Destination Disney-Letter R

I've been inspired by Heidi at Heidi's Head to start posting some of our fun Disney memories.







 She hosts Destination Disney and today's letter is R.  So hop over and check her out!  My R memories are

Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom

Resting

Rain

Robin Hood

Rolls Royce

Rock 'N' Rollercoaster at what was MGM and is now called Hollywood Studios

Rafiki

Thanks for reading,

 

Destination Disney-Letter Q

All I could find for Q  was the Queen

and 

Quasimodo

Thanks for reading,

Say Anything Family by North Star Games-TOS Review

Our family was also given a wonderful opportunity to review a second game by North Star games called Say Anything Family.  Say Anything Family is a family friendly game in which you have the opportunity to say what you think.  We were laughing and having fun throughout the whole game, both of my children loved this one too and asked to play it over and over.  Head over and buy this game at Target.com,  and several online retailers including Amazon and find out what hilarious things your family will say.  Say Anything Family Editions retails for $19.99.

The setup on this game was easy because everyone gets a small dry erase board and marker, one person reads the question from the deck of cards starting with "In my opinion..." and everyone writes down what they feel the answer should be.  An example of one card is, "In my opinion, What song most reminds me of being a little kid?"
A couple of answers were

The wheels on the bus go round and round...
Jesus loves me this I know
Itsy bitsy spider

then the person reading the opinion card gets to pick the one he/she likes best.  Everyone votes on what the card reader will pick by placing two tokens on that answer. Finally, the answer is announced.

We had some really hilarious answers and a lot of times they were the same because we all know each other so well!

If you would like to see what some of the other TOS crew mates have to say about Say Anything Family editions please click here.

Northstar games-Wits & Wagers Family-TOS review

Now, that my kids are 10 and 11 years old they are too old to play all of the little kid board games like Chutes and Ladders, Hi Ho Cherry-O, and Candyland so I've been searching for fun family board games.  We've found a few like Apples to Apples but I've still been hunting for something that my "gamer" would like to play and I've found it, both of my kids LOVED Wits and Wagers Family by North Star Games.  It's so much fun!!!

We set up our camper and went and had a game night in the camper, it was just what our family needed.  We were able to unplug our son from his video games and get him involved in an exciting game and of course he won!  This game is easy to set up and easy to understand the directions.  The aim of the game is to answer a family friendly trivia question and then "wager" on your guess or if somebody has a better guess you can bet on their guess, it's up to you.  Lot's of fun and laughs!

The game is available at Target, Borders, Amazon and most specialty toy stores.  It's priced at $19.99 and is well worth the money.

What do you get with Wits & Wagers Family?

 In the box are the rulebook, a score sheet, a pack of question cards, 1 minimum answer board with the number "1" on it, 5 dry erase markers, 5 player answer boards in 5 different colors, 5 small meeples in the same colors, and 5 large meeples in the same colors. (For those who aren't aware a meeple is a little wooden piece that is shaped like a person.) 


To hear what some of my fellow TOS Crew Mates have to say about Wits and Wagers Family click here.

Thanks for reading,

OU Slap watch video

Makenzie and Kylan's hip hop dance teachers are in this video, check it out!  Go OU and BOOMER SOONER BABY!

,

Quote from pinterest

Source: lovequotesrus.tumblr.com via 6HappyHearts on Pinterest

Thanks for reading,

Soda Stream the home soda maker

I've been so excited to review the Soda Stream soda make and just couldn't wait for it to arrive.  I was pulling up into my driveway the other day and a UPS man was on my front porch (no it wasn't my hubby either, most of you know he's a UPS driver).  I jumped out of the car and ran up to him and grabbed the box while jumping up and down and babbling excitedly, he probably thought I was a crazy woman and I'm sure he told my husband all about it when they got back to the UPS building.




Anyway, I scurried inside my house and unpacked the Soda Stream box and had it setup and working in a flash. Yes, it's super easy to set up and super easy to use. You might be asking, "What is Soda Stream?"  With a SodaStream soda maker, you'll transform ordinary water into the freshest and best-tasting seltzer and soda anytime, at the touch of a button, with no clean-up. 




We tried out the root beer flavor first and loved it, then when dad got home from work we tried out the cola flavor and it received  a big thumbs up from Kevin.  So far we've tried lemon-lime, root beer, cola, orange, ginger ale, energy drink, Dr. Pete(similar to Dr. Pepper), diet pink grapefruit (compare to Fresca) and green tea pomegranate peach and they are all pretty good.  My favorites are green tea pomegranate peach and orange.  We also tried the my water flavor essence which is supposed to make your sparkling water taste like a fruit flavor but we didn't care for it.  There are over 30 flavors to choose from, including diet flavors.  You can also mix and match flavors to make different combinations and you can use it with fruit juices and powdered drinks.  We've had a lot of fun experimenting with our Soda Stream.  Here's a link to different recipes.

A couple of great things about the Soda Stream are

• Save space with concentrated sodamix and reusable carbonating bottles
• No more lugging and storing heavy, bulky bottles and cans
• No more hassles with empties in the trash or recycling bin
• No batteries, no electricity, no plumbing
• Over 30 flavors at the touch of a button

Here's a quick video showing how easy it is to make a drink using the Soda Stream machine.

The kids are much more excited to drink fizzy fruit juice then regular juice and they have had just as much fun mixing up different drinks as I have.  We give the Soda Stream two thumbs up at our house.  One thing I do recommend is buying more bottles, ours only came with one bottle and that just wasn't enough.  We found a set of two bottles on sale at JCPenney's and we also picked up some extra drink flavors while we were shopping.  Soda Streams can be found here, or at many other stores like Kohl's, JCPenney's, Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table and several other stores.

Prices seem very reasonable starting at $99 and up for the carbonating machine and the syrup is $5.99 and up but each syrup bottle makes between 30-50 servings so it's well worth the price.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I carbonate drinks other than water?
No. Only water should be carbonated in the SodaStream home soda maker. You risk damaging your soda maker, not to mention making a big fizzy mess. The money-back guarantee and the warranty are both invalidated if you carbonate any liquid other than water in your soda maker.Why does the carbonating bottle have an expiration date?
Since the bottle has to withstand recurring pressure from carbonation, it cannot be used forever. The expiration date on the bottle must be checked and new bottles purchased as soon as the former expires. The bottles must also be replaced if put in the dishwasher, exposed to a heat source, or if they have become scratched. All components of carbonating bottles are recyclable. Check with your local recycling authority for more information.
How do I clean my carbonating bottles?
Carbonating bottles may be cleaned in warm water with a bottle brush and regular dish-washing liquid if necessary. Please do not place carbonating bottles in the dishwasher, as exposure to extreme heat can weaken the integrity of the bottles. Bottles stay cleanest when rinsed and then immediately filled with fresh water and returned to your refrigerator. Plus, you'll always have cold water on hand when you're ready for your next bottle of soda.
How long does the soda last before going flat?
The hermetic seal on the cap keeps your soda from going flat as quickly as ordinary store-bought beverages. If you make sure to close the cap tightly, and keep the bottle in the refrigerator, your SodaStream soda should remain fizzy and fresh for over a week.
How often will I have to replace my carbonator?
On average, the carbonator will make 60 liters of soda, and this number could be more or less depending on the amount of carbonation used when making your drink. A household of four soda drinkers might need to replace a 60-liter carbonator every 6-8 weeks, depending on usage.
Are SodaStream products kosher?
SodaStream products are kosher (OU) certified (OU kosher certificate). SodaStream seltzer is kosher for Passover (OUP). Also, please note that your home drink maker can be used on the Sabbath.



We LOVE taking the soda stream with us on vacation, you don't need any electricity or batteries or anything like that so it's easy to use and you have an almost endless supply of drinks to choose from all from the comfort of your hotel room.

Thanks for reading,

Travel Nursing

I have a friend and she's a traveling nurse, so I started thinking about how exciting and what a great travel opportunity this would be.  My friend Susan has been Travel Nursing to Hawaii and I have another friend whose husband is Travel Nursing to Los Angeles, CA!  Can you imagine getting paid to travel to and work in Hawaii or LA for several months out of the year?  Wouldn't that be a fun and exciting job!!!  


If you are interested here's a link to Discover Nursing and also Travel Nursing.  I know that they pay well (sometimes up to $40 per hour), offer bonuses, wonderful benefits and  a lot of times they offer free living arrangements while on assignment. This would also be a great opportunity if you are considering moving to a new destination.  You could check it out before you move, all while getting paid!


If it were not for Travel Nursing, many places would be lacking for skilled health professionals.  I have to say that my 2 friends love Travel Nursing and mentioned that they are looking for more nurses willing to travel.  They also offer scholarships for Travel Nursing for more info click on Travel Nursing or Discover Nursing. 


Discover Nursing is running an Amazing Nurses contest right now and you can click on Discover Nursing to read some of the amazing stories about the top 5 finalist.

E-Mealz-TOS review

E-mealz is a very helpful website for a busy money that would like to save time and money.  How it works is 3 easy steps

and each meal plan is only $1.25 per week.  I've been using the regular meal plan which feeds 4-6 people and I chose Aldi as my store.  I love shopping at Aldi and was so happy to see they offered Aldi as one of the stores, they have several to choose from including Wal-Mart, Kroger, Publix, Ralphs(CA) and an any store option.  E-Mealz also offers several other options like meal plans for Gluten Free, Low Carb, Low Fat, Portion Controlled,  Vegetarian, and they also offer meals for two people instead of the family plan.


I love that every week the meals are totally different, we seem to fall into a rut of eating the same thing week end and week out and this helps to shake things up.  I've enjoyed using E-Mealz and will continue to use them.  I just decided to switch to Wal-Mart as my store and now the meals have changed so depending on which store you are buying from the meals will follow what's on sale that week from that store.

The only issue I've had so far with E-Mealz is that we have a couple of uncommon allergies in our family like red dye and chicken.  There's no options for allergies which in my opinion would be VERY helpful.

Since food is the biggest budget buster E-Mealz can help you stay on track with your budget and is recommended by financial guru Dave Ramsey.

Here's a sample menu so you can see how easy the ladies at E-Mealz make it for you.  One page is the grocery list  and the other is the actual meal plan.  Easy peasy!!

Click here to see what my TOS crew mates thought of e-mealz.

Always Icecream-TOS Review

Always Icecream is a fantastic girly girl website created just for girls ages 7-12.  It's a really cute website with a mini me that your child can customize and a mini world with a house and  you can buy items with $coops (which is the what they call their money).  Makenzie loves Pet World and thinks that's a lot of fun.

I love the fact that I can log on and check and see what my daughter has been up to and who she has been chatting with and while I'm doing that I can give her more $coops for doing chores around the house or even being being a great daughter.  Another function Always Icecream offers that I like is parental approval for the chat function before your daughter is able to use it.

 The colors really appeal to my daughter with a lot of pink and blue.  I also love that to earn more $coops you have to play games like math, geography, science, music, foreign language, language arts and even some Bible questions.  My daughter said she loves that it starts out easy and gradually gets harder and harder, the harder it is the more $coops you earn.

Another favorite of Makenzie's is the typing game, she said it's teaching her to type more quickly!

I love having a fun and safe place for my daughter to play on the internet and a big bonus is that she's learning while playing.  They offer several different price options to choose from

1. $4.99 per month and the first month is .99 cents
2. $9.98 for 2 months
3. $29.99 for an annual membership
4. $99.99 for a lifetime membership

Click here to try it out for FREE

To see what other TOS crew members had to say about Always Icecream click here.

Visual Latin-TOS Review

One of the questions that I am often asked is WHY?  Why would you choose to teach your kids a "dead" language? 

 1. The main reason is that we have been studying the Latin and Greek root words for the past year, it's part of our curriculum .

 2.  I was asked to review Visual Latin and I was thrilled since it tied into our current curriculum so nicely.  We were already using English from the Roots Up and Visual Latin just digs a little deeper.

 3.  My kids are often able to decipher a vocabulary or spelling word very easily since learning so many "root" words.
 4.  Makenzie is BEGGING me to let her go do Latin, that's always a good sign!
 5.  I wish I would have had the opportunity to take Latin in school, it would have helped me tremendously.

You may be wondering what is Visual Latin?

Visual Latin is an in-depth series of short video lessons, followed by practice exercises that teach the Latin language to anyone age 9 and up.

After receiving the DVD my kids were so excited that we jumped right in and did 2 lessons in 1 day.  Our new Latin instructor is Dwane Thomas.  Mr. Thomas has a lighthearted, fun and a tad bit quirky personality and this combined with short, easy to understand lessons makes this a pleasurable experience for the kids and myself included.  Each lesson is broken into 3 easy sections and allowed us to practice what we learned on a corresponding worksheet.

Recommendations

Overall I recommend Visual Latin because of it's visual approach and it's easy to use which is very helpful to a busy homeschool mom.  My son is in 4th grade and it seems just about perfect for him, my daughter is in 6th grade and has been jumping ahead and working extra lessons because she just wants more and is soaking it up like a little sponge. She has a friend that's taking Latin also and they have been speaking to each other in Latin and helping the each other with new words.  I'm learning too and find the video very engaging and  interesting.

Visual Latin is available on DVD or as a download and you can check out a sample lesson by clicking here. 

Pricing

They also offer several different pricing options from FREE sample lessons up to $150 for a group/class CD, for more info go to Visual Latin.  The homeschool family pricing is very affordable at $25-$30 depending on which series you need.  To receive $10 off during checkout please use code OCT$10

If you would like to hear what my fellow TOS crew mates have to say about Visual Latin click here.

Homeschool Blog Awards

I'm busy going through all of my favorite blogs trying to figure out which award to nominate them for.  Can't wait to see all the blogs this year, it's always fun and I find new and exciting ideas!  If you are a homeschooler ready, set,  GO nominate your favorite blogs!  Click on the button to go vote!

Scruble Cube-A TOS Review

Growing up with several Rubik's cubes in the house this cube really intrigued me and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Scruble Cube and try it out but I had to wait my turn.  Makenzie (my 11 yr old daughter) had a house full of girls the day the Scruble Cube arrived in the mail and as soon as I opened it and explained what it was they took it and immediately started playing with it.  Of course they didn't wait for me to read the rules and already had it figured out before I found the instructions in the box.  I was happy to see they were spelling harder and harder words trying to beat the previous girls score.  Yep, it's a keeper 7 out of the 7 girls approved and thought it was a toy and NOT an educational toy either.  That made me smile to myself.

The Scruble Cube really reminds me of a cross between Rubik's cube with letters and Scrabble.  This product is recommended for ages 8 and up but I really think younger children would be able to use it with a little help from mom or dad.  It retails for $24.95 and comes with the cube, a score pad of paper and a sand timer and of course the instructions and a getting started guide.  Scruble Cube has been awarded the Seal of Excellence for the 2010 Creative Toy Awards by Creative Child Magazine and Best Picks New Products by Dr. Toy.

The other day I went outside and was checking on the kids to see what they were doing and they were playing Scruble Cube in our backyard during free time!  Kylan was playing while swinging in the hammock and Makenzie would then try to beat his word, good times at the Wedemeyer house!