Dear BellaVita USA, Thank you so much for my birthday present.

It is BE-YOU-TI-FUL! Even more than that, it’s in my new favorite color. Pink.

Anna over at My Life and Kids has just released her new ebook titled 75 Ways to Have More Fun at Home.

It’s awesome.

Obviously, there are a bunch (75) of ideas to help you play with your kids and have more fun at home.  (At $3.99 for the book, that’s a little more than a nickel for each idea. Bargain!)

Most of them are free-ish, require no advance preparation or crafting skills, and can be spontaneously implemented.

FREE + EASY + SPONTANEOUS = AWESOME!

I’ve already explained why I love Amazon Instant Video paired with Amazon Prime.  But now, it’s even better.  I get to watch great television, commercial free, for no cost, from anywhere I have an internet connection.

I’ve also explained how much I love Amazon Prime and their Amazon Mom program.  Discounts on stuff I need (or needed when the kids were in diapers) and I get it shipped to my house for free.

Now, my life is complete.  Apple and Amazon worked out their differences using whatever legal and marketing ninja super powers were required.  And… wait for it…

Not only can I watch all those cool Amazon Instant Videos, I can watch them on my iPAD!!!!

The Amazon Instant Video App released today.  You can get it now in the App store.   Currently, the app is only available for iPad, not for iPhones.

I’m surprised at just how much I love Amazon Prime Videos.  When we moved back into the house after a year-long remodel, one of my top priorities was getting our television and PVR hooked back up.  I was so eager to get back to watching prime-time shows at my leisure, eager to skip through commercials, eager to return to “normal” television watching.

We hooked up the DVR, but the kids aren’t using it.  Our year-long forced separation from cable television has radically altered my family’s viewing habits.   My kids spent a few blissful afternoons watching the endless stream of available cartoons, but then they were done.  They prefer the on-demand flexibility they get from streaming videos instead.  I love the fact that they watch zero commercials – I can tell a difference in their “gimme gimme” requests.  I love that they are watching stuff that I find more tolerable (I’m not a big fan of plastic toys doing battle with each other).

I read about the Child Training Bible on Hodge Podge Mom when she had a give away.  I loved the idea, and I didn’t want to just wait for one of my own, hoping I’d win one.  So, I ordered one, direct form the Child Training Bible people.   I followed their links and bought the supplies I needed from Amazon.  I did not receive any compensation for this review.  I’m reviewing it because I think it’s an awesome tool.  I’ve been struggling to find something like this for several years.  When I finally read about it online, my immediate response was “where has this been!  how haven’t i known about this?  why didn’t someone tell me sooner!”

Math practice made easy is probably an understatement.  It should probably be shouting “MY KIDS BEGGED ME TO PRACTICE THEIR MATH SKILLS DURING SUMMER VACATION!!!!”  My kids like math, but not enough to want to sit down and run through flash cards on summer vacation. They enjoy math games, but it generally takes a little mom-prodding to get them started.

Imagine my delight when I discovered something that was, in essence, math practice made easy.  It’s a set of Math Cubes from ThinkFun.  I got our set at Amazon when I was ordering an expansion pack for our Story Cubes (Rory’s Story Cubes Actions).