One of the few things that I have ever bought for my kids and got a ton of use out of is my Braun Thermoscan thermometer. I love this thermometer that I actually bought one to stay at both grandmas’ houses. It is so easy to use that Madison can take her own temperature (and she often does too!). All you have to do it hit the on switch which is right below the screen. When turned on, the screen will show —F (or the last temperature you took). Now, it’s time to take temperatures. Your next step is to put the thermometer in the ear and hit the button on top of it labeled Start. You will see a green light blink and in less than 3 seconds you have your temperature. Now, if you have a screaming child, the light also stays on when its done so you can tell. It is seriously that easy. I hate doing rectal temperatures, so this was a heaven sent. It is so easy to use, and you need that when you have a screaming baby on your hands. I love that it tells me the last temperature I took also. When you are stressing when your kids are sick, you often can’t remember if the temp has gone up or down. This is a nice reminder. Its amazing to see how far thermometers have come since I was a little; I wouldn’t be too surprised if they start coming out with their own video cards!

I am not sure if I have talked about Vistaprint on here before or not. However, I love this company. You can order pretty much anything you need from them for both your home and business needs. You can get get stationary, return address labels, thank you cards, magnets, business cards, checks, stampers, etc. (and I think I have ordered almost everything off that list).  You can get everything personalized to your needs. Their prices are awesome, and their sales are even better. I love that you can pick your shipping. It costs more to get your order quicker. If you are willing to wait, you will not find a better deal anywhere else. I am currently in the process of designing a new set of business cards from them. My old ones only have 2 of my 4 blogs. They have so many designs to choose from, it makes it really difficult to decide which one to get! They also keep a record of the past items you have ordered which makes reorders really easy. I have been using them for about 2 years, and I have yet to have a problem. I really can’t say that about most companies. I highly recommend VistaPrint for all your stationary and business needs.

Since Will’s first birthday is coming up soon (June 7th to be exact), I am already on the lookout for birthday party invitations. I don’t have the creativity I once had and have been on the lookout for cute things I can do. Izzyprints your one stop shop for both birthday invitations and birth announcements.  This site has so many cute invitations it is super hard to decide which one I should go for.  The site is super easy to navigate and you can easily find what you are looking for.  They also have holiday and thank you cards if you are looking for those.  Their prices are in line with other sites.  Processing takes 2-3 days and you get to choose your shipping method.  I love that you can preview the changes you make anytime you want too.  They also let you order a couple extra envelopes in case you mess up!  You are able to order invitations in lots of 25.  If you are in need of invitations, check out Izzyprints.com.

If not, what are you waiting for???? Seriously, Entrecard is one of the best ways to get traffic if you are a small to medium size blog. All you need to do is put the widget (which you can see in the sidebar) on your blog and the traffic will come. Ok, it’s almost that simple. Entrecard actually is a huge network of blogs that you can check out. People advertise on each others widgets. Plus, you can drop cards everyday (up to 300 per account). If you look in your inbox, you can actually see who drops cards on your site. There are tons of people (including myself) that go through in their inboxes and drop on everyone who is in there (way 1 to get traffic). Another thing you can do is advertise on other people’s widgets. When your ad appears on their blog, people can click your picture and be directed to your blog (way 2 to get traffic). The third way to get traffic is to be an active community member. They have a forums that you can talk on and I have gotten a ton of traffic from people clicking on me from there. After you find yourself there for a while, you will feel like you need addiction treatment. Actually, you’ll need EntreCard rehab. It is highly addictive, but well worth your time.

Let me know if you try it out!

Entrecard is one of the new ways to drive traffic to your sites. I have been using them for several months and have been happy with what I have seen so far. The best part of Entrecard is that is free. All you need to do a put a widget on your site so people can drop their cards on you. You’ll see one on the sidebar on this blog. That’s all you have to do. To effectively use the system though, you want to be dropping your cards on other blogs. You will be amazed at the number of quality blogs you’ve never seen before that is in their system. Entrecard drives approximately 50-100 more visitors daily to each of my blogs that I have it on. I can’t complain out those stats. Actually, it makes me want to send the creators of this some wine gifts. The only complaint that I have is that each blog has to associated with its own email account. If you are needing some extra traffic to your blog, this is worth trying out!

The Booster is one of my favorite online stores to buy supplies for when I was doing lia sophia. They have so many things that you can use if you are a direct sales salesperson. Their prices are great too! They have everything from stickers to buttons to postcards. I think the only thing that they don’t have is custom printed calendars. The also have booster packs that can help you bring in more sales, higher attendance to your shows, training items, etc. They really can help! They even have a thing called “Idea of the Week” where you can learn a new thing to try each week. If you are a needing a little nudge up for your business, this is a great way to get it!

Have you seen the commercial for Lifelock yet? If not, this is a service you need to look into. I am not sure how many of you know that I was almost a victim of identity theft. When we lived in Aurora, they was a person with the same name as me giving out my phone number and address to creditors. I had to fight for 2 years with American Express’s lawyers that I was not the Lisa they were looking for. Heck, I never ever even owned an American Express. I had to put a freeze on my own credit reports (which means no more instant credit when you want to get $15 off your purchase if you sign up now at certain stores like Kohls). I also know people who have had their identity stolen. Unfortunately, it happens more often than you think.

I ask if you have seen the commercial, because in the commercial, the president of the Lifelock actually puts his social security number on the side of a tractor trailer truck. I know, it is quite a bold move. He also has his social security number right on the top of the Lifelock website in a huge font and bolded. That is how sure he is of his company. If his identity is not being stolen and he is putting his information out there for the world to see, just think what Lifelock can do you. Normally, people try to hide their information as best as possible. Lifelock will ensure that your identity will never to stolen. Let’s say if something would slip through and it did happen, Lifelock has a million dollar guarantee. Yes, I said a million dollar guarantee: They “will pay up to $1,000,000 to cure the failure or defect in our service, per member, per lifetime for all incidents in the aggregate regardless of circumstance”. How many companies do you know are that confident in their service?

How does Lifelock work? First, they set fraud alerts on your behalf with the credit bureaus. This is done, so you are notified anytime anyone tries to use your credit (including yourself). However, these fraud alerts are only good for 90 days. They go back every 30 days and reset the fraud alert for you. You don’t have to worry about forgetting to do this. They also request that your name be removed from all those annoying preapproved and junk mail lists. They keep making these requests for you as they expire also. This is another way that identity can be stolen, so why not stop it at its source? Plus, junk mail is just annoying anyway. Look at it this way, you are probably saving a few trees by getting your name off those lists. They also order credit reports on your behalf from all the major credit bureaus once a year and have them sent directly to you. Lastly, they have an awesome program called WalletLock. If you lose your wallet or if it gets stolen, a specialist will help you contact each credit card, bank, or document issuing company to cancel your accounts. They will also help you complete the paperwork to replace your lost documents. This includes your credit/debit cards, driver’s license, social security card, insurance cards, checkbook, and travelers checks.

I know you are probably saying that you could do most of this yourself and save yourself the money. Honestly though, do you do it? I am on top of things I forget to do a lot of these steps. With Lifelock, you are buying peace of mind. In a world where identity theft can take away everything you own, you definitely need that peace of mind.