My Photos: W/E 6-30-12

Last weekend, my husband and I had the pleasure of taking the whole family to spend A Day Out With Thomas the Tank Engine at Edaville USA in Carver, Massachusetts.  It was a great morning and I think we created some fun memories as a family.  Those opportunities seem to be few and far between these days with both my husband and I working so much.  Special times like these are even more important because our lives are so busy and hectic.  I'm hoping to return to Carver later this summer with the whole family for King Richard's Faire.  My husband and I have wanted to go for years, but it is only now that we feel all the children are old enough to enjoy the Faire.  Have you ever attended a medieval festival before?  It looks like it would be so much fun!

Here are some of my favorite photos from A Day Out With Thomas that I have not yet shared . . .

(Click any photo to enlarge)

"You Annoy Me, But I Still Love You" 

 "Covered Bridge"

 "Lily Pads"

"The Cow Jumped Over the Moon"

Click here to view all my past favorite photos.

My Photos (W/E 6-4-11)

Last week, we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday.  These are only a small handful of photos from the many I took that day.  You can find more on my personal Facebook page.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

"A Full Belly"

"Wonderment"

"Brotherly Love"

"Jump For Joy!"                        "Up! Up and Away!!"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus a.k.a. Sarcastic Mom.

My Photos (W/E 10-16-10)

Last week for Silly Monkey Stories, I shared some photos of our two boys that I thought really illustrated their brotherly bond. Here is one more for you. In the other photos, big brother and little brother had their faces painted and they were posing for the camera. This photo is more natural. There are no painted faces plus this is just a candid shot of the boys playing together.

"Put Our Heads Together"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus a.k.a. Sarcastic Mom.

Silly Monkey Stories: Brothers Forever!

A couple of weeks ago, we stopped by a local restaurant for a quick dinner and it turned out to be Kids' Night! There were balloons, face painting, and crafts. Our daughter never wants any part of having her face painted, but our boys were beyond excited. The artist did such an impressive job. We tried to take photos of the boys at the restaurant, but they would not sit still long enough.

Luckily, my husband remembered to hold a mini photo shoot when we got home. These photos really show the strong brotherly bond that exists between this big brother and this little brother . . .

Click here to learn how to participate in Silly Monkey Stories.

Click here to read all my Silly Monkey Stories!

If you have a Silly Monkey Story to share, sign Mr. Linky below with the link to your blog post (not the link to your main blog page). Please do not forget to visit the other participants and leave them comments to let them know you stopped by!

My Photos (W/E 5-15-10)

I managed to save one photo from Mother's Day for Weekly Winners. That would be the last one. I rarely get photos of my two boys together, especially when they are having fun rather than arguing. That was such a rare moment, I just had to share it.

"Proud Artist"

"Giving the Prince a Call"

"Brothers"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus a.k.a. Sarcastic Mom.

Review: "Shirts That Go" Transportation T-Shirts

When my first son was born, I loved to dress him and my husband in coordinating shirts. When his little brother was born, I switched to dressing the two boys in identical shirts. Now that my oldest is six, I think I am nearing the time when he will outgrow the stage where dressing exactly like his little brother is cool. For this reason, going forward I will be looking for big brother/little brother shirts that are similar or from the same collection just like these transportation t-shirts from Shirts That Go.

There are not too many online boutiques geared towards boys. That is why I was excited to find this one. With a transportation theme, I knew my two boys would be thrilled to wear these shirts since they are mesmerized by any type of vehicle. Of course there is no reason why girls would not flip over these shirts as well. In fact, I think Shirts That Go should design a pink sportscar or a pink motorcycle especially for girls.

I let my boys choose which shirts they liked the best. My 3yr old opted for the Jet Airplane T-Shirt and my 6yr old chose the Electric Train T-Shirt.

The shirts come in a transportation-themed shipping box that is perfect when sending gifts directly to the recipient. I have to say that I am extremely impressed by the artwork on these shirts, which are printed directly on the shirts with eco-friendly inks. The shirts themselves are 100% ring spun cotton and are extremely soft. Ours have been washed and dried twice by machine and they still look good as new. The designs did not fade. There was no pilling or misshaping of the fabric. There was minimal shrinkage (if any at all). I did find that the fabric does wrinkle very easily though, even when they are on the body.

These shirts are available in toddler size 2 all the way up to a boys size 12. My preschooler usually wears a size 3 and he is wearing a size 4 shirt. My kindergartner, who usually wears a size 6 is wearing a size 8 shirt. I definitely agree with Shirts To Go's recommendation to go up one size when ordering.

All of the tees at ShirtsThatGo.com are made in the USA by American Apparel. This site currently offers Free Shipping via USPS with no minimum purchase requirements and extends a discount when you purchase 2 or more shirts . . .

Buy 2 Shirts: Save 10%

Buy 3 Shirts: Save 15%

Buy 4+ Shirts: Save 20%

I know we wouldn't have a problem buying 2 or 4 shirts. I have a feeling my two boys will want to collect them all.

Thank you to Shirts That Go for sending us two sample shirts free of charge to base this review upon.

Shop 'n' Share: Boys Silver Shark Tooth Necklaces

Awhile ago, both my sons expressed interest in having necklaces after they saw their sister receive their first necklace. In fact, I think it was last Easter. So for almost a year, I had been searching for the right necklaces for my two sons. I wanted them to be boyish and still match with most everything. I had a really hard time finding anyone who made boys necklaces small enough for preschoolers and kindergartners in a style that was not too babyish.

I finally came across these Boys Surfer Shark Tooth Necklaces made with Heishi wooden beads plus a sterling silver shark tooth charm, lobster claw clasp, and extender. These are made and sold by the Etsy shop owner of Butterfly Gem and sell for $17 each plus shipping. The owner Alicia was very nice to deal with and she helped me figure out what sizes I needed for each boy. The extenders make these necklaces adjustable and should last for quite a few years if my sons take good care of them.

We ended up giving these necklaces to both our boys in January for their birthdays. Our 3yr old was thrilled to have the same necklace as his big brother.

This shopping experience was based on a purchase I made personally. I was not compensated in anyway for sharing this experience with my readers.

Silly Monkey Stories: Monkey See, Monkey Do

For as long as I can remember, our 3yr old son Luke has been mimicking almost everything his big brother does and says. Some of the things he copies are things I am not so thrilled about him learning, such as hitting himself on the head and then laughing.

There is one thing Luke recently picked up from his brother that I am very impressed by. His big brother had developed a cough and through his school teacher's and our direction, he remembers most of the time to cough into his sleeve. Well, when Luke caught his brother's cold and developed a cough as well, he remembered to do as his big brother does.

Click here to learn how to participate in Silly Monkey Stories.

Click here to read all my Silly Monkey Stories!

If you have a Silly Monkey Story to share, sign Mr. Linky below with the link to your blog post (not the link to your main blog page). Please do not forget to visit the other participants and leave them comments to let them know you stopped by!

Giveaway & Review: The Boy's Store Pajamas [CLOSED]

Before the twins were born, I use to buy our oldest son Jake clothing and accessories, such as t-shirts and baseball caps, that would match my husband's. Well after Jake became a big brother, the trend shifted to matching clothing for the big brother and little brother. It's been almost three years, but I still buy them coordinating items, including matching pajamas. Most of the boy's pajamas at The Boy's Store , aside from the infant/toddler styles, come in size 2/2T all the way up to big boy or even tween sizes.

What I thought about our airplane pajamas from The Boy's Store:

1) The main fear I have of waffle textured pajamas is that they may be scratchy. This is not the case for these pajamas by Sara's Prints. Even after we washed them, the fabric remained soft. The wide cuffs at the wrists and ankles are also very soft and comfortable.



2) These cotton/acrylic pajamas not only stayed soft after going through the washer and dryer, they did not shrink, pill, or fade.

3) Although these pajamas look like they would be fitted, they actually are not tight-fitting. For this reason, you should order your real size rather than ordering one size up as you may do with snug pajamas.

4) The fact that these pajamas are flame resistant gives me a little extra peace of mind.

Matching pajamas would be adorable for Christmas morning! I am so glad that my oldest is not too "mature" to think it's cool for his little brother to want to dress like him. I am going to milk this for as long as I can.

Sign up for The Boy's Store monthly newsletter to be eligible for the monthly drawing for a $25 gift certificate. If you need to shop for boy's clothing, you can receive $7 flat rate standard shipping for The Boy's Store orders up to $75 and free standard shipping for orders over $75. You can also find The Boy's Store on Facebook.

Thank you to The Boy's Store for providing us with both review products and a contest prize free of charge.



What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $35 GC to The Boy's Store.


Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.


How to Gain Entries:
Browse through the various lines of boy's clothing on TheBoysStore.com . Then leave a comment telling me how you would spend your $35 GC if you won this contest. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND TheBoysStore.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 2 extra entries, share the link to this contest post on Facebook. Then leave TWO separate comments with the link to your Facebook profile.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!