Two years ago, when we asked Tyler what he wanted for his birthday and Christmas, he started rattling off the names of the latest popular toys and characters and I had no idea what he was talking about. I figured my parents and in-laws wouldn't either so I came up with a solution that has worked really well.

A few weeks before his birthday, we take Tyler to the store (usually Target or WalMart but occasionally Toys R Us) and have him choose 10-15 items, then we take pictures of him holding each one. I upload all the pictures to Costco or Snapfish and then send out an email with the toy names and the link to the album. I CC all the grandparents and they reply back when they purchase an item so there are no duplicates or buying a Bionicle he already has (because they all look alike to me!).


Tyler gets exactly what he wants, the grandparents don't have to guess what is "in" that year, I don't have to explain what a Bakugan is and everyone chooses what fits their budget.

For more WFMW visit Kristen at We Are That Family

He Called Me Miss

Saturday night I crashed a party at the La Costa Resort and Spa. On my way there I ran into the grocery store to hit the ATM. When I got out of the car, a boy asked me to buy him a bottle of Captain Morgan.

He looked so young standing next to his practical, fuel efficient economy car that his parents probably bought. He called me 'Miss.' I stopped, and was about to hold out my hand for the money. I remembered being his age. My friends and I used to do the same thing until Phil got a fake ID. I'm sure we bought for some other fresh faced kid back when we were first married and partying ourselves.

But then I flashed forward 10 years and saw MY fresh faced kid standing in a parking lot. My baby, who, last night at dinner, thanked Phil and I for being his Mommy and Daddy. I pictured that boys parents, and shook my head. I told him I have a son of my own, and if it were him standing there... The boy finished my sentence, "you couldn't do it. It's OK, I understand."

I went inside and he was still there when I came out. I hope everyone turned him down. I hope he made it home safely.