On the Hunt for Unique Birthday Gifts

March 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment

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Maybe it’s just because I have four kids so I’m a bit “jaded” but does Glow in the Dark Bubble Bath not scream “TROUBLE”??

We have a full weekend of birthday parties. While the kids are always excited about another party, I found the biggest downfall is picking out a gift for a child you have not met. You know the one that is in the same class, but you don’t know the child or family.

You walk thru the endless aisles of toys and not know what they have already or even what they like? So I started searching for unique Birthday Gifts.

That’s where I found the Glow in the Dark Bubble Bath… I don’t think there are too many parents happy about getting that gift, although I’m sure the kids would love it.

Here are a few other ideas:

Mail Just4Me- I love this idea- A birthday gift that comes every month and provides an actual activity not just a toy that will run out of batteries and get lost to the bottom of the toy box.

Custom Cookies- How fun are these? More expensive then I would want to spend for a classroom party, but could be a great option for a loved one. Plus, they are organic!

Nostalgic Candy - Woodstock Candy-While they have options for kids, they also have great birthday candy boxes for baby boomers when you need a unique gift.

Pajamagram- Who doesn’t love a new pair of fun jammies?

Glow in the Dark Pillowcase- ComfyCozy- Custom Pillowcases with themes, names and glow in the dark options. I try to keep a few of these in the house for last second unique gifts. Everyone loves this practical but fun gift.

The age of the child will always be a factor when picking out that special gift. I also find that how many children are in the house makes a difference. I was surprised at the fact that my third child skipped right over the “baby” toys because he was more interested in what the big kids were playing with.

You can also think simple gift- for a first birthday this weekend I went to the store and bought a beach set that came in it’s own beach bag and had a couple different pails and shovels. Everyone that has kids know that you can always use shovels and buckets since they get left behind or break and you can always use them.

Then I then added a couple fun and different bubble blowers, a couple books, little rubber ducks, a kite and soft Frisbee (knowing she had bigger siblings who could play with her). I know she’s not going to run with the kite but she will have fun watching it. The beach bag made it’s own useful container to hold everything and tied it with a big bow on the handle.

This was an affordable and useful gift and gives you an idea how easily you can customize it. If it was for a boy, I would have added a couple trucks or if it was for an older child maybe a beach towel with their name on it or goggles and fishing net.

Head to the dollar store and pick up a basket of misc items and keep them in a box in your closet- kids love the little toys, coloring books, hair accessories and other small items you’ll find. Then you can pull from the box when a birthday comes up and make your own gift basket on short notice.

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

BOX4BLOX

February 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment

LEGO Bricks and LEGO Blocks clogging your vacuum?

Tired of stepping on those little LEGO Bricks in the middle of the night?

I am creating a new step by step Case Study on how to use Squidoo to build a Lens for an affiliate program. I chose the BOX4BLOX toy box as my affiliate program.

While the payout is not as high with traditional Internet Marketing Affiliate programs, this is a product that I believe all families that have the LEGO pieces in every nook and cranie of a the house will find as useful as we do.

Go Ahead, the Squidoo Squid won’t bite, Give it a Click and Let me know what you think of my latest lens!

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life, Squidoo, Tips & Advice, Toys

Look Out Mike Rowe, Lunch can be a Dirty Job

February 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Dylan wanted to make his own lunch today, so I let him take the butter knife and go at it. This 3 year old wanted no help from mom, and look at this tasty creation.

Hmmm… you ask, WHAT is that?? Well, it is Peanut Butter, Raspberry Marshmellow and Pickles on wheat bread. yummm….. The new fad for lunches everywhere

Look at that proud face!

New Sandwich Trend

Can you just taste it??

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

The Best Website Essential Checklist

February 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The nine most important things you can do to make your website a profitable success:

1.) Create a Remarkable Website … It is far less expensive to build a remarkable website than it is to advertise an average one. Come up with a remarkable aspect for your product, service, business etc., then incorporate it into your website. Give people a reason to talk about your website and they will do your promotion for you!! (20-40hrs, $500 varies widely)

2.) Proper Keyword Research … Use WordTracker(FreeKeywords.WordTracker.com) and Google Suggest(google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en) to select the proper keywords and begin search engine optimization on your website. (10-15hrs, $59)

3.) Setup a Free Squidoo.com Page … This is an excellent way to boost your search engine rankings by creating links from your Squidoo page back to your website. It is also an excellent way to generate valuable traffic from the Squidoo community. (2-5hrs, FREE)

4.) Create Articles that Provide Useful Information … Start by creating three or four articles that provide useful information related to your product or service, then post them on your website and target the keywords you selected earlier. (5-10hrs, FREE)

5.) Digg, Del.icio.us and StumbleUpon your Articles … Use these free services to let the world know about your articles. These services also provide a dramatic boost in your search rankings. (2-4hrs, FREE)

6.) Purchase a Yahoo Directory Listing … This is a great way to get a link from the #1 website in the world to your website. A Yahoo employee reviews your website, categorizes it and then places a link to you. Both Yahoo and Google check if you have this link and boost your search engine rankings. (1hr, $299/yr)

7.) Press Release with PRWeb.com and Majon.com … This is a fantastic way to be able to choose keywords in your press release that are posted on their top ranked websites that link back to yours. Not only do they significantly enhance your search engine rankings, they also announce your business and products to the media. (3-5hrs, $308)

8.) Laser Targeted Purchased Advertising … Find top websites in your industry and purchase advertising from them. This may be one of the best methods of gaining substantial traffic. Not only do you get traffic from the websites you advertise on, but you can also drastically increase your search engine rankings because important websites in your industry are linking to you. (20hrs research, $100 and up)

9.) Google Analytics and Yahoo Search Submit … The more the search engines know about you, the better. Don’t make them guess. By installing Google Analytics on your web pages and submitting your website to Yahoo Search Submit, you let them gain valuable knowledge about your website and, in turn, they will rank you better! (5-10hrs, Google FREE, Yahoo $59/yr)

Approximate total time and money spent low end — 68 hours, $1,325
Approximate total time and money spent high end — 110 hours, $3,525+

*Check BestWebsite.com/The-Essential-9.htm for updates and to follow the above hyperlinks.

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

The Clinton Campaign Hits First Grade

February 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Setting the stage: I’m waiting for the ever unpredictable bus to come home with my first and second grade cherubs this afternoon. Rain, cold, my frustration with the bus now being 15 minutes later then normal since my house is so far off the road I need to wait on the street with the baby in the front carrier tucked under my husbands oversized coat.

Ahh the bus, little bodies bouncing their backpacks thru the aisle to the stairs of the bus.. distressed faces.. oh no.. I don’t like it when they get off the bus upset.. not a good way to start the afternoon… remain upbeat.. “Hi guys, how was the day?”… this is classic and I hope when this Presidential Campaign is over I will forever remember the distressed faces… READY?

“MOM, Your not going to believe this! There is this woman, Harry Clinton, and she wants to be President, but if she IS, then she’s going to make us all go to school for two more hours longer a day”

(no this isn’t a typo, he called her Harry and the hours longer is not proper english but he was sooo worked up and is only 6).

With this my second grader started in, it appears this version of the campaign trail hit the classroom from the teacher and I ended up with both kids in a full blown tizzy walking up the driveway begging me NOT to vote for “Harry” Clinton..

The funny thing is? We already went to vote and my husband and I made a point of bringing all four kids with us and showed them the process and explained the process and talked about how lucky we were to have the opportunity to vote for our President. But it appears all this was forgotten and shadowed by that one pure threat of school extending another two hours.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

If I had the money for any business

February 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I have had two businesses that I have wanted to start but both require a hefty start up price tag. But it’s good to dream so I’ll put them out.

The first, is my Alpaca Farm.. we have enough land at our house, we just need the barn, the fencing and the animals but boy, that’s the type of life I love. Being out in the barn with the animals, getting my daughter involved with 4-H like I was and adding value and building the business. For those that don’t know about Alpacas, I’ll fill you in more when I have more then a minute since I’m waiting for the school bus, but it can be a profitable business.

The Second- I live in a very nice country setting outside Boston but I’ll be honest, the world of big box and the same old, same old is all around us. I would love to create a resteraunt that has a family flair with entertainment and great food with affordable family pricing all in one. I have seen several of these places in other parts of the country with a good theme and signature fun interactive component it has a huge potential here. You know where you can get your own ball of dough and make a pizza while the waiter throws rolls around at all the customers, creating a sense of community with other diners. My husband says I’m nuts, but boy, that’s the kind of place I would want to go out and eat and not worry about the broken crayons and placemat keeping the kids entertained while I get a break from cooking!

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

Do you Squidoo??

January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Alright, I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to Squidoo. Why?

It’s fast- talk about not needing to worry about the logistics of a web site. Poof! It’s done for you. While each page is referred to as a “lens” it really is basically one web page on a huge site. You can create a whole web page in minutes once you get the system down.

It’s FREE- Yup, it’s 100% Free- they don’t even ask you for a credit card to hold your site

You make Money- don’t quit your day job unless you have a couple hundred sites going but it does make money with affiliate programs from Amazon and Ebay

No technical experience needed- Just click and drag or type- easy as pie!

Practice, Practice, Practice- for those individuals that still have a hard time getting their “niche” down- this is a great free practice platform. Go Ahead, Toot Your Own Horn and see what you can provide your niche customer on one page. Check out the link below and see how narrow the focus of each page is.

Squidoo Directory

Check out my Squidoo Page- rate it, feedback it, link to it, start your own!
Tubby Bundle on Squidoo

The final reason, it’s just fun to say “Squidoo” isn’t it?

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

Social Media and what it means to business

January 30, 2008 | 4 Comments

The words, Facebook, Linkedin, MySpace, Twitter, Stumble… they are everywhere on the internet and for some it may sound like another language.

However, unlike the language classes in school you had to struggle with and can’t remember now, social media is one language you should take some time to learn. As indicated in the article below your sole focus should not be for the only purpose of hanging you sign out to get business but for the networking component.

Network with your fellow Chamber of Commerce members and you reached a 20 mile radius, Network online and you reach around the world.

Creating your social media strategy
Look beyond traffic and links and you will find the real value.

Social media, and by that I’m lumping together blogs, RSS, social networking and social book marking sites, presents the marketer with a rich set of new tools to help in the effort to generate new business.

But, if that’s the only way you view social media, as a set of tools to perform a set of tactics to reach the set of objectives you have always tried to reach with your marketing, then not only are you really missing the opportunity, you will probably find yourself wondering what all the fuss is about.

You can’t approach new media with old thinking. Taking full advantage of social media requires understanding and adopting a specific social media strategy.

First and foremost you must appreciate the differences between social media and, say, direct mail. With direct mail the outcome is likely, to create an action. With most social media, it’s to create a connection. Both of these have equally important places in the long-term health of a business, but how they happen is significantly different.

Try to do one with the other and the results may actually backfire - ie: Ads on Facebook? There are definitely instances in which a social media play can align with an organization’s industry focus and become natural facilitators of lead acquisition.

I think the best way to look at social media, though, is to view it as a way to open up access points. These points can then be leveraged to create content, connection, and community. Do that well, and they can also add to lead generation, nurturing and conversion. Think of your web site as the ultimate destination or bucket to catch what comes through your social media access points.

Blogging - If content is one of the golden measures, blogs are a given. This one has become so mainstream it’s hard to think of in the same light as say Facebook. Blogging enhances all forms of content creation, drives search traffic and enables the start of connection and community in the form of comments and conversation. Employing this tool effectively feels a bit like social media 101 - a required course of action before advancing.

In Action: A blog connected to or functioning as your website, a blog network for your customers, a blog network for your strategic partners, an idea blog for your industry.

Tools - Typepad, Wordpress, Wordpress MU, MovableType, Drupal, Square Space, Twitter

RSS - Perhaps best known as a subset of blogging, RSS is what drives the spreading, filtering and aggregating of ideas and content. RSS technology has the ability to make content more useful.

In Action: Simply researching through news, republishing news and search results, reformatting information - data and calendars, creating custom news feeds, mashing lots of feeds into one.

Tools - bloglines.com, Google Reader, GoogleNews, YahooNews, aideRSS, mySyndicaat, Feedburner

Social Bookmarking and News - Social news and book mark sites live to promote ideas and reward the creators of those ideas for creativity and consistency. The best social news plays consist of targeted campaigns focused at a specific site or audience.

Getting on page one of Digg or del.icio.us or creating this week’s viral hit on You Tube can send your site’s traffic through the roof, but there a couple things to consider.

These are communities that reward participation and hard work (that’s not to say people haven’t figured out ways to beat the system, but go in realize that methodical work is ahead.)

Choose a community with the proper focus. Digg is technology heavy, Small Business Brief is for small business

Tools: Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, YouTube, Google Video, Mixx, Small Business Brief

Best Practices: Build deep once, Study and read, Find and pitch influencers, Make it easy for you and your readers, Build networks, Promote your chosen site.

Social Networking - The recent rise in popularity of sites like MySpace and Facebook clearly points to the desire for community. As marketers rush to these sites it becomes clear that virtual “no soliciting” signs are hung out.

Networks are networks and while the meeting place may be new, the rules (manners) are the same. If you goal is to establish yourself as an influencer of an existing network, you must be prepared to earn the right, mostly by giving, helping, guiding and building relationships without overt efforts to cash in.

The long term can be very fruitful, with patience you can make connections, improve your visibility and increase sales.

Tools: ecademy, Facebook, mySpace, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Jigsaw, Ryze

Best Practices: Participate actively, Pitch influencers, Make it easy for yourself and your network, Find connections

Building Your Own Social Network - The next wave in community building is the personalized, niche, hand-build community. There are some emerging tools that make this idea much more doable, but creating your own community is a serious investment in terms of time and resources. Done well it can be the ultimate in terms of building a brand.

Tools: Drupal, Ning, KickApps, OneSite

Related article - Content is a strategy
. ~ ~ ~

John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide published by Thomas Nelson.

He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting www.ducttapemarketing.com

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

Useless Trivia Facts and Random Musings of the Day

January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

While out surfing the net researching for a few new articles, I was distracted. Let me ask you, how can you surf the net without getting distracted? You click on this, click on the that and before you know it, you can’t remember where you came from and the windows open different so you can’t even go “Back”.

I do have to say on the subject of surfing the internet that I am happy at how Google has done a better job at making searches focused on what you are actually searching for and have put a serious dent in the number of adult and XXX rated websites that pop up. While it’s impossible to get 100% clean results I don’t find myself bombarded and sifting thru these type of websites. A few years ago I was putting on a large kids event and typed in the words “candy necklace” to find different kinds of candy that kids can string together for an activity and WOWOWOW… I never knew the word candy could lead to these sort of things. The worst part was I was at my Corporate Job on my work computer (Yes, it was a work related party and part of my job). Every time my phone rang I was afraid it was the IT department calling to tell me to report to Human Resources.

Next time you need a couple useless trivia facts to get the cocktail conversation going:

Desserts are ordered more often if diners had wine with their meal.
Thursday is the peak weekday for consuming alcoholic beverages.
Wine is consumed throughout the week, cocktails rely most on the weekends.

source: the NPD Group

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life

The World of Blogging

January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I had a conversation with my sister yesterday and in her normal way, she had critical opinions on the fact that I “blog about me” and “who wants to hear about your kids”. I still can’t help but chuckle at the conversation because I know she doesn’t get it, nor do I care if she gets it. But I asked myself why do I blog?

It is an outlet for me- I do like writing and I’ve spent years trying to write in the kids journals or about what happens in the craziness of life so I’ll remember and well, blogging so far is the only method that lets me record the little things in my life that I appreciate and find funny, sad or mad so I can look back and say oh yeah…

Other moms enjoy reading and feeling that they are not alone and they are not the only one that is trying to pull polly pockets shirt on for a child while they just try to take a shower at one in the aftnoon. Basically- this is real life, not what you see on T.V. and what you “thought” parenthood was about.

It’s a link to my business- yes for those that don’t understand the internet or the technical pieces having fresh blog content that gets “pinged” everyday does make a difference.

Make money- See those GOOGLE adds on the side? Click one for me - it doesn’t cost you a penny but it puts a little bit of change in my bank account and pays all my website fees. Pay it forward- click a whole lot for me :)))) I don’t want to get Google slapped for click fraud, only click if your interested in the ad. wink wink

Affiliate links- sorry to shock you, but yes, I do embed affiliate links in some of my posts so when you buy a product I recommend or click thru another business cuts me a check. SHOCKER! Not really, I know affiliate marketing is a huge piece of “making money online”. However, I do have strong ethics and I will only promote or mention products that add value, I have used and trust or that I am really interested in. I won’t tell you to go buy something just so I get $2.00 in my checking account because then you will think I’m full of malarchy and won’t come back, then my traffic drops, yadda yadda so for the short run check the sidebar for the RESOURCE page and you will find a ton of resources in various areas and see what you can use!

And finally my last point, I don’t care what you think. If you don’t want to read about my “little life in a 10 mile radius where I stay home 12 hours a day with little kids” then don’t but for those that do enjoy having a cup of tea, having a laugh or picking up a little business advice that may save you time or money then go ahead and click below to get a FEED. Either way, I’m going to keep up blogging as my personal self expression but you won’t find me Pushing it on people in every conversation I have (matter of fact I rarely mention it offline), I won’t carry pictures of my blog site, I won’t have my husband or kids re-arrange their schedules to fit my blogging “schedule”.

And if I’m the only “self centered” one then so be it, because like I said, I don’t care what you think anyway.

New Baby,Blogging, and Motherhood
by: Jim DeSantis

Blogging with a new baby sounds a little nuts and is likely to be the last thing on your mind but it may just be the relief valve you need.

I put mothers on a very high pedestal. Even though I am a father and a grandfather, I really have no clue just how tough it is taking care of an infant. I know it’s an almost incredible amount of work, and between changing diapers and keeping the nursery squared away it seems unrealistic to imagine that there would be time left over for any mother to blog. However, a growing number of moms are joining the blogosphere to share their experiences during this exciting and challenging time of life. There are a whole range of benefits that mothers can gain from blogging, and the spectrum covers everything from getting through the night to helping distant relatives feel closer, not to mention maintaining your sanity.

What is a blog and why is blogging such a great idea? A blog is nothing more than a daily journal, diary, if you will, of your thoughts and experiences. You write about them, in your own words, and post them online in your blog. Your readers then can comment and start a communication link with you. Best of all, blogging is free.

I run multiple free blogs and can tell you that blogging is a tremendous way to relieve stress and interact with others. It focuses me away from my daily routine and stresses. See my Author Box below for the link to my blog on Family Life to get an idea of what I am talking about. That blog is free on Blogger.com. There are other sources for free blogs but that’s getting ahead of ourselves for this article.

For a mom dealing with the hassles and triumphs of a baby, blogging about your motherhood is a great way to blow off some steam or just to share some of the joys of motherhood. Your blogging may even help new mothers get through the trials and tribulations of their first infant.

If your baby often has very erratic sleep patterns that leave you up at odd hours of the night, blogging may just be the best way to fill those hours. Many moms turn to television to help them weather these dawn vigils but, by blogging through the night, moms can turn what feels like a somewhat depressing situation into an actively positive and productive one through blogging.

Another reason why moms often find blogging very satisfying is that it helps them to be a part of a community. For moms who are unable to successfully juggle a full social life with the very tough demands of taking care of a new baby, blogging can be a great way to stave off the isolation that sometimes comes during this stage of life.

A baby requires constant attention, and it can be difficult to attend social gatherings or events when you are responsible for an infant. Luckily, the internet is full of other moms in the same situation, and by chatting with them it is possible to overcome

some of the loneliness that many new mothers are surprised to encounter. If you are a new mother, you can learn from experienced mothers. If you are experienced, you can pass along your wisdom to the new mothers. In that process of exchange you all break the patterns of stress and isolation.

Of course, for a mom with an adorable new baby, blogging can be as much about celebration as it is about necessity. Having a blog about living with a new child can give mothers the chance to reflect on how powerful and warm the sensation of motherhood is, and sometimes sharing the triumphs of this unique time can make them even sweeter.

A blog is a great way to keep friends and family updated with news about your baby’s first words or first steps, and with new technology it is easier than ever to make photos and video clips a part of your blog, so you can give far-away relatives the chance to feel much more involved in your child’s life. Many email services now have the ability to email videos. You simply load the video onto your computer, attach it electronically, and your relatives get to see your baby is live action.

Blogging, at first, may seem a bit intimidating. Look for someone, a close relative who is computer savvy, to teach you the ins and outs or spend some time online in those wee hours surfing the internet for information about blogging. There is a ton a free tutorials online that will cut your learning curve and soon you can be a blogging whiz!

Jim DeSantis
Proud father and grandfather

About The Author

Jim DeSantis

For more free tips like this go to Jim’s Family Life blog at http://on-line-tribune-family-life.blogspot.com. For ebooks on this subject, visit Jim’s http://libraryfordummys.jdanswers.com eBooks website!

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life, Small Business Blogging