Mommy Octopus

We had the absolute best time this past weekend at Stone Mountain Park Christmas!  It was opening weekend and everything was decked out for Christmas.  Stone Mountain Park was a wonderful way to start getting in the Christmas spirit with our family.  Many things have changed since we were there last and it was well worth the drive.

One of my son’s favorite attractions was walking through Dinosaur Explore.  We are able to walk down the paths and visit prehistoric dinosaurs.  The dinos were ready for Christmas with gifts and decorations.  So fun!

The biggest change at Stone Mountain that I noticed is how much my kids have grown!  The five of them are so much older now!  I loved getting a photo of them by the mountain to remember for years to come.

One attraction that is often forgotten at Stone Mountain Park is the Great Locomotive Chase Adventure Golf.  Out of the many times we’ve been to Stone Mountain, I think this is the first time we’ve taken the kids to play putt-putt.  We had a great time and the paths were well cared for throughout the course.  At the end, we got a chance to try to get a hole-in-one to make the train sound.  None of us accomplished this, however my daughter got a hole in one on another course by accident.  Her golf ball bumped off the edge, went airborne, and then plopped right into the hole!  Great memories!!

The weather changed quickly on us with the cold front coming in, so we didn’t have warm enough clothes to stay as long as we had hoped.  If you love the summer laser shows like we do, you’ll definitely love the Christmas show! New this year, you can celebrate the spirit of the season with an all new 20-minute experience. Your favorite holiday songs are brought to life with unique videos, new special effects and a fireworks finale. Before you know it, the whole family will be singing along!  I know we were!  Santa even flies overhead during this time!  Cute!

I’m so pleased with all the additions and magic that has been added to Stone Mountain Park.  We will have to make this more of a tradition now that things are getting back to normal.

For more information, head on over to check out Stone Mountain Park Christmas!

It’s time to watch Christmas movies!  If you are looking for some feel good Christmas movies, the place to be is on Pure Flix this holiday season.  Offering over 190 movies, Pure Flix will have something new to watch all season long.  Every week, Pure Flix will be bringing new entertainment for the whole family.

This week, the focus is on Christmas miracles with An Angelic Christmas, Saved By Grace, and An Unlikely Angel.  I’ve watched all three of these movies and they definitely fit the feel-good atmosphere of Pure Flix.

My husband and I just watched the brand new movie releasing on 11/18,  An Angelic Christmas.  It was pretty cute! It was a great way to start moving our family toward Christmas movies. In the movie, the angel Celeste enlists two sisters in her quest to earn her angel wings. In a race to Christmas eve, they bring faith and forgiveness to their town this year.

You can check out the trailer below:

Ready to watch some Christmas movies all season long?  Head on over to Pure Flix.  You can give the free trial a chance to see if it is a right fit for your family.  We are hooked!

https://www.ulta.com/promotion/buy-more-save-more/detail/2000003354

Ulta is many of the popular stocking stuffer items available on a 5 for $5 sale!  These items are normally $2.99 each, so this is a fantastic discount!

Ulta also has the Ulta Beauty Box Caboodles Edition for just $19.99 (a $133 Value!)  Use code 317913 to save $3.50 off a purchase of $15 or more and get it for just $16.49! (Note: This code cannot be used on the $5 for $5 deal.  See website for more details.

Select in store pickup to save on shipping!  Otherwise, free shipping on orders over $35!

Head on over to check your Target Circle accounts and see if you have a coupon for groceries!  A friend of mine got a $5 off $15 food and beverage coupon.  I received a $10 off $40 coupon!  Take a look and see if you have one of these!  Leave a comment and tell me what you got!

Many thanks to Pure Flix for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.

My husband and I have been watching a great new series on Pure Flix called Saved By Grace.  It’s a sweet series about two angels answering prayers and changing lives!  When different characters whisper words of prayer for help, angels come and assist them and change their lives.  It reminds me of a show that I watched with my family when I was younger.

As of today, there are 2 episodes available to stream and more are on the way!  We are eagerly waiting for more of this series.  It’s great that we can watch it with our school age kids and talk about what happened and different aspects of the stories.  It’s so nice to have some wholesome shows to watch and discuss.

We are huge fans of Pure Flix and love the family programming that we can watch together.

Take a peek at the trailer below to see more about this show:

About Pure Flix:

Pure Flix is the leading faith and family-friendly streaming video-on-demand service. With thousands of God-honoring and inspiring movies and shows, you can Have Faith In Your Entertainment again.

Pure Flix was founded in 2005 by Michael Scott, David A.R. White, and Russell Wolfe. The company initially started as a film studio behind breakout theatrical hits like “God’s Not Dead,” “The Case for Christ” and “Do You Believe?” and launched its streaming platform in 2014. In late 2020, Pure Flix the streaming service became part of AFFIRM Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment, with a mission to stream God-honoring stories to a new generation through inspiring and faith-affirming TV shows, movies and original series.

Giveaway:

These are AWESOME!! Absolutely perfect for a family that does and doesn’t like to do matching pajamas.  So cute!  They are just $14.99 and they ship for free! Head on over to Jane.com to grab a few pairs!

Wow!  Walmart is rocking the fun Christmas inflatables this year and prices start at just $16.88 for 4 foot tall ones!  I’ve had fun with these this year and have put up seasonal ones on our front porch.  At this price point, you can choose between the gnome, gingerbread man, snowman, Christmas tree, Christmas alligator, Santa, reindeer, penguin, and more!  Select to pick up at the store for free or shipping is free on many orders over $35.

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Throughout our homeschooling years, all of my children have used various online programs. One that has always been used in their younger years, and one of my personal favorites, is Reading Eggs.

For review purposes, we have been using Reading Eggs with my 1st grader and 6th grader. This program is geared toward children ages 2-13. Even though the title implies reading skills, Reading Eggs is far more than just simply learning letters and sounds.

The program offers MathSeeds, Reading Eggs, Reading Eggs Junior, Reading Eggspress, and Fast Phonics. All of these programs are available both on a computer and as an app. I’m always a fan of programs with an app feature!

My 1st grader asks to work on Reading Eggs almost daily.  He loves to play the racing games and learn about phonics, but Math Seeds is his absolute favorite.  I’ve noticed his skills getting stronger then more he works on Reading Eggs.  It’s also a great way to keep him occupied and learning while I try to work with his older siblings on their school work.  Fast Phonics has also helped him to grow his phonics knowledge.  I like how it will take one word and ask you to change one letter to make it into a new word.  This is great for practice!  We will continue using Reading Eggs with my kids until they age out since it has so many benefits and we see such great results!

Each program inside Reading Eggs offers the ability to see progress reports.  Below you can see how my son is doing with Fast Phonics:

I like that it shows me what words he worked on and how he did on the quiz.

For my 6th grader, she has been working on reading comprehension with Reading Eggspress.  This is an area that she has struggled with so I’m happy there is a program that can assist her.

In addition to the online games, Reading Eggs also offers free printable worksheets inside the online program!  I’ve utilized these with my kids to help with their understanding.

For more information, you can visit the Reading Eggs website.  You can also find out more on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.  You can also read more reviews on this product and others from the Homeschool Review Crew by clicking the banner below.

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

There are now five books in the Horses in History series by author Mattie Richardson: Appaloosy, Dusty’s Trail, Day and Night, Golden Sunrise, and Blue Skies West.  These books are stories about history told by the horses themselves. In a previous review, we went over the first four books.  Now we get a chance to check out Blue Skies West, the newest!

About the Book:

Thoughts From My Daughter: