Pink Saturday

This was 3 weeks ago but...Handsome joined us outside and saw the jump rope laying on the ground. Goddess had been trying to jump but couldn't. He came out and picked it up, we all stopped to watch thinking the same thing, "there is no way he is going to be able to do this". Handsome for a long time had a coordination problem and sometimes still does. Well, don't you know, he picked up that rope and jumped!? He did. It wasn't long and the jump rope ended up back on the ground but it just goes to show, you never know what your kid is capable of.

This was 3 weeks ago, this are much different today as we have over a foot of snow.

The Moleman of Belmont Avenue - A REVIEW

The 411:

The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue has been nominated for Best Feature, The Cast has been nominated for Best Ensemble, and Robert Englund has been nominated for Best Supporting Role, there is a whole lot of nominations going on at the Orlando Film Festival this weekend

What I Can Tell You:

This is one of those movies that you start out thinking, "what the heck is this?" Then as it rolls along you realize the gems inside it. Like "my foot, your ass are getting married." or "oh yeah, do that!" 

This movie is about two grown brothers whose recently lost their mother. She was the owner of the apartment building for years and while one (Marion) was home trying to take care of it. The other (Jarmon) was off raising llamas and has returned to help get the building in order.  Without gas or electricity (well, they do have some electricity, they get it by splicing into the church next door).

Tenants are moving out (well the few that actually have somewhere to go) and all the pets are disappearing. While walking the hall one night they see a creature trying to grab a dog through a mail slot. The "moleman" literally is taking the pets right out from under the owners nose in their very own apartments. They must do what they can to not frighten their last remaining tenants while capturing the moleman.

This is complete satire and while it is cheesy, pathetic, and ridiculous at times I think that is exactly what these guys were going for. The movie budget was only 350,000 and looks more like 35,000 but whatever, it is funny. There are some really funny moments most involve the brothers and one of their tenants, a drug induced slacker, think older Bill and Ted type dude.

I think it will be even funnier the second time around!

Celebrate Halloween with Pocoyo

It’s that spooky time coming up on October 31 and Pocoyo will be celebrating the occasion with fun and FREE Halloween ideas. 

Check out the following link where you can download Halloween-inspired Pocoyo wallpapers, screensavers and a Pocoyo themed Halloween activity book…all for FREE!

http://www.pocoyo.com/img/halloween/halloween_en/LA_Halloween_en.pdf 

The activity books includes:

• Halloween themed coloring pages
• Spooky recipes for parents & children to make together, including Halloween pumpkin soup, mummy turkey dogs and scary cookies
• Monster costume idea
• Pocoyo printable mask to color!

In addition to the Halloween activities, there are many other fun games and activities available on www.pocoyo.com

Pocoyo is fast becoming the world’s most popular preschooler with a hit television series that entertains audiences on over 150 networks around the world, including Nick Jr., PBS and Univision in the U.S. The show follows the adventures of the fun-loving Pocoyo and his friends, Elly (the elephant), Pato (the duck) and Loula (thedog), and engages audiences with music, dance and humor, encouraging children to learn through laughter. Pocoyo has charmed parents and pop culture mavens as well: Pocoyo has amassed more than 50 million hits per month on its YouTube Channel, and more than 600 million hits in the last two years alone; he has over 550,000 friends on Facebook; and 11 million unique visitors have experienced Pocoyo’s online virtual environment, www.pocoyoworld.com.

ABC Wednesday - My Oxymoron - Ordinarily Ornate

An Ordinary Day, Featuring my Beautiful daughter sitting on an Ornate well at the Ringwood Mansion, in Ringwood, New Jersey.

Clary's Rose

A photographer always has their camera with them. Thank goodness I did because while visiting my girlfriend, I noticed these beauties on her dining room table. Beautiful and soft just like a rose should look.

Storage Wars Season 1

The 411:

We love A&E's Storage Wars. My husband and I got into at the end of the Season and were excited to see the first episodes.

The show follows bargain and resellers Darrell, Barry, Dave and Jarrod and his wife Brandi. The players bid on auctions in the California area run by fast talking Auctioneers Dan and Laura.

We have our favorites and I won't get into that but we really like this show. Owning a storage unit of our own we wonder what these guys would say about our unit if they were bidding on it! Probably "loads of junk" but the sheet metal and musical instruments would be worth a bid!

Beside the obvious scripted parts and colorful personalities it is fun to take a peek inside storage units. You find yourself wondering why someone would  just leave their stuff to be ransacked, tossed about or resold.

If you haven't seen the show; the bidders attend auctions at storage units and bid on the unit based on a looksee. They can't touch anything or walk inside. These guys are pros and can tell if a unit is good by a quick peek. I love watching them upset each other by trying to claim a worthy unit. I also love when a unit turns up having nothing but junk when they paid for it.

After they win the unit, they go through it and decide what is worth keeping and reselling. A lot of times they find something worthy which they bring to some expert in the particular field and we get a history lesson on the item along with the value.

As far as reality shows go, it is entertaining. Does it have a long shelf life? That is up for debate!

Olly Oogleberry Is An Adorable Alien Here To Teach About Discovery

Olly Oogleberry and his friend of misfit aliens have landed and they are looking for a few earthling to join their UFO army.

As a subscriber, fan and follower, you'll be one of a very special group of earthlings informed of Olly's every move as he travels across our glorious galaxy. Be the first to know of special offers as well as fascinating UFO sightings, space news and who knows what else. The suspense is killing us, too...;-)

My daughter is in love with all things having to do with nature, outer space and art. She loves that Olly came to be over 30 years ago. Inspired by a simply drawing by creator Lou Hughes who doodled in math class when he was just 12 years old, Olly is now the ambassador for children to open their eyes and see all that is good and wonderful in the world and beyond. She is totally inspired and thinking of starting her own character from her drawings.

Conair Xtreme Instant Heat™ Multisized Hot Rollers

These are not your momma's hot rollers ladies! Conair is constantly revamping the products we need and want to do our hair. It is something I have always loved about them. Constantly updating and staying on the cusp of what is hot is why they have been around as along as they have.

In July, I reviewed the Spin Air Brush and love it still using it at least twice a week.

For the past two weeks I have been using Conair's Xtreme Instant Heat Multisized Hot Rollers and LOVE them.

Back in the day, I used hot rollers. We would heat them up, it took forever, they were really ugly with those metal pins you tried to use to anchor your hair. I have super thick hair so they never stayed. They gave your hair a weird crimp effect but I used them anyway. I even remember I had a set where the top got red so you knew they were ready to use. Weird.

These are nothing like that!

They are ready in less than 5 minutes. I love the sizes. They are made with a nice soft cushion to protect your hair. Imagine on the old types, we weren't only heating the hair up, but we were using hard rollers with hard metal pins and we wonder why we all looked like we had put our finger in an electric outlet. Dry frizzy ends no more.

HexBug Nano Cub Scout Party

Tonight my Cub Scout Den met to discuss our Halloween Terror Trail Skit. They are doing Zombie Camp Out tomorrow night and all of them have to dress as Zombie Cub Scouts so this was the perfect time to introduce them to the newest Hex Bugs!

Our boys were super excited to hear what roles they would be playing in the Town Terror Trail and what better way to start off our meeting with some parent provided snacks and a project. When I walked in with the box, you could hear a pin drop in a group that was running around playing Zombie Tag (their favorite game).

I walked to the center of the room and said, "before our snack, we have a project to do are you up to the challenge?" They ran over to me and screamed "yeah".

Placing the box on the floor, I told them we had a NEW Hex Bug track to put together that glows in the dark.  They ran to the box and I told them to work together to create a massive track for our Hex Bugs. Most of the boys had been to our prior Hex Bug party and got started, the new boys, watched for 2 seconds than raced into the mix. The boys all worked together to create a track while the parents unsure what was going, quietly watched and put out our Halloween Snacks.

We had Zombie Punch and a mom made eye ball cake balls that were so good I wanted more but was kind enough to leave them for the kids. So getting her recipe!  Another mom made mummy dogs, little hot dogs with cheese wrapped in crescent rolls and there were chips for the entire den plus the rest of the school if they were there.

If the boys put it together I tricked them by saying, "awesome..good job..you can take it apart now." They all looked at me until I brought out the shoebox containing the Hexbug Nano Bugs and asked them to put their hand in and see what they got. Some got the Limited Edition Hexbug Nano Halloween Zombie Bugs and some the Glows in the Dark Hexbug Nano Galileo Collection bugs.

The boys were in love with the Hexbug Nano Halloween Zombie bugs which come in their own coffin shaped packaging with a glow in the dark exoskeleton as were us parents. We all love them!

As the boys raced their bugs I handed out copies of the paperwork I received from MommyParties about the bugs including recipes and games to play at their own home, plus showed them the play sets. Some of the parents were very familiar with Hexbug and some had no idea. The dads were really excited and two got down to play with the boys changing up the playgrounds, disconnecting and connecting the sets easily.

Finally we turned off the lights so we could all watch the action. So much fun. Wish I had a picture of that. Will try to video tape it the next time so you can see it.  It is so cool! After 30 minutes we told the boys they had to dismantle the set because we had to get our Cub Scout Meeting going. While the boys did, I got many questions. How much? Are these in the stores already? What is the age? Can I have one? I did give two extras to two of the dads. They were had to stop playing with them on the table because they were distracting the kids. I think they are perfect gifts and stocking stuffers for the holidays. The price is very reasonable and moms, dads, and kids love them. 

We had the best time and Handsome and his friends love their new HexBug Zombie Bugs. My personal favorite part was listening to them at the end when we left the building. They were all walking together and talking about how their bug was glowing on their hand and how it was going to be their new night light. So happy to be able to share this with the Den!

Goddess was so insulted that she didn't get to participate in the party but I did have a Zombie bug put away for her and a blue robotic Larva, hands down the coolest toy ever.

MommyParties and Innovation First Labs, my Cubs want to say thank you for the "best Cub Scout Meeting ever!!!!

Snow Flower & The Secret Fan

I just about busted a finger tying as quick as possible to 20th Century Fox for permission to cover this movie. This book was mentioned to me in 2008 by my son's Speech Therapist who insisted I read it. She claimed it was a wonderful book and that her whole reading group loved it. Not one to turn close the cover on a good read, I headed to pick up a copy.  My review is here.

This was one of these books that you HAVE to pass on once you read it and I did by passing it on to one of my Laotongs (yes, I know you are only supposed to have one but I love my girls) Clarissa.

In My Honest Opinion:
Today, Clarissa and I watched the movie. We didn't have any expectations and enjoyed it although I found it more confusing than she did.

Our only grievance was we wish it was more about Snow Flower and Lily. The movie ties in modern day descendants Nina and Sophia who share the same relationship as their ancestors. Because the book was so profound this tie in although perfectly fine and relevant confused me. For those who have not read the book, it will  be fine!

There were beautiful tie ins. Both actresses did a phenomenal job and the most heart wrenching parts of the books were down played although I found myself tear up twice.

Friends that last a life time and the love between woman is one of the most beautiful things we have in life. You are lucky to have one "real" friend and stuck gold if you have more. I see the love of female friends every day and always tell my girlfriends I love them like a sister.

We were also pleasantly surprised to see Hugh Jackman show up in the movie. Thoroughly enjoyed it although I had to force myself to wake up twice.  I was way too comfortable. If you haven't read the book. See the movie first, than read the book. The book is truly beautiful. My favorite moments were when the movie focused on Snow Flower and Lily's life and if I hadn't read it first, I wouldn't have felt that way.

Do you have a laotong relationship?

ABC Wednesday - Niece

My nieces are like daughters to me. I love and adore them but you don't need to be related to me for my love and adoration. Love comes easy to some of us. It is a blessing. Something no other creature feels. It is what makes us human. Love is something we feel with our whole body not just our heart.  A little over a week and a half ago, one of my nieces needed a favor. She hemmed and hawed before asking. God, I love that term, and literally that is what she did. At 15 she has a lot of weight on her shoulders but her beauty shines through in her huge heart. I remember when she was born and how much I loved her immediately. Stepping into my husband's family as his long time girlfriend, I held her as often as possible. Her tiny little hands and shock of dark hair made me love her instantly. Her warm soul, love of dresses, and watery eyes when she smiled, made me love her even more.  She spent two summers with me and I loved having her over and spending days with her. She is very deep and wears her heart on her sleeve and I worry that her huge heart is going to broken many times as she loves with her complete soul.  I know she feels how much I love her which makes sending her home a little easier because I would keep her in a heartbeat.

When I watch her and my daughter together I am shocked with how similar they are. They only get to see each other two or three times a year but it is as if they are together every day. Thankfully she has the patience of a saint because my kids drive her crazy.

The last time she was up, she said, "I feel like we are related more than through marriage!" Those words along with so many other things she has said over the years will always ring in my ears. I love and adore her.

Here are some of my favorites from her last visit.

My niece has an older sister who spent a lot of time with us this summer. Whenever she left, I would feel so sad. The relationship I have with her is much different. I feel like a mother to her but I also feel we have a beautiful friendship. She is sooo smart and ridiculously profound but down to earth that listening to her hold her own in a debate with my "wickedly smart" (her term for him) husband makes me smile. Their relationship is very special to me too. He always carried a photo of her in his wallet as she lived with him and his family while he was in high school making him love her even more as he helped raise her.

My love for my nieces and the return I feel from them, is one of my life's great joys. One of the best things about being married into my husband's family. They are my girls as much as if I had birthed them myself.

I need to take more photos of her because while spending the last 25 minutes searching I came up with nothing. She will have no choice!

Tuesday Takes - Autumn on The Cobb

This is my favorite time of year for the color and the weather. There is something about the crispness in the air that makes me feel very alive!

While visiting my grandparents and uncle this weekend, my uncle took us to get a pumpkin. "I insist, it is the least I can do!" Awesome, we were going to get one this week anyway.

The kids and Teach headed into the field to check out some pumpkins while I stayed behind and snapped them.

I really love these pictures of the corn. So colorful.

Ruby Tuesday

This past weekend I visited my grandma's house in Millbrook NY. They have owned it since the 40s and it is currently on the market which really makes me sad. While I understand the reason, they are in their 90's and my uncle in his 70s and they live in Queens full time, I am still sad to know someone else will be living there.

Here is a photo my grandma told me she bought many years ago while she was working for $25.00. She said that my Uncle has always wanted to get rid of it but recently notice the same picture, same author different color flowers in a restaurant upstate. The price on the painting was $500.00. She said, "he doesn't want to get rid of it now!" She was like, "why does he want to throw away my flowers? They are beautiful! Cute! My 8 year old Handsome was taller than grandma. She is shrinking with her little tiny 94 year old self. Got to love her!

While this picture is never one I particularly liked, because she loves it so much, I am posting it.

Mellow Yellow Monday - Ringwood Manor

I love this time of year and getting out and getting pictures of the kids is one of my favorite things to do. It is crisp and sunny without all the annoying bugs. Love it!

Here is Handsome wearing his yellow Sponge Bob shirt while visiting the Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, NJ

Pictures can be clicked to enlarge!

The Truth About Angels DVD Review

In My Honest Opinion:
This is one of those movies you will either love or hate. When we first meet Pablo we see a dad coming home from work and excited to see his baby. The sink is full of dishes, a tired mom is trying to feed a tired baby and she is unhappy. She asks Pablo to run a bath for the baby, he asks "can I just catch my breath?" Mom explains she has been up since 6:00 am and needs a break too and heads off to run the bath herself. Pablo receives a call from his oldest friend Kane and heads out in a limo for the night. He is excited about the prospect of an exciting evening and leaves his tired wife at home.

In Kane's exciting world, we see drugs, sex, money, beautiful woman, etc. Pablo runs into a mysterious woman named Kristi, Dree Hemingway who entices him to follow her. He does.  Suddenly he is in poppa mode taking care of her when she becomes unconscious. We don't know if she is drunk or has been drugged but he settles her and heads out to get help.

We see her unconscious body being raped (disturbing) by a Kane's sidekick Ben G. Pablo punches Ben and Ben tells him she came here for this. Once again Pablo is taking care of her. She falls out of the tub and hits her head and is bleeding. When he explains to Kane that they need to find an ambulance Kane explains that they can't call because it will hurt his career and end Pablo's marriage. Pablo is torn and eventually is forced to leave. The end of the party is as disturbing as it gets and we see how society is so dumb to the fact that we are all people and what is right and wrong.

The life that Pablo thought was so bad suddenly seems quite the opposite and we are left to watch Pablo cry over his sleeping daughter. Did Pablo need to see such derelict behavior to appreciate what he had? Are people really so desensitized that they could simply step over the body of a girl and go on with their lives without ever thinking about it again?

The movie was shot in 13 nights which is rather impressive and the acting is quite good. The religious undertones of the movie are there and I enjoyed the Greek names sprinkled throughout the party.

I found the movie even more interesting when I heard that the director and the actor who plays Pablo are married and wrote the movie after their daughter was born and worried about raising her in Los Angeles and the Entertainment world.

The Tree Of Life on DVD/Blu-Ray Combo - REVIEWED

In My Honest Opinion:  Going in, I had no idea what to expect from this movie. The synopsis is so vague and while I am a big fan of both of these actors I wasn't really sure if Brad Pitt had the chops for the obvious seriousness of this movie. I must say, I see him in a whole new light. He isn't just a pretty face. This man is a true actor.  

While the movie is an beautiful, stunning arrangement of all of the visuals of "life" volcanos, floods, water, earth, trees, people, etc...it truly tries to explain the meaning of life in a palpable way. Pitt is a father of 3 boys married to a beautifully acted by Jessica Chastain, life loving wife who really just enjoys the being alive.  As parents sometimes are, they are polar opposites. While he is a typical 50's dad with an authoritative presence, she is enjoying all the little moments of life with her boys. She loves nature and teaching the boys about being good, caring people and allowing them to be themselves.  He demands respect and  wants them to learn through hard work, discipline and fear. If you put it together it is a balance that most of us will need later in life.

The scenes of father and sons was sometimes hard for me to watch. He is routinely hard on them and his demands seemed more controlling than teaching. While I think the movie is very deep with a lot left unsaid and the ending different and confusing, I don't think this is a bad thing. It like some of the open ended scenes where I as a viewer was not spoon fed a distinct meaning but allowed to make my own assumptions on the direction of the film. It was like watching an opera, sung in a language you don't understand. You may not fully understand the words but you FEEL the meaning. I found myself tearing up many times at the beauty of the film, the emotional portrayal of the family and the loss of our childhood innocence as we come to realize the harshness of reality.

This is not my typical review and it took me a two days to put these thoughts together to give this film the justice it deserves.

This is a thought provoking film to see the very least.

I posted on Facebook that I was reviewing the movie.

Just finished watching Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Have you seen this movie? Very thought provoking and visually beautiful. If you are looking for an artsy, deep, moving, profound, different movie, this is the one! Going to try to put it to words.

Friend: I love the cast. I need to check this out! Thanks

Friend 2: What happened at the end? I had to leave. It was definitely thought provoking.

Favorite Photo of The Week - October 14, 2011

This week I took Goddess, Handsome and my beloved niece to the Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, New Jersey.

My favorite photos come from here. This is probably my favorite but I have some honorable mentions.

She is such a professional. Can you see how her arm isn't exactly touching the table that was covered in moss and more? But the face is completely serious.
Good job honey, no one will ever notice!

The poses crack me up. My boo boo

Then there is this one that I loved so much, I had to play with it
. Not sure which version I love best but the first is the untouched original.

Time Island Online Is Safe & Fun For Kids !

In My Honest Opinon:


We started playing Time Island 3 weeks ago through a Mom Select campaign. We wanted to know the game before we shared it with our friends. Last Friday I took my laptop and we headed to our weekly Cub Scout meeting. With 12 Wolfs and their parents and Den Leaders in attendance (boy were age 7-9) my son and I handed out some wrist bands, stickers and tattoos courtesy of Time Island and Mommy Parties. We told them about this survival game online and let each on create a profile

While the parents played a a game of Monkey Says, Monkey Do and Safari Tag (a game they are quite familiar with) and Jungle Animal Freeze each kid took a turn creating their online profile. 

Once our profiles were created, we gathered around the computer as I explained the best way to play Time Island. For the best experience you need to have a membership but so far we are playing without and my kids like it.
There are three separate places to log into when you first enter. We always go into the first one.  

Kids can create a home base for their character, furnish it, play games, interact with each other, go to each other's hut and work together to survive on the island.

The boys so far love the sounds
The parents like that it is about survival

While we don't know a lot about the game yet and are all working on it and getting back and forth to each other through Facebook we like that the boys seem to enjoy the games and exploring the island.

If you have a child who loves learning new computer games, here is one you can feel safe knowing will keep them busy and is safe

Goddess on her way to Cub Scout meeting. She wanted to attend this one with her brother.

Ugh...School Is Going To Be The Death of Me!

Yesterday I got a call from the school 10 minutes after dismissal.
"Ms. Fernandez, your son is here in the office waiting for you to pick him up."
"Uhhh what..no..he takes the bus. I told him he MIGHT be a walker today but I am not near the school."
"Ok, he thought he was a walker today."
"No! Did the buses leave already?"
"Yes, we could try to call them back though!"
"No! I will be right there."

All I kept thinking was, Goddess is on the bus and Handsome is at the school. UGH! Thankfully, Teach was home and I raced downstairs to let him know he would have to go to the bus stop as I was flying out the door. He raced out the door with me because of my frantic mode but I told him he had another 10 minutes.

The whole ride all I kept thinking was, what is she thinking on the bus without her brother. Is she nervous? Does she think she made a mistake? Does she think something happened to him? Then, I thought about Handsome. What he scared? Did he feel bad when everyone was signed out in the gym and he was left there to be led to the office? Did he think something happened? AND thank God Teach was there and I didn't have to scramble to find someone to get him or her!

When I got to the school he said, "mommy" and came running to me. I asked "What happened?" They said, "he said he was a walker."

"Fine but why was he listened too! He takes the bus unless I call or send a note. That is your rule! There was no call and I didn't send a note!" They said they would talk to the teacher!

While my blood pressure was up and I was frantic, I know it could have been so much worse. The kids seemed fine and Goddess was so excited to have daddy surprise her at the bus stop!

Damn school!

Moral of this story! Don't say anything to the kids about possibly picking them up and don't put much faith in their teachers. They are just people and MAKE mistakes.

Water For Elephants - On DVD on My Anniversary November 1st

In My Personal Opinion:
WELL where should I start. First, I would put Robert Pattinson's name before Reese but if you are a reader of my blog, you know I love my Pattinson!

As someone who has never read Water for Elephants (and I know there are many who did), I loved it!

We start with an older man standing in a parking lot. He is asked if he is with the nursing home and taken in until someone can find out where he comes from. He explains he was looking for the circus and starts telling his story....I loved the voice narration of the older Jacob actor and the younger Jacob blending until we are in flashback...

Rob's character, Jacob has a loving mother and father who never let their son see how bad the depression was. When they are killed in a car accident, he learns that the bank owns his house. His loving parents mortgaged their home to finance Jacob's education at Cornell. He is so close to graduating and getting his veterinary license but never finishes. He has nothing, his parents are gone and so is his home! He heads out unsure where he is going. A train goes by and he jumps on. Close to being beaten and roughed up he is taken under the wing of a circus worker who promises him work if he can hack it.

He is introduced to August the Ring Leader and owner of Benzini Brothers Circus. Christoph Waltz does a fantastic job as the damaged, egotistical, violent ring leader.Jacob passes himself off as a vet and tells August that Ringling Brothers has their own. August hates Ringling Brothers as a struggling circus. Jacob is told he will have a job if he can save the prized, top horse who is ridden by August's wife, Marlena (Reese).  When the horse is put down, Rosie the elephant is purchased.  This gentle giant and Rob steal the show for me.

Jacob and Marlena fall in love, it would be hard for her not to, she is constantly thrown at him by her husband. Jacob is the opposite of August. August uses force and Jacob uses gentleness.

The scenes are brilliantly lit to create a depressive sideshow feel. You are praying for August to suffer and for Marlena to get away from him. The scenes of two victims thrown from the train were hard not because of the graphic nature but because of the characters. There were also moments of violence toward Rosie that were hard to watch too! The movie made me want to read the book. It is something I will be picking up if I don't have it on my preloaded Kindle (thanks Susan, you are the bestest).

You will love this movie even if you are not a Pattinson fan but if you are, you will savor every moment. I can't wait to watch it again!

LeapPad Educates More Than Just The Kids House Party

What you are looking at, are two happy kids and a load of Leap Frog products from Leap Frog courtesy of a campaign through Mom Select. 

The Products received were:

LEARNING TABLET

TAG READING SYSTEM

TAG

World Map

Our party was this past week and here are the results!

The LeapPad Learning Tablet is the kids favorite for sure. They love it!

Goddess -  loves that it has a camera for photos and videos. "I like the video camera and that I can take pictures like you. The coloring programs are fun too!"

Handsome - loves the writing apps "I made a book about me with pictures and everything. It was cool."

Maria/Mom -  I love that you can download apps right onto the tablet and keep track of what the kids are doing through a LeapFrog Connect program I have on my computer. Really cool. Once the kids play with something, I can connect it to the computer and see what they played with, how they did and what their favorites are.

Tag Reading System is super amazing. We love how easy and versatile it is. Depending on the child and their skill level, they can have the page read to them, sounded out to them, or if they get stuck on a word they can hit the word. Each page is interactive. There are many sound effects for all pages.

Handsome - "Each page makes a sound. It is something my classroom would like. Can I take it to school?"

Maria/Mom - I love the versatility and how the Tag System can be used with each child differently.

Goddess - "I just like it. I feel like I can read a whole book"

Tag World Map is just WOW! This was the product the moms were really impressed with. They liked how large it was. Were surprised it two sides and the price of $19.99 really made them happy. We spent a lot of time playing against each other at my house party. As an adult, I'll admit I don't know a lot about Geography. I can honestly tell you, I no longer have to say that. This a great product and I personally think this is something every household should have.

We used this map for Handsome's class work the other day. As we were going over some geography vocabulary words, I pulled out the map and have used it three times since for his homework. Got to love a product that teaches. To use this product, you need the Tag Learning System.

Shanghai Mystery - Vengeance Wears Red and Dark Black Shades!

In My Honest Opinion:

15 minutes in and I am loving the camera angles. The Director really plays with angles to elicit a feeling and I love that! Her dead husband appearing in his glasses, the flashbacks in the elevator, the many mirrors to show the many faces of Meili, etc.

When we meet Meili or Shanghai Red as she tells her client, she appears to be an uptight, first time prostitute. We suddenly find out that her discomfort is based on revenge. Her husband was murdered and although not a killer, wants to avenge his death. She feels her greed was the cause and she suffers between guilt and tradition. What's a woman to do? She puts on a red suit, black glasses and lipstick and begins living two separate lives.

The movie toggles between Meili talking to interrogators in prison, her mother and her son and her life.  It also moves between English and subtitles which I really liked.

Things really start to move when she meets Michael, a corporate "facilitator" played by Richard Burgi (from Desperate Housewives).  Vivian Wu does a wonderful job of playing the hurt confused, and desperate wife and mother and the sensual unsure woman on the verge of falling in love against her will.  The only negative thought I have about this movie is that I knew who had her husband killed 13 minutes in and who had done it a bit after but it was a good movie nonetheless.

My heart broke for Meili when she realized her role in her husband's death. I was left to wonder if she ever gets out of prison. Part of me hopes she did!

Royal Wedding of A LifeTime - DVD Review

In My Honest Opinion:

I must begin with, I am thrilled to be able to review this. As a mega Princess Diana fan, watching her boys grow up and now having Prince William get married makes me feel happy and sad at the same time. First, I feel so sad that she is not here to see this. Also, I feel very old knowing watching these boys grow up and now be mature enough for marriage.

The DVD starts out with a brief history of the boys growing up and how Diana exposed them to the "real world" and not behind castle walls. We than get to hear how Kate grew up and footage of Kate acting in a school play, being proposed to by someone called William. Very sweet.

We then hear about Prince Williams teenage years and the craze of fans he had to deal with. When he decided to go to Saint Andrews University so he could take charge of his own life, he met Kate! Fate perhaps.

There seems to be many paths that lead them to each other. They were taking the same courses, were bedding in the same ward and had a lot of the same friends. William and Kate became friends very quickly and had a lot in common but they were both involved with other people.

When Kate eventually did a stint as a cat walk model, strutting her stuff on stage with William watching he saw her in a whole new light according to the video.  They eventually became roommates with others and their relationship blossomed.

When Kate and William became engaged, the press swarmed Kate. This was terribly hard for the couple, this was hard for William because he always felt that the press killed his mother.  Eventually Kate and William broke up!

Kate being the modern woman she is, decided to go out on the town and showed him what he was missing! He eventually decided that she was the one. He loved and trusted her and the engagement was back on.

We get to see many interviews and people who knew them well along with the couple as they discuss their life. They are modern royalty and work and live like everyone else other than his background, Wils is pretty much a normal guy.

Kate and Wiliam's wedding coverage is simply amazing. This is what many girls dream of. Kate got her prince and we pray they will have an never ending love story!

I loved the coverage of the wedding. The food, the footman, the flowers, the ring, the meal, the cake, the dress, the horse and carriage. WOW! I watched Diana marry Charles and truly loved watching this young couple wed. It felt strange and I am sure many thought I was but I wanted to watch the whole wedding.

This is a wonderful compilation of the relationship of Kate and William and I can't wait to see their first born. Crazy I know but I can't help it. Part of me will always feel like they are my boys. I loved their mother so much. I am sure many feel the same.

Beautiful Night Time Or Anytime Story - "I Believe In You" by Mariannne Richmond

In My Honest Opinion:

This is my third book by Marianne Richmond, my first being If I Could Keep You Little (my review here) and the second being The Night Night Book (review here)

We are big fans of Ms. Richmond and read her books often. The kids book shelves are over stocked but they often pull these at night. 

In I Believe In You a child is told that no matter what, you will have the power to:

Find new friends if a friend is unkind.

Believe in true beauty and never question your looks

Believe in your courage when you are scared at night

Tell the truth even when it may be hard

and more....

All great messages from a parent to their child. Messages of love that children NEED to hear from the people who love them.

I highly recommend Marianne Richmond's books. They are full of colorful pictures and quick messages that hold your child's attention.

When I asked 6 years old Goddess what she liked, she said: I like how you hold me when you read and your voice. Awww...

When I asked 8 years old Handsome what he liked, he said: The pictures!

There you have it, out of the mouths of my babies. These are books that will be on our book shelves long after the "baby books" are gone!

Borrowing Abby Grace Book 1: The Shadow by Kelly Green

I just finished reading an ARC of Borrowing Abby Grace by Kelly Green, the 1st in a series of 3 books.

Yesterday, I was sent the first few pages and couldn't wait to get the rest!

When we meet Abby she is waking up in a van, with her hands duct taped and two hooded people in the front. She doesn't know how she got there and can't remember anything past this moment. She escapes by the skin of her teeth and eventually is returned home, or to a place she is told is her home. Her father is happy to see her and she finds out she has a brother who was also kidnapped and the police are still looking for him. She tells the police what she remembers and eventually heads upstairs searching for her room. The things in the bedroom aren't familiar to hers and the girl in the photos has blonde hair while hers is dark.  She is confused until she meets Wilhelm or Will as he tells her to call him in her room.

Will tells her that she USED to be Abby Grace, and that she is a shadow and has been sent to help Brooke, the girl with the blonde hair in the pictures.

Abby fills Brooke's shoes, unsure of exactly what it is she has to do and how she can help but when Will tells her that if she doesn't help Brooke, she will be stuck her in THIS life forever she sets out to solve the mystery surrounding Paul's disappearance.

Kelly, creates a wonderfully fun, short story for ages 12+. This is a modern day Nancy Drew with a paranormal twist.  I enjoyed the storyline of Abby trying to work her way through Brooke's school day, friends and chorus solos even through she doesn't know the words to the songs. Very funny.
 
The story is fresh and different and I couldn't imagine who was guilty of the kidnapping plot or why and the ending was a nice surprise. Now, I can't wait to find out more about Abby and find out how she became a shadow and exactly what does that mean? Is she alive? Is she in a coma? Is she a ghost?


Looking forward to book 2.

Blue Monday - Baby Blues & A Sad Little Turnip

Odd title, I know but it got you to open the post and really, if we are being honest, having you read is what this is all about.

The Renaissance Faire in Sterling Forest NY has stared in many memes over the last two weeks but it really is a fun people watching experience.

This photo is of one of the actors, his name is Jason. I bought him dinner one night as the fair was ending. It was a spur of the moment thing and since I had a media pass I had extra cash on hand. He helped me order something to drink while I was trying to chew through the steak I had just taken off the stick. The place was about to close and I was in dire need of a drink. He saw me try to order and he told me he could order for me and started pointing saying, "she wants one of these, one of those, this, this, "one of these for me, that, that and that!"

I finally swallowed and said, I just one a glass of lemonade and whatever he wants. He looked at me shocked, Why are you being so nice?" As if things like this never happen. It was only 6.00 and wasn't going to break me, plus I had extra cash. If it was 10 or over he would have been on his own. Plus, he was dressed in character and looked like a peasant. I told him I was a nice person and wanted to buy him his meal. He said he couldn't ask for that but if an angel happened to decide she wanted to give him something that was OK. A bell rang. I asked what it was and he said, "I no longer have to be in character." He dropped his accent and introduced himself. He asked my name, I told him Maria. He sang Maria from West Side Story and we said good-bye. On my last visit there, I spotted him and went over to take some photos. He was juggling and eventually was kidnapped by a bunch of fairies. You can see that in this post!

Here is what he was doing before he was kidnapped.

The Big Year Hits Theater's October 14th + A Book Review

THE NATIONAL BESTSELLING BOOK

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

In My Honest Opinion:

I have really high hopes for the movie. Three awesome comedic actors taking on the roles of three bird sightseers in a quest to see the most birds. 

There were parts of the book that I found entertaining. I am interested in Audubon. He was the guy who the Audubon Society is named after. He was also on a quest and shot down birds, posing them in life like positions to paint their picture.  Weird to be called a naturalist and than shoot down birds that eventually became extinct or on now on the endangered.

The book is written by Denver Post journalist Mark Obmascik and is the story of the three top contenders in the 1998 American Big Year. Stu, Jack and Kenny are each competing for the title top birder or Big Year birding champion of North America. These guys travel around searching for the hardest to find species of birds, spending thousands of dollars and time away from their family for an odd claim to fame.

While I thought the book was OK. I am eager for the movie. It was a quick read but for me there was way too much bird detail to keep my attention.