Friday Daydreamin': LOVE ME SOME DISNEY!!

Yay!!  It is my favorite day of the week in bloggy land - I LOVE Friday Daydreamin!!  And I am LOVIN this month as R We There Yet Mom? is asking us to post a picture of a place you LOVE for Friday Daydreamin'.   So super easy and so fun to visit all the places everyone LOVES to go to!

Our family LOVES to go to Disney World.  We love the rides, the characters, the parades, the food, the atmosphere, the fun  - the whole package that makes it "magic" for the kids.  We LOVE escaping the real world and playing as a family for a week.  This picture was from 2006 - Brody had just turned 4 and it was his first trip.  He wore his "Happy Birthday" button all week and was treated like a Prince.  Such a Happy trip that we LOVED!!!

Where or what do you LOVE?  Show us a picture and link up!!

Teaching These Girls to Love a Mall Too Soon??

Last summer it was hot.  I mean HOT.  While in the hundreds for days on end, no one plays outside.  So to get my girlie out of her "I'm soooooooooo bored funk", we created a mall scavenger for herself and a few of her besties to do one day.

So super easy and they loved every minute of it!

A quick drive to the mall while we talked over a few ground rules:

1. Must be polite, explain what we are doing, and ask permission (if applicable).

2. Can't spend more than $10.00 for the whole game.

3. Some activities were to take a picture with something, some asked a question, some ask you to gather a particular item.

4. We only have an hour!!

 These girlies are ready!

 Off they go! This picture had so much foreshadowing as to many teenage trips to the mall - was I really helping start their obsession with shopping?  Yep!

Just a few pics of some of the fun:

 Get a Massage.

 Take a picture in High Heels.

 Find a Yellow Purse.

 Eat some "Yellow" candy.

 Take your picture in Elvis sunglasses.

An item that cost $.99!

These bargain shoppers all found matching necklaces!!

Here is the complete list the girls had to do.  Feel free to use it if you like - my girlies LOVED it!!

Mall Scavenger hunt:

A hanger

Yellow candy

Take a picture in High heeled shoes

Napkin from the food court

Makeup sample (can not buy it)

How many restaurants are in the food court? ____

Take a picture wearing a Yellow purse

What 2 stores are on either side of Macy’s upstairs? _____________________________

Gumball

Best friends necklace

Hair product sample

Take a picture wearing Gold sunglasses

A card that says Happy Birthday

Name a store in the Mall that starts with the letter “G”:_________________________

Take a picture in a massage chair

Perfume sample (can not buy it)

Find a Dsi game starting with the letter L:_______________________

Salesman’s business card

What is your favorite candle scent?

An item with “Texas” on it

How much does it cost to pierce your ears?_____________________

Take a picture wearing a Dallas Cowboys Jersey

A bag from a store with handles on it

An item that cost $.99

A packet of mustard

It was the perfect activity to do on a hot summer day.  And we were having so much fun, that we ended up staying for over 2 hours.  Sis is asking to do it agin, but this time, maybe we will divide off into teams and really set a time limit.  

Fun times - teaching my girlie how to love the mall a bit to early?  Nah, just having fun with her as long as I can!!

Grab it Before it's Gone!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sprint for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

There is a big sale....I mean BIG SALE going on right now at Sprint (just those words get my hear pumping!).  It's over quick, so read this fast and click on over to the online sale now!

When you open a new line of service with Sprint or add to your account, get the Nexus S™ 4G for FREE! It is only FREE online ($50 MIR converts to instant + $99.99 web only savings).

But that's not the only deal....

You could also get:

The HTC EVO™ 3D for only $49.99 when you open a new line of service or add to your account.  The HTC EVO 3D is a $49.99 online only savings ($50 MIR converts to instant = $50 web only savings).

Seriously?  How can you choose?  Both a re amazing phones!  But don't take too long to decide - this online sale expires Wednesday, Feb 8.

And here's even more good news: Get waived activation fee for new lines of service and free shipping on sprint.com.

No More Excuses!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Many of you know that I worked for a pharmaceutical company in my former life and I am still very passionate about the importance of preventive medicine.  It is so very important that these medicines are also affordable, so that we can get them in the hands of those that need them most.

That is why I was very happy to learn about the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club.  For $35 a year, a family membership covers everyone in your immediate family, including a spouse, dependents 22 and younger and pets!  It is only $20 a year for individuals.  

Benefits of the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club include discount prices on your prescriptions.... a savings on more than 8,000 brand-name and all generic medicine.  Also, discounts on flu shots, pet  prescriptions, nebulizers, and diabetic supplies.  You will also receive bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products and photo finishing services.

I love that Walgreens is helping out the everyday Joe this way!  Help support Walgreens and get the word out about this great program by liking them on Walgreens on Facebook and following them on Walgreens on Twitter.  

Walgreens is helping us - No more excuses to NOT take your medicine!

Reading, Running, or Sponge-Bob?

Every year, the 4th & 5th grade classes are required to participate in the Science Fair.  It's funny, when Sis was younger, we would do a project for the Science Fair for "fun", but once it became required, we were tired of doing them!!  

So this past December, when the notice came home with all the official dates and rules,  I pushed back on her a bit.  This being her 5th grade year, it was going to be up to her to get this monster done.

That night at the dinner table we brain-stormed ideas.  And I am so proud to say that she came up with a brilliant one.  She remembered a conversation I had had when the study came out a few months back showing that watching a SpongeBob Squarepants cartoon worsened a toddler's ability to concentrate (versus watching a slower cartoon like Cailou).   She wanted to test the same cartoon on grade-school kids and decided to expand upon it a bit.

She gathered 10 of her closest friends (or whatever neighbor kids were available) and sat them down to read for a solid 30 minutes.

 It was so awesome watching them all reading quietly together - I even grabbed my book to join them.

Then she had each of them do a word search for 3 minutes to determine how many words they could find.

 Next, we went outside to play for 30 minutes - they played soccer, rode bikes, played volleyball.

 I actually had a hard time getting them to come back inside for another word search.....

 After the second word search, they had to watch 30 solid minutes of SpongeBob Squarepants.

And one last word search.....

 Science experiment over, they all ran back outside to play for a few hours!!

So, what 30 minute activity do you think allowed them to concentrate better??

No brainer - hands-down, it was playing outside!  And it was a BIG difference!!  Reading & watching tv was about the same amount of words (2-3 words) versus playing outside (5-7 words).  Pretty cool huh?

Why does she think this happened?  In her own words...

We found when playing outside for 30 minutes, test subjects did better on a word search than reading for 30 minutes or watching TV for 30 minutes.  This is possible because when you are exercising your body is producing more BDNF which helps your brain think faster (more neurons).  Also, when exercising, your body produces neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine) which helps your body relax, calm down and focus.

Regular Ms. Wizard!!

 And how'd she do???

Proud of that girl - now get outside and play!!!

Friday Daydreamin': I Love a Beach!

Happy Friday and Happy February, the month of LOVE!!  This month at R We There Yet Mom, they are asking for us to show the places we LOVE on Friday Daydreamin'.  So excited for this, cause who doesn't LOVE to show off places they LOVE???

I love the beach - I love the warmth of the sun on my face, the grit of the sand, the smell of the salty water, the squeals of laughter from my kiddos, the relaxation of it all...... Honestly, what is there not to love?  Last summer, we took the family to the beach and all had a glorious time.  And, we can't wait to go back!!

Link up your favorite photos of what you LOVE over at R We There Yet Mom's Friday Daydreamin'.  And go see what everyone else LOVES too!!

Let's Have a Party!

My little Bubba boy is sick today.  Fever, fussy, sleepy, lay on my chest sick.

I always feel bad for my kiddos when they are sick, but darn it, they are so lovey when they are, I want to eat them up!!

So in honor of my Bubba, I thought I'd show you a bit of him singing his favorite song.

Seriously.  I wake up to him singing it in his crib over the monitor, he sings it while we wash his hands (he has to sing a song to get a good hand-washing in - he gets to pick), and he told us the other day, he is now singing it in school.

Appropriate for a 2 year old?  Nah.

Cute as heck?  Oh yes.