~France Week~ Day 1: Language and Land Marks

Last Week: Japan Week Day 1

Today we begin our five day culture lesson on France. The first two topics are language and landmarks. Last week I regretted not being able to go over landmarks as much with Serenity, so I thought I would make sure to cover it from now on. There is so much to learn in so little time and I don't want her to get bored or frustrated. I try to organize fun things in between the factual information in order to keep her attentive.

Some of the most known and popular land marks in France are the Eiffel Tower , the Arc De Triomphe, Notre-Dame, and The Louvre. I found a few videos and pictures to share with her so she could get a good feeling about why these places are so beloved.

~Japan Week~ Day 5: Demographics, National Symbols, and Weather. Let's Review!

Yesterday: Holidays, Customs, and Fashion

Today we went through some of the more mundane facts about Japan. We talked about population, regional statistics, and currency. We also discussed the crazy weather that Japan deals with. On top of crazy weather the country also under went massive amounts of radiation exposure. Once through atomic bombs being dropped and yet again more recently with a nuclear reactor explosion. We discussed and looked at videos of these events.

Seri drew the Japanese Flag:

~Japan Week~ Day 4: Holidays, Customs, and Fashion

Yesterday: Sports and Crafts

Today we have learned about different Japanese holidays like New Year's, Valentine's Day, White Day, and Obon. Valentine's Day in Japan is different from what we know here in the states. In Japan Girls give boys chocolate on Valentine's Day. Then on White Day boys give girls chocolate in return. Japan is very much a reciprocating society. Obon is originally a Buddhist holiday where they believe that our deceased ancestors come back to visit family members. On this day, those that choose to, set up shrines and pray for their dearly departed family and friends, hoping that their thoughts and words of love have been heard.

We also learned the proper bowing and sitting positions. Seri will show it here:

~Japan Week~ Day 3: Sports and Crafts

Yesterday: Entertainment and Food

Today's focus, for our week long culture learning of Japan, was on sports and traditional crafts. We watched videos that showed sumo wrestling, karate, kendo, and judo. We also learned that baseball and soccer are popular past times as well.During the time that kids are in high school they usually are required to sign up for at least one extracurricular club. The amount of diversity is endless. Archery, dance, and many other sport clubs are available. Physical wellness is highly promoted!

Here are a few of the videos we looked at:

Sumo

~Japan Week~ Day 2: Entertainment and Food

Yesterday: Language and Calligraphy

Today we learned about Japanese food and different forms of Japanese entertainment. We watched a Miyazaki film called "My Neighbor Totoro" and watched YouTube videos of different bands and shows. We looked through pictures of Japanese foods and learned their names and made PB&J sushi for lunch along with some miso soup. After lunch we used Japanese candy kits to enjoy a tasty treat!

~Japan Week~ Day 1: Language and Calligraphy

Today is the first day of our culture week summer plan! This week we will be learning about Japan...or Nippon! We have begun our study with language. That way she can practice it all week. I will share a few of the phrases and greetings we are going to focus on further on below. We also practiced a bit of calligraphy which she found really fun! More on that below as well. Today also seemed like good day to embrace Japanese culture in her outfit, so she eagerly pulled on a Hello Kitty dress, fixed up her hair in pig tails and took out her parasol. Throughout the day I asked her how to say certain things in Japanese and she did pretty well for a 7 year old!

Disney, D.C., and Marvel Blind Bags and Boxes Un-Boxed!!

We bought some more blind boxes to open up on our YouTube channel the other day! We ended up with some figures we like and a few...we...just...don't....but we still had fun with the mystery of it all! Take a peek and let us know what you think! :)

A few annoyances of the last week.....

Most days I try to put on a happy face. I try to wear a smile and think happy thoughts just as Peter Pan taught me as a child. This is not always possible...for anyone. I don't care who you are, everyone has days where you want to run your mouth like a sailor who's been drinking...everyone has days where you want to let that little devil on your shoulder take over and tell the angel to shut the hell up.

Keeping Busy and Getting Some Culture This Summer

Summer time is here and I have started planning what to do to occupy my energetic little girl. She is not the kind of kid that just goes out to play. She has to explore, learn, and use up energy or else she gets grumpy and hyper. She has been labeled as Gifted and with that comes a large understanding of big concepts and an openness to learning new things. This summer I thought it would be a fun and a time-filling activity to explore new cultures.

Crazy~ Quirky~ Toy~ Reviews

Serenity wants to start reviewing toys on our YouTube so I figured why not. ;) She so difficult to direct though...always has an opinion and never wants to memorize anything haha! So her reviews will be purely her....her ideas and her descriptions. Lets see how that goes. :)

Her first review is of a Disney's Sofia the First Play Set. Enjoy!

Crazy Quirky Cupcake Challenge 2015!

For the love of cupcakes what have we gotten ourselves into?! Lately Seri has been obsessed with Cupcake Wars and cooking competition shows. She was so enthusiastic about them that without thinking... I mentioned that maybe we could have a family competition. She was over the moon and on my case every second until I made it happen.

Dealing with Depression and Anxiety as a Parent..

Lately I feel like the worst wife and mother in the world. I am moody, tired, and completely unmotivated. I cry randomly, snap at my husband and daughter, and I isolate myself. I feel lonely when I am not alone and I feel overwhelmed when I am around others. Then bring on the guilt party. This kind of circumstance does not occur frequently. This week I am grieving for my Mother. The anniversary of her death is on this coming Monday and even though I have tried to stay calm and in control...I am neither.

Blind Bag Grab Bag YouTube Videos

I'm excited to share that we have started a new series of videos on our YouTube channel.It is called Blind Bag Grab Bag and is a series of videos of us opening up Blind bags. If you haven't heard of them before a blind bags/mystery bags/mystery boxes/blind boxes are secret bags/boxes that have a themed toy inside. There are Marvel, D.C., Frozen, and Hello Kitty bags.Pretty much you name it and there might be a blind bag for it. We have gathered a huge collection of them and each video is different.

 In the first video here we each "grabbed" two from our box full of bags and opened them up to show you what we got! Its a fun series that I hope you will enjoy and share. :)

Family Love Part 1:Jenn

I used to feel like I had a very small family. My mom and dad only had three kids and we were not extremely close to our extended family. We lived quite far from everyone so we had few chances to bond.
In this series of posts I want to talk a bit about my small knit family, as well as, my in laws. After marrying my hubby I gained more than just him. He came with 10 other siblings and his mother and father. As time goes by and those siblings grow up, get married, and have kids, my family grows ever larger.

Family Love Part 1: My eldest sister, Jenn.

~ 10 Lovely Things ~

1. Waking up with energy and a positive feeling first thing in the morning.
2. Seeing my daughter happy and smiley all day long.
   

9 Years of Ups, Downs, and Serenity

I first met my husband after moving to Oklahoma in 2005. I had just graduated from high school and was unsure of which direction I would take. I had no plans for college, I didn't even know what I needed to do to get started. I left all of my friends behind and was living in an entirely new environment. It pushed me into a deep depression. I stayed at home every day and slept. My sister wanted to help me, one night she brought me along to meet some of her coworkers and friends. I was hesitant to go at first but figured what the hell... I knew I needed to get out of the house and into the world. As I walked into the party I met eyes with a tall blue-eyed young man lounging against the wall next to the entrance. There was a moment between us that quickly passed as my sister whispered to me who he was...her crush from work...