Children’s eBook Review and Giveaway! Candy and the Cankersaur!

Posted in Blog, Review by Mommyhood Land Blog

*I received a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own, and my children’s.*

Candy and the Cankersaur

I have something exciting to share with you all. I recently got the chance to review this cute children’s eBook, Candy and the Cankersaur by Jason Sandberg, and he was nice enough to offer 10 copies to giveaway to 10 lucky people! Do you have a Kindle? Then this is a giveaway you will not want to miss!

Candy and the Cankersaur is a cute story about a little girl who desires the attention of her busy father. The father seeing that his daughter needs a companion decides to get her a pet dinosaur! (Like really, who did not want a pet dinosaur when they were little?!) The little girl then attempts to train her dinosaur, especially in the rule of “Do not bite”. This part my kids found very funny. But it turns out the little girl has a jealous neighbour… Well to find out the rest you will have to read the book!

I really hope to instil my love of reading in my kids. As much as I love to actually hold a book to read, sometimes it is just better to go with an eBook. Especially when you have 3 children and love to travel and go on road trips. So I was pleasantly surprised when I got the chance to review this book and found that both my boys enjoyed it. They thought the idea of having a pet dinosaur was pretty awesome! The also enjoyed the art work throughout the book.

The lesson that people and animals are more important than items is a bonus to having this cute book to call your own!

Candy and the Cankersaur

If you, or your child, has ever wanted a pet dinosaur as your own, this is the book for you.

Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win. This contest is open to anyone that has a Kindle.

~ Michelle

Click on the link below to be taken to the giveaway page!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

13Apr2015

Furious 7

Posted in Blog, Review by Mommyhood Land Blog

I finally got out to see Furious 7. I know I am a week late. But I finally saw it, and I am so glad I did.

Furious 7 Movie Poster by Universal Studios.

First off, can I just say how long it has been since I have actually watched a movie in a movie theatre. I can’t remember exactly, but it is in the 2-3 year mark. Also this is the longest that I have been away from my daughter. The amount of emotions I had from excitement to actually be going out and the mom guilt was a bit overwhelming to be honest. I had butterflies. It is a bit crazy what motherhood can do to you. The simple act of going to a movie can cause such guilt.

So like I said, it had been a while since I have been out. Can I just say I may have totally gotten excited to see this soda machine! I mean seriously, how awesome is that?! So many choices! I could have Cherry Coke. Cherry Coke is so awesome and it’s almost impossible to get in Canada, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Also, I may have been a tiny bit (Super) excited to see Furious 7, that I may have gotten to theatre a tad bit early…

Any way, now onto the actual movie.

What can I say about Furious 7…

I cried. I cried at the beginning of the movie, just knowing that Paul Walker has passed on. I cried at the end of the movie.

The movie itself I loved. It was a great movie. The cast was awesome as always. The dynamics between them worked so well. I loved the graphics. I loved the cars. Oh the cars were awesome. The stunts, the fight scenes. Oh how they just keep pushing and pushing the Fast and Furious franchise, and they just keep winning.
But knowing that Paul Walker wasn’t even there for some of those scenes… It was sad. Although the whole movie was good, I felt there was an undertone of sadness throughout the whole thing. There were parts in the movie that just were so sad, like the funeral scene when they said along the lines of “No more funerals. Just one more”.
If you watch the other movies, especially Fast 4, 5, and 6, you can see the real connection and love between the actors, but in this one, when you looked in their eyes, especially during certain scenes, their eyes were filled with such sadness and heartbreak, something that can not be faked, even by the best actors.

Spoiler Alert.
I cried during the end scene. The good-bye to Brain (Paul Walker).
I felt they did a good job at saying good-bye. It was respectful and full of love.

If you get the chance to go out and see a movie, I highly recommend seeing Furious 7. Just make sure you have a some tissues handy, it is equal parts excitement, trill, and sadness.

~ Michelle

26Mar2015

Hi-tech tablet strollers, When is enough enough?

Posted in Blog, Motherhood, Review by Mommyhood Land Blog

Please tell me this is a joke? I came across this article online Hi-tech tablet strollers rolled out at Edmonton mall

Here is a screen shot of their article showing the product they are talking about.

Screen shot of the article by http://technology.canoe.ca

My first thought was that this had to be a joke. This is such a stupid idea. I’m sorry, but it is.

I have 3 kids. My 2 boys are 13 months apart. I fully know the challenges of taking small children to the mall with me. I remember the days very well of meltdowns, tantrums, and outings cut short. I also remember fun days out. Fun days walking around the mall, shopping, and eating out. I remember them looking around and asking countless questions about everything they saw. Question after question. No tablet can replace the learning that can take place while out, yes learning even out at the mall.

Do we not have enough screens around our children? DVD players in the car, Flat screens in the food courts of the mall, TV screens in waiting rooms, TV screens in the dentist office and on and on…
I really have to wonder sometimes if parents don’t remember what it was like growing up. We didn’t have anything like that. My family of 5 would drive to Florida and back (2 days trip each way) with no screens or DVD players and guess what? We survived. My doctor’s office when I was a child never had a tv, and guess what, I survived. I had braces in grade 6, my dentist did not have any TVs around at all, and I survived.

Now, back to the article.

I hate this idea. I think it is stupid. I think it is a waste of money.

I understand the appeal, I will be honest. Being a mom is hard. And sometimes it can be hard to get out of the house, especially on your own. I understand that sometimes you just want to go out and have a minute to breathe.
However I don’t think the answer is to put your child in a stroller with a tablet in their face.

Outings should be fun. Outings can be a great chance to make memories. Yes, even outings to the mall. They can also be great learning opportunities, and not by staring at a screen, by asking questions and observing the world around them.

Just because it is easy to do, doesn’t mean we should. Easy isn’t always best.

~ Michelle