Silly Monkey Stories: Our Holiday Was Just Ducky!

It is widely known in our home that our daughter just loves ducks.  I was not sure if anyone outside of our little family knew this, so I tipped everyone off who was planning on shopping for her this Holiday.  Let us just say that our daughter was not disappointed because it turned out to be a very ducky Christmas for her.

The first duck of the day was from Santa.  He had tucked this adorable polka dotted rubber duck keychain in her stocking.  Santa must have done his homework because he somehow knew that our little girl has a love for ducks and a love for polka dots.  Way to go Santa!!!

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The next ducky surprise came from my parents who gave this floral plush duck pillow to our daughter.  She let out the hugest squeal when she unwrapped this gift.  She was one happy little girl!

The last surprise, which just delighted our daughter, came from my wonderful Aunt Pat.  She gave our daughter a My Pillow Pets Duck Blanket.  Our daughter didn't even know such a thing existed until she saw one on my computer a couple of months ago.  As if that wasn't enough, my aunt also included a family of rubber duckies in the gift!

I think our daughter will be talking about this Christmas for a long time.  She still talks about receiving the giant plush duck from us for her last birthday, which was almost a whole year ago.

I hope everyone's Holiday was just as ducky as ours was!

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My Photos: Christmas Day 2012

Since it's almost New Year's Eve, I figured I should not wait much longer to share my photos from Christmas Day.  Like always, I took far too many photos.  I took many on Christmas morning and lots at my sister's and brother-in-law's house, but I did a poor job of taking photos during Christmas dinner at my cousin's house.

We did break two of our Christmas traditions this year.  Instead of leaving Santa freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, we used our ninja cookie cutters to make him ninja sugar cookies.  Also, we avoided our youngest son getting sick on the way home from Christmas dinner by giving him a Hyland's Motion Sickness tablet before we left my cousin's house.


Here are just a small handful of photos highlighting our family's Christmas Day . . . 

"Ninja Sugar Cookies"

"A Visit from Santa"

"Our Traditional Christmas Breakfast"

"A Hand-drawn Gift"

"Group Hug"

"The Joy of Giving"

"Waiting for the Signal"

"Diving Right In"

"Favorite Uncle"

"Her Duck Collection is Growing"

"Cookie Decorating Kit from Whole Foods"

"A Work of Art"

"What's For Dessert?"

Click here to view all my past favorite photos.

Easy Craft: DIY "Spell It Out" Photo Gift

This is a photo gift craft I had done for Father's Day earlier this year.  I think it would make a great Holiday gift for almost any friend or family member because this craft has so many possibilities.  I got the idea when I saw a baby photo example on Pinterest from a blog called The Coleman Chronicles.  This was really so simple to make that I don't even think I need to write out a formal tutorial.  Basically, all you need to do is . . .

1.  Buy a horizontal or vertical collage frame that fits the number of letters in the word or phrase you want to spell out.  I got my frame at A.C. Moore for under $10.

2.  Since I did not want to spend a few dollars per letter on white wooden letters, I just bought some inexpensive white foam sheets and cut my letters out of those to spell "We [heart] Baba."  If you have any letters that are shown twice, you can reuse a single letter rather than make more than one.  I did buy the wooden red heart though because I would probably use that again in the future.

3.  Have your child or children hold each letter and take a photo.

4.  Print your pictures out on your own printer or have them printed by a photo service.

5.  Trim your photos to the right size and put them into the frame.

That's it!  You're done!!

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If I had to do it all again, I would have had my photos printed by a photo service because my printer just makes everything look darker and duller than it really is.

Regardless, my husband loved this photo gift!  It sits right on his desk in his office at work.  What would your "Spell It Out" photo gift say?

A Christmas Gift for Me All the Way from Virginia!

For the second year in a row, I participated in a gift exchange organized within a blogging community forum to which I have been a member for over 3 years.  Last year, we did a stocking exchange, which was lots of fun.  This year we were given a list of four things to include in our gift . . . an item that represents the city or state in which we reside, a white elephant gift, a sweet treat, and a tree ornament.

Since I am from Massachusetts, I sent my gift exchange partner, Beth of Simply Budgeted, a cookbook from Boston's famous North End, some fuzzy multi-colored leopard print fleece pajama pants, a box of Junior Mints with bits of candy cane in them, and pair of mitten ornaments from Lands' End.  Here are the fun items Beth sent to me . . .

A ginormous bag of peanuts to represent Virginia, a picture frame (not too ornate at all), chocolate-covered ginger snaps, and . . . 

. . . a set of ornaments representing the 12 Days of Christmas!

I am already trying to think of a way to turn those ornaments into a fun way to countdown to Christmas for my children next year.  Oh, and my husband, who does not even like ginger snaps, wanted to try one of those cookies.  Then I blinked and one whole stack was gone!

Thank you for the great gifts Beth!  The whole family is truly enjoying them!!

Holiday 2011: Hickory Farms for Family Holidays

Whenever I think about holiday gifts for friends and family who are not local, I always think of Hickory Farms.  It is one of the few gifts for the whole family that is most often appreciated and so easy to have shipped directly to the recipient.  Since I did not grow up eating things like sausage, cheese, and crackers, as an adult, I associate these types of finger foods with special occasions.

We received the Hickory Farms Summer Sausage & Cheese Gift Box to sample.  This box included Beef Summer Sausage, Farmhouse Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar Blend, and Smoked Gouda.  We thought the perfect time to open our cheese and sausage gift box would be on Thanksgiving.  We were not entertaining that day, but we would be going to my Aunt's house for a huge Thanksgiving dinner.  We did not want to fill up on a big lunch, so instead my husband, I, and our three children enjoyed trying these different cheeses and sausages.  I had purchased some whole grain crackers to serve with them.  The children very much enjoyed trying some cheeses they had not tried before.  Some of them turned out to be too strong for them, but they had fun tasting them all.  This turned out to be the perfect thing for us to eat in place of a conventional lunch on Thanksgiving Day.  I am thinking of doing the same thing on Christmas Day.

If you are looking for a gift that would be suitable for a whole family or perhaps a hostess gift, then you should be aware that a gift from Hickory Farms will only cost you $3 for 3-day shipping to anywhere in the continental U.S. . . . .

For a limited time, Standard Shipping is Free with a $35 purchase.  To view their full selection of food gifts, visit HickoryFarms.com.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Hickory Farms and received a product sample to facilitate my review.

4 Creative Ideas for Something Different on the Table This Christmas Day

Christmas is that festive time of the year when we gather with our loved ones and friends. And if everyone is gathering at your home for the holiday festivities, you want to make sure your table reflects a warm and fun holiday spirit. You can help commemorate the occasion by introducing some unique items to your table that will engage and impress your guests. It's that special touch that will spread the cheer of the season.

1)  Place a Christmas cracker on the top of your guests' dinner plates. These delightful novelties, developed by a British confectioner in 1847, are a British tradition that has quickly swept around the world. They are decorative cardboard cylinders filled with treats and small gifts. When pulled at both ends, Christmas crackers open with a snap. English crackers can easily be found online, and will feature a decorative wrap in a holiday pattern to suit the decor of your table. And if you're feeling creative and ambitious, you can make your own Christmas crackers . Most local craft stores carry the materials needed during holiday season. If you make your own, you can really personalize the gift for that special person. Just think of how surprised your special someone will be when their gift pops out of the cracker.

2)  There are so many ways to adorn your Xmas table with Christmas chocolates and treats for your guests. Using your favourite chocolatier, gift wrap the chocolate in a box and top it with some curly ribbon. Place the wrapped box next to each person's water glass on the table. For children, you can purchase cello-wrapped chocolate pops in fun shapes, and place them on their plates.

3)  Adorning your Christmas table with flowers is another decorating idea that will add a festive atmosphere. Paper whites give an elegant look to any table with their 12 inch stems. Their delicate white flowers give a sweet fragrance and will fill the air with its aroma. Place the bulbs on white rocks in a clear glass vase, and tie a festive ribbon around the vase.

4)  Placement cards are a wonderful way to welcome guests to your table. You can write your own personal message to each guest. Choose a holiday pattern on the cards to coordinate with your table decor. Placement cards can be purchased at local stationery stores, or you can make your own at home with software. Add a gift to the placement card by punching hole and tying an ornament to it.

A Gift From My Children

With all the hustle and bustle of the past week and a half, I have not had a chance to share about what my three children gave me for a Christmas gift.  It was a very thoughtful gift.  My children know that I work at home and spend too many hours sitting at my desk . . . more hours than they would like.  Still they gave me a gift that would make my doing so more comfortable for me.

You see, my old desk chair was falling apart.  I have been picking up the pieces of vinyl off the floor for many months.  I could also feel the hardware through the seat.  So I am thrilled to have this brand new upholstered chair to sit on at my desk in our bedroom.  It is much more attractive than the task chair and much cushier too.

I must also thank my husband, who purchased, transported, and wrapped the chair on behalf of our children. He was also nice enough to assemble it for me.  So I (and my behind) thank him and my children profusely for this thoughtful gift.

Silly Monkey Stories: Big Brothers Rock!

This year for Christmas, we allowed each child to pick out gifts to give to their siblings. I wanted to teach them that there is a lot of joy to be experienced from making someone else happy. Each child got to wrap his or her gifts and somehow managed to keep the gifts a secret from each other all the way until Christmas morning.

The twins each got their big brother a Nintendo DS game since they knew that is what he had asked Santa for this year. What big brother got the twins beat all, even the presents that Santa left for them. He had gotten each twin a Pillow Pet. I had never seen such excitement and glee on Makenzie's face and Luke gave Jake the biggest hug ever, which in turn put a huge smile on Jake's face. I hope Jake remembers how good it felt to make someone else happy like that for a long time.

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Photos From Grammy's Family Holiday Party

Last weekend, we were able to visit my in-laws who live about an hour and 45 minutes away. The children were so excited, because they love their Grammy, but also because they knew they would be able to open some Christmas presents early.

All in all, it was a relaxing afternoon and evening. It was nice to catch up with some of my husband's relatives that I have not seen in years.

Some photos from our visit . . .

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