Three Peas in a Pod: August 2009

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Our family loves playing games with the Wii. But the boys tend to lose interest because the games are way over there heads. Jumpstart has created a game just for them for the Wii! The game can be a tad slow at times and you may have to help your kids with clicking the buttons but over all It’s a fantastic game! There is so much to explore and do. My kids loved it. You should have seen my boys dancing to the music and saying the letters and painting. I wish I had a video camera. I guess a slideshow will have to do.

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Join the JumpStart® friends in a rich world full of learning and creativity!
JumpStart Pet Rescue contains 5 Discovery worlds where Preschoolers navigate through 5 stories in a search for lost pets.

Each Discovery world contains a guided story told by one of the JumpStart friends, leading children on a learning adventure through more than 70 learning lessons and activities that teach kids over 75 essential skills they need to succeed. As kids progress through the adventures, they improve their pre-reading skills, memory, creativity, motor skills, listening, and much more!

Key Features

JumpStart Pet Rescue immerses each child in a wildly imaginative and rewarding3D learning environment that offers hours of exploration and adventure.

As children travel through the different worlds, they play learning games to earn rewards. Children then earn storybooks that are read aloud to them.

Children are given the freedom to express themselves by changing the way they look, dress & by decorating their house.

Pet rescue and care are incorporated into the game storyline. Children can feed, groom, play with, and train their pets.

Would you like a chance to win a copy of the game? Visit the JumpStart Blog, read the post and comment! So easy! Good luck. I know you and your kids are going to enjoy the game.

Tiffanie

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Not Sew Perfect

I have this beautiful daughter that is going back to school in a few days. She wanted a handbag that was not too big but was bright and fun. Baby Girl picked out the fabric and I got to work. I got this bright idea that I would monogram her bag with her initials but in order to do that, I needed to practice a bit first.

I got a tad sidetracked. I decided to try my hand, AGAIN at machine embroidery. I found a cute design for my youngest son. The design turned out great on the test fabric . . . that is until I turned it over and realized that I had embroidered the back of the shirt to the front. LOL Good thing it was only a test. Luckily for Tiger I got his shirt done right and he’s thrilled.

But I had a bit of mommy brain and deleted the photos off of my computer. But if you follow me on FB then you saw those pictures last week. Thank goodness I can laugh at myself now. A year ago I would get so frustrated if I made a mistake I would put my machine away for a few weeks and try again. Now I just laugh, rip the seams and start over.

Two weeks and lots of questions to my friends Kelly of Daisy Layne Boutique and Keith of Mindless Pursuits got me on track. Although I didn’t quite get the monogram in the middle of the back. But that’s ok. I’m not going to stress over it. Baby Girl loves it and can’t wait to take it to school with her. So what do you think?

Tiffanie

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wordless Wednesday – Crafty Things

This is what I have been up to the last few weeks.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Shop for a Cause

I didn’t think much of donating to charities 5 years ago. Until my son was born. How were we to cope when we could barely afford food or pay the bills? How in the world were we going to be able to purchase the much needed medical equipment for our infant son? I couldn’t work because he needed constant care. He was in and out of the hospital numerous times. We endured many many scary situations and surgeries.

I have lived that life of not knowing where the money is going to come from. Easter Seals came to our rescue and paid for my son’s medical equipment. Without them we didn’t know what would have happened. The years have been great and Little Monkey has come along way. Gone is the feeding tube, the many therapy appointments, doctor’s visits and surgeries. But God has shown us that help is needed again in our family.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, then you know about my brother and his wife’s struggle with the birth of their daughter Bella (name changed to protect her Identify). If you don’t, let me recap for you. Bella was born with Penta X syndrome (also known as Pentasomy X). This means she was born with 5 X chromosomes . She is one of 24 babies in the world to be born with this disorder. You can read more about Penta X, here.

In addition to this very rare disorder, she was also born with four holes in her heart, congestive heart failure, malrotation of her intestines as well as some of her bones, fused bones, and severe feeding issues. This beautiful angel has already suffered through three surgeries to place a PEG tube, repair two of her holes in her heart, and to repair the malrotation of her intestines. The surgeries are still up and coming but they are not has scary as the most recent ones.

Since then she is home with a pulse oximeter, oxygen, feeding tube and feeding machine, and a suction unit. These items are expensive, even with insurance. My brother and his wife struggle daily to pay the bills (home and medical), pay for gas for trips to the doctor and therapy, to buy groceries, and much needed baby items.

My brother is working but work is scarce in the construction business. My sister in law can’t work since Bella needs 24 hr. constant care. They are exhausted and emotionally, physically, and financially strained. They desperately need help.

Having lived through this myself, I felt God put it upon my heart to help them anyway I can. We are not rich and have no money to offer them but I want and need to help them.

That is when I came up with “Shop for a Cause”. I am inviting all shop owners (online and brick and mortar) to donate the sale of one or more items to Shop for a Cause. The money will be used to buy gift cards for groceries, help them pay for the medical equipment, buy their gas etc.

For those who choose to participate, Every Monday I will post a Mr. Linky so that you can list those items that you have designated to Shop for a Cause. Every month or so I will post a progress post for Bella as well as donations.

My goal is to not only help my brother and sister in law but to be able to help many families with special needs children around the world. Even if I am able to help one or two other families those lives will be greatly enriched because of your generosity.

Will you help them?

Please place this button on your shop site or your blog no matter if you are participating or not. Tell everyone let’s help these families as best we can!

If you need more information or have any questions feel free to contact me. My email address is in the contact tab under the header.

Tiffanie

CookiesKids.com Back-to-School $500 Gift Card Contest

Did the kids grow a size again this year, or did they hit a big growth spurt and jump two sizes this summer?
Don’t fret – CookiesKids.com is giving one lucky parent a $500 gift card for any products on CookiesKids.com!
It doesn’t stop there – Two more lucky parents will receive $250 gift cards, and three more will win $100 gift cards to ease that back-to-school burden of clothes shopping!

Whether you are shopping for uniforms or not, CookiesKids.com has the back-to- school essentials that make it a one-stop-shop for all busy parents out there!
Simply submit a picture of your child in an article of clothing offered on CookiesKids.com at the Cookie’s Flickr group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/cookieskidsbacktoschool/) then fill out this form to be entered into their Laptop Giveaway Sweepstakes. Please be sure to read the Contest "Terms and Conditions" before entering your information into this form!

Good Luck!!!

Tiffanie

Comparative Shopping with a Twist

When I first heard of Pebble I thought “Oh sure it’s just another comparative shopping site that’s hard to figure out. Not so. I have tried it myself and It’s awesome! Seriously! All those questions you have before you buy are answered. Whether you ask the questions or someone else does this site gives you the information you need to make smart choices while shopping online. It’s as simple as typing in the product you are looking for, hitting enter, and asking your questions. So easy!

So what’s Pebble all about you ask?

Pebble is a new kind of comparative shopping website. Not only do they compare some of the best products from the world's leading merchants, but they enhance that experience by providing a forum for users to ask and answer questions about those products - making it easier than ever to find exactly what you're looking for.

When you buy a product in a store, you can ask the salesperson for more details about certain features or attributes that are important to you. Online, it's nearly impossible to find that personalized service. Many website product descriptions fall short in some areas - they don't mention a feature you're looking for; they forget to list dimensions; they leave off information about compatibility. That's where Pebble.com comes in. They offer a place for users to pose those questions to other shoppers, who can then provide answers based on their first-hand knowledge of the products.

Pebble.com makes online shopping fun again by offering everything you need in one place to make the best online buying decisions without the hassle of other comparative shopping websites. We provide a place where users can ask questions about specific products and get answers that will help inform their buying decisions. So you can stop wasting time searching the internet for more product information and can spend more time actually enjoying your purchase. Plus, people who like to share their opinions and expertise can help other shoppers by answering questions and offering buying advice. Pebble is where you can get answers, then shop smart.

The next time you need to comparative shop check out Pebble.com and see for yourself why it’s the smarter way to shop.

Tiffanie

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Craft Project Thursday

Instead of posting a craft today, I thought I would give you the links to some really neat craft sites. They are full of inspiring ideas for kids and adults. If you think of any I haven’t mentioned post a link in your comment so we can all check them out!

Happy Crafting!!!

Tiffanie