RoseArt Color Blanks Have Changed My Craft Challeged Son!

RoseArt is a favorite in my house. Goddess loves doing crafts as she is highly creative, thinking outside the box to create art using all kinds of media. Handsome on the other hand is never interested in sitting down to craft. He has trouble drawing and writing and has been in therapy for low muscle tone in his hands since he is two. Which is why I am so happy to review to write this review.

When products come in for review it is easy to choose which child to use for the review because Goddess loves everything and Handsome is very particular. So on most unisex products Goddess is the easy choice. The RoseArt Color Blanks review was hard because BOTH wanted to review it. Two kids, one product...how could I do it? Goddess was taking a bath and Handsome asked again so I figured why not, he is going to start it and stop two seconds in. He is never into arts and crafts and Goddess can finish it when she comes out of the bath.

Well, I was wrong. Handsome loves Color Blanks and spent over 20 minutes creating "Pete" and eventually "Bill" as he is now affectionately called.

His concentration was 100%! He was in the zone and I was thrilled to see him concentrating on something other than a video game.

The Color Blanks come in 1, 2 and 4 packs and are great gifts for every occasion.

Create your own fun family with Color Blanks by Rose Art!
The packs included Color Blank markers and stickers. You can draw faces, clothes, accessories or shoes on your figurines, then add the finishing touches with the included stickers.

For extra originality, use the included glue dots to add your own fun stuff such as buttons, sequins, glitter, a hat or a prop – the possibilities are endless! Make, Play and Display your artistic friends and create your own world of Color Blanks!

Ideal for children ages 6 and up! We love these and plan on giving one to everyone whose birthday we are invited to.

Can't you just see the pride on his face?

Disclosure: I received a complimentary Rose Art Color Blank Kit for my honest opinion.

Alphabe-Thursday - ABCD

This week Alphabe-Thursday is hosting whatever letter you choose.

Because it is Goddess' 6th Birthday today, I am hosting the following letters A, B, C, D

A- Adorable!


B- Beautiful!


C- Crazy!


D- Daring!

Dinosaur Train Hatches Into Easter Baskets This Year

Almost two weeks ago, I wrote about Dinosaur Train and these cool eggs called Hatchers.

We received one for the kids to try out from The Jim Henson Company and Uncle Milton. Simply add one of the Hatchers to water and children can watch their favorite Dinosaur Train characters hatch from their shell and grow up to 4X their size.

What I Can Tell You: We love it. The kids ran to look at it at least 50 times the first night. The next morning when it started to make it's debut, the kids were shouting for each other to come look at it. It took a little less than 24 hours but when the dinosaur finally popped all the way out, the kids were ecstatic.  What a great addition to this year's Easter basket.  They both are asking for their own.

I missed the first picture of him making his first crack. It was during the morning rush! But...here he is in my humungo Fleetwood Mac glass.

They were freaking out, you would think a real animal was coming out of that egg! He did grow and now he is drying out so we can see him go back to his normal size. Very cool!

Goddess was very interested in what the shell is made of.

Disclosure: We received a complimentary Hatcher for our honest opinion.

Sherry & Narcotics by Nina-Marie Gardner

What I Can Tell You: 

I received an advanced reading copy of this book and finished this book this morning! Watching Mary, the main character was heartbreaking. Watching her make mistake after mistake in life and love was hard to read. It was like watching a train wreck, you want to look away but can't. Mary is an editor who likes to party sometimes to excess. She spends 3 weeks corresponding with Jake by email/txt when she runs out to meet him getting an apartment nearby, waiting on his every email/txt/phone call and falling deeper and deeper into despair as this ridiculous unhealthy relationship plays out. 

You, the reader see she is heading for disaster. Her obsessive, masochistic personality is the most devasting part of the book. I wish I could grab her by her shoulders and shake her into realization, but even if you could she would fall!

Nina-Marie's writing is devastatingly real which is scary. When you are so far in, you can't see how wrong things are. Outsiders see it 100% and can talk until they are blue in the face but you will continue on the road of disaster until the relationships swan song when you realize how ridiculous you were. The signs to the exit were flashing in bright, white, lights and you never saw them! 

Great read!  Very edgy!

ABC Wednesday "M"

Macaroni and Cheese

Monkey

Mine

Tuesday Takes

A super quick of Handsome this morning as he watches his favorite show Wipe Out on the computer.

Mellow Yellow Monday - Gone With The Wind

These figurines remind me of when I was a child and my grandmothers and mother had china closets full of figurines! Although I see the beauty in them, I now see them as dust collectors.

IN ZANESVILLE by Jo Ann Beard

What I Can Tell You:

What a great read. I was transported back to my childhood. Of sleep overs at my friends in the camper on her families property. Of Dusty Springfield and American Bandstand! Of first crushes and fears. Of dysfunctional families and too much time to think.  Of babysitting and snow cones. Ahhh...I miss those day.

Jo Ann is a wonderful storyteller creating interesting characters out of the most basic personalities. The kids who are invisible to most because they tend to fly under the radar.  The girls are 14 and full of life and thoughts way beyond what the rest of the world give them credit for. Jo Ann writing seems almost autobiographical, with quiet realism.

Cloaked by Alex Flinn

 

What I Can Tell You: Johnny, was thrust into a shoe repair job when his father left leaving him and his mother to take on the family business alone. Princess Victoria tricks him into fixing her shoe so she can send him on a mission to find her brother. Victoria's "Bruzzer" was turned into a frog by a witch and she needs Johnny's help to find him. She gives him more money than he has ever seen and promises him more and marriage if he can find her brother.  She also gives him a magical cloak that can transport him anywhere he wishes and ear buds that allow him to hear other animals as long as they were once human. Sounds interesting right?!

This was a great read by the author of Beastly which has been made into a movie starring Vanessa Hudgens. It was a modern day Grimm fairy tale, full of surprises and fantasy! I am really interested in reading more Alex Flinn books and I can't wait to pass this onto my teenage nieces who I know will love it even more than me.

Kids are Koo Koo for Totally Koo Koo

 

We got to review one of the Koo Koo Bird collectibles.

What I Can Tell You:
These would be perfect for Easter Baskets!
The kids were excited to open the package. The bird is very cute and soft, very fluffy. We love his colors and his silly face. The kids shared him, taking him into their respective rooms. He is small enough to go to school with them and has.  While I personally thought, why would they be interested in this guy, he doesn't do anything, they were! So, the proof is in the pudding.

Goddess' birthday is coming up this week and we sat down to ask her what she wanted. She asked for more birds and the Koo Koo carrying case.

Silk Milk 10 Day Challenge

As a Buzzagent I recently participated in a Silk for Milk 10 Day Challenge where you swap your regular milk for one of the Silk Milks.

I am a big milk drinker so I knew this would be a difficult switch for me but we coupons for free milk, why wouldn't I try?!

The first type we got were Silk Very Vanilla and Silk Chocolate because everything tastes better with chocolate!

I had a friend over Miss Steph, Holla! Oh, yeah...milk..and decided to test it with her.

Pouring the two types, we decided to go with the non-chocolate one so that we could have the better one, the chocolate last. This way if we hated it, we could wash it down with the almighty chocolate.

Boy were we surprised when the Very Vanilla tasted amazing.

Steph: Wow! This tastes great!
Me: This is really good!
Steph: I bet this would be good in a smoothie
Me: I want to try it in coffee!

Then we picked up the Chocolate.

Steph: Ummm...
Me: I
Steph: Like
Me: The
Steph: Vanilla
Me: Better!

Then we cracked up because that is the way we roll.

What I Can Tell You:
The challenge was easier than I thought. It The Very Vanilla is by far our favorite. Even Goddess asks for it daily. It tastes great in cereal, coffee and straight up.

Although we didn't like the chocolate, regular or we loved the Almond and coconut milk a lot.

The Folks at Silk would like you to think about the many ways to incorporate Silk into your families diet.

Silk® Vanilla in a cup of Joe adds a sweet richness without any of the cholesterol you’d get with dairy creamers or milk.

Hot. Chocolate. Heaven. Warm up a glass of Silk Pure Almond® Dark Chocolate and enjoy an indulgent treat. Bonus? It’s got fewer calories than hot chocolate made with typical dairy milk.

Looking for a meal for the whole family? Take your favorite quiche recipe and instead of cheese and dairy milk, load it up with lots of veggies and Unsweetened Silk (soy or almond) for an extra boost of nutrition.

Magic Bran Muffins. Silk Pure Almond® adds a lot of flavor to all that fiber. These good-for-you muffins come out with the same great texture as muffins made with milk.

Do you like Pina Colada? Try this high-calcium version. Mix Silk Pure Coconut™ coconutmilk, pineapple juice and rum, then pour it over ice.

Soylicious Smoothie. Meet your new favorite breakfast. Chocolate Silk Soymilk (Vanilla works, too), berries, banana and ice. Blend and enjoy.

Sit down for family brinner. Breakfast for dinner = Brinner! Try a little Silk Unsweetened Soymilk in scrambled eggs.

Gulliver's Travels Starring Jack Black DVD Review

What I Can Tell You:
I have been dying to see this movie. Jack Black is hysterical and I love movies I can watch with my kids. My screener copy arrived last night and since we were having a snow day today we watched it this morning.

We loved it! My daughter especially loved when Jack found himself in a giant little girl's dollhouse.

This movie is fun for the whole family. Great special effects. I was constantly saying, "how did they do that?" I should have been a computer animator because I get so excited about it. Now, that would have been a job I loved.

The cast was great! I am a big Jason Segel fan, and loved seeing him in this role.

You Capture - Baby Sitting Makes Me Feel Good

Last weekend, I babysat for a girlfriend and got to spend the day with her two children. They are adorable and fun. Her daughter had me wrapped around her finger because at 2 years old, she was very funny and very smart. She reminded me of Goddess when she was 2. So full of information and loved to talk. My favorite part was when she allowed me to lie down with her and actually took a nap. It was my first time watching her and I was unsure if she would actually sleep. It made me feel good that she was comfortable enough to fall asleep.

Anddd...she loved taking pictures....what's not to love about that?