New Review!!! Wizzy Gizmo: Who Created Everything?

Last week something happened that hasn't happened in quite some time around here; I got a review item in the mail! It was audio drama on CD (now also available as a download) called Who Created Everything? From the Book of Genesis: Chapter One from Wizzy Gizmo!

If you'd be so kind as to allow me to digress for just a moment, I did want to let you know that I am doing this review for a site called Homeschool Mosaics which is thee place to go for homeschool information and encouragement.  I'd suggest you check it out.  Well, after you read my review.  :)

Anyway, I had never heard of Wizzy Gizmo before, and didn't know quite to expect. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to be too impressed.  It seems like a lot of people out there who put out of homeschool resources have wonderful hearts and amazing ideas, but are just a few (or a lot) of dollars shy of an adequate production budget. Now, I have no idea what was spent to make this CD, but is sounds very professional to me. (Mind you, I'm just a mom, and not some sort of audio drama producer, but chances are so are you! LOL)

The CD is about a young boy who is new to the town of  Sunnyville. He soon makes some new friends who introduce him to Professor Wizzy Giszmo, or Whiz, who has basically invented a machine called Gizmovision that makes books come to life. Of course, what better book to try first that the Bible? So they kids get to experience the very first days of creation!

I popped the CD into my laptop drive, called my little guy Baber (11) over, and we had ourselves a listen.  I do have to admit that Baber wasn't totally enthralled with the CD, but I feel that is more due to the fact that he is getting older and is definitely more of a visual and hands-on kinda guy. If he is going to be in the kitchen making lunch, the very first thing he does is shut off the radio. He didn't want to shut off the CD, though, and was content to sit and listen with me. That's saying something. He said he liked the story, but would like to have had video along with the audio. However, I would think that younger kids, especially kids who enjoy listening to stories, would love it.  Like I said, it's very well done. The acting was good, the songs catchy, and the sound effects very well done but not over done. It was funny without being too silly.

Oh! I should mention one more thing that really impressed me. The creators are careful to make sure the characters have positive attitudes. This is so refreshing. I get so tired of all the disrespectful attitudes that are so prevalent in much of our modern media.  Here's what they have to say:

"We make sure the characters in our stories do not make it a practice to display unwholesome attitudes, language or actions. We avoid slang and keep things family friendly and appropriate for all ages."

I am so thrilled that in this day and age there are still people out there who are putting out quality biblical resources that are fun and wholesome without undermining biblical truths.  I think most Christian families with young children would thoroughly enjoy listening to Who Created Everything. Also, check out the website for lots more fun and entertaining biblical resources from Wizzy Gizmo!


Recap:

The product: Wizzy Gizmo's Who Created Everything? From the Book of Genesis: Chapter One

Where to get it: https://www.wizzygizmo.com/

The pros: For children who enjoy audio books, I think this would make a fun Bible study tool! It would also make for a great way to settle them down for a quiet time, or as part of a bedtime routine.

The cons: Honestly, there really are no cons that I can think of for a Christian family who enjoys listening to Bible stories.  Perhaps if you aren't comfortable with more modern music, or use a particular version of the Bible.

The bottom line:  CD; $14.99 + S&H (Free shipping when you order either $25 of more, or any three items) or download: $9.99

Social media links:

https://www.facebook.com/wizzygizmo

http://www.plus.google.com/+wizzygizmo

http://www.pinterest.com/wizzygizmo/

https://twitter.com/wizzygizmo

http://vimeo.com/wizzygizmo

Rating*:  Triple!

*Rating Scale

Home Run!  This product is totally awesome, and I'd recommend it to anyone!

Triple!  This product is great, and I think almost anyone would like it.

Double! This product is good, and it would probably work for some people, but not everyone.

Single!  This is an okay product that some people might like, but I wouldn't recommend it for most people.

Strike Out!  This is not a good product, and I could not, in good conscience, recommend it to anyone. 


Happy listening!  :)

Crazy Mom

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I bought and paid for this product myself, have no connection to Family Dollar other than the fact that I shop there, and have received no compensation for this review.  I just liked it so much, I thought I'd let you know."

Running Behind! Yikes!

How is your cleaning going?  I feel like I am SO behind!  These "little bite-sized projects" are taking up all of my time!  I guess you could say I've finished the bookshelves and junk drawer.  However, there are still a bunch of things I have to find a place for. I have an extra large storage bin in my dining room that is FULL. This is where I've been putting all the homeless things for "later." I did clean off my dresser top today and  hope to get to the closet.  I keep finding other things to add to the list.  It never ends....

Well, no time to blog, I have to get back to work!

Read the original post here.

Happy Cleaning!!!

a glimpse of our life: Cleaning out and organizing

A while back a blogging friend of mine, Jennifer, challenged me to do another cleaning challenge. We'd done one a year or so ago, but wouldn't ya know, we both needed to do it again. After reading her post, it sounds to me that she is doing a fantastic job.  Go Jennifer!!!

Check out Jennifers post about cleaning out her office!!!
a glimpse of our life: Cleaning out and organizing

Here's my original post. 

Won't you join us???

Happy Reading, Cleaning, and Organizing!!!

I've been busy!!! (Cleaning update!)

Okay, here's a little rundown of what I've done lately.The big chore I've been doing is organizing my bookshelves. What a chore!  First of all, all the books are totally out of order.  Every year I organize, and by the end of the year you'd never know it.  The kids shove the books in here there and everywhere, and often horizontally on top of the other books.  {sigh} Also, pens, pencils, and just about anything that will fit end up on the shelves in front of the books.  It's a mess. I've been working on it for days and now realize that one day per bookcase was not enough time.  Both cases are now neat and organized, but I have other books and things that I took off them that have to be dealt with.

The reason it takes so long is that I have to decide what books I will be using in the upcoming school and what books can be packed away. I wish had a whole room for them! Then I try to group them in the order we'll use them each day, as well as order them for each student.  It takes a lot of thinking and that wears me out!  LOL

Oh!  I forgot that what started me on the bookshelves was that I went to go through the miscellaneous tub in the younger boys' room and found it was mostly filled with books. So the tub is done. :)

Enough of that. :) I've also reorganized all the clothing drawers in our dresser.  We both have a "junk drawer" and my husband takes care of his own, and I'm avoiding mine.  It's like a little hoarder drawer and it scares me, much like the junk drawer in my kitchen, which I am also avoiding. As for the rest of my house, it looks like a mess right now. Trying to get my kids to do their chores so I can get back to my organizing and some paperwork that needs to be done.  After 25 years I have to prove that I'm married to my husband so I can be on his medical. :)

See my original post here.

Happy Un-hoarding! :)

Making Progress :)

So, yesterday I went for a bigger job. :) I got to the cupboard under my junk drawer (another big one.) Now I am left with only three kitchen areas left to clean/organize. Well, I should say that are on my list. There are still other areas to clean, but I actually have done some of those areas already as I've been in there working. I cleaned the top of the fridge and the little bit of the microwave that sticks out where it fits under my cabinet. That was quite gross! (Who looks there? I'm short!) In other news, I also got the wall vents cleaned in my living room and dining room. These things seem to happen.  If you clean one thing, you just get on a roll! I know you want pics, and I plan to put some up. I've been to busy cleaning to take them. ;)

To see my original post click here.

Happy Housework!

Yet Another Update! :)

Starting to feel accomplished as one whole side of upper kitchen cupboards are done!  (Well, technically I have to put the a few things back in one of them, but they are all clean.)

Yesterday I did the Lazy Susan and the cupboard over my fridge.  I wanted to do the cupboard over the oven but I ran out of time.  (We have Wednesday night church and I had to get dinner and then go.)  This morning did it right away, but I still plan to do something else on the list if  I get to it before going to the grocery store.  Since the Lazy Susan was a job on its own, I'm technically ahead of myself, but I'm okay with that.  Looking around I can find a lot more things to do than the 40 I planned to do, so if I get them done before my deadline, I have plenty more to keep me busy.  (Plus the things I did first will likely be dirty and/or disorganized.  It never ends, does it? ;)

Happy Cleaning, Organizing, Giving, and Tossing!!!  

Another Update!

Just a quick update.  Did my spice cupboard yesterday. Whoo hoo! It's a regular cupboard with three shelves.  I don't even use that many spices!  So, I condensed my spices and cleared the top shelf.  I finally have a home for the many extra bowls and baking dishes I never had a place for.  (I have a small kitchen.)

Then I went a little crazy.  Yep, I cleaned out another area!  Okay, another easy one, my cereal cabinet. I am now over halfway done with my kitchen cupboards.  This whole one area a day thing is working for me. Messy folks like me just can't handle the thought of cleaning a whole house or even a whole room.  It's just overwhelming.  So breaking it down to one small task works! I feel like I've accomplished exactly what I set out to do.  Goodbye feeling like I'm drowning.  :) 

Today I plan to clean the cupboards over the oven and fridge.  Then I am going to go a little wild again and clean the Lazy Susan.  My youngest, Baber, is clearing off all the cans as I type.  It gets so dirty considering I just keep cans on it.  Could be that my kids broke off the door. Whenever I clean it, which has been maybe three or four times, I reorganize like foods together.  It makes it so much easier to use.  I'm actually looking forward to it.  I actually do well organizing small areas.  That doesn't overwhelm me.  It's large areas that freak me out.  What about you?  Are you better at the big picture or the details?  

Happy Cleaning and Organizing!

40 Day Challenge Update #1

Okay, so I've done three days now. Can't say I've done anything earth-shattering. Wednesday I did what was probably the easiest job on my list, the bread drawer. That being said, there was some mold in there. Truth be told, there was a lot. Yuck! I then did what was probably the second easiest job on the list, my medicine chest.  It was fairly easy because it hadn't been that long since I'd done it. (That right there is a miracle.) Then I did my silverware and utensil draws. I did actually throw some stuff out! There were the beaters from my old mixer, and a dented up potato masher. I also pitched a few other odds and ends. The drawers themselves were crummy. How do those crumbs get in there? I still need to reline them with some contact paper. They are not looking too spiffy anymore.

Okay, so not the most inspiring update. However, had I not made the list, chances are nothing would have gotten done. Oh!  I almost forgot, SANE MAN actually totally reorganized my two main dish cupboards. He is really great at that sort of thing. This is by no means the norm around here. He is not usually one to pitch in with housework. However, he had to install a new dishwasher (less than a month after we got a new washer) and we were trying to get all the dishes that had piled up cleaned and put away. In his frustration to find a place for things he started reorganizing. Who was I to stop him (even at 2:00 a..m.)?

So, how are YOU doing? Several people have told me they are with me. If so, please leave a comment here and let me know!

Happy Cleaning!

40 Days of Cleaning, Sorting, Organizing, and Dumping

Recently another blogging friend, Jennifer, sent me an idea.  It was a cleaning challenge.  The idea was basically to clean out 40 areas of your house, getting rid of a bag of junk from each area.  (In my case this could actually be bags.) Sounded like a winning idea to me!

So I put together a list of 40 areas of my house that really need attention.  That's pretty much the whole house.  LOL  My plan is to take one area each day (or maybe two if I'm feeling extra ambitious) and tackle it, then blog about it.  If I get really brave, I'll take pics!  I'm taking Sundays and holidays off, and I have a week of vacation coming up, but other than that, I am committing to at least one area a day in no particular order.

Now, I'm a joiner. I do my best work in groups, and if there's a little competition within the group, I do even better.  So, I already have Jennifer on board, but I'd like to ask all of you to join me too. You don't have to follow my plan exactly.  Just come up with something to do in forty days.  Jennifer even mentioned doing home improvement projects. (I do have some pictures that need to be hung.) It can be anything really, as long as it related to creating order in your home. My projected completion date is August 27.  Are you up to the challenge? The plan is to put up a Linky so if you blog about your projects you can link to it. Until then, go ahead and let me know what you're doing in the comments.

And, just to keep myself accountable, here are my forty areas:

Areas that are done are highlighted!

1. Boys' room under beds/floor
2. Top of boys' dresser
3. Boys' dresser drawers
4. Bin of misc. in boys' room
5. Bin of toys in boys' room
6. Hall closet/hall/shelves
7. Kitchen junk drawer
8.Cupboard under junk drawer
9. Cupboard above junk drawer
10.Spice Cabinet
11.Cabinet over microwave/Clean microwave
12.Cabinet over fridge
13. Utensil and silverware drawers
14. Bread drawer
15. Plastic storage container drawer
16. Corner Cabinet over Sink
17. Corner Cabinet over Lazy Susan
18. Dish cabinets (Done by my honey!)
19. Cereal Cabinet
20. Lazy Susan
21. Bedroom Closet
22. Night Stand
23. Dresser top
24. Dresser Drawers 1 and 2
25. Dresser Drawers 3 and 4
26. Dresser Drawer 5
27. Dresser Drawers 6 and 7
28. Under bed
29. Living Room/Dining room (Hang pictures!)
30. Bookshelf one
31. Bookshelf  two
32. Medicine cabinet
33. Baskets in bathroom
34. Stairs and landing area (basement)
35. Table in basement
36. Under table in basement
37. CD cabinet
38. Laundry shelves
39. Laundry table
40. Laundry area

So there it is!  My challenge to myself is to finish cleaning out all of these areas by August 27.  Any and all encouragement is welcome!

Happy Cleaning!!!

Check Out this Kroger Promotion and Maybe Even Get a Gift Card!

I recently got this info, and thought I'd share with you.  Keep reading to find out how you could get a $25 Kroger gift card!

First a little commercial break.  ;)

Attention Kroger shoppers! Grab a cart (or two!) and head to your local Kroger Co. Family of Stores for the Kroger Buy 5 - Save $5 Event! From October 14th through October 24th purchase 5 participating General Mills products, and receive a coupon for $5 off your next shopping order* (coupon printed at checkout)!

• Look for some of your favorite participating General Mills products like Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Pillsbury Toaster Strudel, Betty Crocker Cake and Brownie Mixes, Hamburger Helper, Totino’s Party Pizza, Yoplait** and many more!

 

• Promotion varies in different locations so please be sure to check your local Kroger Co. Family of Stores*** for specific deals and offers which include: Kroger, Ralphs, King Scoopers, City Market, Dillons, Smith’s, Fry’s, QFC, Baker’s, Owen’s, Jay C Food Stores, Hilander, Gerbes, Fred Meyer, Pay Less Supermarkets and Scott’s Food & Pharmacy

Here are some links you might be interested in:

• Kroger Website: http://bit.ly/Kroger5
• Kroger Facebook: http://bit.ly/Kroger5FB
• Kroger Twitter: http://bit.ly/Kroger5TW
• General Mills Website: http://bit.ly/Kroger5GM

* Products must be purchased during one shopping visit. To view a list of participating products see your store for details. The $5 coupon offer off your next shopping trip offer expires 1 week from the print date, with the coupon prints ending October 24th. Any offers printed on October 24th will expire on October 31st.

**Yoplait items vary by state

***Excludes Food 4 Less

So, now I bet you wanna know how you might be the lucky one to get a $25 gift card!  Read on...

 Giveaway rules: Please read them CAREFULLY as I don't seem to be explaining them well enough. LOL 

Leave a comment. Tell me what you'd like to buy at Kroger to get one entry.

 

Want more entries? Here are four more ways you can enter, for a total of five ways to enter! :)

 

Follow me on facebook, and leave AN ADDITIONAL comment HERE ON THIS POST. (If you already follow, just leave an additional comment HERE ON THIS POST to let me know.)

Follow me on Twitter, and leave AN ADDITIONAL comment HERE ON THIS POST. (If you already follow, just leave an additional comment HERE ON THIS POST to let me know.)

Follow me with Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers, and leave AN ADDITIONAL comment HERE ON THIS POST. (If you already follow, just leave an additional comment HERE ON THIS POST to let me know.)

Subscribe to my blog via Feedburner, and leave AN ADDITIONAL comment HERE ON THIS POST. (See sidebar. If you already subscribe, just leave an additional comment HERE ON THIS POST to let me know.)

You must be 13 years old or older to enter and not live in The Crazy House. :) You must, however, live in the U.S.A. Please leave your e-mail address or some other way I can contact you if you win, or I'll have to draw another winner. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ADDITIONAL ENTRY for up to five entries per person. More than one person may enter per household if they are at least 13 years old. That's about it. :)

The contest will close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, October 21, 2012. The winner will be chosen on Monday, October 22, 2012 or sometime soon after.  (Soon being a relative term.  LOL)

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Yet another disclosure:  The gift card, information, and additional sample have been provided by Kroger and General Mills through MyBlogSpark.”

Happy Shopping!!!