Mommy Has to Work

Treat the Man in your Life to an Amazing Gift Basket from TheBroBasket.com

June 13, 2019 By Marijean

Are you trying to figure out what to get someone who has everything? Father’s Day is quickly approaching, and I was at a loss on what to get my husband who has everything! My kids always make or buy him something that is specifically from them…but I also like to get him a gift to let him know how much of a wonderful husband and father he is. I was contacted by a company called TheBroBasket.com and I was excited to see what they have to offer as gifts for men that have everything.

About Bro Basket:

The BroBasket offers awesome gift baskets for guys! Most of our unique gift baskets are completely customizable and feature their favorite beer, wine or spirits.

I must tell you, I was completely overwhelmed when I viewed their website. In a good way that is. So many awesome baskets to choose from. Whether the man in your life likes beer, vodka, whiskey, gin….there is something he will definitely love.

My husband loves trying different types of beer. When I viewed “The Ultimate Beer Gift for Men-Beer Lovers Gift Basket”, I knew it would be a big hit.

Because what man doesn’t LOVE a BIG tub of their favorite beers.

The Craft Beer:

Three Variety Packs of Four Craft Beers from Three separate breweries = A selection of 12 awesome craft beers!

Our craft beer experts choose what beers come in this to truly make it Ultimate!
So if they don’t like IPA’s, only like IPA’s, or don’t even know what an IPA is…
Not a problem!
If you know the styles of beers they like, just ask us to put those in at checkout, OR get them exactly what they want with our
Customize Your Own BroBasket.

The Goods:

1 – Large Metal Tub
1 – BroBasket Bottle Opener
1 – BroBasket Pint Glass (16oz)
1 – Popcornopolis Gourmet Flavored Popcorn

The Freebies:

2 – BroBasket Coozies
1 – Greeting Card with your special message on it.

$89.95

This basket has everything in it you could possibly want! I was super impressed when I received it. It was packaged so nicely. I love how you can also customize it, my husband really loves IPA beer, so knowing I could add a variety of them to this basket was pretty awesome. The bottles were wrapped so they don’t break during shipping, everything was nice and secure. I experienced no issues when I took the basket out of the shipping box and looked it over.

Checkout process is easy, an adult needs to accept delivery and that adds $2.95 to the price. Shipping is very pricey I must say. If you want a Saturday delivery, you will be charged an extra $9.95 fee on top of the shipping fee. You can pick your delivery date which I think is great. Most weekday dates I checked was about $28 to ship this basket. If you are a last-minute shopper and need the basket within a few days, expect to pay a lot more for shipping.

I decided to surprise my husband with this basket early, just because I was so excited to give it to him. He was thrilled and very happy! He was looking forward to trying all of the different beers. He especially loves the glass that came with it, along with the bottle opener. Bro Basket provides everything you need.

If you do not want to order a basket that contains alcohol, they have other options such as a protein basket and snacks basket. You can also customize your own the way you would like.

I think this is a really cool idea for gifts to get a man who you cannot think of what to get! There are tons of options to choose from, and the customer service and website ordering that I experienced were fantastic. You will not be disappointed!

One of these baskets would make a great gift for holidays such as: Birthday, Father’s Day, Christmas etc…

To order click here: The Bro Basket

*I received this product in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

Little Ms. or Mr. Clean— 3 Tips to Inspire Your Children to Become Tidy Adults

June 5, 2019 By Anne

Children are messy, and parents know this all too well. Maybe as your child grows up, they will just learn tidy habits, but this is not always the case. If they are the messy sort it may be a good idea to teach them a few things so that when they move out to college or their own place, they can keep their space neat and tidy.

Yes, this will be an exhausting task for you at first, but it will pay off big time for both you and your children in the long run.

1. Learn Which Chores Kids Can Do at Different Ages

Some of you may roll your eyes at this because your little Suzie knows how to unload the dishwasher. That is a great start! Now what about the rest of the house?

Many parents are surprised and delighted to learn their children are capable of doing specific chores at a fairly young age. This means your little ones can help clean up the messes they are making.

You can encourage your child to start picking up after themselves as early as ages 2-3. Kids can even begin learning how to vacuum and mop at age 6-8. There are many different suggestions for chores at different ages online.

Of course, every parent knows each child develops at their own rate, but that should not scare you from at least experimenting to see what they are capable of.

2. Mix It Up

It is a smart idea to develop schedules so your child can get certain chores done. Schedules are organized, predictable, and they work. Another thing to keep in mind though is that you are working with children. Children who have short attention spans and get bored very easily.

Since they are still kids, you may need to mix up the routine to keep things interesting. One day have them unload the dishwasher, the next day teach them to vacuum and sweep, then go on to teaching them how to wipe down the bathroom.

This way your children will gain a well-rounded set of skills. As opposed to them becoming master dishwashers that are incapable of doing their laundry as they grow up.

3. Encourage Them

Find what chores your kids enjoy (or dislike the least) and encourage them. Positive reinforcement goes a long way. If your child does not mind vacuuming, encourage them by saying they did a great job. Even the next day, remind them again how good the room looks and thank them for their help.

As parents, it is easy to criticize and correct how children do things. Even if it is not perfect, continue to encourage them. Encouragement should take place more often than correction or criticism.

Even if you have shedding animals and your children cannot perfectly vacuum the floor, continue to encourage them. Freshlycleanhome.com may have some useful suggestions for your hairy home so the task can be accomplished without too much correction or criticism.

Last but not least

It’s always a game of give and take and there may be mishaps along the way. Everything is a learning curve for your child, and they will eventually have those tidy habits down to a fine art. Help them along the way with tips and tricks and give them positive reinforcement, so they don’t give up thinking they are doing the wrong thing.

Your children may be more capable than you trust them to be. It will take a bit of time to become the perfect helper but it will be well worth the trials in the long run.

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

Bent Creek River, NC

June 5, 2019 By Anne

Anne

Bandung: A Mysterious Palace, Modern Architecture And Earthquake Simulation

June 1, 2019 By Anne

Known for it’s amazing colonial architecture, Bandung is continuously evolving into a modern city right before our eyes. It’s one of the most visited cities in all of Indonesia. It’s trying to rival the cities of the modern Western nations of New Zealand and Australia which are just off to it’s eastern coast. However we see that it’s also trying to be contemporary, and rise above its neighbors in many ways. You get a sense that the lifestyle of the residents is truly being studied and catered for. It’s one of the best places to visit purely for this reason because you get to witness how the city is also trying to adopt a more Western approach to it’s infrastructure. Thankfully however, it’s also not going to forget it’s heritage anytime soon. One of the must-do things is to visit some of the more traditional Indonesian buildings like the temples. But just how is it becoming more modern?

A tectonic simulation

As many of us know, Indonesia is situated in a place on the earth that has many natural challenges. It’s one of the few places on earth that has volcanoes, earthquakes, cyclones and tsunamis. This is a great place to learn if you’re a scientist and hence why the Geology Museum is definitely one thing to keep your list of things to experience in Bandung. Inside you will find a life size skeleton of a mammoth. The huge tusks and even bigger spine is something to behold in person with your own eyes. There’s lots of information about the nature of the islands but one thing you must try is the earthquake simulator. For those that don’t live in a country where you get many tectonic plate movements, this is something you’ll never forget. The first time you can feel the ground beneath you move at a great pace and vibrate, you’ll form a newfound respect for mother nature. It’s not dangerous at all so you can bring along your children if you want to also.

A place to stay

As aforementioned the city is full of colonial architecture. What you see in the heart of the city is really a mixture of post-modern and art deco. It’s a great take on these styles but it has it’s obvious twist to it. However when you have come this far, maybe staying in the epicenter of the city is not really what you want if you’re looking for quiet. Check out rumah dijual di bandung houses which you can buy and or rent. Depending on the size you require for yourself or for your family and friends, you can choose from the different kinds of neighborhoods and home styles. The common kind is that of 2 or 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms. Much like you see in amazing cities like London and New York, modern urban block homes are available too. They wouldn’t look out of place in Tokyo, Paris or Madrid because they have adopted the Western style completely.

Exploring the ancient world

Indonesia has been the set for countless movies. It’s a land that mixes exotic landscape with ancient mystery. It’s a good thing then that Ratu Boko is still remaining a focal point for the city. It’s an ancient palace made of a hardened black rock. It was a fortified settlement for the ruling family of the country in the latter part of the 8th century. Some say that the site is even older than that but the mystery remains unsolved. There are three staircases that lead up to a plinth which you can experience as there are no off-limit sections. Some believe that the fortification was used as the main residents of the ruling family as there are around 4 gates in total to which you can exit and enter. This would mean that supply lines were coming from all around the country. All around the site is a large flat terrace which makes this the perfect site to built a stronghold from as you could see any hostile forces approaching. King Boko is now a folklore figure and the locals have many different tales about how he lived and what kind of impact his reign had on the city of Bandung.

Bandung is an incredible city that is in the midst of a transformation. You can see how much the architecture has changed over the years. It’s one of the first cities in the continent to adopt modern Western urbanized architecture and house-building techniques. The museums and shopping malls are pretty much on par with any neighboring nation too. The earthquake simulator is something you have to experience while you’re here.

Anne

One Trend That’s Shaping the Future of Entertainment

June 1, 2019 By Anne

The trend by media and entertainment companies to control their own destinies has never been more apparent than over the last few years. After the amazing success of Netflix, others are realizing the importance of moving away from distribution deals with producers toward creating and distributing their own original content. Here are the latest moves from some of the leading players in the media and entertainment business.

Netflix

Netflix has invested heavily in original content since 2013, hitting home runs with series such as “House of Cards,” “Orange is the New Black” and “The Crown.” The Netflix original drama, “Roma,” won Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. They’ve made loyal subscribers in the process, increasing their worldwide subscriber base from 19 million in 2010 to a projected 115 million by 2020.

Apple

After experiencing a freefall in its movie rental and sales business, Apple is investing a billion dollars in original content with its Apple TV+, offering original content from A-list stars such as:

“Oprah’s Book Club” – a televised version of her famous book club
“Amazing Stories” – Steven Spielberg will produce this revival of the NBC series.
“The Morning Show,” – Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston will produce and star in a behind-the-scenes look at a morning TV show. Steve Carell, Billy Crudup and Mark Duplass also star.
An unnamed thriller production from M. Night Shyamalan, maker of “The Sixth Sense.”
“See” – a space fantasy epic starring Aquaman’s Jason Momoa

Apple also supplements its original content with productions from HBO, Showtime and Starz.

Amazon

Amazon offers Amazon Prime Video free through its Prime membership, which numbers more than 100 million subscribers. Its investment in original content this year is estimated to be $6 billion. Original content includes productions such as “Bosch,” “Sneaky Pete,” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

AT&T Direct TV

AT&T Direct TV jumped into the original content fray with its Direct TV Now offering. Its pay TV channel Audience Network produces original content such as “Loudermilk”, a comedy-drama, executive produced by David Guillod. In addition to being an executive producer on many productions, including the recently released “Atomic Blonde” and “The Intruder,” Mr. Guillod is an accomplished talent manager, having helped influenced the careers of stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Sean “Daddy” Combs, and Katie Holmes.

Hulu

Disney, which owns a 60% stake in Hulu, is buying Comcast’s share of Hulu, effectively giving it total control of the streaming service. Disney plans to increase investment in Hulu’s original content, which is currently at approximately $2.5 billion. Hulu’s original content includes such favorites as “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Castle Rock.”

The trend toward more original content is not only opening the door wider for actors, writers, and other movie talents, it’s also increasing the quality and quantity of movies and TV series. With streaming media having become a major vehicle in the distribution of content, access to quality entertainment is now more convenient than ever.