Saturday, November 29, 2014

Farm Living

Syler got to feed the chickens with me today. Since he can now walk I thought it would be ok to climb in the pen with me. Ya know so he doesn't crawl in the poop! Feet are easier to wash! It was also in the 70's today too. 

He seriously thought it was the coolest thing ever. The feed was all around him and he just hand to reach down and pet them! 


Thursday, November 13, 2014

Baby Banana Brushes


How cool is this teething toothbrush?  Kids like funky cool bright things.  I think that the babies would love to teeth on one of these. Plus the holidays are here and these would make a great gift or stuffer for your little teether. 


100% silicone teething toothbrushes for infants through 2 years old. The family owned and operated company strives to make brushing fun (and safer) with their flagship product, the Baby Banana Brush, and their brand new product the Cornelius Teething Toothbrush! Baby Banana Brushes have been wildly popular online (currently the #1 baby product on Amazon) and your readers will be excited to learn more about the inventive teethers available for their little ones. Makes a great stocking stuffer for the Holidays!


The Baby Banana Brush Story:
A few years ago, my two-year-old grandson tripped and fell on his toothbrush as he was trying to brush his teeth. The traditional hard plastic toothbrush punctured the roof of his mouth and came within centimeters of entering his brain. As a mother of 8, I knew that this all-to-common occurrence of babies falling on hard toothbrushes should be preventable, but how? As these questions were on my mind, I discussed them with my daughter-in-law, who is a dental hygienist and with her insight the idea for a flexible infant toothbrush was born.

She taught me about the safety specifications we would need, such as a slight "C" shape to our brush. We brainstormed about ideas of fun things that might fit that "C" shape and came up with the Banana! I had some experience from previous products my company was developing with plastics and other materials. I consulted with several engineers and determined that 100% medical grade silicone would be the best material to serve our "flexible" needs.Next, I went to Taiwan - the silicone capital of the world - in 2004. There I met with the company that would eventually become our manufacturer. We had our toothbrush FDA registered, patented and tested with private labs. We knew we had created something unique - a flexible toothbrush and teether in one - which did not exist in the market at that time.

We launched our product at the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists Convention in Washington, D.C. May 2008. There was lots of excitement for the product at this convention, and we began selling our toothbrush in pediatric dental offices and baby boutique stores.


Out of the Box Games Review

Out of the Box Games Review



Price: $14.99
Age: 8 and up, 6 and up if they can read
Out of the Box Games Review
About: Out of the Box Games has been making games since 1998. The game we got to review was Snake Oil – Party Potion. This is a game that is for children 8 years old to adult.  Though it can really be used for any child that can read or that has someone help them read. It is geared for 3-6 players to play at a time. The term "Snake Oil" came about when Chinese laborers working on the Transcontinental Railroad would rub some ointment on their sore muscles.  The ointment w
as supposed to be water snake oil.  Eventually the Americans started using it and the claims of that it could help with went crazy. After testing it was found out that there was no actual snake oil in it.  So the misleading sales pitches for it birthed the term.  This is also is what the game is all about. 
 The purpose of the game is for someone to pick a customer card and they pretend that are that type of customer, like a doctor or scientist. Then the other players each have 6 cards that have different words. They pick two of the words and make a sales pitch on why the customer would want their product. Who's ever pitch gets picked gets the customer card.  At the end of the game the person with the most customer cards wins.

Out of the Box Games Review

How we used:  I played with all of the kids.  That way I could help my 6 year old read his cards.  Even though he can't read he still enjoyed the game.  He was actually very good at coming up with a whole sales pitch for this words. It was a very fun game for us all to play. I enjoyed seeing the kids get fired up over my sale pitches.  They actually told me that my ideas were not as fun as the others.  But nothing beats having a game that gets your minds moving and being able to enjoy it with the whole family. The kids were so excited to pull this out every day and see what they can come up with.  Both positions are so much fun to play that no one complained about who got to play what part.  The game goes by pretty easily and quickly.  This is great for those that can't keep a long attention span.  It also is easy to take breaks from the game and set the customer cards aside to see who is ahead.  Though if you want a long game you can always add cards back in and reshuffle.  We did this several times because we just couldn't get enough of the game.

I recommend everyone tries out this game and add it to your family game night.  If your do not have a family game night then I recommend you start one because family is amazing when you take the time to enjoy it.

Be sure to check out what my other crew members thought of the game as well as the social media links.

Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/OutoftheBoxGames
https://twitter.com/OTBgames
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYAQiV5S9ZQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUTEAg1uDVwq0LNxFAwM7N5Q

Click to read Crew Reviews


Purposeful Design Review

Purposeful Design Review





Vendor: Purposeful Design

Product: Purposeful Design: Understanding the Creation

Price: $18.95

Age: All Ages


Purposeful Design Review

About: Purposeful Design: Understanding the Creation is a very vibrantly illustrated book written by Jay Schabacker. The book is seven chapters long, each taking you through all the days of creation.  It also takes the principals of science that also help make our world work.  Things such as the moon and earth's rotations, human cell, and instincts of birds. They also offer a free curriculum that can be used with the book at Young Explorer’s Club. This comes with a student and teacher bool.  Each chapter has information to work on a well as a completion certificate for each chapter.  Those chapters included are:


Chapter 1 – The First Day: Creation of the Heavens and the Earth, the Foundation of it All
Chapter 2 – The Second Day: Creation of the Atmosphere and Water
Chapter 3 – The Third Day: Creation of the Dry Land and Vegetation
Chapter 4 – The Fourth Day: Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Stars
Chapter 5 - The Fifth Day: Creation of the Birds and Fish
Chapter 6 - Creation Day Six: Creation of Land Creatures and Humans
Chapter 7 – The Seventh Day

How we used: I read this book to my children,  I was interested in reading as well and that way I could help my younger children understand the book as well. We started reading one chapter a day.  This way we could read the chapter and talk about it to make sure everyone understood.  I also used the curriculum with my 9 year old.  The book was very interesting even to my younger kids.  The pictures are so vivid and wonderful that they were curious to look and learn what each thing was and to continue on so they could see the rest. These pictures always went along with the topic on the page.  There was also Bible versus throughout the book that helped explain things as well as the science behind other things.  Even having so much detail the book was written in very easy terms to understand for all ages that would be reading the book. The book gave a whole new way of teaching Genesis.  There are always children books that talk about the 7 days of creation but none are so interesting.  Having been written by a scientist helps even more justify why we whole heart believe in God creating our world.  Just because God created the world doesn't mean that science isn't present like many people think.  I think this book mashes the two together in the way it was intended to be.

This book is great for an at home study or even using in Sunday School.  I think homeschoolers or not everyone would enjoy this version of teaching the days of creation to their kids.  The free curriculum makes it that much better. The pages help go over what is read and dive further into the understanding and retaining of the information.


Be sure to check  Jay Schabacker out on Social Media and also check out what my other crew members thought of the book. You won't be disappointed. 


Social Media

Blog: www.Jayschabacker.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaySchabackerAuthor

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/Jayschabacker (@Jayschabacker)

LinkedIn: Jayschab

Click to read Crew Reviews


Tuesday, November 11, 2014

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City




Age: Fun for all ages

First thing I would like to note is that upon arrival there is a parking garage that you park in.  I was not aware of this so I passed the place and and to turn around and go back.  I am not a city girl so maybe most people are aware of this type of thing, oops. Anyways I did not notice how much parking was but on weekends parking is FREE so I did not need to worry about it.

Once we arrived we went to the front desk, which is a split desk paired with Sea Life Aquarium. If you booked your tickets online you need your ID in order for them to pull up your reservation. If not you will be given your option for tickets. They make this easy to choose by having big screens behind the desks that gives the pricing options to choose from.

Once you enter you may stay as long as you like.  I think this is what makes you feel better about the cost.  There is so much to do as well that if you didn't take your time and see everything you would really miss out on some cool things. 

When you first enter you give your tickets and you take two pictures.  This pictures are used to add themed backgrounds to that you can purchase inside the area.  This does mean that it takes awhile to get through the line if they are busy though.  We did have to wait for several minutes.  They do offer a bowl of Lego's in the line so you can let your kids start playing if they get restless.  After that you get to go in and are greeted again by another person.  This person gives you a "mini" simulated tour of how the process of making a Lego goes.  These are interactive things so kids are getting to use their hands so it is not boring.  At the end there is a scale to weigh yourself...only it is to see how many Lego's you weight! 




         





Next you enter into the actual play area.  You have a choice to go on a fun little ride.  It seats 5 and you each have a gun to shoot the targets and screens in order to save the princess.  You also gain points which are shown in front of your seat.  This is fun and you get your picture taken inside there was well.  Once you are out you can purchase your picture and your results will be available as well.

As you go on in there are several places to play. There is also one more ride.  It seats two and you pedal like a bike to make yourself go higher as you spin around. This is also adult friendly!



There are several life size statues made all of Legos through out the place.  These were really neat and very real looking. There was also a play ground area that the kids could go into with a gaurd person at the gate.  This was a nice little break for the parents to sit around the sides and rest a bit knowing their kids were safe inside to play and burn some energy.














We also got the chance to take of of the Lego building classes.  This was really fun.  There was a great instructor that showed us how to build a plane.  Each child got their own kit to play with.  We did have to give it back but we were given a discount to buy the kit for $5 in the gift shop for taking the class.













There was lots of Star Wars things.  My kids have never watched the Lego Movie or Star Wars but they still thought it was all very neat how they made it all.












The building it is in is also in with other things.  We took off and explored and found and elevator that was open view to the outside.  We went to the top floor and took a picture of the city!



We all loved this place and had a blast playing.  Beware there is only one bathroom though so use it first so everyone is ready to explore.  There is also a cafe inside to refresh yourself or get a snack. There are so many things and so many places to just get free play with as well.  The kids enjoyed the part that they could build their own race car and test drive it till it would run well.  So like I mentioned at the first this was great for all.  I even enjoyed the challenge of making a race car that would bet the kids....I failed though.  So if you are in Kansas City be sure to stop by.  Also below is a great coupon to save some big bucks on your visit!  It is well worth it!


Disclaimer- I received 4 free tickets for my honest review of LEGOLAND.