All About Family

Here we are at the start of what many families love..getting together for Holiday Dinners. Do you have special traditions that go along with the holidays that you’d like to share? We would love to hear from you. Some families do not care for this time and some family get togethers are funny and some disastrous. We had one many years back that could have been a disaster, but ended up being the best Thanksgiving memories we had made in a long time. It all started with a can of SPAM…..

What does SPAM have to do with the holidays? Plenty, in our house….this particular can of SPAM had spent many years of being hid in people’s houses after a get together. After a great Holiday time with everyone, someone would find the can of SPAM in their belongings and SCREAM…On No! It’s mine again. Well, after a few years of this, it ended up that can of SPAM had saved the day on our Thanksgiving Dinner…..

The Can Of SPAM that saved our Dinner

More to come….

At one point during a game, the coach said to one of his young players, “Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?”

The little boy nodded yes.

“Do you understand that what matters is whether we win together as a team?”

The little boy nodded yes.

“So,” the coach continued, “when a strike is called, or you’re out at first, you don’t argue or curse or attack the umpire. Do you understand all that?”

Again the little boy nodded.

“Good,” said the coach. “Now go over there and explain it to your mother.”

You Know You Are A Parent When:

People are very quick to jump up and take action when a tragedy hits a family they know. Kindness knows no bounds when friends are hurting. People rush in to take over the basic daily needs of the family. Meals are prepared, frozen and waiting. There is a daily noise that helps drown out the pain that has settled into the house. Time goes on, and people stop coming by as often. The calls stop, the cards slow, the memory of the tragedy fades. Even for the person that experienced the terrible loss, the days turn into weeks, and the weeks into months, until a year has passed. That one year anniversary is almost as difficult as the first days after their passing. However this time, there are not as many people coming by to help you along. No phone calls to pass the days or cards to soothe your soul. You hurt alone this time.

If you have a dear friend, or family member who has lost someone close to them why not remember them on that one year anniversary. Send them a gift that will remind them of all the love that was showered on them in those first days. An inspirational gift item that will encourage them to keep taking it day by day. Give them a simple item with a verse, or poem on it that they can look at often and remember with a smile that someone was thinking of them. A simple item of inspiration when paired with something that will pamper their mending heart will continue to bless them for months to come. It doesn’t take much to show you have remembered their loved one, and yet it can mean the world to the person who has lived the loss daily for a year. It shows them that their loved one has lived on in the hearts of friends and family and that the memory has not faded or gone. Time does heal, time does lessen the pain, however that first anniversary is hard. By just remembering them with a simple gesture you can ease their pain tenfold.
Planet Gift Baskets has some of the best inspirational sympathy gifts I have come across. They are professional in their work. You can trust your gift will arrive as beautiful as the picture. Best of all, you have given another dose of comfort to a friend in need.

I went to a baby shower this weekend and they played the cutest game. They filled baby bottles with kool-aid and the men at the shower had to stand in the center of the room and suck the bottles. The first one who finished without taking the nipple off or cheating in any way won. It was really fun to see these big strong men sucking bottles like newborn babies! You have to try this game at your next baby shower.

Another cute baby shower game was a list of T.V. moms and you had to name her children. It was amazing how many of these I knew except for the fifties t.v. shows. Of course we played the baby shower game where you had to guess how round the mom-to-be was by cutting a string. This game is cute except it took so long to measure everyone’s strings that most people lost interest while the were looking for a winner.

If you are going to a baby shower and visiting Brown Eyed Baby Boutique for unique shower gifts, be sure to check out our personalized gifts and gift baskets. The mom-to-be at this shower received a lot of the same things such as diapers, onesies and baby essentials. One item that she really loved came in a tiny little box. She opened it and it was a set of Baby’s first earrings!! They were so tiny and adorable. Because they were such a hit, I am going to search for them to add to Brown Eyed Baby Boutique. Do you have any baby shower games that were a huge hit at your last shower? Please post them here. We are always looking for unique ideas to celebrate new babies!

Does your family have traditions? Do you have regular reunions so that you can catch up with all the generations? We recently found this great website that is a new social website for families. You can all connect on here and set up reunions and email pictures, etc. Check out Family Reunion.

Better Homes and Gardens has a great list of activities for your reunions. It is a site loaded with recipes and tips for planning the next great reunion.

Some families rent beach houses or mountain cabins. Others camp and some even just get together for a dinner at a large meeting house. What are your traditions? Do your kids get involved or are they drug along? Make these family times the best you can by planning and prepping your young children. I have special memories of my grandparents and great grandparents at our reunions. It was fun getting together with so many people and knowing that we were all related. My parents took the time to instruct my siblings and myself to get to know our family. Have questions ready to ask everyone, do a survey or just hang out and listen to the stories of the older generations.

Summer is often the best time to get together for reunions, so I f you haven’t already..plan a great family reunion, you’ll be glad you did.

It’s that time of year again. It’s time to think of all the wonderful new dads that have brought new life into the world this year. No doubt, they did their best to make mom’s first Mothers Day something to remember. Now it is time to do something extra special for dad. This adorable keepsake teddy bear by Gund would be a perfect surprise to thank dad for all of his hard work. Fittingly, he wears a button that says #1 Dad on his chest while he sings “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” Another great gift idea would be his very own diaper bag. Brown Eyed Baby Boutique carries four styles of diaper bags for men that have been extremely popular with our customers. Why not pick one up for dad so he can help out with diaper duty? You may even want to stuff it with diaper changing supplies and anything else he may need to care for his new little miracle. What a great way to show dad he is part of the team! If you have any great dad gifts that you would like to post, please do so here. We would love to hear how you plan on making dad’s day extra special.

All things family! We really mean it. We are hosting a family blog that will discuss family issues and celebrate families. Welcome to your new neighborhood.