Posts Tagged ‘love’
The Dance Shop Inc. – Madison’s Birthday Party!
I am so excited. The kids and I booked Madison’s birthday party last night (yes, I know her birthday isn’t until January. However, I’m anal. I look to book things early. I mean I’ve already talked to the caterer for Madison’s first communion which isn’t until May. Yes, I know I am crazy).
I have been trying to decide what to do for Madison’s birthday. When your girl turns 8, it is incredibly hard to find something that is affordable yet fun for the girls! Madison, who has never taken a dance class in her life, does love to dance around the house, so when we got the flier in her school backpack (many local businesses will give the school things to throw in the kids backpacks. I don’t mind at all, and it introduces us to new businesses in the area), I knew what we were going to do for her birthday party. Yes, we booked a party at The Dance Shop.
I got to meet with the owner last night, and she was sooo nice. They host birthday parties for 12 girls for $200 (it is $5 for every girl after that), and you get a choice of a Hip-Hop party or Ballet. Madison went with Ballet (which was surprising since I guess most girls her age go with Hip-Hop). She is so excited.
I love that we are able to help support a local business. When I was talking about this on Facebook, I’ve already got a couple moms interested in checking them out for lessons. Since this place is very close to Madison’s school, I am glad that the moms get to check them out. As for lessons, they have ballet, hip-hop, zumba (I guess these classes are pretty busy!), tap, jazz, and ballroom (think I can get Bill in for this one?). (You can check out their class schedule here if you are interested.)
I am so glad to be working with them on Madison’s birthday party! If you are in the Chicago south suburbs, The Dance Shop Inc. is definitely worth checking out! You can also walk in and register any time you want!
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LeapFrog: Learn, Create, and Share
My family and I are huge LeapFrog fans. We own the majority of their products, and I am always willing to try their new ones! As many of you know, I also like to pass along great products when I see them. We had a little get together with some friends and showed them the new Leapfrog products.
We already had a Tag reading system, but we tried out the new pen. However, we did not have the Learn To Read Series or the Interactive World Map. Personally, I loved the Learn To Read Series. It is exactly what Will is learning in preschool right now, so it is quite complimentary. The Interactive World Map is awesome:
The kids loved the Map Racer Challenge that is on the map. I learned with this game that I didn’t know my geography all that well. Who actually knows where Fiji or Madagascar is? I know I didn’t until yesterday! There are three different levels, so all ages can play without getting frustrated. The kids loved that when you clicked on the airplane it made noise too. There was also a few more games. What I didn’t realize till after everyone left, was that there are two sides to the map!!!!! My kids played with the other side and had just as much fun. I loved that the map is interactive and that my kids were learning. They didn’t even realize it at all! All the kids just thought they were having fun! Madison thought the map was fun and hard while Alex thought Level 3 was definitely hard! Hannah thought it was really fun.
We also were able to try out the new LeapPad learning tablet:
Who cares about the kids opinion? I am in love. I can’t tell you how much I love this product. For me, it is the best thing since sliced bread. It truly is. My husband and I both have smart phones. Our kids always want to play on said smart phone. I’ve already had my 4 year old drop said smart phone and shatter the screen. Needless to say, I need a product like this in my home (now granted, if you drop this just right, it’ll shatter said screen too). That all being said, all the kids loved this including my 2 year old nephew Gabe. Yes, my two year old nephew is an awesome player on the balloon popping game on here and beat everybody’s score.
The tablet is for ages 4 - 9. It has a built in camera and video recorder. LeapPad offers limitless learning and endless play through their library of 100+ cartridge games, apps, digital books, videos, and flash cards! You can touch the screen with your finger or the stylus (and it comes with an extra one too!). Some of the games require you to shake it and even blow into it. They have games and apps in school basics like math, reading, science, geography, art, music, language, culture, etc. The skill levels adjust automatically, so kids can learn at their own pace. Their progress is remembered from game to game. You can set up profiles for all your kids too!
I can honestly say that I can see the LeapPad being a top item this Christmas. I was impressed with the durability and how both my kids can play with it. My kids love it, and we’ve already taken it on long car trips. My car has never been so quiet. 
I am impressed with all the Leapfrog products we go to try out. I highly recommend them all!
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5 Days Left 
Inspiration – #NSNation Update – Week 16
Four months. Can you believe it? I have been working the Nutrisystem program for 4 months now.
I’ll be honest, when I started this program, I didn’t have a lot of faith in myself. I have never known the correct way to diet. My high school dieting involved eating as little as possible. I did try in college some of the other weight loss programs out there, but I was never very successful with them. Hence, my need now to lose about 100 lbs. (which is now much less, but I digress).
I had something amazing happen to me last week. Now, I’ve had one of my best friends tell me that if she could afford it, she would try Nutrisystem just due to my results. (You often will see her commenting on my posts here). However, I received a Facebook message last week from a cousin of mine that I see about once a year if I am lucky. She told me that I inspired her, and she joined Nutrisystem because of my success. Wow, is all I can say. I’ll be honest — it still amazes me how my blogging can help others and change their lives. And yes, I got a little teary eyed when she said that.
When I started this, I never expected to inspire anyone. I didn’t expect the lifestyle change and the way I think about food changing. It never dawned on me to order the tilapia instead of the breaded fish and chips. It never dawned on me that my issue with food had more to do with serving size than willpower. I have a friend also named Lisa who inspires me from week to week. We read one another’s blogs to see how we each are doing and comment to help one another along. I also read the comments on my posts, and it really does bring a tear to my eye when I read that I inspire people. Little old me. You all inspire me though with your helpful and loving comments. I’d love to say this is easy. Some days it is. Some days it is incredibly difficult.
I helped coach Madison’s soccer team last Friday. The last half of practice we had a scrimmage against the kids (2 coaches against 8 kids). I ran. That is something that I can tell you that I would not have done 40 lbs heavier. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. Best of all, I was able to get out of bed the next morning. That is such a great feeling.
Now that I’ve bounced all over with this post, onto the important stuff. Here’s this weeks progress:
THIS WEEKS WEIGHT LOSS: 1.2
TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS: 37.8
I always wish it could be more, but I’ll take that! So who inspires you?
Want to lose weight and get healthy on Nutrisystem? Join today by calling 1-888-853-4689 or by visiting http://www.nutrisystem.com/nsblog
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