A Monster Calls By Patrick Ness - Special Collector's Edition and The Novel

The 411:

I loved this book and NEED to see the movie. Conor is 13 years old, dealing with a very adult thing. The sickness of a parent. The book is at times heartbreaking as someone who lost her mother to cancer I completely relate with a child growing up with a sick parent. It is not an easy pill to swallow.

This monster is NOT the one Conor has been expecting from his dreams. He is scary big, and wants something from Conor. He wants the truth.

I thought the book was thought provoking and deep. I had so many emotions all at once including being thoroughly entertained while feeling the heartbreak of losing my mother.

This a now a movie I need to catch.

World's Best Ice Scraper!

 
If you're tired of scraping your windows the old fashioned way, then join the Scrape-A-Round movement. You will secure your family's safety, access new gift ideas and scrape your windows cleaner in half the time with the world's best windshield ice scraper.

My TRUCK looks amazing. Wish I could use it on my driver. I almost fell on my butt!

 The 411:

At first I couldn't understand why this would be so much better than my trusty brush but now since I was able to use it yesterday to clear 6 inches of snow and ice off my truck I know

The shape fits easily in my hand and once I removed the snow it was easy to scrap that ice off. I love it AND you get 3 different sizes so my kids can help. They even have a small one for my daughter.

This is going to be great! I spend so much time chipping ice off my windows in the morning. It is a daily thing in my neck during this time of year and the best part....it can serve as a funnel or as my daughter stated a dunce hat.


I love the way it feels in my hand. I felt like I had total control unlike my long brush that mostly feels clumsy.

Don't be a peep hole driver. Scrape that ice of your cars and give someone you love the Scrap-A-Round this holiday.

The Last Descent - A True Story AND A Must See

The 411: Last night the family and I watched The Last Descent a true story of John Jones who while cave crawling in Nutty Putty Cave in Utah gets himself in a jam and needs a miracle.

While watching the movie I felt this was a must see. Obviously the writers take creative liberties with the story but after researching afterward and checking into the details of this real event I feel it is important to watch this movie for so many reasons but mostly for the hopefulness we all crave at the end of our days.

The movie is very well done and the actors do a great job. We see John's life story in a series of flashbacks as he talks to the many rescuers who tried to help him. In the movie the main rescuer is named Aaron. Aaron and John's conversations make up most of the movie and I was completely engrossed and praying for the best although I already knew the ending.

John was 26 with a small child and another on the way. It is the way the movie focuses on that unborn baby that gives me chills even now.

The cave has since been sealed up and I pray for John and his family and hope they have found peace. 

This is a must see!

Blue Orange Games ROCK Or In This Case Kaboom REVIEW

Blue Orange has become a favorite name of ours. 

The 411:

In Kaboom you have 30 seconds to build as many of the towers on the cards that you can while your opponent tries to knock them down with catapults that fling white blocks. If they knock down your tower, you can still build another from a different card but you cannot use any of the blocks that were used in the now knocked down tower. Each card has a value so if you can keep your tower the entire 30 seconds you get that card and that plays into who the winner will be. There is however one card that doesn't have a value and if you happen to manage building that one you are the winner no matter how many cards your opponent has.

 

We had so much fun. It was really stressful to build while my daughter was flinging blocks at my tower and to watch the timer but we love it and have played often.

Crunchies - Perfect for Snacking Or Using In Your Favorite Recipes

My dream is to have a huge kitchen and spend all of December with my daughter baking and laughing but alas this can't happen in this house. There is ZERO room or setting up trays or rolling out dough but I recently found something called Crunchies!  Crunchies are freeze-dried fruit snacks that taste amazing and can add a touch of sweet to your favorite recipes – without doubling the calories.

My plan was of course to use these in not only this chocolate berry bark recipe above but in my oatmeal that I make almost everyday. However...I was unable to make it in anything because my daughter too a bag to lunch every day until they were all gone! Grrrr

I love that she loves them and this just tells me I need to get more. Fortunately unlike so many other things I can't find in my little town. Crunchies are in the CVS only about 10 minutes away. Hooray! So I guess I need to buy for her and hide my own stash.

New Holiday Movie For Your Christmas Media Library

The 411:
Personally I was like what? No! But my 11 year old insists that kids will love this movie. It dogs, dinosaurs and an evil cat!

The dogs are going to go back in time for this amazing bone. I thought it was just odd but my daughter watched the whole thing.

When I interviewed her after she said she thought it was funny. She also felt like it was a movie she could have made and was actually inspired to try to create something on her own.

• Star Paws' is a family friendly homage to the blockbusters Star Wars and Jurassic Park that per owners will love!
• Features a great voice cast that includes William McNamara (Surviving the Game, Chasers, Copycat), K.J. Schrok (the upcoming 'Farmtopia' and reunited for the first time in twenty-five years, USA Network's Dance Party USA's Bobby Catalano & Jason Pascoe!
• Dove Approved for the whole family!
• From the creator of the smash holiday hit 'The Three Dogateers Save Christmas'

Christmas Gift Idea: Character 3D Lights - I Can't Wait For My Son and My Husband To Open This Gift

3DLIGHTFX 3D Deco Lights are the perfect gift this holiday season. They have a full range of comic book, super hero, Disney Princess, sports and car lights that look as though they are popping right out of the wall!

My husband has been a Star Wars fan of epic proportions since he was younger than my son and my son continues the fascination so I am super excited for them to see the 3D Light from 3DLIGHTFX.

The Death Star is going to look amazing in my son's room. My husband made him an entire galaxy wall which he handed painted but I have a huge feeling he will want to put this in the family room so he can enjoy it too!

While they were all at school I put it under the tree to see how it looked but plan on wrapping it instead.  

The switch for the light is on the side so it is easy to turn on/off or you can slide to the timer position to use as a night light. 

Doesn't it look amazing?

Truly stunning and it never gets hot. Since there are no cords you can place it anywhere too!

This isn't the only light 3DLightFX has. There are so many to choose from.

Peppy Pup The Walking Toy That Needs NO Batteries

Now, I get to show him to you! He is adorable and my 11 year old has slept with him every night for a week. While Peppy Pup has been hard to find; Toys R Us and Amazon are good places to try.

My kids are still into their stuffed animals but Peppy Pup takes things to a whole new level by creating a stuffed animal that walks or runs on a leash without battery power. That's right. The toys legs are created with springs and little bumps on the bottom of his feet that make him move like a dog. He literally follows his owner everywhere.

My Fairy Garden Is An Adorable Christmas Gift Idea Plus Our Unboxing Video

  
The 411:

We love that this is for ages 4 and up. The garden is really cute and even at 11 my daughter loved it.

  
Pros:
Comes with everything you need from soil to seeds and everything in between.
Amazing how much soil they packed into 3 little dirt discs
Easy to put together
Great idea to introduce children to gardening
Well made, good quality
Fun learning toy

Cons:
I wish there was a way for the pieces to lock together. I was worried that the top piece would fall off and get dirt everywhere.

Suggestions:
Children will need assistance mostly with the soil hydration and filling the Garden.

 

The Perfect Holiday Gift: The Subscription Box for Grandma and Grandpa

I am a lucky girl. My grandparents are both still around and are 98 and 99 years old God bless them. They are very special and I feel special to have them. My grandparents had three children and unfortunately lost two of them (one being my mother) before they had even turned 35. My mother was 34 and my Uncle 32. Buying gifts for them is hard and complicated because they would rather I didn't. Usually I send them a gift basket containing snacks and treats this year I am doing something different. Something that they can look forward to every month. I am getting them a GrandBox.

A GrandBox is a subscription box that is sent to the older folks you love to let them know they are important to you and that they haven't been forgotten.

The boxes are created for 65 years and older and are themed every month.  The boxes are filled a mix new and interesting products that are both nostalgic and useful as well as items from around the world to ensure a box that will put a smile on the recipients face every time they open it.

This Months Box

That is not all....you can personalize the box for the person you are gifting by sending a note or including photos. It's easy. Just upload the photo and GrandBox Elves do the rest.

  

Even our little Stormy seemed to loved the box.

The Cabbage Patch Baby So Real Is So Cool

Cabbage Patch Kids are back and I wish these were around when I was a kid. The Cabbage Patch Kids Baby So Real are so interactive. We are still learning our baby but love the cool expressive LCD Eyes. She says so many things and has various sensors on her body (head, belly, feet and cheeks) so you can play with them like a real baby. Kids will love them!

  
Baby So Real also comes with a change of outfit, a bottle, a medicine spoon and of course adoption papers.

 
The baby responds to being rocked, feed, tickles, playing peek-a-boo, burped, diaper changing and more. AND if the baby gets sick, her cheeks get red but that's OK you can make her all better with a spoonful of Baby So Real Medicine. The best thing about her are her eyes. She has so many different expressions.

That is not all, since kids are all hooked up to electronics these days, The folks over at the Cabbage Patch/Wicked Cool Toys created an App that works with baby.  Baby has Bluetooth and the app is free. You can use it with the baby or without. The app has many fun things for kids to do. It is created to look like you are looking at your baby on a baby monitor. If you give the baby you are holding a bottle, the baby on the app also gets a bottle. There are mini games to play and if you keep the baby happy you receive baby points which allow you to get things for the digital version of your baby. Kids will absolutely love this but parents will too. I love when my kids play things unplugged. They love their electronic games but this electronic game also comes with a toy that they can use in conjunction with the app. Genius!

Brooklyn Owl: Make Every Day Magical with a Unique Unicorn Headband

Mom and 4-year-old daughter make a dynamic duo to inspire girls around the world

 The 411:

I adore this!

My daughter is different. She walks around saying "Why be normal? Normal is boring! I used to say this when she was 2 to about 6 whenever someone would laugh about her fashion sense which was sometimes very Punky Brewster and sometimes very Chanel on a budget. She has always been an individual and never marched to anyone else's drum. Sometimes she wears cat ears, sometimes blue horns, she wears tutus and she wears an animal tail. She is her own person and I want to be just like her when I grow up. 

This unicorn horn is so her and I love it.  I don't have a photo of it on her head because I want to put it in her Christmas stocking which I think you will all understand but I want to show you how awesome it is.

Back To The Roots - Garden In A Can

 
I love gifts that are different especially when you just don't know what to give. How many scarfs, mittens and mugs can someone use?

Back To The Roots has some great holiday ideas that will please a lot of people. In the past I gave my father a mushroom farm and he loved it.

Back to The Roots has many different garden gift ideas for the beginner gardener, the expert and even the person who doesn't have space for a garden but has always wanted to grow their own fresh herbs and veggies. 

We received a four pack of Garden-In-A-Can. It is perfect for a window sill garden, requires very little car and is all contained in one little can. Who knew you could have an herb garden in a studio apartment?

Each can contains a different herb and everything you need to grow it the only thing that would make this better would be if you can select which herb you want to receive.

It was easy to start up our 4 can garden.

Open the can
Put a 1/2 cup of water in to moisten the soil
Open the seed packet and put them in the soil
Now place near a sunny spot so they can get some sun during the day and wait for germination which should be about 7-10 days. We can't wait to see how it goes and I will update as we move along.

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Frosty Bowl Cover

It's so cute. This Frosty Toilet Bowl Cover comes with the rug, the seat cover and the tank cover which also has a spot for tissues.

This is an adorable set to decorate your bathroom. The only problem we have is we need to go out and get skid guards before someone kills themselves with the mat.  The mat has zero skid on the back and two of us have skated across the bathroom and it has only been up for 24 hour but the price is perfect and skid guard backings aren't expensive although I know you can do a no skid backing with hot glue on the back. Will try this week.

MUST HAVE BOOK FOR YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN FANS

Let me start with this....If you don't know what Young Frankenstein is and you grew up in the 70s, your childhood didn't rock! The movie came out in 1974 and I grew up in a family that could quote the movie line for line. It never got old and when together someone will start the mini reenactment all over again.

The 411:

I will tell you that I saw this movie about 300 times. It is by far one of my favorites and I try to watch it as often as I can. The book is perfect for any fan of this movie. There are over 200 behind the scene photos that made me smile as if I was looking at a photo album a family member had just brought out of the attic. The people associated with this movie are my youth. I love Mel, Gene, Marty, Peter, Cloris, Madeline and Terry.  The movie has some of the best quotes and funniest lines ever.

Reading the behind the scenes stories was so interesting. I had no idea that this was Gene Wilder's idea. I had always thought it was a Mel movie and he hired Gene for the lead role. 

Many studios refused the movie at first because Gene and Mel wanted to do it in black and white to stay true to past movies of the genre. 

This was such a fun, interesting book for me that I kept sending my sister photos so I could discuss it with someone.

Mel did a great job with this. I read it in his voice and loved all his humor and how much respect he has for the actors he worked with.

I am getting at least 4 copies as gifts this year. My family members will be thrilled.

Stocking Stuffer Idea For Girls 2-12

If you are looking for adorable gifts for girls ages 2-12 Smitco is a company that has some girl, fun, trendy things that girls will love like the Emoji nail kit above.

The colorful kit comes with three scented nail polishes with cute Emoji face tops, scented nail covers, scented accent stickers, and a smiling emoji nail file.

The set is really cute. My daughter had trouble getting the nail cover patches on her nails because they are so much longer than her nail. She had to cut them but she loves the little Emoji covers on the polish and the tiny stickers.

The polish has good coverage for one coat and when it is time to remove the polish it just peels right off.

Last night I noticed she had picked off all her polish but was wearing the stickers. They are cute. I may have to steal one or two for myself.