New Year New Memories (discount included)

   It's a new year almost (few hours left to go).  What are your plans?  Do you start in January to save for a winter vacation?  Do you plan activities and trips within a few months out?  Well it is never to early to look into how to make memories with your family.  Start planning your family fun with a trip to see the Harlem Globetrotters!

  With a 14 day advance purchase you can save 25% with code FUNFAM!  Do you know what that means? Plan a day out with your family! Save money. Make memories.  Enjoy your time!

  I have not been to a show in years and am looking forward to taking my youngest kids to their first game.  I know they will keep their eyes glued as they watch players do their dribble tricks, spin a ball on their finger and harass those refs!

  When is the last time you saw the Globetrotters?  Will this be the first time you have seen them?  Do you go every year?

   Either way let a trip to this event be included in your memories for the 2020 year!  Click here to save NOW!

    As always only sharing my opinions and comments. Said comments and opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

52 Uncommon Family Adventures and a giveaway

    Where is adventure?

   Once you have kids keeping them happy and entertained is part of life.  At least until they get older and think your not cool anymore or find ways to entertain their selves.

  I can't keep mine entertained everyday.  Some days I run out of time or fall short of what I really wanted to achieve for the day.  52 Uncommon Family Adventures by Randy Southern makes my idea planning so much easier.

   This book has exactly 52 adventures to tackle or complete with your family.  The adventures already planned and that's half the battle.

 In the book each adventure has a key.  You will know the time frame, cost, location and love language associated.  Love language is different for everyone and the sooner you know what works for your family and close friends the easier all adventures will be to pull off.

  The adventures range from easy such as writing and passing out thank you cards to more intricate ones like the adventure called Something Old.  In Something Old the family tries to recreate an old photo to include: hair and clothes style!

  One of the benefits of this book is also the ease of reading it. 

My daughter enjoyed looking up adventures and planning for our future entertainment!


  We have enjoyed hide and seek so far

as well as pillow fighting!

Each planned adventure includes instructions on how to get ready, the directions specific to that adventure, a time to engage more with specific question and answers providing more thought into the adventure, a devotions section pertaining to a bible story and relatable adventure and lastly language of the day aiming specifically for someone who could appreciate the end result of the adventure more.

Now that you know the ins and outs of this book enter the giveaway here!  Of course your super excited about getting busy with your family right away so pick up your copy here!

I am grateful and thankful to have been given this book for review purposes.  Its a great addition to my home library and its a book we will be able to pick up years from now and continue to appreciate it.  All opinions and comments are based solely on my own experiences.

Family Fun (Plants)

  I don't know if spring is only here because the calendar said so or not.  By the way the weather is acting it's definitely not a confirmation.  I heard today on the new Punxsutawney is wanted.

  Apparently people are fed up with the lies!   With a few more days of a threat of snow this weekend I have decided to start pretending spring was here with a little bit of planting.

  If spring won't come to us we will do it our ourselves.

Some of my perennials are coming up so I know winter is almost over.  This pot has some Hostas.

 I will clean it out after the snow is gone.  Until then I will keep the debris for extra warmth.

  We planted a variety of flowers.

So now we will sit and watch them grow! 

Next we will maybe plant some veggies!  I did plant some parsley for the butterflies and found some milkweed I'll need to plant as well.

  Have you started planting flowers?  Do you plant flowers or buy them. I will buy a few plants as I can't grow everything and I like all the colors.

Family Fun (free day)

  Family fun can happen anywhere.  It just has to be 1) an activity or event be done with 2) family.

  Even a day out can be all about the family.  I checked out and planned my day for the kids today.  Free is always a nice thing so I definitely utilized that as my entertainment today!

  Today we started out with our favorite once a month activity!

The kids workshop at Homedepot!  The project was a periscope.  I will admit I had to remove a few nails with this project.  Precise nailing was most important today.

  After that we made our way to Target!  Did you know they were celebrating Dr. Suess at some locations?  Lucky for us, our location was one of them.

The kids received some fun activity sheets, sat in some very comfy chairs and heard the story Green Eggs and Ham.

 After this a small walk to celebrate 30 years was our next destination.

Happy Birthday AuntieAnnes! We enjoyed celebrating with you!

I not going to ask what the favorite activity of the day was because all I want to hear is spending time together and that may or may not be the answer.  

Either way everyone got out of the house, created, ate and even got a dose of enrichment, and imagination from the Dr.  I would say it was a good day.  Bring on Sunday because it is the day of rest and relax.

Motivation Monday

  A little motivation for your week is a Monday off!

    We didn't get to a service day event but, if you did I would love to hear about it.

  Each year I set goals to volunteer.  I bring my family.  I go by myself too but, all that matters is that it gets done.

  Do you volunteer?  Alone with family a group or even your church?

  I have volunteered with organization's and for organizations and plan to continue that this year.

  I will volunteer or donate to local organizations with my family, with the kids and by myself.

Areas I plan on volunteering with in my local area are:
1. Red Cross
2. Ronald McDonald House
3. Edmarc
4. ASPCA
5. Roc Solid
6. Foodbank
7. Meals on Wheels
8. Salvation Army
9. Soup kitchen
10. Military


  Volunteering doesn't always include monetary contributions.  It also includes donations. 

 You can donate clothes, books and household items.

  You can collect hats, scarves, socks and coats!

  Assembling boxes for the military or operation shoebox.

  However don't limit yourself to staying inside the box.  Random acts of kindness are just as good.  Paying for someones coffee!  Cookies to your fire department! Or even cards to nursing home residents!

  My goal in the area of volunteering is to do something every month.

Week 2 Recap

  The snow is finally gone and life got back to a routine by Thursday.  It was long overdue.  It's not just about people not knowing how to drive in weather they are not familiar with, it's also about roads that were not safe to travel on .

  I have made my water quota everyday which again is huge because I never drink water.  I could go all day without drinking it.  So to drink my daily requirements daily is a triumph.

  I  made it to the gym the last few days of the week and took classes amongst my normal routine. I took 3 classes and 2 of them were new to me!   Fight and Mixxedfit.  Each class is a one hour long intense get your body moving class.

We dined out at Chick Fil A for a kids New Years Karoke event!

I even saw that my son is capable of sewing as he demonstrated at a sewing event at our local library where they made travel tic tack toe games.

Still slowly finishing my book.  It's not a bad book I just haven't found time to charge through it.  

I finished my week off with a movie!!! Stay tune of what I saw this week!   

How did your week go?  The second week into the year are you still going strong?

A Trip to Virginia MOCA

  MOCA stands for Museum Of Contemporary Art!  Contemporary is defined is art that is the product and reflection of the culture in which we live.


  My daughter and I visited the Virginia Moca last weekend on a free weekend!  What a great way to introduce us to an art museum we had never been to and to a different style of art my daughter has never seen. 

My favorite thing about an art museum is not the creativity behind it although that is spectacular but, that it changes.  You can always go and see something new.

This art featured was so amazing to look at.  I had to refrain from touching it because it was so unbelievable.  Cardboard was constructed into shapes and positions.

Cardboard!!!! These were just the start.  These were made by art students in high school.  This wasn't even the main event!

Right this way!!

My daughter told me to go first.   I mean who knows what's beyond that black hole.

Magic! Art is magic!  

The Monitorium exhibit was created by artist, puppeteer and more Wayne White.  Here he focused on the history of the Battle of Hampton Roads with the Ironclad ships.  In this exhibit you see sailors, ship related objects and there is even some fun hands on experiences.  You can read more about the artist here.

Next stop we got to see all things "don't touch"!

The objects in the next room were made up of wires or glass but we're on stands or tables.  So they were very tempting. If she saw something, she got excited and immediately wanted to point it out.

I think her favorite after all that we saw was the art lab area.  This area encouraged people both young and old to leave your art.  You know after seeing everything you have become inspired! 

First stop was a picture on a piece of paper stuck on to the wall.

Next stop was cardboard!!! Behold the community board of artistic creativity!

I would say we stayed at least an hour and a half or so.  She had fun looking at all the different pieces of art and creating her own.

It was definitely a great way to spend an afternoon.  We had time together. We experienced a new place and some new art together! I'm glad she is open to visiting different places.  

Motivation Monday

  We all need a little motivation on Monday!  Regardless of that cup of coffee.

That long weekend!

Or if the kids actually slept in!

Take some time for you! 

Workout!

Paint your nails!

Grab a treat!

Catch a movie!

Or just take a walk!

Just do something for yourself.  It doesn't have to cost money it just needs to give you a break to unwind.  No thinking necessary.  You have 6 more days to do something.  Make it happen and then sit back and appreciate.

Friday Family

 

  With snow and cold uncomfortable temperatures outside we are stuck inside a little more then we care to be.  So we do other things instead.  Board games it is.

  I have collected many board games over the years.  Some games I have bought over the years and others are my childhood games.  Either way playing them with my kids makes for some good entertainment and we are warm.

  Playing games with 2 children is a learning lesson.  You experience a variety of a variety of emotions, behaviors and if you watch closely you even catch them cheating!  I know right? Cheating! Now I have noticed cheating for kids is different.  Sometimes its obvious like switching cards or changing the dice but, other times are pure accidentally but coincidentally beneficial. Sometimes they are like magicians with a slight of hand trick.  I thought you were on the blue spot but some how your on the red now.

 This particular day Chutes and Ladders by Milton Bradley was the game of choice.  This game is for 2-4 players and suggested for ages 3 and up.

  You get to pick a boy or girl as your piece which is fun compared to only picking a specific color.

The spinner is fun to play with for advancing your space compare to dice too.

The object of the game is to start at 1 and climb your way to 100.

You get to climb ladders for good deeds such as baking a cake or helping a cat put the tree but, if you read a comic book instead of your homework you slid down the slide.

My kids get along pretty well on this game.  They laugh at each other when they slide down.  Sliding down all the time or on the same spot gets frustrating but they still want to keep playing.

It's nice to see my older child helping the younger one with counting or deciphering the instructions.  This is even a game that they can play by themselves without parental guidance.

When was the last time you played a game?  Do you still have your childhood games?