Are You Spending Too Much Time on Facebook?

My husband is going to love this one. He refuses to get a Facebook account, and I can't say that I blame him. Although I do find out cool things there; things that are useful in my homeschooling journey, encouragement, new friends, important life events of acquaintances when they are too busy to call every single person to say they are pregnant, for instance.

It's also a place where my heart has been broken with drama, whether I started it or not! The majority of my time spent on there can be quite annoying to many because I'm mostly on there to promote my blogs, my writing, my proofreading, my ebooks.

Today a friend posted this. Asked her if I could share and she said yes. Something to think about. I know it's going to be in my head all day long.

I've been thinking a lot about Facebook lately. At times it is an amazing tool to reconnect with old friends or a great way to share the everyday with loved ones. However, it also is a place I spend too much time, time I could be spending caring for my children or tending to my home or husband. I find it a bit lonely in the day to day real life b/c many of us don't reach out to each other as often b/c we can just "catch up" on fb. Birthday's have become a day when we get excited to get many fb messages but the phone is quiet. That makes me feel lonely. Pictures I see posted can produce a sense of insecurity or frustration and can effect my mood. That is crazy. I've also realized that I have never seen or heard of anyone coming to have a personal relationship with Jesus b/c of the quotes I post or the religious pictures I share. I've also never convinced anyone to see things my way in the political arena but I certainly have offended plenty with my own opinions. As much as I love showing off my kids to the world, I would rather spend real time with my friends and family, sharing real life, the good and bad.

With that said, I"m going to be closing down my fb account. Probably not deleting it altogether but downsizing it to almost nothing. It does not mean I don't want to be friends. It means I want to be real friends and spend real time with you. Please feel free to call me or better yet, stop by, even unannounced! You'll probably find me in the middle of a mess, chasing kids and wearing yoga pants.

I will be keeping up my business page so if you want to see what's going on in that avenue of my life, feel free to drop by there and like my page for updates. You might see pictures of my cute kids there. 

Life has gotten off balance and I need to take steps to reclaim it. This is a hard choice as I love fb and love staying connected. I hope to spend some time with you soon. 

Beanstalk Children's Garden in Swope Park

Alphabet Flash Cards Review

I was so excited to give these alphabet flash cards to 5-year-old Eva when they came in the mail! She was excited to have them! She and Samuel, who is 3 years old but will be 4 in October (time to get crackin' on that reading, dude!), love to play with them.

They remind me of the super successful Hooked on Phonics system which I used to teach my older kids to read. They learn the letter first, then the sound the letter makes, then it's a natural progression to learning to string those sounds together into simple words.

These are a staple in any homeschooling household, and are great for on-the-go, as well!

And now a word about Alphabet Flash Cards sold by Educational Toys Plane

Involve your child in the joy of learning their ABCs. School Zone Alphabet Flash Cards bring skills such as memory, listening, and movement into each fun-filled lesson. Children will get to know phonics and be able to connect letter sounds with objects: K is for Kite, for example. They will also learn that each letter is a symbol that can be memorized. Offer this colorful world of letters to your child today.  

This item is located in their ABC toys section, and can also be found on their site in the following
categories: toys for 3 year olds, toys for 4 year olds or toys for 5 year olds.

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.

#WorkoutsOnDemand Review

Workouts On Demand! Love, love, love this site! A membership is only about $13 per month, WAY less than a gym membership and you can do it in your own home and the variety is out of this world! You can download to your computer or watch instantly on your laptop or stream through your TV.

I dig the Express Workout section, where I can do a quick workout with my son, who is going for his Personal Fitness badge in Scouts. I can try Yoga when the house is quiet. I can go all-out on aerobics when I'm feeling energetic.

And I must mention that one of the Low Impact Aerobics classes is taught by a woman who is my size (meaning, about 20 pounds overweight by the USA's standards and yet she is totally healthy). It's nice to see someone teaching a class who is my age and my size instead of always watching stick-thin instructors, if ya know what I mean! No offense to the skinnies, as I may be one of them someday; I'm just sayin' it's refreshing, that's all.

Follow them on Facebook here. If you LIKE them, you can download a FREE exercise video!

Here's their main site.

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.

Castle Rock Resort & Waterpark #Branson

Castle Rock Resort and Waterpark is located in beautiful Branson, Missouri. They offer a 30,000-square-foot indoor waterpark and 10,000-square-foot outdoor waterpark. They also have an on-site restaurant, a 24-hour arcade and gift shop, and day spa & salon.

The resort features 98 Tower rooms connected to the Waterpark through interior corridors and 102 exterior entrance rooms in the two Atrium buildings located approximately 50 yards from the Waterpark. Each Tower room has a built in Kiddie Cove (6' x 4') with a bunk bed and 19” flat screen tv.  The Tower room accommodations boast 2 double beds or 1 king bed, 32” flat screen tv, mini fridge, coffee maker, iron, ironing board, and hairdryer. The newly refurbished Atrium rooms boast 2 queen beds, or 1 king bed, a 32” flat screen tv, coffee maker, iron, ironing board, and hairdryer.

Castle Rock offers one of Branson’s best attractions right on-site with our 30,000-square-foot indoor and 10,000-square-foot outdoor waterpark.  The waterpark features 150,000 gallons of splashtacular fun with two, 500-gallon dumping buckets, multiple indoor and outdoor kiddie pools with rain showers and waterfalls and more! Enjoy a swim in the indoor lap pool or play basketball in the indoor activity pool. Loop and dip through 2 large three-story thrill slides, kick back for a ride on the lazy river, play on themed water slides or relax on the multilevel sun deck. 

Special Offers: 

Big Savings Weekday Special - Book your reservation online and receive 30% off your entire stay! Valid on new reservations only.  Not valid in conjunction with any other offers, discounts, promotions or packages.  Blackout Dates: 10/13-10/17, 11/28.  Offer Expires: 12/19/13

Wet & Wild Weekend Package - Includes 2 nights lodging, waterpark access, breakfast each morning for 2 adults & 2 children, VIP coupons, 1 water blaster, 2 adult & 2 children Branson Wild World VIP admission (includes animal adventure tour, arcade, and mini golf).  Package starts at $268, 25% off.  On new reservations only.  Not valid in conjunction with any other offers, discounts, promotions or packages. Blackout Dates: 8/30 - 8/31, 10/18 - 10/19 Expires 11/2/13

Call 1-888-273-3919 to book or visit http://www.castlerockbranson.com