Jumpin-Beans

Last year my girl jumped on the Taylor Swift fan train and has not stopped since.  She begs me to take her to a concert - sorry, my sweet girl, but mama just cannot afford those tickets!  She wanted to dress as T. Swift for Halloween, but who knows if that is still on the table, I mean, Halloween isn't until the end of October, so who really knows?  She is totally in her Swiftie Era and I am here for it!   Imagine my excitement when I had the chance to get the "Taylor Swift is Life" book for review... ESPECIALLY being that she has to read at least 20 minutes each night for homework...and we all know that you will enjoy reading more, if it is something that interests you!   FTC Compliant Review Policy:    The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are  my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation...

 As 2023 comes to a close, I really wanted to talk about one of my most favorite subscription boxes.  I have to admit, as a mom, I tend to spend all of my money on my kids... and other loved ones... and rarely on me.  Every now and then I take a chance and order a subscription box for myself.  It ends up being a fun treat, since I don't know what is in there and it is like little surprises for me!   To be honest, several of them were major let downs. I am sorry, but just because I am a female, it does NOT mean I want a box full of makeup / pamper items... So those are normally a big waste for me.  FTC Compliant Review Policy:    The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are  my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I was given the chance to review ONCE UPON A BOOK CLUB this year and I was...

I don't know about your house, but ours sure does love when mail comes.  I enjoy it to, unless it is a bill, but you know what I mean!  We have been lucky enough to have a sample of Sunny the Snail Mail sent to us for review and Savannah loves getting a weekly letter in the mail letting her know what Sunny has been up to!  It is a cute (and fun) envelope that has a letter in it, stickers and another treasure or two. Each letter tells of Sunny's adventure delivering mail to his animal friends and the things along the way.  The letters are fun and interesting, but also educational as well!  Perfect to build a love of reading at a young age and they get fun keepsakes as well!  (The latest for us included a postcard she could color along with her letter and stickers!)   FTC Compliant Review Policy:    The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of ...

We fell in love with Josh Funk books when we were fortunate enough to be sent a review copy of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast a bit ago.  We loved it and decided that we would share it with his class, so I took it and read it to them when I learned that there was a follow up book.  I thought that I shared this with you all, but it was stuck in my drafts... so now that we have a 3rd book coming out, I thought what better time than the present?     FTC Compliant Review Policy:    The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are  my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Join Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast on their next adventure, as our favorite foodie friends solve a smelly mystery in  THE CASE OF THE STINKY STENCH  by  Josh   Funk !  Sir French Toast’s nephew, Insp...

A new year means new things around here... Well, not really "new" things, but moving on.  We love to read around here and I honestly think that every room has at least a couple books in there.  You might even find one or two in the hall at times!  What I meant with new things is that I want to come up with a new reading plan for the new year. We try to read each day, but I want to make it fun and plan activities with it.  Right now, Savannah is using the new books she got for Christmas to make paths in the living room. Sometimes she uses it as a "balance beam" to walk on them and not touch the floor (you know, the "LAVA!"  thanks to Big Brother...)  I am trying to get her to use them to straddle when she walks, as I don't want them messed up... but they are actually holding up really good right now!  Ha!!!! FTC Compliant Review Policy:  The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or represent...

I am not sure if your children have to read nightly for homework, but Broxton does. I love it (of course I do... I LOVE BOOKS!)  We take turns, sometimes he reads a page and then I read a page, other times I read to him and of course he reads to me, or quietly to himself.  Since he LOVES penguins, we made "World Penguin Day" homework to be reading all about Penguins. I posted a picture of our family penguins and was surprised how popular penguins are as favorite animals with the kids these days.  That being said, here are the books we read!  Enjoy! FTC Compliant Review Policy:   The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation. When Penguins Cross The Ice -    This was a fun book for us.  We learned about Emperor Penguins and how / why they cross the ice...

We are a house divided.  LSU Tigers and UGA Bulldogs.  Think about that... Tigers.  So you can believe that we had an excited little girl when she got the Ten Playful Tigers book to add to her collection of library books.   FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. Ten Playful Tigers   is so cute.  As you turn the page, you see more and more of those playful tigers and you get a bonus... You get to see butterflies on the opposite page! An added bonus?  As you count the tigers, you can feel their soft fur in the holes that help you count them!!! You can count back to one with the butterflies once you reach the end of the book  and see the ten cubs with their mama!   Savannah loves that book and we have re...

March is Reading Awareness month, so I thought it would be nice to share with you a few books that would be great to share with your children this year.  There is no age too young to read to them, so I thought this 1-2-3 book would be perfect for Savannah.  It is a counting book and an animal book.  Oh, did I mention it is a board book, too??  Like I said, perfect!   FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. 1-2-3 Moose   is a counting board book, but it is also a great photography book with different animals. Book Synopsis: Eminent photographer Art Wolfe's images of moose, cougars, mallards, and sea lions are a wonderful visual aid for children learning to count. Wolfe draws inspiration from his home region, the Pacif...

There is no denying how much I love books.  I have loved books for as long as I can remember and I will tell you this, nothing sweeter than walking in a room seeing Broxton reading a book.  (Bonus points if he's reading to Savannah!)  He loves reading, ( Oh how I love saying that!)  and I hope Savannah loves it as she gets older too! We recently had a conversation with my moms group about TV time and while some parents say NO TV, I have no shame in admitting that I will put the TV on when I need me time. You know ... BATHROOM ALONE, cooking, just a moment to think...  I do put on fun and educational shows, so give me some credit!   Broxton grew up watching Word World and Super Why... and while I know that reading to / with him and him being in school helped, I can't help but think that him watching these shows helped to push him along too!!!  That being said, when I saw that Word World had "Let's Make Music" available, I knew I wanted Savannah to see i...

Although summer is almost over for us, it is still going strong for others.  The list of "raising a reader" tips below talk about summer break, but it can be used throughout the year.  I know that nightly reading is part of Broxton's homework, so we will be trying a few of these tips out.  This is NOT a sponsored post, you guys know I love reading, so I wanted to share this with you!   Here are some of the Raising A Reader tips for parents: Reading often gets lost in the shuffle of summer activities such as camp, sports and vacation travel. Schedule a regular time to share books with your child and establish a regular routine to ensure reading doesn’t become a low priority and has the same importance as other activities. It’s OK to let your child read e-books if he or she is comfortable using a tablet, but remember, whether it’s an e-book or a print book -- especially for young children -- the most important thing is to spend time together sharing the book....

It is almost time for school to start back around here.  That means we are buying school supplies, getting  ready to get back into the early routine, enjoying the last days of summer... you know how it is.  I always hear about little siblings that get upset they aren't headed to school, so I thought it would be cute to share a DVD with you from PBS that helps preschoolers get ready to read!   WORD WORLD!!! We love that show!!!!  FTC Compliant Review Policy:   The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary c ompensation . Image Credit - Amazon Word World - It's Time for School PBS Distribution announced today it is releasing eight stories from PBS KIDS’ WORDWORLD series on the new DVD “IT’S TIME FOR SCHOOL.” In addition to going on eight fun-filled adventures with the Wo...

FTC Compliant Review Policy:   The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary c ompensation . Broxton used to love PBS when he was younger and I really hope that the shows we fell in love with in his toddler stage are shows that Savannah grows to love as well.  One show that I thought was awesome? Super Why!!!  LOOK IN A BOOK!!!!!  If you know me, you know I love reading, so the cartoon that promotes reading is of course one I will want to see.  Broxton had several of the toys when he was younger and I am glad to see they are still producing great shows for the younger kids to enjoy these days!!!   The latest?  Goldilocks and the Three Bears and other fairy-tale adventures!   Image Credit - Amazon Super Why - Goldilocks and the Three Bears...

FTC Compliant Review Policy: The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.     As a book lover, I have several authors that I enjoy and I get so excited when a new book comes out from them.  As a book reviewer, I get to check out many cool books for kids from authors I might not have heard about otherwise.  When I was contacted about reviewing the latest book, Rufus Goes To Sea by Kim T. Griswell, I knew that was one to be excited about, since we had already checked out Rufus Goes To School and we loved that one!  One thing I love about the Rufus books? The fact that they make reading cool and important!!! (We know how much I love reading!)  In the latest book, Rufus heads to school to learn that the school is closed for summer break!  He sits down an...

With Christmas coming faster than I can think, I am really crunching down on what all gifts I need to still get.  As I have mentioned before, I love giving books and I think they are gifts that really keep on giving.  You give a book, but they get so much... They get to travel into the book and escape to the land between the pages. They (hopefully) get a love of reading.  They get books to learn and explore and loved ones also get precious snuggle time!    The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation. We were sent two new books to add to our library and one will be wrapped and added to our Christmas Countdown.   Jingle Paws by Margaret Wise Brown (you know, Goodnight Moon)  is the book I am talking about!  Just as our kids get excited for Santa to...