Baby Pics. *poof* Gone! Crap.

The day I realized 98% of my son's baby pictures and my eldest daughters toddler years photos were gone for good, a little bit of me died.  That same day, I swore I dedicate my children's precious images to paper and get (what I had left and would create in the future) off my computer.

And I have. Now I have a bushel of photos I need to put in photo albums. Needless to say, they are still in the packs they came in.

Creative organized holiday greetings amidst utter chaos? Totally Doable.

As the days counting down to Christmas dwindle away, many of us find ourselves wondering what in the world we are going to do and how the heck we are going to pull it off. With the current economy still wreaking havoc on many of our pocket books, this can be even more stressful and anxiety laden. I know. I wake up nights wracked with concern, sweat pouring down my face, many times screaming "SANTA! STOP!" Ya, probably something I need to bring up in therapy...

Anyway, my point is, I GET IT! And I'm here to tell you (and myself) that it doesn't have to be this way! We live in the age of technology and it's a wonderful thing! It can save us not only money, but time and most importantly save us from ourselves!

Case in point. How many times have you said "I would LOVE to get a family portrait done of my beautiful wonderful children and send it out as a Christmas card, maybe with our year updates for the family members we hardly ever see." And then your oldest starts "cooking" for your middle child who wants to help and sets off the smoke alarm, waking up the baby, who starts SCREAMING because her diaper is full and her stomach is empty, while your darling hubby (with out missing a beat or looking up from his game)asks "Honey, will get the baby? I'm on level 40 and this guy has me locked in battle." Then you realize, there is NO WAY I'm going to be able to get these kids to sit still and look cute all at the same time, let alone the big one virtually taking his aggressions out on a dwarf!

*deep breath* OK, probably not that often... but you get my point. Right?

Well, this year I know exactly how I'm going to handle it! I have several great pics of the all the family, just not of all of them together. And with the awesome holiday photo cards they have available at Shutterfly.com, I can just pick the best of each of them and BAM! Precious holiday photo-card greeting done! I can even get them in a folded card so I can add updates about our family, like Libby's birth, Liam starting school and all about Cait's awards. Come to think of it, they also have gifts you can personalized. I know Nana and Papa would LOVE a calendar loaded with pics of the kids. And my Dad would totally get a kick out of a mug with their precious faces on the side so he could brag all day at work. :0)

Well there ya go! Christmas solved! Stress relieved! Scary Santa nightmares... I'll work on that one. Until then, stress less and have a great holiday season everyone!
;0)

Dollar Tree Balloons Rock!

A couple of months ago, my brother-in-law posted on FaceBook a picture of my niece's $10 Elmo balloon. He was amazed on how well it was holding up after 2 weeks.



This sparked a conversation on helium balloons, their life expectancy and longevity. (Oh, the things you talk about once you become a parent. They are the things that make your childless friends roll their eyes and stop calling you.) I made mention on how we have had balloons that lasted up to a month and how they had been purchased at the Dollar Tree. Others said they too had purchased balloons from Dollar Tree that seemed to hang around for quite some time.

Shortly after this, my daughter Libby was born and Daddy bought her a cute pink Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger balloon from the hospital gift shop. Two days later, she came home and her God Mother purchased her 2 more cute pink balloons from the Dollar Tree. She is now 7 1/2 weeks old.

And so are the balloons. :0)

Gift shop balloon (on the floor):



Dollar Tree balloons (on the ceiling):

I'm not sure how much he purchase the Pooh Bear balloon for. Being a gift shop, it was probably somewhere around $10-15. I'm not slamming his purchase. Far from it. It was very sweet and the only gift she received while in the hospital. Once I remove the last of the helium, it will be placed in her baby keepsake box o' memories along side the other two because this balloon is special.

Now, from a frugal stand point. The price you pay for a helium balloon, (whether it be from a gift shop, grocery store or even a party supply store) is costly! I've priced them from anywhere between $3 and $35! Not kidding! Ok, so the $35 ones were huge, sang to you or had one of those recorders in them so you could add your own message, but still... IT'S A BALLOON!!! It's only going to last sooo long before it pops, deflates or floats away!! (Even if it does last 2 months) For the price you pay for one of these, you could buy several more! Or, buy the same amount you would have at the higher priced places and put the savings in your pocket. And chances are, it will last longer.

I have purchased a dozen or so balloons from the Dollar Tree for several birthday parties, used them as decorations and then handed them out as parting gifts to the little guests as they leave. The price I paid was the same some of the guests paid to gift the birthday child one balloon. ;0)

Does it have to be Dollar Tree, you ask? In my experience, I'd have to say yes. I've tried purchasing balloons from the other dollar store (who's name I will not mention because I do like them for other things... not that anyone beyond my 1 or 2 readers will ever read this. But just in case.) They charge a dollar for the empty balloon and extra to fill it!! I would not have followed through with my purchase of their balloons if they had not been ultra cute. Still not worth it! Died within 24 hours. Not kidding. :0( Since then, I have only purchased balloons from the Dollar Tree.

So I ask you, where are you going to buy your next balloon? ;0)

(Note: The views expressed in this blog are strictly my own and in no way was I compensated by Dollar Tree. However... if they want to... I'm all for it. <3 )