10 Toys That Lasted

Being the first grandchild of the family, Ben was gifted with tons of toys. Some were used, but most were forgotten. Here are the toys that have lasted for Ben.

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1. Cleo’s Color Book – Ben ate this book up, literally. It was his first book that he was gifted. By the time he was 1 he could recite the book in baby talk. When teething hit, he got his first taste of cardboard from this book. We eventually had to throw it out and buy him a new one. Cute illustrations and simple rhymes that help associate a color with a certain object in the book.
2. Mega Bloks – When Ben turned 1, he wanted to build. Regular Legos (and even Lego Duplos) were too much for his tiny hands to grasp. Mega Bloks were the key to success. Best of all they were sturdy. So when Ben built the most amazing five block tower he’s ever seen, they didn’t fall down and frustrate him.
3. Baby Einstein Explore and Discover Soft Blocks – Before crawling and walking, we had a sitting baby. These soft blocks were probably the reason Ben got interested in building. Each cube/block also had a different feature on  each of them. One would vibrate, another had a little mirror, one would crinkle when squeezed and all had different textures placed around the cube. These kept Ben entertained long enough for me to make a sandwich (win!)
4. Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Home Playset – When Ben started crawling and walking, this was a HUGE hit. He cautiously would scale the house, pressing all the buttons and do a little jig to the catchy tunes that would play. Every now and then, he still asks for us to take this out so he can kick open the door and sing along to all the tunes he’s familiar with.
5. Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Chair – This one is still sitting in our living room. There’s tons of things that this little chair can do. You can set the stage of the chair (there are 3 stages total) and it will have an activity that is age appropriate. Ben’s favorite is the remote that plays music. He also loves the little storage compartment under the seat.
6. Lego Duplo – Along with Mega Bloks, Ben was gifted tons of Lego Duplos. These aren’t as teeny tiny as regular Lego sets (Lego City is a popular one), there is less of a choking hazard with these. At 2.5, Ben prefers these to his Mega Bloks for some unknown reason. Maybe because they require a little more skill and there’s a few more options in block shape? Either way, he loves these and there are tons of sets you could buy with different Duplo characters and colors.
7. Dinosaurs – This specific dino set is one Ben enjoys because the dino figures stand up easily. He does have tons of different dino figures and loves them all. I like this set because it came with a little backpack; easy storage after playtime.
8. Nursery Rhyme Comics – Ben recently got into reading again. This book is his go-to every time he sits on the potty. There are around 50 nursery rhymes in this book, all in comic format. It’s an enjoyable read for my husband and myself too! Ben likes to recite his favorites along with us. The illustrations are gorgeous and it gives everyone’s favorite nursery rhyme new life in the comic format.
9. / 9.5 Marvel Playskool Figures / Marvel Avenger Titan Hero Figures – I bunched these two together because they’re the same kind of idea and Ben loves them both equally. He likes to take his Playskool figures with us on trips. They’re about 2 inches tall and fit nicely in his pockets or my purse/diaper bag. The Titan series are your average sized action figure (around 8 inches tall). No lights or sounds with these, but they work just fine for Ben’s imagination. These are his go-to toys at the moment and if your kiddo only likes one of the avengers, you can find them pretty easy at Target/Walmart/Toys R’ Us for $10.
10. Nabi 2S Tablet – We had the Sprout Cubby for sometime, until my dad sat on it and the screen cracked…When we went to Best Buy to get a replacement, they didn’t have any in stock but the Nabi 2S was on sale so we snatched it right up. We try not to let Ben use this too much but it’s nice to have for the times he’s restless. It has Google Play installed so he can play his favorite Toca Boca games or just take pictures of his forehead (poor thing hasn’t mastered the selfie just yet.)

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With baby #2 on the way, I’m sure we’ll be reusing a lot of these toys. Maybe one day they’ll be playing with them together. Only time will tell!

What are some toys that lasted more than 5 minutes with your kid(s)?

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Rebranding + Some News

Probably not the best time to start this blog up again but as my girl Selena says, “The heart wants what the heart wants”; and gosh darn it, I want to blog!

I have a handful of new and exciting things to blog about, as you can imagine. First things first, our family will be growing by 1 in August! Mr. Mac and I are expecting little boy #2 and we’re very excited to start this new journey as a family of 4.

  
This new addition has got me thinking about a rebranding of sorts. I’ve been thinking of a new domain. Nerdy Mom Stories is a bit on the long side; I’m trying to think of something shorter but just as enticing. Don’t worry, my nerdiness will still be in full effect but I think I’ll be focusing more on my family and the adventures we’ll be faced with. Send me your positive thoughts.. That being said, you’ll probably start seeing some changes on this blog in the next month or so as this rebranding occurs. Be patient, please. I promise, there’s a rainbow at the end of the tunnel..hopefully.

Onto some exciting news about Benji:

THE GREAT POTTY TRAIN HAS ARRIVED! You’ll see an in-depth post on here about our potty training in the next few days. Get excited.

Other than that, things have been “same ol’, same ol'” in the house of Mac. I’m hoping I can turn a new page and actually commit to something I started (lookin’ at you pilates and planning…sorry).

Hold on to your seats ya’ll, this is going to be a bumpy ride.

-Bevin

The Dangers of Target

I was able to gallivant a bit during my lunch break yesterday, my sister graciously took my son to the aquarium since she was off. I didn’t really have the shopping bug, I just wanted to walk around and window shop. We all know how that turns out…

I go into Target and I am instantly slapped in the face by a gloriously stocked dollar spot. For those of you that don’t know about the dollar spot, Lord bless your soul and your wallet. Everything in that jammed section is only $1-$3, unless some kid throws a regular priced item in there while his/her parents aren’t looking.. OF COURSE, they had awesome Star Wars loot this time around. They had these adorable pencils that looked like light sabers, so I can battle my coworkers of course.. I picked up two packs of those because, why not?! They’re just a buck, right? I walk a little further into the pits of hell and spot these adorable Star Wars keychains, $1 each.. I grab myself a Vadar one… and then eventually pick up the other 5 designs…Yes, I have a problem. After flipping through a few Star Wars coloring books and putting a handful of cutesy stuff in and then out of my cart, I escaped the grasps of the dollar spot and moved along.

Lucky for me, I own WAYYY too many lipsticks and there was nothing (new) that I needed/wanted. Next came the food section. Of course, since it was lunchtime, I was naturally hungry. I spot the colorful bags of BOOMCHICKAPOP Popcorn and a few bags find their way into my cart..WAT IS HAPPENING?!! If you haven’t tried this popcorn yet (more specifically their sweet & salty flavor) you totally should! Gluten-Free and Non-GMO, what more can you want from your popcorn?

I hastily walk past the Star Wars toy section, careful to not make eye contact with the BB-8 display, and I finally make it to my final destination–the book section. I’ve heard so many great things about Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. I had actually put in an order for it on Amazon but since it was sitting there, all lonely lookin’, I couldn’t help but grab it. It’s deemed a “YA”, (Young Adult) book ie. Twilight, The Hunger Games, etc. but everything I’ve read made it seem the whole YA branding was for easier promotion/wider audience. (Holy run on sentance guys, sorry) Plus, I kind of dig the YA writing style, so I’m not complaining. A little bit of romance thrown into a Sci-Fi novel never hurt anyone. I’m extremely excited to open it up and get lost in this book. I’ll let you guys know how it is once I get through it. It’s 550(ish) pages long, but the font size and spacing is pretty big; it’d probably be around 250-300 pages if it was formatted like an “adult” book.

So that was it guys, I went into Target with the intention of not buying anything and walked out with my head held high and a cart full of Star Wars merch + delicious popcorn. Nom. Let this post be a warning to you all, Target is no joke. Beware of the pretty goodiez and insanely low priced Star Wars stuff in the dollar section.

Until next time, peace out. (I don’t say “peace out” in real life, don’t worry)

-Bevin

[REVIEW] Covergirl LE Star Wars Colorlicious Lipstick

If you’ve been stalking my Instagram feed, you’ve seen I’ve been spamming Star Wars photos for the past week or so. Last Friday was Force Friday and I was lucky enough to get my nerdy hands on some of Covergirls’ Limited Edition Star Wars lippies.

These were the first Covergirl lipsticks I’ve purchased. To be honest, I hadn’t read any good reviews about them and I was purchasing them solely for the Star Wars packaging.. I bought 3 of the 6 shades. These shades didn’t have a specific name on the tube, just a number. I apologize in advanced for the messy swatches.

#30 holy Sith Lord. This is a berry red shade with some glitter/metallic specks. I think it would look good on all skin tones and can be worn on the sheer side if wanted. It leaves a nice wearable berry stain.

#50 hello dark side! This was a very dark purple shade with a few specks of blueish/gray glitter. I applied 2/3 layers and it was super dark on me but I kind of digged it. You can wear this with one light coat to give you a nice deep grape/berry color or build it up for the dark purple vampy look. This left a lovely deep berry stain.

#70 was a very glittery nude shade. It could be a little too light on my skin tone but I think it looked okay. It’d be beautiful on top of another lipstick. It’d probably look gorgeous on lighter skin complexions! No stain with this shade. My sister said it reminded her of Padame, I’m not too certain though lol.

Thoughts: All of the shades I purchased are totally wearable and I think #30 and #50 are going to be great in the coming fall/winter months. The most wearable of the three is probably #30, it’ll definitely look great on any skin complexion. #50 can be a little on the patchy side. I didn’t wear it with a liner (I currently don’t own any) but it’ll probably look more “put together” if worn with one. They are extremely moisturizing and not drying at all. They kind of remind me of the Nyx Round Lipsticks, consistency wise. There was no scent or taste on any of them.

In the end, if you’re a Star Wars fan, these are a must buy!

The ULTIMATE Starbucks Iced Coffee

First off, I’d like to thank my sister for experimenting until she found THE drink for us at Starbucks.

ON TO THE GOODS.

Ever since Starbucks became a household name, I was on the search for the perfect iced coffee. Something not too sweet, not too bitter and it had to be refreshing. Even though Starbucks has a pretty ginormous menu, I had trouble finding one that made my taste buds dance. Iced mocha was wayyyy too sweet and kind of dull; iced caramel macchiato was a hit or miss depending on who the barista was; regular iced coffee w/ sweeter didn’t taste like anything.. I just about gave up when, FINALLY, my sister found iced coffee heaven.

The ULTIMATE Starbucks Iced Coffee (in my unqualified opinion) would have to be the Iced White Chocolate Mocha with only 1 shot of espresso instead of 3, mocha/chocolate drizzle on the top, no whip. *Cue heavenly music now*

I have always been a fan of Starbucks’ Bottled Mocha Frap drink. This Iced White Chocolate Mocha (IWCM from here on out) is like the big, more sophisticated, brother of the Bottled Mocha Frap. Super light and refreshing and has the perfect balance of sweetness with that bitter coffee flavor. If you end up getting the 3 shots of espresso (instead of my recommended 1 shot), it may end up being too bitter or tasting cray cray if the barista doesn’t make the espresso correctly. Stick with the 1 shot though, you won’t regret it. It’s not too bad if you get whipped cream on the top of the drink, but I don’t care for it. The mocha drizzle is also optional but me likey so you should try it.

Go out and get yourself a Venti of one of these babies. You can thank me later.

[REVIEW] Lumene Vitamin C+ Illuminating Anti-Aging BB Cream SPF 20 in Medium

I’ve never been a girl that wore makeup. Like you might have read in a previous post, I JUST started dabbling in lipstick. After doing a bit of reading, I thought I’d try my hand at BB Creams. I know they’re nothing like the Korean versions but I heard some good things about certain brands. I had tried the Garnier version for oily skin and it was nice but it started turning a weird color on me after a few hours. Not pretty. It did a really nice job coverage wise but got greasy and shiney maybe an hour after application.. Powder and blotting helped but I didn’t want something high maintenence.

I came across a few old blog posts about Lumene’s BB Cream. There wasn’t much negative about it. Most of Ulta and Makeupalley’s reviews were positive! That’s always a good sign. Unfortunately, none of my Walgreens/Targets carried this particular BB Cream and none of my CVS had the shade (Medium) I was looking for. I ultimately ordered the BB Cream from Ulta’s website and sat around for a little more than a week waiting for it.. In the meantime I grabbed Rimmel’s Stay Matte Pressed Powder (also raved about on many makeup groups).

When the BB Cream finally came in, I was excited to try it out the next morning. After cleansing my face (Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple) and toning (Pixi’s Glow Tonic), I popped open Lumene’s BB Cream. Right off the bat, I liked it more than Garnier’s BB Cream. Garnier’s BB Cream was sooooo watery, it slipped everywhere when squeezed out the bottle. Lumene’s BB Cream was more of a cream consistency. It didn’t roll off the back of my hand like Garnier’s would. Lumene also had a nice light citrus scent to it, nothing overwhelming and it went away upon application. It was kind of refreshing actually. I was a little concerned when I had ordered it, that the shade wouldn’t suite my complexion. I have naturally tan/olive skin (Filipino complexion) and this BB only came in two shades; light and medium. Most of the Ulta/Makeupalley reviews were posted by fair skinned gals too so I wasn’t sure how the medium shade would work. Thankfully, the medium shade suited me perfectly and if I added a tad bit of bronzer, it could add some dimension if I wanted it.

It didn’t give CRAZY coverage (obviously), but I wasn’t looking for crazy coverage. I just wanted something that would blur out some of the acne scars and pores, reduce darkness and redness, and to just even out my skintone all around. Lumene definitely delivered. My husband (who hates it when I wear any kind of makeup) said it looked like I had a slight glow, and not in a bad greasy or oily way. I decided to try of Rimmel’s powder to finish it off. I actually really liked how everything came together! The powder helped me throughout the day with any kind of oil that might have popped up onto the surface. The BB Cream stayed the same color throughout the day too, score! They both felt nice and light on the skin, I didn’t feel like I had painted my face; it still felt like my skin could breathe underneath.

When I washed it off at the end of the day, my skin still felt fresh and soft. Not greasy at all and it didn’t break me out either.

(I apologize for crazy morning hair lol..)

Pros
-Feels light when wearing
-Evens out skintone
-Blurs out any kind of acne scars and large pores
-Doesn’t oxidize (change colors)
-Skin still feels fresh after wearing for 8+ hours
-Controls shine better than competing brands

Cons
-Not easily available (in my area at least)
-Only two shades (001-light and 002-medium)

Overall, I’m really happy with my purchase and I’m kind of sad they don’t carry this at any of my local drugstores. I’ll definitely purchase through Ulta or Amazon again, once my tube runs low. If you’re on the market for a nice light coverage, check out Lumene’s Vitamin C+ Illuminating Anti-Aging BB Cream w/ SPF 20!

[MINI-REVIEW: Discord] The Future of VoIP?

Let me set the record straight, I am not, and do not claim to be, a “hardcore” gamer. I play a few games recreationally and that’s about it. I do, however, appreciate a beautiful UI when I see one. Keep that in mind when you read this review of sorts. It’s coming more from an admirer of UI rather than a elite gamer’s perspective.

First off, what exactly is VoIP? VoIP is short for Voice over IP. In layman’s terms, it’s when you use your computer like a phone (ie: Skype, Facebook Messenger, TeamSpeak, Ventrilo, etc.)

Discord is new to the scene of VOIP but you wouldn’t be able to tell when compared to other clients. The UI is clean, crisp and concise (which all pretty much mean the same thing, but dang is this UI great). I was recently introduced to Discord by a redditor on the /r/Splatoon (love reddit, love Splatoon) subreddit. If you play Splatoon, you know there are no voice chatting options available. Splatoon is a “kid friendly” game, so I can understand why they don’t want voice chat. Things can get ugly real quick when someone starts raging.. But there are still people out there that would like some kind of voice chat. That’s where Discord comes in, it helps Splatoon players connect and use voice chat to help with teamwork.

On to the good stuff, the UI.

Oh.My.Lordy. This UI is beautiful. It’s so simple yet it doesn’t look like it was created to run on a Windows 98 (I’m looking at you Windows 10 graphics department).. Incredibly intuitive, there’s a tremendous amount of features, and the best part… it’s FREE! You can set up tons of rooms for text chat and tons of rooms for voice chat. You can also DM (direct message) anyone who is part of your server. Unlike Skype, which runs like a fat hog, it doesn’t burn up your computer and it can be ran INSIDE your browser. No download necessary. Unlike Teamspeak and Mumble, the iOS and Android App is just as beautiful as the desktop client (app is also FREEEEEE). I could rave on and on about how much better Discord’s UI (and features) are better than the mass majority of VOIP clients aimed towards gaming but you should just check it out for yourself. As I said earlier, I’m not a gamer but Discord is so nice, it makes me want to game more JUST so I can use the darn thing. Voice quality is superb and it’ll make you scratch your head about how the devs do it (I have no clue, you’d have to ask them).

ALSO, since it is fairly new (alpha, I believe) the Developers are crazy responsive to any issues/ideas that you run into.

https://discordapp.com/

Check it out, you won’t regret it. I promise!

-Bevin

*I have not been asked by Discord to write this mini-review of sorts; I just appreciate a nice UI when I see one and I like to share apps that exceed my expectations!

[REVIEW: The Sprout Cubby Tablet for Kids] It’s a Cubby…not a chubby.

Last month, I caved. My parents bought Benjamin a “kid friendly” tablet. I always told myself that I’d never be one of those parents that let their kids use technology at such a young age. Honestly, I kind of let myself down by allowing it but let me tell you something..it’s been great. Kids these days are exposed to technology (more specifically phones/tablets) right out of the womb.. We have our smart phones and tablets taking pictures/videos of them; music playing from them; we’re texting, sharing, calorie counting, and reading news on them. It’s just a part of life. They see their parents using them on a daily basis and it’s only a matter of time before they want to see what all the fuss is about themselves.

After my son turned 1, he really (and I mean REALLY) loved watching these short ABC videos on YouTube. Something about the music and colors just grabbed his attention. He would shake his little tush to the song, and it was cute. Before I knew it, he was asking for “phone” so he could watch his favorite video.

After going back and forth on how to go about it, my nerdy side won and I started researching tablets made for kids. I had my heart set on the Nabi Jr. but then quickly realized it was a bust. No Google Play means no YouTube for Kids. The Nabi 2 was nice but the price point was a little more than what I was willing to spend. One day I pondered into Best Buy (because why not?) and I spotted the Sprout Cubby. It was small enough for my 1.5 year old’s stubby hands, it had 16 GBs of flash memory and it had access to the Google Play Store. I went home that night and looked it up to see what other people had to say about it.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many reviews out there for it. There were a few horrible YouTube videos that were recorded by what looks to be a 6th grader, and any blog that “reviewed” it just listed the specs that I already know of. Amazon was incredibly brutal, but I always take them with a grain of salt. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but most people aren’t as tech savvy as I am (or I like to think that at least lol). Many of the complaints on Amazon were that the screen broke or the charger broke blah blah blah. Honestly though, if you take care of ANYTHING you buy, it’ll last. You have to teach the kid to respect technology, even if the box does say “kid friendly”. It doesn’t necessarily mean your child will not throw the tablet into the toilet, you still have to supervise while they’re using (duh).

While I was on the fence about the whole thing, good ol’ grampa and gramma went out and bought him the Cubby, or as my mom calls it the Chubby lol..

Right out of the box, it was a pretty easy setup. However, it did say to charge the tablet for 6 odd hours before using it. It was late anyways though so I plugged it into the charger and it was ready in the morning.

Let me get into a little breakdown of the pros and cons

PROS

• Super lightweight and easy for my 1.5 year old to hold.
• Screen size is perfect for a kiddo, nothing obnoxiously big (I’m lookin’ at you Nabi Big/XD)..
• Tons of content pre-loaded onto the tablet. I guess this could be a con too if you don’t really like any of the Sprout stuff. My son loves Sprout though, so I’m not complaining. I haven’t looked into if I could delete any of the pre-loaded content though, it’ll be something I’ll look into when the time comes.
• Front and rear facing camera. Not the best quality but the kids won’t know the difference (no complaints here).
• Access to Google Play. The other tablet I was interested in (Nabi Jr) did not have immediate access to the Google Play store. I think there were a few technical modifications you could make to access it but.. meh. No Google Play was a deal breaker for me; that meant no YouTube and Ben would not likey that.
• Parental Controls- time limit, ability to set what apps are accessible, no more mysteriously deleted e-mails or missed notifications on my phone.
• UI is not bad to look at.
• Tablet is not bad to look at.
• Small size makes it possible to throw into diaper bag/purse.
• Ability to add more than one profile for kids.
• Access to “parent mode” which allows the tablet to act like a normal Android tablet.

CONS

• If you don’t pay attention (which you should), the charger can be slightly difficult to plug in. I haven’t had any issues with it but I can see less patient people getting frustrated w/ it.
• Touch screen isn’t always responsive. My son (1.5 years old) hasn’t gotten irritated by it though and manages to navigate with no issues. I’ve noticed a little unresponsiveness when I use it but it doesn’t bother me all the much. It’s not an iPad so I didn’t expect it to act like one. The Nabi line did feel a tad more snappier than the Sprout though. I’ll give it that.
• Tons of pre-loaded content (see also in Pros). This can either work for you or against you. I, personally, don’t mind it but you might.
• Bumper falls off without much force. My son can take the bumper off but isn’t able to put it back out. Like I said earlier, supervise your child or teach your child to bring the tablet to you if it does. My son just goes “uh oh mom” and I simply put it back on. I don’t think the bumper is supposed to protect the tablet all that much, it’s more for grip imo.
• No readily available “accessories” to replace bumper. There’s no other cases for this tablet. They do offer a few pouches and screen protectors that you can purchase separately but…meh.
• Not really a con to me, I knew what I signed up for, but it is Wi-Fi only so you can’t access any content that requires the internet without…internet (duh) lol.

All in all, I’m happy with it and my son is happy with it. It’ll be something he can grow with and it keeps him happy while I’m working out or cooking dinner. I couldn’t ask for anything more from a tablet made for kids. I’d definitely reccommend you  give the Sprout Cubby a look when you’re at your local Walmart/BestBuy, if you’re on the market for a tablet for your kiddo(s). Of course, you should always look into other tablets that meet your own needs (Nabi line, Kindle, iPad, Leapfrog, etc. etc.)

I hope this helped you on your tablet journey though! If you readers like reviews like this, leave a comment and I’ll be sure to try and do more.

Oh, and happy Friday!

-Bevin

*My parents purchased the Sprout Cubby out of their own pocket. Pictures to come…if I ever get a chance. 🙂

Living and learning; KidMin.

I’m all over the place with my blogging, I know.. But I’m kinda digging this “blog when you want, what you want” kind of mindset, it just feels more authentic.

This coming week I’ve got so much to do! Today I taught the last lesson on baptism to our Juniors class (8-12 year olds). So far we have 3 candidates that are wanting to get baptized! Awesome-sauce.

Monday-Friday we have our church’s annual Summer VBS. This year I’ll be doing the lesson(s) for the kids. It’s my first time taking on that kind of responsibility and I’m hoping it works out smoothly. I’ve prepared a skit to go alongside each lesson, hopefuly it’ll help the lesson “stick” with the kids (rather than just talking “at” them).

Then next Sunday after VBS is the baptism!

I’ve also been researching curriculum for both Wednesday’s midweek children’s church service and our regular Sunday School lesson. After much Googling I think I may have found a winner.

Lets start off at the beginning though..

The problem with “researching” Sunday School curriculum is that there are tons of options and, of course, tons of users that want something different out of each curriculum. Nothing will suit your church 100% BUT curriculum is not supposed to be the only thing you lean on for a lesson. You can’t just open up the curriculum and WALAA you’re done for a year. There’s still studying, preperation and (of course) tons of prayer that goes along with a curriculum. I’m ranting now lol…

I looked through a bunch of different options. Group, Orange, Awana.. nothing seemed to “fit”. Orange had a wonderful visual aspect to all of their lessons but it seemed to be more for larger churches. Our small, family, church only has maybe 20 kids altogether on a good day. These curriculums were for classes of like 50+ kids (wowza, one day maybe)! I happened to stumble upon TruCurriculum by David C Cook. Oddly enough, when I tried to look for some samples, their website directed me to a website called Disciplr.

Sidenote-Going back to the other curriculums for a second, when I browsed these other sites, there was never any mention of other curriculums. It was their curriculum or bust! This is not the case with Disciplr. They linked and also praised many other curriculums.

I’m a big visual person. If your website looks crummy and unkept, it tells me a lot about the product. I know, don’t judge a book by its cover but I’m human and I like pretty looking graphics and websites. It should appeal and catch the attention of a kids too right? Disciplr has this awesome, somewhat of an 8 bit graphic thing going on. It’s simple and clean looking yet modern at the same time. The kids can relate, it doesn’t look like it was made in the 80s. Yafeelme now?

Not only do they give you 3 sampler lessons for each curriculum they provide they also have 2, FREE, full curriculums for (1 for elementry kids-perfect, and 1 for teens/high-schoolers). Score! It’s going to give me a great chance at gauging how the kids like or dislike the curriculum.

Most importantly, their lessons are sound, they are biblical.

I’ll keep y’all updated with how it goes 🙂 I. Am. Pumped

-Bevin

Dem Vocals Though

Holy mackerel, Tori Kelly is crazy talented. I’ve been listening to her (new) album Unbreakable Smile for the past week. Every song on this album (including the bonus tracks) are worth listening to. At first I didn’t really care for some of the tracks, but they’ve all grown on me.

I love listening to an album from start to finish, the way the artist intended us to hear their music. Idk if I’m making up these kinds of things in my head, but I’ve always thought that we should try and see the story the artist is painting. From the first track to the last track, in order. There’s something about NOT using shuffle that just feels right to me. There’s a flow to the music that happens when listening to the tracks in order.

Maybe things have changed and artists don’t really care about that stuff anymore though lol. It kind of makes me sad that we don’t really buy physical CD/Albums anymore. I used to tare through the plastic sheet, get frustrated with that pesky sticker label on the top (and sometimes bottom and sides) of the CD, flip through those album lyric booklets like a madwoman, reading everything even the “thank you” section at the end. Idk where I’m going with this. To each their own I guess..

I’ll keep listening to albums from start to finish though, good day!