3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

My Photos: Dim Sum and a Movie

2012-02-12T17:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of attending an advanced screening of the Disney movie The Secret World of Arrietty in Boston. Since we were so close to Chinatown, we decided to have lunch there. Although our 8 year old has been to dim sum before, our 5 year old twins have not. We thought this would be a fun experience since we had read the board book Yum Yum Dim Sum to them so many times.

20 Thoughtful and Romantic Gift Ideas to Surprise Your Spouse With

2012-02-11T20:37:00.000-05:00

I recently read an article about how to be romantic all year round and how you should not wait until Valentine's Day to show your love for your spouse. There were some great ideas in this article, many of which did not require a lot of time and money. One idea that really inspired me is the one about a monthly gift. I think picking up a little something for your spouse once a month just to

Easy Recipe: Hugs & Kisses Mini Pies

2012-02-10T22:10:00.000-05:00

I made these little pies over the holidays after being inspired by Jenny's Kiss Pies on the Picky Palate blog. The few things I had changed about the recipe are that mine use both Hershey's Hugs and Hershey's Kisses, I used a different brand of refrigerated pie crust, and I tried to raise the seams on top of my mini pies to make them resemble stars . . . not sure if I succeeded there though.

Free Printables: Valentine's Day Word Searches (3 Difficulty Levels)

2012-02-07T22:35:00.000-05:00

Valentine's day is only one week away. I really meant to share these Valentine's Day word searches a couple of weeks ago, but I was sick for almost a whole week and am just getting caught up. Like all the other word search puzzles I share, these have 3 levels of difficulty . . . one for grade school-aged children, one for Pre-K through 1st grade, and one for preschoolers where the first letter

Giveaway: Classrooms Across the U.S. Ask For Tag Reading Systems via DonorsChoose.org

2012-02-07T18:26:00.000-05:00

For years, LeapFrog has been doing its share to support literacy in preschool and early grade school classrooms with the Tag. Give. Read. program. Since the launch of this program in 2009, LeapFrog has donated over $1.5 million worth of Tag Readers and Tag books to classrooms across the U.S., affecting the education of more than 20,000 students. One of those classrooms was a pre-K class from

Silly Monkey Stories: Shopping Trip to Claire's

2012-02-07T00:01:00.005-05:00

Our children had a bit of spending money saved up from gifts for Christmas and their birthdays and some lucky money from Chinese New Year. (Can you tell why December and January are their favorite months of the year?) So, the whole family made a visit to the mall this past weekend. It was actually our first trip to the mall since October because we try to avoid it during the peak holiday

Platinum (and Diamonds) to Celebrate a 20th Anniversary

2012-02-05T11:38:00.000-05:00

Diamond jewelry is the official modern-day gift to mark the milestone of 10 years of marriage. Our 10th wedding anniversary has come and gone. In fact, this year my husband and I will be celebrating our 12th anniversary. When our 10-year anniversary did arrive, I thought to myself that ten years did not feel like a long time. No, we did not feel like newlyweds. However, although we have

Free Printables: "Mirror Mirror" Valentines Day Cards (Coming to theaters March 30th)

2012-02-03T14:31:00.000-05:00

Have you experienced a fairy tale romance like that between Snow White and her Prince? Well, here are 8 different Mirror Mirror themed printable Valentine's Day cards for you and your children to enjoy. Simply click here to view all 8 cards. After all, what better way is there to celebrate Valentine's Day than with a classic romantic fairy tale? This retelling of the story of Snow White and

Living Green With Jerinda Giveaway: SnapSac Reusable Totes & Coolers

2012-02-02T15:49:00.001-05:00

People who know me know that I’m a sucker for cute reusable bags. We use ours so frequently that they end up tattered and worn and need replacing. When I got the offer for bags from SnapSac, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. SnapSac is unique because their bags "snap" shut in three different places: folded up for easy storage, inside the small inner pocket to hold in loose items, and in the front

3 Ways to Cut Costs Around the House

2012-01-31T09:26:00.000-05:00

See these three children? They may be cute, but they each cost a lot of money to raise. Although I have not focused on it, I have shared a bit about how tough the past few years have been for my family financially. To sum it up, before we could fully recover from my husband losing his job two years prior, my husband lost his job again nearly 3 years ago, took out a student loan to go back to

Silly Monkey Stories: A Birthday Gift

2012-01-31T00:01:00.006-05:00

Not too long ago, I shared about how each of our 3 children always chose something small for each other as birthday gifts every year and how impressed I was about how much care each child took in choosing the gifts for his or her siblings. This year, Luke received a blue and white Iron Man figure from his big brother, who just knew he had to buy that for Luke when he saw it in the store. I

My Photos: January Birthday Celebration (plus Random Cat Photo)

2012-01-29T15:44:00.000-05:00

You may have figured it out that our "3 Garnets" are our children who all happen to have January birthdays. Earlier this month, we celebrated our 8 year old son's birthday with a dinner out. Then last weekend, we had a family dinner at my sister and brother-in-law's house for all 3 children, followed by an at-home birthday breakfast for the twins the next morning. As always, I took a million

Letters To Karen: Brain Activity

2012-01-28T12:20:00.002-05:00

Dear Karen, You have just proven once again to yourself that you are your own worse enemy. You always have a long list of things to do. You are actually pretty good about prioritizing that list. Your husband was nice enough to get the children out of the house today so that you can catch up (or at least feel less behind) and this is what you do! Let's recap the last 15 minutes of what went

Butt Bench . . . an Easy to Install Bench for the Bathtub

2012-01-27T20:46:00.001-05:00

If you’ve ever struggled to shave your legs in the shower, needed to sit down, or just needed more space for storage in your tub, the Butt Bench might be the answer to your problems. The Butt Bench is a durable, high-quality bathtub seat made of natural wood that comes in four finishes: cedar, pine, pink pine, and white pine. This tub seat supports your weight, so you can use it to make shower

Trendy Camo Wedge Shoes from My Shoe Connection

2012-01-27T10:54:00.002-05:00

At first glance, it would seem that My Shoe Connection only offers prom shoes, bridal shoes, and other special occasion footwear for women, men, and children. If you dig a little deeper, however, it turns out that this site also offers some fun trendy casual shoes for both warm and cold weather. I was so very surprised at the huge selection of fall and winter boots available on this site. I

Silly Monkey Stories: Wordless #7

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

This is our seventh "wordless" Silly Monkey Story over the course of 3-1/2 years. Has it really been that long Gabriel? If you have a silly photo of your children that speaks for itself, we would love to see it. Click on this link to view all our other wordless Silly Monkey Stories. (Click any photo to enlarge) Click here to learn how to participate in Silly Monkey Stories.

My Photos: Snow Play

2012-01-22T10:36:00.001-05:00

Last week, we experienced our first snowfall of the fall/winter season that actually resulted in some accumulation. Although there was not enough snow to build a snowman, it was enough to play in. The twins' preschool class took so long to get suited up with snow pants and snow boots that day that school was over by the time they made it outside. Since they were already dressed for it, I just

"Real Steel" . . . Slideshow, Movie Clips, and Review

2012-01-20T18:12:00.002-05:00

On January 24th, Real Steel comes out on Blu-ray/DVD, DVD, and digital download. Our 8 year old son showed a lot of interest in seeing this film when it was in the theaters, but my husband and I thought we should watch it first to see why it is rated PG-13. Since I did not pay too much attention to the press about this film, I did not know what to expect. I knew it had robots in it, but that

Easy Recipe: Sausage-Onion-Pepper Scoops

2012-01-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

This is a super-easy contraption that I created by accident. I figured it would be a tasty finger food to create for Super Bowl Sunday, so I thought I would share it. We often make sausages with onions and peppers to either serve whole on sub rolls or cut into pieces on top of rice. Well one night, my sausages and veggies were almost cooked perfectly, but I did not realize we were out of rice

3 Things I Would Have Done Differently While Planning Our Wedding

2012-01-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

Not one, but two of my baby cousins are getting married this Spring! In fact, I just received the first invitation the other day and thought to myself, "How clever! Why didn't I think of that when I was planning our wedding?" This started me thinking about what I would have done differently if I were planning my wedding today. We had a private ceremony and then a Chinese wedding banquet

Portion Control Lidded Bowls for Adults and Children

2012-01-18T09:09:00.011-05:00

Portion control is something many people struggle with nowadays, which was why the brand Yum Yum Dishes was born. Yum Yum Dishes are cute, portion controlling plates and bowls for children and adults alike. This product is based on the concept that moderation is more effective than deprivation when it comes to eating. Yum Yum Dishes was kind enough to send us a set of four bowls with their lids

Silly Monkey Stories: Such a Considerate Child

2012-01-17T00:01:00.006-05:00

Last week, I had a very minor procedure done at the doctor's and was given an assortment of drugs for pain management. Well, one or more of the drugs was making me nauseous and I was for at least a day and a half. If you are a parent, then you know very well that it really does not matter how you are feeling. Your children, especially young ones, will carry on like they do everyday. Our son

Easy Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Italian Style Chicken Fingers

2012-01-15T17:11:00.000-05:00

This is a super-easy recipe I wanted to share. It is very kid-friendly and would likely be a huge hit on game day. It is just something I tried one day to add a little variety to our meals, since our children are a little on the picky side when it comes to food. One food item I have noticed that they like is Barber Food Italian Style Raw Chicken Fingers. This is a frozen food item that we

Shop 'n' Share: Discovered the BEST Treats for Elderly Cats on MrChewy.com

2012-01-14T12:53:00.000-05:00

For someone who shops so frequently online, it is a wonder why I have never purchased things like pet supplies via the Internet before. When I received an invitation from MrChewy.com to give their pet supplies site a try, I could find no reason to decline. If I had not been shopping on MrChewy.com, I would never have discovered Zukes Hip Action cat treats! Two out of our three cats are over

Finding Balance With Asperger's: Soft Clothing for Children with Sensory Processing Disorders

2012-01-11T19:59:00.000-05:00

Soft specializes in clothing for children who have sensory processing disorders and are sensitive to seams and tags on clothing. Quinn, 4 ½ years old, didn’t use to have issues with that, but lately has become very irritated by his tags. Soft Clothing was kind enough to send us a 3-pack of seamless underwear, an organic cotton tee, and a lightweight jacket. Soft Organic Cotton Underwear come in