UnBroken

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Details: Based on a true story, Louie Zamperini starts life as a crazy thieving scoundral and gets into so much trouble life is literally going to see him in jail. But his big brother Pete saves the day. Louie becomes a runner, a great runner turns his life around and starts to dream BIG dreams. But those dreams are shattered when World War II starts. He's drafted into the Air Force, and finds a group of wonderful friends that join him in a HELL of a journey to defend, protect and rescue our American Nation. Will starvation, vermin, burtality, deadly cold or blistering heat break this man? Will he come back to his family? What about his friends? Will they survive? Would we be able to handle anything similar or not even similar without breaking? Can we become Unbroken through the motivation found in this wonderful, sad, amazing, horrific beautiful story?

My Review: I read this because a good friend said she liked it. I was really hoping to read this on my Kindle Fire, but the Library got the printed version in before the kindle version. I read this book religiously for 10 days straight 2-3 hours a day. I'm a fast reader, but this book needed to be read in small, slow parts otherwise one could easily get caught up in the sadness, the joy, the horrendous graphic HELL Louie was put through. This is worth the long hours, and the many days to read. Its the best true story book that I've read and enjoyed in a while.

Pros: Motivational, true story with pictures, real facts etc.

Cons: none

My Rating: 2 THUMBS UP!!

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Fisher Price Tool Bench

The Fisher Price Tool Bench is GREAT for Kids!

This toy is made with very durable plastic that lasts for many many years, safe for both indoor and outdoor use.  It includes a fun clamp for holding wood or other flat objects, plenty of holes to hammer nails through, as well as some great tool hangers! This is super fun for all of the little handy men and women in the family who love to learn just how their handy parents do what they do!

My Toy Review: 

With all of the video games, movies, tablets, and hand held gaming systems this awesome creative toy is a wonderful outlet for the little ones. All of the tools that came with it are kid safe and friendly and fun to use.

Pros: great fun for kids ages 2-8.  Great when brand new, but if you get one used and with nothing super easy and cheap to fix up for your kids.

Healthy Hot Cereal

Maybe most people don't like to eat hot cereal, but there are some that do like their oatmeal or oatbran due to the lowering of cholesterol properties.

Oatmeal is good to eat when you are sick.  It is calming on the stomach. It helps lower your weight and helps with type 2 diabetes.  It also helps reduce blood pressure.

Oatbran helps with your immune system and with athletic performance as well as the above listed items for oatmeal.

We eat a lot of hot cereal in our house.  To make it more nutritious we add the following ingredients:

Ground Cinnamon - Lowers cholesterol, helps regulate blood sugar, reduces the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells,  fights the E. coli bacteria in unpasteurized juices.  At least 1/2 teaspoon daily is recommended.

Ground Flax Seeds - excellent sources of omega-3s, great sources of fiber - One tablespoon contains three grams of fiber, can help reduce the inflammation that leads to conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine headaches, and osteoporosis.  Start out with 1/2 teaspoon, build up to 4 tablespoons.  Grind in blender.  Store in refrigerator.

Shredded Coconut - helps with heart health, helps burn fat, Those suffering from chronic infections may also benefit from eating shredded coconut, due to the anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties it contains.  We have about 2 tablespoons each day.

Coconut Oil - Good for weight loss, skin care, hair care, increased immunity, heart disease, proper digestion, cancer.  Recommended daily dose is 3-4 tablespoons daily.

Ground Ginger Root - Boosts your immune system, helps fight flatulence, helps fight off food poisoning and bloating, can help with morning sickness and motion sickness.  At least 1/2 teaspoon daily is recommended.

Sometimes we add other things like fresh blueberries and strawberries, raisins and dried cranberries.

We want to stay healthy and this is an excellent way to help us do this.

Little Tykes Kitchen

Details: Durable plastic, may fade, but won't break.  Lasts for years, comes with kitchen wear and food when brand new.  Around $30 used.  Different models provide different modes of fun.  Comes in different colors.  Great for indoor and outside use.  Boys and girls with have hours of fun!

My Review: I bought this for $20 used at a thrift store, but have seen them going for between $50 and $30 used in the same condition on craigslist and ksl.com here in Utah.  All the kids love this toy, the girls and the boys alike.  All our friends love bringing their kids over to play with this.  Here's the thing, when I bought this there were no plates, cups, food etc.  So I wanted to provide my own.  I got very creative.  Check out the pictures.  I saved and washed 4 Odwalda juice bottles and put colored water in them and super glued the tops down.  I washed out 2 McDonald's chocolate milk jugs and super glued the lids on.  I washed out my used up spice containers, yogurt containers, Blue Bonnet butter containers too.  I washed out and filled with colored water: Kettle Almond Butter, Honey Bear, BBQ Sauce, Ketchup, and strawberry jelly containers and super glued their lids on.  I gave my kids old expired condensed milk and canned vegetables to play with.  They got rocks put in super glued vitamin bottles, sprinkles that were old that got super glued in, etc.

I went to the thrift store and spent $4 on saucers, cups, bowls and utensils for the play kitchen.  I recycled, reduced my trash and reused for some super duper fun for the neighborhood and my own family.

 

Kid School Time

Its time to start thinking about school.  Getting supplies, getting new school clothing, getting back on that school schedule, figuring out what kinds of extra curricular activities your children will be doing this fall and spring.  Yep, school is starting soon, so how can we make this year special and stress free?

This is my first year of having a school aged child.  My 5 year old is so excited to go to school, so we really wanted to make this year special and to help him really enjoy school, with out breaking our bank.  Here are some things we bought that are super awesome!

 



1. Avenger's back pack: $15 at Target, was on sale over the summer
2. Toy story pencil and pen holder $2 at Wal-Mart
3. Super Hero spiral bound note books $1-$2 at Wal-mart
4. Bendy ruler (so you don't have to buy a new one when the plastic one breaks) $2 at Wal-Mart
5. Batman pencils, pens with roller stamps, Avenger stickers and little book $1 each at Target
6. Colored number 2 pencils, and pencil top erasers $1 at Dollar Tree
7. Dry Erase mini boards, and large pad $1 each at Target
8. Dry Erase crayons $3 at Wal-Mart (great for kids because they wash out of clothing)
9. Brain Games wipe off pad $5 at Wal-Mart

My Rating