Three Things : Weekdays + Creative Family Giveaway

Ali,
My husband and I just became a true "family" 7 weeks ago, when I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. It is a huge priority of mine to instill creativity into our daily lives and would love this book to get me off to a good start! Currently, we are in survival mode--as I'm sure you can remember--but once the dust settles and we get into a routine (please tell me that someday there will be a routine!) I hope to set up some wonderful family traditions that center around creativity, crafts and just being together as a family. Thanks for your wonderful, inspiring blog!

Hi Ali,
One of my favorite things to do as a family is to have "movie night". We all get in jammies and make snacks and snuggle while watching movies. Life can be so busy with huge events and holidays, sometimes the simplest & most pure times are the best.
Jen

My favorite thing to do as a family is to play outside. I have two boys, 6 and 4, and my husband and I love to enjoy the outdoors with them.
Sounds like a great book.
Sandi

Our favorite thing to do together is have lunch. My husband doesn't leave for work until after lunch, so we all get to sit together and talk about what happened that morning and what will will do the rest of the day. Except for the weekend he's not home for dinner, so it's our time every day to catch up and enjoy something we all love - food! :)

Our favorite thing to do as a family is go on long trips. My mom is big on carrying bags full of food and our job is to empty it as we drive to our destination and back home. Of course it is never empty but we get a crack on how much "stuff" my mom carries around. It is ridiculous- but of course we love her!
Hope you pick my name on your raffle...yay!

One of my favorite things to do with my family is going out to dinner, then coming back home and doing creative stuff together, or just watching a movie. Since all of us are college age or older now, I think moments like these are just so important.
Have a great day!!!

We all enjoy riding in the Land Pride on the farm. Including our dog, Sophie....

TRAVEL! yes, travel. Our kids are big now, 18-20 & 22, so travel is an absolute treat! They follow directions-don't argue for the most part, and we get to make some wonderful memories (aka, "remember when moments"). Plus, it won't be long, and there will probably be spouses. YIKES!

I have a toddler and new baby on the way so this looks perfect for me! My favorite 'family' time is Sunday morning. When it is nice out we eat donuts on the deck and read the paper and play on the swingset. Just relaxing and having FUN!

I've been everywhere trying to find that book!
i don't have kids of my own, but i babysit my young cousins often and each time I do, I come up with a project for us to do. They all look forward to it, and it gives us time to bond. Just the two of us. It's so great to spend one on one time with them when it's usually our whole family getting together when I see them. Sometimes that can be up to 40 and even 60 or 70 people!
erin

we love to go on hikes, even in the middle of the city. we live in boston, over and over again we explore the emerald necklace, franklin park and the arboretum, along the charles or jp pond... it's good to be outside!

We love to be outside... walking, biking, hiking, camping, at the park, by the lake, exploring new things etc. I love that there are no media distractions just us and nature. Doesn't get any better than that! So what is YOUR favorite thing to do with family?

Ali-
Thank you for such inspiration, I look at your blog daily and always walk away happy.

Having 3 kids all at different ages oldest 11, middle 6, and youngest 3, It is hard to find one thing that we all enjoy doing.but The one thing we do every night and I mean every night is that before bed we read. I read to them a couple books then daddy reads a couple books.Usually lasting 30mins-1hr then its off to bed. This is the most important part of our daily routine and it helps end a usual hectic, crazy day on a soft, slow, calming note.

I have 3 boys - 11 year old twins and an 8 year old. Needless to say they are very active. Family time for us is usually on the weekends playing outside, grilling, bike riding, just hanging out. It's the best!

Hi Ali,
This sounds like a great book and I can't wait to read through the comments to see what other families do!
My husband and I have two boys, 10 and 5, and we've started taking them out to dinner to nicer restaurants once a month or so. The boys love to go to places other than Applebees, where they get to try something new and sometimes the experience is totally different, too (such as the time we took them to a Japanese restaurant where they cook at your table...they LOVED this!). We've been biking and hiking together for the last couple years, but this gives us time to TALK without rushing anywhere.
I'm a SAHM and we eat together all the time, but these are relaxing dinners that are different from the everyday, and it seems like it loosens us all up to SHARE more. So good...
PAM

I have one 5 1/2 year old and a 10 month old. It's not always easy coming up with ideas for them both to enjoy so the book sounds great. But we all love bike riding and Charlie is carted around in the bike trailer with us!

We like to trade items in my family. This tradition started when we were kids. My Mom thought that since everyone has items they don't want and one childs junk is another childs treasure, we should trade. So one night each month, we would bring items we not longer treasured to the coffee table. As a family, we would eat a fun dinner (English muffin pizzas) and then the great toy exchange would take place. Although the items weren't new, it was fun to get someone elses toys that were usually off limits. My brothers looked forward to getting an unwanted barbie doll or even parts of a barbie to put on their tanks.

My favorite thing to do as a family is taking walks around our neighborhood. The children love to collect leaves, rocks or bugs & my husband & I get a chance to connect & unwind.

The one favorite thing I do with my husband and two wonderful kids is waking up in the morning and cuddling, saying I love you to one another in bed. Showing the affection of our love to our little precious and seeing their beaming smiley faces really make the day so much brighter!