A-Girls' Art Project

A while ago, I saw this post on Meg's Whatever blog.  It was a fun art project she had done with her kids.

As soon as I saw it, I knew A-girl would love it. 

Ever since I showed it to her,  she had been waiting and waiting until she had the chance to create her own.

She saved up her money and bought 2 of the big boxes of 64 crayons and a 10 pak of 8 x 10 canvases.

She had some wonderful Sunday School teachers and friends in mind to make this for, as a special birthday gift.

Here is how she started.....crayons hot glued to the canvas.....

She broke the crayons in half since she had a small canvas, but if you have a larger canvas, you will probably want to use the whole crayon.  Then, she used a blow dryer on high.....

And, voila! 

Personal art.  This was so easy and fun. 

She has already had requests from other people to make one for them with their own personal color scheme!

The Person I Marry

I was not one of those little girls who had planned out the details of my wedding by the time I was 13...or even one who pictured who I was going to marry....although Rick Springfield, unbeknownst to him, was very high on my list of potential grooms!

I just sort of bounced around (not in a slutty way) in the area of boys to whomever would like me....even if I didn't like them all that much.  I just wanted to be liked so badly. 

I wanted to be part of a couple. 

I wanted to have someone to kiss by the buses.  I wanted to have someone put their arm around me and put their hand in the back pocket of my RD Simpson jeans.

I wanted to be able to slow dance to Purple Rain (Prince) or I Wanna Know What Love Is (Foreigner) instead of pretending that I had to use the ladies room so I wouldn't be embarrassed that I hadn't been asked to dance.

I spent a lot of time thinking about boys and why boys didn't like me.

In retrospect, I wish I would have thought about myself more.

Not in a self centered "it is all about me" way....but in a way that let me think about the way God created me....and, what things would be important to me in a life mate (someone to date) and what kind of person I deserved to be with.

I wish that this book had been written for that teenage me.  It would have saved me....and my mom....a lot of heartache and pain over just going along with whomever had chosen me at that moment....whether they were a good fit for me, or not.

See the subtitle? 

Things I'll Think About Before (and After) Saying, I Do!

This is one of those books, that you want to cuddle up in bed and read with your kids....even if they happen to be 13 year old boys!

This is one of those books, that I could have used in my early 20's, before I took a leap without first taking a good look.

This is one of those books, that I could find a line or a phrase from every single page to quote.

This is one of those books, that I could just pour over the illustrations in awe of the artists' skill.

This is one of those books, that I could just buy a bunch of and give as gifts, for every birth, every graduation, and even every wedding.

This book was written and illustrated by a husband and wife team, Gary and Jan Bower.  They have been married for 33 years and have 12 kids and something like 9 or 10 grandkids.  Go read more about the Bowers, their family and other things available through their website, at Bower Family Books.

Here is a little video preview of The Person I Marry that will give you a flavor of the words, the art, and a little background from the Bowers on why they wrote this book.

Go ahead, take a look.  I will wait.


Welcome back.  So? What did you think?

I don't know if you could tell or not, but I LOVED this book.  We got to see an e-book version and even though we all had to gather around the computer monitor to read it, I loved it.  And, that is saying something.

I really hate reading books or even magazines on a computer screen.  I am not a Kindle kind of girl.  I like to hold books, feel books, get sore wrists from holding up the heavy ones, and get that weird kink in my neck from reading books in bed. 

So, the fact that I feel this strongly about a book that I haven't even held in my hot little hands, really means something!

I will be getting a few "real" versions of this book to hold, to flip through with the kids, to snuggle up in bed and read again and again.... for me, for the kids, and, for gifts. 

To me, it is one of those books that needs to join the other classics in our house, like Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown;  Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch; and Oh, The Places You'll Go, by Dr. Suess.

This book is part of their Bright Future Series and can be purchased through the Bower Family Books website here, for $11.49 or you can get the whole 4 book Bright Future Series for $39.96.  The other titles in this series are:  There's a Party in Heaven; The Jingle in My Pocket; and What Do Heroes Wear?

See what other TOS crew members thought of The Person I Marry.


We received a free e-book version of The Person I Marry, in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Come On In To Ooka Island!

We got a chance to review something called Ooka Island.  S-Girl and A-man were so excited to have a review item that was just for them.

(I didn't even get sick of this Reggae-type theme song.....and I heard it a lot!)

The basic premise of Ooka Island is that it is an adventure type game for kids, ages Pre-K through 2nd grade, that are learning to read.  There is a whole back story that explains why the Elves that live on Ooka Island need your children to help teach them how to read and rescue them from the forest by the villianous "Flignorance".  Here is a quick version of the story line of Ooka Island.

(This is Auntie Kay and Zobot.)

You cycle through a series of games and work to save Ooka Elves and get books for their library shelves.  here is 20 minutes of planned play, so you cannot choose which games you want to play.  After you finish that 20 minutes, you are allowed 8 minutes of free play.

Personally, I thought this was great, because my kids have a tendency to play only the games they know really well and don't do the more challenging ones.  This way, they have to cycle through all the games....even if they are hard.

The games are things like:

Alphabet Mountain - In this one, you rock climb up the mountain following the ABCs....then to get down the mountain, you ride on a skateboard.

The Cave of Sounds - In this one, you are riding underground, in a sort of mining cart.  You listen for Zobot to say the correct sound (oo......m......s.....) and when you hear it, you click to open the gates for you to ride through.  I have to say, I did get a little tired of Zobot's robotic voice repeating the sounds over and over again......oo.....oo.....mmmm.....mmmm.....but, I guess that is what the volume control is for!

Clumsy Wacky Moving Company - In this one, you have to help the moving company save their items from going over a waterfall, by listening for the right sound and clicking on that item.



Part of their goal is to unlock books for the Popcorn Library to help the Ooka Elves learn how to read.  There are 85 total books to unlock.  A-man and S-girl have been playing this for about a month now and have about 15 books unlocked. 

The whole idea behind the game is for the kids to be engaged in these games without even realizing that they are learning to read and de-code the sounds that make up words. 

That has definitely worked with my two....although, when I say no to computer time, they have learned to use the argument, "But, it's Ooka Island, mom!"  "It's school!"  "But, I am learning stuff!"  So, I guess they have figured out that they are learning....and still don't care!

Sometimes their arguments have been used with success, other times not.  But, I have to admit it is a little harder for me to say no when they want to spend time on Ooka Island than it is for other computer games.

Ooka Island activities are also aligned with common core standards.  Go take a look here to see what that means. 

This is a game you need to download onto your computer before you play...so you need to have plenty of space (at least 3GB on your hard drive).  For specific requirements to make sure your system is compatible, click here.    It does take quite a while to download, and there were a few minor glitches when we first got the game up and running, but, now, everything is working fine. 

Here are the prices....they have different prices for schools too.



Right now, as part of my review, you can get a discount of 30% off....just use the promo code below:



A-man and S-girl had a blast with Ooka Island.  A-man who already reads, had a much easier time with the games than S-girl who is just learning to put letters and sounds together, but they both had fun and asked to play.

Honestly, even V-girl who is just 2, loved to sit and watch them play and she would even ask to play "Ooka I-la"  She isn't quite ready to be a hero for the Ooka Elves......yet.

See what other TOS crew members thought of Ooka Island.



We received a free download copy of Ooka Island Adventures for free, in exchange for an honest review of the program.