Family Game Night: Simply Suspects #SpyAlleyPartners

The family has been on a bluffing kick lately, so to add to that assortment we found Simply Suspects from Spy Alley Partners and tried it out over the weekend. It does not disappoint! Perfect for 2 to 6 players and easy to pick-up and learn in under 5 minutes, this game already has a ton of children's and parenting awards for logical reasoning.

Family Game Night: Spy Alley #SpyAlleyPartners

We've been trying to find fun ways to facilitate strategic thinking for kids, so we when we came across the Spy Alley board game, we were excited to add it to our family game night. The team at Spy Alley Partners have designed an excellent 'bluffing' board game with a backbone of logic and deduction that is perfect for kids under 12 to learn, and fun for teenagers and adults just to play!

Family Game Night: Codenames - Pictures - XXL #CzechGamesEdition

We first played Codenames with friends awhile back and instantly loved it. We have been hunting for something the kids can enjoy as well, without tripping too much over the tougher words. Enter Codenames Pictures XXL! The funny and oddball pictures are great for kids and the coaster sized tiles are perfect for those matches ending in a little roughhousing (which at our house, it practically EVERY game).

Home Study Information #AdoptionTips

The Home Study

The term “home study” encompasses all of the paperwork, interviews, and verification needed for adoption agencies to freely communicate back-and-forth regarding potential matches. Your home study is the first thing requested when you inquiry about potential adoption matches.

Explaining Foster Care Adoption thru Storybooks: Elliot by Julie Pearson #adoptionpicturebooks

Some of you may know that our family has begun navigating our way through the adoption process. We've decided to adopt through the foster care system, which is as exciting as it is daunting. With as many questions as we cross off the list, it still manages to grow longer rather than shorter. One critical question we're focusing on this week is:

How do we help our children feel secure in their foster care adoption story? 

Family Game Night: Mice and Mystics #PlaidHatGames

During a recent BBQ, a friend was raving about this game and we were intrigued! "It's like Dungeons and Dragons, but for kids!" Mice and Mystics, from Plaid Hat Games IS indeed like playing D&D but with a kid-friendly theme of mice taking on mouse-sized opponents in a medieval castle setting: battling rats, spiders, roaches, and centipedes while finding and using forks, threads, and hooks to help in several quests.

6 Benefits to Planting in Flower Boxes #gardening #IKEA #AskholmenFlowerBox

     This season, my husband and I have made it our goal to update our outdoor living space and try our hand at some basic herb and vegetable gardening. Years ago, we began using flower boxes to make the most of our limited outdoor space in our D.C. apartment. Now that we live in Florida and have a large yard, we still find that flower boxes are one of the best ways to grow plants and add style to our lawn and patio area. For those of you trying to decide which style of gardening is right for you, we've provided some of the biggest benefits that flower boxes and raised beds offer below. We've also included one of our favorite flower box recommendations, the IKEA Askholmen Flower Box, for its style, functionality and affordability.

iHealth PT3 Infrared No-Touch Thermometer #iHealth #healthykids

It's rare that we feel the need to rave over a thermometer, but for those of you who have tried the iHealth PT3 thermometer, I have a feeling you're with us on this. Gone are the days of struggling to take your child's temperature. Forget the tears, the negotiations...in fact, they don't even need to be awake! This iHeath no-touch, infrared forehead thermometer allows you to take an accurate body temperature reading without even touching the body.

STEM for the Summer: Electric Motors Catalyst Kit #TinkeringLabs #kitsforkids

Mechanical gizmos are all the rage for kids nowadays and we love that they integrate creativity and STEM skills in such a fun way. With summer coming up, we have been on the hunt for fun and educational kits that will help kids explore and keep their critical thinking skills sharp for the coming school year. Turns out, Tinkering Labs was established in 2015 for this sole purpose! Their mission is to get kids involved in "open-ended projects, goal-directed but unscripted, that require active hands and active minds." We've dug into their Electric Motors Catalyst kit and are very impressed with it! This kit offers several challenges for kids to complete, which will keep learning going all summer long. Check out the details below!

Family Game Night: Paperback #FowersGames

We're a family with both a well-thumbed dictionary and a thesaurus on the shelf. Naturally, we play a lot of word games. It's a great way to build vocabulary and decisive thinking. Moving beyond those games where players just align tiles, Paperback designed by Tim Fowers, is a game for advanced players and gifted kids. It has multiple levels and expansions included in the box. The first round I played with my husband to get the hang of it (and skunked him, 43 to 17!). After that, the whole family played several different games.