Mother's Day Gifts - There's Still Time To Shop

Garden Angel - I love this solar garden angel with the watering can. She is on a plant that sits near my sliders and I see her all night when I look at the glass.  See would be pretty inside near a window too. In fact I might put her on my birthday wish list this year so I can have on in my kitchen window as well. 

Amazon Pic

Shepherd Hooks to hang your lanterns, windchimes or plants. We had a micro burst come through our area and these shepherd hooks stayed firmly in the ground. We have ordered three sets not including the one I gave my sister-in-law for Christmas this year for her new garden obsession. Love the lantern? See the link below.

Gorgeous solar lanterns that have a vintage look. They have holders on top to be hung from shepherd posts, hooks or can be used without and placed on the ground or flat surface.

I adore the turquoise color and they cast a stunning glow with the cutout decorations in our yard.

We love looking at all the solar lights at night!

No installation necessary! You just need some sun power which they get all day.

The light lasts until the morning when the sun comes up.

Solar Powered Pogada Lamp is like a work of art for your garden. It is in the centerpiece of one of our kidney shaped garden beds and we love it. Packaged with care to ensure safe delivery. It was bigger than we expected and weighted to ensure no tipping from high winds. It is one of our favorite pieces in the yard. No wires. All sun powered! See it in the photo above at night? Beautiful! 

Journal - Gorgeous gold edge, thick journal. I love the color blue of the cover and was very surprised with the quality of the pages.

I used a pen and marker that always bleeds through that I can’t use on previous journals to test the sample page and was so happy to see it didn’t bleed.

It comes with a pretty gold pen too!

Pretty Dress for wedding or party - I love this dress. It works as a formal wear like a wedding or going to the renfaire! ANNNND it's under $40

This "Reader" tote bag is so cute! I needed a tote bag for my day to day job. Something small and light to carry my things. This canvas bag is perfect! I am an avid reader and always have a book and journal with me.

The straps feel sturdy! I love that it is black so I won’t look dirty quickly and I love the graphic! Great quality print and tote. I have used it daily for over a year and it still looks new.

My favorite products for Mother's Day or Birthday come from my own shopping ideas. These are products I have used and love. The link has an associate code linked to Maria's Space in it. If you order I might be compensated for your purchase with a commission.

Add NatPat To Spring and Summer Must Haves

Spring is here and my family and my daytime class kids are suffering from allergies. Soooo I was very happy to receive a colorful envelope from NatPat Health and Wellness Patches. 

These cute "sticky" patches are not only helpful for your child but look adorable too! 

NatPat patches are easy to peel and stick on your clothes and are SAFE for kids. 

Allergy Relief Patches relieve allergy symptoms like stuffy noses and congestion. It will clear airways and reduce inflammatory responses from seasonal allergies. 

Itch Relief Patches are placed over the itchy "bite" area of nasty pests like mosquitos. 

Zen Stickers uses sweet orange essential oil to elevate mood, reduce tension and enhance clarity. 

Sensory Touch Stickers use a textured surface to provide tactile stimulation which will help regulate restlessness energy and enhance focus. Great for kids with anxiety, stress and sensory needs.

Mosquito Repellent Stickers have over 60 colorful, fun designs that last for 8 hours. For kids 0-2 place 1-2 stickers, 3-5 place 2-3 stickers and ages 6+ 2-4 stickers on your clothing near exposed skin. 

Focus Stickers help sharpen your mind for school, sports and life with the use of peppermint essential oils.

Breathe Easy Stickers are great for those who have clogged up noses. Before you turn to medicine stick on of these close to the top of your shirt and allow the natural blend of eucalyptus, menthol, camphor and essential oils work!

Sunny Patch tell you when it is time to reapply sunscreen. Place a patch on the skin, cover the patch and skin with your favorite sunscreen but when the patch turns purple it is time to reapply.

Sleep Promoting Stickers use a formula of specially crafted essential oils to bring on sleep. 

Over 1 MILLION MOMS have reviewed the product, they have thousands of reviews on Amazon and the company is ran by 3 dads! NATPAT is available in close to 10,000 major and independent retail doors as well as in various online platforms. Check out their Amazon store 

 

Just Finished Barbie - It Was So Much Fun And Everything I Hoped

 

Barbie 

The highest grossing film of the year, as well as in Warner Bros. history from writer/director Greta Gerwig will be available this holiday season. 

Synopsis:

To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.

The Review:

• Greta’s take on Barbie was so much fun. I couldn’t have imagined a better world. It was colorful, girly and everything my inner child would have wanted if she had all the Barbie things when she was a child. We got mostly off brand things but I longed for the car, plane, pooping dog, and all the fantastic Barbies and Kens. I did however have Growing Up Skipper and was so excited to see her in the movie.

Now that I have seen it I could not imagine a more perfect Barbie than Margot. She and Ryan were amazing and I loved all the familiar faces. America Ferrera, Will Farrel, John Cena, Rhea Perlman and so many more. It was amazing. 

If you loved Barbie growing up watch this movie that was fun but had a feminist message that my 18 year old daughter seemed to enjoy. We don’t need Kens to be successful, to run the world and we both loved Gloria’s (America Ferrera monologue about what woman are expected to be and do and all without complaining. 

It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we always have to be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.

We have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin — you have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas.

You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman, but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining.

You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood. But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged, so find a way to acknowledge that — but also always be grateful.

You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.

I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing a woman, then I don't even know." 

There was so much eye candy. The set design, the outfits, the hair, makeup, OMG the jewelry, dance scenes. The details were incredible. I cannot wait to watch again and see what I missed. 

• 
  
• Cast: Margot Robbie , Ryan Gosling , America Ferrera , Will Ferrell
• Director: Greta Gerwig
• Studio: Warner Bros.
• Genre: Comedy
• Run time: 114 minutes
• MPAA rating: PG-13

DISCLAIMER: I RECEIVED A DVD FOR MY HONEST OPINION. NO MONETARY COMPENSATION WAS OFFERED

• 
  

Unplugged Play: What's In Ned's Head With Teens

Summer means lots of fun! Picnics, Outings, Beach, Park, Pools, etc. But there is still a lot of downtime and kids can get sucked up into the TV, Computer and Gaming which is why I love Unplugged fun. Playing games with my kids was and still is one of my favorite things to do and we had a blast with What's In Ned's Head we have  we have played many times now adding our own things to Ned!

What's in Ned's Head?

 Reach inside Ned's ears and nostrils to find out what's in Ned's head!

• Can you find the object on the card you were dealt?

• Be the first player to find the correct object to win!

• Quick to learn, easy to play

This was so much fun! I cannot wait to bring it to my preschool class so they can try to guess but for now my kids are not ready to give it up! One day!

Is It a Photo Album, Journal or A Family Project? Whatever You Want To Call it, The Adventure Challenge Rocks

The Adventure Challenge books are my new favorite thing to do with my daughter. There are a Couple's Edition, Family Edition and Friend's Edition. The purpose is to unplug, and reconnect with people and have fun. 

We have since ordered a Polaroid Instant Camera since starting our Family Edition of The Adventure Challenge. This is such a wonderful idea and makes a wonderful gift for families, newlyweds, new parents, engagements, etc because it is a photo album and journal but also a surprise because you don't know what you will be doing until you select what you will be doing based on prompts from the book.  We went out with our camera and thought let's do one of the challenges.  

We were so excited to get started and selected a challenge based on how much money we had in our pockets and the time of day.  

This is what makes the book so wonderful. The prompts tell  you how much it would cost if anything for you to do the challenge. It tells you if you need to leave the house, what supplies you need, if it is messy, what time of day it is and if you will be eating. Now that just might by my favorite prompt. 

The one we selected said it would only cost .10 and that we could do it anytime at home. We scratched it off and it said we should buy yarn. I haven't been to Walmart or anywhere since the Pandemic but as soon as I can I will. Not sure where I could find yard for .10 but it seems like fun.  Then you take a photo of your challenge to post in the book. The book has double sided tape so you can just affix the photo right next to the challenge and then a spot for journaling.

The Table of Contents shows me that there are going to be some very fun challenges in our future. 

I cannot wait to give the Dating Edition to my niece. She and her boyfriend Charlie are going to have such a good time filing this out. 

Baby Gifts For Valentine's Day

I am fortunate this year to have babies in my life again. At 50 many of my friends are done having babies but since I am in the work force again, there are many of my younger co-workers having babies and I couldn't be happier. Last week one of my daughter's teachers had a baby girl and I can't wait to see her. My daughter is so excited that she wanted to give her something for the baby so we picked up a book. I LOVE giving books, a blanket and a key ring. 

I am so excited for her to see these gifts. The first one we picked up was a Kleynimals  rattle. 

 

You know babies love playing with your key ring even if you have baby toys for them while you are out and about. This is perfect. There are three arctic animals gracing the rattle. Pippi the Polar Bear, Scout the Snowshoe Hare and Otto the Snow Owl.  The rattle is dishwasher safe and 100% Stainless Steel and American made. Babies will love the shiny metal and jingly sound. 

 

And because I love giving books I chose DK's Baby Touch and Feel; I Love You book published by 
Penguin Random House. My kids used to love touch and feel books. This one is perfect for little hands and has the most adorable assortment of teddy bears, sparkly ribbon, kittens, puppies, baskets and more
  
The last item in her gift bag is this cute security blanket with a bunny rattle. I am in love with this and have purchase two of them over the past 3 years.

This is a nice size baby blanket for baby. They come in white, blue and pink and since our new little friend is a girl we got a pink one. The photos can't even get across to you just how soft these are. My daughter begs for one of her own every time she sees one in the house. The bunny rattle has a pocket to keep it in so you don't misplace your kids lovey.

 

Outlander Fan Gift Ideas

If you know someone who loves Outlander and I know about 4 on my Christmas list this year; these are the perfect gifts for them.

  

The beautiful music of Outlander is inspired by music of the time period 1700s. It is cheery, haunting, heartbreaking and completely memorable with a whole lot of Scottish influence. The CD has 22 songs and over an hour and 18 minutes worth of music you will find yourself transported back to your favorite parts of Season 2 and then some.

I have some favorites that I keep going back to like a song entitled Faith with such gorgeous piano and strings and The Uprising Begins which has quick fiddles and is very upbeat. 

 

Milk Unleashed

The kids go back in 9 days and while I am very sad about it, I can't wait to see what they learn this year and how they grow. We are starting to grab some snacks and lunch ideas for the kids lunchboxes and this giveaway couldn't have come at a better time.

Milk Unleashed is the perfect addition to our back-to-school planning.

As this is my first time hearing of Milk Unleashed I am excited to here about the shelf-stable milk for lunches and all the kids’ other activities. We are constantly on the go and I worry about the juice boxes so we constantly bring water. This will be an added addition to the kids lunch and go boxes.

Gogo Crazy Bones Make My Kids and Friends SOOOO Happy - Home Party

We had the BEST day yesterday. We spent Wednesday preparing and getting excited about our Spring Break-Break Up The Week Party. Our schools had too many snow days so the kids only have a three day spring break. Three days off means, a quick week and what better way to schedule play dates with all our friends than to invite them all over for a sponsored bash!

We had 15 kids and 10 moms over for the most organized party I have ever thrown. I had an agenda, itinerary and was literally waiting at the end for people to just show up.

When I tell you Gogo took care of me for this party...I mean really took care of me. I had 13 books sticker books to hand out and I think each kid walked away with 13 Gogos each!

The kids came in. I gave them 15 minutes to get acquainted and run around. The moms and the babies took turns holding each others kids and everyone was smiling and happy. I sat back and watched so happy to know that all my friends are now friends.


I asked the kids to sit on the floor and started handing out books. Once they opened them.

Here I am telling the kids about the books and the Gogos. I love that my son is the only one paying attention.

Then I proceed to tell them about the Gogos inside and asked if any of them had ever heard of them. Before this campaign, my kids and I  had never heard of them. Two little boys ages 6 and 7 both have two of them at home.  We spent some time talking about the stickers and the books. Each Gogo comes with a sticker which you can put on that particular Gogo in the book. The moms were all impressed and asked if they could find these in the stores now. I told them us and more would be coming out throughout the year.

Next I asked if anyone wanted more Gogos, everyone raised their hands. We played 3 rounds of Freeze Dance and whomever had the craziest freeze won a prize (thank you Gogo!). Next we talked about collecting and trading. There was one trade.

Next we played another 3 rounds of Freeze Dance were I gave out even more Gogos. The boys won each time with one of them even kicking himself in the shoulder in his freeze dance.

Next we played a basket game where I set up a huge empty container for the kids to toss their Gogos in. Whomever got the most in won another package of Gogos!

My kids Gogo Crazy Bones!

The kids were beyond excited and love that they can carry their Gogos in their pockets. They loved the fact that there are so many different Gogos and I overheard four talking about starting a collection. The moms love that they are small.

News Break to My Friends: In May pick up the Silver Tin with painting Gogos.

If one picture can sum up how crazy we are for Gogo Crazy Bones, this would be the one!