Unplug and Play Book Review

Looking for a way to spend family time unplugged?  Check out Unplug and Play by Brad Berger.  The book is filled with 50 games that don’t require electricity.  We have reached the age of modern technology, and we spend most of our free time on the Internet playing games, texting, or on social media.  It is true, we are loosing our connection to family and friends unless it’s on an electrical device.


I was asked to review this book and jumped at the opportunity.  I still play board and card games with my grandchildren, but I thought it would be nice to have access to games other than Candy Land, Trouble, Old Maid etc.  I must admit, I don’t usually play games when I’m hanging out with friends and family.  So I truly thought the book could be beneficial.    


I’ll start with an overview first. The book is filled with 50 games that can be played with various age groups for a variety of events. The book includes games in the matching, memory, puzzles, strategy, bluff, and who can respond the quickest category, which can be played during family time, parties or other social gatherings.  


When I first browsed the book, I found it rather confusing.  Since I was in the comfort of my home I was able to return to it easily and give it a second chance.  I found the content overwhelming.  I didn’t know where to start in deciding why I would purchase the book except for the fact that you didn’t have to be on a computer to play it.  The cover showed various age groups playing together, but the book isn’t broken down by age group.  I had to basically review the entire book to determine which of the 50 games I could use.  I wouldn’t have time for that while shopping.  It would have gone back on the shelf.  I’m just not one to spend my money unless I’m certain of the purchase no matter how big or small.  


I returned to the book a few days later and decided that I would look for games that I could play on Girl’s Night and games that I could play with my grandchildren.   I found 2 games out of 50 that intrigued me.  


Who Am I – Each person lists 20 famous people and you place the names in a hat or bowl, whatever you have handy.  Each person takes turns drawing  a name and than gives a one – three word hint on who the person is.  For example, Vivian Leigh.  The hint would be Scarlett.  If a person gets the correct answer they earn 30 points.  If not, another hint would be Miss Scarlett. They would earn 20 points.  Three hints 10 points.  


Movie Match – In this game you make two columns, Movies and the second column the Actor/Actress.  You match the movie with the actor/actress.  The first person or team who matches all 20 wins.  


My grandchildren are 6 and 2, so playing these games with them was out unless I really manipulated them.  I decided to play both of the games when I hosted Girl’s Night and we had a ball playing them.  Besides the fact that you only need a pen and pencil to play the games, I really can’t find many pros for this book.  I would recommend browsing it if you come across it in a store you may have a different opinion and may have family members that a older and can play the games; however, for me only finding 2 out of 50 games useful, I would not purchase it.  I will play Who Am I and Movie Match again.  I loved them. 


Note:  I was provided a copy of this book for review; however, the opinions are my own.  






Kids Parties: Ladybug Themed Ideas



Planning a Ladybug Party?  Try these adorable ideas that we used for Miss Muffin’s first birthday.   The kids will love them, and you will be the best party planner ever.   We made chicken salad the night before and the yummy ladybug crackers about an hour before the party.  There’s plenty of chicken salad left over from my recipe below to make regular sandwiches for the adults and for you to make sandwich later after an exhausting day. Here’s what you will need:


  • Ritz crackers
  • Grape tomatoes
  • small black olives 
  • chicken salad or cream cheese   

Spread cream cheese or chicken salad on each Ritz cracker.  Place 2 slices of the cherry tomatoes face down to form the wings.  Place a tooth pick through the olive and stick through the chicken salad to form the head.



The bug mobile was a bug hit.  No, the last bug is not a a typo.  It was truly buggy.  We transformed the yellow school bus with ladybug wings from a Halloween costume and eye lashes that were made for Volkswagen. As you can see, the kids couldn’t wait to take a ride.



We had this adorable cake made, and it was a perfect center piece for the food table.  We added ladybug balloons, red and black table clothes and red and black paper products from the dollar store.  Use your imagination, the possibilities are endless.  

You may also like my chicken salad recipe for the crackers:  Creamy Chicken Salad

You Are Not The Father

You are not the father!  You are not the father! I lost count of the number of times that I heard this statement while watching daytime TV today.  I know that it was more times than I heard You are the father.  I know I should have been spending my time more productively, but I just didn’t feel like it.  Do you ever have those days that you just want to do nothing?  I’ve been having quite a few lately.  


I digressed back to the show.  One lady had been on the show 14 times for a DNA test, 14 times.  Now I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be all innocent.  I’m not, and I have problems with people who can’t be real and be truthful about who they.  I’ve had a good time throughout the years, but I do wonder how a woman would not know who her baby’s daddy is.    


I watched these young ladies state they are 150% sure they know who the father is, but the DNA test proved otherwise.  Not only were they told the young man who stood accused was not the father, they endured being called out of their name by the young men.  There were young ladies who slept with brothers, fathers and sons, and some who didn’t know who they slept with because they were in a drunken stupor.  Now the party is over, and reality is hitting them hard.  Rather this show is real or not, incidents like this occur everyday.  


I decided to switch channels and found myself in a court room watching a judge determine if the men standing before them were the fathers of children being displayed on a screen.  There were more DNA tests, but there were slight differences from the other show.  Some of the people in the court room were married couples and the wife strayed.  There were men and women some who had hooked up years ago, but never married and the child was now seeking the truth about paternity.  

Between the two shows, I started thinking about all that these young ladies would have to endure as a single mother and all that they would endure through their parenting journey.  I started thinking about the young people who had gone through a part of their life not knowing the truth about who their father really was because of their mother’s poor judgement.  I also started thinking about how important DNA tests had become in today’s society to determine paternity. Have we made a wrong turn in society to the point that we need a test to determine who our children’s fathers are? 

Are we not teaching our children about birth control or waiting until they are married?  I understand women have found a new awakening, and they don’t have a problem getting their freak on. This includes young ladies who aren’t really responsible enough to take on such a huge responsibility.  I can relate to being a single parent and all the struggles as a young mother.  For this reason, I stressed the importance of protecting herself and not becoming a single parent to my daughter.  As mothers, we want support emotionally, financially, and physically, but if a man is not your husband they can’t be depended on to help provide those things for us.   


One thing that I noticed was although the young ladies had sex with these young men, nobody was calling the young men out of their names.  Some things never change, it’s the women who are looked down on.  I also understand why young men want DNA tests, it seems that young ladies give themselves so freely and they do so without thinking of the repercussions.  There’s enough blame to go around.  As a parent, I didn’t preach absenteeism to my daughter.  The chances of your child remaining a virgin until marriage are slim to none.  If you’re successful in achieving that goal, my hat is off to you.  I did preach about the struggle of being a single parent and the importance of protecting herself from disease and an unplanned pregnancy.  I stressed the importance of educating herself, traveling and achieving her goals before she took on the responsibility of parenting.  Having these conversations with you child is so important.  You can’t just have them in passing, it must be a constant so it can take hold in your child’s mind.  


Are you discussing sex with your child?  How are you approaching it or how do you plan to approach it?    


Note:  Photo courtesy of stockvault.net.  




                                                                          



Oral B’s Disney Timer App Review

Disney Princesses

I was contacted to review the new Oral B Disney Timer App.   If you’re unfamiliar with the App it was designed by Oral B, Disney and Crest to help children brush for 2 minutes, which is the recommended time frame by most dentists.  With a 2 and 5 year old I jumped at the chance.  I thought this App could make brushing interesting.  They may spend more time brushing rather than playing in the water.  As parents I know you can relate.  


The App features Disney and Marvel characters, which is perfect.  Zarriah loves all things Disney and Xavier loves the Marvel characters.  Another feature of the App was that it rewarded the children for brushing for 2 minutes with stars and stickers.  


Our Oral B and crest products arrived, and they were adorable.  I received age appropriate toothbrushes from Oral B (Winnie the Pooh and Cars) and Crest toothpaste featuring Disney Princesses in Bubble Gum and Cars in Fruit Burst.  We’re off to a good start.  

It’s time to download the App and get this party started.  The App is available on Google Play and the App Store.  I checked out the directions at the Oral B Disney Timer site and decided to download the App on both the ipad and my Android phone.  The App is quite large and takes quite a bit of storage, so it is recommended that it be downloaded using Wi-Fi only.  




I was unsuccessful downloading the App to my phone.  It looked like it was installing, but it never downloaded.  First time for this issue.  We moved to the ipad and downloaded the App successfully.  We were able to scan the products as instructed, however the App freezes before the timer starts.  We have yet to use it successfully.  The concept is great, but it needs some work.   Thankfully the kids love the new toothbrushes and toothpaste, so it wasn’t a total disappointment.    
I’m a big fan of Oral B, Crest and Disney, so I’m hoping they will work out the bugs and promote this App again.  It could a vital tool for parents in getting their kids to brush appropriately.  I think the idea is one of the best since sliced bread.  They came up a little short on this endeavor.  It’s like having an empty sandwich.  


Lets Play In The Snow

kids snow activities

Snow in Virginia Beach is a rarity, but occasionally they do get a few inches.  A few inches basically shuts the city down, and the kids get to enjoy a snow day.  This is Zarriah’s first snow, and she is enjoying herself.  She helped her daddy clean off the car, made snow angels and just basically enjoyed that cold, white stuff. 


She has grown so much since she entered this world at 2lbs. 10ozs.  She is thriving and living life.  Miss Personality is quite different from her brother, she’s sassy, has a mind of her own and doesn’t take any mess from anybody.  Time out has been implemented on many occasions.   I’ve always worried about her growth and development since she was a preemie, but I worry no more.  She has developed at an acceptable rate, eats everything and mostly importantly she’s a happy baby.

Xavier and Zarriah stopped for a photo op.  It’s rare that we can get a picture of Zarriah smiling. She hates getting her picture taken and doesn’t have a problem letting it be known.  She has become more receptive of the idea, and we’ve manage to get a few good shots in.  I love this picture of her and her brother in their parkas.  I think this will be one of my favorite pictures of them.  

Although they will have to make up their snow days, the kids had a great time.  Zarriah is helping her dad clean off the car here.  I think more snow ended up on her than on the ground, but they had a great time.  

I live about 5 hours west of my grandchildren, and we got bombarded with snow almost weekly in my area.  I’m thankful that we only received inches rather than feet, but I am so ready for spring. Hopefully, this is the last snow of the season.  How do you spend your snow days?

10 Benefits of Preschool

benefits of preschool



Did you place your child in preschool or do you plan to?  Have you thought about the benefits?  I believe in early childhood education, and as a result Xavier went to preschool for 3 years before he started kindergarten.  It was money well spent, he learned skills that I believe are important for creating a strong foundation for entering kindergarten and beyond.



What he learned:  


  1. Social skills
  2. Field trips with classmates on a school bus
  3. Group participation
  4. Learning to do homework
  5. Making friends outside of family
  6. Playing well with others
  7. Daily naps without a fight or protest 
  8. Eating meals in a cafeteria style setting  
  9. Enhanced athletic skills
  10. Following directions from teachers

He’s 2 in the picture above; he’s 5 in the picture below.  How time flies.  Last year we sent him to the local recreational center for the summer so we could focus on his athletic skills.  He enjoyed his summer.  He took swimming lessons, learned basic football and basketball skills, and made new friends.

preschool activities

Research has shown that early childhood development is essential for our children.  It builds a strong foundation for success in later years and I believe it.  We have seen a payoff for both preschool and time spent at the recreational center for Xavier.  He’s reading, doing times table, writing sentences and excelling in sports.  He received an award for outstanding performance in football, and his team has made it to the championship in basketball this year.  Go Tarheels!  


early childhood development



Xavier benefited so much from preschool, we put Zarriah in as well.  She’s 2 here and loves school so much she looks forward to going every day.  Sometimes she goes on the week-end, lol.  She said her friends are there and she loves her teacher, Miss Sheila.  Look at this face, it’s 8:00 am in the morning.  She’s heading out to enjoy the day at school.  She knows her ABC’s, she can count to 10 and is learning to play well with others.  She understands Time Out and loves to read.  She has learned basic manners, excuse me, thank you and please.  When she’s ready for a nap, she says “Gaga I’m ready for bed.”  Amazing.  


We love the fact that she too will have already grasped going to school and doing homework.  She will understand the group setting concept when she enters kindergarten and her social skills will be developed.  I believe in investing in children, and there are just some things you can’t teach your at home.  Your thoughts on Preschool?

Should Boys Wear Pink?




Should baby boys wear pink?  Supposedly, the color pink was designated for girls and blue designated for boys so people would be able to distinguish a baby boy from a baby girl. This theory is somewhat confusing since it’s appropriate to use “neutral” colors, mint green and yellow for both a boy and girl. If these colors are
appropriate for both, how do we distinguish the gender? We ask if we’re unsure. You know the question, I’m sure you’ve asked it a hundred times too, “Is it a boy or girl”? If asking a simple question will clarify this uncertainty, why can’t we put little boys in pink and little girls in blue and eliminate the stigma? 

Could it be that we have developed a phobia and we’re afraid that if we put little boys in pink we think they will end up Gay? Afterall, pink is seen as quiet, calm and feminine color. On many occasions, I’ve heard mothers of baby boys say, “I’m not putting my baby boy in pink”.  Blue is seen as strong and steadfast, but in today’s society it’s acceptable for a woman to have these characteristics, at least to a certain point. Which leads to more contradiction.

Did you know that prisons use pink to help diffuse violence.  Why aren’t the prison walls painted blue if it is a manly color?  Instead they’re painting the walls pink and encouraging men to get in touch with their feminine side.  A side that we teach little boys from infancy to not have.  We all know that violent criminals need more than a pink wall for rehabilitation, but many believe that the color pink helps with this endeavor. Pink is a soft, non-threatening color. That’s what we want our violent criminals to be, soft and non-threatening.  Shouldn’t we have put them in pink at infancy if this is the goal?

Lets look at this contradiction from another perspective. It’s inappropriate for baby boys to wear pink, why men wearing shades of pastels these days?  Lavender, corral, yellow, and pink. Yes, I said pink! I’ve witnessed it in corporate America with shirts and ties, and polos for golfers. I witnessed one of my doctors the other day wearing a beautiful fuchsia tie. I wonder if an NFL linebacker would strut a fuchsia tie or pink shirt?  Yep, we found Brandon Spikes, who is a linebacker for the New England Patriots, not only in a pink tie and shirt, but in pink from head to toe.  Brandon calls it his lucky suit.    


Here’s the infamous and gorgeous Brad Pitt.  What is he doing, he’s rocking a pink suit.  Who would have thought that one of Hollywood’s finest would be photographed in a pink suit. 



Here’s a picture of my family wearing pink to honor my son-in-law’s 95 year old grandma who recently passed.  His mother requested everyone to wear pink in honor of struggle with breast cancer.  I must say, my son-in-law is wearing pink well and did so with pride.  


So what has changed? I’m crediting the pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness in helping men and society as a whole become more comfortable in wearing pink and other pastel colors.  

We love to know if you would allow your little boy or grandson to wear pink?  Would you be comfortable if your husband or significant other wore pink?  Please leave us a comment and let us know your thoughts.


  

Only Children Syndromes: Fact or Fiction

This is my beautiful daughter who grow up an only child.  When I was raising her, I heard many women say that they would never have one child because they wouldn’t want them growing up alone or only children are spoiled and misbehaved.   My daughter turned out just fine.  She had playmates, she listened and she followed rules.  Now I must admit, I spoiled her rotten and I enjoyed every second of it.  Yes, she had more
than most children because she was an only child, but that’s not my problem.  I told parents who were bold enough to make comments that maybe they should have stopped at one too.  


She find herself a target by other kids at school at times.  When we got to the bottom of the harassment, we found that the child or children where envious of  her clothes, other possessions, and accomplishments.  She was called Little Princess by some of her classmates and if you can believe it by some adults.  Those with siblings seemed to be the ones who were green with envy.  I’m not saying that all children who had siblings were a problem, but I am saying that the children she had issues with had siblings.   Funny, she was suppose to be the one who ended up with problems.   

During that time, I often wondered why people believed that only children would be unhappy, selfish, spoiled, lonely and maladjusted.  The Only Children that I knew did not fall into any of these categories.  I’ve also wondered how America explained the behavior of children who misbehaved and who had siblings.  Most importantly, when our children end up with drug and alcohol problems or behind bars, does it really matter that they were Only Children, the Baby, the Middle Child or the Older Brother or Sister?

I did some research on Only Children and I’m happy to say that this article in  Psychology Today discusses some issues that parents encounter raising only children, however, the majority of only children turn out to be happy, well-adjusted adults.  It has also been proven that children with siblings often have self-esteem problems because they grow up thinking their siblings were favored or they were neglected because mom and dad had to divide their time, attention and money.  Oh lets not forget the middle child syndrome and the arguments and hatred spewed between siblings.  Psychologist have found that it can take a lifetime to work out problems created because children grew up believing they were treated unfairly by their parents or siblings.  In some situations they don’t speak for years if ever again over childhood issues that were never resolved.  

My daughter has stated that there were times she wished she had a sibling, but for the most part she was content with her upbringing.  She had my undivided attention, everything she needed, and the majority of the time she got everything she wanted.  By the age of 21, she had traveled to places that most people won’t see in a their lifetime.  I had no behavior problems with her growing up.  She did not hit, spit or bit other children nor did she disrespect any adults.  She excelled in school and had plenty of cousins and friends to play with.  To this day, she’s very sociable and respectful.    

For mothers who only have 1 child, don’t allow the myths of the “Only Child Syndrome” make you feel guilty about your decision. Personally, I believe people should have as many children as they want and can afford.  None of us know how our children are going to turn out.  Whether we have 1 child or 10, we just do the best that we can raising them.  I survived motherhood one day at a time, and it is still my motto.  


Do you have 1 child?  Did you grow up an only child?  I would love to hear your take on this issue.  Please leave us a comment. 

Brother Sister Love

I love these pictures of Xavier and Zarriah. They demonstrate the love they have for one another.  I can’t say that it’s always been there, but it has grown over the years.  When Zarriah arrived at 31 weeks, and the doctor announced it was a girl my grandson immediately told the doctor to take her back.  He didn’t realize the severity of her early arrival, he just knew that he wanted a brother to play with not a sissy girl. 



We told him that we wanted to keep her, but she was really sick and we needed him to help us get her well.  Amazingly, he rose to the occasion.  Looking back at Zarriah’s fight for her life still brings me to tears.  She was one of the smallest preemies in the NICU, she weighed 2 lbs. 10 ozs., and she was there for 3 months.  I have to say, it was the longest 3 months of my life.  

My granddaughter has an attitude, and she has had it from the day she arrived.  She’s pretty independent and demonstrated her independence in the incubator.  The nurses wanted us to touch her and talk to her as much as possible.  When I tried to touch her or hold her hand she jerked away.  When her brother touched her or held her hand she would grab his finger and hold on.  I was amazed that she could make a distinction between us.  The nurses placed a step stool beside her so Xavier could reach her when he visited.  He made just about every trip to the hospital to visit her and never complained once about the length of time we spent there.  He was 4, and we all know that a 4 year old has little patience.  He spent hours coloring pictures for her.  The nurses placed the pictures around the incubator.  
                                                                                 

They are now 6 and 2.  He’s an excellent big brother, I’m so proud of him.  He loves her up, plays with her and protects when he thinks he has to.  He said he never wants her to go back to the hospital.  

Those 3 months had a major impact on all of us, but it had a major impact on him too.  He thinks about her stay, he built a hospital out of his legos.  I hope their love for each other never dies.  It does my heart good that he is happy she’s here and she’s his baby sister after wanting to return her.  Happy Valentine’s Day Xavier and Zarriah.  

                                                                        

Happy Valentine’s Day



Happy Valentine’s Day to all my followers.  May you and yours find the love you desire and deserve.  Art work courtesy of my little Picasso, Xavier.