MR. WARMTH! DON RICKLES: THE ULTIMATE TV COLLECTION - A MUST HAVE

The 411:

I sat down happily to review this collection of Don's shows including CPO Sharkey. Let me start by saying I am a huge Don Rickles fan. This is a wonderful collection of the best of Don!  I know a lot of people know Don Rickles as the voice of Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story but I have been watching him from the past 43 of my 49 years at least.

From the very beginning with Don Rickles, Don Adams, Harvey Korman and that hot guy who I can't remember...It was so fun. Just a bunch of friends sitting in chairs chatting with an audience. It seemed very real, unscripted and funny. 

This is a great gift for anyone who loves Don or loves comedy. 

I loved CPO Sharkey. Don played a Navy Chief Petty Officer in charge of new recruits.  The running jokes were usually about Don's height as opposed to his assistant Seaman Lester who was very tall.  My sisters and I loved this show!

Breakfast and Star Wars Perfect Together

For a limited time...some of the most popular Big G cereals have mashed together! You can see this historical mashup on Honey Nut Cheerios, Trix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese Puffs and Cookie Crisp.  Buzzbee is Darth Vadar, The Trix Rabbit is Princess Leia and Chip the Wolf is a storm trooper. Besides the cereal boxes being changed this partnership includes one collectible prize in the boxes that is beyond cool.

There are six different Droid viewers along with a limited edition BB-8 Droid that can be found only in select Target stores. Each viewer will reveal an image from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which is opening in theaters a week before Christmas on December 18.

My kids were beyond excited when we got the box.

 Handsome opened it for us and started reading

We had a blast opening the box and looking at the changes on the cereal boxes.

We LOVE the droids as has every kid that comes over. They will be asking their parents to get these cereals because they want their own collection!

We can't wait to see the movie when it comes out....but until then...May The Force Be With You.

Bunnies By The Bay Is My New Favorite Baby Store +Video Review

This guy is so soft and squishy I wanted to grab my blanket and head to the couch for a nap with the TV on in the background. That sounds like heaven to me right now. 

Oh my gosh...this bunny! I love and adore the face and the softness of the blanket. It is truly an adorable baby gift and I love that bunny can come out of the pocket for when they just want to squeeze and hold him tight.

Bunnies By The Bay will be my go to shop from now on. I think I just heard my friend Jen is having a girl. I can't wait to shop for her and already have my eyes on a sweet little baby friendly gift from Bunnies By The Bay.

See My Quick Video Here:

Are You The Best Paleontologist? Find Out When You Play Draw 4: Dig for Dino's

Oddly enough it took us a moment to learn this game but once I got it...it was a snap...

Basically depending on how many people playing you create a playing field of cards. This will be your evacuation area. The goal is to see who gets the most completed dinosaurs on the dig.

The cards are all turned over to reveal either a question mark or some dino bones. The question mark cards are the action cards and the bone cards reveal a dinosaur on the other side. Each dinosaur is made up of four cards and like I said before the goal is to have the most dinosaurs.

Intense, Fun Game Had Us Definitely Laughing Out Loud

The 411:

There are so many ways to play this really fun, fast paced game. We played the basic game the first few times until the kids were comfortable. Our biggest problem was everyone (OK not Goddess who always clapped first) remembering to clap before ringing the bell which means most of us lost a lot of cards.  

We played were you needed to match color and number but as we have progressed we have played shapes and color combinations meaning red card and yellow card make orange card. If someone noticed and clapped and rang they got the cards!

I can't wait to play with more players and add other things onto what you have to do in order to ring. Moo, woot, sneeze, elbow clap, whatever they decide on. 

Stunning Blue Silvering Celtic Dragon Ring

This is a beautiful ring. I love the intricate design that rests upon the blue bed sitting in the silver ring. 

The ring is heavy and made of Tungsten Carbide.

I am a size 8 so I ordered an 8. It fit perfectly. Definitely great for a man or a woman.
The box is perfect for gift giving.

The photos don't do it justice. It is really stunning.

Honestly, if we didn't have wedding rings, I would totally use this as our rings. I love the way it looks and feels on my hand. Way more ME then my wedding band.

Egg Rings Make Breakfast Easier

I love breakfast any time of day. This family goes through 30 eggs in at probably 7 days with no trouble. We like them all ways and if the kids ask for them I will make them. They are one of the best sources of protein my kids eat and so easy.

Yesterday I received silicone egg rings to try out. They came in a box individually wrapped with Styrofoam inserts to help them keep their shape during shipping.  Goddess had just asked for  home fries, toast and sunny-side up eggs. While the home fries were cooking there was a knock at the door. I grabbed the box from my friendly UPS guy, stirred the fries and opened the box. Wah la...the egg rings were inside. What a great time try them out.

I opened two up, gave them a quick rinse with some soap and water and dried them. Since I wasn't sure if I should spray them with cooking spray, I did anyway figuring it wouldn't hurt. Since last night I cooked eggs for my son and learned you do not need to spray them.

Break the egg into the ring but make sure the ring is laying completely flat in the pan or you will get egg leakage. Basically that just means the egg white spills out from underneath the ring.  No biggie considering most of the egg stays inside.  I guess if  you are cooking scrambled eggs or pancakes the instructions say to put the ring in the batter and put down into the pan because it will start cooking creating a barrier for the egg or batter to stay inside.

You can flip the eggs if necessary. As soon as your egg cooks on the bottom, slip off the ring or do like I do and put a lid on the pot to get a cover over the yolk.

These rings will come in handy for making pancakes, hamburgers and more.

I am picking up English Muffins this week so I can make my own Egg McMuffins.
=

The Hee Haw Collection

The 411:

Maybe I am showing my age but I watched Hee Haw all the time and loved it as a kid. The skits were fun and every moment except the musical acts was really quick to keep you interested and watching.  Kind of like Laugh In or Sha Na Na but for country music loving folks. 

These DVDs totally brought me back to my youth and I loved watching performances by Dolly, Conway Twitty, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lyn singing songs I haven't heard in ages. 

I kept thinking how different things were back then. Singers would come on these small budget shows to showcase themselves for their fans hoping to gain others all for album sales. I couldn't see this happening in this day and age.

There was definitely a cult following and I think at the time I didn't realize anything other than I loved country music and these were my people. 

Now watching I see it was fun, witty, good clean fun with some of the biggest performers of the time.  The satire skits showed people who didn't take themselves too seriously and had a good time with each other. It was like one big family and that was how I felt watching it as a kid and now as an adult. 

Adult Coloring Is Calming

The 411:
I love these coloring books for adults or really anyone. My daughter likes doing them too. Coloring is so soothing. It allows you to concentrate on something other than what you have going on in your life no matter what it is. A new box of colored pencils and a coloring book is a perfect gift.

Waxing Like A Pro - TMI

As an Italian American chick I have hair. I have it in places I wish I didn't and since my natural hair is a dark brown it shows up easily.

When I was younger I used to get my eyebrows waxed but I never loved the look. It always seemed so harsh to me. Not the feeling of the waxing but the brows afterward. Now I wish that was all I had to wax.

There is the stash, the chin hairs and the upper neck ones and they all creep out overnight.  NOT FAIR....so not only will I  have to worry about wrinkles and gray hair as I enter into my 50s next year, now I have to worry about having more 5 o'clock shadow then a lot of the men I encounter on a day to day basis!

Usually I get good tweezers and sit in natural light with a really good mirror and tweeze, tweeze and tweeze some more. I have even handed it off occasionally to my 10 year old daughter to make sure mommy is hair free below her eye line level. I lie on the couch with my chin all the way up asking, "any hairs?"  She has only had to tweeze one or two over the past month. She thinks it is funny. I quickly remind her this is her future.  Well, a mother should prepare their children for the harsh realities of life no?!

This past weekend I tried out a spa like wax called BodyHonee Hair Removal Sugar Wax Kit

The 411 by Maria:

I used the wax on Saturday! When I opened the top I was concerned because the directions say to remove the top and the seal over the wax. The top was no problem but the seal impossible. It was completely attached to the wax and I was unsure if I could put the seal in the microwave. It was fine. 8 seconds in the microwave and I removed the seal.

After that I stirred it with the wooden spatulas and put a sample on my wrist to make sure it wasn't too hot. It was fine so I proceed with my forearm. It was the place I figured I could see easily and control the amount of pressure.

I smeared some wax on it, put a strip on, took a deep breath and ripped it off. Pain yes. If you have been waxed you know there is this moment when you think OK here it goes. Then you pull or the person waxing you pulls and it doesn't really hurt as much as you think it will. It stings YES. But not that bad. I moved onto the top of my hand where there isn't much but since I already had a paper and wax ready I proceed. Not bad AND it definitely made my arm smooth and hair free.

Why not move onto my legs? I did...my legs are so smooth. I could never get that kind of smooth with shaving. 

Today, for review purposes I decided to to my knees. I tried to open the jar and could not. Not even a little. I ran it under hot water and tried again. NOPE! I ran it under hot water for a second time and wah-la...it opened. SO I suggest you always really clean the top of the jar and place it upright unlike me who closed it and tossed the box under the sink.

 

Applying the wax again I concentrated on my knees. Apply the wax, put the paper over it. Run your hand or finger over the paper two times and pull against the hair growth. I think it would remove even if you went with the hair growth but I followed directions.  The hardest part of ripping that piece of paper off your skin is just before you pull. You are so sure it will be excruciating.  It isn't! Hurts yes but oddly enough, I don't mind it.

It is truly amazing how easily the hair comes out. Takes way less time then when you shave or tweeze and the area is so smooth!!!

YUCK!

I will be buying this again in the future with extra paper kits so I don't have to worry about running out.

Holiday Gift Idea! The Carol Burnett Show The Lost Episodes

The 411:

I spent the last two weekends watching one of my childhood favorite shows; The Carol Burnett Show on DVD. As soon as it arrive I text my sister a photo saying I wish she lived closer so we could watch together.  We spent the next hours talking about our favorite episodes and I was amazed at how many we remembered as we started talking.

The Carol Burnett Show The Lost Episodes was a wonderful collaboration of  some of the funniest skit work done by actors that obviously enjoyed being with each other.

Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Tim Conway, Kyle Wagner and a slew of famous iconic actors and singers appeared on the show week after week including Jim Nabors, Don Rickles, Bing Crosby and more would sing in the musical showcase or act with Carol and the Gang.

Each show started with Carol coming out in her stunning outfits for the times, speak to the audience and answer questions. It seemed like anything was on the table, she answered it all. Her talent goes well beyond comedic acting, she could sing, dance and her ability to do any character imaginable had my family and I sitting around the one TV in the house watching and laughing through every episode.

Some of my favorites are Carol as Shirley Cupcake running for office and Roger and Carol the reality piece where Carol and her husband raised her little sister in her early years of marriage AND any time Tim Conway was on. He managed to always crack the rest of the cast up. We always loved that they seemed to be laughing as hard as we were throughout their skits.

This is the perfect gift for any TV fan! Carol Burnett and her gang were a part of my childhood and I am so happy to be watching them again.


  

Wooden Easel With 4 Removable Shelves

We Love This Piece

My daughter and I dabble in art. We love painting, sketching, and all forms of mixed media so getting an easel was just one of the things we knew we would eventually get. The box was tall and light so when I started opening it and saw a bag with a screw driver in it I was surprised but quickly noticed that most of it was already put together. While I worked on the tall piece my daughter fit the shelves into the fitted slots on the legs. They are removable and in order to fold and store they will need to be removed. We don't have a place to keep it out so it will be stored and taken out when we need it. Thankfully it would only mean opening and reinserting the shelves.

The easel comes in 8 pieces with four of those being the shelves. The tall piece needs four screws to affix it to the base. It comes with all necessary hardware.

There are two pieces that slide into the large standing piece which will become the top and bottom for your easel.

Pros:

• It was easy to put together
• It looks wonderful
• It is completely adjustable to the size of your easel
• Great Price

Cons:

• There was a small crack in the large piece. It doesn't affect it in any way and was in the back so you can't even see it.
• The large piece is really really tall. I would probably cut a foot or two off.
• The placement of the back leg made it hard to put the bottom screws in easily. They got in but my hand kept hitting the back leg.
• The bottom drawers bang my legs when I stand close to the easel as you would to paint.

All in all I love this piece and think the price is fairly good.

Gift Idea For Teens, Tweens, Reluctant Readers: #Ripleys Believe It Or Not Eye-Popping Odditie

My reluctant readers love this book because it is big, full of interesting, colorful photos and the text is mostly presented in an interesting way.

We love reading it alone or together and I see the kids each, take this book out at least 2 times a day. 

ABC - Oh Rats Unlikely Pet Friends

My daughter's bestie has a pet rat called Pandora. She has been asking for one ever since meeting Pandora and I am on board. Pandora is smart, clean, calm and friendly. She is the perfect pet for a girl who will pick it up way too many times. However there are some who can't get past the rat thing. The tail throws them even the word rat throws them off. They see them as sewer or city rats or garbage eating rodents.

Pandora eats way healthier than me and is way cleaner then my kids when they come out of school. Even my son who is opposed to the rat thing along with my husband was in love with Pandora when he finally got past his fear.

These are not the best photos but here are two unlikely pet friends meeting for the very first time. 

The kitty is Pooh Bear and this is his first time in his forever home.  Pandora is just doing what she normally does which is exploring. She found a nice little spot behind her momma.

Pooh wasn't sure about this walking mini creature and turned away from it. You can see the confusing on his face. 

We managed a forced introduction where they both sniffed each other. The momma's plan is to get them comfy with each other before Pooh Bear's killing instinct kicks in. So far it has been a success and hopefully these two new siblings manage to get along with each other.

Pooh Bear didn't seem to mind Pandora walking all over him. We thought it was funny and took a bunch of pictures.

My son and a friend spent some time holding Pandora. This shot surprises me because Handsome has a real fear of the tail and nails on Pandora but he was telling me in this photo, "I don't normally like rats but I like this one."

Why Is It Called A Hover Board When It Doesn't Hover? Watch Goddess Be Real Cool on the CoolReall

We are loving our CoolReall Self Propelled Scooter!

We received it November 2nd and spent the past week riding it up and down the hallway because I really needed the kids to be confident once we hit the pavement.

The hall was the perfect place to practice because with the walls on both sides I felt that if they were falling they could steady themselves.

Handsome got it pretty quickly making it turn easily.

 

They practice every chance they get because not only do they want to go outside with it, it is super fun to ride. I love it and was surprised with how easy it is to get on it right out of the box and I am NOT in shape or a sporty, active chick.

I love it so much that I spend my phone calls riding up and down the hallway. 

Today Goddess and I headed outside for the first time. It's Football Sunday so you can't get Handsome to do anything away from a TV.

She was amazing!

I must admit while it was easy to get on there is a learning curve. It took me about 2 minutes to get down my hall the first time and that was because I wasn't using my ankles to lean. AND even though I have been on and off at least 50 times in a week. SOMETIMES I still don't do it right. The thing will move if you don't get up on it right away. If you put your foot on with some weight it starts spinning and the only way for that not to happen is to get on there quick. Leg stance is pretty much up to you. Wide apart or close together it is all in the personal preference. To stop you lean slightly back to turn you just move your body and to spin you do the same. It is easy to get the hang of but I if you are fearful and I was today outside on the backtop, you could get hurt. There was one time that I actually called Goddess over to help me dismount. I needed to hold onto her to do it.

Like everything else the more you practice, the better you will be. It kicked out the first two times Goddess and I got on it and slammed us both in our own ankles. Hasn't happened since but we learned our lesson.

If you ever get the chance to get on one, you will want one. It is soooo much fun.

Don't be surprised if you see one on your child's Christmas list this year. Everyone wants one and there are so many to choose from but I think pricing and quality is key in a high priced item like this.

The CoolReall is sturdy. It holds a charge. We only charged one time and have been riding it for over a week. The battery indicated still reads fully charged.  We love the blue lights and are having so much fun learning how to ride.

Pros:

FUN
Exercise (Great core exercise and good for your legs)
Outdoors
Unplugged play (anything that gets the kids outside and off the computer is a good thing)
Easy to learn
Lights and sound

Cons:
Heavy (this little thing weighs a lot! About 29 pounds)

While the price may seem high for some it is well worth the cost. If you are getting it, get it now. These will be a sell out this holiday season. They are really really cool!

The Cutest Little Trash Can! We Love Making It Talk

This Stainless Steel trash can is perfect if you are just looking for a small trashcan. It is only 10 inches high.

I love that there is a lid on it. In my bathroom I just need something small so that it gets emptied often. My last one didn't have a lid and No ONE needs to see what sometimes goes in that trash can.  PLUS it has a small removable bucket in it so when I empty it I can take it to the sink and wash it then spray with Lysol. It is perfect for our needs.

May need to get another two of these trash cans because the kids love them and both begged that it go in their room. Getting one for each and probably gluing eyes to it because they love making it talk.

Why not? Trash can puppets for everyone!

Pan For Gold With These Discovery Channel's Gold Rush Holiday Gift Ideas

The kids and I didn't have a bucket big enough so make sure you have a big bucket. I think that is key. We ended up having to dump water into the pan and swishing as we went along. We loved the idea that there could be gold in here and the girls (Goddess had a friend over) thought it was really fun. 

We have never watched Gold Rush but now both girls are interested and each mentioned another kit for the holidays. 

Watch a real pro show you how it is done. 

We found it educational and interesting to find out that by swishing and draining water out of the pan you will get down to the black sand which is where the gold hides. 

Happy 50th Anniversary Lava Lamps Everywhere

I have wanted a Lava Lamp since I was a little girl. There is something about the slow movement inside the lamp. The way it move, the colors, it is so relaxing and soothing. Maybe because I am a child of the 70s but my daughter  child of the 00s loves it too!

We received a beautiful box that states Lava The Original. It also says 50th Anniversary Special Edition and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. 

Looking at the box, I realize that the Lava Lamp came out the year before I was born.

It is relaxing to watch these blobs float around and I am thrilled to be part of this 50th Anniversary for Lava Lamps.

It's So COOL!