Flash Giveaway!!

*Note this is a sponsored post, but all thoughts, opinions, and words are my very own!

Hello everyone!

Two posts in one day ... I know, I'm shocked too!

But this post in a fun one!

I've got a weekend family pass to ChiTag (Chicago Toy and Game Fair).

Not sure what ChiTag is? Basically it's a room full of toys and games. Things you can try out, things you can buy. It's a lot of fun. Still want to learn more? I wrote about our trip there in 2014.

This year will be our 4th year going. Even my 16 year old wants to go - if that doesn't tell you something, I don't know what else could convince you it's fun!

Anyway, I'm going to give away to TWO lucky (and fast) readers - this giveaway is open for 24 hours - a weekend family pass. That means you can take yourself and your whole family to the fair. And you can go on Saturday. Or Sunday. Or both days!

Here are the details. ChiTag is THIS weekend November 21 and 22. Yes, as in just 2 days from now (hence the flash giveaway). It's in Navy Pier's Festival Hall. And it's open 10am to 5pm.

All you have to do is leave a comment. You can tell me a game you and your family likes to play, or you can just say pick me! Or you can leave a smiley face. You are also welcome to comment about what a fabulous person I am! ;-)

I will notify you tomorrow night!

I know this is last minute, but hey, think of it as a fun game! =)

PS If you don't win, follow this link to get a coupon to save you $2 on your tickets

Comments are closed as the contest is over!! Congrats to Nicole for winning tickets! 

E Equals a Great Show

 *As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 
 
So, earlier this month, Netflix came out with a GREAT new show called Project Mc2, which my daughter loves!

Project Mc2 is a show aimed at teens, and is about four girls who are secret agents for NOV8 (innovate). The girls use STEAM to save the prince, and also have fun along the way.

If you aren't familiar, STEAM stands for:

• Science
• Technology
• Engineering
• Art and
• Math

I think this is a really great thing, as we know there are a lack of females who chose to go into STEAM jobs, and often times many girls drop out of STEAM classes during high school and never pick them up again.

As the mother of two daughters, and someone who participates frequently in the twitter #STEMchat (STEM is steam without the art) obviously, I want all of my kids - son and daughters - to understand basic STEAM principles and to keep on learning about them.

So, when we learned about this show, I was pretty excited and really hoping that Miss 13 would enjoy it, and lo and behold, she did! This show had perfect timing, because shortly before we watched it, she told me she wanted to go to Northwestern University and study engineering! And I was right, she really does enjoy the show a lot! In her own words:

The show is an SAAWS (which stands for super awesome and wonderful show). I want to be a culinary chemist like Adrienne Adams. And yes, culinary chemist is a real thing, as Adrienne often has to tell people!  I want them to make more episodes so I can keep following their adventures!

Now, I know she loves the show, because Netflix was kind enough to send us a doll and some experiments that we could do at home, and Miss 13 - who recently had a birthday, requested she get some more Project Mc2 items for her birthday. And grandma was sweet enough to get her her own ADDISON Notebook.
 

To add to the fun of the show, there is also an app where you can solve crime scenes using your reasoning clues.

Thanks Netflix, for giving my daughter some television characters that will push her to keep learning and working and doing her best!

When tv and books collide

 *As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

At the start of the year, I mentioned I had watched Marco Polo (a Netflix original series) to get me through some sleepless nights.

I've been fascinating with thinking about this show, the time period, and other things.

Also, I try to drop Genghis Khan into as many conversations as I can.

This shouldn't be surprising as I also love history. And no, Marco Polo isn't actual history, but the backdrops, the scenery, and all of that, help one picture what it might have been like during Genghis Khan's time, albeit with a Hollywood take.

Watch the show - the land is beautiful. I think that every time I watch it (oh, why yes, I have watched it more than once!). I am enjoying the story line as well and can't wait to see where they take it in season two.

 That aside, I recently came across the book On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey through the Lands of the Nomads and I just knew I had to pick it up and read it.

I really enjoyed this book. Tim Cope is able to weave a tail that intertwines his adventures today with history and tells an amazing tale of man and horse and describes a relationship so wonderful, I sort of want to get a horse.

As I read, I kept picturing some of the wide open spaces from Marco Polo - which was filmed in Italy and a studio but also in Kazakhstan, where part of Cope's journey takes place.

Somehow thinking of the two books together: one a fictionalized version of history, one of how that history is still alive today mixed in with many facts, seemed to come together in my mind beautifully.

This might be because as I watch Marco Polo, I often wonder what is based on history and what is fiction. Now I have a clearer picture in my mind (it's mostly fiction, but I still love it). The scenery of the show helped the journey of the book come alive in my mind.

It's a perfect pairing I think!

Of course, I'm still hungry for more information. I think I'll dive deeper into learning more about Genghis Khan, Marco Polo, and the time period. But for now, I've got a better understanding!

Dragons! Dragons! Everywhere!

*As a reminder, I am part of the  Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as  always, all thoughts and opinions are my own (or my children's ... they are not coached or told what to say!).
 
So, not that long ago, we learned that Netflix was coming out with a new show Dragons: Race to the Edge.

I kid you not, the first day it came out, my 9yo watched every episode! Granted, it was another rainy day around these parts (which we've had a lot of this summer). And he loved it!

Not that long after, we got some goodies in the mail from Netflix to celebrate Dragons: Race to the Edge and I'm pretty sure Mister 9 year old thought he was the luckiest kid in the world!

So, he wanted to share about Dragons with you on this blog, but writing isn't exactly his favorite thing to do. It's not even in his top 10 favorite things to do, so we decided to make this little video for you!

I hope you enjoy it and check out Dragons: Race to the Edge!

P.S. At the end of the video he said "Now  I'm off to the sky" and he flew away and I accidentally cut it off! So pretend it's there ;-)  

Mako Mermaids!

 *As a reminder, I am part of the  Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as  always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Today I'm bringing you a special post from my 12 year old. She recently watched a Netflix original: Mako Mermaids and really enjoyed it!

******

Recently a Netflix Original, Mako Mermaids: an H2O adventure, came out with season 2. In celebration of this news, Netflix sent  me an H2O goody-bag full of everything I need for a fun day of pretending I’m at the beach. The goody-bag including fun items like; Bath And Body Works Pure Paradise, Shea & Vitamin E lotion and body wash, Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Texturizing Sea salt Hair Spray and cream, and Essie, Blue Nail Polish!

The Bath And Body Works Pure Paradise, Shea & Vitamin E lotion and body wash is one of the only Bath and Body Works scents I like, it smells amazing! My sister tries to steal it from me all the time, it’s almost gone, refill please! I love it!

The Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Texturizing Sea salt Hair Spray and cream makes you get the perfect “just got out of the ocean” curls. I use it all the time. (mother's note: I want to steal it and use it myself!) And, like the lotion and body wash, it’s almost gone. . . if only I could find them in a store or something! The Essie, Blue Nail Polish is beautiful! It’s also the perfect color to match my softball team, Kentucky Wildcats! I also love just wearing it, blue is one of my favorite colors and the sparkle amount is perfect!

The new season for Mako Mermaids is awesome! I love it. Except I’m kind of sad because my two favorite characters left, but they were replaced with people who were just as good. They made tons of startling discoveries and I cannot wait for season 3.  I really hope the Mermaid Council doesn’t find out about this season though (mother's note: she says, if you watch the show, you'll know what she means!)

********
Miss M really enjoyed watching the show and had a good time! And bonus: season 3 is already out on Netflix too, so it's a good show to binge watch, especially if you are experiencing all the rain we are! 

This Amazing Planet

 *As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A few weeks ago my husband came to me and said that he had heard Netflix had the show Planet Earth and would I like to watch it with him.

So I did.

And then our son started to watch it with us.

And then one of our daughters.

We were all fascinated by this show. Our planet really is amazing - the animals that exist on land, water, and air. The paths that rivers take. The underground caves to the tallest mountains. Even the things that scare me (huge spiders, deep underwater caves, the tallest points) are beautiful. Just gorgeous.

I won't ever travel the world or see many of these things in person, so sitting on my couch, in the comfort of my house is the closest I will get to it. While I'm sure these things are even more grand in person (I remember going to the Grand Canyon and just being knocked out by how gorgeous it is!), they are still amazing across the television. Baby bears coming out of their den for the first time? Eagles diving down to get food? A hungry lioness looking for food to feed her cubs? Underground caves so large, I think our entire city could fit in it? Deserts, tundras, ice, forests, swamps, all these things that exist on the same planet I exist on. It is. Ah. Maz. Ing. Truly.

Candling one of the eggs

And I love watching every moment of it.



In our house this spring, we got to the witness some of the wonders of our planet. In mid-April, we headed out and picked up a dozen chicken eggs. Not ordinary eggs mind you, these were not eggs to scramble or fry or beat. We brought them home and placed them into our incubator. For 22ish days we monitored the temperature, the humidity, we turned them, we candled them, and we were constantly amazed by them.

There is something about holding an egg in your hand, shining a light on it, and seeing a chicken embryo moving around.

In May we were treated to 4 of these eggs hatching. Three of their births, we were able to witness ourselves, with our own eyes.

Newborn chicken being greeted by another

It was purely coincidence that we watched Planet Earth while getting to watch our own little miracle here at home. But it makes you realize how all at the same time, the world is a massive place and yet so tiny all at once.

I'm so thrilled my children got to watch these chickens as they developed and were born and as they continue to grow for now. I'm also glad that we can flip on Netflix and get to watch so many amazing things about this world that I just can't take them to see. What an education both provide

The chickens are growing!

Happy Early Mother's Day To Me!

my teas from around the world

Please note: this is a sponsored post. I am being compensated for sharing this information with you, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own!

The year is flying by quickly and Mother's Day is quickly approaching - the end of this week!

This year I got an early Mother's Day gift thanks to the folks at UncommonGoods. They approached me and offered to send my a gift in exchange for this post (but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own). So I headed over to the site and looked at some of the gift guides that they have already curated for mothers.

I browsed this list, then I browsed this list. And I hemmed and I hawed. The adorable bowls to hold yarn to knit really called out to me, but at the end of the day, I picked this lovely tea set. Both of my daughters love to drink tea and we often make a cup for ourselves and then a cup for each other. So in the spirit of Mother's Day and to be able to share with 2/3rds of the reason I am a mother, I decided to pick a tea set for UncommonGoods to send me. I was so impress by this company, that ON MY OWN (to clarify, the mug was not a gift to me from UncommonGoods, I purchased it myself), I purchased this healing stone mug in red for myself.

our two cups steeping

My packages arrived just a few days later and we opened it up and whipped up some tea right away! I let the oldest pick the first tea and she went with the Genmaicha from Japan. We were a little worried it would be stronger than what we were used to it, but it was perfect. I put a bit of honey in mine and was in love. Definitely going to the top of my tea list.

 Last night, after freezing for my daughter's softball game, I came home and whipped up another cup of tea for us. This time we went with the Butterfly of Taiwan. I thought it would help warm me up. Plus, the tube conveniently told me it was a good bedtime tea, so I whipped up a cup, and once again: so good. I'm so glad I picked this tea set for us all to enjoy!

My new mug with a perfectly steeped cup of tea

I am in love with this company and so glad I learned about them. Right away when I went visited the UncommonGoods website, I was struck by how much good the company is trying to do. First of all, half of everything they sell is made by hand. That is amazing. And you all know, how much I love things made by hand. There are so many talented artisans working with UncommonGoods to sell their wares. Which I think is just fabulous!

I was also impressed by their responsibility to the environment. Many products are made from recycled materials. Nothing they sell has harmed animals (which is the thing that excited the vegetarian and deep animal lover in our house the most!).

And then, when you check-out, you get to give a dollar to one of the four organizations that UncommonGoods supports. But, no, you don't give a dollar, the company gives a dollar. Nothing is added to your total. When I purchased my mug, I picked to donate to Women For Women International. You can also donate to RAINN, American Forests, and City Harvest.

my new mug with my new tea. They taste better together!

So, I bought a mug and was able to support an artisan here in the states and support Women for Women International and felt pretty good about myself. Plus, I got a beautiful mug that I'm positive makes my tea taste even better!

It's possible I'm so in love with UncommonGoods that I might want to work for them now myself. Well as I don't live in New York, I can't work there, but I can pretend that I do by visiting their blog and learn about the people who do work for them. Or take some virtual studio tours with some of the artisans who sell to them. And the whole time dream of having my own lovely studio to knit and sew and craft in (because if I'm going to dream, I should dream big, right?).

Anyway, if it seems like Mother's Day is sneaking up on you, head on over to UncommonGoods and browse this gift guide or this gift guide. I'm sure you will find some pretty beautiful things for the mother in your life! As long as you buy by Thursday, May 10, you can get it by Mother's Day!

Momma Don't You Worry

Momma Don't You Worry by Louie Lawent, is a cute, quick e-book for young children (ages 5-7).  It's a catchy poem with some cute illustrations that I think kids and parents will both like!


In Momma Don't You Worry, a young boy, who feels he is all grown up at the ripe, old age of 6, doesn't understand why he must stay by his mom. So he tells his mother not to worry about him so very much. Of course, as children are prone to do, he wanders away to look at something else and ends up lost.

As a mother of three, I remember this phase very well. Oh, who am I kidding. I still have a 9 year old who doesn't always stay by me even when he should. But it's hard to explain to kids why they are still little kids when they feel so grown up inside.

It's a quick read, and one I think a child could memorize easily and be able to "read" along with as well. (Side note: memorizing books and reading along with them is actually a great step towards reading, which many kids at the 5/6 mark are working on, so this book serves a double bonus!)

I would have loved to have read this book to my kids at that age, and still read it to my 9 year old now so that maybe (ahem, in parking lots) he'll still hold my hand even though he thinks he much too grown up to do so! ;-)

Note: Mr. Lawent approached me and asked me if I would be interested in doing a review for him. I said yes and was given an electronic copy of the book to look over, but as always, all opinions and thoughts are my own!

What we're watching

 *As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Stream Team. I am being compensated for sharing about Netflix with you. However, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own!

So March has been a kind of crazy month around here.

I thought for fun, I'd let you know what everyone around these parts is watching on Netflix!

My husband: He's been going through all the X-Files episodes. He's never watched it and always wanted to. He often uses time during his lunch hour to watch a bit of netflix (here's where I insert my thank goodness he can stream it on his phone at work, while we stream something different here!). Because, unlike me, he doesn't sit down and marathon watch the episodes, it's taking him some time. But hopefully he can finish before the rumored new short season hits the tv this summer!

My 15 year old: She is quite into anime these days. Well, anime and scary movies. So her list consists of as many Saw movies she can get her hands on, Night of the Living Dead, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Certainly, these are not movies and shows that are up my alley, but she enjoys them. And so do her friends. Sometimes my husband will sit and watch some of the older scary movies with her, but generally I opt out of this.

My 12 year old: She is currently watching the new season of Mako Mermaids on Netflix. She also watched the original movie Annie! This is partially inspired by going to the 15 year old's musical at school, which was Annie. She kind of likes the musical better because it was live - and can you beat live? The movie is pretty good as well. She likes that it has more detail. But lookout, because coming soon will her her very own review of Mako Mermaids! So I won't say anything else about that for now!

The 9 year old: He's been watching Pokemon. Again. I think he's watched this series several times over now. But he loves Pokemon, so we roll with it! Plus, when his friends come over they play their own live-action Pokemon and it is very entertaining for this mom to watch! Plus, I figure if a few episodes of Pokemon leads to several boys running around my yard, having a good time, then that's worth it. Of course, it only recently became warm enough to actually run around outside, but I'm trying to stay positive and focus on the nice weather days and not the still cold and snowy and rainy and icy days.

As for me, well, as promised I watched all of House of Cards. In one weekend. I know, it's crazy, but I did it! And it was so worth it. No spoilers - because that would be mean, but when I tell you the ending left my jaw on the floor, I'm not exaggerating. I have no idea where they will take the show next, but believe it will be as good as ever. Of course, I'll be waiting a long time to see. I had some guesses at the start of the season, but during the course of the season, all my guesses were proven wrong. So I'm not going to try to guess anymore!

I also watched all of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Hi. Lar. Ious. That's all I can say. We had had a long stressful week around here, I had not spent much time at home, then had bad news. My sister was over and so we stayed up much, much too late and watched the show. It was exactly the comic relief that I needed! So, so incredibly funny. And referencing The Baby-Sitter's Club? How can you go wrong! It's a great show if you need a laugh. I can't wait to see how they continue this show as well. It's fabulous.

After getting through all of that (why yes, yes I did watch a lot of Netflix this month. This month was different in that I had time in hospital waiting rooms, and sleepless nights of worry, and many days where I was unable to leave the house for a variety of reasons, which turns out to be very good times to knit and watch Netflix!).

Anyway, after all of that I started to watch The West Wing. I've never watched it before, and I figured it would be a good opposite to House of Cards - or so friends told me. So I've been slowly working my way through that show and I swear I'm in love with President Bartlet. Not because of the politics, which are interesting, but just because of the character overall. Sam, Josh, C.J., Donna, Charlie, all the cast - so well cast and so well played. The show has made me cry several times, but it makes me laugh more.

Also, I've decided that I want to work in the West Wing. But maybe not the real one, just the one on set. Or maybe the real one, just for a week. Wouldn't that be something? I bet it looks nothing like the show and yet, a lot like the show all at once.

As an aside, given the craziness that March has been, can I just say, how much I love Netflix? For real. I do. This month I slept in a hospital, in a respite care center, and then had sleepless nights at home. And at all three locations I could just take a break from it all and turn on Netflix. It's a good distraction that is available on my phone, my computer, my television, and my tablet. There are times where for whatever reason it means you have a lot of time to sit and need to be distracted. And Netflix is great for that. I leaned heavily on it during chemo, during some of my sickest moments after all that, and now as I help take care of people who need the help. I don't mean to sound all gushy, but there are just times where focusing on a book isn't going to happen, where silence isn't welcomed, and being able to fire up Netflix and watch some new and old favorite shows is exactly what this woman needs!

Knit Gifts

I love nothing more than to knit people gifts, so when I was given a chance to review More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson, I jumped at the chance!

The book has been out for awhile, but I hadn't yet had a chance to look it over. I've read Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (also by Hoverson) and knit from it, so I figured it was a good chance I'd like the More book as well, and I was right!

 I loved so many of the projects in this book that I really think I could make most of them. Of course, I think they'd make great gifts or they'd just be nice to keep around this house as well! The projects range from knitting for baby, to children, to adults, to things to put around your house.

The projects are arranged by how much time they will take to make. The first section is less-than-2-hour gifts. Then the 2-to-4-hour gifts. Each section goes up by two hours until the last section, which is more-than-8-hour gifts.

I skimmed through the patterns and found them to be well written with clear directions. Just to be sure though, I decided to whip up one of the smaller projects - a lovely book mark.

I received this green yarn in a swap years ago, but it's just this little bit and I never knew what to make with it. When I saw the linen bookmark in the book, I just knew that my little hank of green yarn had been waiting for this pattern.

The bookmark was easy to make, the directions were simple and clear. And it took me about an hour to knit it. Since it came from the less-than-2-hours section, this was perfect. As I was snapping pictures, my daughter came up and was admiring it, and so in the spirit of the book, I decided to gift her the bookmark!  
 
The pictures that accompany the project directions not only show you what you are making, but are simply gorgeous.

At the end of the book, Hoverson includes some creative ways to wrap your gifts. I thought this was a fun addition to the book and one way it stands apart from most knitting books I've read.

I think this book would be a welcome addition to any knitter's library. I can definitely see myself making many of the patterns in this book.

*Note: I was given access to an e-copy of this book via NetGalley
with the expectation that I would review the book. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own!

House of Cards

*As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Stream Team. I am being compensated for sharing about Netflix with you. However, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own!


Do you know what today is? Today is February 27.

I have been counting down to this day.

Today, well, early this am, the next season of Netflix's original show House of Cards comes out.

And so, I will attempt to watch as many episodes as possible to get through them all.

I LOVE binge watching things. And I especially love binge watching House of Cards!

I watched the first season when it came out, in a few weeks.

Last year, I watched the second season in a week. I considered it my Valentine's Day gift to myself!

This year, I will attempt to do the same thing.

Here's how I've prepared:

• I've already warned my family that momma will be a bit preoccupied until all episodes have been watched.
• I've got drinks lined up: water, tea, and Izze.
• I've got a secret stash of chocolate. And a box of Girl Scout Cookies just for me. 
• I've also got chips, veggies, hummus, and other yummy snacks on hand as well! 
• I've planned simple dinners that will allow me more watching time. 
• The tablet and computer will be charged since I will stream it through one of those devices.
• My headphones have become unlost (related: I always lose them! Why are they so easy to lose?) so that if I can watch if someone else wants to be in the same room and not hear it. NOTE: Not the children though. This isn't a show I'd watch with my children in the room ... I mean the husband or the granny!
• I've got two knitting projects to keep my hands busy as I watch. 
• I rewatched the last episode of season 2 last night to remind myself of what exactly was going on
• I've already noted who of my friends will be watching as well so we can discuss, discuss, and gasp in awe at what happens together.

Speaking of friends, I have a "date" with a friend in New Jersey. We're going to video chat and watch the first episode together! I'm so excited to do this. No one else in my house watches this show so it will be fun to have someone to watch it with. It'd be better if she were coming over in person, but I'll take the video chat.

I'm just so excited to see what Frank and Claire have in store for us!

Now pardon me while I run ... I'm sure I can squeeze in one more episode right now!

World War I Quilts

*Note: I received this book through Net Galley, with the expectation that I would review it. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own! 

In World War I Quilts, Sue Reich takes us on a journey of the quilts of the rather short time period.

The book is a mix of information, gorgeous pictures, and newspaper stories from the time of the Great War.

The book opens by telling us what the quilt trends were going into the war: red work, tobacco flannel, crazy quilts, etc. These were the quilts women and med were making in America at the time.

But then comes The Great War and the Spanish Flu, and things take a different course.

When we think of women making things during the war, we often picture them knitting socks or rolling bandages. Which many did. But there was also a great deal of quilt making going on.

Quilts were made and auctioned to earn money to get supplies, send care packages, help support the local Red Cross. Quilts were made and sent to soldiers when they could be. Quilts were a way to be creative and to help out.

The quilts pictured in World War I quilts are gorgeous. These quilts that were handmade, hand embroidered, machine pieced, machine stitched. There were crazy quilts, red work quilts, many quilts with the Red Cross symbol. Women were busy stitching their quilts together ... stitch by stitch.

And not just women. Men participated, boys participated, girls participated. The whole country came together to do what they could to support the troops on the battlefront.

Many quilts were made by groups and quilted during quilting bees.  Though, the Spanish Flu paused this as people were encouraged to not be in groups. The Spanish Flu also had some devastating consequences: many quilts of the time were burned in an effort to stop the spread of the flu further. I was unaware of quilts (and clothing and other various pieces of cloth) being burned and I kind of want to weep about how many lovingly-made quilts were lost this way.

After the war, quilts continued to be made. These were known as Poppy Quilts (yes, like the poppies we wear for Memorial Day). Poppies became an important motif in many quilts, and some were auctioned off to support local VFW's.

In addition to the information presented in the book, there were many photographs of some gorgeous quilts. I think I could flip through and just look at the pictures many times and still never tire of them. A couple of them, I'd love to print out for my own creative inspiration wall as well!

I also thought the newspaper snippets were so interesting as well and added an extra something to the book. They gave me a good understanding of just how important these quilts were to so many, how much good they brought to people, and allowed me to see how whole communities rallied around these quilts. I also appreciate any documents from the time period when reading historical books!

I really enjoyed reading this book and learned a few things I had been unaware of previously. Now that I'm through it, my fingers are itching to start a redwork patriotic themed quilt. Naturally, I'll have to finish the million and one other projects I've got started!

If you'd like to see a couple of the quilts in this book, head on over to Reich's website!

Leaving Before The Rains Come

As I mentioned in my January round-up post, I have been doing quite a bit of reading lately! So I thought today, I would leave a review of something I've read recently! 

*Please note, I was given an electronic copy of this book for free with the expectation that I would review it. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own!

Alexandra Fuller's new book, Leaving Before the Rains Come, weaves stories of her childhood in Africa amongst the story of her marriage.

Fuller's childhood was no stranger to adversity. Growing up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) she saw several wars take place, lost siblings, watched her mother spiral into depression, and relied on her older sister Vanessa to help care for her.

Life was chaotic, accidents happened, pain was felt, and yet, the family kept going - with a fair amount of alcohol to get them through.

As Fuller grew she longed for more, and in her early twenties, met Charlie. Charlie. A man from America. A man who seemed stable. Who didn't drink. Who understood more than most visitors, the area Fuller grew up in. And she was in love.

After a brief courtship, they two were married. And from there, Fuller pretty much starts to drown. She can't get work. She can't manage the help they have hired. Adulthood is nothing like she had imagined it. And despite knowing her parents relationship was not perfect, there was a charm in how they had stuck together all these years and were in love through it all.

After the birth of their first child, Charlie and Alexandra pack up and move to America. A place that was wonderful and crazy, and fast-paced, and not what she expected. As she learns to live in this country, where as a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl most took for granted she was born and raised here until she talked, she has to juggle the demands of a growing family, and maintaining a marriage while knowing that something is missing.

As she tells the tale of her marriage, she intertwines stories from her childhood, and often stories that involve her father. Charlie, a man she picked in part because he was so opposite of her family, had no chance to live up to the standards her father had set.

As the marriage is spiraling, the financial crisis hits. Money is tight. Alexandra doesn't understand money and mortgages and second mortgages and money is yet another strain on her.

This book is often heartbreaking to read. The ending is clear from the beginning, despite pulling for the marriage to succeed, for money to magically fall from the sky. But this is a work of non-fiction, not a happily-ever-after fiction story. And while a few miracles are thrown into the mix, none that can save a drowning marriage.

I love Fuller's writing. I enjoyed reading her views on America, and our need to constantly be busy and our concept of time.

The story is not an uplifting one, though, and left me feeling sad. But I suppose this is real life - there are ups and downs, and it is nice to read about a life that isn't sugar-coated. Fuller's honesty and rawness radiated through the pages. Despite having not been in her shoes, I felt her story to the core.

Friends and Life

*As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

When January rolled around, I knew how I would be spending all my free time this month (and some time that maybe wasn't so free).

It was going to be on my computer, watching Friends on Netflix!

When the show originally aired, I watched (and not every week) the last 2.5 seasons.

When it came to Netflix I sat down and started it. And laughed. Then laughed some more. And did some laughing. I was hooked!

I looked at my husband, who was passing through the room, and asked "Why didn't I watch this when it was on tv?" and he responded "Um, you were a bit younger than their target audience!"

My date and I sophomore homecoming

Friends first aired in September of 1994. Season one aired through May of 1995

In September of 1994, I was at the start of my sophomore year of high school.

I had a small group of friends. But we didn't hang out in a coffee shop, we hung out at the lunch table.

I was in mostly honors classes and I got good grades. I studied for hours. Good grades did not come easily to me at all - when I say I studied for hours, I literally studied for hours. I worked part-time in the fall and summer for my parents at their business.

I was a cheerleader. Aside from my small group of friends, I didn't really talk that much to other people. Despite being a cheerleader, I was socially awkward and introverted. I over-compensated by laughing too loud and being extra happy. Inside I was often feeling sick to my stomach. I'm positive now, had we known about it, I would have been diagnosed with social anxiety.
 
I had already had my first boyfriend. I hadn't yet had a first kiss. I went to homecoming that year with a friend. I wished he was more than a friend. We are still friends.

I was in a child development class, which only reinforced me knowing I wanted to be a teacher some day.

Later that year I started driver's ed, got a driver's license, a second job (in addition to helping my parents at their business). I tried out for cheerleading again and didn't make the squad. I thought my life was over and I cried a lot about this. I learned to move on. I started volunteering a lot.

I had my first friend break-up. I cried a lot about that and she was super casual about it, still talking to me occasionally but not hanging out with me. I was, in her words, just not mature enough for her.

On my 16th birthday

Somewhere in the midst of this I got a second boyfriend. And my first kiss. I started laughing. He thought I was laughing because he was a bad kisser. I was laughing because the whole kissing thing was so foreign to me I didn't know what else to do. We broke up when he said I could have sex with him, or he would continue to date me and screw someone else (his words, not mine).

That was my sophomore year of high school. There wasn't much in Friends at the time that pertained to me.


Fast forward 10 years. When season 10 of Friends aired ... from September 2003 to May 2004.

I was 24 years old. I was a recent college graduate and I was a stay-at-home-mom. My oldest was 4 years old. My second child was 1. My third was yet to make an appearance.

I was going on 5 years of marriage. We were living in a house - it was the first house we bought.

I loved being home with the kids, but I felt lonely. Many of my friends were not yet married or parents. I was very active on internet message boards to fill that void.

I had just learned to knit and quickly realized that I loved it! I was a voracious reader. We didn't have cable. I watched a lot of PBS (and not just the kids shows for the girls!)

We took our first vacation to Disney World.

As the season (and the show itself) neared the end, we had decided to move. We were fixing up the house to get it sale-ready. I was already packing things.

My husband was starting a side business. I was trying to help him. We learned quickly there wasn't much I could do to help him.

I wasn't a very good cook. I wasn't very good at cleaning. I was good at baking. I like doing crafts with the girls.

My youngest (at the time) was in PT, OT, and speech several times a week. We were told she had low-function autism and we needed to save up for long term care as she would never be able to live unassisted.

[Side note: she was extremely misdiagnosed and if you met her today you'd never know she has this history. Something was there. And the PT, OT, speech helped her tremendously, but she was still not autistic]

Naturally, I didn't watch Friends when it was new, but was drawn to it as the show continued. I have a lot of memories of the few seasons I watched it when it first aired, but I have to tell you, it was so fun to marathon watching it this month!

I'm 35 years old. I've got three kids: 15, 12, and 9.

Do you know what that means? My oldest is in a similar spot that I was when the show aired for the first time.

Isn't that crazy? Well, it is to me!

She's 15. 20 years have passed since Friends first aired. 10 years have passed since it ended.

Time keeps going and passing.

But it's fun to get some time (or, in the case of my Friends marathon a lot of time) to sit and relax in front of great tv show. And even more fun when it makes you sit back and reminisce about where you've been!

What I'm Streaming December

*As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Happy New Year's Eve!

If you are going out tonight because you have fantastic plans, enjoy.

As for me and my family, we'll be home, lounging in pajamas and relaxing! Not that I'd mind a night out, but I also am very okay with just hanging out at home!

I'm sure some of our night will be spent watching some Netflix. I totally
want to see the King Julien countdown - because my son already watched every episode of King Julien! Yes, it just came out, but he LOVED it! He told me he's going to let me make a video of him telling the world why he likes it and I can share it here. We haven't done it yet, but I do plan to!

As for me, I had some pretty sleepless nights a few weeks ago thanks to the steroids I was on. I was warned that they would make me not want to sleep and oh boy did they ever! So I spent my nights streaming Marco Polo.

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it and do hope a season 2 comes out.

The story had me hooked. Though, there is probably hardly any historical accuracy in the show, that's not what I was watching it for so I was okay with it. I liked many of the characters in the show too - not limited to Polo's character.

I will, however, never say Genghis Khan the same again (I'll pronounce the first G as a J, like they did on the show because that's how I roll). But I fell in love with the scenery for sure. I'd like to go ride horses around in those hills - it was lovely.

In honor of watching the show, when the husband and I sat down recently to play some Civilization V, I selected the Mongols as my team, and so far it's working out for me. The husband and I are kicking butt in the game! LOL! 

Of course, now that I've watched it all, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of every episode of Friends in January and then the big one in February: House of Cards. Is there a way I can just get a copy of House of Cards now? I promise I won't tell anyone a single spoiler!

In addition to what I've been watching, I've also done a fair bit of reading. I have officially started the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge. Someone sat down and wrote down all the books referenced in the show - which I love the show and saw so many people watching it since it came to Netflix and it inspired me to start reading. I had read 38 books prior to even learning about the challenge, but in December managed to read 2 more. I'm hoping to get another 30 done by the end of 2015, which I know means 10 years to complete the list, but I'm okay with that!

I'm also bringing others into my madness and I started a group for other people who wanted to maybe do the challenge, or some of it, or just want to talk books! We'll see how it goes this year.

With that said, I want to say Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that your 2014 ends very well and that your 2015 is a good year!

We LOVE Mario Brothers

*As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

No, seriously, my family and I LOVE all things Mario and Luigi.

We have quite a few of their Wii games, and their DS games, I've bought the Original Mario (and the second one and the third) on the Wii store so we could play those too.

I have my own DS with my own Mario games. Because I think out of everyone in this house, I love Mario the most of all.

my game boy!

I still have the original Nintendo Game Boy with the Mario game. It still works and every once in a while, I pull it out to play!



When I was growing up, I played it at my cousin's house. Him and I would play as long as we were allowed to! When we got stuck, we would call my uncle over to help. Because of course, this was back in the day when you couldn't restart at the check-point, or get 5 more lives when you ran out. When you got to the end and ran out of lives, game over!

I even used to watch the Super Mario Bros Super Show on TV.

Yep, all things Mario for me.

Mario gets two thumbs up!

A few years ago, we saw that the Super Mario Bros Show was on Netflix and we watched it. Over and over. The kids loved it, but especially my son! He was younger then and doesn't remember! So, I flipped it on again and guess what? He still loves it!

It's fun watching Mario and Luigi help Princess Toadstool and Toad! Okay, the show can be a bit cheesy at times, but you know what, it beats watching shows with themes that are above my son's head. And it's never a bad thing to watch friends work together to solve problems - even in cartoon form!

Of course this fits in nicely, because lately (thanks to early winter!) a few times a week, I have 3-5 kids in my basement, playing Mario Brothers on the Wii together. I hear them playing and having a good time. "Bubble over to me!" "I need a block" "Who can get that star?"

They too, are a group of friends who are working together to beat King Koopa! It's awesome and they have fun. 

While I don't mind them playing Mario or watching Mario on Netflix, I also don't want that to be all they do. So we sat down and did some Mario art work.

our first Lego picture!

Over the summer, a friend posted on-line about using cross-stitch patterns to make pictures with Legos - each brick could be one square of the pattern, and I thought that was something my kids might like, but of course, it had to be the right "picture."

So I found some Mario cross-stitch patterns and we built this mushroom. It was so much fun. We dug through all the Legos and found the colors we needed and went to town. It turned out so nice, and it wasn't too hard to pull off. The kids think that it was great - despite being unsure at first if this was going to be a good thing.

We have some more patterns and I know they want to try to make some other pictures!

It's nice when you can have a favorite game, fun tv show, and a great craft project come together. Especially when it comes to Mario. 

ChiTag

 **Note: I was provided the tickets to ChiTAG. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own!

On Saturday, the family and I woke up early and headed into Chicago to go to ChiTAG (Chicago Toy and Game Fair).

This is our 3rd or 4th year going ... I can't keep track!

Once again we loved it!

While we were there, the boy and I hung out together and my husband was off with the girls (as you'll see from the pictures!) This works better because the girls are more into sitting and playing and the boy is still about walking around and seeing everything! 

The Girls playing Donkey

We came home with two games: One called Donkey - which is a fun twist on Spoons. The other is called Pompeii.

We played and tested out a lot of toys - Legos, hex bugs, go karts.

The boy and I got sniffed by Zoomer Dino.

I took part in a puzzle competition (that I apparently did not win, insert sad face here).

I got to see a lot of friends from the area.

And the kids had a great time.

I seriously love ChiTag and I love to see all the great games that are out there.

We came home and decided that we haven't actually been playing our games enough lately, so we're going to try to sit down every Friday, after dinner but before Shark Tank, and try to play a game or two. I will report back how this goes and try to share some of our more favorite games to play!

It's nice that the kids are growing up now - it opens up a lot more games that we can all play together.