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Works for Me: Portrait Innovations

***Updated to add photos at the request of the lovely and persuasive Bitsy Parker***

Every year since Joshua and Kate were six and four months old, respectively, Emily and I have taken them to get their pictures done together. The first three years we went to the portrait studio of a local department store that I really love whose logo features a red circle inside another red circle. I can’t bring myself to print the name of said store because I love it so much, and I can’t believe I m about to speak ill of it. But I am. The pictures were always pretty good, and the price was always very good, but last year, when the kids were two-and-a-half, the pictures were terrible. The photographer only got two shots total for us to choose from. TWO! Now I realize that have two two-year-olds as subject matter isn’t the easiest assignment in the world, but COME ON! TWO SHOTS??? Emily and I were pretty unhappy to say the least. The one day, while strolling in the new outdoor section of our local mall, Emily discovered Portrait Innovations, and the heavens opened, and the sun shone down, and a rainbow appeared. Ok, all that really didn’t happen but it was a momentous discovery!

Portrait Innovations is a photography studio that uses open layouts, real ACTUAL state-of-the-art digital cameras (instead of a “clicker” remote-controlled camera like the one the horrible photographer at the horrible portrait studio used), and they have a lot of neat backgrounds and props for your kids to play with and get their picture taken with. Plus, they cannot accomodate up to 40 people in one photo! The aforementioned department store photogrpahy studio will only take up to seven, which meant once Sophia was born, my sisters-in-law and I had to find a new place to get our yearly picture of “the grandkids” taken for my mom. Of course, the new place we found (thanks to Emily!) is Portrait Innovations! The pictures turned out great, and the price is excellent! They have an all-the-time, no-coupon-needed portrait package for just $9.95 that includes the following:
One 10 x 13
Two 8 x 10’s
Four 5 x 7’s
Four 3 x 5’s
AND 32 WALLETS
Plus 6 greeting cards!

All for $9.95! No sitting fees or other fees except sales tax! And here’s the kicker: you get your pictures printed out in about 15-20 minutes. FITFTEEN MINUTES! I used to wait THREE WEEKS at the other portrait studio!! And of course, the pictures are fantastic! The family photo I included in this post is from Portrait Innovations. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be getting Sophie’s one year pics done there and I can’t wait! So head on over to their website and see if there’s one in your area! I’m so glad Emily found Portrait Innovations, because it SURE works for both of us! Here are some examples:

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My family photo, May 2007

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Sophia’s 6 month photo, May 2007

For more great Works for Me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

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WFMW: Saving Money on Your Kids’ Clothes!

In last week’s Works for me Wednesday I showcased my thriftiness when it comes to groceries. This week I thought I’d let you in on how I save money on my kiddos’ clothes. To illustrate, I’ve got some super cute pictures of said darling kiddos from our pumpkin-picking excursion the other day:
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Don’t they look adorable and fashionably dressed? You are SO right, they SO do! Would you believe I got both of their jackets at Goodwill? I SO did! Sophie’s is from Baby Gap and looked like it had only been worn a couple of times. Joshua’s is a Circo (Target brand) and was new with tags when I bought it. I paid $2.49 for each jacket! Joshua usually has tons of hand-me-downs from his boy cousins, but this year he did need a few more pairs of pants, so I headed to Goodwill. There I got him several pairs, including the brands Carter’s, Gymboree, and the Children’s Place, and the most I paid was $1.99. If you’re a regular reader, you know Emily and I also frequent a couple of consignment sales in our area (you can read our accounts from this year’s sales here and here), and I also love to garage sale, but thrift stores (I like Goodwill the best because it is the most nicely organized in our area) are often a really good place to look for a specific item you need. In Joshua’s case it was pants, in Sophie’s case, it was long-sleeved full-length rompers I was looking for (I found two). Sure, they’ve been worn before, but in most cases they’ll still have as much wear in them as you need them to! So, if there are a few items of clothing missing from your kids’ wardbrobes, I suggest you hit your local thrift store to see what they have to offer. It works for me!
For more great Works for Me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

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Mom’s Market Mayhem – the Sequel

Last Monday Emily told us all about the mom’s market consignment sale she went to, so if you haven’t read it yet, go check it out. What she didn’t tell you is that we also went to another sale of that nature last year, run by the local Moms of Twins & Multiples Club. It was also a doozy (you have never seen so many double strollers in one place! I even saw a triple stroller which scared my uterus so bad I think it just dried up like a raisin) and we both got some great bargains. That sale was held this past Saturday, and this time it was Emily who was booked and couldn’t go, but since I missed out on last week’s sale, I geared up hard for this one. It is always held at a large local church. Last year I got there 15 minutes before the sale started, which was about 45 minutes too late. The line went all the way around the church, and since I am a bit claustrophobic, I about had an anxiety attack just looking at all those people. However I had a very long walk from the shopping center next door where I had to park and was able to calm my nerves during that stroll.

So this year, lessons learned, I got up early, picked up my friend Chelle and her baby Nathan and some McDonald’s coffee and Cinnamelts (caffeine + sugar = bargain hunting fuel!) and we arrived by 8:05. (The doors opened at 9:00.) We got a great parking spot and were about the 35th-40th people in line – not too shabby since I think last year I was about the 500th. We had plenty of time to eat breakfast and get Nathan strapped to Chelle in the Ultimate Baby Wrap (I love mine – check it out on Amazon here – Parents of Invention Ultimate Baby Wrap- Black.) Many people brought strollers but this is a BAD idea and I was not about to let Chelle commit bargain hunting suicide by bringing one. Besides, babywearing is fun!

This sale had a bonus this year – members of the Moms of Twins Club came out and handed out nice mesh shopping bags to everyone in line! What a great perk! When the doors opened, the mad rush began, and I made a beeline for the girls 12-18 month section, as Sophia had barely any fall and winter clothes. I was the first or second one to that section and I decimated it. I made it beg for mercy. I got so much good stuff it’s ree-donkulous! I got fleece pants, sweatshirts, hoodies, one-piece outfits, jeans, and sleepers. Sophie is now set for winter and I only spent $39 on her! All of the stuff I got was Carter’s (love!), Old Navy, Gap, or Tommy Hilfiger. I had a really tough time getting to the boys 3T stuff (darn you stroller-bringers for getting in my way!!), but thankfully Joshua didn’t need much, since he has hand-me-downs from his 1,000 boy cousins, and I did get him a nice, brand new with tags zip-up hooded sweatshirt an a cool Thomas the Tank Engine building, for a total of $6.75. Woot Woot! Chelle also got tons of stuff for Nathan – three big bags of clothes and toys for under $80!

The sale was a bit crazy, but I don’t think quite as bad as what Em experienced last week (and what we both experienced last year!) The funniest part of the whole thing happened when I was about one minute into my ravaging of the 12-18 month girls rack. With a great crash, the rack of boys clothes on the opposite side collapsed into the ground. The other moms and I looked up at the destruction and then looked right back down at our targets, not missing a beat. “Wasn’t me!” I said. Everyone else felt the same. We moms on a bargain hunt felt no compassion for the poor woman who had knocked the rack down. We had bigger fish to fry! And fry them we did. I can’t wait ’til next year’s sale!

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