I’m a proud deputy wife.  With all the anti-police activity that has been going on around the country lately, my heart has been broken over and over.  Behind each and every badge that you see is a person with feelings and a family that loves them.  Behind my husband’s badge is a wonderful man who would do anything for anyone.  Behind his badge is a family that includes a wife and 4 children that love him dearly.  A family that prays for him throughout each day that God would see fit for him to return to us at the end of every shift.  Every ambush, stabbing, car wreck, and line of duty death is a reminder of what could be.

Hearts Beneath the Badge is a book that show what is truly behind the badge – a human. Like everyone, they laugh, cry, and feel pain.  They see some of the worst of the worst and have to live on edge and go where many refuse to go.  As I read Hearts Beneath the Badge, I found myself smiling, laughing, and then crying as I read the tremendous stories behind some of the men and women in blue and their families.  I also found myself wondering why so many people can only look at police in the negative and not see an actual person.  I know there are a small number of bad cops.  There are also a small number of bad house builders, plumbers, cashiers, etc.  Why as officers are they lumped into always being bad?

Hearts Beneath the Badge is a great read for anyone that wants to see officers in a more positive light or see what happens to them emotionally as the weight of the job takes it’s toll.  It has a combination of stories of happiness and heartbreak, just like is seen daily on the job.

I highly recommend picking up this book and giving it a read.  Once I started, I could not put this book back down and I expect I’ll be reading it again very soon.  You can find it on Amazon and you can find out more about the author, Karen, on her blog, The Missing Niche.

A few weeks ago, LeapFrog introduced it’s kid fitness and activity tracker!  It’s called the LeapBand!

We were sent a LeapBand to check out for you guys and my 5 year old has volunteered to check it out.  She loves it and loves the challenges that it gives her.  Some of them are pretty silly and the other kids join in the fun as well.

The LeapFrog LeapBand was easy to set up and came already partially charged so we were able to play it immediately.  And yes, I said charged, so batteries are not needed.  To recharge, simply plugin to your computer with it’s included cord.

On your LeapBand, your child can choose a pet and then they do activities with their pet.  They can feed it healthy food, play with it, and do challenges.

Through different activities, your child earns points in order to level up and get more animals.

On the back end of things, you can plug the LeapBand into your computer and check your child’s progress.  You can even specify which times your child can play with the LeapBand so they aren’t getting into trouble at school or playing with it during bedtime.  There is also an area that you can select which challenges it will ask your child to perform. If your child is in any way limited or frustrated with a challenge, you can deselect the ones that your child would struggle with doing.  Your child also doesn’t need to be able to read since it will say all instructions out loud.

My kids really like the LeapBand and are enjoying playing with it and I made a little video to show you some of the features that make it so fun.

If you cannot see the video, CLICK HERE to see it.

So there you have it!  It’s a hit around here!  For more information, you can check it out on LeapFrog.com or on Amazon.com.

Recently, my husband and I checked out ARTini’s Art Lounge.  I guess I should start this post by saying that neither one of us are artists.  I can barely draw stick people.  I was really nervous about the class, but it turned out great.

With ARTini’s, all your art supplies are provided, all you do is find a picture you want to paint and make your reservation.  We went to the Date Night Whimsy paint class.

How gorgeous is that?!  This class is perfect for a date night and consists of a series of 4 paintings that can be hang together on a wall.  My husband and I, being the crazy people we are, decided to go slightly different and fit it on 2 canvases and paint them to match our room.

Here we are about to get started.

We had a great time bonding over a painting, if that makes any sense.  For this particular painting we had to work together in order to make it match.

It was awesome watching the painting come together and the instructor guided us through every step of the way.  I definitely think this is going to be a frequent event on our date outing list.  Even better, you can purchase wine to make your painting even more interesting!  We cannot wait to go back and have some more art to hang on our walls!

Here’s the finished project.  We completely made it our own and to match our bedroom.  We are thrilled with our new funky piece of art that we made ourselves!

Thanks ARTini’s for allowing us to come paint with you!  We will be back!

VTech’s Innotab is supposed to be one of the HOT items of the year.  Already, they are starting to sell out online.   I was recently asked to review this product for you all.  I had my kiddos put it to the test and they all really like it.  My 8 year old is impressed with the calendar feature.  You can add your birthdays to the calendar and decorate it to remind your kids of important events.

The Innotab come pre-loaded with several apps  including an interactive, animated e-book, motion games, creative activities, music player, photo viewer, video player and more.  This tablet comes geared toward children age 4-9.  My 2 year old absolutely LOVED it though, but then again, it was pink 😉  You can also choose a blue tablet for the boys.  There are lots of games that you can purchase to add to the tablet and some that you can download as well.

The tablet comes with a stylus that slides in the tablet for storage.  This concerned me a little since children are likely to lose things.  I would have been a little happier if it was attached somehow.  The other thing I didn’t like is that it seemed big for little hands.

Other than those 2 things, it was pretty good.  My kids all loved it.

If you’re interested in finding out more, check the Vtech website or watch this short video on youtube.  The Tablet sells for $79 on Amazon.

Disclaimer: I received the VTech Innotab with hopes that I would try it out with my children and provide a review.  All opinions are my own.

This morning I hosted a toy testing party with a few friends and their children.  We received a LeapFrog Tag Reading System, books, and map to try out along with the new Leapfrog LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet.

LeapFrog Tag Reading System: 

First off, I was very impressed with this product.  I had seen the Tag Reading System before but had never played with it.  It was very easy for the kids to use and they all were really surprised that it could read the books to them and also the maps.  I was super excited about the map and think it will come in handy with our homeschool lessons.  It was a hit with all of the kids and the moms as well.  I love LeapFrog products since I know my kids are learning when they are using them.  I plan to use the LeapFrog Tag Reading System frequently with my almost  5 year old as he starts learning to read.

Checking out the Leapfrog Tag Reading System Map

"Reading" a book with Tag

LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet 

The LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet was by far a HUGE hit with the kids.  Think of it as an iPad for kids!  The setup is great, having the games loaded on the tablet so that you can select which game/application to play.  It has a built in camera to take photos and record video.  The kids had a blast with that along with editing the photos and making silly pictures.  The LeapPad allows kids to take more than 30,000 photos or shoot 120 minutes of video!  Not only was the Learning Tablet extremely fun for the kids, with so many endless possibilities, it was also educational.  When you sign onto the LeapPad, you select your child’s grade and then it will adjust the games to be more on your child’s level.  The LeapPad is geared toward age 4-9, but I think out of all the kids at the party, my friend’s 3 year old had the most fun with it.  Every single one of the kids that left the party were asking for their own LeapPad Learning Tablet, so I’m pretty sure this is going to be one of the hot ticket items this Christmas.

Loving the LeapPad Learning Tablet

Taking Turns with the LeapPad Learning Tablet

What great products these were and we had such a blast trying them out.  I would definitely recommend both as you start trying to figure out what Christmas presents to get this upcoming holiday season.  I know I will be getting a few to give as gifts!

Disclaimer: I received these products in exchange for my unbiased review.