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Advent Calendars

I think for me, one of the things I love about the advent season is the Advent Calendars. Each night we gather as a family for devotions and to open our advent calendars together.

It’s fun, because receiving a gift every night for a month is fun. But more importantly, it’s great family time. Everyone is eager to get together and see what each night will bring.

My boys are just the right age for Legos! This year One had a Guardians of the Galaxy and the other had a Star Wars. I learned very early on not to get anyone the same advent calendar, especially when it comes to the lego ones! They love building (or having me build) their little item each night and they have so much fun playing with the legos throughout the month and early into the next year. It’s the gift that keeps going!

For girls, one of my favorites is Ipsy. I love getting their products throughout the year and their Advent Calendar is amazing!

I also tried the Fab Fit Fun advent calendar this year and discovered that it’s only 12 days and not 24. It did have some awesome stuff in it though. So, depending on what you’re looking for, it’s pretty great!

Because both of these are available through a box/discount group, the value for what I pay is terrific!

To go with my advent calendars, I received a couple of tasty beverages to review. This first one is some delicious Sumatra coffee from Indonesia. It’s organic and fair trade, which is terrific!

This coffee from Pure Origin is delicious! And I always feel good about drinking a fair trade coffee. Not only do they taste amazing, I’m doing something good for my community at the same time.

My kids love tea! Actually I love tea too. This Boost Tea from Red Pantz is super delicious but not that great for bedtime – whoops! My kids liked it too but we did have to make it a morning tea just so everyone can sleep at night!

We love including some tea or other hot beverages with our advent calendars and just kind of extend our family time together until everyone has opened their calendars and drunk their warm winter beverage.

 

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The Tiger Rising Movie – Review

*Sponsored Post*

I received a pre-screening link to watch Tiger Rising. Queen Latifah and Dennis Quaid star in this beloved tale based on the New York Times best-selling book by Kate DiCamillo. When 12-year-old Rob Horton (Christian Convery) discovers a caged tiger in the woods near his home, his imagination runs wild and life begins to change in the most unexpected ways. With the help of a wise and mysterious maid, Willie May (Queen Latifah) and the stubborn new girl in school (Madalen Mills), he navigates through childhood memories, heartache, and wondrous adventures in this heartwarming adaptation.

This film started and I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it, but, me and my 11yr old were glued to the tv for the entire movie! I know the trailer and such are all about the tiger. But really, the tiger is a representation of some of the struggles of childhood and learning to find your “inner tiger”.

I love how this film opened up an easy way to talk about the things that my kids find challenging and puzzling in their life and how we might start working through them together.

Plus…there’s a tiger!

Check out the Tiger Rising Website. And if you want some help getting the conversation started, they have some great resources available.

This film is being released digitally Feb 8. Enter below for a chance to win a digital copy for yourself!

#TigerRisingFilmMIN #TigerRisingFilm #MomentumInfluencerNetwork

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Last Minute Gift Ideas

*Sponsored Post*

Looking for a last minute gift that doesn’t feel last minute? Check out a few of my favorite subscription boxes! These are the kind of gift that keep on giving throughout the year, and are fun Christmas Morning as well!

Honey & Roses

Honey & Roses sells coffee, and it’s delicious! For your last minute gift, they have a variety of coffee subscriptions available. Decaf, Basic, KCup, Cold brew, etc. Basically, something for every single coffee drinker you know.

And they have the most amazing cookies ever! These cookie are so big and rich you’ll want to have a friend over for coffee and share. Maybe offer to bring the snack if your friend will share their coffee with you.

The coffee is made fresh by small batch roasters and has amazing flavor! There are so many varieties to choose from, and as a coffee lover myself, they make it the way I like it. In small batches and recently roasted.

Toca Life Box

Toca Boca is one of my favorite app companies for the kids. And, now they’re doing more than apps! They sent me one of their awesome Toca Life Boxes to review.

This box was super duper cute, and hilarious. The outside of the box was fun and creative, and inside, was a project for sewing your own slippers and sleep mask.

My 10 yr old daughter loves little needle crafts so she was all over this one! I had to help with a few knots hear and there, and she did a great job on the rest. The slippers and mask turned out super cute!

This is a monthly kids box of fun, and each month is something different. This month, I really enjoyed sharing a fun project that produced these super cute slippers for my daughter!

This is a super fun gift for that hard to shop for kid!

Fab Fit Fun

One of my favorite subscription boxes. Click through my link to get $10 off your first box! This is a quarterly box packed full of fun items ranging from household items, to clothing, to kitchen accessories, to bath products.

Don’t quite know what to pick for someone on your list? A few weeks before boxes ship, they can log in and customize the box. I love this feature because I get to choose between some items and make sure that my box is only full of things that I will love!

Fabletics

This is a monthly workout and clothing subscription. I love it because not only do I get cute clothing. They also have an app that has a variety of workouts. It keeps me motivated to try out my new stuff and exercise.

No worries, you get a monthly member credit that you use to select your monthly outfit, so you get to pick what you want to wear. I’ve been super happy with my selections so far.

And, while I may be a bit lazy about it in December, I do love the variety of workouts on their app and I’m making a plan for January!

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Stocking Stuffers

*Sponsored Post*

Looking for some unique stocking stuffers? I have some fun suggestions for you that are good for the entire family!

Bubble Tree

Every Kids loves bubbles! And these bubbles from Bubble Tree are terrific! Not only are they great bubbles – great bubbles being easy for the kids to get bubbles from. They come in metal bottles that are sturdy and refillable. And they sell these bubble refill stations.

So, no more throwing away a handful of bubble bottles every time my kids play. We just refill and have our same bottles ready for another day.

Another really nice feature of having bubble refills is that it’s easy to solve the whole “child spills all their bubble juice” problem. I just fill it back up and everyone is happy again!

Ecologie

I’m loving these swedish dishcloths that they sent me! A Swedish Sponge Cloth is reusable and compostable. It’s a great replacement for paper towels, dish cloths, or a dish sponge. They’re super absorbant and you can just keep reusing and rinsing for months. If it gets too dirty you can even toss it in the washing machine! And then, when it’s totally worn out, it’s compostable so you don’t even have to throw it away.

I’ve been cleaning with my new blue Swedish Sponge and it’s amazing! It leaves my counters nice and smooth and makes scrubbing dishes quite easy. I even used it to sop up some water that the kids spilled and it soaked it up amazingly well.

Not only are these super useful, they also have super cute designs and are perfect for slipping inside someone’s stocking on Christmas Eve.

Toca Life Box

Toca Boca is one of my favorite app companies for the kids. And, now they’re doing more than apps! They sent me one of their awesome Toca Life Boxes to review.

This box was super duper cute, and hilarious. The outside of the box was fun and creative, and inside, was a project for sewing your own slippers and sleep mask.

My 10 yr old daughter loves little needle crafts so she was all over this one! I had to help with a few knots hear and there, and she did a great job on the rest. The slippers and mask turned out super cute!

This is a monthly kids box of fun, and each month is something different. This month, I really enjoyed sharing a fun project that produced these super cute slippers for my daughter!

DKCOS Cosmetics

Looking for something small and fun to slip in a stocking? DKCOS Cosmetics has things like these awesome smelling shampoo bars, sweet pink bubble mask, panda mask, and so many more small fun items that fit so well into a stocking.

They have vegan products, charcoal products, and natural products. So, there’s a little something for every stocking on your list!

MyWish4U

Fun and unique lunchbox notes. These are super fun and they have all sorts of different holidays covered. You can stick them in a stocking and be reveled by jokes from your kids all day, or make it an early Christmas present, or all year present, and put a note a day in your kid’s lunchbox.

Either way, I tested these out on my kids and they loved the jokes. I even made the mistake of letting each kid grab a tablet to see what they thought of things and all 4 wanted to tell jokes at once! Whoops. I ended up making them take turns and we had some really great dinner conversation that evening.

I know these weren’t designed as dinner conversation starters, but they work really well for that with kids. So, think of all the fun the kids have at lunch time when they have a joke to start it all off with!

For Keeps Fashion Dolls

Just small enough to fit in a stocking, For Keeps Fashion Dolls are not only a great fashion doll with fashion forward hairstyles, outfits, accessories, and the like, it’s also the ORIGINAL positive message driver at retail delivering a unique, and sincere message of Inclusivity, Love, Acceptance, and Self-Empowerment.

Standing 5.5”inches with 9 pts of articulation, interchangeable outfits, a secret positive message tee, an autographed photo, a 20 pack of affirmation stickers, and a cupcake-style stash box which you can share your positive messages with your friends in secret without being interrupted!

When mine arrived to review I barely got a picture in before my daughter took it off to meet her other dolls. These dolls are super cute and so fun! Perfect for Christmas morning!

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Christmas Gift Basket

*Sponsored Post*

One thing I love to do is hand out Christmas Gift baskets to friends, neighbors, teachers, employees, and basically anyone else I can think of this time of year. This year, I found several fun, new items to include in my gift baskets!

I LOVE gifting snacks! I feel like their consumable – so they don’t sit around someone’s house forever. And, I feel like snacks are super easy to regift. If you don’t like a specific snack, wrap it up and pass it on to that impossible person to shop for on your gift list. So, this year, I’m including a few favorites and a few new items as well.

Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels – I discovered these a couple years ago and just cannot get enough of them. They’re amazing! Seriously. I don’t actually ever like pretzels, but these are so good. They have tons of flavor and a great crunch.

Hot Monkey Nuts – They sent me 3 of their 6 different hot nuts to review. And they don’t disappoint. They’re hot! And full of flavor. My kids don’t like spicy, so these are mine and my hubby’s (who loves spicy!) and we’re sticking a few in Christmas Baskets for friends who we know love a little heat. They’re gluten free and made with non-GMO ingredients. So, not only tasty and fun to eat, but also a pretty healthy snack – something we all need a little more of during the holidays.

Congo Tropicals – They sent me coffee and chocolate to review. But, they also ship other tropical fruits – or there’s local delivery if you’re in Florida. I usually find dark chocolate a bit bitter but this Congo Organic Dark Chocolate is delicious! It’s got lots of chocolate flavor without being bitter. Amazing! I can’t be without my coffee and this coffee is terrific! I had coffee in my gift baskets last year as well and it was amazingly popular, so I’m excited about sharing another new coffee brand with friends!

Preggo Pickle – These are made by the pickle company. They have 3 flavors of preggo pickles and 3 different kinds of pickles (if you’re not wanting to give preggo pickles to friends there’s also the Pickle Co and Cleveland Pickle). Though, I will say. I love pickles – see above, I could pretty much live on pickles and coffee and chocolate – and these are delicious! They’re cut kinda chunky and they have amazing flavor. Even friends who aren’t pregnant, I want to give some pickles to, because they’re so good! These pickles are certified kosher, vegan, soy free, dairy free, gluten free, and fat free. Basically perfect for practically everyone on your list!

Apex Meat Sticks – I love a good meat stick pretty much any time of the year, and I feel like the holidays are a great time for gifting unique protein snacks like these. Of course, my kids tried to steal all mine for after school snacks! Theses Jalapeno Flavor Backcountry Meat Sticks are amazing. They’re just enough spicy, but not too much and each stick has so much protein, it’s almost not a snack! I have been slipping a couple sticks into each of my gift baskets this year. It’s a super fun way to gift the traditional “meat and cheese” while being just a tad non-traditional.

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Zombie Chase

Thanks to PlayMonster and Tryazon for the awesome game! My kids (ranging from teen to preschooler) all love this game!

Zombie Chase by PlayMonster is so much fun for everyone.

I love how easy it is for the preschooler – he likes to get turned into a zombie as soon as possible and then chase everyone else around the board!

While my older kids are focused on collecting all the items necessary to escape and win the game while not being turned into a zombie.

We had some game time with friends as well and I had to make sure every mom knew exactly what the game was called and where to get it, because it’s now on several kid’s Christmas Gift lists!

They also sent me a game called Reign by PlayMonster. It reminds me a lot of Risk, but it’s way way faster (as in you complete an entire game in 30 to 60 minutes). My 8yr old son loves it and has been bringing it places when he knows he’ll have friends to play with. It really is the perfect game for elementary and middle school aged kids!

#tryazon, #zombiechase, #zombiegame, #playmonsterfun

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Back To School

*Sponsored Post*

It’s back to school time, and I’m loving these fun products that help make learning fun! With homeschooling multiple grades it’s super busy at times, but also so much fun to see my kids learning!

I am loving this rug from KC Cubs! I set it out in our school area for my 4yr old and eventually gave up on taking a picture of it with no toys on it. It’s his favorite place to play!

I love how he’ll play with toys and then we’ll discuss a few letters and then he’ll go back to playing. The seasons have been a favorite topic of conversation with his older siblings. They know the seasons, but seeing them laid out by month has been super interesting to them.

This rug is comfortable and doesn’t slide around on my floor. Basically, everyone loves it! It’s the preferred toy and game area in my house suddenly. And I’m loving that we can naturally have conversations about letters, seasons, and days of the week while the kids play.

And, what’s a school day without good snacks? I’m loving these fun cookies from Dick & Jane!

Not only are they tasty, they’re terrific conversation starters! We even had to look a couple presidents up because none of us remembered what they did.

I think we spend more time playing with these than eating them. Which really isn’t all that bad. It’s definitely a fun way to start or finish our school day!

And, last but not least, this super easy cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen. Because a school day isn’t successful without a tasty dinner! And I don’t always have time to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Each of these recipes really is only 5 ingredients, which makes them all super easy to make. I’m loving the addition of all these tasty and easy recipes to the end of our school day.

With only 5 ingredients, even my older kids can make us dinner! It’s a win win. Good food, and they’re learning how to cook!

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Aerobie Football

Thanks to Tryazon and Spinmaster for the awesome Aerobie Football!

This football whistles when you throw it correctly, which is pretty awesome! And it’s small and light enough that even my 4yr old can throw it!

We practice in the back yard with it at first and then took it to a play date with friends. It’s an awesome toy and perfect for the fall and playing outside.

I am encouraging lots of outside play these days because the weather is beautiful! And fresh air and sunshine are so great for everyone!

We’re all looking forward to our next playdate at the park!

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Teen Gift Ideas

*This post contains sponsored content and affiliate links*

For me, August is the month of Birthdays. Throw in some Back to School and end of Summer stuff and it’s just pure insanity! So, in honor of having my first official teenager this year, I put together a fun gift guide for my Girl.

Soo’AE

Skincare is super important for every teen girl. And what better way to kick off her teen beauty routine than with these awesome natural, vegan, cruelty-free, eco-friendly products from Soo’AE!

The face wash, face cream, and face masks are gentle and made with clean & green ingredients. So, they’re good for my daughter’s skin and good for the environment as well. I especially love that the masks are 95% natural!

We had a fun at home spa night with the masks and enjoyed hanging out with each other for a little while.

Spooky America

My kids LOVE ghost stories! Just as much as they love s’mores around a campfire.  And while I have no issues with them hearing / reading ghost stories, I do my best to make sure that these stories are age appropriate for them.

My daughter doesn’t know yet that there are 32 of these books and not just 2 – as soon as she figures that out, her Christmas list will be 30 books long…

My girls actually swiped these the minute they arrived and I had to go hunt them down just to photograph them (while the girls supervised so I didn’t “loose” any in my bedroom).

They told me that the stories aren’t really scary, but they’re very fun. And they want more of them. They’re also unwilling to let me borrow their books because they’re afraid I’ll keep them for myself!

These are definitely on my “need to buy the whole series” list!

Hogwarts Cookbook for Kids

I may or may not have been more excited about this cookbook than my daughter was. Though, my kids have been all about Harry Potter this summer! They had a friend at summer camp ask them about it and they all realized that they’ve never seen it.

So, our Summer family movie nights were all about Harry Potter. She was super excited about her new cookbook and has handed me a grocery shopping list a mile long!

So far, we’ve tried one of the sandwich recipes and everyone was thrilled with it.

 

Fidgets

My daughter was given an Amazon gift card for her birthday and guess what she rushed to buy? Fidgets! I had not idea that these things could come in this many different shapes, but there really is a lot of variety here.

And these days, when in doubt, a fidget for someone’s Birthday is the way to go!

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Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

I received these products free to review.

Mixtiles

Looking for a fun Mother’s Day gift? Or, maybe you forgot a gift and want to give something after the day? Snap some pictures and give your mom some Mixtiles!

You simply upload your pictures, select your frame preference, and they show up all ready to hang a couple days later.

What I really love about these, is they have a sticky back, so you can just stick them to the wall – no nails needed! Which I will say my entire household appreciates because I can never get it right with the first nail! If you don’t like the way they look, want to rearrange, or want to swap in some new ones, they just pull right off the wall without damaging your wall and can be restuck in a different place.

So, pull out some favorite pics or snap a couple new pics with your mom and get her something fun and memorable!

Color my Cookie

I’d seen ads for Color my Cookie so I was super excited when offered the opportunity to try them out. And, they’re way better than I expected! I thought they were cool, but really, these are super cool and so fun!

Your cookies arrive in this little box. The box has your cookies, your paint pallet cookie, your paintbrush, sprinkles, and any extras. My box had this extra gold glitter that is super cool!

I highly recommend scanning the QR code and watching their super short how-to video before you start decorating. It answered all my questions about how to “paint” my cookies, how to get the sprinkles to stay on, etc.

I was having so much fun I even painted my paint pallet! Maybe get a couple kits so you can decorate with your mom, and so she doesn’t have to share her cookies with you, because not only do they look terrific, they also taste good and everyone is going to want one!

The Idle Free Box

This box is packed full of fun activities! They have a monthly subscription or just get one for your Mom. There are enough activities in a single box that I was able to share activities with my kids and keep a couple of my favorites (like the puzzle) for myself!

There’s more than just crafts. There’s also a home workout sheet with daily exercises – scan the QR code to access how to videos for these! There’s a free 15 minute session with a life coach. And they even included a brochure with a hotline for mental health assistance if you just need someone to talk to.

So far, the coloring sheets and pencils have been a favorite in my house. We’re still coloring. There were several fun pictures to color! I’ve been waiting for a non-rainy day to do the resin kit outside – and in the spring dry days are few and far between around here but I can’t wait to make my coasters! Scan the QR code for project instructions, they’re super easy to follow!

And I’m saving the puzzle for a post end of school year treat for myself. We’re in the middle of recitals and presentations and tests so there’s no puzzling time this week, but I’m looking forward to working it when summer gets here.

There’s so much fun stuff in this box and plenty to share so Mom can choose to do a fun activity with you or choose to do it on her own.

Happy Mother’s Day!