Another great place to check out for you Christmas shopping is Maddigrace.  This is a unique boutique that really carries a little something for everyone.  They have gifts for moms, dads, kids, and you even pick yourself up a gourmet lunch bag!  This is a site after my hearts, since they offer free shipping.  They have a daily sale so make sure you check in to see how you can save even more money.  They also have a ton of items that you can get personalized to make what you get a one of a kind gift.

The site is just fun to look at.  The navigation is great, and it is quite easy to find what you are looking for.  The background colors really draw you in.  Ordering is pretty painless, and you can even use Paypal. If you are looking for a site to get all your Christmas shopping done on, Maddigrace is a great place to start.

Want a unique piece of art for your house? Want this art to be talked about at all the parties you go to? If you answer yes to either of these questions, you have to get a piece of DNA art. I have to admit, this is one of the coolest things I have seem come out. Here’s how it works:

First, you will receive a sample collection package which includes the tools to swab the inside of the cheek of whoever’s DNA you want as artwork. I personally think I would do my kids, but you really can do anyone who is willing to give you some buccal cells from their cheek. You then send the collector back to the MyGeneImage lab. Once you send it in, it takes about two weeks to create your piece of art.

Now, you can pick from several different styles of how you want the DNA to be displayed. You get to pick which gene sequence they use as well as the design, background color, and size of the artwork. Your first choice is myArtwork which is a reflection of the gene sequence displayed in picturesque art. Then there is myCrystal. This is your DNA sequence engraved inside a crystal structure with the 2D or 3D picture of the individual. Lastly, there is myGenetic ID which is the ultimate identification card with genetic markers.

It is hard to believe what beautiful artwork can be made from our gene sequences. However, myGeneImage has figured it out, and I am impressed. For your kids or the person you never know what to get them, this is the perfect fit.

I am going to let you all in on a little secret that I am doing to do for Christmas this year. See the picture on the left? Those are stamps. I made them over at PictureItPostage and will be affixing them to all my Christmas cards this year. Tell me that isn’t the cutest thing you have ever seen?  There are just so many uses for these stamps.  You can do what I did and put them on Christmas cards.  However, I can see them being used for baby announcements, engagements, holidays and graduations.  You can’t make an invitation more customized and personal than this.  Plus, you don’t see stamps like this too often.  That makes it unique, and people will love it!  You will be the talk of everyone you send these too!

How hard is it to make these?  It is not hard at all.  PictureItPostage allows you to either create these stamps on their site or you can download a program, and you can create them on your desktop.  You can customize the background color and what color the text is on them too!  It literally took me about 10 minute to completely put this together.  Shipping took no time at all.  I am 100% satisfied with this company and would highly recommend you use them also.

Also, they are having a “Get Real” Photo contest that starts October 31st. They want to see the best of the worst when it comes to photos.  They want you to send them your worst pictures that you really don’t want to see the light of day. How do you enter?  On October 31, head over to PictureItPostage and upload your photo. Beginning November 21, all visitors to the “Get Real” contest website will have a chance to vote for their favorite photos.  The winners will be announced December 8.  What can you win?  They are giving away two Canon Digital SLR Camera and five PictureItPostage coupon codes good for 100 customized photo stamps. The ten first prize winners will each receive one PictureItPostage coupon code good for one pack of customized postage stamps.  We all have horrible pictures — now have them work for you!

Make sure you check out PictureItPostage!

Can you believe that Halloween is less than a month away? I know I can’t. Madison wanted to be a fairy with wings or a princess. My mother in law has a princess costume that we can use, so she was easy. However, I had no idea what to make Will. He is in a weird size this year, and it is really hard to find costumes for him. However, I did find a some Halloween costumes at the Halloween Party Store that were super cute and that would fit him.

(Ignore the mess in the background and the pearl necklace he’s holding too).  I just ordered this for him and it came within a couple of days!  It is tad long but besides that it fits awesome.  I love that the toolbelt is attached to the costume, so you don’t have to worry about losing it.  You can also adjust the belt in back and make it tighter too!  This does come with a cute little red hat too, but there is no way I can keep that on a 16 month olds head!  I am impressed with the quality and service from the Halloween Party Store and highly recommend you use them for your Halloween costume needs!

Madison and I recently tried the Briarpatch’s I Spy Memory Game.  This game will help your child develop their memory, matching, critical thinking, reading and oral language skills.  It also teaches them to take turns, follow rules, and sharing.  The object of this game is to match pairs of cards.The great thing about this game is that you can really tailor it to the age of the child you are playing with.  The directions had several different versions depending on the age of the child you were playing with.  Right now, Madison (who is 4) struggled a tad with this.  The cards that you are trying pair are not identical.  The object itself is identical.  However, the two cards may have a different background or with different lighting.  That being said, I do like the detail on the cards.  They are great pictures.  The basic memory game is played with the blue cards.  You are able to play a riddle game with the red cards and the blue cards (this would be for an older child).  The red cards all have riddles on it like “A dish on a duck, a bow on a bell, a bird in a cage, a pearl in the shell”  Then on the bottom of the card that you should find the 4 cards that match this riddle.  Some of these riddles Madison was able to do.  This is just one version of how to play with both sets of cards.  There are a couple of other versions that can be played also.  Madison and I ended up making up our own rules and games with this which was just as fun!  We counted clocks and toys and matched colors.

I would highly recommend the I Spy Memory Game!  We had a lot of fun with it, and I can see it being a game that your children will enjoy playing as they grow older.