Wisdom Tooth Extraction

I got 3 wisdom teeth extracted on Friday and I think I'm healing well, but the medicine is kicking my butt. I take it and 2 hours later, I'm conked out on the bed. Tomorrow will have to be my last day of it because I've got to start playing the role of chauffeur again. At the same time, I signed up to be part of a neighborhood weight loss challenge group. I thought this week would help me get ahead since I wouldn't be able to eat much, but it's had the opposite effect. I've gained a couple of pounds because I took advantage of having ice cream handy and eating high carb foods like mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. I'd love to cut them out, but I'm starving and can't eat a whole lot. I'm completely sick of chicken broth and foods just aren't tasting like they should for now. I'm currently working on a bowl of applesauce, but it's tasting incredibly sour and tart. Hopefully, I'll get myself back on track before the end of the week. I'm not sure what the timeline is on these things, but I'd really love to have a chicken sandwich and some onion soup. My mind is going stir crazy and is focusing on food!

Tangled Ever After: The Rings

 

  

Tangled will always hold a special place in my heart since it's the first Disney movie I took my daughter to. We went with friends and Monkey girl adores the movie. We're excited to see the new short, The Rings, premiering with Beauty and the Beast 3D (another of Monkey girl's favorite movies). I'm pleased to be able to present you with a small clip of this short, Tangled Ever After: The Rings. Enjoy!

Kids' Clothes

I've been kind of obsessed with Zulily this past year. The monkeys have a lot of new clothes in their rooms, but I have a confession to make... I haven't wanted to buy clothes in their current sizes for fear they'd outgrow them too quickly. As a result, we have lots of roomy shirts, pants, dresses, and even swimsuits, but not a whole lot in their current sizes. The real problem here is that I don't feel comfortable sending Monkey girl off to The Little Gym or preschool in clothes that are too large for her, but we're facing a shortage of clothes in her real size of 3T and I'm reluctant to buy them now. Though the clearance rack at Target has been our friend here a couple of times. I hope I'm not alone in this 'buying clothes one size too large' situation. Additionally, Bro Bro monkey is a chunky little guy so I'm starting to have to pay attention to the differences between 4T and 4, which I'm still not real clear on. In the meantime, we're hoping to make it through the winter with our current wardrobe selection.

Arthur Christmas

I think we have a new favorite holiday movie. We took the monkeys to see Arthur Christmas last month and we all adored it. I wasn't sure what to think going into it since I'd seen limited previews for it, but it was definitely worth checking out. Unfortunately, we saw it in 3D and while that was fun for me, the kids aren't ready to sit through a 90+ minute movie AND wear the required glasses. I have to say I had some concerns too when I saw monkey girl was sitting through it, but didn't want to wear the glasses for much of the movie. That couldn't be good for her eyes so needless to say we won't be doing any 3D movies for a while.

However, back to the subject, Arthur Christmas was such a cute film. There was quite a bit of humor for the adults to enjoy, but it never seemed to take away from the kids entertainment. It starts on Christmas Eve and Santa is getting set to deliver presents. One of his sons is in control of the high-tech operation, complete with commando type elves, and the other son seems to have been relegated to the lesser job of handling Santa's mail. Of course something goes awry when they return to the North Pole and realize a present is still onboard, thus never  being delivered. The mail handler son, Arthur, realizes it's recipient was supposed to be a little girl who had written to Santa and tries to correct the problem. I'll stop there so I don't ruin anything for you, but the story's delightful and the animation is colorful and captivating. I highly recommend it. We'll be purchasing it when it comes out on DVD. I'd try to catch it in theaters if you can though. It gets 4 out of 4 monkey thumbs up from us.

Shutterfly Holiday and New Year's Cards

I wasn't sure what I was going to do about holiday cards this year, but I saw the huge selection of photo cards available at Shutterfly and managed to narrow down my favorites. I love that their search feature allows you to sort by folded or flat, number of photos on the front, size, etc... I have a hard enough time getting one presentable picture with both my children, that I was really happy I could sort by cards with just one picture on the front.

Dadda monkey and I settled on Magical Night because it suited my picture the best. Shutterfly's tools for viewing the finished product with your own photo is fantastic. It's really easy to make changes and immediately view the result. Along those lines, Shutterfly Family Photo Days, is a great resource for taking great family photos. They have a few ideas on how to casually set up photo opportunities. They recommend planning a day out with another family so you can take turns taking family photos in a casual environment where the kids can play and feel more natural. There's even meetup groups you can find for arranging this.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with our cards. They were delivered in a bright orange box so I was sure to see them and get working on them right away. They did a great job placing our photo in the card and the quality is fantastic. 

As a bonus, Shutterfly has agreed to award one of my readers 12 free 5”x7” holiday cards and free shipping, valued at over $25. I know it's really close to the holidays, but you might consider sending New Year's cards.  They have a really cute selection and if you are running behind on sending out cards, New Year's cards would be a great solution.

How To Enter:

(The first step is required for your first entry. Any steps after that reward you with an extra entry.)

This giveaway, and subsequent shipping, is only offered within the continental United States.

1. Let me know if you have ever sent New Year's cards before.

2. Become a follower of my blog, Mommy 2 Monkeys, and leave a comment on this post that you've done so.

3. 'Like' the Mommy 2 Monkeys Facebook page and leave a comment on this post that you've done so.

4. Follow me on Twitter and leave  a comment on this post that you've done so.

This giveaway will remain open until December 21, 2011 at midnight central time. The winner will be chosen using Random.org. I will post the winner on my blog and also email the winner (please make sure your email is visible on your profile or post it in your comment). The winner will have 24 hours to respond to my email or I will choose another winner via Random.org. Good luck!

Disclaimer:

Mommy 2 Monkeys was provided with a sample for the purpose of this review and the opportunity to hold a giveaway for my readers. No other compensation was received and the views expressed here are my own. 

Black Friday (looking for Keurig deals)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a lovely time with friends and ate until we were stuffed. Now that it's black Friday, I'm happy to be sitting at home and enjoying the day with my monkeys. Dadda monkey's at work, but should be getting off early. Then we're hoping to just finish decorating for Christmas and putting the house back together after having had house guests for a few days.

The past two years, we've braved the crowds and headed out to Black Friday sales in the wee hours of the morning to snag some good deals. This year, however, there's nothing we really want that necessitates joining the crowds. We have working computers, televisions, etc... and the monkeys aren't quite old enough to want the hit toy of the season, which is good because I have no idea what that toy might be this year. In addition, I've had a list of gift ideas for a few months now and have been purchasing things as they go on sale. There's only one item that I'm hoping to find a good deal on sometime before Christmas. I'd really like to buy my sister a Keurig coffee maker.

It's kind of a funny story as to why I want to get her the Keurig. We stopped by her house about a year and a half ago (she lives several states away) and I could have sworn I saw one in her kitchen. So last year I bought her some Keurig accessories including the storage drawer for k-cups from Bed Bath and Beyond, which I highly recommend. Shortly after she got her gifts, she asked me if I had meant them for her or had made a mistake because she doesn't have a Keurig...oops! Anyways, I knew right away, this would make buying her gift this year a cinch. Clearly, I need to buy her a Keurig so I'm patiently waiting for the right time to purchase one.

So today, I'm sitting at home, browsing online occasionally to see if any of my gift idea items go on sale and glad to not be out and about. Good luck to everyone on their holiday shopping, whether you're home or out among the Black Friday masses!

Families, Distance, and the Holidays

Table for 4?

Dadda monkey and I live hundreds of miles from any relatives. It doesn't hit us that hard until the holidays or when a special event happens. Dadda monkey's sister-in-law just had a baby and with Thanksgiving around the corner, we're feeling a little nostalgic. I miss the formal Thanksgivings my mother would host. Plus my Mom is a much better cook than I could ever hope to be.

I'm lucky to be surrounded by great friends though. When I lived in the DC area, a friend would invite us over for 'orphan' holidays. We'd get together with others who didn't have family in the area and we'd have a great time. Last year, a friend invited us to her house for Thanksgiving and we loved that it gave the kids a feeling of family and togetherness. There's nothing like celebrating Thanksgiving with others. This year she invited us again and I jumped at the gracious invitation.

However, we'll still miss being with extended family. I'll be honest, like all families, we've had our differences with one another. One of my main faults is that I lack empathy and openness when it comes to my in-laws, and my Mother and I have a tenuous relationship, but I'd like to feel like part of a close family at least for my kid's sakes. These are the times when I feel bad that my kids won't get to know their aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents as well as they could have. I didn't grow up with much extended family nearby, but I was lucky that my cousins were close in age to my sister and I, and our parents ensured that we visited each other regularly. I spent a period of time every year in Kentucky with my Dad's family and my Mom's family would visit us (at least) annually.

We'd consider visiting family for Thanksgiving, but it hasn't been in the cards for us yet. My parents are busy with their retirement lives. More on that later, but their social calendar is almost busier now than before they retired and they do make a specific trip every year to visit us. Dadda monkey's family all lives close to one another so it'd be easy to visit all of them. However, since they're all there, it ends up being a big commotion. It's gotten so bad in the past that we've sometimes felt slighted and regretted making the trip up there, which is never a great result, especially since we're trying to show the monkeys how important family is. Again, I've got to work on this empathy thing, but it can be really difficult sometimes.

We've invited family to join us for the holidays, but it's out of the way for everyone to come down here and so they just make plans amongst themselves. That's what hurts the most is to think that it's a hassle for family to visit our monkeys. Again, if it were just Dadda monkey and I, it wouldn't be a big deal, but I really feel like the monkeys are missing out. We'll continue to try to ensure the monkeys know who their family is and that it's important to make time for one another. In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy the generosity and company of friends. Happy Thanksgiving!