Better yet you can determine what time you would like to receive the text message. Obviously not everyone is a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. person, so this is a way to determine what’s going on outside without watching the news every day so that you are prepared. This is a website to pass along to friends and family.

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 6 year old son. They recently moved out in the country and live on a rock road. Emily had to give up high-speed internet and she blames the realtor for not informing her ahead of time that it was not available. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves to review new things.

Imagine my disappointment when two days later Target randomly canceled the order. Apparently they made a pricing mistake. While pricing mistakes are bound to happen I find this particular situation hard to believe since the item was listed at $42.99 for 3 days before the error was supposedly “discovered.” Amazon.com also offered these seats on behalf of Target and honored the advertised price, shipped the merchandise and kept their customers loyal.

Instead of offering a good will coupon for a future car seat purchase or a discount on the Britax Marathons, or even a small gift card to use on an in store purchase, Target is just pretending the transaction did not happen at all. No accountability, no sense of a “make good” or genuine concern that they disappointed their loyal shoppers. From a business standpoint Target has a lot to learn!

Written by Helene, who is a “fly by the seat of her pants” mom with 6 kids, well really 7 if you count her husband. She is a die-hard bargain shopper, designer-clad domestic diva who writes reviews to maintain a sense of sanity and unleash her creative side. You can also keep up with their busy family at their blog.

Boxed Set of Greeting Cards- I found this amazing set of cards at Costco for $12.99 and it is stocked with beautiful handmade cards for all kinds of occasions. This is a wonderful gift so that you always the right type of card on hand. These are a great communication tool for writing to friends and family without a constant trip to the store. It has come in so handy when she has a birthday party to attend or just wants to send a note to a friend.

Monogrammed Towels – I order them after the first month as an anniversary with our family gift. I find them very reasonably at Horchow, with free personalization and free shipping offers they are about $10 a piece or $20 for a set of two. Use this link and the coupon code “WELCOME” to save an additional 10%.

Memory Books – As a special memory book I have made pages on How Fast They Grow. These photo scrapbook pages are 12×12 and fit into the standard albums you can buy at Target. The website allows you to drag and drop the images from your computer and you can custom journal the script to personalize the information. Each page is about $6 printed, so you can make a very deluxe album for about $75 shipped. The owner of the website offered readers of my blog a discount by using the coupon code “TRIPLETS” and the pages arrived in the US Mail and are beautiful.

Personalized Stationary – My husband designed some amazing note cards, magnets, calendars and t-shirts at VistaPrint. The website has promotional offers that allow you to try many products for free and you just pay for shipping. We combined several gifts for Aupairs, teachers and other friends so that the shipping cost is reduced. The custom screened t-shirts are terrific if you have a photo of your children with your Aupair or Nanny. If you are already ordering photo holiday cards from them you can add on some other items for free. Note pads, post-it notes and the hats all turn out so cute when you use their own photograph. We made the cutest calendar magnets for the following year using a great photo of our Aupair.

Free Samples – About once a week I go to Start Sampling and sign up our Aupair for a bunch of trial sized merchandise. It arrives in a few weeks and gives her a chance to try products just for kicks. I use our mailing address with her name so that it is always fun to check the mailbox. The best offers are for health and beauty stuff like shampoo, shower gels and snacks. This would be a great idea for an elderly relative too!

Holiday Clearance – I wait until about 7-10 days past a major holiday such as Valentines, Fourth of July and Halloween and I stock up on decorative items and gift products at clearance prices. I keep these tucked away for the following year. Target and CVS clearance items at around 75-90% off and we just stash them for 11 months until it is time to bring them out again. This is true for winter items like hats, gloves, fuzzy slippers and OSU sweatshirts.

Custom Made Coupons – We had our kids make these on the computer and then we printed them on certificate paper from Staples. The offers were for random pampering like breakfast in bed, a morning to sleep in, a pay per view movie, an ice cream sundae, her night to pick a restaurant choice and a custom burned CD with her playlist.

Movie Gift Card – It will encourage her to go and see the latest hit.

Written by Helene, who is a “fly by the seat of her pants” mom with 6 kids, well really 7 if you count her husband. She is a die-hard bargain shopper, designer-clad domestic diva who writes reviews to maintain a sense of sanity and unleash her creative side. You can also keep up with their busy family at their blog.

Being a family with twin toddlers (one of which is going through multiple messes a day), we go through a lot of diapers! Thankfully, I just discovered Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program. You can sign up to automatically to receive a new shipment of diapers every one, two, three or six months. You get free shipping, a discount on each Subscribe & Save order (15% for diapers) and you can cancel anytime. (Like when they are finally potty-trained!)

I signed up to receive a shipment of Huggies every month. Now there is no more lugging boxes home from Target! Amazon also offers household/cleaning supplies, vitamins, beauty supplies and various food items in the Subscribe & Save program. You can view their entire list online. Obviously, this is a must have for our family!

by Laura

I want you to know about a video series for children called Signing Time! We used it with my daughter and nephew who are 3 months apart. What an incredible tool sign language was for both kids. It made living through toddlerhood in tandem much more manageable.

In addition, my daughter had a cleft palate and was unable to talk for several years, so signing was a great way for us to communicate. Signing Time! made is easy and fun for both the kids and adults to learn American Sign Language. Even 5 years later, it is a guaranteed half hour of peace in our home! I would highly recommend the shows they produce, along with the books and other interactive items they use to teach sign language. The flashcards are a great tool to keep the kids entertained at restaurants and are very portable.

by Aly

I once had to core and slice 3 lbs. of apples for my son’s pre-k class and I was so thankful to have purchased this apple corer from Crate & Barrel. It has been such an easy device to use in our kitchen. In one quick motion I can remove the core and have 8 slices ready to serve. Initially, I was surprised at how heavy the cast zinc was, but it has been very durable.

The blades are stainless steel and are not super sharp to touch, but the cover allows you to store it safely. Plus you can sit the apple on the cover when slicing, which eliminates the need for a plate or cutting board underneath. It is simple to clean and the over-sized handles are easy to manipulate. For under $15 this was a purchase I wish I’d made years ago!

by Emily

The way it works is that you choose a card design, then enter the creative workstation where you make a caricature come alive. It was way too much fun selecting the eye color, skin tone, hair style, smile, clothing, jewelry and all the options they provide you with to customize the person until it becomes like you (or someone else)! You will instantly be able to preview your design.

You can even design a card with a man as the character or a little girl. What I really liked were the pregnant drawings. They would indeed make cute baby shower invites with a special twist. The opportunities are endless to create your own graduation announcements, recipe cards, bridal shower invitations and so much more. For the next party you host, sending a Post Print invite will definitely raise the question from guests of where you found such cute stationary.

In case you would like a custom card made specifically for you, the mother-daughter duo who created Pose Prints will gladly help meet your requests. Their goal is to make your creation come to life. They want to help you find the right pose and hand over a product that is fun, unique and memorable. Which is exactly how I would describe their stationary.

You can win you very own, personally customized set of 25 cards and envelopes (worth $50). All you need to do is visit their site and leave a comment here telling us which design is your favorite. Comments will be open until Saturday, February 2nd, then we will randomly choose a winner. You do not need a blog to enter, just leave us your e-mail address so that we may contact you. As always, it is Props & Pans policy NOT to distribute any information you give us (including your e-mail). Thanks for entering!

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 5 year old son. They reside in Southern Indiana (a little too close to the Kentucky border). Someday she’d like to visit Intercourse, PA and have her picture taken with the welcome sign. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves free samples and trying new things!

I was in the marching band in high school and college. What this entailed was playing a horn in the freezing cold at football games. Your lips would crack and bleed from the cold and spit. The only known cure was Carmex lip balm and it was a magical cure. You would smooth it on your lips and it was as effective as shields against a Klingon Bird of Prey (shields at full power, of course).

Life moved on and I quit playing the horn, which improved the winter chapped lips occurrences, and I eventually moved to Florida where the 100% humidity made things like Carmex a thing of the the past. Then, I moved back to a place where winter exists and for the past few weeks I’ve had cracked scaly lips. My 5 year old even mentioned how cracked and “poky” my lips felt. He asked to me to put medicine on them!

And then I remembered Carmex. Again, I smoothed on the waxy yellow goop and felt the wonderful healing burn. After a few days the lips started to smooth out again. Carmex, I have missed you.

by Gidge

The package is small, shiny green and looks like it would contain fine chocolates. In addition to claiming that ingestion will increase my hair’s growth and shine, Kerastase Nutrients are beautifully presented. In fact, I kept the unopened box on my desk for three days before I tore into the vitamins that promised to transform my fine, mousey hair into long luxurious locks that will shine brighter than the stars.

Once inside the posh Kerastase box, the vitamins themselves are beautiful. It is my great pleasure to ogle the petite, kelly green pills before swallowing them down the hatch. Has my hair gained volume and blinded innocent bystanders with its luminous glow? I would love to answer yes, but the truth is that I can’t really tell much of a difference yet. Taking the attractively vitamin packed pills makes me feel pretty, so for now lets leave it at that.

by Bitsy

I knew I loved Target for a reason. If your local store has a pharmacy and you have kids who hate the taste of yucky medicine, then listen up. Target Pharmacy is now offering 19 flavors through FlavoRx for free. Yes, the same service that places like Walgreens are charging up to $3 for.

Of course you are adding a little bit of sugar to the medication to change the bitter, chalky taste, but anyone who’s fought with a sick child to take a dose of medication knows this is totally worth it! FlavoRx can be added to nearly any liquid medicine, including asthma medicine, inhalers, cough medicines and antibiotics. Their best selling flavors are grape and bubblegum, and they also sell take-home kits.

And, if your baby has four legs instead of two, there’s a tastier solution for pet medications, which are sometimes filled at traditional pharmacies. FlavoRx’s pet flavors include cheesy cheddar, chicken, bacon, tuna, beef, and peanut butter. Can you say yum?

by Emily

I have always been a fan of Southwest airlines because they take customer service seriously, even though their flights are no frills. The same is true of Skybus, but even more so thanks to the fully automated computer-only system that eliminates the expense of a call center. In this day and age when your travel plans are mostly made online, why not save a bundle by booking things all by yourself?

I booked a non-stop flight from Columbus to San Diego and saved over $300 compared to other carriers. When I checked in the ticket counter crew was smiling, cheerful and prepared to answer all the questions a new Skybus traveler would have. The tee-shirt clad crew and flight attendants were equally impressive.

Skybus charges you based on what you use. The flights are priced based on availability, so the first ten seats on every flight are $10 each way, and as they sell more seats on the flights the prices go up from there. For example my tickets from Columbus to Kansas City was $10 outbound and $35 for the return, making the round trip just under $50 with taxes and fees. I could not have driven it for that price if factoring in the time difference – 1 hour and 35 minutes via Skybus or 12 hours in my mini-van. You do the math!

You pay for a ticket and can add on extras from there. Priority boarding, snacks, meals, drinks, checked luggage and lap children cost extra. If you don’t need any of those services you don’t pay for them. Fair enough. Skybus keeps the fares low by selling advertising space on the planes and they even offer aisle shopping during the cruising altitude, should you need a pair of $12 sunglasses or a cute $10 kid’s backpack. You can pay for the in-flight purchases with cash, debit or credit card too.

Skybus selects smaller (less expensive to operate) airports near major cities. Check out the facts at Skybus and see if you can take advantage of their deals. The company is adding new cities and routes regularly. Thanks to this new airline your next vacation may be more affordable than you thought.

Written by Helene, who is a “fly by the seat of her pants” mom with 6 kids, well really 7 if you count her husband. She is a die-hard bargain shopper, designer-clad domestic diva who writes reviews to maintain a sense of sanity and unleash her creative side. You can also keep up with their busy family at their blog.

I tried the United States Post Office first. The lines were tremendously long. I had brought one of my packages with me just to see how long it would take and how much it would cost. When I had my turn at the counter, I asked the lady helping me if there was a time of day that they were less busy than others. She barely looked up and grunted that they were always busy this time of year. The package was about $12 to ship Priority Mail.

The next day, I tried the UPS store. The same size package was $9 to ship ground. It turns out that it and 2 other packages I decided to ship that day all arrived the very next day to their destinations. The lines were shorter and moved faster, and the prices were better by $2-3 for each box, depending on where in the country they were headed. They even helped me unload my car and bring them inside.

As far as delivery goes, if most of the UPS delivery people are half as good as the one who comes to my house, I would never ship with anyone ever again. Last week, our UPS man actually refused to bring a package to my door because he could tell it was a Christmas present for me and didn’t want the box to give it away. He ended up delivering into the back of my Jeep while calling out to me, “You better not be peeking!” My husband came home and smuggled the box inside from the back of the Jeep, and I will still get to be surprised on Christmas morning.

If you still have packages to ship, I highly recommend making a trip to your local UPS store. It will be easy on you, and easy on the people receiving your holiday cheer too.

Written by Canape, who is a girl from the deep south who loves her husband, her stepdaughter, her dogs, and hopes to be a mom soon. She’s a musician by trade, and a baker and writer by hobby. She and her husband renovate houses on the side and she writes a personal blog at Don’t Take the Repeats.

Now, when I make an appointment for something I understand “sh*t happens” and people don’t always run on time. I expect this at doctor offices, where it’s customary to overbook. I do not, however, expect to wait an hour past my appointment at a portrait studio in the mall.

My neurotic self arrived a few minutes early for our appointment the other day and waited in line behind two other ladies for over 20 minutes just to sign in. There was no one working at the front desk and the only two employees were both taking pictures for families in the back. Both of whom saw the three of us standing there and never said a word. Not even a brief, “We’ll be with you in just a minute.”

In the past, JCPenney has taken some very good pictures of our son and a couple of our family. I don’t expect each shot to be award winning, but usually I walk away with 2-3 good pictures out of the 8-10 they take. I love that I can instantly see the proofs on a computer immediately after and order from there.

Aside from waiting twenty minutes to be acknowledged and waiting another forty minutes to have photos taken our photographer was clearly in a hurry and snapped 8 pictures before our son had a chance to blink. The poses were basically all the same and she would move his hands from his knees to his lap. They apparently don’t teach creativity in their training classes.

At one point I stepped in to fix his shirt collar and was given quite the cold stare for slowing down the process. Even though it was 100 degrees outside her chill was still not appreciated.

I knew the photos were not going to be good before I viewed them. To my surprise one was acceptable and actually centered. The waiting room was packed and I wasn’t ready to return anytime soon, so I ordered a few sheets of the acceptable pose and left.

At home I contacted their customer service online to let them know of our recent experience. Although the response was very cookie-cutter they did “enjoy my comments and concern” and for the my trouble they will be mailing me a certificate for three free traditional portrait sheets upon my next visit.

So I plan to return one more time strictly to take advantage of my free prints. If the service isn’t any better I will not be back. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for and at $3.99 a sheet I guess I shouldn’t expect much, but I do. Anyone whose job it is to tell someone to “smile” should know how to smile themselves.

It seems that some time while I was in Chicago (for the BlogHer 07 conference), someone nicked my credit card number and tried to charge thousands of dollars worth of who knows what, both here and in South Africa, where not only have I never been, but given my terror of flying I am not likely to be going any time soon. I was shocked. It’s one of those things you hear about all the time, but never think it will happen to you.

Now, it’s happened to me. If it wasn’t for those very nice people in the fraud department at Bank of America, I wouldn’t have figured out my number had been taken until my statement came, and who knows how much the thief would have charged by then. Fortunately they had denied a lot of the charges that they questioned, but a few did slip through, and I am not liable for one single penny.

I am oh, so very grateful that Bank of America was watching out for me. I wish I had that kind of support from all the companies with which I do business.