Sunny Days and Jet Skis

The other day it was really nice outside. I opened up all the doors and windows and let in the sunshine. My son has a mini jet ski we got him at Toys R Us and he loves riding it. My husband picked it out and its very cool! My son dances to the music it plays and drives his jet ski all over the living room. Occasionally he likes to drive over stuffed animals and giggle when they get stick under his wheels. He has a thing for his dads white hat that now has little finger prints all over it. When I opened the door up he thought it was great to ram his jet ski into the screen door over and over. Then for a moment he turned around and gave me a sweet smile through his binkie and returned to ramming the door with his jet ski. I caught this pic just after he smiled at me. I love those moments where hes in the middle of something but then turns to make sure Mama is watching him. He melts my heart with those kinda smiles when he sees that yes he does have Mamas full attention.

FREE Bambi and Tangled Easter Activity Sheets

FREE Bambi and Tangled Easter Activity Sheets

 

These are really cute and many more than the two pictured. We LOVE Bambi and watched it many times as a kid. I still quote Thumper as he says' "Eating greens are a special treat, they give you long ears and great big feet.....but it sure is awful stuff to eat!

 

Activity sheets include:

Tangled Easter Egg Holders

Tangled Easter Brunch Recipe-Tangled Frittata

Bambi Easter Egg Holders

How to Draw Thumper

How to Draw Bambi

 

You can click here to find them all!

World Without Fish Book Review and Giveaway 2 Winners

 

The book World Without Fish by Mark Kurlansky is very knowledgeable and a great book for families to have. Its is so full of facts and information on how to live better with the waters around us to not only preserve animals but to preserve our food supply. For me is a bit odd to love fish since I did not eat anything other than canned tuna until I was about 20 years old. I would tell myself, "If I can swim with it I wont eat it!" Funny as a kid I never thought about tuna being from the ocean! As an adult I LOVE fish! I am allergic to shellfish so fish is the only option for me in the seafood category. My son adores fish and I am very thankful for that. My husband would eat crab, shrimp or lobster everyday if it was possible. I am am sure so many other families are the same way. We try to make the right choice for our seafood selections but this book has shown me I am not as fish friendly or informed as I thought.

This book is also about much more than the eating of fish but about the conservation of fish for other animals who rely on fish as a food source. Most people love dolphins, whales, sharks and other "cool" ocean animals but without the blue fin tuna and other fish humans love to consume they will not survive. Of course I m not saying to not eat tuna just eat the other varieties in moderation. I  think the book has a valid point of saying leave it for the animals we can find other fish to eat until the species finds it way back to thriving. I found it interesting that shark mature slowly and produce very few offspring, making it impossible to keep up with commercial fishing. I knew about albacore canned tuna being higher in mercury and other pollutants than regular tuna and I do try to avoid it, even though its tasty! Another thing I learned was about the heath benefits of sardines like being rich in omega 3. My husband always tries to get me to eat them and wants to give them to our son. Oddly I have never tried them but will definitely be tasting them in the future, not only for the health benefits but since they are in large amounts and readily available.

The book is for kids 9 years and up and for adults too. As a reader I liked the illustrations, the cartoon strips, and kid friendliness to a serious topic. Very easy to read and understand. The author Mark Kurlansky is a commercial fisherman and wrote the book with his young daughter in mind. I know it may sound cliche but children really are the future. I know I want my son when he is big enough to understand this knowledge to be aware if what we can do as consumers to make the oceans and the animals in it thrive.

This book is full of of great facts I could go on forever about all the stuff I learned but that would ruin the book for you! World Without Fish also covers pollution, climate change and information on how to eat seafood that is more sustainable.

Here is a list of some fun facts to share with your family from the book
10 Fascinating Fish Facts from World Without Fish 
(I found the part about Orange Roughy very interesting to share since I love it but have not bought it in a few years for the reasons stated in the book)
A video of Mark and his daughter discussing the book here. If you would like to hear Mark speak and have him sign your book you can visit him on his book tour. Dates and times are located here.


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*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts April 19 , 2011 and ends on April 30, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the book mentioned in this post for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

365 Thank Yous: The Year A Simple Act Of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life Book Review

365 Thank Yous: The Year A Simple Act Of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life
By John Kralik

John Kralik opens his life to us in this surprisingly honest and heartfelt story. In 2007 John, an attorney, finds himself being a very unhappy person. He is constantly broke, despite having his own law practice and firm. He is in the middle of his second divorce, not at all close to his grown sons, being sued, overweight, unhealthy, and just plain miserable. The two lights of his life are his sweet and lovely seven year old daughter, and the girlfriend he adores. Unfortunatley, his girlfriend has just dumped him. Could his life get any worse? Hiking through the mountains on New Years Day, John broods about everything, including the fact that he is really alone. Out of nowhere, he hears a voice, warning him that unless he is grateful for the things he has, he will never receive the things he wants. This is what leads John into his writing of 365 thank you notes. He writes notes to everyone. His family, his friends, his clients, his hair dresser, even his local barista at Starbucks. At the heart of each note is a simple thank you. Gradually, the changes begin in Johns' life. Many of the problems he has either go away or are lessened. He reconnects with his sons, dear old friends become a part of his life again, the lawsuit against him is thrown out. Even his financial situation greatly improves. He comes to understand that he is a man with a blessed life.

I enjoyed this book very much. I felt a lot of compassion for the author and was rooting for him to change his life around. The story moves along at a nice pace, keeping you interested. After reading this book one might be inspired to start writing some thank you notes of their own. Saying thank you is such a simple thing to do. But as this book clearly shows us, it could change your life.

If you would like to purchase a copy of this book you can find it at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. The book is also available in eBook format.


**I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided the book mentioned in this review for free by the publisher.

Nightmares and Happy Things

Last night at around 3 am my 4 year old JJ was standing in the hallway crying. I woke up and went out there to see what was going on. As he cried he told me that he was afraid of the "bad guys that were burning the babies". I wasn't sure that I heard him correctly with all of the crying so I made him repeat it. There were bad guys and they were burning babies is what he told me (broke me heart), he was obviously dreaming but he still doesn't get the concept that it is a dream and not reality. We talked about it for a little bit and I explained that it was not real and that we are here to protect him and all that jazz... Well he was still so spooked he cried about going back to his own room. I felt so sorry for him so I let him come in our bed for the rest of the night. He was satisfied with that and climbed in. Again he told me what happened and whenever he has a nightmare I tell him to think about happy things. I told him to think about Dora (the explorer), turtles (they are the animal of the hour around here), and my husband threw in bunnies (for Easter time?). JJ interrupted our list of happy things with this- JJ: Mom. Me: Yes honey JJ: Mom Me : (Again) Yes honey JJ: I am going to think about Mom because that is a happy thing. Thinking about you Mom makes me happy. OH HELP ME I started tearing up and my heart exploded right then and there at 3:15 am as we were all huddled under the covers, drifting off to sleep, thinking about our happy things. I love being a Mom :)