I was thrilled when asked by Jumpstart to review this item. We like the Jumpstart Wii games and online world. Our Wii titles generally consist of Mario titles, which, let’s be honest, despite the Wii platform are still rather sedentary.

The game arrived at our house on a day my kids had a planned sleepover. I let them pack up the game to share with their friends. To my disappointment, their first reactions were less than ideal. The said repeatedly “It’s too hard!” It took weeks of badgering and finally a bribe to get them to play the game again, with me.

As with all Jumpstart titles, all the kids love creating their own “Jumpeez”, the Jumpstart version of the Mii or avatar on Wii. My children always choose the exotic options like blue or purple skin and pink hair. We started off easy the second time around with running games.

As we took turns through the games (Get Moving is a 2 player game), we did find a few with challenging movements in some of the activities. Basketball was one in particular that was tricky for my younger children. As I do, I used this as a teaching moment for my children. They have seen me doing my DVD workouts, and I pointed out that exercise isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it. This encouraged them and they tried until they were successful on most of the games.

The kids loved choosing the arena they play in. There are 11 different arenas to choose from and a random setting as well. At the beginning of each of the 15 sports challenges, Brooke Burke demonstrates how to use the Wii-mote and nunchuck to complete the task. As with most Wii games, this is a good instruction; but height, placement of Wii receiver, lighting and other factors can affect response times. This is why I believe, my children had much difficulty the first time around. We’ve figured out the quirks to playing Wii in our house and how to get optimum response.

Our kids now love to play Jumpstart Get Moving: Family Fitness, and love to tote it along to friends’ houses as one of their favorite games to share. Our favorite mode of play is using the routines, both the preset and by creating our own with our favorite challenges.

Here’s the list:

Pros:
* Variety of sports: 15 challenges, ranging from easy (running) to challenging (volleyball, basketball, etc.)
* Demonstration of movements before each challenge
* 11 arenas to play in to keep interest
* Countless customization options for your Jumpeez.
* Well timed games, long enough for some good cardio exercise, not too long for kids to give up.
* Children truly get exercise, mine worked up a sweat in just one running game.
* Easy menu navigation for early readers.
* Realistic sports moves for challenges.
* Difficulty settings: Easy, Medium and Hard
* MSRP $29.99 is a great price for a just released Wii game
* Compatible with Wii Fit Board, but not required (we don’t have one)

Cons:
* 2 player game at best (we have a family of 4, we take turns)
* Some moves can be challenging, require parents help and encouragement
* Graphics aren’t quite as smooth as other games.

Our family was very pleased with Jumpstart Get Moving: Family Fitness and are glad to have it as a piece of our family’s new journey to a healthier lifestyle. It’s great for our kids, and will continue to grow with them for quite some time.

I received a complimentary copy of this video game to play and review courtesy of JumpStart. These are my personal opinions, no other compensation was received for this post.
For more information please see my Disclosure Policy.

First up:  Sparkpeople.com and the Sparkpeople iPhone App

Sparkpeople is a free website to help you organize, collect and learn all you need to know about getting healthier. There are tons of forums on just about every topic, whether you are looking to lose weight, want to know about a particular exercise program or are adjusting your diet per doctor’s orders. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, lots of boxes and widgets, but it’s well worth the time exploring to find exactly what it is you need.

I use it for the food and exercise counters. I find it very helpful to keep account of what calories I’ve taken in and how many I’ve burned. I also have a few doctor’s recommendations on particular vitamins and nutrients (like calcium and fiber) that I can track with their tools.

Most importantly for me is that I can track my food on the go. Being able to look up nutrition information from their vast database and other user’s input really helps me to think twice about what I’m about to put into my mouth next. That may not be your issue, but it’s really helped me learn how to make some better food choices and plan my food intake for a whole day, not just grabbing and eating everything in sight.

Number two on my list today is Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred workout video:

For a busy mom, this workout is ideal. It requires the DVD or downloadable video, a set of hand weights, and space. A mat is only necessary if your space is a hard floor. The entire workout lasts about 20 minutes, including warm up and stretching at the end.

It’s considered circuit training. You complete three six-minute circuits. Each circuit consists of three minutes of strength training, two minutes of cardio, and one minute of ab workout. Sounds easy, right?

Wrong. It will kick your butt. First day I tried it, I could only get through one six minute circuit without feeling like I would die. Granted, I realized quickly I was dehydrated (don’t exercise on one cup of coffee) and was coming down from a weekend long sugar binge (really bad idea). I wasn’t going to give up, and I tried again the next day, well hydrated and made it through the whole workout. I was winded and beet-red at the end, but I did it!

I’m already seeing amazing results, my stamina improves every day and I’m beginning to feel definition in some of my muscles. It’s only been six workouts so far. I did have two days without working out while on my road trip, but I think I’ll be downloading the videos from iTunes before BlogHer so I don’t miss a beat.

Stay tuned later today for my third item for the kids: Jumpstart’s latest Wii game, Get Moving- Family Fitness.

It’s just easier with the iPhone. Bing. New e-mail. Mid-day inspiration while my children are fighting over light sabers in the backyard. What’s not to love?

Since I cleared my reader, I found a few projects I love that you might as well, so I’m dumping them here. Seriously, it’s my blog, I can do post what I like, even if it’s just for my own convenience. <wink>

First up, for those who love embroidery or want to learn. I firmly believe anyone can pick up this skill and should. Lots of tutorials online, lots of free patterns, lots of uses for this skill. On to the find…

From my internet friends over at Sibling Craftery, a quirky wedding present, embroidered tea-towels of LOVE.

There are three images in the FREE set, but the macaroni and cheese is my favorite. Click over to see ‘frosting on my cupcake’ and ‘cookie to my milk’. Who doesn’t love embroidered food with faces?

For those who crochet, check out these adorable and not too kitschy Fruity Trivets and Pot Holders from The Purl Bee.

I love that it’s the same pattern for all 3 fruit, and they give you the exact colors used on each. The photos are beautiful and easy to follow, especially the demonstration of how to create the seeds.

Make sure if you plan on making these you read the instructions carefully. To be practical and actually protect you from heat, the yarn is doubled and the pattern uses a size K crochet hook.

Please don’t forget your crafty internet etiquette. If you download or use these patterns, leave the creators some comment love and if they have Flickr groups, upload images of your finished project to their group. They are sharing their hard work for free, so it’s a nice way to say “Thanks”.

Day 1 Cast & Crew - I'm one of the gray shirts on the side.

Things have been a bit slow here on the blog because I’ve been recovering from an amazing JUMP 2010. If you are new to the blog, check out last year’s post. While JUMP only lasted 4 days for the kids, it consumed about 16 days of my life. This year I dove even deeper into JUMPmania by leading the props acquisition team. I’ve learned a bit about ancient farming tools, man cave decor, and how to find an oversized baby pacifier. Truly things everyone should learn. It was amazing as expected. The lessons learned, new friends made and amazing songs continue to knock around in my head while I try to catch up on all the lost sleep.

JUMP 2010 - Kids, Volunteers & Cast

We served 3,243 kids in 4 days.

To get an idea of what happened beyond the photo, here are the JUMP 2010 Fun Facts:

• 987 volunteers
• 158 watermelons
• 485 gallons of Gatorade
• 5,700 bags of cotton candy
• 260 pounds and 8,350 bags of popcorn
• 6,928 pounds of ice
• 167 gallons of syrup
• 18,200 sno-cones

This was the first year of JUMP for my husband, Mr. T. He was a snow cone man. The few times I saw him, he was always manning an ice machine, shaving ice for those thousands of sno-cones. He has the guns now to prove it too.

I can’t imagine how JUMP will change for next year as we adapt to allow more kids to join in the fun. If you are in the St. Louis area and want to get updates on next year’s event, check out the website or follow @jumpkids on Twitter.

It’s only been within the last 12 months that I have truly begun to make meaningful friendships with Christian women locally, in real life. It has truly revolutionized my life. We have a need for friendships, women we can hug (sorry bloggers) and call or text when life gets sticky. You need that friend that will bring food, pick up your kids or hang out in your living room with your kids so you can have your first shower in 3 days. The problem is, in many places, especially larger cities with large churches, this isn’t always easy to find. We attend a large church & have morning Bible studies, so I frequently have to leave early to pick up my half-day kindergarteners.

For me, the change came when a group of divinely inspired ladies started a Bunco group. Sometimes we as women need an excuse, a reason, and more importantly a starting objective or common goal to give us reason to create friendships. I think TerryAnn understands this well. Rather than a traditional Bible study group, she proposes a knit or crochet (or both) group which also studies the Bible. Much like Bunco was for my group, needlework is the starting place for the Bible study. The accompanying discussion, prayer and sharing of life is what will weave bonds for life.

Now on to the knitty gritty of what you’ll find in the PDF Knit and Crochet Bible Study. For the purchase price of $27, you gain reprint rights for each member of your group. If you’ve priced study books lately, you’ll find this a real steal. Some studies are book and workbook combinations, with each member needing to purchase their own. I love that TerryAnn provides this at a reasonable price, especially considering how much work she’s put into it. With 6 members, it’s less than $5 each. Yet it’s also feasible for a single person (group leader or small church) to afford. The PDF file is a whopping 40 pages total. There are 10 lessons total, perfect for a weekly summer Bible study.

My favorite things about this study:

• Each lesson begins with scriptures printed at the top of the page in 4 different translations.
• While lesson focuses on Proverbs 31, study includes cross-references to other scriptures.
• Each lesson is 1-2 pages long, with a few questions at the end to facilitate discussions.
• It’s not homework intensive, which could exclude new members joining mid-study.
• You could choose to assign work a week in advance, or choose to hand out sheets each week as members arrive. While more time for meditation could enhance the group, if that’s intimidating for your members, it’s not necessary.
• Lesson is on one page, with questions on a separate page. This makes it easy to print and disperse as needed to fit the needs of your group.
• Uses PDF format which is easy to read for any user with free Adobe Reader download. Or, if you are like me, go paperless with Dropbox and an iPhone!
• Written by a woman, mother & crafter for women. TerryAnn addresses many of the mental and emotional issues such as inadequacy that women face in a very honest manner.
• Study begins by setting the tone and “rules” for the study. Many studies don’t address this and assume members all understand issues like gossip and keeping confidences within a group.

My only critical comment about this study is that at the time of my review (I received a preview copy) there was only one crochet pattern included. But, on the website there is a post entitled Where to find FREE Patterns. I’m sure this is because a blog post is much easier to update with new information than a PDF file.

Update: Terry confirmed that the final purchase copy does contain additional knit/crochet patterns!

I recently polled my Twitter followers about what are the best projects for beginner knit or crocheters. Two resounding answers came back: baby items and dishcloths. If you were beginning a study group, either of these would make fantastic projects that could in turn be donated to charities. Baby items can be donated to hospitals, crisis pregnancy centers, Newborns in Need or many other great organizations. Dishcloths could be sent to organizations that help families rebuild their household after flood, fire or homelessness or if your church has a kitchen, just gift them to that ministry.

If you are looking for that perfect summer study that is full of value, but not overwhelming with homework, you should check out Knit and Crochet Bible Study, Book 2: The Proverbs 31 Woman . You’ll notice on that page that there is a previous knit/crochet study available as well, or you can buy both at a significant discount.

I received a complimentary previem PDF copy of this study to read and review from TerryAnn Porter of Knit & Crochet Bible Study. These are my personal opinions, no other compensation was received for this post.
For more information please see my Disclosure Policy.

For the final part of this series, I’ll show you some of the crafts and activities the kids enjoyed at our Mario themed birthday party.

As guests arrived, we invited them to sit and make a craft. I found this helped to direct their excitement and give them something to do as people trickled in.

I was inspired in early February by this Groundhog’s Day activity. I considered the classic green pipes in the Mario games, and together with my 7 year old, adapted it to suit our party. We used green paper cups from the party store (easy to find near St. Patrick’s day); colored popsicle/craft sticks and craft foam from the dollar store; and adhesive backed white craft foam and a white paint pen from the craft store.

Each guest made their own piranha plant and attached it to the green popsicle stick. We used a craft knife to cut a small hole in the bottom of the paper cup and inserted the piranha plant inside. The boys really loved this activity. Each guest had their own take on exactly how the teeth should go.

For games we played egg and spoon races, inspired by Yoshi’s eggs. We also had PVC marshmallow shooters for some wild fun. I considered painting the PVC green, but decided since they would be close to the children’s mouths, it was best to just skip that step rather than worry about what type of paint to use. The boys didn’t mind at all. We chose a simple T shaped design rather than the more intricate designs you find on the internet. They worked pretty well, there were a few stuck mini marshmallows, but nothing the boys couldn’t resolve. We’d hoped to play this outside, but the weather was not in our favor that weekend. We played inside in the unfinished basement, and I sat out bowls of mini marshmallows in two spots on opposite sides of the room for the boys to reload. It worked fairly well. The downside of playing inside was that my husband had to vacuum up all those marshmallows when we were finished. I love that man!

Our son also chose a piñata, a tradition for our family. Instead of finding or making a piñata to fit our theme, he chose the more traditional donkey shape. I was really hoping he’d go with the theme, because I found this great idea for a Chomp piñata, adapted from a store bought ball shaped piñata. Oh well, it’s was his party, and they all enjoyed the piñata. Let’s face it, kids don’t really care what it looks like as long as candy falls out of it.

If you are looking to plan a Mario birthday party yourself, don’t forget to check out these two great blog posts which really inspired me: Super Mario 1st Birthday Party Theme and Super Mario Birthday Party.

The pattern is called The Empty Tomb and you can find it at Made By Lindy. Can you believe she designed this pattern when she was only 16 years old?! You can see what other colors and yarns have been used on this project at Ravelry. She has several other nice spring cloth patterns if you are interested in a non-Christian themed pattern. The Bloom and Daisy patterns would be great for this time of year.

It knits up quickly and if you cast on today, I’m sure you can have it finished by Sunday. It’s a perfect hostess gift if you are celebrating in someone else’s home. A great reminder for the real reason for all those marshmallow chicks and chocolate eggs. Have a fantastic weekend!

The inspiration for this piece was a vintage mirrored music box my Granny had in her home. The music box played the theme to Love Story. Can’t say I’ve ever seen the movie, but it’s one of those identifiable pieces of music. This music box had a magnetic butterfly and somehow in the internal workings there was another magnet that moved around, giving the effect of the butterfly dancing about. It was a truly captivating piece as a child.

Last month, while on a trip to visit family, my sister and I were in a thrift store. They had one of the music boxes for sale. It was missing the butterfly, and my sister almost didn’t recognize it. I have no idea why I didn’t buy it at the time, I really should have! Especially now, as I found a way to recreate the butterfly. The original butterfly on the music box was a dainty plastic thing, but by using 2 pieces of the same paper, it gives nearly the same mirrored effect.

The elements provided by Christy’s challenge were:

• brown ribbon
• small wooden clothespins
• decorative paper bag
• metal tin
• foam tape

Supplies I purchased to create mirror:

• dollar store mirror
• wooden spools
• round magnets
• acrylic craft paint
• scrapbooking paper (Recollections “Glorious Garden” line from Michael’s)

Here are the supplies from my crafting stash. They missed the photo because I added many as I was working through the process:

• Mod Podge
• craft knife (X-acto style)
• foam brush (for Mod Podge & paint)
• hot glue gun & glue
• Kindergarten scissors
• brayer
• glass cleaner
• paper towels
• rotary cutter, guide & mat
• foil tape (Oriental Trading Company)

I started the process by painting my wooden spool in a matching green color. Between coats, I disassembled the dollar store mirror. I had to use the craft knife to cut through some of the glue, but it wasn’t too difficult. I tested the magnets, one on each side of the mirror, to see how easily they moved. I decided to remove the thick corrugated cardboard on the back to make the magnets move more smoothly. The choice is yours. Ultimately I chose to wrap the edges of my mirror in the foil tape rather than glue the frame back on and have gaps. If you plan to share the project with a young child, I’d consider using both the cardboard and frame for added safety. If you choose not to use the cardboard, you can gently remove the hangers from the back and glue them to the piece at the end of the project or save them for another project. My hangers were slipped through a slit in the cardboard and held on by tape.

I continued to add coats of paint to my wooden spool. Next, I opened the decorative paper bag to use it as a pretty backing for my mirror. The bag opened pretty easily along the seams.

I used a foam brush to apply Mod Podge to both the paper and the back of the mirror. I used my brayer to make sure  there were no bubbles or creases as I applied the paper to the mirror.

While the Mod Podge and paint dried, I cut out my butterflies and flowers from the scrapbook papers. I found that the Kindergarten style short scissors were most effective for cutting around the round edges and small spaces. I made sure to cut two of each butterfly, a top and a bottom. This required two identical sheets of scrapbook paper, but the effect is well worth it!

I chose to cut a round magnet down to the size of my wooden clothespins. I used the craft knife to score the magnets until I was able to snap it into the pieces I needed. While using my cutting mat, I took some of the remaining paper bag and cut a strip 1/2 inch wide to cover the bottom of the metal tin. The rotary cutter and guide made this amazingly easy.

Next was round two of Mod Podge. Using the same technique as before, I applied the cut out flower to the front of the mirror. I applied a layer of Mod Podge over the top of the paper as well. It was a trick to clean the Mod Podge off the glass between the flowers and petals, but I wanted everything to be neat. I also used the MP to attach the strip of paper bag around the bottom portion of the metal tin. I added a coat of MP to the outside of my painted wooden spool to give it a finished look. I also took a few minutes to use the foam tape to stick the sets of butterflies to each other, print sides facing out, to create a dimensional look.

While things dried, I moved on to hot glue. I used the hot glue to attach a magnet strip to the bottom of each clothespin and the dimensional butterflies to the top of each clothespin. When the MP was dry, I used hot glue to attach a magnet to the top of the wooden spool. I also used hot glue to attach the brown ribbon to the edge of the metal tin lid as well as a magnet to the bottom of the tin.

Once the front of the mirror was dry, I used the foil tape to trim the edge of the mirror. It gave it a finished look and covered the rough edges of the dollar store mirror.

Once finished, use the extra plain magnets on the back of the mirror to hold the tin and butterflies in place. This makes a cute note holder.

Or if you wish to ‘play’ with it, use the magnet attached to the wooden spool to make your butterfly dance around the garden.

If I were to do it again, I’d probably shop around a bit more for some flower or garden stickers to make it easier to decorate the front of the mirror. This would take out the Mod Podge and MP removal step and make the whole process a little easier. I would probably also purchase another cheap photo frame in the same size as the mirror, looking for a frame style that would be easier to glue and fit more tightly once the cardboard backing was removed from the mirror. Those are just my tips and thoughts, but I’m still very pleased with this project. For a cheap, dollar store, style project this works pretty well. If budget were no issue, I would research magnetic paint options so there would be no need for magnets on the reverse side. This would make it much easier to use as a note board, but would likely double the cost of the project (or more).

My kids have been using JumpStart online for a while now. We first started when we won a free 3 month subscription from a contest over at A Mom Blog. It was in the early stages and while the kids liked it, I had a few issues with it. I was pleasantly surprised when I received positive interactions from the crew over at JumpStart to my concerns. Since that time, we’ve continued to use it and I am really amazed at how they continue to roll out new “worlds” which are new sections of games. I am amazed that it continues to captivate my first grader. He frequently chooses JumpStart over other television network websites for games.

If you are a family with multiple children like ours, you’ll like that each child can have their own sub account to save their own game. We can even have more than one child playing on our account on different computers at the same time. Because the virtual world remains the same, I’ve discovered the older children helping the younger ones navigate the world and the games. Hop on over to JumpStart.com to try a subscription membership for yourself to see how well it works for your family. It’s a great way to keep their minds busy on snow days!