Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Sprite Kids.  The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Most kids I know love playing dress up.  Having an app that allows kids to dress up, play with e-pets, and even dance along to popular songs is a fun way to keep the dress-up mess to a minimum.  Talking Anya Dress Up & Pet Puppies is a free app for preschoolers that will have your little one laughing, singing, and chatting with Anya in no time.  Anya is a little cutie pie who dances to the Macarena and reminds kids that strawberries are good for them!  While the app is marketed to ages 4+ it seems on the young side of that to me.  I think my kids would have enjoyed this app at ages 3 or even 2 years old. [Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Doesn’t every little girl dream about being a princess at some point in her childhood? For Regina, that dream is about to come true. The problem is, her dream has been long forgotten in the shadows of other pursuits. How will her life’s choices impact her future?  In Princess Ever After we get to view the life of a commoner-turned-royal as she learns to balance her two worlds.
[Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this book to review. The post contains affiliate links.

Bullying is an issue that everyone seems to be talking about these days.  Sadly, I’ve witnessed bullying from adults just as often as bullying between kids.  The Pact by Mitchell S. Karnes addresses these situations but delves much deeper than the typical teenager angst.  I was interested in participating in this book tour since I work with middle school students on a daily basis.  The characters in the story appear to be like any 8th grade boys in any suburb.  Most of them were from middle class families and shared interests in sports, outdoor activities, and even the game of Warriors and Thieves.  The game reminded me a bit of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game that guys in my high school used to play.  There were some minor bullying issues in the 8th grade hallway, but most of the “hazing” type incidents seemed to go on in the locker room.  [Read more…]

Disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for MassMutual. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.

If you could paint a picture of the American Dream, what would it look like? Perhaps a modest home? A yard for children to enjoy? Owning a business of your own? Whatever represents your idea of the American Dream, that’s what MassMutual wants to help preserve for generations to come. In MassMutual’s State of the American Family Study, many families revealed their concerns and priorities for the future. In the statistics, I saw several of my own hopes and concerns echoed in the Dreams of the masses. I was glad to see that putting family first was a “core value” for most of the respondents in the data collection. Knowing that the American Dream for families is the heart of the matter bolsters my resolve to grasp the American Dream for my own family. [Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

How do you respond when you feel God’s tug at your heart? In Where Courage Calls, Beth answers by following God’s lead to the foothills of western Canada. Leaving behind a life of privilege and convenience is bad enough, but when she’s met with resistance by some of the locals Beth’s life becomes a bit harder.  She misses her supportive family back home.  Still, she perseveres through the trials of establishing a one-room school, developing relationships with the families of Coal Valley, and learning a lot about herself in the meantime.

[Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

If you are looking for a thrilling, suspenseful read that leans more toward scary than gory, you’ve gotta pick up Friend Me. Psychological thrillers tend to frighten me more than horror films because of the mere fact that they can actually happen. And once you read Friend Me, you’ll think about it more than once when you’re clicking away on Facebook or Twitter! [Read more…]

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. This sponsored post contains affiliate links. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Today we went back to school after our unexpected not-so-mini break.  Last week we were out of school for 3 days due to snow.  Add in the weekend and we had a nice 5 days off.  We called it our SnowCation since we pretty much stayed indoors all 5 days.  My son was a little under the weather earlier in the week, so keeping him home without having to miss days at work was a blessing.  We didn’t even venture outdoors until Friday afternoon; even then it was for a quick dinner and then back home.   [Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this CD to review; the opinions shared here are 100% mine.

It’s rare that I get to enjoy a few minutes of “my” music in the car. It seems that the sounds that surround me on a daily basis are those of my kids’ choosing. DVDs, video games, and happy chatter are the only music I hear most days! When I had the opportunity to review the Touching Sky CD by Stephanie Boyd I was more than excited to listen to some grown-up music for a change. [Read more…]

We’ve had 3 consecutive snow days this week.  To truly appreciate this, you need to know that our school system prides itself on going like the USPS — in other words, we never get out of school.  This week, however, we’ve had 3 consecutive snow days due to the 8 inches of snow then sheets of ice that have decorated our roadways.  During this time, I’ve had time to think.  Scary, I know.  And I fear that these revelations will expose how truly mundane my life is, but there it is.  Perhaps you can provide some insight into these very perplexing matters of life.

[Read more…]