My Review About the Game the Easter Bunny Left for Jake

One of the items in our 4yr old's Easter basket was the PS2 game Dora the Explorer: Journey to the Purple Planet. Now that Jake has had a chance to play it on a few occasions, I decided to write a review about the game (my title is a link to my review). I am so impressed by the game that I gave it 5 stars. It was truly designed with the preschooler in mind. It has just the right balance of simple and challenging aspects. I hope the great minds who created this game will put forth more games rated Early Childhood. Currently, this one game is pretty much it for any recent releases.

Horton Hears a Who! & Other Dr. Seuss Books

My sister and brother-in-law were nice enough to take our 4yr old son to see the new Dr. Seuss movie Horton Hears a Who! this afternoon. It was a perfect treat for him because he has recently developed a great interest in Dr. Seuss books.

I am so surprised to find that there exists over 50 Dr. Seuss books. Out of the long list of titles, I have only read a handful. You can view the list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dr._Seuss_books . I fully intend to read many more titles to my son, but where do I start? If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.

Here are the ones I've personally read:

The Cat in the Hat
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Green Eggs and Ham
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Ten Apples Up on Top (Don't know why it's not on the list, but it's very fun to read.)

There are some other titles which look very familiar, but I don't believe I've ever read them. Sometimes I borrow books from the library and many of them are used for bedtime stories, which are usually read by my dear husband.

Again, any recommendations are welcome.

My Photos (W/E 3/29/08)

"The Force"

"So Crummy"




"The Rookie"


"Unlikely Friends"



"Dancer-in-Training"


"Basking"



Click here to see more WEEKLY WINNERS photos!

Cinnabon Coffee Cake!

Someone on Twitter mentioned coffee cake today. Then my 4yr old son asked me to bake a cake this morning. Well with all that brow-beating, how could I not bake a coffee cake?!!!

Aside from the Betty Crocker Hershey Kiss Brownie Mix, their Cinnabon Coffee Cake Mix is one of my favorites. I highly recommend both of those if you've never tried them. They sell double packs at BJ's Wholesale Club. That's how I got hooked. They had a coupon for a free box of the cake mix if you bought one box of brownie mix. Plus these products are also part of the Box Tops For Education program.

T is for Thankful

These are some things that I am truly thankful for . . .

Three beautiful children.
Husband who is kind, loving, hard-working and patient.
Artistic and creative outlets.
Never wondering if I'm loved.
Knowing that whatever doesn't kill us will make us stronger.
Family who adores my children and lives closeby.
Unconditional love from our furbabies.
Ladies on SuperMoms World.

3G2S Blogroll

These are some of my favorite blogs to visit . . .


There are blogs of all kinds authored by bloggers from all parts of the U.S. and Canada. I invite you to stop some of these and I hope you enjoy your visits as much as I always do.

Mom Blogs

2 Wired 2 Tired
Being Alison
Eighty MPH Mom
Food Family Finds
KiddiesCorner Deals

MomDot
Mom Spotted

MomStart

On My Shoebox
Penelope's Oasis
Remaking June Cleaver
Simply Budgeted

The Mom Buzz

The Shrewbridges of Celebration, FL
Three Different Directions

Uniquely Typical
What's That Smell?

Dad Blogs

Live from Waterloo
Message With a Bottle

Food Blogs

Got Chocolate
Guilty or Guilt-Free?
Mommie Cooks
Nomsense

Oh My! Sugar High




Craft Blogs

Crafts 4 Boys
Mod Podge Rocks

Fashion/Shopping Blogs

A Blog of Goodies
Inside Stitch
The Good Girl Gone Blog
The Window

Random Number Generator

Anyone is welcome to use this True Random Number Generator provided by Random.org . . .

3G2S in the Press

3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires has been featured on the following sites. Click on any button to read what each feature, article, or interview has to say about 3G2S . . .

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about this site and its editor.

Contact Me

Click on this link to contact me via email or fill in the form below . . .


Thank you for your interest in 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires. I will gladly provide my media kit upon request.  Please note that, due to the high volume of emails we receive, we are unable to reply to every email.

Advertising on 3G2S

Please contact us to inquire about our current advertising rates for sponsored posts, as well as text and banner ads. I am happy to provide an updated media kit upon request.

Thank you for your interest in advertising on 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires.

A Really Fun CD For Young Children

The CD we listened and danced to during music time today was one of our favorites . . . JoJo's Circus - Songs from under the Big Top! All the songs are cute, catchy, and very easy to dance to. This soundtrack from the Playhouse Disney television show has 30 soundtracks and the majority of them are suitable for dancing.

Here is a list of the songs:

1. JoJo's Circus Theme Song
2. Brush Your Teeth
3. Stretching Song, The
4. Walk Like An Elephant
5. Pat Your Tummy And Rub Your Nose
6. Rum Tum Tum
7. Monkey See Monkey Do
8. Jump For Joy
9. Flap Quack
10. Balance And Pedal
11. Tap On Somebody's Shoulder
12. Gum Drop Song
13. Stuck To You
14. "Spotlight Moment" Theme Song
15. Cannonball JoJo
16. Take A Bow
17. Stop Drop And Roll
18. Statue
19. Rainbow Dance, The
21. Roar
22. Hamstercize
23. Mirror Mirror
24. Pop The Balloons
25. Hoop Jump
26. Laugh And Clap
27. Messy Mess
28. Jump Swish Shimmy
29. Bathtime
30. Go To Sleep

My title is linked to a site where you can sample each song. I highly recommend this cd for children from newborn babies up to preschool-aged kids (maybe even a little older). Our 1yr old twins love it and were just grinning ear to ear while we danced to it.

PR Welcome

Since becoming a part time blogger, I am extremely limited in the number of sponsored post and product review offers I am able to accept.  If you would like to partner on a sponsored feature for one of the categories below, please reach out to me using our contact form.

Technology & Gadgets
Kitchen & Dining Items
Crafting Tools & Supplies
Fashions for Women & Men
Fashions for Grade School or Middle School Children

Sponsored Posts & Advertising
Our Review Policies
Our Giveaway Policies

Thank you for your interest in 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires. I will gladly provide my media kit upon request.  Please note that, due to the high volume of emails we receive, we are unable to reply to every email.

Giveaway Entries & Prize Policies

Policies Regarding Entering & Winning Giveaways:

Entrants must 18+ and reside in the country specified.  Please read the giveaway rules for specific geographic requirements, which may vary between giveaways.

Winner selection is random.  All winners are determined by a random number generator, usually using Rafflecopter, unless otherwise noted within the contest post.

All entries are verified.  Entrants will not be eligible to win a contest unless you complete the described mandatory initial entry.

Valid email required.  All winners will be notified via email.  In addition, the winning entry will be displayed on the Rafflecopter widget within the giveaway post.

Claim within 48 hours. Each winner has 48 hours from the time the notification email is sent to reply to claim their prize. After 48 hours, we reserve the right to award the prize to another randomly selected entrant.

This site not responsible for the actions of the giveaway sponsor. If a prize is not received, has been lost in transit, or is broken or defective, we will make every effort to contact the sponsor on the winner's behalf, but will not be held responsible for providing an identical or an alternate prize to the winner nor will we be expected to compensate the winner in any way.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to become familiar with these policies.

Product Review Policies

Policies Regarding Product Reviews & Giveaways:

Review product samples will not be returned. We do use each product in order to write a comprehensive and thorough review. Any exceptions must be agreed upon by the editor prior to sending the product sample and the PR firm or business will be responsible for the return shipping and handling.

Review samples are never offered as contest prizes. All giveaway prizes must be brand new first quality products.

We write honest product reviews. If we are unable to write a balanced review about a specific product, the PR professional or business owner will be notified and will be able to opt out of the review and will have the option to pay for the return shipment of the product sample when possible.

PR professional, brands, or business owners are responsible for shipping prizes to giveaway winners. Any exceptions must be agreed upon by the editor prior to shipping the product. Any contest prizes sent to us without prior agreement will most likely be donated to a charity. As a result, the contest will not take place.

We are not obligated to review items that are sent to us without prior knowledge. Such items will likely be donated to charity.

Interested in a giveaway only? If you are not interested in having your product reviewed, but are interested in having a giveaway (without an accompanying product review) hosted on this site, a $25 fee will apply.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to become familiar with these policies.

PLEASE NOTE: Although I occasionally invite carefully selected guest bloggers and guest reviewers to contribute content, all articles, reviews, and giveaways involving product or payment provided by a sponsor are arranged by this site's owner alone. Please be wary of any other parties claiming to contact you on behalf of 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires.

About My Blogs

3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires is authored by a full time work-at-home mom and will be housing a limited number of fashion and tech product reviews and giveaways going forward. In addition to the previously mentioned, here are some of the content topics you can look forward to when you visit this blog . . .

Easy Recipes (Recipes with few ingredients and steps)
Simple Crafts (Simple crafts for adults)
Shop 'n' Share (Reports about my latest finds in fashion and more)
Tech Tips (All things about technology and gadgets)
Silly Monkey Stories (Silly stories and photos of our 3 children)

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9 Cool Things

9 Cool Things is where we share all the cool finds we come across online, whether it be blogger content (with owner's permission), gift ideas, or something else.  Each post will provide you with not one, but nine cool finds, making this blog a wonderful source of ideas and inspiration.

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A Blog of Goodies

As the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires, this site has evolved into a shopping blog where Karen shares her online window shopping finds.  A Blog of Goodies is also the home of "Gimme Giveaways" where bloggers can list their current contests for free 24/7.

About the 3G2S Family

3G2S Family Photo - June 2010

Welcome! My name is Karen . . . founder, author, and editor of 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires. This blog is named after all the gems in our little family . . . my husband Todd and I are the sapphires and our 3 January babies Jake, Makenzie, and Luke are the garnets.  Todd and Jake are 3G2S contributors, providing male and teen points of view on a variety of topics and consumer products.

Ours is a very tech-oriented family.  In addition to tech tips, we also love to blog about shopping, easy crafts, Massachusetts attractions, and more.

As a social media influencer, I encourage you to checkout my social media channels on the sidebar and follow me to stay up-to-date on 3G2S news.

About My Blogs

Meet the 3G2S Contributors

YAY for Self-Control!!

(No, this isn't going to be about me and cake.)

A few days ago, I had changed one of the items on our 4yr old's rewards chart from "Teaching the Babies Something New" to "Being Nice to the Babies." For the months we've been using this rewards chart, Jake only tried to teach his little brother and sister something new maybe twice. So I decided to use it to help correct his habit of being too rough with his 1 yr old siblings.

Jake likes to give the twins forced hugs. He holds them against their will and does not release them when they protest. He has also been known to knock them down and be too physical with them when they approach him and try to play with whatever toy he has at the moment. Nothing we've tried so far has made the situation better. Even when he got a taste of his medicine from a boy that was older than him, he admitted he didn't like it, but still did not change his pattern of behavior.

Well, he finally earned his first sticker for being "nice" on Wednesday. We didn't get to go over his reward chart together because he had to scoot off to bed (it's a school night). So I can't wait for him to wake up in the morning so I can praise him for proving that it is possible for him not to be a bully towards his brother and sister. I'm hoping he earns lots more stickers in this category in the future.

Build-A Bear Workshop's "Stuff Fur Stuff Club"

The Stuff Fur Stuff Club is Build-a-Bear Workshop's loyalty program. They send you customer loyalty certificates for every 100 points you accumulate. Since we had Jake's last birthday party there, I had accumulated a few certificates. They were actually good until January '09, but here is the reason I decided to spend them now.

Before the twins were born, Jake and I use to go to the mall once or twice a month. My husband would have lunch with us at the mall and then come back to pick us up after work. We always sat on the same bench to share a sour cream & onion soft pretzel with no salt from Auntie Anne's. Then we would go play at the Lego Store. I know that Jake and I both have very fond memories of those special days. He actually brings them up once in awhile and it makes me sad because, ever since the twins were born, we rarely get any Jake 'n' Mommy time.

So my idea was that (while my husband took the twins to an appointment) Jake and I could go to Build-a-Bear to pick out some new things for his dinosaur, Kenzie's bear, and Luke's monkey. Then I thought we could go share a pretzel while we waited for my husband to pick us up. I was pretty excited about it.

Well, it didn't work out exactly as I envisioned. Because of the time crunch, we ended up all going to the mall together later in the day. My husband kept the twins busy for a little while, so Jake and I had a little bit alone time. Build-a-Bear Workshop was all the way on the other side of the mall from where we parked. While holding my hand, Jake practically ran the whole way he was so excited to go. Then, while in the store, it was great watching his eyes light up as he ran from one display to another. He wanted to show me everything. Even though, we didn't get to share a pretzel together on the bench, I do think we created a new fun and special Jake 'n' Mommy memory.

Oh, and this is a list of things we picked out at Build-a-Bear and we didn't have to pay one cent:
-An irridescent fairy outfit (a fairy dress with the wings attached)
-A Buzz Lightyear costume (complete with hood, padded shirt, pants, and space shoes)
-A striped polo shirt
-A pair of pink panties
-A pair of plush pink flower ponytail holders ornaments (they go on the bear's ears :P )

Who Says "When You Snooze You Lose?"

I have never been able to successfully get our 1yr old twins to take a real nap. They catnap for about 15 to 20 minutes once a day and rarely ever at the same time. On some days Makenzie doesn't take a nap at all.

Well, today I laid out their nap mats on the floor . . . a little bit further apart than normal. Why? I was leaving a space for myself. I laid down some pillows in between their mats (so my tired old back wouldn't hurt so badly) and settled right down. It wasn't too uncomfortable. Luke, who was to my right, fell asleep after just 5 minutes. On my left, Makenzie kept getting up again and again, but finally fell asleep after I laid her back down for the 5th time.

Oh, I forgot another important element. I had to find something for their 4yr old big brother to watch on television that was interesting enough to keep him settled for about an hour. He did a really good job staying quiet for the most part. I gave him a pompom for his "good boy" jar for being so good. Luke slept for an hour and Makenzie slept for about 45 minutes. I, who was exhausted from the previous night's lack of sleep, dozed in and out. I think that was the first nap I've taken in months.

What the Easter Bunny Left

The kids had a lot of fun Easter morning. They combed through their enormous Easter baskets (click on the photo to see a larger more detailed version) and then we had an Easter egg hunt. Luke found the first egg (strictly beginner's luck). Jake was pretty good about giving the twins a chance to find some of the easy ones. I think they had more fun playing with the empty plastic eggs than playing with the contents. I put a little box of raisins and a wooden Melissa & Doug animal magnet inside each one.

Then we had Easter eggs for breakfast. Everyone enjoyed them except for Luke. I think he would have preferred an omelette.

(Oh, and I changed the photo of the kids at the bottom of the page.)

PR & Sponsor Feedback

"Many thanks to Jerinda for the great review on our product, Spot it! The review promoted the educational value, family interaction, and eco-friendly quality of our toys and games. Thank you again for the word of mouth."
~Rochelle for Blue Orange Games (Arpil 30th, 2012)


"I want to thank you for one of the best reviews of our product YET! I wish you the best of luck on your blog, you really have a great site.. Thank you again, for helping get the word out about the BallClaw! "
~ John for Ball Claw (February 27th, 2010)



"That is an incredible review/giveaway! Really an awesome job. I like how you included so many pictures of the product and explained it well. "
~ Zach for RockConcepts (February 4th, 2010)



"It was a very well-written review, and it was great to learn how your 6-year-old son experienced the game. You really drove home the age-appropriateness of the title for young kids, and you highlighted some of the fun and learning elements of the game with your screenshots."
~ Scott for JumpStart ( January 28th, 2010)


"Fantastic review!! I love that you put photo's of your kids actually wearing the harnesses in the review!! Anyway, the entire review was perfect and exactly what we could have asked for! I have already bookmarked your review and blog on our social networks! "
~ Megan for BabySafeTravel.com (August 19th, 2009)


"Your post looks fantastic. It’s one of the best I’ve read about back-to-school. Thank you very much for doing such a wonderful job! I’ve sent it to OfficeMax and Peter Walsh to read, and we’ll definitely re-tweet your post on Twitter as well. Thanks again for taking part, and I hope to be in touch with you again in the future. "
~ Beth for Office Max (August 18th, 2009)


"Kudos to Karen and her wonderful site for parents everywhere to participate in sharing, communicating and supporting one another. Offering Circus Fever for a give-a-way and reading all of the wonderful comments that people shared was such an incredible experience for me. I hope that somewhere along the line many of the parents connected with the importance of reading and sharing with your children at all ages. Thank you for allowing me this wonderful opportunity!"
~ Alva Sachs, Children's Book Author (August 13th, 2009)


"The review looks wonderful, thank you! . . . Please keep us in mind for any future articles you may be writing for your blog. We would love to work with you again in the future!"
~ Joshua for ecoTimeToys.com (July 30th, 2009)


"Thank you so much for such a great review of the wagon. Everyone here loves the review. Let me know if you need anything else."
~ Blessly for Radio Flyer (July 22nd, 2009)



"Thanks so much for sending me the link to your review! It is wonderful! I also love the short video you created! Also, I noticed that you already have over 266 comments on this giveaway! That is amazing!"
~ Jessica for Graco (June 22nd, 2009)


"Thank you so much for taking the time to review our products. We are all so thrilled that you like our labels and we absolutely loved your review. It was very well written and the pictures were just great. Thanks again and please let me know if it’s OK to keep you in the loop about any new products we develop for future reviews."
~Felix for Oliver's Labels (March 27th, 2009)


"Wow!! The post is absolutely amazing! You are the best :).
Can't wait to see all the comments and I have already had quite a few people sign up for my newsletter in the short time you've had this up and running."
~Neida for HipFusion Designs (March 7th, 2009)

Night Before Easter Checklist

Dye and decorate eggs. CHECK

Leave personalized baskets out for the Easter Bunny to fill. CHECK

Make sure all 3 munchkins are tucked away snug in their beds. CHECK

Fill previously mentioned baskets with goodies. CHECK

Make mental note to buy lots more grass next year if I use ginormous baskets again. CHECK

Fill plastic eggs with treats. CHECK

Hide plastic eggs in clever places all around the living room. CHECK

They Got the Point!

We have tried to introduce self-spoon-feeding to the twins a few times now. They seemed to understand what needed to be done, but they became frustrated easily and clearly did not want to do the work.

Tonight my husband had diced some chicken for them and I got the idea to try them out on self-feeding with forks. To my surprise, they seemed to get the concept right away. Luke made a great effort to poke his chunks of chicken, but some of the pieces were a tad too small. Luckily that didn't discourage him. Makenzie was open to having her hand and fork be guided to skewer her food. They were already accustomed to being fed with forks, so neither had any problems getting the food off the fork and into their mouth.

Now I'll have to make a list of foods that are suitable for toddlers and can be eaten easily with forks. They need to keep practicing while they are still mildly excited about it.

Oh, Goodie!!!

I just wanted to share about one of my latest finds. I ordered this personalized 3 cannister set with stand from PersonalCreations.com a couple of weeks ago and it arrived in the mail today. It was on sale for $17.98 (regularly $29.95) plus I was able to take advantage of a free shipping offer. They do charge a personalization fee of $3.25 per order no matter how many items it contains. In my case, I ordered three items, so the fee was worth it divided by 3.

Anyways, you can have anything engraved on the lids up to 9 characters per each of the 3 lines. So I thought 3 kids . . . 3 cannisters . . . sounded perfect, especially when I envisioned my three munchkins a few years into the future, fighting over their Halloween candy. This set came just in time for Easter because they all will have goodies to put in their own jars come Sunday.

(The title is a link to the item.)

The Next Partridge Family? . . . NOT!!!

Everyday, the kids and I have "music time" during which we will dance to a cd, sing songs, . . . anything musical.

Today I suggested that we dig out all the toys we had that are musical instruments. This resulted in a 4-key piano, 3 drums/bongos, and a pair of maracas. I know we had more upstairs, but these were plenty. So we turned on our Leapfrog Fridge DJ Radio and started playing the instruments. Everyone had a turn at the drums, but Jake seemed to enjoy them the most. He showed off by playing all three at once using his hands and his feet. Makenzie seemed to love shaking the maracas (one of her favorite toys) and Luke just wanted to rock to the radio. I'm very impressed with this Leapfrog radio by the way. It has lots of different songs that are catchy, easy to understand, and none of them are annoying.

We had lots of fun playing with the instruments and will certainly do it again (and do it often). I hope the neighbors don't mind.

Love a Shopping Challenge!

Our 4yr old received an invitation to a friend/classmate's birthday party. I RSVP'd via email and asked for some tips on what the little guy might like for a gift. Well, his mom mentioned an action figure she has been trying to find for him. Since I am a shopping fool, I made it my mission to find this figure. After all, what better gift could there be than something the boy had been wanting for a long time? Nothing gives me a better feeling than finding the perfect gift for someone, especially a child.

Well, being the seasoned internet shopper I am, I found several sources who carried the figure and actually had it in stock. The best price was (you guessed it) on Ebay. I actually prefer Ebay over shopping at small "mom 'n' pop" websites anyways. That's where I found most of the figures to be in stock. I love supporting small businesses locally, but when they are several states away, I'm a little more hesitant.

Mission accomplished!!

3 Finished Personalized Storage Bins

For our 4yr old's bin, my husband drew a likeness of Lightning McQueen in pencil. I added the clouds, road, the call-out, the name, and the paint. The picture really doesn't do the artwork justice because the metallic paint is reflecting too much of the light from the camera's flash. I eeked by with the amount of black and white paint I had left. I hadn't planned on filling in large spaces with it, but realized that the picture would look much better with the eyes, teeth, and tires done in solid.

I had a ton of problems when I used the black and blue paints on the train design for the very first time. Even though I shook the bottles up well, the paints bled during the first couple of applications to my dismay. The bright side is that I discovered just how 3-dimensional these paints can be after applying layer upon layer upon layer. I did try to build some depth into the floral design later on since I had paint left over.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the end result since I haven't attempted a craft project in quite a long time. The unpredictable performance of these Tulip Metallic 3-D white, black, and blue paints made the process a little more stressful than I would have liked. That being said, I have to add that when I asked Jake if he liked his, he replied, "I LOVE it!!!" and just seemed thrilled. That just made all the aggravation worthwhile.

Some Silly Fun Between Father & Son

My preschooler started a new game with his Dad today. They would go back and forth saying, "I love you bigger than ________." Some of the things they came up with were just too darn cute. Amongst the many things our 4yr old came up with were a refridgerator, a house, a dinosaur, and MumMum (Um . . . I wasn't offended in the least). They were enjoying the new game so much, they could have gone on and on all night.

Personalized Storage Bins (Step 2 of 2)

I completed the last step, which was to apply the paint, for one of the storage bins tonight. It really reminded me of how out of practice I am at simple drawing. Luckily, I only need to impress one 4yr old and two 1yr olds.

I laid the bin folded flat on my bed on a few sheets of paper towels. The directions on the Tulip paint said to just shake well and place the tip on the surface then squeeze. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, to my surprise, the paint was extremely easy to use. I was very pleased with how much control I had over the thickness of the lines and over beginning/ending a line. The white was not as user-friendly though. I think it was a little thinner than the other colors. It contained bubbles and just did not give a consistent line, even though I did not change the pressure of which I was squeezing the bottle. Overall, I would recommend these paints for adults and children. I had zero mess . . . no drips, running, bleeding, etc . . . Plus, it is suppose to dry in just 4 hours!

My husband is attempting to draw a likeness of Lightning McQueen on Jake's right at this moment. I will try to finish painting that and Luke's choo choo train bin over the next day or two. I'll be sure to post photos of the finished products. Wish me luck!!

Personalized Storage Bins (Step 1 of 2)

I had mentioned before that I was going to make personalized storage bins for each of the kids and let them leave them for the Easter Bunny to fill. Well, I finally got my butt in gear and started the project.

Materials:
Collapsible Canvas Storage Cube (Any size works)
A Pencil (Note: If you try to erase the pencil marks, the canvas gets a little fuzzy. I learned the hard way.)
Assorted Fabric Paints (I chose Tulip Metallics 3D Fashion Paint)

The first thing I did after deciding what the theme for each bin would be was to draw the designs out in pencil. I drew them right on the bins and will just apply the paint right over it. The themes I settled upon are cars for Jake, trains for Luke, and flowers, butterflies, and hearts for Makenzie. I wanted to do a princess theme for her with a crown and the phrase "Our Little Princess" but it was too much text in addition to her name on there. My husband has promised to draw the car for me in the near future. I drew out the designs for the other two tonight. I would have taken a picture, but I think the pencil marks may be too light to show up on camera, especially if I have to use a flash. I'm not thrilled with the way my butterflies came out, but I guess their primitive look matches the simple flowers. The design with the train says, "CHUG-A CHUG-A CHOO CHOOOOOO" with a big sun and a couple of small clouds above it and Luke's name under it along the bottom.

Sources for design ideas:
Coloring books or online coloring pages
Stencils
Rubber Stamps
Children's books

Since Easter is only about a week away, I'm relieved to have started the project. I'm not really a last minute kind of person.

MMMBop by Hanson

We were shopping at our local BJ's Wholesale Club earlier this evening. I noticed that they had the music turned up a little louder than usual (loud enough so I could barely hear my phone ringing in my back pocket). I had both twins in one of BJ's wonderful double-seated shopping carts and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Luke seemed to be more into the music playing and Kenzie seemed to be busy looking around at everything.

Well, when Hanson's 1997 hit MMMBop came on (if you don't remember it, use the link in my title to hear a short clip), Luke got this huge grin on his face and started rocking his whole body from side to side. He did this until the entire song was over. It was so adorable, I had to stop in the middle of the store and dance along with him. He never had this reaction to "The Wheels on the Bus!" I guess I've been playing the wrong type of music for him.

Beyond Generosity

Someone did something beyond generous for my parents and I'm not sure if these two people fully realize how happy they have made them, especially my father.

My parents have always lived modestly. My father just retired officially and my mother takes on temp jobs now and then. They just moved into an extension that was built onto my sister's and BIL's house. Well, one day they received a phone call alerting them to the window during which their new television was going to be delivered. It turned out that this generous couple had arranged to have a wide screen plasma television delivered to my parent's new home!

You have to understand that this is not something my parents could ever justify buying for themselves. They classify ordering take-out as extravagant. According to my mother, my father was so excited, he was almost giddy, and he couldn't sleep for several nights.

I hope these two people know how touched my parents are by this gift. Not only was it monetarily generous, but they hit the nail on the head for the all-time perfect gift for them.

Thank you for making my parents so happy!!!

Who Is That Impersonating My Son?

Today was our appointment for our parent/teacher conference at my son's preschool. Just like most other children, he has two sides to him. One side is the well-behaved over-achiever who only shows up at school and then there's the side that only appears at home. We won't talk about the latter though because this blog is to help me focus on the positive parts of my day.

In this preschool, they grade each category under each area of development with solid (consistently performing, emerging (inconsistenlty performing or just starting to perform), or unemerged (not yet performing). Jake received a "solid" for every category. During his last conference in the fall, he had a couple of areas where he was classified as "emerging." It appears that he's really surpassed their expectations in all those areas.

His teacher also said that he was well-liked by the other children, he stands up for himself, he is very organized and great at cleaning up, he always puts everything back where it goes (it's good to know that my obsessive-compulsive tendencies at home are good for something), his favorite station is the writing table, and overall he seems to be very confident (whether he's counting or pouring his own juice at snacktime).

If you couldn't tell, I am one proud mommy!!! My husband and I brought him to A.C. Moore to pick out a small reward for doing so well in school and out of everything in that enormous store, he chose a Glow-in-the Dark Silly Putty on sale for a dollar! That just made me more proud of him for some reason.

Then and Now

I was going through the kids' closet and drawers today. I packed away all the clothes they are outgrowing to make room for the new larger springtime clothing. It seemed like overnight that our 4yr old's sleeves and inseams were suddenly too short for him. The same with our 1yr old twins . . . especially the girl.

I remember when I use to feel excited that Jake was growing and I could put away his old clothes. It just felt right. Today, I didn't feel that way at all. I was a little sad that all my babies are growing so quickly.

Still . . . it put a smile on my face to hang all my daughter's new clothes in her closet. I got her such pretty dresses and adorable outfits. She's my first girl and boys clothes just aren't as much fun.

From One Big Bro to Another

Today my 4yr old son and I made a card. An old friend of mine just gave birth to their second son a few weeks ago and I will be sending the little guy a gift this week. I had an idea that Jake could draw a picture to send with the gift. Then I thought it would be an even better idea to make their other son a big brother card. Every new big brother needs to feel special after all. Jake agreed.

As you can imagine, we have to do quick projects around here because that's all our 1yr old twins will allow. A couple of months ago, we had made a picture together. I drew a simple background and Jake decorated it with stickers. I thought this would be a good way to make a nice looking card. We just used yellow construction paper in a bifold format and some stickers I picked up in the dollar section at Target a while ago. I wrote a short message inside for the new big brother. (By the way, sorry if the mommy is seeing this before she receives my package. I hope she doesn't mind.)

I am impressed at how much attention Jake paid to the placement of all the stickers. All the vehicles on the road were carefully selected to face the same direction just as it should be on a real street. I didn't help him at all with the selection or the placement of the stickers.

Crayola Color Surge

Today, my husband was able to leave work early to take our 4yr old son to A.C. Moore's Crayola Make and Take event. They were showcasing Crayola's recent addition to their Color Wonder line . . . the Crayola Color Surge. This product did what it claimed it would do, which was to generate vivid colors on colored paper. If you've ever used Color Wonder markers, then you know that the colors come out faded even on white paper. My husband was so impressed that he bought one set for our stash of prizes to be used with our son's reward chart.

The picture shown above is what our father/son team came up with. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty impressed.

Themes for Personalized Easter Baskets

One of the wonderful ladies on SuperMoms World told me that her children had their own special baskets that they left out the night before Easter. Then the Easter Bunny would come along and fill the baskets with goodies before morning.

Since I had already bought 3 red collapsible canvas storage cubes and some fabric paints (the squeeze bottle kind), I thought this would be a great way to get our preschooler involved in a fun craft project. I suggested to him earlier today that this year we could make personalized baskets with his and his brother's and sister's names on them and then leave them for the Easter Bunny to fill. He loved the idea!

I'm really looking forward to his having some input on his basket because I was worried that I would come up with something that he wouldn't like. At least this way, he'll be able to tell me what type of theme he'd like. I was thinking about a dinosaur theme for his. I know he'd love cars on it, but I'm not that confident in my ability to draw cars with puffy paint.

Anyone have any suggestions for themes appropriate for a 4yr old boy, a 1 yr old boy, and a 1yr old girl? I want them to be able to use these for storage in their room for toys or books after Easter and in coming years. I was thinking about some simple flowers in various colors or maybe a princess theme for the girl's. Any ideas are welcome!!!

Two Treats for ME!

It's 2am! Since I am up for other reasons, I wanted to post about two things that made me smile the day before.

The first thing was that my husband surprised me with a package of cookies. I haven't had them in years. He saw them and remembered how much I liked them. I thought that was very sweet.

The second thing was that my 4yr old son snuck out of bed after I just tucked him in. He comes into the upstairs hallway and says to me, "MumMum, I want to tell you a secret." Then he whispers, "I love you." That just melted my heart and I didn't care that he probably was just using that as an excuse to get out of bed.