Just the same...but different

Have you ever had someone say this to you?

"I had the same exact thing happen to me! It was different because...blah blah blah"

or

"I want this EXACT thing...except here are the things I want to change."

We hear that last one all the time. It's what our business, The Monkey's Treehouse, is built off of. Our clients send us a picture of something. They want that something exactly the way it is in the picture. Oh, but if only the ribbon could be black instead of pink...and instead of a dog could we make it a cat?....I know it looks like a dress in the picture but could we make it a romper? 

I love these conversations with our clients. I love that we offer our clients the opportunity to customize almost anything they see out in stores or online. Some of our clients are very specific...some of them less-so. We do our best with every order to create a one-of-a-kind product, to make their imagination a reality. How many people can say, "people imagine things, we make them happen."? 

I had a friend/client send our business page a message on Facebook the other day. She had walked through three stores trying to find the perfect red hair bow for her newborn daughter for Fourth of July...she couldn't find what she was looking for. She messaged me and sent me a picture of the dress (which was totally adorable by the way). Today, she has the hairbow she imagined. 

Her imagination = reality.

I used to wish, growing up, that I could take what I was imagining and make it a reality. Now I have the honor and pleasure of doing this for other people. When we first started, that satisfied me. Then I got to thinking...who are the most creative people we know? Our monkeys!

It doesn't just have to be the monkeys in our treehouse. I'm quite certain that your monkeys are creative too...it's just the way monkeys are. So Mr. Incredible and I sat down and tried to figure out a way to channel that creative energy. A few hours later, "Artist in You" was born. We were so excited with our new service that we actually offer it as a fundraiser. There is a process involved, but we take children's artwork and embroider it. I can't tell you how much our monkeys love wearing stuff they have made. So much fun. 

So next time you think about wanting to make your imagination a reality...think of your monkeys...think of our monkeys...think of The Monkey's Treehouse. 

We are like every other handmade vendor...but different. 

Mom...can we...?

I must hear this phrase (or some variation of it) at least 10 times a day from each of the five monkeys, moreso this week...it's that weird week. That weird interim week between when school gets out for the summer and when summer activities actually begin. That week that parents either dread or plan vacations for because they know...they know they will have to entertain their own monkeys.

I can't really complain. I have been home with our monkeys this week and they really have been incredible. They know that they have to let me work. The older monkeys help out with the younger ones and it is truly amazing how far they have come. In return, my answer to this question they ask is frequently yes. Even if I have to stop working to set something up for them, it is worth their smiles and the 30+ minutes I usually get to work uninterrupted. 

Now, please don't misunderstand. I do say no to our children. It is not a free-for-all in our treehouse. In fact, if you ask anyone who knows us, we are generally pretty strict and structured. But our children are well behaved and well mannered. It's a trade-off. Children thrive off of structure. We have a chore chart and I am working on creating a reusable behavior chart (they will be available soon for sale on our website www.shopthemonkeystreehouse.com). They thrive with these things in place and our family runs better. Our monkeys just behave better when they know what is expected of them.

"Mom...can we...?", although trying to my patience after the 57th time hearing it, that phrase is wonderful to hear. It means they want to be active. They want to DO things. Two years ago if you had asked Mister (12) to read a book, he acted as though you asked him to cut off a limb...now we can't get any of the monkeys to stop reading. In fact, I just spent some time sorting through reading lists on line to find some books for them to get from the library. Belle (10) is currently sitting in the room with me frustrated with one of the tablets because her e-book is not loading fast enough (ie-she is reading faster than it can load). Even as we sit here though, as she's waiting for it to load, "Can we go rollerblading later?" Our monkeys want to be active, so a lot of my work tends to get done after they go to bed. If I can get 2-3 hours done during the day, I am able to finish the rest at night. 

We try to get out of the house at least once a day. Sometimes it's just errands, sometimes it's do an activity (many of them are listed on the calendar to the right. Keep checking because I'm adding new things daily). Many days they get to do both. Occasionally I try to wear them out and usually I end up just wearing myself out. Sometimes the activities they choose are not scheduled. Here is a short list of some of the activities we do that aren't on the calendar because we just decide on them on the fly!:

Swimming at the lake

YMCA activities

Spinning the Kidgits Wheel at Simon Malls

RAOK (read more about that here) 

Spontaneous beach trips

Many Many playground adventures (we love finding new playgrounds to explore)

Hiking

Pinterest crafts (Mister doesn't necessarily LOVE this unless it's an experiment)

Library Visits

Water fights in the back yard

Bikes, rollerblades, skateboards, and scooters (we got most of our wheels on craigslist for free)

Farm trips (we love McQuesten Farm in Litchfield, NH)

Seeing the giant fish tank at Bass Pro Shops in Hooksett, NH

Movie night/day

So you can see that even without a scheduled activity, we still get pretty busy. Sometimes the weather refuses to cooperate with what the kids want to do, but we always have fun. 

We are fortunate to have so many opportunities to offer our monkeys. We know that even when they aren't in school, they are learning. They soak in every minute. They are learning to enjoy life and be active. 

We are also fortunate, (because Mr. Incredible IS so incredible) that one or both of us get to be home with the monkeys. They are learning so much! They see daily that it is possible to be home with your kids and still work, that you can follow your dreams, and that hard work pays off. They see the ins and outs of running a business. They are also learning the art of waiting (semi)patiently. Some days they even help out and ask if they can learn a new technique that I may be using that day. I get to teach them, work with them, and help them grow. My favorite thing that they see though, is the relationship that Mr. Incredible and I have. We work as a team; loving them, loving each other, and building our business. They will grow up knowing what love and support looks and feels like. 

At the end of the day, whether you work outside the home or inside the home, isn't that the goal? To feel loved and supported. To show your kids what love and support looks/feels like? 

Today I dare you to say "yes" to your own monkeys. Just once. "Mom/Dad...can we...?" Stop. Think. Encourage their imagination. Encourage activity. Say yes. 

Us? We are heading out on some wheels. 

Best Day Ever

"This is the Best. Day. Ever."

That's a direct quote from at least one of our monkeys whenever we do something out of the ordinary. I would say "something fun", but it isn't always the big activities. You see, our monkeys were not always super grateful. Before all 5 monkeys were with us full time, they had become accustomed to doing "fun stuff" on the regular and things such as going to the park or for a hike were no longer a big deal.

Fortunately, Mr. Incredible and I are not able to take them to do major (ie - expensive) activities every day...or even every weekend. No you didn't read that wrong, I said "fortunately". Our monkeys have learned that some days we will go out and spend money...and other days we can go out and do things that cost absolutely nothing. They have come to realize that how much fun they have all depends on their attitudes, not on my bank statements.

Some of their favorite days include our RAOK (random acts of kindness) trips. On those trips, we bring gently used (sometimes new) goodies (usually toys, handmade scarves, wrapped candy, or balloons) to a public place (usually Market Basket or Home Depot). We tag them with "RAOK" cards (shown below) and we give them to strangers and tell them to "Have a great day!". Our monkeys LOVE doing this. I have to be honest here for a minute though, it was concerning the first time we did this how many people were initially confused or put off by these acts of kindness. Our monkeys just smiled their biggest smiles though and all was right with the world. It amazes me what a smile can do to a perfect stranger's attitude. Try it sometime. I dare you. Smile at a stranger. There is not enough kindness in the world.

Anyways, as I mentioned, some of our best days cost us almost nothing. I will be adding a calendar to our blog that has activities that are low/no cost. Some we will attend, others are just activities that you may be interested in. Check it out so that you and your family can have a "best day ever". If you attend an event we post, let us know if you attend and how you liked it! We love to hear reviews! (Note: We are in no way affiliated with the events we post. We receive no compensation if you attend.)

Today. Today really is the best day ever. Why you ask? Because today is Mr. Incredible's birthday. That's right. "Some" years ago, unbeknownst to me (I wasn't born yet), the most amazing man in the world was born. The monkeys and I are so lucky to have him in our lives and we are grateful every day for him. If it wasn't for June 25, "some" years ago...I wouldn't have the husband I have today. So if you see Mr. Incredible today, make sure to wish him a Happy Birthday and to let him know that today is the "best day ever" because he is part of it.


(Mr. Incredible birthday image is from www.juxtapost.com)
(RAOK card was designed by www.shopthemonkeystreehouse.com)

Welcome to our Treehouse

Welcome to The Monkey's Treehouse. 

Thanks for visiting. We are always happy to have guests. 

Allow me to introduce us. We are a superstar husband and wife team. I am married to Mr. Incredible. We have five children (our monkeys). Yes, you're right, that's a lot of monkeys. We are a blended family (or a "frappucino family" as we like to sometimes call it.) Our monkeys are Mister (12), Belle (10), JBean (8), Bugaboo (4), and Peanut (2). Those are not their given names, but we will be using these variations of their nicknames in our blog to protect them and their privacy. It doesn't matter which monkeys came from who, they are ours and we love them fiercely.

Having five monkeys requires a lot of time. Mr. Incredible works full time outside of the home and I used to work part time. Between the two of us, we worked out schedules, appointments, activities, visits, homework, and life in general, but time was TIGHT. There just were not enough hours in the day to accommodate everyone's schedules.

Mr. Incredible and I had been talking about opening our own online business. We had been dabbling and the business took off a bit faster than we anticipated (as new businesses take time to build.) Eventually, I got to follow my dreams and open the online store full time. (I will forever be grateful to Mr. Incredible for that.) Today, I get to work from home running our online business called The Monkey's Treehouse and I get to be home with our monkeys. Mr. Incredible still works outside the house but always comes home and gives 110% to our kiddos, our marriage, and our business. He's just. that. incredible. 

With five monkeys and a new business, time isn't the only thing that gets tight. Money gets tight too. So we have gotten creative with activities and freebies that are free and/or very inexpensive. We also make a lot of things ourselves and re-purpose what we have to fit our needs. We will be sharing those adventures (and sometimes misadventures) here for you to follow along. We will share ideas of free/low cost activities that you can participate in as well!

We hope you join us on our journey to success at home, work, and play. Hang on tight. With our monkeys it's usually a wild and silly ride.