DISCLOSURE: As an NCircle Entertainment Ambassador, I received a free DVD for review purposes. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links.

It's hard to believe it's already November. Christmas will be here before you know it! If your child is a fan of the Octonauts, you may want to consider adding this new DVD to your collection!

ABOUT OCTONAUTS: SEASON TWO

Dive into adventure with your favorite underwater explorers, the Octonauts! Join brave Captain Barnacles, daredevil ex-pirate, Kwazii, medic Peso and the rest of the crew, as they explore the world's oceans, rescue the creatures who live there and protect their habitats -- above and below the waves!

Based on the richly imaginative books by Meomi, this series combines immersive visuals and "submersive" humor to transport young children into a world that is both real and fantastic, full of mysteries to unravel and surprises around every corner. In this season set, encounter all types of creatures from the Great White Shark to Lionfish and more! The adventures don't end there! Embark on an Amazon adventure with the Octonauts as they travel down the Amazon River in search of a lost city and Kwazii's long lost grandfather, Calico Jack! So come aboard the Octopod for 24 exciting missions!

DISCLOSURE: I received a free copy of Hotel Transylvania 3 for review purposes. No further compensation was provided. This post may contain affiliate links.

Movie night is a staple in our home. It's a great way to spend time together as a family, while enjoying yummy treats and a great movie. This past weekend, we had a chance to watch Hotel Transylvania 3.

Since I worked all week, I didn't have the time to bake the Halloween treats I was planning on making. So, instead we picked up some brownies and cupcakes and popped some popcorn.

DISCLOSURE: I received free admission in exchange for a review. No further compensation was provided.

It's been probably over five years since we last visited the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. This past weekend, my family and I had a chance to check out the two new exhibits that opened this past summer. It was a great way to spend a rainy Sunday morning.

DISCLOSURE: As an NCircle Entertainment Ambassador, I received a free DVD for review purposes. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links.

Today is my son's 8th birthday! I can't believe he's already 8. It seems just like yesterday that he was scooting around on the floor. And now he's in 2nd grade!

To help celebrate, I'm giving away a copy of the newest DVD from the Floogals: Project Birthday Cake!

DISCLOSURE: We attended the USA Science & Engineering Festival as a guest of Razor. In exchange for a review and promotion, we will receive a free Razor scooter. All opinions are my own.

My kids love their scooters. My one daughter rides her scooter to and from school whenever she can. Some of the kids call her "Scooter Girl." My older kids each have a Razor Scooter and they love riding them around whenever it's warm outside.

The boys and their Razor scooters

Recently, we received an invitation from Razor to check out the USA Science & Engineering Festival, which took place this past weekend in Washington, DC. We jumped at the opportunity to learn more about Razor scooters and to attend the Science Festival. My husband and I are big science geeks. He teaches a college anatomy and physiology course and I work full time as an optometrist.

DISCLOSURE: As an NCircle Entertainment Ambassador, I received a free DVD pack for review purposes. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links.

DISCLOSURE: As an NCircle Entertainment Ambassador, I received a free DVD for review purposes. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links.

It's hard to believe it's already March. Easter will be here before we know it! When planning your children's Easter baskets, you may want to consider this fun new DVD from the Floogals!

ABOUT FLOOGALS: PROJECT EGG HUNT

Each day, Captain Fleeker, First Officer lo and Junior Boomer encounter something that sparks their curiousity, setting in motion the days research "project" and triggering an exciting adventure!

In Project Egg Hunt, the Floogals mistakenly think Mom and Dad Hooman have accidentally dropped candy eggs in the garden when in fact they have placed them there on purpose to create an egg hunt for their kids. The Floogals think they are being helpful and tidy up the eggs! Once the Floogals realize their mistake, they must get al the eggs baack on the ground before the kids arrive so their fun day won't be ruined.

Adventure is everywhere they go. They're the Floogals! 3, 2, 1, let's go!

I attended optometry school in Philadelphia. Whenever my husband and I would hang out in Center City, we would drive by this big old building. I knew it was an old penitentiary, but I never got a chance to actually visit it when I lived in Philadelphia.

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to take a quick weekend trip without our kids. We thought it would be fun to go back up to Philadelphia and do all the touristy things we didn't get a chance to do when I lived up there.

Each month, my kids look forward to receiving books from the Parragon Book Buddies program. They love to read or have books read to them. And Parragon publishes so many great family favorites. Usually, the books are centered around a particular theme. January's theme was focused on Disney Princesses.


Once my son saw the books were mostly Disney Princess books, though, he got disappointed and left the room. On the other hand, my daughter was happy. She loves Disney Princesses!

DISCLOSURE: As a NCircle Ambassador, I received a free DVD for review purposes. No further compensation was provided. All opinions are my own. Post may contain affiliate links.

The Cat In The Hat is a family favorite. This month, we received The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That - Season 2, Volume 1 to review. This DVD features 20 episodes on two discs and runs approximately 220 minutes!

ABOUT THE CAT IN THE HAT - SEASON 2, VOLUME 1

The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That! show follows the adventures of 6-year-old best friends, Sally and Nick, as they are whisked off on extraordinary voyages of scientific discovery with the Cat in the Hat. Thanks to the Thinga-ma-jigger and our friends, exploring has never been more exciting!

In this volume, kids will learn the answers to questions like what causes day to change into night, why do we sneeze, and what makes our heart beat. And the discoveries don't end there! We learn about why animal ears come in many shapes and sizes, how different animals carry their babies, who are the fastest creatures in the world, why male crickets chirp, what feathers are used for and so much more! So let's go, go, go, go on an adventure, we're flying with The Cat in the Hat today!

DISCLOSURE: I received free admission in exchange for social media posts and a blog review. All opinions are my own.

A couple weekends ago, my sister and I took a quick 24-hour trip up to New York City. Even though it was short, we had a lot of fun. We ate, we shopped and we explored. One highlight of our trip was a visit to Gulliver's Gate in Times Square.

Gulliver's Gate is a new museum of miniatures. The exhibits feature 1:87 scale models of different locations around the world, including New York City and famous landmarks in Europe, Asia, Russia, Latin America and the Middle East.

WARNING: If you're looking for a post about the best things to do in NYC when you only have 24 hours, then this isn't it. All this is is what I did when I had 24 hours in the city. And if you know me personally, or have followed the blog for awhile, you'll know that this will be long and interspersed with several side stories. If you're still planning to read it, thanks so much! Sit back and enjoy!

I've had a pretty rough start to the New Year. I decided I needed a break. I had a paid holiday that I could use to take a day off from work and texted my sisters to see if anyone wanted to go up to New York City with me for a day. My one sister, who used to live in Manhattan, was free and we planned to go up to NYC on a Sunday and come back the next day.

I was excited. It had been almost nine years since my last visit to New York City. There was a lot I wanted to do, but I didn't have much time. I basically had 24 hours in the city. Our bus was arriving at Port Authority around 11 AM and our return bus left at noon the next day. I told my sister it would probably be more a trip about eating good food, rather than sightseeing or shopping. She thought that would be fun, too.

The past couple weeks I've been feeling down and a little lonely. It's been a long time since I've felt this sad and I wasn't really sure what to do about it. This past Christmas, my husband had gone through my Amazon wish list and bought a lot of the knitting and crochet items on there that I had added a few years ago when I was doing a lot more knitting and crochet. I took that as a sign to get back into it.

After a rough week at work, on New Year's Eve, I set out to try fair isle knitting. It was one of my goals that I wanted to complete at the beginning of last year, but never got around to actually trying it. I found a simple pattern on Ravelry and started making a fair isle hat, while I was waiting for the ball to drop on New Year's Eve.

I can't believe it's 2018 already! It seems like 2017 went by so quickly!

As in years past, I like to reflect on the previous year and set some goals on things that I want to accomplish for the new year.

I started the year off with the intention of traveling more and trying to visit as many national parks as we could. In the beginning of the year, we did pretty well and took advantage of the Free Admission Days at the national parks. But things slowed down after Spring Break and we didn't do much travel once the summer was over. Luckily, we did get a chance to take our annual trip to the Outer Banks and Disney World.