Playing at the beach

Yesterday we took the kids to the beach and the local lake in between rain storms. We weren't there for very long but it was fun :).

there is a contest for an iPad...

Win an iPad! Canadian financial expert Preet Banerjee is giving one away on his blog! The contest ends Monday, May 31 st at 5 pm EST so HURRY!

http://wheredoesallmymoneygo.com/im-giving-away-an-ipad-enter-contest-here/

Weekly Winners- the week my husband turned 36 :)

Here are some of my favourite pictures from this week...

You can find more Weekly Winners at SarcasticMom.com.

Fabulous Finds...

Ok, so lately I've been told about a few really great deals and even though I can't use them all I'd thought I'd mention them in case some of you can!!

1.

There is a whole bunch of coupons for $200 - $300 off of Torlys Hardwood, Cork and Leather flooring at different stores across Canada...

$200 Off @ Long's Floorall Ltd. in Penticton, BC - http://longs-floorall-ltd.torlys-offer.com/

$200 Off @ Comox Valley Floor Center in Courtney, BC - http://comox-valley-floor-center.torlys-offer.com

$300 Off @ Curtis Carpets in Winnipeg MB - http://curtiscarpets.torlys-offer.com

$300 Off @ Sarmazian Bros. in Cambridge / Guelph, ON - http://sarmazian.torlys-offer.com 

and $100 Off of laminate flooring - http://sarmazian-laminate.torlys-offer.com

$300 Off @ Barwood Flooring in Nepean / Kanata, ON - http://barwood-flooring.torlys-offer.com

$200 Off @ Irvine Carpet One Floor & Home in Barrie, ON - http://irvine-carpet-one.torlys-offer.com

$200 Off @ Sidney Inn Carpet One Floor & Home in Belleville, ON - http://sidney-inn-carpet-one.torlys-offer.com

I hear there are coupons for Red Deer, Alberta and the Maritime provinces as well but I'm not sure of the links on those yet. 

2.

Don't forget to enter to "like"  WhiteCloud Marketing on Facebook for your chance to win an iPad (ends soon!!).









3.

Choose from 3 FREE Coke^® offers plus your chance to win a 40 inch Samsung LCD TV and Sony PS3 - and more in the Domino's Big Night In! contest.


I think that's all for now... anyone else have any info on great deals that they would like to pass on?

Avatar *review*

Avatar

-description taken from the back of the DVD

Return to Pandora

A reluctant hero. An epic journey. A choice between the life he left behind and the incredible new world he's learned to call home. Return to James Cameron's AVATAR- the greatest adventure of all time.

MY REVIEW

We did not get a chance to see this movie in theaters when it came out so both my husband and I were excited to get it in the mail on DVD. Our whole family loves this movie! Seriously- everyone from my 36 year old husband to my 3 year old daughter thinks it is fantastic. Even grandma thinks it is great!

My sons had been pestering us to watch it for ages and even though there are a couple of swear words we decided to let them watch it. It is a wonderful story and it is visually incredible. I figured my daughter would have no interest in it whatsoever but she asks to watch it all the time! She loves the "blue cats" (aka the residents of Pandora).

Like I said there is a bit of language and some violence - nothing with blood and guts though. Overall it is a really clean movie. Compared to most of what's out there right now it is amazingly family friendly. If you haven't seen Avatar yet than I would definitely recommend getting a copy for yourself!

Thanks so much to Fox Home Entertainment for sending me a review copy of this DVD.

everfresh™ Single Fashion Laundry Tote

I was sent this fabulous everfresh™ Single Fashion Laundry Tote to try out...

Here is some information I got from the neatfreak website:

always fresh - always clean

neatfreak’s line of laundry products with everfresh™ is a 100% natural way to keep your home always fresh – always clean.

Environmentally friendly enzymes built into the fabric work continuously to eliminate odor resulting in a fresh and clean laundry bag, basket or hamper.

100% natural
100% environmentally friendly.

I stuffed ours full of dirty laundry and left it for a few days because I wanted to find out if it really did control odors.  

I must say I was very impressed. I have three kids... and a husband... our laundry doesn't exactly smell like a field of wildflowers. It can be super gross and this tote really did make a huge difference. 


I admit that it is too small for our family but I can't tell you how great this would have been when I was in college carting my laundry to the laundromat all the time! This really would be the perfect tote for anyone in college or anyone who has roommates or who needs to cart their stuff to a laundromat!

My family totally needs the everfresh heavy duty laundry sorter...

It really would be ideal in my laundry room!


I am happy to recommend this fantastic everfresh laundry tote.

My Virtual Tutor *review* & $5 off coupon code

I was sent My Virtual Tutor for DS to review with my kids. I must admit that I had a hard time getting them to play it though... it just never seemed to grab their attention enough. I will say that my daughter Olivia (age 3) enjoyed part of it- the part where you can "draw" on the screen appealed to her. But since we had the grade 1-2 version it was too old for her to play on her own.


I will say I think it is a great idea. I played around with it and if you could get your kid interested in it that the game would definitely help with learning to read. 


Here is a press release with a $5.00 off code for the game:

Stay On The Path To Reading Success This Summer With My Virtual Tutor™: Reading

Now You Can Save When You Purchase My Virtual Tutor: Reading on Amazon.com

BOULDER, CO (May 2010) – My Virtual Tutor: Reading for the Nintendo DS offers parents a fun way to keep their children on the path to reading success this summer. It can be difficult to get kids to continue reading once the recess bell rings, but with My Virtual Tutor: Reading for the Nintendo DS kids will be eager to learn! My Virtual Tutor: Reading enhances kid’s reading and comprehension abilities on the number one portable video game system.

My Virtual Tutor: Reading provides a learning tool on a platform that engages kids and maintains their attention. Since the Nintendo DS is portable, the game is perfect to bring along on summer road trips or plane rides! While the child holds their DS vertically like a book, the game’s cheerful virtual tutor guides children through 8 interactive books and encourages him/her to complete fun exercises and quizzes to improve reading skills.

 Through self-correcting practice, the different modes of interacting with the exercises and stories advance along with the player. My Virtual Tutor: Reading has been honored by the top toy awards in its category including Dr. Toy’s Best Picks, iParenting Media Award, Mom’s Choice Award and the Tillywig Toy Awards; proving it to be a great choice for quality “edutainment.”

Just-in-time for summer, you can now save $5.00 when you purchase the My Virtual Tutor: Reading titles on Amazon.com. To redeem your $5.00 off promotional code, log onto http://www.amazon.com/s/?search-alias=videogames&hidden-keywords=B002BZ11DM|B002BZ11DC|B002BZ11F0 and simply enter the claim code MYVTUTOR during checkout. This offer expires at 11:59 p.m. PST on May 31, 2010. 

“We’re gratified that our efforts in bringing a quality playing and learning experience for early readers to the Nintendo DS has received positive consumer recognition,” says Hank Kaplan, Chairman of Mentor InterActive Inc. “Our distribution and sell through at retailers across the country also speaks volumes of the need for this type of “edutainment.”

My Virtual Tutor: Reading gives kids an opportunity to reinforce what they are learning during the school year and have fun while they practice over the summer. Parents can track their child’s activities and the areas in which they are improving, or may need more attention, by accessing the Parent Mode. My Virtual Tutor: Reading is available in 3 versions for children in Pre-K through Second Grade. Each includes eight interactive books with 4 modes of play:

• Read To Me- Virtual tutor reads the story with exciting animation
• I Can Read- Beginning vocabulary word-based activities
• Interactive- Clickable animations with interactive quizzes to test reading and vocabulary comprehension
• Paint- Unleash creativity and illustrate scenes while listening to a story

“The proprietary Foundations to Literacy™ software used in My Virtual Tutor Reading has been tested and is proven to be effective in improving students’ reading skills and their attitude toward learning to read, “says Barbara Wise Ph.D, world-renowned reading researcher at the University of Colorado where My Virtual Tutor: Reading was developed at the Center for Computational Language and Education Research.

My Virtual Tutor: Reading was developed by 1^st Playable Productions, LLC. My Virtual Tutor: Reading for the Nintendo DS is available at mass and specialty retailers throughout North America for a suggested retail price of $29.99. The Pre-K- K SKUs is rated EC (Early Childhood) and the K-1^st Grade and 1^st-2^nd Grade SKUs are rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB. 

For More Information on My Virtual Tutor: Reading and to become a fan of My Virtual Tutor: Reading on Facebook or follow updates Twitter, please log onto http://www.myvirtualtutorgame.com/.

 

Happy Birthday Douglas!

Today my love turned 36 years old.

We had a pretty mellow day and "partied it up" with the kids for fun.

When I went to help the boys get ready for school first thing this morning I reminded them that they could give daddy his birthday presents once they were dressed.  Aiden jumped up and said

" OH YA! It's dad's birthday! I've got to go wake him up because he wouldn't want to stay in bed on his birthday!!"

 The thing you need to know about my husband is that he is a hard-core night-owl. There is not even a smidgeon of "morning person" in him. He essentially hates morning with every fiber of his being.

I am fairly certain that being allowed to sleep until noon would have been the very best birthday gift ever.

But instead he got woken up by three adoring children... and he did a valiant job of looking awake :)

I took the kids shopping and let them choose their own gifts for daddy... but I wouldn't let them buy him toys because that is what they bought him last year :).  Of course they took the gifts out of the gift bag before Doug even got a chance to open them... they were far too excited to wait for him to get a move on!

Owen chose a Mario Bros. t-shirt and a Batman singing card.

Aiden chose a Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 t-shirt... which is apparently a video game... and one Doug doesn't play. But Aiden loved that it was army themed. He also chose a bizarre singing card.

Olivia chose a swimsuit with flowers on it and- of course- a girlie card with a pink envelope.

The kids decided on an ice-cream cake and Olivia decided on the pink candles.

And then Olivia needed to repeatedly blow out the candles on her piece of cake.

And all of that? Is one of the many reasons why I think my husband is wonderful... he is such a good sport and actually loves what the kids get him just because they picked it out themselves and he is content to eat ice cream cake with the kids and watch a dvd with me instead of having a party...
even though he is a total extrovert and probably would have loved a big birthday bash.

I love you Doug... happy birthday!

Bonhoeffer *guest review by my husband*

Book Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace, a groundbreaking biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the greatest heroes of the twentieth century, the man who stood up to Hitler.

A definitive, deeply moving narrative, Bonhoeffer is a story of moral courage in the face of the monstrous evil that was Nazism.

After discovering the fire of true faith in a Harlem church, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany and became one of the first to speak out against Hitler. As a double-agent, he joined the plot to assassinate the Führer, and was hanged in Flossenberg concentration camp at age 39. Since his death, Bonhoeffer has grown to be one of the most fascinating, complex figures of the 20th century.

Bonhoeffer presents a profoundly orthodox Christian theologian whose faith led him to boldly confront the greatest evil of the 20th century, and uncovers never-before-revealed facts, including the story of his passionate romance.

Buy		Read

 GUEST REVIEW BY MY HUSBAND!!

So Tara asked me to read this book and tell her (or all of you, her loyal readers) what I thought of the book.  I enjoyed the book greatly.  It's been sitting in the back of my mind for some time.

Most of us do not face the kind of things that Bonhoeffer did.  He faced decisions that would challenge anyone.  One of the quotes in the book (it's also on the back cover) is this:

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act."

I had heard this thought before.  However, it was a challenge to think about what that meant with the circumstances that Bonhoeffer faced.  We have the luxury of hindsight.  The details of all the Third Reich were doing were not widely available to the general German populace.  These were after all their countrymen, at what point does a Pastor become an enemy of the state?  At what point does a Christian not only begin active deception but begin to plot an assassination?  How do you show Christ's love in such a chaotic time?  

I was challenged by the effort made by Bonhoeffer to write and to study.  He last book published in his lifetime was "Das Gebetbook der Bibel" (The Prayerbook of the Bible).  To publish a book that spoke of the centrality of the Old Testament to the church was a rebuke at the Nazi attempt to undermine and delete anything of Jewish origin.

I really enjoyed the book and found it challenging to my life and faith.  I highly recommend it.