Wednesday, December 10, 2014

the financial elephant in the room

this is a sponsored post for upromise.com. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

i have five children. that means five mouths to feed, five kids to clothe, five different extracurricular activities and five other little lives to pay for every day of their lives. don't get me wrong. i love my sweet, little people. they make my life what it is. still, it can be challenging to get through one season at a time, let alone plan for the future.

my kids are going to college. that's just the way it is. we don't ever use the word "if" when we speak about their collegiate futures. we simply say "when." a college education opens the door to a world of possibilities for my kiddos and we want them to have every opportunity possible. we are counting on a college education for each one of our five. as the days pass too quickly, we are realizing the approach of that education is coming faster and faster. 

we are doing little things as we can to save for our children's college educations but, let's face it, sometimes bills take priority over saving for the future. we surely cannot be alone in this. there seems to be a giant elephant in the room, a financial hole that many of us have but no one wants to talk about.

it's time to bring the financial elephant out of hiding and address it for what it is.

it is okay. 

many, many of us are in the same boat. my husband managed to pay his way through college. i took out student loans. we survived and we are none the worse for it. if i can save for my kids’ college, that's fantastic. if i can't save enough, that's okay too. they can still get an education and they will survive.

saving a little is better than saving none at all.

we do not have excessive amounts of money to be putting aside for our children's college funds. still, we have to recognize that small beginnings over time can add up. we are going to be thankful that we are able to set money aside, regardless of how much or little.

there are things you can get for free (yes, i said free!)

my kids are going to be gunning for scholarships. i went to college for free for a few years on scholarships. they will be applying for them in droves. 

beyond that, we have been taking advantage of another savings program that costs us *nothing at all* beyond what we’d be spending any way!!! you heard me right. upromise is free to use, and the cash back you get from your everyday spending can be transferred right to your child's college fund. 

when my husband and i were living in South America, we discovered upromise.com. this amazing company gives you a certain percentage of every dollar you spend while online shopping at participating partner stores. before clicking to buy from certain stores, first sign into upromise.com and then click through that site to do your online shopping. stores will give you a percentage of your purchase into an online upromise account that can be transferred into a college savings account. how great is that? i love to online shop! i love anthropologie.com, jcrew.com, 6pm online for shoes, amazon for almost everything, travelocity and hotels.com for travel... dozens of stores where i already shop are willing to give me cash back for my kid's college fund through upromise. amazing, right? 

there is also a way to earn more for your upromise account. if you are purchasing a house and use a century 21 realtor that you find through upromise.com, that realtor will give you half of their commission back into your upromise account, up to one and a half percent of your home price. can you say "gold mine?" seriously, it's crazy not to be doing this. so far with our upromise account we have gotten thousands in cash back towards college. little bits add up to big college savings! 

address the elephant

so, what are you waiting for? ignoring your financial “elephant in the room” won't make it go away. it's time to take a baby step toward planning. if you haven't begun, start by opening a upromise account. if you want to save more, make a baby step today. an education is always worthwhile. we are doing what we can to prepare and we are believing our five kids will walk across a podium one day with their college diplomas. how about you?


upromise by sallie mae is looking to start financial “elephant in the room” conversations among families, and have created a #myfinancialelephant facebook tab. you can also share your financial elephants on twitter @upromise with the #myfinancialelephant hashtag. join the conversation!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

holiday gift guide: as seen on shark tank

i love watching shark tank. it's filled with (mostly) super cool, unique ideas that leave you with a "oh man, i wish i would have thought of that!" moment. 

here are a list of awesome as-seen-on-shark-tank items that are perfect gifts for that person on your shopping list this year that is hard to buy for. enjoy!



































































disclaimer: although we received some products for free, many are purchased on our own dime and *all* are products that we love and the opinions are all our own. also, from time to time we do use affiliate links in our posts.

Monday, December 8, 2014

elf on the shelf ideas: week two


last week brought our first installment of "elf on the shelf" ideas. if you missed last week's post, you can find it here. 



i don't know about you, but with our "charlie" i can use all the help i can get. i still find myself having to set an alarm on my phone like heather does to help me remember each night. there may or may not have been one night this week when i completely forgot and the questioning looks began. #winningatchristmas. this week i'm determined to do better. i also need to be realistic about what i am planning to do each night. if it is too elaborate, i may just throw the towel in. here's to you all of us having a successful week!

day 1: reading the christmas story

we have a great book that my parents gave the kids that has the christmas story read in their voices. my kids pour over that book for hours. each year our elf and his friends spend one quality night with that book as well.


day 2: the elf needs a shave

this is one of my favorites because it can be done in two seconds. it's especially perfect for those occasions when you have forgotten to move your elf and are in a panic one morning. buddy the elf had to shave. we figure "charlie" can shave too.


day 3: do you want to build a snowman?

who doesn't want to build a snowman? our elf cannot get enough of all things winter.


day 4: time for snow angels

snow angel day follows perfectly after snowman day. the "snow" activities continue with our elf (either in flour or powdered sugar) making a snow angel on the countertop. 


day 5: mischievous elf in the printer

our printer has the copy feature so our elf takes one day each year to photocopy himself. we keep the copies "G" rated and the kids love walking around with their funny pictures. (note: it's probably best to print a couple of copies of your elf so each of the kids can have one. you can thank me later when you have avoided the fights over one lonely copy. not that i am speaking from experience or anything like that...)


(note the wrinkles in the copy...pretty sure this was ripped from one child's hands into another's. happy, merry, bright and all that jazz.)

day 6: watching shows with friends

some days a mom just needs a break. this one gives me just that. grab some stuffed animal friends and be the first person to the tv in the morning before the kids are up. turn on a christmas movie and you are all set. the kids will be happy and you can relax for a day.


day 7: a day at the races

this one takes a little time to set up but is fun for the kids to see. buddy always is on the winning car each year (though i'm never quite sure how he manages to beat batman).


there you go! week two, done. enjoy the merry making. i am working to remember it passes quickly so i should enjoy it all and find joy in the process. happy december!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

5 ways to include your pet in the holiday festivities


this is a sponsored post for the lovely people at nutrish cat food. as always, the ideas, stories, 
and crazy thoughts are all my own. please consider making the switch to nutrish. we at the
third boob have done so and we could not be happier. click here for more information and a coupon especially for our readers. 

the holidays are officially upon us. for our families, that means extra family time, special trips and meals, and a whole lot of togetherness. heather and i both have pets as a part of our family and we cannot leave out our little furry members of the family when the holidays come around. here are five things you can do to include your pets in the holiday festivities.


1. give them a safe haven.



underneath our christmas tree is our kitties' favorite place to lounge and sleep. amidst all the crazy of the holidays, the animals can get exhausted too. on top of our tree skirt and right by the heater vent is the perfect location for our cats to snooze. the kids have been told that particular place is off limits to little hands. it is where the cats can go to escape. with extra holiday treats being consumed by my kids and the excitement of the holidays, it's just what those poor kitties need to function with five kids running around. there are many occasions i wish i could hide under there with the two of them. 




2. get the cats decorated for the season.




i realize i'm over the top with this one but i could not resist these outfits. i mean, come on now. they are just too much. i felt a little guilty after i put them on the kitties because i'm pretty sure they viewed the whole ordeal as a special kind of torture but the pictures still make me laugh and laugh. they will forgive me eventually.

3. include your pets in the holiday meal



now, don't think i'm too crazy here. i'm not someone who wants my pet sitting with us at the table. i'm also not as nice as my mom is. she used to cook all the giblets and feed them to our cats growing up. that's just too gross for me. i will, however, keep a couple of scraps of turkey aside to give our kitties a special treat.  i figure they have to smell all the thanksgiving and christmas goodness like the rest of us. the least i can do for them is give them a little sample. they normally get *nutrish cat food* which is all natural and made from fresh meats and grains so they are used to the good stuff. this just gives them a little extra dose of goodness and lets the kitties share in the holiday eating as well. i'm hoping the extra food will help them to forget the santa and reindeer costumes.

4. just let the bottom foot of the tree go.



it used to be that the bottom two feet of my christmas tree was destroyed by one toddler or another. i thought i had finally gotten to the year when that destruction would be no more. turns out, it wasn't all my children's fault all these years. my cats absolutely love the bottom of the christmas tree. with all the decorations and pretty garland to swat, they have destroyed that pretty foot of decorations like nobody's business. i figure after eleven years of not having a pretty bottom of my tree, i should just officially let it go. 

5. don't forget their stocking.



my kids absolutely love this. we don't spend a ton of money on the cats but we do get the cats a couple of new toys to play with, some catnip and other little treats to make them a part of the gift getting. each christmas the kids gather up the kitties and spend more time playing with the cats and their new toys than they do with their own. it makes the kids happy and the cats happy so it makes me happy.  it is a small price to pay for a one very merry family.

what about you? how do you include your animals in the holidays? 

*nutrish for cats*

we absolutely love nutrish cat food for our cats. here are some reasons why:

real chicken or salmon is always the number one ingredient in every bag of rachale ray nutrish for cats. there's no ground corn, wheat or soy. and there's never any poultry by-product meal, artificial flavors or artificial preservatives. just wholesome whole grains and veggies plus the vitamins, minerals and taurine your cat needs to be healthy and happy.

plus, rachael's proceeds help animals in need:

rachael's rescue was created for all of the forgotten pets — the ones that might not have someone who loves them as much as you love your pet. to date, proceeds from sales of nutrish have gone toward food, medical supplies and treatments for animals in need. many more shelters around the country need help, and through rachael's rescue, together we can make a difference in the lives of many four-legged friends.

make the switch to nutrish today. click here for a special coupon just for our readers. 

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

fun finds: ugly christmas sweaters

i was invited to an ugly sweater party. have you ever been to one? i have never been before, but i have seen photos from various friends escapades and it looks like a blast. 

i have a confession to make: i feel funny about shopping at goodwill or another thrift store. i know what good things they do, but i can't get past not knowing who wore an item before me and my mind wanders off and i can't stop thinking things like..."i wonder who owner this sweater before me?"; "why would they give it up?"; "did something happen to them?"; "did they donate the item by mistake and someday a random person with approach me and ask for said item back?" yep. i know it is not rational at all.....but it's the truth. welcome to a minute in my brain. crazy town. 

i went online searching for new ugly sweaters and hit the jackpot! look at all of these awesome ugly sweater alternatives for your whole family. i know where my ugly sweater will be coming from this year......enjoy! 




























i can't decide between the yeti and the sweater vest. what would you pick?


disclaimer: although we received some products for free, many are purchased on our own dime and *all* are products that we love and the opinions are all our own. also, from time to time we do use affiliate links in our posts.