Life on the Road

Quick!

Head over to our other blog, As For My House. Check out the review, and enter to win a copy of Near Mama’s Heart – a beautiful book about breastfeeding, for children.

Good luck!

TwitterMoms is at it again, teaming up with DramaU from St. Eve Kids’ Sleepwear to ask mom bloggers to share their tips.

Today’s topic? Getting your kids to bed – and keeping them there!

My top five tips:

1. Nutritious, filling dinner
2. No junk food in the evening (no sugar, no caffeine, etc.)
3. Familiar, soothing routine (familiartiy calms them naturally, but also cozy family reading time!)
4. Get enough sleep – including naps (paradoxically, too tired kids can’t fall asleep easily, and don’t sleep well)
5. Sharing sleep. My littles nurse to sleep, and snuggle close all night… No worries!

What works for you?

Staples and TwitterMoms are sponsoring a contest for tips about saving time & money.

You know what, though? Most people seem to feel it’s an either/or proposition.

You can save time by shopping at a place that has it all, or even has it all online… but you’re likely to pay a premium.

OR

You can save money by searching through ads, coupons, and specials, planning a route to all the different stores you need to hit, sending in rebates and special offers… you’ll get it all for less, but pay for it in time and effort.

What if I want to save it all?

My biggest tip or saving time AND money during the holiday season is to JUST SAY NO!

At our house, we try to “say no” to the consumer mindset from the get-go. As you may know about us, we’ve adoped the Dutch tradition of doing our gift-giving on the Feast of St. Nicholas, with a focus on handmade and creative giving. (This also has the advantage of reserving Christmas or a celebration of Christ’s birth).

We also “say no” to he holiday shopping (binge!) by buying year-round. Although a lot of things are on sale now, the perfect blue glass bowl for my mom waas actually on sale in August – so I grabbed it! For a little bit of storage hassle, I save my time, money, and sanity during the holidays!

Cook a meal for a family dealing with an illness or a new baby, or vacuum the floors! Gifts of service are often much more apprecated by those in need, and are certainly cheaper to give.

Any other good tips to share??

Merry Christmas!

If you’re looking for good reviews of fun stuff for Christmas Gifts, as well as giveaways, I recommend checking out My Wee View:

Rght now, for instance, I’ve been busy entering her drawing for your choice of a pair of shoes from Stride Rite! Can’t beat that…

Well, they’re at it again!

Hop on over to 5 Minutes for Mom and check out the amazing list of prizes they’re giving away!

Veggie Tales, Melissa & Doug… Good stuff!

If you’ve been reading a while, you may recall a review I did last year for Kristine’s Shower.

Well, Jenny (the owner) has been kind enough to offer $25 in Kristine’s Shower Cash as a “blog-warming” give-away gift! Just go check out the new review post over at As For My House, and leave a comment to enter.

Not from me… LOL

My Wee View is giving away a Dyson DC24 vacuum – a $499 value.

Totally free… just click the button below and go enter!

If you don’t sew, what do you do to control the cost of clothes for your little ones?

One thing that’s a biggie here is that we do not “do” brand names. In the 0 -5 age range, especially, the kids don’t know or care – so why spend the money?

But you simply *must* have it, you say? Well for goodness’ sake, don’t just walk into the mall and pay retail for it. Shop smart!

For instance…

Like The Gap? Try this little savings dance:

First – Shop at The Gap Outlet over that mall store, for better deals.

Second – shop RIGHT NOW, during their Semi-Annual Baby Sale, for deals of up to 40% off those prices. September 11 – 24, on all clothes for babies – five year olds.

Third – Visit the Gap Outlet – Trittermoms.com exclusive site, and print out a 10% off coupon. You can use this on top of the sale prices! (They have a link there for finding your local store, too).

Fourth (and finally) – If you blog, you can join the TwitterMoms Gap Outlet Blogging Program. The first 50 bloggers to post about the sale, and include the Gap Outlet Widget (below) willreceive a 20 Gift Card. (Yeah, it’ll come to late for this sale – but it’s Semi-Annual!)

So, if you just have to have it… Go forth, and get it for less!

Until 8/3, you can enter to win a REALLY, REALLY cool inflatable bounce house / waterslide from PlayHouse Bouncers.

Check it out:

Just head on over to the J. Leigh Designs blog to enter!

Picture Keeper is a great idea – a USB flash drive, with software to automatically back up your photos.

It even comes in different sizes (and thus prices), depending on your needs.

And best of all?  You can win one free from Go Graham Go!  Just check out this post, and leave a comment to enter.

Good luck!