4 Short Romance Stories For Teens - Snow In Love

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The 411:

I wasn't sure what to expect from a teen romance book but was really pleasantly surprised. 

These 4 authors created a book that isn't mature or childish. They are perfect for ages 13+. The love isn't overly done they seem mostly innocent and sweet. The last story was a gay romance story so maybe this book isn't for everyone but if your child is into romance this is a decent book. 

My favorite was the first story by Kasie West about a road trip where the girl never realizes that her high school crush was into her the whole time. Very innocent and sweet. 

Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas The Ultimate Edition

The 411: 

How is it possible I have never seen The Grinch Grinches The Cat in The Hat and Halloween is Grinch Night? 

 
We put the tree up this weekend, lit the wood stove and sat down together (which doesn't happen often) to watch this DVD. There is something about these classic movies that brings a family together.

This is a true classic. I love everything about the Grinch in all his evil greenness. Yup...he is green again not that weird yellow green you sometimes see on TV. I love the sleeve as well with the sparkly Grinch. 

This set is truly the ultimate set for fans of the Grinch. Dr. Seuss was a genius and as a preschool teacher at 52 I love seeing how excited my 2 year old preschool class was to see this movie today. It told me that their parents have watched with them, they all knew who he was and reminded me that this is a timeless classic for all ages. I can't wait to watch the other two movies with my class. They will love them!

Dark Elves, Witches, and Monsters Reign in Dark Fantasy Feature 'Obsidian Curse - A Review

The 411: Obsidian Curse what can I say other than I didn't expect much. It was way better than I expected and my daughter and I laughed our butts off. Not sure that is is considered a comedy though.  Blair for some reason snorts some coke off another woman's stomach in what looks like a bar, she is happy, having a good time until a hand with handcuffs are seen in the shot and Blair is arrested.  At this point we don't know anything about Blair. The next scene it is a year later and Blair is walking out of jail heading out to a truck. In the truck is her boyfriend who has been raising their daughter. We also don't know this yet but yup Mother of the Year Blair had a daughter who looks to be about 6 or 7 now.  When she goes up to the man coming out of the truck to thank him for picking her up and tries to kiss him we find out that this was her boyfriend who has been raising their daughter. Hmmmmm we all know why he turned. All of us except Blair who hasn't caught on until he tells her that he married someone last month who is really good with their daughter.  Blair is upset. Not sure why she is...her life choices really screwed up all their lives.  According to her "person" Blair will have limited, supervised visits with her daughter until she gets a job and shows that she is capable and changed. Sounds like a good law to me.  Work is hard to find when you are a felon and she is having no luck until her baby daddy's wife suggests a job that she has heard of that is looking for a tour guide. She is pretty sure she will be hired on the spot. Blair droves to some remote location and would you know it....she is hired. Blair in her suit and high heels gets in a car with some older gentlemen who drives her to an even more remote location. He then leads her down into some deeps tunnels under the earth that just keep going and going. Along the way, we see odd looking creatures and finally a creepy woman who is standing alone. Oh she is just eccentric the older gentleman tells her.    Yeah...eccentric AF and when she puts her hand on Blair's heart, Blair gets some serious jolts and she now suddenly has a tattoo. We are told the curse has been shifted to Blair.  Blair is now a magnet for all odd, creepy, dead things and man can she kick butt. She starts swinging a bat a la Negan from Walking Dead taking out a bunch of walkers.  Must have been all that fighting she must have had to do in prison because Blair is a looker with a sometimes accent.  The movie is ehhh okay as far as movies go. I watched, I laughed, I yelled at the screen...all that equals good right?!

Crated With Love - Pizza, Chinese Food, Movie Date Night

This is my second Crated with Love subscription box and I love how much detail they include in each box Crated With Love is a subscription box service that sends couples at-home date nights that focus on strengthening your relationship through activities and games to bring you closer together. Each box includes: Four to five date night games, challenges, or activities that focus on strengthening your relationship while promoting laughter

Each box is themed and this one is a dinner/movie night box. I think this is a great anniversary or anytime gift for a couple. It can either be the thing that tells your significant other you are desiring to spend more time with them or that extra special thing you do to keep your already "perfect" relationship, even more perfect.  You can do each box when they come in or you can wait until you have a scheduled "date night" and do it then. It is your date night, your relationship, do whatever you
want.

 

For $19.99 you can get a Story Mode Subscription. You get to decide whether you want to purchase the month by month or if you want to prepay multiple months.

If that is too much for your budget Crated with Love even have a $1.99 monthly plan if you just want to subscribe to the digital package which will give you access to all the games and activities which you can personalize based on your relationship profile.

Twice a week, you will receive an email that includes one Ice Breaker challenge and one Reconnect challenge.  Each Ice Breaker challenge takes about 2 minutes to accomplish and is meant to…well…break the ice! The Reconnect challenge takes about 10-15 minutes and focuses on strengthening a particular part of your relationship. They also include advice and relationship tips from experts and therapists and we will even be answering questions from our subscribers!

Preschooler Magic Brix In Motion - Perfect for Learning To Build With Motion

Once again I got to review a preschool Stem toy from Edushape.  Edushape was built on the strategy of seeing the world through the eyes of children and continues to create products that nurture imagination and spark creativity in the very young.  Throughout the years, Edushape toys have incorporated high educational values while supporting a child’s healthy social, emotional and physical development.   These are perfect toys for little hands and go together very easily. I had my daughter and her friend review them before I brought them to the preschool and my daughter begged me to leave them home because her and her friend had such a good time designing characters.

We love the tiny book with suggested designs which are great for older toddlers. Younger toddlers will enjoy the colors and textures.

Aren't these characters cute. I love that the girls played with these and talked for an hour.

Definitely a fun toy for all ages.

A Must Have: Robin Williams DVD Collection From Time Celebrating A True Comic Genius - A Review

The 411:

I reviewed these two DVDs and loved every single minute. Robin Williams was truly a one of a kind comic who hopefully realized just how special we all found him. From the moment I watched the first DVD to the last moments of the last, I smiled, laughed, even teared up at the loss of one of my favorite comics.

Robin is all Robin on these 0-60 in a second. One moment telling a joke, the next climbing up to the second level of an arena "Is this booth okay Mr. Lincoln?" He was funny, witty, vulgar, inappropriate, adorable and we loved him for it. 

In these DVD's you get some of his stand up routines, interviews, concerts, behind the scenes and more. One of my favorite moments was seeing Robin and John Ritter improvise during his first HBO special. Definitely a crowd pleasure.

The set also comes with a color booklet featuring quotes and photos of Robin including his tour notes, USO Tour photos and candid shots.

He is a comedian who paved the way for so many others. He could do it all and if you were a kid growing up in the late 70s and didn't have a crush on this hairy armed, colorful suspender wearing, adorable blue eye'd boy with the longish hair you weren't my friend. I adored him.

I love that this DVD is available to celebrate the life of Robin Williams and remind us why we were all so devastated at his tragic end.

This is a must have and three friends have asked to borrow it from me when they saw me posting it on my private social media accounts. We all loved him and I am left with his quote from 1978 "It has been a privilege kind of pollinating here in your garden. Come back, I'll be here."