Teaching the Joy of Giving to Our Children . . . A Work in Progress

Now having gotten past Christmas, I can look back to examine how we did as far as our ongoing task of teaching our children the joy of giving goes.  Since our oldest, who is about to turn 10, was 6 years old, he has put aside 50 cents of his allowance every week to do something charitable with at the end of the year.  Every single year he has chosen to buy toys to donate to Toys for Tots.  Since this has become a tradition, we did the same thing with the twins when they started earning allowances this year.

Our 6 year old son did just fine with it.  He saved his 50 cents each week all year long, picked out a toy he loved, and donated it, making a point to tell me that he would return when he had enough money to buy one for himself.  His twin sister, however, had an awful time with it.  She picked a toy that she loved, but then changed her mind about the toy multiple times.  She seemed very conflicted.  I think she did not want to donate a toy she wanted for herself and would rather choose a toy she liked less to donate.  Ultimately, she chose a giant stuffed purple unicorn to donate and cried for the next two hours because she spent her money on a toy she loved and had to donate it.  I was just beside myself and could not figure out another way to explain to her how happy a little girl just like her would be to receive the unicorn as a gift this Christmas and that it may be her only gift this year.

Another way we've tried to show our children the joys of giving is to have them gift presents to each other for Christmas and for birthdays.  These are small, but thoughtful gifts that usually cost around $5 to $10 each.  All 3 children do very well with this.  They all put a lot of thought into what each sibling would really love.  I can tell by the looks on their faces that they are overcome with joy when their gift to their brother or sister has successfully put a smile on that sibling's face.  I also like doing this because it teaches our children that a gift does not need to have a high price ticket to be a great gift.

What kinds of things do you do to teach your children the joy of giving?  Any ideas would be appreciated, as our work in progress continues in the new year.

Silly Monkey Stories: Post-Photo Shoot Sillies (4th Installment)

Right before the weather turned frigid, I was able to sneak in one more outdoor fall photo shoot with the children.  Although it wasn't warm out, they were not too cold to stay outside a few minutes longer to take part in our traditional post-photo shoot sillies photos.  In case you've missed them, feel free to take a look at the first, second, and third groups of Post-Photo Shoot Sillies photos.  When I look at them, it seems like each installment is sillier than the last.

The photos below are pretty darn silly.  I'm extremely curious to see what our next group of photos will be like . . .

Click here to read all our Silly Monkey Stories!

Silly Monkey Stories: Subconscious Sibling Rivalry

After being a parent for over 9 years, it still never ceases to amaze me how children have a talent for making the simplest thing into something very complicated.  Take toast for instance.  What could be simpler than plain white toast with a little butter on it?

Over the weekend, I started off offering our 6 year old twins toast for breakfast.  Then Luke asked for cinnamon toast.  I offered butter with a little sugar sprinkled on it instead.  That seemed to please both him and Makenzie.  Still a very simple breakfast.

Then things get a little more complicated and I do think it was due to the twins' subconscious need to either top each other to be different from each other.  I still haven't figured out which.  Luke asked for his toast not to be cut in half at all.  Then Makenzie asked for her two slices of toast to be cut diagonally.  Then Luke changed his mind and said he wanted one slice cut diagonally and one slice to remain whole.

I knew I had better prepare their toast quickly before they changed their minds again and asked me to do something like cut their toast into the likeness of SpongeBob.  I'm just not that talented.

Click here to read all our Silly Monkey Stories!

My Photos: The Birthday Boy and Girl

Last week, our twins Luke and Makenzie turned 6 years old.  It was a school day (and a school night), so we just had a quiet dinner at home.  The twins had their favorite food . . . mac and cheese.  After dinner, they opened their gifts from some relatives, their big brother, me and my husband, and from each other.  It is so sweet to watch the children exchange gifts.  The are always so proud to present their handmade cards and so very excited for the gift they picked out to be opened.  They actually know each other better than anyone and they always put so much thought into what the perfect gift would be for each other.


Here are some photos from their gift exchange this year . . . 

Click here to view all my past favorite photos.

How To Make a Cool Inside Joke T-Shirt Online

Everybody knows I start my Holiday gift shopping early!  My goal is to be mostly done by the end of October so that I can enjoy the Holiday season.  I have to coordinate gifts for everybody, including the gifts from our children to each other.  This year, I had the idea that our 8-1/2 year old son might want to gift a custom t-shirt to his little brother.  They are always talking in code, saying random words that I don't understand, and have favorite catch phrases that they share.  When I presented this idea to my son, he thought it was a great idea!

After thinking for a few minutes, our son knew exactly what he wanted the shirt to say . . . "MEEP!!", which is a sound I have heard him make repeatedly for at least a year.  I believe it is something one of the characters say on an animated show all three children like to watch.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

From there, I only had to open up my Gimp graphics software, which is free to download.  Our son wanted something in black all-caps text with two exclamation points.  It took me two minutes to make a 300dpi graphic that was about 2400 pixels wide.  I asked our son if he liked the font.  He did, so I added a drop shadow and saved the image as a .png with a clear background.

Next, I logged into Zazzle.com and asked our son which style shirt he would like for his brother.  He chose the ringer tee in grey with black trim.  I uploaded my image to the product page and then sized and positioned it to my liking.

Then I had the idea that it might look cool to have the image in reverse on the back of the t-shirt.  Our son also loved this idea, so back I went to my saved image on Gimp.  To make the reversed image, I simply removed the drop shadow, flipped the image from left to right, and then added the drop shadow back in.  Just as before, I uploaded the image onto the product page on Zazzle.  After previewing the shirt front and back, I added it to my cart and checked out.

I have to say that both my son and I were pleased with how the shirt came out.  The drop shadow looks great!  The only part we are disappointed about is that the image on the front is cut off on the right.  About 1/4 of the exclamation point and the drop shadow is missing.  Luckily, his 5-1/2 year old brother will not likely notice and will still love the shirt.

You can customize everything from t-shirts to phone cases to dart boards with Zazzle.  The customization is not limited to text.  You can upload your own artwork or photos just as easily as I uploaded my text design. Through 9/26/12, you can receive 15% off all Zazzle orders when you checkout with Code:  10FALLINSALE or, through 9/30/12, you can receive Free Shipping on orders over $50 when you use Code: FREESHIPFORU.

What would your inside joke t-shirt say?


Thank you to Zazzle for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

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.

Silly Monkey Stories: Monkey Faces #4

The photo used in my Silly Monkey Stories header above of our children making silly faces is one of my favorite photos in existence of the three together.  Every time I take individual or group photos of them, I always give them an opportunity to be silly after the more formal photos have been taken care of.  It is during these times that I sometimes capture the best moments shared by our three children.  All those photos are priceless to me and will probably be to them one day.

The photos below were actually taken on Mother's Day.  I know, I'm about two months late sharing them.  They had been sitting in a folder waiting to be edited for a Silly Monkey Stories and I only recently found time to go back to edit them.

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do . . .

(Click any photo to enlarge)

Click here to read all our Silly Monkey Stories!

Silly Monkey Story: Serious Life Discussions

Our children are now 5, 5, and 8.  They have finally reached the age where they actually have serious conversations with each other.  Sometimes they even have mini debates.  As always, it is most fun for me to listen to these conversations when the children don't know that I can hear them.

Here is one conversation that stood out to me from a few weeks ago.  This completely serious chat took place between our 5 year old and 8 year old sons . . .

Luke:  "I want to be a Power Ranger when I grow up.  What do you want to be when you grow up Jake?"

Jake:  "Oh, I don't know.  I think I'll either be a regular Dad or a professional wrestler."

Although, I found Jake's statement to be completely silly, I do think it is a huge compliment to my husband that our son equates the job of being a Dad to be as cool as being a professional wrestler.

Click here to read all my Silly Monkey Stories

My Photos (W/E 3-24-12)

For a few days last week, we had unseasonably warm weather for Massachusetts.  The temperatures hit 80 degrees at one point and now we're back to 40s and 50s.  Luckily, we were able to spend some extra time outdoors before the climate went back to normal.

Here are some photos of the children enjoying the balmy weather and being able to play outside without having to wear coats.  The first photo was taken by my husband.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

"Brotherly Love"

"Sweetness"

"Hide and Seek"

Click here to view all my past favorite photos.

My Photos: It's 2012 . . . a New Year!

One thing that parents always notice is that their children change and grow up so fast.  I have to say that I was so crazy busy in 2011 that I did not have time to observe, enjoy, and celebrate all the small changes in my children.  It is my resolution to not make that mistake in 2012.  That is my main goal for the new year, along with trying to have a date (out or at-home) with my husband at least once a month and to learn the art of creating clipart.


To put things into perspective, I have these two photos to share with you today . . .

(Photo taken at the end of 2010)

(Photo taken at the end of 2011)

I find it amazing how much our children have changed over the course of one year.  What comes to mind for you when you reflect back on the year 2011?

Click here to view all my past favorite photos.