Making a list, checking it twice.

Wait, are you still trying to finish up your holiday shopping? LOL. Some people love last min. shopping, like Nathan. Others are like me finishing on or shortly after Black Friday.

Considered giving a gift card this year?

I know, I know… Gift cards are perceived as a lazy gift by some. Sometimes they truly can be but who cares? A gift is a gift, “it is the thought that counts” as my mom would put it.

I know for me, with some gift recipients, I’ll get great joy out of picking out and shopping for a special item just for them. For other recipients it is much less fun to shop. It all depends on the person and the gift, I know.

“According to a study by the National Retail Federation, they’re the gift of choice over clothing, consumer electronics and jewelry. In addition, they never have to be returned and are convenient to buy at the grocery store.”

If you are short on time or at a loss as to what to give, a gift card is a wonderful idea you should consider. It is one I am always pleased to receive. The reasons to choose a gift card are endless.

Besides, if you aren’t physically going to present the gift to the recipient and shipping is required to get them their gift, it sure can be cheaper to just send a gift card too. Some are even virtually delivered via email, even better right?

Plus, gift cards are great because they leave the recipient in full control over spending power. In our case this means I can use my gift cards with my store coupons and really get the best bang for a buck!

We were gifted a small gift card for a children’s clothing store when Adalyn arrived. I was stoked because I knew I could sale hunt and also combine the gift card with store coupons. Waho! I ended up getting Addie an expensive holiday dress on clearance, a an expensive, matching holiday skirt for Everly on clearance (holiday photo outfits) and another nice winter dress for Addie… All with the $25 gift card.

Don’t like the idea of limiting the gift recipient to just one retailer? You can buy preloaded debit cards in various denomination so they can shop anywhere. What about getting someone a gasoline gift card? Everyone could use a little break at the pump right?

My point is gift cards are super versatile, super convenient and are great to receive. If you still have shopping to do, now that the shipping cutoffs are near, consider giving gift cards. Then you can kick back with some nog, and enjoy some quality time with loved ones instead of dealing with last minute holiday shopping madness.

If you could choose a gift card from any store, where would it be and why?

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Gift Cards Rock blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

I really had no idea investing in a company could be done in much of the same way we invested in our home.

Some of you may remember how we did a lease/ purchase arrangement to buy our home. It was nice because it gave us time to save up for a bigger down payment while also saving money on rent costs and enjoying a nicer home. It also offered a nice “try before you buy” grace period for us.

Buying our home the way we did added security, peace of mind and also extra time that we needed. Apparently with stocks you can also do the same thing and this is great news!

I’ve always been reluctant to invest in stocks. I am well aware of the importance of investing/ saving for retirement and from an early age understood why an IRA was something I needed to have.

We actually have investment accounts that aren’t currently invested in anything [hold the wet noodles] because we have lacked the confidence and opportunity to grow the money. We’ve been wanting to get that money invested somewhere for years but the risk of losing it just keeps us sitting on it.

Turns out you can buy stock contracts much in the way we entered in to our lease to purchase agreement on our home. With stock options your potential investment return is much greater and you also wont lose more than your initial investment (unlike buying actual stocks). I really had no idea and now I am sold on investing ASAP.

Now that I’ve learned how to invest without so much risk I am excited to find the perfect investment opportunity. I learned all this thanks to the book Laughing at Wall Street and would highly recommend the book to all of you because it declares us as the insider information gate keepers because we are witnessing and experiencing the worlds trends first hand.

The idea is that we have access to insider info we can use to drive our investment that Wall Street will take weeks or months to catch up to. If well timed, researched and executed we to can easily achieve investment success like the author, Chris Camillo, has.

Laughing at Wall Street easily explains complex investing information thus empowering us regular folks. And apparently us regular folks are the ones holding all the information that makes for successful investing.

I received an advanced copy of this book and loved it some much I decided to write about it. I wasn’t paid for this review.

It is true, we’ve been slackers on many fronts. Holiday cards was about to be one of them.
If you normally get a holiday card from us and want to preserve the surprise don’t view the photo in this post

We certainly didn’t dress up, load everyone up in the car and seek out a perfect holiday photo location like in past years. Of course we want to share our girls photos with everyone, especially since all our family and our very close friends are all back in Arizona. Not having loved ones near while your kiddos grow up sure does put added importance on holiday cards and sharing photos.

But seriously, with a newborn and a toddler in the house EVERYTHING is an ordeal. Holiday cards don’t have to be though. Especially if you already make an effort to take photos of the littles each day.

For our Christmas cards this year we just grabbed a compilation of notable photo memories and threw them together. Since almost nobody on our holiday card list has been around us this year the photo memories will be something they haven’t already seen. Plus, it is sort of a “highlights of the year” sort of greeting cards that our family and friends should enjoy. Here is a preview of what I made here:

Big Peace Love Holiday Card

Turn your family photos into holiday cards this season.

View the entire collection of cards.

Of course, after going through all the trouble of getting the girls Christmas outfits we will be taking a posed holiday photo eventually. It just wont be on our holiday card. Maybe we will just send that photo to everyone as a gift or something.

In past years I’ve always tried to get the holiday cards in the mail around Thanksgiving time. This is because we have people we send to that celebrate various holidays besides just Christmas and we want to get them their greeting before their holiday has come and gone.

Also, I hate getting holiday cards from people in January because I like to display and enjoy them leading up to Chirstmas. The one year I was a huge slacker with sending cards I had a stack of January greeting cards that didn’t get to be displayed for long before we tore down all the Christmas decor and madness.

Have you completed your holiday cards yet? What are (or will they) be like this year?

Any time a package arrives it is exciting around here. Normally because our two year old, Everly, is obsessed with opening mail and packages. Now with the holidays on the way some stuff is coming in the mail that is making us excited;  gifts for the little ones.

This one is no exception because I was grinning ear to ear when I opened it and it isn’t even for me.

The Good Night, Little Engine Record a Story book is super cool. Pure magic to those little kid hands, ears and eyes too!

As it comes there is a narrator reading the story, complete with music and train sounds to make the story come to life. Here is a quick video I shot to show you how it looks and sounds:

How it works

To record yourself or someone else narrating the book you first unlock the recording feature by accessing the inside of the battery compartment. The sounds and recording of each page in the book is triggered by light through tiny holes on each page so the book should be laying on a flat surface (so pages open fully) and in bright light so that each page is properly triggered when recording or playing back the story.

Each page is recorded individually. There is are audio instructions and a tone that sounds for you to begin your recording then you simply press the stop button when you are finished. Pretty easy and straightforward to do.

Once each page is recorded the recording feature is then locked again to prevent you child from erasing the recording.

A great holiday gift idea

The Record a Story books are an adorable keepsake gift idea for any kid. Weather it is grandparents, parents, siblings, whomever; this book brings your loved one to story time each time it is flipped open.

Record a Story books are available in a variety of titles including: Good Night Sesame Street, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, I Love You So Much, The Day You Were Born, The Ugly Ducking, The First Christmas, Little Red Riding Hood, Frosty the Snowman, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and Guess How Much I Miss You that I’ve seen online.

I can just imagine Everly’s amazement and excitement when she opens this book up on Christmas Day. She is pretty much obsessed with Thomas and Friends right now. What could be better?

If you are looking for an entertaining keepsake item for your kiddos this holiday season the Record a Story books are the perfect thing to consider!

Being a homesteading family means there is no shortage of outdoor time in our day to day life, I couldn’t live without it either. Actually, in the winter months we go insane not being able to get outdoors for fresh air.

Ever since our daughter came in to this world two years ago she’s been outside in the dirt and fresh air of our backyard homestead. Before she could walk or crawl she was munching strawberries sitting in the garden pathways.

After her first birthday and her first steps she’s been a master at picking green tomatoes in the garden, of course we’d prefer her to pick the ripe red ones and leave the green ones to ripen but you learn to choose your battles.

She feeds the garden pests (like cabbage worms and grasshoppers) to our three hens. She loves to give the kitchen produce scraps to our bunnies and planting seeds is something she’ll gladly help out with.

We’ve never had a second thought about raising our babies outdoors but I have several mommy friends that cringe at the idea of exposing their babies to germs or potential allergens.

Personally, I don’t know how families with small children can get through the days without time outside for horsing around, changing scenery and just cutting loose.

The http://clorox2play2day.com challenge & campaign got me thinking about kids, outdoor dirt and why some many fear the dirt.

Obviously one major concern for parents when it comes to kiddos and the outdoor dirties is ruining clothes.

One obvious solution is to have a bunch of “play clothes” that you don’t mind getting dirty. We’ve used hand-me-downs for this. Also some good pre wash measures coupled with some good old fashion sunning clothes dry on the clothes line has kept things stain free for us.

I’ve had mommy friends tell me that they worry about their kids being exposed to the germs of the outdoors and that is why outdoor time isn’t as abundant as it should be. In my own experience with my girls, exposure to those very outdoor germs is what builds and strengthens their immune systems and keeps them healthy.

Allowing my kiddos to be kids in the outdoors has allowed them to explore and learn so much about their world all while sparing my house of the mess. This reason alone should get parents excited about encouraging their kids outdoor play.

To up the ante the Clorox2 Play2Day challenge is encouraging parents and kids to “take the pledge to play outside” for the chance to win an amazing outdoorsy family vacation!

“Let the fun begin by pledging to get your kids playing outside every day (even if just for an hour)! We’ve got lots of ideas to help you get started. Once you’ve signed up, you can choose from a wide range of activities that suit your family. Let’s see how many hours of outdoor play we can reach together.”

Taking the challenge is easy and they have all sorts of ideas for outdoor activities if you are at a loss about entertainment and activities. To take the pledge and possibly win a vacation visit http://clorox2play2day.com.

For us outside time has made several “too-messy-for-the-house” explorations and experimentation’s possible for the little one and we know it’s impacted her development and knowledge base positivly. She’s also learning quite a bit about gardening and homesteading in the process.

While the temperatures are still warm enough give outdoor play a try and see how it can change your child’s day.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

While pregnant with Everly I didn’t really have the luxury of time and energy to decorate the nursery like most pregnant women do. Being so fatigued and being that we were still unpacking from doing a new home purchase at 7 months pregnant the nursery was just thrown together.

In all reality, newborns really shouldn’t be sleeping alone in a room of their own right after birth (at least not ours anyway) so it seemed silly to get so worked up about the nursery while pregnant with Everly.

Exciting news: 

I was stoked to find Dali Wall Decals because who wants to stress and toxicity of painting a room while pregnant? I wanted to add splashes of color to the nursery without creating more work if we ever choose to sell the house and without a ton of hassle. Wall decals are a great alternative to room painting.

I had so much fun picking out some flower decals for the girl’s room. I got some sunflowers to place around the room (our color selection was Matte: Ice Blue) and they look so great.

They were super easy to apply to the walls, even with a 2 year old pulling on you and trying to get in the way the entire time!

They come on one big sheet and you just cut out the individual decals to apply them. Your wall needs to be recently cleaned and dry before applying (we used plain ol rubbing alcohol to do the trick). Then you just position the decal sheet, mark the decal’s position on the wall with painters tape then peel the decal backing away so you can apply.

The peeling is to tricky part but isn’t all that difficult. You just have to take great care to not tear the decal which we were able to do despite the cracked out toddler.

Did I mention it was just me and the toddler while I applied these? That should speak to the level of ease I think. Oh and they ARE removable but not reusable. So if you need to undecorate for any reason taking these bad boys off isn’t an issue.

We got the 7 decals and thought we might need more, to my surprise they were much bigger than they appear in the Dali Decal site photos and seven was more than enough to scatter around between our existing furniture and stuff.

They will also work with you for custom decal needs if you find a certain size or quantity doesn’t fit your needs.

The next thing we just ordered is two nice name decals for above each of the girl’s beds. I am eying this particular name decal right now because it is modern and seems to fit the nursery vibe well.

Oh, I almost forgot! Blog readers can enjoy a 5% off their total order (with no minimum purchase necessary) by using the code: harvest5off

Enough of my bragging about the decals I love. Now it is time for free stuff for you!

Dali Decals has generously offered to give decals away to one of my lucky readers:

One person will win a $25 gift certificate* to Dali Wall Decals for their own decorating pleasure!

*Dali Wall Decals will email the gift certificate directly to our winner through their website. Please note: all readers and/or contest entries are only eligible to win once per 12 months.
To enter the giveaway simply:

1. Visit Dali Wall Decals and pick out what you would order if you won.
2. Come back here and tell us what you would choose in the comments below (mandatory 1st entry & please leave a valid email address!).

For extra optional entries (leave 1 comment per extra entry):

1. Follow Harvest of Daily Life on Facebook (find the “like” widget to the right also)
2. Follow me on Twitter (@TalinaN)
3. Follow Dali Wall Decals on Twitter (@dalidecals)
4. Follow Dali Wall Decals on Facebook
5. Tweet the following message: “I entered to win $25 in free @dalidecals at http://www.harvestofdailylife.com & you can too! Enter here: http://bit.ly/vlhWa9 #giveaway #win”  (you can tweet once per day, per twitter handle for multiple entries). In the comments section share the permalink to your tweet in the comments section.
   
6. Share this post on your facebook, Google+ or other social network stream publicly. Leave the link to your post in the comments section (you can share once per day, per social network handle for multiple entries).
7. Leave a relevant (non spammy/ half-hearted) comment on any of my other posts for unlimited entries (one entry per post commented on). Come back here to say which post you commented on, remember to leave separate comments for separate entries so they all count.

Rules and Details: Contest closes 11/11/11, winner will be drawn using random.org. Please leave a valid email address in each comment and I’ll be able too email you if you win. Be sure to do the mandatory entry before the optional ones or you will be disqualified. Leave a separate comment per entry. I’ll also mark this post as closed and announce the winner here so consider subscribing to the blog so you don’t miss the announcement! Dali Decals specifies that contest entrants are only eligible to win once per 12 months, so if you’ve won from them this year don’t enter again please.

We are quite the well a versed on the go family these days, as many of you already know. With prenatal visits two states away we’ve done our share of travel with our toddler over the last few years. Plus, we are about to be on the go when we head out in a month to await Baby Sister’s arrival at The Farm.

I am just learning, by trial and error right now and the learning curve is sure steep when it comes to efficiency as busy parents. I have lots of experience to speak of, fresh in my mind right now. Here are the top 10 tips that I’d share with any busy parents looking to be more efficient while maintaining the busy lifestyle:

1. Plan ahead: Looking at the calendar and having a “game plan” or general idea of the day’s priorities makes life easier for us because it insures nothing surprises us the day of. Those surprise realizations and panic moments just make us flustered, rushed and then our toddler picks up on it and responds in attitude by also becoming chaotic. This is especially crucial when, say, your family is heading out for a day of errands or a road trip of some kind. Getting out the door all in one piece and NOT forgetting something major is the biggest hurdle right?
2. Do what you can in advance: Now that our toddler is waking on her own in the mornings and coming in to our room to wake us up, a major life saver has been simply making her sippy cup of water and a bowl of snacks the night before. That way it is already in our room and ready for her to enjoy. This gives me the time to lay in bed and wake up a bit before I am off to the races fulfilling her every need.
3. Make meals in advance: When your family is on the go there is often no time for preparing wholesome meals and snacks. If you are like us, eating convenience foods or fast foods isn’t something we are willing to sacrifice for the sake of time and scheduling. Instead, families can prepare weekly menus and cook/ prepare the meals in advance. That way when you arrive home late from a hectic day of errands all you need to do is heat up that casserole in the oven, sit down to eat and relax as a family. It makes a world of difference, trust me.
   
4. Anticipate bumps in the road: Things that come up frequently are definitely ones you can anticipate and sort of plan ahead for. In doing so I have saved many headaches and flustered-running-around moments. For instance, we cloth diaper. So on road trips E is prone to compression leaks with her diapers. Anticipating this, planning for frequent diaper change stops and also packing along a few extra outfits has saved us much stress. Another way I anticipate needs as a mother is with the diaper bag packing and stocking. Do you have a first aid kit in your diaper bag? What about a travel size sun screen and bug spray? We do! Here in Indiana the sun a bugs are always out for battle.
5. Use electronic lists and calendars: Having your plans, calendars, lists and planning easily accessible from the road can make a world of difference. I use a program called http://www.cozi.com/ to keep calendars, schedules, lists and milestone stuff all online where I can easily access it from a mobile device if I need to. Like if we are unexpectedly at the grocery store and I can’t remember all the things that have been accumulating on my growing grocery list or something. Also, when the kids climb in the car after school spewing their upcoming field trips and other school events you’ll be able to immediately plug those in to your electronic calendar and save yourself the trouble later.
   
6. Prioritize your events: Some things are non-negotiable and some things are. Having the priorities clearly defined and listed will make for a nice visual representation when the time comes to pick and choose between priorities in the middle of your hectic day. This will also make reshuffling those back-burnered priorities back in to the mix easier.
   
7. Aim for goals but be okay with falling short: We only have one day a week to get all the family errands taken care of, my husband works 6 days a week so the rest of the time I am on my own with the munchkin. When I set out to get the to do list tackled I get the most important stuff done first knowing that the stuff near the end of that task list will likely be left unfinished. Doing this leaves us more relaxed and having the “everything doesn’t have to be done” mindset makes the one day of errands somewhat enjoyable. It is also my sly way of saving time & energy because those things at the bottom of the list will inevitably NOT get done and chances are they weren’t worth the stress anyway so now they just get skipped or saved for a different day. Some families do this by setting clocks ahead 10-15 min to remedy always getting out the door late and starting the day behind. There are a number of ways this can apply to life.
8. Make chore charts: Delegate tasks and schedule them. Again visual representations of what needs to be done and what is already taken care of saves you time and can be a major stress buster. Plus, having things in visual format will also really allow for spreading the tasks and chores evenly.
9. Get the family involved: My two year old helps to get us out the door on errand days. She can do things like round up her sippy cup, turn off the TV, find her shoes and so on… Heaping all the responsibility on yourself makes you less efficient, more flustered (and likely to forget things) and it sets a bad precedent for when the kiddos get older. Before bed have everyone help to clean the house up before bed. Families all SHARE, even when it comes to chores and duties. The more you incorporate this idea now the better!
10. Leave free time for fun/ Don’t over book: There is a fine line between booking every moment of every day and just lounging around lazily. When setting out for a trip or when planning a specifically hectic day around town leave some extra time for spontaneous fun or detours in the game plan. If we are out running errands it is always nice to have some wiggle room for a unexpected sit-down meal or a ice cream break. If we are on the road we never want to pass up those one of a kind road side attractions along the way, planning that extra time between stuff makes this all possible.

Right now I am personally applying all these tips as we pack up our birth kit and baby gear in preparation for the birth of Baby Sister next month. Scheduling and planning as much as we can also gives us some sense of control and preparedness during this time of uncertainty and transition.

Please do chime in in the comments section with your own tips and advice for an easier and more efficient life while on the go… The more tips and advice the better right?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Seattle’s Best Coffee blogging program for a gift card worth $30. I’d sure love to enjoy a Seattle’s Best Iced Latte to cool after Baby Sister is born. Going without my coffee this pregnancy has sure been rough. For more information on how you can participate and earn your own gift card, click here.

If your child is in diapers then you KNOW the importance of having your own changing pad on hand, even when facilities have a changing table.

For me, this was a very odd concept since I hardly ever changed my baby in public places. We didn’t go out often when she was young and when we did I’d opt for doing it in the car instead of the germ-filled bathrooms. The flushing toilets and the atmosphere always scared her making changing time more difficult. Plus, who likes getting chatted up by other bathroom patrons while you struggle to wipe your baby’s bottom and get her changed?

As your baby grows and becomes more able to handle public places you learn, like me, that avoiding the germ-filled bathrooms isn’t always possible. And when you don’t have that nice changing pad it is a sorry occasion, for sure.

This is why I was glad to receive and review the Infantino Savvy Bag. It is basically a chic clutch that has a detachable changing pad built in.

What separates this diaper bag from the rest is it’s compact design. It isn’t all bulky and massive like many other diaper bags. It is big enough to hold just your diaper change essentials and it can even be thrown inside another bigger bag if you have tons of stuff to carry like me.

The changing pad is water resistant, of course and it has a built in pillow for baby’s comfort. Three snaps attach it to the clutch part of the bag so it can be removed and used independent of the bag or so you can clean it.

The pad has a tri-fold design that closes with velcro and an magnetic snap so it is easy to open and close while you have baby in your other arm. Cause who has time or the extra hands to fuss with getting a changing pad wrangled while you try to balance baby on your hip in those dirty bathrooms?

The only down side to the bag, for me, was one of the features many moms will find as a benefit. It is a small bag, so for us cloth diapering folks only one or two diapers fit inside when you’ve got the other diaper change products inside (opposed to the five or so disposable diapers that fit in it). Head to this post to win one for yourself!

Everly even grabs the clutch, unfolds the changing pad on the floor and positions herself for a diaper change at home sometimes. She’ll even try changing her teddy bear on the pad, so it is not only useful to me but she enjoys it too! Ha, ha.

What do you think? Are changing pads a must have item for you and what public diaper changing advice would you give a new parent?

I am a participant in a Mom Central Consulting campaign for Infantino
& have received various Infantino products as part of my participation.

I’ve already entered myself for this huge cloth diaper giveaway and wanted to share the chance with the rest of you. MotherofaSale.com is giving away 3 new lines of cloth diapers to one lucky MOAS Facebook fan! The contest runs through 2/25 and all you have to do to enter is:

• Share their facebook event on your wall so all your friends can enter
• Blog about Mother Of A Diaper Sales event starting Feb 22nd
• Post on MOAS FB page “MOAS I want to win the $250 cloth diaper set”

If you are a blogger,  please note that for posting MOAS’s CD event, and you can receive a sample for review of a new line of cloth diaper coming soon to MOAS.  Email service@motherofasale.com with your post.  (limited samples are available)

Not only is MOAS giving away their huge cloth diaper start up set, they are also having a great deal on Oh Katy Cloth Diapers.  Each diaper is selling for $11.99 (normally $17.99).  Also if you use the code yoyo10, you can take 10% off your entire order!  You can check out this cloth diaper sale at MotherofaSale.com.

Recently I posted a review for the Infantino Savvy Bag and I was stoked to be given one to keep for our own uses, cause everyone needs a good changing pad! Those bathrooms are nasty germ-filled places.

Don’t worry though, I am not the only one that gets to enjoy this new changing clutch! Infantino and Mom Central Consulting have partnered to offer a Savvy Bag to one of my lucky readers.

All you have to do to enter is visit the review post I wrote here and answer the question I pose within the post. Once you’ve done so come back here and leave me a comment saying you did so (don’t forget to use a valid email address when you do so I can reach you).

For extra entries you may post this giveaway link on your facebook, twitter or other social media networks (one entry per network per day). Just come back here and leave a separate comment including the link to your social media post so it can be verified.

The contest will close Sunday March 13th 2011 at midnight CST and winner will be posted here as well as emailed. Infantino and Mom Central Consulting will ship the winnings to the winner

Winner is Jennifer C.!!
I’ve emailed you and will wait to hear back from you today. Congrats!

I am a participant in a Mom Central Consulting campaign for Infantino
& have received various Infantino products as part of my participation.