over the net, and every parents opinions will be different. But at some point it is going to happen, and this (along with a few other situations) is where is recommend stage two – Monitor. Monitoring your kids online is a great way of letting them have their digital freedom, while at the same time maintaining some control and peace of mind. You can check over what they've been looking at at any time, even without them knowing if you wish.

Gecko Monitor makes this process easy and manageable. The software, once installed, will run silently in stealth mode (or visible if you wish) monitoring everything that occurs on the computer. When you wish to review the activity logs, you can open the software with a secret key combination and password.

When you view the logs you'll be able to see everything that has happened while you've been away from the computer. Gecko Monitor, will monitor and report on all of the following:

• All applications used.
• All websites visited.
• All documents opened, created, saved and deleted.
• Anything copied and pasted.
• Any documents printed.
• All keystrokes entered.

The software will also log the times and dates of all activities. You can either review the logs on your home computer or have them sent to your email address to view from a remote location. Gecko Monitor has a free trial available on the website.

The third and final stage is of course – Trust. At this point (as hard as it may be!) trust must prevail over monitoring and control. Hopefully with the help of the above software getting to that stage might be a little bit easier!

Enter the GradSave $10,000 Scholarship Sweepstakes

One of the things that I thought about when I found out I was going to be a mom was how I was going to pay for Noah’s college education. If you haven’t heard he wants to be a marine biologist. I am sure by the time he is ready to go to college the price will have gone up a lot. I have the opportunity to share with you about this wonderful giveaway from GradSave! You can win 10,000 dollars for your child or grandchild’s education. How amazingly helpful would that be?

                                                           Want to Enter? Click HERE
 You can purchase GradSave Gift Cards and save $10 off. The holidays are coming and you know the special children in your life already have a mountain of toys. Why not purchase something that will help them receive an education. Get the $10 off offer


Eligibility. If you are an individual legal resident of the United States (except for the State of Rhode Island) or the District of Columbia and are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry, you are eligible to enter the Sweepstakes. Our employees, their immediate family members (spouses, domestic partners, parents, grandparents, siblings, children and grandchildren), and our affiliates, advisors or advertising/promotion agencies (and their immediate family members) are not eligible to enter the Sweepstakes. Prize. We will award one (1) Grand Prize Scholarship that will be payable, at the option of the winner, either as (i) a deposit of $1,000 per year for the next 10 years into a child’s college savings fund ($10,000), or (ii) an up front payout of $4,000, which represents the present value of an investment in a college savings fund for a 1 year old with withdrawals starting at age 17 and a 6% compounded annual rate of return on such investment (This just shows you how a college savings fund grows…); provided that, if the winner is a resident of the State of Florida or the State of New York, such winner must select the upfront payment of $4,000. IN THE CASE OF A SINGLE PAYOUT OPTION (I.E., OPTION (II) ABOVE), ACTUAL FUTURE VALUE OF SCHOLARSHIP MAY VARY BASED ON THE RETURN RATES OF YOUR PARTICULAR COLLEGE SAVINGS FUND AND/OR THE AGE OF CHILD.


Odds of Winning. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Certain promotions will be held where additional entries will be awarded as prizes for action, which may include liking us on Facebook, entering free photo contests, etc. Check our home page at www.gradsave.com for more information on these free promotions

Campus Book Rentals Review

College is expensive, worthwhile but expensive. The tuition usually includes a dorm room and sometimes a meal plan depending on the school. One thing it doesn't include is books. Parents and students end up paying big bucks to get books that are required or suggested for different courses. Depending on the class sometimes they don't even use the textbook. I know that friends have paid a hundred dollars for one book. This book is only for one class so afterwards it becomes a doorstop or something that sits in a box or on a shelf for many years. I remember when I was in school, we had to pay a book rental fee for our books. We had to give them back but really? What would I do with a sixth grade science book? I am sure my son would like to look at it but other than that it is useless to me. I remember when the school would change books, they would let the students each choose an old textbook. I thought that was cool because I liked to play school. There is a website called Campus Book Rentals that allows college students to rent their books. I love this idea because not only is it so much cheaper and it reduces clutter but it is greener. Think about how many textbooks a publisher prints a year. If it is for a required class that all college kids take it could be hundreds of thousands. All of those trees for a few months of classes. How many people actually reopen their college textbooks and read them again a few years later? I am willing to bet not many. So why not save money and save the trees at the same time. Here are some perks of the program: -save 40-90% off of bookstore prices -free shipping both ways -can highlight in the textbooks -flexible renting periods -Campus Book Rentals donates to Operation Smile with each textbook rented Campus Book Rentals has pretty much everything. My uncle was a professor at Purdue and he also wrote a textbook. They have it too. Noah would like the textbooks about Marine Biology because he is going to be a Marine Biologist when he grows up. Congratulations to all the college students this year!

Cpap Masks and Me

I had always seen commercials for cpap masks on tv. I really wasn't sure what it was until a friend of mine's husband had to use one. Thankfully my family has never had breathing problems or sleep apnea so I wasn't sure what it was. I had heard of asthma when I had friends with asthma and I knew about breathing treatments from the days I worked in a daycare. One of the little girls had to have daily breathing treatments. I always thought it made her look like an elephant. She thought it was funny. So, when my friend shared with me that her husband had a cpap mask. It was quite foreign to me. I felt kind of silly asking her so many questions. She thankfully humored me and answered my questions. I can't imagine how scary sleep apnea would be to have. It is also scary for your spouse too. It is important that those with sleep apnea are properly diagnosed by a doctor and get a cpap mask if they need one. It could save their life.

WeCare Card Giveaway

I was always taught that it is better to give than receive. My grandma Rose opened a soup kitchen that still feeds thousands today. She also did all sorts of charity work and fundraising efforts.  She is my role model and who I strive to be like. There are so many people hurting. I always try to help those in need.  I would love when he did fundraisers at school to raise money for things.  We all know that there are many great charities but what about those who are our friends and families and neighbors?  We went to the St. Patrick's Day event in our town and there was a booth with art work for sale to donate to a teacher with cancer. The art work was done by the children at the elementary school she taught at. I had Noah pick out a picture and I asked them how much for the painting? They said two dollars and I said no. Its ten dollars. I am pretty sure I made their jaw drop. Noah now goes to the elementary school. It made me feel so good to help someone else.  I was also teaching Noah the importance of helping others.

We all have times in our lives when we need a little help. Unfortunately bad things happen to good people and they are left with bills and other needs. There is a random acts of kindness movement that I would like to start. I have the opportunity to share with you about a website called WeCare Card They help you collect donations to help your loved ones.  The best part is the recipient receives 100% of the money.

Have you ever wanted to donate money for something but didn't have the cash on hand? Instead of going to the bank or ATM you can donate online through your credit or debit card.  It also gives your friends and family that might not live close to you a chance to donate too. Sure there is the mail but that can take a while when you don't have a lot of time to wait. Most times they are emergencies . Emergencies do not wait until you can afford it. Signing up is easy. If you have a cause that you would like to raise money for just create an account and share your cause with everyone. I am sure you are wondering how they can claim the money. There are two options. They can request a check or do direct deposit.  There are 16 causes already and they all are definitely worth a donation.

Every Wednesday, is WeCare Wednesdays. WeCare gives away giftcards on their Facebook page every Wednesday. Like them on Facebook so you don't miss out!!

You can also follow them on Twitter to get great updates!!

I have a very special giveaway for you. This isn't the normal giveaway where you win something like a product. I know that sometimes you want to give back to someone and you don't really have the money to do it.  Today is your lucky day! WeCare Card is giving one of my readers the chance to create a cause of the winners choice and WeCare Card will match donations up $100. Of course anyone can share a cause but I think that it is awesome that they will donate too.  I love this idea so much.

Here is how to enter:
Just leave me a comment about the campaign you would like to start to raise money and why it's important to you.

Please remember to leave your email address so I can reach out to you. This will be a quick giveaway!

This giveaway will end September  September 19, 2012 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time

Set the Tone of Your Wedding with Seasonal Invites

Choosing the right invitation for your wedding can quickly convey not only the location and pertinent information but can set the tone or help to create an atmosphere.  With all of the modern technology available today you could almost just as easily send out email invitations, but the difference in sending out a well designed and thought out invitations lets others know of your wedding as well as shape their first impression.

For this reason, it’s important to put some thought into choosing just the right invitation.  Here are some things you should consider when choosing or designing a wedding invitation:

·         Choose the right paper.  Fall invitations as well as other seasonal papers can be a great option for both formal and fun versions.  You can also choose from more traditional embossed or printed papers as well.  The choice of paper you use for your invitations begins to set the tone friends and family can expect at your wedding.

·         Wording and Print style.  Whether you have your invitations professionally printed or do them yourself there are almost thousands of font choices to choose from.  In addition, how you word the invitation itself is probably the best way of setting the tone and environment.  For a more formal wedding event it is important to word the invitation in such a way that those receiving it will read and understand that.  The same can be true of a more simple or fun wedding as well.

·         Traditional or Modern.  Following traditional wording and design or going with more funky and modern styles will immediately let your gets get a glimpse of those values that you want remembered at your wedding.  Just as wearing a hand me down piece of jewelry can tie your feeling to family and the past so can a well worded and designed invitation.

·         Add a picture.  It is customary to include a happy engagement picture with your wedding invitation.  This is not only to help those on the invite list to know exactly who you are, but also a way to share your joy and excitement.  It is true that it takes much more effort to express in words what a picture can do in a second.  A picture allows your friends and family to see your love, happiness, and excitement of your upcoming wedding.

Whether you are planning a very formal traditional wedding, or a simple get together with family and close friends, the invitations are the first indication to your guests not only of your upcoming nuptials, but of the style and tone you wish to have there as well.  Most of all, receiving an invitation allows your friends and family to share with you this momentous occasion.

Remember Tia and Tamera?

Do you remember the show Sister, Sister? It is the one about the twins Tia and Tamera that find out that they are twins at a shopping mall. They were both adopted by another family.  After they find each other they move in together along with their very unique parents.  I really loved that show growing up.  Heck I still love it. I watched it yesterday.  It is a good show, with good moral values.  Sure the twins got in trouble but it was always a wholesome show where you felt good after watching it. I remember when I was on vacation when I was younger I saw Tia and Tamera at the grocery store. I don’t think I said anything as I was more than likely star struck as a huge fan of the show.  They are around my age so I grew up watching them grow up.

Tia and Tamera have a new show now on The Style Network. I have always loved them so I decided to watch it one day and I fell in love with the show. I feel that it is a great show because they just have this dynamic about them.  It might be because I grew up watching them on Sister, Sister but honestly I would watch it either way. There isn’t really any drama on the show and I like that. I watch it and I feel like I learn so much about being a person and a mom. I have learned different techniques that they use in their relationship with each other to better myself and my relationship with my sister.  It is a show that I look forward to watching each week.  I love to see that Tia and Tamera have become successful, beautiful and inspirational women.  They didn’t fall down the typical child star well of drugs and craziness.  They aren’t in the tabloids for doing crazy things or really anything bad. I am sure that is because of the values they learned growing up.  Both Tia and Tamera are married. Tia is married to Adam Housley who she calls Housley which is so cute. He is a reporter for Fox News. I actually saw him report one morning on TV and I went in a tangent about how much I love the show to my mom.  Tamera is also married to a guy named Cory Hardrict.  They have an adorable little boy named Cree. I just want to pinch his little cheeks.

Tamera and Tia, I am letting Tamera go first this time, do all kinds of work with children to inspire them to be whoever they want to be. I think that is wonderful.  They are the best role models for aspiring children actors and young women because they honestly worked hard for what they have.

You can see Tia and Tamera on The Style Network on Mondays at 8 pm ET and 11 pm ET

Have you watched the show? Let me know what you think.

The Importance of Life Insurance

Before I was a mom I taught at a daycare. One of the benefits they offered was term life insurance. I was only 19 at the time so I wasn't really sure of the benefits.  I think that i signed up for every benefit they offered. It was my first experience with having my own insurance. I was always on my mom's plan. I had my mom as my beneficiary. It was for 75,000 dollars and only paid a couple dollars for it a pay  check. I teased my mom about her thinking of ways to bump me off like in the movies . My mom would never do that of course.    She loves me and I don't remember using my health insurance more than a couple times during the time I worked there.

You can get a lot of coverage for not a lot of money.  I read that if you are healthy you can get a 1,000,000 dollar policy for five dollars a month. Five dollars a month is like the price of a grande cup of coffee from Starbucks. I always like to compare things like that. If you think about it like that it will be easier to grasp. If I wanted to be like those commercials and pull out my calculator it comes out to sixteen cents a day! You can't even make a phone call or buy a gum ball for sixteen cents. The only thing I can think of that is sixteen cents is a baby root beer at a restaurant I like, which is the perfect size for Noah.  Just think how you can protect your family and provide for them with a million dollar policy for meager pocket change.

Now that I am a mom I realize the importance of having it. 

GradSave Gift Card Deal

Looking to build up your child's college fund? Check out this deal!

GradSave Gift Card on Living Social
$50 (Pay $24) or $25 (Pay $12) Toward a GradSave College Savings Plan
Living Social GradSave Deal