Favorite Things #25

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!
Favorite thing for today... I bet you can guess!
Waking up and opening their presents! I think this goes for all kids out there. Seeing their eyes filled with excitement, squeals of delight and the big grins on their faces. That in itself is a gift in a parent's eyes.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful time together as you celebrate Christmas today. Remembering the birth of our Lord and cherishing the time with the ones you love.
Warm & JOYous blessings to you!

Love,
Eva & Zi

What was the best thing about Christmas for you this year?

Favorite Things #24

My kids love to play outside.

And the thing that the kids like to play with the most when they are outside are STICKS! Usually the longer the better! They like to pretend that they are swords, fishing poles, walking sticks, use them to dig holes, or pick up earth worms.

*Image from thewonderforest.com

I love anything, toy or not, that can inspire the kids' creativity, so sticks definitely fit the bill!

But I do draw the line when it comes to bringing the sticks inside the house or car. If they find a particular stick that they really like, they can leave it on our front porch and play with it again when we go outside but I don't allow the kids to bring them indoors. There is enough clutter in the house as it is!

Do your kids like playing outside? What do they like to do or play with when they are outdoors?

Zi

Favorite Things #23

This past month when you turn on the TV there's at least one Christmas special playing on some channel. This year H&N actually watched some classics like The Polar Express, Santa Clause, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (The one starring Jim Carrey). And to my surprise their favorite was The Grinch. So thanks to our DVR they can watch this over and over again.

Image from amazon.com

One day I overheard a conversation between H&N about the Grinch.
H: "N do you want to watch The Grinch?"
N: "Noooo"
H: "N are you scared of the Grinch?"
N: "Yea"
H: "He's not scary he just looks like a green kitty cat."
(Actually I don't N was afraid at all just more of not wanting to watch the movie again haha!)
I guess I should put this on the list of books to get!

What is your favorite Christmas special that you watched growing up or watch now with the kids?
Eva

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #22

One of the larger toys that we own which the kids have consistently played with for a couple years now (and I think for at least a couple years more) is a slide.

We got this Little Tikes Easy Store slide off of a Craislist free listing back in March of 2011.

*Image from littletikes.com

*E3 taking a rest after the 1st day of playing with the slide.

Now more than 2 years later, the kids are still playing with it almost every day. Now if you are looking for a gift for a preschool aged child, I would recommend looking into a slide!

Do you have a toy/toys that have kept your child's interest for a long period of time? 

Zi

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #21

With Christmas with just days away... I'm sure many of you have been out shopping at the mall and stores. Ever since H&N were young we "trained" them to go shopping haha, meaning they actually enjoy and get excited when going to the mall.
So at times H&N get treated to one of their favorite snacks... Auntie Anne's cinnamon sugar pretzel.

Image from prweb.com

Mmmm, hard to resist when you smell the aroma as you pass by the little kiosk or store front.

Do you like Auntie Anne's pretzels? What's your favorite snack that you treat yourself when you are out on the run?
Eva

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #20

I don't mention E4 as much in my posts but now that he is almost 2, he has really started to develop his own personality. One thing that we learned very early on for him was that he LOVED anything with wheels!

*Image from flickr.com

Even as a little baby, he was always attracted to the few toy cars that we had lying around (E1 is not a car type of boy). And when he started to crawl, he would always go towards things that had wheels, toy cars, strollers, wagons, you name it, if it had wheels, he liked it.

I'm still pretty amazed at just how much E4 likes cars till this day because it was definitely not something we taught him. Which sometimes brings up the whole "nature vs. nurture" debate in my mind.

When E1 was a baby, my parents would buy him more "boy toys" like cars and such thinking that he would like them. But that just wasn't the case, it turns out he loves animals.

And with E4, he came out of the womb liking cars (things with wheels) and would barely look at animals.

So when it comes to toys, I believe a lot of it is nature more than nurture!

Do you have a boy? Is he a car boy or animal boy? Where do you stand in the whole "nature vs. nurture" debate?

Zi

Favorite Things #19

In a previous post Zi shared her kid's favorite Christmas song so I thought I'd share H&N's favorite. They love listening to Christmas Eve/Sarejevo 12/24 by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Image from www.trans-siberian.com

I must say I love this song myself. It's so cute since they have a choreograph performance for this a.k.a "The show". I have the CD so they play it often and tell me they have to practice for the show. It's very entertaining to watch and there's lots of giggles, smiles and great dance moves involved.
Next year I want to take them to see The Nutcracker or maybe a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert.

Do your kids have "shows" or maybe you created some of your own as a child?
Do you like to attend holiday shows or concerts? Any favorites or recommendations?
Eva

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #18

Today's post should go hand in hand with Favorite Thing #16 (read here). Since the girls love cats so much, they also really like the Pete the Cat book series. E1 learned about Pete the Cat in preschool and he loves the books as well. So when one of my friends told me that there were actually videos of the songs in the book, we had to check it out!

*Image from harpercollinschildrens.com

Of course the kids loved them and we like to sing along each time we watch the videos on youtube. If you want to check it out, this video is a good intro to the Pete the Cat world! It is a live reading/singing of Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes by the author of the book, Eric Litwin. And the artist, James Dean is the one holding the book.

Another reason I really like this book series is that it teaches a great lesson for the kids!

P/s We recently picked up the Pete the Cat doll too!

Do your kids like Pete the Cat? Are there book series that are favorites in your home? Do share with us!

Zi

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #17

While running errands with the kids, H&N get excited when they see a Pet Smart.
H screams "Pet store!!!! Mommy can we go there?"
This is one of H's favorite store to visit. I'm not a huge animal person but to seeing how H&N get so excited it's hard to say no especially if it's next to the store I'm shopping at.
They have a routine down first the fish, then the cats & kittens. H&N have become attached to one at the store named Bella. She is one friendly and playful cat.

Then we are off to the mice, gerbils, hamsters, etc. EEK!!! This is where I stand a few feet away. Anything that is rodent like I stay clear of. H says "awww look how cute!" My response "Mommy doesn't think so and you are also NEVER ever getting one of those as a pet!" haha
And the last stop is watching the dogs get groomed. They could stay there for hours if I let them.
So you can guess one of H's wishes is to get a cat or dog. Like Zi, I'm allergic to cats... and dogs as well. So the only pets we have are fish, HA!

What is your ideal pet? Are you allergic to any animals? 
Do you ever just stop in a pet store to see the animals?
Eva

Favorite Things #16

As you may remember, the girls were black cats for Halloween and one of the main reasons that they picked that as their costumes is because they LOVE cats, especially kittens!

*Image from imazez.com

E2 especially can't get enough of them. Every time we are at the pet store, she loves to go look at them and pet them if she is given the chance. And if she sees a shirt with a cat or anything else with a cat on it, she will immediately ask for us to purchase them.

But of course, what the girls want the most is for us to actually get a kitten as a pet. Unfortunately both my husband and I are allergic to cats. And honestly we can't afford to get a pet at this time. So the best that we can do right now is take them to pet stores and let them interact with cats that way.

I never really grew up with pets, only pet I ever had were some fish and my parents were the ones that really wanted them and took care of them, so I don't think it really counts.

Do you or your child have a pet? What do/did you have? Any cat people among our readers?

Zi

Favorite Thing #15

One of the favorite things H&N love about winter here is ... SNOW!
Building a snow man, snow ball fights, snow angels, helping us shovel and best of all sledding! We are  fortunate enough to have a hill to slide down in the back yard. With the sight of the first snowflakes this year N asked "Is today Christmas?" and  H asked "Mommy can we go sledding?"

And now H discovered that snow also could mean no school, haha! I know as a kid I always wished for snow days.

Do you love snow? What fun snow activity do you like to do?
Eva

Favorite Things #14

One of our favorite grocery stores to shop at is Trader Joe's! We like to go there for some healthier food options at a relatively low price. The kids love to go there because they have kids size shopping carts, they give out stickers at check out (see Favorite Things #10),  but most importantly they get to search for a stuffed baby chick that is hidden in a different location each time and when they tell a store employee where they found it they get a lollipop!

*Image from www.traderjoes.com

So every time we drive by Trader Joe's the kids always ask to go there!

Is there a store that your kids love to go to? Where do you like to go grocery shopping?

Zi

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #13

Kids are so tech savvy, whether it's playing games on the iPad, Nabi or Leap pads. But it's always nice to get back to the basics, like a classic game of UNO. This is H's favorite game to play. We play many many rounds in one sitting. Even N joins and has a pretty good grasp of the game. Of course they love it when they beat mommy and win!

What's your favorite board game to play? Do you have family game nights?
Eva

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite things #12

In the past year or so the girls have really gotten into dressing up as princesses and fairies. So for their birthdays they got to pick out 1 costume that they wanted from the Disney store. E2 picked a Rapunzel dress and E3 picked a Minnie Mouse dress.

*Image from disneystore.com

*Image from disneystore.com

Seeing how much they liked those 2 dresses, I also picked up some other dress up clothes for them at some consignment sales.

My girls are not really into Barbies or baby dolls but they definitely love to dress up!

Do you have a little girl that loves to dress up? What is her favorite character to dress up as?

Zi

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #11

Some boys like their cars and trains or legos and building blocks, but not N. His all time favorite toy is... Angry Birds! (remember his birthday party?) I don't know what it is about these birds and pigs but he spends every single day playing with them at least once. These days he's really into his Star Wars Angry Birds. N is pretty creative when it comes to incorporating them with his other toys. I love watching him play and listening to the angry bird conversations. Priceless!

Angry Birds meet Hungry Hippos

What is your child's/children's favorite toy?
Did you have a favorite childhood toy?
Eva

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #10

In addition to drawing, the E kids love to add embellishments to their creations through STICKERS!

*One of E3's creations.

I'm not sure what exactly it is about stickers but most kids obviously love them, since they give them away at doctor offices, dentist offices, and shopping establishments.

I like to get stickers at places like Five Below, since you can get large amounts of fun stickers for a low price. Which is awesome news for me and the kids, since they can go through tons of them in one crafting session.

Where do you get your stickers from? What do you think it is about stickers that kids love so much?

Zi

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #9

There's one thing that H&N has had since they were a baby and can't go without til this day.
H's Bear Bear and N's Blanket.

Having a spare or duplicate will NOT suffice. There's a certain smell and texture about it that brings them comfort. They are well loved!

Did you have a "lovey" as a child? What was it? 
What's your kid(s) lovey?
Eva

Favorite things #8

Now personally I have a love/hate relationship with this next item on the list, BUT my kids absolutely LOVE it--Play Doh.

*Image from www.hasbro.com/playdoh

My kids have pretty good fine motor skills and really enjoying making Play Doh pieces that are as small as possible! You can imagine how fun clean up can be sometimes. That being said, they really enjoying making all sorts of fun things with it and can spend up to 1 hour just creating and playing.

So despite the cleaning aspect, it is one of our favorites in the E household!

Do your kids like Play Doh? Do you buy or make your own?

Zi

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite Things #7

Our usual Sunday routine after church is to go grab lunch somewhere before we head over to my parents' house. One of H&N favorite places to go for lunch is IKEA!
H loves to order the meatballs and mashed potato combo.

Image from ikea.com

And you can't finish lunch without some dessert. How about a slice of the Chocolate overload cake? That is N's all time favorite!! You see the evidence all over his mouth everytime, haha!

Image from ikea.com

Do you enjoy shopping and dining at IKEA? Where's your favorite place to eat? 
Eva

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite things #6

When I was getting the kids Halloween costumes together, I realized that I would probably need to get a face painting kit to paint their noses and whiskers. I decided to go to my local Michaels and pick up the rather basic color palette from Snazaroo.

*Image from snazaroo.com

And boy has it been a great investment! Ever since Halloween, the kids have been asking to get their face painted on multiple occasions just for fun.

Granted it does take a bit of skill to be able to face paint at home but even if you are only able to do simple paintings for the kids, I think this is a great item to have around.

I'm always amazed at how patiently (for the most part) the kids are able to wait for their turn and for me to paint their faces with the designs they request.

Do your kids love face painting?

Zi

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite things #5

Every night H&N picks one story each before bedtime. So you can imagine our collection of books and countless visits to the library.
Here are some of their favorite holiday themed books.

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

I Know a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! by Lucille Colandro

It's Christmas, David! by David Shannon

Peppa's Christmas Wish

Images from barnes&noble.com

What are your favorite holiday books? Do you have some you can recommend us?
Thanks!

Eva

*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

Favorite things #4

The E kids love Christmas songs and honestly we listen to them all year round. Radio station B101 here in Philly has started playing Christmas songs for a while now and one of the songs that the kids loves the most is the "Dominick the Donkey" song!

*Image from wikipedia.com

They always ask me to repeat the song when it is finished even though it is from the radio, haha! The whole concept of how the radio works isn't quite grasped by the kids yet.

I think it is how silly the song is, especially the "hee-haw, hee-haw" part, that really captures their attention.

Read here to find out more about the history behind this song

What are your or your kids favorite silly Christmas songs?

Zi

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Favorite Things #3

H&N's favorite holiday is Christmas! From decorating the tree to opening gifts. But most of all our tradition of having everyone sleep over our house (Uncle M, Aunt E, Grandma & Grandpa).

Now that H&N are a little older I want them to understand the true meaning of Christmas. The other day I asked H why we celebrate Christmas and she replies, "Because it's Jesus' birthday!" I decided to make our version of an Advent calendar / countdown to Christmas by combining 2 of their favorites things .... Christmas and crafts.

Reason for the Season: DIY calendar
Each day I have a Bible verse which relates to a craft/ornament the kids can make.
(Ex: December 4, Matthew 1:20, Make an angel ornament)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Small bags or lunch bags

Glue

Scissors

Bible verse (Click HERE for download)

Tags (Click HERE for download)

Various wooden ornaments or objects (can be found at your local craft store)

Print verses and tags and trim. 

Glue tags on bag. 

Assemble and place bags under tree or display on a fireplace mantle. 

They get so excited each day to see what will be in the bag. By the time Christmas arrives they will have a beautifully decorated tree and be able to tell others what Christmas is all about!

Do you use an Advent calendar? Or have a fun way to countdown to Christmas?

Eva

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Favorite things #2

The two things that my kids ask me for the most each day is some blank paper and a pen. A while back I had mentioned that E1 and E2 have really been showing interest in drawing, so John and I have encouraged them to draw as much as possible.

*Image from fanpop.com

Nowadays E3 and E4 have also shown more interest as well. The three older kids can spend a good 30 minutes or more just sitting and drawing together on some days and they can do this a few times a day. We go through quite a lot of paper each day but I love seeing all their creations and having them tell me the story behind each drawing.

Recently to make things a bit more interesting and to help them not only hone their skills as an artist but also improve their writing skills, we have started to have the kids create their own books. I simply staple together a few pieces of paper and let the kids imagination run wild. They create their own covers and come up with their own stories with pictures and words.

It really is amazing that many times simple things can keep kids occupied for a long time.

What are some of the simple things that keep your kids occupied?

Zi

25 Days of Our Favorite Things

Hello December!
This year we will be sharing our kids' favorite things and so our countdown to Christmas begins.
*Disclaimer: All products mention in the series are not sponsored posts. They are merely our opinions of products we enjoy and would like to share with our readers.

FAVORITE THINGS #1
Every time I take my kids to Target they always ask if they can go to the game console area. H loves to play the Super Mario Bros. Wii game while N loves to play with the Skylanders.
The last time I played Super Mario was on the very first Nintendo game system and as for Skylanders I'm still learning what this is all about. So you can guess these two items are on their wish list this year!

Images from target.com

I still remember when my dad bought me the Atari video game system. It was the coolest thing ever to play PacMan or Donkey Kong, remember that?

Did you enjoy playing video games? What is/was your favorite game?
What's on top of your or your kid's wish list?
Eva