We’ve got a new premium design debuting today. For a while now, parents of twins have been asking for a theme that’s appropriate for both of their Tots. We listened, and are proud to offer the Two of a Kind Design.
Those of you with multiple kids (not necessarily twins), may like to use this fun animal-based design as well!
Max
Hi everyone! Long time “no see,” as we’ve been making some upgrades behind the scenes that have delayed our newest TotSites theme a bit. But finally, it’s here.
The Dream Design is for all you expectant mothers out there. As your due date approaches, undoubtedly zillions of thoughts are swimming through your head… this theme touches on some of those images and ideas of what the future holds for you, your child and your family.
This Premium Design also has a new feature that we’re trying out. It contains an interior scrolling content area, so the dimensions of the overall site don’t change, but you can scroll up and down to view your content. This is a new element that will allow for some added flexibility when it comes to designing future themes. They won’t all be this way, but it adds to the variety. Let us know what you think!
Max
Earlier this year we announced TotSites had over 1 million photos uploaded. Today we doubled that milestone with over two million photos uploaded by TotSites members to share with friends and family around the world.
Thank you to everyone who uses TotSites to share and save your memories for a lifetime.
TotSites Team
Boy, I’m glad I don’t have to deal with day after day of waking up before dawn and trudging off to class (instead, I just do the same thing but head to the office). For many of your children though, it’s just about the time when they are getting their first taste of pre-school, kindergarten or even grade school.
For that reason (and with much prompting from our devoted members), we’ve created the Back to School Design! This theme is free to all of our members.
Max
I ran across an interesting blog post today talking about how the “Photo Print” pricing war has started. (http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007605.html) When companies start competing for your business it can only mean good things for the consumer!
While TotSites main focus is on building and sharing your memories, we also have a Photo Center allowing you to order prints. It was interesting to see that the TotSites Photo Center pricing is actually *very* competitive with all the other companies listed in the blog post. For their comparisons, they assume an average order of 20 photos – we see average orders of approx 100 (why not order a few extra for family when the cost is so much lower). When you compare with an order size of 100 prints, our unit price including shipping is at 9.7 cents each with the competition all around 14 to 15 cents each.
What’s more with our photos, customers get “real photos” processed on Fuji Supreme Archival Quality Photo Paper – most of the competition digitally prints on “gloss” paper – so in the end you are getting more and paying less when using the TotSites Photo Center.
If you haven’t tried the service yet, be sure to give it a shot and take advantage of the 50 free prints. Don’t limit yourself to just photo prints as the Photo Books, Photo on canvas, and other products are a great value too. One of the more popular photo products for TotSites users is actually the Photo Books. Many parents create a photo book with each Keepsake CD order so they have a couple ways to share and preserve their memories.
Thought I would share!
Brian
The red carpet is laid out and we hope you’re ready for our latest premier: the Movie Design!
This design is a special one, as it’s the 60th TotSites theme now available to Premium members!
Max
There are some lessons in life you can’t prepare for beforehand. No matter how many parenting books you read or how many babies you handle, nothing prepares you for the joy, terror, and rapid-fire learning that occurs when you are faced with parenting your own child.
Patience
The first lesson of parenthood is patience. You discover you’re pregnant and then must wait almost an entire year to see your little one in person. Of course there is much to marvel at during pregnancy, but the wait can be excruciating, especially for those used to immediate gratification.
Once your baby is born, however, you learn that waiting for her birth was just the beginning of the endless cycle of parenting which requires infinite patience. She will sleep when she wants and wake when she wants. She’ll eat as much as she wants and will likely eat slower when you’re more than ready for her to hurry up. Learning patience has a purpose, however. Your baby is helping you learn to take life at a slower pace so that you can enjoy it that much more.
Forgiveness
When things go wrong in your life before children, you might have forgiven the perpetrator, but once you become a parent, you learn an entirely new meaning of forgiveness. There are two things likely to occur when you begin handling your own baby at home. The first is that you call your own mother and thank her for dealing with you as a baby. The second is you’re going to get frustrated and mad at your baby at least a few times.
She hasn’t done anything wrong – she’s just a baby and doesn’t know that 1am isn’t the best time for a play session or that poop that explodes out of her diaper is more than just an inconvenience – even at four in the morning. So no matter how mad you get that you’re now taking care of pooh emergencies instead of sleeping (again), you’ll always love your baby and constantly seek her forgiveness for thoughts she hasn’t a clue you ever had. The best forgiveness is the kind you allow yourself when you discover that no matter how hard we try, no parent is perfect – you just do the best you can to do what’s right for your baby.
Multitasking
The biggest skill of parenting is the ability to multitask. Your multitasking abilities kick into overdrive when you have more than one child, but even a single tiny baby can suddenly make things a lot more complicated around the house. How do your hold a crying baby and bring in the eggs and milk from the car? You need to fix dinner and entertain a tired baby at the same time. Nobody has perfected these kinds of skills better than slightly frazzled parents.
Ability to Take It in Stride
Parents are great at taking things in stride once the newness of the baby wears off just a bit. In the first few days, everything is like an emergency and stress runs high. But after a few weeks, you realize that arriving fifteen minutes late is okay if you have to change a diaper. And keeping multiple changes of clothes in the car is the simplest solution to the inevitable spit-up on the way. Once upon a time you might have freaked if you found yourself covered in mashed bananas while driving the car with no make-up on in your house slippers. Now you just know that some battles are worth fighting and others are just as easy to skip all together in exchange for a hot shower and another snuggle with the source of those bananas.
You can always find more articles related to parenting and pregnancy on the TotSites article section. Feel free to leave a comment here on the blog or post on the community forums.
Hi everyone! I hope you’re all having a fantastic summer so far. We’d like to keep it going with the summer-themed Picnic Design!
This was another one you requested, so layout the tablecloth, watch out for ants(!) and enjoy the Picnic Design, which is free to all members.
Max
One of the more common questions we get from Parents is “How much time does it take to create and update a TotSite?”. The first part is simple - you can create your TotSite and have something fun to show friends and family in under 5 minutes. All you need is one adorable photo or a precious fun fact/milestone along with one of our adorable themes to make Grandma smile! Don’t take our word for it - create your online baby journal and try it for yourself!
Typically Parents fall into one of three categories in regards to how often they update their TotSite.
Daily
Some Parents prefer to update their site daily. They journal their daily adventure with their new little one and maybe add a picture or two. Taking 10 minutes before bedtime can be a great way to help keep your family milestones recorded so you can put your mind on other more important tasks - like sleep!
2-4 Updates per Month
During the first year of your Baby’s life there are so many changes, firsts, and smiles that you may want to keep a record of what is happening a couple times per month. This can be accomplished with a few quick sentences or even with the latest photos from the Zoo. Don’t feel like you need to write some long journal with every detail that happend during the month but instead just highlight the few things that made you laugh or smile.
3-4 Times per Year
In many cases Parents will update their TotSite around the Holidays as they have a ton of photos they want to share with friends and family (Be sure to order your prints with the new TotSites Photo Center - 5 cent Photo Prints!!!). They update a few galleries to their TotSite and then create a recap of the highlights since the last update. This tends to be a trend as Baby gets closer and closer to a full blown Toddler.
If Grandpa and Grandma had their way they would have you uploading new photos and videos every day. Heck, if we all had time, who wouldn’t want to journal their child’s milestones, photos, and videos in a daily format. The reality is not all Parents have the time or energy for this level of updates. Speaking from a personal point of view, I know we don’t have time to update our daughter’s TotSite daily. We typically update our sites when we order new photos (every 1-2 months) and this is plenty to create a Keepsake we will cherish for years to come.
There is no right answer for how often you need to update your TotSite. The idea is to share, record milestones, and most of all have FUN! Friends and family will enjoy whatever you can add to your TotSite and you can create a valuable Keepsake for when Baby is older (including comments from Great Grandma!)
Brian
TotSites will have a booth at the Baby Time Expo (booth number 335) on the 28th and 29th at the Qwest Field Event Center in Seattle. If you are in the area please be sure to stop by and say hello!
TotSites Team
