Jumpin-Beans

With the holidays, that usually means - MORE TOYS!!!! We were so lucky to have had the chance to review the Road and Rail from Neat-Oh and now I get to tell you about their Train Depot . Broxton loves his cars and trains, but he doesn't always want to pull the train track out and set it all up... With these products from Neat - Oh, you don't have to worry about that! Also, it is more than just the train track to play on. You can use it to store the trains... Or, you can use it for transportation! See? It zips up on the sides to form a train depot replica. There is a handle on top for easy transportation and you can just throw all of your trains in there. Keeping them ready for the next time you are ready to play! I have never hid the fact that I am not good at measurements... So, when they list them, I never really know what size that is going to be. I took a picture with my hand by it to show the actual size. As you can see, it is taller than my hand, but not so tall th...

Broxton enjoys watching the Cat in the Hat, so I knew he was going to love watching this DVD. As soon as I put the movie in, I learned that he wasn't so sure about the Grinch... "Who is THAT, Mommy?!" I told him it was the Grinch and to just watch... I loved seeing the Grinch happy for a change, which we all know doesn't happen that often, as you can tell by the expression on the dogs face! Broxton was happy to see a familiar face with the Cat in the Hat, but we both quickly realized he talked different than the TV show!!!! Broxton watched for a bit, but then decided that he wanted to play and not really pay attention... That was my chance to watch normal television, so I took advantage of it! I know that when the boys get here, we will be watching it, so I am not really worried about it right now... They will watch cartoons and stuff with him, but much more prefer this versus some of his normal shows! Here is more information about the newly released Dr. Seuss...

I do not know about your house, but we use tons of batteries. To the point that last year, I told my brother I would like rechargeable batteries for a gift! First of all, I think the toy companies have a deal with the battery company... You know, since all the toys use different sizes! :) We use batteries so much, that we have pretty much gone rechargeable all the way around. Our TV remotes? Rechargeable now. Wii remotes... The boys were KILLING them, so now... Rechargeable! All of Broxton's toys... Okay, not all.. there are a few that we have purposely left non-rechargeable... ha ha ha... you know, some toys are annoying, so this is the way to go! Hey, even my mouse and keyboard are on rechargeable... Not to mention my camera! Want to hear what Energizer is doing? They are helping YOU recharge!!!! On select Energizer batteries... ( Energizer® Ultimate Lithium , Energizer® Advanced Lithium or Energizer® Recharge AA ) You purchase the batteries and while the kids are playing...

We want Broxton to have a knowledge not just of what is around us, but as the world as a whole. Given that Marc was deployed to Afghanistan the first year of Broxton's life, I thought it would be interesting for us to read " I See the Sun in Afghanistan " first. There is a series of books out, by Dedie King and Judith Inglese that is called " I See the Sun." They have Afghanistan, China and Nepal. I really hope they expand to other area's as this is a great idea. Each book is from the eyes of a child, so you get to see how they see it, with it also not being to "over their head" with everything going on. I thought it was really neat how they incorporate the writing of that particular country. (Example, I See the Sun in Afghanistan is written in English, but also in Arabic.) Another great thing that sets these books apart? They use several ways to illustrate the pages... They not only use drawings, they also use cut-outs and even photography! I...

I was given the chance to review a book, " Opening the Gates of the Heart: A Journey of Healing " by Carolyn CJ Jones. Let me start by saying: the photo's in here are amazing! Absolutely beautiful! To the point that it lit that fire back in me and has me really wanting to get out exploring to take photographs again! (It is just a bit hard at times to do with a very inquisitive toddler.) As you can imagine based on the title, they are all different shots of gates. The quotes that go along with the photo's are beautiful and really touch the heart. One of my favorites: " Key of Willingness: All it takes is willingness to unlock whatever lies inside, to turn the know and open the gate... All it takes is a shiny opening, the size of a keyhole." The photo on the opposite page is an old door knob with one of the old fashioned key holes. I was drawn by the quote, but the photo was the finishing touch! I really enjoy the photos and how you get a beautiful quote on o...

Nothing is worse that running all day and then having to come home and prepare dinner. Think about it, you stay late at work... Get home and realize it's already time for dinner... but what to fix? Fast?! Or, a kids sporting event or school activity keeps you late and then you still have to come home and cook dinner. Time flies so much these days, I for one would rather visit with family instead of stay in the kitchen all night. Lucky for us, I don't have these problems yet... But I will... Our problem is Marc's work schedule. He works such crazy hours... It isn't like we can just leave a plate in the microwave or anything... I normally fix dinner and try to have him plenty of food that he can just heat up whenever... but it isn't always so easy! There are days when Broxton and I want to veg out on a salad, but I know Marc would think he was at the wrong house if I expected him to eat that... Those days, I just make a meal for him separately. Tyson is...

Yesterday, we went to the UGA game... It was Broxton's first game and we had a blast! I will be blogging and posting pictures of all of that soon... But, until then, I had a question I wanted to ask... When we were coming home, we were in the car all of about 10 minutes before everyone was asleep... So, that meant I had complete silence to drive in. It was a long day and traffic was HORRIBLE! Stop and go, stop and go. Tons of cars, lots of red lights... Just nuts... It was getting dark, thanks to that lovely time change that I am STILL not used to. The red brake lights of all the cars were blending together... This went on for miles... A van pulled in front of me (not like my lane was any faster, guess they just wanted to get a change of scenery...) I noticed they had a movie playing from their drop down DVD player... That leads me to my question.... Do you ever try to look and guess what they are watching? I do! I don't know if I do it because I am just that bored or what......