Hearts of Haiti: My Own Mom Story

This Mother's Day, I'm working with Clever Girls in support of Macy's Heart of Haiti to shine a light on the "trade, not aid" program, which provides sustainable income to Haitian artisans struggling to rebuild their lives and support their families after the 2010 earthquake.

My mom is a special lady.  She's the oldest of five children, and life wasn't always easy for her or them when she was growing up.  While they never had any money - my grandfather worked two or more jobs at all times, in addition to my grandmother's job - what they did have was a lot of fun and time spent together.

While we are lucky enough when I was a child to have more money than my mom did growing up, the lesson that time spent together is worth more than anything else was passed to my by her example, and she continues to do that yet today.  I am constantly stopped by my friends at the wee ones' schools who have seen her interacting with the wee ones or talked to her, and every one of those friends sings the same refrain.  "Your mom has got to be the sweetest woman alive.  She is always so positive and she is just too sweet for words."

It's a lot for me to live up to, but it's absolutely true.  While my mom can turn Momma Bear for the wee ones when she feels it's necessary, she would give the shirt of her back to help anyone, and she never has anything but time and energy for the wee ones.  Even now, the wee ones are reluctant to talk about taking a vacation without my parents because they so often come with us.

When we had Mister Man's half birthday last month, for the first time my mom wasn't able to join us for the celebration.  He was crushed, and it was only through my quick thinking that we were still able to have a celebration after I invited another family to join us.  He wasn't full satisfied by that, however, so we "re-celebrated" his birthday later that week when both my parents were able to join us.  As he sat on my mom's lap to blow out his candles, he look at me and smiled.  "Mom, now I'm officially eight and a half.  I can't have a birthday that counts without Grandma being here with me."

And that sums up my mom completely.  She is so ingrained as a part of our lives that there isn't a milestone we can enjoy without her.  She is what makes our family complete.  As a way of showing her how much we all love her, I was lucky enough to be able to give her a Hearts of Haiti Goddess necklace, a one of a kind necklace handmade by master artisans in Haiti from raw materials such as recycled oil drums, wrought iron, papier-mache, and stone.

So what is Hearts of Haiti?  It's a "Trade, Not Aid" initiative in concert with Macy's (where the items are sold) launched by by artist and social entrepreneur Willa Shalit, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, and Macy's.  Hearts of Haiti employs 750 artists in Haiti, who in turn provide financial benefits to an estimated 8,500 people in the country.  The Hearts of Haiti collection features more than 40 items from quilts to ceramics to jewelry to paintings to metalwork.  Each piece is individually crafted and unique for that reason.  They are all made almost entirely from recycled materials and can be purchased at Macys.com.

Thank you to Macy's Heart of Haiti for sponsoring my participation in this “Share Your Heart" promotion. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.  I received two Hearts of Haiti necklaces, but was not compensated for writing this post.

Clever Girls: COOL WHIP Moms

I probably shouldn't admit how much of a part food plays in my life.  When I make plans with my family, it always revolves around food.  When I need to commiserate with someone, we meet for breakfast.  When someone has a baby or they're going through a difficult time, I bring them food to comfort them.

Food is comfort, and sometimes it's something I want to make special.  We have a couple family traditions that always incorporate COOL WHIP Whipped Topping.  The first is the Marguerite salad, a recipe I posted about last week.  It's a marshmallow salad, probably similar to that which many of us grew up eating, that my grandmother "invented" and always brought to family gatherings.  Even now, no family gathering is complete without a Marguerite Salad.  There are even debates in my family as to whether it's allowed to put cherries on top of the salad or whether that is sacrilege.  We're serious about our food.

This past week, I had a friend who recently had a baby, and I was in charge of bringing her a side dish and dessert.  While this was a school night when I'm running around everywhere, I still wanted to make something special for her.  That said, it needed to be an everyday dessert I could put together with a minimum of fuss.  After wracking my brains, I came up with the ideal solution.  I decided to make a berry cherry crisp for her - something that takes bare minutes to cook so is great for weeknights when I want to create a treat.  And even better?  I topped it with a dollop of COOL WHIP, because it's the little things that make all the difference and give it that little extra something special.

This is that recipe that Little Miss made.  By herself.  It's that easy - and that's what I needed Monday afternoon (because it's possible I'd forgotten to look at my calendar and had neglected to prepare ahead of time).  And yet I got a call from my friend thanking me for the dessert because it was so awesome and unique.  She loved it, and she especially loved that I thought to add the COOL WHIP to make it just a little bit more rich and decadent.  And yes, dessert has been that simple at our house before, too.  Just a little fruit and some COOL WHIP.  Yum.

What are your favorite everyday desserts?

The rest of that container of COOL WHIP?  Yeah, I saved it for myself.  I just might have bought a container of strawberries and used the COOL WHIP as a perfect fruit dip - just for me.  I didn't share.  Shhh, don't tell the wee ones!  I did share some of the extra berry cherry crisp with them, however.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is a compensated post as part of a campaign with Clever Girls Collective. Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own. And as always, all opinions are also my own.

Winner!

Congrats goes to Amy from Tiramisu Mom who won the Mechatar robot giveaway. She has 24 hours to get back to me with her contact information before I have to draw a new winner.

Keep an eye out for more giveaways!

Giveaway: Mechatar Robot

The wee ones love the traditional “boy” toys. Anything that is dinosaur related or mechanical or on the computer or remote controlled or the like is right in their wheel house. A toy that combines all of those? Let’s just say that the Mechatar robot we recently received to review is already on its second set of batteries.

The Mechatar robots are “blended reality” toys. They are amongst the group where you can play with them both online and offline, giving them more chances to keep kids’ interests. Offline they are a remote controlled robot – ours is a T-Rex looking remote controlled guy named Wrexx – where you can do more than simply drive him around. You can also complete “missions” that you purchase online from your account using coins you earn via online activities or battle amongst other Mechatar robots, the latter of which we obviously didn’t try out yet, as we had just the one robot. This alone kept the wee ones entertained for hours as they’d drive all over the house pretending to shoot and battle various things from my foot to our cats to the table leg.

Online is a whole world. You create a free account where you can battle other Mechatar robots, complete challenges, and “train” your own robot. There are three training battles you can do each day to earn experience points and coins. The experience points move you up in levels while you can use your coins to purchase additional weapons, equipment, sounds, missions for offline, etc. You can also earn coins by completing the online challenges.

I like the fact that the battles match you up with robots who have similar experience as yours so that you aren’t constantly defeated by an expert who’s just beating up on everyone. We’ve won our fair share of battles, but we’ve also lost some. That said, the attacks in the battles use eight different elements, all of which are interconnected and some of which overpower the others. Trying to figure out what attack is best to use at what point and which attacks will be most effective against your opponents and versus their most recent attack is still a challenge for us, and I’ve been trying to help the wee ones figure that out. We’ll get there eventually, I’m guessing, but it’s somewhat frustrating for them.

The challenges are far less difficult for them. There are several different challenges you can complete (over and over, if you like) from pressing 1, 2, or 3 on your keyboard when bars light up together to clicking on the “go” box with your mouse when a line stops spinning or when a bar passes over a lit up section. Those games are easy enough for the wee ones, although they are progressively more challenging to the point that even I don’t have the reflexes necessary after awhile. The gradual increase in difficulty means that the wee ones feel like they have some success while still being challenged – and the use of the hand eye coordination is great practice for Mister Man.

Once you’ve played online, you can sync your robot to your online account to download any missions or additional weapons or sounds that you’ve purchased. Supposedly it’s an easy connection – simply plug the USB port into your computer and push the other end into your Mechatar after which a browser window will pop up taking you to the Mechatar site. It wasn’t so easy for us. I actually tried two separate days to connect our Wrexx to the computer before emailing the customer service who replied simply that I wasn’t connecting the port in the robot well enough – “It is a little tricky to get the USB cord properly plugged in to the Mechatar.” As this is a child’s toy that I had difficulty properly connecting as a fairly tech-savvy adult, that wasn’t what I was hoping to hear. We were able to properly connect the robot after this when I used more force than I had thought necessary to push the connector into the robot. I would prefer that the wee ones’ toys be easier for them to operate to avoid frustration.

There is lots and lots more to say about the robots, but we haven’t had nearly enough time to fully explore the worlds and the robot. The wee ones are truly enjoying playing with him, although I’m a little leery of the focus on battles and such. There is no gore online, however, which made me happy. For a $39.99 toy, this does have a wide interest level not just for Mister Man but also for Little Miss. While she isn’t a girlie girl, this is a toy with cross gender appeal even though it’s marketed towards boys. You can find them this fall nationwide at stores like Target, Radio Shack, Amazon, Toys R’Us and iloveRobots.com.

Interested in this CleverRobot? I have a coupon code to share with you: MECHMOM will get you a 10% discount on your purchase at the iloveRobots.com site through November 30, 2011. I also have one Mechatar robot to give away to a lucky reader. So what do you have to do to win? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count!

This contest is open until Monday September 26 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Visit the Mechatar website and tell me which of the Mechatar robots you'd most like to win.

NOTE: In order for you to see the Mechatar line up, visitors to the site need to click on “play now” then “register” but no information needs to be submitted.

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Have you seen the new Mechatar blended reality robots? Win one from @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/oicGkL" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.

And no, you won't earn any extra entries for it, but you will get good karma for following me on Facebook, too!

Good luck!

I was selected to participate in this sponsored post series by Clever Girls Collective. In the interest of full disclosure, I received a Wrexx Mechatar for review purposes by the Clever Girls Collective. I was also compensated for this campaign. That said as always, all opinions expressed remain my own.

Get Your Rock Star On at BlogHer!

I officially head to San Diego for BlogHer tomorrow morning. In fact, my plane will be taking off in ten or so hours. Am I ready? Absolutely not. In fact, instead of packing - like I probably should do soon! - I am just now finalizing my schedule for BlogHer and catching up on things at home before I head out.

Am I panicked? Nope, not in the least. This is my third year attending BlogHer, and it is funny how so many of the things I used to worry about: am I bringing enough clothes, what will I wear, will I find someone to talk to, how does this whole Expo thing work, what is an Expo, OMG what if I don't get into the "good" parties - all that has completely melted away. I know I'm going to have fun. I've simply decided that I will, and I have had fun every single year that I've attended. It's as simple as that.

No one cares what I'm wearing. And if they do, well... I have better things to do with my time than worry about that. I'm dressing in what's comfortable for me, which means resort casual (oh how I love that term). It's polished enough to have conversations with brands, and I'm comfortable enough to walk miles and miles and miles every day I'm in San Diego.

There are 3,000 women. Twitter has been a great way to find people I want to meet up with, and I've yet to run into a situation where I strike up a conversation and am completely rebuffed. People just aren't that icky. I've made awesome friendships every year, and there are so many women that I am so excited to catch up with again this year.

And the parties. Ohhhh the parties. I have to admit that I'm a little saddened by people. I've seen so much whining by so many people over who is invited to what parties and oh pleeeeaasse let me in because no one wants to be left out. Trust me. You won't be. There are so many parties that it's impossible to attend them all, and I know I have much more fun if I find something I enjoy and hang out there rather than racing from place to place to try to fit it all in. They're parties. You may not be invited to them all. I know I'm certainly not, but I have a calendar that's plenty full, and I'm planning to take advantage of it - and the down time. Some of the most fun is hanging out at the hotel with new and old friends just by ourselves where we've found a little corner or outside a party in a hallway. Plus, there are 3,000 women at BlogHer this year. Everyone's gotta share, right? It's alll good.

So ummm please. Please? Pretty pretty please? If you're not on the invite list to the Clever Rock Stars party on Thursday night, don't beg and plead with the people working the door to get in (ummm yes, I'm one of them, and I can't let you in, sorry!). People working the doors of the parties are doing their very best to get everyone in who's supposed to be in the parties as quickly as possible. Don't make it harder for them by putting them in an awkward position - but hey, you wouldn't do that anyway, would you?

My only issue right now is packing. I've already decided that I'm not checking any bags on the way to BlogHer. Yes, I'm that good a packer. Being a management consultant and on the road for three straight years does that to a person. I refuse to take swag just for the sake of taking it. If it isn't something I really want, it isn't coming home with me. My challenge now is deciding whether to just ship things home (less than the cost of baggage each way, I've figured out based on a 45 pound box being shipped to my house - and who needs more than that or even that?) or packing a duffel bag meaning I'll need to check a bag on the way home. But somehow it'll work out, and I'm just not that stressed about it. Which is why I have nine and a half hours before my plane leaves and I've yet to start packing.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go practice my Smurfy dance moves. I've heard there's a dance off at the Clever Rock Stars party, and I have to defend my title after the shocking Type A Conference win by Team Maxi Dress. Packing, schmacking.

Come find me at BlogHer. Tweet me @honestandtruly to find out where I'm at this week!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am receiving compensation from Clever Girls Collective in the form of a partial sponsorship to BlogHer. I was requested to write a post before and after BlogHer, but the topics were up to me. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Trop50: Five Fabulous Bloggers

Thanks to Trop50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 Fabulous Wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous!

I have to admit that I'm excited about writing this post. Trying to figure out what makes a fabulous blogger in my mind and who then fits that criteria is fun - in my mind, anyway. I knew one or two who I'd have to put up there in my definition of fabulous, regardless, but I also know my list is probably different from a lot of others. I don't tend to read a lot of the "big" blogs out there, and I'm fine with that.

For me, a fabulous blogger is a writer who connects with me in some way, someone who I sneak in to read even when I don't really have time. Some of them make me laugh, and one in particular tends to make me cry. They all make me feel, though, and to me, that's key. Ok, except for one that is pure snark. Somehow, that's also my cup of tea.

First up has to be Melisa Wells from Suburban Scrawl. I love that she lives relatively near me so I can hang out with her on occasion. It's far more than that, however. She is just all around awesome. Did you know she just wrote a book? It's just released, and I can't wait to see how it does. There are all sorts of travel books out there, but this focuses on things to do with tweens and teens in Chicago. Brilliant. Not that I'm at all biased. Her blog is awesome, too, from the still cracking me up twitter conversation post to a poignant discussion of the meaning of Purim. She has two great boys, and even though they're teenagers, she still gets to write about them sometimes. Needless to say, I absolutely love her, and she's Fabulous with a capital F in my book!

(Momo, Melisa, and me at BlogHer '10)

I also love sneaking over to read Stacey at Is There Any Mommy Out There? She has four children and has shared openly about her adoption struggles many times - making my cry each and every time, too. She makes me giggle as I empathize with her frustrations about her house and her kids. She is a beautiful writer and draws pictures and emotions constantly. It's a true gift where she can take any topic and immediately draw you in. She's someone I wish lived close by so I could go hang out with her.

We move a bit into snark with Jaci from Ravings of a Mad Housewife. I've been reading her blog since long before she deleted it in a fit of pique and had to recreate it. She always tells it like it is no matter how painful the subject. She's recently launched a cake making business, and how awesomely talented is she? She's struggled - like me - in deciding whether to work or stay at home (and voila - cake making business for her!), something that became even more relevant as she had her second baby, and ohhhh were those stories hilarious. Jaci is one of those bloggers who I know won't sugar coat anything and isn't going to make herself look better than she is. But she doesn't need to because she's just fabulous the way she is!

Karen from The Rocking Pony is another of the fabulous blogger club. Karen constantly has her hands full. Not only does she have four children - including Micah who has Downs Syndrome - but she owns a business making fabulous shirts and is also a dog breeder. She puts up awesome photos that I love to just stare at and is also philosophical and makes me think. I love how Karen keeps it real and keeps me coming back for more. Definitely part of the fabulous club.

The last blogger is a bit of a mystery. In fact she (I think it's a she?) isn't known by anyone. This is my guilty secret blog. It's actually the first blog I ever read wayyyyy back when before I knew what blogs were. Ahem. Even after I figured out what blogs were (thank you, Dawn), I didn't put two and two together to realize that this, too, was a blog. It is very different from other blogs. Can you tell I'm procrastinating here? Ahem. I adore Prevuze. It's utter snark and so perfect. It lampoons each day's episode of Days of Our Lives - a day in advance. And oh my word she stopped posting and closed up shop. I'm crushed (and obviously behind on my blog reading?). The six years of history is definitely worth reading through, however. That said, I don't suppose it really counts as a fabulous blogger anymore.

On the plus side, I get to sneak in another of my fabulous bloggers. Laura from Hey, What's For Dinner Mom? is my idol when it comes to food. She lives in Alaska, doesn't use a microwave and doesn't do processed foods. Let's just say we think a lot alike when it comes to food. She's also my inspiration for the Twix Bars that are now a staple whenever I go anywhere (though I tweaked her recipe). She has a great linkup for Meatless Mondays, which I find a great inspiration. She's also very into thrifting, and I love to see what she's found. It's not a hobby for me, as I'm working on getting things out of my house, but I can live vicariously through her at least!





That is so much fun! I love writing posts like this, as there are so many other bloggers I adore and think are fabulous. It's really hard to narrow it down to five. These definitely hit my top five - go check them out and tell them I say hi! Who are your Fab Five? Tell me so I can go visit.

Don't forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.

Managing Family Finances

Thank you to TurboTax for sponsoring my writing about household finances. Learn more about how TurboTax can help you find every tax deduction you deserve. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

I am the financial manager in the household. I pay all the bills, and I track our spending, transfer money between accounts as needed, and determine when we can afford major purchases we're anticipating. Ironically, my husband is the one who does our taxes, but that just keeps it real, right?

Because of this, I'm aware of every penny spent and where it goes. I have a spreadsheet - and no one who knows me should be surprised by this - where I break down all of our spending into category by month versus what we'd anticipated spending. To do this, I go through each credit card statement as they come in to ensure there isn't anything on there that shouldn't be, amongst other reasons.

That works great three quarters of the year. That last quarter? That's where I realized the problem came in.

When my husband and I were newlyweds, he planned an awesome trip for us for our first anniversary. We went to Spruce Meadows in Calgary for their summer show and spent four days there - including two in a really cool VIP tent super close to the course. It was awesome.

It wasn't, however, a surprise. Remember those credit card bills I and I alone peruse? Unfortunately, that meant that I saw the airline tickets to Calgary. I saw the hotel deposit. I saw the tickets to Spruce Meadows. And I knew exactly what he was getting me for our anniversary. Weeks in advance.

How much cooler would it have been to be surprised as we headed to the airport? How much more exciting would it have been if I hadn't been on the web exploring Spruce Meadows ahead of time? And how much more authentic would my happy face have been when he handed me the card with the details on our anniversary?

It isn't the knowing that makes me sad. It isn't not having the surprise. It's the fact that my advance knowledge meant that this completely cool surprise that my husband created for me was still cool but was no longer a surprise because I'm the one who handles the finances.

I needed to find a new solution because of him - because I didn't want to do that to him. And so of course I did. I simply don't look at the details of those credit card bills in the month leading up to my birthday, Christmas, and anniversary. I still pay them - and know the totals throughout the month by managing them online - but I keep the specifics a mystery. Or at least as much of a mystery as my husband creates! There's plenty of time to enter the line items into my spreadsheet after those glorious occasions have passed.

Because our anniversaries and birthdays aren't about the presents we receive. It's about the love our family and friends show us, the caring and the joy. And I'm going to do my part to ensure that none of that part gets spoiled.

Accountants are allowed to have fun after all, right?

In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided compensation by Clever Girls Collective for writing this post. All opinions expressed are my own, as always.

Review: Just Dance Kids

I was a reluctant addition to the legions of households with video game systems. I remember the days when my friends and I would sit on the couch like zombies not moving for hours as we tried to beat one game or another. The new gaming systems luckily are more interactive where you get up and move.

Fortunately, the wee ones are huge fans of this. We recently tried out a new game that is very different from any of the ones we'd played previously. Just Dance Kids is a Wii game that really keeps them moving. Granted, most Wii games are somewhat active because of the way the controller works, the dancing game really gets their whole bodies going.

Even better? I can check out how much they're really moving and burning. So far, I've been lucky in that neither of the wee ones has a weight problem, but I know their activity levels will decrease as they get older. Having games like this where they're exercising while having fun where it doesn't feel like work is ideal.

I was a little worried about the dancing to start, for a few reasons - forget the part about how their dancing is ummm not exactly ready for stage or screen. Kids are growing up way too fast these days, and I was a little fearful that the songs on the game were going to be a little mature for them. While they love songs like Dynomite and Party in the USA, those are somewhat benign. Fortunately, Just Dance Kids has extremely age appropriate songs available like the Hamster Dance (one of our personal favorites) and The Chicken Dance. That said, the songs aren't all just for the younger set. MmmmBop and other songs more appealing to older kids are also readily available as part of the game.

The menus of the game aren't as frustrating as some games we've seen, which means Mister Man doesn't come stomping into the kitchen when I'm trying to chop veggies for dinner, begging me to help him get the game to work. I love fostering their independence, and this is perfect for him. And listening to him sing along (the words are on the bottom of the screen during the song) - especially to songs he's never heard before - cracks me up. I definitely need to get video of him soon!

I'm a big fan of games that aren't just the one or two player versions. When we have playdates, the disagreements over whose turn it is or the loss of interest in a game that only some people can play is frustrating. Since up to four kids can play at once, this works out perfectly. I love watching all the kids trying to figure it out - and the lack of coordination some of them display doesn't keep them from enjoying the game. Because so many of the moves repeat across songs, the wee ones are starting to really figure it out and master some of the moves so they can win. And the joy on their faces when they do? Priceless.

Mommy, check it out! Look what I did! This is my most favoritest game EVER, Little Miss bounced up to me shouting just yesterday afternoon. That is the kind of reaction I love to see. The hardest part is figuring out a good time to turn it off because they just haven't been getting tired of playing it.

Mister Man's take? Mommy, those are actual kids dancing! They're dancing on tv, and I'm doing just what they are. If they can do it, I can, too. I love how having actual children leading the dances is boosting his confidence and willingness to try the game - even when he's having difficulty with a particular part. He keeps going because he's seeing that they can do it, too.

And shhhh, don't let the wee ones know, but it's possible I've played this one on my own when they've been at school. That's a pretty good endorsement of a game, I think!

You can find Just Dance Kids at retailers everywhere for a suggested price of $29.99.

In the interest of full disclosure, while Ubisoft provided me with this game to review, the opinions I've expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Ubisoft, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

Opportunity: Shutterfly Holiday Cards

Well, tonight is Halloween which means that we all officially need to start thinking about the next holiday. Wellll maybe not getting too into it (I have a firm policy of fully celebrating my birthday before really getting into Christmas), but at least starting to plan for it.

I'm one of the people who sends out cards every year. As my Christmas card list has grown over the years, my cards have changed, as well. I used to hand write long notes on every card that were customized to the person. Those notes over the years slowly shrunk. With the birth of the wee ones, I added a typewritten letter to people I didn't see often and an even shorter handwritten note. I also began including a family photo in the cards, which started to get pretty expensive.

I finally moved to photo cards with my letter, which made it far easier. Anyone who needs a little more update on what we're doing gets the letter - and it's easy enough to add some handwritten notes on that instead of on the actual card. The challenge for me is making sure that I get my cards ordered in time to send them out. I can't just go to the store and grab a pack of them at 8pm the night before I want to send them out anymore!

Enter Shutterfly.

Shutterfly has all sorts of great holiday cards. While I've used the phrase "Christmas cards" a few times, I do have several friends who are Jewish or otherwise don't celebrate Christmas, which means that offering more widely appealing holiday photo cards is a great bonus.

I love that with Shutterfly you simply upload your photos, design your card, and you're done. They offer the option of also stamping and mailing cards for you in addition to sending the completed cards to you for you to mail yourself (and add that special letter!). With a variety of shipping options, including next day, I no longer have an excuse for not getting my photo cards done.

As I perused the site, I saw plenty of cards that I would love to send out. The Joy Magic Story Christmas Card 5x7 folded card is a beautiful classic design that allows me to still write a quick personal note on the inside - and I love receiving hand signed cards still. Call me old fashioned.

The Bright Red Snowflakes 5x7 folded card is another design I love that again is folded and allows me to make my card a little more personal with notes while still being a lovely card that shows off the wee ones with three different photos of my choosing. I can also choose between a matte and glossy finish, depending on my preference (matte, I think!).

I am a big fan of cards that allow me to showcase multiple photos, and many of Shutterfly's Christmas photo cards do just that. While the folded holiday cards cost over a dollar a card (and worth it, in my opinion), there are also great options that are flat cards that are less than $0.50 per card. The Classic Snowflakes Christmas 4x8 photo card would cost me $0.47 per card for my needs with the 25% discount they have going until November 3 - see, shopping early pays! Even though this one has "Christmas" in the name of the card, the greeting on the card is not preprinted and can be completely customized - don't let yourself be thrown by the descriptors of the cards.

And I will be choosing one of these cards for my holiday needs this year. I will receive 100 cards from Shutterfly for posting this. And bloggers - you can get some free Shutterfly cards, too. How? If you do your own blog post about Shutterfly's holiday cards, you can earn 50 free cards from Shutterfly, too. How awesome is that?

In the interest of full disclosure, this post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I will receive 100 free cards from Shutterfly. I received no compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Ultimate Family Vacation

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Cheerios® is giving you the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your ultimate family vacation. As part of a paid promotion for their “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, Cheerios® is sponsoring my post today about what my ultimate family vacation would be. Read mine and Enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to actually win your own fantasy family trip or one of a bunch of other great prizes.

So where would I go?

I have to say that the wee ones and I (and my husband, of course) would have to head somewhere new. While I'd love to say that I'd take the wee ones to Italy or Ireland or Egypt or Australia, I don't see that as being an ultimate family vacation for us for awhile. They're simply too young. I dream of going to these places, I want to go there and relax and truly explore them. I don't see that happening with a five and seven year old.

Instead, our ultimate family vacation would be somewhere closer to home that doesn't give them quite so much jet lag. We do well with warm weather vacations, as the wee ones love to be outside and in or near the water. They are, however, beginning to get to the point where they can do some of the cooler things out there, so I'd love to take them to Puerto Rico or Costa Rica.

I've heard such neat things about some of the rain forests there and the gorgeous wildlife that you can explore, in addition to the beach and pool play. The wee ones are also old enough now to start to "get" snorkeling somewhat, so they would so enjoy being able to see some of the tropical fish that are oh so gorgeous - maybe we could even watch Finding Nemo one night at the hotel.

I also want to incorporate some horseback riding into my ultimate vacation. Maybe I'm the only one who'd go (although I doubt it), but I love riding - well-taken care of horses, mind you! - and exploring other lands from rides on the beach to those through the countryside and more.

Because I'm finding more and more things to add to my ultimate vacation, it would have to last at least two weeks, if not three. I really hate going on vacation and feeling rushed or not feeling like I got everything done. Somewhere, I've read something about needing at least two weeks of vacation to truly unwind and relax and get the most out of a vacation.

And boy are there some other things I'd love to do to unwind. Have you ever seen the vacation spots that have all sorts of cool activities like trapeze lessons and parasailing and other cool things that you would never do at home? I would absolutely love to experience those, too. Trying out new things always makes an experience better for me. Oooo, so let's toss in some cooking lessons using native ingredients. I promise I'd share some of the new recipes I learned with you!

Our family has learned that having a condo type atmosphere is critical to a good vacation for us. We don't do well eating out meal after meal - and if I'm off somewhere for two or three weeks, I can't eat out that much! - and having a kitchen is a nice way to keep vacations relaxing, not to mention controlling cost. The wee ones sleep a lot, relatively. They need their own bedrooms that are away from the light and noise of the adults to ensure that they get their sleep and on one is crabby. Plus, most of those arrangements have a washer and dryer in them. I'd much rather do a little laundry than pack four suitcases per person, wouldn't you?

Wow, does this sound good - especially right now as fall is truly setting into Chicago. A vacation like this would be such a great bonding experience for us and would have so many learning activities, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. I can still dream though. What would you dream of for your ultimate family vacation?

Don't forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was compensated to write this post. All opinions expressed are my own.