Time for Favos

Yes, it’s that time again….time to share some of my new favorites! The Barker Beauties were busy compiling their own ‘favorites’ posts, so they were not around to show off my picks. However, the show must go on!

First up, is the Memorex OptiFix pro which is a DVD/cd repair and cleaner kit.

Now, if you have a 2 year old in your house, this kit is a lifesaver. From the beginning, we regretfully did not teach sweet JJ how to properly handle DVD’s….of course we taught him how to put them in the DVD player, but not how to hold them to avoid scratching them and leaving dirty paw prints on the readable side. A few weeks ago it had gotten to the point where every single one of his movies was skipping or freezing when we tried to play them. So, I went in search of something to clean them, and came home with this. My mom was over the other day, and she sat and put each one of JJ’s movies into this little contraption – 2 minutes of cleaning, 2 minutes of repairing….yes, she sat there switching the movies in and out for over an hour (he has A LOT of movies). They came out squeaky clean, and they all played without even the slightest skip. And, to think I almost threw some of them out! Don’t chuck ‘em, get Memorex!

Alright all you Sam’s Club fans out there….have you tried their ready made chicken salad?

Perfect for a quick lunch, or when unexpected company drops by and they are hungry! It’s ready to go, just slap it on some bread and you have a fresh and filling sandwich. This will be great to add to your grocery list for summertime. (P.S. normally I would not eat something out of a container that has a picture of an actual chicken on it because I don't like to be reminded of the animal I am about to take a bite of, but this is not exactly what the container looks like...it is more modern looking with no chicken mug!)

Now we come to JJ’s music class!

This is our first semester of Kindermusik and it is already making my favorites list. The instructor has different classes for specific age ranges, so each class is tailored to be a good fit developmentally. The great part about Kindermusik is that she incorporates so many different skills into the classes….she has us stretch our imaginations to find different things we can make with a scarf, she has us use our listening skills to hear a bumble bee flying and landing on a flower, she helps us develop motor skills by learning different ways to move like creeping, skipping, rolling, flying, etc., and she gives us lots of opportunities to have time to bond and sing together. The class is not performance based at all…you will never hear the instructor say ‘good job’…instead she says, ‘thank you for playing today’ or ‘I am glad you came up to try this today’. It is encouraging for all of the children to try things because they are fun, and to not be concerned with whether or not they did it exactly right. Check it out at http://www.earlychildhoodmusicofames.com/

And to end, how could I possibly not share my favorite blog story! Go to Jen & Jason’s Journey on my side bar or http://thejlees.blogspot.com/ This is a couple from our church who we recently met. I have been following their adoption story since last year, and just this past weekend they got to travel to Texas to bring home their sweet little baby boy. They were part of an open adoption, and if you don’t know what that is, just read through her posts. Wow, Jen does such an unbelievable job of expressing her emotions/fears/joys/everything on their blog. She is just plain real. Her posts are always awesome, but each one from last week was just exceptional. You can feel the excitement by reading her words. If you have time this week, sit down and read back through her week of posts…just make sure you’ve got some Kleenex on hand!

And now, what are some of your new favorites?!?!?!