Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to take some time out today to tell all of you::

And leave you with a little quote::

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
-Melody Beattie


Sincerely,
Tori

The Nutcracker Music Game Review & Giveaway

Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker The Music Game is such a fun learning tool for children. It helps kids recognize different musical instruments and piece what instruments are played during songs. It's a game filled with puzzles, riddles, trivia, and so much more.
Like all children, my 5 year old son loves music. When I had the opportunity to review this product I jumped at the chance and couldn't wait to show it to him. When we received it for download he immediately fell in love with it. It was hard to pry him away actually!
You start out in a room filled with choices, you can play a variety of games (such as the orchestra game), trivia, riddles, puzzles, etc. My son loved the puzzles especially and I couldn't believe my eyes when he started recognizing the instruments that were playing!
The object is to earn nine golden keys while having fun and learning. It teaches the difference between sounds, instruments, and helps increase their memory. All the while having fun, and they won't even realize how much they are learning during the whole process!
My son was so proud of himself, and it honestly has given him a whole new appreciation for classical music.
Here's a little video on how the game works::

Not only does it teach our children to love and appreciate music as well as the instruments, but it is so fun and engaging! It also challenges children without them even realizing it! Look at the colorful pictures in the video above, it's so fun and vivid! I think this is a great tool to have around the house for your children to sharpen their music skills, and could also be useful in a classroom setting. It could be a great help to any of you out there who are going the homeschooling route as it can sometimes be hard to implement music in a home school setting. This game can really help fill that void.
Children learn best through interactive fun activities and this game has all of that. The appreciation and knowledge they come away with is just amazing. It can be played by your child alone, or with a parent as you both challenge yourselves in the music department. There is much to be enjoyed from this game, and I highly recommend it for any music lovers out there.
In today's world its more important than ever to teach our children about the classics, and to appreciate the instruments that make up the sound of music. This is a game that can easily be navigated by children, and even includes a helpful little claxon that appears time and again to tell your children what to do. Some of the features in the game you will need to help younger children with who cannot yet read, but there are other features they can enjoy where the talking claxon tells them step by step what they need to do.
It's a game kids can play over and over again while still being challenged. We can't get enough of it at our house, and play it several times a week. The Nutcracker is a classic, and I'm glad it is now put into a form that our children can enjoy and learn from all at once.

This game has also won many awards which makes it even better in my book. It has won the Parent's Choice Gold Award, NAPPA Gold Award, Parenting Seal of Approval and others. The one downfall is it isn't JUST yet available for MAC, but all good things take time of course. It's definitely a unique game, and I can't rave about it enough!
Here's what some others had to say about it::  

"What is so impressive about this CD-ROM is how much fun kids had while really putting their musical ears to the test." - The National Parenting Center

"A decidedly unique software game with enormous education value...Kids will enjoy playing again and again." - Discovery School

"The best software I've seen to date or stimulating the musical imagination... Sophisticated in its design and content, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker offers exciting adventures in musical listening and problem solving that are both irresistible and educational." Dr. Larry Scripp, Ed.D, Chair of Music-in-Education and the Research Center for Learning through Music, New England Conservatory

"It's a splendid blend of fun and learning, sensory stimulation and rational thinking, Old World atmosphere and new technology marvels." - Houston Chronicle

  But maybe you could find out for yourself? How about a giveaway??? I knew you would be excited, and just in time for the holidays at that! Entries are easy via the rafflecopter form below and winner will be chosen by random. Good luck to you all and I hope your children enjoy it as much as mine did!

  Also for the followers of Mommy's Musings you can buy the game with a 40% discount by clicking HERE

a Rafflecopter giveaway


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

90 Days Thru the Bible ~Book Review~

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Tyndale Momentum (August 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 141435309X
ISBN-13: 978-1414353098

::My thoughts::
90 Days Thru the Bible is a wonderful reading tool for those looking to better understand God's word. It starts with Genesis and takes you all the way through Revelations. It is a wonderful study guide if you are wanting a deeper understand of the Bible in a short amount of time. Even while this book doesn't FULLY explore the bible it gives you the major principles and reflect on how every one is beneficial to God's story.
Not only is it easy to understand but it breaks down each chapter of the bible and creates an easy to understand devotional with questions for reflection at the end.
It is broken down with The Old Testament being Day 1, Genesis 1-3 Day 2, Genesis 4-11 Day 3, etc.
The Bible is the best book out there if you ask me, but it is also a very complex book for even the most genius of those who read it. We excel at some points in the bible, but can completely miss some of the major events without even realizing it.
This book will help with exactly that and give you a better appreciation of God's word, as well as His journey.
I think it would be best used as a reading tool as you read along with your bible. After exploring chapters in the Bible itself you can read each devotional in this book to delve deeper and gather a better understanding and appreciation of God's word.
Especially useful if you want to understand the Bible in more depth, but just don't have the time to make church classes, etc. It's a very insightful, informative study tool that all Christians would benefit from having, and gives a clearer understanding with those who want one.
What I especially loved about this book is the transformation it can make on your own life and understanding of God. It is encouraging, nourishing, and uplifting to say the least. It's soul-fulfilling.


::From the back of the book::

Embark on a 90-Day journey to understand the heart of God's story like never before.

You may believe the Bible's overall message, but have you truly grasped the whole story? We know God's message of love is so simple that even a child may embrace it, and His epic story is complex enough to mystify even the most curious intellect. We want to understand the Scriptures more deeply, to fully share in the Great Story that God has been telling throughout the ages, though perhaps we aren't sure where to start.

In 90 Days Thru the Bible, acclaimed writer Chris Tiegreen and Walk Thru the Bible guide you through the various sections of Scripture, meditating on how each story and theme, like the pieces of a puzzle, beautifully contributes to God's masterpiece of love, faith, and salvation. You'll come to understand the true heart of God-and the awe-inspiring story He's telling in your own life- in an incredible new way.


This book is available in  ~ Softcover ~  Kindle ~  Nook ~  eBook ~

You can also read some EXCERPTS HERE

See my review on Goodreads and Amazon


Disclaimer: I was provided this book for free through Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Thanksgiving Eve

Thanksgiving Eve! Today is going to be a hectic day for sure and I can already tell I'm going to fall in bed exhausted by the end of it.
I have last minute preparations for shopping to do (yes I forgot a few things on the list, nothing major thankfully), normal cleaning, and Thanksgiving preparedness. Hubby is at work today which means I'll be going it alone. Thankfully he's off for 4 days straight starting tomorrow so it will be nice to have him home.
There is so much to do though! I'm getting tired just thinking about it!

I'm hoping that tomorrow goes smoothly. Me and the boys have been fighting a very annoying cold. Lucas had it first and had a fever over the weekend. He was fever free right in time for school this past Monday, but a runny nose, scratchy throat, etc, still lingered. Then Levi woke up with a fever yesterday morning and still had one last night. Low and behold yesterday I started feeling the body aches, my nose clogged, and my throat started getting scratchy. Today thanks to this new Afrin I'm trying for free via BzzAgent my nose is unclogged, but my throat is still a bit scratchy. I am praying it goes away by tomorrow because I want to enjoy the good food and family time!

I also have more reviews coming up, and if you haven't been on here lately I just launched the Howard B. Wigglebottom book giveaway so it's not too late to enter! Just in time for the holidays too so it could make a great gift! I for one can personally attest that my 5 year old LOVES Howard B. Wigglebottom. We have several of the books and we read them over and over again. He has learned so much from them it's just amazing how it reaches children.

This weekend we get to go pick out our new little fur baby. I'm excited about it. We don't get to bring him home of course since the litter isn't yet ready to leave their mom, but we will have him right in time for Christmas. The boys are going to be so excited and there isn't a day that goes by they don't talk about a dog so I can't wait to see their little faces light up with joy.

Anyway, I better get off here and get the breakfast dishes cleaned. It's almost time to take Lucas to school and I have LOTS of cleaning to do today. This weekend I will also be working on an advent calendar. I have been getting tons of ideas from Pinterest. The only thing I have left to do is go buy the Elf on the Shelf. Can't forget that! After all Christmas always flies right up on us after Thanksgiving.

How are you spending Thanksgiving? Do you celebrate with an early meal or a later one? What is your traditional Holiday Dish? Ours is ham.

Sincerely,
Tori

Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns About Sportsmanship review/giveaway

Howard B. Wigglebottom has become a fast favorite in our household. As you know I have two sons (Lucas 5 & Levi 1 1/2). They both get so excited over Howard B. Wigglebottom, but my 5 year old can definitely identify with Howard and always takes away meaningful life lessons.

Reading level: Ages 4 and up
Hardcover: 32 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0982616562
ISBN-13: 978-0982616567

In Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns About Sportsmanship, Howard has a hard time losing in any game he plays. He goes so far as to cheat and hurt his friends in the process of winning. Howard will do whatever it takes to win a game so he will continue being the best. During a soccer game Howard monopolizes the ball and trips other players. When the coach calls him out on it Howard becomes very rude and upset with the coach, causing him to be thrown out of the game and sat on the bench. Howard is furious and begins to think how unfair this is, but suddenly a father stands up and starts yelling at the referee. Howard can't believe how this father is making himself look to others and hopes he doesn't look like that. The father gets escorted out, and Howard is left with the thoughts of his actions. Howard becomes ashamed of his behavior. He realizes that winning isn't everything and he has been unfair. He apologizes to his coach and asks for another chance to play during the soccer game. During the game Howard has the chance to score the winning goal, but sees another team mate wide open who could also make the shot. He has a tough decision...should he shoot and score the goal or give the other team mate an opportunity to win? He kicks the ball over and they lose, but Howard is so happy that he played fair he doesn't care. He realizes there's much more to life than winning, and covets his second place trophy over his first places ones all combined. He even shakes hands with the winning team, and praises all his team mates on their hard work.

Every child has an issue when it comes to winning or losing. Losing is a tough childhood lesson to learn, and something a lot of children deal with. All children love the feeling of winning and they start to think winning is everything. Often times this can lead to being a "sore loser" without them even realizing it, and before they realize it they are acting out if they lose or even cheating to win.
Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns About Sportsmanship teaches fair play and the value of good sportsmanship. I think this is a book that all children can learn from, and the colorful fun illustrations help keep children engaged page after page.
My son was riveted. Often he does okay with playing games, but like all children he wants to win. He can sometimes be upset or get a little down when he doesn't win at something. This book really helped show him that it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, but whether you're having fun playing the game. There's more to winning such as friendship, teamwork, and having fun. He has carried this lesson on over to his own friends and it has created a more positive play experience for everyone. Now he is more focused on the fun of the game rather than winning or losing and is happy whatever the outcome.
At the end of the book there are helpful tips, and lessons that parents and teachers can put into play.

The We Do Listen Foundation is a group of writers, artists, designers, educators, therapists, parents, caregivers and teachers who share a vision of a kinder world with more harmony and peace. They are devoted to help children listen, learn, and communicate in an effective way while feeling good about themselves.
There are ten picture books in their award winning, educator endorsed series that tackle important life lessons for 3-8 year olds. They cover listening, bullying, sportsmanship, anger management, feeling good about themselves, moderation, truth, divorce, peer pressure, belonging, generosity, attention, etc. You can check out the animated versions of the books on their website: http://www.wedolisten.org. Just click on the animated books, lessons/posters and songs signs.

You can win your own Howard B. Wigglebottom book for your child by just following the instructions on the rafflecopter below. It's very easy to enter with optional extra chances to win. Just visit the We Do Listen website and browse around to find which Howard B. Wigglebottom book you would like.
Howard B. Wigglebottom hardcover books retail for $15 in the U.S. and Canada. On their website they are now on sale for $6 US or $50 for a set of 10! This comes at an exceptionally good time since Christmas is right around the corner!  HBW Ebooks are now available on Apple for only $1.99.

~For more Howard B. Wigglebottom~

~Visit their website~

~Find them on Facebook~

~Follow them on Twitter~

If you win feel free to write your thoughts and your children's response to the Howard B. Wigglebottom book and come back and link your review/thoughts!



a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this book by the author/organization in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are mine alone and the giveaway is brought to you by the author and the We Do Listen Foundation.

A sippy that actually works!

This is going to be a personal post of mine. I didn't receive any free products, was not compensated in any way, nothing like that. But this post is of my own doing. All opinions expressed are my own as is this post.

First let me start by saying that I have been super frustrated lately by sippy cups in general. Lucas is 5 and Levi is 1 1/2 years. During the whole 5 years of me having kiddos I have NEVER found a sippy that doesn't leak. And we still try time and again. I have tried almost all the major brands and they work great at first and then low and behold I am greeted with puddles on the floor in various parts of my house. My husband was so frustrated with it that he just kind of gave up. We were both tired of wasting our money on sippy cups that promised to be spill/leak free only to find our kids beds soaked, their clothes, or puddles on the floor. Hubby even likes to joke that we would be better off just giving them a cup with no lid as good as most of the sippy's we buy work. Wouldn't be much of a difference I must admit.

Then Levi lost his sippy cup. We had an especially hectic trip out of town to the children's museum and somewhere it got lost. So we stopped at Walmart to pick him one up. I was stopping at a relatives house on the way home so I had the chance to wash it, but didn't want to wait until we got all the way home before he had a drink.
I didn't want to spend another eight dollars or more on a pack of sippy's that was going to start leaking in a few days time and I noticed the Gerber's Graduates Fun Grips. There were 2 in a pack for only five dollars and some change.

These were about the only sippy's we hadn't tried yet so I figured since they were definitely affordable we would go ahead and give them a try. Why not?
I was SO pleased! So far we have had then for a little over two weeks and they work wonderfully! My son has even thrown them and there's been no leaks so far! Instead of a rubber valve there is a plastic one which doesn't wear out after washes. Plus the hourglass shape makes it really easy for little hands to hold. It's easy to wash as well, and very easy to drink out of. They come in various colors and are for 12 months plus.
Plus the lid seals tightly and the hard spout is so perfect for teething, chewing babies. They can't just squeeze the spout and cause liquid to flow out. They are made in the USA and they are BPA free. The brighter colors make them fun, and if they get lost they are easy to find.
I was blown away by the excellence at such an affordable cost, and the reason I am sharing this with you all is because sippy cups are a parents worst nightmare. I'm sure all of you have suffered from random puddles on the floor, a soaked shirt/onesie, finding wet in your baby/toddlers bed from a leaking sippy, etc. And so far so good for these! I have always loved Gerber baby food and the onesies, but I never thought about trying the sippy cups. I guess to be honest I figured the more expensive ones that promised no leaks would be better since they were so high. But money has nothing to do with it. These sippy's have blown the others out of the water! Just goes to show that such a trusted brand needs to be looked at further and I wish I had tried these sippy cups beforehand. I probably would have saved a LOT more money and a lot more time scrubbing floors and carpets. LOL.

I would highly recommend them, and I plan on coming back after a few months of use to update on how they are still holding up. After all every child has to have a sippy cup and it's up to us parents to stick together. I'm always trying to scour websites, blogs, reviews, etc to find out others response on products because I'm simply tired of throwing my money down the drain.

The only advice I have on these is just make sure you push the plastic valve in all the way. It will stay put once it's in there, but you do need to push it in tightly. Otherwise you will be led to believe these leak when really it's just the valve isn't in there tight enough. That happened to me and I was getting frustrated because I thought it was the sippy, but really it was just that I didn't have the valve pushed in all the way. Ooops! Once you push the valve in tightly it WILL stay, my son even threw his sippy from his booster on the floor and the valve didn't budge at all. When you want to take the valve back out to clean it just twist it and pull. It's really easy to do, and I'm just pleased all around. I highly recommend these sippy cups, but if you want to see how it's still holding up for us in a few months time I will be doing another post to update. :)

Thank you for visiting! By the way I posted a comment on Gerber's facebook wall and got such an incredible response on comments. I found out some fantastic information through Gerber and other parent's comments which you might find helpful such as:

• If you register through the START HEALTHY, STAY HEALTHY Resource Center you can get informative booklets with nutrition and feeding advice, product information, as well as special offers through baby's first years. Just click this link: http://bit.ly/cG89Wy
• You can also find Gerber coupons on the target website and other websites. Just print them out and use them! Simple and easy.
• If you have any stories about sippy nightmares, good experiences with Gerber, or anything you would like to share I would love to hear your comments. Just leave them below. Thanks!

Sincerely,
Tori

Be Still My Soul book review

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Multnomah Books (October 2, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1601424213
ISBN-13: 978-1601424211

Description::

Although Lonnie Sawyer has a less than perfect life, she clings to her faith with all her might. Her family poor with an abusive father and a pushover of a mother, but Lonnie is unchanged in her faith and good nature.

Used to disappearing into herself and distancing herself from her family and others as much as possible Lonnie is completely chaste so when she is walked home by Gideon one night and he steals a forced kiss Lonnie decides to tell no one. After all Gideon may be handsome, but he's one man that mothers and fathers warn their daughters about.

Problem is that Lonnie's father saw the kiss and to save her reputation forces her into a marriage with Gideon. The two do not love each other and frustrated by the situation Gideon takes things out on Lonnie by making her move from the only home she's ever known imperfect or not. Gideon wants to start over and despite their marriage refuses to give Lonnie any claim on his life.

Lonely, sad, and confused Lonnie tries her best despite the circumstances, but it's up to Gideon to accept God and give up his past. But Lonnie doesn't know if anything will help him love her, or himself.

My Thoughts::

I loved this book! Even though some of the characters were especially frustrating at times (especially Gideon) I didn't want to put it down. The author does a wonderful job of drawing you in immediately to see it all unfold before your very eyes. Once I got into reading the novel it was hard to put down. The beginning is a bit rocky as the story unfolds. There are a few gaps with things left unsaid to really explain some of the incidents. One being is a less than wanted kiss Gideon forces upon Lonnie that sets in motion each of their destinies. It's hard to tell if the two characters were attracted to each other before or if Gideon is just a crazy man that goes around forcing kisses on all pretty women. But nonetheless the events that occur almost immediately early in the novel will definitely have you hooked.

What I loved most about this novel is the fact that despite the shotgun wedding forced upon them Gideon and Lonnie grow together before your eyes. Of course they don't realize they are growing, but as the reader you will see the changes and it is heartwarming (and frustrating) at times.

Watching their love grow for one another, and their love of God along with it is more than heart-warming. You can't help but love sweet innocent Lonnie any more than you can help but to want to just shake the living daylights out of Gideon. The other characters in the novel are interesting in their own personal ways as well which makes this book a good read and one you won't soon forget. An added bonus is there is going to be a sequel!

This book is available in:   Print   Kindle   Nook   eBook

Want more? Listen to this PODCAST about Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.