admin, Author at 3 Kids and Us

3 Unique Ways to Celebrate Mom

August 3, 2022 by admin

If you are lucky, you have a mom that deserves to be celebrated! Take a moment to think back to your childhood classroom around Mother’s Day: I’m sure you can recall crafting with glue and cotton balls and markers to make a “masterpiece” for her that she proudly displayed on the refrigerator for years after. Why did this creativity have to stop in second grade?

We have listed a few ways to unearth that uniqueness for you and your mom. Here are some different ideas to help you share something special and personal with one of the most important women in your life.

Get Your Van Gogh On

Picture this: wine, blank canvases, and you and mom sprawled on the floor crafting something special. You can buy all the materials you need (canvas, acrylic paint, and brushes) for under $30 from most craft stores or box stores like Wal-Mart. You can even find kits like this online that have all you need in one purchase.

No need to be intimidated by what to paint either. If you can’t think of what to create or where to start, you can always find tutorials online. There are thousands of options on YouTube if you do a quick search!

After your masterpieces and memories are created, you and your mom can swap paintings! You have a memory and a gift, all in one.

Create a 5-Star Dining Experience

You don’t have to be a Michelin chef to create a good meal. Get creative in the kitchen with your mom. The two of you can sit down and start with the basics: do you want to create something sweet or savory? Breakfast or dinner? Vegetarian or meat? After answering some basic questions, head off to the grocery store and get to coming up with ideas together for the perfect meal!

After you craft your meal, you can sit down and enjoy a fine dining experience in the comfort of home. You could light some candles, turn on some Frank Sinatra, and share a bottle of wine or sparkling water. Finish your fancy meal with a movie and popcorn for an extra touch!

Everlasting Memory: Tattoo Date

What better way to create a lasting memory with mom than to get tattoos together? There are a lot of great options for tattoo shops that are highly rated for specialized tattoos like Certified Tattoo Studios. You can get your mom’s handwriting on your wrist or matching images on your ankle. The options are endless and Pinterest and other websites offer great ideas for mother/child tattoos.

Spend some time talking about what both you and your mom want for a tattoo. You can decide where on the body you want it, what color, and the detail behind it. Whatever it is, we suggest you don’t rush this one!

Have Fun

A great mom is someone to not take for granted, and if you are here – you want to give her something special. Now it’s time to get painting, cooking, and booking that appointment at your local tattoo shop. Have fun!

How to Make Traveling With Kids Easier

July 18, 2022 by admin

Taking a vacation with your little ones is always exciting – but doing so can be stressful. Traveling with children can be tough, especially if your trip requires flying or driving an especially long distance. Family vacations should ultimately be fun, so here are a few tips for eliminating stress when traveling with your kiddos.

Allow Yourself Plenty of Time

A stressful day of traveling is only made worse when you and your family are in a rush. When planning out your itinerary for your trip, be sure to be extra generous with time and allow yourself plenty of time for each task to account for traffic, long lines, and other unforeseen events.

Pack Light

Although packing for an entire family can be stressful and you might be tempted to overpack in order to ensure that you don’t forget anything, overpacking only leads to heavy bags that are frustrating (or impossible) to carry, extra baggage fees, and the possibility of more things getting lost. Keep packing to a minimum and your future self will thank you!

Bring Snacks

Hunger can ruin any trip, whether you’re waiting around at the airport or stuck in the car. In addition to planning meal times in advance, be sure to pack plenty of snacks for yourself and your kids to ensure that no one ends up hungry.

Keep Track of Your Child at Airports

When at a busy airport, avoid letting your child wander off by themselves to get a snack or use the bathroom. Always be sure that there is an adult with your child to keep them safe from hazardous areas with airport barriers and to keep them from getting lost or ending up in the wrong hands.

Stay Positive

No matter how thoroughly you plan a trip, things will almost definitely go wrong. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan and there is nothing you can do about it! Accepting this ahead of time and maintaining a positive attitude when plans change or things go wrong is the key to salvaging your trip, even if it turns out to be completely different than expected. Remember: your children likely do not care about the particular plan you have put together for vacation, they just want to take a trip and spend time with the family! Maintaining a positive mindset and attitude should things go wrong will ensure that your kids still have a memorable and enjoyable trip.

Gifts to Get Your Child that Aren’t Electronic

July 18, 2022 by admin

Our children are the light of our lives, whether they were brought into this world naturally, with the help of tuboplasty, or if you adopted your bundle of joy because you knew they were meant to come home with you. It’s for this reason that we as parents can sometimes go a little overboard in getting them presents, whether that’s for their birthdays, Christmas, or just for a celebration. And in the modern age, many of those gifts end up being electronics.

But there are so many other great gifts that your children can get use or joy out of other than those that require an electrical outlet or batteries. Here are some great presents to get them that aren’t electronic.

Books

Getting a book might not be at the top of your child’s wishlist, but instilling a passion for reading early on could benefit them in the future, and they might even find they actually enjoy reading—who would have guessed!

That being said, your nine-year-old likely won’t find much enjoyment in reading Pride and Prejudice, so you should get them a book or genre that you think they would enjoy. This might include a popular read like Harry Potter or something that they’ve never even heard of before.

Instruments

While it takes dedication and hard work to learn, getting your child an instrument can do wonders for them. Not only will it provide them with a new hobby, but it can also turn into a passion that they can continue to pursue for the rest of their lives if they are interested enough.

They might take interest in the drums, guitar, violin, piano, or just about any other instrument. Getting them their very own instrument could open the doorway for a whole lifetime of enjoyment!

Games for the Family

Contrary to popular belief, according to kids, there are actually lots of fun games that don’t include video games. Board games are a great way for the entire family to get together or for them to have fun with their friends, along with tabletop games like ping pong, air hockey, foosball, and more.

Something for Outside

The opposite of an electronic gift for your kids is pretty much one that requires them to go outside, and as bad as that might sound to them in the modern world, there are lots of fun things they can do outside.

You could get them a bike, a scooter, roller skates, or even a trampoline. If they are into sports, they might enjoy a basketball hoop or a new football with their favorite team on it. Even something as simple as sidewalk chalk or as elaborate as a swingset can be a great gift.!

Aww, You Shouldn’t Have!

No matter what you decide to get your child for the next special occasion, they’re guaranteed to have a blast with it! And if you decide to get them an electronic, even if they already have plenty, there’s no doubt they’ll love it.

5 Things You Absolutely Have to do With Your Kids at Universal Studios

July 14, 2022 by admin

If your kids are fans of amusement parks, they’ve likely heard of Universal Studios, and if by chance they haven’t, they’re in for a real treat. Taking your kids to Universal is sure to put a smile on their faces, but there are a few things that you absolutely have to do with them while the whole group is there.

Character Encounters

Young kids will have an absolute blast interacting with and meeting their favorite characters in person. Some of the characters they might see include Spongebob Squarepants, Spiderman, the minions, Transformers, Shrek, The Simpsons, The Cat in the Hat, Popeye, Captain America, and more. There’s nothing quite like meeting your heroes!

Ride in the Front

While you won’t be able to wait in every single line for the front of rides, you need to do so on at least one with your kids. Maybe that means snagging the front seat of Transformers: the Ride, or sitting in the front of The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. There’s nothing wrong with other seats, but there’s something special about getting to sit in front that your kids will appreciate.

Explore Harry Potter World

What kid didn’t dream of going to Hogwarts? Well, at Universal, they can. You could practically spend an entire day exploring both of the Wizarding parks, including Diagon Ally and Hogsmead. They’ll be in awe as you ride alongside Harry and the gang on several rides, drink butterbeer from the movies, and explore shops that are filled with cool treats and merchandise. Plus, they can even visit Olivander’s Wand Shop to get their very own wand and become a wizard themselves!

Get a Frozen Treat

Walking around Orlando can be hot, so you’ll need to get your child a frozen treat at some point. Universal just so happens to have a wide variety of ice cream shops to dine on, like The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, Cold Stone Creamery, Chill Ice Cream, Cathay’s Ice Cream, Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour, Haagen Dazs, Hop on Pop Ice Cream Shop, Menchies Frozen Yogurt, and more!

Capture the Moment

Going home without taking a picture of your kids’ first time at Universal Studio would be criminal, so make sure to take lots of photos throughout the park. Get ones with characters, in front of interesting shops or rides, and maybe even purchase the photos that are taken while the whole family is on a ride. And if you want to get artistic, have your kids get caricatures drawn. Once it’s in a frame on your wall back home, it will make for the perfect conversation starter.

The Time of Their Lives

Whether you’ve just had a successful bunion surgery recovery, are overdue for a vacation, or want to celebrate being a family, any excuse you have to visit Universal Studios is a good one, and your kids—as well as yourself—will be all the happier because of it.

Feeding a Family of Four? Here’s How You Can Reduce Your Grocery Bill

June 30, 2022 by admin

It takes a lot to feed a family of four—or more—each and every week, and with the way kids grow, you’ll be running back and forth just to keep food on the table. But all that grocery shopping can begin to add up in the money department, even if you have a good-paying job at a place like ThriveMD or a law firm.

Luckily, there are a few easy ways you can reduce your grocery bill without going above and beyond.

Drop Name Brands

There’s nothing wrong with name-brand items, and many of them are actually pretty decent, but not all of them are worth spending the extra money on. Instead, try going for the generic equivalent of whatever item you need. In many cases, you and your kids won’t even be able to tell a difference, and in the event that the name brand is considerably superior to the cheaper version, you can always shell out a few extra bucks for that specific item.

By settling for the off-brand items, you’ll start to rack up the savings in no time.

Budget for the Necessities

If you’ve ever gone shopping with your kids, you’ll know how easy it can be to wind up with a mountain of unnecessary items in your cart, and they’re not the only guilty ones—we’ve been there, too.

While there isn’t anything bad about getting the occasional treat or junk food, getting too many of these kinds of items can put you over your budget and really isn’t that good for you anyway. Instead, create a shopping list and only budget for the items that are absolutely required, such as milk eggs, bread, whatever you plan to eat for dinner, etc. No chips, cookies, or cases of soda, but we won’t tell if you want to get one little treat.

Take Advantage of Deals and Rewards

Many stores offer reward cards that you can get if you are a loyal customer, and all it takes is in most cases is giving them your email address. While this can be frustrating and seem like a waste of time when they ask you and all you really want to do is get your stuff and get out, taking those two minutes to fill out your information can save you a good chunk of change in the long run. These reward cards can grant you deals on items, earn you exclusive rewards, and build points every time you shop which can then be used for more groceries.

Spend a Little, Save a Lot

By sticking to these tips, you’ll find that saving money on your routine trips to the grocery store can actually be remarkably simple. You’ll be able to keep the fridge stocked, bellies full, and your wallet a little thicker.